“No matter how long you train someone to be brave, you never know if they are or not until something real happens.”
– Veronica Rothard

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
-Oscar Wilde

Canterlot

‘There is an answer for every problem. Even for situations as bad as our counterparts,’ Twilight mused as she looked over the Elements of Harmony. The crown sat on a cushion, several dozen sensors supplied by the PHL’s scientists connecting them to a sprawling mainframe, assisting her in trying to tap into the power held within.

‘Infrared and UV cameras, electromagnetic meters, radiological counters, gravitational meters, thaumic detectors...’ she thought to herself in amazement. ‘The wonders of Earth’s science seem to be boundless… but then, I guess they see our magic with the same sense of wonder.’

Where humanity was a boon in unlocking the potential of the Elements, Luna had been a great help in educating her as to the background of the mystical artefacts. It was, frankly, humbling to hear they were simply gems taken from the Tree of Harmony when the… ‘misunderstanding’ between the Princesses and Discord had taken place.

Although a few scientific members of the PHL had gone to study the Tree with Luna, they had only performed a cursory examination, due both to the nature of the Everfree and the time and energy the expedition drew away from weapons development and further research into anti-magic defenses.

Most of those ponies and humans had been distant with Twilight. Though it hurt, she understood their reservation, and did not hold it against them. After all, she wouldn’t have wanted to be near herself either, if she had done all the things her other self had.

“I just… we need to save them, somehow,” Twilight said aloud, and for a moment wondered if her malformed counterpart had ever vocalised words to the same effect...

Before she could ponder that further though, she was interrupted.

“Sometimes, death is the only option,”

Twilight yelped, startled by the unexpected male voice. She spun around to see who had spoken behind her.

“It is only through eternal sleep that tortured souls may finally find some peace apart from the living.”

He was a stocky man, built almost like how she could visualize a human version of Donut Joe looking like, except for his wrinkled tan skin, steadily graying, thick – yet receding – dark hair, and a short beard that appeared to go out in every direction. His facial features, sporting a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, didn’t seem to fit any one human ethnicity Twilight knew of. The man was clad in a simple green polo shirt and grey slacks, along with a white lab coat covered in coffee stains. A pair of cherry-red headphones were slung around his neck.

Despite his odd bearing, something about him gave off a comforting vibe to Twilight. This, she suspected, was a man who valued learning and discovery like her.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Ah, sorry, Miss Twilight, let me introduce myself. My name is Doctor Isaac van der Grimnebulin,” the man explained cordially. “I’m from one of the PHL’s R&D teams, and having just finished a rather important project, I have some time off. I figured I’d spend it by making your acquaintance.”

“R&D? A human research team?!” Twilight asked with a ridiculously happy smile blooming upon her face. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes! I’ve been looking forward to meeting one of you! Oh, could I please join up with you!? I could learn so much, there’s so much work to be done!”

“You, uh, miiiiiight... not... want to do that,” Doctor Grimnebulin cautioned the excited unicorn. “Your little dragon bro and secretary is there. Well, I mean the, ah–” he spread his arms up and down, creating an impression of size. By human standards, it wasn’t very impressive, since Doctor Grimnebulin was rather short. He was, however, about half as wide as he was tall. “The giant one. We’re, we are still researching draconic biology, trying to get him back to full health and repair his wings. Apparently, I’m an expert on wing repair, so I’m vital to the project.”

“What happened to Spike?” Twilight asked, her ears drooping, remembering the broken titan she, Rarity and Lyra had encountered in Canterlot. “Has his condition deteriorate-”

“Oh, no! No, don’t worry, rest assured, he is fine,” Doctor Grimnebulin said, a bit too frantic in his attempts to stem a budding panic attack. “Well, as fine as he could be under the circumstances, relaxing in a massive hospital bed. It’s not his fault he can’t see you, really–”

“I saw him before,” Twilight said, more insistently this time.

“Yes, I was wondering how you got in that room...”

“I just… my little Spike, I’d trust him with everything. But they betrayed him, and… and he looked like someone had tortured him for weeks! What did that poor dragon go through?! He’s not even a teenager in dragon years, and… what could they have possibly done?!”

“It’s something that our medics would really rather not discuss in front of ponies from…. well, here,” Doctor Grimnebulin said.

“I have a right to know why!” Twilight protested vehemently. “Spike is my oldest friend! He's been with me through thick and thin, no matter what–”

“I understand," Doctor Grimnebulin said gently. "But I'd really rather not go into it,” he added, looking visibly sickened. “One of my great shames in putting that exhibition together from my boss’ personal collection, along with everyone’s personal computer files, various galleries that my boss requisitioned artworks from, and other sources... “

“Is there a point to this?” Twilight asked.

“Sorry - Acevedo and Viktor always told me that rambling was a problem of mine, which is kinda hypocritical on Acevedo’s part. That man talks too damn much. What I’m getting at is that I could barely find anything from the Empire to show how far Equestria fell,” Doctor Grimnebulin said. “Nothing compared to what was done to Spike…”

“But there were pictures of Newfoals menacing earth, and... And...” Twilight said.

“That’s not even scratching the surface,” Doctor Grimnebulin said, almost melancholic. “Destruction of a city is vast, impressional, a sad desolation. The number of people killed is up in the thousands, but that is just a statistic, cold and distant. But to see one brutalised life, tortured and mutilated… well that drives the real horror home. I’d rather for now you cherish what innocent you have left: this war is horrifying enough already without exposure to the kind of evil inflicted on Spike.”

“I. Am. Putting. My life on the line for humanity’s survival. So tell me what they. Did. To. Him!” she growled. “It can’t be the most horrifying thing Equestria did there!”

‘Well, it’s a close second, third, or fourth,’ Doctor Grimnebulin mused privately to himself, but he decided to withhold that information, for now. She'd figure out about the potion trials in time...

“Spike almost killed me and Rarity, just over the memory of what the others did!” Twilight continued. “I need to know, and I don't want to learn it from him if it means I have to hear him say how much he hates me!”

“Fine. If this is the best way to tell you, then…. he was tortured,” Grimnebulin said. “They drove nails through his hands and feet and secured him in place with chains screwed into his very flesh and bone!”

Twilight gasped, hoof meeting her mouth in quick succession.

“... and yeah, you and your friends’ counterparts did all that. He spent nearly five years stuck through with more metal than a kebab, nailed to a wall in the Castle of the Two Sisters, goddamn railroad spikes driven through his hands, his legs, his wings, covered in his own blood and filth! The only parts of him that were clean, were where his tears had streamed down.”

Twilight backed away, feeling her own tears begin to fall freely. “No…”

“He actually did try to escape with Rarity, around the time the Great Equestrian was launched," Grimnebulin continued. "Oh, I can't imagine how bad that must have been for them and Sweetie Belle, especially after the statue exploded in front of her... Just gasping, teary-eyed, exhausted from the ordeal, being ferried down from the wreck, opening up the boutique, only to find Spike and her sister, packing what they could. Rarity wiped Sweetie’s memory so she couldn't give them away, and sent her to the Everfree to stay with Zecora. All Sweetie remembers, judging from what Button told me- the colt fancies her, you know- was that her sister placed a suggestion in her mind, whispering that if they spoke again, Rarity would no longer be Rarity. And then… well they nearly got to a portal, but an entire battalion of Royal Guards was sent out to get them.”

Twilight’s whole body trembled as she looked down at the floor, tears spilling from her face. "They didn’t make it,” she uttered in a hollow, broken voice. It wasn’t a question.

He grimly nodded. “Indeed. Rarity was dragged back to Equestria and overtaken by the homunculus that now trots in her place. And for his interference, not to mention clawing out one of the Tyrant’s eyes, Spike was, well, you get the picture.”

“Why, though? she asked in a quiet voice as she looked up at him with her heavily bloodshot eyes from tears. “Why not make him her slave as well? It’s… there’s no reason for this, it’s just evil!”

For that, there was no answer. In her heart, Twilight already knew the purpose of all this suffering; to slate Tirek’s lust for pain and blood.

Several minutes passed by, which simply consisted of the young unicorn’s body shaking as tears continued to stream down her face. Grimnebulin felt his heart screaming out at him to hug her, but he was worried at how she would react to such a move from a virtual stranger. So he just stood there, and let her cry it out, until she could speak again.

Twilight sniffed as she wiped her snout, scrunching her tearful features into as determined a look as she began to properly process this revelation.

“Th-thank you f-for telling me,” she stammered, her voice just barely above a whisper.

“My apologies,” he said. “I– okay, yeah, I suppose scaring you was inevitable. And I’m sorry for that, for what it’s worth, I really wanted to meet you.”

“Even after what I did to poor Spike?” Twilight asked, as she wiped fresh tears away with her hoof. Her eyes were still badly bloodshot.

“Well, not what you did, but especially after that. I know a lot of ponies from Ponyville. They say so many wonderful things about how your counterparts used to be, before Equestria took a hard right into imperialism. How what you treasured most were good books and good friends. Of course, well, it gets harder and harder for them to remember the good about you. Which is understandable, but rather sad too. Within a few months, if we have that long, I doubt there’ll be good memories left.”

“So, why did you come here? To meet ‘her’?”

“In so many words…”

He pulled up a chair beside her, keeping several feet of personal space between the two of them. “I wished I could have met the real Twilight, the friendly, rather neurotic mare whose worst transgression involved a ragdoll and a ‘possession’ spell. Which ended badly, yes, but it wasn't malicious."

“Well,” she laughed weakly, making a bubbling hiccupping sound. “Here I am, snot and all…how can I help you?”

“Well, I’d very much like to study under you.”

“...I, I beg your pardon, what?”

“I’m interested in magic,” he explained. “And apparently these Elements are some of the most powerful magic around – it’s what I’ve decided to focus my efforts upon now that I’m free to pick my next project – and I figure we could learn a lot from one another.”

“Sounds wonderful,” said Twilight, though her characteristic enthusiasm was dampened. “I’d still love to see advances made without this war driving them forward. Everything we achieve now is going to be tainted by that...”

“Hey now,” the Doctor said, “What’s wrong?”

“I just wish I could learn this at a better time,” Twilight sighed, and flung herself back across the grass. “It’s a whole new world of new discoveries, new people to meet, new cultures to immerse in... it should be a dream come true. But now, apparently the fate of the multiverse hangs in the balance, those same cultures don’t have too long left, and now I’ve got to try and outwit and surpass the accomplishments of my own, possessed counterpart… kinda makes me afraid of how far I might fall in trying to beat her...”

“I can sympathize,” Doctor Grimnebulin said. “I must admit, I did disreputable things during the war before I even came to Brazil, but I love the work I do at Crowe. I love working with Ernst Kasparek to save lives. I love making efficient solar panels, I love the potion sensors and decontamination procedures I helped make, love helping those in need, love applying my talents to things that can save lives. And yet… I can only do that sorta thing because the world’s ending. People need to actually persuade me to go on a break, ‘cos every second I’m not working is one that someone’s been shot... or worse, ponified or disintegrated by the Barrier.”

Twilight reached over and rubbed at his leg gently with a hoof. “We can beat it if we all pull through and work together. I promise.”

“Ha! How’d you end up talking me up…” he laughed briefly, before settling back into grim contemplation.

“Doctor Grimnebulin…”

“I don’t doubt that we’ll win, eventually, Miss Twilight.” he said at last. “But we’ve lost so much in these past three years… homes, businesses, families... nearly lost my niece. Our infrastructure is shredded and our society is held together by spit, duct tape, prayers, a few good luck charms, baling-wire and Blitz spirit. We might’ve even lost our souls. Winning the war will be the easiest part, because once the guns stop firing, these plastered-over wounds will need to heal and that is never easy, for the patient, or the caregiver.”

“I’ve read about that, I think,” said Twilight. “It always takes a long time to rebuild after a war, but…” Her face fell as soon as she realized what she was saying.

“Yeah, those are probably small states you’re thinking of,” said Doctor Grimnebulin. “We’ve lost half our world, and what we have left is incredibly overpopulated. Anyone that lives in more than a craphole apartment probably hasn’t yet been displaced, our remaining infrastructure is crumbling under its own weight, and half of it runs on things that should’ve been scrapped decades ago. Did you know we’ve gone back to using actual steam engines now in some places, nearly three-quarters of a century after we flew to the moon? Those junkyard wrecks and the hulks dredged up by people like Acevedo’s cousin are keeping us pointing into the current, but the sheer flow of history still seems to be pushing us back in time…”

He sighed, a light despondent.

“...sure, with time we’ll come back from this brink, but… how long will it take? Decades? Centuries? No matter what, it’ll never be the same again. I actually remember Acevedo saying something about gearing down, simplifying everything to make it work, so we probably won’t make meaningful technological process that can be shared with the world for a long time.”

“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted, crestfallen. “I just… I have no idea about any of this.”

Both fell quiet for a moment.

“I promise you though,” said Twilight. “No matter what, Equestria will do it’s best to support you.”

“Thanks...” said Doctor Grimnebulin. “Pride be damned, we’d welcome any charity.”

“It’s not charity, it’s Harmony!” Twilight said, stomping a hoof. “Nopony – nobody on Equus can hope to stand by idle while this happens. That exhibition you helped organize proved that...our worlds are friends now, and I promise you Doctor, your friends have got your back.”

“If that promise holds, then the expo will be my proudest bits of work,” Doctor Grimnebulin smiled.

“So, what did you need to know about the Elements of Harmony?” Twilight asked, rising to her hooves.

“Anything that might be useful," Grimnebulin asked. "I've witnessed them being used all at once before, via a satellite over Boston that captured their deployment against Commander Renee, but geostationary orbit isn’t exactly the best vantage point for this kind of study. It was impressive though; heck, what looked like a pretty light-show on the feed had the power to throw Marcy-Marc right across dimensional boundaries...”

“You know, it is strange, what happened there…” Twilight tapped her hoof, a worried look developing on her face as he explained his interest in the Elements. “Why did all of that happen?”

Seeing his confused look on his face with her words, she began to clarify. “What I mean is, the Elements shouldn’t react at all due to what happened to the bearers. They should have been inert. And yet, they not only activated, but the outcome was a situation beneficial to humanity...”

“I don’t understand.” Grimnebulin started, “Are not the Elements linked to the users? Doesn’t the will of the bearers direct the power of the gems?”

“Well, yes. But you can’t just force the Elements to work for you.” Twilight sighed as she looked at the crown. “Even then its not as if I had fine control over their power…”

From second-hand accounts, it did seem as if the Elements had all the power of a magical bomb, and just as much discretion… come to think about it, everything he knew to date suggested that the bearers were simply a means to activate the magic, an ignition-key to start a self-driving car...

“Does that mean… that the Elements are sentient?”

Twilight was frowning as she looked closer to her crown, again tapping her hoof to her chin.

“That’s the ‘something really weird is going on’ look, isn’t it? I know that look better than I should,” Grimnebulin asked.

“Well, for the first time I’m beginning to wonder how these things actually work… erm, is ‘critical mass’ a term you’re at all familiar with?”

The doctor blinked, and repressed a snigger. “I am aware of the concept, yes.”

“Okay, well at least that’s a common touchstone…” Twilight mimicked wiping sweat from her brow and smiled. “The Elements require each other to work, and for six ponies that ‘resonate’ in a certain way to be wielding them - the gems provide the ‘critical mass’, the sheer magical power, but only with those sympathetic resonances can their power be… erm, energized, or is it stimulated?”

“Assumption!” he interjected, throwing up an objecting finger. “You specifically described ponies being the ‘wielders’. Is that a fact, or a wild guess on your part?”

“I… um… actually…” Twilight stammered, before trailing off. “You know, I never considered that. zebra physiology might work, and potentially the other sentient races of Equus… the idea of Sint Erklass or his granddaughter bearing one of the Elements is certainly not too far out of the realm of possibility.”

She seemed transfixed at the formidable notion, her mind drifting off. Grimnebulin had to snap his fingers in front of her face several times to bring her back to the basic four dimensions.

“These requirements, what are they?” he asked. “If the races of Equus can synch with the Elements, why not humans? I don’t know what aspect of Harmony I’d represent, but if I could hijack one element, I’d jump at the chance!”

“It wouldn’t work. Your anatomy is incompatible–”

“Seriously?” he retorted. “Aren’t the most important parts of the Elements the magic encapsulated in the actual gems? The core of any piece of jewelry is the stone, not the setting. Rings are expensive because they have gems, not for the gold. So why couldn’t I rig one up as a brooch or what have you?”

“Doctor Grimnebulin, I meant your physical anatomy, not your bodily dimensions. You know, biology, physiology, metabolism…” Twilight said bluntly. “The magical resonance that ‘activates’ the elements actually comes from the soul, and humans don’t have what it takes…”

“Are you saying humans don’t have souls? A touch lèse-majesté, Miss Twilight. On behalf of Earth, I’m rather insulted. I rather hate when PER bring that up. I am a pessimist, Miss Twilight, and yet-”

“Again, that’s not what I meant!” Twilight exclaimed, shaking her head as she rubbed at her forehead. “But… No, by Celestia, no! Soul, anima, spirit, whatever you wish to call it, they’re common to all sentient life. Humans are far from lacking, but it takes biomagical tissues to amplify the light of the soul to a point where the Elements can be initiated, as with any magic. And I’ve yet to see any proof of human wizardry or magecraft...”

“So Marcus doesn’t count as proof?” Doctor Grimnebulin asked.

“No, his was… an accident. Still, even before his, ah, ‘accident’ it was amazing to hear that he was able to even direct…” Twilight trailed off as a frown as she thought about Marcus’ situation. “Actually...his runes may actually serve just that role, almost like a prosthetic, a synthetical replacement for the alicornal tissues that nature and evolution denied your species…”

All in all, Marcus could theoretically wield an Element, and Twilight was sure that the one that would resonate with him best would be Loyalty. Her eyes widened before she hoofed her face, shaking her head at forgetting the basic knowledge of the Elements.

“But it’s not just the magic that is important… that’s just an amplifier. You could stick an Element around the neck of the greatest mage of all time and it would just be a dead rock if that soul is not in resonance with some aspect of Harmony… ultimately it’s the wielder that is important. What they stand for. What they believe. So they can’t go to just anyone, the bearer has to be exemplary in what the Element stands for.”

“Which are what?”

“Magic, Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, and Kindness.” Twilight explained, only to get another shake of the head from him. “These are the cornerstones of the Elements’ functions. It’s what was taught to me by Celestia herself.”

“Assumption again!” Grimnebulin said again. “Is it just those aspects - or are those simply the only ones so far discovered, or convenient labels that match up with qualities observed in previous bearers of the elements? What of other virtues? Say... honor? Forgiveness?”

“Well forgiveness might get covered by another element like kindness…”

“Well what of sacrifice? Hope, faith, or charity? Determination, the strength of will, or bravery? Trust, or even love, the power supreme in so many philosophies?”

“By all accounts, those are just the same as…”

“Whose accounts, Miss Sparkle? Were they reliable, or free of bias? Was the author of whatever reference text you’re citing making up ‘truths’ from whole cloth, or drunk to the gills and left in dangerous command of a quill and inkwell? You cannot know. So go back to square one. What have you yourself witnessed, and experienced, when it comes to the power of ‘Harmony’?”

“I… but… um… oh wow…” Twilight trailed off, suddenly remembering the very flashy climax of a certain wedding in Canterlot…

‘Shiny and Cadance did that on their own… were they temporarily channeling the same power as the Elements? Pulling power straight from the Tree, through the ley lines, through Equestria itself? Could anypony do that, or was Cadance’s alicorn physiology acting as a force multiplier, and why didn’t I ASK MYSELF THESE QUESTIONS SOONER?!’

She now felt very, very stupid. She’d trusted in what ‘A Guide to the Elements of Harmony’ had told her, and never questioned it… never applied the scientific method to find the truth inside the mythology. Some student of magic she was...

“Besides, if what you say is true, where does Magic fall into this framework? It doesn’t sit well with the other Elements. Because that gives us five emotional virtues, and then reigning over them all a symbol of force, of applied energy. Anyone could hypothetically embody the other ‘elements’, but Magic stands apart. Magic is power, a skill, an energy source that is all around and within… to list a thermodynamic force as a component of Harmony, and to no less than CROWN it, seems very selective… and exclusive to those born with a natural affinity to magic, rather than some embodiment of friendship.”

“Friendship IS magic…” she said blithely, mind a million miles away and her mouth running on autopilot. “I could have had my horn ripped off and still made that thing work, if I trusted in myself and my friends… the spark between us was the true magic, not me.”

“Then it is not Magic that it entails, or do you want to put that conviction to the test?”

She wordlessly shook her head.

“I think… somewhere, the meaning of this Element,” Grimnebulin walked up to the ‘Magic’ Element, giving it a calculating gaze. “Was lost. Even to Celestia.”

He tilted his head, studying the crown intently before suddenly clapping his hands together. “Eureka!”

He spun round, expression beaming. “Have a swap meet.”

“What?!”

“Have you and your friends ever tried swapping your Elements with each other and seeing if you got a response?”

“Well, Applejack and Rainbow Dash have a lot in common, so Loyalty and Honesty might–”

“No,” he shook his head. “Don’t go for the obvious route. Randomize it. You put on the Honesty necklace, then.”

He picked up the Crown and twirled it on one finger. Twilight would have screamed for him to stop defacing a priceless relic were she not captivated.

“What happens”, he queried aloud. “If we anointed Pinkie Pie with this thing, and stuck her necklace on you?”

“Well, I…” she stammered, before pausing and sighing. “I don’t know. I admit it, I don’t know what would happen.”

“Congratulations, you’re the new Element of Honesty.” he said sarcastically. “There’s no point to us debating how these things can be used against the enemy, if we don’t already know WHY they work at all, because it seems to me that either these pieces of bling will work with any pony, or there is some kind of intelligence at work here ensuring they only ‘click’ with individuals who meet the right parameters...”

And then, with all the dramatic timing of Doctor Frankenstein lunging for the Main Switch, he lifted the crown of Magic in both hands and jammed it onto his head…

… to the surprise of some, and the relief of all, nothing happened.

“Hello? Anypony there?” he said, tapping the gold helm as if trying to wiggle an antennae. “Or am I addressing some Lovecraftian horror from the depths of R’leth? Cthulhu fatargen?”

That was enough to break the somber mood, and Twilight felt a weight lift off of her shoulders and a chuckle swell inside of her.

“Try Laughter,” she said. “You’d probably have better results.”

Suddenly, she felt calm. She knew what to do.

“Gimme.”

“What?”

“Gimme my crown.” Twilight deadpanned, beckoning that he should hand the diadem over. “I’m gonna try and dial up the telephone exchange and ask to speak to the operator.”

Grimnebulin only chuckled as he gently placed the said Element in her hooves, neither of them paying attention to the gem, which glowed softly before darkening back to its normal hue.

“Well, why not give it a try?” Grimnebulin prodded. “Can’t hurt can it? Oh, and ask about the mass transfer ratio! I’ve heard that might be a problem...”

Twilight placed the crown on her head, closing her eyes and began to focus her magic on the crown, thoughts on her friends and all they been through crossing her mind.

‘Hello, Wielder.’

Twilight gasped as her eyes snapped open. “Did someone say anything?”

“Uhh, no…” Doctor Grimnebulin said. “Was it in your head?”

Twilight didn’t seem to hear him. Trembling, she lifted a shaking hoof and pointed at something only she could see.

“But you’re… me!”

Nowhere, Neverwhen

Twilight drifted, floating. All she could perceive was the gentle embrace of her Element around her forehead, and a soft, unseen wind, warm and comforting.

But her eyes were focused on the mare drifting opposite her.

“Yes, I am you…” said the mare, a familiar unicorn Twilight knew only too well from the bottom of puddles and the depths of mirrors. “And I am also…”

There was a… blurring, and for a second Twilight saw before her the likeness of Princess Celestia, then a familiar grey-bearded stallion, an aquamarine pegasus mare, and countless others, not all of them ponies. Quite a few appeared to be human...

“...everypony else who will ever carry myself. Past, present, future, sideways and diagonally...”

Again, a soft shimmering, and Twilight once again faced herself.

“Okay…” she nodded. “I think I understand. You’re the Element of Magic?”

“Call me Em,” her doppelganger smiled. “It’s much less formal. And somewhat less of a mouthful.”

Nebulae and stars swam around them. ‘Em’ laughed a little as Twilight struggled for words.

“I’m quite impressed you know, Twilight. You’re the first of my wearers in this plane to try contacting me like this.”

“I’ll thank Doctor Grimnebulin later, it was his idea.” she answered, before waving a hoof. “Wait, a second, you said everypo--everybody who will ever wear you, and who ever has. And that it works sideways as well. Does that include... them, as well?”

‘Em’ nodded once.

“Your counterpart, and Celestia’s. I should have known they’d be your first concern. You’re such a compassionate mare, Twi.”

“Please…” Twilight said, drawing a shuddering breath. “Don’t try and stall me or distract me with compliments. Just tell me… is there any hope for them?”

Glaciers formed and melted in the time it took for an answer to come, and yet the interval seemed as short as a single stroke of a hummingbird’s wing.

“There’s always hope, Twilight,” Em said at last. “But don’t look for it to come anywhere but from within yourself.”

“So, then it has to be us who does it? Do me and my friends have to fight them, to save them?”

Could she do that? Go hoof to hoof with herself, with Celestia, even a twisted facsimile of the same? She wasn’t sure…

Torn up within, Twilight tucked her hooves in against her chest, squeezed her eyes tight, and wept.

“There there Twi, it’s okay…”

She felt a warm, strong pair of hooves embrace her gently, and a breeze on her face, and opened her eyes. Em was hugging her from behind, and carrying her through this field of stars on a pair of lavender wings.

“Do you like them?” her alicornal duplicate smiled. “Took a while getting used to.”

“They’re beautiful,” Twilight murmured, captivated in wonder. “Where are we going?”

“Not far; just changing lanes a touch…”

Softly, they landed in a field of drifting lights, and Em held up a wing, indicating for Twilight to go no further. “Look over there.”

Twilight did, and saw through the haze an apparition of herself in conversation with… “Celestia…”

“Another you,” Em said by way of explanation. “Another Twilight Sparkle, facing immense odds.”

A flash of light heralded the other Twilight’s sudden encapsulation in a ball of purple energy, and when it burst… an alicorn was revealed.

“Yeah,” admitted Em, in answer to Twilight’s gaping shock, fluttering her own wings softly. “She’s the one who I got these from. And look there...”

More Twilights appeared, ghostly figures going through the motions of their individual lives. Some rose to supremacy, others fell from grace and abused their powers on those weaker than them. In what seemed like a flashing instant, Twilight saw everything she could be, for good or ill, and understood…

“My counterpart, from the Solar Empire,” she said softly, ears drooping. “She’s not the worst version of me, not by far…”

“Indeed not,” admitted Em, laying a soft wing across Twilight’s shoulders. “But she has hope in you, Twilight. Your fates have come close enough together that you have a chance, one no other Twilight Sparkle has ever had, to reach out across worlds, and show ‘yourself’ the same qualities you have always embodied. That maybe, just maybe, she can live again. Can you do that, Twilight?”

Sighing, Twilight looked away, and slowly turned, as all around her the infinite sky filled with windows, gazing out upon what she knew could only be Earth, and the war with a fallen, Imperial Equestria.

Marcus in battle, screaming orders. His arms were bare, untouched by runic tattoos… as he reached for the neck of a smiling Newfoal stallion, and squeezed.

Trixie and Stephan, caught in the crossfire of an ambush, exchanging a fleeting kiss…

A vast mass of reddened steel, a train like no-other she had ever seen, charging across a frozen landscape, chased by another, on which a mob of armoured Newfoals clung, crying out for blood…

A burning platform, far out to sea, and the rattle and howl of gunfire… and escaping it on a boat, a trembling, muttering, most of all angry man with an odd accent and a huge machinegun. He was coaxing as many knots as possible out of it, heading for a smouldering shoreside city...

The biggest earth pony Twilight had ever seen, bigger even than Big Macintosh, stood outside a lavishly painted metal box and an odd house that she knew to be a shipping container and a prefab house from the descriptions of other humans. There was a motley assortment of flowers outside this pitiful house, and she heard foals inside…

A woman with dark hair unleashing a rallying cry to a group of human, pony, and griffon soldiers on a tropical island...

A rusty ship, far beyond the paddle steamers she recognized from various ports, sailing across a stormy sea. Its sole occupant, a lone gunman, watches in silence as hordes of Newfoal pegasi relentlessly assault the vessel…

A man - it looked like Acevedo - staggering through an overpopulated, decaying, tropical city, starving and clutching his stomach…

A woman with rich dark skin speaks into a microphone. Her voice is even and stoic, but her eyes speak of trauma and hardship. She is able to forget about it, for just a fleeting moment with her family, and savors it with all her heart...

A pegasus, coat stained with blood, stands his ground as more and more human soldiers pour in the war torn hill. Behind him stands a gigantic statue of a woman, sword drawn out in defiance of invaders long since gone...

A city under fire, an opulent building with green and blue onion domes burning, as two Asian men and an American man help evacuate the civilians there. Meanwhile two pegasi, a fire red stallion and an icy blue mare, hold off the pegasus Newfoals as a turquoise unicorn mare summons a massive shield...

A unicorn stallion is sitting in his cell, his cellmate, an older Earth Pony stallion, sits across from him in the other bed; the stallion giving a hard speech over something that made the unicorn pale. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, in other parts of the prison other things occurred such as scared pegasus mare in her cell humming an unfamiliar tune, looked on compassionately by a guard wearing a face she has not…

Sint Erklass, the reindeer king, duelling with an masked mare atop a towering mountain peak, bleeding, dying… and in his path trod two reindeer fawns, struggling to survive and render aid and alms in a world gone mad...

Ponies, humans, and so many others, all wrapped in death, dancing with each other in an constant ballet of bullets and blades, blood and toil and tears and sweat…

… and at the center of it all, like a black hole swirling everything into a malicious gravity sink, seven familiar mares. The light of an engorged sun blazed upon the horn of the largest, and six totems of gold rested upon the necks and foreheads of the others, shimmering with power.

“Do they work for our counterparts?” she asked woodenly. “The Elements?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Em admitted. “Corrupted and violated your counterparts may be, but within them still burns the true hearts that saved Nightmare Moon, and rescued Equestria from Discord’s clutches.”

A hack, Twilight realised. By keeping the original personalities of the Element Bearers alive, desperately reaching out to one another across the psychic plane for relief from their suffering, the cancerous intelligences implanted into their bodies were able to use that same oneness, that desperate harmony, to hack into the Elements themselves, and turn them against their true purpose.

“So, they do the very opposite of harmony. If they win, there won’t be any sapients left that aren’t ponies?“

“Yes. Though, I fear even natural born ponies shall become like the Newfoals eventually. And in the end, by the time they can realize what has been done, how wrong it all is… it shall be too late. Equestria will crumble under its own weight, plagued by pirates and overpopulation, unable to produce enough food. There shall be nothing but Tirek, and he will die alone in a lifeless multiverse of rusting automata, and rejoice in that death…” She paused. “Maybe some type of new, free life can develop from that mass. But it will take longer than any of our lifespans.”

This then, was what Equestria now faced. The end of everything, in the long run. With each world conquered, Tirek’s malignant power would only spread like cancerous cells, turning everything that was good to pitch, playing power and order and love into his schemes, until entire worlds tore each other apart in bloodthirsty avarice and hopeless defence, all of it paying worship unto a bloody throne.

“Buck this!” she swore, and stamped a hoof. “No! Just no!”

Em smiled, wide and proud, as Twilight let her righteous fury pour out. The very ether seemed to swirl around the little unicorn, anointing her in armour of starlight and cosmic dust.

“This won’t happen! I won’t let this monster destroy entire species with dreams and voices of their own!“

“But most of all, I am going to save them…”

And with that, she jabbed a hoof at the image of herself and her fallen friends. “I am not going to let them suffer any longer! I swear it! Do you hear me Magic, Tirek, I swear it!”

Then, spent, she staggered and fell to her knees.

“Alone… even if I have to do it alone, I’ll save them.”

“Oh Twilight,” Em smiled as she faded away. “You were never alone, we’ll always be at your side, and always have been…”

As the Element of Magic vanished, her last words hovered like echoes on the wind.

“That was why we sent Marcus to you…”

The sea of lights began to crackle and flash, and as each light burst, Twilight saw a figure leap forth, victorious grins upon their faces, their hands and hooves and claws and wings held high.

“Shucks Twi,” said Applejack, or was it the embodiment of Honesty? “We’ll do it sugarcube, just as you said!”

“Together…” proclaimed Kindness and Loyalty together, and that cry went up across the entire galactic sea… the shades of humans, ponies and countless others all roaring in unison.

“...gether...together...Together. Together! TOGETHER! TOGETHER!”

Something shimmered in the corner of Twilight’s vision, and as the roaring creed, her own voice joining in, climbed to a crescendo, she swore that in the distance she saw a smiling mint-green mare...a unicorn or pegasus, or was it both...standing on the fringe of consciousness...another mare at her side, tragedic and hopeful.

...and behind them, ascendant over all, the visage of a colossal white Alicorn mare, mane red as flowing wine streaming out across the sky, burning with the light of an imminent dawn...

And then she woke up.

“Hazzwypha?” she stammered as her eyes snapped open.

“Twilight! Are you alright? What happened?“

Twilight held a hoof to her head, trying to remember. She had felt...something, something awesome and wonderful, but it was already fading, rushing away from her the harder she tried to hold on, like a dream slipping through her hooves (or possibly telekinetic field) like sand.

“I’m… not sure.“ Her eyes widen as she jumped to her hooves and raced off. “But whatever it is, I need to get my friends here to try it out!”

Central Park, New New York, Equestria

Stephan’s right eyebrow twitched as he stared at the mare before him. Lyra swallowed nervously, caught in the headlights of Stephan’s oncoming anger.

“Where are they?” he growled out, and everyone present witnessed Lyra try even harder to bury herself into the ground.

“I-I don’t know,” she flinched. “I saw them in the chow hall this morning, before I came here. But then Twilight abducted them for some kinda experiment!”

“Explain…” Stephan purred, as Lyra retraced her steps out loud before him.

“Okay, I woke up, went to breakfast, talked to five of the six, asked about Twilight’s absence, finished my meal, left for my room, ran into Twilight dashing back the way I’d just come. She blathered something about getting her friends and getting back to her Tower...that it was more important than training.”

“...” Stephan said nothing as he kept staring at Lyra, until finally, the words tumbled out. “She… did... WHAT!?”

“Eep! I don’t know!? Please don’t make me run all day! I’m a good girl! I’m a good pony!” Lyra cried out loud as she curled up into a shivering minty green ball of terrified pony.

‘Worked over a month already with them, but still acting like little girls...’

“Stand at attention!” Stephan barked out, causing Lyra to jump up and stand stiff as a board. “Good. What did you do when you witnessed this mass desertion, Recruit Heartstrings?”

“I tried to stop her, Major sir!” Lyra barked out, staring straight in front of her. “I said that we had training with you this morning, Major sir! She just replied that a good soldier knows when to prioritise, and teleported herself and the others away, despite their own objections.”

“So Applejack and the others are innocent of any wrongdoing, Recruit?”

“Sir, yes, Major sir!” Lyra swallowed as she looked at him in the eyes. “They had no idea what was going on. Only that Twilight was frantic about something and muttering that it was important to the fight. I came straight here to report.”

Stephan paused at his next question at that response. “Important?. She didn’t say anything else?”

“No Major sir!”

“Good job, Recruit Heartstrings! There may be hope for you yet! Take a lap around the park, then report to the Castle for magical training with Princess Luna.”

“Yes... uh. Sir? Princess Luna is currently in Day Court until noon.” Lyra winced as Stephan stared at her, until he gave her a small nod before looking back towards the Castle.

“Very well then. I expect you to attach yourself to the Day Court as an observer, get some experience of wartime governance and politics.” Stephan ordered, before turning to storm away.

Lyra waited until Stephan had jumped into his Wolf 4X4 and driven off. Her entire body slumped in posture as she rolled her neck. Then, with a lazy smile she began to trot towards the nearest Starbucks.

‘Well, at least I can get some food en-route to Canterlot. I needed a double shot… and a muffin. Maybe that tofu in a blanket as well… Mmm…’

There was a loud screech behind her. Startled, she turned to see the Wolf stopping right behind her, with Stephan's head poking out the window. “AFTER YOU COMPLETE YOUR RUN AROUND THE PARK!”

“SIR, YES SIR!”

‘Dammit!’

Canterlot, later…

“...stupid, Miss Sparkle, is someone who disobeys direct orders, who drags her fellows into trouble with her, and who has the audacity to backtalk a superior officer!” Stephan’s head was already bright red from anger.

Twilight paused a moment as she processed his words. Her horn began to subtly glow as she ground her teeth. “Stephan, you are our personal trainer, not our commanding officer. We are domestic assets to the war effort .with responsibilities beyond basic soldiery, not battlefield grunts or defectors from a failed state. This is Equestrian soil upon which you are a diplomatic guest, with no power over me or my friends beyond which we cede to you of our own free will or by order of local authority. And I. Am. Not. STUPID!”

Stephan was not oblivious to the glow around her horn and, on reflex, he reached out and pinched it off with two fingers and a thumb. It was a habit he had picked up from training unicorns on Earth, who often subconsciously turned to their magic when frustrated or emotional.

From what he understood, having their magic snuffed like a candle felt like an instant sinus blockage, and true to that, Twilight stepped backwards, sneezed, and rubbed her horn with a hoof. “Ow!”

A momentary silence passed as they eyed one another.

“Were you just going to use magic against me?” Stephan sighed. “Or was that just the unicorn equivalent of flaring your wings to look big?”

She glared at him and then muttered under her breath…

“I was just going to temporarily mute you so that I could explain…”

Well, not quite what he had wanted to hear… an instinctive force-push or a little flash-bang, uncontrolled and spontaneous, he could understand, no different from an undesired flush to the face or rush of blood in a person. Actual spell-casting though meant intent on Twilight’s part, which was a bother…

The real issue was that she was right. Although the Element Bearers had been placed under his ‘command’ for the duration of their training, with no less than Celestia’s blessing, that command was more nominal than anything. In truth, as wielders of Equestria’s primary defense, the six friends were more akin to the EUP’s nuclear option, and placing them officially under him in the hierarchy was unacceptable to either party, even with the Joint Command being established over the allied forces.

As such, Twilight and her friends existed in a legal grey area. It was his job to train them and toughen them up, but he also had to respect their other duties and the fact that they would function better as a unit of free-agents rather than as part of a formal battle-unit. They were a literal sisterhood, not a band of brothers.

And deep down, he was secretly impressed at Twilight’s ability to take a leadership role, as well as her quick thinking and resourcefulness. He just had to make sure that she was fully conversant with military procedure and equipment so that she could co-ordinate with other forces on the inevitable battlefield to come…

‘Think of them as allied partisans...’ he stressed to himself. ‘Not SEAL Team Six or the Fallschirmjägertruppe...’

He sighed, and wished this was as simple as training up Lyra, who was in effect a nopony-bum who had been properly attached to his unit as an experiment. Though in truth, that opened up an entirely new kettle of worms...and was kinda unfair.

‘Maybe I should request her to have the same status as the Element Bearers… an embedded liaison in their team, my voice in Twilight’s decision making. Yeah, now there’s a thought...’

Shaking his head clear of those thoughts, at the same time that Twilight seemed to nurse away the worst of her ‘instant headache’, he held out a hand in supplication.

“We both good now? I’m all shouted out, so how about you?”

Twilight eyed him in annoyance, but nodded. “I just don’t understand why you are against me carrying out my responsibilities!”

“I never said I was.”

“Wait, what?” she asked, completely surprised.

“I wasn’t against the idea,” he clarified. “I’m just frustrated that you didn’t keep me in the loop when you called off a training session.”

Miscommunication killed armies, after all…

“Because we had no time to waste!” Twilight stomped her hooves on the ground. “As soon as I work this through, the sooner we can unlock the full potential of the Elements!”

‘Yeah, sticking a radio set around Lyra’s neck and making her Twilight’s comms officer is beginning to look just as attractive as Trixie’s griffon-morph...’

“Okay. Twilight,” he said at last. “The fact that this little argument has happened at all only demonstrates how little of the training you’ve been absorbing.”

Twilight's eyes narrowed. “I have been studying magic since I was a filly, I am the Bearer of the Element of Magic, AND PRINCESS CELESTIA’S PERSONAL PUPIL! Plus, I disarmed you plus six others soldiers and put all of you in a TK submission hold just YESTERDAY! am an excellent student!”

“It’s not just battlefield skills I want you to pick up Twilight,” he answered, rubbing at a sore shoulder that served as testament to how well she had applied those particular lessons. “It’s procedure - the correct way to do things. If Lyra had not informed me of your actions, you and your friends would have appeared to just disappeared off the face of Equus, as if you’d been incapacitated or kidnapped…”

He saw her ears fall a little at that, and mentally cheered.

“And then,” she said, continuing the line of thought on her own, “there would have been an alarm, and a search, with units redeployed, and an immediate crisis meeting with Princess Luna, which would disrupt the Day Court, and trigger rumors, and a possible public panic…”

Good, good, she was beginning to get it.

“... and the resultant chaos would take hours to work out, and could be avoided with just me taking five seconds to pass along a simple message.”

‘Yes! Yes! Yes! She is learning! Hallelujah and Peanut Butter!’

Still, it didn’t hurt to drive the lesson home a little harder, with a subtle call upon the Highest Authority in Twilight’s mental paradigm...

“Correct, my young padawan. And what would Celestia think if she saw you now, disregarding her current teacher?”

It was cruel, effectively sticking the knife in and giving it a good wiggle, but effective. Twilight’s head slumped and he got down on one knee in front of her.

“Look, I know my training is tough, but I don’t want you to die out there.“ Twilight looked up at him with her lower lip quivering slightly.

“Right now, you are under my Fittiche,” he continued, stern but not unkind. “You AND your friends. I promised Celestia that I would take care of you all, even if it means that I have to pull on your leashes. Help me, to help you, to help all of us...”

He would still have to discipline her, even if he had to go to Luna to make it official… two weeks confined to quarters might swing it, so long as it did not interfere with her studies, research, and training… but then again, cutting her off entirely from her friends might be a detriment to the whole, especially since they were literally bringing Friendship (with a capital ‘F’) to the battlefield...

“Ugh…” Stephan took a long breath. “We’re all crazy overworked right now, aren’t we? That doesn’t make your mistake okay, but it does make it understandable Alright, let’s just take this one step at a time…what's the important discovery you’ve made?”

“Alright,” she said, visibly brightening and pushing open the thick, soundproofed doors that connected this antechamber with the central room of the ivory tower in which she had once resided. “Please come with me, but keep things quiet… don’t disturb them.”

‘Don’t disturb wh--oh, wow...’

Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were each seated upright on a series of throw-cushions that had been scattered around the room, forming an inward-facing circle. Each wore an Element around their neck, and both the mares and the magi-wear were connected to a bona-fide arsenal of processors and mainframes that had been crammed onto the room’s many balconies and levels. He recognized Doctor Grimnebulin overseeing whatever experiment was underway, tuning inscrutable bits of equipment, along with a dozen or so other scientists and technicians, including dumpy little Spike, who was running around making delicate adjustments to the sensors attached to his friends, and glaring off anyone else who dared approach.

What was most astonishing however was the stillness with which the five mares sat there, and the brilliant white light shining out of their open, sightless eyes...

“Thanks to Doctor Grimnebulin,” Twilight explained. “I realised just how little I know about the Elements of Harmony. A quick test I performed on myself demonstrated that the Elements are indeed sentient, and well… we took it from there…”

“What are they doing?”

“They’re each having a conversation with an Element’s embodiment,” Twilight explained. “I don’t remember much of mine, though I think some auto-hypnosis spells might bring back more of the fine details, but what I took from it was…”

She pawed the ground in uncertainty. “That we’re facing something huge and terrible, but that we can win, if we play our cards right…”

“That’s something I can agree with,” Stephan said. “We’ve been luckier so far than we have any right to be.” He paused, thinking over what he’d just said. “Okay. Maybe we were long overdue for some luck-”

“Definitely!” Doctor Grimnebulin called over.

“But we’ve had more than anyone could reasonably expect.”

“Yeah, and take a look at that…” Twilight pointed, and to his amazement, Stephen saw that Rarity and Rainbow Dash were wearing the other’s Element… which had switched colors.

Now, a purple lightning-bolt shone on Rarity’s neck, and a red gemstone on Rainbow’s. Stephan had no words to say, and watched in continued amazement as Twilight made a gesture to Spike. With precise movements, he stepped up to Applejack, and carefully removed the Element of Honesty from around the farmpony’s neck, and laid it at her hooves.

Nothing happened. Applejack’s eyes continued to shine with magical energy, and the orange gem in the element continued to gleam with inner light.

“Fascinating,” Twilight breathed. “And that confirms that a connection with an Element, once established, can be maintained over at least a short distance…Spike, go for the next stage.”

Carefully, Spike took something else in his claws, the Crown of Magic, and placed it upon Applejack’s brow, tossing her customary stetson to Twilight, who donned it with a smirk.

“C’mon AJ, show me you’ve got magic in your soul...I know you do.”

Sure enough, after a moment’s hesitation, the six-pointed star in the helm began to glow, with a brilliant, amber luminescence…

“And further proof that the good Doctor was right…” Twilight whispered. “We’re not confined to the Element we best match… which means that the key principles of harmony can possibly reside in anypony… or that we’ve become so close as friends that we’ve begun to transcend our individual virtues...”

For Rainbow Dash of all ponies to get a response from ‘Generosity’, and for Twilight’s crown to blaze like a lighthouse on Applejack’s head? Yeah, something was going down here.

“What else does this mean?” Stephan asked, watching the events fascinated.

Twilight licked her lips, grinning. “It means we have backup options… that if one of us is killed or injured, we might still be able to make the Elements work, even without a sixth pony… Celestia and Luna were able to carry three apiece after all, and Celestia herself wielded all six together to banish Nightmare Moon…”

“Get Lyra in here…” he said, suddenly galvanised. “Or your brother or sister-in-law. See if putting on one of the gems or sitting in the circle can help them dial up or tap into whatever’s happening. Carry these tests through…”

“Oh, I intend to,” said Twilight, carefully levitating the now discarded Element of Honesty up to her neck, and smiling gently as a dim lavender glow manifest within the apple-shaped gem. “I don’t think the Elements can be easily switched to other wearers outside of us six, which is why the gems are retaining their shapes even when they change colour, but perhaps they can ‘welcome in’ souls with a strong connection to our circle of friends. And, as I said before…”

“It gives us backup options,” Stephan finished for her. Mentally he was now wondering if chipping off a small fragment from the Tree of Harmony and mounting it in a replica necklace housing would have any influence on making the ‘Mane Six’ a ‘Mane Seven’...

Then again, he’d have to consult with others before they tried anything like that. Somehow, he wasn’t sure it would be easy.

“Wowie!” Pinkie cried out, almost appearing to blast off from her cushion to the ceiling. “That was super amazing!”

“Yes…” Rarity gave a soft yawn, covering her mouth with her hoof, “Oh dear, that was rather tiring. But yes, that was quite the event.”

“Welcome back partners,” grinned Twilight, cocking AJ’s hat at an angle on her own head and crossing her hooves in satisfaction. “How much do you remember?”

“Honestly, not a lot…” yawned Dash, before leaning over to give Rarity a quick nuzzle. “I think I got a bit more appreciation for you though Rares…”

“Why thank you, darling. I must admit, that mare I spoke to was rather...Awesome…”

“Mine was a little sad though,” Pinkie Pie said, before looking in Rainbow Dash’s direction and muttering ‘cupcakes’ under her breath in a frightened tone as her coat darkened and her hair went flat and lank. “I promise, I’ll always be your friend, Dashie!”

“Uh…. thanks!” Rainbow replied, before Pinkie spontaneously bounced back to her usual self.

“But some of them were really awesome, too! I even saw some versions of myself dating humans!“

“Yeah, I saw nothing like that,“ Rainbow Dash muttered as she nervously shifted her eyes from side to side. A faint blush could be seen on her cheek.

Fluttershy was just sitting in silence, slowly flexing her wings and staring down at her hooves as if she’d just received the best pep-talk in history...

“I just feel so energized” Pinkie continued to bubble. “It’s like I had some of those new espresso brownies and a frappucino!”

She started vibrating, her voice distorting. “I... feel... so...”

Still silent, Fluttershy walked over and put a firm hoof behind Pinkie’s neck, forcing her to stop talking and breath for a second.

“Just calm down, Pinkie. Slow down a bit,” she said at last, tone surprisingly even and calm.

“Th-thanks for that. Right,” Pinkie said. “So, Fluttershy, what do you remember seeing?”

“Well….” Fluttershy started, a thoughtful look on her face, the two of them trailing off into a long discussion about the fragments of dream that lingered with them.

“Ah admit it’s strange talking to mahself, though Ah wish Ah knew why she suddenly grew a darn unicorn horn at the end there...” Applejack tilted her head to pop her neck, blinking in surprise at seeing the Magic Element falling off her head. “What the hay?”

“Sorry Applejack, just testing a theory,” Twilight smiled as she levitated her hat back.

Stephan watched as Elements continued to talk to one another, trying to interpret each others experiences where their own ‘dreams’ grew hazy. He nodded his head once before turning to leave, it was best to let Twilight work this out now. “Be at Central Park for training at 1700 tonight. Have to make up for the missed day after all. If you’re not there on time, I will go and tell the Princess...”

In his heart, he was already debating whether or not Twilight still deserved a formal punishment, but the sight of her reaction was perfect.

“There is one more thing, sir.” Twilight grimaced, not just from the terrible threat, but as she thought about something else she had discovered in the past few days.

“Yes?”

“Well… we know about Lyra’s… er, Ambassador Heartstrings’ discovery of the Bag,” she said. “But we only learned that because we overheard some of your troops debating amongst themselves what happened to cause our Equestria and their own to… part ways…”

Twilight launched into the explanation of what they had heard Trixie, Vinyl and the others discussing, and how the small unit had decided to get to the bottom of the mystery themselves.

Suffice to say, it was a shock for everyone to hear.

“I mean, I guess it would’ve been inevitable, that someone would get curious and want to find out the answers, and there’s enough information in the public domain that they could expose everyth–”

Before she could even finish speaking, Stephan had stormed out, practically bulldozing his way through people blocking his path to the doors…

“Twi… Ah think you, Rarity, and Lyra may have stumbled onto something that more than a few folk want to bury under a lie...” Applejack muttered.

“The myth of Lyra Heartstrings…” Rarity murmured. “Oh no…”

"I don’t think we should tell this to anyone," Rainbow added, drawing a concerned frown from Applejack.

“Dash, hun’, Ah ain’t got no book-smarts, but Ah reckon something like this is gonna be awful hard to hide…”

Canterlot Castle Library

“Well how about this?” Acevedo pointed out a section of text in one book to Vinyl, who scrunched up her face in trying to remember her history. “Does this look familiar to you?”

“Doctor Howie Waggoner’s expedition to Dream Valley?” she replied, struggling to make sense of it all. Honestly, the mixmistress turned battlemaster had never been the most astute student of history back when she’d been in school, but this rang bells...

“Nah though,” she said at last. “Doc Waggoner’s expedition was ages ago, and though there was a bit of brouhaha in the papers when Lyra discovered that shipwreck, it wasn’t exactly a big deal... whatever happened has to be something major from the past decade. It’s got to!”

Shaking his head, Acevedo dropped a copy of ‘The Dream Valley Conspiracy’ on the table and stalked away. “Where was that one book by Laconic? An Argument For Humanity and Against Catseye?”

He never noticed a thoughtful Vinyl pick the volume he’d discard up and begin to skim through the index...

“Yo!” Anderson walked up to him, plates filled with food from the castle kitchens balanced on his arms. “Hope you guys are hungry, cause if not, I’m going to eat these!”

“About time, thanks." Thomas nodded his head in thanks as he took the plate from Anderson's hands. “Do you think we’re close?”

“Have to be.” Anderson chuckled as he passed the plates out. “Have to admit, this has been an entertaining thing at the very least.”

“Learning history can be fun.” Acevedo protested, defending his passion, only for the others to laugh out loud at this.

“It’s only fun when we are trying to pinpoint a divergence between two points of histories of two different worlds. Other than that, we would have our bloody hands up our asses doing absolutely shite of work.” Thomas chuckled as he tossed a tomato slice into the air to catch, only for it float away from him. “What the bloody fuck?! Oi! That’s mine!”

“It’s in the air, so free game.” Vinyl said as she trotted past them towards the newspaper archives, The Dream Valley Conspiracy floating beside her, along with the tomato. Sticking her tongue out at him she snatched the fruit out of the air with a single flick of her jaws and chomped on it happily. “Never said how to catch–”

With that, she disappeared up a flight of stairs, and out of sight. Dismissing her with a snort, Acevedo plucked a book from the ‘sentient races’ section and skimmed to a timeline.

“Huh,” he said. “Found the Wedding Invasion, huh, says nothing about that the Changeling Extermination… never happened. Well, how about that? Eh, Anderson? Did we ever meet this world’s L–”

There came a crash.

Everyone blinked as they heard the library doors slam open and the sound of heavy footsteps headed their way.

“Damn. Somepony nearly took the hinges off with that… the fuck?” Anderson blinked as they saw Colonel Renee pace into the center of the vast atrium, face blank until he noticed their group and made a beeline straight towards them, Stephen in his wake. “Hey sir! Want to-”

“Come with me,” Marcus snarled softly, harsh tones made no less fierce than the respect he maintained for library silence. “Out of sight.”

“Uh.” Anderson faltered at the montone order as Marcus marched past them. “None of us are on duty right now… in fact we’ve got one week’s furlough between training cyc...”

“I said come with me!”

“Hey!” Acevedo cried out as the book was examining was ripped from his hands. “I was reading that!”

“And you can have it back if you come with me…”

“Don’t argue with him, Acevedo…” urged Stephan. “Just play along for once.”

All of this was carried out in an almost brittle silence, with only a few minor shouts and cries. Almost nopony paid them any attention as they stepped out of the main hall and gathered in the quiet isolation of a stairwell.

“What the fuck is this shit?!” Acevedo growled, while Marcus skimmed through the book he had just confiscated and then quietly handed it back.

“What you’re looking for isn’t in that book, and far above your paygrade,” Marcus answered, staring at each of them. “Leave it be.”

“We don’t get paid...” Acevedo sneered. “Freedom fighters tend not to…”

“Stop trying to goad me…” Marcus said, pausing with his back turned.

“I’m not doing anything,” Acevedo said. “You’re the one who came into a public library and broke up an innocent study group! And since I don’t hear the sounds of sirens or panicking ponies, I doubt you’re here because of some emergency. Which makes me wonder…what it is about this that’s gotten your hackles up?!”

Marcus did not respond, even as Acevedo climbed several steps to better look down on him.

“You know, I thought there might be something at work here,” continued Acevedo, before jabbing a finger at Marcus. “But this only proves that not only was there a definite event that caused the two Equestrias to diverge, but that you know what it is and are trying to cover it up! And we have a right to share in that knowledge.”

“Not this time you don’t.” Marcus glared at the man. “I remember you, in Mexico City. Good fighter, shit soldier though.”

Acevedo stiffened at the insult.

“I had the right to know the truth the second I lost my family and friends to the Empire. Vinyl had a right the second her best friend was murdered…”

His eyes slid to Stephan.

“Trixie has a right to know why she’s been pressured into a mental breakdown, and all mankind has a right to know who, or what, is responsible for this shitstorm end of days!”

“You deserve to know nothing, soldier! Your job is to be a weapon, a tool to save lives, and a tool does not ask why it is used!”

Eyes widened in shock at his sudden viciousness, even Stephan taken aback by that outburst.

Marcus was always described as hard man while ‘on the job’; downtime was when he showed his softer side, always trying to cheer everyone up, keep morale as high as possible.
That Marcus wasn’t here, ‘On the Job’ Marcus wasn’t even present before him. This was a broken man – just like most of them, frankly – who was desperately trying to hold on to a situation spiralling out of control.

“Tools?” asked Thomas in shock. “Are we just Newfoals then?”

“No!” Marcus growled, pinching his nose. “Fuck that, no. I respect you guys, I trust you to have my back, trust you with my life…”

“Then trust us with the truth!” Acevedo demanded, knowing for certain now that something had the Colonel truly worked up.

“It’s classified,” interjected Stephen. “And for good reason.”

Acevedo scowled at the answer. “That’s even less a response!”

“Good. Less is better.” Marcus commented, before Acevedo jumped down past him and pointed out through the vaulted archway onto the hundreds of shelves contained in this soaring tabernacle of knowledge.

“Something is hidden in here, Colonel, something you know and desperately want to hide. That might have been possible on Earth, but not now. Whatever your truth is, its composed of public knowledge, not military secrets - keeping something like that classified is as impossible as hiding the colour of the sky. Once people and ponies start talking and comparing experiences, the truth will come out.”

“Not until the world is ready to hear it, not if I can help it…” Marcus visibly gritted his teeth. “Now I am ordering you all to secrecy. Furthermore, none of you are not allowed back in here. No PHL member will be allowed access to Equestrian public records, unless they go through me or Stephan. Other than that, have a nice day, and enjoy your leave.”

“It won’t work, Colonel,” Acevedo seethed. “If I can’t access public records, then I can just as easily chat with the domestic troops we’re training alongside, and at some point the penny will drop in my head. Us here, we’re just the tip of the iceberg - someone or somepony will stumble across whatever you want to keep buried, and you’re terrified of that mo-ment...”

It should have been a moment of triumph. Instead, the last word died in Acevedo’s throat as he turned to smirk at the man he was trying to intimidate.

A blue aura surrounded Marcus’ body, the runes glowing intensely, his teeth bared and a vein throbbing in his neck…

“You will keep this secret,” Marcus snarled, and magic fizzled in each syllable. He looked like an angry animal, ready to pounce.

There was a subtle change in the air, with Thomas and Anderson, even Stephan subtly shifting to place themselves between the two men, to urge for calm.

“Marcus…” Stephan whispered, one brother-in-arms to another. “Think about what you’re doing right now. I know this is important, and deeply personal to you, but the second you strike a blow against someone under your command is the second you impeach yourself and the PHL!”

Acevedo, for his part, laughed, even as fear danced in his eyes.

“Holy shit, is getting your glow on a threat?” he said, attempting some level of bravado. “Are you really going to start a fight in a public space, on allied soil? That’s a game-changer there man, that’s the war outright lost because you lost your cool!” He was manic now, backing away in fear.

It was true. The rules regarding violence against others was a major part of the Uniform Code of all the allied nations, including Equestria. Not even the nastiest of drill sergeant nasties could escape the punishment that came from landing a punch or blow against someone under their command. It was an absolute violation of the trust needed for any army to function.

Where broken trust went, more followed. Enquiries and inquiries could break apart regiments and shatter morale like a crumbling glacier calving into the sea. Nothing survived the tidal-wave that followed.

Suffice to say, right now, Marcus did not give a fuck for that. All he could see was blood-red rage, and the smiling face of an innocent green mare.

“Do. Not. Make. Me,” Marcus gritted his teeth, runes flaring brightly as magic poured from his body, glaring daggers at them, “Say. It. Again.”

The three swallowed, never before seeing this side of Colonel Renee before. They wanted to stay and help defend Acevedo from the very clear rage that he was displaying, but they might as well be throwing rocks at a steel wall.

“For God’s sake,” Acevedo hissed, “what could possibly be so horrible about the truth that you’re going Super Saiyan over just wanting to keep it hidden for just a little longer?!”

“I found it!” a new voice called out. “I found what that so-called awful truth is!”

Everyone’s heads turned upwards, and they saw a trembling Vinyl Scratch poised on the landing at the top of the stairs, a book and a newspaper floating about her head.

“Lyra…” she said, and stifled back a sob. “All this was because of Lyra…”

And in that moment, Marcus felt everything slip away from him. The runes on his body crackled and died, and as their glow dimmed he felt his own inner light grow cold, and stumbled against the wall.

‘It’s over...’ he thought to himself, heart sinking to his stomach. ‘ didn’t act fast enough, and now it’s all fucked… oh God, Lyra, I’m so sorry...’

“What... what do you mean it was Lyra?“ gasped Thomas.

“Lyra,” Vinyl choked out, tears of rage, sadness and shock spilling from her eyes. “Our Lyra, Am-badass-ador Lyra… her big archeological discovery was that point of divergence!”

She jumped down from her perch, and landed past Marcus, trotting out into the library hall and stopped beside a reading table, turning to face them. Her body, honed to physical steel by years of unending battle and grief, was like liquid mercury, as were the tears leaking from her eyes and dripping like falling angels onto the tiled floor.

In her magical field, she carried a copy of ’The Dream Valley Conspiracy’, and a broadsheet newspaper… but as well as that her horn was flashing and pulsing, and on the fringes of his hearing, Marcus could hear a thumping beat…

He looked around, and saw that the bystanders around their little group, ponies carrying books and scrolls, had frozen in place, expressions blank and their eyes now flashing in time to that constant dubstep bass. None of them turned an eye or ear in their direction, having seemingly become living statues.

“Been working for a while on working magic into my music,” Vinyl laughed sadly. “This spell only works on other ponies within a short range, but its good enough. They won’t remember anything we say or do so long as I play this beat...”

Then she motioned towards the newspaper.

“Now, I don’t remember a lot of things often enough myself, but I remember this!” she pointed at the date. “This was the day Tavi and I went on our first date, and every newspaper in Equus’ front page talked about a shipwreck discovered off the coast of Baltimare by a young mare from Ponyville. The wreck was that of the Dream Valley Expedition, and that mare’s name was Lyra Heartstrings!”

The book and paper fell to the table, and Vinyl tearfully smiled down at them.

“Not here though! Not here!”

She turned and looked sadly at Marcus, disappointment in her eyes.

“You knew all along. You knew that Lyra was the reason all of this happened, why all those people are dead… why my Tavi is dead!”

Her tears had begun to overwhelm her now, and Octavia’s name was spluttered out in a series of sobs. She quickly regained her composure, and her eyes burned with righteous fury.

“For fuck’s sake Marcus, she inspired us to take a stand! We loved her! We loved you! And now you’ve not only shown how little you trust us with the truth, how little faith you have in us or her, but you nearly attacked one of our own to keep it a secret!”

“The Bag of Tirek took control over her mind and made her bring it to the most powerful and influential being within Equestria!” Marcus argued back. “How in-”

“I don’t care what some evil sack did to Lyra’s mind, Marcus!” Vinyl interrupted. “Of course it fucked with her brain! If it could do that to Princess Celestia, the ‘little-g’ goddess, then what chance did Lyra, a regular, but wonderful unicorn, have!?”

She spun in a circle, tramping like a horse trying to buck a rider in her growing fury.

“But you knew! You knew and you kept it from us, kept the truth that we’ve died and bled for from us! People are worshipping Lyra like a true Equestrian princess because they believe she can do no wrong, but the truth is she was just as fallible as any of us!”

“And that’s what I had to hide,” he said in pain.

She stopped, the feeling of betrayal clear on her features, the disbelief in her voice ringing like a bell.

“Marcus, that only could have made her even more amazing, more inspiring, more wonderful than she already was. A real person, not some distant, benevolent, alien nothing!”

Marcus finally found the strength to step away from the wall, to step into the light of the hall. The sun streamed down over them through a vast stained-glass window, painting everything in fragmented shards of color...

“I couldn’t risk it, Vinyl. If the world, worlds, find out the truth about Lyra while we’re at war, the PHL could lose all its support. Lyra’s legacy, all her hard work, all of our work, will have been for nothing!”

“Oh fuck that! You think that little of mankind too?!” Vinyl growled. “Marcus, this is the magical land of Equestria, the HLF aren’t here! For fuck’s sake, were you always this pessimistic?”

Marcus managed to let out a sad laugh, and smile down at Vinyl weakly.

“I wish I had even half your optimism, Vinyl. But let’s be honest, let’s be realistic here. Do you believe this coming to light could have not done us any harm at all? Not caused us a single defection, or given Mike Carter and the HLF even more fuel for their propaganda fire? Blame her for starting all this, claim it was deliberate?”

“It’s just realpolitik, right?” she answered, and then shook her head. “Well, how do you handle it now Marcus? It’s a secret that’s got to come out. If you go on fostering the lie, well, it will just make the inevitable backlash worse for you, for us, and for her.”

Turning, she whipped a hoof at Acevedo.

“You, Isaac! What’s Lyra mean to you?”

He answered firmly, “She was a hero, of course. An inspiration… one of the bravest souls I’ve ever seen.”

“And by the fucking Golden Lyre, by Luna’s moon, has that changed at all after what you just found out?”

He was quiet for a second, and then he shook his head. "Hell no. Lyra's a hero and nothing will change that. I'm a Catholic, and I proudly say that yes, she does deserve to be canonized as a saint. And yeah, she made a mistake, but by God, she did more to fix it in a few years than most people do in their lifetimes!"

"Yes, she did. Unfortunately, not everyone will see it that way. We may have former HLF joining back with their old buddies if this information is let loose now!" Marcus said.

"I’m pretty sure Kraber won't, or Verity, wherever she is right now," Vinyl replied. “Not like she has many options anyway. And those that would leave, well I think we’d be better off without them.”

She tapped a hoof on the floor, smiling down at the shape of a series of musical notes, encaptured in the stained-glass light. Glancing up, the two of them saw the window above them was a depiction of the idealised arts.

“You wanted to protect her, right?” Vinyl asked, tracing her hoof over a glowing treble clef. “You didn’t want anyone to know until the war was won… but now that genie is out of the bottle.”

“So what will you do?” he asked.

“I won’t defect, I won’t abandon the cause… because I’m going to prove myself better than your pessimistic expectations. I respect that you wanted to protect her, and keep her safe… but the second you activated your runes, looking like you were going to turn Acevedo’s head into chunky salsa, well you nearly lost me…”

She telekinetically tore something from her jacket’s shoulder, and tossed it to Marcus.

“Nearly…?” he asked.

It was a patch, a scrap of white-on-blue fabric, depicting a familiar lyre. When Vinyl gazed back into his eyes, it was not just her own that burned with unshed tears.

“Nearly, Marcus…” she replied, scowling with anger and sadness. “In that moment I saw you, runes lit up, a living god about to squash a bug, you betrayed my trust, the trust of a soldier to expect dignity and respect and restraint from her commanders… not Lyra, and for Lyra’s sake, and for yours, I won’t speak a word of this.”

She sadly tapped her hoof on the floor.

“For your sake, for the sake of a wonderful mare, I’ll lie about what happened here today. I’ve even become a colossal hypocrite by manipulating the minds and memories of all these innocent ponies here, with spells I promised myself I’d only ever use on the enemy. And do you know what the consequence of all that is?”

Then she leaned in close enough so that he could see himself reflected, distorted in her eyes.

“The truth has got to be known. Isaac is right, simple idle chatter between people and ponies will blow everything wide open eventually. What will be better? You making an announcement, a controlled release at your own pace and according, or for the dam to crack and leak until it all comes apart?”

“For the record,” Acevedo interjected, “If I’d found out, I actually would have told the powers that be.”

“Not the time,” hissed Stephan, massaging his forehead to relieve his headache.

“Maybe,” sighed Marcus. “Maybe I’m not cut out to lead the PHL..."

“I never said that,” said Vinyl, managing a wry smile. “Look at the men beside you. Look at me. Look at what we’ve all achieved together, as friends, as family. You helped us survive, inspired and lead us. It’s just sad knowing that, I guess you’re just as, well, ‘human’ as Lyra was… But despite all that, I’m not going to give up on you. And I never will.”

He slowly sank to his knees, and Vinyl put her hooves in his open hands. Then, slowly she brought them up behind his neck in a light hug, and the feeling of her horn laid along the side of his head awoke bittersweet memories of another mare…

“Don’t squeeze back and break me in half,” she muttered, “remember, living god squashing bugs.”

It was a joke, but there was genuine disappointment in her voice, and that tore at his heart.

“Don’t tempt me…” he murmured, managing a weak joke in return. “All you ponies are so damn huggable…”

“They’re like walking plushies,” Acevedo agreed, strangely solemn for what he’d just said.

“Lyra loved you with all her heart, and you loved her, best of friends…” Vinyl said softly. “I know we kinda jumped the gun on you here…”

She shot a glance at Acevedo, who held up his hands in a conciliatory gesture.

“And I’ll admit that some of us were less than tactful. But look at what nearly happened, Marcus. You’re trying to hold Lyra’s entire legacy in your own hands, and it’s too much. The burden of it nearly drove you to strike one of your own men down today. I’ll admit, he can be an opinionated bastard, but just imagine the consequences if you had lost control.”

"Technically, Acevedo is not a part of the group, just attached," Marcus muttered, narrowing his eyes up at the man. "Just one big pain that doesn’t know when to quit."

“I’m a part of all this because I’m here… and because my friends are here too,” Acevedo said. “I’ll admit. I’ve no real right to be here, I’m just a corporate attack dog, with a lot of firearms experience. But! I fucking love it here. I love having a chance for once. And… For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about basically bullying a dragon. I just thought maybe, we could make things better. Learn a bit from the past, make sure it doesn’t happen...”

“Yeah…” Vinyl laughed brokenly, “I think we all could do with some hindsight…”

As she sat back, breaking the hug, the light around her horn faded, and with it, the music on the edge of hearing.

In the deafening silence of its absence, the ponies around momentarily twitched, and then went about their business once more, unbothered and unaware of the minutes Vinyl had stolen from them.

Seeing the expression of self-disgust on her face as she watched her victims wake from their collective trance, Marcus wished he could feel the same levity they did.

And then he felt Stephan’s hand on his shoulder. “We need to talk. But not here. Come to my office tonight, after training.”

Stephan watched the new recruits training on the field. They had another lecture about firearms behind them and many of his instructors told him that some had slept in again. Of course Discord couldn’t hold back and woke up the poor souls with a freaking uber-flugelhorn.

The first month wasn’t easy at all. He had wanted them to split up and regroup in different regiments, mixed-up with soldiers of all species. Many had wanted to stay with their comrades and he had needed to rule with an iron fist again.

Still, they had their weekends, and he hoped that they could use them the right way and not just drink their brains out.

He looked over the Elements (and Lyra) who were all being trained under four PHL sergeants - one representative from each pony race and a human supervisor. Sure enough, the Element Bearers had been in-place and on-time, and It was interesting to watch how much they had changed over the past weeks. Twilight had stopped over-analyzing everything, just letting things go on naturally. Fluttershy had become far more confident in her own abilities, her speed and wingpower greatly improving. Rarity stopped being, well, Rarity. Applejack and Dash still tried to outperform themselves and each other, but they did make leaps and bounds in their self control and had learned not to blindly rush into things.

And then there was Pinkie. She had changed a lot in this time. She still had that energetic “motor mouth”, and Stephan as well as the other instructors had some difficult times with her, but after Stephan took her aside from time to time, she finally got a bit more serious. As serious as Pinkie could be, anyway. She could simply bounce (or, as he was informed, ‘pronk’, and he couldn’t imagine a better word for how she moved if he tried) through training one day then march like rest, or take a heavy, bizarre contraption bearing a vague resemblance to her Party Cannon to combat training as opposed to learning hoof-to-hoof combat.

A side effect was that her looks had changed greatly, her mane straightening out somewhat and her coat darkening. Stephan didn’t really knew why, but he guessed that was something that showed her mood. He’d long since learned not to question it, but not before Twilight and Rainbow had begged him not to think about it too hard. Of course he didn’t want to break her completely. He actually found her little antics refreshing sometimes, but only after training and he had to make it clear that they were not friends. And, repeated that more than one time. And likely several times more – Pinkie was a mare that seemed to have little grasp of the concept of someone not being her friend. Or the laws of physics, or, unfortunately enough, common etiquette.

“You can’t just walk over there!”

Stephan turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw a mare with grey fur, wearing something that looked like a simple dark blue coat. A PHL human followed her and tried to stop her, but she just ignored him.

Stephan stepped in her way and she tried to walk past him, but he blocked her way. “Can I help you?” he asked her, hoping and praying that this was not going to be a fresh load of hell on an already stressful day.

‘First Twilight’s antics, then the library debacle, now what/’

The mare looked up at him. Stephan could only whistle internally at her perfect pokerface. She almost sounded like Daria Morgendorffer as she declared that, “I am here to visit my sister.”

“How about you could be so kind to tell me your name first,” Stephan replied, not moving out of the way.

“Maud Pie,” she answered flatly.

“And your sister is?”

Maud blinked once at him as if the answer were obvious. “Pinkie.”

Stephan wasn’t sure what was stranger. The sheer monotonous, neutral mood of this Maud, or the fact that Pinkie had a sister who was her complete opposite. He vaguely remembered hearing about her counterpart from some PHL personnel – namely that she’d been working on something big up in Boston, and then disappeared a few weeks before the decisive battle. Marcus had not been forthcoming on further details, claiming that whatever happened up there still hurt his head to deal with.

He looked over towards the group containing the Elements and Lyra. All of them were listening intently to their instructor while Twilight methodically disassembled a small arm. “Cadet Pie!”

Pinkie turned her head, and when she saw Maud, her mane took on its normal shape again. “Inflating” was the word Stephan would have used, absurd as it was. She was apparently about to run over to her sister, but a quick look from Stephan made her stop, reconsider and then proceed towards them at a quick gallop. This brief exchange was enough to earn him a suspicious glance from Maud.

The pink earth pony halted in front of Stephan and saluted. She kept her foreleg up and only lowered it as Stephan did the same. “Cadet Pie is present as ordered, Major.”

Stephan looked down at Maud. “You got five minutes.” He was about to walk away, then seemed to think better of it. “Starting when I reach the Elements.”

They couldn’t see, but he was smiling as he walked to the Elements, pausing here and there to turn over any interesting pebbles along the path with his boot.

“So… how are Ma and Pa?” Pinkie asked.

“They’re doing fine. They have become a lot more open, and are accepting help from other ponies to work the rock farm. Makes life a lot easier,” Maud replied, her voice still as grayscale as her coat. “They’re also experiencing record profits,” she added, and maybe one side of her mouth quirked up a little. “Crystals and gemstones are selling better than ever before thanks to those… PHL coming in.”

“That’s GREAT! How about Limestone and Marble?”

“They’re working really hard on the farm too,” Maud said. “They really miss you. All of them. And they’d love to see you soon.”

Pinkie twitched a little. She loved her family of course, but she couldn’t lie, she still had reservations about going back to the rock farm. She was considered the “dark horse” of the family, and while there was no bad blood between any of them, she was a bit apprehensive.

“Pinkie, I know something’s wrong. You can tell me,” Maud told her firmly.

“How’d you know?” Pinkie’s mane went slightly flat as she began to dig her hoof into the ground, drawing little frowning faces.

Maud only raised one eyebrow by the most minute amount, but for her, that was a knowing grin as she reached out and brush her sister’s mane with a hoof.

“It’s not curly. That’s rarely good news.”

“No, no!” Pinkie said, her facade cracking ever so slightly. “Don’t get so flustered! It’s just…”

“Calm down, Pinkie,” the ‘flustered’ Maud answered, shifting her hoof to Pinkie’s shoulder and drawing her into a hug. “Start at the beginning.”

"Um..." Pinkie sat on her haunches, tapping her hooves together. “Well, I’ve been really busy with Stephan and he’s taught me a lot, enough that when I think on how much work I’ve done and how much weight I’ve lost I’m like gaaaaaaaaaaaasp!” she drew in breath, floating in midair for a couple seconds, then touched back on the ground.

Maud stared at her. “You do look trim. It suits you.”

“–yeah, but I’ve also been working with Discord to help figure out my special fighting skillz!”
Now suddenly wearing a boxing costume, she put one hoof in her mouth and blew, causing her hair to ‘poof’ and style itself into an afro.

Maud blinked once, in great surprise. “The change of clothes is new…”

“Oh yeah, and watch this!” Pinkie declared, rearing up on her hind legs and settling into a pugilistic stance, before suddenly pulling in her party cannon from offscreen, firing it, and then banishing the weapon back into the nowhere she had summoned it from. This was followed by Pinkie weaving and bobbing as if avoiding invisible blows, responding against the imaginary attacker with a series of quick jabs of her own, right and left forehooves blurring.

“See, it turns out that for a questionably mythical eldritch creature of chaos, Discord’s a really nice guy–”

That declaration was accompanied by Pinkie performing a double-backwards somersault through a hoop, before she reached into her saddlebags and produced Discord from them. The two of them then jumped into the air in perfect time with one another, hoof bumping at the apex of their respective arcs, before the party-cannon (and where had that reappeared from) discharged a full charge confetti, balloons, and candy straight up in the air between them.

“–and we get along great and I need to learn and I was hoping you can help Applejack because she’s really strong and she can learn how to break rocks and meanie bones like how did that colt who got frisky with Inkie–”

Pinkie landed, now attired in a fake mustache and top hat, and pulled out a picture of Maud punching a rather persistent wouldn’t-take-no-for-an-answer colt in front of her sister Limestone, sending him flying, before leaping back into the air, doing a roundhouse kick.

“Or Cortland Apple who got a bit too touchy with me -”

She quickly recolored the drawing so she took the place of Inkie, and replaced the colt’s cutie mark with something apple-related, and hastily edited it so Maud looked like she was punching Cortland in the groin, with a small explosion over his testicles. The colt looked to be yelling “MY SPLEEN!”

“– Hmmm. Maybe there should have been a train there. I like trains. And I really gotta go because I got jump training with Discord and–"

Maud gently placed a hoof on her snout, causing Pinkie to fall silent.

“There’s no need to hide it Pinkie. I’m here now…”

Pinkie's face finally broke down, tears welling from her eyes as she threw her forelegs around Maud and began to cry.

“Oh, it’s just horrible, Maud!” Pinkie sobbed, her mane going flat and straight, sobs dragging out every syllable of the words. “There’s… a world where another Equestria’s being huge meanie-pants and wiping away entire cultures! And they… they have this barrier, it destroys all the humans have ever made–”

“Humans?” Maud asked.

“Yeah, like Mr Stephan over there!” Pinkie said, brightening up (her coat and mane actually seemed a couple shades brighter for a few seconds, then rapidly darkened) as she pointed to Stephan. “And he’s… his home’s gone! It’ll probably never exist again, and half his world’s gone, and the barrier’s still expanding, and… and the only way not to get destroyed by the barrier is to take this potion and turn yourself into a pony except not really ‘cause even though it changes you, it destroys your mind and there’s nothing left! They have to kill themselves either way and it’s just so a-a-a-awful!” she sobbed, falling on the ground, tears streaming from her eyes. “And then… and the ponies they get turned into, they have to smile all the time! I don’t like it one bit, and those smiles just aren’t right!”

Maud only hugged her back, gently rocking the sobbing mare and humming a soft tune as she rubbed her hoof across Pinkie's back.

“Sssshhhhh…” Maud said. “It’s okay, little sister, it’s going to be fine…”

“No it won’t!” Pinkie cried. “It’ll never be alright! Have… have you seen that new human exhibition?”

“No,” Maud answered.

“There’s this one section, ‘Dispatches from a Dying World’, and it won’t be alright till all the things in there don’t happen anymore!” Pinkie cried. “It’s just awful!”

“How bad is it?” Maud asked.

“It’s… from a race that’s doomed within a year for them,” Pinkie said. “They can’t smile! They have nothing to smile about! You… you have to see it for yourself, I can’t explain it!”

Maud nodded and replied, “Okay, I promise I’ll try to go to it. And for that matter, get the rest of the family in. I think it makes sense they know what exactly this PHL group is doing with the crystals we’ve sold the Crown on their behalf...”

“Focus Marcus, look into yourself and find your magic,” Tia gently cooed as she tried to guide Marcus to his core.

“It would be better if you can just be quiet you know.” Marcus muttered under his breath as he raised his arm over his head in a slow pattern.

“And lose the chance to teach a powerful student once more? I think not!” Tia’s melodic laughter rang out through his skull.“I have you know that I taught many students like this for over a millennium you know.”

“Yap yap yap yap yap.” Marcus rolled his eyes he went through motions of his Tai Chi exercise. It was easier for him than simply sitting down and doing nothing, at least it gave him time to focus both his mind and body. It was true he can just ‘pop’ into his mental landscape from time to time, but to find his ‘core’, he needed to go deeper. “Listen Tia, if you want me to find the damn thing, at least be quiet about it and help guide me to it by feeling, not flapping your gums.”

“Hmph. So you throw away my teachings then, that is even older than: myself?”

“Tia, we have less than six months to do this. Your way of teaching has years of education and students that have a born connection to magic. I am a human who just recently got thrust into a demi-god status,” Marcus deadpanned.

“Good point. I will guide you the best I can to get you to your center.”

Marcus simply closed his eyes, continuing the motion of his exercise as he took gentle steps on the ground. Peace began to fill him as he felt the wind caress his face, the smell of flowers drifting across his nose. ‘Wild lilacs, Cheerilee’s favorite.’

He gave a small smile at the thought of the mare he loved, her wonderfully sexy and pleasurable voice, the long locks of her mane and tail, and of course that beautiful smile. He felt his thoughts begin to drift, not even the voice of Tia within his own mind shook him from the ebb and flow of memory...

“I see you found your center… you are very lucky to have a mare like her and she’s blessed to have someone like you in her life. I can tell how you keep each other strong. That’s it Marcus, just go a little deeper.”

Marcus never felt so peaceful, all he could see was Cheerilee, a warm smile on her face as she looked at him. She gave a silent laugh as Marcus reached out to her before looking up. Marcus looked at her in confusion before looking up, his jaw dropping at the sight.

“What the hell is that?”

Marcus stared at the massive shining orb above him, giant arms of energy shooting off into the the darkness that surrounded him.

Tia appeared beside him, smiling up at the vast object, “That, my dear student, is your magical core.””

“That’s my magical core?!” Marcus exclaimed in shock, “Seriously, what the fuck!? That thing is as big as the Hoover Dam!”

“Actually, its quite small,” Tia muttered as she examined it, “I think Celestia’s and Luna’s are nearly three times the size of yours, although you may be bigger than Cadance’s own magical core, though she is still coming into her own... Both of you may grow in time, however so who knows how strong you may become.”

“Great,” Marcus mocked, “Because I need this big ball of sunshine to be even BIGGER!”

“Oh hush.” Tia smiled as she looked it over, “It appears that your magic is setting itself to your body in a much bigger portion than strictly necessary. A simple fix, all you need to do is…”

“Cut it off from the source. Got it.” Marcus smirked as he focused on the many arms spreading, focusing on the feeling of the warmth he felt in his body.

And cut it off.

“Wait! Don’t!”

Marcus’ eyes snapped open, a smile forming on his face…

...right before he lost control of his body and fell on his back. Unable to move or breath, panic began to mushroom within him as the darkness began to creep into the edges of his sight.

“W-what! What’s going on!?”

“Foolish! Did you forget that your entire existence has become linked to that magic!?”

“Crap! Let me–”

“Don’t worry, your magic won’t allow itself to be contained like this! But you will be in pain for a bit…”

“What?!”

Pain.

Soul-ripping pain flashed through Marcus, his eyes watered as he could only guess that his magic was trying to re-establish itself in his body. He began to float off of the ground, jets of powerful light and plasma swirling around him.

“Fuck!”

“Brace yourself, Marcus!”

“It’s not done–” Whatever Marcus’s next thought was, it was drowned out by the agonizing pain and the roar of magic.

‘Cadance was right. It stings like a bitch…' was his first lucid response upon returning to reality. And then he groaned. His body felt like it had been on lit fire and then got hit by a truck. Multiple times.

“A most impressive display of magical backlash,” he heard a voice call out to him. Raising his head, the Marine saw Luna trot down the slope towards his position.

‘Wait… Slope?’ Marcus looked around to find himself in the middle of a crater. ‘Shit... that’s a big crater.’

“Indeed. An impressive size, 8 out of 10.”

‘Shut up.’

“I see you still continue to have trouble controlling your newfound strength,” Luna noted out loud as she walked to him, examining the crater. When she saw the annoyed look on Marcus’ face, she gave a cheeky grin. “Do not fret, Colonel. My sister and I had trouble containing ours as fillies.”

“You had over a thousand years to learn your control though,” Marcus bitterly replied. “I’m still at a wall, and we don’t have a lot of time left.”

“Still, this raw power…” Luna trailed off. “It would work very well to our advantage.”

“Raw power without direction is useless in a fight.” Marcus groaned out, looking down at his hand with interest. “Oh… my ring finger is gone…”

For her part Luna hastened her pace, unnerved by the sight of Marcus staring at his hand in morbid curiosity. As she came closer, she could see ghastly wounds on his body, exposed to naked view where his clothes had been ripped apart from the magical backlash. To her relief, most had already clotted and were slowly healing themselves.

Marcus for his part was only just beginning the damage he had received, looking himself over in surprise. “Why am I not screaming in pain?”

“Perhaps it is due to your new constitution.” Luna answered as she examined him closely, “Your reformed body is incredibly durable, much like our own as you know, but you can still receive grievous injuries when the right amount of force is applied, though recovery should be swift. With that incredible healing ability, your nervous system no longer has the same response to pain or injury... the initial injury may still hurt, but not as you heal. Take a look.”

Marcus looked back down at his hand, tilting his head to see that the bony stub sticking out of the remainder of his finger was growing ever so slowly, along with the surrounding muscle and flesh. “Oh that is nasty.”

“Believe me, Celestia and myself suffered many injuries growing up, as our power grew we ended up hurting each other more often than not. I think it will be wise to be prepared for further pain.” Luna waved her hoof for him to follow her, and Marcus limped after her after a moment or two to gather himself.

Climbing out of the crater, Luna shook her head and patted the ground beside her for Marcus to sit, restraining herself from giving him a comforting pat on the back.

“Can I be affected by a flashbang grenade?” Marcus asked.

“What’s that?” Luna asked.

“It’s a… it’s a grenade that…” Marcus said, struggling to explain it. “Instead of an explosion, it makes a bright flash and a loud noise. Blinds and deafens them.”

“Possibly,” Luna said. “It’d have to be a lot, though. I doubt that something meant for normal humans would work more than a second, and you’d be more surprised than anything.”

“You seem experienced in this.”

“Spells with much the same effect were used on us in the early days of Equestria,” Luna explained, one hoof off to the side, almost dismissively. “Usually to warm up for some new spell that some petty kingdom’s archmagi swore would work. Eventually, you got used to it…”

“I think I should do that,” Marcus said.

“Certainly,” Luna said. “You’re still probably going to flinch when shot, and your instincts will tell you that you’re still comparatively fragile. I believe I recall some human telling numerous Equus natives to unlearn things. You should try it. You’ll need all the advantages you can get.”

“Hmmm. Good advice, then,” Marcus mused.

“Well, as long as I am here, may I ask you a question, Marcus?”

“Go on ahead,” he replied.

“Could you tell me more about this… PER? I have read the briefings, but from having heard some of your soldiers talk about them, it seems that they really, utterly despise these individuals’ very being.”

Marcus gave off a dry laugh and answered, “Well, the PER stands for Ponification for Earth’s Rebirth. They’re a group of humans that willingly collaborate with the Solar Tyrant…”

“This much I already understand… but I still cannot grasp their motivations.”

“Well, they forcibly convert people into ponies, because they think Equestria - sorry, I mean, the Solar Empire, really did come to save us…they also provide aid and succor to the Empire, acting as a human support-structure, giving the enemy reach into human-controlled territory and facilitating strikes against our war-making infrastructure and population centers.”

He paused and rubbed at his aching knees. “Yeah, that’s the PER. When you consider that most of the major bombings and attacks on the ‘home front’ have been orchestrated or executed with their support, well, it becomes pretty self-explanatory why everyone hates them so much.... they were in no small part responsible for the destruction of my homeland’s capital city. And they did a lot of damage to plenty other countries as well.”

Luna’s eyes widened subtly.

“And what are their motivations?” she then asked in a soft voice, “Why take such radical steps? Do they realize what the potion does to a human’s mind and essence? What drives them to these acts of treachery?”

Marcus simply shrugged. In truth he disliked giving much thought to the enemy motivations, beyond understanding their methodology. It always hurt too much...

“Some are utterly complicit, or deluded,” he said at last. “But many of them are people with a grievance, the discarded and dispossessed, people who have lost so much that they’ve given up on the human race… the homeless, the oppressed and abused, the disenfranchised and downtrodden… for them, this isn’t an extinction event, it’s a chance to start over again.”

“That’s… really sad…”

“Yeah. I’ve never tried to pretend that humanity’s got a squeaky-clean track record, yet I sometimes wonder if we’d have so many of our own trying to stab us in the back if we’d done more for the sick, the ill, the hungry and the poor. But then I think about the fanatics, and my blood boils…”

Her silent question prompted him to continue.

“Centuries ago, there was a boy named Ned Ludd, who smashed up two knitting frames in a fit of passion. As time went by, artisans and craftsmen who objected to how industrialisation was destroying their livelihoods, took on his name and repeated his actions on a large scale… but nowadays the word ‘luddite’ can refer to anyone who believes human mechanical and scientific enterprise is a blight on society or nature…”

“And the radicals within the PER, they are Luddites?”

“To the extreme. For them the cause is right there in the title: ‘earth’s rebirth’, not humanity or society’s birth, but the planet. These are the people who think mankind is nothing but a virus that destroys the environment, that we’re all just a short-minded and destructive bunch of evil or ‘misguided’ bastards…”

“And let me guess - they believe that ponies are perfect little pacifists who will heal the planet?” Luna finished for him.

“Pretty much.”

They sat in silence for a while, and in the void, each heard distant sounds and sensations called up from memory or imagination. Of birdsong and trees rustling in the wind, contrasted to the roar of traffic and the clang of machinery. Sunlight on a forest stream, and industrial neon lights glistening on an oily ditch.

Two extremes, neither a whole truth, and yet with some kernel of fact lodged like a seed at ther cores.

“The worst of ideologies is the one founded on a position of some merit,” Luna said softly, and at last Marcus nodded, not making eye contact.

“We’ve built wonders, and ruined ecosystems…” he said aloud, as if casting the words out into the darkness for judgement. “Soared higher than any bird, and fallen lower than could be imagined… we’ve got problems, and I’d love to see Equestria help us through them…”

“But never to wipe away the good along with the evil…” she whispered.

For a moment, between those two extremes, a vision flickered. A city of magic and science, of steel and stone sculptured and woven so that engineering became art, reaching for the heavens, clad in nature’s greenery, and filled with ponies and humans alike.

“Behold, Utopia…” Marcus snorted. “Nowhere…”

“A beautiful dream…” Luna said firmly. “An ideal worth striving for.”

And again, the roaring silence of their thoughts, trying to weigh in balance the imperfect nature of humans and ponies alike.

One directly manipulated and dominated the natural forces, achieved a tenuous balance with them, and harmonised and controlled, at the cost of stagnation.

Another fought tooth-and-claw against those same forces, casting down natural order to achieve accomplishments so fantastic to be like dreams...

Two halves, two mirror-faces. Neither wholly good nor bad, and each unbalanced and distorted in their own way. The irony was not lost on Luna.

And speaking of distortion and mirrors...

“What of the Newfoals?” she asked at length. “How do they fit into the PER paradigm?”

“Hah, well the crazy thing is, the Newfoals don’t attack human PER members at all. In fact, they’re actually very affectionate towards them. Especially the human members who see ponification as a kind of ‘blessing’ that they’ve got to earn, a sacrament they have to strive towards being worthy of.”

Luna shivered, as the mental image of Newfoals hugging human members of the PER entered her mind, their painfully strained smiles along with their glassy eyes staring into the humans’ souls in a false show of affection. All topped off with the image of these impossibly earnest humans smiling back, aspiring to become these monsters, instead of showing the expected fear and disgust.

“Do they… do they not even try to ponify them?” she asked in a low voice, as the back of her mind kept showing her images of the Newfoals hugging humans, and humans who longed to shed their forms and souls...

“No. The Newfoals, as I said, don’t attack them at all. Hell, there have even been some reports of Newfoals actually killing natural-born pony Imperials to protect their human compatriots from getting ponified by them.”

“Really? That’s odd,” she said curiously whilst tapping a hoof to her chin. “Could it be quite possible that the Solar Tyrant telepathically orders the Newfoals to do these things, or that there is some form of unifying law or mechanism that governs and synchronises their actions?”

“Sounds like a possible theory.” A sly smile came across his face as he spoke sarcastically. “You think maybe, if all of us pretended to hate our own humanity, the Newfoals wouldn't attack us?”

“Hah, I seriously doubt that,” she said with a slight chuckle. “Still, Marcus, I don’t understand…”

“What?” he said with a raised eyebrow.

“That if these humans hate humanity so much, why don’t they just drink the potion?”

“Some do… some just chug it straight away. Others, as I said, feel themselves unworthy of it. You know, I interviewed some captured PER in the past and asked them that very same question you asked me.”

“Oh. What did they say?“

“Usual response was ‘I haven’t proven myself enough to earn the right to drink it’ or ‘shut up you evil human’. And one woman, she said she would never be worthy of ‘Celestia’s blessing’, that she would work to the end to bring about Earth’s rebirth, and die a lowly human before the ‘final victory’... the last sacrifice she could make for the cause…”

“They don’t drink, because they feel unworthy of becoming a pony?“ Luna repeated, as if trying to make sense of it. “There is a certain logic in that, if one comes at it from a position of utter self-abasement… like a supplicant before one’s deity.”

“Why not? Most of them seem to worship Sunbutt as if she were their goddess. The creepiest are the younger ones, who’ve been raised in this mentality from their youth. Hitler raised a fanatic generation in just twelve years, and Celly’s done the same in six.”

Luna shuddered, but shook her head firmly. “Neither my sister or myself ever took such measures. We are powerful, but we are in the end simply servants of our world and its peoples.”

“Cursed lives, your counterpart told me once…”

“Indeed,” Luna nodded sagely. “We exist because the world desires we exist. It created us, and not the inverse. We neither desire nor deserve veneration…”

“Not over there in Bizarro land. I dunno, perhaps Celestia fucked their heads just as much as Tirek fucked with hers. I was interrogating the PER’s leader once, the queen bitch of the misanthropes… and she outright couldn’t even imagine taking the potion instead of ponifying others.”

“Why would that shadow of Celestia do that to willing human followers?”

“To ensure their absolute loyalty, I think,” Marcus suggested. “That, and at least in the early days, I think she just needed human mouthpieces.”

“To seem more trustworthy, I suppose,” Luna said. “From what I’ve heard about that… Reitman woman from your world, she would have made an excellent puppet.”

“Exactly. Also, she’s used these human collaborators as great infiltrators to mass ponify people caught off guard, mostly civilians… children… and even babies right out of the maternity ward. And then she uses them as psychological warfare."

“There… there really is no end to this evil, is there?” she asked in a low, shaking voice.

“No. Trust me, it’s tragic and heartbreaking and wrong and there’s abso-fucking-lutely no depth to which they won’t sink to get the upper hand, or hoof on us,” Marcus said with a scowl. “All of which adds to the reason we all sleep with one eye open with a loaded gun in our hand or under the pillow. One good thing is that the PER can’t shoot for shit, since most of them aren’t even soldiers.”

“If that be the case, do you think she would possibly spare these PER to use in a new attack on another Earth? Would she push on into other planes and spheres… with such a dysfunctional force as her army…”

“That’s all based on whatever it is Tirek wants out of this,” Marcus sorrowfully looked down at the ground and spoke in a low voice. “And honestly I don’t want to even think about the possibility...”

“I am sorry!” Luna gasped in sudden shock. Realising what she had just implied she placed a hoof over her mouth. “I did not mean to suggest that defeat was inevita–”

“Chillax, Luna. It’s alright. Don’t worry about it. We, ah… we don’t like thinking about the after….”

His smile turned grim.

“But no, the PER are hardly the makings of a force of dimensional conquerors. There’s not even that many left of them, since a lot of people certainly find that they happen to ‘resist arrest’...”

Luna’s dark expression seemed to suggest she did not entirely approve of such actions. But then, seemingly out from nowhere, Marcus felt a grin came upon his face.

“One funny thing about the PER, is that they are completely convinced that they’re the only truly good humans in all this.”

“How… why do they think that?”

“Because apparently it’s ‘evil’ to fight against the ponies that wish to exterminate our entire species. You’re either irredeemable and have to be ‘saved’ or are just misguided. If Celestia is a god, then by that same definition, the ponies under her command are angels, archangels and all the company of heaven...”

“I… I can't even fathom the stupidity of that way of thinking,” Luna growled.

“Right on one count though…” he sneered softly. “In most religions, angels have no agency, and their destinies and roles are decided from the moment of creation. And that’s all that Celestia commands now, a nation of robots and an army of broken clockwork toys…”

He stretched out on the grass. “Luckily, there aren’t a lot of them anymore, so far as the PER are concerned, since most humans are have rubbed enough neurons together by now to know that the Solar Empire probably isn’t here to help us, you know?”

Luna groaned, rubbing her head with her left hoof.

“Hopefully,” she thought aloud. “These zealots don’t cause us too much trouble. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them attempt to sabotage our efforts.”

“Personally, I’d be more worried about the HLF.”

“How so? They are an insignificant, crazy group of angry humans, that just take their hatred a bit too far onto all ponies.”

“Exactly. So, let’s say if they were in charge and the Barrier was gone.”

“But they aren’t in charge.”

“Yes, but if they were, they would have us nuke Equestria to oblivion and literally wipe out ponykind.”

“I know, but what’s your point?”

“The point is, we may have to deal with those whackjobs even after the war is over. And even then, there are other troublesome factions on our own side – don’t get me started on the Equestrian Resistance…”

“Those… those are the ones who have made me, er, my counterpart their martyr?” Luna asked, a slight flush on her cheeks. Marcus smiled – much as the Royal Sisters did not desire veneration as gods, everybody and everypony liked it when people thought well of them.

“Yeah, for what it’s worth. And then there are the people that are just completely neutral, only out for themselves and their immediate kin, not trusting either side. I won’t lie, I’m pretty sure even years after the war ends, some people will never be able to trust the ponies at all, and we’re still going to be trying to work out a rat’s nest of alliances, conflicts and power struggles. The scars left by all this would probably run too deep to ever fully heal.”

Luna sighed. “This hatred would not even exist if ponies had not attacked your species in the first place… what the...?”

That last salutation was in response to a bright flash of light appeared in distance, revealing Discord, a box held under one arm as he surveyed the damage.

Seeing Luna jump to her feet, eager at the sight of her erstwhile ‘brother’, Marcus felt another chuckle, and struggled to hold it down. What he had said to Vinyl earlier was true – ponies were just too darn huggable…

… and thinking of Vinyl only brought on more growing regrets about the actions he had nearly taken back in the library, and doubts about how to proceed.

“What happened here?” Discord whistled, apparently oblivious to Marcus’ inner turmoil, focused as he was on the surrounding devastation. Only when he came nearer did he react to the scars and healing wounds slathered across the ex-Marine’s body. “And what in the name of Mom’ has happened to you?”

“I happened to me,” snorted Marcus. “And I kinda made a big hole in the earth.”

Groaning, he stood up, popping his neck and looking down at his hand to look at his ring finger, wiggling the almost completely healed digit experimentally. “If I can direct this power, focus it into something more lethal, I might be able to kill the Queen.”

“Doubtful.” Luna stood up as well, stretching her wings out. “As impressive as this show of power is, Discord and I were at least using this much against her copy, and she still managed to fight us to a standstill.”

“Yup.” Discord rolled his shoulders a bit, “Sorry Marcus, this micro-Armageddon of yours isn’t going to do squat against the real thing.”

“Dammit! Do we have to hurl an asteroid at her or something?”

“Hmm, you know, that actually might work if we can get it to sufficient velocity… " Discord said truthfully whilst he stroked his beard. "Maybe I should pay a visit to the Kuiper belt and...”

“Uh, I would like to have an Earth left to live on, you know. And I’m sure everyone else would too.”

“Oh, right,“ Discord replied, covered his face with the palm of his clawed hand. “Sorry. Still getting used to this whole ‘moderation’ doolally“

“I am more worried about the fact that our foe can use the Mirror Pool to make duplicates of herself,” Luna said as she looked up to the morning sky. “One Tyrant is enough, but two? Three? Dozens?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that, sis,” Discord said he handed Marcus the box he was carrying, much to his confusion. “That clone was a directly controlled by the Tyrant herself. When I created the Mirror Pool, I had in mind the duplication of inanimate objects. Food, armor, crafting items, non-living beings like golems and such. The first time I saw someone use it on themselves, it was much of a surprise to me that it worked as well as it did without any sort of backlash.”

"So… could we clone an army to help us?"

“Hmm. That would be tempting, wouldn’t it?” he replied, lifting one thoughtful claw to his chin. “But have you considered the ramifications?”

“Say what?”

Luna chuckled at Marcus’s confusion and lifted a wry eye at Discord.

“I think I understand what ‘brother dearest’ is saying, Commander. Spells of duplication are some of the most powerful in existence, but even they have their limits.”

“So, are you saying that the Mirror Pool could not copy a soul; is that the problem?”

She laughed softly. “That is no hindrance at all. What is a soul but a mind? Electrons and wavelengths and chemicals that serve as the canvas upon which the glorious majesty of sentient thought is as ever-flowing paint… no, any living creature passed through the pool would have as much a life as you or I, but the results would be… flawed.”

“The Mirror Pool is powerful enough in its own right, even if I created it by accident, but it’s not perfect,” continued Discord. “And summoning life into existence was easy in my prime, just ask the minotaurs and griffons! Why, if I had some of my old mojo back, I’d summon you an army of cyborg ninjas dual wielding chainsaw katanas, riding on land sharks with head-mounted laser cannons!”

Marcus was beginning to feel stressed, and replied through gritted teeth, “Then why can’t we use this Mirror Pool thing to make ourselves an army?”

“Oh come on, think about it. Luna gets it, and you’re from a world that invented Xerox machines. Work it out dim-bulb!”

It took a few seconds, but at last Marcus looked up with a dawning expression of horror.

“Copying Errors… So, the clones don’t always work?"

“Exactly. Think of this one race I visited… the Grineer. Not fun to meet them, I can tell you that. See, they were clones of something perfect, but they kept making copies of copies of copies, to the point that they’re not really the same thing they once were. Errors get mass-produced, and multiply with new errors, to the point that the remaining Grineer needed extensive cybernetics to live.”

He paused.

“Not that that would happen if Pinkie Pie was to use the pool, but you understand.”

It was simple logic. Even if the copy looked nearly perfect, indistinguishable from the original, the clones always came through with minor defects, cells that were missing or out of place…

“Just like a fax machine. What you get is never quite as sharp or crisp as the original. The images are pixelated, even with the best quality settings in play, the edges foxed or ghosted, blurred and faded out in places. Now apply that principle to living beings. In the first generation, it would not be a problem. The errors would be virtually unnoticeable, and would only affect the clone’s quality of life in a rare fraction of cases. But imagine then if you duplicated the duplicates, as you’d want to in order to speed the process…”

He paused momentarily to let this sink in.

“The defects would multiply upon each other, exponentially. A few flaws in the nucleotides would become an entire string of corrupted chromosomes. Proteins would begin to fold in unpredictable patterns, and tissues reproduce out of control. You’d see weaker and weaker iterations...and then, past a certain point, rampant cancers…”

And it went on and on in horror, until at last, the pool would be churning out screaming blobs of tissue. A meat-grinder spitting out mince and chuck that was alive, and in pain.

“And consider those same principles applied to the mind…”

The implications were even more horrific. Thoughts and memories and mental engrams simplified and diluted, until there was only the faintest echo of the original donor.

"So, each new clone would get dumber and dumber?

“Those that retained their sanity, yeah.” Discord rolled his eyes, “Given how simple they might be when they first come out, a simple order that applies to them will be taken to the next level. It would be like Pinkie Pie cloning herself to give more of herself to her friends to hang around with. And given how many friends Pinkie has, well… you can only imagine the chaos that would bring.”

For moment, both Luna and Marcus were quiet, contemplating that notion. And both shivered from the visualization of hundreds of Pinkie Pies, hopping around looking for anything fun to do like a bunch of five year olds on a massive sugar rush...

New New York, Equestria

Pinkie stopped in mid-bounce, floating in the air as her body shook somewhat, before floating back to the floor. Stephan, who was standing behind the Elements and Lyra as they waited to be seated at the Mission Cantina for lunch, stared as she shuddered and wrapped her forelegs around her barrel. “I feel a great disturbance in the Pinkie-force… as if a million of me cried out, and were suddenly silenced like balloons being popped!”

“Is something wrong?” Stephan asked, a little worried at her behavior. He’d heard about ‘Pinkie Sense’ and was wondering if this was an instance of it.

“I… I don’t know?” Pinkie said quietly, watching as a Discord clone led a group of griffon soldiers to a table. “I just feel like I avoided a problem that would’ve caused a super-duper lot of problems we don’t need right now!”

Stephan only stared at her, unable to figure out what she meant.

“You know…” Pinkie Pie said, cocking her head to the side, looking like she was searching for the right words. “Like when you're baking something and you go and get a recipe for a cake you already know, just so you don’t make a big mis-cake?”

In response to Stephan’s confused look, Applejack pat his knee and just said, “Look, Major, we’ve all kinda learned to just go along with it and not question it. Twilight tried and she nearly went nuts.”

“Right. Nonetheless, I still think we should do some scientific research of our own when we’ve got time.“

“Well, you can try, but its your funeral, and I will not cover the expense. Get your own lilies..“

“You know….” Discord chuckled as he thought about the scenario he had proposed, “That would have been hilarious to watch. But each Pinkie would retain that same thought process until it becomes too degraded to even form a simple thought. Heck, the first few batches might even act like Pinkie as she normally does.”

“Wait a second! Does that mean if the Queen makes several clones of herself, there exists some chance that one of them could have her original self’s personality?“ asked Marcus.

“To some degree yes, but the duplicate would be far less intelligent and far weaker than the original. I personally think all her clones would probably just get really fat from stuffing themselves with cake.“

Luna glared at him for that.

“What? Celestia really does love cake,” Discord said innocently.

“No matter. The Mirror Pool is a source we can use.” Luna said with a smile, “Supplies will no longer be an issue.”

“Got that right. But I pefer if I was the one that did the supplying, I can tell which ones are bad or good. Don't want a piece of armor to fall off due to it being flimsy now do we?” Discord chuckled before nodding to the box he had handed to Marcus. “Go on. Open it.”

Marcus blinked before opening the box, staring at the items inside. Luna’s eyes widened in turn as she watched him pull out a pair of oversized pistols.

The first one was a classical semi-automatic handgun, resembling the pre-World War 2 handguns designed and manufactured by Colt. The design was simple enough, but had a long slide and a 10 inch-long barrel. It was silver in colour, with a gold-bronze ejector port.

But the other was a truly brobdingnagian pistol, 16 inches from muzzle to hammer, and black as pitch in colour, as if hewn from onyx.

“Where the hell did you find these?” he asked, staring at the insanely proportioned weapons with a critical eye.

“They seem familiar to you, am I correct?” asked Luna, levitating the black pistol before her and cautiously aiming down the iron-sights. Then she turned the gun over and hummed in approval as a series of runes revealed themselves at the touch of her magic, etched into the metal of the slide.

“Jericho and Jackal…” he said softly. “Yeah, I know these guns, they belonged to Claire Lawgrave and Laura Hedd.”

“Who?”

“Two of the most troubled souls in the PHL. I thought they both died in the battles across Nova Scotia… Discord, where did you find them?”

“In Boston, searching for any trace of Her Majesty’s sunny little clones.” The serpentine draconequus twisted himself around until his head was positioned at the opposite side of the table. “These lovely toys were in a ruined building in the suburbs, along with the corpses of several dead Newfoals.”

He shook his head.

“You shouldn’t worry about crushing these monsters in your hand. I’m guessing they were tough enough already, but when I found them both had been alchemically reforged from a blend of super-materials. Some really nifty magic was involved there, which was what caught my eye. Of course, I added my own brand of special touches.”

“What kind of materials?”

“Well, that black gun, the Jackal, was almost entirely carbon-fibre compressed to densities I’ve not seen outside of esoteric materials like Gundanium, or Gallifreyan coral. And the silver one… Jerry or whatever, that was alloyed from titanium and some notable rare metals from Equestria: adamantium and vibranium.”

“You mean the same stuff that coated Wolverine’s bones, and Captain America’s shield?” Marcus gawked at him. “And those materials can be found on Equus?”

“You really should read your briefings better.” Luna taunted, now testing the Jericho's weight in her magical grip. “Why do you think the royal guardsponies’ armor manages to be light and strong at the same time? The alloy is extremely watered down though, there’s more pure adamantium in that one firearm than in the entire Canterlot armory! The Zebra mines in Adnawak extract about a thousand pounds of purified vibranium per fiscal year, and the exchange rate is-”

“Urgh!” the commander growled, cutting her off while massaging his head. “Next you’re going to tell me you’ve gone skeet-shooting with Tony Stark or something, Discord…”

“Oh, that would have been fun. I couldn’t get past Pepper though – that’s a mean girl when it comes to her boss’s time. I had to settle for a stint on the rifle range with Cap.”

“Captain… America…”

“Oh yeah, Cap is a stuck-up guy, but he would have thought you a proud soldier. Get along great. Wolverine on the other hand is just a bastard. At least that is what Deadpool says about him.” Discord chuckled as he Marcus stared at the guns in awe.

“Where did you…”

“Oh, here and there. Now, as hard as these puppies are, its the runes etched into them that should really be admired.”

Discord beamed as he began to point out the flowing ancient runes around the weapons. Luna continued to express her approval too, and the praise of his pseudo-sister only seemed to improve his mood.

“Well, just because I am a creature of chaos doesn’t mean I didn’t learn a thing or two from Mom growing up. Took some time to get the purest of crystals, charge them with the magic from Mom’s Tree, and fuse them to the weapons themselves. And so lo and behold. I grant thee the pair before you. Each of the magazines is bigger on the inside than they appear… and the slides oil themselves as well. You’re going to find the recoil is crazy reduced too, but don’t let that deceive you. You’re still going to be toting a pair of hand-cannons.”

“These… designs look familiar.” Marcus said after a moment, looking at the weapons. “Claire and Laura fabricated them from custom-machined parts on modified Colt frames, but…”

“Oh, I’m sure I know where they drew inspiration… Does the name Alucard mean anything to you?”

“Uh… I think?”

“Hmm. Well, I met this guy named Alucard, undead vampire of stupid crazy strength. Quite the charming fellow–”

“Hey kids, want to see a DEAD BODY?”

“Hehehehe…”

Marcus and Luna stared at Discord as he giggled at something he recalled the strange being. “Using that song to enter a room… hehehehe.”

“Yo! Snap out of it.” Marcus snapped his finger several times, before crossing his arms. “Anything else you want to share with us?”

“Hm?" Discord shook himself from the amusing meeting to answer. "Oh yes, training just became more hands-on. So to speak.”

“Meaning?”

“During my travel, there was intriguing device I ran into, which lets a person be immersed a digital world and let them experience it as if they were living that avatar's life." Discord snapped his claw to summon an image of a hooded young man, several transparent images of similar men framed behind him.

“I'm guessing the hoods run in the family?” Marcus cracked a smile as Discord donned a hood of his own

“In a way, it's the same place I got my braces from.” Discord patted the chaos-induced weapon before resuming. “Either way, this technology was created to dive into memories coded within DNA to relive the golden age of your ancestors.”

“Genetic memories? Actual memories and past lives?” Marcus frowned at that, “Sounds far-fetched."

“Normally, you’d be correct, but somehow this group managed, and even I can't wrap my head around it." Discord waved his claw, banishing the illusions, “Honestly, when it comes to VR I prefer the works of Waldo Schaeffer. No matter. I am more focused on using the device to help create a safe environment for the troops to train in, independant of my constructs. Since we have no worries of maiming them in the virtual world due to some horrific death–”

“Just mental trauma,” Marcus muttered

“Semantic.” Discord waved his claw, “Would you like to throw them head first into a death march, or at least give them the chance to survive the coming battle?”

“Yeah… you’re right.” Marcus rubbed his head, “Alright, give me the benefits of this thing.”

“Other than what I said?” Discord rubbed his chin as he thought on the device. “Well, for some odd reason, whatever skills you learned in there, you will be able to use it outside of it. Muscle memory if you will.”

“Okay. How good are we talking about in terms of realism?” Marcus rubbed his chin, grimacing at his stubble.

“Very.” Discord looked to the sky. “It’s that good. They will feel phantom pains, but its to let them know they’re hurt.”

“Nothing like a little pain to be a good teacher.” Marcus huffed before nodding to him. “Alright, set it up. Try not cause any sort of… Well, given what we are about to do, mental scarring is to be expected.”

“I will try to keep the brain melting to a minimum.” Discord chuckled as he began to summon up various parts to him. “Oh yeah, I am going to have to take over Madison Square Garden though, hope no one minds. Need the space and all.”

Marcus narrowed his eyes, suspicion clear in his eyes. “There is more to this, isn’t there?”

“What? No, of course not! I am not going to make an event where I make the users play their favorite videogame character and duke it out in a tournament style gathering.” Discord said with a straight face. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

The Dream Realm

“Don’t listen to her.”

Catseye gasped within her dream. She knew that voice… yet its refined lilt was so at odds with the owner’s exuberant personality.

And it was indeed her that approached herself and the Queen. Only, looking more stately and dignified, her mane tied up in a bun, and wearing an unfamiliar jacket with a white-on-blue logo.

“...you,” Catseye hissed at the unicorn mare. “Come to even gloat in my dream, Liar-lyre?”

“My old pupil,” the Queen greeted the newcomer amiably. “So good of you to join us.”

Then, the unthinkable happened. Heartstrings glared at Celestia. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Such insolence,” the Queen said, amused. “Don’t have much to say, do you? I shouldn’t be surprised. You did steal your best speeches from someone else…”

The little green unicorn ignored her. “Catseye, please, open your eyes. That creature isn’t the real Celestia.”

“How can you say that?” Catseye asked. “The Celestia ruling this world’s been attacked by Nightmare Moon and Discord, she’s let monsters into our land, she’s–”

“Doing something the Celestia that contacted you is losing her ability to understand,” Heartstrings interrupted. “The Princess is being kind. Something the Queen hasn’t done since she lost her sister a second time. Now, she’s an unnatural brute who brings nothing but pain and death to anyone that disagrees or isn't beneficial to her, steals people’s souls to make them her slaves, and as good as murdered my poor Bonnie. She destroyed my beloved’s mind when she destroyed me.”

A shiver ran down Catseye’s spine. Of course, she knew why. Queen Celestia had told her much, and she knew she was talking to a phantom. “This is depraved even for you, Heartstrings. I always knew were an indolent little pervert, but even I was surprised to hear you were… are also a traitor.”

Heartstrings sighed. “I resent that – I’m proud to be a pervert, accepting of everything. I know I called you an idiot, more than once, and meant it, but I never hated you. In fact, before this war, I didn’t think I had it in me to hate anyone. It’s… not a pleasant feeling. And I still can’t understand why anypony or anyone would hold onto that. Nurturing and treasuring your hate just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Catseye shook her head. “Why, you condescending, self-righteous minx… I don’t believe you, not one word!”

She jabbed a forehoof at her rival.

“It’s so easy being you, isn’t it? I had to work every single day of my life to get where I am, and balance it with a job that didn’t pay anywhere near enough! You? Go for free to one of the most prestigious schools in the country, and what do you do? Slack off and chase skirt, sleep with Professor Shriek, that’s what! I’d have been expelled in a week. But, oh no, Lyra Heartstrings just needs to flash her parents’ money and that cheeky smile of hers, and everypony lets her get away with it!”

“And I truly, truly am sorry for it, Cat! That was foolish and wrong, I see it now. But I’ve learned from my mistakes. You wouldn’t believe how much I worked to help mankind. I’m not sure I believe it myself.”

“Then you wasted your efforts,” Catseye spat hatefully “And if you think you were helping them, you learnt nothing at all. Me, Celestia showed me everything.”

A scene from the past appeared in the misty swirls of her dreamscape, replayed specially for the occasion.

Two Royal Guards pinned down a writhing figure behind several fallen trash cans. A human male, laying on the ground with broken knees, fired a pistol of some kind, far tinier than a griffon weapon, and one Guard fell. The other threw himself onto the nearby orange Earth mare – the Bearer of Honesty – and activated a talisman, throwing up a magical shield around them.

From behind the trash cans, a literal new foal stood up, smiling. His father howled. “No! Dios mio, NO!”

“Papá! Está bien! Yo sé mejor ahora! Únete a mí papá y nos–” the tiny creature said, dancing on his hooftips in elation, before a sharp crack snapped through the alley and the Newfoal slumped to the ground, dead. The father’s hands shook around his smoking gun.

“That was your colt!” the orange mare screamed, pounding a hoof against the inside of her shield. “We helped him! Made him pure and good, like us! Ayh’d have done the same for you too, you ungrateful varmint!”

“Look at that. LOOK. What kind of creature would murder its own young? You answer that.”

Heartstrings hesitated for a moment, then caught her breath. “The kind of creature knowing that his child was suffering under the effects of that poison. I won't say what he did was right, no. But it was necessary. Death would be better than what she’s offering them.”

“Really?” Catseye demanded. She turned and gave a nod. “Tell her, doctor. Tell her what you told me.”

The human female wearing the ugly orange uniform was seated in the shadowy corner of a sterile grey room, fists and ankles cuffed together, the chains digging into her skin. Slowly, she looked up – dark, sunken eyes gazing from behind a tangled heap of matted, grimy red hair, and spoke.

“You can hate me, kill me if you wish… but you have no right to call me a monster.” It was a voice gone harsh and gravelly from lack of use. “I remember, when I was still human…”

She paused, as if resisting the urge to throw up.

“Oh, Merciful Celestia, the very word tastes like ash in my mouth... It was in Somalia, I think? Or was it Cambodia? The details grow hazy after a while. Ah, what does it matter?” she sighed bitterly, “It’s the same Hell wherever you go. But I’ll never forget the sight, not till the day I die. I was a junior practitioner, doing volunteer work for Doctors Without Borders. We went to a camp to give some children their shots. Vaccinations for hepatitis. Then we left. An old man came running after us. He was crying. We went back, and saw.... The inoculated. Hacked off. They were in a pile… A pile of little arms.”

She buried her face in her hands. When she raised it again, the thin light of the window fell across her orange uniform, revealing numbers and a nametag: J.D. Reitman.

“And that’s when I saw Man for what he was. Because that was the worst part. They didn’t do it out of cruelty. They did it out of love! Love! That one, crystalline moment, the human condition in a nutshell. Love, expressed through an act of violence. Is it so wrong not to desire that kind of love? To want something more pure and gentle? I dare you to look me in the eye, and claim the cure is worse than the disease.”

Heartstrings frowned. “I believe you’re making up excuses for yourself, doctor – this sounds more like a terrible event you’ve appropriated just to have a sob story and justify your nihilistic cynicism. There’s no way you wouldn’t get a psych evaluation after that, or they would’ve seen how deeply this event left you traumatized.”

Reitman gave a bark of laughter. “Ha! Psychologists! A bunch of quacks whose job depends on the continued misery of the world! What was it you once said to that mutant, Claw Hammer? Or ‘Aegis?’” she gloated.

“Don’t call him a–”

“Ah, yes. ‘Humans aren’t living in some dystopia controlled by a greedy minority’. Your naïve idealism is almost adorable, Heartstrings.”

“How did you–”

“Oh, please. Did it honestly never occur to you that, just maybe, some of the ponies in your terrorist group were double agents working for Equestria? Anyway... you see, whatever comforting lies people may tell themselves, I am not a sociopath. But you know what, in the human world, fits that label more than any one person? Corporations.”

“What do you mean?” Lyra’s face became impassive, unreadable, and Catseye found herself wondering why Reitman seemed to shake her head, almost as if she was trying to remember what she experienced for herself.

“The legal concept of a ‘corporation’ was invented for one reason, and one reason only. To remove accountability. After all, any business’s sole motivation is to make money. That isn’t political diatribe, that’s just fact. It’s what the word means for crying out loud. But if a business is owned by an individual, their personal goods are legally tied to it, and they can lose them if they get into trouble.”

Her eyes took on a faraway look as she spoke. Catseye thought it was as though the female’s mind had gone back five or six years, to a time before she knew the existence of an intelligent race other than her own. She wasn’t really speaking to Heartstrings any longer.

“However, a corporation is its own person in the eyes of the law. It’s an entity, born into this world from signing a few legal documents. Corporations are business personified. And business only cares about profit, not the individual. No one in a corporation is truly responsible for anything. Oh, I know, there are some people who think they’re in charge. But they’re just the central gear in a giant, soulless machine where every employee is a cog.”

“Charlie Chaplin.” Heartstrings said quietly. “Modern Times.”

“You got it,” nodded the doctor, without looking at her. “And a machine isn’t a moral being. It doesn’t understand morality, only efficiency. And if pretending to be your friend is the most efficient way for it to make money, it will pretend to be your friend. Not because it cares, but because the method works to its advantage. That’s how a sociopath thinks. Bread and circuses, movies and video games…”

Reitman absently glanced towards the little green unicorn.

“Toys and cartoons. And the funny thing? You know how well this works? It works so well, they advertise it! They make a business out of their own amorality! In how many old games and shows were the villains corrupt executives? But in the end, the joke’s on you. What do the real corporate scumbags of the world care if you blew the head off the Mr. Potter of the 23rd Century? You gave them your money of your own free will, after all.”

The cuffs clinked as the female rubbed her forehead, looking older and greyer than her years.

“That’s life on Earth. Power and illusions of power. And how does one wield power? Through pain. Earth is a world of pain. Tell me, Heartstrings, what were you hoping to accomplish? Did it give you a tingle between your legs to hear ponies swear ‘by the Golden Lyre’? Make you feel big, to see the humans you say you love so much, united in hurtling themselves in futile struggle against fate? You can lie to yourself, but deep down, you know that if the Barrier were stopped... they’ll just go back to killing each other.”

Catseye glanced at Heartstrings, and saw there were tears in her eyes. For one instant, something in her fluttered, and she thought it wasn’t right to see the other unicorn cry. However, the moment passed. That pony was always a bit too sensitive, she told herself. And she had to grow up someday. But then, Heartstrings’ expression hardened again.

“Don’t try to ‘moral-high-ground’ me, Jackie,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “I could ask the same of you. I bet you got all giddy like a schoolgirl when your bootlickers called you their ‘high priestess’. I bet it made you feel pretty big, seeing people buying so much into the trash you spewed, letting their souls be destroyed by a deranged tyrant who thinks she has an omniscient morality license. And even if you turn out to be right, that still does not justify damning all of human life into oblivion!"

“You call what these people have lives? I just explained to you how they let themselves be sedated! Now, I won’t say this war was a good thing... I’m not a sick creep like that, unlike some people I could mention. I didn’t want a war. But guess what? I brought the spoiled children of the West out of their shallow, materialistic shells and forced them to face the ugliness of reality. All you’ve done is prolong their suffering. We’re not killing them, we’re the ones saving th–”

“Saving?!” Heartstrings snarled, her teeth clenched. Catseye backed away a little. The image of a serious Lyra, not at all the oddball, easily distracted Lyra of university, was so unlike Catseye’s perception of her that she found it a little unnerving. “You talk to me about saving?! You, you… You talk to me about children? Don’t you ever say that again!”

“I–”

“Ever! There are people who lost their families because of you! People that went crazy, that will never see their children grow up, give them a hug after school, or see them dancing in a performance, teach them to ski, take them to the beach, or watch them graduate college… and children that will never see their parents for any of those things, because of you. You took everything from them, and you have the gall to call them spoiled, to say you’re in the right for what you did?! You were never the victim here, Reitman. You practically raped and murdered them, and you enjoyed it. How dare you try to put us on the same level!”

“The same level? Far from it, I believe. As the superior species, the ponies have a right to punish humanity for its crimes. They brought this on themselves. Without the ponies’ intervention, humanity is doomed.”

“Oh right, how could I’ve forgotten that ‘ponies are superior’ and only want to ‘save humanity’!” Heartstrings said sarcastically, holding up her hooves to air-quote. “So, I suppose, by your ‘logic’, say if another ‘superior species’ came along and claimed they were superior to us ponies, you would jump at the chance to become one of them, wouldn’t you?”

“I would not. The good ponies are perfect beings of the highest morality.“

“That's pure elitism. So, I think it is a feeble excuse to judge others for being different.”

“Humanity’s futile resistance against fate only serves to prove the Queen right about them. It saddens me that so many good ponies have died in trying to bring them their salvation.”

“So... you would rather humanity just lie down and let the Empire trample over them like dirt?“

“Yes, I’d like that. Like I said, they are perfect beings of the highest morality, not to mention the most powerful.”

“You… you honestly believe ‘might makes right’... just as long as you’re a pony?” Heartstrings asked incredulously. “Despite not actually being one?”

“Yes. What sort of world would it be, if the good side weren’t the strongest? Haven’t you heard, Betrayer? Good always wins. And that’s why your efforts were doomed from the start. You can’t go against the will of a true goddess.”

“Then… please, tell me. How are these ‘perfect beings of the highest morality’ good for exterminating all species that don’t suit their standards? What’s the sense of saving humanity by destroying humanity? You see one bad thing happen, and you–”

“Oh, one bad thing?” Reitman snapped. “I was a doctor for the American healthcare system! Believe me, I know what I’m talking about when I denounce corporate dominance over people’s lives. Eventually, you realize the patients are no better. Whether it’s the rich downing pills upon pills – most of which do nothing whatsoever – to fill in the emptiness of their existence, or the poor who won’t look you in the eye as they wait for hours, as resigned as cattle lining up at the slaughterhouse… you find yourself hating them.”

“What does that say about you then, Jacqueline? You were born in this world as a human and made your way through it. You’re talking like you’ve been a pony all your life, when your goddess wouldn’t even let you take the potion, because she wanted to milk every bit of usefulness she could get out of you! You don’t even have the excuse of being a Newfoal!”

“She would have uplifted me herself once the time was right!” Reitman screeched. “And by the way? Want to know why I didn’t simply end it all, like I can tell you’re thinking behind those sanctimonious words of yours? Because I knew. Knew that out there, there was something other than Man. Not a false divinity or spirits fabricated by fairy tales and con artists, but something real, true, marvelous... and yes, different.”

The doctor paused. “Ah, I see you know what I’m talking about,” she smiled coldly. “Yes… sounds familiar, doesn’t it, Lyra Heartstrings? People thinking you’re crazy, telling you to stop daydreaming… and then, wonder of wonders, your dream turns out to be real. Only for it to turn into a nightmare.” Reitman lifted her wrists to show off the cuffs. “And yet, even though I’m stuck in a tiny cell, I’m not the one imprisoned. I have faith. And I’m alive.”

“Yet the ones who started this nightmare are ponies, not humans,” Heartstrings growled.

“Nonsense. Humans are the nightmare. With that in mind, let’s focus on you, your hopes, your faith. How did you feel, when you found out just how violent, how evil humanity can be? It broke your heart, do not deny it. You felt trapped. You only stuck by them, creating weapons you hated to see used, because otherwise, all your dreams would’ve meant nothing.”

That struck a sore point. Heartstrings audibly grimaced, and Catseye could tell that, like it or not, the mint unicorn heard the truth in the doctor’s words. But still, with a supreme show of will, she managed to squeeze out the words to rebuke her opponent.

“It was to defend them from people like you! And, what about you? Do you really believe ponification would fix everything? Sweep all those years of self-hate under the rug? You are human, Reitman! You’ll be always considered as such, even by your precious ponies, if ever you drink the potion. Some chirping Newfoal, praised by all not for the pony they are, but for the human they once were. Nothing, not even ponification, can ever wash that away, because you’ll never forget what you were, and you’ll hate it. Newfoals don’t get rid of their prejudices, they feed on them to be more efficient meatshields for Royal Guards. Because Queen Celestia’s ability to empathize shrivels and dies by the day.”

Heartstrings shook her head and said distantly, “And that’s the real tragedy… we all could have been friends, learned from each other... learned from each other to be better people.”

The other chuckled lightly in response. “Oh, poor, poor, delusional Lyra. I find it so amusing to hear all those silly lies you tell yourself about humanity. When you know, deep down, that humans and ponies could never be friends.”

“And what do you call your relationship with the Catseye of your world, or all the PER?! Are you willing slaves? Their toys?”

Reitman looked unable to answer that. “Brave words from the mare that keeps fantasizing about degrading herself for a human. Like that filthy jarhead… the so-called Commander.”

“... He has a mare of his own, and he was my friend, nothing more,” Heartstrings said with a twitch in her eye. “And he is not a filthy jarhead. He is a lot smarter than you… after all, he managed to create an army from nothing more than broken pieces. Your little cult fell apart when you were captured, running wild without their ‘leader’.”

“Oh please,” Reitman snorted. “Does a mare attempt to comfort her ‘friend’ by trying to offer herself to him while she’s already in a committed relationship?”

“Please, let’s not try comparing human relationships to pony ones.” Heartstrings chided, causing Catseye to involuntarily agree with her. Even today, there were mares that dated and loved the same stallion at the same time, forming herds and families. The Apple Family being a prime example of such expansion. These days, there were enough stallions to make any mare happy, but the old ways lingered on. “Reitman… you handle things that disagree with your worldview with all the maturity of a foal in diapers,” sighed the green unicorn.

Reitman only smirked. “But you don’t deny it. Admit it, you wanted him. You saw how damaged he was from being a tool of a warmongering government. Fill his darkened heart with light by spreading your legs like a common whorse and “fix” him, eh? To prove that the big bad alpha male’s hardened psyche could be cured with the power of love.”

“Because I trusted him with my life enough to show him that I cared about him. Because he cared about what happens to the people under his command.” Heartstrings’ words cut through the cloud of hate, causing Catseye to look at her in new light. The seriousness in her voice caught the white unicorn off guard.

Flirty, flighty, human-obsessed Lyra Heartstrings now had the stage again.

“In my youth, I was just another unicorn with quirks.” Heartstrings started, her eyes narrowing as she marched up to Reitman, causing the human to shuffle backwards, alarmed. “Silly, silly quirks. Then came a war… the war I lost my family to in the opening days, when Sombra’s monsters stormed Manehattan. Sweet, naive Lyra cried for days after that, so new to the concept of pain and loss.”

Reitman collapsed as Heartstrings bore down on her until she was standing over her.

“That war… that war was started by a pony, imperfect as the rest of us. But no, the great Queen finally conquered the darkness he spread, and in turn opened the gates of humanity to us. Sad, crying Lyra stood up to face them, to show a strong mare to all of them. A mask to keep them away from her.”

“What are–” Reitman started, only to fall silent when Heartstrings turned her back on her to face Catseye.

“Broken, shattered Lyra met others that understood her pain. They built her up. They supported her. They were human.” Heartstrings’ eyes softened before looking up to the sky. “They saved poor, sad, broken Lyra. Ponies couldn’t see past her mask, but humans did, and they helped.”

Heartstrings’ horn glowed, and she stared back to Reitman. “The war started anew. But there was no silly, silly Lyra. No broken, sad Lyra, no more! Only a proud and strong Lyra remained. Who created a way to survive. Who gave her entire being to a cause. A Lyra willing to lay her life on the line to save others.”

Glowering, the unicorn stared down at the whimpering human. “I may have died, killed for standing up for what she thought was right. But you were given the chance to become a pretty little pony. To be all that you desire. So only one question remains… Why didn’t you just drink that potion and be done with it?”

Reitman coughed, regaining some of her cool. “War… war’s the only thing you understand now, Heartstrings. The humans took you in, a hollow shell, and filled you with themselves.”

“I’d rather understand war and humans, both good and bad, and all the ways they work together with ponies, than be like you and understand nothing.”

“Oh, I understand alright. I’ve seen this effect before. Patients who think they’ve found peace, when really, they’re emotionally dead. You’d died before you even set hoof on Earth. And that’s why you are no true pony.”

Heartstrings only sighed, the look on her face one of utter disappointment. “In that case, I’ve got nothing left to say to you. You’re such a sad, strange little woman, Jacqueline, and you have my pity. I hope you enjoy what you’ve made of your life.”

She turned around one last time. “Catseye–”

“Don’t.” The white unicorn raised a hoof defensively. “I’ve heard enough. You couldn’t stop at smearing your queen’s name, could you? I never imagined you’d use the death of your own parents to justify throwing in your lot with warmongering child murderers...”

It was just a brief instant, but in that fraction of a second, Catseye was sure she saw the minty unicorn’s eyes light up with a flood of negative emotions – frustration, anger, murderous rage.

A brief instant, expressing years of hurt and toil, over before you could comment on it. To be replaced instead by nothing other than bottomless sorrow.

“I’m sorry you see me that way,” Heartstrings said quietly. “But, as you speak of parents… your parents didn’t make you a monster, Cat. You’re choosing to head down that path yourself.”

And then… they were gone. The doubts in Catseye’s mind had largely subsided, her conscience felt assuaged, for now.

“To think, I had such high hopes for that one,” sighed the Queen. “But it gladdens my heart to know that, aside from my student Twilight, there are those such as you and the good doctor who kept faith in me.”

“She was a friend of mine, wasn’t she?” asked Catseye. “That poor, crazed, twistedly brilliant female.”

Celestia smiled warmly. “Yes. And she can be again.”

It must have been an odd friendship.

And yet, for some odd reason, Catseye couldn’t shake off the feeling that more than she could see was at stake...

Weaver blinked as she found herself in a misty landscape of a different sort, stunned at her sudden departure from Catseye’s dream.

“How dare you,” a voice called out from the fog, a very familiar one. Weaver turned to see a pony trotting up through the fog with little effort. Minty-green coat, golden eyes flaring brightly against the darkness.

Weaver scowled, attempting to break free, only for the apparition to bop her snout with a hoof. “None of that now.”

“Who are you?” Rubbing her snout, Weaver glared darkly at the image of Lyra Heartstrings. “What are you?”

“I have no desire to answer either of your questions,” the apparition said as she paced around her, glaring in turn as though she could tear the noblemare apart with her eyes. “I don’t know how you manage to fool the others into thinking you’re one of them. Especially considering who you really are.”

“Oh? Who I am?” Weaver raised her head, projecting an air of indifference at the accusation. “What do you know of me, stranger in a dead mare’s skin? What say you, who I am is Death behind their backs. A blade raised–”

“Yes. Death of children as they sat on your laps. Death of an ancient happiness, for the sake of ‘duty’. Death to all innocent souls who crossed your path,” the apparition whispered. “You will not succeed. I won’t let you.”

“And how do you propose to stop me from carrying out my task? I am not a stuffed doll for you to knock over with simplistic arguments and preconceived answers… This exchange is pointless. I know that you are not Lyra,” the noblemare said quietly. “You don’t deserve to wear her face...”

“Perhaps. But do you know what lies behind the face of the one you worship?”

Weaver blinked as she found herself in a field of corpses, bodies of ponies, humans, and countless other beings, some of which she could not name, that littered the ground. Wandering this dead landscape, between dried-out and sickly trees with yellowed leaves and bone-yellow grass, were the Newfoals, limping along with oblivious smiles on their faces, unable to comprehend the horrors around them. One even appeared to be talking to a dead pony with a meathook through its throat, as if it was the shopkeeper of some bakery.

Dream-Lyra stood atop the mountain of corpses, wings unfurling from her back as she looked down on the noblemare, before turning around to gaze into the distance.

“Look around you. Betrayal is your cancer, not Lyra’s. May it eat your soul.”

“Bodies. A hack writer’s trick, attempting to scare their audience with gore and the repugnant. Do you think that will frighten me? The body is nothing but a flawed flesh-and-blood vessel for the power of the mind.”

Weaver’s jaw dropped, her voice trailing off, as she looked up to see a massive shadowy figure the height of a small hill hold up Celestia by the neck.

“Ah, it is not the gore that matters,” the apparition said, fading away, to the point that all Weaver could see looked like a pencil outline, “It’s what it means.”

Celestia…. It was like a stab through the heart, for Weaver to see her that way.

She looked emaciated, brutalized, and starved, one ear missing, one eye a jellied mass spread unevenly around the socket. Her ribs were so stark against her barrel that the flesh caved in between the gaps, and her three remaining legs looked thin as twigs compared to her body. Her wings were in tatters, feathers missing, bearing all the signs of Disharmony Necrosis, and Weaver knew she would likely never fly again. Her horn, once magnificent, had been snapped through, and rainbow-colored strands of alicornal tissue flapped against her skull in a noxious-smelling wind. One bony, twig-like leg ineffectually pawed at the arm that held her.

And yet… the damage did not look to have been inflicted in one go. Her torture had been slow, Weaver was certain of that, though she didn’t know how she was sure. The general impression evoked a human that someone had gotten addicted to drugs. And, when her looks had faded, that same ‘someone’ had tortured her in a fit of murderous pique.

She flinched as he snapped the alicorn's neck and flung her aside without care before looking to her and slowly made its way to her. She turned to flee, only to smack into a wall of dead bodies, she tried to use her horn to teleport away, but all it did was spark weakly.

Sinister yellow eyes glowed with glee as it reached her, towering over her until it reached down and picked her up by the horn, causing her to cry out in pain.

“Death,” the Figure cackled out as he held her. “Death of all I see. I thank you for the opportunity, little betrayer. I shall reward you as you deserve…”

He held her up, showing her the fields of corpses surrounding her.

“You will die ever so slowly, your cries will amuse me so.”

Weaver’s eyes shot open, horn sputtering, then cutting off as she collapsed onto the bed.

“What… who… Who was that?” she panted, looking around her darkened room with a bit of fear.

Never before had she run into something like that; whoever was directing the Dream-Lyra knew exactly what to say. They knew every detail about Lyra, knew of her world, her fears, her regrets, her past, and even used them against her. The only thing she truly controlled was the Dream-Reitman, and she was floundering the entire time to get the upper hoof.

It wasn’t Luna. Luna wouldn’t play those games with her, especially now the Princess was searching for whoever was hiding Catseye’s dreams from her. But she could give her a run for her money. After all, she’d been one of the Night Princess’s first students after her return.

Whoever they were, they kept themselves concealed from her magic, playing the dream like a piano, even as she tried with all her might to wrest back control. The sole reason she was able to at all was because they let her.

The only other pony she knew who could do this was Queen Celestia, and even she had praised the noblemare for her dreamweaving, stating it was almost on par with Luna herself.

It could mean but one thing. The hijacker was even more powerful and skilled than the Queen. She had the feeling that the dream was meant not just for Catseye, but for her as well. An ache formed in her chest as she thought back on it, prior to shaking her head.

“Lyra Heartstrings… how you haunt me still.”

Sighing, the noblemare reached over the side of her bed, to pick out the crimson marble which lay at the center of her box collection. The thing scintillated despite the absence of light, an evil red color which spoke of grief and shattered illusions.

“I will need to employ extreme measures,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, Doctor Catseye. But you too will get to hear of Adam Bakula’s sad tale…”

Yet that would have to be left for some future time. She had exhausted herself tonight, and she was expected to meet an important somepony the next day.

“... And those who’d think to stop me will find that in a web of nightmares, this is the one I’ve chosen for myself.”

An exhale of breath was let out many worlds away from Weaver’s location. Here, within an unknown cavern beneath the Everfree Forest lay a peculiarly well dressed human. His eyes glowed with the last vestiges of magic as he awoke, his whole body feeling like it went through the grinder after having just made use of a skill he hadn’t employed in years.

“I can’t believe this… she managed to get herself into the other Equestria. What do you think, Lyra? Think she’s got a chance to destroy it all?” he asked, his eyes looking over to an empty spot; no one was there with him.

“Yeah I know,” he responded to nothing, using his cane to pick himself up… apparently hearing somepony speak to him. “Oh wait, what was that?”

His nose started to bleed, but he didn’t notice it until now.

“Hmm, I see. I better head back now; she’s probably worried sick about me.”

His necklace glowed and a flash of light filled the cavern, as his body transfigured into the form of a unicorn stallion. His coat a sky blue, mane and tail white and disheveled with scruff growing on his chin, his eyes gold. His cutie mark, represented in human form as an ornate tie-pin, was a spell matrix shaped like a star with a book set in the center.

"Such a troubling child. All that talent, wasted on such terrible pursuits!" he growled before sighing, starting to trot away from a tree of great power. "Still, I may have given her pause for now."

His ears flicked once, his eyes narrowing as though he was listening to something distasteful.

"Perhaps you are right. It’s a shame I could not be there to face her down myself. Through me, you can accomplish a lot. She needs to learn that her ways are wrong."

His horn glowed as a glowing portal appeared before him. It shimmered, and the old unicorn gave the cavern one last look before he whispered, “I’m so sorry, everyone.”

He entered, galloping back to a manor north of the Solar Empire, located deep within a condemned and dying world, where he was hoping to stem the tides of sickness that plagued it any way he could.

Celestia walked through the ruins with peerless grace, looking at the remains with a neutral look on her face. Buildings on their last legs, broken open from forces of armies that wielded power unimaginable.

Power drawn from a common tree, through the twinned branches of science and magic.

Corpses lay everywhere, blood drenching the land as if it was painted red. Many of them had smiles on their faces, as if they died believing in the cause for which they had fallen. She looked up to see many of the dead hanging from ropes on the street lights, each one having a single race hung as if to set an example to all.

One for the Buffaloes, another for the Diamond Dogs, and so on, with Changelings, griffons, reindeer, humans, and… ponies.

She looked at each one as she walked before looking down a side alley, “Ah, there is the last one.”

She noted the dragon’s throat appeared to have been sawn through; the pained and terrified look on its face showed that it did not die quickly. She looked up to the sky to see the sun flaring to life, the very ground trembling before everything around her burst into flames or melted from the intense heat.

“One more addition into the folder made of nightmares.” Celestia mused as she stared at the corpses burning away to nothing before walking away with little concern of what was happening around her. She already seen this nightmare so many times that she began to break the entire dream down to its core, much like Luna did with the other nightmares she dealt with.

It all boiled down to her fear of failure.

“At least give me something new, because honestly, this has gotten rather stale,” Celestia muttered, before she held a hoof to her mouth. “Oh my, it seems Marcus rubbed off on me more than I thought.”

Normally Luna would appear to help her with the nightmare, but she’d seen this so many times that she had become quite numb to it, so it didn’t affect her as much as before.

In fact, it just irritated her to no end. She knew she could not save everyone, not with what they were being thrust into. War on a scale of this sort, there were going to be lives lost, and there was nothing she could do about it. But to accept it and move on.

And yet, deep within her, she was terrified of what everypony would think of her.

An uncaring Princess who was willing to throw not just her subjects, but as well as others into the grinder for a species that only existed in stories, whose tales were mix of unrelenting heroism and monstrous evil.

She wished Luna was here, send her dream-conscience to others. Twilight was as special as she always was, giving her in depth descriptions of her training to her in great detail, Cadance requesting to how to run a newly re-discovered nation and attempting to bring them into the modern age, even Discord was quite chummy when he popped in and began to shower her with cake and sweets in an attempt to drive the nightmares away.

‘Celestia…’

Celestia paused in her steps, her ears perking up as she looked around the darkness that now surround her, taking her away from the gruesome scene.

“Hello? Luna?” Celestia called out to the darkness.

‘Celestia…’

“Discord, if this you, please step out now,” Celestia tensed. Discord usually played pranks on her, although she gave back just as much, much to the amusement of both of them.

‘Awaken… My daughter.”

“Mother!” Celestia sat up, eyes wide as she looked around the room. She blinked as an image of the Scribe appeared before her.

“You are awake. Far too soon at that,” the Scribe noted, looking over her.

“You did not wake me?” Celestia asked, grimacing as her legs felt sore and stiff.

“I have no reason to. There is still a month before you were fully healed,” replied the Scribe, her eyes trained on her. “But it appears that month would have been for nothing. Your soul is finally mended. You are whole.”

“I…” Celestia trailed off, something that has been missing ever since she could remember was now filled.

Growing up, she always felt afraid of being alone, especially when she realized that she had stop aging and watched her friends die one by one. Luna seemed to accept it even through the pain of the loss, but to her, it always hurt far more than anything else. She latched onto the one constant that was Luna, even through their fights with Discord, she knew Luna would always be there for her.

And then she wasn’t anymore.

She took on many lovers, adopted so many homeless foals, taught so many students trying to find that one pony that could be by her side. If only to fill that hole in her life that she always had to live with.

Cadance was a happy surprise, one that Celestia cherished everyday as she helped to guide the young alicorn into her role as a leader. It was only by pure chance she knew Twilight already when she became her apprentice. Cadance grew into who she was by Celestia’s guiding hoof, never too intrusive but always keeping an eye on her to ensure she never strayed from the path of harmony into the darkness.

Twilight being the latest in her attempt to find that special pony to reach the mantle of Alicornhood. Twilight was so close, so close to finding that spark to reach it. She had all the markings of being that one pony to guide everypony else into a new era of Harmony.

“I don’t know about wishing the curse of immortality onto Twilight, but if she ascends soon, it could really help our cause to save humanity." Celestia mused quietly to herself before looking to Scribe. “Is there anything I missed?”

“Quite a lot.”

The Scribe flickered out of view, and the sight of New York appeared in her place, Canterlot could be seen in the distance behind the city skyline. Celestia’s jaw dropped in place, staring at the image before she finally found her voice.

“Discord, what did you do?!”

PHL Headquarters, New York City

Cheerilee sighed as she rubbed her head as she looked down at the report. She needed to get the last bit of reports before she send it down the line to others.

“Captain Price… you really need to clean up your writing skills,” she groused as she stared at the sloppy words before her. “I had foals with hoof writing better than this, and they don’t even have fingers.”

Cheerilee sighed as she placed the report to the side, using her burgeoning TK. That new filly Coal Embers, the one that Kraber seemed to like (no surprises there), was eager to help, and had suggested that she use her new TK in as many situations as possible. Her dad had been of the harsh ‘Arcane Mind’ school of practical magic teaching, which required that a Unicorn’s parents force them to levitate forks and knives instead of letting them eat directly off the plate. While she did admit it was harsh, Coal Embers had raised a good point in that Cheerilee didn’t exactly have the time to learn these things the easy way. So, she was using magically animated gloves to use the computer, while lifting paper off to the side, rather than trying to directly manipulate the keys with her non-existent horn.

There was email from Enitan Adebayo over in South Africa, requesting the chance to do an interview. Hmmm. Well, maybe sometime, depending on when the usual Swahili interpreter was back from whatever shenanigans he was up to.

She took a glance at the next email, sent from Rothera Base in Antarctica, and suppressed a grimace as she saw who sent it. Without further question, she skips reading it. There was no need to read the mail from a man barely better than Queen Celestia in state governing, for now.

After doing so, Cheerilee prepared to clean up for the day as she took a look at the final report.

“Our mystery ice user ‘Absolute Zero’ strikes again.” Cheerilee mused as she read the document, submitted from Kentucky. “They’ve not stopped since Boston…”

‘Absolute Zero’ was the codename some wannabe comedian had applied to a strange magic-wielder, most likely a pony freshly gone rogue from the Empire, who had made their debut just around the end of November. Now, weeks later, this new party had yet to formally reveal themselves to either humanity or the ponies of the PHL, yet appeared to be helping them out wherever possible.

Pulling the relevant casefile from her desk, Cheerilee turned to a map, charting a string of attacks attributed to ‘Zero’, moving from the Eastern Seaboard towards the Midwest. It was easy to track them, given their particular ‘style’ of attacks Zero favoured...

Ice, and Newfoals.

Where Zero went, winter followed with a vengeance upon any ex-humans in the vicinity: Newfoals frozen by subzero temperatures, entire buildings shattered by flash frosts, all Newfoals within left as nothing more than icy meat and bones, but humans and native-born ponies spared, regardless of affiliation.

Oh, Zero appeared to favour the PHL over the other factions, subtly assisting them here and there by shattering enemy supply-lines or clearing highways of natural snowdrifts, harassing the Empire’s attempts to weaponize the very weather, yet it was hard to attribute a single death to the mysterious traveller that was not a newfoal...

The only thing harder to pin down than Zero’s motivations was their appearance. The only sighting of the being was a cloaked figure glimpsed vanishing into the distance, but was described as a human shaped instead of pony. Cheerilee wasn’t sure if the eyewitness was in the right state of mind, given the nigh-impossibility of a human magic-user appearing out of nowhere.

‘They’ll say Merlin is helping us next...or Santa Claus...’ she laughed to herself, before frowning and making a mental connection.

‘Santa Claus… no...’

Another file was quickly dug out and scoured through. Inside was a map, on which a series of crosses marked a path from Alaska all the way down through the Pacific Northwest and across the heartland of the USA.

This file was labelled ‘Lilo and Stitch’, a codename that had somehow stuck better than ‘Winter Children’, which would have been a more accurate descriptor…

It was a case that particularly tugged at Cheerilee’s instincts as a teacher and caregiver. For nearly two years now, the PHL had received sporadic reports of two young quadrupeds who had been steadily making their way down from the Arctic. Early attempts to contact what at the time had been presumably two lost foals had turned up a surprising result.

The children in question were reindeers, not ponies. And they did not want to be found, or contacted.

Instead, much like ‘Zero’, the roving pair, presumed survivors of the documented destruction of Adlaborn, had garnered themselves a reputation as free-range do-gooders, helping isolated communities out with magical aid and physical labor or medicine, in exchange for food and overnight shelter. Attempts to bring them for questioning and aid had proved...tiresome.

But now, almost trembling as if on the cusp of a revelation, Cheerilee laid the two maps down beside one another, and found a match…

Like an iron filing drawn towards a lodestone, Zero’s blizzard-trail from Boston to Kentucky appeared to be on an intercept course with the path of the the wandering fawns, Lilo and Stich...

She was so wrapped up in this bombshell that she almost missed her adjutant knocking at the door.

“Come in.”

“Ma’am?” the young man, Shepard, poked his head through. “Uh… You have a visitor, a Miss Lawrin?”

“Visitor?” Cheerilee questioned as she kept her eyes and focus turned down on the opened cases. “I’m pretty sure I don’t know anyone called Lawrin, and I wasn’t aware of any scheduled appointments.”

“It’s kind of a surprise… just walked through the doors and requested to see you.” Shepard looked behind him. “Do I send her in?”

“Yes, yes. Let’s see what she has to say.” Cheerilee mused as she began to file away the extra paperwork. “No need to be rude to her. I can fit in one more appointment for the day. Hopefully I can get the final count of volunteers for the Doctor to go back a week in the morning.”

She heard the door swing shut, and heard someone sit themselves down across from her. Absently she engaged her telekinesis to shuffle the cases away…

… and was struck back by the strongest case of magical feedback she had ever experienced. Losing all control of her magic, her TK field shredded and scattered the pages everywhere, filling the office with a snowstorm of flying paper.

Then, panting and sweating, she held onto her desk and addressed the immense magical presence seated opposite her.

“Miss Lawrin, I presume…”

The shape revealed behind the falling flakes of paper was neither imposing, nor particularly impressive.

“Erm, yes. Hello…”

It was a girl, seventeen at most, slender and lithe with striking platinum-blonde hair that was swept back in a short bob. An unzipped powder-blue parka hung across her T-shirt clad shoulders, the fabric of both seemingly encrusted by a shimmering sheen of ice crystals…

But the eyes...those eyes set in skin clear as porcelain were not those of a teen. Nothing could seem so simultaneously young and old, bright and sparkling and hooded all at once.

Cheerilee had seen those eyes, on a Hearthswarming night long ago…

“Er, hi…sorry about the accident with your, ah, files...” the girl said, waving awkwardly. “My name is M-”

“Erklass…” Cheerilee interrupted. “Elsa Erklass, the Snow Maiden…”

The girl’s expression faded to grey, and then a sad smile tweaked at the corners of her lips.

“You saw through me, then… well, guess there’s no point in hiding myself…”

The icy layer on her clothing sparkled, and then blazed. Auroral light filled the office, with Cheerilee reflexively holding one hoof up to shield her eyes. Her other hoof groped for her k-bar, but she forced it to be still.

She was in the company of a friend, or so she hoped…

The light, thick as syrup and twice as warm, settled on every surface for a second, before pulling back into a single brilliant point…

Cheerilee lowered her hoof, and smiled wanly. Despite the temperature having suddenly dropped enough for her breath to mist and frost to have formed on the desk, in her heart she only felt a fire, such as she had not experienced since the Manifestation.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintances, all three of you…”

‘Elsa’ still stood before her, but now the parka had reformed itself into a painfully simple and elegant dress that hugged her hips and accentuated her supple young bosom, capped with a gossamer-fine cloak that seemed woven from starlight on ice…

“Your Highness, or am I addressing the mysterious benefactor our troops named ’Absolute Zero’...” Cheerilee said, bowing her head, and receiving a graceful courtesy and a slightly cocky smirk in return, before turning her attention to the two fresh arrivals.

“Lilo and Stitch, I presume…”

Two young reindeer, a buck and doe, stood before her, and returned her bow.

“Please, we beg forgiveness for our intrusion, and for our former reluctance to parlay, milday…” said the buck.

“...but after our experiences and the fall of our home, we have been reluctant to associate with even your honourable pony-kin,” finished the doe.

Seeing them close up, Cheerilee could see a clear familial resemblance. Despite being not even teens, both were clearly strong and agile, carrying themselves with an inner grace and poise that seemed almost transcendent.

“Lady Cheerilee,” Elsa said, stepping forward and extending a hand. “Might I introduce Sir Eadmund and Dame Lucie, last scions of House Heavensky, and knights of the lost realm of Adlaborn…and I am indeed their Snow Maiden, granddaughter of the late king, Sint Erklass...”

Her eyes were crystalline blue, radiant with magic, pain and joy, and seemed to transfix Cheerilee to her core. For a second Elsa paused after speaking the name of her grandfather, and the two fawns drew closer to her, whispering words of comfort.

“Thank you both…” she smiled softly, before standing tall. “Lady Cheerilee, Knight of Equestria and Champion of Earth. I am indeed Elsa, heir to the throne of Adlaborn, last daughter of House Erklass, and Arch-Mage of the Reindeer…and sadly now clad in the body of a kind and brave human girl who volunteered as my host. As far as I can scry, we are the last of our native plane’s reindeer, and having been kept apart from my two remaining subjects for far too long, I bring the three of us before you today seeking your ear, and clemency…”

Cherilee muttered words to the effect that she would freely offer both, and once again the three ‘reindeer’ bowed in response.

“But please,” the former schoolteacher said at last. “How did you get here? We suspected at least a few reindeer survived the genocide of Adlaborn, but not yourself, Highness…”

“That...is quite a story. The account of my people’s fall, of my grandfather’s final moments… would you listen to our tale, and not turn us to the cold?”

Cheerilee nodded, slowly and expectantly. The room temperature dropped ever so slightly, the shadows grew deeper, and the fire within her burned brighter, as the ever-young maiden began to recite her tale...

Author's Notes:

There! Finally got a chapter out!

Hopefully its long enough to sate your desire for the next chapter. Right now, i will be focusing on a quirky side story with RedBomber and others will be working on other side stories. Not sure which will be up first, but keep an eye out for it.

Also, if you haven't read Joy to the Worlds, I added a link within the chapter, and will put one in the description soon.

Happy New Years guys!