“Usually magical treasure is in jungle temples and desert tombs and stuff, right?” Rainbow Dash mused as she hovered along beside Twilight Sparkle. “It’s pretty weird to find a bunch of it in the snow, isn’t it?”

Ponyville’s day was just beginning. The streets were only lightly traveled, but the few Ponies up with the dawn waved cheerfully as the two of them passed by.

“This isn’t a typical situation,” Twilight replied. “Dream Castle was the centre of the world in the Paleopony Period. It predates the founding of Equestria, the Pillars — everything. But the Castle was in a deep valley, and it was lost when the Windigos buried Old Ponyland in snow. The whole region became an endless flat plain. Finding it present-day is an incredible feat! A.K. Yearling will definitely get a new Daring Do book out of this one.”

“Wow. And everything they dug up is coming here on its way to Canterlot?” Dash whistled in appreciation. “Okay, that’s pretty awesome. I forgive you for waking me up early for this.”

Ahead, the cargo train was just pulling into the station. The brakes squealed, the whistle blew, and just as all was settled and still, a purple-white aura flashed from the caboose.

Dash frowned. “...Did you see that?”

“I did,” Twilight said. “Maybe a Unicorn’s using magic to unload the cargo?”

Dash narrowed her eyes. “Yeah … or maybe something freaky they dug up is thawing out.” She offered a grim chuckle. “Wanna find out?”

Twilight fixed her stance and gave a firm nod.

“...This story sounds scary!” Sunny Daze piped up. “Can we hear something nicer?”

“Something with butterflies!” added Peachy Pie. “I love butterflies!”

“Oh, yes!” Sunny agreed. “And flowers!”

The cheery fillies both shared a cry of: “Yay! Flowers!”

“GIRLS.” Ruby Pinch said it with as much self-control as she could muster. The group had stopped in an empty alley a few blocks from the town square. “This isn’t a story for fun. We’re TRYING to hear what happened to the grown-ups.” She craned her neck to look up at the magical portrait supported on her and Apple Bloom’s backs. “Sorry, Princess. You were saying?”

The group resumed walking. Zecora took the lead, followed by Pipsqueak and Sweetie Belle, then Bloom and Pinch with the wood-braced canvas, and Spike, Peachy and Sunny at the rear. Toola Roola, the painting’s creator, had taken her payment of cookies and gracefully bowed out of any potentially dangerous goings-on.

The flattened figure of Princess Twilight took a calming breath, and then continued.

The rear door of the cargo caboose glowed in Twilight’s magical grip, and slowly creaked open. She and Dash cautiously stepped closer and peered into the gloom ahead.

The train car was piled high with storage crates, chests, scroll cases, trunks, and barrels. The load mostly blocked the view of the far end, leaving only thin gaps to peek through. Even so, Dash’s keen eyes caught sight of the pale glow of magical auras. She frowned.

“Look, some of the stacks are tipped over,” she said softly. “Somepony’s been snooping.” Something blocked the glow for a moment. Dash stiffened. “There…!”

Twilight stepped up to the caboose’s open doorway and spread her wings wide. “Hello?” she called out. “Whoever that is, we know you’re in there. Please come out!”

A pale lilac glow seized two dozen crates and boxes and rearranged them to create an arched passageway from one end of the car to the other. The culprit was exposed.

Twilight’s wings and jaw dropped. “Impossible … she vanished more than fifteen hundred years ago!”

“I don’t get it.” Dash’s head titled. “She just looks like a normal Unicorn?”

“Rainbow…!” Twilight chided. “Don’t you know who this is?”

Dash smiled apologetically, and shrugged. “You know history’s not really my-”

The mare caught sight of Twilight. She gasped and reared up in alarm. “Aglæca!”

Twilight drew back. “What…? I’m not-”

Lilac radiance flooded the caboose as the Unicorn’s horn ignited. “Aweggā, andsaca!” She threw back her head and started humming a sharp, clear note. The tone quickly grew louder and louder. It resonated through the rail car’s wooden walls and tingled in Dash and Twilight’s bones.

“What’s happening?” Dash shouted over the din.

“She’s scared of me!” Twilight cried back. “She thinks I’m a monster!” Twilight struggled to get closer to the mare, shielding herself with a wing as she fought waves of rippling magic. “Cwēn Mǣrþu! Bidde!”

The mare’s eyes lit up as she added notes to the humming. The melody flowed around her like ocean waves, hammering the walls and sending Dash and Twilight tumbling under a heap of falling crates.

“Rainbow!” Twilight shouted. “She won’t listen! We have to get away! We-”

The deafening magical song reached a peak, and everything went white.

“Whoa,” Pinch said softly. The group came to a halt only twenty or so paces from the town hall.

Sunny and Peachy had their heads buried in one another’s shoulders, whimpering meekly.

“That’s it?” Sweetie asked. “You didn’t even get a chance to talk to her?”

“I’m not surprised,” Spike said with a shudder.

The painting of Twilight frowned apologetically. “Sorry, everypony. I wish there was more to tell. She was so upset that she wouldn’t listen, and then the next thing I knew, you were contacting the phase-space with this two-dimensional link.”

Bloom peered up at the portrait. “But why did she get so riled up in the first place?”

“Well, we don’t know what happened to Majesty between her time and the present day. If she’s been somewhere else, in another world, she could have had bad experiences. If she somehow traveled through time, she could have been shocked by the modern world, the train, or …” She shifted uncomfortably. A faint blush coloured her cheeks.

“Or?” Pip pressed.

The princess hung her head. “Or, maybe she’d never seen an Alicorn before, and she mistook me for some kind of inequine monster.”

The little colt winced. “Oh.”

Twilight pushed down the dark mood with a shake of her head. “But like I said before, it’s all just a misunderstanding! There’s no reason Queen Majesty has to keep everypony locked away in a pocket dimension over this. If I can talk to her, explain things to her, I’m sure she’ll understand.” Twilight paused for a tiny moment. “She has to.”

Dinky “The Dink” Hooves and Scootaloo finally reached the end of their Majesty-mandated foalsitting shift. The babies were all fed and happy and napping, the nursery was tidy, and for all appearances they were sadder, wiser young fillies.

Their Unicorn jailer paced around the crowded room, quietly nodding. When Majesty spoke, her voice was a velvety whisper, so as not to disturb the sleeping infants.

“You’ve done an excellent job, girls. I see you’ve learned valuable lessons about responsibility and the importance of playing nicely with others.”

“Oh, yes, Miss Majesty,” The Dink lied. “We can’t wait to go and have some good, clean fun.”

“No more scooter crashes!” Scootaloo sat up and raised a solemn hoof, but crossed her tiny flight-pinions behind her back. “Promise!”

“Wonderful,” Majesty said with another nod. “You run along. There are other colts and fillies who will be taking over for you.”

The fillies gathered their things and trotted out side by side with wide, guileless grins plastered on their faces. Those false faces melted into stern frowns the instant they were out of Majesty’s sight, and their stiff, high-trotting stances sagged with sighs as soon as they were out of earshot.

“Okay, I’m chalking this up as a neutral point,” The Dink said. “We lost a lot of time and we were temporarily captured, but we picked up some seriously juicy intel.”

“You mean the puzzle pieces.” Scootaloo did her best to make it not sound like a question.

“Yeah. If that eye means what I think it means, this is big. REALLY big. It could be our ticket out of this mess. We need to find the other pieces — get a scavenger hunt started ASAP. There’s precious little time.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “IS there? Or did you just want a chance to say that?”

The Dink paused. “... C’mon. Let’s see who we can find.”

“Maybe she’s not in?” Pip offered meekly. “It doesn’t look like she’s in. We could try later …”

“We’re not tryin’ later,” Bloom said firmly. “It’s now or-” When Pip and Spike brightened with hope, she caught herself. “ … It’s now.”

The group stood at the bottom of the town hall’s front steps, with Bloom and Pinch flanking and propping up the portrait of Twilight, Spike and Sweetie by their sides, and Sunny, Peachy and Pip hiding behind them.

“I r-really hope this works, Twilight,” Spike said. He swallowed down a lump in his throat. “I’ve … I’ve never been this scared before.” He wrung his tail in both hands. “Why am I s-so scared of her?”

Twilight smiled in gentle sympathy. “You’re being very brave, Spike. After the Dragon Wars long ago, I’m not surprised you’re instinctively uncomfortable around Majesty. There was… she…” Twilight frowned. “It was a different time.”

Sweetie shifted uncomfortably. “She didn’t listen to us before. What if she doesn’t now?”

“It can be hard pursuing goals, when you are seen as merely foals,” Zecora chimed in.

“I surprised her in the train,” Twilight agreed. “This time, we’ll talk like adults, Princes to Queen, and figure this out.”

Bloom took a slow, deep breath. “Fair ‘nuff. Here goes, I guess.” She turned to the tall doors and called out: “Majesty...?” When nopony answered, Bloom cleared her throat and tried again, louder. “Miss, uh, Queen Majesty? You in there?”

After a painfully long, silent delay, the doors opened and Majesty trotted out. “Yes, my little Ponies? How can I help you?”

“We’ve got some folks here who’d like to talk,” Bloom said carefully. “Just talk, that’s all.”

Majesty’s lavender eyes swept over the group, lingering on the baby Dragon, the animated portrait and the gold-bangled Zebra.

“Of course,” Majesty said airily. “I love a good talk! Why don’t you foals just run along, and leave us to our boring old grown-up conversation?”

Pinch narrowed her eyes. “We’re not bored, don’t worry.”

Sweetie’s jaw stiffened. She cleaved closer to Twilight’s portrait.

“Suit yourselves.” Majesty’s eyes tightened for a split second. “So! What ever do a Wyrm, an Ancient, and a minion of Parabola have to say to me, that calls for such a crowded entourage?” Her cheery tone was jagged and brittle, like a stained-glass mosaic.

Twilight stepped as close to the dimensional window as she could, totally filling the poster-paper affixed to the wood-braced canvas. “Queen Majesty, my name is Princess Twilight Sparkle. I am not Aglæca. I’m not an adversary. You’ve been away for a very, very long time, and a lot of things have changed. I’m sure you’ve noticed, judging from the translation spell you’re using.”

The Unicorn sniffed. “From where I stand, it seems things are more the same than ever.” A faint sheen glossed her horn.

“We do not wish to start a fight,” Zecora said. “Won’t you please hear out Twilight?”

Majesty flashed a wide-eyed glare at Zecora. “Speak your witching words when spoken to, wretch! Your horrid overlord is no more!” She stomped for emphasis. Sweetie, Pip, Sunny, Peachy and Spike cringed, but Bloom and Pinch held their ground. Majesty focused on them. Cracks were spreading through her stained-glass tone. “My little Ponies, I really think you should run along. I don’t want you to feel upset. These … creatures… and I are having a little disagreement, that’s all.”

Sweetie took a shaky breath and then stood up firmly, puffing out her chest and holding her head high. “I know what you want to do,” she said. “I won’t let you. Not again.”

“I’m sorry if I scared you earlier, my dear,” Majesty replied with smothering warmth. “Sometimes, keeping Ponies safe calls for decisive action. If you grow up, someday you’ll see the wisdom in that.”

Sweetie’s white face paled. “...IF I grow up…?”

“Queen Majesty!” Twilight cut in. “There’s been a misunderstanding! Maybe many of them! Please, try to understand … this isn’t Dream Valley. This isn’t the old world. Things are different, now. Ponies have made friends far and wide. We’re at peace with our neighbours. The wars are over!”

Majesty’s horn ignited. “You wear a crown of lies, Princess. I found myself brought here with all my possessions intact, including my scrying orb. I have seen your so-called peace. Dangers fit to fill a fresh volume of the Book of Horrors leaped into view at the merest beckoning!” She swung her head, and phantom images flickered into being all around them: The cackling madness of Nightmare Moon. A swarm of ravening parasprites. A horde of hideous Changelings. The mania of King Sombra. The ferocity of Tirek. The heavily-armoured shock troops of the Storm King.

Twilight drew back in her painted prison and winced at the painful memories. “Those are the absolute worst examples in between years of peace! Did you even TRY to ask your orb to show you anything GOOD?”

Majesty stomped a front hoof. “I don’t need a lecture on goodness from an Ancient! Your corrupt empire fell, and the world is safer for it!” The illusions vanished, but Majesty’s horn stayed lit. She strode toward the group with rock-solid steps. “My little Ponies, please step away. Right. Now.” Her benign tone picked up a steely edge the foals had never heard before.

Zecora moved to stand between Majesty and the others. She scuffed the dirt with a hoof. “Let me say, Queen Majesty -”

The advancing Unicorn interrupted with a sing-song retort: “You rhyme quite nicely, for a TREE.” Blinding magic flashed, and the group gasped and staggered, dazzled. Twilight’s painting dropped flat as her holders lost their grips. Spike curled up in a cringing, trembling ball of scales.

When the spots cleared from their eyes, the group saw Zecora had been reduced to a statue of living wood, complete with rooted hooves and a mane of leaves. Her knothole eyes perfectly captured her shock and alarm.

“Oh, Celestia…” Bloom whispered, wide-eyed.

“NO!” Tears welled up in Sweetie’s eyes. “You can’t do this! You have to stop!” She galloped at Majesty with an anguished cry.

Pinch reached out a hoof after her. “Sweetie! Don’t!”

Sweetie’s hooves left the ground as Majesty magicked her up to dangle helplessly in midair. Sweetie slapped at Majesty’s pale hide with feeble bursts of magic as she wriggled and kicked and thrashed. “Stop it! STOP IT! Just stop! I HATE YOU!” She sobbed in impotent fury. Hot tears streaked her crimson cheeks.

“Majesty, this is wrong!” Twilight shouted once Pinch and Bloom had hoisted the frame upright once more. “What you’re doing, it’s… it’s monstrous!”

Majesty scowled. The expression furrowed her face as her customary smile and laugh lines twisted and bent. “Don’t think I enjoy what you abominations make me do,” she said gravely. “I have no choice, if I’m to keep Ponykind safe.”

Twilight pressed up close to the surface of the painting once more. “Look at these foals! Look at how upset they are. How afraid. Do they LOOK like they feel safe?”

Majesty paused and took a half step back. A heartbeat passed. Two.

But then a wave of lilac magic gripped each foal individually, and dragged them all back and away firmly enough to dig furrows into the dirt.

“That’s nopony’s fault but your own, Ancient.”

A purple-white fireball smashed down from above onto the portrait. Twilight seemed unhurt as the the thin paper and paint were set ablaze. She urgently called out to the foals with a distant, crackling voice, speaking quicker and quicker as her time ran out:

“There’s no other way, now! Spike! All of you! Theresstillachanceitson-” The flames spread, and the link was severed. The rest of Twilight’s frantic plea was cut off. The portrait froze, lifeless, and curled into blackened ashes seconds later.

Once the fire was safely out, Majesty released her magical grip. She turned her focus to the little Dragon among the Ponies. “You. Spike, is it? Know your place and tend to these poor dears. It’s been a trying time, and I need to make sure there are no other invaders in the city.”

Spike wiped away his tears and offered a grieving, furious nod.

Majesty brightened immediately, like nothing had ever happened. “Splendid! Now, you little Ponies take a moment. Have some ice cream, run and play. I’ll return presently to check on you.” She turned and trotted out of the town square, sofly humming to herself.

“She’s a madpony,” Pip whimpered once Majesty was out of sight. “Absolutely mad.”

Sunny and Peachy were huddled together at Pip’s left, each with her head buried against the other’s shoulder, lost in terror.

Bloom sat close to the three of them, frowning in shaken worry.

Spike, Pinch and Sweetie stood in a semicircle around the nightmarish new tree in the square.

“There isn’t anypony else,” Sweetie said softly. “Nopony’s coming.”

Spike gritted his teeth and squeezed his claws into fists. “And even if they do, Majesty will just …”

Pinch sniffled hard and dried her eyes with a foreleg. “That’s it, then. Getting help didn’t work. Talking to her didn’t work.” Her dark expression darkened. “We’re gonna hafta kick her butt.”

“But HOW?” Bloom asked as she trotted up to the trio. “You know what she can do! We can’t just run up an’ … an’ TACKLE her, or somethin’!”

Spike heaved a sigh that made the hex on his throat glow as it blocked his fire. “There’s gotta be a way. Before the portrait burned up, Twilight was trying to tell us something. She had an idea. It’s on … something, she said. What’s on where? We just need to figure it out.”

“Figure what out?”

The Dink and Scootaloo trotted into the square and approached the group. Both wore bulging saddlebags that rattled and clacked as they moved.

“DINK!” Pinch cried out. She raced forward and skidded to a stop in front of the filly, catching herself before she did something as un-cool as offering a rib-straining hug. She settled for holding out a hoof to bump.

To one side, Scootaloo showed no such concerns, and leaped into a three-way embrace with her fellow Crusaders.

Dink bumped back, and solemnly looked the cursed tree up and down. “Things got worse while we were in lockup, huh?”

“Not gonna lie, it’s pretty bad.” Pinch took a shaky breath. “We’re out of options, here. Majesty’s out of her mind, Dink. I was just saying, it’s down to a head-on assault, more or less. Even trying Princess Twilight didn’t work.”

The Dink’s eyebrows raised. “Princess Twilight got out?”

Pinch shrugged. “Not exactly. It’s complicated.”

“Gotcha. Fill me in on the way.” The Dink turned to go. “C’mon, gang!”

Pinch spoke up, but she didn’t hesitate to follow. “Where’re we going?”

The Dink flashed her best mischievous grin. “Me and Scootaloo have got something cooking. I think it just might help.”

The group came upon a snaking lineup of foals before they reached the CMC clubhouse. More than a dozen little Ponies stood waiting, right up to the clubhouse door, which was slung with a hastily scrawled BACK IN 10 MINUTES sign.

“I’m sorry about Zecora,” The Dink said as the group bypassed the line and trotted inside. “Just a moment, everypony!” she called over her shoulder before close the door behind them.

“We all are,” Bloom said with a nod. “That’s why we need to do something, before anypony else gets hurt.” She took stock of the clubhouse interior, and then raised an eyebrow. “Dink … what IS all this?”

The room was scattered with heaps of stony puzzle-pieces, some interlocked and most loose, along with scraps of paper bearing names and numbers written in pencil.

“I’ll tell you what it is,” The Dink said as she posed atop one of the larger piles. “It’s our secret weapon.” She nodded at the rearmost heap. “Show ‘em, Scoots.”

Scootaloo trotted over to the pile, and picked up one of the largest connected chunks. The red-and-yellow eye in the middle of the stone widened in recognition and then blinked frantically.

“That eye …” Bloom said softly.

“Is that what I think it is?” Sweetie asked.

“You CAN’T be serious!” Pip lamented. He sat down and buried his face in his front hooves. “You’re as mad as she is!”

Sunny and Peachy, who’d brought up the rear, both stared in confusion. “I don’t get it,” said Sunny.

Bloom inhaled to explain, but The Dink cut her off.

“Hay! You two! You’re just the Ponies I need for this project!” She trotted over, all smiles and sunshine. “You like safe, clean, indoor fun, right? Like drawing, and picture books, and … puzzles?”

Both fillies brightened, but then drew back and hesitated. The day’s ordeals had taken their toll. “Puzzles...?” Peachy asked cautiously.

“Yup!” The Dink waved at the room-wide mess. “I just need you to stay in here, safe and sound, and put this greaaaaat biiiiiig puzzle back together. Ponies all over town are on a scavenger hunt for the pieces. We just got back from picking up what they found on the other side of town.”

“Yeah about that,” Pinch said as she nudged a pile of pieces with a hoof and sent them tumbling. “How did you get so many colts and fillies to get involved? Majesty’s already conjuring up anything they ask for.”

The Dink hung her head. “Sacrifices had to be made. Majesty can make toys and food, but she can’t just make up awesome stories off the top of her head. Whoever finds the most pieces ... gets my comic collection.”

Pinch put a hoof to her friend’s shoulder. “Oh, Dink … even Tales of Wonder #1?”

“Whatever it takes to get the mission done,” The Dink said gravely.

Pinch shared a solemn look with her comrade, and then firmly nodded. “Whatever it takes. If you need my collection-”

“No. You keep yours, Pinch. For my sake.” Shaking her head to clear away the sad moment, The Dink headed to a vacant corner to shake out her overflowing saddlebags. Still more puzzle pieces piled up on the floor. “Sheesh, Rumble’s good at this,” she muttered as she jotted down a name-and-number note for the pile.

Meanwhile, Sunny and Peachy had cautiously, hesitantly crept up to the puzzle heaps, as if half expecting them to explode.

“We … we just put this together?” Sunny asked.

“Nothing else?” Peachy added. “Nothing scary?”

Every other occupant of the room tossed sidelong glances back and forth several times. Finally, The Dink moved closer to the pair. “Definitely. Nothing scary will happen while you put the puzzle together.”

Sunny and Peachy trotted over to a pile and gave it a few uncertain hoof-nudges. They shrank back nervously when some pieces shifted and fell, but when no mayhem ensued, they drew in close once more. All at once, they both grabbed pieces.

“I think this one…” Peachy started.

“... Fits this one!” Sunny finished. They carefully stuck the pieces together, and then shared a delighted cheer.

“Omigosh!” Peachy said with a giggle. “This is so exciting!” She clapped her front hooves.

“Hay, great!” The Dink said with a wide, forced smile. “Do your best to put the whole thing together as soon as you can, okay? Oh, and whenever somepony brings you pieces, write down who and how many, okay?” She immediately turned away and nodded for the others to follow her out the clubhouse door. Once they’d gathered outside, she moved to address the lineup. “Okay, folks, we’re back in business! Proceed one at a time and deliver your pieces to the secretaries inside!” With that done, she trotted back toward town, followed by her friends.

“Sunny and Peachy really get into things, but it’s still gonna take them a while,” Bloom mused. “And even if they DO manage to put him together …”

The Dink nodded. “I know. Majesty must have beaten him once, already. She might be able to do it again. That’s why we still need something else. An edge, to throw her off until the big guy’s ready. Something to make it a one-two kick.”

“Twilight’s warning,” Pinch replied. “Whatever it’s on, we need to find it.”

The group murmured in general agreement, but then Pip frowned and sighed. “We’ll NEVER figure it out with just that, though!” he lamented. “It could mean nearly anything!”

“Look…!” Sweetie pointed ahead and upward.

In the open sky above the town square, Majesty’s flickering, translucent visage was ten stories tall. When she spoke, her booming voice echoed off every building.

“My little Ponies, won’t you please come to the square? I’ve been thinking things over, and we need to have a VERY important talk about what’s been going on, lately ...”

With the message delivered, the apparition soon faded and vanished.

“Whoa,” said Bloom. “She was so different. She almost sounded …”

“Guilty,” Sweetie piped up. “She sounded guilty.”

Scootaloo glanced at Sweetie. “Maybe you actually got through to her?”

Sweetie’s eyes were downcast as they all got moving again. “Maybe.”

The foals joined their comrades in the teeming crowd. Hundreds of Ponies, and not a grown-up among them. Mere moments after the last foal arrived, Majesty stepped out of the town hall with a weathered, yellowed book magicked up to float by her side.

“Everypony,” Majesty addressed the throng, “after what’s happened the past few days, I’ve realized that things can’t continue as they’ve been. I’ve been unfair to you all.”

The air filled with whispers and muttering. Foals shifted anxiously, afraid of the end of perpetual ice-cream and no bedtime.

Majesty held up a hoof for silence, and then continued. “I now see that I can’t keep you safe with everypony running all over this massive city. It’s just too hard to keep an eye on all of you.”

“Massive?” Pinch tilted her head.

“You see,” Majesty spoke on, “the world isn’t as sweet and safe as you’ve been led to believe. I’ve filled whole tomes with nothing but records of the menaces threatening our kind.”

The air filled with a bone-deep hum. Colours began to brighten.

“Oh, no,” Spike whimpered. “Not again…!”

Majesty lit up her horn and heaved a regretful sigh. “I must do more to ensure that Ponies survive. The world is a frightening place. It’s … it’s a danger to you all.”

As before, the group found themselves swept up in the music. Captives of unity, like circling ants.

As soon as she finished the chorus, Sweetie covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut against the catchy ear-worm melody and the ghastly light-show. “Nnngh! No! I don’t wanna sing with you! You’re evil! Stop making us sing!” Her squeaky voice was barely even audible over the raucous din. Nopony noticed her protests.

“Stop it!” Sweetie shouted louder as she found herself following the singing crowd. “This isn’t right! This isn’t how songs are supposed to work!” She lit up her stubby horn. Its green glow was fainter than even the smallest of Majesty’s projections. Sweetie reached out with her magic, grasping at nothing. “Leave us alone!” Her neck and shoulders tensed. Sweat beaded on her brow. “Just… go… awa-”

Sweetie’s eyes blazed brilliant white for a split second, and a silent shockwave threw her off her hooves and onto an abandoned candy-stained mattress near Sugarcube Corner. She lay on her back, knocked senseless, with wisps of grey-white smoke rising off her scorched horn.

Her friends managed to struggle their way over to her with rhythmic strides, swimming upstream through the trotting crowd. The song continued, heedless of their worry, but at least they had no more lyrics left.

As the song peaked, Majesty thrust her head skyward. Her horn flared brighter than the sun above, and the lake-topped hillside behind the castle burst apart into a cratered mass of jagged peaks and thready waterfalls. In the middle of the ripped earth, the ground was perfectly firm and flat. A foundation.

“Everypony,” Majesty said with a proud, beaming smile, “This is the answer. This is where I’ll be building your new home. A safe, happy home, with everything you could ever want close at hoof. This … is the site of Paradise Estate.”

Back outside the bakery, the group gathered around Sweetie. Spike carefully touched two claws to her neck, and leaned in to listen near her nose. After a moment that lasted for eternity, he said: “...I think she’s okay?”

The group shared a sigh of relief.

Sweetie’s eyes tightened. She squirmed on the sticky mattress and let out a pained groan. “M-My horn hurts …”

“SWEETIE!” Bloom and Scootaloo hugged their friend from either side.

“Sweetie, what WAS that?” The Dink asked in fascination, the moment it was clear Sweetie was in no further danger. “I’ve never seen anything like that!”

“Yeah,” Pinch agreed. “What spell was that?”

“I … I dunno,” Sweetie said sheepishly. “She just made me so mad, I wasn’t really thinking about it. I just reached out with magic, like I wanted to pick her up and throw her away. But it felt like I touched something else instead … something as big as the whole world.”

“Oh road-apples,” The Dink swore. “I get it.”

“Language…!” Bloom chided.

“What is it, Dink?” Pinch asked.

“It’s what Twilight was trying to tell us. We heard her wrong. Not it’s on…”

Sweetie’s eyes widened. “ … It’s SONGS.”

“Yeah. Like, song-magic,” The Dink said. “Majesty isn’t singing while doing magic. She’s doing magic BY singing! She’s tapping into the … the …”

“Whatever it is?” Pip offered.

“ … That songs come from!” Dink finished.

Scootaloo’s face scrunched up. “What.”

“Songs don’t come from anywhere,” Bloom retorted. “They’re just … songs!”

“No, she’s right!” Spike said. “I know it must seem totally normal to you Ponies, but even though I’ve grown up with them my whole life, songs are REALLY weird. Like, where does the music come from? How do we all just know the words?”

Bloom frowned. “Well, now that’s just silly talk! Why wouldn’t we know the words? That’s how songs work! They ain’t stories or plays or somethin’ else you have to memorize ahead o’time! They just happen!”

“Like Cutie Marks?” Pinch piped up.

Bloom inhaled to reply, but found herself with nothing to say.

“Songs are special,” The Dink continued. “They’re a big deal. Deep magic, like friendship and holidays and … kissy-stuff.” Pip, Scootaloo, Bloom, Pinch and The Dink grimaced in distaste. “Majesty must be so strong because she’s tapping into that stuff. Powering up with the deep magic. Like when Princess Twilight and her friends used friendship to beat Nightmare Moon.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah, before Twilight got her wings.”

“This really is a terribly bizarre town,” Pip said. “I feel like you all should know that.”

Spike pulled an unwrapped humbug off the mattress and crunched it up. “So, Twilight wanted to tell us about the song-magic,” he said. “Why?”

“Seems clear to me,” The Dink replied. “Fight fire with fire. If we wanna kick Majesty’s butt, or even just hold her off until the puzzle’s done …” She strode forward, sat, and held up a resolute hoof. “... we’ve gotta get musical on her.”