Wake up.

The vast gray aether rippled in the sudden disturbance of sound. Normally still, featureless, expansive and unchanging, the lingering cloak of gray reverberated and swayed with the familiar voice’s sudden intrusion.

The muffled ambiance of an existence segregated from a physical plane weighed upon her with a long-since familiar comfort, a comfort that lurched with the interloping command that permeated through. It was a sensation that resonated with booming clarity, yet hardly registered to her as the very sensation of sound itself was so forgotten into the alien recesses of time.

Time.

The very essence of time, the illusion that was days and nights, had fallen so far back into the musty alcoves of memory that the concept of a sunrise, the hypothetical allusions that danced around the whimsical fantasy of calendars, the word “annual,” had lain stashed in the abandoned cubbies of unconscious recollections that somewhere in the forgotten years been replaced by the dull droning hum of her own tranquil thoughts... thoughts that drifted aimlessly within, ultimately seeping out to be devoured by the encompassing gray dominion that provided her only company.

The gray. Not the best when it came to companionship. But it was all she had. It was her everything - the recipient of her frustrations, the ear to her worries, the object of her bottled dreams and adulations... she didn’t know whether it grew on her as a close friend, or if all the acquaintances of past shrunk into forgotten obscurity. Didn’t matter now. Didn’t even matter when the very concept of “mattering” still held a sliver of relevance.

The gray expanse that laid beyond her mental cogniscience should have been a fitting cellmate for the existence they were flung into together, an existence that neither really asked for, that neither even knew they’d be in some sort of kinship. They had not been on speaking terms for a while. Even when she’d try to reach out to the foggy expanse, her projected thoughts into it would dissipate and fade, returning nothing more than the usual dull hum of their igneous prison.

The sudden intrusion of a voice, very similar to her own... well... the voice she thought she had... pierced through the infinite horizonless expanse with an extropian novelty. Not something she’d even contemplated in the past, certainly not her own thoughts... as such would seem impossible at this point. Wake up? Waking? She was incapable to considering it; the concept of “sleep” was but a bygone concept of an irrelevant past. For the weighted time of featureless existence had forced all nuances of thought out, the gray’s own penchant for the silent treatment acted to pave clean her mind, the timeline of memories now a barren glass pane; transparent, desolate, and deprived of any hoofholds to latch onto.

Anything of life before had fallen so far back in her recollected chronology, it had diminished well past the point of any relevance to be worth reflecting upon. Even that moment when she called out to the gray, asking if she would be able to go home while her memory could still draw a progressively alien sketch of what home even was... had fallen past that boundary into irrelevance. Life had become the very opposite of itself, a straightforward means of passing time and having no choice but to find comfort in the embrace of the ambivalent arms of the stone encasing perpetually melding them together like a vice.

Without choice, finding comfort was easy.

And without much else to detract, the comfort came in abundance.

The comfort came in the gray.

So when the interloping voice shot through the comfort, she nearly shrieked from the raw shock to the system... if shrieking was still within her physical capacities. She wasn’t sure she could even react at all in this confined state. Despite all her efforts to interrogate the gray, asking when she would feel, or if she was even feeling anything, or if everypony she knew was gone, or if the concept of going was but a mere illusion, if she would never go, if she was immortal, if she was a goddess, if she could create worlds, destroy them, destroy their’s... her run-on gale of inquiries devolved. Her remaining interactions with the expansive aether diminished into a line of questioning that, without a tangible existence there to truly keep her in proper check, delved further beyond the realms of sanity into a particular breed of... well she just liked to call it “exuberance.” Of course, that was also back in a time when the actual meaning of words were relevant, a time that has also slipped past the fateful boundary of memories paved over by the merciful song of the gray’s low, unchanging note.

Something unexpected to her swirled in her mind, something that she never thought was even possible, something that the gray seemed to make clear was unachievable. The vestigial triggers that miraculously still held on in her mind fired to life for the first time since their own existence traversed past the boundary of irrelevance. The triggers detected the sound, and even maintained the integrity to identify it as speech, as very commanding speech, as speech that was decorated in a voice of, but not from herself. The mind rolled and churned, agonizing within its own reflexive sputters to ignite to life for the express sake of making sense of what the command was even saying.

Yet before the warm tingling sensation of consciousness could coarse in rapid enough circuits to even begin some semblance of comprehension, the gray replied to her.

For the first time.

Not with words, but with a gesture that fired all senses within her mind. Joy. Paranoia. Fear. Adulation. Defeat. A wave of automatic emotion splashed against her as the gray responded to the intruding words as well and spoke with a cryptic white symbol now jetting across the aether’s featureless visage. With a vocal crack of hollow shattering, a searing arc like a lightning bolt... or what she at least remembered to be something resembling lightning... burst in front of her, reaching with gnarled tendrils through the infinite stone-washed plane. The sound of a hollow cracking dashed around inside her head, and ricocheted together into a cacophonous melody of sporadic sound as another white lightning bolt fired and remained fixed in place against the gray, beaming a blinding white ray of light outward. More bolts jettisoned from existing ones, overlapping, filling in between the cracks, bathing her in the alien, unsettling, terrifying visage of her beloved, the gray, falling away. Surrendering to it. With a final roar of rushing noise cascading forth in augmenting volume, her closest friend, her only friend, perished before her eyes.

Her eyes.

She had eyes.

She’d forgotten she had eyes.

Before she could cast a baleful stare at the blinding white assailant, a reaction she forgot eyes could even be used for, the white gradually fell away, leaving her behind, leaving her alone to face what battered corpse it had made of the gray. But peering down, where she expected to see her old silent companion trampled and mauled, the gray had manifested into something else.

Something terrifying.

A wild bouquet of verdant colors bombarded her eyes, colors whose names came rushing forth from beyond the relevancy border, carrying with them monikers of shapes, plants, rocks, and hooves. Hooves. Someone’s hooves. Alien and unbeknownst to her, the orange coat poking through disjointed holes expanding from the receding rock coating them, the hooves were mysteriously close and reacting to her mental impulses as if with some telepathic connection.

She’d forgotten she had hooves.

Overwhelmed and downtrodden by the immense gravity of so many new colors and shapes assaulting her, she combined her reunited revelations on a whim, and pressed her orange hooves against her eyes, trembling against them, hoping in the darkness a familiar visage would appear. Familiar, though, in the limited sense. Yet the gray didn’t come back, nor did the particular comfort within its ambivalence. Dropping the hooves dejectedly, she felt the arrangement of surrounding colors start to spin lazily before her, drifting away. Reeling back to the sudden spell of nausea enveloping her, she breathed in deep.

She breathed.

Lungs. She’d forgotten about those, too.

She peered her head upwards, trying to make sense of the mysterious... yet somehow familiar world that had materialized suddenly before her. Every photon absorbed through her irises exploded inside her head with a turbulent miasma of deja vu. The puzzle before her pieced together in timid bits. She twisted with another breath as a vapor of dry ashen powder intruded into her nostrils, and she heaved, choking on the dust. Her eyes watered in irritation, and with a shake of her head and a careful wipe with an orange hoof, looked again into the world as it started to squeeze together with gradually sharpening clarity.

A looming pillar of brown formed before her, dozens of sharp ragged arms reaching menacingly above. Wrought in her own fears, she planted her hooves behind in an attempt to drag herself away from the horrifying brown creature, writhing furiously to flee, to roll into hiding, to at least pull away to some form of safety. Out of options, she turned to the towering beast, forehooves clutched together in a defensive hold, her disoriented sentience imagining the gigantic horror shambling toward her. She opened her eyes to face it, and without a nuance of effort, another vestigial trigger fired in her brain. The world blinked into a pinched singularity before her as a panging sensation racked up her face, and a searing hot punch of raw energy seared through a long forgotten adornment. Her horn illuminated into a vibrant glow of fiery orange, and with a force that nearly snapped her neck, a reverberating explosion of concentrated energy narrowed into a shimmering beam of lemon-hued magic that cast the tree instantly into a blackened inferno.

She’d forgotten... she was a unicorn.

She flopped onto her back, attempting to roll from the wave of twirling embers careening toward her. She felt a stony crack as a narrow piece of rock snapped free from one of her forehooves, carrying with it a long slab of stone off the bottom of her hoof. From the disintegrating chunk of rock, a vanilla-stained piece of parchment fluttered upwards, caught in the wafting shockwave of the fiery explosion. Granite scales cracked and peeled away from the parchment, revealing an assortment of images, diagrams, text, and arrows in front of it. The statue of a draconequus. The constellations of a winter night. The sacred hymns of spellcasters of old... no doubt much older now. In the center of it all, revealed with a final wisp of gray dust twisting in a wind-driven helix, a sketch of five jewels in a ring... A rapidly drawn circle and arrow over a sixth jewel embedded in the middle.

She’d forgotten... she had a job to finish.

Night held court over the Canterlot Sculpture Garden with its routine passage of constellations and a receding song of the city life diminished beyond the hedge walls. The touring groups from schools had long gone, the lovers in late-night strolls were all departed, the life that complemented the lively inertia of daylight made way for the somber kiss of the night’s grasp. The hollow silence descended in a thick sheet, only to be disturbed by the rustling movement of the occasional patrolling guard gracing too close to a hedge’s branches. Yet even their fatigued march was as slow and listless as the tightly trimmed leaves swaying lazily through the placid night air. High above, the stars twinkled and sparkled in the endless black firmament of the night sky, constantly vigilant with their weak light. A vacant hush enveloped the twisting and turning pathways weaving rigorously in a maze-like spread, the intricately landscaped labyrinth only emitting a fatigued coo of breeze sleepily dragging through the platoon of flags surrounding the garden overhead.

Deep within the twisting pathways, a mound of dusty rubble wafted thin trails of errant soot where there once presided a statue of a relatively simple unicorn. It was the least regarded piece in the entire collection, far less ornate than the other sculptures around it. Where many others stood in defiance, bearing artifacts and symbols of grandiose history, this one unicorn was composed, head bowed slightly, eyes tightly closed, appearing quite unprepared and hastily posed. The only significance was that it was the first time a statue was included in the garden since it received the unconventional addition of a stone-chiseled representation of a tightly guarded demigod of chaos.

Or so the public believed it to be simply a creation of hoof, hammer, and chisel.

In the distance, casting the demigod’s statue in a rim of orange light, a blast of embers erupted into the sky. The flare and shockwave from an exploding tree carried up in a violent plume angrily to the stars above.

The flickering hues of fire sharpened into legible shapes through the stinging dryness of the ashen air. The unicorn’s vision finally began to focus, and her disoriented mind finally awakened more fully. However, unlike her sight, which slowly blended into images and long-forgotten sights, her mind struggled to reach such clarity.

She studied the parchment again, trying to get her rusty irises to stop dithering in schizophrenic fits and keep the crossing arrangements of shapes and colors together into a legible singularity.

She leaned a hoof against the leafy wall, resting her weight against it while attempting to fill her lungs with deep, futile breaths. The fiery glow against the leafy hedges coalesced, and in the hazy light, orange fur began to emerge from the dusty embers coating her. As the face emerged from the powdered soot, she let out a sharp gasp. Air did not flow in or out of the musty veil of particulates that had intruded down her trachea. The awakening unicorn coughed repeatedly until enough of the stone’s vapor had vacated to allow her a true breath, taken with vigor and dry gasping heaves, like she emerged from the sea after hours without a breath. Her eyes danced around in unfathomable terror before the stone wisps stopped jetting out her nostrils, and her poise collapsed in a heap.

Her body slowly remembered all the functions that life required, and with a shake of her blond mane, took the first clean breath she’d taken in...

... How long had it been...

Her mind struggled again, seeking for some sense and clarity that eluded her. The voice in her head was clear, strangely familiar, one she believed to be her own... it was the first voice she had heard for a timeless eternity. As the voice spoke, images bombarded her mind from a source other than her own remembrances; each image so impressed on her mind that directions, places, sights, orders all burned into her thoughts, consuming every neuron of attention.

The parchment called out with a dry flutter in the night’s breeze. The drawings continued to ping her recollections with each glance; drawings of the black-coated mare adorned like a Princess. The draconequus. The constellations. The ring of five jewels around a sixth embedded in the middle. The hastily sketched circle and arrow pointing at that seemingly important sixth jewel. With an intense glance at the markings she had made on the parchment... or at least, that she assumed she made in some fevered rush... the echoing voices of her conflicted past self traversed back into the realm of relevance.

The circle. The arrow. Those weren’t just reminders. They were commands. Orders. Hoof-written perogatives from herself. An assertion that what she had sought out to accomplish was more than justified, it was an alternative, a wild plan to save the country. How rapidly the old voices buffeted against her, the blurry visage of pacing nervously and conflicted over the same parchment an eternity ago, now a sensation that cut through the expanse of the gray to feel like an impassioned determination born just a couple nights previous.

A couple nights previous... when she made her decision, committed to the plan, and signed her soul to her nefarious task with a heavy sigh and the heavy scratch of a quill circling and pointing an arrow to that sixth jewel. It must have been years, but how many? Take away the almost infinite expanse of the gray, and it had to be just a couple nights.

It all started coming back. With the muscle memory of a rhythmic chant still circulating like a mechanical device within her larynx, it all washed before her in scattered arrays of shape and color. The haunting prayer crept onto the root of her tongue, a chant she had penned and soothed her troubled soul with as she first carried the accursed parchment, the very burden of her awful goal, so many years ago.

My stars above reigning the night,
Our darkened eyes yearn for your light.
Hold virtues true to give me might...
The wrongs I do... to do what's right.

She breathed in deep again, the pure night air absorbing and diffusing through her body with a nurturing hold around her lungs. She could feel the warmth of blood circulating once more, and her mind panged in throbbing rhythm with the memory projecting behind her tightly clenched eyes. Through the wispy veil of a dream-like trance, she saw the blurred orange trot of a pony traveling briskly through a night long-descended through past history. Herself. Her parchment. Her prayer.

My stars above reigning the night.

She marched in cadence to her own words, repeated and hummed in the depths of her throat as to be audible only to herself, with each step to... to...

Our darkened eyes yearn for your light.

... Before her mind’s shattered vault could yield any more details, there was just one last message accompanying a hazy blur of wafting cobalt in the darkened distance.

Hold virtues true to give me might... Come on, you can do it...

And then, a sputtering of syllables that sparked a ringing click of unexpected familiarity.

... Orangina.

How long has it been since...

You can do this.

... Since... she last heard her own...

You can do this, Orangina.

The memory flickered, the cobalt in the vision’s distance pulsed away, a cylinder of opalescent energy swirled toward her in a cascading wave; washing over her in a churning surge of wrenching, paralyzing light...

... The wrongs I do...

... Her muscles stiffening, seizing in a cold sting of numbing resilience, her eyesight clouding into a fading encroachment of...

... To do what’s right...

... The gray.

Strange how she still called it freedom.

“Hyah-hah-hah!” She bounded, flicking her rear hooves high into the air, singing whatever words happened to pass through her mind as they awakened from the recovering plane of memories eroded flat by the millenium trapped away. “The air, the trees!” She sang wildly off key, probably still waiting for the very concept of melody to jostle loose in that orange unicorn’s mind. “The dirt, du-dirt, di-dirty dirt, dirt, diiiirt!” Ah, there it is. Melody. “And pebbles, pebbles, peh-buh-buh-buh-buh-bbles!” Concept of talent, unfortunately, still buried pretty deep down.

While she frolicked, kicking the errant flecks of stone that still clung to her orange coat, the unicorn’s eyes traversed across the line of moonlit objects around her. The bushes. A statue. A cobblestone pathway looping through a line of hedges that twisted through, between, and into one another. Yet standing in the night’s pale blue haze, both her eyes and memories happened to grace across a particular statue standing profoundly over the layered walls of hedges.

All her senses gripped as a flood of sporadic words, images, and exclamations for action flickered incoherently across her eyes. For even in her newfound freedom, she could giddily buck away all the stone dust and sore muscles she wanted, but... well...

... Strange how she still called it freedom.

“We-heh-hello... ” the orange unicorn crowed as she stepped into the clearing. Looming above her, washed in a basking spread of open moonlight, the statue of a draconequus caught in a desperate flinch stood above her. His multiple appendages wrenched and flailed in the way their unique musculature barely let them. The slithering dragon-like body coiled backwards, cowering away from the splayed palms sheltering with a lion’s paw and an eagle claw. His own legs seemed to be in a perpetual state of retreat, the goat’s haunch pressing back in a timid step with an alligator leg pivoting ready to sprint.

Certainly not the most dignified position to be caught in. The way his stone-glazed eyes locked firmly between wide brows, but the pupils contracted to pinpoints, it would seem his “moment” occurred while facing the relentless barrage of a hundred vengeful rainbows.

She flattened out the parchment against the pedestal at the draconequus’ statue’s feet. That’s odd. Very odd, she thought. With a tilted glance, she spotted the placard adorning the statue’s base.

Discord.

Yes, it was him. Definitely him. But still, so very odd. She distinctly remembered... well, “distinctly” in the matter of better than anything else coming back to her... she distinctly remembered that when she sketched his statue before, he looked quite a bit different. Before her was the terrified expression of a panicked draconequus trying to flee, while her sketch showed the same draconequus with outstretched arms as if in the middle of song.

Huh.

The things she missed.

“Didn’t expect you to be part of the plan!” Her words stopped for a wracking fit of giggles and suppressed hysterics. Gina looped her foreleg around the shocked neck of the petrified draconequus, unafraid of the stigma and history that he represented. “Buuut if they say yer part of the plan, who’m I to tell em no?”

The draconequus responded with the usual lack of words, his flabbergasted expression remained unchanged.

“Pfft, yeah!” Gina laughed, jabbing the draconequus statue with a sweeping arc of a hoof. “I know, right!”

Snickering, the unicorn graced her fetlock against Discord’s stone hair and beard, mocking him as a fiery glow rippled out of her horn. With a pulse of shimmering noise, a matching fiery glow snaked around Discord’s statue. “Shh... I gotcha! Now don’t you flinch... ” she scolded the statue as her magic warped and flowed across it, each wave of force moving it a little more off its foundation, straining against the moorings sunk into the garden to keep it in place. Each rocking motion tensed them more and more, and each new waft of enveloping magic allowed the draconequus’ statue to give way a little more. “Hnnnygh! Oh come on!” she huffed, twisting and wrenching more erratically and violently at the grounded draconequus.

With an angled shift, the draconequus rose upwards in the fiery aura surrounding him. His face remained fixed in the same look of abject panic, not budging in the slightest.

“That’s enough of your complaining!” Gina countered to the statue. She groaned heavily as a second ring of pulsing yellow magic surrounded her horn. “Gyeeegh... just... a... little... more... !”

With a shuddering crack, the statue pulled free from its bindings, threatening to fall over before it fell into the shimmering bed of orange magic ready to cradle its descent.

“Jeez... ” She blew a heavy breath through tight lips, flicking the disheveled threads of her mane out of her eyes. “You... think you’d help out... a little... c’mon, pull your weight!” With her unsteady cargo floating alongside, the unicorn trotted through the other statues, stopping at nearly every one with a giggle as errant memories flushed through her. Memories she couldn’t place a hoof on, but just felt some odd satisfaction in seeing the predicament of what her mind raced to pinpoint as familiar faces. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a capacity that could be handled... ”Hynnnk!” ... in conjunction with hoisting along a large slab of draconequus-shaped rock beside her. Yet in some part of her mind, well beyond her shattered logic, each face carried with it some semblance of familiarity; carried with the mounting weight of the levitating Discord. Was it from memory? Was it even her own memory?

She laughed at nothing. “Lookin’ good!” She proclaimed at nothing. Her face contorted in irritation, shooting a glance upward. “What’re you doing here? No no... I got a date, see?” She growled at her own feet, then her eyes shot open, quickly darting an offended visage over her shoulder. “Discord! Why’d ya go and say somethin’ like THAT?”

“Stop!” This voice was not her own. Blinking, Gina turned to the Discord statue.

“Did you say something, Discord?”

“Stop right there! Canterlot Royal Guard!”

Turning towards the voice, Gina beheld the sight of another pony. Some distant fragment of memory told her it was an earth pony, and another disjointed shard recognized the symbols on his coat and armor-plated legs as the heraldry of Canterlot, of Princess Celestia. With a wince, that shard of memory exploded into sharp pain. A deep betrayal. Terror. Something terrible associated with that symbol and what it represented.

“Put the statue down and identify yourself!”

A nibbling notion of emotion melted away under a new fit of disjointed laughter. With a roar that thundered across the garden, the guard flung his hooves in a rapid-fire sprint and charged at her! With fluttering coat and jangling armor, the guard lowered his head and bounded straight at the unicorn!

She took a short step back, glancing from her peripheral vision to the draconequus. “What do you think I should tell him?” The draconequus responded in usual stoicism. “Oh?” Entwined in orange telekinetic magic, the statue tilted inward, bobbing as if speaking to her ear. “You want to do it?” Gina laughed, the statue righting himself beside her. “You’re a peach, Discord.”

Moments before the guard’s sprint reached her, a tremendous impact occurred as the magic cradle supporting Discord’s statue swung around, cracking the guard with the full measure of stone. Airborne and lurching back in a cacophony of jangling adornments, the force tossed him flopping backwards like a rag pony doll.

Cackling like mad, the unicorn pounced on the downed guard officer, laying into him with a giddy fury of hooves. Even prone and pinned, the guard managed to find leverage against her and, with a wrenching buck, tried to throw her off.

“Second Captain Stormblade!” more voices joined the calamity as the ruckus and combat spread outward.

“Get... off of me!” the officer snarled, but before his powerful hind legs could send the unicorn reeling, she inexplicably rolled off of him, completely engrossed in conversation with the statue.

“Oh come on,” she whimpered to the draconequus. “I was... alright alright! We’ll go!”

Suddenly ambivalent to the guard’s existence, the unicorn strode away, hefting the statue in her telekinesis like she was taking a stroll through the garden with her best oversized stone-laden friend. Behind her, guards rushed to the officer, stooping to help him up even as he protested.

“Don’t... rrf... worry about me, get after her!” he snarled, throwing the last guard off of him and hobbling to his hooves. He dusted himself off, a refrain of jangling medals accompanying each irritated brush of dirt off his uniform. “She’s getting away!” With a battle cry, the officer shoved away from the hastily assembled unit of guards and set off in pursuit. His head swam from the granite hammer blow that she caught him with; his vision blurred, but summoning up an oath of perseverance, he pressed on.

Through the dark shadows of the royal statue garden, he charged down the long hedge clad walkway towards the silhouette of the orange unicorn and the statue of Discord bobbing weightlessly beside her. He could measure the distance between them as he closed the gap.

Just five haunches away...

He was wary of her telekinesis now. Everything boiled down to training and his own warrior’s instinct. Just like he practiced a thousand times before.

Four haunches...

Watch the horn, always watch the horn. It was the first rule guards were taught when subduing a unicorn. As soon as the eyes left the horn, the fight was over. Every spell known to modern Canterlot had a tell, and the Lieutenant prided himself on his his utter mastery of how to counter them.

Three haunches...

With a raised eyebrow, the unicorn turned to face the guard. A grin tugged her lips up into a maniacal cackle.

Two haunches...

This was his place, his time to show his superiors what he was capable of. Second Captain Stormblade saw the opportunity to be the first earth pony head captain of the guard, and his ambition only swelled. Another medal for his collection.

One last haunch...

The unicorn’s horn flickered to new life. But it wasn’t a spell he recognized. It had the elements of spells that were well known, but they were all simple and broad, concepts rather than focused intention. Stormblade had but a moment to ponder before the telekinetic shockwave hit and turned his world into darkness and ringing bells, his last conscious sight being that of the cackling orange unicorn slipping past the last gate, her draconequus statue dancing whimsically beside her.

Ponyville was restless. News travels quickly in Equestria, and when the news is the mysterious disappearance of Discord at the hooves of a lunatic unicorn mere days ago, the nerves only grew more jagged and frazzled. Every citizen remembered Discord’s attack, the whilring psychosis that gripped Equestria and drove so many of her citizens into fits of betrayal. Even the Elements of Harmony, pillars of ponykind’s finest virtues, nearly toppled within the first day of Discord’s return. But with no other news other than that he was missing, ponies still attempted to live their lives, hoping that by keeping busy, the worst of the worrisome thoughts and concerns could be banished away.

While the town center was busy with the energy of poorly-withheld fear, near the edges of town, the fear was far more tangible. A yellow pegasus rushed to and from a cottage built near the Everfree Forest. Each trip brought a new armload of animals from outdoor pens and enclosures. A kennel of forest rabbits, a bucket of pythons, three wheelbarrows full of noisome bullfrogs and one snarling grizzly bear all were hurriedly loaded into the cottage. Above the frantic activity, a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane lazily looped down towards the yellow one.

“Fluttershy?”

“Oh no! It’s just awful, Rainbow Dash!” the frantic mare wailed. Please help!” she squeaked, immediately loading chickens into the befuddled blue pegasus mare. “I heard the terrible news and D-D-D-D-Discord is going to-t-t-t-to... ”

“Ack! Hey! Relax!” Even as she tried to calm her friend, the blue mare felt the weight of a growing load of agitated woodland creatures dragging her towards the grass. “Rrfk... can you calm down... ?” she tried to complain as eagles and hawks were loaded on top of the unwieldy load. “I’ll help you out... but just... ” with a heave, Rainbow Dash hauled the tangle of avians into the cottage, where they immediately exploded into the highest nooks and perches of the interior. “Just take a minute and breathe, will ya!?”

Placing her forelegs on Fluttershy’s shoulders, Rainbow Dash had to squeeze tight to stop her from the wild flight back and forth. Panting and wheezing, the yellow mare squirmed back and forth before the strong grip on her shoulders finally brought her back to reality.

“I-I’m sorry Rainbow Dash,” she whispered, looking meekly up at the blue mare. “I just heard that Discord... ”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard. That’s why I’m here.” Glad to finally be able to get to explain herself. “Twilight asked me to bring everypony to the library. We stopped him once, and whatever he’s up to again, we’re gonna be better prepared and not let him get at us alone. I wanted to make sure I got to you first.” The blue mare smiled, protectively rubbing her friend’s shoulders a few times before speaking again. “Now let’s get going.”

“Wait! I just had one last animal to get out of the pen... ” Fluttershy protested. “I’m really sorry, but I want to make sure they are all safe in case everything gets all terrible again and I-”

“Alright! We’ll get it,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, heading off the impending panic attack with a quick jab of hooves into shoulders. “Where is it?”

“Oh it’s Petunia, my new hermit crab, she is awfully shy and hid when I started. Oh we must hurry, I’m so worried about her!” Taking wing, the two pegasi glided easily towards the small stream that ran alongside the cottage. “She has a spiky gray shell and she is probably hiding right by the water.” As a pair, the two began to scour the water and banks.

“Hey! Over here!” Rainbow Dash called. “I think I got her... ” grabbing onto a cone of gray with her teeth, she tugged up once, expecting the shell to simply lift clean out of the mud. But it didn’t budge. Growling, she tightened her grip and tugged again for no change. “Fluttershy! Give me some help over here!” Replacing her tooth grip with her hooves, the blue pegasus tugged again and the gray cone stubbornly refused to move.

“Oh don’t be too hard on her, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy whispered, adding her own hooves, though with more delicate petting than pulling.

“What kinda... rrrgh... crab is she?!” Rainbow huffed. “Okay... on three we both pull, alright?”

“I-I don’t know... ”

“One... ”

“Wait Rainbow Dash... ”

“Two... ”

“I really don’t think this is a good-”

“THREE!”

Driven with a powerful blast from her wings, Rainbow Dash heaved backwards and the gray cone finally burst from the mud, dragging a massive trail of something heavy and encrusted in mud. So massive was the load that it toppled both pegasi over into the mud with a tumble and groan. At the far end of the mass skittered a small hermit crab.

“Petunia! You’re okay!” Fluttershy squealed in delight, catching the small crab in her hooves and hugging it tightly to her chest.

“Yeah, great... ” Rainbow Dash muttered. “But what was she hiding with?” With a foreleg, she started scraping mud away from the grey cone she pulled at first. As chunks of brown dirt fell away, the twisted gray cone was joined by a spindly gray structure running alongside it in a pair of disjointedly parallel lines. They both terminated at a larger structure. Fluttershy joined Rainbow Dash in uncovering the object until they both looked upon stone eyes, locked in a stupefied expression that both ponies recognized immediately.

“DISCORD!”

With a pair of shrieks, the pair of pegasi shot away from the cottage towards the center of Ponyville, the wing power nearly pulling the leaves from the trees.

As the two streaks of blue and yellow disappeared, another shape moved in the mud around the stream. An orange horn sprouted out, followed by a grinning face.

“Oh woooow! That was totally great! Did ya SEE the looks on their faces!?” Flopping back into the mud, an orange unicorn was seized by convulsions of laughter until it suddenly morphed into a squeak of pain as an irate hermit crab asserted her territory.

“Now ya’ll are jus’ bein’ crazy!” a thick drawl stood out as a stark contrast to the refined setting. “Ya’ll are bundlin’ up dresses at a time like this! It’ll wait, gal!”

“Oh no no no NO! I simply cannot let every little thing divert me. I have an enormous deadline and this is for a very important client, darling!” The white unicorn spoke on the move, swirling between closets full of fabrics and line of bare pony mannequins. Stopping at each, she placed a swatch of colored fabric on one, a loose example of a hat on another.

“Look, Ah respect ya’ll stickin’ to the work an’ whatnot, but Twilight said tha all of us gotta get to the library on the double. An’ I ain’t leavin’ without ya!”

Twirling away from her mannequins, the unicorn rounded on the orange earth pony. “How brash! You can wait just a moment longer, Applejack! I’m not going to rush into a panic just because everypony else is in a panic!” With a huff, the unicorn added another wave of colors and cloths to the models. “Honestly, dear, nothing bad has happened yet! If that Discord ruffian were actually back, we’d have known about it by now, don’t you think?”

“Ah don’t know what ta think, Rarity, but Twi’s bein’ awful insistent on gettin’ us down to the library fer some kind of plannin’. Ah think we oughta at least hear her out. Cuz if it is somethin’ bad... well, ya’ll know that we’re the only ones who kin stop it.”

With a dramatic sight, Rarity turned fully to the earth pony. “Oh that’s just Twilight, dear. You know how she can be a total drama queen... ”

“Yer one to talk... ” murmured the orange mare. The unicorn shot her a scowl, but immediately let it change into a more relaxed smile as she drew a foreleg around the other mare’s shoulder and walked her towards the window of Carosel Boutique.

“Just look outside, dear! Do you see any of the usual tricks he did last time? It’s a fabulous day, and everypony is just trying to deal with some criminal on the loose! It’s nothing to worry about, dear!”

“Ah dunno... ” Applejack mused, “Ah’m tryin’ to think like that, but I got a awful feelin’ in mah gut about this whole thing. Somethin’ jus’ feels off, ya know?”

“Those are just nerves, darling!” Rarity giggled, head still facing Applejack as she walked back to the mannequins. “You need to get a massage again, that’ll sort you right out! I think the winter has got you all cooped up without much farm work to do. I can only imagine how stir crazy you must be!” She lifted a hat onto a model, unaware of the distinct orange color it had and moved on to the next. “Tell you what, I’ll clock off early today and we’ll both go for a spa evening, my treat!” She drifted a hat onto the head of the next mannequin, much higher than the others.

“Aw heck, Rarity, ya’ll are just butterin’ me up. It’s werkin’ mind you, but Ah still gotta... ”

“Oh just tell Twilight that I’ll be around shortly.”

“Gotta... ”

“Oh she’ll be fine about it, darling!”

“G-g-g-g-gotta... ”

“Whatever are you stuck on, Applejack?” Slowly, the orange mare raised a hoof to the last mannequin.

“It’s just one of my dummies, dear! Do you think the pattern is off?” She laughed breezily as she turned to adjust the hat. “Trust me! This will work... out... just... j-j-j-just... ” The hat fluttered off the head of a statue, not a mannequin. Even though the color did add a bit of a festive note to its appearance, it did not draw attention away from the shocked expression and piercing eyes of Discord. For a painfully long few seconds, the boutique was locked in complete silence and stillness. Neither pony dared move a muscle or utter a word, and Discord certainly was not moving or speaking.

“Applejack?” Rarity swallowed hard, eyes locked on the statue. “Do you think... we could just have our meeting with Twilight now?”

“Y-yeah... good plan, right behind ya’ll.” The two ponies, eyes locked on the statue of Discord posing as a mannequin, backed slowly out of the door, colliding on the way out before an outright sprint overtook both of them once they cleared the door. As it closed, the orange mannequin finally fell forward into a barrage of giggles and laughs.

“Oh! Oooooh!” Gina wailed in delirious pleasure. “She just... she just kept walking after she put the hats on us!” Peals of laughter tore through the boutique.

The only sound that permeated the Ponyville Library was a steady, rhythmic tapping as a purple unicorn wore a new trench into the hardwood floor. At the edges of the pacing ring sat a baby dragon and a befuddled pink pony, watching in silence like it were a spectator sport and silence was necessary.

“So... ” the pony whispered to the dragon, respectfully quiet as if watching an artist at work. “How long has she been doing this?”

“Since this morning. And she started yesterday afternoon when she heard about the statue. I think she slept once for a couple hours.”

“Wowwwww... .” she responded with hushed silence. “New record?”

“New record. And climbing.”

“I can hear you two,” the unicorn huffed. “And you aren’t helping. This is really serious! You know that the Discord statue going missing can’t be anything good.” Worry rippled across her face as she set to pacing again. Even without words, the spectators could see dozens of questions running tight circles through her mind.

“I just don’t get it!” the unicorn bemoaned. “I have doubled checked everything. If Discord was actually back I should know! Celestia should know! But all we know is the statue is gone!” She paused a moment in her pacing to grind her hooves down into the floor. “If it isn’t Discord, then what is it? If it is Discord, why didn’t we know?” Worry gave way to frustration, as a deep instinct felt danger, but the kind of danger that existed only in shadow and supposition. Fear of both taking action and doing nothing fought for dominance.

“Twilight,” the baby dragon finally spoke up in an attempt to bend calming reason to the hurricane of worry. “You’re getting wound up over this. I know it’s nothing good, but is this really anything we can do something about?”

“But we’re the only ones who could do anything if it goes as bad as it can!” A new barrage of worry.

“Aw come on, Twilight!” The pink pony finally chimed in. “Spike’s right, if you get sick with worry, you are gonna be sick when the bad stuff does happen! And then we’ll be in no shape to stop anything!” She looked about to continue before the unicorn’s pout and sigh caught her expression. Changing tact, she approached the unicorn and presses her head against her neck in a show of support. “C’mon Twilight, you can’t get all sadsack on us! We need you! And hey, what are the odds that it is actually Discord?”

As if on cue, the door to the library burst open, revealing four stunned faces, all struggling to speak first.

“D-D-D-D-D-!”

“Everypony calm down!” a voice broke through the frantic words and hasty interruptions, buying a temporary silence as five pairs of pony eyes, and one pair of dragon’s, turned to the purple unicorn. “We all have been seeing a lot of weird stuff, but if we just start going crazy, nothing is going to get solved!”

“But Tw-Tw-Twilight!” a yellow pegasus mare whimpered through the silence. “We a-a-a-all saw that Discord statue. If he is ba-back... ”

“If he is back... ”

“Now c’mawn Twi, Ah saw that statue too! He’s up to somethin’ terrible!” The orange mare pressed forward, backing Twilight towards the far wall of the library.

“It is all very stra-”

“And he was doing something fiendish in my boutique!” Now the white unicorn lunged into the conversation, aggrieved fear adding a sharp whine to her voice that could slice through wood.

“Yes, but... ”

“And in Fluttershy’s pond!” The rainbow-maned pegasus leapt over the crowd of ponies and yelled down at Twilight, adding a ceiling to the closing wall of bodies and faces all clamoring for guidance.

“I-”

“And in my boutique!” Same sharp unicorn whine, just as grating to the ears as the first time. Possibly more so.

Panic began to sweep over the group again. With a deep breath, the unicorn slammed her hooves down, rattling the tables and stacks of books. “QUIET!” boomed out through the library, immediately silencing all other ponies, except for one pink earth pony.

“And then I said ‘no thank you, I already ate’ and they said... oh. Sorry.”

Closing her eyes, the purple unicorn started to explain. “I know we’ve been seeing really weird things, but this just doesn’t add up. If he was actually back, why is he just a statue? Why isn’t he going after Equestria like he did before. He’s chaos! This just doesn’t fit, unless all he wants to do is scare us... ” The logic twisted and warped around her mind. Like a mismatched set of pegs, the facts imperfectly fit with what she knew of Discord. Chaos was happening, but it was not in grand scale. It was impermanent, without teeth or weight. Twilight could feel her train of thought flying off the rails, diving into bizarre tangents and explanations, each one more dire and inconceivable as the last.

“Maybe it is some weird pony cult to Discord! Some group of ponies that want all this chaos, and want to bring him back! And... and... they stole the statue in some plan to bring him back with some long lost magic!”

Her friends had all fallen silent. Their own wild words from seconds ago seemingly composed and calm.

“And they... they’ll take Discord to Tartarus and mix him up with the monsters there to create... a... super Discord!”

Awkward silence now.

Before she could continue, a hacking cough harshly interrupted the unicorn. All eyes turned to a small dragon as he hacked and heaved before a fiery belch spit a rolled parchment out onto the central table. Snatching the rolled parchment in her magic before it even settled, the unicorn read it aloud.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

You must return to Canterlot immediately. There was a disturbance in the sculpture garden and the statue of Discord has been stolen. We have not been able to locate the thief responsible for this act, but we do know that it is an orange female unicorn. She uses magic that none of the Royal Guard had ever seen before, and injured Lieutenant Stormblade, our acting Captain.

Please bring your friends to Canterlot as soon as possible. We must prepare the Elements of Harmony and prepare our defenses should the unicorn acting on Discord’s behalf be hostile. If we are prepared for his tricks and sorcery, the Elements of Harmony will stop him before all of Equestria is swallowed up.

Please arrive with all haste.

Princess Celestia

Putting the letter down, the purple unicorn cast a gaze to each of her friends. “Well girls, looks like we’re off to Canterlot. Celestia has summoned us. We’re on the next train.”

There was no argument or hesitation.

As the ponies strode from the library, the lanky figure of a unicorn kept an eye on every single one as they strode out. “Good... good... ” Restraining her giggles to keep quiet, she pulled the paper from her awakening and brought it to her eyes. Even though it was little more than sketches and drawings, she studied it with the depth of any deep and elaborate plan. “Walkin’ em right into it! Hee! I can’t believe this is so easy!” Turning to the statue of Discord poorly hidden amongst some shrubs, Gina nudged it with a foreleg. “They’re so predictable. And now they’re gonna walk me right to what I’m after. I owe ya one, Discord.”

Falling into a loose pattern behind the group, the unicorn darted from cover to cover, heavy statue in tow. Bundled in loose leaves and leftover cloth from the boutique, Discord’s statue stuck out, but was obscured enough to at least deflect attention away from that it was the fearful draconequus, and not just some bizarre arts and crafts project run amok. Gina was mere steps behind them as they arrived at Ponyville’s modest train station, a small office nestled next to the train tracks and an even smaller ticket booth. Gina watched as Twilight showed the letter and immediately entered the waiting train. Pausing long enough for the group to board, Gina strode casually up to the ticket window, the bundled and messy abomination alongside her at her side like a guest or friend..

“Two please, sleeper car.”

“Um... two ma’am?” the pony behind the ticket window asked, looking at the large and distinctly not pony shape next to her. “You don’t need to pay for a space for your lugg-”

“-Did I stutter?” Gina huffed. “Two to Canterlot, this train. Sleeper car! Jeez!” Pounding her hoof impatiently on the counter, she glared down the befuddled pony who frantically worked out the ticket for her just as the last call for boarding sounded.

“That’ll be twenty bi-”

“Pay ya back later, seeya!” With a flourish, Gina snapped the tickets away from the counter before the agent could take them back and with the same glee, swept aboard the train seconds before it heaved out of the station and onto the rail to Canterlot.

The train slowly lurched to a gradual halt. The sputtering of gears and steam spewed from underneath, and a pitched howl of the train's horn announced its arrival to the Canterlot station.

Pinkie pointed out the window, swinging a forearm around Applejack. "Guards," she gestured in an awestruck arc. "Guards everywhere."

To her credit, no more a precise observation could be made. No more astute words could suffice, for true to her declaration, a stringent line of royal armored pegasi descended upon the train. An aisle formed into the station, a regimented barricade of them standing firmly shoulder to shoulder that cordoned off their own walkway.

But in their designated walkway, they were not alone.

A garish earth pony stallion stood before them, a welcoming grin beaming upon them. “Miss Sparkle!” He curtsied forward, the line of his medals and ribbons jangled ostentatiously against his black coat with his approaching step. “Might I say, we have been expecting you!” He flicked his mane to the side, the dark black strands parting to reveal thin strands of brilliant yellow ribbons of hair that gleamed against its sibling black hairs like bolts of lightning.

The purple unicorn timidly stepped back as he swung up beside them. “Uh, I thought we... ”

“Didn’t need Canterlot’s finest for an escort? Look!” The stallion hooked a forearm around Twilight, the medals singing a cacophonous melody of metallic jangling with his weighted step. “Guards,” he gestured in an awestruck arc. “Guards ever-”

“-I know I know,” Twilight dipped low, shaking herself from his grasp and simultaneously nudging him away with an aggressive press of her shoulder. “Yet, what I don’t know is who-”

“-Stormblade!” The stallion interrupted with another volley of jangling, his blue and green eye proudly glistening in the sunlight. “Captain Stormblade!” He smiled, spinning into a righteous pose before them. “Now you know!” Jangle, jangle...

“Err, okay uhh... ” Not the question she was even going to ask. “I... ” Twilight glanced in slight desperation to the orange mare standing beside her. “I just... ” The orange mare twitched an awkward shrug in response. “I just don’t even know if we need an escort to the-”

“Nonsense!” He beat a hoof against his chest, sending a meaty thud through his medals. “A cataclysmic threat has been made against the whole of Equestria!” More jangling.

Cataclysmic? “I dunno, but... ” Twilight immediately caught the twinge of aggravated doubt surfacing. She cleared her throat, adjusting her tone to be more sincere. “I think that calling this cataclysmic is a bit much.” She stepped up to the stallion, leaning upon the tips of her hooves to raise her eyes to be level with his. “It’s... just that... it’s... ” She faltered on her balance. “We’ve... hyughh... ” It was tough even clearing the stallion’s shoulders with the haughty pride he elevated himself with. “We’ve handled this before.”

“Ah, Miss Sparkle,” Stormblade laughed, and with his own proud vanity, gave his black mane an awkward wind-swept flick to the side. “You still need me, though.” It’s easily assumed that the shake of his mane looked a lot cooler in his imagination than it did in reality, or so the snickering chortle of his demeanor lead the others to believe. “I am the acting Captain, you know.” It’s also assumed he thought his voice sounded a lot more cogent than it really was. “I can... truly get you places.” The way those words just rolled out like emptying a tin can of rusty nails on the corroded floor of an upside-down chalkboard factory. “I’m, eyyyy-ehh, what you’d call... the inner elite of the elite.” The only thing that drew forth Twilight’s irritated smirk even greater than his voice was the colorful similes her imagination conjured forth to describe it. “Cream of the elite, even.” Upside-down chalkboard factory. Really.

“We know how to get to the palace,” Twilight assured him, motioning to her friends. He stood in front of them, blocking her path. “And I’m very certain, sir, that we do not need y-”

“-But, do you know where you’re going? The Elements of Harmony? How to get them? Where they’re stored? Who gets which one?”

Uugh. “Yes!” Uugh! “We do!” She breathed in deep, rolling her eyes upward in exasperation. “Stored in Canterlot Tower. Celestia opens it. Divide among my friends. Spark. Rainbows. Necklace. Necklace. Big crown thingy!”

In the unregarded distance, an ear twitched through a blonde mane.

“Now if you’re quite done just standing there and wasting my time I really need to-” There was that impatient side of her seeping through again. “Hyuff... ” She sighed. There really had to be some way to kick these sudden losses of patience that has been cropping up within her. Twilight didn’t even know where it originated from. All signs around them were pointing towards the second arrival of Discord approaching. Or third? Were there more times than this?

Just how many times did Celestia even have to defeat the mischievous draconequus? Did she always use her star students to fight those battles for her. A part of Twilight always suspected the whole Discord thing was some sort of elaborate training exercise reserved exclusively for Celestia’s star students but... oh hayseed, why was she even letting her mind fall into such paranoid gibberish?

“Ah think th' what she means, darlin’,” the orange mare behind her spoke up. “We’re mighty plum honored y’all got such a number o' guards to show us th' way, but Ah reckon it's...a little bit ov’uh th’ top.”

Twilight unconsciously seethed through clenched teeth again. He made it too easy. Discord made it just too simple to be defeated. He always had a plan, he was always one step ahead of them. Twists and turns, a master plan. And back to Canterlot, where they began.

“Yeah,” agreed the cerulean blue pegasus behind her, “Applejack’s right.” She ascended to the air with her forelegs outstretched, her rainbow-striped tail curling in athletic grace behind her rapid motion. “We’re cool, we’re good, we can handle ourselves just fine.” She swooped down, resting an elbow against the head of a light yellow pegasus, her foreleg drooping into her flowing pink mane.

He even knew they were assembled. Like... he let them... Back to Canterlot, where they began.

“Though, um,” the yellow pegasus mumbled, passively drooping her head to the intruding elbow atop her cranium. “We don’t mind the attention, well... too much.”

He let them. Discord’s bided his time, and now striking again when they’ve grown vulnerable and more caught up in other matters.

“And if you’re all here,” the pink mare zipped up to the yellow pegasus. “We can just forego the invitations, and throw a flash party!” She hooked a foreleg around the pegasus’ neck. “Parties!” She gestured in an awestruck arc. “Parties everywh-”

“-Suga’cube!” The orange mare nickered. “Ah’m sorry,” she turned back to the garish black-coated stallion looming before them. “We can’ts uh’dilly dally long, Capt’n Sto’mblade.”

When they’ve grown more caught up in life matters. Friendship matters. Twists and turns. Twists and turns.

“But, Applejack! They’re all here!” The pink mare sprinted down the regimented line in a sporadic blur of pink hooves with an outstretched foreleg, clanging it against the picketed barricade of armored chestplates in a raining succession of reverberating bangs. “And they’re all in costume!” She shouted with a distant echo of the other side of the train station.

So why... what makes it so difficult, what is compelling such a denial to this being a continuation of Discord’s master plan. What compelled such-

“Stinkin’ thinkin’!” the orange mare exclaimed down to the pink pony dancing in the distance. “Tha’s wh’that is!” She breathed in deep for another vociferous volley, jabbing the garish stallion in the shoulder with a hefty thrust of a forehoof. Jangle. “They’re not’n costumes!” She jostled at his fabric heartily with a waving hoof, Stormblade’s neck tugging his head loosely behind. Jangle, jangle. “They’re in uniform!” She pushed the fabric back against the stallion, forcing him to stumble sideways into the line of assembled armored pegasi behind him.

“Well!” Echoed back a thunderous response from the end of the aisle. “Costumes are the uniform of the Pinkie Pie party armada!”

Why did the others not think similarly? Why be alone in even having doubts, when the others are depending the most upon-

“Twilight?” The orange mare’s voice suddenly descended into a soft tone, settling upon the purple unicorn. “Ah know’s that looks upon y’uh, no lie. Is uh’somethin’ worryin’ ya’?”

Yes.

“No,” Twilight shot up, focusing her eyes forward. “Sorry, I just... ” she righted herself with a faux laugh, tapping a forehoof against the train station floor. “I think Spike was right, I probably do need to watch my temper better.” She turned to Stormblade as he clamored back to his hooves. His flank peeled with a trembling rustle as it lifted and separated from the murderous scowl of the unfortunate pegasus guard it smacked into. “I apologize, sir, I’m just not used to... ” She glanced at the guards. Guards every-

“-No worries at all,” emptied another tin can of rusty nails. “Nopony can help but be overwhelmed by the superior might,” jangle. “Size,” jangle. “And overwhelming power,” jangle, jang-jangle. “Of Canterlot’s greatest!” He dusted off his shoulder, straightening out the red jacket’s sleeve. “And it is the honor, the pleasure of us all, to... ” He hung on the word, searching for a good not cliche expression to follow. “To walk hoof-to-hoof with you.” Well, good would have to suffice. “I am quite a fan of your exploits, Twilight Sparkle.”

There, now this would have been a much better way to start the conversation. Twilight suddenly propped up, her imagination upgrading his metaphorical representation from a tin can to a porcelain bowl of rusty nails. “You’ve heard of-f... you’re a fan... of m-me?” Despite her best attempts, a humbled quiver trailed with her voice.

“Of course!” He laughed. The upside-down chalkboard factory upgraded to a linoleum floor. “Celestia’s best student! Pivotal player in the defeat of Nightmare Moon and Discord! Bearer of the Element of Magic!”

In the unregarded distance, an orange ear twitched through a blonde mane again.

“Well,” she lowered her head, cheeks interloping from below into her eyes from atop a firmly embedded smile. “I do try to learn what I can.” She started walking down the aisle of armored pegasi, maintaining a synched pace with Stormblade as they headed for the station’s exit.

“Fastest learner out there!” He looked up to the train station’s skylight, sunlight illuminating his face in a proud stature. The nails were now a bit less rusty. “Look at me, just a humble ol’ earth pony. No horn, no wings, but I’ve always been inspired... ” He narrowed his eyes with a smile so sincere, his own muscle memory seemed to contort and revile at first from the genuity of his fascinated glance. “... Truly inspired by those who recognize the gifts bestowed upon them... and use them!” He faltered into a slight chuckle, and evened his eyes forward. “And use them, and use them, and use them!” He stomped a hoof repeatedly at the ground in delight. “Haha! You, Twilight, know what tremendous power you have, and you aren’t afraid to explore, utilize, and use it to its maximum potential!” His eyes peered down upon her from the sun-drenched glow of the skylights. “Such an inspiration!” The eyes lifted, then narrowed upon her with each green and blue pupil stricken with a peculiar blend of admiration and envy.

Twilight slowed her pace. The wavering paranoia struck her again, and this time, focused upon the ornately decorated Captain marching in stalwart posture before her.

“You’re a lot like me, you know that Twilight?”

Figures. Everything downgraded simultaneously in her imagination. Now his voice was an oxidized cauldron of prickly spiders dumping onto an eroded snare drum filled with ball bearings and snakes on fire.

“Magic,” Twilight quickly interjected, “isn’t quite like brute strength, sir.” She caught up to him briskly, and nudged a forehoof into his jangling medals. “We don’t learn to use it. We learn to control it. We don’t just start shooting spells around all crazy like, and we certainly don’t... ” the image of a deep blue showmare unicorn with white hair popped into her head, the ascending aura of fireworks and pride consuming the edges of her silhouette in an encompassing aura. Twilight extended her hoof, pointing to the line of guards standing before them. “... we certainly don’t make some show out of how much force we have.” She gestured in an awestruck arc. “Everywhere, force everywhere!”

The pink mare tilted her head in from the side. “That’s not how it goes-”

“-But Twilight, haw haw,” Stormblade laughed. “You’re such a great... inspiration, yes, to... ” He hesitated, seemingly to mask his sudden discomfort with the one he was tasked to escort. “To the likes of... ” Well, tasked to escort by...

“... Yourself?”

“Yes!” He beamed proudly, then caught her quizzical glance. “Oh! But, but also to all my men, like, like... ah!” He whirled to the side, standing next to a particularly extra-armored pegasus guard. “Take for example Second Private Jetlag here!”

“It’s Jetstream, sir-”

Stormblade laughed, nudging uncomfortably close to the pegasus guard. The other guards stepped away, looking timidly at eachother while attempting to back away with minimal notice. “Tried to help teach his nephew the Trichological Protuberance Augmentation matrix!”

“Sounds awesome!” The blue Pegasus suddenly whirred in beside Twilight. “The whuh’sa protubba’ ostentatious wha?”

“That moustache spell.” Twilight whispered loudly in response.

“Oh.” The pegasus wilted, dropping dejectedly to the ground. “Now it just sounds... ” She hunted for an alternate term for boring. “... Like your kind of thing.”

Twilight groaned, seeing right through the sugar coating. “Thanks Rainbow,” she quipped sarcastically.

“Show them,” Stormblade laughed to the armored pegasus, nudging him playfully in the shoulder. “You have to see this, because you see, this guy’s nephew is a unicorn and... oh come on, just show them, show them!”

“Sir, I’d rather not, sir.”

“Oh, haw haw haww, it’s an absolute scream, you must!”

“Sir,” the guard timidly replied. “I, well, sir with due respect Second Captain Stormblade I-”

“Second Captain!?” The laughter suddenly snipped from his voice. The line of pegasi took a large step back in a unified thud of armor that resonated in a single thumping note. “Private Jetlag, you will-”

“Sir, Jetstrea-”

“Private Jetlag you will honor my authority!” He stepped towards him, righting his neck to protrude his head high above him, the shadow from his menacing posture draped over the cowering pegasus. “While Captain Armor is away, I am now the Captain! And as Captain, I hereby issue upon my rank as Captain, that I, Captain Stormblade, order you, Jetlag, to show them your nephew’s screw-up that has been cast upon you!” He waved a caustic hoof towards the six mares behind him in the aisle. The black hoof cracked against the air with such velocity, they gasped and flinched towards the ground. “Show them!” His arm quivered precariously in the air, threatening to tear out of its own socket. “So that my esteemed six compatriots here may have a hearty laugh!” His face, though, remained locked and unmoving upon the private, the chiseled intensity of his heaving grimace fixated squarely upon him.

A pair of shivering hooves ascended, slowly leveling with an echoing shrill of metal as they graced the helmet with shivering trepidation. They slowly gripped, and hoisted the helmet upwards.

“Don’t take all day, kiddo!” Stormblade bellowed, and with a swift yank of a black foreleg blurring before the terrified pegasus, the helmet rocketed off his shoulders with such inertia it spun twice around Stormblade’s hoof. A voluminous poomf filled the air as a wafting ball of rainbow-striped hair reached and bounced atop the pegasus’ head. “See!?” Stormblade’s scowl instantly vaporized back into a jovial expression of unadulterated glee. “Rainbow! Fuzzball! This guy’s nephew did that, because he wanted to be like you Twilight!”

Twilight’s mind fired a schizophrenic volley of expression at her. Slight amusement, but lots of pity, a smidgen of fear, a tad bit of regret, and an unexplainable twinge of something that felt... otherworldly.

“Now, Jetlag, do that dance we made you do!”

An unexplainable twinge... it percolated like bubbles; an inexperienced emotion that felt completely alien, but particularly strong within her.

“Dance!” He smacked a hoof to the ground, the masoned walls of the train station wavered in response. “Captain’s orders!” And then, a mortifying chorus erupted with volcanic ferocity from the Captain’s diabolical larynx. “Da, da, da-da-da-da, da, da, circus!”

And Twilight watched in abject horror as, under the wild jurisdiction of this pompous new Captain that had taken over, the pegasus guard righted himself on two rear legs and hopped back and forth to the maniacal vociferating intended to berate him for their amusement. His body kept rhythm, but his face conveyed a sense that he wouldn’t even do that for one million bits.

“Da, da, da-da-da-da, da, da, afro!”

Twilight felt compelled to speak up, defend him, but couldn’t help but feel that she was witnessing a phenomenon far beyond her own realm. Her specialty was magic, after all. Studied magic. Applied magic. The kind of magic you learn not solely for the sake of learning, but understanding and controlling as well. She shuddered at that thought... if Stormblade was born as a unicorn instead. If he handled magic the way he handled authority... by the graces of Celestia, a morbid image of an Equestria covered in rainbow afro’s popped up in her head, and was immediately scrubbed away from her mind before the traumatizing visage emotionally scarred her.

Twilight searched the faces of her friends for any hint of guidance, but found five faces of equal discomfort looking back at her. She leveled back to Stormblade, and started a brisk trot for the train station door. “Hahaha!” She laughed lightly, attempting to feign delight at the unfortunate fate that had befallen the pegasus guard. “Yes, that’s... what did you say... a scream.” She rolled her head to him again to shoot another faux laugh. “Heh, heh, my, oh yes, heh.” She swiveled her shoulders towards the door. “Girls, if we may, Stormblade is going to get us to Canterlot Tower.” She tried to compose a pleasant smile to the gaudy stallion. “Post haste, good sir!”

Dear Princess Celestia, Twilight’s mind spoke out to her.

“At once!” Stormblade swiveled quickly, running to lead the six mares through the train station door.

Today I learned that no matter how hard it may be, you must do your best to smile, smile, smile.

“Let’s move out!” Jangle, jangle. “Captain Stormblade shall see to your safety!”

Especially when you just want to scream, scream, scream.

Before Stormblade’s jangling had driven Twilight completely mad, they arrived at the palace gates. A line of royal guards stood before them.

“She’s in the Canterlot tower.”

Where before were pleasantries, shared cakes and a one-pony-band-parade (an odd practice the Princess suddenly grew fond of), it was all business. The Second Captain led Twilight and her friends from the palace gates to the great Tower of Canterlot palace, sealed by Celestia’s own impenetrable barriers and protective magic. They all held their breath for a moment as Celestia unlocked the vault, remembering the last incident where the Elements were decidedly not in their resting place.

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” Celestia said, “I wish it was under better circumstances, but time is not something we can spare.”

“We got here as soon as we could, Princess,” Twilight took the lead, stitching a respectful bow before approaching closer. “What’s the situation?”

“The only pony who really knows anything is Second Captain Stormblade,” Celestia huffed subtly, inclining her head towards the guard. “If you please, Captain.”

“Of course, Princess,” he bowed and, with a slightly overwrought flourish of his mane and a jangling clatter, spoke. “All I know is that it was a unicorn who ran off with the statue, and she has some kind of weird magic with her.”

“Weird how?” Twilight interrupted with a burst of curiosity. Magic, while a powerful and mysterious force, was well-understood by unicorn scholars. The knowledge had trickled through society for years until it was universally recognized and studied categorically by the most astute minds of the nation for several millennia. For it to be weird was unsettling news.

“Hard to explain, really, it kinda looked like normal unicorn magic... but... ” the Second Captain rubbed a forehoof across his neck, struggling for diction. “I’d almost say that it was like it was almost controlling her. Lots of power, but just wild. Closest thing I could compare it to would be if a new pony was made a guard, he could kick really hard, or fly really fast, but doesn’t know any of the proper maneuvers.”

Twilight fell into a thoughtful silence. “No tactics,” she thought aloud, but her reverie was interrupted when the group came up short before the great doors of the tower vault. Celestia had stepped ahead, lowering her head to sink her horn into the keyhole. A moment of fear suffused through the silence - the last time they were here, the Elements were anything but in their proper place. As the doors swung open with a heavy groan of timbers and stone, the treasures and relics of Canterlot lay bare before all. Even Celestia, who had personally assembled such a collection of priceless artifacts, felt a frisson of exhilaration at the majesty of it all. But it only lasted a moment, for she headed straight for the literal and figurative crown jewels of the collection, a gemstone-encrusted case that held the Elements of Harmony. Where last time, Celestia had opened the box before the whole group, she snuck a peek in ahead of time and turned to the group in silence.

“The Elements of Harmony... ” she began, holding her stern tone before it melted away into a relieved smile. “... Are ready for you.” Swaddled in telekinesis, the case floated outward, and each individual Element floated from the box towards its owner. “I entrust you all to carry them with friendship in your hearts, and to face down whatever threatens Equestria with the unity and harmony that built our nation and saved it countless times.”

Each element drifted graceful over each of the six mares standing before the Princess. Stormblade took a cautious step back against the wall as a plume of light surrounded them, beams of stray iridescence stabbing out across the room with blinding power. A shimmering aura rippled around each jewel, the crystalline outlines of each necklace’s pendant radiated from a white silhouette matching the corresponding shape of the jewel, matching the corresponding shape of its wearer’s cutie mark.

“Honesty,” proclaimed Celestia, lowering the necklace onto the orange earth pony as she levitated gently, the tip of her hoof just barely clearing the marble floor. “Loyalty.” The cerulean blue pegasus held uncharacteristically still, then puffed her chest out upon contact with the necklace. “Generosity.” The white unicorn with a long curled mane and tail of purple drifted vertically with a ballerina’s poise, looping her neck with such airy grace that it seemed the element was going to pass right through her. “Kindness.” The yellow pegasus flinched slightly as the telekinetic aura of bright magic wrapped around her, but eased upon making eye contact with her own necklace as it draped around her head. “Laughter.” Celestia turned forward with the balloon-shaped pendant shimmering before her, but squinted in hesitant confusion.

“Hey!” Ah, there she is. “Up here!” Upside down, peering from the ceiling above. The Princess twisted her neck around to face the oblong pink pony, flipping the jeweled element vertically to ascend onto her collar.

“Laughter,” she insisted again, latching the dangling element into place around pink shoulders. Celestia smiled, chuckling softly as she passed a glance to the purple unicorn hovering before her. They nodded to one another. Another chance to save the country? Another great foe of the past to be defeated? Another adventure to test the limits of these six tried and proven friends once more?

All in a day’s work for her protege.

“And Magic!” A large crown hovered over the purple unicorn’s head, planting firmly upon her brow. With the adornment ritual complete, the pulsating multicolored light receded into the aether, and the consistent stream of sunlight pouring through the stained glass windows lining the wall resumed painting the room with prismatic hues.

As the doors closed with a shuttered thud, a magical ward of swirling lines and cryptic symbols projected over it with a rapidly spinning motion. Then, with an electric bang, the projection stopped firmly, dipping through the granulated wood of the door causing it to glow with a soft teal light.

With the vault of Canterlot Tower properly sealed, Celestia continued speaking. “I just hope that, when you come across Discord, he is stopped before much harm comes to pass.”

“I still don’t get it,” Twilight murmured, lifting a hoof to tweak the elaborate tiara into a semblance of balance on her head. “If it is Discord, why hasn’t he done something more, I dunno, chaotic? He doesn’t do subtlety, at least not like this. He’d be trying to drive us apart.” Twilight snuck a wayward glance at the ornate stained glass images around them; illustrations of past battles and victories of Equestria history. “He knows exactly what we do.” The image of the intrinsically limbed draconequus loomed along the top of one of the windows. “So why hasn’t he done something... more Discord?” The draconequus’ backlit grimace remained unchanged in the glass; the eyes remained in unshifting stillness.

Certainly, a rare instance of no news being bad news.

“Twilight Sparkle is correct.” Celestia nodded, concern furrowing her brow. “If Discord were to be freed again, we would have noticed something more at this point. That’s why I’m not going to take any risks.” She stepped towards them, and wrapped a wing around Twilight’s shoulder, slowly turning her to face her five friends. “You are being trusted with the Elements of Harmony again. And I, as well as all of Equestria, expect you to be ready if Discord or his minions have any plan against us, and to stop them. With these Elements, you are the only ones who can stop him, or any... disciples that may take on after him.” Celestia directed a light-hearted smirk to the pink pony in the front. “For some ponies think chocolate rain is a good thing.”

Each of the six mares accepted the gift with chests swollen with pride and solid determination in all of their eyes. Even the shy yellow pegasus wore a stern expression, unwilling to let the anarchy that invaded their lives before return and set more havoc loose against them and her friends.

Celestia strode alongside the group back to the Canterlot palace gates. “Until we get to the bottom of this, I expect you to all be ready to use the powers of the Elements at a moment’s notice. We cannot let ourselves fall into another one of Discord’s games again, and this time we will stop him before he can cause any damage.” She found herself struggling to put a positive and bright face on as the weight of their mission and quest hung over all of them like a shroud. “I just hope this is all over before next week’s Hearth’s Warming. I was so looking forward to enjoying it without any worries on my mind.” With a strain, the Princess summoned a smile as the six ponies stepped out into the frosty winter streets.

“Don’t sweat it, Princess!” the rainbow pegasus called as she bounded forward and looped once in the cold air before throwing a reckless smile back to her. “We’ll get Discord and whoever he’s working with licked in no time! We can get this good and beat in ten seconds fl-!”

“-I’m sure you will, Rainbow Dash. Good luck!” Celestia maintained the smile only for as long as it took for the group to round the first corner and fall out of sight before it fell away to the exhaustion she had been holding back for appearances.

She exhaled deeply, confident that the sound of her bottled up trepidation wouldn’t reach their ears.

Bitter winter cold did not bolster her mood. She recited a song she and her sister wrote long ago, one that she hummed to herself over the years when the rule of the Canterlot sisters became a one-pony show.

One more day ahead, many hooves to shake,
So many ponies’ demands still unfulfilled.
More meetings ahead, and more plans to make.
Preparations and contingencies to build.

The leader of Equestria felt the weight of her crown worst when it came to times like this - the details and minutiae of dealing with Canterlot’s heavy government. She knew that many organizations needed her guidance, especially in this time of crisis and bubbling public fear and worry. She had to be the face of peace and calm. I can only hope that those little ponies can stop this from being more than a public worry.

On the streets, the mood was rising and now that she was armed, the rainbow pegasus was none bashful and all boasting. Brushing a hoof over the Element of Loyalty, she smirked. “I figure once we save Equestria a third time, they oughta give us a whole room full of stained glass windows. And maybe just a whole monument to all of us!”

“Come on!” bemoaned the purple unicorn. “This is serious, we need to be thinking about what this all means. And what we’re going to have to do if it gets worse.” Increasing her pace to catch up with the boastful pegasus, she launched into a well-worn lecturing tone. “If we get distracted, that’ll just let Discord and these... minions of his to do something terrible! We need to be on our guard at all times, and if we mess up even once, just once, who knows? They could split us up, or take our Elements and do Celestia knows what with them?” She paused to take a heavy breath, winding up for another verbal barrage, only moving out of the way of an orange form that brushed by on the street.

“Speaking of which, Twilight,” the pegasus asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

“There’s no time to get distracted with questions, Rainbow! We have to focus!”

“I just wanted-”

“No I don’t know where they’d put another stained glass window of us!”

“Alright! Alright! I just wanted to ask what you thought this was all about? What do you think Discord, or whoever, is trying to do?”

“I don’t know, Rainbow,” Twilight sighed as they reached the Canterlot train station. Usually awash in activity and a sense of busyness, the winter cold had driven all of it indoors, or at least away from here. Before they strode onto the train, Twilight lifted the Element of Magic off of her head and gingerly set it in her saddlebag. She’d never admit it to Celestia, but the tiara-slash-crown was immensely uncomfortable after a while.

“Twilight Sparkle?” A familiar voice approached her from behind. “We’ll be escorting you to Ponyville by order of Secon-” He coughed, catching his mistake. “Ahem, I mean, umm... ” The familiar voice wasn’t nearly as downtrodden or timid as before, but certainly as soft. He started again. “By order of Captain Stormblade of... ” He huffed tiredly, blowing a few strands of stray rainbow mane back against his helmet. “Of The Royal Pegasus Guard of Captain Stormblade.”

Twilight turned to the armored guard standing in front of her. “I see,” she grinned subtly to him. “He just named the whole guard after himself just now, too?”

The guard shifted back, rolling his chin upwards with annoyance. “Afraid so, Miss Sparkle.”

“Well then,” she stood beside the guard, and sauntered into the train’s passenger cabin in line with him and three other armored guards. “I guess the pleasure is all mine to let you take a much needed rest break in what is no doubt a chaos-strewn Ponyville wrought to the core with a mad draconequus demigod corrupting the landscape into a Salvador DaLivery painting.”

The guard raspberried with a minimal exhibition of cynicism. “I’m afraid your sarcasm is lost in its own bitterness of truth.”

“I wasn’t being sarcastic,” Twilight slowed, and directed an empathetic glance toward the guard, “Mister Jetstream.”

The guard halted, letting the alien notion of appreciation run its course in shivering down every muscle of his spine and legs with a tingling pang of relief. Thank Celestia, finally, a level-headed pony! And on top of that, from a pony whose own skills and accomplishments of the last year were yet to be matched by his own regiment’s lengthy career as Canterlot’s best.

Now he wasn’t so upset about his mane being haphazardly transformed into a rainbow ball of embarrassment. He adjusted his helmet, feeling the tightly wadded matting of multicolored mane rustle against his head, but knowing it was there because of the third-hoof influence of the purple unicorn mare standing before him...

“Aw, heh... ”

... He felt a new surge of pride making a most peculiar appearance.

He slouched tenuously, rubbing the back of his neck before shooting back up to a soldiered posture. “I mean, why yes, um, of course Miss Sparkle!” He caught up to her and lowered his voice. His face drifted above the unicorn, scanning the line of passengers behind her. A suppressed giggle cracked forth as he sighted one particular mare crossing the station platform. “And I think I can make this whole trip even better. Look.” He pointed a hoof to a gray pegasus with a blonde mane boarding the train at the front of the passenger car. “I know that mare, and she always brings extra treats when she takes this train. Treats for us, mostly. But... I can probably get you and your friends one, too.”

“Oh really?” Twilight peered at the gray pegasus who, in a stray turn of her head, peered back with nonchalantly drifting eyes that took turns focussing onto her. A large covered basket dangled from her mouth, swaying as she pulled her eyes forward while boarding the train.

“Absolutely.” Jetstream licked his lips, rapidly beating his front legs against the ground in tiny excited steps. “And I know what it is, too. Definitely. Definitely muffins.”

The six mares gathered together at the rear of the passenger car. While each proudly wore their respective Element of Harmony around their necks, the purple unicorn kept her profile low. Unlike her friends, she kept her Element stashed deep in her saddle bag, covered in all the books, scarves, and accessories she brought along with her. There was a certain aura about the train that she couldn’t shake, an unsettling tingle that resonated prominently in the back of her ears ever since she got on board.

It was too strong to be just mere paranoia, too particular to be a byproduct of whatever temper issues Spike insisted she had been suffering from. No. Even with the mission prerogatives clearly stated by Princess Celestia herself, the insistence that Discord must be stopped, that instinctive gut feeling within her cried out for attention with every leering glance away from the saddle bag cradling her element.

Biting into her daisy muffin, the warmth of the pastry would bring just a temporary break from the unsettling cold crawling up her spine. Like something, or somepony, was just a couple haunches away from her.

A giggle would snort from the pink pony as she flicked a metallic tune against the balloon-embroidered jewels in her own necklace. Twilight’s curiosity would pull her to see the others laughing along with her, but would immediately be yanked back down to the saddle bag. Even a curious wayward glance would spike a wave of imminent panic, forcing her to curl tightly around the untouched luggage and dig quickly to ensure the Element was still in place.

She couldn’t help but feel as if the crown was speaking to her, constantly demanding her attention as if in some long-lost language beyond her historical comprehension.

While arranging another pile of books and accessories to conceal the Element, a rapid clanging of shifting armor stirred her attention back up.

“Whew-ew!” Jetstream deeply exhaled as he stood over the six mares. He closed his eyes with a relaxed poise as he lifted a hoof to remove the cumbersome helmet from his head, but immediately realized his error upon feeling a few stray tufts of rainbow mane peek out from beneath the metal armor. “Eh-wew-uh!” He tugged the helmed down forcibly, “Pk-ow!” summoning a shrill clang through the passenger car.

Twilight caught her distracted glance moving to him, and immediately compensated with a jostling hitch back to the bag. She again shuffled through the contents, breathing a hefty sigh of relief to see the telltale gleam of violet metallic light creeping between the embedded gemstones.

“Finally,” Jetstream continued, sitting down beside the other half-dozen guards sent along with him. “Been looking forward to a day without... gah... ”

“Myeh-neh-mweh-neh neh nyeh-neh,” ridiculed another guard to the train’s ceiling, his tongue lapping crazily out of his mouth. “I’m Captain Stormblade, myeh-neh neh-nyeh.”

“Doopty-doop-eh-dwoo!” a third guard slunk back in his seat, waving an armored hoof before him. “I’m in charge, and you will bring me many ladies to fawn over my medals, dwoopie-doo!”

“Pfft, as if,” raspberried the other guard. Another commotion of books and scarves scurried from between the seats behind them. “It’s way worse than that, you guys seriously wouldn’t believe this.” He motioned his hooves in, gesturing the other guards to lean in closer. “I have it on pretty good word that Stormblade,” he cackled under his whisper, “thinks he’s got a straight shot to Luna.”

A hearty explosion of raucous guffaws erupted from the guards. Twilight jumped from the startling thud of heavily armored hooves smacking against the train’s floor and walls. She quickly wrapped her hooves around the saddle bag, and pulled it close against her chest.

“Myeh-neh-eh-meh, Princess Luna,” came more sarcastic imitations against the absent Captain. “Want to see a play tonight?”

“Oh, my,” crooned Jetstream in a high pitched voice, “we hath doth hither unto betwixt mine feathers, Captain!” A throaty crack broke through as his chuckles suffocated his own imitation of the Princess. “What doth ye olde’ play!?”

“Myeneh-neh, a riveting tale,” the guard pounded against his chest, displaying an imaginary assortment of decor on it. “The tale of getting my valiant medal of valor by my brave patrols of the stupid hedge maze!”

“Oooh, how doth yonder boring!” Jetstream quipped. “Thou hast defendeth mine fillies and gentlecolts from hither inanimate objects like statues, bushes, and-”

“-Muffins!” A screech tore down the train aisle. “Eeeeek!”

The guards simultaneously coughed heavily from the sudden commotion jumping up from the front of the passenger car. Lines of other passengers started getting up gradually in a line that obstructed the view, but their rapid shifting towards the aisle and clamoring back summoned a waft of enough panic to force the guards into a defensive stance. Their wings outstretched, they stepped back to cover the six mares under their assigned protection.

“Stay back!” Jetstream commanded.

Steadily, a chorus of panicked voices ascended into pandemonium. The gray pegasus mare shot into the train ceiling, and ricocheted while spinning backwards over the aisle screaming on spent breath. “Muffins! Muffins attacking!” She couldn’t spare a moment to gasp for air. “Muffins!” And with a twirl, collapsed onto the ground with flailing hooves attempting to drag herself back.

The guards charged forward to the front of the train. Twilight rose from between the seats, and through the gap in between the running armored pegasi, saw a darting swarm of small pastries swirling and assaulting the passengers.

A clamoring thud landed beside Twilight. “The muffins!” The blonde pegasus cried out to the purple unicorn. “My muffins are rebelling!”

“Discord!” The orange earth pony stamped her hoof. “Ah says Ponyville’s gonna have’ta wait, girls!” She leaned along the top of the passenger seat, propping herself high enough to see the sweeping chaos overtaking the train. “For Ah reckon our time’s now!”

“Ahh yeah!” gloated the cerulean pegasus. Like a rocket, she shot over the ruckus of fleeing ponies right into the buzzing cloud of angrily dive bombing muffins. “Let’s beat these pastries until they’re black and blueberry!” With an outstretched leg, she bucked one of the muffins squarely, torpedoing it like a bullet with a shrill splat of dough against metal. “Check out my... bran-d new moves!” She spun in place, and with a sudden downward thrust of her wings, she diced through another set of airborne muffins leaving nothing more than her trailing tail where they once floated. Three heavy whams cascaded down the passenger car’s aisle. “Yeah, enough doing things the nice way! Now I’m baking bad!” She spun underneath in a half forward flip, only to see a barrage of angry muffins spinning diabolically towards her. “Wuh-woah, hey!”

The orange earth pony leapt into the fray, and with surgical precision, landed a forehoof against the muffin onslaught. “Hyah!” A muffin propelled out of its trajectory, splatting heftily against its wingman. A chain reaction of crashing pastries broke up the incoming barrage, resulting in a rapid-fire succession of light splatters around the rainbow-maned pegasus. “Ah’d say ya’ owe me jus’ one,” the orange mare sarcastically groaned through heavy breaths, “if y’didn’t owe me fo’ all the awful puns yuh’ making now!” The pegasus suddenly rocketed toward her like a bullet, hind leg outstretched in a murderous kick. “Hyuh, what’n th’hay-!?”

The orange pony ducked suddenly, her dodge so fast her hat popped upward from the force. A thundering clang shot through her ears as a solidly planted hoof dug deep into the metal wall behind her. She first glared with betrayed ire, but immediately saw the telltale goop of blueberry trickling down from the base of the cyan hoof, her hat resting comfortably atop the leg still quivering from the tremendous force of impact.

“Now you just owe me for the muffin puns!” The pegasus laughed. “You can say we... tray-ded!”

“Hfff... Ah owe you llama spit.” Another wave of airborne muffins spun together into a deathly helix that drilled through the air with a deafening whine. “H’woah, okay! Ah owes ya’! Ah owes ya’!” She ducked down low to allow the rainbow-maned pegasus to take care of it... “Oh what’n tarna’shun!?” ... Only to see the pegasus also ducking away beside her.

“Girls!” A cry came from the back of the passenger car. A purple beam of energy glowed with tremendous intensity as Twilight fired a strong magic field around the cerulean pegasus and orange pony. The rampaging muffins around them suddenly wavered, and dropped to the floor lifelessly.

The purple unicorn’s eyes widened suddenly in abject panic.

“Thanks, Twi!” The orange pony gestured toward her.

Twilight breathed out heavily from the encompassing surge of magic she had cast. “My failsafe spell... ” A surge she had cast before, but this time... “Worked?”

The twitching sensation at the back of her ear bit with the intensity of a hundred wasps. A massive realization splashed against her as she looked out upon the guards and her two friends pacing back and forth at the front of the passenger car. Her failsafe spell worked. It worked! So why was a successful defeating of the great muffin menace such a dreadful feeling?

It was the final piece of proof that whatever chaos had been wrought upon Ponyville wasn’t at the claw and paw of Discord. They were now paired up with an unseen foe trying to distract them, toying with them.

“Twilight!” The cerulean pegasus cried out as a few muffins came back to life and ascended beside her. “Another!” The muffins shone with the telltale aura of unicorn magic.

A unicorn.

Twilight scanned the denizens of flailing passengers. Which one of them was the muffin marauder? Who was doing all of this? Not a single one of the unicorns up front even had their horns illuminated, but just where was the perpetrator even standing?

She then realized... ten seconds was all it took.

Realizing how long she had been distracted away from her own Element, Twilight spun around rapidly to check on her bag. With the dangling golden crown gripped firmly between her jaws, an orange unicorn looked back up to her with wide guilty eyes. Her horn shone brilliantly with the same hue around the attacking muffins.

“You!” Twilight called down to her. She reached out, but her eyes suddenly blacked out with a stinging slam of banana nut and bran. “Gyeh!” She twirled back, quickly rubbing the offending pastries out of her face.

“Woah there!” a rainbow mane swung past Twilight, landing with an outstretched cyan foreleg dusting crumbs off her cheek. “I’ll be sure to poppy you one!”

“Pinkie, Rarity!” Twilight called, summoning a commanding presence that she wasn’t even aware she had, “get to the front of the train and try to get them to stop.”

“My mane!” The white unicorn cried out. “Oats tangled up at the roots! It’ll take hours to get each one ou-”

“-Right away!” The pink earth pony jumped to the air, snapping to a stern salute, “Easy peazy fishy sea breezy!” Then promptly bounded down the aisle, dragging a complaining white unicorn alongside her with a foreleg.

“Rainbow! Fluttershy!” Twilight barked as the others split off down either corridor of the train. “Fly around outside and make sure she doesn’t try to jump out or anything!” The two nodded, moving on reflex simply in response to her words.

“Sounds like a plan!” The cerulean pegasus spun above the unicorn, hovering to a quick stop to nudge her horn with a hoof. “I’ll be the brawn, you’ll be the grai-”

“-And stop it with the muffin puns!” The purple unicorn waved a foreleg to the back of the train. “Go! Now!”

Before the yellow pegasus could stammer out a reply, her partner had swooped past, throwing her over her shoulder and out one of the car doors to spiral out into the blast chilled mountain air.

“Applejack, you’re with me.”

“Right behind ya’ll, Twi.” With a nod, the two set through the train, moving with speed and caution. Every car they passed through presented the same face of pony passengers; some looked at Twilight and Applejack with concern, and few others pointed further back towards the train. The same scene played out until they reached a door marked for luggage and restricting passengers from entry hanging loosely on its hinges. Twilight and Applejack shared a brief look into one another’s eyes before they pressed forward into the murky darkness of the unlit car.

“Oh Discord, you look smashing!” the voice cackled as Twilight and Applejack crept into the luggage car. At the far end, making no effort to conceal her appearance, the thief hunched over a large, obscure item at the very top of which rested the Element. The orange unicorn’s back faced away from Twilight and her friends, and she seemed completely lost in a single-sided conversation.

“Uh... Twi... ” Applejack murmured. “Am ah losin’ mah’ apples or is she talkin’ to nothin’?”

“Be careful,” Twilight hissed, the memories of how this erratic unicorn had completely dismantled their last attempt to stop her, leaving her friends scattered and beaten all set to the tune of her malignant laughter. “She’s not paying attention to us, let’s go around the racks and get her from both sides.” Just as the two began to advance, the orange unicorn turned her head and made brief eye contact with Twlight Sparkle.

“I told ya this would work just right, Discord!” she crooned, falling into another erratic fit of derisive laughter. “Amazed what you ponies do to get a statue and little decoration!”

It’s not just any statue.

“Put Discord down and return the Element of Magic!” Twilight’s voice quivered slightly as she made her demands and stance so clear. “You’re out of train cars and cornered.”

“Caaan’t do that!” came her reply, like this matter of such gravity was nothing more to her than a childish argument. “Besides, there’s ALWAYS another way outta spots. Wanna see me do it?” she asked with a gleeful smile. Just as her question sunk into Twilight and Applejack’s ears, the train whisked through a short tunnel, casting the cargo car entirely in darkness for no more than a blink of an eye. As light swept back into the rattling car, the orange unicorn and the Element of Magic were both gone.

“Shewt!” Applejack gasped. “She’s takin’ off again! Git back to the door!”

Both the purple unicorn and earth pony backed up towards the door, each of their eyes frantically scanning the room before them, desperately searching and hunting down the orange figure that just vanished. Even though they could not see her, both could hear the stuttering giggles in the shaking stacks of luggage. As it wound uncomfortably close, the serpent of unsettling laughter drew Twilight and Applejack closer and closer until they both were pressed as hard as possible against one another and the door. Even the slightest disturbance caused them to jump; the rattling thump as the train hit a bump caused Twilight to squeak and the heavy thud of a falling suitcase nearly caused Applejack to bolt.

Another sweeping tunnel, and another moment of blindness. Another few seconds of shuddering bumps and thumps. Both ponies had to grab onto shaking shelves and walls to keep from toppling completely over. Then the laughter stopped, its absence chilling Twilight more than its presence ever had. One more immense thump rocked the the train, spilling baggage from another shelf before light poured in through the small windows as the train left the tunnel and began crossing the span above the waterfalls near Canterlot.

“Applejack... ” she whispered. “We don’t need to chase her down here, just hold her here until we can get more help. All we need to do is keep an eye out for one another.”

“Good idea!” The voice didn’t belong to Applejack. “She won’t expect that.”

Turning with a gasp, Twilight found herself face to face with the orange unicorn, only barely holding a laugh back. At her hooves, Applejack lay sprawled out, groaning and rubbing her head and trying to push a fallen steamer trunk away from her. Judging by the knowing grin on the orange unicorn’s face, everything was going to plan, even the seemingly random steamer trunk from above.

How did she know?!

“It’s like I told ya, Discord!” the orange unicorn shouted back to the statue. “Everything they tell me works out just fine, long as I stick to the plan!” Turning her eyes back to Twilight, she grinned and spoke, certainly not to the purple unicorn. “So what’s the plan with this girl?” Swaying slightly in her step, the orange unicorn suddenly froze, clomping her hoof in irritation. “Whaddya mean by that?! How am I supposed to do THAT?!” It was as if her attention completely turned away from the unicorn as she lost herself in another argument. “W-wait! Okay! I’ll try!” she suddenly yelped, visible fear rippling through her features. “If it’ll get my gray back!”

Twilight faltered at her words, now a sense of curiosity emerging forth. “Gray?”

The orange unicorn’s ears twitched upon hearing the name of her beloved spoken by another. She growled, and her horn sparked into a fierce aura of rancorous illumination. For the first time, the orange unicorn’s red pupils glared upon Twilight, almost focusing through her.

The words came out with intense sincerity. “Don’t take this personally.” The orange unicorn’s growl rolled into a deep cackle. “But don’t hold back, either.” Yet caught up with issuing a challenge to the bearer of Magic, Gina didn’t see Twilight’s telekinesis coming until it had leashed around her midsection and pulled taut. “Oh, playing dirty too!?”

Digging all four hooves into the floor of the train, Twilight tried to wrench and wrestle the shocked unicorn down to the floor. Struggling and thrashing beneath the band of violet magic, her orange rival bucked and kicked savagely. As she struggled, sputtering bursts of magic fired from the orange unicorn’s horn in spontaneous fits of waving energy.

With a flick of her blonde mane, the orange unicorn laughed. “We’re a lot alike, you and I!”

The words of the ostentatious captain charged to the front of Twilight’s senses.

You’re a lot like me, you know that Twilight?

Not a chance.

There was no discipline or plan in any of those spells. Twilight wondered if they were even spells, they did not match any kind of planned spell that even came out of magic kindergarten. Undeniably powerful and effective, but completely without refinement or focus. Each directionless wave of energy was enough to knock her back a bit like from a sudden press of gale force wind, but Twilight contemplated just how one could even learn so much power without learning to control it first. As she closed in on the bound unicorn, Twilight considered her hours of training and study, and further remembered the poisonous words of Stormblade.

Truly inspired by those who recognize the gifts bestowed upon them... and use them!

Foalish words of impulsive power that, appropriately, befell the very tact of the orange unicorn flailing desperately before her.

And use them, and use them, and use them!

She just had to think it. She just had to contemplate if it could get worse. Always happens. Because if the frightening prospect of whether Stormblade being born as a unicorn instead of an earth pony was a reality...

You’re a lot like me, you know that Twilight?

The reality was facing right back at her.

I’ll show you, her mind projected to the orange assailant.

She was nothing like him. Nothing like Stormblade at all.

I’ll show you the power is in the control!

As the orange unicorn thrashed again, Twilight saw that fundamental principle in action. The bands restraining her were all tight, refined, and the orange shockwaves looked more like the wild magic that unicorn foals would exhibit, powerful but without contemplation. Careful to avoid wandering towards that erratic horn, Twilight tried to discern what kind of spells this orange mare was using.

The purple unicorn was close to encyclopedic in magic as anypony could be, but none of these spells before her made sense. They had no logic or method. No refinement. It was as if this orange unicorn had never learned modern spellcasting and magic. She used what magic she had well, and was doubtless powerful but it was infantile... immature... almost undeveloped and quaint in craftsmanship.

Before she could consider further, her focus took over and Twilight glared down at the snorting mare. “Where is the Element of Magic?!”

“Get... OFF OF ME!” the orange unicorn bellowed, a blast of fiery magic radiating out from her horn and throwing Twilight back against the far wall, her grip destroyed into shards of tattered purple energy swirling outward. For a moment, the orange unicorn looked like she might pounce upon Twilight as she recovered her wits. But just before she lunged, the orange unicorn froze, as if seized by an intense bout of indecision. With a flourish, she at last adjusted the Element of Magic on her head and burst from the train car door. Groaning, Twilight tried to rise to her feet to give chase, but every movement caused her head to swim and her vision to wobble queasily.

Rounding on another circuit around the train, the cyan pegasus spotted the telltale glint of purple gemstone as it scrambled up onto the roof of the rearmost baggage car. The distinct glitter told her everything she needed to know. Launching through a hair raising loop, the cyan pegasus ducked and swooped over low hanging branches and outcrops of mountainside. Cold winter air whipped through her ears and across her face as each turn and twist in her angle centered a small glitter of purple gemstone in her eyes.

As intense speed burned into tunnel vision, the shape of her target grew clearer and more defined. It was doubtless the Element of Magic, worn cockily, brazenly across a mane of blond and orange coat beneath. Extending her hooves, she braced her body, ready for the bone-jarring impact.

Waiting...

Bracing...

Wait... that impact should have happened by now.

Rainbow Dash blinked, something was terribly wrong. Turning her head, she spotted the unicorn still wearing the Element throwing her a casual wave, having stepped aside just enough for the devastating tackle to be nothing more than a whisper of a breeze. Throwing on all the brakes she could, the pegasus threw her hooves at the icy train roof. Finding no purchase or grip, she wailed in dismay as her hooves skidded and slipped, throwing her off balance and into a pirouetting tumble across the train and off the roof towards a stand of snow-cloaked trees that whipped near the tracks. Momentum only made the slide worse, careening her body over and over until it came to a sudden, shocking stop into the woody embrace of leaves, pine needles and dislodged pieces of snow.

Sputtering in fury, Rainbow Dash burst from the web while spitting out a pinecone, shaking her mane as her body immediately warmed the clinging flakes of snow into beads of water. Wheeling around, she found the unicorn staring at her with an infuriating look of confidence, the kind of grin that someone who was convinced of a victory had.

“Don’t give me that look!” the unicorn barked, throwing herself into another swooping tackle. Take it slow, she can’t fool me twice. As Rainbow Dash pumped new powerful wing beats into her charge, the unicorn’s horn lit up, throwing a shockwave of fiery orange telekinesis her way. With lightning reflexes, Rainbow spun away from the blast, only feeling a gust of wind as it passed her, missing by a hair and exploding another cloak of snow off of a tree. Another shockwave drew a similar hair-raising dodge.

That’s right, keep shooting that slow stuff at me, you couldn’t hit me if I was holding still! All you’re doing is cooling me off.

Rising high, Rainbow lined up a tackle.

Nowhere to run now.

With a loop, she fell into a charge, wings beating faster and faster as three more waves of wind washed over her soaking wet wings. A final blast hit her from the side, but it was not from this unicorn’s magic, it was snow and ice. Rainbow beat her wings to get the last sprint in to knock this unicorn off all four legs, but something was different. Despite utilizing all her might, her wings failed to respond. They didn’t move at all!

What the... my wings?!

With a gasp of horror, Rainbow saw from the corner of her eyes the little beads of water and snow from the trees, frozen all over her feathers by the constant barrage of wind and winter-chilled air. No! No! No! Straining and squirming, she couldn’t break her wings free and crashed headlong into the side of the train, only allowing her enough of a shift in direction to loop one foreleg against the roof before her inertia propelled her off and over the side. Her head crashed harshly against the side of the train and her senses were overwhelmed by shaky blobs and distorted sounds.

“Rainbow Dash!”

In the foggy corners of her hearing and muffled sight, she saw an indistinct yellow blob in the near distance. Straining, Rainbow tried to pull herself up onto the train, but with her wings still burdened with snow and her hind legs thinly coated in residual ice, every movement was labored. What made it worse was that the metal skin of the train was a perpetual slick of ice, and her one leg maintained a weak grip that struggled just to hang on. As the train rounded a corner, the perilous grip became an impossible one, and with a final yelp, the rainbow pegasus slipped from the side of the train. Closing her eyes, she braced for the unpleasant impact with rocky ground, hard rails and the wooden ties, but not the pair of foggy yellow blobs that shot beneath her, bearing her to the ground with laborious whimpers.

“Rainbow Dash!” a soft mumble sunk into her ear. “Rainbow Dash are you okay?!” Turning her rattled head, all she could see was an unusual yellow blob, topped by an equally strange pink blob. Whatever it was, at least it seemed worried about her.

“Mmnghnh... stop her... ” Rainbow muttered at the yellow pegasus hovering above her now, weakly struggling against the yellow forelegs that held her steady as they wobbled unsteadily to the ground.

Staggering to her hooves inside the baggage car, Twilight wasted no time giving chase. Expecting to find the door to the next car open, Twilight nearly crashed into it with a confused wail.

Where’d she go?!

Panic began to sweep across her before she noticed a small ladder and the snowy tracks of orange hind legs scrambling to the train’s roof.

Can’t let her get away!

Throwing herself at the ladder, Twilight shakily wobbled to the roof. A stinging barrage of wind and dust lapped into her face. She ducked down beneath the rim of the train car to readjust, blinking feverishly to clear the wayward particulates from her eyes. The world around her was a rapidly charging blur of snow and rock.

Then, with an whirring pop of snapping air, the rocks around them parted instantly, opening up to a grandiose expanse that overlooked all of Equestria. The stone bridge beneath them drooped in a lazy arc towards the ground hundreds of haunches below, disappearing into a tight pinnacle just peeking from the rim of the speeding train. At the foot of the grandiose stone bridge was a thick fog of churning white water, a deathly series of powerful rapids kicked up by the tremendous waterfall draping behind the other side of the tracks. Wind and cold droplets of water whipped feverishly through Twilight’s mane as she steadied herself on the wobbling train roof.

“C’mon up!” the orange unicorn taunted. “Don’t worry, if you fall, just tuck and roll!” She was just as unsteady as Twilight as the train jounced and wobbled over uneven planks on the track.

Twilight was beyond banter with this mare. The Element entrusted to her was still askew on her head with casual abandon, her friends were hurt and scattered, and Equestria itself was in danger. With a snort, Twilight threw her doubts aside and lunged towards her, violet magic erupting from her horn and sending new bands to try and snag her again. However, Gina was ready this time and with a violent flare of blaring energy, the bands were knocked aside, swinging wide around her.

With little room on the train roof, maneuvering was out of the question, with the length of the car between them, the two unicorns squared off to test their magic against one another. Gina started immediately with quivering shockwaves of unrefined light that blasted towards Twilight with reckless abandon.

Same spell as before.

Her analytical mind was hard at work, the first displays inside the baggage car had given her a small insight into how it worked. She saw the fundamental motions of flowing energy, even in such an unpolished form again when the orange mare had broken her attempt at binding her again. Moments before the shockwave hit her off the roof, Twilight lit her horn and applied the smallest bit of force to the oncoming barrage, and as she predicted, the wave spun itself apart into a harmless glittery breeze that delicately wafted past Twilight.

“Whaaat!?” Gina blubbered, dumbstruck that her magic was simply pulled apart. Snarling, she launched another barrage of magic at her, more of the same shockwaves that were pulled apart with equal ease. Swallowing hard, she poured more power into the magic bolts of energy, each one more violently erratic and unpredictable than the last. But for as wild as each bolt was, to Twilight, they were merely different twists on the same spell.

She doesn’t know any spells at all!

The power was unsettling, though, Twilight felt great relief that this unicorn didn’t have any control to her magic. If she did, she would be unstoppable, or near enough, but with only such rudimentary magic technique at her command, nothing she could throw at Twilight surprised her, it was all like she had studied and practiced for years. Now that she had her technique pegged, Twilight advanced, stepping closer and closer as she prepared her own spells. With a barked yell, Twilight unleashed a genuine counterspell, twisting the latest shockwave of force around on itself and flinging it right back at Gina, nearly bowling her over.

Gina yelped, stumbling backwards as her own magic was turned back against her. Her mind raced to explain how it was possible. To her, the purple unicorn was barely using any power at all, certainly not enough to overwhelm what she was throwing her way. Hesitating, she threw one final blast of magic in a wide arc as her mind pleaded with itself for guidance. “Gah... wh-what do I do?!” she stammered, laughter falling out of her lips even as raw panic overwhelmed her.

“What you can do,” Twilight growled, “is hand over the Element of Magic and surrender right now!” You don’t even understand the magic you are using.

“What do I do?!” Gina bleated again, ignoring Twilight completely even as she advanced with a threatening purple glow around her horn. The orange unicorn suddenly stiffened in sudden comprehension. “Oh... oooh. Yes!” With a renewed battlecry, Gina charged straight towards Twilight, firing her shockwaves of fiery orange magic with utter abandon. Even though each one was easily countered and unwoven before her eyes, Twilight’s attention turned to defence, eyes darting as each zephyr of unrestrained magic snapped around her. Moments before they collided physically, Gina planted her hooves and leapt, tumbling in an unsteady heap over Twilight and sprinting towards the ladder she had climbed up before. As she neared, Gina’s horn illuminated and, for the first time in her life, she turned her mind towards focusing her magic, drawing the amorphous pulse of energy into a tighter shape. Less explosive, more punch.

“Oh no you don’t!” Twilight gasped as she whirled, dispelling the last shock with a flick of her horn. A tight beam of insidious orange light propelled with vigorous intensity, rippling and burning away the air around it as a melted hole peeled away through the baggage car’s ceiling.

She could not let her get away again, if she got into the train, many ponies could be hurt. Closing her eyes, Twilight lashed a band of magic out, snapping it towards the orange mare’s back legs. The band cinched tightly around her legs just as Gina released a final blast of magic, no longer aimed at the unicorn, but aimed down at the coupling. With a guttural lurch, the rear baggage car wobbled as its connection to the rest of the train fell apart in a heap of twisted and mangled iron. A widening gap rapidly built between the car and its parent, draping scraps of clanging metal summoning a shower of sparks up against the dueling unicorns.

Acting on an instinct not her own, Gina reversed her tactics. Another shockwave of telekinesis, but stretched and extended, pulled out into a grasping net of magic that engulfed the car. Twilight nearly fell over as the car began to rumble, pulled in conflicting directions by immense forces of momentum and magic straining for dominance over the huge object. The gap continued to grow between baggage car and train, but now it grew vertically as the orange magic began to overwhelm the car’s weight and haul it upwards, away from the tracks.

What is she doing?!

“What’s..erf... it gonna be?” Gina smirked, not even looking at Twlight as her focus on the magic twisted the car into the air. “Gonna stop me or... ” Instead of finishing the sentence, Gina squeezed tightly on the magical aura enclosing the train car, shaking it wildly and bouncing the contents violently as it left the tracks and flew. “Gonna stop me or get out of here with your earth pony?”

“Applejack!” Twilight swallowed hard, torn between duty to Celestia and duty to her friends. But she had no time to think, no time to analyze and no time to do anything but follow her gut instinct, to follow her heart. She lunged past Gina and down the ladder. Shouldering past the door, she found Applejack wobbly and trying to find her feet. Without words, Twilight looped a foreleg around the orange shoulder and thrust her towards the door.

“Ah can get ‘er!” The orange mare cried out in protest, tightly clenching to a metal bar beside the car’s door. “If Ah can just get... up... ” She reached with her other foreleg for the rim of the luggage car, suggesting her desire to pull herself up against the powerful unicorn.

“Applejack, don’t!”

“Ah can do this!” She nudged the unicorn’s purple foreleg off her shoulder, only to have it latch back on with a firmer grip. “Ah said, Ah can do this!”

A sporadic thought crossed Twilight’s mind, as she eased her grip around the flailing orange pony. With an expression of stern honesty, she faced her squarely. “Let go.”

“What!?” The orange mare protested again.

Like it was straight from a memory, Twilight reiterated. “Just let go.”

The metal bar sang with a whine as the orange pony’s foreleg unclenched from it. The luggage car rocked with tremendous stress again, waving and pulling upward by the surrounding aura of telekinetic energy enveloping more tightly around it with augmenting intensity. Quickly lurching backward, Twilight pulled the orange pony off the baggage car as a final pulse of yellow and orange energy surged upward. Carried by nothing more than momentum, they fell across the widening gap onto the moving train moments before the baggage car completely left the track. Turning to watch, Twilight let out a shuddering gasp of horror as the orange unicorn stood, laughing to the spray of the grand waterfall the car now sped towards.

While the orange cloud of magic held the train car aloft, the impossible force of the waterfall instantly asserted itself on the car. The moment the water struck the baggage car, it listed unsettlingly, one end forced downward and dragging behind the rest of the bulk into the intense downward flow. Instead of trying to free the train car from the the torrent, the magic caressing the bulky car flopped it parallel to the falling water, letting the churning white torrent carry it down. In little more than a second, the baggage car had been pulled from ten lengths above the track to a torpedo fired downward beyond Twilight’s vision below the rail’s bridge.

Rushing to the edge of the railing, Twilight leaned far out to catch a new angle and continue pursuing the train car with her eyes. What she saw caused her jaw to nearly hit the rattling floor. Standing bipedal at the top edge of the plummeting car, the orange unicorn wore a face of wild excitement and laughter. With her rear hooves planted firmly on the metal roof, she weaved and steered the weightless train car with intense daring between overlapping plumes of churning water. Forelegs outstretched, she waved them to adjust her balance, and pump a hoof with magnanimous euphoria with each adrenal warcry she made.

Standing atop the upper deck of the vehicle, she was surfing the baggage car down the waterfall!

Her horn sparkled and surged as she made adjustments, keeping the train car grinding along with the flow of the deluge and never fully dragged into it nor completely thrown out of it into a tumbling wreck. Twilight could swear she heard whoops of excited joy over the roar of the waterfall and the rattling of the train as the laughing orange unicorn rode the luggage car down the waterfall like a surfboard.

Gina never even contemplated about this trick of magic, and binding the impossibly heavy train car to glide down with the waterfall’s force, carrying her the whole way, was a stroke of new insight never considered before. Whether the injected brilliance of a force beyond her own cognition, or a sporadic impulse of raw luck, she cared not about the driving cause of such an escape. All she cared about was the disappearing visage of the purple unicorn ascending further and further from her own vision through the thickening mist surrounding her.

But those insights only lived for mere moments when the exhilarating rush of water and wind overtook her senses and a peal of laughter rippled out. Coherency gave way to delight, and collected thoughts gave way to the erratic laughs.

To be alive.

Sliding and skimming across the edge of the waterfall, the baggage car moved under the combined force of magic and nature. Slicing past the torrent, Gina tried adjusting and twisting her magic, cutting daringly close to the rocky sides of the falls.

As the train car disappeared into the foamy mist hanging some distance above the water at the foot of the falls, the magic telekinesis adjusted and twisted the train car. While the car angled upward and speared towards the watery crash, Gina leapt across its roof to the edge before swinging around the lip and inside the car. Moments later, a heavy crash and bellowing ring of exploding water burst outward, lost instantly to the roar of the churning falls.

Inside the luggage car, the bags and strewn belongings surged in a swirling amalgam that blocked the flickering tendrils of murky light poking through. A roar of air permeated around the orange unicorn, a whirling sheet of glassy water ascended above her ears, and she sunk into an incoherent aether... blurred and featureless.

A muffled hum coalesced from the rampaging chaos around her through the water; a low single note. Unable to breathe, hear, smell, or see, she wore a contented grin as she gazed out into the sunken luggage car.

She gazed out into the gray.