Megan was about half a block from her apartment building when the world went quiet.

The silence had fallen subtly, with the perpetual noises of the city night being subtracted one by one. Now, on the vacant sidewalk next to the empty street, the falling rain made the only sounds. No cars or buses or subways provided a background roar. No sirens or horns or burglar alarms or gunshots rang out. There was just the white-noise hiss and patter of the rain, as constant and chaotic as television static.

Megan shuffled to a halt, unable to find the strength to walk under the weight of the silence.

“H-Hello...?” she softly called out.

Nothing.

“Hello?” she repeated, louder this time. She prayed for someone to answer - even with shouted abuse.

No answer came.

Megan pulled her raincoat close and hugged herself; the damp chill in the air suddenly felt bone-deep. A shift in some filth lodged in a sewer drain made a splash, and Megan jerked around to face it fast enough for her heel to kick up a fan of water from the puddle at her feet.

Back the way she’d been facing, a whistling-fast descent ended in a massive crash in a nearby alleyway. A trashcan and assorted debris tumbled out into the street, propelled by a gust of multi-hued smoke.

Megan turned back around too fast and slipped off her feet, sitting down hard in a shallow puddle. She could feel the aftershocks of the blast through her palms as she pushed herself standing again. Her ears were ringing, but the silence had already returned. No car alarms had been set off. No day-shift workers were shouting from their windows. Nothing. Not even a stray cat.

“Hello? Anybody?”

Megan wiped her hands on her jeans and then slipped her right hand into her coat pocket. She squeezed the black-plastic rectangle there, and felt its reassuring heft. She squeezed the thing harder when the rain-accented stillness was broken again - this time by the sound of something moving in the alley.

Megan walked forward with a dreamer’s gait, tugged toward the impact site by some intangible yet unbreakable pull. She held her breath as she turned to look into the alley.

The whatever-it-was had cratered the asphalt, scarred the walls, and scattered trash in all directions. The closest street light had lost its bulb; the narrow space was infested with shadows.

Megan stared into the darkness, trying to pick out any detail she could.

“I-Is...” She swallowed hard, and willed her voice to stop quavering. “Is someone there?”

There was movement in the alley - something low to the ground shifted and turned.

It’s a dog, Megan thought to herself. A car hit a big stray dog and drove away...

Despite the plausible notion, Megan drew the device from her coat pocket. She slowly stepped closer, still in the grip of nightmare-logic curiosity.

When Megan got within three paces of the thing it jerked up onto all fours and raised its head. Huge eyes the colour of raw liver caught what little light reached them. The eyes widened, and the dog surged forward.

Megan let out a startled yelp and then thrust her hand against the animal’s shoulder. With the click of a switch, the stun-gun pumped three million volts through the no-doubt-rabid dog. Harsh, crackling blue light brightened the alley like a camera flash, casting everything into stark relief for an instant.

“Ow!” said the creature. “What the hay?”

It wasn’t a dog.

Megan’s world lurched; she stumbled backward, letting her weapon drop.

“N-No...” Megan was gasping for breath. Her lungs refused to fill.

Bright blue. Dayglo hair. Feathered wings.

“It can’t be...” She felt icy adrenaline soak her veins.

Talking.

“It... can’t...” Black smoke seeped into the edges of her vision. Her pupils were pinpricks.

Hooves.

Megan’s knees gave out. The pavement rushed up to meet her.

The creature trotted out of the alley and looked down at the fallen being who had just slapped a lightning bolt into her hide.

“It’s okay,” she said as she nudged Megan onto her stomach with her hooves and slipped her front legs under the woman’s arms, “I didn’t think YOU were real, either!”

“Careful, now, Lyra,” said Twilight Sparkle as she magically held the balloon’s basket up against a low-hanging cloud. “The spell feels a little slippery at first.”

The mint-green Unicorn stepped onto the cloud with caution, and then fell into her housemate’s waiting embrace.

“I was so worried!” the beige Earth Pony whimpered into Lyra’s streaked mane.

A tiny smile creased Twilight’s mouth, but it didn’t last long. She turned away with a flap of her wings and looked around.

The evening skies were full of clouds. Pegasi had brought dozens of them, and most were full of huddled refugees. Other townsponies had fled north by hoof or ridden the awful tide to higher ground in makeshift rafts and boats - but not nearly enough had made it.

Twilight’s horn was burning-hot from directing the balloon and enchanting the rescued Unicorns’ and Earth Ponies’ hooves; she welcomed the distraction the pain brought.

Nearby, Cup Cake still sat in the balloon’s basket, cradling her babies and softly weeping. Her husband crouched next to her, one front leg draped over her shoulders. His eyes were no drier.

Twilight Sparkle flew closer and magicked heated air into the balloon, leaving the cloud behind and resuming the search for Ponies untouched by the slime. Her expression grew hard from the inner pressure of her grief when she looked down at the mournful couple. Next to the Cakes, Spike peered through a pair of binoculars resting on the edge of the basket.

“Anything?” Twilight asked.

They were nearing the southern edge of town, now; Spike peered down at the schoolhouse through the slowly deepening gloom.

Like the home that had split and doused poor Rarity, the place had been filled to bursting. The roof had ruptured, and slime covered the building like frosting on a gingerbread house. Spike caught only a glimpse of the foal-sized bumps in the purple-covered yard before jerking the binoculars away.

“It... it got the school...” he said hollowly.

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and slowly nodded.

For lack of anything else to say, Spike returned to his surveying.

Spike’s view focused further south, on a discarded Stetson sitting near a lump in the surface of the slime. Not far from there, he could see the farmhouse’s sludge-filled windows. With a shift of the focus dial, row upon row of soaked and drooping trees came into sight as well.

Spike gulped. “Sweet Apple Acres... it’s...”

Applejack, too, then. Twilight’s horn flared and the balloon rose higher. She tightened her lips against the quiver building in them. “And Fl-” Twilight’s voice cracked. She took a shaky breath, forcing herself through the motions of the calming technique Princess Cadance had taught her.

Breathe in, hold, and out.

“And the cottage?”

In Spike’s magnified view of Fluttershy’s rustic home, a small team of Pegasi was struggling to evacuate the animals off the roof. Angel Bunny kicked and screamed in a Pegasus’s grasp, flailing his legs toward The edge of a pale-yellow hoof sticking out of the purple muck below

Spike lowered the binoculars. They slipped from his slackened grasp and fell to the basket’s wicker floor. He turned to face Twilight.

His wide, watery eyes spoke for him.

It got them all... Twilight hung her head. Her horn’s light went out. Dash, where ARE you?

Just then, down below, her eyes settled on a small pool of colours in the dark, glistening expanse.

She pointed a hoof. “Spike! Spike, look!”

The balloon had drifted to the edge of town proper, and a small wooden shack peeked out from the slime coating the ground like an island in a dark sea. Four fillies were huddled on its roof, quivering in fear.

“Girls!” Twilight shouted. “Up here!”

At the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and their classmate Silver Spoon perked up at the sound of Twilight’s voice.

Twilight swooped down to hover a short distance above the group.

“Are you all okay?”

The crusaders all nodded. Apple Bloom’s customary bow was missing; in its place a small tiara partly held back her loose crimson mane.

Silver Spoon pointed a shaking slate-grey hoof downward. “Diamond Tiara’s still down there! She pushed me in ahead of her. Please, get her out! Please!”

Twilight turned, and spotted a small lump in the slime. Apple Bloom’s ribbon was visible atop it like a garnish on a pudding. Twilight winced.

“I don’t know if I can right now, Silver Spoon,” she said gently. “That stuff is very dangerous to touch. I still need to figure out how to-”

Silver Spoon shuddered; tears filled her eyes.

Twilight’s gaze passed from Silver, to her fallen friend, and back again. “All right. I’ll try.”

She flapped over to Diamond Tiara’s prone form, and ignited her horn.

An aura of magic surrounded the little Earth Pony; she jerked and tensed and let out a strangled cry as the slime covering her suddenly thickened and expanded. The closest eyes turned to focus on Twilight, and tendrils of the stuff lashed out at her.

Twilight drew back in shock and flapped out of the slime’s reach.

The fillies on the clubhouse roof gasped.

“I’m sorry,” said Twilight, hanging her head. “It’s feeding on the magic somehow! I can’t lift her.”

Silver Spoon sagged.

Twilight flew back up and then dropped a rope from the balloon’s basket. “Wrap up in this - I’ll pull you up!”

The fillies wound the rope around themselves. Twilight gripped its upper third with magic and slowly pulled the little Ponies up to the balloon. At the same time, Spike dropped ballast sacks one after another. The sandbags made wet splatters as they struck the slime below.

The Ponies tumbled into the basket, all wide eyes and tiny mouths.

“I’m so sorry, Twilight!” cried Apple Bloom before the Unicorn could speak. “This’s all our f-fault!”

“We didn’t know!” agreed Sweetie Belle.

“It was their idea!” said Scootaloo, pointing an accusing hoof at Silver Spoon.

As her only retort, the little grey Earth Pony winced, hiccuped, and then burst into tears.

Forgetting her mourning over Pinkie Pie for a moment, Cup Cake frowned and shifted to face the fillies. “Now, what in Celestia’s name are you all talking about?”

Apple Bloom brushed a forelock out of her eyes. “W-We were havin’ a game o’ Dares, and Diamond Tiara dared me ta let her wear my ribbon-”

“And then Apple Bloom dared Diamond to let her wear her tiara!” added Scootaloo.

“And... and then,” Apple Bloom continued, struggling to push out the words, “Diamond Tiara dared us ALL ta... ta play hooky after lunch!”

Sweetie Belle cringed. “Miss Cheerilee SAID there’d be trouble if we ever skipped school!”

Scootaloo reared up against Mrs. Cake. “We didn’t know! We didn’t think it would be this bad! You gotta believe us!”

SIlver Spoon fell on her side, curling into a ball. “DIAMO-O-OND!” she wailed. She hid her face with her hooves; her eyeglasses fell askew.

The Cake twins fussed and fidgeted against their mother at the sound of the fillies’ cries.

Cup Cake put on her sternest face, and spoke in the firm, commanding, yet non-threatening tone that only mothers could muster:

“All right, that’s enough - all of you get a hold of yourselves right this minute!”

The four fillies froze in mid-upset, staring up at Mrs. Cake in shock and awe.

“What happened today was NOT your fault,” she continued. “Whatever caused this was...” She paused to keep her voice steady. “Whatever caused this was a LOT worse than some misbehaving foals. This is evil, plain and simple. And it has nothing whatsoever to do with sweet, good-hearted, w-wonderful little girls like you. Understand?” Despite her best efforts, Mrs. Cake’s voice had cracked, and fresh tears shone in her eyes. She held her babies close.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon silently crept forward and leaned against Mrs. Cake, taking comfort in her motherly presence. After a short pause, Spike joined them.

Mister Cake stroked his wife’s back with a hoof and sniffled back tears.

A moment later, worry creased Sweetie Belle’s features, and she looked up at Twilight.

“Twilight? What about my mom and dad? And Rarity! Are they okay?”

“Yeah!” added Apple Bloom, now matching Sweetie’s look of concern. “An’ Applejack an’ Granny Smith an’ Big Macintosh! Is Sweet Apple Acres all right?”

Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses to look up at Twilight imploringly. “Please... please tell me if...”

Scootaloo nodded in agreement, her eyes similarly wide and worried.

“Silver Spoon, Scootaloo, your families are safe, and Rainbow Dash is away getting help. Sweetie Belle, your parents have been air-lifted and are on their way to Canterlot. But your sister...” Twilight bit her lower lip, struggling to find proper words. “It all happened too fast. Rarity didn’t get away in time. And Apple Bloom... the f-farm is-” Twilight took a shaky breath, but it escaped in a choked squeak before she could complete her calming routine. “I’m so sorry!”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened further still. “R-Rarity?” Her lip quivered.

Apple Bloom hung her head; her loose mane half-hid her face. “B-But, we were s’posed ta look after each other! All together! A-All...” Apple Bloom’s shoulders shook with silent sobs.

Scootaloo reached out and pulled Sweetie Belle into a hug. Silver Spoon made the same offer to Apple Bloom, who only hesitated for a moment before giving in.

The pain on the fillies’ faces and the sounds of their tiny sobs cut through Twilight like Dragon-fangs through crystal. She turned to face the group. “I’ll help them,” she said. Her oath sounded meek and desperate in her ears, but she pressed on. “I’ll help Pinkie. And Rarity. And the Apples. And Fluttershy! Ponyville and Dodge and Appleoosa! I’ll save them all! I will! I promise, I won’t rest until I find a way to stop this!”

Mrs. Cake looked up at Twilight and smiled. “I know, dear. I believe in you.”

There was more than goodwill in that wearied, pained, damp-eyed smile. For the first time in her life, Twilight was looking down at a face looking up at her in faith. The same look of utter, awe-tinged trust she’d seen on the crowds at the Summer Sun Celebration all those years ago, when she’d first laid eyes on Princess Celestia.

All at once, as she flapped along next to the balloon and guided it toward Canterlot, Twilight felt very, very alone.

Princess Celestia stood on the upper landing of the stairs into Canterlot Castle. She peered down at the Palace’s expansive courtyard, her gaze easily piercing the gloom as she watched the ongoing trickle of fleeing refugees arrive. She narrowed her eyes.

“You were there. In Cloudsdale. Why didn’t you call out the Wonderbolts right away? Why didn’t you raise the alarm?”

Princess Luna stood behind her in the open doorway, out of reach of the light from the two enchanted lanterns flanking the massive arch.

“I did all that was necessary, Sister,” she replied. “The Megan will come, and our troubles will be over. Why raise a panic when-”

Celestia whirled around to face her sister. “Ponies are SUFFERING, Luna! We could have helped! We could have started the evacuations sooner!”

“Neigh, Sister,” said Luna solemnly. “You know Harmony... but I know fear. This is no mere parasprite swarm or heavy rainstorm. There is little more they could have done. The populace would have filled their extra time with worry, and that worry would have bloomed into chaos or stagnated into carelessness. Better it came suddenly, and forced them into action with less time to ponder.”

“There’s no way to know that for certain!” Celestia frowned. “...You know more about all this than you’re saying. I can tell.”

Luna backed away deeper into the shadows. Her turquoise eyes shone in the dark. “I know nothing of how to end this, Sister. If there was anything I could do, I promise you I would do it.”

Celestia stared into her sister’s eyes for a silent moment that seemed to stretch on for centuries. But then her expression softened. “You don’t have to be afraid of me, Luna. You know that, don’t you?” Her tone was gentle, but faintly pleading.

“I do. I’m not. I...” Luna shifted uneasily. “I must go raise the moon.” She turned and fled, her shod hooves loudly ringing off the polished stone floor.

Celestia inhaled to speak - to call her sister back - but then let out the breath in a soft sigh. She trotted back into the castle.

Luna galloped through the castle and found her way to the roof of one of Canterlot’s many spires. She fixed her stance, set her gaze on the horizon, and ignited her horn.

The vast, silvery moon slowly crept up over the horizon, bathing the night in soft moonlight and calling forth long, translucent shadows.

Luna’s own shadow on the parapets grew a second horn, which then split into a branched antler. The shadow of her mane vanished, and the shadow of her chin sprouted a short, tufted beard. The distorted silhouette stroked its chin with an eagle-taloned paw and then spoke:

“Luna, you seem troubled. Do you want to talk about it?”

Luna’s back twitched; she gritted her teeth. “We have nothing to say to creatures of thy ilk, Discord.”

“Aww. Now, that hurts.” The shadow peeled away from the wall and inflated into full and opaque depth. Discord wiped away the black covering him with a swipe of his leonine paw, revealing himself in all his patchwork, chimerical glory. “I’m actually a very good listener, you know. In fact... I was listening the whole time I was turned to stone.” He gave a toothy grin and chuckled.

Luna kept her back to the Draconequus, but her eyes widened. “The whole...?”

“Yes, indeed! It’s just incredible, the meetings Ponies will have around stone statues. The things they’ll say. The things they’ll do...”

Luna turned to stare into Discord’s eyes. “It was long ago, and a grave mistake. We have made peace with Our past.”

“Well, that’s no fun at all!” Discord frowned a frown so deep that it pulled his muzzle downward like a falling dollop of honey. He jerked it back into place with a sound like a tight metal spring wobbling. “But, I was more thinking about the present, really...” He steepled his mismatched fingers and tapped them together while rolling his eyes in an expression of faux nonchalance.

Luna’s eyes blazed white, her mane blew back from an unseen tempest, and her voice took on a booming echo:

“DO NOT TOY WITH US, DEMON!”

The outburst blew Discord’s flesh away like dry leaves in a wind-storm, leaving his implausible skeleton exposed.

“Now, now,” he chided, his jawbone rattling as he spoke, “there’s no need to get all Royal on me. We both know you recognize the magic at work down there.”

Luna scowled. “Dark Magic is scarcely novel.”

“Maybe. Ah, but whose Dark Magic, hmm?” He reached up and twirled his horn and antler in his skeletal fingers, curling them downward in spirals. His voice took on a low, growling edge. “Does this ring a bell?”

Luna’s fury gave way to horror.

Discord put a bony thumb between his teeth and blew; his flesh reappeared with a faint pop. “Yes, that’s right. I know all about him.” He slithered up to the Alicorn and draped his serpentine frame across her back like a saddle. “The one who taught you Black Magic all those years ago is back on his hooves and up to his old tricks again. And your little temper-tantrum when you left the moon was what set him free!”

Discord thrust his head skyward, put a paw to his chest, and then gave a formally inflected recitation: “In shadows bound lies Tambelon... ‘til dark as midnight shines the dawn!”
He ducked back down, brought his head up to Luna’s ear, and whispered: “This is all. Your. Fault!”

A sickened shudder shook Luna from her head to her hooves. She squeezed her eyes shut and then sagged morosely. “We couldn’t have known what effects bringing night to midday would create! And as far as We knew, Grogar was long dead! We... I...” Luna took a shaky breath. “I’ll just explain things to her. She’ll understand. And once the Megan arrives-”

“Yes, of course,” cooed Discord, “I’m sure Celestia won’t mind that you endangered the world. Again. And I’m sure your storybook monster will do great. But, just in case things don’t pan out, I’ve got a backup plan.” He slithered off of Luna’s back and stood next to her. “We villains have to look out for each other, you know.”

Luna turned away once more. “I am NOT a villain.”

Discord heaved a long-suffering sigh. “Luna, please. We’re both ex-convicts, here. You don’t have to pretend. After all, if Celestia trusted you to keep doing good, why did she train a replacement?”

Luna’s wings twitched. She swished her tail. “Twilight Sparkle earned her rightful place among us. She is no threat to me - she has her own destiny to fulfill.”

Discord sat in midair and curled into a pensive pose, his chin on his palm and his elbow on his knee. “Ah, I see. My mistake. I’m sure you’re right. I mean, Cadance came into her own just fine.” Discord’s eyes widened as though he were struck by a sudden insight. “But then again... there aren’t that many unruled Empires around, now, are there? Not so many empty thrones. And Celestia does seem awfully close with her most faithful studen-”

Luna stomped a hoof, unleashing thunder from the clear sky. “Leave Us.”

Discord slowly faded from sight, his voice taking on a hollow echo:

“Remember what I said, Luna. Believe me... even when you’re on top of the world, things can turn against you just. Like. That.” He snapped his fingers, and was gone.

Alone once more, Luna looked up at the moon she’d escaped: so familiar, and yet so cold and so distant and so heavy with memories of past hurt.

She sighed.

Applejack flinched when a moonbeam peeked through the broken hayloft doors and shone on her face as she lay on a bed of hay-bales. She inhaled, only to wince as the motion strained the bruises on her side.

“Big Mac?” she croaked. “Wh-Whut...?” Memories of recent events sliced through her mental fog; she rolled over and got to her hooves. “Big Mac! Granny Smith!”

She galloped over to the doors she’d broken when her brother had kicked her up into the loft, and looked out at the farm.

“Oh, Celestia!”

Baleful eyeballs dotted the dark expanse of Sweet Apple Acres’ fields in a mocking reflection of the star-studded night sky. No longer flooding and surging, the slime sat still and silent as spilled blood. The hideous stuff covered every surface, from the orchards to the farmhouse.

Every floor of the farmhouse.

“Granny!”

Applejack nearly fell as the instinct to race toward the house seized her. She stumbled on the edge of the doorway and sat down heavily. Looking down between her front legs, she saw her brother’s massive form all but hidden by the muck, stricken in mid-gallop and pointed toward the farmhouse. Her Stetson lay on the surface next to him. Applejack cried out to him:

“Big Mac! It’s me! It’s Jackie! Wake up! P-Please!”

The stallion didn’t move a muscle.

Applejack turned and grabbed a horseshoe off the wall with her mouth, and then hurled the thing down at him. The shaped iron thudded hollowly on the side of his barrel-chest.

“Dang it, you wake up, y-ya big oaf! You listen ta me fer once an’ get up right this m-minute or so help me, I... I’ll...” Her voice cracked, and her mouth refused to form more words.

Thoughts about the slime’s spread quickly turned to thoughts of the schoolhouse up the road.

Apple Bloom!

Applejack cast about for somewhere - anywhere - to safely land. Her eyes settled on an empty apple-cart near the base of the barn, bogged down in the sludge but untouched inside. She crouched down, folding up her densely muscled legs, and leaped.

The landing sent a shock from her hooves to her back, but the cart stayed in one piece. Once she got her bearings, Applejack crouched and then lashed out with a back leg. Her kick smashed one wheel off the cart; a second kick took off the other.

“Don’t worry, Apple Bloom! I’m comin’!”

Applejack snatched up a hoe left leaning against the barn and reared up, using her front legs to hold the tool and pole the cart forward as a makeshift boat. At first she pushed as quickly as she could, but a few ripples from the otherwise-still slime and some glances from its sleepily lolling eyeballs soon convinced her to move with more care.

The delicacy of her movement through the filth cast her thoughts back to Ponyville’s last big storm, and the night spent at Twilight’s library. The memory of Rarity slapping beauty mud onto her face seemed darkly ironic, now; the memory of the dainty Unicorn splattered with dirt, even moreso.

Did this terrible muck get her, too?

An agonizing eternity of cautious nudges propelled the cart through the slime toward the schoolhouse. Applejack clamped down on the urge to scream her little sister’s name.

She was about halfway to her destination when a speck of colour caught her eye:

Apple Bloom’s loosened ribbon fluttered softly in the breeze as it stuck out from a small lump in the slime not far from the little clubhouse on the edge of Apple lands.

A crushing sensation far stronger than Big Mac’s earlier kick pushed the breath from Applejack’s lungs. She let go of the hoe and slumped down in the cart, her eyes wide and her pupils tiny, locked on that tiny splash of pale red in that awful purple sea.

Applejack slowly sank down onto her side on the bottom of the cart. The forgotten hoe slid across the rim of the cart and fell into the slime; Applejack made no effort to stop it.

Twilight Sparkle set down the balloon in Canterlot Castle’s main courtyard. The open space was dotted with tents and campfires and lanterns, and dozens of refugees huddled together against the chill of the night and the sting of their misery.

Twilight helped her passengers disembark; the Cakes gave her one last look of wearied gratitude before trotting off. Moments later, parents came galloping on sight of their foals.

Scootaloo was quickly hustled off. Silver Spoon soon followed suit. Sweetie’s parents paused in mid-hug of their foal, however, when they spotted the haunted look on Twilight’s face.

Sweetie’s mother faced Twilight, an awful question sitting unasked in her mouth like a squirming insect.

Twilight squinted back tears and slowly shook her head.

The older mare turned back to her remaining foal and held her close. Her husband did the same.

Apple Bloom sat and watched her friends make their apologies and get taken away one by one, her slouch and her frown deepening with every departure. By the time a cousin trotted up to see to her, she had tipped over on her side.

“Apple Bloom...?” asked the green-maned yellow mare softly. “It’s me - Apple Fritter. From the reunion, remember?”

Apple Bloom didn’t answer.

“I saw the farm when the Pegasi lifted me. It’s just terrible. I’m so sorry, sugarcu-”

Apple Bloom tensed. “Don’t call me that.”

Twilight was trying to come up with something to say when a male voice sounded off to her right:

“Where is she? Where did you get that?”

A pale-brown Earth Pony stallion wearing a monogrammed bit-symbol tie and saddlebags stormed over and snatched the tiara from Apple Bloom’s head with his mouth. He sat down and then held the delicate metal loop in his front hooves. His lips trembled, and he quickly stowed the tiara in his bags before turning his attention back to Apple Bloom.

“Where is she? Where’s Diamond Tiara? TELL ME!”

Apple Bloom cringed; Apple Fritter stepped over her in a protective pose and stared the stallion down.

Twilight spread her wings. “Filthy Rich, STOP!” Even Twilight was surprised when her voice briefly took on a booming echo. Dozens of staring eyes fell upon her. She paused for a moment and swallowed hard before continuing at a more reasonable volume. “Diamond Tiara isn’t here. I’m sorry, but... but she didn’t get out of Ponyville in time.”

Filthy Rich shook his head. “No! By the time I got the raft to the school, it was all... But I couldn’t see her. She wasn’t there. I hoped, I hoped she’d... no. No, no, no...” His shoulders jerked; a low moan slipped past his gritted teeth.

Twilight shifted her weight side-to-side; the image of Diamond Tiara convulsing in the slime dominated her thoughts.

“Please... please, no...” Filthy Rich choked on a sob.

Twilight reached out a hoof, but the stallion batted it away. He gave Twilight a bloodshot stare and scowled.

“You...” he stepped closer to her, moving away from the Apples. His voice was a low growl. “You’re a Princess now, aren’t you? You’re the ones we all turn to. You stopped Nightmare Moon. And Discord. And everything else. So do it again. Fix this. You fix this now.”

Twilight found herself backing away. “I tried...! I’m trying! I rescued everypony I could! I’m trying to-”

“Then try harder!” Rich stomped; his hoof cracked the flagstone path beneath him.

Twilight stopped and held her ground. She met Rich’s accusing stare and scowled right back at him. “Do you think this has been EASY for me? I lost friends today!”

“AND I LOST MY LITTLE GIRL!”

Rich slapped Twilight across the face hard enough to make her stagger. In a heartbeat, Pegasus royal guards descended from above to restrain him. He struggled in their grasp, tears streaking down his cheeks as he continued to scream at the Alicorn before him:

“You fix this, damn it! Do you hear me? YOU FIX THIS!”

Twilight stared in wide-eyed silence as Filthy Rich was dragged away, and then she turned and ran deeper into the castle grounds, straining under the weight of the crowd’s shocked stares as she galloped toward the castle.

Megan drifted into consciousness with a chill wind roaring in her ears and stinging on her cheeks. She opened her eyes, and then squinted against a jarring blaze of colour.

A rainbow?

“You’re awake? Try not to squirm, okay? You’re pretty heavy.” The high but husky voice had come from above her.

Coming fully to her senses, Megan realized that she was who-knew-how-far off the ground, dangling in the grasp of a small, winged, garishly-coloured, talking horse that was following the course of a massive rainbow.

“Oh, Gawd, no,” she whispered. “I was doing so good...”

The jarring path of colours in the sky grew less blinding; Megan could make out a starry night sky beyond it.

“Uh-oh!” said the Pegasus. “The rainbow’s fading! BRACE YOURSELF!”

Megan’s captor tripled her speed, streaking everything around them into a blur. The wind felt like icy razors, and its howling was deafening. Megan thought she screamed, but she couldn’t hear herself over the noise.

A half-solid impact and a splash of wetness marked their passage through a dense cloud-bank. Seconds later, Megan felt her innards lurch as the Pegasus forced a safe landing in only a few dozen yards. The Pony released her, and Megan tumbled onto a polished marble floor.

Megan’s fingers slid on the cold stone as she tried to catch her breath while struggling her way onto all fours.

Where are you really? City Hall? Library? Think. Think!

“Phew! Just... just wait h-here a second, okay?” asked the Pegasus breathlessly. “I gotta go tell the Princesses we’re here!” She raced off through an archway.

Dozens of hoofbeats echoing on the stone filled the air with noise. High-pitched male and female voices clamoured and barked orders. Words like everypony and princesses stood out like grenade-blasts in the background din.

“It’s not real,” Megan whispered to herself. “Wake up. You aren’t out in the country this time. This isn’t safe. Wake up!” She pounded the stone with a fist. The pain - and the stone - felt wretchedly real.

Dammit.

Megan squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on her last sane memories. The sidewalk. The alley. The rain. Rough asphalt and tazing a mad dog. She got to her feet and opened her eyes.

Dammit!

The balcony was a wide-open space more than half the size of her entire apartment. The polished stone was sparkling-white even by moonlight, and gilded lanterns holding magical glows provided warm, golden light. The shadows of many more spires and towers were visible in the distance - the place was easily a dozen times the size of the Dream Castle she remembered. And the air smelled of... garbage and car-exhaust.

What? Ponyland is supposed to smell of sweet grass and flowers and fresh baking, so the monsters can sneak up on you. Maybe I’m not all the way gone. Oh, please, yes. Maybe I’m getting better after all. Maybe I’m right about to snap ou-

“The Megan! You’ve come at last! Rainbow Dash hath brought forth our salvation!”

Megan tensed; the booming voice carried an inhuman, sepulchral echo, but somehow it sounded familiar. She turned to face the speaker: a tall, lean, winged Unicorn with a deep-blue hide and a flowing mane and tail cut from the night sky. Megan’s eyes widened; she backed away from the creature.

“Don’t!” she said, holding up her hands defensively. “Don’t come any closer! I remember you from my dream! You were chasing me!”

“Neigh, mighty one!” the thing replied with an apologetic bow, “We were seeking you out. We are the Royal Princess Luna. It is a profound relief to see you here in the flesh! Equestria’s future hangs in the balance, and only a-”

“Stop it!” said Megan, standing her ground and facing down the twisted hallucination. “Just stop! Why is this always what happens? This doesn’t even make sense! I’m not a hero! I’m not your salvation! I can’t even hold down a steady job! I don’t want this, okay?” She turned away from the Pony and shouted to the night sky: “I DON’T WANT THIS! Can anyone hear me? Get me help! Lock me up!” Megan’s legs trembled. She fell to her knees and closed her eyes once more. “I don’t want this.”

“Y-Your voyage has been long, and many centuries have passed since last you walked these lands, O Megan,” said Luna in a halting tone. “Your upset is understandable. Please, know that We only sought you out because of urgent and desperate need.”

“Centuries?” Megan opened her eyes. A shiver ran up her spine.

“At least fifteen hundred years, yes,” said the nightmare. “Perhaps longer. We cannot be sure - parts of our history are unclear, due to the depredations of Discord, Spirit of Chaos.”

Megan shuddered. So they’re all long-dead, now? Every single one of them? Not even one familiar face? Punishing myself for staying sane for too long, huh? Gawd, that’s sick. I’M sick.

“As We said,” the winged Unicorn continued, “the need is dire. A terrible tide of living slime is covering the land, leaving despair and devastation in its wake.”

“Slime...?” Megan staggered to her feet. That smell. That rotten, stinking, burning-tires smell. Oh, no. Not that. Not again. Not after... Pulled once again by grim nightmare-momentum, she stepped over to the edge of the balcony and looked down. Without the rainbow and the stinging wind and the blur of impossible speed, her view of the land below was now crystal clear.

The pastoral splendour of the tableau had been vandalized, like dark-purple paint splashed over a masterpiece. An updraft wind carried up a stronger waft of the stuff’s repulsively familiar stench.

Megan’s fingers squeezed the balcony’s stone railing. “No. NO! Not Smooze! Not now! That’s not fair!”

Luna stepped closer to her. “You know this scourge, O Megan?”

Megan turned and then snatched Luna’s spiraled horn in her right hand. She wrenched the Pony into a head-on stare. “You KNOW I do! We did this one! We did The Smooze! Why? Why am I doing this again?”

Luna struggled in Megan’s grasp; her platinum-shod hooves skated on the polished floor. “Please, try to remain calm! If you have vanquished this threat before, can we not-”

Megan pressed her forehead to Luna’s, just below the base of her horn, stared into her enormous cyan eyes, and snarled:

“Nothing. Can stop. The Smooze. Not anymore.”

She pushed Luna away and stalked past her into the castle, pulling her coat around herself against a chill that had nothing to do with the cool night air.

Princess Celestia sat in the castle’s main throne-room, surrounded by royal guards and functionaries and harried town mayors and scrolls held in midair by golden glows.

“Princess, something must be done!” Mayor Mare’s pince-nez was missing, and her cravat hung loose around her sand-coloured neck. “Two thirds of Ponyville’s citizens are trapped in that sludge - who knows how long they can survive that way!”

“The fields can’t get any sun underneath all that muck, either!” added an older stallion with a bunch of carrots marking his flank. “What’ll we do if our crops die?”

“I was told that the magic keeping the refugees able to walk on clouds only lasts for three days, Your Highness!” piped up a pale-pink Pegasus mare. “If we don’t deal with this soon, the Unicorns and Earth Ponies we rescued will fall right out of Cloudsdale!”

Princess Celestia sat in the eye of the hurricane of pressing crises, calm and collected and serene. When she spoke, the clamouring crowd around her fell silent at once.

“There is no cause for panic,” she said firmly - making the words a statement of fact rather than soothing blandishment. “The danger is great, but we will overcome it. My Sister is summoning a powerful ally of Ponykind, and even now my greatest student, the new Princess Twilight Sparkle, has joined her brave friends to-”

The doors on the far side of the room glowed red and hurled themselves open, revealing Twilight Sparkle in the hallway beyond. She was gasping for breath through trembling lips, and her eyes shone with anguish. “P-Princess...” she tried to speak on, but her voice lost all volume.

Princess Celestia showed not even the faintest sign of shock as she calmly addressed her entourage. “Give us a moment, if you please.”

The group reluctantly dispersed, leaving the two Alicorns alone in the expansive hall. Celestia gestured in welcome with her wings, beckoning her student forward.

Twilight hung her head and slowly came closer; her legs shook with every step. “P-Please...” She looked up at Celestia through a blur of tears. “Please, tell me this is another test!” She galloped forward and threw herself against the Princess. Her damp, bruised cheek slid on the elder Alicorn’s golden peytral.

Celestia gently hugged Twilight back. “A test?”

“I’ll fail it! I’ll flunk right out! I don’t care! Take it all away! Send me back! Please!” A shudder made her body jerk in Celestia’s embrace. “Please, JUST MAKE IT STOP!”

Celestia held her closer and unfolded her wings to wrap around them in a second hug. “Oh, Twilight Sparkle. I am so sorry. This is no test. But no matter what’s happened, you’ll never disappoint me. I am so proud of how far you’ve come.”

Twilight pressed her face into Celestia’s chest, hiding in the shade of her wings. “But they’re all g-gone! It got them all! R-Rarity and P-Pinkie... Applejack and Fluttershy... I let them down! We should have prepared f-faster! If I’d hurried more... if I hadn’t tried to keep everything so organized, I... I... I could have...”

“Enough, Twilight.” Celestia spoke in the same tone Mrs. Cake had used. The stern kindness of a mother. “You tried your best - that’s all anypony could have asked of you. Even now, as a Princess, you will sometimes face challenges that are beyond you. You aren’t perfect... but that doesn’t mean you’re a failure.” She paused. “...Did you think less of me when I couldn’t defeat Queen Chrysalis at your brother’s wedding?”

Twilight looked up at Celestia, her eyes wide. “No! Of course not! Never!” Her head drooped again. “B-But... all those Ponies...”

“It’s because of them that you need to be strong, Twilight. Thousands of Ponies are in danger, and thousands more may join them soon. It can seem like a painful and lonely burden sometimes to be the one everypony turns to.” A flicker of sadness passed through Celestia’s features. “But that’s when the magic of friendship lightens the load. When you feel frightened or alone or uncertain, think of the ones who love and support you - whether here or far away, whether safe or endangered - and be strong. For them.”

Twilight wiped her eyes with a front hoof and then looked into Celestia’s eyes for a long, silent moment. She managed a weak smile and slowly nodded. “I will, Princess. Thank you.”

Celestia squeezed her student closer before releasing her, and smiled back.

Just then, the clatter of hooves on marble rang out in the hallway, and Rainbow Dash skidded to a landing in the great hall, followed by several guards and castle servants.

“Princess Celestia! Twilight! I’m back! And I brought a Megan!” She took a few breaths before speaking on. “I already told Princess Luna, but then I saw what’s happening out there - what’s going on? What is that stuff? Where’s everypony else?”

Celestia looked down at her student; Twilight returned the look and then shook her head before stepping forward.

“That slime came from the south, and it leaves whoever it touches helpless. It’s... it’s just you and me left right now, Rainbow.” Twilight’s face was calm, but the mask was thin.

“What?” Dash’s wings drooped. “I was... too late?”

“No!” Twilight cantered forward to stand before her friend. “No. Canterlot is still safe, the Princesses are all right, and you did what you were asked to. I’m sure we can beat this now that we’ve got-” Twilight’s features jerked in confusion. “Wait. Did you say A MEGAN?”

Dash briefly forgot her worry. “I KNOW, right? I thought they were just made-up!”

Twilight’s wings spread. “I’ve read so many legends about the Megan! A creature that powerful is just what we need! Where is it? There’s no time to lose!”

Celestia stood and trotted closer. “Yes. Please, take us to the Megan, Rainbow Dash.”

“Right!” Dash gave a quick salute and then took off. “This way! On one of the balconies!”

She raced through the halls at speed, haphazardly dodging statues and passersby. Twilight and Celestia sped along behind her, magicking right what tipped over in Dash’s wake.

The trio soon came to the balcony where Dash had arrived, and came to a halt on sight of-

Princess Luna. Alone.

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Whah..? Where’s the Megan? I left her right here!”

Luna took a slow breath. “She is gone.”

Twilight stared in shock. “Gone? Gone where? Is she helping already?”

Luna winced. “She is not. Nor does she plan to. She says... she says there is nothing we can do.”

Celestia met her gaze. “Sister...”

Luna turned away. Her shoulders shuddered. “I’ve made a terrible mistake. I’ve pinned our hopes on a silly dream. And now all of Equestria will pay the price for my folly. All is lost!” She heaved a heavy sigh. “All is lost.”

Dash shook her head in horrified denial. “No! I only left because You... and now all our friends..!” The Pegasus gritted her teeth, squeezing her features tight to hold in her shame, and then turned and galloped back into the castle with a frustrated growl.

Twilight backed away, her resolute expression melting by the moment. She went after Dash, but soon found herself left behind when Dash started flying through the halls again.

Princess Celestia looked down at the polished stone between her front hooves. For a time the only movement on the balcony was the weightless flowing of the Royal Pony Sisters’ manes.

“Celly, please! I didn’t... I never meant...!” Luna faced her sister, her eyes shining.

“Luna...” Celestia closed her eyes and softly sighed before turning away. “I must go raise the sun.”

Luna watched her older sister leave and then sat alone again under the cold moonlight; she knew that it was still many hours before the dawn.

Half a continent away, Grogar the skeletal Ram stood on a smooth outcropping of rock in the Smooze-flooded Badlands and watched the Ponies’ despair reflected in the pale-white glow of an enchanted slime-pool. His jawbone clacked as he let out a raspy chuckle.

“Hmm! Well, it seems they brought back Megan after all! And here I was, about to start worrying!” He laughed harder.

Long, jagged, snaking shadows crept at the edges of the light from the slime-pool; a rumbling growl made the still air shiver.

Grogar turned to peer at the darkness. The hourglass-shaped red pinpoints that served as his eyes narrowed. “Yes, my minions. It’s your turn, now. Time to make up for your earlier misdeeds. After all, the best time to strike at a foe... is when they’ve lost hope!”

Grogar’s coiled horns flared, and the slime-pool’s glow snuffed out. He unleashed an echoing laugh, and was soon joined in his sadistic glee by the deep, throaty cackling of the growing horde of Smooze-splattered Dragons gathering around him.

Author's Notes:

The song in this chapter has original lyrics, and is not based on any existing work. Any musicians who feel inclined to set it to music or even (omigosh!) record a rendition of it are more than welcome to do so. Just credit me for the words and let me know about it!