“Y-y-you just….” Fluttershy whimpered in fear as she stood frozen at the top of the stairs. I could sense the fear, and, while thankfully it wasn’t enough to cause another case of NEP, it did leave my heart feeling strained.

“Fluttershy, please, don’t be afraid. I don’t want to hurt anyone.” I gently assured her. “And in case you’re wondering, no, that fire didn’t hurt me.” I sensed the fear ebb away, but in its place was a rising curiosity. The fear never fully went away, but it was a little less noticeable now.

“H-how did you do that?” she asked, her voice shook a little as she asked. For a split second, I considered dismissing it as “magic mumbo jumbo.” Then I remembered I’d woken up in her backyard, so she must have tended to me for some measure of time. I owe her one.

“It’s part of what I am. You remember that bug you took care of? That was me. I’m part of a shapeshifting race of creatures called changelings. We eat positive emotions, but it’s kind of hard to do that with a face full of fangs.” The new info brought Shy out of her mane a bit, and I sensed a small hint of wonder, though the rest was caution.

“You were that poor creature? You were so weak when I found you… what happened?”

“I was starving, I think. Your tender loving care fed me enough to get back on my hooves. Though uh… could you not tell anypony about me being a changeling? We aren’t supposed to be common knowledge, and what ponies do know about us assume we’re dangerous.”

“Dangerous? Why would they think that… that is… if you don’t mind me asking.” she asked timidly.

“Simply because they don’t know anything about us besides what we eat. Well, that, and because the only changelings ponykind has encountered have been the bad ones that follow evil or power hungry queens.” I replied. “I’m one of the kinder changelings.” I slowly approached as I explained, but I smiled and closed in for a hug with that last statement. She squeaked in surprise, but as I hugged tighter, she seemed to at least let go of her fear to some degree and hug back.

“Out of the way!” a familiar voice cried, rushing up the steps. Thankfully, I managed to pick Fluttershy up and move aside before Twilight could bowl us over in her hot-sauce fueled panic.Fluttershy broke the hug to stare after the purple fireball.

“Is she okay?” she asked in concern.

“She’ll be fine, as soon as she gets some water. She just drank a bottle of hot sauce.” I replied. “Come on, I know a certain spell that could help her.” I said, getting back to my hooves. Fluttershy, at the suggestion of helping somepony, followed along. For a moment I got the feeling as if I was being watched, but before I could even begin to turn around, it was gone. Shrugging it off for now though, I returned to more important concerns. As I caught up to Twilight, I prepared a channeled element spell, but I combined the Fire and Ice elements.

“Hey Twi. Got a water spell here.” I told her when I saw her. Seeing as she was having no luck with the bathroom sink, she eagerly turned to me. I chuckled as I started channeling the spell, essentially turning my horn into a faucet. Twilight was eager to drink up, happily cooling the burning fire she’d accidentally drank. Once she’d drank enough, I stopped the spell.

“Thanks, Summer… You’re a lifesaver. What are you doing up here, anyway?”

“Came to study up on various combat magic, but I can’t actually cast any of it until I see it in action.” I replied. That got Twilight’s interest.

“Why not?” she asked curiously. I considered letting my disguise drop in answer, but… Then I came up with an excellent lie.

“I’m a “learn by example” type. The pages of a book don’t really register too well for me.” I replied. And it wasn’t a complete lie.

“And what’s wrong with books?” Twilight replied indignantly. I backed up and held my hooves up in an expression of surrender.

“Nothing! It’s just the way my brain’s wired.” I said to placate her anger. She just narrowed her eyes at me, saying nothing. I narrowed my eyes back at her. “I know that look. You’re calling me a liar. Fine, you keep on thinking I just don’t like books. If I had my things with me, I could show you I’ve been making efforts to write my own.”

“Have you ever actually tried learning from a book?”

“I told you it doesn’t work for me.”

“But why?”

“You really want to know? It’s… It’s because of my special talent, see my Cutie Mark? It means “basis of magic”, my talent is to see, observe and replicate the basic magical processes and interactions of casting a spell. But I have yet to find a way to learn a spell using any other way.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize…” she started, feeling remorseful for all the accusations she’d pinned on me, though there was also a great deal of curiosity.

“Eh, don’t worry about it. It’s helped me out of more than my fair share of scuffles.” I replied casually. “I can even copy technique.”

“Technique?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Fighting style. The one thing I gotta work on is my reaction timing though. I’m not really all that fast when it comes down to it.”

“Fighting? Why would you want to be fighting?” Twilight asked, repulsed by the idea. Fluttershy meeped and shrunk back a bit.

“Reason one: Living in bad neighborhoods, you gotta know how to fight. In those kinds of places, it’s fight or die. Reason two: I’ve known about Nightmare Moon’s return for a few years now. I’ve been preparing for her.”

“Oh my… your hometown sounds absolutely horrible!” Fluttershy whimpered. I sighed, having not wanted to cause her to pity me. Also, as a side note, pity tastes super salty. I hate it.

“Well, I suppose I can agree with preparing…” Twi said, evidently looking to see past the vulgar idea of how I prepared.

“Yes, speaking of which, I’d like to learn how to teleport. I haven’t exactly learned that one yet.” I said, helping to move along to another topic.

“Oh! Yes, I can help with that!” Twilight said, happy to teach someone new magic.Twilight started to go on a lecture, but I quickly stopped her.

“Hey, remember what I said… A lecturer's fine, but it’s too long and tedious. Learning by example is faster.” I told her. Her ears folded back in embarrassment.

“Er… right… sorry. But still, it’s dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.” she said.

“I know. The same could be said for working with magic in general. I once accidentally shot off a plasma bolt because I didn’t know what I was doing. Lucky it only burned through a cloud.”

“A plasma bolt?” Twilight asked, intrigued.

“Yeah, just let me show it off by firing at that conveniently placed plank of wood.” I said, before turning to said item. However Twilight quickly got in the way,

“Hold on! No need to be reckless here. I’m curious, but I’m not about to destroy anything to learn!”

“Uh… remeber the-” Spike tried to interject, but Twilight, blushing a little, stopped the reminder.

“No thank you, Spike. I don’t need to be reminded of that incident.” she said with a deadpan.

“Well then, I say we talk out how we’re going to take on Nightmare Moon. I’ve already found the books we can reference for help.” I said, changing the subject, readily dropping the spell issue. Twilight at least remembered my “talent” and request, teleporting over to the table as I took the proper books off the shelfs. Fluttershy came over too, curiosity and nervousness filling her as she looked over the books. I’d gotten the Elements of Harmony reference guide out, as well as the Equestrian History book Nightmare Moon’s legend could be found in.

“Wait, is that…” Twilight muttered as she approached the reference guide.

“That’s right. And I’ve been studying it. There’s six elements, only five of which are known. It says they were last known to be in the old castle ruins in the Everfree, but I’ve already been there. I’ve read into those things with my own eyes, and… well, they won’t work for just anypony. Nor will they work until Nightmare Moon is actually free.”

“Oh… Well that’s a very big problem. Any idea who they’ll work for?” she asked.

“They’ll work for the ponies that are most true to what the elements represent. One example I can think of right off the bat is a member of the Apple family. None of them can lie to save their life, and they value family above most other things.”

“Wow, that… that makes sense…” Twilight said, thinking deeply. “But… who all would fit the rest of the elements?”

“I’ll tell you one thing. Whoever can unite the users of the rest becomes eligible to hold the final element.” I hinted. Twilight blinked at me when I said that.

“You… You want that power, don’t you?” she accused. I frowned, looking away.

“I do. But fate, as well as Princess Celestia, has other ideas.” I confessed. I looked back at her. “So my plan now is to play with Nightmare Moon’s emotions while you work out the elements.”

“Wh- Play with her emotions? How do you even know how to get to her?” Twilight asked, confused. That seems to be a running theme by now.

“Look here,” I said, turning to the legend of the two sisters. “You’ve already read this, right?” At her nod, I continued. “It talks about how two sisters fought, and two was reduced to one. You have one princess on the throne right now… Don’t you think that’s a little attention worthy? Celestia had a sister. Nightmare Moon is that sister.”

3...2...1… “WHAT?!” both Fluttershy and Twilight shouted, though it was more of a soft yell than a shout.

“Yeah, I know. It’s amazing how oblivious ponies can be… Anyway, I can use that. Nightmare Moon might feel a little guilty under all her anger and envy. I can play to that, and plead with her to stop fighting. Of course I’ll have to fight as I do so. Bringing up the guilt ought to cause her anger to rise in an attempt to cover it.”

“And how exactly do you plan on surviving that?” Twilight asked, looking at me once again like I was insane. I probably was.

“Saving all of my magic for dodging and reinforcing my body against attacks. Basically, defend and dodge.” I replied. “I know anything I might even be able to hit her with will only piss her off.”

Twilight groaned. “You’re hopeless…”

“Hey! I resent that statement. I am full of hopes! And dreams!” I said in a overly theatrical manner. Twilight rolled her eyes. Chuckling myself, I recomposed myself. “Anyway, I wanna go over some of the material I’m gonna use, so you won’t be too distracted by the surprise of me using it.”

“That sounds reasonable at least. Let’s hear it.” Twilight conceded. I nodded and started going over what I hoped to say.

Finally, the time has come. Everypony was gathered for the Celebration, waiting in a massive crowd for Princess Celestia to arrive and raise the sun. Only Twilight, Fluttershy, Bonbon and I knew the sun would not be raised today. Since the party, I'd absorbed what my UI told me was a copious amount of energy from the celebrations.

The three of us watched the stars tensely, knowing the four brightest ones around the moon would soon release the Nightmare. Music went off announcing the beginning of announcements and Mayor Mare stepped forth to do them. I simply tuned her out, more focused on the stage from which the Nightmare would appear. I felt the hatred beginning to form there, and I knew Nightmare Moon had already escaped the moon. The stars simply signified when she would strike.

"She's already here." I warned Twilight. She gulped in fear, but stood firm.

"I'm ready for her." Twilight said unwaveringly. It was tough for the two of us to simply remain quiet and wait for Moonie to show herself. When she did, she put on quite a show. I couldn't help but play the Time Eater's theme from Sonic Generations in my head as she came into view.

“Guards! Stop her! Only she knows where the Princess is!” Mayor Mare ordered, but I knew it would be useless. As the guards went down, Nightmare Moon laughed harshly.

"Have I really drifted so far into urban legend that I no longer count as royalty? Fools! You have no idea who you're messing with." she spat. I just sighed.

“I can count three mistakes you’re making right now, Nightmare Moon. Want me to list them?” I called up. Everyone gasped as I spoke out unwaveringly, and Nightmare Moon recoiled as if struck. I could tell she struggled with actually taking what I said seriously, or spitting back at me. Thankfully, I didn’t immediately get a lightning bolt to the face, so that was something at least.

“Alright, I’ll bite… Tell me what’s wrong, little pony.” she said cautiously.

“First of all, you assume way too much. Your first assumption was that noone here would recognise you, much less be able to read you like a book. The second mistake is hating everything blindly, all that undirected hate and anger you use to hide your weakness is just blinding you to what’s in front of you. That weakness being that you aren’t yet at full power. And your third… is fighting for the wrong reasons.” Nightmare’s eyes widened in surprise at that last one.

“I’ll fight for whatever reason I-”

“Fine, stay weak then. But the only way you’ll win over Equestria is by fighting for what you believe in. That goes for Luna too, I know she’s in there somewhere.” Speaking that name earned me a roar of fury, and the first lick of NEP I no doubt would suffer if I kept this play up. Grimacing, I stepped back brushing my tail against Twilight to signal her to leave, and interrupted Nightmare Moon again. “We’ll settle this at the Castle of the Two Sisters, where you were originally banished. I’d hate to take advantage of your weakness so soon.” She growled menacingly at me.

“I’ll be waiting for you, but don’t expect to survive the trip!” She shouted in rage, before changing into her cloud form and flew out, and I took a breath of relief, nearly collapsing on the spot. AJ was quick to rush to my side.

“You okay, sugarcube?” she asked in worry, likely remembering I was sensitive to emotion. I nodded my head, glad to have a friend like her.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. All that hate and anger… it was painful. I can manage though.” I assured her. “It’d be bad if it came from a whole horde of ponies… Ugh, this fear isn’t doing me wonders either.”

“Let’s getcha outta here then.” she said, helping me to my hooves. As AJ headed out with me, I noticed a certain rainbow contrail heading off after where Twilight went. Evidently, AJ noticed it too.

“Consarnit, Rainbow…” she muttered.

“Let’s go, she’s probably after Twilight. I had Twi sneak out while I had Nightmare Moon distracted, Rainbow probably noticed and got suspicious.” I explained. The other four members of the soon-to-be Mane 6 joined up with us on our way out, likely wondering what that rainbow maned braggart was doing now. Just as we were leaving the building I once again got the feeling that I was being watched. I managed to look behind me in time to see something hide behind a wall and out of sight. I didn’t catch what it was, but it had a very dark colour. As much as I wanted to check that out though, I had higher priorities. NEP was getting stronger the longer I stayed near the panicked citizens of Ponyville, and I had to hurry before it advanced to the point of blocking my magic.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long to reach Twilight and Rainbow having an argument, and my magic wasn’t blocked before I got to the forest edge. I stepped in between them before it got too heated. “Alright, calm down. You don’t need to be antagonizing the pony that’s gonna fix this whole mess.” I told her. That of course, got a lot of confusion and surprise out of the rest of them, save Fluttershy, who was just scared and hiding behind her mane.

“Who are you?” Rainbow turned on me right then, rather than listen to me.

“My name’s Summer Dash, and I’m not the enemy here. Besides, I’m the one that planned out that confrontation and Twilight’s escape.”

“What do ya mean by ‘The one that’s gonna fix this’, sugarcube?” AJ asked as she held Rainbow back to calm her down. I smiled as I answered.

“Nightmare Moon’s defeat depends entirely on a set of artifacts called the Elements of Harmony. Twilight here is destined to be the one that unifies the users of the known five.” I explained.

“Oooh, you mean she’s like some sort of Chosen Hero or something? I should have thrown a Chosen Hero party!” Pinkie said, getting hyped. I giggled at that.

“Sure, we’ll go with that. But it remains to be seen who most closely represents the elements. Hopefully you five are a good fit, because you’re all we have.”

“Wait, so we’re gonna be like… a superweapon or something?” Dash asked, sounding a little hyped. I nodded with a smile.

“You hit the nail right on the head there. You girls are going to be using the Elements to stop Nightmare Moon.” I said, laying it out for them.

“But what about you, Darling? What’s your role in all this?” Rarity asked. I shrugged.

“Nothing specific. I just want to make sure you all make it.” I said vaguely. I turned towards the forest, and started trotting in. “Come on. The Elements are in here.” Twilight joined my side as I went in, and shortly, after a small bit of hesitation, the rest of them followed. Rarity of course gave her expected protest of mud and crap.

As we went through the forest, we chatted about various things with Pinkie being the main instigator of each topic. Mainly it revolved around me being new to Ponyville at about the same time as Twilight, which Rainbow pointed out was a little too convenient. I explained that away as having known about Nightmare Moon’s return for years.

“But Nightmare Moon was just an old mare’s tale, how could anyone take it seriously?” Rainbow asked when I said that.

“Well, I’ve always known there’s some truth to legends. It’s up to the individual to find out how much is exaggerated or missing. After all, legends have to come from somewhere, right?” I hinted.

“Oh boy… If that’s the case, then I’m really regretting not paying attention to my history classes.” Rainbow said, dread filling her. At that moment, all conversation was cut off by the roar of a manticore.

“Damn, looks like Nighty’s made her first move…” I said to the others, bracing for a fight. I knew Fluttershy would step in though. However, as the Manticore stepped in, I felt the bite of hatred from behind us as well. Turning towards the source, I found three pairs of eyes glowing from the dark. They came out to the light revealing a trio of Timberwolves with Nightmare Moon’s hue. Well, that’s different… I thought nervously. Armed with knowledge of elemental knowledge though, I smirked.

“Hehe. Faced with impossible odds… Might as well say hello to another typical Tuesday.” I joked. Rainbow shot me a glance when I said that, just as I prepared a channeled fire spell. “I’ve got these guys, you girls deal with the manticore.” I said, fully facing the possessed hunks of wood.

“Facing us alone? You’re a hopeless idiot. Even with fire, you can’t take us all down.” the lead wolf snarled. I chuckled at them.

“Wow, is that gonna be a running theme? I’m not that hopeless.” I retorted once the others got started on their fight. The Timberwolves paused when I replied.

“Wait, you can understand us?” the one on the right asked. Instead of replying, I took a potshot at him with a fire bolt, causing his body to catch fire. He easily burned away, despite his panicked rolling on the ground. The other two stared in horror at their comrade as he burned away, and slowly turned to glare at me as I smugly grinned back at them.

“That was a dirty trick…” the left one snarled. I shrugged.

“So what? In a world that’s kill or be killed, there are no rules.” I said coldly. “And in the Everfree forest… It’s kill, or be killed, isn’t it?” With that, the wolves made their attack. I switched from bolt casting to channeled, turning my horn into a flame thrower. I didn’t stop until I didn’t feel their teeth trying to dig into me. Once all that remained was ash, I smiled to myself.

“Hehe. Get dunked on.” I muttered as I started to undo the damage they’d done to me. Glad I’d dealt with my threat easily enough, I turned back to the girls to find they’d pacified the Manticore. I strode past them, muttering praise to Fluttershy as I went past her and the manticore licking her.

“Hey, what happened to the Timberwolves?” Rainbow asked.

“I burned their bodies. Not sure what happened to their souls.” I replied flippantly. “I don’t think they’ll be bothering us for a while at least.”

“Okay… Casual killing aside, let’s move on.” she said, quickly moving along. After a while of journeying, I made an effort to make conversation.

“So uh… Anyone else got a horror film vibe from this forest?” I asked to start. Rainbow took it in a heartbeat.

“Oh hay yeah. Ponies are always telling campfire stories about this forest. This forest is home to some of the most dangerous creatures in Equestria, and they say anypony who comes in never comes out.” she said, enthusiastically sharing the tale.

“Meh. I’ve seen worse stories. You should hear the one about the Slendermane. Or the Nightmare on Elm Street.” I countered. “This would be a good setting for the first one.”

“Oh dear… those stories don’t sound too plea-” Fluttershy started to say, but then... CRACK I shouted as the ground under us fell, leaving us without a stable ground to stand on. However, I found that I hadn't moved an inch across the fallen surface.

“What the…?” I muttered as I still stood standing. My awe was interrupted as the ground I stood on started glowing a deep blue, and I felt tremors right under my hooves. “Shit!” I quickly moved to get off the glowing circle of magic, thankfully just before that circle of the ground came flying out of the rest of it, like a bullet through the air. I couldn’t rest though, as another circle came right under me again, and I had to dodge once more. This kept happening as I made my way down the wall like a spider, until finally I reached the grassy part at the bottom. The plantlife held the ground together too firmly for Nightmare Moon to launch it. Breathing heavily as I recovered from that, I waited down there for the others.

“I think we should stick to the grass from now on… Nightmare Moon really has it out for me.” I mentioned to the others when they got to me.

“How did you stick to the wall like that? Because that would be a great trick at parties!” Pinkie asked, having seen me on my way down. Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity all saw it too, so no way was I getting out of that question.

“I have no idea. I didn’t even know I could do that.” I answered honestly.

“Uuuh huh…” Rainbow said suspiciously. “Come on, you gotta know something.”

“I honestly had no clue. I’ve never been in a situation that would have revealed that power!” I shot back. “Look, can we just go and get the Elements? Forget about my freaky Spider Pony powers for a second. We are exposed here, if we don’t hurry, Nightmare Moon might just collapse the cliff right on top of us.” They all looked at the cliff at that, and nodded to each other in unison. With them in agreement, I started leading the way.

Deeper into the forest, things got dark. Real dark. Even despite my natural night vision, I could hardly see. Must be one of Nightmare Moon’s curses...

“Oh, ew… I just stepped in something.” I heard Rarity complain.

“It’s probably just mud.” Rainbow waved it off. Then I heard a loud crunch, like bone breaking.

“...That’s not mud.” I stated what everyone was thinking. Almost right after, the forest took on a sinister glow, and I could finally see. But what I saw made my heart skip a few beats and my blood freeze.

“G-ghouls…” I whimpered, scared for my life. I looked around, hoping for a way to escape, but all around they were too tightly packed to allow for any escape. “Girls? Please tell me one of you know how to stop those things?” I asked, my voice quivering from my fear.

“HIT THE LIGHTS!” Pinkie suddenly shouted, causing us all to whirl around and look at her grinning face. I was stunned as she pulled a bunch of spotlights out of her mane. Okay, I know this world operates on cartoon physics. But even that’s pushing it. I thought as I stared.

“Pinkie, please tell me this is going somewhere. Just one touch from those things, and we’re dead.” I said, still shaking a little from the adrenaline my previous fear had filled me with… Wait, no. That shaking was my disguise destabilizing. I tried to get it back in working order before Pinkie suddenly started singing. To my surprise, it was the same one from the Show, rather than one fitting the Ghouls situation. As she sang and laughed though, she used the spotlights to point at the ghouls.

“Wh-wha...? Bushes?!” I sputtered with shock. How did I miss that? There were a few actual Ghouls though, but at least now I could see the escape routes. I smirked when I saw the Ghouls recoil from the light though, melting away into shadows as the light focused on them.

“Well, I guess I should join the fun…” I muttered, before grabbing one of the other spotlights and aiming it. I noticed a dark cloak vanishing behind one of the trees though, reminding me of my follower from throughout the day. As I continued using the light to destroy the actual Ghouls though, I kept an eye on that one spot where the stalker vanished. Once the song was over, I voiced my concerns.

“Girls, I think I’ve got a stalker. I keep seeing this dark cloaked figure just ducking out of sight at the last second.” I told them.

“Ya reckon it’s someone workin fer Nightmare Moon?” AJ asked, concerned.

“No… what’s worrying is that I can’t get a read on them. Normally I can track through emotion… this pony, whatever they are, is very good at hiding from me.”

“Say what?” Rainbow asked, having not heard about my sensitivity to emotion.

“Yeah, I’m sensitive to other’s emotion. I kinda had to run from AJ’s farm earlier today because there was too much of one emotion from her family.” I replied.

“An’ she got away jus’ in time too. We jus’ passed the gate o’ the farm when her nose started bleeding.” AJ backed me up.

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me? If strong emotions affect you that badly… it must have been torture to be even near Nightmare Moon!” Twilight exclaimed, genuinely concerned about me.

“Yeah, like that would have gone over well. You’d probably have tied me up in some chair in the library for my own protection. Or somepony would have. Either way, my comfort is my last concern right about now.” I answered.

“Darling, nothing against your goal or anything, but maybe it would be best for you to return back to Ponyville. Who knows what will happen if she get’s to you again.” Rarity said, sounding determined, yet worried for my safety.

“Let me tell you why that’s not an option. First, something else could kill me on my way back. Like a cockatrice or manticore. Second, Nightmare Moon’s been gunning for me since I challenged her. If I left and got separated from you girls, I’d be far less likely to survive. And third, we can’t waste time having one or more of you escort me back. Besides, I’d rather die a hero than live a coward.”

“Yeeaaaaahhh…. Challenging her probably wasn’t a good idea. What did you think would happen?” Rainbow said with a deadpan. “What would you do if we didn’t come with you?”

“Then I’d drag you guys with me since I already knew you girls were the ones to use the elements.” I retorted.

“Well, you better not be slowing us down when we finally get to the Elements.” Rainbow said before we all resumed our journey.

“Oh, I’ll be slowing Nightmare down when you get there.” I promised.

Soon enough, I heard the raging waters of a river. I had to groan though. “Great… water…”

“What’s wrong with water? You aren’t a pegasus.” Twilight asked.

“Typically in video games, water is the most dangerous place to be. Even if we could survive the current, Nightmare Moon might put something in it that could kill us.” I explained. “Some of my worst experiences have been in water…”

“We’ll need to find a way across it somehow.” Twilight replied. I nodded.

“That isn’t in question. Let’s just hope there’s a way across nearby. I’d hate to have to build our way across.” When I finished talking, we emerged from the thick undergrowth to the bed of a raging river. Looking along it, I heard a voice weeping. I knew it was Steven Magnet, but I feigned ignorance.

“Wonder if that fuss is causing the rapid currents..” I muttered to the others.

“Let’s go see.” Twilight said, leading the way. Past a few bushes, we found Steven throwing his tantrum. Twilight and Rarity go to talking with him, though I watched the water for any unpleasant surprises. Like a massive predator or something. My vigilance was well awarded when I heard Steven whine about a strange blue mist drawing in a Basilisk into the river, which ruined his lustrous scales. Hearing that, I blinked and looked at him. He wasn’t toying around about it though, some of his scales looked broken and messed up.

“Did you say a Basilisk? As in a giant lizard that can paralyze you with just a look?” I ask, very worried for me and my friend’s safety. What have I done?

“The very same! Thankfully it wasn’t too hungry, but it seemed very interested in claiming this territory for whatever reason.” Steven replied. “And it had the nerve to break my scales!”

“Ugh… This guy seems a bit vain. Who’s to say he isn’t exaggerating about what caused the break?” Rainbow brashly accused.

“I can tell he’s not lying.” Rarity said. “Not much should be able to break those lovely scales. They look so well cared for.”

“Oh, yes I know!” Steven agreed.

“And that expertly coiffed mane…”

“I know, I know!”

“Along with you beautifully styled moustache!”

“It’s true! I take good care of it!”

“All ruined because that mangey basilisk!!”

“It’s truuuuuuuue!”

“I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!” Rarity declared, before going up to Steven and taking one of the broken scales. Then, in a dramatic show of drama for the sake of having drama, Rarity used it to cut part of her mane off. Steven swooned from the drama of dramaness with a dramatic shout. What followed was an eye roll from me that was probably felt around the world, making my attitude about Rarity’s drama very clear.

Then Rarity started using the hair she cut out to sew his scales back together. Pretty clever, really. Much better than cutting her tail off the create a mismatched mustache that Steven somehow still liked in the show.

Before the scene could go on any longer though, a monstrous roar erupted from the water upstream, as well as the large head of a basilisk. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy all immediately looked away, having either paid attention, or simply being too afraid to look. I managed to keep myself from looking despite wanting to see where the danger is coming from, but Rainbow Dash and AJ looked. Pinkie though stayed stone still, probably imitating being paralyzed or something. Thinking quick, I devised a plan to survive this.

“Anyone got a mirror?” I asked loudly, though AJ and Rainbow couldn’t answer, having been paralyzed.

“A mirror? Why would I bring a mirror?!” Said Twilight, getting slightly panicked.

“I’m sorry darling, normally I would have one with me any time I go out of town. But this was on such a short notice I didn’t have time to take it!” Exclaimed Rarity. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was too paralyzed with fear to say anything other than “meep!”

“I’m sorry, I don’t normally stash anything in the Everfree for related emergencies. I’ll have to get on that when this is over.” Pinkie said sheepishly.

“Then I guess I’ll have to innovate!” I said, eyeing the water and combining channeled ice with Telekinesis. The result was basically a magical rendition of Pokemon’s Ice Beam. The good news was that this froze a good part of the river, making it more crossable, but the bad news was the basilisk was strong enough to break free of the new encasement it found itself in. I flinched as the beast completely shattered the frozen parts of the river, but seeing the result of that, I grinned.

“Hah! Just as planned!” I said as I grabbed one of the broken bits of frozen river with TK, and lifted in up to the Basilisk’s eyes. Twilight gaped as I did so, and as the basilisk froze up with only a slight twitch.

“And that’s why you bring a mirror with you.” I said with a triumphant smile. Pinkie cheered with a massive hop.

“YAY! Summer beat the big nasty basilisk! Oh hey, and the river’s shallow enough to cross now!” Pinkie pointed out as she turned to the river. Steven, while shivering from the cold - to which I smiled apologetically - cheered as well.

“Right. Let’s get moving before Nightmare Moon has another chance to kill us.” I said curtly, hopping into the water. Well… I tried hopping into the water, but Steven’s tail swept under me before I could land.

“Here, let me help. A hero like you deserves nothing but the best!” he said with high praise. The admiration I felt from him was already making good headway on restoring what I’d used, as was the hope I felt surging forth from the girls.

“Hehe, thanks. You’ll take care of the Basilisk, right?” I asked as I traversed his tail.

“Of course, don’t you worry! That brute will be long gone before you ever pass through here again.” he vowed. I smiled and gave him a salute once I’d crossed. And once again there was that feeling of being watched. I quickly looked around and saw a blur shoot across the river further downstream. I frowned, staring at the spot for a bit.

“There goes my stalker again…” I muttered when I saw AJ noticed my stare.

“Persistent, ain’t he?” she replied. “He better not be workin wit Nightmare Moon.”

“If he is, he’s got another thing coming. So far there’s nothing we’ve faced that we haven’t overcome. We might tire out at this rate, but… I still have hope we can succeed.”

“Let’s go, sugarcube. We can’t just sit ‘round, we got places ta be.” AJ reminded me. I nodded and departed with her, the other girls having already moved on.

Finally we got to the bridge before the castle. Rainbow managed to stop Twilight from falling off the cliffs, like in the show and made the same quip about that.

“Well how are we going to get across this?” Pinkie asked with an exasperated sigh. In response, Rainbow raised her wings.

“Uh… Duh?” she said.

“Oh yeah. Hehehe!” Pinkie giggled as Dash took off and flew to the other side. As I waited for her to get back, the only thing of note that occurred before the mist rolled in was a timberwolf showing up. It didn’t really bother us, probably because we weren’t in its territory, but it did unnerve the girls.

When the mist did roll in, Twilight tried shouting out to Rainbow. But, it was no use. Nightmare Moon sound proofed those clouds, making sure Rainbow couldn’t hear a thing. I put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulders, giving her a reassuring smile.

“She’ll be back. Just trust that she won’t abandon us. She’s said before she never leaves her friends hanging.” I told her. She stared at me for a moment, through which I felt her emotions slowly boil hope to the surface of a soup of other emotions.

“You haven’t lead us astray so far. I’ll trust you’re right about this as well.” she said, returning her own smile. I nodded as I cast my gaze out across the fog. I smirked when I felt Nightmare Moon’s increasing frustration.

“Ah, there’s that Frustration. So beautiful when it comes from her.” I said, cluing in the others about Rainbow’s inevitable choice. Soon, Rainbow was back, clearing the mist with her entrance. The girls went up to her, cheering for having her back. I chuckled as I came up too.

“Yep, that’s the Element of Loyalty for ya. You definitely deserve it, Rainbow.” I praised her.

“Yeah, I know. I’m not about to leave anyone behind just because some flight crew asks me to join them. Besides, she must be stupid to think I’d believe a flight team actually exists in the Everfree.” she said, practically oozing pride. I drank up, standing back to enjoy it. “Hey, uh… you okay?” The question from Rainbow brought me out of my trance.

“Yeah… you remember how I said I’m sensitive to emotions? They also affect my magic in various ways. Pride gives me the biggest boost.” I once more hinted at what I really was. I wonder how long it would take them to find out?

“Well, that’s mighty surprisin… Y’all didn’t jus compliment mah family’s food jus ta get more pride from ‘em did ya?” AJ asked in suspicion. I shook my head.

“No, it’s just that I could taste the pride in that food too. It really did taste good.” I replied, not wanting to disillusion her about that too.

“Hey girls, we should probably keep going. The Elements are right up there.” Twilight reminded us. I eagerly joined her in that opinion, readily starting to cross the bridge… but as soon as I got onto the bridge, it snapped right down the middle, like some invisible sword cut the ropes. I braced myself with wide eyes as the bridge fell, and I only just caught sight of the girls reaching out for me.

“Summer!”

“FUCK!”