The feeling of magic streamed in threads and knots, wisping around her horn and touching her hooves with feather-like nudges. The world flickered by, one step, two steps, three steps as the trees and grass jumped beneath her hooves. Monster slipped through the cracks in the world, tiny little things no larger than a thought, but they were everywhere — as if the world was made of glass, and long ago it had been struck a mighty blow that nearly shattered it.

Now the starred-web of probability threads rippled in her sight, carrying her forward in tiny little jumps as she allowed it. The experience was completely new to Monster. The old teleportation spell she had used for many years tore at her flesh like a barbed hook, ripping rage and frustration out of her being and through the world with a lash of anger. She was used to the familiar pain. It had been a comfort and companion ever since her birth in the toppled stones and towers of the ancient ruin. Magic was Pain. Pain was Magic.

This was not her old Magic.

She was not certain of its name. The shadow had a name, but this was not the stuff of the Dark Pony. This was the ephemeral mist of illusion and light. She had felt its presence on the Trixie, although there was much Magic there too. Magic was easy. It bent to the will and destroyed what needed to be destroyed. This was new to her, and yet old beyond measure. Her mind played with it like a toy, bending and shaping it to her will. It would not be forced where it did not want to go, refused to be pushed or shoved, but rather vanished like the fog when pressured. It required a soft touch, a gentle request like the floating joy she felt putting feather’s broken camera together. Monster’s old Magic was easy, with the only limits being how much of the resulting pain could be endured. This new starstuff felt full of unlimited potential, able to do things her old Magic could never even touch.

If only she could understand its powers.

Books. They held the knowledge of this new thing. She had once absorbed their knowledge like a thirsty sponge before…

Time. The Dark Pony would destroy everything long before Twilight… before Monster could master this subtle new thing. If only she had the time. Time might be inside the new magic, but she did not have the time to bring it out, a quandary that bent her mind to new possibilities.

The chill of water flowing across her hooves brought Monster out of her thoughts, standing ankle-deep at the edge of the roaring river. The creature who guarded the water lurked far away from the banks. He knew of Monster and feared her, although mom could speak with him for the shortcut passage across the water in exchange for certain herbs. He would not allow Monster the same favor, and cringed away whenever he saw her scarred body.

His reaction had made Monster angry once, long ago, and she had thought to strike him for the insult until mom had spoken with her in words very stern. Now, Monster gathered the new magic around her, focusing on the other side of the river as she released it, but with too much force for her fledgeling control of this fickle substance.

And a splash of icy water to signify her failure.

Churning water surrounded Monster as the new magic of the spell fled her grip, dropping her far short of her objective. A confusing blur of orange and purple churned the water around her as the frightened serpent added to the confusion. Roiling water from its flailing dragged her down, down into the deadly river as she grabbed for familiar Magic and yanked—

The explosion was unanticipated.

Monster coughed out water on the far bank of the river, barely aware of the screaming serpent thrashing its life out in the river due to the agony that was ripping through her own head. Any attempt to control the feathery touch of the new magic vanished as rage coursed through Monster’s mind, prying and twisting at the power she had stolen from the changeling hive.

Magic screamed for release, to strike, to destroy in revenge for the terrible pain. There was no need to hold back until she faced the dark pony, for the Magic would always be there in all of its agonizing glory, a constant stream of never-ending power allowing endless destruction. The screams of the mortally-wounded serpent braced her concentration with the thought of the pain the pain Monster inflicted on others.

I have killed far too many with my hate.

The quiet one trapped inside the dark pony knew what hurting others with her Magic brought. Monster had nearly killed bloom with her teleport spell when she fled in panic, and now her actions had killed yet another. Discipline was needed, and her focus narrowed to her own body. The screams and shouts from outside the world faded away as magic, the soft glow of the new magic, gently enfolded her body and whisked her away.

“There she is! On the other side of the river!” Sweetie Belle stood up in the wagon and pointed, which was a rather foolish thing to do since it released Scootaloo from her undesired restraint.

“I got it!” shouted the little pegasus, darting forward and displacing Featherweight as driver of the scooter. “We’ll jump the river!”

“Nooo!! We’ll never make it!” screamed Twist, tightening up her helmet and grabbing for a strap in full knowledge that her protest was only going to make Scootaloo more determined.

“Featherweight! Goose it!” shouted Scootaloo, leaning into her scooter just as hard as she could on the slope down to the river.

“Where? I don’t see any — Oh!” Tucking his camera away, the little colt buzzed down to grab onto the back end of the wagon, pushing as hard as his tired wings would push. The roaring buzz from Scootaloo’s wings sounded weaker than normal, but the wind still roared by at a terrifying rate as the scooter and wagon plunged down to the riverbank and leapt into the air from a makeshift ramp.

Dragging what felt like a hundred pounds of stickers, prickles, snags, sticky pods, and adhesive leaves, Tallgrass staggered to the edge of the riverbank. It would have been a good place to finally catch his breath, if not for what he saw.

For starters, the river was being kicked up into raging waves by what appeared to be a purple sea serpent in mortal agony. Far worse was the sight of the familiar scooter and wagon just launching off an earthen ramp on this side of the river and wobbling weakly through the air.

Filled with the screaming fillies he was supposed to be protecting.

With a flare of green magic, he shed his Royal Guard disguise and flung himself forward as fast as his bent changeling wings would carry him. Frothing water rushed underneath his carapace while fire seemed to play along his weakening wings and air roared across his face, making the world narrow down to one spot, one single place on the bottom of the wagon where a proper boost would keep it airborne and keep the little larva from smashing into the river and drowning. Or being eaten.

So focused on his goal was the changeling that when a wave of splashed water rose up from below to smack into the bottom of the wagon, he flew right into the cresting wave, carried along with the wagon to the river bank where the Cutie Mark Crusader’s wagon bounced twice before continuing at a breakneck pace up the trail. Tallgrass, however, simply remained sprawled in the mud of the riverbank and tried to figure out if his own neck was broken.

Regrettably, there were no major breaks or injuries that would excuse him to remain lying down in the muddy crater which was filled with orange hair for some reason. Out of sheer luck, his only injuries were a large quantity of mud jammed up his nose that he tried to blow out while staggering to his hooves and trotting up the hill. He had a duty. After all, they were just little ponies, and they needed protected from the dangers of the Everfree Forest.

Although he was starting to think he was protecting the forest from them.

“I know I heard something, like an explosion or a bang.” Rainbow Dash darted ahead of the group and hovered around the treeline where the path descended to the river. “I don’t see any sign of them, but there’s a crater on the other side and the water’s all frothy.”

“An explosion and a crater most certainly sounds like my sister’s friends,” said Rarity with a lady-like sigh. “I certainly hope they are in good health, and this dreadful humidity does not adversely affect the natural curl in Sweetie Belle's mane. Or any of the other children, of course.” The group stopped at the riverbank and stared at the purple sea serpent thrashing around in the middle of the river, one arm thrown dramatically across his face as he moaned and sobbed.

“Behold, the Great and Powerful Trixie,” announced Trixie in a monotone, only bothering to lift up one leg to wave, “as she will now defeat this horrible monster—”

“It’s true! I’m hideous!”

“—who blocks our way to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters—”

“Don’t look at me! Just put me out of my misery!”

“Trixie’s speeches do have that kind of effect on ponies,” remarked Pinkie Pie.

“Look, I’m busy!” snapped Trixie, shouting so loudly that Pinkie’s hair fluttered in the breeze. “I’m trying to figure out why Princess Celestia wanted me to take Twilight Sparkle to the castle since there are only five usable parts to this ancient artifact. She’s far too kind to use children as expendable decoys.” Trixie harrumphed, and tried to scratch an itchy spot between her shoulder blades while glaring across the river. “Not that it’s a bad idea with those five…”

“Oh, excuse me then,” sniffed the serpent, tossing back his shimmering locks in the moonlight and wiping away a tear. “I’ll leave you alone to deal with your minor issues while I’m just dying here.”

“Don’t mind her, darling,” purred Rarity, moving to the edge of the river where she could get a better look at the handsome serpent. “She’s having a bad mane day.”

“Tick!” screamed Trixie, twisting around trying to point her horn between her shoulder blades where she had just discovered the reason for her itch. “Ick! Tick! Get it off! Getitoff! It’s sucking out all of my blood! Parasite! Leech! Smash it!”

“No!” whispered Fluttershy. “You’ll hurt the poor thing, and do more damage to yourself.”

Ignoring the yellow pegasi who fluttered up to help, Trixie began running around in a circle while pawing at her cloak. “Where’s the insect repellent spell on this thing?”

With a sniff, the serpent cast a sympathetic look at Rarity, although he kept an arm across his face. “Is she always this much of a drama queen?”

“You would not believe the things she’s put us through. But enough of her, why are you hiding your face like that? You have such a beautiful mane, all glowing in the moonlight and so elegantly coiffed.”

“Oh, it’s true! It really is! If you really must know, I was just…”

“Um, can you hold still, Trixie? She’s really tunneled into your mane.” Fluttershy probed gently in the knotted mess that was Trixie’s formerly snow-white mane, which had turned a somewhat muddy green during their trip except for the section under her hat.

“AAAaaaahhhhhhh!! It hurts! It hurts!”

“I haven’t even touched you yet.”

“Sugarcube, could you hurry up? She’s twistin’ out of my rope faster than a squirrel in one of our birdfeeders.”

“I don’t want to hurt them.”

“Them? Them?!” Applejack threw herself against the ropes while Trixie thrashed. It took the addition of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to hold their captive still until Fluttershy had extracted the last tick from Trixie’s mane, by which time a much shorter-tailed Rarity had come trotting back over to the group.

“Fabulous news, girls. Steven has decided to share a sample of his conditioner, and Zecora says she can supply more when this is all over! Oh, and he’ll let us cross the river on his back.”

Trixie staggered to her hooves and spit out a piece of gravel. “What happened to your tail?”

“A small sacrifice for our cause.” The fashionista sniffed, lifting her nose in the air which coincidently allowed her to look at the multicolored mustache the serpent was stroking and adoring. “Plus, I think it looks fabulous on him! Almost as good as it looked on me. Although I did agree to just one teensy little condition.”

“What?”

Standing at the bank of the river gave Trixie no time to react. A set of well-manicured talons snatched her off the ground so quickly she could not even scream, then the agile claws plucked the hat and cloak from her back before plunging her head-first into the chilly water of the river. Emerging back into the air, Trixie gasped one breath before a glob of slimy mucus landed on top of her head, and the serpent's other clawed hand began rubbing it vigorously into her coat and mane. The substance tasted bitter and astringent at the same time, making Trixie spit multiple times to get the nasty taste off her tongue before the serpent plunged her back into the water again, swishing her back and forth under the river’s surface.

It took several repetitions of the horrifying experience before he yanked her back out of the chilly water and deposited her on her hooves at the other bank where six sets of eyes examined her with various degrees of amusement. Almost as an afterthought, the serpent replaced Trixie’s dry hat and cloak and nodded in satisfaction.

“There. Much better,” declared Rarity. “Thank you, Steven.”

“Oh, indeed,” agreed Fluttershy with a stroke along Trixie’s mane that was almost sensual. The snarls and tangles that had knotted her snow-white hair seemed to just slip away as the pegasus stroked, having found a hoofbrush somewhere which she used in broad, sweeping strokes to experiment with new manestyles.

“Can we… If we are all the way done… You know there’s…” Trixie’s mind fogged with each brush stroke, feeling the bristles release tension she never knew she was holding back. “End of… the world… if we… don’t stop…” Finally pulling away from the seductive brush, Trixie took a deep breath and pointed down the path. “All right, new plan. We give Nightmare Moon a good shampoo and brushing, right after we find the kids.”

Monster stood on the brink of the chasm that separated Home from the ruins, looking up past the starry sky. The fabric of the world was thin here, stressed and shattered so many years ago and still not totally recovered. Time wobbled if not watched carefully, while the sounds of ancient battles still echoed faintly in the middle of the darkest nights. Only fragments of bone and a few rusty scraps of armor remained from thousands of ponies who had lived here, fought here, and died here. None remained as ghosts to float through the fallen stones, but her imagination could see them all in armored ranks, unicorns and pegasi and earth ponies all dressed in bright gold or glowing purple.

If she looked very hard into the sky at the brilliant stars, she could see them shiver in memory of a brilliant white pony with wings like clouds calling out to an armored dark pony. They had seen the dark pony’s flames lashing through the air, being blocked or countered by the white pony’s golden magic while she pleaded, never striking back, never raising a spell against her corrupted sister, taking the painful blows with tears, not for her own pain, but for the loss of her sister’s love. Then the bright pony flew away, leaving the dark pony to gloat among her golden-eyed followers who all stamped and cheered at her victory.

The bright pony returned, not with begging and pleading as before, but cold as ice with a rainbow light that outshone the brilliant moon. There were six gems in the golden collar around her neck that glowed and flashed, the ancient artifact they had once wielded as sisters. The dark pony screamed defiance, drawing power from all of her followers in threads of ebon fire that consumed them, flesh and bone gone to ashes in moments. Her dark power met the rainbow of light and shattered into nothingness, and when the light was gone, so was she. The bright pony dimmed in the memory of the stars when she collapsed in the shattered remains of their castle, the same stones that Monster faced now. The same stones that concealed the dark pony, without the light pony to use the ancient weapon.

Monster turned from the memory of the stars, trudging along with scant attention to her steps as her mind filled with possibilities, problems and power.

The bright pony had not fought the dark pony, but begged and pleaded instead, only using the artifact against her as a last resort. She was weak. Monster’s heart churned with turmoil at the thought of facing the dark pony, but she had the courage to face her fear. The bright pony was no longer a protector. She was a coward. She had the power to face her sister now like she did so many years ago, but chose to flee instead.

Monster did not have the experience to use the weak power of this new magic against the dark pony like the light pony could have done. Monster would have to embrace the Magic to fight. She would have to completely become the monster she always feared, the beast who lurked in her heart and mindlessly destroyed, the roaring fiend that she held back whenever brother and sitter attempted to capture her.

At Monster’s unconscious desire, wisps of magic formed into ropes and wood to create a bridge beneath her feet as she walked across the chasm, deep in thought. Her friends would understand. They had each other. They did not need a Monster.

Once across the bridge, she slashed once at the magically-created ropes and watched the bridge fall away into the mists. Even if her friends had managed to pursue Monster this far, they would not be able to cross the chasm. Her brisk steps faltered for a moment as the friend she had forgotten shifted on her back.

Miss Smarty Pants looked plaintive when Monster put her down on a low rock and turned her face away from the upcoming fight. She was the last link Monster had to her former life, and stirred too many memories. She had to remain behind. Monsters had no friends, only enemies.

It took several steps to put her smiling face out of Monster’s mind and bring her focus back to what needed to be done. She peered through the gloom to pick out the largest building which was surging with the unmistakable throb of power.

That was where the dark pony would be.

That was where one of them would die.

Monster walked forward, drawing upon her Magic.

In the decaying throne room of the castle, Nightmare completed her preparations and curled up on the floor up to wait. The spells had been laid, the incomplete elements laid out in the middle of the room, and now all that was needed to complete the trap was time, which the immortal alicorn body she wore had in abundance. Echoes of the ancient battle seemed to resound around the room in every corner and cobweb as the Nightmare whispered into the night.

“Come into my parlor, little one…”