“I don’t mean to be a bother here, but will you hurry up, John!”

“I’m trying Rarity! Um, I think?” John replied, looking down. “Nope, nothing!”

“Oh-oh!” Rarity yelped suddenly. "I don't think I can hold it anymore!"

John looked at her in horror, knowing full well what Rarity‘s words entailed. “Crap, not aga—” *splash* as he expected, he fell into the small pool of water under him, tripping as his feet hit the bottom of the small pond. “Gah!” he coughed as his head was submerged underwater.

Zecora simply watched from the side as John emerged. “It takes time so don’t dismay, this ability you will soon be able to display.”

John groaned, leaving the pond. “Yeah, but how long? If I can even do this at all…” he sighed, removing his soaked shirt and tossing it aside.

“Come now, John, stuff like this takes time! Take it from me, just keep practicing,” Rarity’s small frame squeaked from the side. “I want to say that, but my magic isn’t exactly at its peak right now due to circumstances," she said, clearing her throat. "Point is, I don’t think I can hold you again over the water at the moment.”

“Right,“ John sighed. “Although I still don’t understand why we need you for it.”

Zecora shook her head. “Your ability involves magic, no other unicorns here is a bit tragic,” she pointed out. “If you manage to remove her shield, this new ability you will wield.”

“And from what you told us, it has only worked in moments of stress, correct?” Rarity continued. “And this is as much danger as what we are willing to put you through.”

“Which is why you put me on a pond, yeah, yeah; I get it,” John groaned, falling back on the ground. “Aaaand rocks just poked into my back… ouuuch,” he complained, letting his head fall to the side.

“In any case, this is only as a last measure, all will be fine once we get to the Princess,” Rarity explained. “Besides, it can’t hurt to try to learn this, right?” she finished, yawning.

“I suppose,” John shrugged. “Ready for another round, then?”

“Actually… I’m going to go check on the others,” Rarity pushed the question aside. “I know Pinkie Pie is a grown mare, but I‘m not sure if leaving her alone is a good idea,” she laughed nervously.

“It’s okay Rarity, I can see you are tired, go ahead and rest,” John suggested. “Zecora?“ he called, turning to the zebra who nodded in agreement.

“W—Well, I mean… Thank you, I won‘t be long,“ she said with a thankful smile, making her way back to Zecora’s hut, passing Ditzy, who stopped a few feet from the group.

“Hey guys! How goes the, um, training?” she asked eagerly.

“Ask again later,” John sighed, closing his hand to rip out blades of grass from the ground and tossing them aside, the soft breeze instantly pushing them towards his face, bringing out a groan for his self-inflicted inconvenience.

Ditzy approached him with a disappointed look, standing right behind him. “Sorry… So what’s the plan now?”

John shrugged. “We are taking a LONG break.”

“Resting is something that is needed, but don’t let your mission be impeded,” Zecora said sternly from the side.

“Yeah, I know. I just…” he trailed off, avoiding to look at any of them. “I don’t know, I just feel like I won’t be able to do it, is all. We are placing bets with chips that aren't even mine... if that makes sense."

Zecora stared at the pair intently for a few seconds and nodded, she didn’t say another word and left through the trail back to her hut, leaving behind a confused pair.

“Huh, that was weird,” John noted, laying his head back down and looking at the foliage over him, the small rays of light passing through quickly stopping his appreciation and making him turn his head away.

“Hey, John?” Ditzy called to him, laying down next to him. “Is this a bad time to have a talk?”

“A talk?” John asked, growing anxious. He gulped at the remembrance of his would-be discovery in the library just the day prior, but nodded nonetheless. “No, not at all, sure!”

Ditzy smiled gratefully. “Thanks… and to get to the point, I want to apologize.”

He looked at her puzzled, but chose to humor her. “What for?”

“For how I treated you, of course!” she whimpered, having to be reminded of it. “Yesterday when I got angry over my name, and of course when I got angry with Pinkie. I wasn’t in the best of moods.”

John shook his head amused, ruffling the mare’s mane. “It’s okay, I wasn’t angry. And trust me, none of us are; we are just nervous what with Guard keeping a watch over Ponyville, Zecora and Rarity helping me and my lost cause, and Pinkie Pie, well, being Pinkie Pie."

“And Fluttershy,” Ditzy added. “I wonder if she’ll make it to Canterlot quickly…”

“Right!“ he berated himself mentally for forgetting. “Yes! Everyone agreed that she could, no need to worry,” John noted, recalling the idea that had come from Rarity, practically guilt-tripping the yellow mare into going to Canterlot and contacting the princess, much to her dismay. “Glad that she said yes in the end, although I’m surprised you weren’t the one to go, I mean, Fluttershy flies, but you ARE a delivery mare, so you must know how to fly fast, right?”

Ditzy’s look darkened, and she grimaced, poking the ground with her hoof. “John, don’t you remember? My eyes?”

“What about them?” he asked confused, but he was instantly reminded as he stared into her pained eyes which looked into different directions. “Oh, right! I’m sorry! I forgot about that! Gah, I feel terrible!”

"Eyes not good on long trips," Ditzy giggled amused. “It’s okay, don’t feel bad. I’m actually glad. That just means that you don’t see me differently like, well, others do.”

“Of course not!” he replied taken aback. “ I’d never! I mean, you are my first… well, my first pony friend, outside Twilight, that is.”

“Friend… we ARE friends!” she said in understanding. “Whatever happens, right?” she said sheepishly.

“Yeah… Yeah!” he laughed awkwardly.

“That’s good to know,” she sighed happily. “That‘s one thing less to worry about…”

“Oh!” John mumbled, feeling the tone change. “Right…”

“Sorry!” she quickly apologized. “You must be worried too! I forgot that we’re having bigger problems with your training and all.”

“No, it‘s no—” he began, wary on what he would say next. However... “Know what? Screw it! I'm worried. I don't know if what I'm doing will make a difference, or if Twilight and all of you will get out of this unscathed, and just..." he finished with a shout, turning around and laying his face down on the ground. “So many things that can go wrong..."

“John…” Ditzy said worried, unable to come up with something to say to console him, looking side to side in an attempt to find an answer. “W—Well, I think we‘ll be fine… You can do it!” she said supportively.

“You are just saying that,” John groaned still facedown. “I mean, what can I really do with a power that only seems to activate when it wants to!? Unlike you all, I’m useless! I’m so st— ouch!” he complained, sitting up and holding the spot where Ditzy had just let her hoof fall on his head. “W—What was that for?”

“Something I learned from Golden?”

“… What?”

She shook her head. “Point is, you can’t give up! And even if that’s not the solution, I know we can find something! I just, um, know…” she finished with a sheepish smile.

“Ditzy, wow..” John quickly shook his head realizing, what he’d said. “Sorry! Slipped out!”

“It’s fine, you can call me Ditzy when we are alone,“ a still blushing Ditzy said with a dismissive hoof, placing it on John’s head and patting it. “So you like to do this a lot, is this helping you feel better?”

John stifled a laugh, nodding slowly. “Know what? As a matter of fact, it is.”

They looked at each other for a few seconds and burst into a laugh, the nervous mood dissipating as if nothing troubling had happened.

“Thank you Ditzy, that actually helped,” John said grateful.

“You too! I didn’t think I could cheer up anypony, much less you!” she giggled surprised. “I’m just glad you feel better.”

“Y—Yeah,” John mumbled, turning his head to the side, hiding a blush that suddenly appeared on his face. “Whoa, you really do care about me, huh?” he asked, keeping his face away as he said it.

“Huh? What!? I mean, yes, we are friends, and…“ Ditzy mumbled, unable to form a sentence.. “Well, w—we've been talking for a while, I should leave you to it!” she said in a dismissive tone. “Just remember, we can do this!” Ditzy encouraged him, opening her wings, ready to take off.

John turned again and stared at the nervous Pegasus, fidgeting in place as she readied to leave. “So she DOES have a thing for me,” he thought surprised. “So that’s why you asked that.”

“Huh?” she called, managing to hear his voice.

“I said I want to ask you something,” he lied easily.

“Oh? What?” she asked interested, already forgetting her embarrassment.

“Remember back when you asked me about my thoughts on mares? How I saw them?” he asked, easily recalling the event.

“Um? Um… Oh!” she suddenly remembered. “I may vaguely recall such a thing,” she said neutrally, facing away form him.

John chuckled at the reaction. “Well, I was actually thinking about that, and I was like, maybe I should get to seeing somepony like that, not necessarily a full relationship, but starting off slow, you know? If we get out of this, of course.”

"Y—Yeah?" Ditzy stared with glassy eyes, holding a goofy smile, only to shake her head quickly, realizing her own reaction. “But why are you telling me this?” she asked blankly.

“I don’t know,” John shrugged. “Just something that came to mind, our current situation and all, and you being a mare who will listen. What do you think?”

“Oh! Um, er, well, I say that’s good! We should totally g— I mean, I’ll help you, er… Gotta go!” she finished, nearly tripping as she took off in a rush, leaving behind a cloud of smoke and a coughing, gagging John.

“Oh boy… what did I get myself into?” John laughed, blushing slightly. “Huh?” he turned around, hearing the sound of hoofsteps until Zecora and Rarity appeared.

“We have returned!" Did you have a good break, John?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, I actually did,” John said satisfied. “Come on, let’s get back to it!”

“Grrr! Come on!” Recon growled, pushing his horn against the smooth surface in front of him. “Come ooon, do it!”

“You’ve been at it for the past twenty minutes, give it up! Trixie isn‘t even here, so even she doesn‘t think we can escape,” Spike said from the magic bubble to his side, sighing with annoyance. “At least let me take a nap while we are captured!”

Recon turned to him with annoyance of his own. “Spike, sleeping is all you’ve been doing.”

He shrugged. “Because that’s all we CAN do now! We tried getting out of here, there isn’t a way!” he shook his head, turning his back to Recon. “All we can do is hope for the others to come through—they always do.”

“Giving up so easily isn't an option,” Recon argued. “But I guess you are right, bursting the bubble doesn’t seem to be an option. Unless...” he smiled suddenly.

“What?” Spike asked, looking intently. “Do you have a plan?”

“Maybe…” he replied, shining his horn and putting it on the surface of the bubble. Taking a deep breath, he pushed through, his horn easily sliding through. “I—I think it’s working!” he said excitedly, pushing the rest of his head out.

“Whoa, but how?” Spike said with disbelief. “I thought the shield absorbed magic!”

“It does, but what if all I did was cut through the magic rather than try to dispel it,” Recon replied, licking his lips as he managed to pull a leg out.

Spike scratched his head confused. “Yeah, cool, I’m just glad it’s working!”

“Um, Mr. Recon?“ Time Turner called from the bubble next to Spike‘s. “You might wanna be careful.”

“Shh! I think I almost got it!“

Spike watched intently, noticing what Time Turner spoke of “No, really. You might wanna listen to Mr. Turner and watch out,” Spike concurred.

“Spike, I’m perfectly fin—” Recon stopped mid-sentence, managing to finally slip out, not realizing how high up he was and falling down, landing flat on the floor five feet under him. “Ouuch…” he whined as he got on his hooves. “Oh Celestia, that hurt…” he complained.

“Told you…” Spike whispered from the top.

“Quiet, you!” Recon groaned, nursing his pained body while looking around and noticing a railing. Sneakily, he headed towards it, looking down to the first floor of the town hall for signs of others, but finding none. “That’s weird…”

“What’s weird?” Spike asked.

“There really is nopony here,” he went around the railing to verify, quietly keeping track of the area, but found none of the ponies he’d seen the day before. “Yeah, none…”

“Maybe they left when Trixie left?” Turner suggested.

“Can we focus on something else first?” Spike called, tapping the bubble he was in. “Forgetting about us?”

“Hmm…:” Recon looked at the bubble for a few seconds, rubbing his chin. “Actually Spike, I think it might be better if you stayed.”

“What!? Why?” Spike yelped indignantly. “What reason would you have for that!”

“Because if Trixie came by and didn’t hear us talking, she would get suspicious, the bubbles muffle sound enough, but I think she would find it odd if she didn‘t at least hear you, maybe she won‘t notice the empty bubble” Recon explained. “In fact, I’m going to need you two to keep talking occasionally. I could use your help, Mr. Turner,” he said, turning to the stallion.

“Me? But what am I supposed to talk about?” he whimpered.

“Um, I don’t know…” Recon shrugged. “I mean, you work for the mayor, right?”

“Yes?” he replied confused. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, you can always talk about things that have happened in Ponyville, I’m sure you have seen lots of interesting tidbits, right?” Recon guessed.

Time Turner shook his head, scoffing at the question. “Are you kidding!? The amount of things that have transpired in our little town the past few years is just inconceivable! Don’t even get me started on Nightmare Moon! She was ju-”

“Huh,” Recon mumbled, scratching his head as Turner began rambling on. “Well, that worked better than expected,” he looked back at Spike, nodding. “Spike, you keep him going.”

“What!?” Spike screeched. “You are going to leave me with him?”

Recon raised his leg, saluting Spike. “Your sacrifice will not be forgotten,” he recited before running downstairs and heading out of the Hall, the muffled, yet still audible groans of Spike reaching his ears. "He'll get over it."

Carefully, he sneaked out of the building, and to his surprise, he found no one guarding the entrance, met instead with a barren looking Ponyville as far as the eye could see.

“This is strange,” he muttered to himself, looking around for signs of any ponies. “Where is everyone?” he trudged on slowly, keeping his eyes open for any signs of life, but other than the occasional bird, no other living creature was in sight. “What the hay is going on?”

“… Around…”

“Huh?” he focused on his ears, picking up the random voice. “I think that came from the town square,” he surmised, his legs already taking him there. To his fortune, he began listening to the murmurs of numerous voices the more he walked, and just minutes later, reached the last house leading into the open area that kept Ponyvilles water fountain. “What is going on?“ he quickly noticed the fountain surrounded by numerous ponies with timid eyes, looking up at a blue pony standing on a small podium.

“Now, Trixie will ask once again,” the mare said, staring down at the crowd. “Where are they!?” she growled, getting uncertain looks in return.

“But… You didn’t say who they were…” one of the ponies replied, gulping at his own remark. Trixie’s retort was a growl that brought the pony down to a whimpering mess.

“As Trixie said, the ponies that she is looking for are those pesky friends of Twilight Sparkle! I know that the ones called Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are still here,” she explained, looking over the ponies, but being unable to recognize them. “Now, find them for Trixie! Or else,” she finished threateningly, turning to leave.

“Who do you think you are?”

Trixie stopped on her tracks, slowly turning around. “Who said that?” she asked in a whisper, noticing the ponies making a circle around a yellow mare.

“Golden Harvest is the name, you wash up!” the mare barked in response, scowling at Trixie.

Recon watched from the distance, barely able to hear, but being able to notice the new pony. “What is that one doing!?” he hissed in a low voice.

Trixie smirked, looking at the pony with amusement. “You are either stupid, or an idiot. Trixie didn’t think anypony would talk back to her like that.”

“Maybe if you shut up for a moment, you would hear it,” Golden retaliated with a laugh, getting a few chuckles from the ponies around her.

Trixie glared at the crowd, forcing them back into silence. “Cute, we have a fighter in our midst,” she said as calmly as she could muster, only her eyes showing her irritation. “You sure have some high hopes for yourself, don’t you?” she said, showing a small smile.

“Against some hussie like you? Easily,” Golden replied without fear.

“My, my, somepony’s head is in the clouds, maybe I should match those expectations,” she said softly, her horn and eyes glowing a faint red.

Golden stared confused. “What are you trying to sa- Woah!” she yelped, suddenly lifted off the ground “Gah! Let me down!” she demanded, struggling to get out of Trixie’s magic grip.

“Oh, trust me… I will,” Trixie said with a sinister stare, pulling her head back, and tossing it forward, in turn, tossing Golden Harvest who had only realized what was happening and began screaming.

"I called it!” jumping into action, Recon ran to the direction Harvest flew. “Come on, brain, don’t fail me now!“ he growled, his horn glowing faintly while never blinking as he watched her fly. “Come on!” just then, he began to notice Harvest begin to fall back down. “Now!”

In a flash of light, he disappeared, reappearing almost instantly on another part of Ponyville. He looked up, noticing Harvest right over him. He did not waste a single second and jumped, placing his legs as far forward as he could and catching her.

“Too fast!” Recon yelped, and his horn glowed again, making the pair teleport, suddenly reappearing in an upward slope over the ground and flying upwards for a few instances before swiftly falling back to the ground with pained grunts.

“Ouch…” Golden complained, looking around confused. “I—I’m alive?” she put her hoof down, feeling something soft under her. “What the…?

“Can you get off me, please?” Recon’s muffled voice pleaded.

“I’m sorry!” she apologized, quickly moving off him. “Are you okay?”

“Ugh, it’s okay, I’ll be fine,” Recon replied, getting on his feet. “The better is question is if you are okay,“ he said, giving the mare a throughout look. “That was pretty dumb of you.”

“Don’t say that!” she reprimanded him, taking a deep breath. “Still, thank you, you saved my life,” she said out loud, shaking her head. “What was I thinking?”

“You weren’t,” he replied.

“Shut up,” she groaned. “I was getting sick of her, I couldn’t help it.”

“Not gonna ask, we don’t have time anyway,” he shrugged. “We have to go.”

“What? But what about the others?” she asked, looking back towards the town square.

“They’ll be fine,” he shrugged. “After your little stunt, I think they’ll be too terrified to attempt something like that,” he explained.

“How do you know that?” she asked confused.

“Simple,” he said, giving her a dark look. “You were used as an example.”

Harvest stared back with a horrified expression, staying silent at the implications of his words. “So, she did try to…”

“Let‘s go,” Recon said, putting a comforting hoof on her back. “Maybe you can tell me a bit about what happened, I may be able to figure out what’s going on.”

“Fourteen hundred hours, and no new developments,” Guard thought as he watched over the quietness of Ponyville which remained eerily silent as the shield muffled sound, only managing to hear the occasional shout that usually brought him to growl in exasperation. “And I can’t do anything about it… I really hope Fluttershy reaches Canterlot soon.”

“Argh, I wish I had brought my binoculars,” he complained out loud "Unless…” using the trees as cover, he inched closer to the shield, carefully avoiding to let on his approach. “And of course, I see nothing,” he whispered, noticing the lack of activity. “Of course, that’s actually more worrying,” he groaned.

A few minutes of staring later, he noticed a pair of ponies suddenly appear, they walked by the edge, simply observing it. “Wait, is that… it is!” he realized, running towards the pair. “Recon!” he called.

“Who is saying that?” Recon looked towards the bubble, noticing the pony whom he soon recognized. “Whoa, sir!” he said, saluting instantly at the sight of Gleaming Guard approaching the bubble from outside.

“Sir?” Harvest asked confused, noticing the pony. “Oh, he is your superior,” she mumbled to herself.

“Don’t touch the shield!” Guard warned quickly. “It tells Trixie when it has been tampered with!”

“Oh… Well, there goes my plan to open it then,” Recon groaned. “Wait, then how did you get out there, sir?”

“Seems that we need to catch up,” Guard pointed out. “It happened after you got caught…”

For the new few minutes, they exchanged events that had occurred since their last meeting; Recon’s was short-lived, but Guard managed to keep it going for minutes longer as he finished it up with their current whereabouts.

“So, Derpy is out there?” Golden asked with relief.

“Yes, ma’am, she was a great help in getting us out of here, that’s for sure,” he replied with a smile that didn’t stay long. “But if what Trixie did to you is anything to go by, it appears that what John said about corruption is true, and it’s only getting worse.”

“What do we do, then?” Recon asked. “I’m not exactly a match for her.”

“Well,” Guard said, pacing side to side as he let the thoughts settle, eyeing Harvest as he spoke. “We have a plan, but it’s not exactly fully fleshed out yet.”

“What do you mean? Is the plan bad?” Recon shook his head with doubt. “Please tell me we have a failsafe,” he pleaded.

“That's the failsafe. We send Ms. Fluttershy to Canterlot, and seeing how she is the only one capable of getting there fast, we figured it would be her,” he explained. “In the meantime, I’m keeping watch, but it doesn’t seem like there are any ponies keeping guard here.”

Recon nodded. “No need, pretty much the whole town is gathered around with Trixie. She is keeping a close eye on them, looking for the others for some reason,” he explained.

"He probably wants them as hostages to bait Ms. Twilight," Guard sighed, taking a pensive stance as the gears turned in his head. “Can you keep an eye on the others? Maybe keep Trixie from attempting anything like she did with Harvest?”

“Against my better judgment, yes, I can try,” Recon guessed. “But let’s just say that I don’t think I can pull another little stunt like before,” he explained, looking at Harvest. “The well is nearly empty.”

“Just try it. And if you can’t manage it, improvise, that ‘stunt’ pretty much showed you are good at it,” Guard half-laughed, looking around nervously. “I gotta go, just be careful. The both of you, okay?"

“Wait!” Recon called. “What are you going to do, then?”

Guard turned slightly, showing his grimace. “Gotta go check on what could potentially be both plans B and C,” he explained, before running off into the Everfree once again, his business concluded, easily making it back to Zecora’s hut, where everyone sat just outside.

“Hiiiii, Guard!” Pinkie greeted him the moment she noticed him, bouncing excitedly. “Did it go well? Did you have fun? Did you make any new friends?”

“Long story short to all; no, I didn’t,” he sighed, slumping down on a log. “It appears that Trixie is deteriorating faster than we thought, we need to act now,” he said with urgency. “How are you doing with the training, John?”

“Huh?” John replied lamely, taken out of his thoughts. “Well, let’s just say that it isn’t exactly going as planned,” he said vaguely, fidgeting nervously in place.

“Well, he actually almost broke my magic earlier, if I‘m correct,” Rarity quickly jumped in. “Although we are not sure how he did it.”

“Is that actually true?” Guard asked, turning his attention to the uncomfortably quiet Zecora, who simply sipped from her tea cup without a trace of worry.

“His ability is one I knew not before, it’s not something that I have found in tales of yore, this one display was seen with emotion, might be enough to set things in motion,” she replied with closed eyes, taking a whiff from her drink.

“Well, we might need to act now, maybe stall for time until Fluttershy manages to reach Canterlot,” Guard suggested.

“And I agree,” John jumped in. “But maybe using this half-assed ability of mine isn’t the answer, what if… what if we’ve been going on about this all wrong?”

“What do you mean, John?” Ditzy quickly asked, staring with a confused look. "It was only an option."

Zecora stared at John, nodding interested. “Seems that there is something that you know, maybe with us you can share that glow.”

“Alright,” he sighed, ruffling his own hair. “But trust me, you aren't going to like this.”

“I hope Ditzy is really doing fine,” Harvest said nervously, staring back and forth between Recon and the shield they had left behind.

“It’ll be fine,” Recon assured her. “She is better off with Zecora than here, really.”

“I guess you are right,” she admitted with a sigh. “But why are we staring at Trixie from here, though?” she reasonably asked, watching from afar as Trixie spoke with a few ponies as she towered over them by standing on a gold podium.

“What!?” Trixie screeched immediately in response, her voice easily reaching the hidden pair. “What do you mean you can’t find them!?” she growled.

“W—We are sorry! We just can’t seem to locate them anywhere…” a trembling mare replied, stepping forward from the group she was with to inform her, silently chastising her decision to do so.

“Trixie understands,” Trixie replied, taking a deep breath. “It was something that was expected.”

“T—Thank you!” the mare said with a thankful smile, turning to the ponies behind her. “S—See? I told you it would be fine!”

“Yes… and clearly, you aren’t fit to be on a Princesses‘ sight,” Trixie whispered, her voice echoing as her eyes harshly glowed a bright red.

“A princess…?” the mare mumbled confused, but was unable to think of it any further as she was suddenly levitated by a red glow, her thoughts turning into a panicked curses. “Whoa! Wait! You can‘t be…! Oh no! Please!” she pleaded with an horrified expression as she watched Trixie’s horn glow.

“Oh boy, this looks familiar!” Recon nearly said out loud as he watched the helpless mare.

“Ms. Trixie, please…” the mare begged once again, looking down at the other ponies with pleading eyes, desperately hoping for help that she already knew would not come.

“Miss?” Trixie asked, grinning malevolently. “You are to refer to me as Princess Trixie,” she said, tossing her head back in a familiar motion.

“No, Tri— I mean, princess, please!!” the mare shrieked, breathing heavily and wriggling in place as she attempted her best to break free, unable to do anything, she panicked to the point of passing out in Trixie's grasp.

“Now, begone,” Trixie ordered, ready to toss the pony.

“Stop!” Recon shouted, already well on his way, tossing a burst of magical energy that hit Trixie’s face, forcing her to stop her grip and dropping the mare to the floor. “Take her!” he quickly ordered to the stunned ponies, who without uttering a word, grabbed their friend and ran off.

“W—What?” Trixie mumbled, wobbling side to side in a drunken motion. “What’s going on…?” she asked, seeing Recon right in front of her. “Wait, what? You! What’s going on!? How did you escape my prison!”

“Magic!” he replied easily, taking on a fighting stance. “What do you think you are doing? You almost killed a pony!” he shouted with disgust.

“Hmph! Trixie does not know what you speak of!” she harrumphed with feign innocence. “But you seem willing to go back to your cage, don’t you?” she continued, giving forth a smug grin. “Perhaps if you helped Trixie find certain ponies, maybe I'll rethink that thought.”

“No,” Recon hissed in response, glaring at Trixie without a hint of fear in his face.

Trixie frowned, shaking her head in disappointment. “Shame. Seems that Trixie has no choice then,” she said, her eyes glowing once again.

“I don’t think so!” Recon said, jumping to the side in an attempt to avoid the magic that he knew would come. “That isn’t going to work with me!”

Trixie didn’t reply, opting for continuing her assault on him. With some effort, she followed his moves, managing to catch him off guard, but failing to capture him as he slipped out of her sight, much to her annoyance. “You little,” she growled, her horn glowing brighter.

“Huh?” Recon was unable to react, as a shield suddenly closed in on him, completely stopping him on his tracks. “Oh no…”

“Got ya,” Trixie said triumphally, any creases of annoyance having dissipated from her face in one fell swoop. “It is time for you punishment, don‘t you think?” she asked, her voice suddenly booming throughout the town.

“What…?” Recon watched as Trixie’s horn lit up again, the smile appearing once more “What’s happening to you? This isn’t the Trixie I’ve heard of.”

“I have no idea what you mean by that,” she said with disinterest. “But what I do know is that your time is now cut short.”

“W—What are you planning to do with me?” he asked with a gulp.

“Stop you from existing,” she said simply, taking in a deep breath and letting her magic flow.

“What the…” Recon was barely unable to react, the bubble he was in suddenly becoming slightly smaller. “Crap!” with a flash of his horn, he created a shield of his own around himself, stopping Trixie’s murderous magic, but only to realize that his own was quickly being overpowered by Trixie’s more potent spell.

“This is how your life ends,” she said simply. “Maybe you’ll think better on a next life.”

“N—No!” he gasped, feeling his own spell starting to fade. “I’m sorry, Patch. Guess this is it for me…”

“And now, Trixie bids you a farew— Huh?” she gasped, letting the magic stop, and dropping Recon to the ground.

“Wait, what happened?” Recon gasped, looking up towards Trixie.

“Who…” she asked, bemusedly looking around. “Who is trying to go through my shield!” she growled, suddenly trotting away from the confused Recon.

:”I… I…” Recon sighed with a grin on his face. “T—That oughta teach you…” he trailed on proudly, unable to finish his quip and quickly passing out.

With a quick step, Trixie headed to the outskirts of town, passing by some of the other ponies who in her wake, went the opposite direction, leaving her completely alone by the time she reached her destination.

“What?” she mumbled, as she curiously stared at the hairless creature standing at the other side of her shield, quickly followed by annoyance as she took notice of the ponies accompanying it. “So that’s why Trixie couldn’t find you,” she sighed in annoyance, noticing the familiar faces of Rarity, as well as the mail pony whom she had let go the day before. “And now Trixie understands how you escaped,” she deadpanned.

“Afternoon, Trixie,” Rarity greeted her calmly.

“Well, well, Trixie is surprised you didn’t just run away. Why exactly are you back here? You do realize I have the power to finish you in an instant, right?” Trixie asked smugly, lighting up her horn to make her point anything but subtle.

“Yes, I do,” Rarity replied, seemingly unfazed by the threat. “And trust me, I wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t a good reason, right?” she finished, turning to John who nodded in agreement.

“Hmm… What exactly are you?” Trixie asked John, her curiosity piqued once again. “Trixie has never seen something like you before.”

John simply stared back, mulling over the words he had practiced on the way there. “I’ll tell you what you want, but only if we can talk.”

“Talk?” Trixie said surprised. “Trixie is surprised you can actually communicate,” she narrowed her eyes, staring suspiciously. “And why would Trixie let you get in here to talk? What if this is a trap?”

“Trust me Trixie, I don‘t want to do this, but he insisted,” Rarity replied in his stead. “Look, both John and I go in, he can talk to you, and there is no problem; besides, you have the alicorn amulet to help you just in case,” she said knowingly, catching Trixie off-guard.

“Oh, so you know?” Trixie inquired. “But yes, I suppose you are correct,” she nodded, momentarily mulling over the words. “Very well! Trixie will accept your request, if only because she is far too curious about the creature with you,” with a glow of her horn, a small opening appeared on the shield. “Now come! Before Trixie changes her mind!”

John and Rarity shared a look, and taking a deep breath, they headed back into Ponyville, the shield closing in the moment they stepped inside, leaving the rest of the ponies able to only watch from outside.

“Good luck!” Pinkie bid quickly before realizing the shield had already closed off. “Oh no! I missed my cue!” she cried out. “What if they didn’t hear me!”

“We heard you,” John and Rarity said at once, before turning their attention to the crazed unicorn in front of them.

“So, before Trixie is bored by your questions, you will answer her own,” she quickly spoke, taking reign of the conversation. “What exactly are you?”

John nodded. “Fair enough,” he slowly sat down on the ground, getting comfortable as he set his story straight. “Well, you see, it happe—”

“Up,” Trixie quickly ordered. “Do not sit down.”

“Huh?”

“Trixie is not going to waste her time on a long story, so just give me the details, and make it snappy,” she explained. “Or I don’t listen to anything else you have to say.”

“Oh…” John gulped, turning to Rarity who could only stare back anxiously.

“Just do it,” she advised, motioning him to go with her hoof.

“Alright… I’m a human. Came from beyond the Everfree, and I do not recall my past at all, as I was only found a few weeks ago with only the knowledge of my species and name,” he lied, quickly abridging the story he had practiced on his way there. “Does that satisfy you?”

Trixie listened to his words intently, gauging their validity as her eyes remained closed. “Trixie finds your story to be hugely lacking, but it will have to do,” with a glow of her horn, a small throne appeared out of thin air right behind her. Taking advantage of the only seat, she got herself comfortable on it before she focused her attention on John. “Very well, you may appeal to Princess Trixie, now.”

“Princess?” John mumbled to himself. “Never mind. Anyway, I’ll get to the point—will you please let this town leave in peace?”

Trixie simply blinked in response, letting out a yawn. “Really? Is that really all you wanted to ask of me?”

“Well… yes,” John replied awkwardly. “I just feel like these ponies don’t deserve what they are getting, I mean, I know that the Ursa Minor attack must have affected you, bu—”

“Wait a minute, that’s what you think this is about?” Trixie asked, holding back a laughter. "Is that what Sparkle told you?"

“Is it not?” Rarity asked. “That’s the only interaction you’ve had with this town! And you were looking for us! I’m sorry Trixie, but I’m confused on your motives.”

“My motives?“ Trixie chuckled, jumping off her seat with a single leap. “Oh, I won’t lie, I was going to ponynap you, and my main objective was to get revenge on this town and that stupid Twilight Sparkle,” she said the name with venom in her voice. “Well, at least at first.”

“At first?” John quoted. “What is that supposed to mean? What exactly are you planning?”

Trixie let out a booming laugh, sending tremors through John’s body. “Simply said, Trixie now has an amazing power; one that rivals those so-called rulers of Equestria! In fact, I think that I might be able to become one of them if a position ever opens. Who knows?” she finished vaguely, showing a malevolent grin.

“Trixie!” Rarity shouted. “You cannot be saying what I think you are sayi— ulp!” she suddenly gasped, her sentence cut short.

“Rarity?” John asked, quickly noticing her reaching for her neck, scratching at it as if something were around it. “No!” he shouted, realizing what was happening. “Trixie! Let her go!”

Trixie kept a calm look, ignoring John and raising Rarity from the ground, struggling in place, desperately looking for air that her lungs were unable to get, tearing up as she failed to do so. The others outside quickly noticed it, and began banging against Trixie’s magical barrier, unable to make a single dent on it.

“Trixie! Stop! Please!” John begged, unable to come up with something to say. -Let her go…-

Trixie simply stared with her glowing red eyes, content with what she witnessed. “No. Trixie only wanted to get these ponies out of the way, and I think this little filly will make a perfect example, so you can all learn your place for my new empire.”

“No… No!” John yelped, instinctively attempting to pull her away from the danger, easily dragging her aside, where to his surprise, she suddenly gasped, taking hungry mouthfuls of air.

“J—John?” she managed to say as she took a breath. “Y—You did it…” she said weakly, falling to the ground in her exhausted stage.

“That doesn‘t matter,” John waved the topic aside, picking her up in his arms, staring at her worriedly. “Are you okay?”

Rarity smiled weakly, barely able to keep her eyes open. “I am now… all things considered.”

“What!? How?” Trixie asked in disbelief. “That’s impossible! Nothing can beat the Great and Powerful Princess Trixie’s magic!” in her anger, she turned to John, scowling furiously at him. “You… How did you do that!?”

John stared back, realizing what was happening. “I think she knows I did it,” he whispered to Rarity.

“Do you think you can control that ability now?” she asked in a rasped breath.

“I don’t know, I guess it just sort of came to me, and…”

-give yourself up-

“Huh?” John looked around, looking for the source of the voice. “Rarity? Did you say that just n—h,” he stopped, realizing Rarity had just passed out on his arms. “Then who?” he looked around confused, wondering what was that he had heard.

“Stop ignoring me!” Trixie roared, her mane beginning to waver as she charged her magic. “Now answer me! How did you do that!?”

“Give myself up…” John repeated. “Voice? Is that actually you?” he thought, hoping for a response, but received none. “Damn it! What did you mean by that!? Stop talking only when you want!”

“Enough!” Trixie shouted with finality. “That’s it! If you don’t answer me now, I will destroy this town and all of its inhabitants!”

“What?” John quickly replied, watching with fear as Trixie floated menacingly over him. “No, wait!” he said quickly, softly putting Rarity on the ground. “Please, I’ll explain!”

She narrowed her eyes, nodding the go ahead. “And no hiding anything, or else Trixie might not be so lenient.”

“I know this is going to be hard to believe, but the truth is that I can ‘cancel’ magic so to say, I guess I can disrupt it, but even I don’t know the full details about it,” he explained as best as he could.

“Let’s say I believe you, what is going to stop me from leveling this town anyway?” she stated menacingly.

“Huh? That wasn’t part of the deal!” he shouted.

“You have three seconds.” she warned, charging her horn.

“What!?”

“Two…”

“No! Um, how about I give myself up to you, alongside my ability,” he offered quickly

“Huh?” Trixie hummed surprised. “Give your ability to me, huh?“ her anger instantaneously vanished, her mouth now twisted into a grin. “Well, well, a smart choice, human… I will not destroy this town. Now, come to me.”

“Right,” he replied awkwardly, slowly inching towards her, stealing a look at the still unconscious Rarity as he passed her.

“With you by her side, Trixie will be invincible! I do not require this stupid town anymore!” she looked toward the ponies still trying to enter the town. “Now, get a good look on those fools, because you will never see them again!”

“John!” DItzy‘s muffled voice reached him as she watched with anguish. “Don’t do this!”

“I have to,” he replied sadly, turning to face Trixie.

“Trixie doesn’t know how nor care why, but that magic cancelling ability of yours will come in handy,” she shook excitedly, realizing the potential. “Just imagine! The princesses will not be able to match us! We will be unstoppable!” she finished, busting into a maniacal laughter that made all present shake.

“Magic cancelling…” John whispered, looking at the amulet on Trixie’s neck, trembling as she laughed.. “I wonder…” without bothering to ask, he reached for the amulet around the unknowing Trixie’s neck, and with a slight tug, pulled it off her neck. “Huh?”

“Huh?” Trixie echoed in astonishment as John raised the necklace over her. “W—What!?”

“Um…” he mumbled surprised, suddenly feeling it tugging in his hand, noticing a trail of blue magic enveloping the amulet. “Woah!”

“Give that back!” Trixie shrieked, desperately trying to take it from him. “Give it!” noticing her magic wasn’t doing the trick, she abruptly let go of it, and leaped towards John, pushing him to the ground, at which moment he felt a sharp pain as his head forcibly hit the hard surface, making his ears buzz and everything around him lose focus.

“Ah! Get off me!” he yelped in panic, pushing her off with his legs and tossing her aside. “You are not getting this!” he said with resolve.

“Mine!” she only roared, her nostrils fuming in fury as she charged with horn forward.

“Ah!” John yelped, looking around wildly. “W—Where do I put this… wait!” he looked at the blurry amulet for an instant, shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe I’m doing this!” he stated, right before putting it on, locking it quickly with a soft ‘click‘ before the amulet remained still around his neck. “There!”

Trixie watched in horror, coming to a full stop. “No, take that off!” she demanded, using her magic to tug at the amulet, but to no avail. “Ah! Why can’t I take it off!?”

John smiled weakly. “Because only the one who puts it on can remove it,” he explained, remembering the book he had read. “Face it, you lost Trixie!”

“Not if Trixie rips your neck!” she stated with gritted teeth.

“Or, here is a suggestion… Don‘t?” John gulped, just as Trixie stomped her hooves on the ground, readying herself to gallop once again. “That might have been the wrong thing to say!” he yelped. He tried his best to take into a run, but only fell backwards in his dazed shape. “Dammit!”

Trixie smiled triumphant. “That necklace is mi—Whoa! Oof!” John watched confused as she suddenly tripped, falling face first to the ground. “What the…?” she looked up, noticing her tail enveloped in a trail of magic.

“I don’t think so…” came a voice from behind her, noticing none other than Recon, who barely managed to stay on his hooves as he spoke, sweating profusely as he kept his spell.

“You? Ha! It won’t last, what were you trying to accomplish by doing this when you are already so weak?” Trixie laughed mockingly.

Recon chuckled. “Accomplish? Me? Nah, just setting up a combo.”

“What do you…” as she asked, Trixie felt a tap on her shoulder. “Huh?”

“Remember me?” asked the unmistakable form of Golden Harvest.

Trixie stared blankly, realizing who the pony was. “You… You are that carrot po-”

John would never forget what happened in the next few moments: with a forehoof extended forward, Harvest hit Trixie square in the face, not only cutting her short, but making her body spin in place once before dropping to the ground unconscious with a soft thud.

“Ouch, yeah, you don’t pull the ’carrot’ card,” John whistled, shaking his head as Harvest helped him on his feet. “Thank you, you saved my life.”

Harvest shrugged. “It was OUR pleasure,” she noted, pointing at the trembling Recon.

“Y—Yeah,” John mumbled, suddenly out of breath.

“Are you okay? You don’t look so hot,” Harvest asked, her voice suddenly sounding far away to John.

“Y—Yeah, I’m fi—” he was suddenly cut short, as he noticed everything around him go dark, and he felt no more.

…..

...

.

-Wake up…-

“Ugh…”

-It’s time to wake up…-

“No…”

-Wake up!-

“Aaaaaaaouch…” John woke with a start, crying in pain. He reached for his head, feeling some sort of texture that he quickly recognized. “Bandages? But what? How?"

-Are you done thinking of the situation to yourself, or will you actually acknowledge me?-

“Ah!” John jumped in place, looking around for the source of the random voice. “Who is that?”

-How hurtful. You sleep-mumbled to me already, I know you can hear me!- the voice continued, sounding hurt. -Come on! I've saved your butt before! You know who I am!-

“We are finally talking, and I’m not in danger…" John said surprised. "And I swear, if it turns out this is all in my head and I'm dying, I’ll be pissed!”

-No, you aren’t,- the Voice assured him. -Trust me, I would know if you were, although even I’m not sure how we are talking, but this is indeed happening.-

“I see…” John hummed thoughtfully. “I have so many questions to ask you!”

-Er, perhaps later; you seem to have a visitor popping by your window.-

“Huh?” John turned his head towards the window, his eyes coming across a familiar face trying to hide, but to no avail. “Well, well,” getting on his feet, he headed towards the window, carefully opening it, and finding a small pony resting over the tree’s foliage. “Hello, Ditzy.”

She looked up carefully, waving weakly. “H—Hey John… just checking on you? Heh-heh..."

“Come on in,” he invited her, casually heading back to the bed as he felt another tinge of pain. “I’m not really fit to be up right now,” he admitted.

“Oh, sorry…” she apologized as she carefully headed inside, closing the window on the way in. “Was this a bad time?”

“It’s fine,” John laughed silently, avoiding himself a headache. “Besides, it feels nostalgic in a way to see you popping in through my window like this, right?” he said, recalling his arrival in Ponyville just months before. “And you aren’t as timid as before, so that’s a bonus.”

“Oh, yeah!” Ditzy recalled, a smile appearing as she recalled the event. “Um,” but one that turned into a frown when the details came back to her. “I don’t remember it being pretty…”

“Never said it was,” John chortled in amusement. “I still feel the pain of that day,” he squinted in reminder. “Speaking of pain, care to fill me into what happened? Where are the others? Is Rarity okay? What happened to me?”

Ditzy looked thoughtful for a second before gasping in realization. “Oh, right, you’ve been asleep since then!” she looked out the window momentarily before turning back to John. “Everypony is fine. Rarity returned to normal, the town is free, and well, according to Twilight, you had a concussion, but you seem much better already!”

“Twilight is here?” John panicked, looking out the window once more. “How long have I been out? The trip is supposed to be like two days!”

Ditzy quickly shook her head. “No-no! Twilight and the others were picked up by carriage and brought here a few hours ago! It’s still the same day,” she pointed out.

“Oh, good,” he breathed in relief. “I can only imagine, but how did she react after hearing the story of what happened?"

“How do you think?”

“Not good?”

“Bingo!”

“Heh-heh,” he laughed momentarily, before suddenly remembering. “And, well… what about Trixie?”

Ditzy frowned, clearly bothered by the name. “I don’t know, and I don’t really care. She nearly killed Harvest, and she deserves everything that’ll come to her!” she growled, snorting angrily.

John watched her angry outburst with a sad look. “Ditzy, you know she was wearing the amulet, right?” as he said the words, he reached towards his neck, finally feeling the amulet on his neck. “Oh yeah, I’m still wearing it, actually…”

“Do you feel any different?” Ditzy asked, ignoring his former question. “Maybe you should take it off, just in case.”

“You probably have a point there,” he guessed.

-Don’t be like that, you look divine with it on!- the Voice suddenly commented.

“Great, a comedian with bad timing living in my head, just what I needed,” John thought annoyed.

Giggling, the Voice replied. -Come now, one of us has to be.-

“Yeah, I’m taking it off,” he said conclusively, reaching for the lock.

-Sad, it’s obvious you lov-” the Voice was suddenly cut off, to John’s surprise.

“Huh?” John mumbled confused. “Hellooo? You okay? You got cut off there.”

“John?” asked Ditzy curiously. “You alright there?”

“Yeah, just give me a sec,” he said, locking the amulet once more.

-gain! Come now! Please, hear me!- the Voice suddenly said loudly in his head, causing John momentary pain.

“Argh!” John cried out. “Voice it’s okay, I’m alright! I get the feeling I know how I can hear you now.”

“John?” Ditzy asked once again. “Are you sure you are alright?”

“No, I mean yes!” he said to appease her worries. “I’ll be fine, it’s just my injury.”

“Why did you put the amulet on again, then?” she wondered, not missing the obvious motion.

“I’ll probably do this later, yeah…” he said awkwardly, clearing his throat. “Anyway, we have something else to talk about!”

“Uh-huh,” Ditzy hummed suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. “Maybe I should go get Twil-”

“Would you like to go out with me?” he said in a quick train of thought, catching Ditzy off-guard, and forcing a blush on her face. “By which I mean on a date!” he pushed on, driving the point home, making Ditzy’s blush more pronounced as she was unable to come up with a proper response.

“I, er, um, duh…” she tried her best, but failed to make a coherent anything, as her brain struggled to catch up to what was happening.

“Um, Ditzy?” he asked, getting suddenly worried. “Are you ok—”

“Yes! I! Would!” she shouted, nearly tossing John off his bed in surprise.

The door to the room suddenly burst open, making the pair jump. “John! Huh? What is g- Ditzy!?” Twilight shouted, noticing the mare.

“Aaah!” Ditzy yelped once more before falling back on the floor, already unconscious.

Meanwhile, just outside the library, Patch listened with amusement to the panicked calls of the pair. “Geez, he just woke up and already started making noise.”

“Captain?” Recon called from the side, looking lost. “Was there something you needed of me?”

“Oh, right. Sorry,” she replied, clearing her throat and reaching into her saddlebags, taking out a scroll. “Recon, I need you to send a letter. Top priority.”

“Oh,” he looked at it surprised, noticing the familiar sun emblem seal. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is this for? Is something wrong?”

Patch shrugged. “Don’t know, we’ll probably see soon enough,” she said vaguely, sighing. “So, is Trixie being transferred?”

“Already on the way to Canterlot, Captain,” Recon nodded.

“Good, that takes care of all loose ends then,” she said satisfied. “Although, I’ll probably have to be on the lookout due to current events.”

Recon hummed thoughtfully. “Hmm… Is that really it? I don’t know, t feel like I’m forgetting something.”

Meanwhile, just a few houses from there, Spike sighed, trying his best to ignore the snores from the neighbor pony as he slept on the magic bubble next to him.

“This is not my day.”

Author's Notes:

Important story update here

Enjoy the chapter!

Spoiler Notes 34 - 06/14/18
Literally rewrote the conversation between Ditzy and John like twenty times. Probably one of the hardest aspects of the story by far, and I'm not quite as happy as I wish I was with it.

As the early note mentions, here is where I came to the realization that my lofty goals weren't happening, because simply put, I was—and frankly, still aren't—a skilled enough writer to pull off the crap I was going for.

Five more chapters to go.