It was a party, ponies were smiling all around me… Everyone was laughing and having fun... there were balloons and streamers and confetti. A festival! It was a festival! There were rides and shows and games! Foals laughing and the murmur of voices.

But… then the smiles… they changed.

Like a ripple spreading through a pond, their smiles grew too wide… their teeth too big, too sharp… pony faces weren’t meant to do that… their faces can’t do that!

Eyes turned red, blood flowing out from their pupils to cover the entire eye, coagulating and turning brown even as it ran down their faces and into their too white, too sharp teeth.

No...

No!

This wasn’t right! This was wrong! So wrong! It was so wrong!

Unnatural–!

Run! Have to run-!

But every step, there were more, at every turn, those grins, impossibly wide and sharp, the blood pooling on the ground beneath each face.

Then the laughter started.

Run!

It was a chorus, a chorus of laughter, of foals and adults, wheezing laughs of the elderly and the tittering of bells, but it was all wrong… it wasn’t normal! It wasn’t right!

Ponies! Normal ponies! There! Hiding! Had to get to them! They’d–

They changed, they turned with normal faces that split into more of those horrifying grins.

That laughter! Stop it! No more!

Had to run!

Get away, had to get away-

Couldn’t let them catch me-

Laughter started to bubble in my chest, a grin spreading across my face–

”NO!!!”

There was a hollow thud as pain flared their face and the alicorn struggled to their feet, their breath ragged as they suddenly untangled themselves from the sheets, mismatched eyes darting around the empty room.

’That- a dream-? No, a nightmare-... another nightmare. Can we not do that again….?

The alicorn swallowed hard, ’It’s not exactly pleasant for me either Twilight. I don’t like these distorted memories tormenting our sleep any more than you do. Really don’t like waking up with a face-full of hardwood floor though.’ came the terse reply.

’Hey! It’s totally normal to thrash about during a nightmare like that!’ They glanced out of the window to see the sky starting to lighten, so heading back to sleep wasn’t an option. Twilight pulled at the sheets with their magic as Emeris moved their body to untangle themselves from the sheets.

’Not for me!’ Emeris snapped back before guilt flooded over the connection at his loss of temper. ’Sorry… just… not used to nightmares, and definitely not liking these twisted memories… I was powerful when these things happened…’

’So you weren’t scared or horrified?’ Twilight almost scoffed, she was too irritable after waking up like that to feel particularly guilty about her mental tone, tucking the sheets back into place with their magic.

’Don’t give me that! Don’t-.... you can only take so much of the world tearing itself apart because of horrors before you have to distance yourself from it. You can’t be emotionally involved when horrifying things happen every damn week.’

The alicorn stumbled on their way towards the bathroom, ’Emeris…’ Twilight was torn between being disgusted by how he’d deliberately distanced himself from the suffering of ponies and being horrified by the fact that he’d had to.

’Ugh. Can we just move on please, we’ve got a lead on how to separate us again and I don’t want to waste any time since we’re up.’

The alicorn’s lips pressed into a thin line, ’... Emeris, what’s wrong? You’re usually not like this.’ she asked with concern and confusion.

There was silence from her head-mate for a long moment as they went through their new morning routine, ’That town… I remember it… it had started with just a few ponies, I’d thought I could cure them, reverse what was happening. But it wasn’t a curse or reality warping… something from Beyond had slipped through and was killing them, not just twisting them, but killing them and twisting what was left into… things very much like what we saw… it spread like a disease… I was immune but, even touching the blood or… or hearing the laughter was enough to cause it to spread… I barely contained it. I had to vaporize the town.’

The alicorn paled at the thought, ’Emeris…’

’I... I couldn’t do anything Twilight… there was nothing I could do to save them, no monster to stop, no magic to help, no trick… and they didn’t do anything other than stand there and laugh in their stolen bodies… I’ve never felt so helpless since then…’ Pressing their head against the cold glass of the mirror, a few small tears escaped their eyes, ’I… I try very hard not to think about that time… I want to forget… I want to leave it alone and never deal with it again. It’s gone, it’s in the past, and that’s where it should remain. I can’t change it, I can’t prevent it, I can do nothing but mourn… and I’m tired of being sad… I-... I just want all of that to remain buried where it belongs. I don’t want it dug up… I just want my dreamless nights back...’

’... I’m sorry.’

’... I know.’

There was a soft tinkling of a bell as the door of the shop opened.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, how may I– oh! Applejack, how can I help you dear?”

“Ah... ah could use some help fixin somethin...”

“Whatever do you need help with?”

“It’s mah hat, it got tore up a bit while chasin down Applebloom near the edge of the Everfree,” with a flick of her head, the Earth Pony flipped her hat off of her head and into her mouth before tossing it the remaining distance to Rarity, “Ah just don’t want it to get any worse if Ah don’t tend to it.”

Catching it with her magic, Rarity pulled it over to one of her work stations, “Of course, felt isn’t my specialty but I’ll have it fixed right away~” looking it over with a professional eye, she pursed her lips, “Mm, yes, this will be but a moment's work, feel free to take a seat, dear; I’ll have it fixed right away.”

“Thanks Rares,” Applejack went over to one of the couches, laying down on it and looking out the window as her friend worked.

The two were quiet as the seamstress worked her magic, both literally and figuratively. Well, mostly quiet. Rarity hummed to herself softly, and every now and then Applejack would let out a little sigh.

It was after the fifth such sigh that the seamstress actually paused in her work to look at her friend, “AJ, darling, whatever is the matter?”

“Huh-? N-Nothin’s the matter.”

“Applejack dear, you’ve been sighing and staring out of the window the entire time you’ve been here, what’s wrong?”

The cowpony snorted, looking away with a huff, “That don’t mean nothin!”

Rarity gave her friend on her couch a flat look, and only moments later Applejack’s quick glance back gave her away. Within a minute, Applejack’s facade cracked and with yet another sigh she laid her head against the armrest of the couch, “Alright, Ah’ll tell ya, but only ‘cause Ah think you can help. Ah’m worried about this whole combined pony business and how it’s gonna affect Dash’s confidence.”

“While I certainly understand being worried about Twilight and Emeris, I’m not sure I understand how it might hurt Dash’s confidence…” with a puzzled look, she set the hat down, “I know that she’s quite fond of Emeris but why would this situation…?”

“Ah kinda convinced her to ask Em out just before they got fused…” she sheepishly admitted.

“Oh… oh dear, that would be problematic wouldn’t it…”

“Darn tootin,” Applejack grumbled, rubbing her muzzle with her hooves, “Ah just don’t know what to do. Dash definitely wants to court Em, but she’s so scared that she’ll mess it up that she can’t even think about askin him out.”

The unicorn contemplated as she worked, “Well… why not give Emeris a flower yourself?”

That took a second to process, “What?!”

“Ahem, why not ask Emeris out yourself?”

“How the hay would that help?!” Applejack had leapt to her hooves, staring at her friend like she’d grown a second head.

“Well dear, you do like Emeris correct?” Rarity gestured daintily at the cowpony.

Applejack’s face turned red, “What makes ya’ think that?!”

“Aside from your fawning over the stallion, eagerness to be around him, and considerable worry at his predicament?”

“Those are all things that a friend does! Especially if they’re a stallion, let alone one who’s gone through the horseapples that Em has,” the cowpony pointed out, smirking at her friend.

Coughing delicately into her hoof at the profanity, Rarity pulled out her big guns, “Well, aside from all of that, I’ve caught you staring at his flanks several times and sighing, not to mention that you tend to get a twitchy tail around him,” hiding a teasing smirk behind her hoof.

Applejack’s hoof came up in a reflexive motion to pull her missing hat over her face, doing nothing more than messing up her hair as her face turned a bright red and she frowned at Rarity, “S-So what if Ah like the stallion? This doesn’t help Dash! Heck, it’ll probably just scare her off or make her mad with me!”

“But a stallion’s first mare is supposed to bring other mares into the herd–”

“What part of ‘it’d just scare her off or make her mad with me’ wasn’t clear Rares?!”

“Applejack Apple! I know that our Dashie is far more delicate than her rough exterior would imply, but do you really think that she’d turn down an opportunity to be invited into a herd…? Well, knowing her pride, that’s actually a reasonable concern...”

“Exactly!” a hoof was pointed at the white unicorn across the boutique.

“Then how did you get her to start to ask him out in the first place?” she asked in curiosity as she finished her work on the hat, taking it up in her magic.

“Ah was only able to convince her ‘cause Ah…” Applejack trailed off, realization coming over her face.

“Yes?” Rarity encouraged.

“‘Cause Ah turned it into a competition…” she said softly, a smile slowly spreading across her face. However, Rarity wasn’t sure she liked that smile… it wasn’t unhinged or any such dreadful things… but it spoke volumes about an ill-considered idea.

“Applejack–”

“Ah know what ta do!” the pony galloped forward and snatched her completed hat out of Rarity’s magical field.

“Applejack, dear, it might be a good idea to talk through the idea before-”

“Thanks for the help Rares!” and she was off! The fashionista tried to grab her friend to stop her, but only managed to grab the hairbands in her mane and tail before the blonde cowpony disappeared out of her stores front door.

“... I have a really bad feeling about this…”

’Told you tea could be good,’ Emeris’ mind smugged good naturedly at Twilight as they sipped his special tea. ’Smugged isn’t a verb Twilight.’

’Oh hush, I’ll grammar better when I’ve got more caffeine in me. Twilight snarked back.

’Too tired, will brain later?’ the male part of their conjoined minds noted with amusement.

The alicorn rolled their eyes and a small laugh escaped their lips… a small shiver of fear suddenly working its way up their back, ’... sorry… couldn’t stand laughter for a month after that village…’

Staring down at their tea, Twilight returned, ’...I thought that was me…’

There was a moment of silence as the thoughts and understanding seeped through them before the two started to giggle, covering their mouth with a hoof and trying to suppress it as the sound sent a small, instinctual fear through them.

“Spike?”

“Yeah Twi-Mis?”

“A). I, Emeris, hate that name and it can die in a fire,” the alicorn answered primly, the corner of their lip quirking up in spite of their best efforts, “And B). We’re going to need to use some of your gems tor an experiment today, just wanted to give you a heads up.”

“Which ones?” the little dragon asked with a measure of suspicion.

“The diamonds and the jade sadly.”

“The jade?!”

“It won’t be damaged, the diamonds might but the jade won’t, promise.”

“Pinkie Promise?”

The alicorn mimed the motions, though there was a small hiccup as Twilight and Emeris did it with different hooves by default, but they still went through the motions, “Pinkie Promise, at worst it’ll be singed if this blows up in our faces, but its not a filter, it’s a metaphysical anchor for the diamonds which will be the filters.”

Spike pursed his scaly lips, “I still don’t like it,” he grumbled.

“Emeris can make you more diamonds and gems after he’s separate again to make up for it.”

“... what kind of gems…?”

“Depends on the materials available mostly, it’s most likely to be rubies and emeralds.”

“Deal!”

’Since when were we bargaining?’

’Since we were talking about something he considers his.’

’Hoarding instincts?’

’LIkely, that combined with comparative immaturity, a sharp wit, and come on, what kid would be happy if you took their favorite treats away?’

Shaking their head with a smile, the alicorn finished their tea, “Alright then Spike, it’s a deal.” They hadn’t realized that the thoughts exchanged hadn’t been really between one mind another, merely undifferentiated thoughts.

“Dash! Rainbow Dash!”

"Ugh,” with a groan, the blue pegasus rolled to the edge of the cloud she had, past tense, been napping on, shouting over the edge at the pony that had disturbed her, “What is it AJ?!”

The farm pony held up a full mug to Rainbow, "Get yer flank down here!"

"No way...," Rainbow whispered to herself, gliding down to where AJ sat waiting for her. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked suspiciously.

"This here is an apology." Applejack passed the mug over before she pulled another one out from behind her. "And this one is a bribe."

By the time Applejack finished talking, she was facing the bottom of the first mug; which was empty in record time. "This is your special reserve cider, you only break it out for special occasions!"

"And there aint no occasion more special than this. The apology is for pushing you about Emeris. And the bribe is for a challenge Ah've got for you. Ah want you to stay still long enough to hear me out on this." Applejack paused as she offered the second mug to Rainbow.

Rainbow tried holding out, even if just for appearances. But they both knew just how much she loved the frothy goodness that was held in the simple wooden cup. It was a forgone conclusion that she accepted. "I'm listening."

"Well, first off, Ah've got a bit of a confession to make. Ah've got a bit of a crush on Emmy too." Applejack had to pause as Rainbow choked on her cider.

"I- *hack* - knew it was too good to be true, you want me to back off and-" whatever further comments the pegasus might have had were silenced by a bad case of orange hoof in the mouth.

"Yer gonna hear me out now, remember?" Narrowed eyes and a disgruntled grunt met that question. "Ah like Emmy, and you do too. And Ah reck'n he likes us both right back. This here is where that challenge comes in. Ah say Ah can get him before you can."

Hurt and confusion warred on Rainbow's face as she muttered to herself. "Hear her out. Hear her out."

"An’ no matter what, Ah know it’s gonna be a close race. One we’re both gonna finish, no doubt."

Rainbow froze as the implications of those words hit her.

The two mares stared at each other for a while as Rainbow processed that.

"You called this a challenge. What are the stakes?"

"Aint it obvious sugar? Winner gets to be head mare."

“... you are so on.”

’Alright, so ballpark it for me, what’s the worst case scenario here?’

’Well, we could tear our minds and bodies apart and scatter them into the various crystals.’

’That’d be pretty bad.’

’Yes, that would be bad.’

’Ballpark it for me, how likely?’

’Not particularly. It’s more likely that one of our minds will get trapped in one of the gems.’

’Well fuck-nuts.’ he murmured in their mind, ’So, best way to deal with that?’

’Language! But we just have to be careful in our implementation, triple check our lists and such. Our calculations are correct, the problem comes from execution.’

’Joys. Alright, let’s get to work then, I’ll move stuff out of the way if you draw the circle.’

’Good idea, let’s get to it.’

’Careful... careful... if that diamond touches the rune it will short everything out and we'll have to start all over.’

"I know Twilight, I'm being careful," Emeris muttered as he nudged the gem into place. "Almost th-"

*WHAM!!* "EMERIS!!"

The diamond pierced the rune with a small spark, letting the magic smoke free from its binding. Twilight and Emeris could only sigh as they watched at least an hour's worth of work fizzle. With a sigh, the alicorn turned towards the window that had just been rather violently slammed open.

The source of the interruption hit the ground running, both literally and figuratively, as Rainbow Dash quickly landed in front of their shared body and immediately started tugging them towards the door. "Emeris! I finally found you - come with me!"

"Dwasht- err, sorry, both of us were trying to talk there, this is Twilight. What's wrong?" they asked while letting said mare get them moving.

"What? Nothing's wrong Twilight. Me and AJ are seeing who can nail Emeris first."

"Wait, what?" Twilight stuttered as she dug their hooves in, hijacking control from Emeris, "What do you mean by that, what's going on?"

"What's goin' on is that fast and feathery here is trying to get the jump on me. Well, on Emmy too," Applejack said happily, kicking the library door closed behind her as she trotted up to them. "I know you got here first an all; but I made the challenge, and I wouldn't mind taking first crack at him."

’WHAT THE BUCK IS GOING ON HERE!?’

"Oh no." Rainbow turned her full attention to the newcomer, stomping a hoof against the hardwood, "I was here first, I get the first shot!" she jabbed a cyan hoof at her friend.

’Calm down Twilight, Emeris tried to think at her soothingly, but the unsettled undercurrent in his mind betrayed him, ’I’m sure they’ll be willing to wait until after we get separated before we do... whatever this is…’ Twilight had the distinct impression that he wasn’t thinking too hard about what they were talking about.

"Now, now, sugar. This here competition is one where hard feelings ain't gonna do anypony any good. 'Sides, did you ask Twilight here if she's okay with it?” Realization dawned on Dash’s face.

’See?’ There was a weak mental chuckle, ’They probably just want to have a match of some kind or smack me around for something I did as Gary…

But Applejack wasn’t done, “Now, Ah don't know about you, but I don't want to end my first date with Emmy without a goodnight kiss, and with Twi there... well shucks, that's basically asking her to kiss me too!"

The alicorn’s heart seized in their chest, ’What?’

By the time AJ was done, Rainbow was sitting on the ground perilously close to pouting. "You're right. I didn't think about how far we might go, and if Twilight was okay with it. But you know... I don't think I'd mind her being there, not really... as long as Twilight is cool with it. What do you... think... Twilight?"

The alicorn’s pupils had shrunken to pinpricks, small convulsions slowly working their way along the conjoined body, ”No…”

AJ leaned in a bit, “Twilight…? Emmy…?”

“Hey… Em,” Dash came closer, “You okay–?”

The pegasus trailed off as there was the soft clatter of trembling hooves against the hardwood floor of the library, “No… not again… not again… not again…” ’It was gone! It was gone! There’s no reason! No! No! They can’t like me! They can’t! No! This is wrong! Wrong! It was gone!’

–we’d like you to take us, any way you’d like! My friends and I would really like a chance at riding a stallion like yourself~”

Panic surged, horror and fear, the alicorns heart pounding, Twilight desperately trying to regain control of the body.

–mindless blather, little better than talking about the weather or asking what he’d liked, there was no mind behind this talk, no person–

’Emeris–!’ her headmate didn’t respond, panic and horrible flashbacks surging from him in intensifying waves, ’Emeris!!’

But her thoughts didn’t reach him, and unknowing of the mental struggle going on within the alicorn, Applejack stepped forward, raising a hoof towards the unicorn hesitantly, “... Sugar…?”

“No!” both eyes had gone a gray-green as the alicorn shouted with the full force of the Royal voice, scampering backwards and hyperventilating, “No! Not again! Not again! I had a life again! Friends! Not again! Not again!” their horn sparked with power, but Twilight forced the spells to fizzle.

He was breaking down, there was nothing else to call it. This was a panic attack worse than anything Twilight herself had experienced. She could barely keep his panic from releasing bolts of magical power or an overwhelming wave of anti-magic while fighting the tide of fear and panic coming from him.

–vacant expressions of lust, little more than mindless–

“Twilight! Em! Get a hold of yourselves!” Applejack shouted, the sheer panic coming off of the alicorn unsettling both her and Dash. It had come out of nowhere!

“No no no no no no no no no no no–” the alicorn scrambled back until his flanks hit the bookshelf, completely uncaring about the books that spilled onto him from the action, instead starting to scurry along the edge of the wall; wide, unblinking eyes locked onto the two mares in front of him.

’Bucking Tartarus! I can’t get control of anything!’ A very different panic was worming its way into Twilight, that of the consequences of this panic attack, ’Damnit! The best thing that could happen is that Emeris gets us to his home and hides there until I can calm him down and we explain it to the girls but I can’t even get a hold of the vocal chords long enough to tell them tha–’

“Damnit AJ! They’re going to run! They’re in no shape to be in the Everfree, we’ve got to keep them here!”

“Y’er right, Ah’m sorry Twilight, Em, but we can’t let you go–”

“NO!” sparks of purple and emerald flew from the alicorn’s horn as Emeris attempted to shove the two mares back and Twilight counterspelled it before it even left their horn.

’Oh no! This can’t get any–’

*POP* “Twilight Sparkle, we would like to ask if you knew where Emer–” the room fell silent as another alicorn appeared in the library with a flash of light. The princess of the night had teleported into the main room of the library, her polite tone trailing off, her eyes widening at the scene before her.

’I didn’t even finish the bucking thought!’

“What is–?”

“Princess! Keep that alicorn from leaving! We’ll explain later!”

“No!”

”HOLD!” midnight blue magic tried to encompass the alicorn, emerald and violet sparks arcing from the smaller alicorns horn and popping Luna’s magic, “What?!”

“No! Not again! No no no!” The purple and green alicorn slammed into the bookshelf again, knocking more literature free in their haste to scramble away as tears streamed down their face. Applejack rushed to cut the alicorn off at the door.

’Oh no! No! This is bad! Emeris stop!

In spite of the near gibbering terror that enveloped the merged alicorn there was no hesitation as he pivoted, powerful wings snapping out and sending them airborne with a single flap, making a beeline for the window Dash had broken in through.

Twilight had no hope of controlling their body; she was struggled to keep him from doing something hasty with his magic, taking control of their body in this state of panic was nearly impossible.

But the multicolored pegasus was there almost instantly, staying between her merged friends and the windows with her greater speed and agility.

”ENOUGH.”

Light left the world.

The noonday sun should have been shining freely through the windows of the library… but now it was darker than a moonless night. The only visible thing in the library was a glowing pair of eyes and a waving field of stars.

’... oh no...’

There was a strangled sound and sparks of magic lit the room briefly; with a soundless cry, the smaller alicorn was bound to the ground. The chains of darkness encircled their limbs and barrel dozens of times before dipping into the hardwood floor. The alicorn struggled, yanking at the chains, making them stretch and the floorboards crack and warp, multicolored sparks flying freely from their horn.

Light slowly returned to the library, the bound alicorn still struggling against their bonds, pupils little more than pinpricks as they strained against the chains of blackest shadow, small whimpers escaping a mouth muzzled by woven moonlight.

Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash tensed as they watched the alicorn strain against the bindings, even the princess watching warily. But after several moments, the lavender alicorn stopped struggling, but the panic was still evident, grey eyes darting back and forth between the three mares in the room. The friends slowly relaxed as the princess spoke, “Can one of you explain to me what is going on…?”

Appeljack cleared her throat, “Well princess, ah… well… Ah’m not sure where to start actually…”

“Twilight and Emeris are the same pony,” Dash said, pointing a hoof at the bound alicorn, “Twilight thought Emeris was still Gary and that Gary was a horrible and really messed up pony,” the pegasus winced, “Like, really super horrible pony. Twilight knew she messed up and didn’t want to disappoint you and Princess Celestia so Emeris and her were trying to fix it themselves.”

Luna’s eyes widened at the explanation before gesturing at the still panicking alicorn, “And this reaction…?”

“Ah don’t think we rightly know Princess…” Applejack approached the indicated alicorn, the motion getting another frantic fit of struggling from the merged pony, the implications making hurt flash across the faces of both AJ and Dash, “Though, it may have to do with how we were askin’ Em’ out…”

A serious glare settled on Luna’s face, “I suspect I know what has happened…” the bands of moonlight around Twilight Emeris’ muzzle slowly unraveled, “Emeris–”

“Luna! Get me out of here! The curse is coming back-!”

And back on went the bindings.

Luna scowled as shocked looks appeared on the other mares in the room before a scowl appeared on Applejacks and Dash’s face fell. The orange mare strode forward, settling her hat further down her brow even as the merged alicorn shied away, “Look, Sugar… look me in the eye.”

He did, gray eyes with pupils that were little more than pinpricks met hers, “Now look here Sugar, Ah can understand that you’re scared if ya’ think the curse is comin’ back. And now that Ah think about it, Ah can even understand how two mares comin’ to ask ya out at the same time would make ya suspect that.” She stopped a foot away from her still panicky friend, “But Ah really have ta’ ask ya’ a question here Sugar. A very serious question that has nothin’ to do with askin’ ya out or any of that.”

“Now Ah’m sorry about this Twilight, but just bear with me a moment. Em, I want ya’ to look at me, look at me real good.” Applejack watched with a bit of fascination as one of the alicorns eyes seemed to fade back to Twilight’s lavender, the trembles slowly fading despite the tension still filling the large stallion’s body.

Despite the obvious fear and near panic still filling their merged friend, the alicorns eyes were locked with AJs.

*WHACK*

“Do Ah look like a mindless fanmare to you?!”

’Wha–?’

The alicorn blinked stupidly, head still turned from the smack. There was pain, but far more than any minor pain, it was the surprise.

Applejack almost smacked the alicorn again, but restrained herself, a small tear slipping from the corner of her eye, “Ah’m insulted! And hurt. Ah get that y’er scared, Ah get that y’er tryin’ to protect Dash and me, but do we really look like we’re under that crazy curse?”

The alicorn blinked again in confusion before turning his head back towards Applejack, eyes wide.

’I– but this– what–...’

’Emeris, are you back with us?’ Twilight asked her headmate, riding the waves of guilt and hurt and fear that were rolling off of his mind.

’I–… I think I am… I…’ his heart ached when Applejack quickly brushed away the tear that had traced its way down her cheek, ’... do you think they’re right? This isn’t… wrong?’ without a better way to describe it, Emeris’ consciousness cowered in the corner of their mind, ’I– I can’t believe that…’

’Emeris. Let me take over.’

’... okay…’

Unknown to the alicorn, their eyes slowly shifted till both were lavender as they stared at AJ, their breathing slowing as the tension slowly melted away.

Luna stepped up, peering at the smaller alicorn over Applejack’s shoulder, “Twilight, I am to assume that you are with us at the moment, and that Emeris’ panic has been subdued?”

Twilight nodded, Emeris was still afraid, but he had recoiled into the back of their conjoined mind. At that, Luna’s horn glowed once more and the woven moonlight unwrapped from the merged alicorn’s muzzle.

As Twilight took a shaky breath, Luna spoke again, both her face and tone stern, “Twilight Sparkle, I am informed that this… merger… is your doing?”

A cringe, “Y-Yes Princess…”

Luna’s mouth pressed into a thin line, “And what were you trying to do Twilight?”

“I was trying to read his mind to get proof he had done bad things… the curse prevented us from talking to each other about him… I thought other ponies had gotten as far or further with him than I had…”

After but the briefest of moments, realization dawned on the princess of the moon’s face, her eyes widening as concern took over for any anger, “Twilight–”

“Nothing happened! Nothing-... just… nothing more than kissing happened… just… it almost did and… I assumed that it was more than almost for the others…” Twilight shied away as the chains slowly dissolved, looking at the floor.

There was several moments of silence as Luna absorbed this. With a slow breath to collect herself, she stood at her full height, “Twilight. I am extremely disappointed in you,” the lavender alicorn flinched, “And I am certain my sister will be as well.”

“Princess–”

Luna didn’t stop, “You should have come to my sister or myself with these concerns once you were able. You shouldn’t have dabbled in such dangerous and dark arts so casually. But you didn’t, and you did. And because of these failures, you have endangered both yourself and Emeris.” With every sentence, the alicorn cringed and withdrew more into himself, “Neither of you are aware of the risk you have taken and are still at. You two are extremely lucky that this happened and that your minds are still distinct enough to differentiate!”

“But Princess, I–“

“No,” Luna cut them off with a glare. She paused, her eyes closing as she took a slow breath. Opening her eyes again she continued in a calmer tone, “Twilight Sparkle, you are in trouble, and I am quite frankly, very disappointed with you. While your reasons were noble and the curse was quite horrific, you have committed wrong. Element of Magic or not, your casual use of such dangerous magics is extremely concerning.”

Twilight whimpered, but the alicorn's eyes flashed a gray-green and he started to stand stronger, “Princess Luna, it's–“

“Be silent Emeris. Twilight has made a grave mistake.” It wasn't just the alicorn that cringed at Luna's tone, Applejack and Dash did as well, “Twilight Sparkle, you shall stay here while I retrieve my sister. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, while you have my thanks for helping restrain these two while Emeris panicked; I must ask that you not be here when we discuss Twilight’s punishment.”

There was a pause.

“Hey! We're not going to abandon our friend!” Dash leaped up, her wings flaring before hovering only a few inches off of the floor of the library.

Applejack scowled, pushing her hat further down, “Ah hate to say it Princess, but Ah've got to agree with Dash. Even if ya' ask us to not be here, it'd be wrong for us not ta' support our friend, even if she's done wrong.”

“A noble sentiment,” a small smile graced Luna's features before it was replaced by a far more regal one, her head rising high and her starry mane billowing in a nonexistent wind, “But I must insist. This is a security matter and must remain as private as possible.”

The two Element bearers glanced at one another, some silent communication passing between them. Dash’s head was low, even though there was a scowl on her face, “Are you…” she paused, gathering her thoughts, “We can’t support Twilight?”

“Twilight must endure her punishment on her own, though you may comfort and support her afterwards,” there was no hesitation from the princess of the moon, “She has made a mistake and must take her punishment.” At the distraught looks on the mares faces though, Luna's stern look softened, “Do not fear over-much, as she will inevitably have Emeris with her. And knowing him, he shall support her as much as she needs.”

Not entirely satisfied, the two athletic mares exchanged a glance that spoke volumes before turning back to the Princess, “I do not like this...”

“Ah gotta agree Princess. Twilight is our friend, and so is Em.”

“And again. I must insist. There are things that must be discussed that could threaten the safety of Equestria should any mention of them be heard.”

“... wait, seriously? This is 'Danger to all of Equestria' kind of stuff?”

“Yes. While it is unlikely, it could potentially threaten not only our way of lives, but our entire world.”

The jaws of every pony in the room other than the princess' dropped.

'Not again… not fucking again... just... this has got to be the curse again...'

“S-Seriously...?”

“I am not joking.”

There was a long moment as Rainbow Dash’s jaw worked before her wings flared, “What?! What the buck?! That’s exactly the sort of thing the Elements of Harmony should be a part of then! That’s our job! We save the day fro–!”

“Enough!” Luna stomped her forehoof, the light in the library fading momentarily. She took a slow breath, “Rainbow Dash, once again your nobility does you credit, but please understand, even thinking of some of the things which we must discuss could bring their attention and give them a way into our world.”

The merged alicorn stiffened, memories of the beings from Beyond that Emeris had fought while under the curse flitted through their conjoined minds.

“Whilst Emeris and my sister and I are beyond their attentions, Twilight and thy selves are not. This is the risk Twilight has put herself at. Her knowledge of these beings could potentially draw these beings to her after she is separated from Emeris,” Luna sighed, a resigned exhaustion briefly settling on her features, “While it is possible that Twilight may be shielded, we must reduce the exposure to the absolute minimum.”

“These… these guys can’t be that bad…” Dash hesitated, glancing between Twilight Emeris and Luna before asking in a small voice, “... can they?”

“Dash,” Emeris had begun to speak, but stopped, realizing that Twilight had said their friends name as well. The Element of Magic continued, “I–… we’ve been having nightmares, memories really, of these beings… I’ve gotten a couple glimpses of the… the things that Emeris had been fighting.” She paused, staring at the whorls in the wood beneath them.

A sentient, fatal disease that spread through the sound of laughter and taste of blood.

A living fire that gorged itself on equine flesh and could not be put out even by magic.

A monster that was always behind you no matter what you did, only visible in reflections to its victim… or to others when it started cutting.

“No… they’re not that bad. They’re worse… So, so much worse…”

Applejack and Dash both swallowed.

Emeris sent as much comfort to Twilight as he could through their conjoined minds. After a moment, he took over their body once more, unknowing of how their eyes shifted to gray-green as they turned towards the larger alicorn, “... Princess Luna.”

“Yes… Emeris?”

“Is…” he hesitated, “Is this related to my curse? I mean… are we certain that this isn't my curse trying to come back?” Applejack started to speak up but the alicorn stallion stomped his forehoof, “No. Hear me out. Two beautiful mares come to ask me out at once, immediately followed by one of the two most important beings in Equestria appearing, and apparently what's going on is important enough to threaten the entire world. Damnit, tell me that doesn't sound like my curse!”

The two mares looked uncomfortable at that, but Luna stepped forward, “Emeris, I can assure you that the threat I speak of is not related to your curse. If anything, your curse is a byproduct of the threat. It is only a concern due to what Twilight has done. I shan't say more while others are here, but this is not due to your curse returning.”

“... oh.”

“Are there any other concerns?” at the shakes of the heads, Luna nodded, “So be it, I must go gather my sister.” With a soft pop and a flash of midnight blue, the princess was gone.

With a resigned sigh, the merged alicorn slumped to the floor of the library, tears slowly flowing from the corners of their mismatched eyes.

Applejack gently put a hoof on her merged friends' shoulder. The alicorn tensed and AJ froze, but after a moment the muscles under her hoof relaxed and she began to trace small circles against the lavender coat, “Twilight... it'll be okay, Ah promise. Same ta' you Em.”

Dash set down close and pressed a forehoof against the large alicorn's barrel, “Yeah, no matter what, we'll stick with you two. And come on, Twilight's Celestia's personal student and Emmy here saved Equestria probably hundreds of times! She's not gonna do anything too crazy.”

“But Dash! Ihglurh–“ the alicorn flinched mid-word, head raised to look at Dash, cringing even more as the pegasus snorted in amusement.

“Okay, that's always gonna be funny.”

“Oh hush.”

'Emeris! What gives?!

'She's right. But if you get started you're just going to work yourself into a panic.'

'Well clearly you'd be an expert considering your obvious experience.'

'I will have you know I did not work myself into a panic. I went from zero to destination Fuckthatville on the Nopetrain in nothing flat. A much more effective technique for illogical panic. Less time for logic.'

Unable to help herself, Twilight snorted in amusement.

“Ah gotta say though, it's real weird when you can tell that the two of you are talkin to each other in y'er head.”

“Sorry, Twilight was trying to work herself into a panic.”

“Pfft, unlike you; you immediately panicked, no warm up required,” Dash teased.

“That's what I said!” the alicorn stallion said with a grin.

While Applejack facehoofed and tried to suppress a smile, Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes with a smirk, “It wasn't a compliment ya big egghead.”

“But it's so much more efficient than working yourself up into a panic. Saves so much time!” the chortles from both of the minds in the alicorn ruined any facade of haughtiness they might have worked up.

After the chuckles faded though, Emeris spoke up again, “Girls... look... I–... after all of this merged stuff is resolved... if you're really serious about this, I–“ the alicorn had to close his eyes, stomping a forehoof and taking a slow, shuddering breath, “We'll talk after this merger thing is resolved and the princesses certify that the curse isn't starting back up because of this. I know that you say it doesn't, but I am completely fucking terrified that it is.” He swallowed, “Y'know, in case you couldn't tell,” his grin was weak, but there.

Applejack’s face became a cross of sympathy and hurt, “Do ya' promise?”

The alicorn took another shuddering breath, “Yeah. But again, first things first, getting the two of us un-fused.”

After a moment, the earth pony sighed, “Alright. And you keep Twilight sane and safe ya' hear?”

“Will do. I won't let the princesses get too crazy with the punishment, fate of Equestria or no.”

'But I did mess up...

'I stand by my previous statement.'

“Good,” Rainbow Dash said with a nod, “if I can't be there to support Twilight with my awesomeness, at least you'll be there to pick up the slack.”

It was a lot easier for three people to share an eye roll when two of those share the same set of eyes.

“Anywho, you two stay safe, okay?”

The alicorn smiled, “We will AJ.”

Rainbow Dash hesitated for a long moment before wrapping a foreleg around her combined friends' withers, giving them a tight hug, “What she said; stay cool. I really, really hate this... it's totally unawesome...”

While the alicorn had briefly tensed, after a moment he relaxed into the hug, “We will Dash.”

The hug lingered for a long moment before Dash pulled away, “Alright, enough mushy stuff, we should get going.”

With a despondent look of their own, the alicorn wiped the remnants of their tears away with a hoof, “Yeah... we should probably get cleaned up before Celestia gives us a dressing down.”

“Right, we'll talk to ya' later sugarcube...s...”

The two mares walked out of the library almost reluctantly, closing the door behind them.

Staring after them for a long moment, the alicorn eventually sighed and began determinedly wiping their face off with their forehooves.

'How... how are you so much calmer now...?'

'... it's always been easier for me to be strong for somebody else than for myself...' an unfiltered thought slipped through, 'I wouldn’t have lasted this long if I weren’t doing it for you girls...'

'... why did I ever think you were a bad pony...'

'Because I was the focal point of significantly over a hundred disasters in the past two years, I mentally manipulated all beings around me, and I nearly raped you?'

Twilight's mind cringed, 'But you didn't. That wasn’t you. You didn't ask for any of this.'

'But it's still my responsibility.'

Author's Notes:

IT IS BACK. IT LIVES. TIS A DEAD-FIC NO LONGER!!

I'm very sorry about the delay, but a number of things conspired to keep me from writing for a long time.

That said, many thanks to Aburi, my pre-reader for the oodles of help he provided in the creation of this chapter, some sections were actually full on written by him due to my absurd writers block.

BUT STILL. IT LIVES.

So whoever the awesome person is that's been doing the TVTropes stuff for this story, feel free to fix that up!

So happy to have this out finally. I'm actually pretty happy with the chapter overall, it's not perfect, but I like it! Next chapter will deal with Twilight's punishment, the end to this fusion business (FINALLY. I REGRET THIS STORY ARC SO HARD. TOO HARD TO WRITE.), and the plot finally moving away from Emeris-centric.

But as per usual, comments, critique, and general feelings of any kind are greatly appreciated!

Anyways, Autobots, roll out!