Twilight both felt like she had fallen for hours, and yet seconds. Time felt so strange. It felt like she was in a dream.

"Twilight Sparkle, can you face your fears and griefs?" asked a familiar voice. Twilight stirred, falling through the endless cold void.

"What? Huh?" asked Twilight like she had just woken up from a rest two days long. She suddenly felt like she plummeted into the cold endless ocean, breaking its surface, yet she didn't sink.

She was lying, disoriented, but physically unharmed on a surface covered with shallow water. There was a slight mist surrounding her, but nothing so thick she couldn't see. She looked around her, above, around, far away, there was nothing but a empty void, white, with just a slight tint of violet colors, fading the more they got from the endless horizon. The water had the color of wet cement, but was still clear. It was so cold it made her shiver slightly. She managed to find her balance and stand up, feeling instantly dry everywhere except for her hooves still in the water.

"Where, where am I?" asked Twilight to herself. That voice she had heard, was that real? Was she imagining things? She suddenly remembered Mrs. Misery and Mood, how she had gotten here. "Those, those... jerks! I'll get back and stop them," said Twilight. She tried to teleport, but even if she would have known where she was, her magic didn't work. It wasn't like before where she did have magic but was unable to use it to get away. Here it was more that she didn't have magic at all. It was a foreign feeling, like something inside her was missing, like a second beating heart that had almost always been there had simply disappeared, only being noticeable once gone. She had never felt a complete absence of magical energy as a unicorn, and she believed that few unicorns ever had.

"Oh, Twilight, I'm afraid that is beyond what even you can do," said a voice from behind her. She quickly turned around. She saw who had talked, but she couldn't believe it, how in the world had he gotten there? Where was she, even?

"Spike?!"

Her old yet young friend was looking at her with some curiosity, balancing from claws to heel where he stood.

"Oh no, that would be silly. I'm not Spike," said Spike and looked at her with interest.

"What are you talking about? What's going on!"

"Twilight, I look like Spike, I sound like Spike, I talk like Spike and I'm just as great and handsome, but I'm not Spike," said Spike.

"How did you get here? Wait, did Mood somehow get you when he made you cr-"

"I'm not Spike, you dumb... eh, dumb girl!" said the little dragon.

"What?"

"Listen, I'll start with the simple thing. This isn't a real place. You are inside your own brain right now, or mind, or mental place, or... You're in your own brain, alright?!" exclaimed Spike. He looked around. "Huh, I expected it to be smaller. Still, it's plenty empty, though," said Spike.

"But, wait. So, this is just me, being inside my own mind?"

"Yes, Mood basically used his curse at max power, making you shut down from emotional turmoil that was fueled by intricate signals from his cursed eyes that your brain took up in its moment of weakness. His curse can do some serious damage to your sense of self. You're currently in a coma, either in that house, or in a hospital, or the castle, since Mrs. Misery couldn't stay there long after you managed to set that pony free.

"I, I think I see... wait, then who are you?" asked Twilight Sparkle.

"As your brain has basically shut down, I'm one of the few parts of your personality that is remote enough to be basically untouched by this whole emotional psychological stuff, yet big enough to take a form that can think and talk. I'm basically parts of you that you can't really relate with or understand. As far as you feel, I'm not part of your self-image. In here I take on a personality. That I exist, and, that you exist, is your brain trying to set itself right."

"Then, what are you?" asked Twilight. Spike gave a cheerful smile.

"I'm your acceptance, Twilight!"

"What?"

"Maybe I should just call myself Mr. Exposition or something? Twilight, you have a problem. You almost never accept stuff. Math problem not making sense? 'No, I'll solve it!' Pinkie-sense? 'I'll get it with science, there has to be an explanation!' Late with a friendship report? 'I'll work myself to death if I have to!' That's you, by the way. Although, I'm still you, I have all your memories after all. Did I just burn myself?" asked Spike sounding comically confused.

"Hey, I accept stuff."

"No you don't," said Spike.

"I do."

"No, you don't."

"Do too!"

"Nope"

"Yes! I do!"

"Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"How are you not noticing a pattern here?!" yelled Spike. Twilight just shrugged off what he said and looked around.

"So, why are you in the form of Spike?"

"He has a tendency to just relax and let things run its course. He accepts stuff readily," said Spike and sat down in the water.

"What am I going to do now?"

"Well, you're going to have to traverse your subconscious in order to find your fears and sorrows and destroy them. Sure, they won't really go away, but your brain will forget about them as it tries to sort itself out right now. They take up unnecessary space, and just like in real life, they are self-destructive, in other words, they sabotage you by existing," said Spike.

"Sound easy enough," said Twilight.

"It's not, trust me. All ponies that Mood have done this to has been beaten by them, or in some cases even joined them, making sure they never wake up from their coma. Possibly dying of starvation," said Spike.

"Wait, how do you even know about this?"

"Twilight, I'm using your brain just like you are. Don't forget that your brain is basically shut down right now. It's barely only doing breathing and heart pumping. It doesn't observe the world in any way. You are at the lowest still conscious level, your brain works faster down here, and since it doesn't have many distractions it's basically an already capable calculating machine turned into super calculating machine. I don't 'know' these things. I just used your brain for what would take you a whole year in the real world to come to super logical conclusions in what seems like seconds."

"That's... Wow, I knew I had a good brain, but not this good!" said Twilight with a bit of proud glee.

"Well, you need to get to beating your fears and sorrows and such. Some are basically just like me, parts of your mind that are big, but not really you as you see yourself. Sort of like how a good meal is on a plate. Sure, you need the food to eat, and you need the plate to not make a mess, but you wouldn't eat the plate, would you?"

"I don't think that's a good metaphor, Spike, or... Yeah, Spike will do."

"I'm lazy, so sue me," said Spike with a dry expression.

"Well, since you know so much, where should I start?" asked Twilight, looking around at the large void. It was so oddly silent, uncannily silent.

"Well, where do you think we should go?" asked Spike and looked around, just as lost as she was.

"To be honest, I don't know," said Twilight.

"Well, then we're in trouble. Hm, what do you think Celestia would say right now?" asked Spike. Twilight turned to face him.

"Wouldn't you know that?"

"I do. But, hey, where's the fun in that? I can't do anything in here to get you out. Only you can do that," said Spike.

"Fine. Well, I suppose Princess Celestia would tell me to follow my heart or something. I think I'd prefer a map," said Twilight.

"Well, what does your heart say, then?" Twilight thought about it for a few seconds, then she closed her eyes. She listened in the darkness and stillness. To her disappointment, but hardly her surprise, there was nothing in the void. She kept trying, despite feeling rather silly just standing there. After all, nothing could be- And there, in the darkness, she heard a single drop fall into the water. "Wow! Great work, Twilight!" said Spike.

Twilight opened her eyes. She was still standing in clear, slightly gray water, but there was something around her. It was familiar.

It was Ponyville.

The fog made the otherwise colorful and inviting old buildings seem foreign, and the completely flat surface of the shallow water that everything was placed on was just not right compared to the subtle bumps and hills that accompanied the wonderful landscape she was so familiar with. It was almost like the real thing, but it was still so uncanny, so different.

"It's, um, kind of creepy here," said Spike.

"Did you hear that dripping sound?" asked Twilight and turned to Spike.

"What? No. I didn't hear anything," said Spike.

"Well, I'm sure I heard something, this way," said Twilight. Spike followed her as she started to walk through Ponyville. The water never made any large sounds no matter how much they splashed around in it. In fact, every sound they made had this unfamiliar tendency to just quickly die out.

"So, Spike, since you know more than me here, what is the first thing I'm going to have to face?" asked Twilight.

"I, I know, but I don't want to tell you," said Spike, squirming a bit. "In fact, I'm not sure I even can," said Spike.

"Huh?"

"You must understand, Twilight, that you and I basically think on different levels of the brain. If I sort of, transfer too much of my thought process to you, as we are still part of the same brain, then your brain might just stop working altogether. I can basically predict the future, but I can't really give you any spoilers," said Spike.

"Predict the future?"

"Believe me, Twilight, a pony's brain, any brain, can do things you couldn't even dream of, but only during the right circumstances," said Spike. Twilight didn't like how Spike started to sound so contemplative and thorough. It just didn't feel like Spike when he did that. "I hope you get this is stuff that is far beyond what much of science has found out about. Hey, congratulations, you learned stuff nopony else does! Still, at least I can explain this to you, that's something," said Spike with a cheerful smile to her.

"Twilight, come here," said a distant voice suddenly in the silence. It was both quiet and clear, and quite ominous due to a faint echo that lingered in the void just long enough for one to notice it before it disappeared. Their attention was immediately drawn to the voice. It came from deeper inside Ponyville. Twilight was sure it was coming from her library. It seemed like that general direction. It could indeed have been beyond her library, but she sort of wanted to go there anyway. It was just who she was, she was drawn to libraries.

"And that's probably what you need to defeat," said Spike a bit worried.

"Well, we can't hesitate. I need to get back to the real world and stop Mrs. Misery! I have to tell everypony about her lies," said Twilight.

"True, but one thing at a time," said Spike.

"Let's go!" said Twilight and ran towards her home with Spike quickly following her. It didn't take long for her to get there, and when she did she knew that had to be the place. The water was being pushed away from the large tree and the colors of the tree simply just stood out from the lifeless surroundings. The tree simply looked like the genuine article.

Twilight left the cool water behind her as she stepped out on the soft, warm grass surrounding the old oak. She walked towards the front door. She was sure she could hear something from within. She instantly recognized it as rain. She reached out her hoof towards the door but then Spike grabbed it and stopped her.

"Twilight, I just need to tell you something. I can follow you in there, but I can't help you. But, I can tell you how you can defeat those you meet. You need to first figure out what they represent in you, and, well, that's it. Don't think they won't do their best to stop you, though. Also, don't jump to conclusions. This place can be deceiving in unexpected ways. Good luck," said Spike, sounding quite worried. Twilight nudged him affectionately.

"I'll be alright," said Twilight. Then she opened the door.

***

"Spike, I can't let you go in here! I, I can't see you like that," said Rarity through the door. She was blocking it, making sure he couldn't get inside. She looked over at the bed where Twilight was surrounded by the rest of her friends and her brother. Shining Armor looked surprisingly calm, but Rarity recognized a worried sibling when she saw one. Shining Armor might have shown a strong facade, but he was definitely quite shocked. Twilight just lied there on the bed, barely breathing with her eyes closed. A tear rarely ran down her cheek, but not one of them cried, but they might as well have. It would have made Rarity feel better if she could have just let it all out without having to appear weak. Of course, she wouldn't have been weak, and none of them would have thought so. If anyone of them would have started to cry, the rest would have swiftly followed.

"Rarity, please, just, let me in. Twilight, she's... she's like my sister. I, I want to be there with her," said Spike. Rarity felt heartbroken when she heard a weak sigh through the door. He banged his fist on the door from the other side one last time. "Please just let me see her. I'll do anything," said Spike.

"Rarity. Let him inside," said Shining Armor, looking over at her. Rarity couldn't say no to that voice as it was so stable and decisive.

Rarity stopped blocking the door and Spike slipped inside so quickly she could barely see him. He had reached the bed by the time Rarity had started to walk after him. Spike had to stand on the tip of his claws in order to reach up to the side of the bed. Rarity walked up next to him and gave him a comforting hug from behind. She then sat down next to him. Her eyes went to Twilight, and then she noticed that all her friends, including Shining Armor, looked at Spike in surprise. Rarity glanced at his face, and she too was not prepared for what she saw.

If Shining Armor could be described as being relatively stable, then Spike could only be described as rock-solid. The weakness his voice had conveyed when he had been standing outside could simply not be seen in Spike's face. He just glared at some point in the air as he reached out and grabbed Twilight's hoof.

"Spike, are you alright?" asked Shining Armor.

"Yeah. I'm fine," said Spike as he took another look at Twilight. His voice sounded so shockingly sincere. Despite the unexplained coma of the one pony in his life that could be seen as his family, he seemed calm.

"But, Spike," said Shining Armor. Spike shook his head.

"No, Shining Armor. I'm fine. I know this isn't good, but to be honest, I, I just don't think this is a big deal," said Spike. They all looked at him in surprise. "I'm not afraid. Twilight is strong, she'll be alright. I just know it. You'll see, she'll be up and ready to fight back Misery by this time tomorrow."

"You're really not worried, are you?" asked Fluttershy.

"I'm not really that young, you know. I'm old enough to know that when things get tough, you need to get tougher. I'll stay with Twilight tonight. She'll want to have someone she knows around when she wakes up," said Spike and gently held her hoof.

"I'll stay too," said Shining Armor. Spike turned to him.

"No, Shining Armor. You're needed, now more than ever. You have a duty. I'll take care of Twilight, and you get Group Misery," said Spike. Shining Armor looked at him for a moment, with surprise in his eyes.

"You're absolutely right. In fact, I need to get back on duty. I'm needed. Thank you, Spike. Take good care of her," said Shining Armor. After a few moments of hesitation, not wanting to leave his sister's side, he finally did.

"You'll see. She'll be alright," said Spike and looked up at his friends. Rarity started to cry, and soon the rest of the ponies followed. Spike hugged Rarity, trying to comfort her the best he could. He took another look at Twilight. It wasn't a lie. Spike knew that she would be alright. She had to be.

***

In a burst of adrenaline, Twilight jumped out of the way of yet another attack. It had been one of many since she had opened the door to her library. The very next moment after entering the library she had been attacked. Whatever this place was, it certainly didn't look like her home. It was more like a gigantic archaic stone library, but on fire. Everywhere she turned, there were scorching hot flames. Her very eyeballs almost felt dried out in this heat. Just walking on the stone floor hurt her hooves, but she endured.

"You can't run forever, Twilight Sparkle," said a familiar voice. Twilight didn't turn to look at her attacker, she just kept running. She hadn't expected this, not in a million years. She jumped around a corner just as another attack was launched. The very place she had been in previously was simply incinerated by a wave of flames of such temperature it made the stone floor melt beneath it. Twilight kept running. The line of sight to her attacker had been broken, so Twilight thought she might have been able to hide, catch her breath for once.

"This is insane," said Twilight to herself. She looked behind her, the light from her enemy was shining brightly as it got nearer the corner. Twilight grabbed Spike and hid behind another corner. She was sweating more than she ever had, and every single drop sizzled as it hit the floor.

"This fire's so hot that even your view of Spike is getting burnt," said Spike to her, frenetically waving his arm to get rid of a piece of fire refusing to die out.

Twilight wanted to just catch another glimpse of the attacker, but she wasn't stupid. She couldn't peek out around the corner. This short moment of silence was so far her only chance to guess just what this enemy represented. It only used fire and heat to attack. It was even partially wreathed in flames. Could it be anger? Twilight's heart was pumping rapidly in her chest. The initial shock of seeing the form the enemy had taken had quickly been swept away by the mere danger it posed.

"It's okay, it's walked into a hallway," said Spike, peeking around the corner.

"I thought you said you couldn't help me?" said Twilight.

"Hey, I can't fight or even give you a hint about what your enemy represents, but this is neither," said Spike.

Twilight basically had to dance to be able to think and avoid the pain from the fiery hot floor. What could this creature be representing? Anger? Hate? It was likely, but, still, it just felt like something was wrong. Her enemy took upon itself a form that no matter how you would look at the original, you would never see this type of hate. It didn't make sense. Spike being acceptance made sense, this thing being anger, did not.

"Twilight Sparkle!" roared a voice. It was again, so familiar, but just so wrong. It was burning with contempt, echoing with power. It was Celestia's voice. Around another corner the Princess passed, seeing both of them with her ruby red eyes. Her mane was made from a fire so hot it was whiter than her fur. Her hooves were wreathed in flames that almost seemed to claw out towards Twilight and Spike. She was still wearing her jewelry but it was constantly dripping, parts of it seemingly constantly melting from the heat. She was untouched of course.

By just being in direct line of sight of Celestia, Twilight could feel the heat from her directly. It was like being in front of lava, but perhaps that would have been cooler. Twilight was about to run away when the path behind her was blocked by even more flames, burning her by their presence alone rather than touch. Twilight could only turn around to face her enemy.

"Twilight Sparkle. Who am I?" asked Celestia. She showed her fangs and hissed towards Twilight as she slowly walked towards her. She was more like an animal than a pony. Twilight thought about the question. Celestia wasn't ever anger, but fire might be. She hesitated, but made a decision.

"You're, you're, you're my ange-"

"Twilight, if you tell her the wrong thing, you'll never get to wake up and be stuck in here with her forever," said Spike, pulling at her mane. Twilight looked at him and then back to Celestia. The hot air coming off her was starting to hurt Twilight as she got ever closer. At this rate, Twilight would be destroyed before Celestia even managed to touch her. Twilight didn't dare to look Celestia in the eyes. It was almost like when the real Princess Celestia was cross with her. Twilight could never manage to look her in the eyes when she was yelling, sounding cold, glaring. Still, that was never because of anger. It was always simply dis-

"You're my disappointment!" yelled Twilight in a moment of clarity. The fires immediately died out. The aspect of Twilight in front of her just looked at her. She silently nodded. The air was cool and pleasant. The library was untouched by any previous damage. The fires might as well never have existed. Without the heat and fire, the beautiful architecture just seem to stand out to Twilight. The rows upon rows of books seemed so inviting to her.

"You are correct, Twilight Sparkle. I am the part of you that is disappointment," said Celestia. She sounded more like the original, and as she spoke, more and more of her just started to look like like the real Princess Celestia. At the same time, she was fading away in an almost gray fog. "You are always so hard on yourself, and you expect everyone else to be too. You need to be able to accept your mistakes and move on, not focus on them and letting them hurt you. Learn from them, but do not let them poison your happiness," said Celestia, and then with a smile, she disappeared, fading away forever.

"Wow. Good job. Now, we need to keep going," said Spike.

"I wonder who the next one is going to be," said Twilight.

"I think the next one is actually the last," said Spike.

"What?"

"I just, I just get that impression."

"Only two? I expected more," said Twilight and started to walk around the gigantic library. She was sure she heard that dripping sound again. It was somewhere around here. She just knew it. Spike just made sure to keep up with her. Finding her way back to the front door was basically impossible in this enormous maze of books and documents. Twilight was tempted to read something, but she couldn't waste any time. She was on top of it all under the impression that reading these documents were a bad idea. It was just a feeling in the back of her mind. She didn't want to take any risks.

After what felt like hours walking through the library, she eventually found something of interest. That shallow water had returned again. It was slowly seeping along the floor. Twilight basically followed the current. By doing that she eventually found something that stood out in the labyrinth. It was a flight of stone stairs going right into the gigantic stone wall. Twilight couldn't even see the top from where she was standing. The light from the gigantic room she was in couldn't reach far up there. The water was pouring down the steps. She started to climb the stairs. Spike got up on her back and sat quietly on top of her as they got higher and higher up.

"What do you think is up there?" asked Spike.

"Well, so far I have no idea. Wait, do you hear that?" asked Twilight. It wasn't the stream of water that made the sound, or that faint dripping ahead. It was someone crying.

"I do. Doesn't sound good," said Spike.

The further up Twilight got, the darker it got. Twilight was not afraid of either darkness or the danger she would undoubtedly face ahead. Still, it eventually got so dark that the only thing visible was an endless white line behind her, where the large room was. The water was still steadily flowing around her hooves.

Then she saw something up ahead. Just the faintest of blue light shining down at the top of the stairs, like a star in the darkness. She had to keep climbing the stairs for a long while longer, but finally, she reached an opening.

She stepped out from the darkness and into yet another type of void. Both the water and sky were dark blue, like it was night. This water was oddly warm, it had a strange scent that reminded her of an ocean breeze. There was no fog in this void and while it seemed as endless as the first one had been, this was a bit less empty.

Ahead of Twilight there was a square shaped platform on top of a pillar with a spiraling staircase leading up to it. Twilight turned around when the faint sound of the flowing water stopped. The entrance had completely disappeared. She turned towards the pillar. There was a light shining down towards the pillar. Twilight could hear the crying coming from up there.

Twilight started to hurry towards the pillar. It didn't take too long for her to finally reach it and walk up the stairs. As she neared the top, she slowed down. She was carefully going forward one step at at time, ready for any incoming danger. What could this next challenge be? With that crying in mind, the first and only impression Twilight got was sadness.

She was just around the corner to the top. Just a few steps more and she would see whoever it was. She braced herself and jumped up the last few steps. She had not expected what she saw. Lying on a flat stone floor, there was a pony. It was weeping and sobbing. She was keeping her eyes closed, not wanting to look upon the void. The tears never seemed to stop, and it flowed off the platform into the endless pool below, being made of nothing but tears. Twilight looked upon none other than herself, just being there, wrapped up in a pathetic weak pose and continuing to cry.

"Who are you? Are you me, or are you supposed to be a changeling?" asked Twilight. The other her's eyes sprung open. She focused her stare at Twilight and Spike.

"Go away!" the other Twilight roared with anger and despair. Twilight and Spike were both violently pushed off the platform and fell down to land in the shallow water. Twilight was a bit roughed up but otherwise fine. She looked up at her other self, expecting an attack, but no such thing came. Whatever that thing was, it just stayed up there to continue her crying.

"Looks like I was right. This really is the last fight," said Spike. He jumped off Twilight.

"Spike, are you sure that's my enemy?" asked Twilight Sparkle.

"Of course. She attacked you, didn't she?" asked Spike while looking up at the platform.

"Well, yes, but this, this is different. She's, she's just a crying pony, and she's me. Can I really just attack that?"

"She's the enemy, Twilight! You have to attack! Tell that monster what aspect of you she is," said Spike and turned his head towards her with a determined look on his face.

"Right, let's go," Twilight said, walking towards the path up to the other her. She thought it through very carefully, she had almost made a mistake already. She couldn't let it happen again. As she got closer to the path up, she turned to Spike who was walking along with her. She stopped to face him, a bit unsure about what to guess. "I'm not sure of what she is. As you said: things can be deceiving," said Twilight Sparkle, thinking of all the possibilities as well as she possibly could.

"Come on! She's sadness, just tell her that already!" yelled Spike impatiently and pointed towards the platform. She certainly didn't like it when he was so impatient, and she was about to start to walk upwards when she realized something and faced Spike again.

"Spike, didn't you yourself say specifically that you couldn't help me?" asked Twilight. Spike slowly turned around towards her. He looked at her with a face that told Twilight everything she needed. It was obvious that Spike was desperately trying to come up with an excuse. "Spike, have you been lying to me?" asked Twilight. Spike looked at the water at his feet, kicking the water like a guilty child. Then he stopped with the kicking and simply started to chuckle. The chuckling turned to laughter, loud laughter that echoed back from the endless distance.

"Damn it, I thought I could have made you do it. Well, you can't have everything I want, I guess," said Spike and finally stopped laughing.

"What do you want?" asked Twilight.

"To be the one to destroy you, and hurt you, and hurt you, and hurt you. Forever. That is the purpose of us in here. You see, Twilight, you didn't need to destroy any of us to be able to leave. The way out is actually right in here. The fact that Celestia was in the way was just bad luck. There are more than a dozen of us in here. We all want to be the one to destroy you. We would fight each other for it if we could. They actually started to run towards where you landed the moment you came into your own mind. Had you waited for just a few more minutes, they all would have attacked you at once. I expect at least some of them to take the form of King Sombra, Discord and Nightmare Moon. They are probably very disappointed that they can't reach you in here. Here, you are all mine," said Spike.

Twilight probably would have been devastated any other week, but with all the recent hardships courtesy of Group Misery, with the curses, deceit and danger, Twilight wasn't even moved by this situation.

"How dare you look like Spike. He's my friend. You're insulting him by merely existing. Get out of my sight," said Twilight. The insulting being just chuckled and looked at her. For some reason, the more Twilight looked at him in this new light, the more his irises just seemed to be that of a hungry reptilian animal.

"I suppose I should tell you some truths. I can indeed think very well, and I'm the second to last challenge you will face. And since I'm an aspect, as you have seen, the only way to defeat me is by guessing my nature. So, Twilight, who am I? My nature certainly isn't acceptance," said the imitation of Spike and chuckled again. That sound was getting on Twilight's nerves.

"Well, you sure aren't 'planning', since, after all, you got me to seal you and me in a room together, when Spike is very small and punchable. Believe me, when I was a filly, I figured that out quite well when we argued," said Twilight with a certain degree of anger in her voice.

"Oh, right, about that. You probably think I'm the weakest one in your entire mind, don't you? Well, Twilight, there's something you should know," said Spike. He closed his green eyes with a content smile. When he opened his eyes they were red and he was giving her a wide terrifying smile, showing off just too many fangs. He started to grow and change very quickly and dramatically. "I'm actually the worst one!" yelled the fully grown dragon. His purple scales turning black and yellow. Once he had reached his full size, he stared at Twilight. His eyes were so large Twilight could have easily fit inside them and the monster wouldn't even have noticed.

"So, Twilight Sparkle, what am I?" asked the monster with Spike's voice, shockingly matured and deep. Twilight couldn't do anything in her current state, so she just ran.

Deceit, anger, resentment, greed, come on, he has to be one, Twilight thought as she was trying to do the impossible: outrun a dragon. No matter what she thought about, the same moment of clarity that she had gotten with Celestia just didn't come along.

The dragon hadn't moved since Twilight had started running away and she had managed to get quite a distance between the two. Then he simply took one step, and he was already next to her. His size was incredible. He raised his claw and focused his reptilian eyes on her.

"It's time to lose all hope, Twilight Sparkle. I will devour you. We will never be apart," said the monster and struck towards her. Twilight jumped out of the way, looking up at him. He took a deep breath.

"Darn. Fire."

Dark green flames erupted from its gaping maw. There was simply no way to dodge it. Twilight just decided to fall over down into the water, letting it cover her. To her surprise, she suddenly didn't feel a surface to lie upon. Instead she fell down into a cool, bottomless ocean. The enemy was standing right above her like on an invisible floor, she swam to get behind him as far as she could before she needed to get up for air. The moment she breached the surface, the dragon heard her and turned around quickly, focusing his stare on her yet again.

Twilight took another breath and went under again. It was safer down there, and in the stillness of the cold water, she was able to think a bit. Not that it mattered. She still couldn't figure out what this cheap imitation of Spike was.

"Twilight," said Spike's voice. It wasn't the monster who spoke, it was someone far, far away. It echoed all around her. Spike, is that you?

***

It was night in the hospital wing. The only light in the dark silence came from the moon shining down through the large windows and a single candlelight next to Twilight's bed. Spike was sitting on a chair, watching over Twilight. The rest of her friends were still working hard far into the late hours to find whoever had done this to her. He was still holding her hoof.

"Twilight, I hope you'll be better soon. The report says that Random's been spotted in the southern parts of Canterlot. Shining Armor is doing well, but we could really need you. Not, not just because we need your help. We just want you to be here... I want you to be here," said Spike and sighed. "I've finally been having some doubts the last few hours, you know? Like you won't wake up, ever, but... I have to keep hoping, right? Well, I've never been good at accepting things. I, I wonder, if I have to accept the risk that you might never... No, that's not going to happen. I love you like a sister, Twilight. Don't make me wait too long, okay? You get better, alright? Because if you don't, then I don't think I'll ever get away from right here at your side," said Spike and chuckled. "One day, I think I'll have to accept that I just can't be with you anymore. But I refuse to do that anytime soon," said Spike. He stood up on his chair, leaned over and kissed Twilight lovingly on her forehead. "Just come back to us, please. I need you, and I think, that I always will," said Spike. He was quite tired, he almost nodded off as he sat back down on his chair. He couldn't fall asleep just yet. He just had to be up a bit longer. She would open her eyes any minute now.

***

Twilight had felt something gently touch her forehead.

"I will be back, Spike, and thank you," said Twilight. She resurfaced and climbed up, without doubt in her mind. That deceitful monster of hers was as good as beaten. She turned to the monster who pounced towards her with those crazy evil eyes glaring at her.

"You told me a half-truth, but you aren't my acceptance. You are my lack of acceptance!" said Twilight calmly as the dragon was about to hit her. His enormous heavy body made contact, but it didn't crush her. It just passed right through her like it was air.

"No! I was supposed to win this! I was supposed to get what I wanted! I was supposed to be your pain forever! It's my nature!" yelled the dragon in anger, trying to claw Twilight but unable to even scratch her. He was beginning to shrink down to Spike's real size and color. His eyes were still red like rubies, and he cried like a child.

When he finally resembled Spike enough, he started to fade away into mist. He ran up to Twilight and just desperately banged his fists towards her. "I was supposed, to be able to be with you forever," said Spike weakly. Twilight understood what this was. It was a remnant of Mood's power. The idea that Twilight and Spike would drift apart and turn for the worse.

The image of Spike was just angrily keeping up with trying to hurt her in vain. More and more of him faded away, he felt like he was just going to vanish into nothingness, and he was afraid. Suddenly, he felt something he didn't expect, something he would never have thought possible. Twilight Sparkle was embracing him with a simple but loving hug. It was so different for a negative emotional part of her own mind such as himself. It was the only thing he had felt here that wasn't cold like the water or burning hot like scorching fires. This was the first time he had felt a comforting warmth. It was... nice. He broke down completely, crying openly, like a baby, grabbing Twilight and holding her, not wanting to let go.

"I know that you are the part of me that fears change. It's true, I've never liked change, and I've always struggled against it. But, if we can't deal with change, then we can't deal with life. Life is filled with changes. I can't change that, and even if I could it wouldn't be right. All I know is that when Spike one day grows up and doesn't need me anymore, I will just give him a hug, holding him close to me, and say a single thing," said Twilight.

"What?" asked Spike, looking up at her, still crying. His eyes started to turn emerald green.

"'I love you'. Then I will accept that he's leaving," said Twilight.

"And then I know he'll say 'I love you too'. And here I thought you only thought about yourself. That Mood is just a filthy liar. I know Spike would never hurt you," said Spike and hugged her. He looked up at Twilight one last time as the rest of him started to fade away into smoke. "Twilight, I was the second to last. The last one is in this room, but this place can deceive. I know you will find the part of you that you don't see in yourself. Just ask yourself one question: 'Why is that other Twilight crying?'"

Twilight felt his face push into her fur one last time for warmth, and then he was gone. She was alone.

She walked back up the stairs to see her copy. The other Twilight was still crying, in a weak position on her floor.

"Who are you, then?" asked Twilight, thinking out loud. Why is that other Twilight crying? It was a good question. Being her sadness or grief seemed to make sense, but it was just too obvious. "Twilight, why are you crying?" asked Twilight very gently to the little pony. This time she didn't lash out at her.

"Somepony told me that Spike would be taken away from me. And that Spike would hurt me one day," said the other Twilight. It was very quiet, barely audible over the crying. She just had this feeling she was missing something. There was a bigger picture to all of this. This Twilight was crying because of what Mood had done. Why was this Twilight, and not herself, crying about it?

'His curse can do some serious damage to your sense of self'.

'I'm still you, I have all your memories after all'.

'This place can be deceiving in unexpected ways'.

'And here I thought you only thought about yourself'.

And that's when Twilight figured it out. No wonder so many ponies had never been able to wake from Mood's curse at full power. Even if they would have been able to find this place, which was itself unlikely, they needed to be able to connect the dots that Twilight wouldn't even have been able to do if it wouldn't have been for her mental image of Spike just subtly giving her hints. Even negative aspects of a pony that were self-destructive still had just this little push to get one out of the gutter. The Spike in here had been no exceptions. Thank Celestia that Twilight was intelligent enough.

"Twilight Sparkle. I now know what you are," said Twilight to her copy. The pony didn't acknowledge her presence. "The truth is, that you are not an aspect of me at all. You are the real Twilight Sparkle. And I am an aspect of you. I am not Twilight Sparkle. I am something she would hardly think that she had. I am your ego!" yelled Twilight out into the endless void.

There was a deep sound coming from far way in the distance. It was like a drum. There was suddenly a light in the distance. It colored the sky in warmer colors as the light rose at the very horizon. The dark blue turned to pink and then red and then orange. It was so much like a wonderful sunrise. Suddenly, the water beneath her became solid like glass. Then there was that drum again. It was so loud. It made the very glass shatter beneath them. Twilight could see herself fade away into a fog. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them they felt quite watery. She was lying on the platform, watching a ghost of herself slowly fade away with a proud and content smile on her face. She had beaten Mood's curse.

The platform beneath her shattered and she fell down into the void. The sun was still shining into her face, too brightly, but it was so warm and comforting. It was such a beautiful dawn. To her horror the light started to dim, but she didn't want it to. It was just too wonderful to be lost. She had to reach out and grab it, it was right there. She started to feel so tired. It was right there, the star was right there, she just needed to reach out and grab hold.

"Just come back, Twilight." It was Spike's voice. "Please just come back. You're supposed to be here with us. Please just wake up. I'm here."

***

Twilight slowly opened her eyes, feeling drowsy, hungry and exhausted. She was holding out her hoof towards a large window on the other side of the room. Outside you could see the sun slowly rising, shining its radiant warmth into the room.

"Twilight... TWILIGHT!" yelled Spike in complete and utter joy and jumped up into the bed and embraced her. Twilight hugged him back.

"I just followed your voice, Spike. You really helped me out," said Twilight, not wanting to let him go. Eventually, though, she reluctantly did release him. She suddenly saw somepony a bit off to the side. That pony had just entered the hospital wing. He was staring at Twilight Sparkle, and Twilight was staring at him because he stared.

"Twilight... TWILY!" yelled Shining Armor and ran towards the bed, embracing Twilight, and Spike just sort of happened to get caught in the moment. The three shared a long hug. After all their troubles and hardships, they were together again. All three of them couldn't stop themselves from crying out of joy. Not the scholar, not the assistant, not the captain. And none of them wanted to.

***

"Mrs. Misery! I just heard the news from our bug Rerry! Twilight Sparkle has woken up from Mood's charged curse!" exclaimed Solitary as she rushed in through the door into her room in their current hideout. "And she's somehow stopped my own curse at the same time!" Something like that had never happened before, and certainly not at the same time. Mrs. Misery just sat relaxed in her chair, looking out at the sun as it was still rising up from above the horizon. She calmly turned to Solitary, giving her a unmoved gentle smile.

"It won't make a difference," she said, bored with the news. She was instead eagerly awaiting for the next few days. Mood, Instrumental, Solitary, Erase, Random, Y, Rerry, Dot, her enemies. All the pieces were almost in their proper places. Now she only needed to wait.