The Dresden Fillies - deviantART

The Dresden Fillies
By psychicscubadiver

Table of Contents:
~Strange Friends~
Prologue 3
Chapter 1 6
Chapter 2 14
Chapter 3 22
Chapter 4 34
Chapter 5 53
Chapter 6 67
Chapter 7 81
Chapter 8 98
Chapter 9 116
Chapter 10 132
Chapter 11 157
Chapter 12 175
Epilogue 192
~False Masks~
Prologue 193
Chapter 1 199
Chapter 2 216
Chapter 3 230
Chapter 4 246
Chapter 5 264
Chapter 6 283

Strange Friends
Prologue
My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, and I'm a wizard. No,
don't roll your eyes, I'm serious. How could I not be after all I've seen?
Things that go bump in the night are real, and in Chicago I'm the only one
who can handle them. Most of my work comes from the police. When a
vampire leaves a dead victim or a faerie steals a child, normal investigative
methods don't work. I think in the paperwork I'm listed as a psychic
consultant. Today, though, I was just visiting Edinburgh, the wizards'
capital. The higher-ups of the White Council wanted me to hand in my
report over the duel with Ortega personally. I grimaced. The Council was
not my favorite group of people, and I knew they were going to rake me
over the coals for the way the duel went south. I despite my dread, I was
making good time. I was going to arrive in about half an hour. At least, that
had been the plan...
The forest was on fire and it wasn't my fault. If the screeching little
monsters chasing me hadn't dodged the flames I'd shot at them, none of
the trees would be on fire. I was completely blameless for this round of
property damage.
There was another screech to my left, closer this time, and I was actually
able to see the beast before I blasted. Vearens; they look a lot like gibbons,
but these long-armed monkeys were different in some very important ways.
Like the hundreds of needle-sharp teeth, the big claws, the large scorpion
stinger at the end of a long tail, and the intense bloodlust that made a pack
of piranha look like a school of goldfish.
"Hell's bells" I cursed softly, "How do I end up in these situations?" Being a
professional wizard and all, I could have taken a single vearen without any
trouble, even here on their turf. Hell, I could probably fight a dozen without

any serious wounds. Unfortunately, the pack chasing me numbered
somewhere around fifty.
One of the faster ones had caught up with me, and it flung itself forward
with a howl of fury. "Riflettum!" I yelled as I forced energy into the shield
bracelet on my left wrist. It pulsed with magic, and a quarter-dome of
translucent blue sprung up between me and the horrifying little predator.
The vearen bounced off and smacked into a tree hard enough to bring a
rain of bright red fruit down on its head.
"Yeah! How d'ya like those apples?" I yelled, and then started cursing as
his friends caught up. "This is not how my day was supposed to go," I
panted, complaining to nobody. "I mean, I know the Nevernever is
dangerous, but come on 'It's just a short stretch o' forest til you reach the
gate to Edinburgh,' " I said, mocking my mentor's accent. " 'No trouble, right
boy?' " I jinked to my right and started running along a stream, hoping that
fewer trees would mean less pursuit. It didn't. The vearens abandoned the
canopy to follow me without hestitation.
My lungs were burning, and my side felt ready to split open. I had to stop
soon or I'd just keel over, and I'd be damned if those things got me without
a fight. I stretched my magical senses to look for a path back to Earth, but
there wasn't anything. The Nevernever connected to everything, so it could
take me anywhere, theoretically. It was only a theory because the most
horrifying creatures in existence made it their home, and only an idiot would
leave the safety of the well-known Ways. In my defense, I had a few dozen
good reasons for doing so. Still, I had no idea what part of the world this
particular bit of forest might connect to.
I burst through a small clump of bushes into an open meadow and skidded
to a halt. The meadow was lovely, a beautiful, serene place, but I hadn't
stopped to admire it. I'd stopped because on the other side of the meadow
was another pack of vearens, just as big as the one already chasing me. I
stared at them. They stared at me. The first pack had caught up and halted
at the sight of the new pack. Growls filled the air as both groups started to
cautiously spread out along the edge of the meadow. Maybe, if I was lucky,
the packs would fight over me and I could use the confusion to escape. The
two alphas approached each other until they were nearly eye to eye. I
tensed to run, hoping Lady Luck would come through for once.

They nodded to each other and turned to face me, baring their teeth. Their
packs did likewise.
Lady Luck is a real bitch. Don't let anyone tell you different.
"Aparturum!" I screamed, ripping open the fabric between the Nevernever
and whatever world it connected to here. The vearens couldn't follow me
through, and whatever was on the other side had to be better than a
hundred bloodthirsty, poisonous monkeys.
…Right?

Chapter 1
Twilight Sparkle woke to the jangling of her alarm clock and shut it off with
a sleepy flail of her hoof. It had been another long (though rewarding) night
of study, and though she was still short on sleep, Fluttershy was expecting
her early. A soft snore still emanated from the basket at the foot of her bed
where a little dragon lay. Twilight shook her head with a fond smile; she
never had to worry about Spike getting enough rest. She reset the alarm
clock and left a list of chores next to it for her assistant.
Still yawning, she brushed her teeth and combed her mane, then put on her
saddlebags and packed up the books the previous night's study had turned
up: Birds of Equestria and The Illustrated Guide to Exotic Creatures.
Fluttershy had found an egg she didn't recognize, and it was up to Twilight
to determine what it might hatch into. So, despite the early hour, she
grabbed a day-old muffin from the kitchen and headed for the door.
She stepped outside and breathed in the cool morning air. It was shaping
up to be a beautiful spring day, and this time Twilight would be outside to
enjoy it instead of wrapped up in her reading. She yawned again and
chuckled to herself as she trotted down the road towards Fluttershy's
cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville. She'd known she had to wake up early
today, and she should have gone to bed much earlier, but her search for
illustrated eggs had stumbled upon a fascinating book titled On the Theory
of Alternate Realities, which she wound up reading until the small hours.
The author described some interesting ideas about the nature of reality, but
of course the whole study was entirely theoretical. And given the subject
matter, she laughed to herself, it was likely to stay that way.
She was well outside of Ponyville, almost to Fluttershy's cottage, when she
heard it. There was a noise like an enormous sheet of canvas ripping down
the middle, and right before her unbelieving eyes, a jagged tear opened in
the world. She only got a glimpse of a strange forest and – were those
monkeys? – before a huge, creature filled the tear, barreled through, and
crashed into a nearby bush. The hole in the world closed quickly behind it.
There was a moment of silence, and then birdsong in the distance began
again. There had been nothing dramatic, no bright lights or loud noises.
Just a small burst of magic and the… thing. Twilight took a hesitant step

toward the bush, then jumped back again as the creature rose to its full
height, disentangling itself.
Twilight looked at the creature. She'd seen a lot of strange creatures during
her adventures, a hydra and cockatrice among them, but this thing took the
cake. She had first thought it wasn't much bigger than a stallion, but as it
stood up she realized it was huge, almost twice her height. It towered over
her, balancing on its hind legs like an angry bear while its short forelimbs
dangled by its sides. The front legs didn't end in hooves, but in hands that
were only roughly similar to Spike's; where his short digits were scaled and
clawed, this thing's hands were huge and spidery, and she realized with a
shiver that it had an extra finger on each hand. They were covered only in
bare pinkish-white flesh, with no claws at all.
It's the same color as a peach, A small corner of her mind noted
irrelevantly. One of its hands held a long stick, almost as tall as the
creature was, carved with dozens of strange symbols, like writing. The rest
of the thing was covered in a long, black coat made of some heavy, shiny
material she had never seen before. Only its head was uncovered, and she
got a better look at that as it turned around. The head was tall and domed
like a pony's, but its short, scruffy mane barely covered the top and back,
leaving its neck bare. The face had all the right features, but they were
weirdly placed and shaped: the ears were round and set low on the sides of
its head, the mouth was small, and wasn't a muzzle, leaving the nose to
rise like a lone mountain surrounded by plains. The eyes were intense and
too small, although they widened as it saw her. Apparently she had
surprised it as much as it had her.
…..
Hitting the bush only hurt a little. Getting out hurt significantly more. The
branches were tipped in these little thorns that scraped my hands and
head. At least my leather duster, spelled to stop bullets and claws,
prevented any thorns from sticking me anywhere it covered. It was a bit like
wearing body armor to a Nerf fight. But then again,I thought, looking at my
scraped hands, there's no such thing as overkill.
Now, I wondered, what fresh hell is this? I scanned the surrounding
countryside with rapidly mounting disbelief. The whole place looked too
perfect to be real. A gently rolling meadow stretched as far as I could see,

dotted with occasional, beautiful trees. In another direction I could see a
series of hills covered in hundreds of apple trees, and the road I was
standing on stretched to a distant little village that looked adorably quaint.
This place wasn't a faerie tale land. Believe me; most faerie tales (like most
faeries) are actually bloody and dark in their original versions. A world this
idyllic could only come from one place. How the hell did I end up in a
Disney movie? I thought. I heard a small sound behind me, and when I
turned around, I got an even bigger shock.
Behind me stood a small purple unicorn, staring at me.
Now, I can say with a minimum of lying that I am a very manly man. I don't
drink 'lite' beer, I eat steak without worrying about cholesterol, I don't ask
for directions, and sometimes I beat my chest to display my dominance
over lesser males. But I swear to all the powers that be, that unicorn was
the cutest thing I had ever seen in my life. Underneath the shock of seeing
it, I wanted to giggle like a five-year-old girl and pick it up in a big hug. I
don't care if that sounds weird, it was that freaking adorable. It was only the
size of a large dog, but it had a rounder head than any horse I've ever
seen, and its eyes were a pair of large, expressive orbs. Above the eyes
was a little spiral horn the same purple as the rest of its coat. Its dark
purple mane was styled like hair, complete with bangs and a few streaks of
pink. On its hip was a mark or tattoo that depicted a cloud of sparkles
around a dark purple, six-pointed star.
It stared at me in what looked a state of shock, but it didn't bolt like a wild
animal would. I supposed people didn't regularly tear apart the fabric of
time and space to fall out of thin air around here. I stared back and made
the mistake of meeting its eyes. The large orbs of soft purple watched me
in a combination of curiosity and fear, and as I looked into them, I felt the
unmistakable beginnings of a Soulgaze. You have got to be kidding me, I
thought even as the magic began.
The eyes are often called the windows of the soul, the truest reflections of
person's heart. As poetic and uselessly romantic as that may sound, for
wizards it was true. If a wizard and anyone else hold eye contact, they can
peer through those windows to see the other's most fundamental nature.
Normally, I was more careful. Not only is it wrong to see someone like that
without their consent, but they get to see my soul too. I'm not much for

introspection, but from people's reactions, seeing my soul is not a pleasant
experience. One woman even fainted.
I felt a sudden stab of guilt and pushed thoughts of Susan out of my mind. I
hadn't been careful here because there is one very important requirement
both people need for a Soulgaze to occur. Something I'd never thought a
pony, unicorn or not, lovable or not, would have. Namely, a soul.
I was in a library. Saying it was huge is about as accurate as calling the sun
"big". It stretched further than I could see in all directions, and I mean all.
The staircase I stood on looked endless, countless floors stretching both
above and below me. Books were everywhere, not just on shelves but
stacked on reading tables, left in chairs. One had even found its way onto
the stairs. I stepped off the staircase, walking deeper into the library. The
ceiling was painted to look like a section of the night sky with constellations
fancifully illustrated in luminous outlines. The room's light came from large
chandeliers shaped like six-pointed stars, each surrounded by a cluster of
individual lamps in holders of the same shape. It took me a moment, but I
realized they matched the mark on her flank. I wondered about the
importance of the symbol, but the rest of the library distracted me. As I
walked among the shelves, I noticed that despite the scattered nature of all
of books, they were lovingly maintained, with hardly a cracked spine or
dog-eared page to be seen. Her collection of wisdom may have been
disorganized, but it was obvious that none of it was neglected. The whole
place was a temple to a love of learning and respect for knowledge, but it
held more as well. On the ends of the bookcases and the walls hung
picture after picture of other creatures
There were posed portraits and photos that seemed taken on the spur of
the moment, childish crayon drawings and gorgeous oil paintings, bas
reliefs and even some small sculptures, all arranged as haphazardly as the
books. I saw the same nine or ten creatures repeated again and again,
clearly important… people?... in her life. Strangely, they weren't all
unicorns. They were all built along the same lines, but apparently the horn
was optional – some had wings instead, and others had neither.
The more childish drawings centered around a pair of figures that I took for
her parents and a purple-and-green blob - a pet maybe? The more recent
images, though, revolved almost entirely around six individuals. The first
one that caught my eye was a butter-yellow pegasus with a soft pink mane

and tail, her shy smile gentle and warm. I'd thought the purple unicorn was
cute, but this one was weapons-grade adorable. There was another
unicorn, this one with a pure white coat and a deep purple mane and tail,
obviously styled. She looked like a real beauty queen, but her smile had an
open, friendly quality that hinted at a much kinder, deeper personality than
most socialites I had met. Granted, most of the socialites I'd met recently
were vampires, crime bosses, or faeries. Nosy wizards with money
problems don't get invited tonormal parties.
Pictures of a bright pink pony were hung in the oddest places, making it
seem like she was popping up from everywhere. She wore an enthusiastic,
almost overjoyed expression that matched the bubbly antics she seemed to
be engaged in. I don't think there was a single picture of her sitting still.
Another ordinary pony, orange, was never seen without a Stetson and
hard-nosed expression that reminded me of my mentor, Wizard McCoy.
She was almost always depicted working on a farm, roping cattle, and
doing other cowgirl (cowpony?) activities.
I stopped dead in front of a picture of a little purple dragon belching green
fire. A dragon? An actual, factual fire-breathing dragon? But he
was tiny! Even smaller than the ponies. He was purple with rounded green
spines lining his back. I realized this was the purple blob from those early
pictures – he'd been with her for a long, long time. He was always shown
helping out, at least when he wasn't sleeping. This was definitely not just a
pet.
The last of her apparent friends was another pegasus, mostly depicted
sleeping or flying, with a particularly cocky look in her eyes. She was blue
with a rainbow-striped mane and tail that seemed out of place even among
the psychedelic ponies. Whoever they were, it was obvious that these
particular ponies were very important to her. She must have loved them all
deeply for them to hold this kind of significance in her soul.
The places of honor, though, were reserved for a huge, winged unicorn.
She was proportioned more like the horses I was used to, long-legged with
a graceful neck and a long muzzle. Her coat was pure white, but her mane
and tail were striped pastel pink, green, and blue, and were always
depicted blowing in the wind. From her crown and her regal bearing, I
guessed this was royalty of some kind, but also something much more to
the unicorn.

The Soulgaze ended suddenly and I was back in the sunny meadow,
staring at the little unicorn. She had fainted dead away. "Great," I muttered.
"I've been here two minutes and already managed to traumatize one of the
local population, a sentient unicorn no less, into unconsciousness." I sighed
and bent down to haul the poor girl over my shoulder. As I did, I felt a sharp
tingle like static electricity, the sign of fellow mage. "Oh, of course she
knows magic too! Nothing about this situation was weird enough already."
Well, I couldn't just leave her lying in the middle of the road. I eyed the town
in the distance warily, unsure how they would react to a stranger carrying in
one of their own unconscious. I checked the opposite direction and noticed
a small cottage not too far away. It looked both welcoming and familiar. I
started towards it, hurrying a little. "Hope they're friendly," I said to no one
in particular. I was almost to it when I realized why it felt so familiar. The
quaint little cottage looked like it came straight from the Shire.
"Quick recap then, for the folks at home. I'm carrying a tiny, purple, sentient
unicorn mage that I accidently knocked out into a hobbit hole looking for
someone to help her. Could it get any weirder?" I groused as I opened the
door and stooped in.
"Oh, Twilight, you're here," the small yellow pegasus from the Soulgaze
said happily as she turned around. Her face changed quickly to shock as
she saw me.
Well, of course they could talk. I wasn't even surprised anymore.
…..
Fluttershy was having a busy morning. She had fed all of her little animal
friends early. Now she was busy making a fruit salad for her and Twilight to
share after they were done identifying the egg she had found. Her back
was to the door when she heard it open. "Oh Twilight, you're here." She
said happily, turning around. Then she saw it. It was huge, taller even than
the manticore she'd once tamed. Its head nearly brushed the ceiling as it
rose from stooping through the door. Its long black coat fell open as it
straightened and Fluttershy could see it holding Twilight unmoving in its
arms. She was on the verge of full panic when it spoke.

"Okay, this really isn't what it looks like. I found her on the path to your
house and I brought her here to get help," It spoke softly, but quickly, in a
deep voice "I know I look very scary but I promise I'm not a bad guy."
Fluttershy barely noticed it was speaking. It had knocked out Twilight and
now it had come for her and her animals! She knew she had to defend
them, but it was so scary. She glanced up at it and it stared down at her, its
tiny eyes more intense than those any other creature she'd ever seen. Her
heart clutched in her chest, her wings locked to her sides and she started
to hyperventilate. The creature looked away quickly and lowered Twilight to
the floor, then turned to crouch over her. Fluttershy shut her eyes and
whimpered slightly.
"Dormius, dorme, dormius." A soft voice whispered. Fluttershy slumped
over her mind going blissfully blank. The last thought she had before she
slipping fully into a dreamless sleep was how sad the voice had sounded.
…..
Fluttershy woke up in her bed. Oh, goodness, she thought. What a strange
dream. Then she noticed that Twilight was asleep beside her, tossing and
turning with a troubled expression. Wait. She didn't stay the night. So did
that really happen?
Her question was answered by the sound of off-key singing coming from
downstairs. It was a cheerful song, but the lyrics didn't make much
sense. What's a yellow submarine, Fluttershy wondered, and why would
anypony live in one? The song grew louder and was accompanied by the
squeaking of stairs as the creature climbed them. Fluttershy squeaked and
pulled her covers all the way up to her eyes. It came into the room, its
hands full with a tea tray on which her teapot, three cups and a sliced apple
sat. It bumped its head on the low ceiling and muttered darkly, eyeing the
offending architecture. Then, noticing she was awake, it stopped muttering
and gave her a smile that looked more tired than happy.
"Sorry about scaring you, but I honestly don't mean any harm. I made some
tea for you; I didn't know what you like, so I had to guess. I hope the
cinnamon spice one is okay." It set the tray down to one side of the bed
and sat down across it from her. Now that it wasn't towering over her,
Fluttershy thought, it wasn't really that scary. "I mean, you already had

teacups, so I brought them even though I have no idea how you hold them,
given that you, you know, only have hooves."
"Um… uh," Fluttershy mumbled. "Thank you."
It smiled at that, this time with more warmth, and began pouring tea into
two of the cups. She took a cup in both hooves, which seemed to baffle it,
and sipped slowly. "It's nice to see that you really can talk. For a while there
I thought I'd just imagined it." It said, munching on an apple slice and
holding the tea in its other hand. "Mmm, these are good. So anyway, I'm
Harry."
Fluttershy had a moment of confusion. "Well, um …. You see. N-not to be
rude or anything, but you're not."
"I'm not what?"
"Hairy. I mean, I know plenty of animals and you're actually one of the least
hairy things I've ever seen." A frown crossed its face, and she blushed a
little. "Not that I'm calling you a liar or anything, I just, um… well…" She
trailed off into silence.
It rubbed its forehead with one hand and sighed a little. "Don't worry about
it, it's just a name. How about you just call me Dresden instead?"
"Oh, okay. You can call me Fluttershy," she said, giving him a shy smile.
"Um… do you mind if I ask you something?"
It put down the tea and nodded. "Is it what I am and where I'm from?" She
bobbed her head. "Well, I'm what we call a human, and I'm from another
world. I got here by accident. Do you not have any humans at all here?"
"No, I've never even heard of humans before. You're in Equestria. We have
ponies, dragons, cows, buffalo, griffins and lots of other creatures, but no
humans."
"A world where ponies evolved from men?" it said, chuckling. Fluttershy
just looked at it in confusion. It smiled again and extended a hand toward
her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Fluttershy."
She gave a small smile and shook it. "Likewise, Mr. Dresden."

Chapter 2
Twilight tossed and turned in her sleep, her mind full of dreams, images
that wouldn't fade. The shock of what she had seen had knocked her
unconscious, but it was her tired body that kept her there, forcing her to
rest. Her mind, though, was anything but peaceful, and what she had seen
in that strange place replayed endlessly.
It began in an enormous city of stone and glass. The surrounding details
were hazy, as though a spotlight shone only on the creature in front of her.
He appeared the same, except he was missing the black coat from before.
His bare torso, the same peach color as his hands, was covered in
wounds. Some were white lines, old and scarred, and some were so fresh
they were still wrapped in red-stained bandages. As she watched, he put
on a suit of medieval armor in a spartan, lonely room. He rose, sword in
hand, and went out into the strange city. He walked lightly, a smile on his
face, but Twilight could see that he had a heavy purpose in mind. Most of
the city's people ignored him, some jeered at him. He ignored both. They
arrived at the edge of the city just as the sun was setting. In the soft glow of
dusk he stood on an open plain between the city and a wild, tangled forest.
As the light dimmed, monsters began to appear, slinking out of the growing
shadows until a multitude of them waited, arrayed against him. They were
horrifying, all of them, each in its own unique way. Twilight had never seen
anything like them, and she recoiled in fear from their drooling jaws and
blood-stained claws. As one, the creatures of night bellowed their challenge
to the lone warrior. He was unbowed by the wave of sound and held his
ground. As the lingering echoes died away he responded.
He laughed at them, loud and cocky, and then made a one-fingered
gesture Twilight didn't fully understand. The monsters did, and they
screamed in fury even as they charged him. What followed was the most
violent and frightening thing she had ever seen. All of the horrors were
quick and vicious, but the man was quicker still and his swordplay was that
of a true master. Perhaps he lacked the finesse of a more experienced
knight, but as he bisected one unlucky foe, Twilight realized he had more
than enough power to make up for it. He fought against insane odds, never
giving ground to the darkness. The black blood of the creatures flew as his
sword cut corrupted flesh, but crimson blood flowed steadily from the many

wounds he received in return. Much later, the full moon rose over a silent
battlefield, the beasts were dead or had fled, and the warrior stood alone,
breathing raggedly. He was so covered in the black blood of his enemies
that he resembled them more than any of his city's people. Then Twilight
noticed something she hadn't before; his eyes were mismatched. One was
a brown so bright it bordered on gold. That eye was full of honor and
strength, and tired as he was, it still blazed like a torch. The other, though,
was a brown so dark that it appeared black. It didn't blaze, it smoldered.
Rage, pain, cruelty and an unquenchable lust for power lived in that eye.
She realized that there stood the real battle, within the heart of the warrior.
Every time he fought, he walked the knife's edge between using his power
and letting it use him, but at the same time, he couldn't stop fighting for his
city. Twilight felt an intense surge of emotion, equal parts pity and fear,
even as the image faded to black.
"No!" Twilight screamed as she woke up, covered in sweat. There was a
terrifying instant of disorientation before she recognized the comfortable,
familiar interior of Fluttershy's cottage. It hadn't been just a dream, she was
certain of that. Celestia help her, she had to warn the residents of Ponyville
quickly. The creature, the… person… she had met was dangerous. I must
alert Princess Celestia at once, She thought, She needs to know about
him, and if I can't think of a way to track him down, her guards will have to
search the forest. She paused for a moment. She had promised to help
Fluttershy. She hated to let her friend down, but a crisis obviously took
precedence. She would warn Fluttershy, breaking the news as gently as
possible, then set out immediately for Ponyville.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked as she came downstairs, "Where are you?"
"Over here. It's good to see you up and about, Twilight." The little pegasus
was in the kitchen fixing a huge fruit salad, one big enough for half a dozen
ponies, and was keeping an eye on her oven too. "I was afraid you would
miss lunch."
"I'm fine. I just didn't get enough sleep last night." Twilight said her tone
serious. "But I've got something much more important than lunch to discuss
with you. It's about why I was unconscious."
"Okay, just a minute then." She turned to the window. "Lunchtime."
Fluttershy called softly.

"Fluttershy, didn't you hear me?" Twilight demanded. "Lunch can wait;
we've got a full blown emergency on our hooves!"
Fluttershy flinched. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't r-realize," she mumbled as she
stared at her hooves.
Twilight sighed. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I didn't mean to yell at you. But this
could be a matter of life or death!"
"Oh, my." She glanced toward the door with a hopeful smile. "Well, maybe
Mr. Dresden can help with your problem." Twilight turned to look, then froze
in shock, her heart stopping for one terrifying moment. The biped was
barging into Fluttershy's home! He was breathing heavily and carried an
axe in one of his hands. The blade was so sharp it gleamed in the soft
sunshine of Fluttershy's cottage.
"Fluttershy, run!" Twilight screamed, putting herself between Fluttershy and
the towering threat. "I'll hold him off, you warn Ponyville!" The reaction she
got was unexpected. Both Fluttershy and the warrior just stared at
her. What in Celestia's mane is going on? Twilight thought.
He was the first to break the awkward silence. "I was just about finished
chopping all of that wood you wanted, Miss Fluttershy." He said as he hung
the axe in its place on the wall. Twilight slowly let the spells she'd been
preparing fade away, staring speechless at the giant. Well, of course he
can talk. I'm not even surprised anymore.
"Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Dresden. Since you said you couldn't eat raw
grains, I made us a fruit salad and baked potatoes for lunch." Fluttershy
then cleared her throat and gestured to Twilight. "This is my friend, Twilight
Sparkle. Twilight, this is Mr. Dresden. He carried you here while you were
unconscious. I know he looks scary, but he's just from somewhere else
where they only have humans like him, and no ponies." Twilight eyed the
human, who had the good grace to look guilty.
Huh, Twilight thought, so he knows that it's his fault I passed out. Aloud she
said, "It's nice to meet you Mr. Dresden. But if you don't mind me asking,
what are your intentions in Equestria?"
"Well, right now I'm pretty intent on eating lunch," he said with a careless
smile. "Beyond that, I just want to go home. I'm only here by accident."

"Well," Fluttershy spoke up, "Wash your hooves – I mean, hands – and we
can discuss that and Twilight's problem after lunch." Dresden walked over
to the sink and began washing as Fluttershy pulled the potatoes out of the
oven. The food smelled delicious, and they dug in without anything more
than some small talk. Dresden ate most of the fruit salad and three of the
potatoes, but given his size, Twilight wasn't surprised. When lunch was
done, he leaned back and gave his stomach a contented pat.
"Thank you Miss Fluttershy, that was wonderful. Do you happen to have
any beer?" he asked hopefully.
"Um, I'm afraid not. What's beer?" Fluttershy replied.
The look on his face was so disheartened it was almost funny. Twilight
stifled a giggle; this was the time for business. "Yes, Fluttershy. Thank you
for lunch. Now, would you mind answering some more questions, Mr.
Dresden?"
"Sure thing, pumpkin."
Twilight narrowed her eyes, but he just grinned in reply. She pushed it
aside, determined not to give him the satisfaction. "Well, I'd like to know
who you are, where you came from, why you're here, and most
importantly…" What did you do to me? is what she wanted to shout, but
she satisfied herself with an icy glare instead. "What happened when we
met?"
Dresden looked guilty again and his expression grew serious as he spoke.
"I'm Harry Dresden, a wizard from the city of Chicago."
"A wizard? I'm not familiar with the term." Twilight interjected.
"You know, a practitioner of magic. I noticed that you're one too."
"Oh," she said, wondering if he'd sensed the spells she'd prepared during
the earlier confrontation. "Go on, please."
"My world is called Earth, and humans, omnivorous primates like myself,
are the dominant species. We have horses there too, but they're bigger
than you and not sentient."

"Omnivorous? You eat meat, then?" Twilight asked, wrinkling her nose in
disgust.
"Yeah, typically that's the main dish in a human meal. And the tastiest." He
grinned, baring his teeth.
"Y-you don't eat ponies do you?" Fluttershy squeaked. Twilight hadn't
thought of that, but it was a good question. She watched Dresden's
reaction. He shook his head, the grin fading.
"No, we don't. In fact, a lot of people would be as horrified as you at the
idea of eating horse. Why I'm here though…" He paused to think. "Have
you ever heard of the Nevernever?" Both Fluttershy and Twilight shook
their heads. He wasn't surprised. "Well, okay. The Nevernever has a lot of
names, Faerie land, the Æther, the Dream Time, and many others, but
essentially it's a realm of pure magic, one that connects to everywhere.
You can use magic to get into the Nevernever and exit it wherever you
want. Wizards use it to travel long distances. I was on the path to another
city when I had to run from some of the local wildlife. You see, a lot of
monsters live in the Nevernever, so it's not a nice place. Anyway, I couldn't
get away from them so I had to open a hole into whatever world was
nearest; it just happened to be here. I'd like to go home, but I need
directions back to the part of the Nevernever that connects to Earth.
Preferably a route that doesn't cross the vearens' territory again."
Twilight thought about it. It sounded fantastic, no doubt about that. But she
had also seen him fall out of hole in thin air and glimpsed another world on
the opposite side. He seemed to be telling the truth, and if he was, this
needed to be dealt with quickly and quietly. There was no sense causing a
panic among innocent ponies. I'll tell Celestia and she'll know what to
do. Twilight decided. Until then, Dresden will simply have to stay here in
Ponyville. It's dangerous, but it's better than letting him wander around. I
wonder if Rarity could pull together a disguise for him.
"Okay," Twilight said. "I believe you, and I'll ask Princess Celestia to help
us find you a way home." He relaxed and started to say something, but she
cut him off. "But youstill haven't told me what happened when I saw you."
"Oh. Right." He looked apologetic. "That was something that happens when
a wizard looks someone in the eyes for more than a moment. It's called the
Soulgaze. Basically, we each got to see the other's soul. The core of their

eing. I didn't mean for it to happen. On Earth, horses—" Twilight felt her
expression harden, and Dresden corrected himself. "—err, ponies, don't
have souls. No soul, no Soulgaze."
Twilight and Fluttershy stared at him, one in confusion, and the other in
shock verging on horror. Fluttershy spoke first. "What does a soul look
like?"
"Well, you don't literally see a soul. You see their most fundamental nature
explained in metaphor. I typically see them as places, but not always." He
fidgeted nervously, "Sorry about whatever you saw. I'm told my soul isn't a
nice place to visit."
Twilight shook her head. That, more than anything else in this deranged
situation, was beyond her. She needed time to process all of it. But she had
work to do. Her resolve strengthened, and she lifted her chin. "I'm going
into town," she announced. "I need Spike to send a letter to Princess
Celestia, and I need to see if Rarity can make a disguise for Mr. Dresden."
She turned to him. "Stay here and try not to attract any attention. Okay?"
He nodded. "I'll be back soon, Fluttershy. I promise." With that, she hurried
out of the house, hoping she could resolve this quickly.
….
I sighed as Twilight left. She wasn't just scared of me; fear was a reaction I
was used to. She was honestly angry over what she had seen. If the rest of
Equestria was as picture-perfect as the small piece I'd seen, then I wasn't
surprised. Despite her protective reaction when I entered the house, I
doubted she had ever seen true violence, much less performed it.
"Are you okay, Mr. Dresden?" Fluttershy asked, looking at me with those
big empathetic eyes. "I'm sure Twilight isn't really angry. She's just worried
and a little stressed."
"No, she's upset, but she's got every right to be. I'm just going to have to be
more careful."
The pegasus seemed to accept that. "Umm … so what did it look like?"
Fluttershy peered at me curiously.

"What, her soul?" Fluttershy nodded. "I really shouldn't tell you without
Twilight's permission. I mean, I already violated her privacy by accident,
and that was bad enough."
She looked down at her hooves in disappointment, but she mumbled an
okay. Well, maybe I could tell her one thing. "I'll say this, though: I saw
pictures of you and the rest of her friends everywhere. It was obvious that
she loves all of you very much." It was incredibly heartwarming to see the
smile grow on her face and a small blush spread on her cheeks. Confound
these ponies, they drive me to feel affection.
"Awwww," a bubbly voice said, "That's so sweet of her! It's nice to know
she cares."
I spun around. Standing right behind me was the bright pink little pony I'd
seen in the library. How the hell did she sneak up on me? I wondered.
Apparently Fluttershy was caught unaware too.
"Pinkie Pie!" She said, "When did you get here?"
"Oh, I've been here since lunch ended. I was gonna pop out and surprise
you guys, but I was so interested in what you were saying I just had to
listen." She beamed proudly as she looked at our unbelieving faces. "So
anyway, I've a question if you don't mind, Mr. Dresden."
I tried not to roll my eyes. Why did everyone have to ask that first? I nodded
assent as I took a sip of apple juice. I still couldn't believe there was no
beer. No steaks, I understood. They were herbivores. But come on – they
ate barley and wheat, how could they not have beer? This wasn't a
paradise after all.
"I wanted to know, since, you know, we're calling you 'mister', are you a
stallion?"
I spat out the juice I'd been drinking and started coughing, trying to laugh
and breathe at the same time. After a few seconds my throat was clear,
and I reassured the worried ponies I was fine. "Remind me not to drink next
time you ask a question, Miss Pie. But yes, I am male, if that's what you're
asking." I chuckled a few more times.

"I thought so," she grinned triumphantly, but it faded into a confused frown.
"Then what's so funny?"
"Well, you're the first person who's had to ask my gender, and besides that,
asking a man if he's a stallion means… something completely different on
Earth. Something not discussed in polite company."
"Oh, I got it." She giggled, making her fluffy pink mane bounce
uncontrollably.
"I don't," Fluttershy pouted. "What do you mean, Mr. Dresden?"My mind
boggled. I didn't want to discuss that topic with any pony at all, much less
the shyest, most easily embarrassed one. I felt my face heating up as I
tried to think of a way out of this one. Luckily the pink little pony came to my
rescue.
"Oh, Fluttershy, don't worry about it. Your Auntie Pinkie Pie will tell you all
'bout it when you're older." She said, patting the yellow pegasus on the
head.
"You know, I'm a year older than you," Fluttershy huffed.
I managed to keep a straight face, though I'm not certain how, and
wondered what to do next. If the chores were done and we had to wait here
until Twilight came back, it was going to get pretty boring. An idea popped
into my head. Why not? I thought, checking my coat to see what magic
supplies I had on hand. After all, I should test my spells to make sure they
still work here. I cleared my throat, interrupting Pinkie's laughing and
Fluttershy's glaring. "Hey," I said with a showman's smile. "How about I
show you ponies some magic tricks?"

Chapter 3
Twilight's mind was full of conflicting thoughts and emotions as she trotted
towards Ponyville. From what she knew of him, Dresden was a force to be
reckoned with. Peace had reigned in Equestria for centuries, and no pony
had ever faced a warrior like him. If her theories were correct, he was a
battle mage. Worse yet, it wasn't difficult to sense that, in terms of raw
magic power, he outclassed her. She knew it was a little arrogant, but she'd
never expected to meet somepony, other than the Princesses of course,
with more magical potential. She knew she had more power, if not more
skill, than any unicorn she knew. It was hard not be feel a little fearful, even
jealous maybe, of a talent like his.
'But,' a more hopeful part of her reasoned, 'He hasn't actually hurt anypony
since he arrived. Sure he's scary, but he didn't mean to make me faint, and
he even cared for me while I was out. Fluttershy likes him and she's the
most timid pony I know when it comes to strangers. Besides his soul was
that of somepony who stood against darkness, one who protects others.'
Yeah, her suspicious side retorted, but he's also close to becoming the
darkness he fights. With all his power, what if he does cross the line? Who
will stop him? Princess Celestia can. Maybe the Elements of Harmony can.
I need to be prepared and to send him back as soon as possible.
If he's that dangerous, though, why did I leave Fluttershy alone with him?
Why do I trust him? Not just with Fluttershy; why do I believe everything he
told me? Because he's a terrible liar, her mind prompted. But how do I
know that? His soul, she realized. It was more than just what she had seen;
she somehow knew things about him on an almost instinctual level. But
that train of logic had a frightening conclusion.
Oh my gosh, she thought, he saw my soul too! She flushed and felt her
heart clutch in her chest. He had seen her soul. She felt exposed in a way
she would never have believed. Not even my friends know me that well.
Nopony should see another like that. It was the worst possible invasion of
privacy, and the fact that he had to endure it too was little comfort.

But what had he seen?She knew she wasn't a perfect pony by any stretch
and that a mirror could be cruel. Even though she'd confronted him about
the Soulgaze, neither of them a said a word about what they'd seen. What
does he think of me? She wondered wildly. When we spoke he acted like I
was a friend. Are we friends? How did she feel about him? Could they even
be friends, given how dangerous he was? He was kind, but full of anger.
He was honorable, but power hungry. He was courteous, but sarcastic. He
was a riddle.
This is ridiculous! Twilight thought as she finally neared Ponyville. I would
rather fight Nightmare Moon again than deal with this! Everything she knew
had once been black and white but ever since this stranger arrived she had
nothing but a world of grays.
She picked up her pace a little as the library came into view. Spike would
be awake by now and probably in the middle of doing his chores. She
briefly considered writing the letter herself and sealing it before Spike sent
it, but that was too problematic. Not only would she have to explain the
sealed letter, but also explain why she would be gone all day without
making him suspicious. Besides, she felt wrong lying to any of her friends,
but especially her number one assistant.
"Spike?" Twilight called as she entered into the library, "I need to dictate a
letter to the Princess Celestia. Hurry, this is urgent."
"Urgent?" Spike said. He hurried down the stairs a feather duster still in one
hand. "Is the egg Fluttershy found really that important?"
Twilight realized she had completely forgotten her original purpose once
Dresden arrived. "No, this is something different. I saw a new species on
the way to Fluttershy's."
Spike lost interest. "Twilight, informing the Princess about a new type of
beetle isn't urgent. Remember when you discovered that new subspecies
of trout and-"
"That was years ago," Twilight retorted, though she did flush slightly at the
memory. "This species is intelligent, larger and probably stronger than
ponies, possibly aggressive, and the representative I met had at least as
much potential for magic as I do." She stopped and glared at Spike. "That
is why this is urgent."

Spike's jaw had almost hit the floor by the time Twilight finished; he took
the stairs two at a time and was back downstairs with paper, ink and a quill
in record time. Twilight cleared her throat and began to dictate. She
summarized as best she could the events of that morning, but after a
moment's hesitation she didn't mention the Soulgaze. The whole story was
already so hard to believe, including that would make her sound crazy. She
would tell the Princess about it in private after she had already met
Dresden.
"Now Spike, seal that and send it." Twilight said, as she began gathering a
few books. The suddenly practical 'On the Theory of Alternate Realities'
was joined by several teleportation references and an illusion text.
Spike completed the letter, sealed it, and sent it using his customary magic
fire. He turned to Twilight, his eyes glittering with curiosity. "Can I see him?
Huh, Twilight? Please?" Spike begged, "He sounds really cool!" He
paused, noticing Twilight's amused expression and tried to put on a cooler
demeanor. "Err. I mean. It could be really important for me to be there. You
probably need your assistant on hand when dealing with a strange new
creature." His hopeful grin, though told volumes.
Twilight patted him on the head and her voice took on a slightly patronizing
tone. "Sorry, Spike. I have a more important job for you." Spike's face fell in
disappoint, but quickly took on a more skeptical expression. Twilight
ignored him and continued. "I want him here, where I can keep an eye on
him until Princess Celestia arrives. I need you to fix up the storage room so
he can sleep there if it's necessary."
"Fine." Spike grumbled. His grousing, though, was short-lived. He burped,
shooting out a small jet of green flame. Within the fire a letter formed and
Spike caught it in his outstretched hand.
"That was quick," Twilight commented while Spike cleared his throat.
"It says, 'I'm sorry, Miss Sparkle, but the Princess is in another castle. This
week she and Princess Luna are visiting Coltenhagen. Your letter will be
forwarded to her with today's reports from Canterlot at sunset.' Huh? Do
you want to send another letter to tell them how urgent it is?"
Twilight felt a surge of frustration and briefly wanted to tear the letter to
pieces. So much for a quick and decisive solution, she complained. What

else could go wrong?She had forgotten all about her mentor's trip this
week. She sighed, massaging one of her temples, willing herself to relax.
She counted prime numbers until she could trust herself to speak without
screaming. "No, we'd better not. If I tell them it's urgent, I'll have to explain
why or they'll take a look themselves, and then the news would be
everywhere. We'll just have to wait. Now get to work, I'm heading over to
Rarity's." Spike sulked behind her, muttering as she left. "Jeez, I don't get
to see the cool alien or Rarity, and now I've got even more chores to do.
Sometimes a dragon just can't catch a break."
Twilight had barely opened the door when she ran into a familiar orange
earth pony. Her brown Stetson was off center and her coat was soaked
with sweat; it looked like she'd been running around all morning.
"Woah there, sugarcube." Applejack said, "I can see your inna hurry but
you seen Pinkie Pie anywhere?"
"Applejack!" Twilight yelped, as she stumbled to a halt, "I thought you and
Pinkie Pie were working on a new apple pie recipe, today."
"Well, that's the thing. I can't seem to find that filly nowhere. Mrs. Cake ain't
see her since this morning, said she was goin' on about holes in the fabric
of reality or something and she went and dashed off. I was hoping she was
here, 'cause I've already checked most other places in town. Do you know
where she is?"
Twilight had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly where Pinkie was.
Applejack noticed her friend's discomfort and eyed her curiously. Twilight
sighed; she couldn't lie to her friend. "I might know where she is, but I need
to collect Rarity first. Follow me." She started trotting down the street and
Applejack hurried to catch up.
"Now hold up there. Where is she and why do we need Rarity? I'm perfectly
capable of collectin' her myself, thank you." Applejack replied. Twilight
shook her head.
"No, that's not what I meant. I've got some important news, and it'll be
easier if I don't have to repeat myself."
"Funny," Applejack retorted, giving her friend a playful jab and a smile,
"And here I thought you loved talking almost as much as reading."

Twilight giggled a little. "I'm not that bad, am I?"
"So, anyway," Applejack quickly changed the subject, "I wouldn't mind your
opinion on some of my ideas for recipes. My favorite so far, is an apple
muffin using nutmeg instead of cinnamon." They passed the rest of the trip
discussing Applejack's ideas for new treats until before long they were
there.
The Carousal Boutique looked to have been freshly cleaned and practically
shone in the afternoon sunshine. Twilight wondered which poor colt, or
colts maybe, had been induced to rescue the fair Rarity from the threat of a
dirty house.
"Welcome!" trilled a cultured voice as they entered, "To Carousal Boutique,
where every item is chic, unique and magnifique." The white unicorn
stopped working on the dress she'd been altering and turned to see her two
friends. "Twilight, Applejack! How good to see you. What brings you to my
humble shop today?"
Twilight glanced around the shop. "Is anypony else here?" At Rarity's head
shake, she continued "It's kind of a long story, but I'll try to give you the
basics. On my way to Fluttershy's this morning, I discovered a strange new
creature, something I've never even heard of. He's definitely non-equine,
kind of scary-looking, actually, but I discovered he is intelligent. I was
hoping Rarity could figure out some way to disguise him, until the Princess
can send him home." Her friends just stared at her. "I know it sounds crazy
but right now he's with Fluttershy and I don't want him out of my sight for
any longer than necessary."
Rarity sighed, "I suppose this dress can wait. Especially if it's to help out a
friend in need." She began examining rolls of fabric, trying to decide what
to take with her.
"Hold on there," Applejack said, "You mean, you just left her alone with this
weird feller? Twilight, you sure Fluttershy's up to that? She may've offered
to help but she might be bitin' off more than she can chew."
Twilight shook her head. "She's fine. I passed out after seeing him and
when I came to, they were already friends."

"You fainted, Twilight?" Rarity said from behind the stacks of fabric she was
going through. "Oh, how terrible does this creature look?" She asked with a
shudder. "I mean there's only so much I can do."
Twilight shrugged "He's not that bad. I was more surprised by how he fell
out of a hole in the sky." Her voice lowered to a mutter. "And that business
with the Soulgaze didn't help either."
"The what now?" Applejack asked suspiciously.
"Nothing!" Twilight said quickly, "Are you ready, Rarity?"
"As ready as I'll ever be, darling. Applejack, would you be a dear and take
that set of saddlebags for me? There's really too much for me to carry
myself."
Applejack stopped eyeing Twilight and put on the saddlebags; they were
overflowing with multiple rolls of fabric and other sewing paraphernalia. "Is
all this really necessary?" She asked.
"Well, of course." Rarity replied, "I don't know what I'll need until I can
actually see him. Twilight, you simply must describe him for me, so I can
start thinking of a design." They left the Boutique, Rarity quickly flipping the
sign to 'Closed', and they all started walking for Fluttershy's cottage.
'How to describe him,' Twilight wondered, "Well, for starters, imagine a
diamond dog, only really tall….."
…..
"Meanwhile at Fluttershy's house!" Pinkie Pie announced proudly.
Fluttershy and I just looked at her. Fluttershy had apparently learned better
than to ask, but I couldn't help myself.
"Sorry, what?" Not that much of what she'd said had made any sense so
far. But hey, a guy can hope, can't he?
"Nothing, just setting up a scene transition." Pinkie's smile took up more of
her face than I think was physically possible.

"Well, uh. Back to the show then." I stumbled, trying to keep my stage
presence. Hell's bells. How had my father managed this in front of an entire
crowd? "Let's move on to the next trick." She nodded enthusiastically and
Fluttershy smiled. My first couple of spells didn't get much of a reaction,
levitating objects wasn't very impressive, it seemed. Wizards like Twilight
must be able to practice openly. My practice with tracking spells, using
nothing but a crystal and one of their tail hairs went over better. Though I
still didn't understand how Pinkie could have fit in that bucket of sponges.
Now I was doing magic circles; I started with sealing Pinkie in a soundproof
one. Fluttershy and I had gotten a laugh out of that and so did she after a
minute. Next was something a bit more exciting.
"For my next trick we shall need to go outside for a moment," Pinkie smiled
eagerly and shot off before I had even reached the door. I stopped by the
kitchen and grabbed a stool, some salt and an apple. My spell components
gathered, I put them at the far end of Fluttershy's lawn, as far from the
house as I could manage. "Now, I must give fair warning to the audience
that this will appear dangerous, but rest assured. I have it completely under
control." Hopefully, at least. All of my spells thus far had gone off without a
hitch, but now it was time to try for something more serious. I set the apple
on the stool and surrounded the whole thing with a circle of salt. I
murmured a soft quasi-Latin word and sealed the circle with my will. As I
did I let some the energy spill out, causing a flurry of sparks and a sudden
view of the mystical barrier before it faded to invisibility again. Fluttershy
and Pinkie gasped appreciatively and I couldn't hold back a grin. It was a
waste of magic, but it sure looked cool. I backed off about ten paces and
made sure my equine audience was behind me. If anything went wrong I'd
take the brunt of the forces in play. I raised my blasting rod and focused on
it. The runes carved into it glowed to life with the familiar smell of burnt
wood. The tip began to glow an angry red as I slowly prepared the spell. No
need to take it fast for the first try. The magic came together in powerful
rush and I gestured with the rod releasing it with a ringing shout.
"Fuego!" I cried. An enormous column of flame erupted out of my blasting
rod, striking the circle I had prepared, in a wave of vicious fire. It split as it
reached the magic barrier, like a river meeting a rock, washing to either
side of it. The flames died out quickly as the magic dissipated, and I walked
over to the circle. I was pleased to see it had maintained integrity, the salt
remained, not a single grain had moved, and the stool and apple looked
just fine. I broke the circle with a thought and picked up the apple. It was

cool to the touch even. I smiled and turned to face the speechless ponies.
Their mouths were hanging open and I chuckled. Remembering my father's
lessons on showmanship, I bowed slightly and gently tossed the apple to
Fluttershy. She squeaked and flinched but Pinkie managed to catch it
before it hit the ground.
"It's not even hot!" She exclaimed before taking a big bite. Fluttershy looked
at me with amazement and what looked a little like fear. I was suddenly
glad that had I arranged the whole thing as a magic show. Seeing me toss
around fire of that magnitude without explanation would probably have sent
her into a panic. I cursed myself for not realizing that sooner and belatedly
noticed the scorch marks on her lawn.
"Well, ladies. That's about that." I rubbed my neck nervously, "Sorry about
your yard, Miss Fluttershy, I wasn't thinking."
"Oh, that's ok. It'll grow back." She stared at me and I had to duck my eyes
to avoid a Soulgaze. "But that was really amazing. I mean, I've seen
Twilight do plenty of magic, but never anything like that."
"Really?" I asked, "So, I take it fire manipulation isn't common here?" She
shook her head. Strange, making fire was one of the more basic spells. It
required more power than moving things around with wind, but energy liked
to eventually turn to heat anyway. Speaking of energy, I noticed that I didn't
feel as tired as I should have after that fire blast, considering all the spells
I'd been slinging just a couple of hours before. Normally, moving that kind
of energy would come with some effort, not too different from a taking a
single flight of stairs, but I had hardly felt it. Curious, I cast out my wizard
senses, something I should have done the moment I arrived in hindsight,
but, hey I'd been distracted by absurdly cute ponies. "Stars and stones!" I
yelped. This world practically buzzed with magic. The air was so saturated
it was like standing on top of a huge ley line. I could hardly believe I'd
missed it before.
"That was magically delicious!" Pinkie shouted as she bounced over to us
and broke into a fit of giggles. "Ooh, ooh! Could you do the fire part again,
only bigger?" I blinked; well she was far from scared.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I began and her face looked so hopeful,
the rest was hard to say, "Fire is dangerous, especially in the amounts
you're talking about. I shouldn't, I mean couldn't do that. If something went

wrong a pony could get hurt." At that her, bottom lip stuck out and her eyes
got wider, and filled with sadness and a silent pleading. I had to look away,
and not to avoid a Soulgaze this time. The little pink pony had the best
puppy eyes I'd ever seen.
"Don't worry, you can do it! Please?" She asked and gave hopeful smile.
Fluttershy added her two cents as well. "I wouldn't mind seeing that, Mr.
Dresden." I gave her a short glare and she fell back a little, nervous and
mumbling again. "I mean, you know if it's not too much trouble or anything."
I groaned. I knew when I was beaten. I couldn't say no to a pair of faces
like that. "Ok, but we're moving further away from the house and I'm only
going to do it once, agreed?" They both smiled and nodded. How come I'm
a sucker for every woman I meet? Even non-human ones? They followed
me until we were about a hundred yards from the house in the meadow
from before. I wasn't close to any trees and I checked the sky for any birds
(nothing but clouds up there).
"Ok," I warned "Stay back." They moved back a few steps. "No I mean,
way, way back." They hesitated then complied; Pinkie had somehow gotten
a box of popcorn and was excitedly munching away. I breathed in deeply
and gathered my power as I did so. I drew in magic and shaped it in my
mind to what I wanted it to do. It took a few moments to gather all that
energy. This kind of spell was ridiculously impractical for battle, but it would
be impressive as hell. The tip of my blasting rod glowed incandescent
white, almost too bright to look at. I raised it carefully, pointing it straight up
into the sky as I roared "Pyrofuego!"
A colossal tower of raging fire poured forth from my blasting rod so
furiously I could barely keep it aimed. As it climbed, the immense inferno
spun madly, forming what looked like a cyclone from Hell. The whole thing
was beautiful, almost hypnotic. I'd always liked fire. Some would even
accuse me of being a pyromaniac, but it was useful in my line of work. Fire
is a force of cleansing, both physically and spiritually. That's why humans
are instinctively drawn to the flicker of flames; we know that fire holds the
darkness at bay.
That being said what I had done was still unbelievable. The ridiculous thing
reached more than a hundred feet before it gave out. Overall, the result
was a little more than I'd intended. I must have accidently drawn in a lot

more power then I had originally planned. I would have to be more careful
when I reached for my magic from now on. Only then did my inner
monologue remind me, didn't Twilight say something about not attracting
attention? She did, in fact. Oh, damn.
"Well girls." I announced to my audience, "Time to leave the scene of the
crime." I put away my blasting rod and started walking toward Fluttershy's
house, trying to look innocent. Fluttershy and Pinkie followed me, Pinkie
chatting happily about something; I tuned it out and watched for any
pursuit. This wasn't the first time I had to leave somewhere after starting a
huge fire. Won't be the last time either, I thought, well, at least this time I
got away without getting caught.
"Hold it right there, you weirdo!" A brash voice cried.
I froze and turned slowly, cursing myself, Damnit Harry, you have got to
stop giving the universe a challenge like that! It was another pegasus, but
this one was flying towards me at almost ludicrous speed. Seriously? When
the hell did ponies get hyper-active hyper drive? I wondered irrelevantly.
She was a blue pony, with a rainbow colored mane and tail and was
absolutely pissed off; she even managed to make pink eyes look scary. I
could study all of this in great detail because she was speeding right toward
me, I mean dead on. I reminded myself that diving to the ground before she
rammed into me wouldn't be very manly and mentally prepared my shield. I
hoped the inevitable collision wouldn't hurt her much. She put on the
brakes about twenty feet away and managed to stop scant inches from my
barrier, defying just about every law of physics I'd ever learned. I let the
power drain out of shield and almost immediately regretted it.
She darted forward, actually pressing her face against mine so that all I
could see was her glare. "Just who the hay do you think you are? I was
having a nice nap til your stupid fire evaporated my cloud!" she yelled. At
this point, a sensible person would back off and explain things to her in a
calm and orderly fashion. However, she had nearly flattened me and
besides, I'm not likely to be accused of being sensible. I set phasers to
snark and opened fire.
"I the hay am Harry Dresden." I deadpanned. It took her a second to get it.

"Don't you get smart with me, weirdo! And back off from my friends!' She
poked me in the chest with one of her hooves. I knocked it away with my
staff.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I replied without an ounce of sincerity, "Is that supposed to
scare me? Look sweetheart, you're cute and all, but intimidation is a big
people game. Why don't you buzz off?" I turned and started walking, but
she zoomed around me and got in my face again.
"Oh no you don't, I'm still talking to you!"
"Fantastic. I'm still not listening, so we're even." I said giving her a smirk. I
think it was the smirk that did it. Her face turned red, and I mean that
literally. It didn't flush; it actually turned red with anger. I could feel my
spleen venting as I considered my next line. Bugs Bunny had a lot of good
ones I could use, but I decided to go with something a little more modern,
suitably modified of course.
"You mad, pony?" That settled it. Her eyes flashed with rage. She was
going to do her best to hurt me. I briefly wished I wasn't such a wiseass as I
mentally prepared my shield. Then, Pinkie suddenly bounced between us
and the tension dissipated instantly.
"Aw, c'mon Dashie, friends shouldn't fight." Pinkie chimed bubbly as ever.
"No way, Pinkie." The blue pegasus snorted and crossed her hooves, "I
mean, who's friends with this weirdo? Not me, that's for sure."
"Um, well," Fluttershy poked her head out from behind a bush. "Pinkie and I
are. And maybe Twilight." She walked hesitantly towards us. "You aren't
going to fight again are you?" It didn't take my vast deductive ability to see
that she was afraid of confrontation. I felt like a complete ass. I shook my
head and she sighed happily. That meant I had to do something I didn't
want to though.
With a sigh of my own I extended a hand toward the hovering pony and
said "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said any of that. Sometimes my mouth runs
before my brain catches up." She looked suspiciously at my hand until
Pinkie prodded her. Her glare switched to the pink little pony, but Pinkie just
giggled.

"All right," she said, taking my hand and shaking it, "But only because
Fluttershy and Pinkie like you." She seemed to warm up a little. "I've got to
admit, that huge fireball thing was cool. And if anypony knows cool it's me!
I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria."
Well, that wasn't so bad. Now maybe we could still get away before another
pony came to investigate. "Nice to meet you, I'm Harry."
Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow and said, "But you're not."
Damnit, I thought, not this again. Out loud I said, "Never mind, just call me
Dresden."
She shrugged. "Whatever." The pegasus moved to drift lazily alongside me
as we walked back to Fluttershy's house. "So, can you do anything else
cool?"
I gave her a cocky smile, "You don't know the half of it, kid."

Chapter 4
"Oh and his front legs are shorter than his hind legs, so I don't think he can
walk on all fours even if he wanted to." Twilight continued. Rarity sighed
and shook her head.
"This will be a real challenge, Twilight. I don't think I've ever heard of such
an odd creature. Even Spike or the-" She shuddered slightly, "Diamond
dogs can at least walk on all fours. I don't think any amount of skill will
make him look like a pony."
"I know," Twilight agreed, "If you can't think of anything, then casting an
illusion over him might be the only way."
Rarity mulled that over for a moment, then elegantly shook her head, "I
don't think that would work, darling, not if he has as much power as you
say. There's too much chance he would accidently disrupt it. But," And she
gave a smile, "I know a way do it. Inanimate objects are so much easier to
enchant; I'll make him a cloak big enough to cover all of him and we simply
spell it to replace the real image with whatever we want him to look like."
Twilight looked at her friend with new respect, "Wow Rarity, I didn't know
you were so accomplished in illusion magic." She beamed, "I'd love to learn
some of the spells you use."
"Well, yes," Rarity said, trying to head off her friend's enthusiasm before
they got too far off track. "I've made quite a few costumes that would have
been impossible with fabric alone. And some customers are so insistent in
their demands, no matter the difficulty." A frown crossed her face as a new
thought occurred to her, "Although it's hardly perfect." Twilight cocked her
head curiously and Rarity continued, "We can only work a little movement
into it, nothing more than walking I would think, and the spell will only last a
few hours."
"That's not a problem Rarity. A few hours is more than long enough to get
him to the library and keep him hidden. Besides, I was thinking we would
disguise him as one of the royal guard ponies. They never seem to talk or
change expression."

Rarity looked impressed. "Brilliant, Twilight! Not only that, but most ponies
won't even approach one of Princess Celestia's guards. I mean, they are
rather intimidating to the average pony."
Applejack, sighed as she trailed behind her friends. I like'em plenty, she
thought, but when they get to talking 'bout something that ain't interesting,
like fashion or magic, I just can't stand it. Not even Twilight's description
that strange fella was worth listenin' to thanks to Rarity always butting in
with questions about his colors or measurements. And the way she goes
on about them fabrics; it's enough to drive a decent pony 'round the bend.
To make matters worse it was mid-afternoon and she still hadn't found
Pinkie Pie. It looked like she'd just have to wait until another day to work on
those recipes.
They were about twenty minutes from Fluttershy's house when it
happened. All thoughts of secrets, magic and fashion went out the window
as they watched the incredible inferno rise into the sky. It was frightening
and beautiful, one of the forces of nature manipulated into an awe-inspiring
display. The roar of displaced air reached them on a hot wind as the blaze
climbed higher and higher. All three ponies were mesmerized by the sight.
After a moment more, the flames died out, leaving the horizon as empty as
it had been only a minute earlier.
"My goodness," Rarity said, "Was that a dragon? Oh I'd hate to deal with
one of those right now, what with everything else on out plates."
"I dunno, Rarity." Applejack considered, "That didn't look like dragon fire to
me, there's no smoke or bellowin' or nothing. What do you think Twilight?"
Applejack noticed her friend's expression and fell back a step. "Twilight, are
you ok?"
Twilight was not ok. She seethed with anger and just barely kept herself
from bursting into flames more impressive than those they'd just seen.
Twilight gritted her teeth and ground out "If it's who I think it is, he's in big
trouble!"
…..
I was in big trouble.

I eyed my opponent carefully. She was crafty and skilled, but I had the
advantage this time. I considered my first move; it would decide the entire
battle. She waited for me, a smile on her face and absolute confidence in
her eyes. I made my decision and struck. She responded almost instantly,
and then in only a few movements it was all over. I had lost.
"Whoo-hoo!" Pinkie cheered, "Tic-Tac-Toe three in a row! Do you want to
play again?" I sighed, that was the seventh game in a row I'd lost. It didn't
even matter whether I went first or not, she was unbeatable.
"You know," Rainbow said, watching with amusement from the chair she
lounged on "You're not going to beat her. Nopony can."
I made a shooing motion while studying the last game. "Quiet you. I don't
have time for your facts." Maybe if I tried, to entrap her there. That might
work. "Ok, I'll play again, your turn to go first." I drew a new square on the
page of my small notebook and she studied it. A minute later the corpse of
my pride took another kick. I sighed, and glanced out the window.
Fluttershy was still calming all of her animals after the fright my
pyrotechnics had produced.
"C'mon," Rainbow complained, "Enough of this, I want to show you my
stuff. I mean what you do is cool but my tricks are the coolest in Equestria."
She stood up stretching her wings with a proud look. "With these babies, I
can even do a Sonic Rainboom. I bet you've never seen one of those."
A what? "Given that I've never even heard of it, you're probably right." She
stared at me with disbelief. "Oh come on! I'm from another world,
and that's what surprises you? I know what a sonic boom is but you
couldn't mean that."
She smirked, "Oh, it's better than that. A Sonic Rainboom is a when a
pegasus goes so fast she breaks the sound barrier and makes a rainbow at
the same time. Everypony thought it was just an old mare's tale until I did it,
not once but twice. But I am the fastest flier in all of Equestria." She
finished with a smug look.
"Slight problem with that claim," I offered, "it's impossible. I mean multiple
layers of impossible, not just the normal impossible that somebody can
actually do."

"Why not?" Pinkie said. She had walked over to us and I noticed, with no
little amount of surprise, that her head was only slightly lower than mine
and upside down. She was walking on the ceiling. My mind boggled, but
she was still talking. "I usually do six impossible things before breakfast."
She giggled at my dumbfounded expression, and even Rainbow was
staring.
"How are you doing that?" I asked slowly, wondering if I had finally
snapped.
"What do you mean?" Pinkie asked, far too innocently to be believed. I took
a closer look and noticed something odd about her hooves. They had
something strapped to them.
Oh, ok. She's just wearing suction cups, not blatantly disobeying gravity, I
realized. Hang on. That just raises more questions! Where did she get the
suction cups? How did she get them on without Rainbow or me noticing?
And how the hell did she get on the ceiling with them!
Rainbow just shook her head, "Pinkie, you are so random."
"I know." Pinkie chirped. She started clapping her front hooves together,
but apparently two suction cups weren't enough to support her. They let go
of the ceiling with enormous pops. I just barely caught her, and almost face
planted. Rainbow started laughing which set Pinkie off giggling again. I
rolled my eyes at them, but my goofy grin wasn't much better.
"So anyway," Rainbow wiped tears out of her eyes and brought things back
on topic. "You'll be even more amazed when I show you the Sonic
Rainboom. I need a few minutes to warm up but trust me; it'll knock your
socks off!"
I shook my head, "If it's as impressive as you say then you definitely can't
do it. Twilight said not to attract any attention. My little 'raging inferno'
probably already made her-"
"Mister Dresden!" Twilight yelled, slamming the door open.
"Angry." I finished somewhat lamely. Twilight stomped into the room glaring
daggers, followed by Fluttershy and a new pair of ponies. It was the orange
cowpony and the white unicorn I'd seen in the Soulgaze. I only got a glance

at them before my attention was drawn back to the small purple mage. She
was not a happy pony. She stopped only a foot away and glared at me until
I had to avert my eyes.
"Perhaps I wasn't perfectly precise in what I preferred, but please point out
precisely how playing with such profoundly prominent pyromancy could
possibly be perceived as preserving a low profile, you preposterous
practitioner!" She wasn't shouting, but she didn't have to. Everyone else in
the room was dead quiet as she spoke. "Now puzzled ponies may propose
to pursue the producer of such potent prestidigitation. Ponder, then, the
panic a pugnacious primate with prodigious preternatural powers might
provoke among the peaceful populace! Plus, that performance placed my
precious pals in personal peril. What would you plead if Pinkie Pie or our
pair of pegasi were put in pain by your pin-head production?"
Hell's bells. I was being chewed out in alliteration. I couldn't tell if the whole
thing was frightening or just plain adorable. Twilight stopped talking and
stared at me. My thoughts must have been plain to see, because her eyes
narrowed until they were tiny slits of glowing purple. The scowl she was
giving me bordered on the epic, and I suddenly had no trouble deciding
whether or not it was frightening.
Her voice grew softer but it was still furious, "Can you at least tell me why
you did something so monumentally stupid?"
This was my chance to turn things around. I just had to calm her down and
explain myself in a simple and clear manner that didn't blame Pinkie or
Fluttershy. I was thinking of something clever, yet soothing, when my
mouth, which frequently operates without permission from my brain,
decided to open up
"Well, Miss Pinkie wanted to toast marshmallows, and things just got out of
hand." The room remained absolutely silent for a long moment. All of the
ponies' expressions had frozen. Oh Hell. This is not going to end well. Then
Pinkie started giggling which made Rainbow laugh, and the sight of those
two made the two new ponies chuckle. Fluttershy giggled softly, and even
Twilight was fighting a smile. I breathed a sigh of relief as her temper
cooled and her glare died down.

"I am sorry about that," I said, "I was practicing some of my spells and I
used way more power than I'd meant to. This place has a lot more magic
than my world."
Twilight took a moment to think it over and let out a long breath between
her teeth. "I guess it's all right. I was worried about my friends more than
anything, but since they're fine, no real harm was done. Luckily, it seems
like nopony else saw you outside, so at least we don't have to worry about
that. The real trouble will be explaining the fire, but we can deal with that
later. Rarity is going to make a disguise for you, and then we'll hide you in
the library until Princess Celestia arrives. She'll know how to get you
home." She turned to leave but stopped and looked back, some of her
earlier scowl returning. "But no more magic from you, agreed?"
I didn't like it, but I could understand her caution given the display I out on. I
held up one hand and my voice became serious as nuclear winter. "I swear
on my power that I won't use magic until you give me permission
otherwise." Twilight nodded with a mixed look of satisfaction and relief. She
understood, then, the power a wizard's word holds. Breaking an oath would
cause significant magic backlash, my life would have to be in danger before
it was anywhere near worth it. Besides, if worst came to worst and we were
attacked (as typically happens when I'm involved), I still had my revolver.
Of course, I didn't know if gunpowder even worked in this dimension, but
testing it didn't seem prudent right now.
"Thank you. Rarity is going to start on your disguise, so she'll need your
measurements. In the meantime, I'm going to study up on some illusion
magic to help her finish it." I nodded and Twilight turned to her friends, "I'm
afraid we may be here a while. Fluttershy, could you and Pinkie Pie work
on dinner?"
"No problem, Twilight," Fluttershy said, even as Pinkie piped up, "Okie
dokie lokie!"
"Well, finally I can get to business," The white unicorn said, examining me
carefully. Most of the other ponies drifted away. Twilight went upstairs
several books in hand (or in hoof, maybe), Fluttershy and Pinkie moved
into the kitchen and Rainbow stretched out on the couch and started
snoring. The orange pony in the hat though stayed right in the room with
clear intention of keeping an eye on me. That didn't bother me much, I was

no stranger to paranoia, or as it was called among the supernatural,
"common sense". But the unicorn cleared her throat and I gave her my
attention.
"Hello, my good gentlecolt, I am Rarity. It's a pleasure to meet you." She
offered me her hoof. I was surprised, but I could be a gentleman when
need be. I bowed as low as I could and took her hoof gently in one hand.
"And it is an honor to meet you, Lady Rarity. I am the wizard Harry
Dresden." Don't be so surprised. Old world manners are still in vogue in the
supernatural world due to its number of immortal denizens. Once you've
seen a few centuries, old habits become hard to break.
She smiled appreciatively, "Well! Twilight never mentioned how polite you
were; it's nice to see that somepony around here has manners." Her eyes
cut briefly at the orange pony, who was rolling her eyes at my display. The
cowpony stuck out her hoof more assertively than her friend.
"And I'm Applejack. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Dresden." I shook her hoof
firmly. It made sense in a bizarre way given her hat, but I had to wonder.
How did a pony get a Southern accent? Beyond that that though, there was
something odd about all of these introductions. I couldn't put my finger on it
but something was definitely off.
"Could you take your coat off please? I need to get your measurements."
Rarity said examining my duster. I took it off, revealing my t-shirt and jeans
but all of her interest was in my coat. "I've never seen a fabric like this. It's
supple, yet strong and stylish. What is it?"
"It's leather." I said without thinking, and then realized that I could not tell
her it was dead animal skin. Not when she was half-wearing it to get a
better feel for the material. She put it down with obvious reluctance and
levitated a tape measure towards me.
"I've never heard of such a fabric. Where does it come from?"
She started measuring me as I tried to think up a fast explanation. "It's uh…
from a plant on Earth. I don't think you have it here."
"Really? It doesn't look woven, I can't make out any threads. Is it felted?"

"You're right," I said sweating bullets, "It's not woven. The plant has these,
uhh … huge leaves that we turn into leather." I'm terrible at lying, but it
looked like Rarity believed me. I guess she's willing to take otherdimensional
weirdness at face value. Unfortunately, Applejack seemed to
see right through it.
"Horse apples." Applejack said, "What's it really made of?"
Rarity was scandalized. "Applejack! Don't be rude to our guest." She turned
to me with an apologetic smile, "I'm so sorry for her behavior. She
really was raised in a barn."
"I was not either, but even if I was, that don't change the fact he's lying to
us, Rarity." Applejack said stomping her hooves and glaring at both of us.
Oh, great. She was stubborn too. Rarity just ignored her and starting
digging through her supplies on the other side of the room.
We spent a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, punctuated only by
Rainbow's snores and the soft sounds of Rarity working. I didn't have any
good ideas on how to deal with Applejack, but I could least try to convince
her I wasn't the bad guy. I plunked down next to her and said as softly as I
could, "Sorry for lying, but trust me. You don't want to go down this road."
She seemed startled that I'd admit to it, but she whispered back. "If you
want yourself some trust, then pony up and tell me what it's really made
from."
I wanted to sigh. "Believe me, you don't want this answer."
She hissed angrily, "I want the truth!"
A wiseass like me could not ignore a set up like that. I made my voice
gruffer and wished briefly I could shout it like Nicholson.
"You can't handle the truth!"
"I can handle whatever you got to say!" She shot back.
No respect. I give them comedic gold and get nothing. But jokes aside, I did
need to address the problem at hand. "Ok, fine." I said, "But promise not to

tell any of the other ponies." She looked surprised, but I crossed my arms
and did my best to act stern. "It's that or no deal at all."
She checked on the other ponies while she thought it over. Rarity was busy
sketching designs and murmuring to herself. There were some odd noises
and a few giggles coming from the kitchen, and Rainbow was still snoozing
on the sofa.
"Deal." She said, "Now spit it out."
"Well, Twilight mentioned that humans are omnivores right?" She nodded
and I continued, "So, there's a tradition when an animal is killed for food.
You use every part of the animal. Once you took its life, it's your
responsibility that none of that sacrifice is wasted. So, we make clothes
from their skins. Leather is the treated skins of hunted animals." It was a
stretch, but for some cultures it was true. Besides, I wanted to soften the
blow, and keep humans from sounding like Hannibal Lecter. Applejack just
stared at me as the truth sunk in. Then she just sat, her hind legs giving
out, an expression of pure shock washing across her face. She looked with
wide eyes at the duster and seemed close losing her lunch. She gagged,
but started breathing deeply and just barely kept it under control. I tried to
catch her eye, but she pointedly ignored me. A long, uncomfortable silence
stretched between us.
She looked uneasily at her friend, still wrapped up in her work. "I suppose
that makes sense, but that means Rarity was admirin' pieces of dead
animal?" She shuddered at the thought.
I nodded, "You see why I didn't want to tell you?" She nodded
uncomfortably, "You will keep your promise won't you?"
She sighed, "I s'pose so."
Relief flooded me. I don't know if Rarity would have taken that news as well
as Applejack did. Maybe she would have, but I didn't want to risk finding
out. I watched as Rarity continued working. She was levitating some
material without any apparent effort and with more subtlety than just about
any wizard I'd seen. She'd used as much skill with the tape measure now
that I thought about it, but I'd been distracted at the moment.
"So Rarity can use magic too?" I asked.

Applejack looked at me like I was an idiot, though she seemed more than
willing to change the subject. "Well, o' course she can. She's a unicorn,
ain't she?"
I thought that over, "So about what fraction of the population do unicorns
make up?"
Applejack frowned, "Is that a fancy way of asking how many we got?" I
nodded tersely and she shrugged. "About the same as pegasi or earth
ponies."
"Wait a minute." I was staggered, "A full third of the population is capable of
magic?"
"Sure thing, sugarcube." She chuckled at my expression, "I'm bettin' it don't
work the same way in your world." I slowly shook my head. No wonder
magic was so open here. I'd suspected the pegasi were inherently magical
given their flying abilities, but a population that supported so many
practitioners? That was a shock.
My voice was soft when I finally spoke. "The power to be a true wizard,
someone like me, is literally one in a million and I would be amazed if even
minor talents were more than one in a thousand. Magic-capable humans
are far and few between."
Her smile faded to a soft frown. "That sounds mighty lonely." She didn't say
much but her empathetic eyes did. She was good at reading between the
lines and was more right then she knew. My powers separated me from
most of humanity. After all, there's no such thing as magic, right? When
people see me advertize as a wizard, at best they think I'm a harmless
nutcase, at worst a petty conman. It was even worse with people who knew
the truth. My reputation isn't pretty, but then, neither are most of the things
I've done to earn it.
Not that I'm completely alone, I thought, before I started wearing eye
shadow and writing whiny poetry. There's Murphy, Michael, Billy and the
rest of the Alphas. They were true friends, people that I would take a bullet
for. Thinking of them, brought a smile back, "It's all right," I told Applejack.
"I've got friends too. Not a lot, but I've always been a quality over quantity
kinda guy."

Applejack chuckled a couple times and glanced fondly at the two ponies in
the room, "I know what you mean there."
Rarity cleared her throat delicately and waited for our attention. "It's lovely
that you two are getting along, but I'm afraid I need to steal Mr. Dresden
away for his fitting." She levitated her finished product, a gray cloak, onto
my shoulders. I didn't whether to laugh or curse.
The damned thing looked just like a warden's cloak. I'd never been on the
best of terms with the police of the White Council, and wearing their
uniform felt like sewing a swastika onto my coat. On the other hand though,
wouldn't it be great if that paranoid bastard, Morgan, could see me in
it? Inwardly, I grinned like a wolf. Sure, he would kill me right after, but the
shock and horror on his old face would almost be worth it. If I was lucky,
the surprise would be enough to give the cranky zealot a heart attack.
My poker face must not have been very good, because my expression
caught Rarity's attention. "Oh, darling, do you not like it? I know it's
dreadfully plain but nopony will see it anyway, so don't you worry." She laid
a consoling hoof on my knee, about the highest she could easily reach.
"No, no, it's very nice," I assured her, "I was just thinking about something
else." Rarity daintily arched an eyebrow but seemed willing to let it go.
"Fine. Now, if you would, pull the rest of the cloak on and walk across the
room. I need to be sure you're completely covered." She laughed softly,
"Nothing like a foot appearing from nowhere to ruin an illusion." The cloak
fit so well, I could hardly believe I was the first human she had ever made
clothing for. The heavy hood came down just far enough that I could see a
few feet away, but when I looked in the mirror my face was still hidden in
shadow. The bottom of the cloak was large enough for even my huge feet.
Not that I could actually see them; the hem went almost to the ground,
floating only an inch above the floor.
Rarity watched critically, murmuring to herself. She shook her head angrily
as I walked back. "No, no, no. I need to adjust those shoulders, and put
two, no, three clasps on it. And that hood hangs too far forward. Goodness,
Rarity, you can do better."

I glanced down at the cloak. It seemed fine to me, but then again, I
understand fashion about as well as I do women. "I don't know how you
could've done better."
"Thank you," she replied with a demure smile, "but a true fashionista can
always improve. I am afraid I'll have to ask you to keep the cloak on while
I'm fitting it. I need to see how it hangs while I work." She pulled over a
step-ladder and I did my best impersonation of a mannequin.
"Almost done," Rarity said, after a few minutes of prodding and adjusting.
"Soon you'll be fit for even the finest dining establishment in Fillydelphia!" I
just stared at her. She blushed a little, "Well, perhaps that is an
exaggeration, but you will look fabulous once we cast the illusion spell."
I shook my head. "No, that wasn't it—you actually have a city
called Fillydelphia?"
"Well, yes. It's not a large city, only about as big as Stalliongrad. Why, does
it seem odd?"
Odd is such a mild word. Odd is wearing plaid socks with sandals. Odd is
naming your child Cornelius. This was not odd. This walked the teetering
edge of madness. "No, it's perfectly normal for an alternate dimension
populated by talking ponies to have cities with pony-themed pun names
based on city names from my world. I'm almost afraid to ask what the
capital's called."
"What? You mean where Princess Celestia lives?" Apple jack sounded
defensive. "Well, that's Canterlot o' course. Are you gonna tell me that's a
pun from your world too?" A small part of my mind wondered if I should
tone down my reaction, but the rest of me was too busy groaning at
'Canterlot' to notice.
"Yep, an especially bad one. Let me guess, there's also huge city full of
socialites and high culture called Neigh York?"
Rarity seemed surprised at the suggestion. "Why, no. There isn't any city
with a name even remotely similar."
Okay, maybe I'm overreacting. Coincidences happen, right? I almost had
myself convinced when Applejack spoke up.

"Sure sounds a lot like Manehattan, though." My left eye started to twitch.
"I rather thought he was referring to Prairis, myself," Rarity replied.
The lack of a punchline threw me. What? I thought. How is that a pony
pun? Well, ask and ye shall receive.
"Ah, someday I hope to visit 'gay Prairie' myself! The society, the
fashion…" The unicorn continued, but I couldn't hear her over the gibbering
in my head.
I was wrong, I realized, this isn't a Disney movie. It's a Piers Anthony
novel. I just couldn't help it anymore, I started laughing. It was one of those
deep belly laughs. You know, where you keep on laughing, and everything
seems funny. Rarity and Applejack stared at me like I was crazy, but that
just made me laugh harder. I didn't stop until I was out of breath, but
somehow the laughter continued, just more bubbly and higher pitched.
For an instant, wondered where the laughter was coming from, but then I
recognized that laugh. Pinkie Pie had left the kitchen and was rolling on the
floor laughing with me. Even though I'd already stopped. Applejack just
rolled her eyes and stepped around Pinkie to tug on my sleeve. "C'mon, if
you're done foolin' around, Twilight and Rarity gotta get working on the
magic bit of the cloak."
I pulled myself back together. "Right, the illusion spell." She was still
laughing, and didn't show any signs of stopping. Didn't she need to breathe
at some point? "Uh, is she … all right?"
Rarity was quick to reassure me. "Oh, don't worry about her, Mr. Dresden.
Pinkie Pie is just, um… well…"
"Bein' Pinkie Pie." Applejack retorted. "She'll be fine." We headed for the
stairs and I got painfully reacquainted with the ceiling. The downstairs was
plenty roomy, but the stairwell and the rooms upstairs were a lot shorter. At
least this time I wasn't trying to carry a tea tray while struggling through
rooms made for someone half my size.
The sight I was greeted with made the trip worth it. Twilight was curled up
with a pillow and blanket while she read. The book was open on the floor in
front of her and she was enraptured by it. There is no other word to

describe the look of tranquility and sheer joy she had as she read. She
didn't even glance up as we entered. She just flipped a page with one hoof
and blew an errant lock of hair out of her face. I'm a reader myself, and the
tableau before me was freaking adorable. I wish I'd had a camera.
Rarity coughed delicately, "Ahem."
No reaction.
"Twilight?"
She flipped another page.
"I do hate to disturb your reading, but we do have some work to do."
Silence. I was impressed. I wish I could ignore people who interrupted my
reading that well.
"Oh, fer goodness' sake! Twilight! It's time for to take your nose outta the
book and make with the magic!" Applejack yelled, more exasperated than
angry.
Twilight lifted her head and blinked in confusion, seeming to notice us for
the first time. "Oh, sorry. I just got to this absolutely fascinating chapter on
the underlying principles of the manipulation of the visible spectrum used in
illusion magic."
"That's wonderful, darling," Rarity said hesitantly, "but did you get to the
chapter on enchanted objects? That is what we need after all."
"Of course, I've already studied it thoroughly. I just started reading through
the rest of the book to get more background in the field." Twilight beamed
and nodded confidently. "Now, I assume you'll create the framework, given
you have more experience and a better mind for details, and I will supply
the power and affix it to the target item. That would be the best way, don't
you think?"
For moment Rarity was speechless, and I had to hide a chuckle with a
cough. The look on her face was pretty damn entertaining, but she found
her voice quickly enough. "Yes, that does sound ideal, but I must ask. Are
you sure you haven't done this before?"

Twilight giggled a little and shook her head. "I am a quick study, but the
real test will be doing it, not knowing the theory. Let's get started." Her
attention turned on me, and she became a bit more formal. "Mr. Dresden,
would you put the cloak on the bed? You might accidently disrupt the spell
if you were wearing it."
"No argument here. I don't want to wear anything you two are slinging
magic at. That's a good way to end up with an odd number of eyes."
Twilight looked a little horrified by the thought, but I chuckled. Then I got a
front row seat to some other-dimensional magic.
I extended my senses to their utmost, doing everything short of opening my
Sight to watch. I saw immediate differences in the way we used magic.
They didn't use any words or props, even for a major spell like this. Nothing
but their minds shaped the spell, and nothing but their horns focused it. I
could feel their power as they worked and I gained a new respect for
Twilight. She wasn't as powerful as me, but she had some serious skill, if
she could really translate theory to practicality that easily. Give her some
experience and a reason and she'd be more than a match for most wizards
of the White Council. Rarity wasn't too shabby either. She was holding the
whole thing within her mind; her horn softly glowing as Twilight poured
more and more power into the construct. With an enormous surge of
magic, Twilight's horn suddenly went from sunny day to supernova. It felt
like my eyes had been obliterated by a wall of solid light, and only the fact I
was speechless kept me from cursing. The light faded as quickly as it had
appeared, but my sight was slower to return. When I could eventually see
again, everything looked unchanged except the conversion of two unicorns
from energized to exhausted and one cowpony from focused to blurry
eyed. The cloak looked the same, but when I touched it, I could feel the
magic that hummed steadily through the cloth.
Twilight shook her head trying to clear the dazed expression off her face
"Go ahead and put it on, Mr. Dresden. Rarity and I need a moment to
recover, but we'll be fine."
I cocked an eyebrow. "You sure?" They both nodded, so I shrugged and
put on the cloak. It still fit just as perfectly. I made sure the clasps were
fastened and turned look at myself in the mirror, wondering how I would
appear. I looked like a very tall man completely shrouded in a grey cloak.
Fantastic. This disguise was foolproof.

"I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I don't think it worked."
Twilight shook her head and trotted over. "It works. I just need to activate it.
Hold still." She pressed her horn into the side of the cloak, and it softly
pulsed with light. I didn't feel any different, but before I could add some of
my sparkling wit to the problem, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I
gave a low whistle, one that seemed distinctly out of place given that my
illusion didn't move his lips.
I was now a solidly built pony, with a white coat and blue mane and tail. I
stood taller than all of the other ponies, four maybe four-and-a-half, foot,
and I wearing what looked like golden centurion armor modified for an
equine body. The helmet even had one of those ridiculous crests. I turned,
and the illusion moved with me, even moving its hooves to match my
motions.
Color me impressed. They were both better at the subtle magic of illusion
than I'll ever be. I'm the mystical equivalent of a brawny thug, while they
were definitely artists- or maybe fencers, to continue the warrior metaphor.
"Well, if you're done admirin' yourself the mirror, I think dinner is just 'bout
ready." Applejack gestured downstairs where I could faintly hear Fluttershy
calling for us.
"Dinnertime, everypony." I found myself suddenly hungry. It had been a
long time since lunch.
….
I followed Twilight down the winding road back to Ponyville, patting my
stomach and sighing contentedly. (Really, Ponyville? I didn't live in a place
called Humantown. Oh, well… at least it wasn't another pun.) The sun had
set just a little while ago and the moon was peeking above the horizon. A
chill wind whispered through the trees, but I had on both my duster and
cloak. It seemed to be a perfectly beautiful evening, or would be if I didn't
feel like I was being watched.
When you've been a detective as long as I have, you get a sense of when
you're being followed. I wondered which pony it was. Fluttershy or Rarity I
think I could rule out, but Applejack or Rainbow wouldn't surprise me.

Pinkie was a wild card, so I couldn't count her out either. Whatever. It
wasn't going to bother me.
Dinner had been delicious. The hot vegetable soup and fresh baked bread
were excellent, but the dessert was to die for. I suspected Pinkie knew a
little magic too, given how addictively tasty those apple turnovers were. But
I'd enjoyed the company even more than the food. Normally I eat alone,
and I had forgotten how nice a home-cooked meal with friends could be.
I'd gotten to show off how useful hands could be, when eating.
Unfortunately, Rainbow took that as a challenge and spilled her whole bowl
trying to copy me. We had all gotten a laugh out of that. Well, everybody
except Rainbow, but she was the one covered in soup. Despite being
trapped in another dimension, I was happier than I'd been in a long time.
"So, where are headed?"
"Shhh!" Twilight hissed, "You aren't supposed to talk, remember?" Her
eyes darted back and forth across the meadow, looking for eavesdroppers.
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms underneath the cloak. I know she
couldn't see it, but some things are just required. "Yeah, your friends who
already know might hear us. Or maybe it's those crickets; they sound real
dangerous."
Twilight turned and stared my illusion in the eyes. Then she remembered
and adjusted her eyes upwards. Her scowl was set on stun but she aimed it
about six inches too low. "Can't you be quiet?"
"Probably not. We could just pretend I'm practicing my ventriloquism.
Would that work?"
She sighed and turned back towards Ponyville. "You are the most
infuriating human I have ever met."
"Well, I am the only human you've ever met." I pointed out. "To be fair, I'm
pretty darn infuriating to other humans too. That's one of my many charms."
She chuckled at little. "If you don't want me to talk, why don't you talk
instead?"

She flushed a little and got flustered. "Talk? Well, I mean, what would I talk
about?"
I shrugged. "Well, I've met all of your friends except for the dragon and the
alicorn. Why not talk about them?"
"What! How could you-" She fell silent for a short moment. "Right, the
Soulgaze. I'm not going to get used to that anytime soon."
Way to be a dick, Harry. I thought. "Sorry again." A long moment of silence.
"Um.. do you want to talk about it?"
She still wasn't talking, and I was just bright enough not to ask again. After
another minute without talking she finally spoke. "No, thank you. It might be
a little stupid, but I don't want to know." She paused to think. "It's strange,
this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to know the truth, but I'm afraid of what
that mirror will show." She stared at the night sky, with an expression of
troubled melancholy. It was a poignant, dramatic moment.
I really couldn't help ruining it.
"Heh heh heh heh, w-wait. What? Seriously?" I tried to speak through the
laughter.
Twilight was not amused. She spun like she'd been stung and put her face
right into mine. Well, my illusion's anyway. "What about that is so funny?"
she demanded.
I managed to get my laughter under control, but it was still pretty funny.
"You. You're afraid to know yourself even though your soul is one of the
most wholesome and beautiful things I've ever seen."
She blushed and quickly backtracked, "W-what? I don't know what you
mean."
"C'mon. You have to have figured out by now that I come from a pretty
rough place." She nodded slowly, and I took a deep breath enjoying the
night air. "I've seen a lot of things both good and bad. I've seen the souls of
the kind and the cruel, and yours has more integrity than any of
them." Except Michael, maybe. "You are intelligent, driven, kind and you

love your friends more than anything else in the world. Kid, you can't go far
wrong with a heart like that."
She got teary-eyed but quickly turned to keep me from seeing. She started
walking again, and when she spoke, it was in a much softer voice. "You're
a lot nicer than I thought you'd be, Mr. Dresden. Thank you."
I smiled. "That's the thing about us humans. We're not just nice or mean;
that's easy to work with. No, we're difficult because we're just so damned
inconsistent." She chuckled a little and I joined her. I'd like to think that's
how rest of the trip would have gone, a companionable silence during a
walk through a beautiful night, but fate had other plans in mind.
There was a sudden spike of magical energy, and suddenly I couldn't feel
anyone watching me anymore. I turned in the direction I'd felt it came from.
"Did you sense that?" I hissed, watching the meadow carefully. There's
wasn't a lot of cover, but the shadows were thick and hiding would have
been easy.
"Yes, it felt like somepony just teleported away. But who?"
"I don't know. I knew somebody was following us, but I didn't see them."
Twilight stared at me. "Somepony was following us? When were you going
to tell me?"
I shrugged again, then remembered she couldn't see it. "I thought it was
one of your friends keeping an eye on me. Can Rarity teleport?" She shook
her head. "Well now that leaves us with one hell of a mystery." She had
recognized the magic, meaning it must be another unicorn. One that
wanted to know what we were doing, but wasn't afraid to let us know we
were being watched. I felt a grin coming on. This required a very special
reference.
"Come, Twilight! The game is a-hoof!"
"What!"

Chapter 5
The Great and Powerful Trixie was not happy. The silver-blue light of the
thin crescent moon made the cool air seem even colder, but the chill wasn't
what bothered her. No, she had been on top of the world as she crept
carefully past Ponyville, sneaking towards her new base of operations deep
in the Everfree Forest. Everything had gone exactly according to plan, and
she hadn't heard any alarm since she strode unimpeded straight through
the main gates of Canterlot itself. This scheme had been a stroke of
genius. Not that any of her other ideas were anything less than brilliant, but
this one had been especially good. She had crafted the plan perfectly and
struck once both Princesses were gone on their little getaway. The foalish
guards hadn't even noticed anything had been stolen and Trixie intended
that it stay that way for as long as possible. She had even resisted
teleporting, despite her pride in finally mastering the difficult skill, uncertain
what effect the magic would have on her newly acquired artifacts.
Her bad mood stemmed from what she saw as she neared the edge of the
brooding forest. She glowered at the tiny cottage on the edge of town, the
home of that timid little pegasus that hung around with her most hated
enemy. There was some sort of gathering inside and Trixie just knew
that she would be there, Twilight Sparkle. Trixie had never loathed a pony
as much as that show-stealing little twit. She'd had the gall to upstage
Trixie during the biggest opportunity she'd ever had, a battle with the
dreaded Ursa Minor. Trixie could have easily won, had Twilight not
intervened and stolen all her glory.
Trixie grimaced at the memory. Life on the road had been hard ever since
ponies started spreading stories about that night. They called Trixie a twobit
charlatan and booed her off every stage she tried. She'd come close to
hanging up her hat and cape, but pride kept her going. Her frown twisted
into a skull's grin; now she had a plan for revenge, not just on Twilight
Sparkle and her friends, but on all of the cruel villages that had mistreated
her. She turned away, eager to finish her preparations. Let them have their
parties; the Great and Powerful Trixie's time would come. But the door
suddenly swung open, and she had to dive into a bush to avoid being seen.
She glared daggers at the carefree ponies forcing her to hide like some
common thief. Then she saw her, the mare that was to blame for all of her

troubles. Twilight Sparkle looked upset. Good; she deserved it and worse,
but what Trixie saw next froze the blood in her veins. Twilight was
accompanied by a member of the Royal guard. He looked much like any
other guard, unremarkable and fixed in expression, but his mere presence
indicated that something was clearly amiss.
How! Trixie screamed mentally, how could they know where I was
headed? She was frantic, almost hyperventilating, but a little voice in the
back of her head suggested she study the situation more carefully. There
was only one guard, and none of the ponies seemed to be aware of her as
they made their goodbyes. Trixie thought carefully. Somepony must have
discovered the theft and sent a guard to recruit the Princess's precious
protégé to help. Twilight may have been an annoying upstart, but Trixie
couldn't deny that her abilities might make it difficult to evade capture. She
watched her enemies intently. The other ponies left, each headed to her
own home, leaving Twilight and the guard alone. Trixie followed them as
stealthily as she could, sneaking from patch to patch of cover. She was too
far away to see them clearly, but neither pony made an effort to conceal
themselves.
Twilight and her escort talked as they hiked back to Ponyville. Trixie wasn't
close enough to hear what was being said, but she could tell from her tone
of voice that Twilight was angry with the guard. Not that it mattered; the
continued sight of her most hated rival had slowly kindled a fire in her. A
new thought unfolded in her mind. She would make a dramatic entrance,
quickly incapacitating the foalish sentry, and deliver her challenge to
Twilight. They would duel using magic both deadly and clever, and Trixie
would prove herself superior. Finally, all of Equestria would have to
acknowledge her as the greatest magician in the land.
The quiet voice in her mind whispered again, cooling her temper and giving
more suggestions. Hints and possibilities swirled like mist in her mind,
coalescing into a solid strategy. She would wait; her mission wasn't over
yet and she couldn't afford even the slightest risk given what she had
taken. Subtlety was the most important thing for now; grand entrances and
flashy magic would have to wait until later. However, Twilight needed to be
cut off from the Princesses and contained. Luckily, Trixie had been
studying everything she could about Twilight Sparkle and her friends. She
knew the perfect weakness to exploit. She stopped watching the odd pair in
the distance and concentrated. Her teleportation had improved remarkably

under her most recent teacher, and she would simply have to take the risk
to her precious cargo. As the magic flowed through her, shifting her
elsewhere, her face twisted into an expression that could only technically
be defined as a smile. It combined all the warmth of a shark's bloodthirsty
grin with the mercy of a slaughterhouse, and it blazed with the satisfaction
of vengeance close at hoof.
…
Spike waited impatiently by the library's top-floor window. Twilight had
promised she'd be back in a few hours, but it was already night, and he
was getting sleepy. He sighed as he glanced over his handiwork. The
library was squeaky clean. He'd started cleaning once his regular chores
were done, but he'd finished that more than an hour ago and had nothing
else to do. Owlowiscious had gone off to hunt, leaving Spike bored and
alone. He'd tried to read one of his favorite sci-fi stories to pass the time,
but he just couldn't focus on it. Fictional space creatures couldn't compete
with the thought of a real one so close at hand.
I wonder what the alien looks like? Twilight said he was tall. Does he have
a raygun? That would be so cool! Spike lost himself in daydreams of flying
in an awesome spaceship with their new extra-esquestrial friend. So much
so, that he didn't even notice the pony in the yard until she coughed
delicately. He jumped, startled, and was helplessly drawn to a pair of
exceedingly beautiful, deep blue eyes.
"Rarity?" He cried, his voice cracking slightly. He glanced around
nervously, he didn't see anypony else, but there was no sense taking
chances. "I thought you were with Twilight and the others. You know, about
our new friend."
"I know, but I left early. There is something I wanted to … confess to you."
She shuffled her hooves nervously and blushed. Spike's heart almost
stopped. He quickly pinched himself to be sure he wasn't dreaming. It hurt.
This was actually happening. Rarity stared at him, with a hopeful smile.
"Would you come down here? A lady doesn't yell her feelings to the world."
She blushed again, deeper this time.
"Of course!" Spike nearly tripped over his own tail in his hurry to get down
the stairs and outside the library. A quick thought made him pause before
he opened the door. He grabbed a flower from a nearby vase and tried to

slick his spines back. He took a second to compose himself and then
opened the door. Rarity was only a few feet away. She looked absolutely
stunning, her pale seeming to glow in the faint moonlight. It took every
ounce to willpower Spike possessed to keep himself from drooling as she
turned those mesmerizing eyes on him.
He held out the flower and gave a small bow. "For you, milady"
Rarity laughed softly, "Oh, you are quite the gentlecolt, aren't you, Spike?"
He blushed but didn't look away. She gazed lovingly at the flower and
levitated it behind one ear.
"Come closer, Spike," she said. "I have something important to tell you."
Spike's heart thumped in his chest as he leaned closer. She was so very
beautiful; he was the luckiest dragon in the world right now. She bent her
head until her mouth was next to his ear and paused for a long moment. He
could feel her breath on the back of his neck as she began to speak.
"You are a hopeless dolt."
Spike didn't even have time to react before the sleep spell she had been
holding took effect. He sank bonelessly to the ground, unconscious before
he even hit the dirt. Rarity gave a small, arrogant laugh, and levitated him
through the open door. She followed, and once inside, let the illusion drop.
The Great and Powerful Trixie smirked at her motionless prey. He was fast
asleep, and would be for several more hours. She took the flower out from
behind her ear and causally crushed it underhoof. This was the method the
voice had suggested to contain and control Twilight. Her dragon assistant
not only magically teleported her letters to Princess Celestia, but was also
the closest thing she had to a little brother.
Even Trixie had to admit that subtlety wasn't her strong suit. Normally,
she'd have forced her way into the library and taken Spike by sheer
magical might alone. But such a strategy would attract unwanted attention.
She still needed time to complete her mission. At that thought she
anxiously checked her saddlebags. The precious contents were all there
without a scratch on them. That was a relief. She returned to her mental
gloating, wishing fervently for an audience other than the quiet voice.

Ever since Twilight had shouted Spike's love for Rarity in a dressing room
after one of Photo Finish's shows, it had become a common piece of
gossip. It was inevitable that such an interesting bit of news would come to
Trixie, and she had used it fully to her advantage. Now, there was only one
more thing to do before she left with her new hostage.
The voice urged her to leave now and let Twilight wonder where her
assistant had gone. Trixie usually heeded its quiet council, but his time she
had other plans in mind. She began to pen a quick note, one that would fill
Twilight with despair and further restrict her actions. Trixie would send
another note to bait the trap when she was ready. Until then, let Twilight
worry and fear for her precious friend's safety. The voice reminded her that
its way would give them more time, but she wanted Twilight to suffer. Trixie
finished with a flourish and left the scroll on the desk. She felt a fit of
laughter bubble up as she thought of the anguish it would cause her hated
nemesis.
Laugh manically later, the voice murmured, Escape with the dragonling for
now.
Trixie sighed but dutifully began the spell to teleport herself and her
hostage away. There was a flash of magic, and the library was empty.
…..
"What do you mean, don'tworry about it?" Was she mental?
"I said exactly what I meant." Twilight declared. She turned backed to glare
at me as we walked. "Now be quiet, we're almost to Ponyville." I drew close
to her.
"Fine," I whispered, "But why the hell not? You've got some strange
unicorn, one skilled enough to teleport, following you, and you don't think
it's a problem? In Chicago, that's a good way to get dead in a hurry."
Twilight snorted, "In case you didn't notice, this isn't Chicago. I don't know
who that pony was, but things like murder just don't happen in Equestria.
You said they weren't close to us?"
"No, but-"

"Then we shouldn't have to worry." She interrupted. "If they weren't close,
they couldn't see that your mouth didn't match your speech, so we're fine.
Even if they overheard us, our conversation wouldn't give them any clues
about your true nature. It's not like anypony else knows what a human is.
We stick to the plan, keep you hidden and wait for the Princess. She can
find a safe way back to your home, and everything will go back to normal."
I gritted my teeth in frustration; she wasn't getting it. "Just one more thing
and I'll shut up. What if that pony wasn't following us because of me? Until
they teleported, you had no idea they were even there. Maybe they were
watching you." I paused for dramatic effect. "And maybe this isn't the first
time."
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but shut it quickly. She thought for a
moment more before her eyes narrowed, and she spoke. "You are just a
ray of cheerful sunshine, aren't you?" I suppressed a laugh, and she
sighed, "Just stay quiet." She'd gotten the message, so I complied. Maybe,
our stalker was as harmless as she hoped. But my gut said otherwise, and
I'd learned to trust its opinion. I shouldn't have given Twilight my word not
to use magic. I'd felt safe doing it at the time, but in hindsight it was easily
the dumbest thing I'd done since I had arrived. Well, except the whole
'Cyclone from Hell' thing. That took first place, but this was a damned close
second. I would just have to soldier on until I could get Twilight to release
me from my stupid impulse.
As we entered Ponyville, I tried to keep a careful eye out. Not just for
suspicious ponies (you know your life is weird when you can use that
phrase seriously), but because the town itself was fascinating. Most of the
buildings were built in the old-town Bavarian style, complete with
overhanging upper stories and brightly stained shutters. Most had thatched
roofs, which seemed odd, given that Fluttershy's cottage had actual
shingles. So did a few buildings in town. I wondered briefly if it was a
financial choice or tourist attraction. The latter seemed more likely. All of
the ponies I saw on the street looked prosperous, and the town was so
clean and quaint it practically screamed 'photo op'. There were a few
exceptions to the old school architecture though. We passed more than a
few merchant's tents, and a multistoried meeting hall sat proudly in the
distance. One business was called 'Sugarcube Corner', and just looking at
it made my blood sugar spike. It was a bakery made to look like a
gingerbread house thick with frosting, but the sweets-based architecture

didn't stop there. There were candy cane posts on the porch, and a pair of
stacked cupcakes gave it a second and third floor. It didn't surprise me in
the least to see Pinkie Pie open one of the cupcake's windows and wave
wildly at us. She was leaning way too far out for comfort, but Twilight just
smiled and waved back. I wanted to, but the illusion, unfortunately, only
copied foot movements. If I tried waving one of those I wouldn't just look
foolish, I'd also trip and expose my eldritch ass for all of Ponyville to see.
The ponies matched the scenery for the most part, looking very serene and
picturesque, almost like they belonged in a pastoral landscape. One
painted by a colorblind artist. I'd had one of those giant boxes of crayons as
a kid, but these ponies beat it to hell in terms of color. There were more
shades and combinations than I could count. To make it worse most of
them bordered on cartoonish brightness; my eyes hurt just looking at them.
The street wasn't crowded, but there were plenty of equines out enjoying
the evening. I watched with interest. Applejack had told me true, there
appeared to be at least as many unicorns as pegasi or regular ponies. All
of them seemed to travel mostly in pairs or groups; herd instinct, I
supposed, though there were a few loners. The groups were fairly evenly
mixed in race. There didn't seem to be any hierarchy or caste system. I
nodded approvingly. I doubt humans could have done the same if that
many of us were magical.
Even as I watched them, most of the ponies were eying me as well. They
didn't say anything, but I could tell that having a Royal guard in town was
outside the norm. My illusion served me well while I took a look at
everything. Its head stayed right on course, looking in the direction I was
walking, allowing me to look back at any of the bystanders without them
knowing it. I could get used to that. Most of the stares were curious, some
nervous, but none were suspicious or watchful. I couldn't see any pony
following us, and I didn't feel it either. Whoever our mystery friend was,
they seemed to have taken the rest of the night off.
"Here we are." Twilight said. "Home, sweet home." I stopped watching the
few ponies still in sight and turned to look ahead. As cartoonish as it may
have looked, I had to do a double take. Twilight didn't just live in what
appeared to be library. She lived in a library in a tree. Not a tree house. Not
a house built to look like a tree. It was an actual hollowed-out tree that was
somehow still alive, if the leafy canopy was any clue. Either Equestrian
trees were vastly different from their Terran counterparts, or a lot of time

and magic had gone into making this place. It was an impressive piece of
magic, but the only thing I could think of was how big a fire hazard the
whole thing was. Especially if I was there. Maybe I am something of a
pyromaniac, because I could easily imagine the place going up in flames.
"We're here, Spike!" Twilight called as we entered. "Spike?" Hmm, no
threshold. I couldn't sense even a slight barrier to my passing. Odd, but I
suppose magic doesn't work the same everywhere. Of course, I hadn't
seen anything yet that made one necessary; there weren't any creatures of
the night waiting to strike helpless ponies in their sleep, it seemed. "Spike?"
Twilight's concerned tone brought me back to the present. The little mare
was looking around with an expression of confusion that was starting to
turn into worry.
"Maybe he fell asleep." I yawned, "I know that's what I'm in the mood for." I
had other suspicions, but I dismissed them. This isn't Chicago, I reminded
myself sternly
Twilight nodded. "You're probably right. I'll go get him. He was so excited to
meet you; I don't think he'd forgive me if I just let him sleep." She went
upstairs, but I chose not to follow. The ceiling down here was just barely tall
enough; I didn't want to squeeze up that stairwell if I didn't have to.
I took the time to examine the room. It was a small library, but books lined
the shelves everywhere, with hardly a spare inch left empty. I examined a
few of the books. Some were written in English (though how we shared the
language I couldn't even begin to fathom) but other, mostly older, books
were instead written in a strange series of pictographs. Before I could delve
too deeply into this linguistic mystery, though, I noticed an open scroll, lying
on the room's main desk. Spike, I think that was his name, must have gone
somewhere and left a note.
I picked up the note and read. It was short, but the bottom had dropped out
of my stomach by the time I was done. Maybe my instincts hadn't been
wrong after all. Twilight came back down a moment later shaking her head.
"I couldn't find Spike upstairs, but where could he have gone?"
I offered her the scroll, "You may want to read this."
It read as follows

Hello, Twilight Sparkle. You have probably noticed that your young
assistant is missing. I have taken him and am holding him to ensure you
follow my demands, the most important of which is that you do not attempt
to contact the Princess in any way. I will know if you do so, and Spike will
suffer for it. Second, the Royal guard accompanying you must stay here in
Ponyville and not report to any authority. Third and lastly, keep this a secret
from your friends. Explain it however you want, but they may not know what
has happened. You will wait for my next letter for further instructions. It will
arrive in a few days, and, so long as you have done what I said, Spike will
be returned mostly unharmed. Disobey even one of these commands, and I
will hurt him in ways you cannot even imagine.
Insincerely yours,
The signature was a flourished letter. It was hard to make out, but I think it
was a T. I opened my mouth to say I told you so, but my survival instincts
(weak though they may be) throttled it before a word left my mouth.
I thought she'd been angry before, but that emotion was a guttering candle
compared to the fire she burned with now. Her eyes flashed neon white
and her hair stood on end as she read. When she finished, the letter burst
into flames she began to levitate as she growled in rage. The entire damn
library shook with her fury as she let out a wordless scream.
Ye gods and little fishes. She had more power than I'd thought. Then, just
as quickly as it started, her eyes dimmed, the library stopped shaking and
she fell to the floor in a defeated slump. And if her posture tugged at my
heartstrings, the next words just about tore them out.
"Oh Spike, I-I'm so sorry." She choked back a sob and every protective
instinct I ever had reared its head. A calmer part of my mind considered her
reaction and his size, and drew an unpleasant conclusion.
"Twilight?" She turned toward me, barely lifting her face from her hooves.
"How old is Spike?" She shook, and her eyes filled with tears. She started
crying; not the movie perfect tears that make sadness look beautiful and
noble. In real life, pain and loss are never pretty.
I thought for a moment that she wouldn't answer, but she steeled herself
and managed to stop. Her voice, though, was still shaky. "He's just … just a
baby dragon. I still remember the day he hatched, the day we took him

home." She stopped, and after a moment whispered, "He's my baby
brother."
That tore it. I felt my outrage growing with every word. It didn't matter that
this wasn't my world. It didn't matter that this wasn't my enemy. I was
making it my fight; no one and nothing harms children on my watch. I had
more than a few scars from teaching that to the monsters of Chicago. I
wouldn't mind a few more if it meant spreading the word. I kept the anger
under control, though, keeping it at a low simmer in the back of my mind.
As much as my wrath would help later, Twilight needed something different
right now.
"Normally my retainer is pretty steep, but I think I can make an exception
here." I gave her a wry smile and put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get him
back. I promise you that." She blinked away an unshed tear and locked
eyes with me. I met those eyes without fear. She studied my face, and I
watched as her expressions changed. Sadness, guilt, anger, and suspicion,
flashed across her face until it finally settled on a look of hope and
determination.
Her grin was still sad, but she no longer looked hopeless. "You're right.
We will get him back." Her voice dropped to a quiet that would have done
Fluttershy proud, and I just barely heard her add, "And thank you."
I pretended not to notice and helped her back to her hooves. She rose
quickly and began pace. "Okay, what do we know and what can we do
about it? One, you were right; we were being followed by somepony that
knows me well and bears a grudge. Two, the unicorn responsible is
powerful or clever enough to kidnap…" Her voice shook a little, but she
pushed past it. Good girl. "To kidnap Spike without a struggle. Three, they
don't want anypony else to know about them for a few days. Four," her
voice lowered into a threatening growl, "they're arrogant enough to think
they can actually get away with this." She stopped pacing and thought for a
moment. "I might know who did it, but I can't figure out why."
I raised an eyebrow. "You solved it that quickly? If you've got an enemy,
why didn't you worry about being followed?"
Twilight shook her head. "She's not really an enemy, but she is the only
unicorn I know who might be holding a grudge." I grunted inquisitively, and
she obliged. "There was a stage magician who called herself the Great and

Powerful Trixie. She's talented, but not nearly as much as she thinks. She
claimed she could vanquish an Ursa Major, so a pair of her fans tried to
find one so she could prove it in front of the town. Luckily, they only woke
up an Ursa Minor, but that was still too much for her. I had to step in to
save the town. After that, the story spread that she was a fraud, and last I
heard she'd given up her routine."
Twilight Sparkle had fought a monster with magic and saved her town.
Somehow, that sounded familiar. I stroked my chin and mused. "Holy
villainous clichés, Batman. We've got an angry unicorn, convinced that
you've ruined her life, kidnapping a loved one for revenge. I think I can fill in
the rest for you."
She looked dubious, but this was something I had experience with. "If she
quit a while ago, she's had time to follow you, learn everything she can,
and plan her revenge. But tonight she sees you with a Royal Guard. She
panics, thinks you know about her. So she grabs Spike. That serves dual
purposes. It buys her more time. Since this caught her by surprise, she
probably isn't ready yet. Holding him also baits the trap; she'll set up her
plan, and then send you that second note. She'll probably order you to
come alone. If you play by her rules, she knifes you in the back, and if you
don't, she pulls a tactical retreat with Spike still hostage. Not a half-bad
plan."
"Great. So what do we do?"
I bared my teeth like a wolf. "Simple, we do a quick smash and grab. She
needs time, so we don't give her any. We follow now and catch her
unprepared."
Twilight snorted. "How? We can check to see if anypony saw anything, but
she probably teleported away. There's not going to be a trial to follow."
I gave a quick, slightly maniacal laugh. "I never told you what I do for a
living, did I?" She shook her head slowly and I grinned. "I'm a private
investigator; I find things for a living. Does Spike live here?"
The change in topic confused her, but Twilight played along. "Yes, does
that matter?"

I nodded and pulled out my simple bar crystal. "I need something that was
part of him. A claw or scale or tooth. The more recently he lost it, the
better."
"I'll check." Her expression said I was crazy but to her credit she went
upstairs to look. She was learning. I wandered into the kitchen and found a
container of kitchen salt. I grabbed the whole thing and started making a
circle in the middle of the library floor. Twilight came back downstairs about
halfway through.
"What are you doing?" She asked with the tired patience of a teacher who
has an especially dull student.
I ignored her tone and answered without stopping my work. "I'm making a
circle, duh." I glanced up and grinned at her, but she didn't laugh. Some
people. I went back to pouring salt.
Anger danced in her eyes, but her voice was steady. "I can see that, but I
want to know why you're making a circle. And why you need to pour salt on
my clean floor to make it."
"Do you have something of Spike's?" I finished the circle and started
smoothing its curves.
Twilight sighed and held a small purple scale between us. "I found that in
his bed, so he must have shed it last night. Will that work for whatever
you're planning?" I nodded and reached out to take it, but she quickly
moved it away. "You don't get it until you tell me how all of this nonsense
helps me get Spike back."
I scowled, but she kept that scale floating tantalizingly just out of reach. It
was my turn to sigh. "So much for the dramatic reveal. Pro-tip: if you want
hang out with wizards, don't ruin the whole mystic knowledge shtick." I
gave a smile at her confused expression, and switched to lecture mode.
"You need to understand two concepts from my brand of magic. First, this
scale was a small part of Spike. Magically speaking, it's still a part of him.
They're may be separated physically but in a mystic sense they're still
connected, for a while anyway. With a spell, I can sense that connection
and use this scale to lead us to Spike."

Twilight nodded studiously, her anger fading in the thrill of learning.
"Interesting. That makes sense, but what about the circle?"
"I was getting to that." I replied peevishly. "The second concept is a magic
circle. A circle, once constructed and activated by will, acts as a barrier to
magical energy. It can be used for defense against a mystic attack or to
screen out background magic while constructing a spell. In this case I'm
going use it while I put together the tracking spell. Now, the scale if you
would be so kind?" The last sentence practically dripped sarcasm but she
didn't seem to notice.
"Why use salt?"
This curious student crap was getting old fast. "Salt is pretty good at
conducting magic and it's easy to make a circle with. Now, hand over the
scale unless you want to spend all night talking instead of rescuing." She
blinked, remembering what was at stake, and blushed slightly as she gave
me the tiny focus.
I tucked it into a pocket. "I'll stay here and work on the spell, but first, I need
your permission."
"For what?" came her confused reply.
I resisted rolling my eyes. "To use my magic, remember? That oath is still
binding and I'm not any use without my power."
"Oh right, that." She coughed once and composed herself, becoming
formal. "I do so release you from your promise. Thank you for giving it,
though."
"De nada," I said, but having access to my power again was a real relief.
Gun or no, a wizard is damned near helpless in a fight without his magic. I
turned back to her, "Gather whoever you want on the rescue, but whatever
you do, be quick and be careful. We can't waste time or let Trixie know
we're coming."
Twilight smiled with renewed confidence. "Don't worry, Mr. Dresden. I'll be
back in thirty minutes or my name's not Twilight Sparkle!" Her horn gave a
flash that would have put a searchlight to shame, and she disappeared with
only a soft fizzle to mark her departure. I had a weird feeling as she

teleported, but I couldn't say why. Something didn't seem right. I shrugged
it off as a case of nerves, and got to work.
The circle was just big enough to hold me, sitting cross-legged. I touched
the line of salt and willed the circle to close. It rose instantly, cutting me off
from the surging power that filled this world. Trying a subtle spell like this in
the middle of all that magic would have been like trying to fly a kite in a
tornado. In my circle, there was nothing but the steady thrum of my own
power.
I took out Spike's scale and examined it. It was strong and thick, reminding
me of turtle shell more than any scale I'd ever seen. I flicked it lightly and
grunted in approval as it resisted the force easily. The stronger the
material, the more magic I could pump through it and the stronger the spell
would be. Usually, at least. I'd never worked with dragon scale before, so I
didn't know its capabilities; I'd have to start out slow and build up power in
increments. The scale gave me trouble for a minute, but I had just enough
string to tie into onto the crystal. I began to mumble in quasi-latin and
reached for my magic. The crystal swung like a pendulum as I formed my
spell. It needed to be strong, long-lasting and work over long distances, but
still be sensitive enough work at close range too. It was a challenge, but I
had plenty of magic and an ocean of experience. I finished in three or four
minutes. I relaxed and eyed the crystal; it spun aimlessly, weighed down by
the scale at one end. I reached out and broke the circle, letting the spell
rush out into the real world. This was the moment of truth; if Spike was out
of range or heavily shrouded, the spell would be useless and I'd have to
start over.
But the crystal stopped spinning only a moment after the barrier fell. The
weighted tip swung sharply in one direction and stayed fixed, glowing
softly. I looked out the window, careful to stay out of sight, and saw that it
pointed the way we had come. Toward Fluttershy's cottage and the dark
forest that lay beyond it. I grinned, staring into the black distance. Trixie
had no idea the trouble she'd gotten herself into.
Of course, I thought, I'm fighting an unknown enemy on her own turf, so
who's to say the same isn't true for me? The night had no answer, but all
the same I felt a dull chill that only grew worse as I waited.

Chapter 6
Nopony could remember when the quarry had been abandoned. Few even
knew it existed. It had once supplied stone for the Castle of the Royal
Sisters, but it had gone to ruin long before the palace. Located deep in the
Everfree Forest it was a secluded and empty place. The Great and
Powerful Trixie had stumbled across it on one of her earlier journeys. The
workers' quarters had once been a massive building capable of housing
dozens of ponies, but these days it was a crumbled ruin. Still, some of its
rooms were preserved enough to act as shelter and Trixie had taken one
as her home. The cold stone room wasn't a place she would have preferred
to live, but beggars, or in this case secretive unicorns, couldn't be
choosers.
The mare appeared there an hour or so after dusk in a dazzling display of
light. She brought with her a pair of worn saddlebags and a small, sleeping
dragon. Trixie set her hostage on the ground and checked her saddlebags,
pleased to see their contents were unchanged. The small pocket watch
she'd liberated from its unpleasant owner gave nine soft chimes reminding
her of the time. Trixie was displeased; she still had hours to go until the
proper time.
To keep herself busy Trixie strengthened the sleeping spell on the little
dragon, ensuring he'd stay unconscious for the next few days. Her stomach
rumbled, and she considered her store of food. She didn't have much, but a
simple dinner of oats and wild berries would do just fine. She did need to
mind her trim, lovely figure, after all. Once she was done there was still
time to kill, so she practiced her magic. The voice whispered its usual
encouragement and advice as she worked. Under its tutelage she had
vastly improved her already impressive skills. As the minutes ticked closer
and closer to midnight her excitement grew until she could no longer focus
on her magic. The voice cautioned her to be patient, but she could feel that
it was even more on edge than she was.
At a quarter to midnight, she stopped pretending to practice and gathered
her materials. From the sealed chest in the rear of the tiny room, she
withdrew the fruit of her months of labor. The war hammer was unnaturally
heavy, and it gleamed silver even in the lightless shack. It was made from

no ordinary metal; it was not even some enchanted alloy. The hammer was
made from the ore of a shooting star. It had taken weeks, even with her
new ally's help, just to craft the spell to locate a metallic meteorite and
longer still to actually find a piece big enough for her purposes. The
blacksmith in Hoofington had thought she was crazy when she brought him
the other worldly rock and told him to make her a hammer; an opinion not
helped by the way she would occasionally answer the voice in her head out
loud. She'd spent the last of her bits to convince him, and he had
grudgingly taken the job. Losing the money hurt, but the voice had insisted.
The hammer was necessary to enact its plan.
Trixie finished admiring the hammer; whatever his doubts, the blacksmith
had done a beautiful job. It was almost a shame that she had to take the
hammer without paying the rest of her promised price, but eventually his
wounds would heal. Besides, when she at last gained the recognition she
deserved, he would be well-rewarded for this service to her. She set it
down and opened her saddlebags. The prizes within winked at her in the
soft moonlight as she lifted them out. Five necklaces and a gaudy tiara
joined the hammer. The Elements of Harmony had been pathetically easy
to steal, considering their importance. She could have guarded them better
than that foal of a Princess. Of course, what pony would dare to take the
most priceless gems in existence from the study of Princess Celestia
herself? The Great and Powerful Trixie would! Those useless Bearers
would suffer for the Princess's arrogance. The Princess might increase her
security after this, but Trixie didn't intend to give her a second chance.
Trixie checked her watch again; it was 11:55. She stared at the Elements
wondering what order she should put them in. Twilight's Element would be
last of course, only she could be the finale. It was tempting to put Magic
first, but Trixie knew that the anticipation would make the reward all the
sweeter. First would be that timid, pathetic, little pegasus, Kindness, and
then that annoying pink one, Laughter. The Honest farmpony and the Loyal
daredevil would be next. Generous Rarity would be second to last. That
showy upstart had dared to call Trixie's magic unsophisticated. Only after
her precious friends would it be Twilight's turn.
Trixie's heart thudded a frenzied drumbeat within her chest as the seconds
passed. Even the normally phlegmatic voice bubbled with malicious glee.
She raised the hammer in a telekinetic grip waiting. Just before midnight
struck she spoke, her voice and the one in her mind perfectly in sync.

"At the darkest hour she wielded a fallen star. Her heart full of naught but
hatred, she struck, destroying Harmony and releasing the darkness from its
prison. Thus, was the Nightmare reborn."
The hammer descended crushing the tiny butterfly in the center of the
Element of Kindness. Splinters of pink crystal fell from it as the hammer
rose again. With maniac energy Trixie smashed the happy party balloon
next. The apple, lightning bolt and diamond studded necklaces quickly
followed suit, and then, only Magic was left. Trixie breathed heavily,
partially from the exertion of swinging the hammer, but mostly from her
growing feeling of power. She had never felt so alive, so strong!
And it only gets better, the voice purred.
Trixie lifted the hammer once more and brought it crashing down on the
glittering tiara. It survived the first blow unscathed. Trixie blinked, stunned,
but her surprise quickly turned into a burning fury at its resistance. The
second hammer strike drove a deep crack through the heart of the purple
jewel. The final one reduced the once-proud stone to mere shards. A
powerful explosion erupted from beneath the hammer. The backlash threw
Trixie to the ground, where she lay stunned for a long moment.
When she rose, a pitch black mist began seeping out of the shattered
artifacts. It paused for a moment and then drew together, streaking across
the rocky terrain to surround her with its ebony coils. Even if she would
never admit it, not even to herself, Trixie was paralyzed with fear at the
sight. But as the inky miasma sunk into her coat, the terror faded, and
instead she felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. She had done it.
It would more accurate to say that we have done it.The voice had
returned stronger than ever. No longer a small whisper, it was now a full
voice, one as strong and melodious as her own. It came with a presence, a
strange, new entity that she could feel, sharing her mind and body. Trixie
knew she should have been frightened, maybe even terrified, but the
Nightmare felt as familiar and welcome as an old friend.
Of course, the presence said. After all, we have communicated
mentally for months, even though you could barely be reached
through the seal.That, however, is of no real import. You have done
everything that has been asked of you. Now, you will receive the
promised reward.

Trixie felt herself gasp, driven to her knees, as her mind nearly succumbed
to the sudden sensation. All of her, – mind, body, and spirit – was filling
with power. More than she had ever dreamed of; the feeling was pure bliss.
She floated in an endless ecstasy. Her entire world was nothing but—
Pain!
She stiffened, trying to scream, but her frozen lungs wouldn't let her. It was
too much. Her body was only a small glass to the cascade of magic that
poured into it. The energy began spilling from her in luminous waves as
she fought to hold it, to hold herself together.
That will not do at all, the Nightmare stated coldly. Your body must be
altered to better control your new abilities.
Trixie could barely nod her agreement before the changes began. She had
thought she couldn't possibly hurt any more; mental acid already ate at her
psyche as liquid fire poured through her veins, but then her body added its
own chorus of physical torments more excruciating than anything she had
ever experienced before. Bones creaked as they lengthened, muscles and
ligaments screaming at the sudden stress until the magic caught up to
them. Her entire coat and mane crawled with the feet of a thousand
imaginary insects. Then, suddenly, it all stopped. The pain was gone. Trixie
staggered slowly upright on her new legs, feeling strangely at peace. She
was still awed by the power she held, but no longer was she overwhelmed
by it.
But that could wait. With a thought and the barest exertion of power, she
summoned an enormous mirror. She hardly recognized the shocked face
that gaped back at her. Trixie had been beautiful before, but now she was
utterly radiant. She stood almost as tall as Princess Celestia, but, she
thought with a smirk, she had a nicer figure to go with that height. Perfectly
shaped, slender legs led to a beautifully curved flank where her cutie mark
twinkled proudly. Her coat had become a blue so dark it bordered on black,
and her eyes had turned a cruel, steely gray
And my mane. Oh, my mane! It had become a flowing banner of silver.
Each strand was made of metal purer than any jeweler could imagine.
Such a mane should have been heavy and stiff, but her gorgeous hair
flowed easily in the soft breeze, as light and smooth as silk. Her horn had
changed as well; it was now twice its original length and came to a wickedly

sharp point. The Great and Powerful Trixie laughed; at last she had a form
fit for her, one with a beauty and elegance that lesser mares could only
envy!
As she admired herself in the mirror, Trixie noticed a twitch of movement
behind her. The shattered pieces of the Elements were beginning to draw
back together like iron filings around a magnet. Trixie and the Nightmare
felt a brief surge of displeasure as the pieces hesitantly began to fuse. The
Elements of Harmony couldn't be permanently destroyed, not by any
means known to the Nightmare at least, but both had hoped that the
artifacts would have been slower to heal themselves without the presence
of their Bearers.
Oh well, that hardly matters. Trixie thought, her mind quickly turning inward,
eager to explore the possibilities of her new powers.
Remember, the Nightmare cautioned, it will take days to learn full
control of these powers. Do not lure the Elemental of Magic here until
you are well prepared.
Trixie pouted at that, but with some careful cajoling her ally proved as
persuasive as ever. She sighed, dismissing the mirror and frowning at the
tiny room around her. "Fine, but in the meantime, we must do something
about these accommodations." She glared at the dank stone surrounding
her and huffed haughtily. "Such a place isn't fit for the Great and Powerful
Trixie."
She paused, a strange thought crossing her mind. "That name won't do
either. Trixie needs a new title to reflect her improved form."
She remained immobile, sorting various possibilities in her mind until she
cried out. "Aha! I've got it! Henceforth I shall be known as … The Dark and
All-powerful Trixie!" She stamped her hooves in excitement over her
cleverness, oblivious to the craters she was making and the shuddering of
rocks yards away.
There was a startled silence from the Nightmare, but it found its voice
before Trixie completely destroyed the stone underhoof. It is no worse
than Nightmare Moon; it will do. Now let us begin constructing your
new domicile. What did you have in mind?

Trixie stopped her prancing, but excitement still showed in her grin. "Why,
the only place worthy of me, of course. I must have a castle."
Very well. This will be good practice for you. You will be guided, but
focus is necessary. This will be difficult.
….
Rarity sighed as she entered her beautiful boutique; it had been such an
eventful day. Sweetie Belle and her friends had been underhoof for most of
the morning, and she had received an order for two new dresses in addition
to the alterations to one she had already finished. Rarity had made good
progress on that front once Sweetie Bell left, but it was only a short while
later that Twilight had shown up with a new crisis, forcing her to put work
aside.
The whole ordeal had been odd, and that meant something coming from a
pony used to Pinkie's antics. Mr. Dresden was such a strange fellow, but
Rarity had warmed to him. True, he had seemed frightening at first, but
seeing him cowed by a pony half his size had alleviated much of her
trepidation. Not that Twilight's anger hadn't scared Rarity as well, but the
situation was rather amusing in hindsight. His fashion sense seemed
severely lacking other than his fascinating coat, but who was she to judge
the fashions of another world?
That coat, though. She still wanted to know more about. He'd seemed
nervous, evasive even, when she'd asked. She had stopped out of
courtesy, but that didn't prevent her from wondering. Perhaps it had some
symbolic or religious purpose; she had sensed some unfamiliar magic
woven into it. He had put it back on as soon as she had let him, and had
even worn it in addition to the cloak despite the fine evening.
Rarity hoped he wouldn't go home too soon. Their talks had been fairly
direct and focused on the business at hoof. She would love to hear more
about his world. That city he mentioned sounded intriguing. Neigh York
wasn't it? Visions of an alien city full of strange, new fashions, brimming
with exotic material and fresh inspirations, danced through her mind. She
shook her head. It was obvious she wasn't going to get much sleep tonight
anyway. She may as well get back to work on one of the new dresses.

She wasn't sure how long she had been working when the quiet sound
drew her attention. A furtive, stealthy sort of noise that made the hair on the
back of her neck stand up. Looking up, she saw that the door was slightly
ajar, creaking faintly in a soft breeze. She closed it again with magic. Was
there something wrong with the latch, or…? But the shop was empty.
Returning to her work, she had barely rethreaded her needle when one of
the floorboards gave a loud creak. Rarity whipped around, heart thudding,
but there was nopony else in the room. The boutique was silent beyond the
drumming in her chest.
Am I just imagining it? She wondered. She'd had a busy day, after all, and
perhaps—There! A rustle and a flash of motion in the corner of her eye!
She spun to face whatever it was, her horn glowing as she prepared
herself, but once again she was faced with nothing.
I am definitely not alone, the unicorn thought, trying to hold her fear in
check. But a lady always faces danger with dignity…
"Boo." Whispered a mouth next to Rarity's ear.
Rarity shrieked, dignity forgotten, already lashing out with a blast of magic.
"Wheeeeee!" Pinkie cried as she went sailing through the air to land with a
mighty thump in pile of fabric rolls. She picked herself up quickly and trotted
over to her angry, embarrassed friend. "That was great, Rarity! You
shoulda seen the look on your face. Priceless!"
"Pinkie, what are you doing here so late? You scared me half to death!"
Rarity glared daggers at Pinkie, but the irrepressible party pony seemed
only slightly apologetic.
"Sorry. I was just sitting at home getting ready for bed and feeding Gummy,
feeling awfully disappointed that I couldn't throw Harry a 'Welcome to
Ponyville' party 'cause nobody but us can know about him and so I wanted
to do something fun, when Twilight suddenly appeared and told me that we
had a new problem and that I needed to come over here right away and tell
you to close all the windows and curtains but to leave the lights on and stay
out of sight and I thought if I had to stay out of sight I should do it the
moment I arrived but then you were so scared I remembered I needed to
tell you all this and I was about to say something but you looked so silly
with that scaredy-pony expression so I wanted to surprise you, isn't it

funny?" Rarity struggled to process the torrent of words, and then Pinkie
seemed to remember something and added. "Oh, and apparently Spike's
been kidnapped so we need to go rescue him."
"What? Pinkie, how could you not mention that first?" Pinkie opened her
mouth to respond, but she was cut off by the other pony. "I mean really.
Oh, poor Spike. Poor Twilight! How was she? Who did it?" She paused.
"Did you mention something about pulling the curtains?"
Pinkie thought for a moment. "I said Spike's been kidnapped, I kinda forgot,
she seemed angry but ok, I don't know, and yes." Rarity took a moment to
process her friend's odd answer and realized the last bit was the only
important part. She gathered her magic and began pulling the curtains
shut. That done, she turned to Pinkie for a more detailed description of the
current situation. But before she could, there was a sudden glow and soft
popping noise as Twilight and Applejack appeared in the middle of the
room.
Applejack shook her head, trying to clear her dazed expression, "That
weren't much fun. I think I'll just walk the next time."
"Sorry, Applejack," Twilight replied, "but time is of the essence and we can't
afford to be seen." Her attention shifted, locking eyes with Rarity. "Did
Pinkie tell you what's going on?"
"No! Well, yes, but—" Rarity began.
"Good," Twilight interrupted, "I'll be back soon with Dash." And she
disappeared again in a flash of light.
"Will somepony please tell me just what's going on, and why we're all
gathering at my boutique?" Rarity shouted, forgetting proper etiquette for a
moment.
"No need to shout, sugarcube. We kin all hear you." Applejack rubbed her
eyes sleepily. "All I know is that Twilight woke me and said Spike'd been
kidnapped. I hurried to get ready 'cause she was all impatient to go. Once I
had everything, she told me to wait with y'all and dropped me here." She
frowned at Pinkie. "Do you know just what's going on?"

Pinkie nodded seriously, "Twilight popped in to see me first and told me
everything. She and Dresden got back to the library and found a note that
said somepony had taken Spike. Twilight thinks it's Trixie, with some kind
of evil plan for revenge. Twilight isn't supposed to tell anypony about it, but
Dresden can follow Spike so we're secretly meeting up to go rescue him!"
Her voice had turned peppy as she talked and by the end she was back to
her usual bouncing. In stark contrast, her friends' faces became more
worried the longer she spoke. There was a second of silence after Pinkie
finished, but Applejack quickly broke it.
"So Spike disappears and now we need to follow some suspicious fella we
just met today out to Celestia knows where in the middle of the night? This
sounds mighty strange to me."
"Applejack! I found Mr. Dresden to be a colt of impeccable character,
despite his peculiarities. I can't believe you'd be so untrusting when we
need to pull together during this crisis." Rarity sniffed and turned away to
reorganize the materials that Pinkie's landing had scattered.
Applejack flushed, looking a little shamed, but held her ground. "I ain't
saying he's not nice, but he's downright mysterious. I can tell he's got all
sorts of secrets he ain't telling us. Do you really wanna trust him with your
life, or any of ours?"
"Why not?" Pinkie was still in high spirits, but she looked unusually serious.
"Twilight trusts him enough to lead all of us, and she doesn't even like him
that much. Besides, doesn't everypony deserve some trust, no matter how
mysterious, sinister or downright spooooky they might be?"
Applejack wanted to argue further, but from her friends expressions it'd just
be a waste of time. She sighed and changed the topic. "So Pinkie, Twi
thinks Trixie's the culprit? Did she say why?" Pinkie shook her head
solemnly, and Applejack frowned. "Huh, I thought that two-bit little show-off
learned her lesson the last time. I guess she needs a reminder. Nopony
hurts my friends, and a few parlor tricks ain't gonna stop me this time. I
wonder how great and powerful she'll be after a few bucks to the head?"
Rarity finished tidying and turned back to the conversation. "In that I agree
with you completely. She displayed a horrid lack of style last time, but at
least she had seemed above aduction. If she's truly taken the left-hoof path
then it's our duty to stop her." Her eyes narrowed and her smile turned

fierce. "And if it so happens that kicking that narcissistic charlatan's flank is
necessary… well, that's just a bonus."
Pinkie and Applejack chuckled, but their laughs were interrupted by
Twilight's reappearance. This time she held a sleeping Rainbow Dash in
her telekinetic grip. Twilight set the cyan pegasus down carefully, and
turned to go, speaking briefly, "Sorry, but I couldn't wake her. Be back
soon, okay? Thanks, bye." Rarity barely had time to notice that the purple
unicorn's hair looked a little frazzled before she vanished.
Everypony in the room stared at the sleeping pegasus. "Any ideas?" Rarity
asked.
Pinkie grinned, "I can think of a few." The pink pony pulled a pair of
cymbals from somewhere and brought them together with resounding
crash. "WAKE UP, DASHIE!"
Rainbow Dash just rolled over, snoring slightly. Pinkie frowned. She
positioned the cymbals right next to Dash's head and drew in her breath for
another try.
"Hold up there," Applejack interrupted. "I know something that'll work."
Pinkie withdrew but still held the cymbals at the ready. Applejack leaned
over the heaviest sleeper in Ponyville and whispered something in her ear.
Dash shot in the air like she'd been thrown in an icy river.
"I'd never! I mean no way, that's just not cool. I don't even know what you're
talking about. I'm innocent, I swear!" Pinkie giggled and that seemed to
break Dash's panic. She flushed angrily at her friends' bemused
expressions and glared at Applejack. "That's not funny and you know it,
AJ."
The cowpony chuckled a little, "I dunno, Dash. It looked pretty funny from
down here." A scowl joined the glare aimed at her, and Applejack stopped
her laughing. "Sorry, but we needed ya up an' about inna hurry."
Dash seemed to notice her surroundings for the first time and landed next
to Pinkie. "Fine, but how did I get here?"
"Twilight brought you here." Pinkie said, and began bringing her sleepy
friend up to speed on their latest crisis.

Rarity leaned over to Applejack while Pinkie was busy getting Dash caught
up. "Just what did you whisper to her?"
Applejack chuckled, "Can't tell ya." Rarity pouted, but Applejack just shook
her head. "Nope, I Pinkie swore not to tell anypony about it. But I can tell
you that it's one hay of a funny story."
Rarity wanted to press her for more juicy details but there was a familiar
flash of light. Twilight reappeared with Fluttershy in tow and winked back
out of existence without even a word to her friends.
Fluttershy gave a soft "Eep" as every pony in the room focused on her. The
yellow pegasus stared uneasily at her hooves. "Umm… Twilight said I
needed to ask Pinkie for an explanation. She just said something terrible
had happened and she needed me. That is, if you don't mind Pinkie?"
Pinkie nodded sagely and launched into her third rendition of the story.
Dash drifted over to Applejack and Rarity. "We're all here, so why'd Twi
leave this time?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Rarity asked, "She needs to collect Mr. Dresden. It's his
spell that will lead us to Spike. Did she look out of sorts to either of you?
Teleporting over such distances isn't easy and she's been doing it nonstop
– and with passengers, no less."
"C'mon, Rarity." Dash spoke up, "That egghead knows magic like nopony
else. Besides, we need the speed if we're gonna surprise Trixie and rescue
Spike."
Applejack shook her head, siding with Rarity. "Most of the time, I'd be on
your side, Dash, but she just lost Spike. I doubt she's thinking things
through right now." She shrugged. "Not that we can do anything until she
gets herself back."
Pinkie's narrative grew louder and Applejack stopped speaking just in time
for the three to hear her say, "And then there were ninjas everywhere!"
before her volume dropped again. The earth pony, unicorn and pegasus
shared a sigh.
"I reckon I'll need to set Fluttershy straight once Pinkie's done. How 'bout
you two work on getting supplies together? We don't know how far it is to

Trixie's hideout." Her friends nodded and all three set to work, but they'd
barely started before Twilight and Dresden appeared.
"-said 'be quick' doesn't mean you should push yourself too far. We can
walk there." Even as he finished the sentence, the wizard realized it was a
moot point. He frowned at Twilight, but it broke into a yawn. He looked
tired, but he was bright-eyed and energetic compared to Twilight.
The purple unicorn swayed unsteadily, both eyes half closed, and when
she spoke it was slurred. "No, I'm fine. You worry too much."
"Twilight!" Rarity cried, darting to her friend's side.
Dresden just scowled and leaned against a wall, rubbing tired eyes. Pinkie
trotted up to him and sat on her haunches, sucking in a deep breath.
"Okay, so you and Twilight got back to the library and found a note that
said somepony had taken Spike, and that's when the Black Spider ninja
clan attacked—"
The rest of the ponies crowded around their tired friend, all talking at once.
Twilight's lavender eyes darted back and forth between her chattering
friends in distracted confusion, as her posture gradually tightened from
exhaustion to annoyance.
"Quiet!" she snapped. All of her friends backed away, surprised. "Uh,
please. Sorry, I just need a moment and I'll teleport all of us into the
Everfree forest. Then we can get started."
"Oh, Twilight. Are you sure? I mean, you look so tired. Shouldn't you take a
rest?" Fluttershy offered.
Twilight shook her head irritably. "No, we need to get moving now. The
faster the better." Her horn began to glow, but its light flickered like candle
and couldn't steady itself.
Dresden put a hand on her shoulder and solemnly shook his head. "The
letter gave us days. We can spare the time to walk there, but we can't
spare you."

Twilight shook his hand off her. "Spike needs us. He needs me. We have
to!" She tried again to work her magic, but the world kept slipping away
from her. Applejack leaned down in front of her, staring her in the eyes.
"We both know I got some experience with being too tired an' stubborn to
get a job done right. And I'm telling you right now, sugarcube, that you
need to listen to us. We're your friends, ain't we?"
Twilight stopped. Applejack was right. Her horn lost its glow and she
offered a wan smile. "You're right. You all are. It won't hurt to walk from
here." Her knees wobbled when she said 'walk', but nopony seemed to
notice. "We just need to get everything ready and we can go."
"Awww," Pinkie said, "We love you too. Group hug!" The little pink pony
stretched out her front legs impossibly long pulling all the other ponies
close. She smiled at the lone human, "You too, Mr. Dresden!"
The tall wizard seemed startled by the invitation, and he held his hands up
in a placating gesture. "Thanks, but hugs aren't really my thing. You see-"
"Just get over here," Pinkie interrupted with a giggle. He hesitated a
moment more before joining the hug. His arms were stiff and a little
awkward, like he wasn't used to hugging, but Pinkie seemed satisfied. At
the end of the hug she was beaming even brighter than usual.
"Now what?" asked the ever practical Applejack.
Twilight thought for a moment. "You said you've done this kind of thing
before, Mr. Dresden. You should lead us." He nodded like he'd been
waiting for her to say that and stepped forward.
"I'll make this brief. Everyone needs to pack some food, something to keep
them warm and as much water as they can carry. Also take anything that'll
help in a fight. Got that?"
All of the ponies nodded, "Good. Let's get to it, everybody. Pony?
Everypony."
….

Twilight lurched ahead, but it was hard going. Somepony had replaced her
hooves with lead weights, and her legs with pieces of rubber. She almost
made a full yard, but Dresden put out his hand to stop her. It didn't take
much force. "Hold on, Twilight," he said in a softer tone.
"What?"
"I wanted to ask you about something." The other ponies followed Rarity
toward some of the back rooms, and they were alone. "Applejack and
Rainbow make sense. I can even understand why you might want Rarity or
Pinkie, but are you sure we should bring Fluttershy? There's pretty good
chance we're going to have to fight. Can she handle that?"
Twilight gave Dresden a tired grin. "Don't worry, Mr. Dresden. When her
friends are in danger, Fluttershy can do some amazing things. Once she
stared down a full-grown dragon to protect the rest of us." His eyebrows
rose almost to his hairline, but Dresden let the matter drop. Twilight
understood his hesitation, but all of them drew strength from each other. It
wouldn't feel right doing this without Fluttershy. "Besides, she has some
basic medical training."
He shrugged. "Fine, you know her best. But until we have everything
packed, you need to rest."
"What?" She protested. "I'm fine. I don't-" Her argument would have been
more convincing if she hadn't yawned in the middle of her sentence. She
tried to push past him to help her friends pack, but her legs weren't working
right. Her left legs remained glued to the floor and the right side just
twitched and moved a few inches before settling unsteadily down. Dresden
just stared at her until she felt her cheeks warm. "Ok, maybe I could use a
few minutes. But wake me up as soon as we're ready." He nodded
solemnly, and Twilight stopped fighting the exhaustion that washed over
her. She vaguely felt his arms lift her up and set something soft beneath
her head. She sighed as she made herself comfortable. A few minutes
won't hurt.

Chapter 7
I sighed, looking down at the sleeping pony. We'd dodged a bullet on that
one. Twilight was amazing, I'd never even heard of anything like the
teleportation she'd used, but if she's using the same physics I was, moving
that much mass that far would drain any wizard's powers. If she had pulled
off that last spell I couldn't imagine anything pretty happening. Magic plays
for keeps.
Damn, I 'm tired. I could manage for now, but I'd pay for it in a couple days.
I wanted to sleep, but I knew if I did I wouldn't be getting up any time soon.
I'd tried power napping once, but I'd just woke up still tired and pissed off
that I couldn't sleep longer. Glancing at my pocket, I pulled out and
checked my crystal. Reassuringly enough, it pointed in the same direction
with an undiminished glow. The other ponies started to file back into the
room. None of them looked surprised to see Twilight asleep.
"Ok, time to tell the wizard what we're up against. Twilight thinks it's Trixie,
so until we know otherwise, that's the working theory. Twilight was a bit
short on the details, so I want anything you can tell me about her." The
resulting conversation was anything but boring. For creatures that don't
curse those ponies sure were inventive when it came to insults. None of
them, not even Fluttershy, had a good word to say about Trixie, but with
some careful questions, I got a decent idea of her abilities.
Given the kind of mojo she'd used in the fight with the Ursa Minor, she
didn't sound very tough, but she had a hostage. I didn't know how it worked
in Equestria, but a human in a similar situation could easily decide they had
nothing left to lose. Her overbearing arrogance sounded like someone with
self-esteem issues, and if she didn't value her life, she might kill Spike
purely out of spite.
I felt my anger rise in the back of my mind at that, but I choked it off. The
ponies had started discussing what they were going to do when they found
Trixie. I interrupted, "Ms. Rarity, could you turn off the lights like you were
going to bed?"

"Certainly, but whatever for?" The other ponies' expressions mirrored her
curiosity.
I felt like Mr. Science with a room full of kids. "Would you please? I'll
explain in a moment." She still seemed perplexed, but with a glow from her
horn, the lights dimmed and went out.
"Great." Rainbow groused. "We can't see. Are you gonna tell us the plan
now, fearless leader?"
"Hey," I scowled. "That's Mr. Fearless Leader to you. I demand respect,
whether it's due or not." There were a couple giggles, but most of my
audience seemed to agree with her. "Okay, Twilight's exhausted so we're
going to let her sleep a little."
I held up a hand to forestall any protests, but the darkness worked against
me. "What? C'mon, speed is what we need. We've gotta get moving if we
want to catch Trixie." No points for guessing who that was.
I shook my head. "No, what we need is surprise and strength. Speed's
important, but Twilight is in no condition to travel. We're going to wait an
hour then head out."
"That makes sense," Fluttershy murmured. "But why did we have to turn
the lights out?" My eyes had started to grow used to the gloom, and I
thought I saw her glancing around nervously.
"That's just in case Trixie is keeping an eye on Rarity's house. I don't think
it's likely; she's probably holed up with Spike somewhere, but there's no
sense taking chances. Besides, what would happen if somepony saw my
silhouette in the window?" Did I really just use the phrase 'somepony'
without even thinking? Not thinking may be one of my strong points, but
that was just weird. This world was starting to get to me.
"Until then, we can talk. Everything has been pretty hectic, and I'd like to
get some more info before we do anything else. Twilight mentioned a
Princess, so this is a monarchy?"
Rarity cleared her throat, "Well, more properly, it is a Diarchy. Equestria is
ruled by two immortal Princesses. Celestia, the monarch of day, raises the
Sun, and Luna, her younger sister and regent of night, controls the Moon."

That piqued my interest, so I asked a few more questions. Celestia they
discussed freely, but they seemed oddly hesitant to talk about the younger
sister. I didn't press, but I quietly filed that away as interesting. The next
hour passed fairly quickly, for me at least. Rainbow quickly got bored with
the discussion and volunteered to watch outside for anything suspicious.
When I expressed doubt that she was quiet or stealthy enough, she
suggested I do something that I'm pretty sure is anatomically impossible for
both humans and ponies.
Pinkie Pie tried to participate, but after a while she lost interest and
wandered off to 'build something'. As ominous as that sounded, she swore
(a promise involving a confusing rhyme about cupcakes and flying), not to
draw anyone's attention or break anything. The rest of us discussed
Equestria and its inhabitants, and in return I told them about humans and
Earth in general. I tried to keep it as PG as possible, but some things about
my world just aren't pretty. I glossed over modern conflict, but the wars of
the past didn't seem to surprise them. They'd heard the legends of the
times before Equestria was unified under the Princesses. The biggest
surprise, though, had nothing to do with war or violence.
"A population greater than six billion? You can't possibly be serious." Rarity
gaped in disbelief.
I just nodded. "I am, but that's pretty recent actually. Once the Industrial
Revolution allowed for greater production and shipping of food, and
medical advances stopped most of our diseases, the number of humans
expanded exponentially. We're a fairly…" I searched for a polite word,
"prolific species."
"A what now?" Applejack asked.
Well, if subtlety didn't work. "We're really good at reproducing. You know,
making foals?" She blushed, and I laughed softly.
"Is it time to go, Mr. Dresden?" A new voice piped, right behind me.
Jesus Christ! My heart just about stopped. How the hell does Pinkie sneak
up on me like that? "What?" My voice was a mix of tired and aggravated,
but it didn't dampen her cheer. She just smiled and repeated her question. I
sighed and checked my watch, a purely clockwork model given my affect
on technology. A little more than an hour had passed.

"Okay, let's get going then."
….
"I cannot believe you let me sleep for an entire hour! You promised me it
would only be a few minutes." Twilight said for the fifth freaking time.
"We needed to stay put for an hour to make sure we weren't being
watched." I answered for the fifth freaking time. "Are we far enough away
from Ponyville yet?"
"No. Keep it on until we're actually in the forest. I'm not going to come
home to an angry mob looking for a monster." The sleep had helped, but
Twilight was still tired and grumpy. Pot and Kettle, I know, but that didn't
stop it from being true.
I sighed. The other ponies were quiet for the most part, but I could hear the
occasionally giggle as they listened to us. Twilight had given up telling me
to be quiet, but in all fairness I was keeping my voice low.
"So, what spells do you know that are combat-ready?"
"I thought the plan was not to fight?" She asked. I glanced at her, but she
wasn't being sarcastic.
"The next time my enemies act according to my plan, it'll be the first. You've
got to be adaptable during a crisis." She nodded as I spoke, and I'd swear
she was making mental notes. "So I need to know what you're capable of."
I already had a pretty good feel for the rest of the group. Rarity had illusion
and subtle magic, along with some dexterous telekinesis; she was the bard.
Applejack was the strongest in the group; she'd be the paladin. Rainbow
was fast and good for flank attacks (pun intended), definitely a rogue.
Fluttershy was a difficult fit, but given her talent with healing, I'd call her our
cleric. Pinkie… well, she's in a class of her own. Twilight had serious skills,
but could she translate them to the battlefield?
She thought for a moment. "Well, you know I can teleport; projectiles can't
hit what's not there. I can raise a temporary shield bubble that can stop
most magic. My levitation spell is strong enough to lift an Ursa Minor." She
stopped and shook her head. "I know too many spells to list them all. Most

of them could be used in battle in some way, but none of them are
designed for it."
I nodded. That was about what I'd expected. The same should hold true of
Trixie. Or most unicorns, I realized. I was going have to keep tight-lipped
about this world when I finally got back to mine. Plenty of creatures would
love a world like this, someplace where prey was plentiful and competition
non-existent.
I was a little lost in that thought and almost tripped over my staff. Damnit!
This is getting on my last freaking nerve. Keeping the six foot length of oak
under the cloak hadn't been too difficult during the sedate walk to the
library, but at the pace Twilight set now, I was hard pressed not to fall over
the damn thing. I understood why I couldn't lose my disguise just yet, but
my patience was wearing thin.
I shut up and followed Twilight, trying to keep from falling over. It was
annoying, but we reached the edge of the forest before I broke either of my
legs. I opened the cloak, disrupting the illusion, and pushed magic through
my staff, making the symbols carved into it glow a fiery orange. As the
group stepped onto the shadowy path, Twilight and Rarity brought their
horns to life, adding a white, almost fluorescent, shine to the illumination.
Fluttershy nervously scanned the surrounding trees. I didn't blame her. I've
seen a lot of spooky stuff so let me tell you, there's hardly anything scarier
than a forest at night. The thin crescent moon shone dimly, leaving the
world shrouded in darkness. Even the light we cast only illuminated our
group, making shadows in the woods beyond loom large and shift
threateningly. I moved to the head of the group and took out my crystal with
a free hand. The glowing bar turned and pointed into the dark heart of the
forest, parallel to the path ahead.
Wordlessly, I started walking and the rest of the group followed.
Occasionally, one pony or another would say something, but nobody spoke
for long. The gloomy woods around us seemed to deaden anything we
said. Rainbow volunteered to fly ahead and do some recon, but I flat out
told her no. The canopy overhead was dense enough that taking off and
landing would be dangerous. She said that wasn't a problem, but I didn't
want to overestimate her abilities. Besides, the branches above were thick
enough that I doubt she could have found the group again, lit or not. We left
the path about thirty minutes into the forest and had to slow our pace.

There wasn't a lot of underbrush, but we still had to navigate around more
than a few patches of thorns and nettles and some weird blue flowers that
the ponies insisted we give a wide berth. The wind sighed through the
trees, setting an eerie counterpoint to the soft rustling of creatures in the
forest around us. More than once I had the unsettling sensation of being
watched, only to turn and see nothing but shadows. I was getting creeped
out, but I'd been in similar situations. Twilight, looked apprehensive but
determined. Rarity was clearly uncomfortable, but that seemed due to our
hike through the woods as much as our frightening environment.
Applejack's knees shook slightly, but she didn't say a word and kept a calm
face. Rainbow was going a little stir crazy, having to walk, and it showed.
Her wings twitched, and she started at every breeze. But she was the
perfect picture of calm compared to Fluttershy. The poor pegasus stayed in
the center of our group and I could practically hear her heartbeat from here.
Her wings clamped tight to her body and she shuddered, giving a soft
whimper at every strange noise and distant sound. My heart went out to
her, but I didn't know what to do. All of her friends had said something
reassuring and hopeful, but she was still scared. Except Pinkie, I realized.
The resident party pony was bringing up the rear and had been oddly silent
this whole time. I turned to look at her. She was walking slowly, fiddling with
something in her saddle bags. I almost raised my voice to ask but thought
better of it. Pinkie was Pinkie; even a slow learner like me gets that
eventually. My newfound wisdom was proved only a few minutes later.
"Hey! Mr. Dresden!" I sighed and turned around. I was only halfway there
when a high speed something hit me in the face. I fell on my ass, letting go
my staff. It didn't hurt, but it had caught me by surprise. Whatever it was
had popped me right in the mouth; I licked my lips and tasted… frosting?
"Oops. Looks like I had the dial a little high, but it works!" Everyone looked
at her in startled silence. She stood on her hind legs, holding something
that looked disturbingly similar to a bazooka. It rested on her shoulder and
had a barrel big enough to put my fist in it. As I watched, Pinkie cocked the
gun (?) and a swirl of pink icing filled the barrel.
"Behold the Cupcake LauncherTM !" The crazy little pony cried as she
pulled the trigger and splattered Fluttershy's face with a pink frosted
cupcake.

"Pinkie! What in tarnation do you think yer doin'?" Applejack yelled at her
giggling friend.
Pinkie's eyes narrowed and she smiled. "So, you resist as well? Eat
cupcake!" She launched another pastry hitting the cowpony in the mouth
with pinpoint accuracy. The rest of her friends gasped and their open
mouths quickly became easy targets for her confectionary based
weaponry.
There was a startled second, where everypony, but Pinkie had a face full of
frosting. I broke the silence with a laugh so loud I scared the birds around
us into flight. Pinkie laughed with me uncontrollably. After the rest of the
group scraped the cupcakes off their faces, they joined in and the woods
echoed with the sound of our hilarity. A minute or so later sanity reasserted
itself and I quickly shushed everyone. I Listened, a skill derived more from
mental discipline than mystical, but nothing in the forest was stirring. The
crystal held its direction steady. It had grown brighter but was nowhere
near its full glow. With any luck Trixie wasn't close enough to hear us.
I turned back in time to see Pinkie giving a mock glare and eating a
cupcake out of the barrel of her gun. I nearly laughed again, but held it
down. "So, that's the mysterious something you were building?"
"Yep!" Pinkie chirped happily. "You said to bring something useful in a fight
and can't think of anything more useful than cupcakes, but I can't just carry
a plate of them around to everypony in the middle of an epic battle with all
those ninjas so I whipped up this baby to let me put cupcakes anywhere
within 100 yards!" She was literally bouncing with happiness, and everyone
got another chuckle.
"That's mighty thoughtful of you" Applejack managed through her laughter.
"I'd prefer some warning afore you send another cupcake my way, but that
is an awful funny notion, Pinkie. I guess there's a reason you're the
Element of Laughter."
I blinked, that was new. "The what of what?" The rest of the ponies stopped
and looked at me.
Twilight face palmed (hooved?). "You girls had an hour-long chat with him
and you didn't think to mention the Elements of Harmony?"

"Well, to be fair, Twilight, we spent most of the time discussing our ancient
history and the history and current state of his world. The Elements just
never came up."
Twilight sighed and nodded towards me. "Ok, well. The six of us are the
Bearers of the most powerful magic in all of Equestria, The Elements of
Harmony. Each of us represents one of Harmony's qualities. Pinkie Pie is
Laughter, Fluttershy, Kindness, Applejack, Honesty, Rainbow Dash,
Loyalty, Rarity, Generosity, and I'm Magic, the keystone."
I was silent for a moment.
"No."
"What?" Twilight looked confused.
"No. I don't accept this." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. "A wizard
from another dimension happens to open a gateway into a magical land
filled with talking ponies, and the first one he meets just happens to be the
holder of an ancient and sacred power. Then those two and her friends,
who also bear these powers, must rescue somebody she cares about from
a jealous rival? Are you kidding me? If Kirby did that in Arcanos, I'd walk
out! That's the plot of a crappy fantasy novel!"
"Actually-" Pinkie began, but Twilight cut her off.
"I'll admit it sounds… unlikely… but that doesn't change the truth. This is all
really happening."
I rubbed my face. "I know, I know. I just couldn't let it go any farther without
saying something. Anyway, moving on…" I only got a couple of steps
before Twilight spoke again.
"What, you're just going to ignore it? The Elements are the foundation on
which all of Equestria is built."
"Yes," I deadpanned. "I'm very good at ignoring things. Watch in awe as I
ignore the fact that Pinkie's cupcake launcher is way too big to fit in her
saddlebags, for instance." Everypony turned in time to see Pinkie stuff the
giant pastry bazooka into one of the small bags. They all continued to
stare, but she just shrugged and giggled.

I checked the crystal again and started walking. "Ok. That was fun," I said
over my shoulder. "But we need to keep quiet from now on. Remember,
surprise is key." All of the ponies nodded with much more enthusiasm than
they'd had just a few minutes ago. We continued to make our walk through
the forest, but now it didn't seem nearly so frightening. The wind was more
lonely than scary and the atmosphere wasn't half so oppressive. An
occasional giggle disrupted the silence, but otherwise the only noise was
our footsteps.
A while later we came upon a large clearing; there was some movements
in shadows at the opposite end. I had Twilight and Rarity douse their lights
and I let mine fade. It took a moment for our eyes to adjust, but a minute
later I could make out a pair of … creatures.
"What are those?" I whispered, not expecting a reply.
"They're um… manticores. It looks like a newly mated pair." Fluttershy said.
I turned to look at her and she developed a sudden interest in her hooves.
"I mean, see how the male barely has a mane yet? They're probably trying
to establish a pride in this part of the forest."
I put the crystal back in my pocket and tightened my grip on my staff. "So,
what are the odds we look like dinner to them?"
N-n-no," Fluttershy stammered. "They might attack one or two ponies, but
there's too many of us. Besides, you're something they've never seen
before and so they'll be cautious. As long as we don't run they won't follow
us." I glanced at her in surprise. This was the little pegasus who was
shaking with fright a few miles ago? There was more to Fluttershy than
there appeared.
"Okay," I said. "But watch them and tell me if they develop an interest in
us." I kept an eye on them just in case, but I turned my attention elsewhere.
"So, Ms. Dash, you still want to do some recon?"
"You bet! Just let me stretch." Her wings flared and began a series of
exercises. "I've been holding 'em still so long, I'm liable to get a cramp if I
don't warm up first." We started to plan a search pattern, but it was cut
short from an unexpected source.

There was a sudden soft shattering sound that seemed to come from
nowhere and everywhere at once, echoing through the forest. It came with
a small burst of magical dissonance, the mental equivalent of nails on a
chalkboard, and Fluttershy dropped soundlessly to the ground.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight cried rushing to her friend's side. Fluttershy's chest
pumped like a bellows and her face was contorted in pain. She whimpered,
obviously in agony, but I couldn't see any wounds or other causes.
"What wrong, Flutter-" Pinkie's concern was cut off by another sound,
identical to the first. She stopped mid-bounce with a sharp cry of pain and
fell to the ground. I spun around, scanning for threats, but there was
nothing. Only that sound and the barest trace of magic. It wasn't like any
kind of Thaumaturgy I'd ever seen before. The closest thing I could think of
was, disturbingly enough, Victor Sells' heart-exploding spell. But something
that powerful should have had an almost physical presence. Whatever was
hurting my new friends seemed deeper, their pain almost... incidental.
"Come out here and fight me hoof-to-hoof, you coward!" Rainbow
screamed. "Come on!"
The soft shattering rang through the woods and Applejack was next. She
gritted her teeth and sweat beaded on her brow. She seemed to resist for a
moment, but just like the other two, she collapsed with a stifled groan. We
were already three ponies down, and I had the feeling it wasn't done yet.
Rainbow was trying to help Fluttershy stand when it was her turn. She cried
out and her wings spasmed as she fell. Her muscles clenched and twitched
as she tried to move, but couldn't, her mind unable to coordinate her body
through the pain.
Less than a second later, Rarity fell with a whimper, curling herself in the
fetal position. There was only Twilight and I. The rest of the ponies were
still on the ground, paralyzed in agony. Her face had grown pale as friend
after friend succumbed, but now I could see a fury growing in her eyes. Her
horn began to glow and I felt her defenses settle into place.
"Twilight," I began. "What's going-"
But I was interrupted. The sound came again, but this time it was different.
Instead of shattering, it was a fierce impact like a hammer against bedrock.

Twilight shook as though she'd been hit but steadied herself. Another
impact, and she reacted like she'd been kicked in the stomach. She fell to
her knees, and I hurried to her side. Before I could reach her the sound of
shattering glass filled the clearing and she slumped over with only a soft
sigh.
As I watched her fall, something inside me screamed in raw anger. I didn't
know what was wrong. I didn't know how to fix it. I'd stood by helplessly as
six innocent ponies had been hurt. I let my staff go dim, but not in time to
stop me from seeing the tears on Twilight's face, a mix of rage and pain.
A roar brought me back to the real world and I turned in time to see one of
the manticores charging us. Apparently, six supine ponies were too
tempting a prey to ignore. I clenched my staff so hard my knuckles turned
white and the wood beneath them creaked in protest. My fury focused on
the charging beast like a lens as I prepared my spell. I couldn't use fire; it
was too flashy and too easy to lose control over. I wouldn't save my new
friends from the monster, only to kill them in a forest fire. Force it was, then.
That was fine with me.
My hands slid to the bottom of my staff and I waited until the monster was
close enough that I could count its teeth. I swung the focus like a baseball
bat, releasing the power I'd built with a shout.
"Forzare!" I bellowed. The head of the impromptu club buried itself in the
manticore's shoulder with the force of a car going 30. And I'm talking about
a big car – a couple tons of good Detroit steel, not one of those tiny
imports. With a pained grunt the creature went flying across the clearing
and slammed into a tree. Its mate roared in anger, and I turn to face it. The
male was a little bigger and he hauled ass, his claws carving long furrows
in the ground as he charged. I felt myself grin, wide and murderous. I was
going to try something a little tricky. A whisper of power and some applied
physics slammed into the beast from below, turning its forward momentum
into uncontrolled flight. It went sailing over all six of the ponies, flipping as it
did so. I ran to meet it, hefting my staff into an overhand position. As the
manticore came down on its back I swung down like I was using a pick-axe.
The tip of the staff glowed like a meteor as I pumped more and more
energy into it.

"Forzare!" I screamed again, my voice a primal reflection of its normal tone.
The manticore brought up both arms to shield itself from the blow, but they
were driven to its chest by my unstoppable strike, and I heard bones creak
and crack under the strain. I spun my staff not giving it time to recover and
shot a blunted lance of force into its center of mass. It skidded across the
ground, tearing its bat-like wings to shreds and leaving a few divots in the
soft terrain. Its mate helped it slowly to its feet and I could read murder in
its eyes. Not tonight. It would leave for now, but it had our scents. It would
be back. It may have been only dimly intelligent, but it understood revenge.
I growled. This thing would never get the chance. I prepared another strike;
they might be tough but it would never survive this. I was about to unleash
all hell on the beast, when a tiny voice stopped me. "P-please, don't."
I glanced over my shoulder. Fluttershy was struggling to stand, and
watched us, tears brimming in her eyes. I was split, my mind at war with
itself.
I don't want her to see this. The manticore will die a bloody mess; she
doesn't need that, not gentle Fluttershy.
But, my anger said. You want her to live. That manticore will kill and eat her
without a shred of remorse. She lives so close to the forest and you won't
always be there for her. Better that she lives to hate you then dies thinking
the best.
I was so tired of seeing people hurt, of failing to save them. I made my
decision. All of it, my rage, frustration, sadness and compassion gathered
itself and I forced it into my voice as I roared. There are no words that can
accurately capture the primal wave of thunder that tore itself from my
throat. Branches whipped through the air, the grass bowed away from me
and both manticores flattened their ears, bracing themselves against the
sound. The whole forest resonated with my voice and the echoes carried
far into the distance. I stopped, and stared into the eyes of the beast. It
didn't understand me, but I spoke anyway in a voice hardly more sane than
the scream had been.
"These ponies are under my protection and so help me God if you ever so
much as touch them, I will kill you, your mate and your cubs and eat your
hearts." My eyes narrowed until they were barely slits and I brought my
staff to life. The runes inscribed blazing to life more bright and terrible than

the fires of Hell itself. "Now, go!" The manticores fled from the sudden
display of light, slowly and painfully, but as quick as they could. I sent a
small lance of force after them to reinforce the lesson and was rewarded
with a pained yelp that quickly died down to whimpers.
I let out a long breath. I should have killed them, and Fluttershy's innocence
be damned. I turned to see the rest of the ponies recovering. Most of them
were staring at me in that uncomfortable mix of awe and fear. Except for
Twilight, who gave me a shallow nod and a smile of… gratitude? I could get
used to that. I sighed; all of the ponies seemed fine, although Rarity
complained of a splitting headache, and I wondered if I'd overreacted. I
busied myself with my crystal. I was so intent on it, that I didn't even notice
Fluttershy at first.
"How dare you."
"Huh?" I said intelligently
"How dare you!" She screamed flapping her wings and putting her face
right into mine. "I know those manticores were dangerous, but you didn't
have to hurt them, you big bully! If you'd roared at them and raised your
light at the beginning, they'd have left without a fight! But now? The female
had at least four broken ribs, from the way she breathed, and I could tell
you cracked her upper leg. But she was lucky compared to the male! Did
you even notice how much pain he was in before you shot that last spell at
him? Both of his front legs were cracked, if not outright broken, and you
crushed his sternum! What do you have to say for yourself?"
This was the pony who hardly dared to speak before? I was stunned by the
transformation and at first I could only agree with Twilight's decision to
bring her. As she went on though, my anger started to return. I had saved
their lives, stood up to two predators twice the size of any of them and this
was the thanks I got? My anger got the better of me, and I met her eyes.
Fine. She wanted to lecture me over a few broken bones? Why not let her
see real violence, real pain?
Somewhere in the background, I could vaguely hear Twilight panic,
"Fluttershy, no!"
Her eyes were the same color as glacial ice and they had about as much
warmth. Almost instantly a new sensation swept over me. I'd done battle in

the landscape of my own mind before, but this was different. Fluttershy's
will simply existed in my mind like a fact of nature as basic and ubiquitous
as gravity. I was consumed with an overwhelming fear and desire to
placate the angry pony before me. I tried to look away, to break out of
whatever this was, but I couldn't. I felt the Soulgaze beginning and her face
lost its anger, turning to shock what was happening. I tried again to pull
away, but her will still held me.
Before I could accidentally traumatize another pony, though, a violet glow
shoved her to the side, breaking the eye contact. I staggered as the force
of Fluttershy's gaze left me. The glow around Twilight's horn had faded by
the time my head cleared, and I noticed that the rest of the ponies were
staring at me.
"What?"
"Nothin'," Applejack said with a start. "It's just that I ain't never seen
Fluttershy use the stare on anypony before."
"Most certainly," Rarity added. "You're lucky Twilight saved you from the
full force of her glare. Sweetie Bell says she even stared down a cockatrice
with it."
"Yeah, lucky." I groaned trying to stop the post-adrenaline jitters. "That's
me all right."
Twilight was busy counseling Fluttershy. I turned back to my crystal for
another try and noticed with no small amount of displeasure that, its glow
was flickering. One magic circle, some quasi-Latin and a couple minutes
had it back to its fully functional self. There had been some slight
resistance this time, but it still pointed in the right direction. He didn't seem
to have moved.
The time alone had let me calm down. Maybe I'd gotten a little too angry
there, but I couldn't help it. Violence to women, children, and apparently
ponies, hit every last one of my murderous rage buttons. I glanced at the
rest of the group; hopefully seeing me cut loose hadn't freaked them out
too much. One pony, though, was upset for a different reason.
Fluttershy approached me again, but this time Twilight practically had to
push her there. I gave her a tired smile. She smiled shyly in response but it

quickly turned into a frown as she hid behind her bangs. She muttered
something, but it was too quiet and rushed for me to catch a word of it.
"Come again?" I frowned, closed my eyes and Listened.
She spoke again, this time using an even smaller voice, but I still caught it.
"You're sorry for shouting at me and using the stare? And you hope we can
still be friends, and I won't stop leading you to Spike?" She seemed
surprised that I'd gotten it, but she nodded enthusiastically. Twilight's jaw
dropped. I smiled again. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have met your eyes - I
was more than a little angry and not thinking clearly. Don't worry though, I
wouldn't abandon you ponies. We're friends aren't we?"
Her smile was a thing of beauty. I felt my heart melt faster than ice in a
blast furnace. The last of my anger just faded away like morning mist under
the bright sun; it was almost enough to let me ignore the small stab of guilt
at what I had almost put her through. Forget kittens - ponies were the new
cute, and I, for one, welcome our new adorable overlords.
Twilight just shook her head. "How in Equestria did you hear her? I couldn't
make out a single word."
I smirked. "A wizard has his ways."
She narrowed her eyes. "Meaning you're not going to tell me."
I laughed. "You've already learned plenty of my secrets, padawan. Save
some for later." I chuckled a couple more times at her expression, but then
became thoughtful. "Any idea what that shattering sound and magic was?"
"Yes." Every one of the six said at once. I blinked. Well, that was
interesting.
Twilight cleared her throat and with a nod from the others spoke. "We don't
know how, but each of us felt the same thing. The Elements of Harmony
were destroyed by some malicious force. I couldn't identify it, but it felt
familiar."
"Wait," I held up a hand. "I thought you were the Elements. How could they
be destroyed?"

She shook her head. "We're not the Elements themselves, but we are
connected to them. They're a part of us just as we're a part of them. The
Elements have physical manifestations that we need to wield to access
their powers." I opened my mouth to interrupt, but she had anticipated my
question. "They appear as five necklaces and a tiara; each set with a stone
that matches our cutie marks." She said, twisting to show me the six
pointed star on her flank. So, that's what they call the tattoos on their
asses. I didn't want to ask, but I did think that was kinda weird.
Worry crossed her face. "But the Elements are supposed to be safe in
Canterlot. What could have happened there?"
I shook my head. "Trixie did it. Or whoever's behind Spike's kidnapping."
She blinked at me in surprise and I continued. "That it's happening now is
way too much of coincidence. Trixie had some plan for revenge. Destroying
your sources of power seems like a good place to start." I realized what I'd
said, and looked at her in concern. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Oh, don't worry. The Elements can't be permanently destroyed, not by any
force I know of, anyway. Besides, I can already feel my Element healing
itself. We'll pull through." I felt my respect for her go up a notch. Tough girl.
"Okay," I spoke loudly. "Time to march again. Sorry, Rainbow, but we've
got no time to wait for a recon mission. We're going quiet from here on out,
and the only light we'll use is mine." I lit the runes in my staff with a flicker
of power and soft orange light washed over us once again.
"Everypony ready?" They all nodded. "Good."
We set off, and it was two long hours later that we finally found it. I killed
the light and crouched in the shadows, studying what lay before us. The
forest stopped at the edge of a crumbling cliff, vines trailing down it into the
darkness. I could just barely see the other side of the enormous, artificial
canyon. There had once been a quarry or a mine or something here, but
the forest had begun to reclaim it long ago. The walls were covered in
creepers, and small plants sprung from every possible crack. Interesting as
the ruins were, they were nothing compared to the building that stood in the
center.
It was an honest to God castle, ripped straight from a children's story, or
maybe Disney World. It had turrets, battlements, arrow slits, and a moat

complete with a drawbridge and portcullis at the outer gate. The old quarry
dwarfed it, but if the ground was as far away as I thought, it was huge,
more than a hundred feet tall and far wider than that. The crystal pointed
dead at it without the slightest deviation. It looked more like a little girl's
wish come true than the shadowy lair of an evil magician. But pretty or not,
it still looked strong and secure. Entrance wouldn't be easy, and I had no
idea how to proceed. I've done at lot of interesting things, but assaulting a
literal fortress wasn't one of them.
I reviewed my memory for anything that might help, but the only thing that
came to mind was The Princess Bride, and we didn't have a holocaust
cloak. Well, no use putting it off. Let's have fun storming the castle.
I gestured for the others to follow me. We'd barely moved when a shadow
rose before us. A shadow literally rose from the ground, taking threedimensional
shape. I glared at it and prepared my magic, but I was pretty
sure it was just a sending. It was difficult to tell, given it was made of pure
darkness, but I thought it smiled as it spoke.
"Welcome!" It cried with all the flair and show of a carnival barker. A few
small fireworks went off behind it as it gestured to the castle resting below.
Before anyone could say something, it spoke again, its voice becoming far
more silky and threatening. "A warm welcome indeed, Twilight Sparkle and
her friends. Behold Castle Silverstar, home of the greatest unicorn in all of
Equestria, The Dark and All-powerful Trixie."

Chapter 8
At last Castle Silverstar is almost done, Trixie thought as she walked down
the enormous stone corridor. This one connected the inner keep's throne
room with her bedchambers. It was well past time that she should have
taken her rest; she was exhausted. Two hours of non-stop magic had taken
their toll, even with the power of Nightmare coursing through her veins. But
it was worth the effort. She gave herself an impish smile in a passing mirror
and had to fight to contain her joy. Finally, the castle she'd dreamed of as a
filly was hers, and nopony could ever take it away.
The Nightmare stirred as they walked through an open door, and a new
thought entered her mind. This doorway is unprotected, and it is a
critical access point to your sleeping quarters. Should you be
attacked in your sleep, all of our preparations will be for nothing. Let
us set a snare here.
"Do we have to?" Trixie complained, quite reasonably. Whining was
beneath her. "I've already set dozens of traps, some of them ridiculously
elaborate. Not to mention the spell I have in place to warn me if anypony
even nears the quarry. One more trap won't make the difference between
victory or defeat, and I'm utterly exhausted."
The familiar voice fell silent, and Trixie sauntered past the empty arch. The
Nightmare's second defeat had left it paranoid, Trixie thought with a huff.
The description of its time within the Elements of Harmony did sound quite
harrowing, but that didn't excuse it from bothering her over trifles. Though if
she stopped to think about it…
If the Nightmare was right, she could be easily defeated just by missing a
key point of protection. The thought of losing everything she now had - her
castle, a wise ally, and all of this glorious power - chilled her to the bone.
But she couldn't just go back on what she had said. Worry began to creep
through her mind as the Nightmare spoke again.
Perhaps, that is somewhat unreasonable. You have worked long and
hard on many other details, but still it is worrisome. Might you find it

within yourself to do this as a favor? It would be very magnanimous
of you.
"Well," Trixie hesitated. "I suppose the Dark and All-powerful Trixie can
spare the time to help her staunchest ally. Besides, it never hurts to be
prepared." For a moment she thought she heard a malicious chuckle echo
through the castle, but when she focused on the sound, she realized it was
nothing but the wind whistling through the stony halls.
Returning to the arch, she studied it, and the Nightmare reminded her of
the castle's blueprint. There was nothing but solid rock for several yards
under this area of the castle, partially for stability, but also to prevent any
entry from below. It was unlikely the Diamond Dogs or any other burrowing
creature would dare attack her, but such insurance was always welcome.
Simple would be best, given her current state. She would make this one a
pit trap. A moment's thought and a wave of fresh power outlined a large
square on the floor, then the magic began to sink into the rock. Whatever it
touched changed, becoming soft and malleable as clay. With more power
Trixie began to pull out the pliable stone, until the pit was seven or eight
feet deep. An idle part of her mind began to shape some of the discarded
pieces into a wide, flat slab even as she focused and teleported the rest of
the stone into the quarry. The rest of the enchanted rock remaining in the
pit she formed into spikes, thin and viciously barbed. At the Nightmare's
direction she spaced them just far enough apart to ensure that nopony
could land safety. Formless tendrils of mystical energy scraped the walls of
the pit smooth and compressed the stone in the spikes until they were as
hard as rock even under the power of her shaping spell.
The rest of her mind finished with the slab, and Trixie paused to admire it.
The mosaic she'd etched into it was a stunning piece of work, all the more
so given the period of time in which she had done it. To the uncultured it
might appear as a chaotic mix of lines and shades, but Trixie saw it for the
abstract masterpiece it was. She levitated it over the mouth of the pit and
carefully fit it into place. It settled snugly, and with a sigh Trixie released the
stone shaping spell. The spears in the trap below stiffened suddenly,
turning hard as diamond, and the mosaic became simple stone once more.
Now for the tricky bit. Trixie focused on dual enchantments. One turned the
stone cover into dust, and the other held the first at bay until anypony other
than Trixie crossed through the doorway. Carefully, she set them, holding

the first until its trigger was ready. With a burst of will she finished both at
once, her horn bathing the hallway in a blaze of pink light. The floor panel
flashed with color, but quickly returned to its dull grey, seemingly
unchanged. Trixie could feel the enchantment at work though, a tense
spring just held back by the power of the second.
Trixie yawned. The process had barely taken a minute, but it had drained
her already low reserves. She gazed at her welcoming bed in the distance.
It almost seemed to be calling her. But first, she had to cross over the pit.
She glanced nervously at the floor.
Go on. Walk across it, the Nightmare prompted. No need to be nervous.
You completed the spell flawlessly.
Easy for you to say, Trixie thought sullenly. Hesitantly putting one hoof in
front of the other, she held what little magic she had left. If the trap
triggered, she could levitate herself to safety. But much to her relief, and
the Nightmare's satisfaction, the spell recognized her and the floor
underhoof remained solid.
The last fifty feet felt like a mile, but finally she dragged herself into her
enormous canopy bed. Pulling the curtains closed, she relaxed and let
herself drift off softly to-
ERNT ERNT ERNT ERNT
"You are bucking kidding me!" Trixie screamed in frustration.
The warning charm continued unabated by her outburst. Its booming,
annoying tone echoed throughout her mind. With an angry thought she
silenced it. The moment the siren stopped the Nightmare began its own
complaining.
Hurry! it urged, and a sense of extreme anxiety came over Trixie. She
ignored it, or least tried to. Several somethings have entered the quarry.
You must investigate.
With a long-suffering sigh, Trixie pulled herself from the bed, swearing dark
oaths about the fate of whatever creature had disturbed her rest. Once
upright and refocused, she reached out, concentrating on her subtle web of
detection spells. The breakage was from one of the farthest corners of the

quarry in the forest just outside its limits. There were multiple creatures, all
large enough to set off her sensors.
This was serious. Trixie stopped complaining, and the Nightmare began a
rush of paranoid whispers, all speculating on what had gone wrong. The
group hadn't set off the second line yet, so they must be moving slowly.
Trixie walked down the hall toward one of her many unfurnished rooms. It
would be her study, once the castle was finished, but for the moment it was
empty and unlit. Trixie left it darkened and moved carefully to one of its
windows.
Focusing on her spells again, she stared intently at the distant forest.
Before her transformation, she would've been practically blind in the
darkness, but now the weak moonlight illuminated her domain more brightly
than the noon sun. Even a creature of night had limits, though, and the
trespassers were much too distant to make out. A minor spell of far-seeing
fixed that, allowing her to view the remote scene.
Trixie cursed quietly, and the Nightmare's whispers doubled in speed.
"I should have known," Trixie murmured, still staring at the ponies invading
the quarry. "Despite her limited talents, Twilight has always been a thorn in
my side. Of course she and her friends would interrupt my well-deserved
rest." She began to plot, considering how to deal with them as quickly and
efficiently as possible, but her train of thought was entirely derailed by the
appearance of another creature. It was a ridiculously tall biped, completely
covered in strange clothing. It carried a stick almost as tall as itself in one
long, twig-fingered hand and a glowing crystal hung from the other. Twilight
conferred briefly with the bizarre being, both of them staring intently ahead.
What in Equestria is that thing? She wondered. The answer came from a
surprising source.
A human? Here? The Nightmare asked in surprise. Its voice fell to a low
mutter, too quiet for Trixie to catch more than a few scattered words.
"The Dark and All-powerful Trixie assumes you have some knowledge
about that mare's odd new ally." She got nothing but a mental nod in
response, and the speculative murmuring continued. Fighting down a fresh
wave of frustration, Trixie acidly asked, "Would you be so kind as to share
it?"

Humans are a violent little race from another realm. They hold an
astounding amount of darkness in their hearts, but they can be quite
irrational when angered. Volatile and unpredictable. This one's arrival
is very unfortunate – the glowing crystal indicates that he is capable
of magic. Depending on his realm of origin, he may be a formidable
opponent. We must deal carefully with this one.
Given your current state of exhaustion, the best course of action
would be to hold a knife to dragonling's throat and offer his life in
exchange for Twilight's. Kill her in front of her friends, then return to
the castle and rest. They should be enraged enough to attempt a
frontal attack. The castle's traps will kill most of them, and after
recovering fully, you can slaughter the survivors at your leisure.
For a moment Trixie was speechless.
An excellent plan, is it not?
"No! It most certainly is not!" Trixie screamed, her horn flickering with
power born of her rage. An aura as black as the void surrounded her, and
what little light entered the room was overwhelmed. "That is the most
cowardly, pathetic plan ever devised. You would have the Dark and Allpowerful
Trixie hide behind a hostage? She holds a power greater than any
those inferior little foals could imagine! They would dare to assault Castle
Silverstar? The Dark and All-powerful Trixie shall defeat them here and
now in open combat. How is that for a plan?"
NO!
The Nightmare's one word reply hit her like a hurricane. The mental
sledgehammer disoriented her, and for a moment the air tasted distinctly
purple. Waves of vertigo made her stagger, and she fought to hold down
her meager dinner even as her head began to clear.
Trixie growled. "Do you think the Dark and All-powerful Trixie is your
lackey? You are lucky she even considers you a peer. Without her you'd
still be trapped in your prison wasting away, dissolved by the forces of
Harmony. Who is in charge here? Who makes the decisions? You merely
advise."

The Nightmare fell silent and then the dizziness, along with the pressure of
its presence, suddenly faded. It was still actively thinking, but no longer did
it in intrude on her consciousness. After a moment it spoke, sounding
apologetic, perhaps even remorseful.
Humblest apologies. The intent was not to dictate your actions, but to
suggest a safer plan. What sort of partner would want their ally to be
hurt?
Trixie was a little surprised by the sudden shift in the Nightmare's
demeanor, but it was overwhelmed by the satisfaction of winning the
argument. She had matched wills with one of the most powerful entities in
Equestria, and it had backed down. It did, however, deserve an
explanation. A reward for bowing to her superior resolve.
"The Dark and All-powerful Trixie understands and is grateful for your
concern, but nonetheless, she cannot accept your plan. Such an act, while
undoubtedly effective, would be beneath her. When I rise to prominence,
bards will sing of my adventures. These actions shall echo down the ages!
That is why Twilight and the rest of the Elements of Harmony must be
defeated properly. Only a story such as that is worthy."
But even as she spoke a new thought occurred to her. Was Twilight worthy
of that honor? Once she had rivaled Trixie in beauty and power, the perfect
nemesis. But now? Now, Twilight was but an insect to the vast strength the
Nightmare had provided. The more she thought about it, the more foalish
her plan sounded. Why should the Dark and All-powerful Trixie go to
Twilight, much less any of her pathetic friends? She had already defeated
them before she had gained true power. As the far superior pony, others
should come to her.
You are right. Why not let the foals prove themselves in your castle?
If they are really worthy of the Dark and All-powerful Trixie's attention,
they should be able to navigate your traps. If not, then they never
deserved to face you at all.
"Yes, and imagine the story it will make. Pitting my cleverness against the
Elements of Harmony and an inter-dimensional mage. I can envision it
now; one by one they'll fall into my snares until only Twilight is left. She will
face me in a duel of magic, one of such power and awe that it will be
spoken of for eons. Depending only how well she does, I may not even kill

her, just enslave her." Trixie smiled cruelly at that image. "Yes, I'll place her
under geas to obey me and use her to spy on the Princesses. What a
lovely fate for my greatest enemy! Betraying her mentor, ensuring my reign
comes to fruition, and spending the rest of her life serving me."
A brilliant plan mistress. It far outshines the other two.
Trixie clapped her hooves together, pleased by her own cunning, but doubt
quickly entered her mind. "But how will I keep track of them? The bards
can't sing of my victory if I don't know what happened. And the wait will be
so boring."
Here is an idea…
…
I was silent, but dozens of curses flashed through my mind. This was not
how I'd planned it. We'd lost our biggest edge, and the worst part was that I
didn't even know how. Now we had an alert enemy, and she seemed a lot
more competent than the unicorn Twilight had described to me. I processed
all of that in less than a second, but some of the group had quicker
reflexes.
"Gotcha!" Rainbow cried diving forward in a technicolor streak.
"Wait!" But I was much too slow. Rainbow went straight through the
shadowy figure standing before us; her momentum sent her soaring over
the edge of the crumbling cliff.
"Rainbow!" I panicked.
She flipped and braked hard, her wings beating rapidly. A moment later she
had returned to the group. "What?"
"…um." Evidently I still hadn't quite adjusted to flying ponies. "Nothing," I
muttered.
The shadowy figure stood patiently – unresponsively, even – in spite of
Rainbow's attack. It flickered suddenly, like a faulty TV, and the image
refocused. This time with a pair of large, glowing eyes, both of them a solid
crimson. It had shrunk and was now a little smaller than any pony in the

group, making it look disturbingly child-like. The Creepy List didn't stop
there as it began to speak.
"Hmph. Done playing around? This is only a construct, you foal. It can't be
harmed. True, it's a pain in the flank to pull back together after it's
disturbed, but that merely annoys me. And ask yourselves: do you really
want to annoy the Dark and All-powerful Trixie?"
It was like watching a bad puppet in action. The words and its mouth
movements were just barely out of synch. The whole combination was
straight out of the uncanny valley, but I'd seen worse. Soulgaze somebody
possessed by a Fallen Angel, and nothing else can really compare.
"So." I addressed the figure examining us. "What do you want?"
The large red eyes widened slightly "Goodness, it can speak? What other
tricks have you taught it, Twilight?"
Being the mature adult I am, I ignored that remark and focused on another
topic. "Hey, I'm curious. You do know that the whole red-eyed shadow thing
is one of the oldest villain clichés in the book, right? I mean, just so you're
aware that you're completely unoriginal."
The figure spun toward me. "Unoriginal?" she hissed. "The Dark and Allpowerful
Trixie is the most creative and inspired unicorn in the land!"
I snorted and crossed my arms. "What land would that be? Bizarro world? I
mean, it's not just the look." I gestured to her sending. "Your dialogue is
straight out of a bad movie and the castle could've been taken from a kid's
story. Seriously, I've seen Hollywood studios with more originality."
She ground ebony teeth and glared daggers at me. The rest of the group
stifled giggles, and that only enraged her further. Then she stopped, her
face becoming thoughtful, and I had the strangest feeling. It was like
something was being said just out of my hearing, a persistent murmur that I
couldn't tune in on. It faded as quickly as it had come, and I had to wonder.
What the hell was that? But I didn't have time to ponder. Trixie had lost her
thoughtful look. Instead she was giving me an enormous smile. That can't
mean anything good.

"You think you're clever don't you, human?" She knew what I was? "But
such jokes must come at a price." Her mouth grew wider, the smile
changing into a disturbing parody that literally stretched from ear to ear.
Way to go Harry, you managed to antagonize an unbalanced warlock with
a hostage. Anything else stupid for today?
She wasn't finished though. "Bow before me and apologize, or I will hurt
Twilight's precious little dragon." Twilight gasped and Trixie turned to face
her.
"Oh, don't think I forgot, what I promised you in that letter." The sending
purred. "You chose to break one of my rules, so guess what happens?"
I felt my right hand clutch my blasting rod like a vice. I had never wanted to
blast something as badly as I did the creature before me. But I knew that
would only make things worse. I swallowed my anger, though it burned like
cheap whiskey all the way down. "I'm sorry."
"Beg your pardon?" Trixie asked, her blood colored eyes practically
sparkling.
I tried to shut out all of the pyrokinetic thoughts and gave her a full bow,
putting my head almost level with hers. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what? And remember to address me properly."
A fresh wave of hate washed over me, something so strong it was almost a
palpable thing, but I willed my voice to be calm.
"I'm sorry for insulting you, Dark and All-powerful Trixie."
She giggled like a school girl and clapped her hooves together. "Oh, you
were right! This is fun!"
What? Who the hell is she talking to?
"Very well. Apology accepted, but keep in mind who is in control here." She
tossed her mane and turned to regard the rest of the group. Morale had
taken an obvious hit from my apology, but all of them still looked
determined. Nobody had backed down, but Trixie didn't seem impressed.

"What do you want, Trixie?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, you know what I want." Trixie smiled. "But you're not here for that.
You're here for what you want, namely your scaly assistant. I have him,
and despite your disobedience I'm willing to give him to you." The group
stirred with puzzled excitement, Pinkie Pie even broke into a huge smile,
but I knew there had to be a catch.
"Well, that's mighty-" Applejack began.
"If you can come and get him." Trixie challenged. "You must overcome the
deadly trials of Castle Silverstar, face down all of its guardians, and finally
defeat the Dark and All-powerful Trixie. What will you do, Twilight? Will you
risk your friends' lives, all for one little dragon?" The eerie little bitch was
staring into Twilight's eyes with undisguised glee. The purple unicorn met
her stare with one that burned with fury.
"I don't care what you do or say to me, but nopony hurts my
friends. Especially Spike. We're coming for you, and nothing you put in our
way is going to stop us. I don't enjoy fighting, but after everything you've
done, beating you is going to make my day." Her friends cheered her on,
their confidence restored, and I broke into a smile of my own.
"Come on everypony! To the castle." She set off toward a distant staircase
at fast march, and the rest of the ponies followed. I hurried to keep up, and
the sending followed us, staying with me at the back of the pack.
"You should quit while you're ahead." I told the sending. Trixie turned to
look at me surprised, and I gave her a smile of own. One with lots of teeth.
"You just pissed off a serious powerhouse. If I were you, I'd bow out."
The insane, ear-to-ear grin returned, and she started to laugh at me. It was
a little maniacal and cheesy at first, but then it rose in pitch and dropped
the booming tone, slowly taking on a new quality until it sounded like
nothing I'd ever heard before. That wasn't a human laugh, or a pony's. An
intense chill that had nothing to do with the night wind swept through me. I
barely stopped myself from shuddering and kept an eye on the shadow
creature that followed us.
She was a study in opposites. Just when I was ready to write her off as
another two-bit stage villain, she suddenly acted competent and in control.

Split-personality? Demonic influence? Hell, she might just be plain old
crazy. Whatever the case, she was playing us somehow. I don't know how
yet, but the walk to the castle was going take some time, even at our brisk
pace.
"So," I said to the evil, kidnapping little bitch. "Why don't you tell me a little
about yourself, O Dark and All-powerful Trixie?"
…
Forget dignity; I was about to start begging the damned witch to kill me
quickly.
"- but of course even outnumbered five to one, the Dark and All-powerful
Trixie wasn't afraid. Those foalish schoolyard bullies were about to be
taught why there are some ponies you should never cross." I had
apparently hit on her favorite topic (can you guess what that was?) and she
hadn't shut up since. If she hadn't had a hostage, I would have drop kicked
that stupid little sending to the moon just to end the noise.
But every cloud, even ones made of mind-numbing nerve gas, had a silver
lining. The more time she spent bragging to me, the less time she had to
taunt Twilight and the others. They shot her dark glances every few
minutes but seemed otherwise content to leave her to me. The
conversation was a big dud in terms of getting useful info, but I noticed
something interesting. The sending's mouth ran nonstop and its body
language had shifted into exaggerated gestures that I hadn't seen outside a
high school drama club, but its eyes followed me. No matter how Trixie
turned her head, the eyes still seemed to watch me. My instincts were
pretty reliable, and right now every one of them was screaming that it
wasn't Trixie that was watching me. There was something else behind
those red orbs, sharing that body. I shuddered, remembering the Denarians
I'd faced last winter, but I doubted this thing was that bad. For one thing,
half of us would be dead by now if it were, but mainly I doubted the world
could be this peaceful if anything like those nickelheads were running
around. It was interesting to see, though, that even a peaceful world like
this still had its own demons. In a lot of ways it was almost reassuring that
some things held true across dimensions.

I dimly noticed that the prattling monologue had come to an end. Trixie
turned to face me, her face synching with her eyes, and I had to say
something.
"Uh.. fascinating." I didn't quite manage a straight face, but she didn't seem
to notice.
"The Dark and All-powerful Trixie is, isn't she? You're such a good listener,
it's almost a shame you're going to die."
Now it was my turn to laugh. "Honey, you aren't the first to tell me that and
you sure as hell won't be the last. I've destroyed a loup-garou, killed a
noble of the Red Court and brought down one of the lesser queens of the
Fae. You're just another job, and when smoke clears, I'm not gonna be the
one on the ground."
Her eyes narrowed until they looked like two thin wounds. "Maybe I
overestimated your abilities as a conversationalist. I hope you're the first to
go."
I chuckled "Don't bet on it."
…...
"Take that, you overgrown garden decoration!" I screamed, blowing the
head off the bear statue lumbering toward me. The gate hadn't been hard
to get past, but crossing the castle grounds had proven … difficult.
Four gigantic statues, each depicting a different animal, lined the long path
to the door. The enchantments in them buzzed like high voltage cables, but
even now I could barely sense them. The castle was so infused with magic
it was hard to tell where one spell ended and another began. The statues
had waited until we were in the center of all four, then they'd come to life.
The enormous stone serpent quickly moved to the castle gate, cutting off
any retreat, and the other three had charged us. Their weight gave them a
ferocious amount of momentum despite their slow speed. The bear
reached down and picked up its head, smashing it in back into place with
brute force while the other two continued their ponderous charge.
"Hell's bells," I muttered as the bear fixed itself. "I call shenanigans." But
my complaints weren't stopping the tiger and the wolf. I concentrated,

eaching deep within myself and with a shout I brought a long, two-foot-tall
wall of force up in front of them. Their feet hit it, sending them stumbling. It
strained my spell almost to the breaking point, but I clung to it fiercely and
the statues finally crashed to the turf. For a human, or a pony, that's not a
big deal. You trip, you pick yourself up, and at worst you have a sprained
ankle. The golems, though, were 15 feet at the shoulder, and when you
weigh multiple tons, gravity is not a kind mistress. All that mass and energy
was converted into impact and I heard stone crack and shatter as they
plowed into the ground. "Yeah! Harpoons and tow cables win again!" I
cheered.
I glanced at my group. Twilight was watching the statues, mumbling
something under her breath, brow furrowed. Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity and
Fluttershy were gathered around Twilight dividing their attention between
Trixie's sending and the stone guardians, looking wary of both. Rainbow, of
course, had already charged into the fray.
"So you think you're tough, huh? Try some of this!" She yelled, kicking the
bear in the face. Give her credit, the stone did splinter a little, but the cracks
healed almost as quickly as they'd appeared.
"Everyone!" I yelled, breaking Twilight's musing and getting Rainbow's
attention. "Run away!" A good leader leads by example and I sure set one,
heading for some of the open ground off the path. The snake watched us
interestedly, but didn't move from its post. I turned and was gratified to see
the ponies following me. Once we were a decent distance away and no
longer surrounded on three sides, I stopped, studying the statues. They
were moving slower now, cautious of another wall. Damn, they're smart,
too.
"So, what now?" Applejack asked, worriedly eyeing the approaching
statues.
"Well, we'd better not risk another frontal assault. Those statues are
dynamite." I grinned, briefly wishing for a holy hand grenade, but I quickly
became serious again. "It looked like you were trying to figure out
something, Twilight. Have you got any ideas?"
She nodded. "I recognize the spell Trixie used to animate them and I think I
can counter it. Unfortunately, it's close-range only. I'll need to be close
enough to the statues to touch them."

I thought for a moment. I could work with that. "Ok, here's the plan. Pinkie,
attract the bear's attention and lead it away from the other two. Applejack
and Rarity will take out the feet and Rainbow will topple it with a blow to the
head. The impact will stun it for a moment while it pulls itself back together;
that's when Twilight will take the spell apart. I'll keep the other two
distracted. Everyone got it?" I got a round of quick nods and Pinkie giggled.
"Good, let's get to it." I turned to face the golems; they were growing bolder
and moving a little faster. I was about to lash out with another force spell,
when something tugged at my coat. I looked down in surprise. It was
Fluttershy wearing a troubled expression.
"Um… I don't want to be a bother," she mumbled, staring at the ground.
"But what should I do?"
"Uh…" I tried to think fast. "Keep close to me and make sure nothing
sneaks up on us. I could use somepony to watch my back."
She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't exactly shocking that she
didn't want to fight. But that wasn't important right now. I aimed my staff,
drew on the plentiful magic of Equestria, and shot a lance of force towards
the tiger. It yelped and jumped back, leaving one of its legs behind. It
staggered as it moved to repair itself, entirely focused on me.
"Over here!" Pinkie cried shaking her tail at the bear. It gave an angry roar
at the indignity and chased after her. The wolf growled at it, but the bear
was blind in its rage. Pinkie led it toward the door of the inner keep,
laughing at it all the way. The golem had just started to pick up speed when
it hit the trap. Applejack popped out from behind one of the statue's
pedestals and kicked it in the ankle with both hooves. The stone cracked,
and then shattered, unable to support the bear's immense weight. Rarity
concentrated from a distance, sweat beading on her brow, and a stone the
size of a watermelon smashed into its other leg. The bear was off balance,
and it toppled towards Applejack, intending to crush her under its weight. I
turned my attention from the tiger, drawing in my will to thrust Applejack
clear. I knew I wouldn't make it in time. Rainbow Dash was supposed to
have knocked it down! Where the hell was she?
Before I could act, Rainbow flashed out of the skies, moving so fast that a
cone of air had formed around her. She plowed into the bear's shoulder
blades, adding all that energy to gravity's attraction. The bear hit the hard

ground with a heavy thud, accompanied by a horrendous shattering noise,
and I stopped firing distraction shots at the other two statues long enough
to give a short cheer with the rest of the group. The bear was so broken it
was difficult to tell what it had been. Twilight trotted over to the pile of
formerly mobile rocks, touching one of the largest with her shining horn,
and the enchantment animating the stone began to fall apart. Twenty
seconds later we were down one statue. I smiled at the tiger and wolf
facing me. Lances of well placed force ripped limbs from them, and they
stopped once more to repair themselves.
"Don't rush now, boys." I said with a smile. "You'll get your turns."
The other ponies rejoined me and I outlined the new plan. "Ok, now Pinkie,
Rarity and Applejack are on distraction. Keep the statues in one spot, but
don't get too close and back off entirely when you hear me yell. Rainbow,
you carry Twilight. When they're immobilized, take her in quickly. Keep
watching out for sneak attacks, Fluttershy." The ponies nodded and I
started to focus.
I'm not good with earth magic. What I had in mind was as much fire magic
as earth, but that didn't make it any easier. I extended my senses,
searching the rock underfoot for weaknesses. Luckily, whatever Trixie had
done to raise the castle had left the ground unstable. I focused on the
ground underneath the golems and I built my power. It took two long and
agonizing minutes, listening to the roars and scraping stone of the enraged
golems. The three ponies were running rings around them and any time
they tried to move forward Rarity tricked them into turning back with
illusions. I don't usually rely on the forces of the earth in battle for a good
reason, but finally the spell was done.
"Flammamurus!" I cried, forcing all the heat of molten steel into the stone
beneath the statues. It let out a whistling rush of steam and liquefied
immediately, forcing the ponies who were corralling the statues to jump
back from the brand new pool of lava. The heat hadn't gone far, no more
than a couple feet deep, but that was more than enough to envelop the
golems up to their shins. They began to struggle, tearing themselves out of
the bubbling stone. I didn't have enough time to charge another force spell,
but I'd expected that. I drew back my right fist and shot a quick jab at the
wolf, triggering two of my rings. The magic stored within lashed out with the
force of a forty pound sledgehammer. The wolf had been lifting its left front

leg, so aimed at the right smashing it to pieces. Unbalanced, it fell fully into
the liquid stone. I gave the tiger the same treatment, using my other three
rings to do it, and it fell with a splash. With a modest bit of magic and some
murmured quasi-Latin, I pushed the energy out of the stone into the cool,
night air. Encouraging the heat to do what it wanted to do anyway was
much easier than putting it there in the first place. As the rock around the
statues cooled, they were held immobile, straining at the trap. I couldn't see
it from here, but I knew they were already making cracks in the stone. I
drew in my breath to shout, but I was late as usual. Rainbow dropped from
the sky, flashed Sir Isaac Newton an obscene gesture with more of her
impossible braking, and set Twilight softly on top of the restrained tiger. Her
horn glowed like the sun and the tiger stopped struggling. The wolf followed
a few seconds later and I let out a sigh amid the ponies' cheers.
"Um," a hesitant voice caught my attention. "Could you get Twilight over
here, please?"
I turned around "Hell's bells!" I yelped. I don't know how something that big
could be so quiet, but the serpent was barely ten feet behind me. Before I
dropped into panic mode, I noticed two important details. One, the snake
was as still as the rock it had come from. Two, Fluttershy had locked eyes
with it and apparently had been staring it down for a while. "Whatever you
do," I murmured, "Don't blink. Blink and we're dead."
I turned to yell but my earlier exclamation had already caught Twilight's
attention. Rainbow was carrying her even as she charged her horn with
another spell. The snake began to struggle as Twilight neared but
Fluttershy stepped further towards it, forcing it to hold still. Twilight pressed
her glowing horn to the serpent's side. A few seconds later it stiffened, as
the animating spell dissipated.
After more than a few cheers and some celebratory projectile cupcakes, we
stood before the door of the keep. It was locked and didn't look to be
moving any time soon.
"Hey, there's plenty of windows higher up." Rainbow said. "I'll go through
one of those and open the door from the inside." Before anyone could
voice a reason for why that was a bad idea, she was up and off, headed for
the window at high speed. About fifteen feet away she began to slow, the
air around her distorting, stretching as though it was made of elastic.

Suddenly, the resilient barrier snapped back and she shot toward the
ground, spiraling uncontrollably as Newton responded in kind with a onefinger
salute.
"Rainbow!" Applejack cried. I focused on the pegasus bringing my power to
bear, but Twilight beat me to the punch. A purple glow surrounded the
falling daredevil and she slowed down until she touched down lightly.
Anybody else might have been hesitant to try again, but Rainbow was
another story.
"Let's try that again." She growled, only seconds after landing. She spread
her wings and tried to shoot off, but this time Applejack was ready for her.
The cowpony bit down on Rainbow's tail, and the pegasus stopped cold.
"Hold on there, sugarcube!" she said between clenched teeth.
"Aw, c'mon! Let me try it again. I'll get it this time," Rainbow said, straining
to break free.
"No. We don't need you breaking that thick head of yours, falling from that
height." The cowpony mumbled around her mouthful of prismatic tail.
"Oh, why don't you let her try?" Trixie asked her voice dripping with
insincere sweetness. "It was rather amusing, after all, and I'd like to see
how many times Twilight can catch her." That made Rainbow try even
harder, but Applejack wouldn't let go.
"Stop." Twilight commanded, looking cross. "We'll find another way in. Any
thoughts, Mr. Dresden?" I had a few, but better explore our other
alternatives first.
"Can you teleport in there?"
She shook her head sadly. "Line-of-sight only, unless I can envision where
I'm going." I'd expected as much, but it's best to check. I knocked on the
door and it echoed faintly; the stone was thick and my pounding hadn't
shifted it in the slightest. I could feel the power in the rock, enchanted to
resist impact. An immovable object. I tried thinking of something clever, but
I kept coming back to one idea over and over. Well, why not? If it doesn't
work, we can always try something else.

"Everyone stand back. I'm going to try something a little dangerous." The
group moved to obey and I backed up until I was a good twenty feet from
the entrance. I concentrated, drawing in power. The quarry and the forest
around it were just as saturated in magic as the meadows I'd stood in
earlier. That time I'd concentrated on fire, but here I was aiming for
something a little different. The magic built within me as I gathered as much
as I could. I kept going, absorbing power until my muscles ached and my
nerves screamed. I opened my eyes, seeing the world, through a bluewhite
haze, and pointed my staff at the door like a loaded gun.
"Forzare!" I bellowed my voice an octave lower than usual. A wild torrent of
pure kinetic energy erupted from my staff, and I fought to keep my balance
as the recoil shoved me back several steps. The spell streaked across the
distance faster than a comet and slammed into the door. Stone creaked in
protest but irresistible force won and the door was blown off whatever
hinges it had. I marched through the gaping hole in the wall and smiled.
"Knock, knock. Anypony home?"

Chapter 9
There are a lot of creepy places in the world. I mean tons, some of them
famous, others obscure. Some of them are meant to be scary, but most just
end up that way. The scariest all share one common trait: emptiness were
it shouldn't be. An abandoned town, stores and homes left barren; an old
factory, the dead machinery waiting for workers that would never come; an
unused stadium, vacant seats and empty hallways echoing with your
footsteps. All of these places are meant to be filled with noisy, bustling
people, and their emptiness feels unnatural. Now add to that emptiness the
feeling of looming, implacable power you get from a thunderstorm on the
horizon and the neck-prickling suspicion that every shadow is alive and
hungry. That's what Castle Silverstar felt like.
We only stood in the main entry hall, but the darkness was already
oppressive. Twilight and Rarity relit their horns while I checked my crystal.
The ponies gathered around me, staring at the glowing spindle of quartz. It
still pointed deeper into the castle, aiming upwards at a steep angle. Spike
was somewhere on an upper floor, but I didn't see any staircases here. I
put it away, my bones aching and my mind exhausted. I wasn't even forty
yet, and I was already too old for this shit. All the adrenaline from the fight
with the statues had burned out, and I was finally feeling the strain of all my
spells even with the magic-rich environment. I was going to hurt come
morning, but I had to live that long first.
"What's our next course of action, Mr. Dresden?" Rarity asked, brushing
the dust and rock shards from our battle out of her mane. How she
managed to restore to its pristine, original appearance was beyond me, but
I put that aside and considered the question.
"Looks like there are two hallways; which we want to take? That one looks
little closer to Spike, but the other looks like a main passage. The second's
more likely to have stairs."
Twilight thought about it for a moment, and the other ponies waited for her
opinion. "Let's take the first one. It's closer to Spike, and it has to have a set
of stairs at some point." I was a little doubtful of that logic, but we needed to
keep moving and I didn't have any preference.

We'd barely entered the hallway when I held out my hands, stopping the
ponies behind me. "Don't move." I'd spotted something on the ceiling
ahead. I peered up at it, coming a little closer. "Huh," I said. "Trixie installed
a murder hole."
"A what?" Rarity blurted. The rest of the ponies moved forward peering up
at the grate in the ceiling. I don't know what she had up there, but I doubted
it was party favors.
"A murder hole. There's a technical name for them, but I can't remember it.
Most castles had them back in the middle ages; you pour boiling water, or
any deadly liquid, onto invaders to kill them. The really nasty ones pour oil
down a long hallway, then throw down a torch." I stopped my musing and
realized what I'd just said. Most of my new friends looked uncomfortable,
but the shadow-Trixie just laughed.
"That is an excellent idea, human. I'll have to remodel the castle once we're
done. Any other suggestions?"
I had a suggestion for her all right, but before my mouth could get me in
trouble, Twilight spoke up. "They're called machicolations. Ancient pony
castles also had them. It's rare to see any these days, though, most of
those structures are nothing but ruins." I only listened with one ear,
concentrating on the trap ahead of us. I picked up a rock and tossed it
forward. There was an odd click, and a column of fire burst from the murder
hole. The flames died out after a few seconds and the trap hissed quietly,
probably resetting itself. The rock was only a bit scorched, but anything
living would have been barbeque before they could react. After a few
minutes of strategizing, I discovered that Twilight's shield differed
significantly from mine. I mainly pit force against force, but she could tune
her version to stop a whole spectrum of things, including the heat of the
flames. That's a neat trick. I wonder if I should look into it? I thought as we
shuffled through the fire in Twilight's shield bubble. It was cramped as hell,
but on the other hand none of us were roasted alive, which is always a
plus.
The long, windowless hallway twisted multiple times, but its general
direction was still consistent with the crystal. There were rooms here and
there along the hallway. Some were open and empty, while others
remained mysteriously shut. We left them all alone; the crystal never

pointed in their direction. Besides, they might have been booby-trapped,
and we were already dealing with more than enough traps in the main
passage. After the murder hole there'd been a pit trap, a rain of stones from
the ceiling, holes in the walls that shot darts and even an enormous
boulder, one that filled the whole hall, rolling towards us.
"Now all I need is a fedora and whip, and this would be perfect." I muttered
after Twilight teleported us a few feet forward, neatly avoiding the stone
juggernaut.
We took a breather; moving everyone even a few feet had left Twilight
panting. She hadn't wanted to stop, but everyone else voted her down.
Canteens and some of Pinkie's neverending cupcakes were passed
around. Trixie had been oddly silent as trap after trap failed. While we
waited she slunk off, muttering to herself, and I realized the same
murmuring sensation was back. Interesting, I concentrated and Listened.
Her words became clear, but the low droning staying frustratingly out of
reach.
"—said no. I am not holding a knife to the dragon's throat." Her voice
sounded strained, like it was real effort to say that. "Are you questioning
me? We will be fine in the end, so stop badgering me with your paranoia.
The longer they survive, the more interesting the story becomes." There
was a moment of silence; she was probably listening to its response.
"Quiet." She ordered. "They're getting ready to move again." Curiouser and
curiouser. Our wicked witch wasn't getting along with her demonic friend.
There was a good and a bad side to that coin. The good side was that
Trixie was still in control of herself to some degree; maybe she could be
reasoned with or, failing that, exorcised. The bad side was that the demon
was giving her some very practical advice. If she really did take full
advantage of having a hostage, we were screwed. Hell, we might be
screwed anyway, but I'd rather go down fighting.
The corridor we were in now was as unremarkable as the rest. A few unlit
torches lined the walls, but this section didn't even have any rooms to
break the monotony of the bare, grey stone. That should have been my first
clue, as any dungeon master will tell you, but hey – I was tired, and still
contemplating our possessed hostess. Rainbow and Applejack had the
lead, Rainbow for speed and Applejack for muscle. They were a good ten

feet ahead of the rest of the group when the trap sprung. A jaundice-yellow
barrier flared to life behind me and began spreading like paint along the
walls to the other end of the hall.
"Run!" I screamed even as the ward came to life. I'm a runner by hobby,
and the ponies were born to it, but the yellow stain raced down the hallway
like wildfire. It easily outpaced the trailing group, sliding past my feet to nip
at Rainbow and Applejack's heels. They had gone full out the second I
yelled, but even they almost weren't fast enough. The enchantment closed
with a snap, forming another translucent wall just a few inches behind the
athletic duo.
The rest of the ponies and I reached the new barrier a second later, panting
and out of breath. My side had more stitches than my last head wound and
my lungs wanted to punch me in the face, but neither pain blocked out the
rumbling groan of the walls as they began to grind inward. And me without
my R2 droid. Twilight reacted almost instantly, her horn glowing neon
white. I began to get the same unpleasant shifting sensation I'd gotten in
the earlier teleports when she let out a pained yelp. The strange feeling cut
off, and I turned to see her grimacing in pain.
"Oh, hell no. I am not dying in something this stupid." I gave Trixie a dirty
look for the cliché trap. Well-built and effective, maybe, but still cliché. I
focused on the barrier before me and drowned out the worried questions of
the ponies around me. Soon there was nothing but me and the ward. I
quickly studied it, looking for a weak point; it had none. The wall in front of
me was the mystical equivalent of adamantium, an unbreakable barrier
foraged by a power leagues beyond mine. It wasn't well-made by any
standards, despite all of the power that had been poured into it, but it was
so massive and durable that the sloppy construction hardly mattered. Sure,
give me enough time, and I could probably find a way to weasel through it,
but I could hear the walls inching steadily closer through my concentration.
Time was one thing we didn't have.
"Solvos, solvos, solvos." I furiously muttered, slamming my will like a
battering ram into the barrier. Tiny hair-thin cracks started to appear by the
fifth strike, but it was far too slow. I'd almost lost hope when Twilight's voice
broke through my concentration.

"Dash, Applejack! The barrier is being focused through those torch
brackets there!" She grunted and suddenly a pair of torch brackets, seemly
identical to all the others, blazed with hellish orange runes. "You've got to
destroy them!" she cried, but neither of her friends had waited for her say
so. The moment the symbols came to life, they charged toward the foci
amid the cheers of the ponies behind the ward. The two ponies hadn't
gotten within five feet of them, though, when lightning arced from the metal,
twisting into a pair of electric serpents to strike them. They both cried out
and collapsed, their muscles spasming as the constructs bit them with
charged fangs. The cheers died as they fell, and even Pinkie looked grim.
The constructs stayed coiled under the sconces, eyeing their twitching
prey.
Trixie laughed, and her left eye started to twitch. "Did you really think the
Dark and All-powerful Trixie would leave such an obvious weakness
unprotected?" She smirked at us, her grin wide and malicious, and her
voice dropped to a smug purr. "No, that was just another layer to this trap. I
hope you all enjoyed that little glimmer of hope while it lasted, because
those snakes have enough power in them to destroy anypony."
"Good thing I ain't just anypony, then." Applejack was still twitching, little
sparks coming off her coat, but she dragged herself upright.
"Yeah," Rainbow said from the other side of the hall. "Equestria's best flier
isn't gonna stop just because of some little bug zapper!" They dove forward
again, bracing themselves. The serpents threw themselves forward,
meeting the rush head on. Applejack kicked out with both front hooves, but
it dodged nimbly and struck her exposed hind legs. They wobbled, the
muscles visibly cramping up, and she grunted in pain. She stomped at the
serpent with her forehoof and it gave an agonized hiss, but just twisted
more tightly around her leg. Rainbow jumped over hers, her wings letting
her easily reach the ceiling. For a moment it looked like she would get past
easily. Then the snake shot upwards, stretching its body out to an
impossible length, and bit deeply into one of her wings. I could see sparks
shoot from the wound across her body. Rainbow screamed and crashed,
wrestling with the construct.
Applejack had trapped her snake's head against the grey stone wall, but
the rest of it had wrapped itself around her middle and was trying to
squeeze the life out of her. She moved closer and closer to the brackets,

dragging the snake with her and grinding its head between the wall and her
shoulder; she was four feet from the spell's focus, teeth gritted against the
pain.
"C'mon, RD!" Applejack shouted. "Don't tell me you can't keep up!"
Rainbow was only a few inches from the goal, but the snake was holding
her at bay. The construct had completely entangled her, and she was
fighting just to stand. But that single phrase seemed to spark something in
her. "I… can… so!" she said through gritted teeth. She brought both front
hooves down, trapping the serpent's darting head beneath them, and
turned, lashing out with both hind hooves in a vicious kick. The torch
bracket snapped like old wood and went flying, smashing into pieces when
it hit the ground. The snake hissed in anger, pulling Rainbow back to the
floor with its coils. Unstable on just two hooves she fell easily and it shot
forward, sinking its teeth into her neck. Lightning flashed across Rainbow's
body before she could even cry out. She fell bonelessly, tumbling to the
floor with her wings flared and tiny bolts of electricity arcing off her. The
barrier faded, becoming more transparent, I tried again, hammering my will
into the wall. The cracks widened, but the damn thing was still too powerful
to fall.
Applejack took another step. Three feet. Two. Another step. Her coat stood
on end, and she'd lost her hat. The construct redoubled its efforts, and I
could hear her ribs groan in protest. Applejack suddenly let go of its head,
rising up on her hind legs. The snake was caught off guard, but it struck
even as she brought both of her front hooves down on the focus. With a
resounding clang the ironwork broke, shattering into shards of dark metal,
its runes going dark. The serpent struck, burying its fangs in Applejack's
chest. There was a flash of light and a small thunderclap. She collapsed,
her muscles shaking from the abuse they'd taken, no longer able to support
her.
The barrier wavered. It was weak, but it still had enough power to last a
little while longer. The previously spacious hall was now barely three feet
wide, and the walls hadn't even paused when the sconces broke. I
concentrated, bringing my will to bear. I drove it into the barrier, throwing
my whole mind behind the task. I felt the cracks widen into trenches and
visible fractures spidered out across the barrier, but it wasn't enough.
Maybe if I added some physical stress to the magic assault…

I smiled like a maniac. "Hulk smash!" I shouted, driving my fist forward. It
crashed straight through the ward with a sensation like shattering glass,
and the rest of the barrier dissipated like smoke.
We spilled out of the closing hallway in a panicked rush, only a little ahead
of the closing walls. Fluttershy moved to help the still convulsing Applejack
and Rainbow. "Don'ttouch them!" I barked, pouring every ounce of authority
I had into my voice. The serpents hissed, rising protectively over their
prey. Why did it have to be snakes? I thought. But I could handle it. This
wasn't the first time I'd dealt with murderous constructs. I prepared the
counterspell as quickly as I dared, trying to ballpark how much power they
had left. They'd both just gone all out in that last attack, and their power
sources were destroyed. They should be running low.
"Entropus!" I shouted sweeping an arm out in a banishing gesture. The
constructs shuddered then fell apart, disappearing in a small flicker of
lightning accompanied by a miniature crack of thunder. Fluttershy jumped
forward without waiting for approval and started to tend them.
Even Twilight didn't protest when I suggested another break so both ponies
could recover. Either pony biology is significantly different from a human's,
or they had been extremely lucky. Both of their hearts were fine, and after
some rest and stretching, they were even able to stand again. They were
plenty bruised from all the wrestling, but the worst of their injuries seemed
to be the burns from the lightning bites. They weren't pretty, but at least
they were a living red, not the dead black of third-degree burns.
It took a long half hour, but Applejack and Rainbow were soon patched up.
I took the lead, staff at the ready, and we started walking again. The
hallway continued for couple hundred yards, still twisting. There were a few
more rooms, all of them open and empty, until the passage ended abruptly
at an unremarkable, wooden door. I arched an eyebrow at Trixie; it couldn't
have been more obvious if she'd painted the word 'trap' on it.
"Hold on." I said to the rest of the group. "I'd bet my eyeteeth this's another
trap. Twilight, would you take a look at this?" The purple unicorn came
forward, and frowned at the door.
"Can I use your notebook, Mr. Dresden?" I passed her my small notepad
and a pencil. She went to work, studying the door and taking notes. After a

few minutes, a faint purple glow surrounded it and Twilight finished with a
satisfied smile and soft "Aha!".
"Well?"
"The enchantment on the door was set to activate another enchantment, or
more likely a set of them, if the door was opened. I couldn't just dispel it
without activating whatever it was meant to set in motion. So, I had to
calculate the magical frequency on which the activator was set, based
largely on the earlier exposures to Trixie's magic, and match my spell—"
"Too long, didn't listen." I interrupted. "Just spell out the basics for us." I
would have loved to know some of the mechanics behind her magic, but
now was not the time.
She gave me the disgruntled look of an underappreciated genius and
sighed. "I moved the trap. Now, it'll trigger if anypony touches that rock."
She pointed to one of the stones around the door.
Pinkie bounced toward it and examined it curiously. "You mean this one?"
she chirped, her hoof only inches away from it. Everyone took two steps
back, and I resisted the urge to yell at her.
"Yes, Pinkie. That one." Twilight said with exaggerated calm. "Now, please
move your hoof away. We don't know what that does."
"I wasn't gonna press it, silly filly." Pinkie said lowering her hoof. Everyone
let out the breath they'd been holding; the relief was palpable. "I wanted to
be sure that rock was the rock, so I wouldn't touch it." My mind briefly
wrestled with that logic before throwing in the towel.
"So, it's safe to enter?" I asked Twilight, she nodded. I held my shield
bracelet and a few choice spells at the ready as I opened the door just in
case. Thankfully, it was anticlimactic; nothing happened as I entered the
room. It was decent sized, bigger than my apartment for sure. It was also
the first furnished room we'd seen in the castle. A few show posters, all
advertising the 'Great and Powerful Trixie', were plastered to the walls. A
chair sat next to an old bookshelf, with a small lantern hanging above them.
A large, thick rug covered most of the floor. The room didn't have a
staircase, unfortunately, but it did have three other doors just like the first,
one set in each wall.

"So girls," I asked, "Which door should we take?"
"Well, what's the crystal say about'em?" Applejack replied.
I showed them the fully vertical crystal. "Spike must be almost directly
above us. Right now we need some stairs before we can go anywhere
else."
Rarity was looking at the room's furnishings, disdain evident on her face.
She hadn't even turned to look at the crystal. "I would suggest we take the
trapdoor under the rug, but that's just my opinion." This announcement was
met with silence, and more than a little staring, from her friends, but I
focused on Trixie's reaction. For half a second her mouth dropped and
eyes widened before the sending's face went utterly deliberately blank.
"What? It's not that surprising." Rarity told the rest of her friends. "I mean
nopony else thought it was odd this was the only room with any sort of
décor? Or that the rug didn't fit the design scheme in the slightest? Or that
slight bulge in the center of it?" I looked where she was pointing and even
then I could barely see the tiny bump.
"Well, let's see. Everyone off the rug." I grabbed a corner, and once Pinkie
Pie had bounced off, I flipped it, exposing a stone door with a ring set in
one end. I thumped my staff on the trapdoor and was rewarded with a
hollow echo. "Sounds good to me."
"Wait." Twilight said. "The crystal's pointing upward. Why would we go
downstairs?"
I shrugged. "Trixie didn't want us to find this door, or she wouldn't have
hidden it. Besides, if it's the wrong direction we can always come back."
"But the staircase we need could be behind any of those doors. Aren't we
at least going to check?"
"No, because it's way more likely we'd find a nasty surprise than a way up.
Trixie may not be subtle, but she's got enough power that I'd rather not take
that chance. Down we go." With a strained grunt I pulled on the ring, lifting
the heavy stone door. The stairs below were well lit; torches gleamed from
both walls as the passage descended. I started walking, my eyes peeled
for any more dangers. Twilight sighed behind me, and her footsteps joined

mine, echoing down the rocky stairwell. The rest of the ponies followed
shortly. I called up the stairs to them, my voice bouncing oddly off the walls.
"Don't close the door in case we need to make a tactical withdrawal."
Twilight eyed me, a ghost of a smile on her face. "Don't you mean run
wildly for our lives?"
"Isn't that what I said?"
I reached the bottom of the long staircase and looked around. This room
was a stark contrast to the one above. There was no light, and even when
Twilight relit her horn, I couldn't see any of the walls. From the echoes,
though, it had to be huge. An odd shine caught my attention and I noticed
an object just on the edge of our circle of light. It was a lumpy cube of what,
at first, I thought was glass. It was about the size of shoe box, with a ton of
holes arranged in a strange grid where the lid would be. I moved closer to
examine it, and as I neared it I could hear a faint buzzing sound. It wasn't
until I heard the door above us slam shut that I realized what it was.
"Twilight! Rarity! More light, now!" I pulled my silver pentacle out from
under my shirt and held it as high as I could, forcing magic into it. The
pentacle began to shine a brilliant blue-white illuminating the whole room. It
was joined a few beats later by the unicorns' fluorescent spells, both of
them bright enough to put a spotlight to shame. The huge room lit up like a
lighthouse, startling the insects crawling out of their crystal nests into
stillness. I stared in disbelief; hundreds of gently refracting nests littered the
floor. I'd never seen them before, but I'd heard of them. Given how rare
they were supposed to be, I don't know how Trixie managed to find this
many, much less summon them all from the Nevernever. The hornets were
beginning to stir again; their crystal wings twitching as they got over their
shock to the sudden brilliance. They appeared to be carved from obsidian
set with topaz and emeralds for color. Their long stingers were as clear as
a perfect diamond and were filled with a dark green liquid. I glanced around
wildly, and spotted a narrow hallway opposite the bottom of the stairs.
"Okay." I said, walking back to the group. "Everyone stay calm. I think they
can smell fear."
"Isn't that supposed to be dogs?" Fluttershy whispered.

I facepalmed and frowned at her. "Stay calm anyway. If I'm right, these are
Quartz hornets. They're venomous, have a short fuse and are damn near
invulnerable. We are going to calmly, quietly, calmly, carefully, and calmly
walk to the exit," I pointed to the distant hallway, "without disturbing them.
Any questions?"
"Why did you say 'calmly' three times?" Pinkie chirped a curious frown on
her face.
I glared. "Because that's how calm I need you to be. Now let's move." I'd
hardly turned around when an ear-shatteringly loud, completely inhuman
shriek tore through the air destroying the hornet's uneasy peace. I spun,
completely confused until I saw the smug smirk plastered across Trixie's
face. I felt my expression harden to something between Old Testament
wrath and nuclear fury. There would be a reckoning for this, but now wasn't
the time.
"Run! Now!" I bellowed, dashing toward the distant doorway. The hornets
wasted no time, buzzing straight towards us. They were far larger and
faster than any real insect, but I was ready. Badass they may be, but each
of them only weighed a couple ounces.
"Ventas servitas!" I cried, a heavy gust of wind sending the bugs tumbling
out of our way. I grunted with effort. The air down here was still and dead;
moving it without any natural wind to manipulate was tough. I stopped
about halfway to the door, letting the rest of the ponies pass me. Twilight
was bringing up the rear, using a wind spell of her own. It looked a lot
gentler than mine, but it held the hornets at bay.
"What did you say about this being the right door?" She asked, slight
annoyance coloring her voice.
I shrugged. "Nobody bats a thousand."
They pressed against the resistance of her spell. There were thousands of
them in the air now, and they were angry, their buzzing like the drone of a
hundred wood chippers. I moved backwards, using short gusts to swat
down any insects that got near. I charged my magic as we moved. Wind is
one of my specialties, and I only needed a few moments to get the spell
ready. I brought my staff forward, murmuring to Twilight, "After my next

spell, run." She nodded and I aimed my staff into the heart of the seething
mass of bugs.
"Vento giostrus!" I bellowed, turning to run without even looking at the
miniature cyclone my magic had created. Instead of straining against an
invisible resistance, the hornets would find themselves suddenly tossed
around by a much fiercer wind. Most of them would survive, but they would
be disoriented, which would buy us some time. The hallway was long,
narrow, and barren, without doors or torches to interrupt the monotonous
grey stone. At the end, the rest of the ponies had gathered at another door.
Applejack and Rainbow were kicking it savagely, and it was already a little
splintered.
But the cyclone had died out and I could hear the threatening drone of
approaching hornets. I turned, dropping my staff, and drawing my blasting
rod. The runes lining it glowed like hot embers as I waited, partially for
dramatic tension, but mostly so the passage would fill a little more before I
unleashed my strike. The first bug was only a few feet away when I thrust
my focus forward.
"Smile you son of bitch! Fuego!" The lance of flame shot down the hall,
turning the crystal hornets into shiny slag. Even the ones outside the blast
were thrown back, their wings warping and twisting in the intense heat.
Objectively the Quartz hornets were beautiful, and some small part of me
regretted destroying them. Most of me, though, had no problem melting
down the little bastards into glassy residue.
Unfortunately, that strike was all I dared. Fire eats up oxygen quickly and
that attack was already making me lightheaded. The hornets were
beginning to gather at the mouth of the corridor again, and wondered what
spell to use next. That question became a moot point as I heard the door
behind me finally break with a loud crack. I threw a quick blast of air down
the hall to clear away any remaining bugs before turning to dash into the
room.
We piled into the new area, and froze at the sight that confronted us. The
good news was that there was a set of stairs across the room. The bad
news was that it was an open spiral staircase at least three stories high.
There was no way we could climb the whole thing before we were
surrounded by hornets. This wasn't like the hallway, or even the room. We

wouldn't be dealing with hornets from one or two directions. They would
come at us from everywhere. I turned back to the door and slammed it
shut. Naturally, they'd busted the lock forcing it open.
"Here's the plan. I'm going to stay down here and hold the door shut." I was
almost drowned out by the wave of protests, but I bulled through. "You all
take the stairs and when you're gone I'll follow. My coat's strong enough to
stop their stingers, and I can still use fire." In actuality I wasn't that well off.
My coat couldn't cover everywhere, and I could only use so much fire
before I asphyxiated myself. But I had better odds than any of them. I put
my shoulder to the door and readied myself when a cheery pink face
popped up in front of mine.
"It's okay, Mr. Dresden. I'll hold the door. No bugs are gonna get the best of
Pinkie no matter how shiny they are." She grinned and set her shoulder
against the door.
"Are ya sure Pinkie?" Applejack asked
"Super duper positive. I've got this one."
"What? No, this is serious, Pinkie." I told her.
She stopped smiling, and her face actually became solemn. "I am serious.
Don't worry, I've got a plan."
The rest of the group had already started towards the stairs, and only
Pinkie and I were left at the door. Even through the thick wood I could hear
the approaching hornets. We didn't have any time. "But…"
"Sometimes," she interrupted me, "you've just got to trust in your friends."
Her smile was slightly sad, and I had the feeling she'd learned that lesson
the hard way. I considered staying at the door anyway, forcing her to leave
and let me face the hornets. But what she said had struck a chord in me.
How many times had I already asked her and the rest of the ponies to trust
me? How many times had they depended on me without fully
understanding what I could do? Trust is a two-way street, and I had to
decide whether or not I really was her friend. It took me less than a second.
"Just yell if you need help. I'll be there, and Hell itself couldn't stop me."

She nodded her smile turning cheery again. "I know."
I turned from the door, leaving it to Pinkie, and I hated myself for doing it. I
took the stairs two at a time; my long legs letting me move quickly upwards.
I glanced back about halfway up. I could see Pinkie still standing there,
bracing herself against the door. I told myself everything would be all right,
but I didn't believe it. I'd never been a good liar. I slowed as I approached
the top of the stairs. Twilight and the rest were standing in front of a stone
door.
"It's safe now," Twilight said, the door glowing a soft purple. Everyone filed
through and I was took the back again. The door opened onto a grand
corridor. Instead of the familiar unfinished rock walls in the rest of the
castle, the stone around us had been polished and formed into arches.
Windows overlooking the quarry lined one side of the passage, and there
were even a few statues scattered here and there. All of them depicted an
arrogant unicorn only a head shorter than me, with a horn that was long
and wickedly sharp. I stared at the nearest one, fairly sure who the subject
was.
"So," I asked hooking a thumb at the statue, "is Trixie the pony version of a
giant, or did she just need a statue big enough to fit her ego?" There was a
startled beat as they stared at the statue, then Rainbow burst into laughter.
Applejack and Twilight chuckled.
Rarity just stared at the statue with a bemused expression, and I thought I
heard her murmur, "Who does she think she's kidding with that horn?" I
looked for our resident psychotic sending, but for once, she wasn't there. I
frowned. Maybe she had stayed with Pinkie, but I didn't think it was likely.
No, she was working mischief elsewhere. She was annoying, but I wished
her sending was still here. When there's a wasp in the room, I'd rather be
able to see it.
The laughter died down after a moment, and I tried not to concentrate on
how worried I was for Pinkie Pie. The group waited, watching the door, but
the hall was silent as a tomb. I started pacing. One long minute stretched
into two. When the third ended, I stopped pacing and moved to the door.
"Something's wrong. I'm going back down there."
"Wait." Twilight said. "Pinkie said she could handle it. We need to trust her."

"I know," I growled, looking back to face six sets of anxious eyes. "But
waiting here is killing me worse than the hornets ever could."
"You can't go, Dresden!" Pinkie cried, her expression pained. "It's too
dangerous!"
I sighed. "I don't care, Pinkie. I−" Wait, what? "Pinkie?" I yelped. I knew she
hadn't come through the door, and she hadn't been there a minute before!
But I was relieved enough to ignore my inner Spock for the moment. She
was okay, that was all that really mattered. I hung back as her friends
crowded her, but a gasp from Fluttershy made me hurry over. At the closer
distance I could see Pinkie better, and the half a dozen angry red bumps
beginning to swell all over her were obvious.
"Don't worry, you guys. It was just this one little buggy that managed to
wiggle in through a crack. I'm fine." So she said, but she was starting to list
to one side, her left legs folding. I dug through my pockets looking for a
piece of chalk. I found it just as she hit the floor.
"Everyone move away from her!" I snapped as I dropped to one knee and
started drawing a circle around Pinkie. Her breathing was already growing
ragged as I dragged my chalk across the stone, moving as fast as I could
without risking a smudge. My circle wasn't perfect by any stretch, but it was
close enough. I rammed my will into the magic circle, mentally creating a
division between the Inside and the Outside. Pinkie's welts began to deflate
and slowly lost their redness. "Done. Go ahead, Fluttershy."
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Dresden," she said, breaking the circle as she darted in
to tend her new patient. I stepped back, leaning against the wall, and slid
down to sit on the stone floor.
Twilight sat down beside me while the pegasus began bandaging Pinkie's
wounds. "Was that an antivenom spell?" she asked, her curious tone at
odds with the frightened look in her eyes. I suspected only she and
Fluttershy had realized how close we'd come to losing the bouncy pink
pony.
"Nothing that fancy," I said, turning from that unpleasant thought to play
schoolteacher again. "Remember what I said about the Nevernever and
magic circles?" She nodded. "Those hornets were creatures of the
Nevernever. Trixie summoned them to your world, which means she's

supplying the energy to keep them here. Cut off the magic, and they go
poof." I nodded toward Pinkie Pie. "The venom was a part of the hornet, so
I just blocked the power source. Without magic, the venom turned back into
harmless ectoplasm. It won't fix the damage that's already done, but she
should heal."
"Fascinating," she said, sounding just like a curious grad student. She
looked up at me, giving me a tired smile as her expression turned serious.
"Thank you for saving her. I don't know what we'd do without Pinkie. You
hardly know us, but you've already done so much. I shouldn't have doubted
you."
I felt my face heat, and I'm pretty sure I was blushing. I don't get a lot of
thanks in my line of work, and I wasn't very good at accepting compliments.
I fumbled for a reply. "Well… I wasn't completely certain that was going to
work, but you're welcome. And it's okay – I'm pretty sure it's natural to be
suspicious of an inter-dimensional wizard appearing out of thin air." The
unicorn laughed wryly, and we sat in companionable worry for a few more
minutes.
"This is going to get worse before it gets better, isn't it," she asked softly as
we watched Pinkie pull herself upright, wincing in pain.
"Probably," I replied as I climbed to my own feet. My good feelings started
to slip away… I'd never seen a group more happy and kind than these
ponies. I couldn't imagine them doing anything that warranted this
treatment. I checked my crystal. It was still pointing up, but the angle was
much smaller than it had been. I stared into the rock ceiling, wondering if
Trixie could see me. Somewhere in this building was a young dragon she
had kidnapped, and I was surrounded by ponies she had hurt all for the
sake of her stupid, petty pride. I let the flood gates down, and my fury filled
me. It burned away my exhaustion, hesitation and mercy. I lowered my
eyes, looking for our next route. There will be a reckoning for this, Trixie. Or
my name isn't Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.

Chapter 10
"This is going to get worse before it gets better, isn't it?" Twilight murmured
to Dresden, allowing herself to sag against his arm for a moment. She
grimaced in sympathetic pain as Pinkie Pie pulled herself upright with a
wince.
"Probably," Dresden replied, his voice grim. They each climbed to their feet
and set about getting the group ready to move out. Twilight moved to rejoin
her friends while the wizard pulled out his magic crystal to check for Spike.
It was glowing brightly, and he grunted approval. Pinkie was trying to walk
now, moving as stiffly as Twilight did the morning after one of their parties.
The earth pony's face was pained, but she still forced a smile as Dash
encouraged her.
Twilight wouldn't cry. She willed herself not to even though the memory of
Pinkie falling to the ground, her face growing paler and her breathing
erratic, was impossible to banish. Pinkie's fine, she told herself, and we'll
pull through this together. I know we will. Her heart wanted to believe it, but
her mind refused. In one corner of her psyche, a weeping Twilight
continually replayed the sight of Dash and Applejack being bitten,
screaming in pain and falling while she was helpless behind that barrier,
unable to reach out, unable to help her friends as they were hurt.
Meanwhile, the logical part of her noted the injuries sustained by her
friends, their exhaustion, and the surprising amount of power Trixie seemed
to wield. The conclusion wasn't pleasant.
There were very few ways for a unicorn to boost her power so dramatically
in such a short time. Using the Elements of Harmony was the first method
that came to mind, but that option wasn't open to Trixie. Twilight pressed a
hoof to her heart, remembering the agony of the Element of Magic
shattering. All of her friends had endured that pain as well, their Elements
broken by some malign force. Dresden had been right; there was no way
that the attack was mere coincidence to Spike's kidnapping. But based on
what Trixie's projection had said, she hadn't known they were on the way. If
it hadn't been a punishment for disobeying her demands, then what was it?
Could the pain it caused to herself and her friends be incidental? Could
Trixie have smashed the Elements for some other reason?

So: first assumption. If she had intended to destroy them permanently, she
would not have stopped after a single attempt. Therefore, she got what she
wanted the first time. What would the temporary destruction of the
Elements accomplish? She fought the urge to jump to conclusions, listing
possibilities. Disrupt their power, perhaps. Weaken me and my friends
temporarily. Release something that they held imprisoned. Attempt to seize
their power while their defenses were compromised.
The first hypothesis was too vague. She discarded it as unproductive. The
second couldn't withstand the empirical evidence. If it were true, she would
have been on the offensive, hunting them down while they had been
helpless. Instead she had barricaded herself in a fortress full of guardians
and traps, buying as much time as she could. The fourth could be similarly
disregarded. None of Trixie's magic held the power of Harmony. Whatever
dark well of power Trixie drew on, it was as different from the Elements as
night was from day. That left the third hypothesis.
The Elements of Harmony had only been used twice in the past thousand
years. Both times, they had been brought to bear against Nightmare Moon.
The second time, they had stripped away a great deal of Princess Luna's
magic. The obvious conjecture turned Twilight's blood to ice water, a chill
racing through her veins.
Second assumption: Trixie is using Nightmare Moon's dark power. That
would explain the cruel nature of her spells, her amoral behavior, and her
need for time. Corollary to assumption two: She has yet to fully master her
new powers. It all fit. Back in Ponyville, Trixie had loudly bragged that she
was the greatest. When Twilight had proved the showmare wrong, Trixie
must have been willing to do anything to best her. I don't know how she
could have possibly known what to do, but it all adds up. Trixie, you foal,
what have you got yourself into?
Twilight watched Pinkie lean on Applejack's shoulder, gradually getting her
feet under her as the effects of the poison faded. Her friends were already
tense, worried, and hurt. Maybe it would be better to keep this to
myself, she thought. We're already inside her castle, and Trixie still has
Spike and the Elements. Our mission hasn't changed. All it would do is
scare everypony more than they already are. Rarity caught her thoughtful
expression, but Twilight waved away the other mare's concern.

Logical as it might be, she admitted she was rationalizing. The real reason
she didn't want to tell them was much simpler. What if her friends
abandoned her? Just a few hours ago she would have laughed at the idea,
but now? Her pain, fear and worries had fed her doubts until they grew to a
monstrous size. Should she tell them, did she dare? Maybe it was better to
say nothing.
…No.
Her friends had earned more respect than that. She wouldn't doubt them.
They'd already been through so much together, and they had stuck with
her all the way.Knowledge is power. I know that better than anypony. I can't
leave my friends helpless and unprepared against whatever we might face.
"Everypony?" she said. Dresden stopped inspecting the passage, and her
friends turned to look at her. Twilight swallowed nervously, her heart
fluttering. "I have something to tell you," she began. "I think I know how
Trixie became so powerful. I wish I'd realized it earlier." She paused, trying
to find the right words.
"Well? Out with it, Twi. Don't leave us hangin'," Applejack said.
"Let me guess," Dresden interrupted. "It's the demon riding shotgun in
Trixie's head."
"It's the what doing what?" Twilight gasped, forgetting the rest of her
speech.
"Demon," Dresden supplied. "In her head."
Twilight's mouth dropped open, but not a word followed. She simply could
not believe it. He'd known this all along and said nothing?
You thought about doing the same thing, she chided herself.
Rarity intervened before Twilight could shake off her shock enough to bite
the wizard's head off. "But Dresden, demons are just an old mare's tale.
You expect us to believe that some imaginary creature is responsible?"
Dresden raised an eyebrow. "Says the talking unicorn who's friends with a
dragon. Given that you're talking to an intelligent primate from another

world, can we just assume the wizard knows what he's talking about?" He
turned to Twilight. "I'm pretty familiar with demons from home. Want the
Cliff's Notes?" Twilight nodded, picking up the pieces of her shattered
concentration as Dresden began. "Demons are hungry, violent spirits. They
range from animalistic to deliberately evil, but none of them are good news.
They can possess people, and apparently ponies, sharing their bodies.
Usually they give power in exchange for something, often the soul of
whoever they're possessing." He shuddered slightly at some memory. "I
don't recognize whatever's in Trixie, but I've seen similar situations, and the
signs are all there."
Twilight considered the new information in light of what she already
assumed, the cold spike of logic freezing her blood. Third assumption:
Dresden and I are both correct. But that would mean…
Dash crossed her hooves and gave Dresden a doubtful look. "You're telling
me Trixie's being controlled by some freaky spirit thing? I don't buy it."
Dresden shrugged. "Whether you believe it or not doesn't change what I
saw. But she's still in control of her actions for the most part. I Listened in
when she snuck off and I heard them arguing. Well, her half of the
argument at least. It probably hasn't had its claws in her for long, but
eventually it'll have her, mind and body."
Twilight spoke up. "Trixie broke our Elements for a reason. What if this is
it? Princess Luna was a different pony in every way after we defeated
Nightmare Moon." That got an interested stare from Dresden, but the rest
of the group just nodded thoughtfully. "Luna's jealousy must have opened
her to this demon. This … Nightmare. We sealed it away, but Trixie freed it.
And in return it gave her all the power that had once been Nightmare
Moon's."
"So Princess Luna really isn't a bad pony?" Pinkie gasped. She smiled and
clapped her hooves together excitedly. "I knew it! We should throw her a
party!"
"I think you're missin' the point a mite there, Pinkie." Applejack drawled.
Twilight swallowed nervously. "If that's true, if she has that much power and
a thirst for vengeance… Nightmare Moon just saw us as annoyances, but
Trixie knows better." She stopped, her voice failing her as images of her

friends lying, injured and broken, at Trixie's hooves flashed through her
mind. With an effort she dispelled them, and tried again. "I don't know if we
can beat her without the Elements. At this point there's a real chance I'm
leading you all to your deaths. She only wants me, so… so if you want to
leave, I understand. I can't ask all of you to risk yourselves like that."
"You don't have to ask." A quiet voice told her, before Fluttershy wrapped
Twilight in a hug.
"Hey!" Rainbow grinned, "There's no way we'd let you face Trixie alone,
Nightmare or no." She stopped hovering to join the hug.
"She's absolutely right, Twilight. We could never abandon you."
"You need us, and we ain't going nowhere without you."
"Of course we'll stay, silly! What would you do without us?"
"Well, I've got nothing better to do right now," Dresden said, smirking
slightly. "I suppose I could help out." Twilight laughed and he bent down,
his long arms reaching halfway across the group.
Twilight blinked back tears, and shared the hug with her friends. Like the
ashes of a phoenix, her hope was rekindled by their love, and it blazed
within her, brighter than any spell.
"You're right, everypony. I'm sorry I doubted you. So what if Trixie has the
powers of Nightmare Moon? We defeated her once, and we can do it
again, Elements or no. We have the magic of friendship, and there's no
power greater than that." They separated a moment later, standing taller
with renewed determination in their eyes, and set off through the
treacherous corridors once more.
There was another pitfall trap, this one lined with spikes, and one of the
statues began exhaling a pale green gas that Twilight recognized as toxic,
but nothing on the scale of some of the earlier traps. Then they reached the
second staircase. This one was another spiral but it was made of polished
marble and much bigger than its cousin downstairs. This, Twilight
thought, must be the main stair. It took up an entire tower, and its carved
banister was so ostentatious that Rarity clucked her tongue in distaste.
Twilight was on the 72nd step, an idle part of her mind counting as she

ascended, when a blast of magic shook the tower and began to roll down
the stairs like a wave from the ocean, an irresistible tide of power. The
energy was a bleak gray, almost invisible against the stone surroundings. It
frothed and heaved, pouring through the holes in the banister like water
even as the body of the spell rushed down the main stairs.
"Group huddle! Now!" Twilight screamed only a beat ahead of Dresden.
He'd been in the lead, and she'd take the rear guard with the rest of the
group close between them. They jumped to the middle, Twilight preparing
her shield as she went. In less than a second, they'd formed a rough
huddle. Dresden was on the outside, the back of his enchanted coat facing
the incoming wave of power. Twilight concentrated, and the moment
everypony was close enough, she threw another purple dome over the
group only a half a second before the energy of Trixie's spell washed over
and past them. It splashed against the dome and flowed past on every
side, momentarily outlining Twilight's mystical shield without harming it in
the slightest. Twilight peered curiously over Dresden's shoulder as the
wave of magic passed on down the stairs; the stairwell was unchanged.
The stone walls were the same as they had been a moment ago, and the
stairs themselves didn't seem any different. The floor underhoof was still
solid and stable. Everything looked, sounded, smelled and felt the same. If
she hadn't sensed the spell at work around them, Twilight would have
sworn nothing had happened. Her friends had reached similar conclusions.
"So what happened?" Pinkie asked, struggling to get out of the tightly
packed mass of pony.
"Was it a false alarm?" Fluttershy quietly wondered.
"I… I don't know," Dresden replied letting go of the group, a puzzled
expression on his face that mirrored Twilight's own.
"D'ya reckon she's bluffing?" Applejack suggested. "Tryin' to slow us
down?"
Rarity sniffed and shook her head. "Unlikely, I don't think Trixie knows the
meaning of the word 'subtlety'. "
Rainbow Dash, glared at the steps distrustfully. "We gotta do something.
We can't stand here forever."

Distantly, Twilight heard Dresden muttering. She leaned toward him, trying
to catch the words of his spell. His incantations were often curiously similar
to the language of ancient Roam, but he was speaking modern Equestrian
this time. It only took a couple of words to set her ears burning and bring an
embarrassed flush to her face. Some of the curses Twilight didn't
recognize, but she could infer their meaning from context. The string of
expletives died out with a sigh. What did that mean? Bad news? Worse
news? Dresden turned to the group, clearing his throat.
"Everypony, be patient and don't move. I'm going to have a look around
using my Sight. That should tell us what's up." The emphasis on 'Sight'
caught Twilight's attention, but Dash just cocked an eyebrow.
"And what the hay will that do? I've been looking around since we stopped
huddling. I haven't seen anything yet, and I've got eyes like a hawk."
"Great point, Rainbow," Dresden retorted his voice light. "Maybe I should
let you do the magic."
Dash responded by sticking out her tongue, and the wizard replied with
equal decorum.
"Can we please stay focused, here?" Twilight burst out, aiming glares at
each of the troublemakers.
Dresden rolled his eyes, but settled into the same expression and tone of
voice most of her professors had used when they lectured. "The Sight is
another of a wizard's abilities, and is related to the Soulgaze. With the Sight
I can see magic at work … among other things. I'll be able to tell what
exactly that last spell did. Just give me a second to concentrate."
"Do you mean to say you could have been using this 'Sight' to reveal all of
the traps before they activated?" Rarity asked indignantly.
Dresden grimaced. "Keeping the Sight open for too long is a good way to
drive yourself insane. Raw truth is a cruel mistress, and you can't ever
forget anything you see with the Sight. Good or bad, recent or years ago,
you remember it perfectly. Look at the wrong person or object and you can
blow a mental fuse."

With that he stopped and closed his eyes, his brow knitted in concentration.
Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but a combined glare from
Applejack and Rarity made her shut it with only a grumble. After a moment
his eyes reopened, but his face had an oddly distant expression. He peered
up the stairs, his body language and expression indicating a studious stare.
His head quickly snapped upward, glaring at the stone ceiling as a shudder
went through him. He continued to stare even as his mouth twisted into a
snarl and a growl rumbled in his throat.
"Dresden?" Twilight prodded him with one hoof. He didn't react, his gaze
fixed upwards and his expression growing more and more hateful. Alarm
bells rang loudly in the back of Twilight's head, his warning still fresh in her
mind.
"Dresden!" she cried, jabbing him in the leg with her horn.
"Gah!" Dresden's eyes snapped shut. They reopened, dazed for a second,
but quickly focused on Twilight.
"Now what was that fer, Twi?"
"Whatever were you thinking?
"Are you okay, Mr. Dresden?"
"Hey! How come you get to hit him?"
"I don't know what we're yelling about!"
Dresden shook his head like he was trying to dislodge an unpleasant
thought. As he refocused on Twilight, his snarl faded into a tired frown.
"Damn, that was nasty. Thanks for the wake-up call."
Twilight nodded, "No trouble."
Dresden nodded back, the anger still in his eyes giving way to gratitude.
"Sorry I got caught up, but Trixie's waiting for us in the room upstairs. She's
… not a pretty sight. But the more immediate problem is the trap we're in
now. Does anypony have a piece of fruit or something?"
"I've got a few apples but what do you need'em for?" Applejack asked.

Dresden just put out a hand. "It'll be easier to show than tell." Applejack
grumbled slightly, but tossed him a piece of fruit.
Twilight watched curiously as he studied the stairs ahead. He threw the
apple hard, giving it impressive velocity. The red fruit flew through empty air
for a moment before splitting neatly in half, accompanied by a deep and
resonant twang, like a chord from a giant's guitar.
Dresden nodded, "They're wires, hundreds, maybe thousands, of them.
Invisible and sharper than a scalpel. Walk into one of those and you won't
even know you're cut until you see the blood." His face turned grim once
more, "To make things worse they're made like that barrier. Even if Twilight
and I can disassemble them it'll take hours and leave us exhausted." He
sighed and favored the deadly, unseeable wires with a dissatisfied glare.
Twilight thought. She was already forming an idea, a way past this trap, but
it was dangerous. She could stand the loss of time if it meant a safer path.
"Let's just go back and find another set of stairs. Surely there's a way
around this."
Dresden shook his head sadly, "No, the wires are stretched throughout the
whole tower. And don't call me Shirley." He finished with a small smile.
"Oh no." Fluttershy breathed, her eyes darting nervously around. "What will
we do now?" She looked hopefully at Dresden, but for once he seemed to
be at a loss for ideas. That didn't matter; Twilight had one.
She cleared her throat, "Dresden? Just how strong is your shield?"
He blinked, then realized she was on to something, "It's saved me and
friend from a six story drop and withstood the attack of half a dozen pissed
off vampires. As far as force goes it's top notch. Why?"
She answered with another question, "Are these wires high tension? It
sounded like that when the apple was bisected."
He nodded with an annoyed frown, "Yeah. They'd have to be. All the
sharpness in the world doesn't do you any good if the blade doesn't stay
taut. So what're you planning?"

"It'll be easier to show than tell," she replied haughtily, then had to fight to
keep from laughing at the look on his face. Not all of her friends were as
successful.
"This is for not mentioning the demon sooner, isn't it?" Dresden said. The
laughter redoubled.
"Pinkie," Twilight said interrupting the pink pony's giggling. "What did you
bring with you?" If anypony had brought what she needed it would be
Pinkie.
The easily excitable pony gasped, "What didn't I bring with me?" She
startled to dig through her saddlebags listing an impossible number of
items as rapidly as possible. One, though, caught Twilight's ear.
"Pinkie, can I have your flour?"
"I was going to use it to make more cupcakes, but I gueeeeess we need to
escape the deathtrap more, don't we?" Pinkie pondered as she pulled a
five pound bag out of one saddle bag.
"Thanks." Twilight levitated the bag to her, and turned to the pony who
hopefully held the key to her whole plan. "Rarity, did you bring a pair of
scissors?"
The fashionista nodded, "I sharpened a pair of my sturdiest shears before
we came." She took them from her saddlebags and gave them to Twilight.
Dresden was nodding to himself. He seemed to have figured out what she
was planning. "Not a bad plan, but those scissors aren't going to cut it.
Those wires are stronger than that."
Twilight nodded, "I know, but I can enhance them enough to let them cut
through at least one."
"Now I'm curious," Rainbow said. "What're you gonna do?"
"Just wait, Trixie's trap has a fatal flaw and I'm about to exploit it." Twilight
told them, trying to conceal her anxiety under a mischievous grin.

Applejack just snorted, unimpressed. "Dresden's startin' rub off a bit too
much on you, sugarcube."
"Hey, now—"
The farmpony glanced at the wizard. "No offense."
That started a discussion of its own, but Twilight was too busy digging
through her saddlebags to take much notice. At last she found the book
she wanted. It wasn't very impressive, simply an old paperback titled,
'Handy Household Hocus-Pocus: Everyday Enchantments and Useful
Utilities for Unicorns'. She leafed through it quickly, searching for a halfremembered
enchantment. There! The spell she wanted to use was simple
in and of itself, with little more effort required than that of lifting a rock, but it
was one that she didn't know by heart. Enhancing tools was an old spell –
though not one in common usage – but she needed to enhance the
scissors to a degree that no normal tool possessed. The effort required for
that was akin to lifting a stone a hundred times the weight of that first rock.
It didn't take her long, but her exhausted mind ached with the strain of
another large spell. When she was finished, the scissors glowed a bright
violet and fairly hummed with all the power they held.
She levitated them carefully away from the group and threw the bag of flour
at the stairs ahead. She concentrated, and with a soft poof the bag
exploded into a cloud of powder, spreading flour all across the next several
feet of stairs.
And more importantly, all of the wires. They were so thin, that even with the
flour, Twilight could barely make them out. But with some concentration
and effort she found one and levitated the scissors positioning the wire
between the blades, careful not to close them.
"Everypony huddle up again. I'll need you to shield us, Dresden, while I
manipulate the scissors. Just tell me when you're ready."
The wizard stopped his explanation of something called 'rock-paperscissors'
and nodded seriously. The ponies pulled together carefully, so
nopony got their tails stepped on this time. Dresden concentrated, the
silvery bracelet on his left wrist softly glowing.

"Defendre, defendre, defendre," he murmured, a dome of translucent blue
energy surrounding them. Twilight looked to him, but he shook his head.
The strange litany continued and Twilight could feel the barrier around
them strengthening, becoming reinforced, shifting to spread impact across
the whole shield. Dresden nodded to her, putting out a fist with the thumb
sticking up. Twilight concentrated and forced the shears to snap shut.
There was a moment of resistance, but Twilight's spell held and the
scissors did what they were meant to do.
Cut.
The wire had indeed been under high tension, and the sudden release
snapped the invisible blade across the tower with the force of a guillotine.
Right into another wire. The second wire was hit with a force far greater
than the first, and it snapped instantly, slingshotting into another. Trixie had
strung hundreds of wires, filling the tower with death, but now all those
blades just served to fuel the chain reaction. Phantom razors scored
infinitely thin slices into the stonework around them, each impact digging a
deep scratch in the marble. The shield shook with impact as wayward
strikes found it. But Dresden was as good as his word; the barrier held,
deflecting every blow. It took a long, uncomfortable minute before the
frenzied snapping stopped, but at last the tower was silent once more.
Dresden cautiously let the shield fall, but Twilight noticed that his bracelet
hadn't stopped glowing.
"Did it work?" Fluttershy wondered, breaking the fragile silence. All eyes
turned to Dresden and he gave a sigh.
"All right, all right. I'll check it out." He shut his eyes once more and
concentrated on the stairs above. This time he only stared for a moment
before turning back to the group. He smiled like a manticore, predatory
satisfaction in his eyes. "That's done it. There's one or two left, but they're
all at the edges of the wall. As long as we keep to the inside of the spiral,
we'll be fine."
Twilight let out the breath she'd been holding, and let herself feel a small
surge of joy. Her more pragmatic side quickly reasserted itself. Dresden
had said Trixie was waiting for them at the top. They might be close, but
she would be the biggest obstacle of all. Twilight readied herself mentally
and magically as they climbed the stairs, Dresden in the lead.

The stairs ended at a short landing before an enormous pair of doors.
Where the rest of the castle stone was various shades of gray, these doors
were strikingly different. They were made of perfectly white stone, so
polished it shone it the light of their horns. The doors stood almost a dozen
feet tall, banded with thick lengths of steel every couple of feet. There were
no hinges, and Twilight could feel the enchantments reinforcing it without
even trying. Somehow, I doubt Dresden can knock this one
down.Anywhere else, the doors would have been beautiful, even majestic.
But here, surrounded by bare, gray stone, the white gleam just looked like
bones bleached by a cruel desert sun.
Twilight shook her head. She was weary, and her thoughts were drifting off
track. She nodded to her friends as they stretched and prepared
themselves. Dresden had put away the crystal after checking it for one last
time. He fastened his enchanted coat closed, gripping his wand (or 'rod', as
he called it) in his right hand and taking up his staff in the left. Applejack
readied a pair of lassoes, each hanging from one of her saddlebags, ready
for a quick draw. Rainbow Dash shook out her wings and flexed them,
wincing faintly. She looked nervous, but she still buckled a pair of bracers
onto her front hooves. Fluttershy busied herself re-packing the first aid kit
and hung back, clearly nervous. Pinkie just watched the door, scowling at
the entry as she munched on a cookie. Twilight considered the door; there
were no handles.
"Should we push?"
Dresden shook his head. His eyes had regained their hot anger, but his
voice was colored only by light disgust. "No, I know Trixie's type. She wants
it to be dramatic. Just watch." He stepped forward and rapped his staff
against the door. As the booming echoes died away, he spoke, "Little pony,
little pony. Let me come in." The doors rumbled, then groaned, as they
swung into a large, well-lit room.
A dozen stained glass windows lined the walls, each featuring the same
unicorn. She was tall, with a coat so dark the blue was almost black, and
her eyes and mane were a cruel, metallic gray. Every pose screamed
arrogance and might, but not one of the expressions truly captured the
sorceress awaiting them.

Twilight could hardly believe her eyes. Trixie had grown not only in power,
but in stature as well. She was almost as tall as Princess Celestia, and her
mane and tail had turned into ethereal banners of pure silver. Her eyes had
changed as well, glinting the same unforgiving gray of a knife blade. She
was beautiful; nopony could deny that, with her newfound curves and longlegged
grace. But it was a merciless, predatory beauty; the terrible
magnificence of an unsheathed sword.
There was a moment of silence as the tired group of adventurers finally
faced their tormentor. Trixie regarded them in return, her expression thick
with haughty unconcern. The ponies might have spent minutes staring one
another down, had a certain wizard not been present.
"Fuego!" came the resonant cry. Dresden shot a screaming fireball, baring
his teeth as it streaked across the short distance between him and the
smirking unicorn.
A square of jet black formed between her and the incendiary, swallowing it
without so much as a ripple in the inky darkness. Trixie smiled as the shield
dropped. "And just what did you expect that to accomplish, my little
human?" Her voice was calm, but Twilight noticed an odd twitch in Trixie's
left eye. While the giant unicorn continued her monologue, Twilight studied
Trixie's shadow, trying to figure out just what was so uncanny about the
eerie way it twitched and shifted in the torchlight.
"Welcome, you pathetic little foals, to the Grand Ballroom of Castle
Silverstar. This is where your story ends, and the rise of the Dark and Allpowerful
Trixie begins! Soon, all of Equestria will bow before their new
mistress. Everpony will finally realize just who is the greatest unicorn in all
the land. They will call me magnificent. They will call me divine. They will
call me−"
"A pompous braggart," Twilight interrupted. Trixie actually fell silent, staring
in shock that anypony had such audacity. "Face it, Trixie. You're the same
petty loudmouth you've always been, and no amount of power could
change that
"YOU DARE?" Trixie shrieked, all semblance of control gone. A lance of
shadow shot from her horn, aimed at Twilight's heart, but with a flash her
prey was gone. Another flash and Twilight Sparkle was back, only a few
feet from her original position.

"Everypony scatter!" Twilight cried and the group split, Dash and Applejack
charging Trixie from the right while Dresden, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie
circled further to the left. Dresden's mouth was moving, he was sharing
some plan with them, but another bolt of darkness tore through the air,
forcing Twilight into another hurried teleport. She didn't have time to worry
about anypony else. A midnight blue aura had formed around the angry
sorceress. She drew on the dark power surrounding her, and the rocks
beneath Twilight's feet began to rumble and shift. Twilight teleported again,
this time jumping closer to her opponent, but the rumbling stones lifted
themselves from the floor to form a pony-shaped golem. It charged her,
and after a moment's shock, Twilight turned and ran to meet it. She knew
Trixie would launch another attack; her exposed back would make a
tempting target. The former showpony soon obliged with a roaring ball of
eerie black fire. Twilight blinked out once more, leaving the stampeding
construct to meet the flames head on.
She turned, tired yet ready to continue, but Trixie's was busy with other
matters. Dash and Applejack were only a few yards away, attracting Trixie's
attention as she turned to strike them down. Lances of shadow and balls of
fire filled the air with death, roaring towards the charging ponies. The
athletic duo continued their headlong rush, without the slightest deviation.
Trixie's spells slammed into them and passed straight through. Trixie reeled
back, startled, but quickly recognized it as an illusion. The original Dash
and Applejack were nowhere to be seen. Frustrated, Trixie turned toward
the other group, saw Rarity's horn aglow, and put two and two together. A
snarled curse was quickly followed by another lance of shadow, but
Dresden stepped between them, his shield flickering to life. The blue
energy deflected Trixie's strike, sending it through one of her windows with
tinkle of shattering glass.
Trixie prepared another blow, but a pair of strong hooves, hardened by
years of heavy labor, buried themselves in her side, breaking her
concentration and stealing her breath away. Dash followed Applejack's
attack with one of her own while Trixie was stunned. She rained blows on
all of Trixie's vulnerable points. She may have lacked the farmpony's
muscle, but she had more than earned her black belt in the dojo. Dresden
was shooting more lances of force at Trixie, but her inky barrier seemed to
have a mind of its own, blocking all his attacks no matter how distracted the
mare might be. He stopped, frowning, and instead held his staff aloft,

concentrating. Twilight could feel the power of the spell he prepared, but
more pressing matters demanded her attention.
The golem was back, having reassembled itself after Trixie's misdirected
attack, and it took an aggressive swipe at her. Twilight dodged its hoof and
began concentrating on the counterspell. Her magic was getting more and
more difficult to use, each spell taking more and more effort, but she
couldn't stop now. Between the living statue's clumsy swings, she could still
see her friends fighting. Trixie had recovered after Dash's barrage, and
she'd summoned a strangely shining hammer. Dash and Applejack were
forced to circle her, trying to stay out of close range, fending off the
occasional blow. Then their bodies seemed to twist and snap, and
suddenly there were two of each pony where there had been one. They
moved in together, forcing Trixie to defend herself against twice as many
assailants, half of whom couldn't even be hit. Trixie turned to the source of
the problem at hoof, Rarity. The moment her eyes focused on his group,
Dresden's shield flared to life. But Trixie had learned from her last attempt.
Her spell rippled through the ground and the whole section of floor beneath
Rarity fell away. She barely had time for a startled scream before she
began falling, her horn going dark as panic broke her concentration.
Fluttershy gasped and dove into the darkness after her, her wings moving
faster than Twilight had ever seen. The distracting illusions gone, Trixie
began to pressure the two fighters. The hammer swung easily in her
telekinetic grip, and no amount of speed, agility, or guts could protect them
forever.
"Gravitus!" Dresden cried, slamming his staff down. For a brief moment,
gravity ceased. Twilight tripped, disoriented, and the golem didn't handle it
any better. It crashed heavily to the floor, splintering into pieces again. But
that was just a side effect of the spell's true purpose. All of the gravity in the
room had been concentrated in one place: right where Trixie stood. The
dark unicorn buckled under the stress of this new force, but her new body
must have been strong enough to resist simply being flattened. Still, the
spell had rendered her motionless, and it wasn't done just yet. The ceiling
above screamed in protest as stone rained down, the rocks accelerating to
impossible speeds, pulled by a far stronger gravity than any they'd ever felt
before. Twilight took the opportunity to launch an attack of her own. She
hurled pieces of the golem at Trixie, the chunks of stone flying nearly at
bullet speeds. Between them, they should have buried Trixie in an
avalanche, but dark magic didn't seem to play by the rules. A cube-shaped

shield surrounded Trixie, swallowing both the rocks from above and
everything Twilight slung at her.
"Now that just ain't fair." Dresden complained, watching the black barrier.
As the hail of stones stopped, Trixie reappeared, laughing. She was
breathing hard and there were lines under her eyes, but she didn't have a
scratch on her. "Anypony else want to try?"
"Sure!" Pinkie chirped, popping out from behind the maniacal madpony.
Without hesitation she reached down, clapping pairs of hoofcuffs on Trixie's
legs. The pink pony ignored Trixie's shocked expression, bumping her
playfully and sending her stumbling. Pinkie scooted away as the outraged
unicorn screamed and began wildly launching spells. Pinkie dodged left
moments before a fireball flashed by her. She jumped as the stones
beneath her shot up into wicked spikes, soaring through the air in with an
impossibly long hang-time. Her tail twitched as her hooves touched the
ground, and she stopped short just in time to let an enormous piece of
rubble crash to the floor only a couple of feet ahead. Trixie shrieked in fury,
enraged that she couldn't hit a simple earth pony. Two globes of swirling
darkness appeared at her horn. With a furious cry she released them, both
expanding as they left her. It was the chance Dresden seemed to have
been waiting for.
"Fuego!" he shouted, but instead of a column of flames, he used a jet of fire
compressed into a thin beam. The needle of flame burned an intense
yellow-white, throwing the room's shadows into sharp relief. His attack
threaded the needle between the shadowy orbs to strike her in the side.
She screamed in pain, and the black globes winked out of existence. Her
shadow writhed as she tried to maintain her balance, still hampered by the
hoofcuffs, and the hammer hung slackly in the air. This was their
opportunity.
"Now!" Twilight screamed, pelting Trixie with rock after rock. The sorceress
managed to deflect a few, but most hit their mark. A lasso shot out from
behind one of the fallen rocks her shield hadn't eaten, circling her neck and
pulling her to the ground.
"Yippee-ki-yay, marebucker!" Applejack hollered, twisting the rope tight
enough to cut off the sorceress's air supply. Dash followed only moments
behind with a double-hooved stomp kick to Trixie's horn, a sight that made

Twilight flinch. As a final precaution, Twilight focused on a spell of binding.
Ribbons of purple light rose from the ground around her, streaking across
the room to bind Trixie to the floor. There was a startled moment of silence
during which Twilight really believed they had won, but sometimes the
universe has a cruel sense of humor.
Muffled laughter came from the trapped unicorn and the violet light holding
her shattered. The rope encircling her throat came to life, glowing faintly,
and wrapped itself around its former master before Applejack could react.
The bound farmpony was thrown into Dresden, interrupting his next spell
and sending him stumbling over Pinkie. The hoofcuffs on Trixie's legs
splintered into dark shards that she sent flying toward Pinkie even as the
earth pony struggled to rise.
"No!" Twilight screamed. Her horn glowed even though she knew she
wouldn't be fast enough.
But Dash was. Even without her wings she was quick. She threw herself in
front of Pinkie just as the flechettes struck. Her damaged wing caught most
of them, but a few were able to penetrate, burying themselves in her side,
and the rainbow-colored pegasus screamed in pain.
"Dashie?" Pinkie gasped as her friend slumped to the floor, red staining her
coat. "You. Big. MEANIE!" she screamed, charging with tears in her eyes.
Trixie laughed again with maniacal glee.
A bolt of shadowy lightning lashed out, but this time Twilight was ready.
With a flash Pinkie disappeared, reappearing several feet ahead, her
charge uninterrupted. Twilight staggered as the spell drained her further.
She teleported Pinkie once more, but it was no use. Trixie simply grabbed
Pinkie in her telekinetic grip. In that moment, Fluttershy emerged from the
hole in the floor, her wings beating frantically as she hauled Rarity past the
edge and over solid ground. Trixie broke into a sadistic smile and threw
Pinkie Pie into the yellow pegasus, sending all three ponies down in a heap
of tangled limbs and pain.
Twilight raised her head just far enough to look around, tired beyond
anything she would have believed. Dresden was dusting himself off, a
murderous look in his eyes, but nopony else was getting up. Her friends
were hurt and exhausted, and Trixie had only one small injury where

Dresden's flame had burned her. Trixie was still laughing, all restraint gone,
drunk with her own power.
"I told you I could do it. They were only pathetic little mortals after all, and I
am a goddess! You wanted me to hide like a coward, but look what I have
done alone! Only Twilight and the wizard are left. When they fall I will have
won. All will love and fear the Dark and All-powerful Trixie, the most
powerful unicorn in all of Equestria!"
This is it. I can't see any way to beat her, Twilight thought. None of my
studies ever prepared me for this. I'm sorry, Spike, I couldn't save you. I'm
sorry, my friends, for bringing you into this. I'm sorry, Celestia, I've let you
down. I'm sorry, Dresden, this wasn't your fight; you shouldn't have had to
face this. If it wasn't for Trixie's stupid, petty pride…
Her pride.
Her pride!
Life returned to Twilight's voice and she interrupted Trixie's laughter with a
sharp laugh of her own. "You? The greatest unicorn in Equestria? Don't
make me laugh."
"What?" Trixie screamed. "I've bested you and your friends on the field of
battle. My magic reigns supreme! I am the greatest."
"Oh really?" Twilight asked cocking an eyebrow. "Can you command the
Element of Magic? Only the greatest unicorn in the land can control power
on that level. If you're so much better than me, why can't you take my
Element for your own?"
Trixie seethed. "I'll show you! I'll show everypony!" Her shadow went into a
frenzy, and a screeching wind blew from the shattered window. Trixie
shook her head. "No! I SAID NO! Shut up! I can do it. I'm the Dark and Allpowerful
Trixie!" There was a flash of light and a familiar tiara appeared.
Trixie jammed it onto her head and concentrated. Dresden raised his staff,
preparing a spell, but Twilight held up a hoof, and he paused.
A purple aura gathered around Trixie and she began to float off the ground,
the power of the Element of Magic enveloping her. Her eyes opened; they'd
turned neon white, glowing with the power flowing through her. She smiled,

opening her mouth to speak, when the aura died. There was a horrific notsound,
a mental feedback worse than anything Twilight had ever felt.
Trixie had just touched the purest, greatest force in Equestria.
And she had been judged unworthy.
The tiara pulsed with light, and Trixie was suddenly bound hoof and horn
by bands of glowing white. Her shadow twisted in pain, flickering across the
wall independent of her movements. Sweat beaded Trixie's brow as she
fought the power holding her. After several moments of mental struggle, the
glowing restraints shattered, accompanied by the soft tinkle of breaking
crystal and an explosion of magic. Trixie was flung across the room to slam
into one of the walls. The tiara floated down, gentle as a feather, onto
Twilight's waiting head. She closed her eyes, concentrating on her friends,
and opened herself to Harmony.
Power flowed through her, but it wasn't as simple as raw magic. This was
something deeper and more profound. This was time spent happily with
other ponies. This was a warm home where you were cared for. This was a
good night's rest and a hearty meal. This was loving and being loved in
return.
This was the magic of Friendship.
Her exhaustion washed away in the flood of energy. New sensations filled
her perceptions; she could feel each of her friends' pain. Dash's wing and
side were raw agony, each motion driving shards a little deeper.
Applejack's muscles were sore from the damage inflicted by the lightning
serpent, but more pressingly, the rope was wrapped around her throat,
slowly choking her. Fluttershy had pulled a muscle in one arm catching
Rarity, and Pinkie's impact had covered them both with bruises and twisted
Rarity's ankle. But Pinkie's were the worst by far. Though she seemed all
right, Twilight's new senses revealed damage to practically every organ.
The wasp venom had injured Pinkie far worse than she ever suspected.
Twilight's heart hurt so much she thought it would break. They were her
friends, and she had led them to this. But that hurt was born of love, and
from that love Twilight drew strength. With a thought, she brought them to
her, erasing Trixie's magic. Twilight concentrated, summoning their
elements from the vaults Trixie had locked them in, and placed each

necklace gently around each friend's neck. Their injuries began to heal,
their pain faded and their hearts joined hers, beating as one.
"NO!" Trixie screamed. A bolt of lightning more powerful than anything else
she'd thrown that evening gathered at her horn. She released it with a
fevered cry, but Dresden was waiting for it.
He caught the lightning on his staff, the electricity arcing across his coat
and flowing through him. He let it. Instead of resisting the spell, he directed
it, letting it flow through his body from his staff to his rod. The tip glowed
vivid yellow as he pointed the sparking length of wood at Trixie.
"This," he began, his voice quiet but rapidly rising to a full-throated roar, "is
my BOOM STICK! Fulminos!"
The lightning bolt was a blueish-white, flashing brighter than the sun. Trixie
brought her dark shield to bear once more, but the thunderbolt tore through
it like tissue paper, hardly even slowing. Trixie's eyes barely had time to
widen before her reflected magic struck her. She screamed, collapsing to
her knees.
Dresden just about did the same. He slumped over, his tight grip on the
staff seemingly the only thing keeping him upright. He turned to the glowing
ponies as they opened their eyes and prepared their counterstroke.
"I swear to God," he wheezed. "If you summon Captain Planet, I am outta
here."
"No!" Trixie howled over him. "No! No! How could this happen? I was
meant to win. I am the greatest!"
Twilight's heart hurt to see Trixie in such pain. But soon she would see the
light. A thought, a breath of power, and the will of all six friends united.
Pure, blessed light lifted them into the air together. A ribbon of color shot
out from each Element, twisting into a spiral before combining to form a
rainbow brighter and more real than any that appeared in the sky.
"Don't!" Trixie screamed, struggling against nothing. "Don't leave me!" The
rainbow arced down toward her with a roar like an oncoming flood. She
screamed, shrill and painful, as her shadow ripped itself away from her. It
flowed like quicksilver across the floor, disappearing in the shadows of the

stairwell. Trixie stared forlornly at the empty doorway. "Don't you leave me
too," she whispered as the concentrated power of the Harmony washed
over her.
After a long moment, the brilliant light faded. Trixie was restored to her
normal appearance. She lay limp; the stress of the Nightmare's removal
followed by the pure power of Harmony had been too much. Even as
Twilight watched, Trixie's injuries began to heal, and the last remnants of
her dark aura streamed away like smoke from a snuffed candle.
Twilight and the others let the power flow out of them, slowly drifting back
to the floor as their hearts returned to themselves. Twilight opened her
eyes, a soft purple once more, and her blissful smile instantly fell. Dresden
had dragged himself over to Trixie. He clutched his staff like a lifeline in one
hand, but the other was pulling something out of his pocket. It was a small,
metallic device. From the hard fury in his eyes and the way he held it, it
could only be a weapon.
"Don't!" she screamed, trotting towards him as fast as she could manage.
After a startled second her friends followed, Dash flying once more on her
healed wings. Dresden paused, shocked at their reaction, but his face
slowly set into an expression of determination.
"Don't," Twilight repeated more gently as they drew near. Dresden shook
his head.
"I need to. I'm not going to let her hurt any of you ever again." Rage flared
in his eyes. "She chose this path, and now she pays the consequences."
His grip on the weapon tightened.
"You can't! That's murder!"
He smiled sadly, "Maybe, but I'm willing to do that if it keeps this place
safe." Twilight stepped back, her mind trying to comprehend. Dresden
continued, "I'm not a nice person, but you all are. This whole world is so
kind and caring; you shouldn't have to deal with things like her. I'll do it.
Just don't look."
"No! We don't kill in Equestria. She'll be under guard for a while to be sure
the Nightmare is gone, but she won't be punished. She's been touched by

the power of Harmony, now. That's enough to change anypony." Dresden
hesitated, his anger giving way to a tired expression.
"Please?" Fluttershy asked softly.
Dresden's eyes flicked towards the shy pegasus. His expression shifted
through sadness, compassion, frustration and ended in acceptance. He
sighed, dropping the weapon back into his pocket. "It's your world. I guess I
should respect your ways." There was a moment of silence.
"Great, now let's find Spike," Dash said. "You still got that crystal,
Dresden?"
He nodded. "Of course. It's−" He reached into a pocket, and scowled. "Wait
a minute." He checked pocket after pocket, many Twilight hadn't even
realized existed. But the tracking crystal wasn't in any of them. "Great. It
must have fallen out in the fight. I'll look around for it, you all start searching
for Spike. I'll yell if I find it." He pointed to the doors opposite the stairs at
the far end of the room.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "And leave you alone with Trixie?" Dresden
flushed, and some of his anger returned.
"I said I wouldn't. Now get moving and be careful."
Twilight gave him one last look, before gathering the rest of her friends to
search for her assistant. Pinkie, however, stayed for a minute with
Dresden. She was smiling again, and happily chatting about the party she
would throw once they had Spike back. Dresden listened for a moment,
before interrupting her.
"Are you staying here to keep an eye on me?"
She cocked her head, staring at him with a smile. "Of course not. I know
you won't do anything to her. I wasn't even worried when you had the gun.
You weren't going to hurt her."
Dresden stared at her, exhaustion mixing with skepticism. "Why would you
say that?"

She giggled. "Because you're a better person than you give yourself credit
for." She darted forward wrapping him in quick hug. "And don't you forget
it." She giggled harder at his surprise and bounced off to join the search for
Spike.
Dresden was left alone.
Trixie snored, and he shot her a hard look. But after a moment of glaring he
sighed, and turned to start looking.
…..
The search for Spike wasn't having much luck.
There were still a few traps, so it was slow going. They searched room after
room, checking everywhere for secret hiding spots, but Spike was nowhere
to be found. Twilight's worry grew and grew as the search stretched on. It
was a long and nerve-wrecking half hour until Dresden's voice interrupted
her concentration.
"I believe this is what you were looking for?" He stood in the doorway of the
next room, shrouded by the hallway's darkness. But here was no mistaking
the purple and green dragon curled in his arm, peacefully snoozing.
"Spike!" Twilight screamed, joyfully dashing to Dresden's side. The wizard
chuckled and gently set the dragon on the floor. Unconscious or not,
Twilight wrapped her little brother in a tight hug, never wanting to let go.
Her friends gathered around, all happily talking over one another.
"Thank you, Dresden." Twilight said, tears welling in her eyes.
"No trouble at all... and now I can get to the more important business at
hand." He turned to go. His voice had turned blunt, almost uncaring. It was
enough to catch Twilight's attention even through her happiness.
Something wasn't right.
"What business?" She relit her horn, dispelling the hall's shadows. Dresden
turned back, stopping, and Twilight's heart stopped with him.
His pupils had expanded until they filled his eyes, turning them into orbs of
polished obsidian. His skin had faded from peach-colored to a dull gray. His

exhaustion was gone, and now he moved with a predator's grace. He gave
her a coltish grin, revealing far sharper teeth than he'd previously
possessed, and replied.
"I'm going to kill Trixie, of course. It's the only way to be sure."

Chapter 11
"I'm going to kill Trixie, of course. It's the only way to be sure," I said. I tried
to soften the blow with a smile, but that just seemed to shock Twilight more.
I turned away from her again, hurrying down the grim stone passage. I had
an unpleasant job to do, and waiting wouldn't make it any easier.
I don't know why I told her that, though. It would have been so much
simpler just to stay quiet and take care of it. It's easier to seek forgiveness,
etc. On the other hand, I'd never shown any talent for staying quiet before. I
considered the question for a moment, but then shoved it to the back of my
mind in favor of more pressing matters. The chief problem being how I
would go about killing Trixie.
Thoughts of Trixie made my anger return, and I wrapped myself in it. This
fury might be recent, but it was as comfortable and familiar as a well-worn
coat. My anger and I were old friends. My revolver was the obvious answer:
quick, relatively clean, and certain. But there was a slight hitch in that plan;
I still wasn't sure if my gun would work here. Certain places regard the laws
of physics as only loose guidelines, and Pinkie alone was enough evidence
that Equestria was one of them. If it failed, I would have to get creative. I
could always throw Trixie out the window; that was quick and simple. We
were probably high up enough for the fall to be fatal, but finding the body to
make sure would be a pain in the ass. And I had to be sure Trixie had
bought it. I wouldn't let her escape to harm anyone ever again.
A small voice in the back of my mind suggested I simply torch her, but the
thought nearly made me gag in disgust. Magic is the creative power of life
itself; it comes from the hopes, fears, loves and pains of living beings.
Using it to execute anyone is the act of a madman. Supernatural monsters
like demons and vampires were one thing, but killing a human – or a pony,
I supposed – with magic was just… perverse. To end a life with the force of
life itself meant corrupting its very purpose. I couldn't believe I'd even
considered it.
Maybe… I was wrong.
Maybe I should just let the ponies handle it.

…No.
Memories flashed before my eyes. Applejack being bitten, her screams of
pain resounding in the tightening corridor. Rainbow guarding Pinkie even
though she took a vicious attack to do it, her wing and flank torn and
bloody. Twilight crying after finding Spike gone, with only a cruel note left in
his place. Pinkie breathing raggedly, her body failing as venom shut it
down. Rarity screaming in fear as the floor vanished beneath her, dropping
her into darkness. Fluttershy collapsing in the forest, incoherent with pain,
as the sound of smashed glass rung in the air. But most of all I
remembered how Trixie had looked through the Sight.
I had been examining the wire spell, trying to figure out a way past it, when
I spotted her out of the corner of one eye. There were a couple walls in the
way, but the Sight relies on more than mere physicality. Trixie was clear
and visible; the aura of power around her was impossible to miss. She
seemed indistinguishable from any other pony I'd seen; maybe a little
bigger than average, her black coat turning blue at the extremities, silver
hair and tail. The phantom hat and cape were a weird touch, but the Sight
can be metaphorical. The human brain isn't well equipped to comprehend
pure magic. She looked arrogant and proud, but otherwise normal. Almost
boringly so. Yet there was something about her that made my Spidey
Sense tingle. Something was massively wrong, and it creeped me out. It
wasn't until I saw the blackness on her body shift and tighten that I realized
the true nature of what I was seeing.
It was the demon. The Nightmare, Twilight had called it. Through the Sight
it appeared as a snake, long and thin. It had wrapped itself around Trixie
dozens of times, enveloping her in its coils. Its head moved into view,
whispering in her ear. I couldn't hear what it was saying, but I could feel the
malice and hatred behind its words from here. Now that I had recognized
the demon for what it was, the sense of wrongness, a hard-edged
sensation that the word 'evil' doesn't even begin to cover, doubled. I felt
stained, tainted even, as though just seeing it had left a greasy handprint
on my soul. But Trixie didn't seem to feel the same way. She had a
maniac's smile, wide and malicious, hanging on to every poisonous word of
hate it fed her.
Trixie wasn't the demon's victim; she was a willing collaborator.

No…
I brought myself back to present, pulling away from the cruelly perfect
memory. She had sought one demon for aid, she'd do it again the moment
she could. I believed that without a trace of doubt. And next time, I wouldn't
be here to help. There was only one way to end this.
I had said there would be a reckoning, and Trixie was about to face it. I
hoped Twilight and the other ponies would forgive me eventually. That they
would realize it had been necessary. But as I'd thought in the forest, better
that they live to hate me than die thinking the best.
I had reached the ballroom, and more importantly Trixie, when there was a
loud clatter behind me from the hallway I'd just left. Twilight appeared,
framed by the rest of the group.
"No! Please, don't!" Fluttershy cried, staring at me in horror, all the
happiness she'd had just a minute ago draining away.
I turned from them, determined to finish this at last. I hoped they'd look
away as I drew my trusty revolver. Then there was a flash in front of me
and Twilight appeared, blocking my line of fire.
"Twilight, move," I bit out more harshly than I'd intended. She flinched, and
I sighed. "I know you don't want me to, but it's necessary. You'll realize that
someday." I moved to one side, trying to get a clear shot, but she moved
with me. To make things even better, I could hear the rest of the group
coming. I only had a few seconds before they reached me.
"Stop it, Dresden. This isn't about Trixie. This is about you." Twilight said.
The barrel of my gun wavered, then dropped to my side. I gave her a wary
stare, but she had my attention. She sighed, her relief palpable, and
continued. "You're…" she paused, her face torn by indecision. "...different."
I raised an eyebrow. "We've been working together for hours, and you're
just now figuring that out? I thought you were supposed to be the smart
one."
"That ain't what she means." A familiar accent interjected.
Hail, hail, the gang's all here. Great.

"What she means is that you've changed since we parted company to
search for Spike," Rarity cut in.
"Yeah, you look all gray and grim, not smiley and snarky like the wizard we
know and love." Even Pinkie was subdued, her voice serious.
My skepticism must have been evident, because Twilight stepped in,
cutting to the heart of the matter. "You've been infected with the Nightmare.
Let us help you, then we can talk about Trixie again."
My first reaction was shock and fear, but it was rapidly replaced by a hearty
helping of disbelief with a good-sized serving of amusement on the side.
Yeah, right. A demon. That's a good one. I told myself.
I chuckled under my breath, trying not to laugh in their faces, but even that
seemed to unnerve them. When I could finally speak, even I could hear the
condescension in my voice. "Because we all know you're such an expert on
demons. Really, Twilight? That's your big fear?" I shook my head. "I'm a
Grade-A wizard of the White Council, so I think I'd notice if there was a
demon in my head. Now, if you're done stalling, Trixie has a date with
destiny."
"But that's just it!" Rainbow yelled, throwing her hooves in the air. "You
were always rude and a smart-ass, but this is just evil! Listen to yourself."
Anger flared in me, bright and terrible. I don't know what my expression
looked like, but it was enough to cow even the steadfast pegasus. "So
that's it, huh? I'm the one willing to make the sacrifice, to do what needs to
be done, and that makes me evil? You think I want this?" My voice rose to
a shout. "I'm trying to protect you, to protect everyone, and that makes
me evil?"
There was a moment of silence, and I was afraid I'd gone too far. The
reactions of my newfound friends hit my like a gut punch. They had begun
to back away from me, putting distance between us. There was real fear in
their eyes now. They were truly afraid of me. It should be something I'm
used to, but this was a fresh twist to the familiar knife. I'd done everything I
could for them. I'd bled and suffered to help them.

But, a part of me whispered sadly, at the end of the day they can only see
me as a monster.
My heart churned with bitterness, but still I would do what they couldn't
bring themselves to. Then I'd disappear back into the Nevernever, and
Twilight could think whatever she wanted of me. My grip on the revolver
tightened and I lifted it, aiming for Trixie's head. I would double tap it. Just
to be sure.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way, Dresden." The words themselves didn't
catch my attention near so much as the tone did. Sad, yet resigned. I
turned towards Twilight and saw the tiara on her head begin to glow. The
necklaces on the rest of the ponies began to glow as well, their light pulsing
in time to the main crystal. The bottom of my stomach dropped out as I
realized what was happening. They were going to use their magic on me,
to force me to see things their way, to twist me into what they wanted me to
be.
Just like Justin did, some part of me whispered.
At first there was only the pain of betrayal. This wasn't a breach of trust;
this marched over trust's mutilated corpse to punch me in the face. It's
funny, you know. My mentor, and foster father, tried something similar in
my teens.
My mother died during childbirth, and my father had an aneurism when I
was eight. I spent years as an orphan until my magic blossomed, and
Justin DuMorne adopted me. He gave me a home, he cared for me, taught
me magic. He brought home Elaine, another orphan, not long after me, and
the three of us were a family. They were the only people I had in the world.
Then, one sunny afternoon he tried to enthrall me, to twist me into his
personal puppet. He had started down the left-hand path, and he wanted a
pair of magical enforcers, whose loyalty was guaranteed, to help him in a
bid for power. He'd already started on Elaine, and I was next. The rest of
the story isn't much fun, unless you like tragedies, so I try not to dwell on it.
Sins of the past, and all. The ponies may have had better intentions, but
from my point of view it looked a lot alike. I guess even with a couple
decades of scar tissue that wound hadn't really healed, because next came
the anger.

I kept it on a tight leash, afraid of what I would do if I let it loose, but the fury
burned away the haze in my mind, letting me realize something I should
have hours ago. I let the anger fuel my magic, shaping what I was about to
do. All of my thoughts had taken less than a second, the ponies were still
gathering their power. I drew in my breath, and spoke.
"No. I'm sorry." That got Twilight's attention, and a confused expression
overtook her peaceful face.
"Twilight Sparkle." I said, matching the tone and inflections she'd used to
pronounce her name perfectly. "Stop." I felt her will against mine. She had
a powerful mind, but I had expected that. Had it been a fair fight, we
probably would have been evenly matched, but fair fights are for suckers. I
had taken her by surprise, and besides that I had her True Name, given
freely of her own will. It wasn't even a contest. My mind pressed down on
her like an ocean, and she had no choice but to comply.
The glowing tiara flickered and died, its light draining away. The rest of the
group had only a moment to panic before I spoke again. "Fluttershy,
Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack. Stand still and stay
silent." They were confused, and unused to a battle of wills; it barely took a
thought to hold them.
"What did you do?" Twilight shouted. She stared at her still and silent
friends, her face a mix of fear and confusion.
Interesting that the magic of names has been lost here, I thought. Of
course, with so many mages in the population, the princesses probably
thought it necessary to kill that knowledge off.
"I just made them stay still for a minute. It's a lot less permanent than what
you were planning to do to me." I could hear the bitterness in my voice. I
tried to shake it off as I spoke again. "Twilight Sparkle, give me your tiara
and do not attempt to use magic." She slowly walked over to me, fighting
the compulsion every step of the way. You'd think I had just ordered her to
throw her first-born to crocodiles the way she was acting, but I could wait. It
wasn't like I was short on time, and any more pressure might actually hurt
her.
About halfway there she started speaking, panicked but hopeful. "Don't do
this Dresden. We can help you. I know there's still good in you."

You can't ignore a straight line like that. "If you only knew the power of the
Dark Side." James Earl Jones I am not, but my Vader impression isn't half
bad. "Twilight, it is your destiny. Join me, and we can rule the galaxy
together!"
"Never!" She shouted, her face horrified. "I'm Princess Celestia's student.
I'd never betray her!"
I waved away her reply with a rueful laugh and shook my head,
disappointed. "That's the worst part about being here. Nobody gets my
jokes."
Now she was just confused. I sighed, and carefully exerted my will, putting
just a little more pressure on her. She stumbled the last few feet towards
me. I reached down, carefully taking the tiara off her head, and slipped it
into one of my duster's inner pockets. The look in her eyes was
heartbreaking as I took away her Element. I felt like a monster, but a small
voice in the back of mind reminded me that it was for the greater good. Still,
I wanted to reassure her.
"You can have this back after we've found me a way home. I'll lift the
compulsions in a second; I just need to take care of business first." I jerked
a thumb over my shoulder in Trixie's general direction.
She found her voice and tried once more to stop me. "Don't do this,
Dresden. I know I wasn't kind to you at first. I was afraid, and you were so
strange. But I thought we got past that." Her voice dropped to almost a
whisper. "I thought we were friends."
At some level I resonated with her sadness; I saw the tears she wouldn't
cry, and it hurt. But that small part of me was washed away by the anger. I
jerked her head up, holding her face in an iron grip. "We were friends." I
told her, my voice low, and all the more terrible for its quietness. "Then you
tried to brainwash me. After all I've done for you; you tried to stick a knife in
my back." I literally shook with anger. It was hard not tighten my grip as I
barely held my fury in check. After a moment of glaring I let her go, trying to
keep myself from doing something I'd regret.
The dismay in her eyes would have been unbearable if I didn't already
know it was an act. "But−"

"Shut up!" I roared. "Now let's get this over with already." I glanced up at
the frozen ponies several feet away. Their expressions were various forms
of fear or anger, but all four were still immobile. Good, I thought turning my
back to them. No more distractions. I can finally do this.
Wait.
All four of them?
I completed the turn to find myself staring down a gray barrel big enough to
swallow my fist. The pink pony at the other end smiled, as cheery as ever.
Which, given the enormous gun in her hooves, was more than a bit
disconcerting.
"Sorry, but Pinkie Pie is just a nickname." She told me. My mental gears
had almost shifted to deal with this surprise when she pulled the trigger.
Evidently she hadn't been kidding when she said her cupcake launcher
could shoot pastries a hundred yards. If anything, I think she may have
underestimated the range, given the force the cupcake hit me with.
I would have been skeptical if anybody had told me I could be knocked on
my metaphorical ass by a cupcake. But at those speeds, at point blank
range, in the face? My head whipped back from the impact, and my
concentration shattered like cheap glass.
"The partillery saves the day again!" Pinkie cheered. I wiped the frosting off
my face. That had been a surprise, but I was still standing. At least, I was
until Rainbow tackled me. She hit me between my shoulder blades faster
than I would have believed. I tumbled forward tail over teakettle, Pinkie just
barely jumping out of the way in time. I lay there for only a moment as a
new sensation washed over me.
Rage. You know, it's a word we use a lot without really considering it. Hell,
even I'm guilty of that particular sin. We tend to use it pretty causally,
describing an emotion so watered down that it barely qualifies as anger.
But some people simply may not know any better. How often do people get
so angry they are literally murderous? That's its truest definition. Rage is a
fury so terrible that there can be no compromise. No retreat. No fear. It
means violence, brutality and blood.

That may be an odd thought given the circumstances, but I want my
meaning to be perfectly clear when I say I was consumed by rage. I'd lost
my gun, but I still had my staff.
They want to play hero? Fine by me.
I felt the smooth wood beneath my fingers, and I reached for my power. An
angry wizard is one of the most dangerous creatures alive. It was time
these ponies learned that.
I rose from my fall in a fluid movement, drawing myself to my full height as
though I hadn't been thrown across the room. My sudden recovery seemed
to surprise Rainbow, and I grinned at her. "Well, that was annoying. Are
you going to actually hit me this time, or was that the best you've got?" Her
face turned pale, and I laughed. The rest of the group was still gathering
themselves, Pinkie launched another cupcake but I just stepped out of the
way. Rainbow shook off her surprise, and her face set into a determined
expression.
"Come on, I want you to do it. I want you to do it. Come on, hit me. Hit me!"
I said as she readied herself for pass.
"Dash, no!" Twilight cried, but it was too late.
Rainbow charged me again, a multicolored blur rocketing across the wide
room. She was fast, no doubt about that, but this time I was ready. Quick
as she might be, she wasn't fast enough to avoid this. At the last second I
poured magic into my shield bracelet.
"Riflettum!" I cried, my shield springing to life. It was a darker blue than
usual but I barely noticed that. Rainbow saw the barrier appear, but she
was too fast and too close to stop. She tried to brake, but it wasn't enough.
She hit my shield with a massive thud, and an impact I could feel even
through the barrier. I let the spell drop, and Dash slumped to the floor,
obviously shaken. As unbelievable as it sounded she was just stunned; it
wouldn't be long before she returned to the fight. Or, at least, it wouldn't
have been long.
I shifted my staff into a two handed grip, preparing the force spell as I went.
I swung it like golf club focusing the power into tip. "Forzare!" I cried
smashing it into Rainbow's side, launching her into the air. I'd tried to make

it as blunt as possible, spread the impact out, but I couldn't take too many
chances: she wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. I dodged another
subsonic cupcake as I watched her fly. A glowing purple nimbus
surrounded her just before she hit the wall, and it gently brought her down
to rest at Twilight's side. Fluttershy was crying as she bent to treat her
friend. Twilight looked uncertain, not sure what to do, but Rarity, Pinkie and
Applejack had made their minds up.
"You're gonna pay fer that, Dresden." Applejack said, her voice icy as the
heart of Winter.
Her tone stoked the fire burning in my heart hotter. Rainbow had attacked
me! Was I supposed to just take it? "Come at me." I told her just as coldly.
She did, and as she did, she doubled, then tripled. I had three Applejacks
charging me. I rolled my eyes. Illusions may have fooled Trixie, but I had a
lot more experience in battle. "Forzare!" I cried, a wave of force spreading
like a shockwave from me. All three of the Applejacks passed through it
without slowing, but I heard a pained yelp come from somewhere further to
my left. Applejack was down for the moment, but my victory was short
lived. Another cupcake smacked into the side of my head, sending me
staggering. I turned to glare at Pinkie.
"Hexus," I hissed. Wizards are Murphy's Law incarnate when it comes to
technology, and the cupcake launcher was no exception. There was a
muffled 'whump', and icing suddenly squirted from every joint on the gun
before it simply fell to pieces. That's when Twilight decided to enter the
game. Ribbons of purple light burst from the ground around her, streaking
across the ground between us. I lifted my shield, but her horn flared bright
as the sun. Her spell dodged nimbly around my shield, encircling me,
binding my arms to my chest, and trapping my staff against me. Then they
anchored themselves securely in the floor, completing the binding. She
looked satisfied, maybe even hopeful, but I was going to disappoint her.
I poured my power into the restraints, battering them with a will harder than
diamond. I was more than match for her in power, and she was playing on
my field. Her spell didn't stand a chance. I twisted my body and flung my
arms outward, destroying the purple bonds.
"I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!" I roared. I had a moment's warning, the sound
of hooves on stone, before Applejack attacked me. I jumped backwards,

just dodging a powerful kick. At this range the illusion didn't hold as well,
and I could see a vague pony-shaped outline if I watched carefully. I could
tell where Rarity was bending the light around her.
"Ventas servitas!" I cried, and a gust of wind roared through the broken
window. It slammed into Applejack, lifting her and throwing her across the
room. Twilight caught her the same way as she had Rainbow, but the
distraction had been half the point. I threw another wave of force, this one
aimed at the whole group. I hadn't put too much power into it, and most of
the force bled off as it traveled. What hit the ponies was only a little more
powerful than the punch of your average boxer. Still, I thought as Rarity
yelped in pain, if you're not used to it, that's plenty. I took the opportunity to
charge forward closing the gap between us. Twilight had weathered the
attack surprisingly well and reacted almost instantly, flinging rocks at me
with her levitation. I brought up my shield and kept moving. She was the
most dangerous fighter left, and long range was her strength. When I got
within about ten feet she stopped throwing rocks and brought her own
shield to bear. I dropped mine and accepted the challenge.
It took me less than a second to charge the familiar spell. I'd been playing
with kid gloves and this was finally a chance to cut loose. "Forzare!" I
screamed. Raw force lashed out from my staff like the fist of a wrathful god.
The lance of pure kinetic energy crashed into Twilight shield driving it to the
breaking point. For a moment I thought her spell would actually hold, but
then it broke like an egg, the residual force sending her tumbling.
"Stop. Now," commanded a soft but imperious voice. I looked down to find
Fluttershy standing in front of me. Her eyes angry and focused. The shy
pegasus was gone, once more this was the implacable being I'd seen in
the forest. Our eyes met, and I was subject to her stare once more. For a
brief moment I was cowed by her will without understanding why or how,
but this time was different. This time I'd met her eyes looking for a rematch.
"NO!" I bellowed, slamming my power into hers. Fluttershy turned out to be
a glass cannon. Her assault crumbled under the weight of my
counterattack. She let out a pained squeak and broke eye contact before
the Soulgaze could begin. But she had given the other ponies the time they
needed. An impact to my back pitched me forward, and I fell flat on my
face. A pink blur dashed in, grabbing my staff. I flipped over to reach for it,
but before I could, another rock came flying towards me. I caught it on my

shield, but failed to notice that Twilight wasn't the one who had thrown it
until it was too late. Another barrage of purple ribbons ambushed me from
behind, lashing me to the floor, anchoring my arms and legs firmly to the
stone beneath. I opened my mouth to speak, but another stream of light
wound across it locking it in place. Interesting. She's a fast learner.
"Quick!" I heard Twilight cry. "Somepony grab the Element before he
breaks through my spell again."
I rolled my eyes and broke the restraints with a fierce burst of concentrated
will. Huh, that had been even easier the second time. I must be getting a
feel for Twilight's magic. I stood up glaring at Twilight. "That was a neat
trick. How'd you manage that?"
She faced me calmly, as though I hadn't just ripped through her spell like
tissue paper. "You ignored the rest of us to deal with Fluttershy. Your
overconfidence is your weakness."
This kid was a gold mine for a wise-ass like me. "And your faith in your
friends is yours." I wheezed, then laughed. "But enough playing around," I
said, my voice turning serious. "Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash,
Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity. Stand still and do not speak." I didn't
know how many of them were still in the game, but I wasn't taking any
chances. I rose into a crouch, carefully checking for the one pony left who
could ruin things for me.
"Looking for me?" A familiar voice asked. I spun to see Pinkie almost right
behind me. I watched her carefully; she was up to something, but what?
She was frowning, her face stern, as she gestured to her motionless
friends. "I've hid your magic thingy some place you'll never find it. Now give
me the Element, and I'll tell you where it is."
I sighed in defeat and walked over to her reaching into my coat with one
hand. She smiled, her cheer restored by victory. Until I pulled out my
blasting rod, at least. "You know," I said pointing the business end at her
and letting it glow cherry red. "I don't actually need my props to do magic.
They just help me control my spells. Imagine what my magic would do to
anyone without that control. Now tell me where my staff is." I jabbed the rod
in her direction, making the tip pulse more brightly. I was bluffing my ass off
- angry as I was, I still wouldn't actually use it on her. But she didn't need to
know that.

Her smile faded, and her hair drooped a bit. She slumped in defeat and
pointed to something off to my left. "It's behind that rock."
I half turned, keeping my blasting rod trained on her. I didn't have much
trouble figuring out which piece of rubble she was talking about. "Is it the
one with 'The staff totally isn't behind this rock' written on it in bright pink?"
She nodded sadly. I chuckled letting off some of my steam. Hell, I almost
forgot why I was angry with her. But I reminded myself with grim
determination what needed to be done. I turned back to her, sighing.
"I am sorry about this, but you'll all understand someday. Now hold still.
This won't hurt a bit. I promise." She trembled when I laid my left hand on
her head, but I wasn't planning anything sinister. "Dormius, dorme,
dormius." I murmured. Her eyes drooped immediately, and she was snoring
before she hit the ground. I stared at the pink pony for a moment. I'd spent
most of my anger in the fight, and Pinkie's attempt at stealth had killed the
rest of it. In some ways I missed it. That anger had filled me with purpose,
had energized me. But now?
I just felt empty. Tired and hollow.
But I still had a job to do.
Trixie waited motionlessly. She had slept through the whole debacle. I
considered her for a moment. I'd lost my gun, and I wanted this over
quickly, before anything else could go wrong. The cleaner, the better as
well. I had a sudden idea. Why not? That would work. Maybe it's a
technicality, but I can live with that.
I drew in my power, and focused on the nearest window. It rattled in it pane
and, with my shout, gale force winds shattered it, throwing the shards of
glittering glass at Trixie's limp form. It wasn't a particularly subtle means of
execution, but it would be effective. Hundreds of crystalline blades raced
towards her, and I idly wondered what to do with the body.
Suffice to say, I was not expecting Twilight to suddenly appear, standing
protectively over Trixie. The purple unicorn was stock still, just as I'd
commanded, but that didn't stop her from raising her shield. She blocked
most of the deadly barrage, but more than a few shards were too close. I
watched in speechless horror as she was cut, as the pieces of glass sliced

into her, dark blood welling up. Her expression contorted in pain, but she
didn't make a sound as she stood.
My blasting rod fell from limp fingers to clatter on the ground.
"No…"
"No."
"NO!" I screamed, running to her side. Without my will to back them the
compulsions disappeared. Twilight slumped, falling to the hard ground, a
soft sigh escaping her lips.
"No no no nononononono," I reached her only moments later and tried to
access the situation. Blood was rapidly pooling around her, the quiet flow of
cut veins, not the frenzied pumping of an artery, but that only meant it
would take minutes for her to bleed out instead of seconds. I hadn't wanted
this. As angry as I'd been, as hurt and betrayed as I'd felt, I didn't want
them dead. I'd wanted to teach them a lesson, to punish them, but I had
never wanted this.
I had wanted to protect them. I'm supposed to be the good guy.
So why was my friend dying at my feet?
I started to cry silent tears as I searched Twilight for the source of the
bleeding. I think I cut my fingers pulling glass shards out of her coat, but I
hardly noticed. I found the wound, and I pressed on it trying to staunch the
flow of blood. Twilight opened her eyes, her expression dazed. She saw
me and smiled. There was no hatred on her face. No fear. Just sadness
and a compassion so strong it cut me like a knife. "You forgot to tell me not
to use magic." She teased her voice soft and weak.
"Fluttershy! She needs you!" I screamed, trying my best to stop the
inevitable. But in my heart I knew it was hopeless.
Oh well, some part of me whispered. She did betray me.
The world stopped.

I know me. I've met my darker half. I can be a vindictive asshole. I can be a
violent bastard. But that thought wasn't me. I would never have thought
that.
And with that the charade fell apart. Mental magic may be powerful, but the
moment the victim realizes, 'Hey, maybe that's not me thinking those
thoughts,' it tends to fall apart. I could feel the nauseating sensation of
something ancient, vicious and hateful slithering through my mind. It didn't
take any thought to recognize it; I knew it instinctively. It was the
Nightmare. The ponies had been right the whole time.
The Nightmare hissed and flinched in surprise, as I turned a mental
spotlight on it. But apparently you don't become an evil powerhouse without
being adaptive. It struck, trying to establish outright control over my body.
My muscles twitched, but I didn't allow it. The damned thing may have
been sneaky and poisonous, but this was my mind. My head, my rules, I
snarled, visualizing a cage of silver. I threw the Nightmare into the cage,
chains entangling it in a spider web of metal. Then I dropped it into a well,
buried it under tons of earth and snapped the cage's key in half with an
angry flourish.
Did I mention I was vindictive?
A low, feminine chuckle from nowhere echoed in response. It somehow
combined smug satisfaction with an 'I told you so' quality. But I had no time
to investigate. Twilight's life hung in the balance.
I dropped out of my mindscape to the sound of crying. Twilight was still in
my arms, still breathing, but just barely. We were surrounded by her
friends, all but Pinkie. They'd put the tiara on her head, but it was dark.
Nothing but a dull stone without her magic to activate it. I gritted my teeth
and reached for it. The others gasped, and I felt someone hit me, but I just
grunted and accepted the pain. I touched the gem with one blood-stained
hand and prayed that this would work.
I poured my magic into the jewel. I didn't visualize lances of force, balls of
fire or blasts of wind. The purest, greatest magic has nothing to do with
stupid tricks like those. It comes from life, so that's what I poured into the
dull gem.
My life.

My hopes and fears, my dreams and failures, my loves and hates. The
sensation of comfort and warmth in front of a roaring fire. The elemental
terror when lightning strikes nearby. The happiness in sharing a good beer
with my friends. The stress from a long, fruitless day of work. The
memories that make me cry with joy, and the ones that still give me
nightmares. Good and bad, I held nothing back. I haven't had a pretty life,
but by God, it was mine, and I had lived it. I put everything I was into it, and
my body shook in pain. For a moment there was silence, then a single
spark lit the inside of the jewel, and it exploded into light. I was thrown
backwards by the force of it, even as the ponies were drawn inward.
Twilight Sparkle floated high above the floor, her friends and the glow of
their shared magic surrounding her. Her wounds healed before my eyes,
her skin patching itself, blood disappearing from her coat as her skin lost its
sallow color. When she opened her eyes they were neon white, yet
focused; the shocked daze gone. I sunk to my knees in relief, letting my
body go limp. The rest of the group opened their eyes as well; brushing
aside the spell I'd laid on Pinkie like it was nothing. They faced me, anger
and fear wiped away. There was only a gentle sympathy in their
expressions now. I bowed my head, exhausted, and said, "Do it."
The Nightmare screamed in fury and smashed the prison I'd built for it. I
moved to stop it, visualizing everything from force fields to lassos to halt the
hateful thing, but it was a slippery bastard. Their power swelled to a
crescendo and a there was a burst of pure, perfect light, out of which a
rainbow formed. The Nightmare panicked and redoubled its efforts. I tried
to keep a hold of it, but I was too drained, too tired. The damned demon
slipped through my fingers, slithering away.
Then I was enveloped by the power of Harmony.
Have you ever worked outside in the hot sun? You sweat and strain and
get dirty, salt and dust ground into your skin, but it happens so gradually
you don't even notice it. Not until you step into the shower and let the water
cleanse you do you even realize how filthy you were. Not until you let it
wash away the grime encrusting you. This was a lot like that, but it went so
much further than just skin deep. My body went limp, supported only by the
power surrounding me. There was pain, a lot of it actually, but it was a
clean, honest pain. The kind you get from a hot shower or a good
massage. The kind of pain that precedes healing.

But a thought disturbed the bliss I floated in. Dawn was approaching, and
demons got along with that as well as gasoline did with matches. The
Nightmare needed a new host if it wanted to survive. We were still in
danger.
I hadn't realized I'd closed my eyes, but I opened them using the Sight. I
could see the Nightmare waiting in the shadows, ready to infect the next
pony to pass it. Waiting to worm its way into a good pony and corrupt her
from the inside. It wasn't enough that it had already possessed me and
Trixie, playing up our darker sides, manipulating us into hurting the
innocent. It wasn't enough that I had almost killed Twilight thanks to its
whispers. No, it was going to add more and more crimes to the list.
It wasn't rage that rose in me this time. Not within the grip of Harmony. This
was righteousness so pure and powerful it was almost a physical presence.
But I knew that it alone wouldn't be enough. So I reached out and drew in
some of the power surrounding me.
I had expected it to hurt – most power does - but this was different. I was
part of something greater. I could hear a pulsing sound, and it took me a
moment to understand. It was the hearts of the ponies behind me beating
as one. I could feel them with me, each of their minds a complement to the
whole. With a start, I realized that I hadn't taken any power. It had been
given to me. But that's how friendship works, isn't it?
A brief word brought my blasting rod back to my hand. The runes carved
into it didn't glow red as I focused my borrowed power. They flashed an
incandescent gold, as harsh and beautiful as the desert sun. The
Nightmare was impossible to miss; its darkness was an antithesis to
everything else in this world. I breathed in deeply, but instead of shouting I
merely spoke.
"Fuego." I said. Golden flames in a column as thick around as a barrel
poured out of the end of my carved stick. They crossed the room in an
instant, and the raging fire tore into the demon. It shrieked horribly as the
flames consumed it, a cross between a bobcat's scream and the screech of
tearing metal. Fire was already a cleansing force, and with the added
power of Harmony, the ancient monster didn't stand a chance. I watched it
burn until there was nothing left but an intangible stain on the stones. Then
I closed my Sight, letting myself crumple to the floor as I did so.

Several minutes later, dawn broke in the east. The long night was finally
over.

Chapter 12
Iron Chef, head baker of Canterlot Castle, grumbled as he worked.
Normally he loved baking cakes, pastries and pies of every shape and size
for the Princesses and their guests. After all, who wouldn't be proud to
have reached the pinnacle of their profession and serve Their Highnesses?
Even if it had just been "Her Highness" until recently.
Iron Chef kneaded the dough a bit more roughly than was absolutely
necessary. With Their Highnesses visiting Coltenhagen along with most of
the court, he had been due for a few more days of glorious vacation. There
had still been guards and servants to feed, of course, but the undercooks
could handle that. Then, out of the blue, two Royal guards arrived at his
house only an hour or so past the crack of dawn, demanding that he return
with them to the palace immediately. All inquiries were met with frustrating
silence.
No matter. Once in the kitchens, his word held more power than the order
of any guard. The undercooks, scullery maids, and other kitchen staff told
him everything they knew. He heard almost a dozen different versions, but
at least there were a few facts that every one of them had in common.
Princess Celestia had suddenly appeared in the throne room a little past
midnight, teleporting all the way from Coltenhagan. Her sudden return had
frightened the guards, but not nearly as much as her worried expression
had. She directed them to wake every member of the Royal Guard and
surround the castle. No pony was to get in or out. Then she teleported to
her study without further explanation. Whatever she found, or didn't find,
according to one maid, upset her greatly. It was rare to see the elder
Princess so stern, but she had immediately called for everypony present in
the castle, and the displeasure in her voice was the subject of much
speculation. She quickly interviewed them and found that nopony had
noticed anything suspicious over the past few days. Frustrated, she left,
leading a patrol of pegasus guards to Ponyville. For her student's
protection, it was rumored.
Hours later, shortly before Iron Chef was summoned, she returned to the
castle in secret. Nopony even knew she was back until she strode out of a

guest room, surprising two maids in the middle of cleaning the hall. The
Princess locked the door behind her and ordered her guards to watch it and
ensure that nopony entered, or even peeked inside. She said that the room
contained very important guests who were not be disturbed under any
circumstances.
The Princess herself actually came down to the kitchen shortly after Iron
Chief had finished pumping his staff for information. She apologized for her
abrupt arrival and the unfortunate interruption to his time off. He was
flattered that she'd thought of him and assured Her Highness that he was
more than happy to return to work. He'd been less happy, though he tried
not to show it, when she told him how much food he needed to make for
her mysterious guests. Still, he set to it with determination.
The variety of the food she requested was just as surprising as the amount.
The kitchen fairly buzzed with activity as everything from pasta to pastries,
soups to soufflés, fruits to fried eggs were prepared. Several of the younger
cooks gossiped and wondered about the strange events of that morning
and the nature of the Princess's guests, but Iron Chef could care less.
All that mattered was that he had hungry ponies to feed.
…
I woke up to the sound of frenzied growling, and it took me a long moment
to realize the noise was coming from the black hole where my stomach
used to be. After telling it to sit down and shut up for a couple of futile
minutes, I finally stirred from the ridiculously comfortable mattress I had
sunk into.
Well, mattresses. I guess they were the pony version of a king-size
(princess-size, maybe?), but that wasn't anywhere near long enough for
me, so some thoughtful pony had pushed two beds together and I ended
up sprawled across the heads of both.
The rest of the group had pretty much just collapsed into a disorganized
pile on what space was left. Fluttershy was curled up peacefully in one
corner with Pinkie using her as a pillow. Rarity and Applejack had managed
to completely entangle themselves in their sleep and ended up in a pretty
incriminating position. It was a shame I didn't have a camera, because that
would have been some prime blackmail material. Rainbow, of course, was

sprawled in the middle, all six limbs splayed out as if to claim as much
territory as possible. Twilight had slept with her chin on my arm, so she
woke as soon as I shifted. We groggily wondered where the faint smell of
food was coming from, and the growls from our stomachs redoubled.
"Why did the Princess assign me here? I'm too good-looking to die young,"
said a voice on the other side of the room's door.
"Stop being such a coward. There's nothing dangerous in that room," a
deeper one replied.
"Shows what you know. Cloudburst said that Grapevine told him Earl Gray
heard that the Princess defeated a great and terrible beast last night, and
she's keeping it locked in this very room. It's twenty feet long, shoots lasers
from its eyes and has a mouth big enough to eat a pony in a single bite.
What else could all that noise come from?"
"Pull the other one; it's got bells on it."
"It's true, I swear! Did you see how much food they put in the next room
over?"
"You know what? You should−" Tragically, we never got to find out just
what Private Skeptic thought Private Nancy should do, because at that
moment Twilight's stomach let loose a snarl like an angry wolverine. All
conversation in the hall stopped. It was a long moment before either of
them said anything else.
"M-maybe we should report to the Princess." Private Skeptic choked out.
Private Nancy just whimpered before trotting off. I whispered that we
should rattle the doors just to freak him out a little more, but a glare from
Twilight cut that plan short.
A minute later, I heard Private Skeptic snap to attention and two sets of
hoofsteps stopped at the door. The new arrival spoke in the most gentle,
melodious voice I've ever heard. "Thank you for informing me of
the… situation. Canterlot is fortunate to be protected by such brave
guardians." Her tone lacked any trace of sarcasm; I think she actually
managed to say that with a straight face. "This, however, I will handle by
myself. Please see that nopony enters this wing until further notice." There

was a pause as the guards beat a hasty retreat, then the door opened to
reveal the regal pony I'd seen during the Soulgaze with Twilight.
As nice as the portraits of her in the library had been, they did her about as
much justice as a black-and-white photo of a sunset. Hell, her presence
alone damn near put Arthurian myths of noble royalty to shame. She was
tall, less than a foot shorter than me (not counting a horn that she could
have used as a pool cue), and she moved with a grace that equaled any of
the Fae. Her coat was pure white and immaculately groomed. Her mane
and tail were ethereal rainbows, colored in soft pastels that flowed like a
banner in the wind despite the still air. Her face was kind, strong and
motherly, betraying little evidence of her supposed age. But more than
anything else I was impressed by her power. Just from what I could feel
she was at least equal to a Lady of the Fae Courts, and I wouldn't bet
against anyone who told me she held as much power as Mab or Titania. I
hadn't expected a lightweight to rule a magic kingdom for centuries, but
damn. She was big league material, no question about that.
I dimly remembered her showing up after the dust had settled last night,
and Twilight giving her the bare bones of our story. But everything after I
fired the Orbital Friendship Cannon was more than a little hazy.
"Princess!" Twilight said happily, moving forward to greet her. She was
interrupted by a sound halfway between a growl and a snarl from her
midsection, and her face flushed in embarrassment. I laughed, earning an
angry glare from Twilight and an enigmatic smile from the princess. Then
my stomach made a noise even louder and more animalistic than hers. I
glanced toward the rest of the group, but they snoozed on, unaware of my
gastric demands.
"I believe," The princess said, her voice just as controlled and regal as the
rest of her but laced with a hint of humor, "that some food is in order. I
thought as much, given even the rough account of your troubles. The next
room over has a variety of foods. We will speak after you've had had a
chance to eat." She turned her attention fully to Twilight and smiled more
warmly. "I look forward to a full recounting of your adventure, my faithful
student."
Her student? No wonder Twilight was playing at my level. I was no stranger
to having a powerful mentor – Ebenezer McCoy, the wizard who'd been

charged with my training after the debacle with Justin, was one of the
seven oldest and strongest wizards on the planet, and my faerie godmother
was nothing to sneeze at either. (Yes, I have a faerie godmother, and no,
that's not as good a deal as it sounds.) But neither of them were the matron
goddess of an entire freaking country!
Then the princess opened the door to an adjoining room, and I decided
then and there I would love her forever. A huge table was literally piled with
just about every type of food I could imagine − minus the meat dishes, of
course. I may be proud of my carnivorous tastes, but if every vegetarian
meal was like this, I'd seriously consider converting. The princess left,
closing the door softly behind her, and I fell to with abandon.
Three platefuls later, I was still eating like a starved dog. No, scratch that.
I'm pretty sure even a starved dog has better table manners than I do, I
thought as I stuffed another pair of 'bite-sized' pastries into my mouth.
Twilight grimaced as she watched the gruesome spectacle, but it certainly
didn't seem to upset her own appetite. She wasn't putting away food as
quickly as me, but it wasn't for lack of trying. We'd both spent energy like it
was going out of style last night.
An hour, and what felt like several pounds of food, later I was finally full. I'd
tried just about everything on the table and gone back for seconds on a few
of my favorites. Twilight and I hadn't spoken much, other than requests for
the salt or suggestions on which dish to try next, but creeping guilt wouldn't
let me avoid the issue any longer.
"Twilight?" I asked. She'd been staring into space, thinking about
something, and I caught her unaware. "I'm sorry. I…"
I wasn't sure how to finish the sentence. How do you apologize for getting
possessed and almost killing one of your friends? How do you ask for
forgiveness after you betray not just them, but everything you ever fought
against?
She responded almost instantly. "It's okay. I forgive you. Hey, could you
pass me one of those crumpets? I probably shouldn't, but they're so tasty."
If I hadn't been seated already, I'd have been literally floored. "Wait, really?
Just like that? After everything I did, you can really forgive me that easily?"

My hand, tired of waiting for instructions from my brain, passed her one of
the little cakes by itself.
Twilight laughed while I boggled. "For everything you did? Dresden, you
comforted me when I found Spike missing, saved all of us from the
manticores, kept us alive through Trixie's castle, saved Pinkie's life, helped
to defeat Trixie and destroyed the Nightmare once and for all." She looked
at me with the same gentle smile she'd worn after coming back from the
brink of death. "You're a good person, Dresden, and no demon can change
that. Yes, you made a mistake, but of course I'll forgive you. That's what
friends do."
Everything she was saying made sense, but since when has guilt been
rational? "But I laughed at you, threw away your help, used your Names
against you, attacked you, and then, as the cherry on top of all my other
bastardry, I almost freaking killed you."
Her smile vanished, replaced with a worried frown. "Dresden, you were
possessed by the Nightmare. If you had wanted to, you could have killed
us. You could have commanded us to hold still and just let you…" She
shrugged and left the sentence hanging, neither of us wanted to imagine
what could have been. With a slight shiver she recovered and continued.
"But you didn't. Yes, you fought us, but even as angry and hurt as you felt,
you held back. And when I was dying you saw through its lies, freed
yourself from the Nightmare and saved me. Do you realize how much that
means?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but a stentorian voice behind me
interrupted, damn near giving me a heart attack. "Even if thy friend doth
not understand, Twilight Sparkle, we do."
How the hell does everyone here sneak up on me like that? I thought,
spinning around. The speaker was another royal pony, but a study of
opposites to her older sister. She was shorter and smaller, though still
bigger than most ponies. Her coat was a deep blue interrupted only by a
crescent moon on a field of violet at her flank. If that wasn't enough of a
clue she was the princess of night, the ethereal mane and tail colored to
match the evening sky, complete with tiny glimmering stars, should help the
slow learners. Where the elder sister seemed almost ageless, the younger
had an almost teenaged bearing, not so different from Twilight and

company. Despite that, she had power too, a presence as strong and
subtle as an underwater current. I didn't think she was quite at Celestia's
level, but she was far enough beyond me that it was difficult to gauge her
with any kind of certainty.
I realized I was staring at about the same time she did. I coughed loudly
trying to hide my embarrassment and discreetly wiped off some the crumbs
from breakfast. I mean lunch, whatever. I cleared my throat and bowed my
head slightly. "Princess Luna, I presume?"
"Yea, verily," She replied as though I was across the room, not four feet
from her. Somebody needed to teach her the meaning of the phrase 'inside
voice'. But before I could cause an inter-dimensional incident, she spoke
again. "It is a pleasure to meet thee, Wizard Dresden. We have had a
brief account of what transpired, but we find ourselves wishing to
learn more." She stopped suddenly, acting nervous and unsure. However
she'd psyched herself up this, it wasn't enough. She'd lost her momentum
and couldn't decide how to move forward. I should have been more
empathetic; I mean, from what Twilight had said she'd been possessed by
the Nightmare as well. But mostly I was occupied by two other things. One,
the way she was fumbling for the right words was adorable. And two,
concern for my eardrums, which felt like they might be bleeding.
Twilight came both our rescues. "I need to give Princess Celestia a more
comprehensive account of our adventure, so I'll excuse myself." Her eyes
narrowed as she rose to go. "Be nice, Dresden." I rolled my eyes at her,
making the princess chuckle. Twilight had almost left when she stopped
and ducked her head back into the room. "Oh, um, your Highness? If this is
private, you might want to drop your amplification spell..."
The midnight blue pony next to me mulled that over for a second. "We…
ahem, we perceive thy point." She still sounded like she was trying to talk
over a rowdy house party, but at least it didn't feel like I was right next to an
amp at a metal concert anymore. I mouthed a silent but emphatic 'thank
you' to Twilight, making the unicorn laugh before she disappeared again.
But then I was left alone with immortal moon goddess who wasn't sure
what she wanted to say. That left it on my shoulders to continue
conversation. I probably should have given some careful consideration to

what I said, but instead I kinda blurted out, "So you control the moon.
How's that working out for you?"
Luna blinked, surprised at my question, and I mentally face-palmed. After a
moment, though, she replied. "It has been most difficult. Much of our power
was lost to the depredations of the Nightmare," she shivered slightly at the
mention of it, "and so we have spent the past year regaining that which was
ours. Though that happens to strike near to the heart of what we wished to
speak to thee about, Wizard."
She hesitated again, but this time she managed to steel herself to it. "Did
our sister speak truly when she told us thou wert not only possessed by the
Nightmare, but in fact overcame and destroyed it?" She peered at me,
worry underlining her expression however she tried to hide it.
For a moment her question puzzled me. She could have asked Twilight and
gotten the same answer. And for that matter, why was that such a difficult
question to ask? But then I put two and two together and got it.
The Nightmare had possessed her, and while I don't know what she had
done under its influence, I doubted it had been pleasant. The Elements of
Harmony had freed her, but she had never beaten the Nightmare herself.
Then here comes some mortal who sees through its lies and destroys it.
How would it feel to think if he could, then why couldn't I? Without ever
meaning to, I had probably ripped open old wounds, filling her with guilt and
doubt. I'd lived with that same feeling for years after I thought I'd killed
Elaine. Spending long, painful nights wondering if there was something,
anything I could have done differently, wishing I could go back.
We stood at a crossroads. The wrong word from me could crush her under
the weight of her own guilt. I had to be careful. So I took a moment to think
about my answer before I gave it to her. I know, that surprised me too.
"Yes," I said. She slumped, starting to turn from me, but I wasn't finished.
"But I never would have without my new friends." She stopped, her ears
perking up. "I was going to kill Trixie, and they stopped me. We fought, and
I hurt them, but even then they didn't give up on me. Then Twilight took an
attack I'd meant for Trixie." I slowed now, my voice growing softer. "She
was dying, and it was my fault. Then the Nightmare tried to 'comfort' me.
That's how I saw through it, only because it was dumb enough to
underestimate our friendship."

Her voice was just as subdued as mine. "And how didst thou destroy the
Nightmare?" I glanced up; she was watching me, her expression
sympathetic now.
I gave her a thin-lipped smile. "You know the power of Harmony?" She
arched a picture-perfect Spock eyebrow, though she was apparently too
refined to roll her eyes. "Well, the girls let me borrow a little of their power,
and I channeled it into the closest thing I've ever seen to holy fire." I
winced. "Though, I might have gone a bit far, given that it bored a gaping
hole through three feet of solid stone."
There was a startled beat, then she started laughing. I smiled at her and
joined in with a chuckle or two of my own. Her laughter slowed, and she
wiped away a tear. "Thou meanest to tell us that thou didst wield the
sacred power of Harmony as a weapon?" She chuckled again. "Our elder
sister will be fit to be tied when she discovers that news. Oh, would that we
could see her when Twilight relates that."
"And you're not mad about it?" Captain Obvious here, but I had to ask.
She shook her head smiling a little. "It is a bit disquieting, but we are more
… practical than Celestia. Besides which, thou hast a virtuous heart. It is
hard to go far wrong with one such as thine." She paused a moment, and
her face darkened. "If only we had possessed such strength."
Without even thinking about it, I reached out to put a hand on her long
neck. She stiffened in surprise and turned to face me. It's difficult to look
someone in the face without meeting their eyes, but most wizards learn to
do it eventually. "A good person isn't someone who's never stumbled
before. A good person is someone who gets back up no matter how many
times they fall. Somebody who never stops trying to do what's right." For a
second I locked eyes with her. "Don't ever stop trying, Princess. I know you
can do it."
There was a moment's silence before she turned away from me. After
another long minute she spoke. "I thank thee, Mister Dresden. Thou art
most kind." She turned back a soft smile on her face. "'Tis no surprise thou
and Twilight are friends. You are both very caring."

I was about to respond with more than a touch of sarcasm (I've got to prove
I'm hardboiled somehow), but I was interrupted by a voice several rooms
away, audible only because of its volume.
"HE DID WHAT?"
Luna and I looked at each other and began to laugh. I don't know
why that finally woke the rest of the ponies after they managed to sleep
through Luna's amp spell (and believe me, I've heard jackhammers quieter
than that), but in short order I was surrounded.
I didn't hold their attention very long, though, with the rest of that delicious
spread still waiting. I settled in and had another bite or two just to keep
them company. Luna excused herself shortly afterward, promising to return
soon. Rainbow and Applejack got into an eating competition that made
Rarity move to the other end of the table, shooting an occasional glare
whenever they got especially loud or messy. Pinkie was talking a mile a
minute, trying to tell me her recipes for every item on the table between
bites. Fluttershy just ate quietly, listening to Pinkie's barrage of words and
periodically nodding. Twilight returned with the news about the time
everyone was done eating.
Trixie was to be held under observation for the next week. The heavy duty
sleep spell on Spike had been lifted, though they needed to let him wake
up naturally to complete the cure. "Which is unfortunate for him. He'll miss
seeing you altogether, Dresden." I'd been listening with only half an ear, but
that caught my attention.
"What, really? You've found me a way home already?"
Twilight shook her head. "I didn't have anything to do with it. Apparently
both Princesses have visited Earth before. Princess Celestia said Luna
could take you wherever you need to go. And... she said I could see the
Nevernever as part of my studies, but I'm afraid you need to say goodbye
to everypony else."
"What?" Rainbow exclaimed, rising to hover several feet off the floor. "Why
can't we go with? I'm not afraid of the Never-Ever!"
"Nevernever," Twilight corrected. "But I think the Princess is more worried
that a large group of ponies would draw the attention of the inhabitants.

From what little she'll say, they aren't pleasant. Letting them discover
Equestria would be bad."
"Oh c'mon." Rainbow retorted. "How bad could they be?"
I cleared my throat. Rainbow was tough, but I had to agree with Twilight on
this one. "You remember how bad Trixie was in her nightmare form?" The
blue pegasus nodded hesitantly, and a couple of the ponies at the table
shivered. "She doesn't even make my top ten list of villains. And there's
stuff in the Nevernever that makes myenemies look like schoolyard bullies.
Remember, I only got here because I was running for my life from
something." Several dozen somethings, actually, but there was no need to
go into that. Rainbow just stared at me.
"Kinda puts things in perspective doesn't it?" Pinkie piped in. Rainbow
flushed and glared, but the pink pony just giggled.
"That's also why the Princess asked us to keep quiet about Dresden and
the Nevernever. If ponies knew about either, they might try going there or
accidently let something else in."
Rarity sniffed. "Must we? I mean, how likely is it that somepony would be
so careless?"
Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "Remember when Snips and Snails heard
about the Ursa Major? From what the Princess says, opening a way isn't
difficult, but it is dangerous. Secrecy keeps everypony safe."
"Well, I won't lie to nopony, but I can keep my mouth shut. I can promise ya
that." Applejack offered.
The rest of the ponies gave their assent in one form or another. Pinkie even
gave a short musical number about 'everypony doing their part'.
Twilight nodded, smiling at her success. Then she turned her attention to
me. "We need to leave soon, Dresden. Princess Luna wants to discuss
where exactly we're going."
"So this is good-bye?" Pinkie asked, her lower lip trembling. "But I never
got to throw a party for you. Or take you Sugarcube Corner. Or bake a cake
for you. Or –"

"I think he understands, darling." Rarity interrupted. She turned towards
me. "It is sad to see you go, but I understand. I wouldn't want to leave
Ponyville for long either. You have been a gentlecolt of the highest order,
and I look forward to your return." How she curtsied with four legs and no
dress I'll never understand, but she pulled it off with grace. I bowed in
return.
Applejack was more direct. She offered me her hoof, and did her
damnedest to shake my hand off. "It's a right shame to see you gone,
Dresden. I'll admit I was wrong about you. You really came through for us
every time it counted. You'll always be welcome at the farm far as I'm
concerned."
Rainbow zoomed over and punched me in the shoulder, hiding a sniff
behind a frown. "You'd better come back. I never got to show you any of
my coolest tricks, and I'll prove that the Sonic Rainboom isn't impossible."
I chuckled and gave her a light punch in return. "I wouldn't miss it for the
world."
Pinkie started bouncing in place, chirping excitedly. "Oh oh oh! And we you
come back I can throw you a party! You can bring all your friends and I'll
bring mine and you can introduce all of them to us then we'll all be friends
and we'll play games together and eat all kinds of yummy goodies and
dance to all my best jams and−"
Applejack reached over and shoved a turnover into Pinkie's mouth, cutting
off the torrent of words suddenly. Pinkie frowned at Applejack at first, but
once she started chewing her mood brightened. She swallowed the whole
thing with an audible gulp and licked her lips. "Mmmmm, apple cinnamon."
I laughed, but a gentle nudge at my side turned my attention from the pink
party pony. Fluttershy was standing next to me, trying to hide behind her
bangs again. "Um … do you promise you'll come back?" She blushed. "I
mean, I know we just met yesterday, but you really helped out with the
chores at my cottage, not that I only like you because of that, but I really
liked our talks and you're very nice and …um … well…" She trailed off
blushing even harder.
My brain, an amazing data processing machine perfected over millions of
years of natural selection and honed to razor sharpness by years of mental

discipline, had apparently turned to mush, because the only thought I was
registering was D'awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
Fluttershy gave a startled squeak as I scooped her into a big hug. "Of
course I'll be back." I told her. "You all couldn't get rid of me if you tried."
"Awww, group hug!" Pinkie yelled and I was quickly surrounded by ponies
all embracing me and giving their last goodbyes. I disentangled myself with
a little difficulty. Luna was already waiting for us across the room. I threw
my coat back on and checked the pockets. Everything seemed to be there.
I gathered my staff and blasting rod, waving one last goodbye to the five
ponies I was leaving behind. Luna looked at both Twilight and I then, with a
stomach wrenching twist, she teleported us elsewhere.
We arrived in an observatory of some kind. A few telescopes clustered
around the far window, and the walls and cabinets were almost overflowing
with star charts and astronomical equations. The main desk was an island
of organization in the sea of clutter. It held only some stationary, a few
quills, an inkwell and an old, slightly battered abacus.
"Please pardon our untidiness," Luna said, digging through one of the
smaller cabinets. "We have been absorbed in our most recent work, and
the servants are forbidden from cleaning here lest they find something they
ought not. Now, where lay the map I seek?"
"Your work?" I asked curiously.
"Oh yes," she said her voice echoing from within the surprisingly deep
piece of furniture. "We have been most busy repairing and renewing the
wards of aversion and other spells of shrouding."
Twilight frowned curiously. "What do the spells shroud?"
Luna leaned forward, and as odd as it sounds, I was almost afraid she'd fall
into the cabinet. "Why, this realm, of course. Surely thou thinkest not that it
is mere chance that Mister Dresden is the first visitor we've had in
centuries. Celestia possesses greater power, but the more subtle magics
have ever been our own, and it is vital that any spells placed in the Outer
Realm be of the utmost discretion. Our magic has fared poorly in our
absence, but it shall swiftly be restored. We are fortunate that Mister
Dresden was the only being to find us. Ah, here it is." She drew out a large,

creased and extremely old piece of parchment. Her horn glowed brighter as
she smoothed it out and set paperweights at each of the four corners.
It was a map of Earth. A crude and simplified one, maybe, but it seemed
accurate enough. There were two or three dozen small circles scattered
across it, each with a small amount of text next to it. There was a circle just
to the southwest of Lake Superior. It had to be at least a few hundred miles
from Chicago, but that wasn't too bad overall. Not when you consider the
choices I might have had.
"There," I said stabbing a finger at the lone circle.
"Truly?" Luna asked her brow furrowing. "Thou dost not resemble any of
the tribes local to the inland seas."
"My world has gone through a lot of changes in the past two hundred
years. When was the last time you visited?" Twilight was studying the map
with evident curiosity, poring over the notes in the legend. I'd asked the
question more out of idle conversation than any real interest.
Luna thought for a moment. "About eighteen centuries."
Stars and stones! I hadn't been expecting a recent date, but now I was just
happy the continents were in the right places! It's one thing to know the
being sitting opposite you is immortal, despite all appearances to the
contrary, but it's something else to have that fact demonstrated so
forcefully. The way she said 'eighteen centuries' like someone else might
say 'a few years ago' was fairly humbling. The surprise stripped my mind of
anything useful to say, so I just went with the first thing that popped into my
head. "Wow, that long huh?"
She nodded. "Yes, we seldom visit it. Not only are such trips dangerous,
but we find the inhabitants of thy world a bit…" She hesitated, her eyes
cutting toward me from the map.
"Brutal?" I suggested.
"Violent," she agreed. "Though they have good reason, given the world with
which they are faced." She paused to think for a moment. "There was one
group, however, that we rather liked. It was a small religion professing
near-Equestrian ideals of love and forgiveness even in the face of

persecution. We believe they were called Christians. Dost thou happen to
know how they fared?"
Twilight seemed to materialize by my side at the prospect of a whole new
history to learn.
"That's a bit of a long story." I managed. Both their faces fell, and I felt like
an ass. "But I guess I could tell it on the way."
Their faces brightened and I relaxed, then I nearly lost my lunch as we
teleported again.
…
We'd been walking for more than an hour, and I was barely past the twelfth
century. I wasn't a history buff by any stretch, but I knew more than your
average Joe. In the supernatural world, feuds between races can last for
millennia. Not knowing the past means you could have a whole bushel of
enemies you never know about until it's too late.
I stared into the distance, trying to spot the cave Luna said held the end of
the Way. We'd entered the Nevernever beside a waterfall outside another
set of ruins in the same forest where Trixie had set up camp. The gate had
led us here.
I've never been to the American southwest, but this place looked pretty
similar to the westerns I'd seen as a kid… or maybe a Roadrunner cartoon.
Barren dirt and stones for miles, interrupted only occasionally by tall spires
or flat slabs of rock. There one important distinction, though. While the
desert seemed empty, this patch of the Nevernever was downright
desolate. There were no plants, no animals, and no clouds in the sky.
There weren't even any bones or tumbleweeds to indicate that something
had been here at some point. Luna, Twilight and I were the only moving
things for miles.
As creepy as the place may sound, I loved it. This was quite possibly the
nicest piece of the Nevernever I had ever seen. Sure, it redefined the word
'barren', but at least nothing was trying to kill and/or eat us as we traveled. I
had the feeling this area was far removed from the lands of the Fae, the
only part of the Nevernever I was familiar with.

We wandered aimlessly across the landscape – at least, it seemed aimless
until I noticed the subtle pattern in the seemly random stones Luna paid
close attention to.
"So what's the deal with the stones?" I asked during a lull, pointing towards
the latest pile of rocks she'd examined.
"I thought we were talking about the Magna Carta and its effect on the
future political structure of England," Twilight complained.
"Oh, come on, Twilight!" I said. "Give a guy a break, would you?"
"As you wish." Luna conceded. "We must be able to travel the path
between the gates, but any obvious trail could mean discovery. Thus the
stones are arranged such that they seem natural to the untrained eye, but
in fact detail a safe path." I nodded, eager to know more.
Luna sighed theatrically. "And we suppose we must teach thou the secret
of reading them before we are to hear any more of the rise of the British
aristocracy."
I rubbed my throat. "Well, I could use a break from talking," I hinted with all
the subtlety of a sledgehammer. We spent the next ten minutes learning
how the stones' placement guided the path. It wasn't a difficult system once
you knew what to look for, and soon Twilight and I were guiding the group
almost as well as Luna had.
After that I went back to explaining more history, only to be interrupted
every minute or so by one pony or the other with questions. That was how
we'd strayed from the Catholic Church to the Magna Carta in the first place,
after all. I made it all the way to the Revolutionary War before we reached
the end of the Way. It was a small cave at the base of large mesa, and the
way Luna stopped told me we'd reached our destination.
I turned to face my traveling companions. Luna laid a hoof on my arm and
smiled warmly. "Know this, Wizard Dresden. Thou shalt be welcome
always in Equestria. And," her smile grew slightly sad, "we will try to live up
to the advice thou gave us. We pray that thou enjoyest peace and a long
life."

I smiled widely and lifted my right hand, spreading the fingers into a V.
"Live long and prosper, Princess Luna." I bowed to her, and she lowered
her head in return. Then she moved aside, leaving me to face Twilight.
The little purple unicorn was grinning softly, studying me. I couldn't help but
be reminded of our first meeting, but this time I didn't resist the urge to hug
her. She hugged me back and laid her head softly on my shoulder. It's
funny, you know? I'd known her for less than two days, and she was
already more near and dear to my heart than ninety-nine percent of the
people I know. There was a brief temptation to go back with her. To spend
the rest of my days in a world that kind and innocent. But I knew I couldn't.
My friends and my city needed me. That didn't mean I'd never return,
though.
We broke apart, but I didn't rise just yet. "When you've had enough time to
forget how annoying I can be and want me back, send me a message."
Twilight laughed. "And how am I supposed to find you?"
I sucked in a quick breath and took the plunge. "My name," I enunciated
carefully, "is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden." She stared at me in
shock, and I grinned. "I'm in the phone book under 'Wizards'."
Then I walked through the gate and back into my own world.

Dear Princess Celestia,
I learned that you can become friends with almost anypony. You may think
that you're both too different from each other to ever be friends, but
sometimes, if you get to know them, you'll find that the two of you have
more in common than you'd ever believe. It takes all kinds to make a world,
and there's nothing wrong with being different, even if it means the two of
you make for very strange friends.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
~~~
The End of
The Dresden Fillies
Strange Friends
~~~

False Masks
Prologue
Despite being its capital, Canterlot wasn’t the biggest city in Equestria.
While places like Manehatten or Fillydelphia were busy around the clock,
the ruling center of Equestria was asleep by midnight.
Sure, some guards still patrolled the castle, a few nobles threw parties until
the early hours of the morning, and one Princess had even begun to hold
the Court of Night again, otherwise the entire town was silent and still.
Bookmark was especially glad for that as he hurried through the deserted
streets, his hoofsteps echoing behind him.
The unicorn trotted along keeping an even, if quick, pace, careful not to
break into a run. He resisted the urge to glance behind him, instead using
the darkened glass of various storefronts as mirrors. Even though he didn’t
see anypony following him, he still pulled his cloak tight and hunched
beneath its cover. At least there was a light drizzle tonight, otherwise a
cloak in midsummer would have seemed suspicious.
His destination didn’t look like much. Just a small, dimly lit storefront
squeezed between two much larger and more prosperous shops. A small
bell rang as he entered and peered around the tea shop worriedly. His
concern was unfounded as the booths and tables were all empty.
The only employee visible didn’t seem to be overjoyed at the sight of her
latest customer. She was a lovely earth pony, her charcoal gray coat
accompanied by a bright red mane and a flank well-curved enough to make
any stallion drool. Her expression, though, was such a potent mix of
boredom and hostility that it was hardly surprising the small shop was
empty. Bookmark ignored her irritated glare and took off his cloak,revealing
his tan coat, dark green mane, and a closed book for a cutie mark. He laid
the cloak across the counter and cleared his throat to get her attention,

waiting at the counter for service. The look the earth pony gave him
indicated that her customer mattered about as much to her as the dirt
beneath her hooves, but she slowly made her way over to him.
With a heavy sigh she asked, “What can I get for you?”
Bookmark paused for a moment, shooting a look behind him just to be
sure, but the door remained closed and the shop’s few windows were all
made of frosted glass. He turned back and spoke. “Actually, I’ve got a
question if you wouldn’t mind.”
For a brief instant the mare’s eyes brightened, but quickly dimmed, her
expression becoming guarded. “Sorry, you’re not my type.”
Where most stallions would have been crushed by that news, this pony
smiled and took it in stride. “No, not that. I just wanted to ask, what’s your
favorite shape?”
“The triangle, I suppose.” She shrugged seemingly uncaring, but he knew
she was paying close attention to him now.
“Yes, three lines, three points. A perfect harmony within one shape.”
She nodded, and dropped her mask of hostility. Smiling, she bowed and
replied, “The Order Triune welcomes you, brother. Pass to the next gate.”
She pulled a small lever hidden beneath the counter and a section of floor
beside her lifted, revealing a winding set of stone stairs. Bookmark grabbed
his cloak and hurried down the steps, disappearing from sight. The barista
put the lever back to its original position, dropping the false floor back into
place, the seam nearly invisible. Then she quickly wiped the floor and
counter with a rag, removing the precipitation he’d brought in with him. She
resumed her unpleasant expression, boredly flipping through a magazine.
Within two minutes of his entrance, there was no evidence that Bookmark
had ever been there.
The stallion in question carefully descended the unlit portion of the steps,
hurrying once he reached the torch-lined lower levels. Bookmark saw
numerous doors as he headed down, some wooden, some metallic, all of
them shut and adorned with arcane symbols, but he didn’t stop. His
instructions had been precise; he was to enter the door at the bottom of the

stairs and no other.
The air grew colder as he descended, and he tugged his cloak back on and
lifted its hood, grateful for its warmth. As he passed the tenth door,
Bookmark couldn’t help but gape in awe. He’d been here once or twice, but
had only been allowed into the upper levels. He had never thought the
stairs went so deep. He had to be at least a hundred feet beneath the
streets he had left behind, the stairs digging deep into the mountain itself.
At last he reached the bottom and stood before an enormous door made of
solid stone. It was huge, at least eight feet tall, and covered in runes. The
symbols extended outwards from the door to the walls around it,
surrounding anypony who approached the door with mystic power. While
he’d never been this far down before, he had heard rumors of this door and
its brothers. They were made by Clover the Clever in the earliest days of
the order, long ago, when there was no Canterlot above their stronghold.
Supposedly, they could even hold one of the Princesses at bay for a few
minutes.
Bookmark swallowed nervously and stared at the barrier, remembering the
pass phrase and what would happen if he got it wrong. Unlike the shop
above, this ritual wasn’t the common greeting between members. This was
a code specifically for this occasion. The instructions he’d received had told
him to memorize it before burning. It should have been foal’s play, since his
talent was perfect recall of anything he’d read, but when faced with the grim
portal before him, Bookmark couldn’t help feeling unsure.
Reviewing his lines, Bookmark approached the door, trying not to think
about what some of the runes surrounding him could do. He slowly
knocked three times, letting the echoes die away each time before striking
again. There was movement on the other side of the door, and two lines
etched into its center shifted, changing into a pair of eyes. They stared at
him, their gaze far more penetrating than he ever would have thought stone
eyes could be. A pony’s voice, muffled by the stone between them, called
out. “Where does the sun go when the night comes?”
“Over the mountains and beyond the sea, waiting to rise again.” The voice
beyond the door hesitated on the next line and Bookmark felt a trickle of
sweat run down the back of his neck.
At last the guard responded. “And what of the moon when day reigns?”

Bookmark covered up his sigh of relief and gave the answer. “She plays
with her children, the stars, patient until twilight falls.”
There was another moment of harsh silence, just long enough to make
Bookmark consider running, when the carved eyes turned back into flat
lines. The door groaned as it swung inward, slowly unveiling of the room
beyond. The unicorn guarding it was hooded as well, but he would
recognize that two toned mane anywhere.
Bookmark’s jaw dropped. “Romana?” he hissed. “You’re a member of the
order?”
“And I thought you had a funny expression at the door! You’re priceless,
Mark.” She chuckled at his shock, and gave him a smile. “I’ve been one
since our university days. C’mon, the meeting's about to start. You’re the
last one here.”
Bookmark stepped through the portal, and Romana shut the heavy door,
her horn glowing brightly. The stone slid back into place, the ancient
enchantments reactivating while a heavy bar settled over it. The chamber
was lit by strange green crystals; they weren’t very bright, but their soft
glow was just enough to make out the rest of the room. Carved from the
living rock of the mountain, the ceiling vaulted above him on numerous
twisting columns. There were two more doors, twins to the one he had
entered through, and several trapdoors descending further into the
mountain. The focus of the room, though, was the table in the middle. It
was a broad circle made of three pieces: one cold iron, strong and
stubborn; the next silver, shining brightly even in the dim light; and the last
aluminum, the metal of lightning and flight. Seven ponies already waited at
the table, leaving two spots on the silver side empty. Bookmark and
Romana took them.
“Three races and three ponies of each, all united by one purpose. I call this
meeting of the Order Triune to business. May we protect our world’s fragile
harmony,” said a voice from the iron side of the table.
With that, everypony removed their hoods to reveal a collection of serious,
middle aged ponies. Bookmark and Romana were the youngest ones there
by at least a decade. The wizened earth pony who’d started the meeting

turned her eyes on Bookmark, and he struggled to keep a calm face under
the intensity of her gaze.
“I believe you were the pony to call this meeting. You said important
information had come to light.” The eyes of the door were nothing
compared to the stare of the mare before him now. He’d suspected that a
pony doesn’t become a senior member of the order without being
formidable, but he had the feeling she could have carved granite with that
glare.
One of the Pegasi laughed. “Give the poor lad a break, Hawkeye. Any
more of that glare of yours, and he won’t speak for the rest of the night.”
The earth pony turned her attention on the pegasi who’d spoken, but she
seemed to be made of sterner stuff than Bookmark.
Still, he cleared his throat and began. “I was privileged to be delivering
some reports to Her Highness when a sealed letter from her student
arrived. I waited while she read it, but before she could get rid of it, a
fortuitous crash,” he grinned at that and let his horn glow slightly, “from
outside the hall distracted her. I was able to get a brief look. The letter was
vague on some points, but it still had relevant information. He is coming
back within the next week, and the ceremony the Princess has been
organizing is to award him a medal.”
Bookmark couldn’t have gotten a bigger response if he’d told them he was
one of the Princesses in disguise. All eye were fastened on him, and one of
the Pegasi who hadn't spoken simply gaped.
“Surely the Princesses know his true nature. They can’t be that dense.”
snorted a large earth pony standing to Hawkeye’s right.
“Of course they do. They’re nopony’s foals. The question is why they act
this way when they know.” Hawkeye returned. As the Senior-most pony at
this meeting, she considered her next words carefully. “You are certain
there is no mistake in this. It truly referred to him?”
This time Bookmark withstood her piercing stare slightly better. “Y-yes, as
sure as I can be. The Princess’s protégé suggested he use the pseudonym
‘Blackstone’ for the ceremony.”

The discussion devolved into anarchy at that news, wild speculation and
urgent questions taking the place of reasonable communication. It took
Hawkeye several minutes before the table was calm enough to continue.
“Romana, are all of our members in Ponyville ready? I don’t want this to
slip through your hooves like his rumored first visit.”
Romana grimaced at the reminder, but still saluted the older pony. “Of
course. We will keep close tabs on all of the Elements. I won’t fail again.”
Hawkeye nodded, turning to stare into space. “Then we must prepare and
do so quickly. Romana, if possible, examine him yourself. Perhaps we are
worrying over nothing, but I fear not.”
She sighed, seeming to show her true age for the first time. “I declare this
meeting over, but I wish to say one last thing before we leave. Be vigilant,
my brothers and sisters; the Order Triune will not sit idle if Obsidian truly
means to return.”

Chapter One
I sat alone in my basement apartment with a bottle of beer, brooding.
An uncharitable asshole like my brother may have called it sulking, but
what the hell does he know? I’m a wizard, damnit, and wizards brood. It’s a
part of the mystic atmosphere shtick.
I was in a bad mood and the world seemed to be conspiring against me to
make it worse. The day was gray and overcast, rain pouring down in a
steady, monotonous stream. I was in between cases at the moment,
mundane or otherwise, and without any private investigating to do I had
nothing to keep me busy. That wouldn’t have been so bad except that the
rent was due next week, and I wouldn’t make it even if I started selling
plasma. And to top off the list my hand was hurting again.
I glanced down at the offending extremity and scowled. Now that I’d given it
my attention, the next ache was even worse. It had been months since the
bandages came off, but I suppose nearly burning your hand to slag wasn’t
something you get used to. The doctors had suggested I amputate it and
get a prosthetic, but I had refused. Vehemently.
Roasted beyond use or not, it was my damn hand, and I was keeping it. At
least the glove covered most of the scarring. I sighed; the only good thing
to come out of that misadventure was finding my brother.
Thomas is a half-brother, actually, and a vampire of the White Court, but
you can’t pick your family. He certainly couldn’t. Thomas’s father had subtly
tried to arrange his son’s death for years, just to ensure there could be no
one to challenge him for control over the White Court.
Now, though, Thomas lived with me. He hadn’t had much choice otherwise.
It made the small apartment seem smaller, but both of us had managed not
to kill each other yet. Given my temper today, though, it was a good thing
he was out. I finished my beer and debated whether or not to get another,
when a slow, measured beat hammered my door.

With cat-like reflexes, no doubt assisted by the beer, I leapt to my feet and
instantly tripped, trying not to step on the puppy that rushed past. I
managed to catch myself on my good hand, which immediately informed
me that was a bad idea, and I cursed loudly. The gray little furball just
nudged the door, staring at me quizzically, as if to ask why I wasn’t
answering it. Mouse was another consequence of my last case. It was
either adopt him or throw a Foo dog into the streets. I didn’t know
everything the little guy was capable of, but so far he’d shown a real talent
for getting underfoot. The door rang with three more precise knocks, and I
cursed again as I stood back up. Now the fuzzy little monster was grinning
as he pawed the door.
“Don’t get smug,” I told him, “one of these days I’m going to feed you to
Mister. How does getting made into kitty kibble sound?” He just yawned,
seemingly unconcerned about his possible future as Fancy Feast.
The knocking continued, and I growled as I pulled my staff from its position
next to the door. Some people would call such precaution paranoid, and I
would admit it was entirely possible there was a non-sinister reason for a
strange knock on my door on such a dreary day. Then, after I greeted the
normal, friendly person waiting for me, we would sit outside and watch the
pigs fly by.
I opened the door, leaving the wards active, and glared at whoever had
interrupted my brooding. I stared what sat on my doorstep and quickly
discovered that ‘whatever’ was more appropriate. It was a section of the
night sky cut into the shape of a horse. Or, I realized in a flash of insight, a
pony.
It snorted at me and stomped its hooves. I couldn’t see any eyes, but its
mouth was occupied by a thin scroll sealed in wax. Without a word, the
sending set the message on the ground and disappeared, leaving me
staring at thin air.
It could have been a trap, but I didn’t think that was likely. I’d never told a
soul about my adventure in the land of brightly colored ponies. All the
Council knew was that I’d gotten lost in the Nevernever. Sure, I was gone
for almost a week, but time isn’t necessarily constant between here and
there. They had grudgingly accepted my explanation, and that was that.

I glanced up the stairs to be sure, there were no nasty surprises waiting for
me to lower my defenses, but there was nothing but the drumming rain.
Mouse wasn’t growling either, and he’d proven more adept at seeing –
okay, smelling – danger coming than I ever had. I lowered the wards just
long enough to grab the scroll, then ducked quickly back inside. I don’t
know how the sending had done it, but the paper was barely damp. The
letter was short and to the point.
Dear Mister Dresden,
Something is about to happen, and we need you to return. If you come
back the same way you left, you will find me waiting at the ruins. Sorry for
the vague letter but I couldn’t be certain no one else would see this.
Your friend, T. S.
P.S. We all look forward to seeing you again soon.
I scratched my head 'Vague' was right. I couldn’t even tell if she talking
about a pony apocalypse or a tea party. I grabbed a poker and stirred up
the fire that had been dying in the fireplace. After I’d read through the letter
a couple times and committed it to memory, I tossed the parchment into the
flames, careful not to get my good hand too close to them.
That done, I moved one of the rugs and pulled open the trap door that lead
to my lab. It was really just a sub-basement, a gray concrete cube, but after
years of filling it with various items of arcane purpose and mystical origin,
the place actually looked like a wizard’s study. Well, it did if you turned your
head and squinted, anyway. One wooden shelf seemed out of place,
littered as it was with trashy romance novels, and old Playboys. In the
middle of that shelf sat a human skull.
“Bob. Get your lazy nonexistent ass up. I’ve got a trip to prepare for,” I said,
rummaging through some bric-a-brac to set up a potion-making rig. Twin
orange glows lit in the eyes of the skull behind me, and it gave an
exaggerated yawn.
“So, something actually managed to knock you out of your funk, sahib?”
His eyes brightened. “Does Murphy have a case for you? I bet she’d be
glad to see you again. Maybe glad enough to−”

“No,” I interrupted before the conversation turned X-rated. “I got a letter
from Twilight and the sending that delivered it makes me think it’s legit.” I
said I hadn’t told a soul, and that was the truth; Bob didn’t have one.
“Oh?” he said, drawing out the word. “So, going back to the land of ponies,
boss? Alone?”
I snorted. “Who else would I take? It’s not like−” I stopped, the meaning of
his words sinking in. “Oh, hell no. I am not taking you with me. I’m bad
enough as it is, who knows what you’d do?”
How he can glare without a face, I don’t know, but it was as impressive as
ever. “Maybe, but I know what I won’t do if you leave me behind. How
much research do you think you’ll get done without my help?”
I returned his glare with one of my own. “Given your history of throwing fits?
About as much as usual.” Bob was a spirit of intellect who had worked with
wizards for hundreds of years. He was literally invaluable and probably
illegal. Knowledge was power in wizardry, and Bob had more information at
his metaphorical fingertips than the Library of Congress. Not to mention his
ability to analyze, theorize and study magic and the shifting laws that
controlled it.
Seeing that his threats weren’t getting him anywhere, Bob switched tactics.
“C’mon, Harry! It’s a whole new world, a different brand of magic, and more
information than I’ve added to my memory in a century. Why can’t I go?”
I considered that. True, Bob could actually tell me more about the
mechanics and differences between our worlds than any three wizards I
knew, but I couldn’t let him off that easy. “Yeah, like your motives are ever
that pure. If you tell me the real reason you want to go, I just might take
you.”
He replied without hesitation or shame. “You described the population as
mostly female and entirely naked. I amnot missing out on that.”
“They’re horses, Bob!”
His voice took on a condescending tone, and he slowly shook his skull

ack and forth. “Harry, Harry, Harry. I appreciate a good-looking girl no
matter what species she happens to be. Not that I’m the only one. How do
you think centaurs were made anyway?” It’s times like this I wish mental
magic was legal, because now I had an image in my mind that was
disturbing beyond all belief.
When I was finished repressing that particular bit of trivia, I sighed. Bob
might be a pain in the ass, but he’s still my oldest friend. Besides, it wasn’t
like he could tell anyone without my permission. “Fine. You can come, but
only if you stay silent and don’t leave your skull. Same rules as being out in
public.”
He cheered lustily in a few dead languages before changing back to
English. “As long as I can watch, I’ll be as still and cold as your sex life.
Speaking of which−”
“No, not speaking of which at all.”
“I’m just saying, if you get any in Equestria, can I ride along?”
I gaped at him. “I’m not letting you into my head, Bob and I
am definitely not sleeping with a pony!” The idea alone was enough to drive
a man to drink.
“I’m just saying if you get lucky.”
“I am not sleeping with anyone.” I growled.
Bob sighed. “Well, business as usual, then.” I glared at him, but it wasn’t
worth pursuing. Bob would just make me regret bringing him along even
more.
“The letter was vague, so I’m going to make a few potions. If there’s
trouble, they’ll be handy, and if not, then it’s an object lesson in some of my
magic for Twilight.” I rubbed a hand across my chin, thinking. “I’d probably
better make a blending potion and an escape potion. Hmm. What else
would you suggest?”
Bob didn’t have any eyebrows to raise, but that didn’t stop him from giving
the impression that he did. “Really, sahib? You’re actually going to give me

a straight line that obvious?” I glared at him again, and he sighed. “I’d
include the wolf brew – you know, the sense enhancer – but nothing else.
Those three should be good.”
“Isn’t wolf fur the main ingredient for the wolf brew?” I asked, trying to
remember. Potion making was a delicate art, and without the proper
formula, the mix would be more poison than potion. That was one place
especially where Bob’s memory came in handy.
“Yep,” Bob confirmed. “Just call up Billy, he’ll help out.” His orange eyes
glimmered. “Or better yet, try Georgia.Oh! Or Andi! I mean, they have to be
naked to transform, and it wouldn’t really be your fault if you saw their−”
“Thank you, Bob.”
………
“You want what?” asked Billy the werewolf, leader of the Alphas. They were
a pack of college age werewolves who had decided to go vigilante on some
of the darker parts of the supernatural. You’d think that would end in
disaster, but they were smart enough not to tangle with anything out of their
weight class. Unless I was involved. Then they tended to do dumb things
like follow me into a battle between the supernatural armies of the Fae
courts.
I rolled my eyes. “You heard me, Billy. I need it for a potion I’m making.”
“Oh, gotcha. Is this that anti-gravity one you were talking about?”
“No,” I replied, “I’ll get that right one of these days, but this is for something
more practical. On that note, I’m going to be out of town for a while. Not
sure how long it’ll take, but you’ll probably want to step up the patrols while
I’m gone.”
He paused for a moment. “Will we have a way to contact you if something
crazy goes down? It’s not like you have a cellphone we can call.” Magic
tends to disrupt technology, and the more complex the tech, the easier it
breaks. That’s one reason I’m not worried about Skynet; even the weakest
wizard could short out something like that with a sneeze.

“Yeah, just turn on the Bat Signal and I’ll show up at the commissioner’s
window.”
“Really, you’re going to be a smartass? After you called me for a favor?” He
paused. “Two favors, actually.”
I shrugged. “Well, yeah. I think it’s funny, and you’re still going to do both of
them anyway, so it’s a win-win.”
Billy laughed. “Fine, but don’t forget to call Murphy too. If she found out you
told me and not her … Well, I’d just hope your insurance was paid up.” I
swore dark things under my breath, and Billy laughed again. “I’ll bring it
over later. See you, Harry.”
I hung up the phone, then picked it back up and dialed a familiar number.
After a couple of rings she picked up. “Lt. Murphy, Special Investigations.
How can I help you?”
“Hey, baby. What’s shaking?” She’d kill me later, but it was so worth it. I
hope she had me on speakerphone.
For a lady who’s five foot three on her tiptoes, Murphy can grunt like a
linebacker. “Oh, it’s you, Harry. Well, I’m going to have a seven foot corpse
to deal with if you keep that up. How’s the hand?”
“Still half-melted and totally useless, but I called to tell you I’m going out of
town for a while and don’t know when I’ll be back. Try not to let any
mysterious homicides happen ‘til then.”
“You’re going somewhere on a case? Or is it Council business?”
I briefly considered lying to her, but I’m a terrible liar. “No to both.”
“Are you actually taking a vacation?” She sounded like she couldn’t believe
it. Then she caught on. “Or does this have to do with that week you just
disappeared, then turned up in the middle of nowhere and never talked
about it?”
I snorted. “What was there to talk about? I got lost in the Nevernever and
fell out again a week later. I told you time flow there doesn’t always match

up with the real world.”
Her voice was skeptical. “Yeah, but I’m a police officer, Harry. I can tell
when someone isn’t giving me the whole story. Why are you holding
back?”
I hesitated. Murphy was good people. She’d saved my ass more times than
I’d care to admit, and I knew she wouldn’t betray anything I told her in
confidence. But, at the same time, I had promised Twilight and the
Princesses that I’d keep my mouth shut. If I told her, she might let it slip, or
it might be overheard. The more people that knew, the greater the chance
the knowledge would fall into the wrong hands.
I couldn’t risk telling her, and it definitely had nothing to do with the fact I’d
be embarrassed to admit I was close friends with a bunch of pretty, colorful
ponies. Or that I was going on a magical adventure with them. Nope, I am
completely secure in my masculinity.
“Sorry, Murph, but if I told you, I’d have to kill you. Some secrets aren’t
mine to share.”
She was quiet for a moment. “I swear, Harry, if you found Bigfoot and
you're keeping it secret…”
I laughed. “That’s not it, but I did have a case like that once. I’ll give you the
full story when I get back.”
“See you then, you bastard.”
I hung up still chuckling and got busy getting the rest of my gear together.
My force rings were all charged up, and so was my latest and shiniest toy,
a silver belt buckle. My cane sword, a few crystals, a tuning fork, a silver
bell, and all other sorts of useful odds and ends joined them. I debated
whether or not to bring a gun, but I reasoned that it was better to have
massive firepower and not need it than to need it and not have it. Both the
sawed off shotgun and my .44 joined the rest of the equipment. Of course I
grabbed my staff, the symbol of a wizard’s authority and power. I would
have taken my blasting rod, but I’d never gotten around to making another
one after the last one was destroyed.

All in all, it took a couple of hours before I was ready to call what I hoped
would be my ride. The Blue Beetle, my sixties Volkswagen bug, may be
sexy, but it breaks down way too often for me to trust it on a trip that far.
“Hello, Harry,” said a deep and resonant voice on the other end. “How are
you?”
“I’m okay, Michael. Are the wife and kids doing all right?”
“The children are healthy as ever, growing like weeds. Though Charity’s
mad right now. Probably because you’re going to ask me to drive you
hundreds of miles out into the middle of nowhere.”
My jaw dropped open, and with my mind otherwise occupied, it stayed that
way for a good minute. Michael Carpenter was a Knight of the Cross, and
he wielded a sword that supposedly had a nail from the Crucifixion set in its
hilt. I’d seen him do things that were supposed to be impossible, seen
convenient coincidences happen with ridiculous frequency, but last I
checked owning a holy sword doesn’t give you telepathy. “How on Earth
did you know that?”
He laughed out loud. “He works in mysterious ways sometimes.” And
somehow he didn’t even sound smug, the bastard.
“Wait a minute,” I said, piecing it together. “Murphy told you, didn’t she?
Mysterious ways my ass.”
“I don’t know about you, Harry, but I find women mysterious enough to give
even the Lord a run for His money.” There was a sound of muffled impact,
and Michael laughed again. Knowing Charity, she’d probably given him a
thump on the head. I chuckled and relaxed. I don’t put much faith in religion
(ba-dum-tish), but I have to admit Michael makes it look good.
“I hope Charity gave you what you deserved for that one,” I said, “but yeah,
I could really use a lift. I don’t want to chance taking the Beetle that far, or
leaving it there while I’m−” I stopped, realizing what I was about to say.
“Elsewhere,” I finished lamely.
“I won’t begrudge you your secrets. Lord knows you’ve probably had
enough questions already. It’s a bit late to make the trip today, though. Is

tomorrow morning okay?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “I wasn’t planning to leave until then. I’ve still got some
prep to do, and I need to tell Thomas I’ll be gone.”
“I’ll stop by at seven. See you then, Harry.”
Freaking early risers. I hadn’t seen the dawn in weeks, and that wasn’t a
record I looked forward to breaking. But I was getting a free ride, so I
couldn’t say much. “I’ll be here.”
………
I’m not sure how late it was when Thomas came back, but Billy had
dropped off the ingredients hours ago, and I’d started brewing my potions
after dinner. The familiar sensation of my wards reacting to the charm
Thomas carried caught my attention, but not as much as the feminine
laughter that shortly followed.
“All right!” Bob cheered. “Thomas brought home another girl!”
I sighed, trying not to think unkind thoughts about my brother, but somehow
I was less than successful. “Go to sleep, Bob. We’ve got company.” He
grumbled slightly, but he was still too happy about going to Equestria to put
up much of a fuss. I climbed the stairs up to the trapdoor and pushed
cautiously, making sure nobody was standing on it.
For some reason, a seven-foot-tall wizard rising out of the floor surprised
the woman who was getting one of Mac’s special darks, my favorite beer,
out of my icebox. “What the hell?!” She yelped, clinging to Thomas. I hadn’t
scared her that badly, but I think she just wanted a chance to grab hold of
him. My brother was more than willing to be grabbed, and if I hadn’t cleared
my throat noisily they might’ve have started right there. Not that it was her
fault, really – my brother is an incubus, after all.
I glared at him. Most people would never guess we were brothers, but that
wasn’t surprising. There may be a family resemblance between us, but
humans and chimps kind of look alike, too. Not that I’m ugly, but Thomas
has the kind of looks that belong on statues of Greek gods. He’s goodlooking
enough to make male models jealous andhas a smile that kills

inhibitions at fifty paces. In short, he was the perfect predator for his type of
feeding.
I don’t begrudge him his necessities, but this was the fifth time this week I’d
been kicked out of my own bed. Thomas at least had the good grace to
look guilty.
“Uh, Monica, meet my roommate, Harry. Harry, this is Monica.”
I nodded curtly to her, then turned back to Thomas. “I just wanted to let you
know to keep it down. I’m going out of town tomorrow, and I’ve got to get
up early.”
He blinked at that. “Really? How long?”
I shrugged. “However long it takes. I’ll be leaving you the Beetle though. I’m
catching a ride with Michael. Don’t forget to feed Mister and Mouse.”
Thomas frowned; he and Michael didn’t really get along. I think it has to do
with the time he took Michael to a strip club.
“Whatever. Just call me when you get in trouble.” He wrapped an arm
around Mary, or whatever this one’s name was, and began heading to the
bedroom.
I snorted. “You know I don’t have a cell phone.” In response, he flipped a
quarter over his shoulder without even looking. I caught it and glared at the
bastard. As much as I hated to admit it, he had style.
The potions wouldn’t wait, though, and I started back down the stairs to
watch them brew. At least he hadn’t offered to share this time. I know that
sex wasn’t much different from any other meal to him, but somehow I
wasn’t comfortable with that kind of family dinner. Not to mention that,
thanks to his description, the phrase ‘Eiffel Tower’ no longer reminded me
of French architecture.
………
“We’re here, Harry.”
“Huh-do-wha?” I mumbled, trying in vain to return to the land of the living.

The potions had taken longer than I’d thought, and the couch wasn’t
exactly the most comfortable place to sleep. How Thomas manages on it I
don’t know.
Long story short, I was more zombie than human when my wind-up Mickey
Mouse alarm clock informed me it was time to get up. A quick, cold shower
later, and I still wasn’t much better. Michael had shown up right on time and
helped me pack everything into his sedan. I gave him a map and the name
of the town closest to the Way and promptly went back to sleep.
Now, though, the sun was at a much more reasonable angle, and I actually
felt halfway refreshed. I yawned and stretched, bashing both hands and
feet on the small confines of the car. We were in a small town that was
remarkable only in how perfectly it matched the Midwestern stereotype. I
blinked dazedly, relying on a memory months old, and directed Michael to
the outskirts of the place. There, we followed the signs to the nearby cave.
I’d looked it up after I got back to Chicago, and discovered a lot of
interesting things.
The cave was called Snake’s Bend and had a lot of ghost stories,
mysterious disappearances, and bizarre sightings associated with it. The
town and cave were listed in several local books about the occult, but it had
never become a popular spot. I wasn’t surprised. Most of the truly
paranormal places never did. Humans may not admit that the supernatural
exists, but when their gut tells them to avoid the dank cave or the old
house, most of them listen. Sure, they tell themselves it’s for perfectly valid
reasons. ‘It’s easy to get lost in that cave’ or ‘that house is just waiting to
fall apart’. But when push comes to shove, they recognize a dangerous
place for what it is.
We reached it before too long, and I wasn’t surprised to see that the small
parking lot outside was empty. Hell, I wasn’t even out of the car, and I was
already getting the heebie-jeebies. It wasn’t full-blown fear so much as a
warning; I could tell the barrier between our world and what lay beyond was
weak here. I didn’t doubt for a second that those disappearances had been
real. Somewhere in that desert rested the bleached bones of anyone
unfortunate enough to be in that cave at the wrong time.
I ignored my Spider-sense and began pulling gear out of the back of
Michael’s car. He came around to help, and in short order we had

everything in a neat stack. I stared at what I’d brought. At the time all of it
had seemed not just smart but essential. Now that I actually had to haul it
across a desert, though, I was a little doubtful. Michael noticed the look on
my face and clapped me on the back. “You don’t do things by halves, do
you, Harry?”
I just grunted, picked up the old pack I’d gotten at an army surplus store,
and started hanging the rest of the bags off it. I was still young and could
probably take the weight for an hour or two. My back, however, began
protesting almost immediately, disagreeing with my assessment of its
abilities. Tough. I was the one in charge.
“So, where are you off to now?” I asked Michael. “Back to Chicago?”
The knight shook his head. “No, I’ve got a job. Your trip was just on the
way.” Somehow, I didn’t think he was talking about his contracting
business.
I slung a duffel bag across one shoulder and ignored my body’s mutinous
complaints. “Where are you headed? There’s not much around here.”
He smiled and handed me the last thing, a human skull in a black net bag.
“I’ll know when I get there.”
I tied the bag to my belt and snorted. “Sounds like your head office is pretty
lazy. Would writing you a note or using a little telepathy really be that
hard?”
He laughed. “Thanks, but I’d rather not hear any voices in my head. God go
with you, Harry.”
“I don’t see why he’d start now.”
Michael shrugged and began to climb back into his car. He paused. “I think
you forgot something.”
I wondered what the hell Michael was talking about until I heard a couple of
happy little yips coming from the back seat floorboard. “Mouse?” The terrier
sized puppy was on the floor, tucked halfway under some newspaper. He
smiled at me as he emerged from his hiding spot. “Damnit, you were

supposed to stay home.” He just sneezed and started pawing at the car
door.
I doubted that whatever eldritch horror Michael was going to confront was a
fan of puppies. I didn’t really have much choice but to bring the little
monster along with me. Something I’m sure Mouse had been counting on. I
sighed. “Come on, then, you little stowaway.”
Michael frowned. “Are you sure he’ll be safe?”
I nodded. “Yeah, if there’s trouble, I know someone who’ll keep an eye on
him.” Fluttershy would love Mouse, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind the
attention. “Could you give Thomas a call and let him know I’ve got the
dog?” The big man’s frown darkened a hair, but he nodded agreement.
“Thanks again for the ride, Michael. See you later.”
He smiled. “I’ll be here to pick you when you’re done.”
I paused, frowning. “But I don’t know how long it’ll take.”
“I know,” he replied, then got into his car and drove off. I watched him
disappear around a bend in the road and grumbled to myself. I’m the
wizard. I’m the one who’s supposed to have the mysterious powers and
speak in arcane riddles. I stood there for a minute more, ignoring my
aching back and Mouse’s whines.
“So, are we going to get this show on the road or what? Those naked
ponies aren’t going to ogle themselves. Oh, but what if they did?” That was
Bob, of course, practically drooling over thoughts I had never even wanted
to consider.
“Oh sure, you’re plenty talkative now. What about when Mouse got in the
car? You couldn’t have said anything then?” I glared at the skull.
“Hey, you weren’t the only one who was asleep, sahib. I didn’t notice until
we were more than halfway here, and it was too late to go back at that
point.” Logic, damn her traitorous heart, had sided with Bob this time. I
made a strategic retreat from that battle.
“Yeah, let’s get moving,” I said, making sure Mouse followed as I headed

toward the cave.
Snake’s Bend was chilly compared to the warm day outside, but my duster
was enough to keep out most of the cold. I entered the cave only to be
stopped a few feet in by a metal grill set into the stone. It looked like
someone had transplanted the front of a prison cell, complete with a locked
door. I grunted, setting down my pack. I’d been forced to blast open the
lock on my way out last time, and I’d honestly hoped nobody had fixed it in
the year since then.
Not that I’d counted on it. I fished out my lock-picking kit and went to work.
The lock was a simple one, but having only one usable hand made the
process more difficult that it had any right to be. It took me a full twenty
minutes of frustrated effort to open the damned thing, and I was tempted
more than once to just smash the door off its hinges.
I managed to get the pack back on with only a little difficulty and some
heartfelt curses. I whistled for Mouse and waited for him to return from the
bush he’d been investigating. When the party was finally assembled, we
started into the cave itself. I drew in power, making my silver pentacle glow
a soft blue-white as we explored. The deeper we went, the creepier the
atmosphere felt. Mouse whimpered softly, but I gave him a reassuring
scratch behind one ear. After about a tenth of a mile, we reached our goal.
Even if I hadn't been able to feel the obvious weakness in the veil between
here and the Nevernever, the site itself was more than a little memorable.
Two stalactites, or stalagmites or whatever the kids were calling them these
days, had grown next to each other in almost perfect symmetry. Together
they formed a pair of sinuous columns fifteen feet tall. They widened at
both top and bottom, forming a tall oval between them. The wall a few feet
behind the structure glittered in the weak light, tiny crystals making it seem
to be covered in jewels.
The whole place looked pretty amazing, which may explain why the town
thought it was necessary to put in a gate despite the cave’s reputation. I
wasn’t impressed, though. Not only have I seen better, but I knew that the
only thing on the other side was a drab and empty desert.
Opening the gateway startled Mouse a little, but after a moment’s hesitation
he followed me through. We walked out of the shallow cave into the

desert’s bright sun. I let my eyes adjust then glanced around. The place
looked the same as I remembered, barren except for a few stones and
some scattered plateaus. I quickly spotted the first rock pattern in the
hidden trail to Equestria and lurched into action. Mouse ran here and there
sniffing at the ground, but after a while he lost interest and stuck close to
me.
Without Twilight or Luna to talk to, the trip seemed a hell of a lot longer.
Knowing I’d probably come to regret it, I decided to start a conversation
with Bob. I figured if I stuck to the topic of magic I could manage to keep
things PG. “So, Bob what part of the Nevernever is this? I’m pretty sure
we’re outside of Fae territory.”
“You’re right. This land doesn’t belong to either Summer or Winter. It isn’t
even one of the lesser courts or kingdoms of the Wyld Fae. I honestly can’t
tell you where we are.” Bob’s reply had an unusually flat tone. And he
hadn’t thrown in a single insult or dirty comment.
I eyed the skull suspiciously and poked him. “Who are you and what have
you done with Bob? You’re being suspiciously quiet.”
“I know,” he replied. “It’s this place. I don’t like it.” My heart damn near
skipped a beat. He might not be saying it aloud, but I could tell Bob was
scared. That wasn’t that big a deal for people, we get scared all the time.
But as long as his skull was intact, Bob was immortal. That and his wealth
of information gave him a fairly cavalier attitude to danger. I could count the
number of times I’d seen Bob truly afraid without using both hands.
“Why? Can you sense something?” I could pick up on a good number of
supernatural spectrums, but I was still mortal. Bob was made to feel more
vibes than I ever could.
He shook his skull slowly. “That’s the thing, boss. I can’t sense anything.”
I pondered for a moment. “Then what’s the trouble?”
Bob twisted his skull to look up at me and glared. “That is the trouble! This
place is empty, no animals, no plants, no ley lines, nothing. There isn’t
even any background magic seeping in from other parts of the
Nevernever.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I knew this place was barren, but is it really that bad?”
Bob sighed. “It’s like finding a hole in the ocean, or a vacuum in the
atmosphere. And even without any ambient magic, there are still plenty of
mundane things that should thrive here. But this place is just empty. We’re
walking through a dead land, Harry, but that’s not what scares me.” He
paused, because the ass just had to add dramatic effect to it. “What scares
me is trying to imagine what killed it.”
I stopped walking and stared at the skull in shock. After a moment I started
again, this time at a much faster pace. And I thought the trip was going to
be boring. Thanks, Bob. We didn’t speak for the rest of the trip, and I
couldn’t help but scan the horizon for signs of our impending doom.
An hour later we reached the end of the trail at a small spring. Even here at
the oasis, there was no life, a fact Bob commented on at length. I was just
relieved that we’d reached the end with nothing worse happening than
Bob’s paranoia. The exit was less obvious than the entrance in the cave,
and it took slightly more effort to open. Still, less than a minute later, I stood
breathing in the fresh air of Equestria.
Now that I didn’t have to worry about the dark maw of some abomination
tearing open the ground beneath my feet, I could relax. I took off the heavy
pack and stretched, enjoying the creaking sensation of my unburdened
back. That, of course, was when the dragon charged me.

Chapter Two
Definitely a classical style, Twilight Sparkle thought, examining one of the
few columns left standing in the ruined castle. But is it late or early
classical? She had given her letter to Luna’s sending two days ago, but she
knew that a response would take time. So to pass the time until Dresden
showed up, she’d been studying the ruins of the Castle of the Royal
Sisters.
Currently, Twilight was trying to date the palace, most of the records of its
completion having been lost to the sands of time. True, she could have just
asked her mentor, but what fun was there in having the answer handed to
her instead of solving the question herself? Twilight had just decided that
the style of fluting most closely matched that of the early classical period
when a startled, distinctly non-equine yell caught her attention. He’s
here! she thought, shoving the reference book back into her saddlebags.
Twilight hurried down the old stone staircase and rounded the outer wall to
reach the waterfall that marked the Way. She paused as she pushed
through the last curtain of vegetation, pressing a hoof to her mouth to stifle
a giggle. Beside the waterfall’s pool, Dresden was sitting on the ground,
seemly having tripped over a large pack at his feet. He didn’t notice her,
though; his attention was entirely focused on the small dragon he was
dangling at arm’s length by its tail. A small dog circled Spike below, sniffing
and panting happily.
Spike, despite being suspended upside down by a creature several times
his size, seemed unfazed. Instead he chattered away, thrilled to finally
meet the ‘alien’ who had helped save Equestria from the return of the
Nightmare.
“This is so cool!” he gushed. “I mean, it’s so awesome to finally meet you.
Everypony’s already told me so much about your adventure last time. You
are such an amazing guy! You got possessed by the Nightmare, kicked it
out of your head, joined forces with the Elements of Harmony and finally
destroyed it once and for all with a huge fireball! That’s totally epic!”

Dresden was a little overwhelmed by the attention, if his uncomfortable
frown was any clue. Twilight suspected he hadn’t been expected such a
warm welcome. “That’s enough, Spike. You’ll have plenty of chances to talk
to Dresden later.” Her purple aura surrounded the baby dragon and brought
him back to the ground, pausing slightly to flip him right side up. He
scowled at her, but she ignored it in favor of greeting their guest. “How’ve
you been, Dresden?”
He chuckled and used one hand to push himself back onto his feet. “Not
bad. Not good either, but hey… that’s life.”
Twilight frowned. He seemed tired, and not just physically. What could
have happened to him? He looks so much older since the last time I saw
him.
Dresden stretched, some alarmingly loud cracks and pops coming from his
back. “But I’m here because you called, so what’s up? I couldn’t tell if
something bad was going down from the letter, so I brought the big guns
just in case.”
Twilight curiously examined his ‘big guns’. He’d brought back his staff, and
with it a thin cane with a strange handle. There was a small dog sitting by
his feet, its tongue lolling out as it panted. It acted like a puppy, but it was
already more than half the size of any dog Twilight had ever seen. His
pack, which was big enough for a foal to use as a tent, bulged with whoknew-what.
Then she noticed the bleached, presumably human skull
hanging from his belt and barely repressed a shudder of revulsion. And as
if that wasn’t weird enough, Twilight had the unsettling sensation that it was
somehow watching her despite its empty eye sockets.
Come on, Twilight. Think positive, she told herself. Maybe… humans
engage in ancestor worship. That makes sense. And Dresden just wants
me to… ugh… ‘meet’ one of his forefathers. So much for thinking positive,
but it was the best explanation she could come up with. The skull was just
flat out creepy, but she was polite enough not to say anything about it.
“Ewww. Is that a real skull? That’s just flat out creepy.” Spike, of course,
was not as inhibited.
Dresden chuckled and addressed the skull. “You hear that, Bob? He thinks

you’re creepy.”
“Spike,” Twilight said in a sweet, slightly strained tone, “Why don’t you go
and get Mr. Dresden some tea and snacks?” Spike gave her an innocent
smile, but Twilight wasn’t buying it. “Now, mister.” She glared until Spike
sighed and shuffled off to their campsite.
Dresden cracked his neck with a grimace. “Nice kid. He’s a lot more
energetic than I remember, though.”
Twilight frowned. “The last time you were here he was unconscious the
whole time.”
“Like I said. More energetic.” The wizard grinned, and Twilight had to
wonder if every human had such a strange sense of humor, or if Dresden
was considered just as odd in his own world.
Twilight smiled anyway. Strange jokes or not, it was nice to see Dresden
again. “I hope I didn’t make you worry. There’s nothing wrong; the letter
was vague just in case it was intercepted or lost. The real reason you’re
here is because the Princesses are holding a ceremony in your honor. I
think they want to award you a medal.” Dresden’s mouth dropped open
slightly and he flushed.
“Actual appreciation? Wow. There really is a first time for everything. But
why’d they wait almost a year to do it?” He shrugged. “Is the bureaucracy
around here really that bad?”
Twilight frowned. “Almost a year? Dresden, it’s only been two months since
you left.” Unless years were much shorter in his world, he wasn’t making
any sense. That didn’t seem to be the case; all of his other units of time
seemed to match up with the Equestrian standard.
Dresden raised both eyebrows and pondered that for a moment. “Two
months, huh? Well, that’s interesting. Almost twelve months have gone by
in my world.” Twilight stared at him in shock, but the wizard appeared to be
calculating something and didn’t notice.
“Really?” Spike cut in, his eyes shining. He’d returned with two cups of tea
and a plate of cookies while they were talking. “So we could take a week’s

vacation in your world and only one day would pass here? That would be
awesome!”
Dresden shook his head and took a cup of tea. “I doubt the time difference
is that constant. It’s probably more like a pendulum, with the imbalance
moving back and forth, but keeping the worlds more or less in sync. At
least, that’s how it works between Earth and the Nevernever. I’d have to
study the time dilation for a while to tell you for certain.” He set down the
cup and grabbed a cookie, breaking off a chunk to give to the small dog.
Twilight finally found her voice. “But that’s not how time works at all! It’s a
linear progression. You can’t just distort the flow like that.” The power
requirements alone for a spell of that magnitude left her boggled.
Dresden chuckled. “The first step to true wisdom is finding out how much
you don’t know. Not only does it happen, it’s entirely natural. Well,
supernatural, but the point stands.”
Twilight shook her head. It was astounding how much was out there that
she had never even suspected. One of the greatest benefits to having
Dresden back would be a chance to actually spend some time discussing
his magic and world. The Princesses, Luna especially, had given her a few
tentative lessons on the Nevernever, but they had focused mainly on the
underlying mechanics. To be honest, she was as eager as Spike to hear
about the creatures and places Dresden had seen. But that would have to
wait for later.
“We’ll have plenty of time to discuss that later, but there’s something we
need to do right away. Would you take off all your clothes, please? I’ve got
a surprise that I think you’ll like.” Dresden’s eyes went wide with shock, and
he started choking on his tea.
At the same time, the eyeholes in the skull on his belt flared to life. The
formerly motionless bone suddenly animated and shouted, “Now we’re
talking!”
Twilight shrieked and leaped back from the… the… whatever it was,
suppressing her instinct to telekinetically smash it against the nearest rock.
Cookies flew as Spike threw the tray and ran, screaming about ghosts. The
dog chased after him, barking happily as they vanished into the ruins.

Dresden coughed a few times, trying to clear his throat, while Twilight
stared down the unnatural skull at his belt. She held a shield spell and
three different kinds of energy blasts at the ready. If necessary, she could
destroy the skull without harming Dresden. Hopefully.
“Damn it, Bob!” Dresden shouted past his coughing fit. “Ten minutes. We’re
here less than ten minutes, and you open your damn mouth! Why the hell
did I believe you when you said you’d behave?”
Twilight stared at the human as he chided the… talking skull, her ears
burning from his language. It’s a skull. It’s talking! some part of her brain
gibbered. How can a skull talk?!
Whatever the answer, Dresden didn’t seem surprised by the sudden
disruption to Twilight’s world view. Again. He didn’t seem to be on friendly
terms with whatever it was, but at least he wasn’t treating it as something
hostile. Twilight hesitantly released her magic and took a small step toward
the wizard.
“Come on, boss! She was coming on to you so hard, I couldn’t help it. I’ll be
good for the rest of the trip, I promise.” Its voice dropped, and one orange
eye light winked. “But have you reconsidered your policy vis-à-visponies? It
sure sounds like she’s open-minded.”
Twilight wasn’t sure what the skull was talking about, but it sounded rude
and a little dirty. Dresden’s flushed and horrified expression seemed to
confirm as much. She cleared her throat noisily. “Umm… Dresden,
what is that?”
Dresden gave the skull one final glare and sighed. “Twilight, it is my utmost
displeasure to introduce Bob the Skull. He’s a spirit of air and intellect that
serves as my assistant. He’s also a pervert of the lowest class and
apparently can’t keep his mouth shut when he should.”
“Hey, now.” The skull replied in a hurt voice. “Just because I appreciate the
finer sex as much as possible doesn’t make me a pervert.”
“No,” Dresden retorted, “but what you say about the ‘finer sex’ does. And
that’s not even mentioning what you did the last time I let you out of your
skull.”

“Everyone at that sorority was a consenting adult and the alcohol was just
as much to blame as I was.”
“Stop bickering!” Twilight shouted over the argument, her glare flicking
between Dresden and the skull. This visit was already turning out to be
even more… interesting than she had expected. “Dresden, what is a ‘spirit
of intellect’ and why is it a talking skull?”
Dresden raised his hands defensively. “Settle down, kid. Remember
demons? Bob’s the flip side of that coin. He comes from the Nevernever,
but instead of being focused on negative things like pain and death, he’s
obsessed with knowledge. And, unfortunately, sex. The orange light is his
actual form; the skull is just what he lives in.” Dresden lifted the skull so
Twilight could see the tiny symbols carved into it around all of its orifices.
She didn’t recognize them, but she could feel the subtle power they held.
“Like all spirits, Bob’s made of pure magic, so he lacks a physical body and
free will. Right now I own the skull, so he has to obey me. Mostly I use him
as a research assistant. He knows more about magic and the supernatural
world than even senior wizards of the White Council.”
Bob snorted. Or at least he somehow made a sound to that effect. “More
like anyone short of the Archive. Credit where credit’s due, sahib.”
Twilight watched the orange lights in the eyes track her as she moved back
and forth. “That’s… amazing, actually. Where did you get him?”
Dresden hesitated for a moment, his expression conflicted, but Bob
chuckled. “Now that’s a story,” the spirit began. “You see−”
“Don’t say a word, Bob.” Dresden bit out, his eyes dark.
Bob glanced at him, somehow managing to look surprised. “Really? I
mean, it’s been almost two decades since Justin−”
“That’s an order,” Dresden said calmly. Too calmly – lacking his usual jovial
attitude or even the fierce anger she’d seen in him when Spike was
kidnapped. Instead, he almost sounded bitter. Obviously, Dresden’s past
wasn’t something he was comfortable discussing.

“Well,” Twilight said, trying to change the subject. “That’s interesting, but I
just asked Dresden to undress. This won’t work right if he’s wearing
clothes. What’s the big deal?” In fact, why is Dresden wearing so many
clothes anyway? She had deduced that humans lost heat easily because
they had no fur, so Dresden had preferred to wear them to avoid a chill
even in late spring. And granted, the time difference meant that it was
Spring again back in his world. But it was summer in Equestria, and the day
was very warm. Not to mention the sweltering desert he had hiked through.
Yet, he wore not just a shirt and pants, but that strange coat as
well. Curiouser and curiouser.
Dresden blushed and coughed while Bob leered at her. “I don’t think I
mentioned it before, but for a variety of social and environmental reasons,
humans have a nudity taboo. We don’t usually get naked except for bathing
and, er, mating. I don’t know why you need me to strip, but the way you
phrased it…”
It took Twilight a moment to process. She’d never heard of such a thing as
a taboo against nudity, but then the full meaning of his statement hit her.
She blushed deeply, her lavender coat turning fuchsia as she tried not to
stammer. “You mean what I said sounded like…” She trailed off unable to
finish the sentence.
“An invitation to get down and dirty with Harry?” Bob chuckled. “You bet
your sweet flank it did.”
Twilight wondered if anypony had ever died from embarrassment. Even if
her blush wasn’t terminal, it was taking up valuable blood her brain could
have been using to figure a way out of this. She tried visualizing a few
comforting equations to calm herself, but something about the way Bob
stared at her as she concentrated just made things worse.
Dresden came to her rescue at last. “I figured that wasn’t what you meant,
but hearing it surprised me. So, why do I need to be in the buff?”
Twilight held back a sigh of relief, and tried to focus on her original purpose
instead of her mistake. “Well, I mentioned your medal ceremony, right?” He
nodded, and she continued. “It would be public, of course, and the
Princesses still don’t want anypony to know about humans or your world.”

Dresden raised an eyebrow. “So you’re going to cast an illusion directly on
me this time?”
“Not quite.” Twilight said. “You’re going to be the center of attention, and
the chances of an illusion failing under close scrutiny are too high. So
instead, I’m going to transform you into a pony. The change should be
painless, and it will wear off naturally in about a week, though I can dispel it
at any point. I need you to take off your clothes because they
would probably be destroyed… in the…” She stopped. Dresden was
staring at her in mix of doubt and apprehension. “What’s wrong?”
“You want to turn me into a pony?” He sounded dubious, as though hoping
he’d misunderstood her.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Is there something wrong with that?”
“Yeah, it’s extremely illegal where I’m from! Second Law of Magic: Thou
shalt not transform another.”
Twilight boggled. Again. “Wha— why? I’ve been through Magic Ethics
class, and they never said there was anything wrong with transformation!”
Dresden shrugged. “According to the White Council, there is, and I’m not in
a hurry to get a second offense.” He grimaced. “They’re not a real forgiving
bunch.”
Bob laughed. “Harry, I think she’s a little outside of the White Council’s
jurisdiction. Twilight’s not a human – hell, she doesn’t even live in the same
world. And even if the Council still wanted to be pissy about it because you
were involved, how would they ever find out? Unless you ring them up and
start spilling secrets, they’ll never know it even happened. Just admit it, you
big pansy. You don’t want to get turned into a pony.”
Dresden bristled at the insult. “Hey, I’m pretty darn attached to my current
body. It’s not being a pony I object to, it’s changing at all.”
Bob grunted in disbelief. “Uh huh. What about the case with the
werewolves? You used that Hexenwolf belt to transform without any
hesitation. You just don’t want me telling anyone what a pretty pony you
make.”

“That was a life or death situation! Totally different.” Dresden snapped
back.
“Werewolves?” Twilight asked.
“There wolves. There castle.” Bob said in a strange accent, then laughed
Harry just rolled his eyes. “Are you going to do that every chance you get?”
he asked the skull.
Twilight shook her head. She needed to stop getting distracted and keep
things on topic. “Then will you let me?”
Dresden frowned and crossed his arms. She tried again. “We can’t have
the ceremony or show you around Ponyville if you don’t.” His frown got
deeper. “It would mean a lot to me and all of my friends if you did.” The
wizard remained silent. Twilight hesitated, thinking about his last visit, and
at last an inspiration struck her.
Twilight widened her eyes, sniffed softly and stuck out her bottom lip
slightly. “Please, Mr. Dresden?” He had repeatedly given in to Fluttershy’s
pleas when nopony else could convince him. Twilight hypothesized he was
extremely susceptible to perceived vulnerability. Or in more simple terms,
he couldn’t say no to a mare in distress. She watched the resistance in his
eyes crumble into dust and had to hold back a small cheer. Another theory
confirmed.
“Fine,” he sighed, “But Bob, you’re never allowed to tell anyone about
this. Ever. That’s an order.”
The skull snickered, but said nothing. Twilight smiled; finally everything was
going according to plan. She checked the position of the sun and was
pleased to note they hadn’t even used up all of the time allotted for
‘unexpected delays’ built into her schedule. “Follow me, then.”
Twilight’s horn glowed, and with a little effort, she levitated his pack into the
air. She was surprised by the weight; had Dresden really carried this much
across the Way from his world?

Luckily, it was a much shorter trip to their campsite, and Twilight didn’t even
break a sweat bringing all of Dresden’s possessions with her. She set down
the pack carefully and examined the circle she had etched into floor of the
castle. It occupied a single block of stone, since Twilight had found that the
ring needed to maintain integrity to be functional. The cardinal points had
symbols carved into them, the result of mixing her own ideas with what
Dresden had taught her of his own magic.
Dresden knelt and examined it. “You made a magic circle? Complete with
focal symbols?” He sounded a little surprised.
Twilight grinned, happy to show off the results of her latest studies. “Yes,
after you explained the concept to me, I did some research on them. Turns
out their use was once widespread, but they slowly fell out of favor as
unicorns began to specialize their spells. Just using a circle improved the
efficiency of my bigger spells by an average of 33.4 percent.”
Dresden frowned in what looked like confusion, but motioned for Twilight to
continue. “The symbols at the edges of the circle are something of my own
design. They act as substitutes for concepts I would normally have to
visualize and concentrate on while casting the spell. Now they’re already
embedded into the magic’s matrix by visualizing the concepts while I
carved them into the stone. I read about Clover the Clever doing something
similar, so tried my hoof at it.”
Bob whistled, and Twilight visibly suffered a moment of cognitive
dissonance trying to understand how. “Now that’s impressive. Not only has
she trained her whole life doing magic with only pure mental constructs, but
she’s actually creating her own symbols to build props from. Give me five
weeks to teach her, and I'll bet she’d kick your ass to the curb, sahib.”
Dresden laughed. “Bob, I wouldn’t give you five minutes alone with her. I
really doubt she wants the mental scarring that comes from learning with
you.” He turned his attention from the skull to Twilight and grinned. “But you
seriously came up with this on your own? Way to go, Twilight!”
Twilight grinned in response, trying not to preen. Nopony liked to hear
boasting, even if she did feel like she’d just earned the title of The Great
and Powerful Twilight. “Thank you very much. I wanted to get it done in
time to show you, but it’s not really that impressive. Just a little applied

esearch.”
Dresden nodded and sighed. “All right, let’s get this over with, then.” He set
down his staff and started tugging at the glove on his left hand. Twilight
watched curiously. She didn’t remember him wearing that two months ago.
He finally got the stubborn thing off, and Twilight was unable to hold back
her shocked gasp.
His hand had been cooked. There was no other way to describe it.
The flesh was melted and warped as if the extremity had been made of
wax and twisted into a new shape before being allowed to cool again. His
fingers twitched slightly, as if incapable of any further motion, and she
realized with a start that she hadn't seen him use the hand since he
arrived. The damage was clearly more than just skin deep. Whatever had
happened to Dresden, it had hurt him deeply.
“Your hand,” she choked out, “it … it’s …”
“Hideous?” Bob suggested. Twilight glared at him, but Dresden made a
placating gesture.
“It’s okay. It has that effect on everybody, that’s why I normally wear the
glove.”
“But what happened?” Twilight asked. “Who did this to you?”
“It’s the price I paid to exterminate a scourge of vampires. We got the
bastards, though.” He frowned. “Most of them, anyway. It was worth it.”
Twilight couldn’t understand, couldn’t imagine what he had gone through.
“But you lost your hand!”
Dresden sighed and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “My world is a
jungle, and humans aren’t anywhere near the top of the food chain. But
that’s why we fight. It may not be pretty, but it’s our world and I’d defend it
to the death.” He gave her a sad smile, and Twilight tried to smile back.
Satisfied, he turned his back to her and resumed stripping. Twilight
watched, mulling over the pain in his eyes, and what his latest battle had
cost him.

He’s a warrior; what did you expect? she asked herself. That he’d never get
hurt? She had read stories of vampires, of course, but that’s all they were:
stories. It was hard to believe that creatures like that actually existed in
Dresden’s world. The concept of evil wasn’t foreign to Equestria, but such a
raw expression of it was.
“Twi? I’m done,” Dresden announced, interrupting her thoughts. Twilight
blinked and realized that the wizard was already standing in the middle of
her circle. He had lost his shirt, pants and thick boots, revealing skin that
was slightly paler than his face or hand, but still just as smooth, except a
small, thin patch of hair in the center of his chest. His feet, she was
interested to note, were similar to his hands, but obviously modified to a
bipedal gait. Instead of being round, they formed a long, misshapen oval
terminating in five tiny – and probably vestigial – digits. His legs were wellmuscled
compared to his arms, and Twilight found herself idly wondering
how their musculature differed from that of a pony, given his upright stance.
Oddly, there was one piece of clothing he hadn’t removed. They looked like
pants, but they were much shorter and made of a very thin material.
Twilight examined the strange garment. She couldn’t help but wonder what
exactly its purpose was or why it was covered in little yellow smiley faces.
“You know those probably won’t survive the transformation process, right?”
Dresden nodded. “That’s a price I’m willing to pay. The boxers stay on.”
“But−”
“Trust me; we’ll both be happier this way.” There was some booing from
Bob, but by mutual consent both wizard and unicorn ignored him.
They stared at each other for a moment more before Dresden spoke again.
“The boxers stay on.” He crossed his arms, his glare clearly daring her to
disagree.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fine. They’re your clothes. Just don’t complain to
me afterwards.” Her horn began to glow as she focused on her spell, and
inside the circle, Dresden shut his eyes. Even with her special
preparations, this enchantment wasn’t easy. She needed to change
Dresden at a fundamental level, and only the fact that he was willing even

made it possible. It would have helped if she had been able to practice this,
but since humans were in short supply, she only had theory to go on.
She grunted as she felt her will collide with the wizard’s natural resistance.
He was a fortress, his essence stubbornly entrenched in bedrock a mile
deep. But if he was a rock, her spell was the ocean. Little by little she
changed him, eroding one point, building upon another. In a vague, distant
way, she could feel him stirring uneasily at the alterations, but he restrained
himself and she continued unimpeded.
The whole process only took a few minutes, but within the haze of magic, it
felt like hours to Twilight. Finally, everything was done, and with one last
surge of power she finished the spell. There was a flash of light brighter
than the sun, and even through Twilight’s eyelids the world went white.
Hopefully Spike hadn’t been watching them, or he might have been
blinded.
When no cries of anguish were forthcoming, she heaved a sigh of relief.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and found that the world was slightly out of
focus.
She rubbed them with her hooves, blinking until her vision cleared.
Thankfully, it didn't take long. When she could finally see again, though, her
jaw nearly hit the floor. Some remote part of her mind was relieved that
nopony else was present to witness her reaction.
Where Dresden had stood, a tall, lithe stallion now inspected himself. He
was almost the same height as Big Macintosh, but instead of the heavy
body of a farm pony, he had a runner’s build. Lean muscles lined his body,
rounding out an otherwise angular frame. Set between his curious but
cynical eyes was a horn longer than that any unicorn she’d ever seen. His
coat was velvet black, contrasting with his ice-white mane, and his fetlocks
were unshorn. As Twilight’s eyes traveled over his body, she sternly told
herself that it was just to check that the spell was complete and nothing
more.
But there’s no reason I can’t enjoy what I’m seeing, right? whispered one
treacherous part of her mind before Twilight could silence it. On her second
pass, Twilight began to notice smaller details. His irises were orange-red,
with glints of yellow when the light caught them, like he had glowing

embers for eyes. His front left hoof was scorched and cracked, though
standing on it didn’t seem to trouble him. His abdomen held scars as well,
faint white lines and ragged circles that stood out against his dark coat.
Dresden spun himself in a slow circle as he stared at his new body, and
finally all of his twisting and turning made the ‘boxers’ slide off his rear end,
exposing his flank and the cutie mark emblazed upon it – a silver pentacle.
The loss of his final garment did not go unnoticed by Dresden.
“Don't look!” he yelled in a voice that was only slightly higher and smoother
than his original. The former human rose quickly on his back hooves and
tried to cover himself with his forelimbs. Unfortunately, his new form was
decidedly quadrupedal, and with his ‘boxers’ still around his ankles, he
overbalanced, and tumbled over backwards.
A startled moment of silence was quickly broken by gales of laughter from
Bob. Dresden shot the skull a dirty glance, but he couldn’t do much more to
stop the spirit. Twilight sighed and levitated her friend back into a standing
position. “Well, let’s get started,” she said briskly. “We’ve got a lot of ground
to cover, both culturally and physically. Oh – one more thing, though. The
Princess wants you to go by a pseudonym during the ceremony, so I
thought you could just use one of your other names.”
Dresden raised an eyebrow. “What did you have in mind?”
Twilight grinned, thrilled that everything was going so well. “I thought we’d
call you ‘Blackstone’.”
The onyx unicorn glanced at his coat and gave a smirk. “Well, if the
horseshoe fits.”

Chapter 3
Learning to rely on the telekinesis from my horn instead of using my hands
was the most difficult part of becoming a pony.
That is not a sentence any sane man should ever think, but I’d given up
hope on sanity when we reached the lecture titled, ‘Cutie Marks and You: A
Special Guide to your Special Talent’.
The lessons had taken the whole afternoon and most of the evening,
starting after we finally got Spike back to camp. Finding him hadn’t been
that hard; Mouse had kept him pretty close to the campsite, but convincing
him that Bob was not a ghost and that we were not haunted took a while.
Then, of course, Bob thought it would be funny to scream ‘boo’ in Spike’s
face once he finally worked up the courage to approach the skull. In the
end, Twilight had teleported Spike to the library so he could start preparing
dinner.
The smartass skull was currently stuffed deep inside my bag, underneath
my discarded clothes. I had told him on no uncertain terms that if he spoke
again before I gave him permission I would drop him in Winter’s territory
and call for Mab. Normally he would have called my bluff − I wouldn’t wish
a pissed off Fae queen on my worst enemy (well, most of them, anyway) –
but I think the way my left eye was twitching when I said it convinced him.
Now I was following Twilight back to Ponyville through the Everfree Forest.
It felt weird and more than a little embarrassing to just walk around in the
nude, but none of my old clothing fit my new body. I’d put my silver
pentacle back on and slipped my force rings over my horn, but the rest of
my outfit was packed away. The first chance I got though; I was going to
Rarity’s for a set of proper clothes.
“You know, I could carry your pack for you if you get tired,” Twilight
suggested from further up the trail. It was late evening, and the sun was
almost at the horizon. She evidently wanted to get home before dusk fell.
Given the kind of creatures that lived in the forest, I wasn’t eager to go for a
nighttime stroll out here either.

Well, if she was in a hurry, she could have gone through some of the
lessons a little faster. Twilight was a brilliant practitioner, no doubt about
that, but she was also ridiculously verbose when it came to teaching. I
know that we had a lot to cover – hell, just learning to walk on four legs
took almost an hour – but she could have hurried things along. I didn’t need
the entire life story of what’s-his-name, Starsquirrel the Bearded, just to
hear about his theories on magic.
I snorted, and stared at the enormous pile of equipment she was already
levitating. “All your camping gear has got to weigh twice as much as my
stuff. Let me hang on to at least a little of my pride.” My pack wobbled a
little as I fought to keep focus on it while talking.
She gave me a worried frown. “Sorry, Dres− er, Blackstone. I wasn’t trying
to say you were weak or anything. I mean, you’ve been a pony for less than
a day, and you can already lift as well as an adult unicorn! I just thought
you might be worn out after all that practice.” I couldn’t tell whether she was
telling the truth or trying to spare my feelings. It didn’t help that the only
yardstick I had for my abilities thus far was a unicorn skilled enough to be
apprenticed to an immortal sorceress.
I shook my head, still not used to the extra weight of the horn. “Thanks, but
I got it.”
Despite the transformation, my magic seemed to have stayed pretty much
the same. At first I thought I’d have to start from scratch, because none of
my spells were working. Fortunately, once I stopped trying to use my hands
– forehooves, now – to channel energy and started getting a feel for my
horn (a line Bob would have jumped on,) everything came easily. It still felt
strange to use, but I was too relieved that I wouldn’t have to relearn
everything to really care.
One thing that had changed, though, was the built-in telekinesis. On the
surface, it was pretty much like any levitation I’d done before: focus on the
target, wrap some magic around it, and it floats. Ta-da! There wasn’t even
much difference in the amount of weight I could lift, but the newfound
endurance and control were unreal. I could manipulate objects longer and
with a hell of lot more finesse than I ever had before. Normally, I used
cushions of air to move things around; my control was better with wind than

pure force. But apparently the whole ‘unicorn’ thing trumped my native skill.
Back home, I’d have struggled to keep my pack airborne for five minutes,
but I had been carrying it for the past twenty without any more stress than if
I’d carried it on my back. It almost didn’t feel like I was using a spell; it was
more like having an extra arm.
Which was damned handy (heh-heh), because my hooves were the next
best thing to useless. Seriously, I’d gained a new appreciation for my hands
after toasting one of them. But having one hand is so much better than
having none that it isn’t even funny. I don’t know how the normal ponies or
the pegasi manage.
There was one silver lining to losing my hands, though. My burned foreleg
wasn’t pretty looking, but it was actually functional. Instead of having to
hobble along on three legs, I could walk steadily on all four. The pain had
dulled to nothing more than a small ache, so my new form of locomotion
wasn’t the nightmare I had thought it would be.
And then, because I’d dared to be optimistic, my back right leg caught on a
root and I damn near went down in a sprawling heap. Only a quick hop
prevented me from going ass over teakettle, and the red-orange aura
around my pack blinked out completely. I managed to catch it just before it
hit the ground, and breathed a sigh of relief. I lifted the pack higher and
hurried to catch up with Twilight. The downside of using telekinesis instead
of hands was that I had to keep a constant mental focus on whatever I was
lifting. Something which Mouse, who was even more underfoot than usual
now that I had twice the number of feet to get under, was not helping with.
I gave him a short glare. “If you want someone—er, somepony to bother,
go play with Twilight.” Mouse grinned at me, obviously enjoying my
annoyance, but he obeyed and started tagging along just behind the purple
unicorn.
Mouse turned on his doggish charms, and he had Twilight scratching under
his chin and cooing over him inside a minute. I let her baby him for another
minute before interrupting.
“Twilight, this is my dog Mouse. Mouse, that’s my friend Twilight.”
“Charmed.” She extended a hoof, which Mouse politely sniffed, then

woofed softly in approval. Twilight chuckled at that. “Where did you get
him? I don’t remember you mentioning a dog last time.”
I shrugged, which turns out to be a lot harder when you’re a quadruped.
“He’s a souvenir from a case a few months ago. I rescued him and the rest
of his litter, but Mouse decided to play stowaway when I took them to the
client.”
Twilight gave me a bemused smile. “You were paid to find a basket of
puppies? That doesn’t sound much like the dark, gritty wizard-for-hire you
act like.”
I laughed. “Think again, kid. Mouse is a temple dog, which makes him all
kinds of valuable.”
“What’s a temple dog?” she asked, scratching him under the chin with
another glow of telekinetic power. All while she walked, talked, and
maintained a perfectly undisturbed aura around her camping equipment. I
grumbled a little to myself as my own load shifted.
“Well, supposedly, he’s the descendant of a divine guardian spirit called a
Foo dog. The monk who hired me to get them back believed that Mouse’s
bloodline has special powers.”
Twilight stared curiously at Mouse, and I could almost see the analytical
gears in her head start turning. I think he could too, because Mouse
suddenly became very interested in some of the bushes off to the side of
the trail. Twilight considered him for a moment more. “Does he?”
“Hell if I know. I’m mostly the product of a European education in magic.
Foo dogs are from the Far East, so I can’t tell you much.” Twilight tried not
to show it, but her face fell in disappointment, her mouth curved in a slight
frown. Inwardly, I sighed. “But, I can say this much, at least. Mouse seems
able to sense danger – or evil, not really sure which – better than any
wizard. And whoever took him and his siblings from the monastery thought
they were worth setting half a dozen demons to guard them.”
“Really?” she asked, brightening. “Could you tell me a little more about that
case? It sounds fascinating.” I nodded and launched into the story of how I
got Mouse, pausing every now and then to keep my pack from drifting off.

After that, she still seemed interested, so I told a few more stories, like
when I saved a runaway little girl from a troll under a bridge, and the time I
cleared the name of a gorilla who was accused of murdering a zoo guard.
We reached the end of the forest just as the sun vanished below the
horizon. The golden light turned dull red over the forest, and the moon rose
majestically into the sky ahead. We walked in silence, but I had trouble
keeping my eyes on the path. The stars had begun to appear, shining softly
beyond the gentle glow of a crescent moon. The more the light of day
faded, the brighter and more numerous they became. Don’t get me wrong, I
love living in the city. But if there’s anything I miss about Ebenezer McCoy’s
farm, it’s the stargazing. There was a well-lit city in the distant mountains –
Canterlot, I think – and Ponyville had a few lights of its own, but here on the
edge of the wilderness, the sky was beautifully clear and the stars shone
with a breathtaking glow.
I’d done a little astronomy with an old telescope in the loft, so I knew most
of the constellations. Here in Equestria, a few were obviously missing, but
there were dozens of unfamiliar stars to replace them. It was as if an artist
had seen the night sky and decided that, while nice, it could use some
work. The Milky Way was a bright river of light stretching across the
heavens, and the North Star shone as though it was illuminated by neon. I
let my imagination run wild through the strange formations of new stars,
trying to envision the shapes they made. As I invented new constellations,
a shooting star sailed sedately across the sky, leaving a glimmering trail
like no meteor I’d ever seen. A few stars gleamed red or even blue instead
of the usual white. I wondered idly if they were planets, or maybe some
type of celestial body that didn’t even exist in my world. I stumbled twice
and nearly dropped my pack three times, but the view was worth every
bump I took. This place was beautiful.
Even as I was awed by the otherworldly view, Twilight was busy puzzling
more earthly matters. I missed her question the first time and had to ask
her to repeat it.
“I asked why magic isn’t public knowledge on Earth. You’d think everyone
would notice after everything you’ve done. It certainly seems to be common
enough to attract attention.”
“Well, for that, you need to understand two things about humanity. One:

we’re very good at destroying anything we’re afraid of. And two: we’re very
good at ignoring anything we don’t want to be true.”
“What?” Twilight barked. She glared over her shoulder at me, her
expression lit by the soft glow of her horn. “That doesn’t explain anything!”
I snorted derisively. “Not if you don’t let me explain. It’s my turn to lecture.”
She fell silent and turned away. Knowing her, she was probably blushing.
“The first point is the more important one. About ninety percent of the
supernatural world views humans as pawns, playthings or food. A few
centuries ago, humanity finally became strong enough to strike back. And
they struck hard. Inquisitions, wars, and witch trials that history remembers
as pointless bloodshed were all aimed at suppressing anything magical.
Humans outnumber just about everything by at least a hundred to one, so
most supernatural creatures went into hiding, wizards included.”
“But why?” Twilight interrupted. “You’re a human too, aren’t you?”
I shrugged. “Sure, but remember that magic’s a rare talent. Wizards were
mysterious shadowy figures, and not all of them used their powers for
good. People feared them, and most believed they got their abilities from
the very creatures that preyed upon humanity. So everyone with even a
scrap of talent hid it. After a couple centuries and a rise in the power of
science and technology, magic and the occult became stories and rumor.
Eventually, people started to believe the supernatural was just a myth.
That’s were the second point comes in.” I paused to check on my gear and
keep it from dragging on the ground.
“Nobody wants the world to be a scary place full of powerful monsters that
like to eat humans, so just about any evidence that suggests otherwise is
ignored or rationalized away. The supernatural stays in the shadows and
humanity tries very hard not to see them. That way everyone is happy.” I
injected as much sarcasm into the last line as I could. A sentiment Twilight
seemed to share.
“That’s just stupid!”
“Yeah, but ignorance is bliss.” She had a few things to say about that
particular aphorism, which made me laugh. After venting her spleen she
calmed down, and I gave her the good news. “It’s not true for everyone,

though. I know more than a few people who opened their eyes and dealt
with a world that’s much more terrifying than they had ever believed. Most
of them are my friends.”
I smiled, thinking of Murphy, the Alphas, Waldo Butters, and a few others
willing to look past what they always been told. “It takes a lotta guts when
most people think you’re crazy, but that doesn’t stop them. After all,
somebody’s got to save the city.” I chuckled, but there was only silence
from ahead.
We were drawing close to Ponyville, so I could see Twilight better in the
light of the street lamps. She paused as if in thought, then peered over her
shoulder at me, staring with a mix of curiosity, admiration and some
emotion I couldn’t identify. After a few seconds I coughed awkwardly, and
she snapped out of it. Twilight’s face immediately colored bright red and
she spun around. She set off at a much faster pace, speaking a little too
quickly.
“Our destination draws decidedly less distant, and discussion of such
delicate and doubtlessly dangerous data doesn’t seem desirable in this
district. We’d do well to use discretion, or some discerning denizens may
develop dark deductions about you, Dresden. Er, Blackstone.” She forged
ahead without pausing to see if I would follow.
I hurried to catch up, trying not to lose control over my telekinesis. I didn’t
ask what was up with Twilight. She obviously wasn’t in the mood to talk,
and I doubt I would have understood the answer anyway. Human women
still confused me, so how the hell would I figure out what was bothering a
girl from a dimension populated by ponies?
The pace Twilight set was hard, but I still had a little time to look at the
houses we passed. The town hadn’t changed much since the last time I
was here, but given that only two months had gone by for them, it wasn’t
that shocking. The streets were almost deserted, but the few ponies that
were still out waved and smiled. I waved back, surprised at the welcome.
Most places this small were pretty insular and distrusted anyone who
wasn’t native. I guess being so near to the capital had made Ponyville used
to strangers, though I was abruptly glad I’d stashed Bob safely away. I
doubt anypony openly carrying an exotic skull would have been greeted
with open arms no matter how accepting the community.

Eventually we reached the tree house. House tree? Tree library? The place
where Twilight lived, anyway. There was some commotion going on inside
as we approached. One voice was Spike’s, but the other I didn’t recognize.
When we reached the door their conversation finally became audible.
“When will she be back? I need to speak with her, the sooner the better.”
That was the unfamiliar pony, and this time I could tell that it belonged to a
woman. I mean mare.
Spike sighed. “She’ll be back soon, but that’s all I can promise. I don’t know
when exactly.”
Twilight opened the door, and broke into the conversation. “Are you talking
about me?”
The pony she’d addressed was a light blue unicorn with a silver and darker
blue mane. Her tail matched, and her flank was marked with an hourglass.
She saw Twilight and broke into a relieved smile.
A smile that evaporated the instant she spotted me over Twilight’s
shoulder. Her face paled, almost turning gray. It would have been funny if
she hadn’t been staring at me like I’d just grown devil horns. Her reaction
wasn’t lost on Twilight.
“Is something wrong, Colgate?” The blue unicorn breathed deeply and
visibly calmed herself. In the meantime I entered the library and finally set
down my pack. I heaved a sigh of relief, rubbing gingerly at my horn.
Increased endurance or not that hadn’t been an easy feat.
By the time I turned back, Colgate had herself under control. She offered
me a hoof, and a nervous smile. “Sorry, you just gave me a scare. I’m
Colgate.”
I arched an eyebrow at that, but shook her hoof. “I didn’t mean to, but sorry
that I did. You can call me Blackstone.”
She shrugged. “It’s not your fault. You just look a lot like an ex-coltfriend I
never thought I’d see again.” She grimaced, and turned to address Twilight.
“Sorry, I hope I didn’t freak anypony out.”

I chuckled darkly. “I can empathize with that.” Both of my major break-ups
had been a special kind of messy, but it was surprising to see that
heartbreaking relationships could happen in a sugar bowl like Ponyville.
Still, I wouldn’t have thought a black unicorn with a burned hoof was all that
common. I wanted to ask more about it, but Colgate had already turned
away.
“Twilight, I needed to ask if I could change your dental appointment from
next Friday to tomorrow. Something has come up next week and this is the
only time I can fit you in.”
Spike’s jaw fell, and he sputtered in anger. “That’s what you’ve been
bothering me about for the past hour?! You couldn’t have just left a
message?”
Colgate frowned. “I had to get her answer as soon as possible, Spike.
Proper dental health isn’t anything to take lightly.”
Twilight levitated two planners and a binder over to her and flipped through
them quickly. She bit her lip and sighed as she examined them. “I’ll have to
reorganize my schedule, but if there’s no helping it, I guess I’ll have to.”
“Sorry for the trouble.” Colgate replied. “Is nine thirty all right?” Twilight
nodded, marking the date in all three organizers with a quickly summoned
quill and inkpot.
“I’ll be off then. See you tomorrow.” She turned to leave, but Mouse was in
her way, wagging his tail and obviously trying to cadge a quick scratch or
tummy rub. Colgate was just as vulnerable to him as any girl, and she bent
down to nuzzle him. “Awww, this little guy is adorable! I didn’t know you
had a dog, Twilight.”
“I don’t. Mouse belongs to Blackstone.” Colgate froze, her entire body
going utterly still. It was only for a second, and I doubt Twilight or Spike
noticed, but something made her hesitate. She was facing the door so I
couldn’t see her expression, but even when she started moving again there
was an undercurrent of tension in her body language.
I watched her, wondering what that meant. There was something odd about

Colgate that I couldn’t quite pin down. Mouse seemed to like her, which
was a vote in her favor, but she obviously feared me and I wasn’t entirely
buying the ex-boyfriend story. Was it my looks? Granted, I was the only
battle-scarred pony I’d ever seen, but my gut told me that wasn’t it. I stared
into the night outside, scowling faintly as I tried to puzzle out Colgate’s
problem with me.
“Blackstone. Equestria to Blackstone. Hello?”
I blinked, and found Spike waving a hand in my face. He hopped off the
footstool he’d needed to reach high enough, and hooked a thumb at the
back of the library. “C’mon, we’re having pasta for dinner and you don’t
want it to get cold.” He paused and a worried frown crossed his face. “That
is something you’d like, right? Twilight says you ate some at the palace, but
I wasn’t sure.”
I smiled and nodded, turning to follow him into the kitchen. “Pasta sounds
great.” I shoved my paranoid thoughts about Twilight’s dentist to the
wayside. Come on, Harry, I chided myself. This is Equestria. No one’s out
to get you here.
………
I ascended the stairs to Twilight’s guest room drowsily, hauling an already
sleeping Mouse via wobbly telekinesis. I’d had a long day of travel, then
been turned into a pony and walked here from the far reaches of the forest.
I was ready to go to bed. The three pounds of rotini resting in my stomach
wasn’t doing much to keep me awake either.
Dinner had been delicious. It was darned impressive that Spike could cook
so well at such a young age. When I said as much, he’d laughed and
claimed that he’d only learned how so he didn’t have to eat anything
Twilight made. Or attempted to make, if his descriptions were accurate. I
would have expected Twilight to get angry at him for that, but at the table
she’d only seemed embarrassed. Maybe she didn’t want to seem harsh in
front of a guest, but I’d be willing to bet that if Spike hadn’t already gotten
an earful, he would soon.
Those stairs looked shorter from the bottom, but I finally reached the room.
I levitated Mouse onto the foot of the bed and made a beeline for it myself,

ut some angry, muffled sounds from my pack made me pause. I
considered leaving Bob in there for the rest of the night, but with a sigh I
began to dig my laundry out of the bag to find him. He’d been in there long
enough for his shenanigans today. Though, if he couldn’t keep his damn
mouth shut, he’d soon get much better acquainted with the inside of my
pack.
I stifled a yawn and set him on a dresser. “So Bob, have you learned your
lesson?” I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
He muttered darkly for a moment before responding. “Fine. I’ll leave the kid
alone.” He brightened and chuckled slightly. “But you’ve got to admit that
was pretty damn funny.”
I rolled my eyes. “You only think that because you didn’t have to deal with
all of the hysterics afterwards. Twilight was all for sinking you in a well.”
“Oh yeah,” he said, a smarmy grin coloring his words. “Speaking of
Twilight, is that a large phallic object on your forehead, or were you just
happy to see her?”
I glared at the skull, and sighed. “You’ve got thirty seconds to get those
jokes out of your system, and after that you’re done. Got it?”
Bob chuckled. “Geez, Harry. Just because Twilight made you all horny
doesn’t mean you should take it out on me.”
“Twenty-two, twenty-one.”
“At least now when you tell the girls you’re hung like a horse you won’t be
lying.”
I groaned and resisted the urge to smash the literally priceless skull into
fine powder. “I am running dangerously short on patience, Bob.”
“You may not want to toot your own horn, but I bet a certain unicorn would
be willing to.”
“And we’re done.” I said, wondering what the hell possessed me to actually
bring Bob.

Bob sighed theatrically. “Fine. Spoil my fun, but seriously. When are you
going to finally get it on with her? You’re a pony, she’s a pony. You like her,
she’s got the hots for you. And now you can’t use the whole ‘different
species’ excuse.”
“No, Bob I’m still not sleeping with her. Besides, I don’t know where you got
the idea she’s attracted to me.”
“Harry, I’ve forgotten more about women, human or otherwise, than you’ve
ever learned.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Please, Bob. We both know you don’t forget
anything.”
His voice turned smug and I’d swear the skull was smirking somehow.
“Exactly.” Damn it. I walked right into that one. “You didn’t see her face
after you first turned into a pony. I’m surprised she wasn’t drooling, the way
she was checking you out. She was being less subtle than me. The way
she blushes, she’s probably too inhibited to act on it, but if you came on to
her, that would be a whole different story.” He turned the leer up to eleven.
“Hopefully an X-rated one.”
I glared at Bob. “Regardless of my species, I’m not sleeping with Twilight,
end of story. The only reason I’m like this anyway is because she’s
mucking around with transformations.” I glanced down at my new hooves
with a grimace. “I hope this doesn’t leave any kind of bad vibes on me. The
last thing I need is to piss off the Council again.”
Not to mention what effects this magic could have on Twilight. Magic
comes from within; you can’t do something without truly believing in it. If
she started to believe it was okay to transform others, to change people
into what she wanted … well, that could be the start of a slippery slope.
She may have the best of intentions, but the road to Hell is paved in those.
I’m sure Luna only wanted ponies to appreciate her nights more, at first.
“You know, boss,” Bob replied his tone thoughtful. “I’ve been looking over
the spell Twilight worked on you, and it actually doesn’t violate the Second
Law. Only on a technicality, but you should be used to those.”

I held back a sigh of relief. One of the few things that can drag Bob’s mind
out of the gutter is shop talk. “Really?” I asked doubtfully. “How so?”
Bob switched to lecture mode, but didn’t lose his usual arrogance. “You
know why the Second Law exists, right?”
I grunted and nodded. Transformation didn’t just twist the person who cast
the spell. Transforming someone else inevitably destroys the person you
change. Their mind is changed just as much as the body. Turn someone
into an animal, and they’ll start thinking like one, losing their sense of self.
Unless they’re turned back quickly, and I mean within hours in most cases,
there’s no hope of recovery. Their mind is already gone. Within minutes of
donning a hexenwulf belt, I nearly lost myself in the rush of bloodlust and
adrenaline. Part of that had been due to the demonic nature of the belt, but
just as much had come from the sensations and instincts of the new body.
When I realized what it was doing to me, I ripped it off then and there and
swore I would never touch anything like it again.
Werewolves – the regular kind, not the super-powered movie-monster
version – and other shapeshifters were a different matter. Selftransformation
instinctively protects the mind, essentially putting a human
brain into an unfamiliar body. They had to learn all the ins and outs of being
a different creature by themselves, but since it didn’t wreck the personality
or memories it wasn’t as invasive or destructive as transformation from an
outside force. But not even the most skilled neuromancer could understand
someone else well enough to keep their mind intact while transforming
them.
I raised an eyebrow and gave Bob a skeptic glance. “So are you trying to
tell me that since Twilight transformed me into another sentient being it
won’t destroy my mind? Or is it that she understands me so well from the
Soulgaze that she could keep me intact during the transformation?”
Frankly, I had a problem buying either of those.
Bob made a sound like the incorrect buzzer from a game show. “Wrong
and wrong, sahib. You’re still thinking like a White Council wizard.” He
paused like the grandstanding little bastard he is before continuing. “She
didn’t actually transform you – not the way the law means it, at least. She
just twisted your body into a new, more pony-friendly shape.”

I pondered that for a moment. “I fail to see the difference.”
Bob nodded as though he’d expected that response. “That’s because you
don’t understand magic the way I do. Transformations actually destroy the
original body. Even with self-transformation, the human body is destroyed
and a new form is built from it, though part of that magic retains a blueprint
of their proper shape so they can turn back. That’s also how shapeshifters
get around the whole ‘conservation of mass’ problem. They either grab
some ectoplasm from the Nevernever to serve as extra flesh, or if they’re
turning smaller, exile some of their own mass when they’re rebuilding.
Twilight didn’t destroy your body, she just changed it.”
Interesting, but … “That still seems like a pretty academic distinction. If the
end result is the same why would the process matter?”
Bob sighed and rotated in place, then beat his skull against the wall a
couple times. “The end result isn’t the same. Think about it, one of the first
things Twilight told you was that this spell would only last a week.”
A light bulb went off above my head. “But transformations are a one-shot
deal. Only continuous spells wear off over time.”
Bob nodded enthusiastically. “You got it. Your body is used to being a
human, and that’s the shape it naturally ‘wants’ to be. Right now her spell is
warping it into a new shape and holding it there, but when the magic gives
out you’ll snap to being a human again.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.” He sounded offended that I could ever have doubted
him. “Your aura is unchanged, which wouldn’t be the case if you were
transformed, and your new form feels foreign instead of natural. You
probably still feel like you should be walking on two legs and eating meat
even though that body couldn’t handle either of those.”
I thought that over. I doubt the Council would have bought it as an excuse,
but I wasn’t planning on telling them anyway. More importantly, I wondered
if it would affect Twilight the same way as performing a real transformation
spell. She was still twisting other people into what she wanted them to be,
but if it was inherently temporary and non-destructive did that change the

mental repercussions? Of course, she wasn’t human anyway, so who’s to
say that her mind was even built with the same weaknesses as a normal
wizard’s? I needed more info.
“So how does her spell work? It sounds like a pretty interesting piece of
magic.”
Bob couldn’t shrug, but the way he shook his skull conveyed the same
feeling. “Hell if I know.”
“Really?” I asked incredulously. “You can’t tell me anything? I thought you
understood magic in a way I didn’t.” It wasn’t exactly nice to nettle him like
that, but believe me, Bob had it coming.
“That’s not a fair comparison,” he complained petulantly. “Whatever magic
she uses it’s completely foreign to me, and doesn’t follow most of the rules
I’m familiar with.”
“Yeah, but they’re not incompatible. Her stuff runs off the same energy as
mine.”
Bob rolled his eyes. “That’s like saying a flashlight and radio are the same
thing just because they both use electricity. Give me some time, sahib. I
may not have the answer just yet, but believe me, I’m working on it. This
place is fascinating. No wonder you wanted to keep it to yourself!”
Before I could respond I heard a dull thump from outside. I held up a hoof
to silence Bob and went to the open window. I stuck my head outside and
looked around, pushing will into the pentacle to provide light. I didn’t see
anypony, and the noise had sounded mostly innocuous. I Listened anyway,
closing my eyes and focusing on sound alone. The wind whistled through
the tree, an owl somewhere hooted and a few crickets in the front yard
chirped. I shrugged and ducked back inside. The breeze had probably just
knocked one of the branches into another, but I shut the window anyway.
My paranoia has seldom disappointed me, and if it was wrong, I could live
with a slightly stuffy room.
I turned back to Bob to continue the conversation. “It wasn’t that I wanted to
keep this place for myself. I just don’t trust you much. You’d be dangerous
if I wasn’t keeping an eye on you.”

Bob scoffed. “Dangerous? I’m not the one who killed a faerie queen,
incinerated an entire mansion and brought down the King of the White
Court. Not to mention that fact that you’re a devoted carnivore.”
“Hey,” I replied, glaring at him, “I don’t have to eat meat, I just prefer to.”
Bob sniggered. “So should we be worried you’ll get hungry enough to eat a
horse?”
I rolled my eyes, disgusted at the new low he had reached, but chuckled
anyway. “Don’t tempt me.”
“So jokes aside, how long are we gonna be here, boss? I wouldn’t mind a
couple weeks away from the normal grind.”
I shook my head and considered the question. “I’m not sure, but definitely
nothing longer than a week. I’d be amazed if my cover lasted even that
long.”
Bob chuckled again. “Yeah, about that. ‘Blackstone’? That’s not exactly the
most subtle alias.”
“Bite me,” I replied making him laugh. I glanced at the small clock on the
wall and surprised to realize it was already past eleven. I yawned again;
today had been tiring. “All right, it’s late, and I had a long day. It’s bedtime.”
“Fine. One last thing to say before you tune out, though. I still think you
should seduce Twilight.” I fought back a sigh. He really did have a one
track mind.
“You can think whatever you want. Me, though? I’m going to bed.” Mouse
had somehow managed to scoot all the way to the top of the bed. I briefly
considered putting him back down at the foot, but the bed was more than
big enough for the both of us. I shrugged and just shoved him to one side. I
hoped Twilight didn’t mind dog hair on her furniture.
I sank blissfully to sleep, enjoying the soft bed despite my unfamiliar shape.
There was only time for one last thought before I fully lost consciousness.
Huh, why’s that window open a crack? I could have sworn I shut it.

Chapter 4
Hawkeye was eighty-four years old. She had served the Order Triune for
sixty-five of those years and had been named Advisor, privy to all its
secrets, two decades ago. But in all her time protecting Equestria from
hidden dangers and cruel shadows, she had never truly expected this day
to come.
He was back. The Black Scourge. The Master of Death. The pony that the
Order Triune had been founded to defeat.
Obsidian the Undying.
Hawkeye stared at the reports on the desk in front of her. Her eyes were
still sharp enough that she needed only the small lantern hanging from the
stone ceiling to read them. She almost wished she couldn’t, that she didn’t
have to confront the truth they held.
Romana had met him, and her description wasn’t promising. He was a tall,
black unicorn nearly overflowing with power. His body was covered with
scars, several that were mysterious in shape and origin, and one hoof was
burned and cracked. Despite all that, he had been handsome in a roguish
sort of way, and Twilight Sparkle had seemed fond of him. Romana’s word
alone wasn’t enough to condemn him, of course, but Wind Whisperer had
gotten close enough to eavesdrop on a sensitive conversation. What he
had heard explained Obsidian’s seemingly innocent behavior and the trust
the Princesses and Elements of Harmony had in him.
He was pretending to be a reformed pony, and according to Romana he
was quite a convincing actor, but beneath that veneer he was more
depraved than ever. He spoke to his familiar, some sort of demon
contained within the skull of an ape, about destroying his enemies,
cannibalism and corrupting the Element of Magic.
He was supposed to be dead. Finally, truly dead this time. His last
appearance had been almost seven hundred years ago, more than two
centuries longer than any of his other reappearances. Most of the Order,

including Hawkeye, had been convinced he was gone at last.
She glanced at the clock and bit back a curse. The Earth pony gathered
her papers and her resolve at a speed that belied her age. This was one
meeting that she must make on time.
Hawkeye moved to a completely mundane portion of her office wall,
pressing against it in just the right spot. A section of wall swung open, the
door blending in so seamlessly that she couldn’t have fit a sheet of paper
into the cracks when it was closed. She went inside, and the secret door
closed quietly behind her. Complete darkness gripped the room, but
Hawkeye knew the way by heart. She went exactly ten steps left and
opened a trapdoor that was indistinguishable from the other eight present
in the room. As soon as it opened she could hear the dull roar of running
water. A lot of it.
She tightened the straps on her waterproof saddlebags and cursed the
foresight and paranoia of the engineers who had built her path. Though
treaties had been drawn and promises made between the Three Tribes,
few ponies truly trusted their new neighbors in those days. The Order had
been formed out of necessity, not fellowship, and that distrust had ensured
that certain precautions were taken by each group when building their
stronghold in the caves beneath Canterlot.
Hawkeye climbed down the narrow stone steps, stopping for a moment at
the bottom. This part of the tunnel was lit by crystals whose weak glow
reflected off the near-solid cascade of water that poured across the
passage ahead. Her predecessors had somehow diverted an underground
river to form the Earth’s Tears, the relentless curtain of water in front of her.
They had been brilliant in their mistrustful way; not only would such an
obstacle wash away the power of any spell and prevent Pegasi from flying,
but the flow was fast and strong enough that few without the strength and
resilience of an Earth pony could withstand passing through it.
Such precautions hadn’t been necessary for more than a dozen centuries,
but even if the rules hadn’t stated that she must meet the rest of the
Triumvirate within the Neutral Grounds, tradition would demand it.
And tradition was everything to the Order Triune.

After several deep breaths Hawkeye finally took the plunge, grimacing at
the endless hammerblows of the pounding stream. Her world became
nothing but drenching water, and even the heavy stone grill beneath her
hooves seemed inconsequential to the raging power around her. She no
longer heard the roar of the waterfall, she felt it in her very bones instead.
Every one of her movements was slow, each step forward a battle.
She was getting too old for this nonsense, but there were more important
matters at stake right now. Eventually she passed through, shaking and
drenched, but otherwise unharmed. As she had ordered, there were towels
waiting for her in an antechamber, and she relished the chance to dry off.
While she may be required to soak herself to reach the meeting, there was
nothing to say she had to show up looking like a drowned Diamond Dog.
She opened an iron door into a small, plain room lit by a single large crystal
overhead. Three doors, each made of one of the three symbolic metals,
and the flag of Equestria were the only adorments aside from the circular
table in the center. Like the one in the larger meeting hall far above, it was
formed from wedges of silver, iron, and aluminum. The silver side was
already occupied by a distinguished looking unicorn, his bright gold
mustache and goatee neatly offsetting his dark teal coat. He was waiting
for her, sipping tea out of steaming cup. He made a small show of pulling
out a gilded pocket watch and checking it.
“You’re late, Advisor,” he declared, hiding his smile by taking a quick sip of
tea. Hawkeye snorted and eyed the much younger pony. Arcane Mind was
one of the best spellcasters in Equestria, and he was quite proud of that
fact. Æther Shade had hoof-picked him to be her successor, but he was
still far too young to hold one of the highest offices in the Order in
Hawkeye’s opinion. After all he was barely forty, and only had a paltry
twenty-three years of service.
She was tempted to call him ‘Lord Mind’ just to annoy him, but protocol was
to be respected. “That precious clock of yours must be wrong, Mage. I’m on
time, you’re early. Probably because you only had to go through a few
fancy doors.”
He arched an eyebrow and filled a second cup with tea. “I’d hardly call the
Crystal Gates ‘a few fancy doors’. My path isn’t nearly as easy as you
seem to think. Tea?”

Hawkeye nodded and reached for the delicate cup. “Thanks.” She took a
sip, considered the flavor for a moment before adding a dollop of amber
liquid from a flask in her saddlebags. Arcane winced as the earth pony
slugged back the resulting mixture without regard for the temperature.
“Mmmm. That’s tasty.”
The dignified unicorn sighed. “Must you add cider? Tea should be drunk
naturally with nothing more than sugar to complement the blend.”
Hawkeye grinned internally, but didn’t let the expression reach her face.
“Then there shouldn’t be a problem. Good cider complements everything.”
Arcane Mind’s face twisted in an exaggerated grimace and the two verbally
sparred for a few minutes. Hawkeye wouldn’t have admitted it to anypony,
but she did enjoy Arcane Mind’s company. He was one of the few ponies
who wasn’t intimidated by her glare. Add his quick wit to the mix, and it
wasn’t surprising that she liked him despite his aristocratic habits.
Arcane Mind looked at his watch more causally than before and frowned.
“It’s five past the hour. The Soldier actually is late.”
Hawkeye glanced at the aluminum door and tried not to worry. Tornado
Watch had always been a strong flyer, as a life-long military pony she was
more than a match for any common pegasus, but she was still almost sixty.
The Tunnel of Spikes was an unforgiving path, and more than one leader
had failed to cross it when they grew too old.
At last the door opened and a steely-blue pegasus walked through, hale
but obviously tired. Her lilac mane was a windblown mess. Hawkeye
regretted putting her friend through such hardships, but it was necessary.
All of Equestria could hang on this meeting.
“Sorry I am late. I hope I did not inconvenience either of you overmuch.”
The stoic pegasus declared as she approached the table. Over the years,
Tornado Watch had almost managed to lose her accent, but it still wasn’t
difficult to tell she was a Stalliongrad native. “What news calls the
Triumvirate to council?” Among other clues was her utter bluntness.
Arcane Mind nodded to Tornado Watch. “Well, my dear Soldier, you’ll have
to ask our Advisor about that. I’m afraid I’m rather in the dark as well.”

Hawkeye silently slid a copy of both reports and a summary of her own to
each of her fellow leaders. Arcane Mind raised an eyebrow at that, but
gamely began reading. His jaw dropped and Tornado Watch cursed before
they finished the first paragraph.
Arcane Mind turned to Hawkeye, his jovial tone completely absent. “If this
is a joke, I’m afraid it’s in very poor taste.”
Tornado Watch was more direct. “Is this true?”
Hawkeye sighed. “I wish it was only a joke, but I’m afraid it is true. Obsidian
is back despite everything we had hoped. I’m sure you both heard the
rumors and speculation about the events two months ago.”
“Of course.” Tornado Watch said, making a dismissive gesture with one
hoof. “However, there are always rumors of one kind or another. I gave
these little attention.”
Hawkeye nodded. “As did I, at first, but I directed our Agents to investigate
anyway. We finally received confirmation earlier tonight.”
Arcane Mind had turned back to the reports carefully reading through both
Romana’s account and Wind Whisperer’s. “Couldn’t we simply tell the
Princesses the truth? If we confront him directly, it will be … costly.”
Hawkeye nodded, but Tornado Watch just snorted.
“You mean it would be a slaughter. Even in the olden days he was a
monster, and we have grown weaker this past century, believing him gone.”
Arcane Mind glared at the pegasus, who returned it in kind.
“Enough!” Hawkeye said, giving them both a look far more fearsome than
the one they had shared. “We cannot tell the Princesses. He has already
fooled both of them, and they wouldn’t trust us anyway.”
“But it’s been a thousand years since the Order’s involvement in the
Nightmare War.” Arcane Mind protested.
Tornado Watch sighed. “Yes, but alicorns have long memories. The Sun
Princess does not love us for trying to kill her sister.” Hawkeye shivered.

That had been the Order’s darkest hour. In those days they had worked
with the Princesses, striving openly for the good of Equestria. But
Nightmare Moon’s vicious attacks and the backlash from their retaliation
had driven them underground. Driven them to secrecy and a stronghold
unused in centuries.
Hawkeye broke the table’s silence. “This is actually better. Obsidian thinks
he has gained an advantage by appearing to be innocent, but he doesn’t
know that we’re already aware of him. He can’t use his full powers so long
as he wishes to fool anypony, but our forces can hunt him in secret. If we
can catch him unawares, we just might succeed without engaging him in
open battle.” She turned to her comrades, her determination hardening.
“Despite his bastard form of immortality, he’s as vulnerable as any unicorn.
One well-placed knife could end this quickly and cleanly. I say we must rid
Equestria of his evil once more. What say you, Mage? And you, Soldier?”
They mirrored her expression, both of their mouths set in grim lines. Arcane
Mind spoke first. “I will notify the Keepers and begin searching the archives
for ways to combat his spells.”
Tornado Watch nodded. “And I will prepare our Slayers.”
“Let the Agents try first. Even if they fail, he may still be unaware of our
intentions.” The Earth pony drew herself up as the three made their
decision. They would face the darkness without flinching and do what they
must. Hawkeye sighed. “And so, the Order Triune goes to war with
shadows and hidden knives. May Harmony guard us all.”
………
Pinkie Pie bounced happily down the street. Most ponies weren’t as
energetic as her in the morning, but then most ponies didn’t have a friend
waiting for them after not being able to see each other for two whole
months!
The sun was just beginning to poke its sleepy head above the horizon. For
now the air was crisp, but Pinkie could tell that today was going to be hot
once the sun got going. It still pretty darn early, though, and she waved at
one of the newspaper delivery ponies as she went by. Other than that
hardworking pegasus, the streets were empty, most ponies just now

starting to get up.
It had come as a surprise to a couple of her friends that Pinkie was always
up so early, but that was silly. Everypony wanted to have delicious treats
for breakfast. To make sure everything was hot, fresh and ready for those
hungry ponies, bakers had to get up extra early. Pinkie didn’t mind; after all,
she got to see the sunrise almost every day. How many ponies could say
that? Well, obviously Princess Celestia, but c’mon, she doesn’t count.
She’s the one raising it.
And it came in handy sometimes! Right now, for instance. Twilight had
gotten back into town last night and she’d brought a new pony with her!
Well, he wasn’t a new friend, but he was definitely a new pony! Pinkie was
bringing over some breakfast, four of her most scrumdiddlyumptious
turnovers. An apple one, a chocolate one, a snozzberry one, and a ruby
one just for Spike. She also had some coffee, but Dresden was the only
one who would want any of that.
Pinkie made a face and stuck her tongue out just thinking about what was
in the thermos she was carrying. Coffee was waaaay too bitter, and it
wasn’t even the fun, tangy kind of bitter. It was just plain old yucky. Mrs.
Cake had always tried to discourage Pinkie from drinking it for some
reason, but she didn’t have to worry there. Dresden was welcome to it.
She frowned. Come to think of it, Twilight said we weren’t supposed to call
him Dresden. There was another name everypony was supposed to call
him while he was a pony, but what was it?
Marty McFly? No. Professor Layton? No, not that either. Foo-foo
Cuddlypoofs? Pinkie giggled. That was just silly.
A tiny Pinkie Pie made of felt appeared on her shoulder and said in a
teensy, piping voice, “It’s Blackstone, you silly filly!”
Pinkie gasped. “Of course! How could I forget?” She beamed at her fabric
double. “Thanks, figment of my imagination!”
Her tiny copy smiled back. “You’re welcome, Pinkie. Just call whenever you
need me.” Then it disappeared in a little poof of pink fluff. Pinkie turned her
attention back to her journey. She couldn’t help but smile thinking about

euniting with her odd friend. Later this evening she would finally be able to
throw Blackstone a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party. She had already reserved
Sugarcube Corner, but she would have to make sure he didn’t stop by and
ruin the surprise.
She finally rounded the last bend before she reached the library and was
surprised to find another pony already approaching it. Pinkie carefully
snuck up on her unsuspecting victim, moving quickly and quietly on tippyhooves.
Finally, when she was in range, she pounced.
“Good Morning, Bon-bon!” Pinkie chirped loudly.
“Eeeee!” Bon-bon squeaked, jumping in the air like she’d been stuck with a
pin. She whirled, coming face to face with a Pinkie who was less than an
inch away. Bon-bon gulped and offered a wide, fake smile, though a cold
sweat broke out on her brow.
Pinkie wondered what had her fellow confectioner so nervous. “Whatcha
doin’ at the library so early? Twilight won’t open it up for another couple of
hours.” Then she spied a small bag on the doorstep with a little note that
said ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ on it.
“Ohhhhh.” Pinkie said giving Bon-bon a knowing smile. “Looks like
somepony is sweet on the newest pony in town.” She pretended to swoon
and shifted into a melodramatic tone. “But what will become of Lyra? How
could you do such a thing to her? She’ll be crushed.”
Bon-bon flushed and lost some of her anxiety to anger. “For the hundredth
time, we’re just roommates! Besides, I was just being neighborly. You
know, a bag of candy to welcome him to Ponyville.” She paused and bit her
lip. “Please don’t tell anypony? They might get the wrong idea, too.”
Pinkie knew that Bon-bon was still talking, but she stopped paying attention
at ‘bag of candy’. Within that small bag sitting only a couple feet away were
some of Bon-bon’s delicious, delightful, delectable candies. Pinkie felt her
mouth water just thinking about it. Surely, Blackstone wouldn’t miss just
one piece, not one little piece out of that whole bag. But she couldn’t just
take one with Bon-bon watching.
Pinkie gasped dramatically and pointed behind Bon-bon with one shaking

hoof. “Oh no,” she whispered, her pupils shrinking in fear. “It’s a
distraction!”
“A what?!” Bon-bon cried, spinning around. Pinkie took the opportunity to
filch a piece of candy (thankfully not wrapped) and quickly stuffed the sweet
into her mouth. It was a piece of hard candy, thick with sugary goodness
and flavored with a hint of raspberries and cream.
But there was something wrong with it. Beneath the sweet taste there was
a harsh, almost metallic tang. It was faint, but Pinkamena Diane Pie knew
her candy, and there was definitely something wrong with this flavor.
Bon-bon turned back around slowly, still confused. She opened her mouth
to ask a question, but when she saw Pinkie considering the lump in her
cheek with a thoughtful, slightly perplexed expression, the color drained
from her face. “Pinkie!”
Caught in the act, Pinkie spat the jawbreaker behind the bushes and stuck
out her tongue. “Bleagh. I don’t wanna hurt your feelings, Bon-bon, but I
think there’s something wrong with that batch of candy.”
Bon-bon swallowed and gave a nervous laugh. “I-I guess I made a
mistake.” She picked back up the bag and tucked it into one of her
saddlebags. “Please, don’t tell anypony about that. I don’t want everypony
to think I make bad candy.”
Pinkie winked. “Of course not, it’ll stay between us. I promise.”
Bon-bon heaved a sigh of relief and turned to go, but hesitated for a
moment. “You’re looking pretty worn out, Pinkie. You might want to see a
doctor.”
Pinkie waved the suggestion off. “I’m fine. I just had trouble sleeping last
night because I knew today is going to be so much fun! Catch you later,
Bon-bon.” The candy-making pony looked troubled, but she forced a smile
and trotted off. Pinkie felt sorry for her. She had probably wanted to
surprise Blackstone with those candies and snag him before any other
mare had the chance. Good stallions were hard to come by with so many
mares in Ponyville.

Pinkie stifled a yawn and tried the front door; it was locked, of course. She
could have knocked, but she didn’t want to be rude and wake anypony that
was still sleeping. She had her own way in, anyway.
Standing in the main room of the library, Pinkie rubbed her chin. Now, if
she were a battle-hardened inter-dimensional wizard that had recently been
transformed into a pony, where would she be? The guest room, of course!
Pinkie began sneaking up the side staircase that led to Twilight’s small
spare room, stifling another yawn.
That’s odd, she thought. Maybe Bon-bon was right. Yawning or not,
though, Pinkie still managed to slink into the room without waking its
occupant. She looked over her sleeping friend, humming a small tune to
herself. Dresden made for an interesting pony, especially since so many of
his features had carried over to his new form. He was tall, with long legs
and an angular frame marred by several scars. He was a unicorn, of
course, and his horn came to a wicked point. Even after being turned into a
pony, he still looked lean and dangerous, but there was something about
him now that softened it. The wizard had always seemed on edge, like a
spring that was wound tightly and just waiting to let loose. But now there
was a serene cast to his face, as though he’d had a weight lifted off of his
shoulders. Really, it was almost shame to disturb him when he was so
peaceful, but if he didn’t wake up, how could he enjoy her turnovers?
Pinkie stared at the prone unicorn, wondering how she should wake him.
Cymbals were a classic, of course, but he might react badly to that. Spike
had almost burned down the library when she did that to him, and Pinkie
remembered Blackstone having just as much affinity for fire.
The party pony frowned, trying to come up with something that would be
surprising, but not too surprising. She pondered that for a moment, fighting
drowsiness, until something in the corner of one eye caught her attention.
She spun around, but the orange lights in the eyes of the strange skull on
the dresser winked out so quickly that Pinkie wasn’t sure they had actually
been there.
Keeping a careful watch on the suspicious cranium, Pinkie approached it. It
stayed motionless even when she carefully poked it with a sharp stick. She
prodded it again slightly harder, but there was still no response. Pinkie
frowned.

It had passed the stick test with flying colors, but there was still something
about it she didn’t like. Somehow, the skull was setting off all of her
instincts. She stared into its empty eyeholes and made a decision. She
tapped one of her own eyes then pointed at the skull, her face set in grim
determination. “Don’t you go anywhere, Skully McSkullerson. I’ve got a
bone to pick with you.”
Pinkie turned, but stopped as she heard a quiet but distinct chuckle coming
from behind her. She spun back around, eyeing the now quiet skull. “You
may think you’re clever, but don’t get ahead of yourself.” There was a
flicker of orange in the black recesses of the eyes and another ghostly
chuckle.
Pinkie grinned in satisfaction. She knew she’d seen something, but if it
laughed at her jokes it couldn’t be that bad. “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie. What’s your
name?”
The orange lights brightened, filling the whole eye sockets and banishing
the darkness inside the skull. A pleasant male, baritone replied. “Well,
‘Blackstone’ over there calls me Bob. So that’ll do.” He turned in place,
examining the room. “What happened to the stick?” he asked in a
confused tone of voice.
“What stick?”
“The one you were poking me with. Where did it go?” He sounded
unhappy, like somepony had pulled a trick on him that he didn’t think was
very funny.
Pinkie shrugged. “Hay if I know.”
The skull stared at her intensely, as if he might somehow solve all the
mysteries of the universe if only he stared hard enough. “But you can’t
just...” he began before lapsing back into silence. He turned and murmured
something to himself. Pinkie couldn’t hear all of it, but she did catch, “that
way lies madness” among the mumbling.
“Are you okay?”

The skull cleared a nonexistent throat and faced her again. “Just fine.
Though I have to ask what you’re doing sneaking into the room this early.”
“Oh, I was just bringing Blackstone a sweet little something to get his
morning started off right.” Pinkie replied, pulling the bag of turnovers out of
her mane. Bob, however had already started laughing. He was obviously
trying to stop but just as obviously failing. Pinkie grinned curiously. She
liked to make ponies laugh (even though Bob wasn’t exactly a pony per
say), but she preferred it to be when she said something funny. She
giggled along with him as his fit wound down, but her joviality was
interrupted by another yawn.
Pinkie rubbed her eyes. The excitement over meeting Bob had kept her
tiredness at bay, but now it was coming back in force. “I don’t know why I’m
so tired. I guess I didn’t get enough sleep last night. Maybe I need a nap.”
Bob stared intently at her again, but this time there was some different
about it. Something Pinkie wasn’t sure she liked. “You know,” he said very
casually. “You could take a nap here. Even with Blackstone and Mouse on
the bed, it has more than enough room for another pony. And I could keep
an eye on your ‘sweet little something’ if you’d like.”
Pinkie frowned, but she was getting more and more tired. “Are you sure he
wouldn’t mind?”
Bob chuckled. “Of course not. Blackstone is your friend, isn’t he? He’d be
happy to help you out.” Pinkie yawned again and tried to kick-start her
quickly clouding mind. There was something odd about Bob, but the bed
really looked too comfortable to pass up. She stumbled over to the downy
temptress, pausing only to set the bag of turnovers and thermos of coffee
on the nearby nightstand. Pinkie eased into the bed carefully, trying hard
not to wake Blackstone.
It wasn’t easy; he was in the center, so she had to get really close just so
she wasn’t falling off. But she managed and let out a sigh of relief as she
relaxed. Pinkie finally stopped fighting her exhaustion and let her eyes
slowly close. Within moments the only sound in the room was the light
snoring of two sleeping ponies. Bob laughed to himself, his eyes
glimmering with anticipated mischief.

“And now we play the waiting game.”
………
Pinkie awoke to a startled, almost horrified gasp which was quickly followed
by the sound of shattering ceramic. She sat upright, blinking and trying to
remember why she was in a strange bed, cuddled up to somepony who
definitely wasn’t Gummy.
Everything came back to her in a flash. Pinkie suddenly remembered
baking some special treats to welcome Blackstone to Ponyville, coming
over to the Library, and taking a nap when she got sleepy. She glanced
around; Blackstone was still asleep and Bob hadn’t moved, but Twilight
was standing in the doorway and kinda starting to hyperventilate. There
was a broken tea cup on the floor at her hooves in a small puddle of
steaming tea. The clock on the wall read seven ten; she’d slept for about
forty minutes.
“Good morning, Twilight!” Pinkie chirped, stretching. She felt much better
now. That little bit of rest had really hit the spot.
“Pinkie?” Twilight asked. Her breathing had slowed down, but the purple
unicorn’s face was still upset. Pinkie wondered if maybe she should have
asked Twilight before sleeping over. “What are you doing?”
Pinkie blinked in confusion. Wasn’t it obvious? “I was sleeping with
Blackstone.” She giggled. “I didn’t mean to, but I came over here extra
early to welcome him, and one thing led to another and it just kinda
happened.”
Twilight’s jaw dropped and her face heated up. Her expression flickered
through confusion, disbelief, and betrayal before finally settling on anger.
Twilight’s eyes began to narrow dangerously and her horn glowed as she
cast some sort of spell on herself. Pinkie only had to moment to wonder
before Twilight demonstrated an amplification spell the equal to any of
Luna’s.
“WAKE UP, BLACKSTONE! YOU’D BETTER HAVE A GOOD
EXPLANATION FOR THIS!”

The black unicorn yawned and slowly sat up. He stared blankly at his
surrounding, Pinkie still next to him in bed and Twilight glaring daggers, or
maybe swords, at him. In a strangely calm voice he said, “Well, this makes
an interesting change from flames and demons. I’ve got to hand it to them;
my nightmares have gotten more creative.” Then he turned over and
settled to go back to sleep.
Bob was convulsing with repressed laughter, but Twilight wasn’t nearly so
amused. Her horn began to shine once more, and she yanked Blackstone
out of bed, her purple aura glowing angrily. The former human stared into
her enraged eyes and seemed to come to a realization.
“Oh, damn. I’m not dreaming, am I.”
Twilight either didn’t hear him or didn’t care. “How … how dare you. In my
house! In my guest room! In my guest bed!” She shook her head, grinding
her teeth. “I don’t know how they act where you’re from, but in Equestria
what you did is inexcusable.”
Blackstone broke out in a cold sweat. “But I didn’t do anything! I went to
sleep last night and didn’t wake up until just now. I have no idea how this
happened!”
Twilight shook him in her fury. “Don’t lie to me!”
“OBJECTION!” Pinkie cried slamming one hoof down on the nightstand and
pointing dramatically with the other. She was standing on her two hind legs
behind the end table like it was a podium. The sudden shout and gesture
startled both unicorns, and Twilight dropped Blackstone in her surprise. He
managed to land on all fours, but not without a few muttered curses.
“Pinkie,” Twilight began. “What do you mean−”
“I mean,” Pinkie interrupted, “That my client is innocent and I can prove it.”
She may not have understood just what Blackstone was being accused of,
but she knew he was innocent. After all, he had been asleep the whole
time. The party pony ran one hoof through her mane, dragging it into a set
of slicked back spikes. She smiled confidently. “The prosecution has made
its case. Now it’s my turn, and I call Bob the Skull to the witness stand.”

“Bob?!” Twilight and Blackstone said in unison. They both turned toward
the surprised skull on the dresser.
“Me?” He asked incredulously.
Pinkie nodded toward the skull. “Yep, let’s hear some testimony. What
exactly happened when I came over?”
Witness Testimony
What Happened when Pinkie Came Over
“This is ridiculous, but fine. I’ll do it if I have to.”
“I went to sleep shortly after Blackstone did. It was around 11:30 last night.”
“I don’t know when Pinkie Pie came over. I was asleep until Twilight
freaked out.”
“HOLD IT!” Pinkie yelled slamming both hooves onto the nightstand.
“Pinkie!” Twilight snapped. “Please, don’t break any of my furniture. Again.”
Pinkie grinned. “Don’t worry, Sparklesworth. The only thing I’m going to
break is the witness’s contradiction.” Pinkie shook her head slowly, still
smiling. “That’s an interesting story, Bob, but you made one fatal mistake.”
Bob snorted. “What, just because I knew your name? Sorry, honey, but
Blackstone told me all about you and your friends. Even if the description
wouldn’t have clued me in, Twilight just called you Pinkie two minutes ago.
That narrows the field pretty drastically.”
Pinkie made a tsking sound. “Looks like somepony needs to pay more
attention to the profiles in the Court Record.”
“The what in the what?” Blackstone blurted, but Pinkie had too much
momentum to stop and explain.
Pinkie nodded “Somepony knew a name they shouldn’t have, but it wasn’t
you.” Bob blinked in surprise, then realization began to dawn on him. “It

was me. If we hadn’t already met, how would I have known your name?
Blackstone never told us about you during his last visit. Something which
Sparklesworth herself can confirm.”
All eyes in the impromptu courtroom turned to the purple unicorn, and she
nodded grudgingly. “True, you must have spoken to Bob, Pinkie.” She
admitted, but with a glance at Blackstone her anger flared back to life. “But
that doesn’t prove he’s innocent.”
Pinkie waggled one hoof back and forth. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I just
needed to prove Bob was lying so we could get to the real testimony. If
you’d tell the truth this time, please?”
Witness Testimony
The Truth
“Okay, I didn’t want to snitch on either of you, but if you’re going to force
me to…”
“Pinkie came over at about 5:30 this morning.”
“She and I talked for a bit then she climbed into bed with Blackstone.”
“I think she brought the pastries and coffee so she could pretend she had
just arrived.”
“But Twilight woke up earlier than she expected and caught you two in bed
together.”
At this news, Twilight’s anger went up another notch from ‘barely contained
rage’ to ‘unbridled fury’. Flames were beginning to lick along her mane, and
she was just seconds away from exploding. Blackstone wasn’t a lot calmer
himself.
“You lying little bastard! I’ll get you if it’s the last damn thing I do.” The black
unicorn stared down the skull with eyes that burned like red hot coals.
“Oh, you’re right about that being the last you ever do.” Twilight bit out,

stalking across the small room toward the object of her anger.
“Wait, Twilight!” Pinkie commanded. “Bob’s lying and I can prove it! Or my
name’s not Pinkie Wright.”
Twilight frowned in confusion. “But your name isn’t−”
“No time for that, now. Bob, when did you say I came over?”
The skull somehow seemed to frown. “5:30.”
“Oh really? TAKE THAT!” Pinkie shouted. Everypony in the room stared at
her piece of evidence.
“It’s a bag of turnovers.” Blackstone said.
Twilight frowned. “I’m sure they’re tasty, but what do they have to do with
anything?”
“It’s not the turnovers that are important. It’s what came with them.” Pinkie
whipped a small slip of paper out of the bag and brandished it at the
smirking skull. “Specifically, a receipt. I had Mrs. Cake ring me up for the
turnovers at 6:15 this morning. A full 45 minutes after you claimed I arrived.
I didn’t make my appearance at the library until 6:25 and I didn’t take my
nap until 6:30.”
Twilight’s mouth dropped open. “Take your nap?”
Pinkie nodded. “Blackstone was sleeping like a log when I arrived, and if he
had gotten up during my nap it would have woken me up, too. Therefore,
he could not have done whatever he is being accused of!”
Twilight flushed until her face was a bright red. Her anger disappeared as
quickly it had come and left only an awkward silence in its place. While
Twilight was busy trying to figure out how to apologize for her accusations,
Blackstone was doling out some justice of his own.
“Come on, boss. You know it was a joke. Just a joke.” The skull’s eyes
were darting back and forth. “Besides I didn’t lie, Pinkie did get in bed with
you. I never said anything else happened, did I?” Blackstone was

technically smiling, but somehow the expression wasn’t very happy.
“That’s okay, Bob,” he said through clenched teeth. “I understand
completely. Just like you should understand that you’re going to spend the
next three months locked in the smallest, most uncomfortable box I can
find.”
“Hold on, Blackstone.” Pinkie said, her happiness marred with a small
frown. “I know Bob wasn’t being very nice, but please don’t be too mean to
him.”
Blackstone’s eyes flickered to her, and he seemed to consider her plea for
a moment. Then he came to a decision and gave a much happier grin, this
one sparkling with mischief. “I tell you what, Bob. If you can beat Pinkie
here in a game of Tic-Tac-Toe then you’ll be off the hook. If you can’t, then
I don’t want to hear any of your backtalk or perverted ideas for the next
month. Agreed?”
Bob gave a laugh of relief. “Really, that’s it, sahib? Okay! Sorry, Pinkie, but
the boss man says I’ve got to beat you. Have you got some paper?”
“Uh-huh!” Pinkie said quickly grabbing a sheet and a pencil. Almost nopony
wanted to play her in Tic-Tac-Toe, but now she finally had a new
challenger! She had just finished drawing the familiar grid, when
Blackstone went downstairs, followed by an excited doggy and an
embarrassed Twilight.
Pinkie turned to ask him something, but Bob made his opening move and
her attention darted back to the game. She studied the move carefully, so
intent on her latest opponent that she completely forgot her question. Just
what crime had Twilight had been accusing him of, anywayy?

Chapter 5
In my life, an apology is about as common as a white crow. Not the
standard mass-produced ‘sorry’ you get with customer service, or when
somebody bumps you in a crowded street. I’m talking about a sincere
attempt to make up for something done wrong. I never get those because
I’ve either already mouthed off to the person who owes me one, or because
they’re too busy trying to kill me to bother with manners. On special days,
it’s all of the above.
So with a background like that, you might understand when I say that I
never thought there would come a day when I didn’t want an apology.
“But really, it was so thoughtless of me. I am really, truly, deeply sorry that I
reacted like that, Blackstone.” Twilight’s face wasn’t beet-red anymore, but
a light flush still colored it as she repeated herself for the sixth or seventh
time.
I rolled my eyes as I dug into my fourth fried egg sandwich. Spike had
picked up on my explanation of how to make them quickly enough, and
between the two of us we had a towering stack dripping with real cheese
and toasted to golden brown perfection in short order. It might have been a
vegetarian breakfast, but there was more than enough cholesterol to coat
my new arteries just as thickly as my old ones.
“It’s fine,” I mumbled through a mouthful of food. I swallowed and continued
in a clearer tone of voice. “You thought I was taking advantage of your
friend. I can understand why you’d be angry.” Not to mention, I had the
feeling that even if ponies in general weren’t puritanical about sex, Twilight
would be. She had ‘Victorian sensibilities’ written all over her. The fact that
the very thought of me doing that with one of her friends in herhouse
almost made her hulk out didn’t surprise me in the slightest.
I’m just glad she listened to Pinkie long enough to realize I was innocent.
As utterly bizarre as the pink pony’s methods were, I couldn’t complain
about the results.

“It isn’t fine. I should never have made an assumption like that, much less
acted on it. Especially without any proof,” she said nervously, inspecting
the sandwich in front of her. I wasn’t sure if she was too upset to eat it or
just a lot more health-conscious than me.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again. “Twilight, I went on a demonpossessed
rampage, used your True name against you, and nearly killed
somepony. And you forgave me. I think you’ve earned a little credit.” She
looked ready to protest, but I cut her off. “The same thing you told me that
morning in the palace still applies here. Forgiving is what friends do. Don’t
make me hoist you by your own petard.”
She regarded me curiously, academic interest overriding social anxiety.
“What’s a ‘petard’?”
“No idea,” I shrugged. “Point is, don’t make me use your own logic against
you. If you really want to make it up to me, try the sandwich.” The look on
her face told me she’d rather keep apologizing, and Mouse gave a few
huffing little barks. I had sneaking suspicion that was his version of
laughter.
Still, Twilight was game enough to try it, at least. She took a bite, and it
would be generous to call her face ‘thoughtful’. I finished mine and reached
for another with an orange-red aura. “Don’t like it?” I asked.
She shook her head somewhat hesitantly. “Not really. It’s not bad, but it’s
so fatty that I can feel my heart slowing down already. I don’t even want to
know how many calories were in that bite alone.” She put her plate on the
floor and Mouse hurried over. He’d managed to polish off a pair of
sandwiches himself, but he was a growing boy.
I grinned at Twilight. “What if I told you this was what I have for breakfast
every day?”
She smiled in response. “I’d call you a liar. If you really ate five of these
every day you’d be round as a ball.”
I raised both eyebrows and regarded her in my best faux haughty manner.
“And when did you become an expert on human biology? We eat at least a
third of our body weight in food every day.”

“What?!” she asked, completely buying into it. “I know shrews and some
other small mammals are hyper-metabolic, but a creature your size
shouldn’t have enough surface area for your volume to lose heat that fast.
Of course, the massive expenditure could be by other means -- you never
did display your maximum speed or strength -- but that should only be a
high cost investment, not constant upkeep. Though, your scars would
indicate a moderately impressive regenerative ability, so that…” Her
physiological rant slowed to a crawl, and only then did she realize I was
smirking at her.
Twilight glared at me. “And you were just messing with me again, weren’t
you?”
I chuckled, and took another bite. “You got it, pumpkin.”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed further, but her reply was cut off by a furious voice
from upstairs.
“That is quite literally impossible!” A full minute of cursing followed, and I
tried to pick out the language Bob was using this time. My eyebrows rose
nearly to my hairline when I realized it was Babylonian. His skull had
almost been destroyed by an exploding potion the last time he used that.
All of which, incidentally, wasn’t my fault no matter what he tells you.
Suffice to say, Bob was not a happy camper. I couldn’t help laughing at his
anger, and Twilight chuckled along with me.
I finished off the last of the last of my sandwich and sighed. “I suppose he’s
been punished enough.” Twilight gave me a doubtful look, but Spike
seemed grateful. I suppose hearing a ‘ghost’ screaming ancient and terrible
curses in a dead language could make it difficult to enjoy your breakfast.
I managed to get up the stairs before he went off again. I opened the door
and stared at the pile of paper surrounding the two players. Bob was
floating several inches off the ground wreathed in orange light. He was
staring at the hastily scribbled group of lines with such intensity I couldn’t
believe the paper hadn’t caught fire. Pinkie was concentrating just as hard,
her brow beaded with sweat and her tongue sticking out of one corner of
her mouth

They suddenly leapt into action, Bob opening with X’s while Pinkie
defended with O’s. In a second it was over.
“Cat game!” Pinkie announced, tossing the used piece of paper to join the
rest of its fallen kin.
“Again,” Bob demanded, his voice empty of emotion. Pinkie nodded and
began drawing a new square.
Obviously both of them were giving it their all, but for all their similarities
there was an undercurrent of satisfaction and genuine happiness to
Pinkie’s expression, while Bob seemed only a couple of games from losing
it. Neither one of them had noticed my entrance so I coughed meaningfully,
and knocked on the door.
After that failed, I grabbed Bob with my telekinesis and gave him a rough
shake. I was given a refresher course in ancient Greek. Not the kind you’d
say in front of ancient Greek children, but at least I had his attention.
“I know you two are having a fantastic time, but I want to get some new
clothing from Rarity. And I don’t trust you enough to let you out of my sight,
Bob.” I had expected resistance, arguments, and maybe some demands for
‘just one more game’. Bob managed to surprise me, though.
The orange magic surrounding him rushed back into his skull, which
incidentally made holding him a lot easier. He seemed to deflate and the
lights in his eyes dimmed to a soft glow. “Fine,” he said with a smoldering
attitude. “But mark my words, this isn’t over.”
Pinkie beamed, oblivious to his vengeful tone. “Sure thing, Bob! Playing
with you is a ton of fun! Nopony else is even a challenge.” I held back from
laughing somehow, but Bob still fumed silently. Pinkie bounced out of the
room, leaving the sea of used pages to scatter about on the floor.
I waited until Pinkie was out of earshot to needle him. “So Bob,” I asked in
most falsely innocent tone I could manage, “what was the win-loss ratio?”
I had expected an incoherent response, something close to utter loathing,
but Bob responded in a flat, dissatisfied tone. “Seventy-four draws and

fifteen wins for Pinkie.”
Honestly, I was impressed. Bob had held her to a very narrow margin of
victory… for Pinkie, at least. I couldn’t let him know that, though. “And how
many wins did you get?”
He twisted his skull around to face me, somehow without disturbing the
telekinetic field I was using to hold him. He glared at me, the orange lights
in his eyes swirling angrily. “We played eighty-nine games. Do the math.”
I grinned like the Cheshire cat. “She’s darn good at that game. I could have
warned you, but I thought you had it coming. A slice of humble pie never
hurt anypony.”
Bob shook his skull slowly back and forth. “You can’t describe what she just
did as ‘good’, sahib. Tac-Tic-Toe is one of the simplest strategy games in
existence. It makes checkers look like three dimensional chess.” I stared at
him in disbelief. Was there really even such a thing as 3D chess? Bob,
though, didn’t pause.
“There are only a few dozen moves even possible; you can force a draw no
matter what the other player does. At first, I even thought that’s what you
were planning.” He sighed. “When I said what she was doing was
impossible I wasn’t just being a sore loser. I have no idea how she won. In
hindsight it was obvious every time, but as her moves progressed, it was
impossible to see.”
I nodded sagely and pretended that I hadn’t lost every game I had played
against her. “So what does that mean about your promise?”
The lights in his eyes swirled like miniature maelstroms and his tone turned
petulant. “You suck. You suck many things. I’d give you a comprehensive
list of just what you suck, but I’m afraid that would violate my promise to
behave.” I chuckled, and he grumbled. Trust Bob to follow the letter of an
agreement and ignore the spirit completely.
I set him down on my dresser and examined my possessions. The staff, my
strongest focus and the traditional symbol of a wizard’s power, would be
even more conspicuous here than Chicago. At least back home it was to
scale with me instead of towering overhead. I’d only lost about two feet in

height, but when you’re used to seeing the world from close to seven feet
the adjustment isn’t easy. Shrinking down to Murphy’s height made me feel
like a munchkin.
Regretfully, I decided to leave it behind; ditto for my sword cane. That
would be even more difficult to explain in a world of quadrupeds. My
familiar leather duster would be left behind also. It wasn’t anywhere close
to being the right shape for my new body. Thankfully, I could still wear my
shield bracelet, though it was further up my arm – foreleg now – than it had
been. I debated on whether or not to take my rings and in the end decided
to bring them.
I slid them onto my horn again, which made Bob snicker when I had
difficulty lining them up with the tip. I hadn’t seen any other ponies wearing
jewelry like that, but I didn’t want to go completely unarmed. My silver
pentacle I hadn’t taken off. Outside of the shower, or using it to kill a
rampaging wolf demon, I never did.
What I really needed were pockets. Chalk, crystals, a tuning fork and
several other odds and ends I couldn’t wear made up most of my magical
arsenal. I needed a belt, too, if my new belt buckle was going to be of any
use. Hopefully, Rarity could rectify that for me.
A small movement caught my attention, and I realized that the window was
swinging in the slight breeze. I shut with my telekinesis and frowned. There
was something important about this window. Something I should
remember, but the fog of sleep and events of this morning had driven it out
of my mind. I shrugged, if it was really that important I’d remember it
eventually.
I went back downstairs with Bob in tow and paused a moment before
entering the kitchen. “I’m coming back in, and I’ve got Bob with me.” There
was a brief scramble and a door slammed as Spike left the room. Bob
snickered again. I walked in and found not just Twilight, but Pinkie as well.
The pink party pony as sucking down the remaining sandwiches at a rate
that said she was even less worried about cardiac arrest than me. Twilight,
on the other hand, had fixed herself some cereal in my absence. It was
probably multigrain or some other ‘healthy’ concoction.

“Do you have anything I could stuff Bob into, Twilight? I don’t trust him to
his own devices, but I think putting him on display would make a low profile
hard to keep.” I gestured with the skull, which made Twilight flinch a little,
but it certainly made my point.
Twilight nodded. “I’ve got a spare set of saddlebags. They’re mine, but if I
let out the belt a little, they should fit across your flanks. At least, I think so -
- I’m just eyeballing it, of course.” Bob burst into a full laugh at that, which
of course made Twilight blush and stammer out yet another apology.
Those two needed to be separated; she definitely was not made to deal
with Bob’s lechery. Twilight came back with a pair of saddlebags, and I
crammed Bob into one of them. He fit, but just barely, which caused
another round of complaints. Twilight and I ignored him, but Pinkie looked
concerned.
“Are you sure he’ll be okay in there, Blackstone?” Pinkie pouted, worried
over the fate of her newest playmate. “What if he runs out of air?!” I almost
laughed at the suggestion, but one look at her expression and my flippant
response died. I’d sooner have drop-kicked a puppy than laughed at the
face she was making.
“He’ll be fine,” I assured her. “I promise.”
Pinkie studied me carefully, then brightened. “Okie dokie lokie!” she chirped
before she returned to demolishing the last of the sandwiches.
I glanced around, suddenly aware that food was being eaten, but there was
no puppy begging for the scraps. “Mouse?” I called. “Mouse? C’mere, boy!”
An answering whine emerged from beneath the table.
Twilight and I leaned down together to peer at the little rascal as he lay
motionless under the table. The way his stomach bulged told me Pinkie
wasn’t the only one responsible for finishing off the rest of breakfast.
“How are you feeling, boy?” I nudged Mouse gently with one hoof, and he
whimpered. “Great. I hope Fluttershy has something for indigestion, you
little glutton.”
Twilight nodded. “She does. I’d take you there myself, but I’ve got that

dental appointment this morning.”
Pinkie swallowed the rest of her sandwich without chewing, disturbingly like
a snake eating its prey, and piped up. “Oooh! Can I do it? I know how to get
to Rarity’s and Fluttershy’s!”
Twilight looked doubtful about the whole idea, but I shrugged. “Sure. Why
not?”
………
“You’re certainly taking this in stride,” I said to Pinkie as we left the
smoldering wreckage of her mysterious ‘welcome wagon’ behind us.
Pinkie’s smile faded, and for a moment I saw a glimpse of real sadness
behind her usual cheery antics. Then it was gone again, as quickly as it
had appeared. She brightened up and giggled. “It’s just a wagon,
Blackstone. I can always build another one. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.
I don’t know if it was my usual effect on technology, or she just had a screw
loose (whether literally or metaphorically), but the thing had exploded into
fiery shrapnel about five seconds into the song. If I hadn’t been holding my
shield ready, I’d probably be dead. I doubt the explosion had been the
‘surprise’ that Pinkie had promised me, but I hadn’t expected anything
benign. Pinkie’s next words did nothing to disprove that particular thought.
“It must have been the fireworks; they weren’t supposed to go off that early.
I wonder if I mixed the gunpowder wrong.”
“Gunpowder?!” I asked, my voice definitely not going high pitched and
panicky at the thought of Pinkie having access to explosives. No, I pushed
the thought away, it can’t be that bad. The town’s still standing isn’t it?
Pinkie giggled again. “Yeppers! I made some myself! Y’know, chemistry
isn’t all that different from baking, all you have to do is get the right
ingredients, mix them the right way, and you’ve got super colorful fireworks!
Or jelly doughnuts! Awww, and there were jelly doughnuts in the wagon,
too. Strawberry flavored ones! I thought you’d be a strawberry jelly kinda
guy. Maybe grape, I gave some thought to that, but I knew it wasn’t going
to something like peach or apple, and definitely not marmalade. I mean

marmalade, really? I’ve never seen a pony who looks less like a
marmalade pony than you. Well, maybe one pony but he wasn’t really a
pony, he was a dragon and he was kind of asleep so I don’t really know
him that well other than that he doesn’t have a very good sense of humor, I
can tell you that at least−”
By the second or third run-on sentence I started tuning her out. It’s not that
I didn’t like Pinkie, but trying to keep up with the sugary dynamo was too
much to ask of anyone, man or pony. Unfortunately the dulled senses
made paying attention more than a little difficult. At some point along the
way I ran right into some poor guy headed in the opposite direction at an
impressive clip.
I hadn’t seen him until he plowed into me, but I knew he must have been
moving fast because of how deeply he managed to burrow his hoof into my
ribs. I held back a string of curses that probably would have burned the
ears of any pony nearby. The chestnut-colored stallion opposite of me,
however, had plenty to say.
“Oh, ouch. Who put you in my way?” The speaker was a normal pony
wearing a small vest with several pockets, and a small pair of goggles
perched on top of his head. For some reason he spoke with a British
accent. “My, they certainly grow them big where you’re from. Hmm, never
seen a pony with your coloration before. Almost grim. The white mane sets
it off a little but the effect certainly isn’t helped by all the scars. You’ve seen
some trouble haven’t you? Ah, but who hasn’t had an eventful life here in
Equestria? Fascinating place isn’t it? ” He wasn’t quite as bad as Pinkie,
but it was still difficult to get a word in edgewise.
“Hi, Doctor!” Pinkie chirped, giving him a quick hug. “How’s business?”
“Hello, Pinkie. Same as ever, running here, there and everywhere.” He said
giving her a boyish grin. Then with a gasp he seemed to remember
whatever had put him in such a hurry. “So sorry about the collision, but I’ve
got to run. Pleasure meeting you, Mister…?” He stuck out a hoof.
I shook it clumsily, still not used to doing so without hands. “Blackstone.”
“Really?” he asked. “This world’s a funny old place, then. I’d better leave
before −” A silvery cylinder sticking out of one of his pockets burst into

sparks and gave a shrill whine that made me grit my teeth in pain. I don’t
know what it was, but I hoped it wasn’t expensive. The stallion yelped and
trotted off nosing the pocket worriedly. “Don’t you dare break on me, again.
I don’t have the parts to fix you this time if you do.”
I watched him curiously as he ran off. I don’t know what it was about him,
but something set off all of my instincts. He didn’t seem dangerous, but
somehow I knew in bold-faced type that he was trouble. I nudged Pinkie
and nodded to the retreating figure. “Who was that?”
“That’s the Doctor.”
I frowned. He didn’t seem like a doctor to me, but maybe she didn’t mean
the medical type. “Doctor who?”
She grinned. “Hooves, actually.”
“What?”
“What’s on second,” she replied, waggling her eyebrows. It took me a
second to catch on.
“So who’s on first?” I asked, matching her smile.
“Exactly,” she said, and we both started laughing. I couldn’t help it. The
whole situation was just too weird not to. I don’t know what caught my
attention in the middle of all that hilarity, maybe a slight sound of whistling,
the shadow that suddenly fell over me, or the way Pinkie yelled ‘Twitchy
tail!’ but I looked upward just in time to see something plummeting towards
us.
I reacted instinctively. There wasn’t time for a spell or a shield, but I was
prepared for just such an occasion. I triggered one of the force rings on my
horn and smashed the dark piece of metal with some serious power.
I didn’t change its trajectory by much but it was enough to keep it from
smashing into my skull at several dozen miles per hour. The anvil hit the
ground not three feet in front of me, cratering the ground with its landing.
I’m not kidding, an actual freaking anvil. Like something you’d see in a

cartoon. But unlike Daffy Duck, I wouldn’t have walked away from that
impact with a ridiculous bump on my head. It was only a small anvil, but it
had to weigh at least a hundred pounds. My head would have been
crushed like a grape.
I looked up, half expecting to see a safe or a grand piano falling next, but
instead it was a hovering moving truck. Well, a large cart being pulled by
pegasi that looked a lot like a moving truck. Down to the stencil on the side
that said ‘Cloudsdale Moving Co.’.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” A burly brown pegasus in a baseball cap was
yelling at the team of hovering pegasi around it. “You lazy idiots don’t even
have Derpy around to blame this time!”
“Sorry, boss.” All of the free-flying pegasi chimed, looking ashamed.
The foreman dove down quickly to street level and doffed his hat. “Sorry
about that. Nopony got hurt, did they?”
I took a deep breath and counted to ten, trying not to lose my temper. We
were fine, no thanks to him or his crew, and it was struggle not to let the
post-adrenaline anger out. I wasn’t sure what I would have said to him,
probably something unkind, but of course Pinkie beat me to it.
“Yeah, we’re all right! I was all like, ‘Twitchy tail!’ and Blackstone was like,
‘Falling anvil? I don’t think so!’ and bam! It didn’t stand a chance!”
The mover looked just as confused as I felt. “Well, okay,” he said. “I'm glad
nopony got hit on the noggin.” Though his expression said he thought that
Pinkie might have already taken a few too many. He flew off and the
dangerous air truck followed after a trio of pegasi returned the anvil to its
perilous position.
We started walking again, but this time I kept a careful eye on the skies.
The way the foreman had said, ‘this time’ didn’t fill me with confidence.
“Either they have some amazing liability insurance, or their lawyer is a real
shark in court.”
“Lawyer? Insurance?” Pinkie echoed. “What’re those?”

I stared at her. No lawyers or insurance companies? Equestria really is a
paradise. I shrugged. “Don’t worry about. Just a couple of things from
home.” And I hadn’t even said ‘my world’. Damn, I’m good at this low-profile
thing.
We turned the corner and I saw the building that could have been Rarity’s
boutique. The last time I had seen it we were busy sneaking out of town in
the middle of the night on our way to rescue Spike. Still, even if the shape
hadn’t been unmistakable, that was the only place that could have suited
her sense of … style. In the light of day I could see all of the
ornamentations, colorations, decorations and a whole bunch more ‘ations’.
It was very … fancy. That’s a nice way to say unbelievably gaudy, right?
I’m not trying to be a jerk, but come on. The whole thing looked like it had
been designed to appeal to the aesthetic sense of a five-year-old girl. I
wasn’t planning to say anything, but I don’t think I could have managed a
decent poker face if anyone asked me for my opinion.
The bell tinkled as we walked in and a cultured voice from the other side of
the shop trilled, “Welcome to Carousel Boutique. I’ll be with you in just a
moment.” Rarity was busy as ever, working on an ornate dress hugging the
curves of pony-shaped manikin.
The white unicorn drove a couple of pins into the dress to hold it in place,
then turned to greet us. Her eyes lit up when she saw Pinkie, though I only
rated a polite smile. “Pinkie! What a lovely surprise. And who’s your
handsome friend?”
“Heya, Rarity! It’s our friend Blackstone, silly.”
“Blackstone?” Rarity seemed taken aback for an instant, but then
something visibly clicked and her smile shifted from polite to sincere. “Oh,
of course! My dear friend Mister Blackstone. How have you been, my fine
sir?”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes; going through the bother of courtly
manners had always exasperated me, but at least they made Rarity happy.
“Quite well, fair lady. But right now I’m in need of your help.”

“I should say so,” Rarity said, looking me over with a critical eye. Normally
I’m not self-conscious, I wear things for comfort or function not fashion. But
that penetrating gaze reminded me that despite my new coat of fur, I was
still completely naked. She circled me a few times getting a good look from
every angle. I’m aware it was probably just to get a rough idea for clothing
sizes, but there was far too much of a predator’s stalking grace in her
movements to let me relax.
Rarity mumbled to herself, obviously considering and discarding ideas.
Pinkie wandered off while the seamstress was busy sizing me up,
abandoning me to my fate without so much as a backwards glance.
Nothing to do then but make the best of my current situation. I cleared my
throat and said, “I was hoping you could−”
“Hush, darling.” Rarity interjected mildly. “I’m ‘in the zone’ at the moment,
and I can’t abide interruptions.”
I heard a muffled chuckle from my saddlebags and fought back a snarky
reply. I’d come here to ask her for a favor. I could hardly complain when
she did it. Besides, I had the feeling that just bringing Bob into her shop
would be more than enough payback for whatever indignities I was about to
suffer under her care.
“Yes, definitely,” she said more to herself than to anyone else. “I apologize
for the once-over, but this is the first time I’ve had a chance to work with a
stallion of your caliber.”
“Uh, thanks. I guess,” I mumbled. There was another muffled laugh from
the saddlebags, and I resisted the urge to throw them across the room.
Rarity gave me another glance, far more appreciative than analytical this
time. I swallowed nervously. “And I must say, either Twilight is very skilled
in transformation, or you simply look marvelous as a pony. Whichever is
true, the result is nothing short of fantastic.”
“That’s … great.” I managed before I remembered what I had originally
come there for. “But I was hoping you could make me a coat, or some kind
of outfit.” I glanced at my unclothed body and flushed slightly. “Preferably
something that covered most of me and came with a lot of pockets.” Then
thinking of the pastel colors adorning her house and dresses I winced. “And

nothing really bright.”
Rarity sniffed delicately. “Not with a coat like yours. That would be garish,
and I simply cannot stand anything garish.” I pulled off an Oscar-worthy
poker face in response.
“Now,” Rarity said, levitating a tape measure and giving me a grin. “I’ll be
needing some more precise measurements. Hold still please.”
I did my best to keep from twitching as she encircled me with the tape
measure. Rarity went to work talking to me as she did so. “May I ask about
your … accessories? The necklace is fine, but the bracelet looks somewhat
damaged.”
I nodded. “Yeah, that happened back home. I ran into something that really
tested my shield. I haven’t gotten around to completely fixing it yet. Still
works, though, and that’s what counts.”
The tape measure moved from my back to one of my forelegs as Rarity
murmured something to herself. She spoke without taking her eyes off her
work. “And that’s what happened to your hoof?”
I grimaced. “Yeah, it was pretty well toasted.” The extremity throbbed in
response to the attention, but it was nothing compared to the pain I was
used to feeling from my damaged hand.
“Sounds ghastly,” she replied. “I do have another question, though. I know
I’m not exactly privy to your personal life, but isn’t five wedding bands a bit
much?”
Wedding bands? I thought before the odd notion clicked. “You mean my
force rings?” The real implication of that sunk in, and I had to stop myself
from shouting. “You mean you thought I was married?!”
“Well, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of them, but I wouldn’t be surprised
if other ponies thought so. Traditionally, that’s the only jewelry a stallion
wears on his horn. I’m surprised that nopony thought to say anything.” She
gave me a sympathetic glance before turning back to measuring.
I sighed. “Twilight knows I’m not married, Spike’s a kid, and who knows

what Pinkie thought of it.” Was that why ponies on the street had been
giving me odd looks? I’d attributed it to my scars and height, but that was a
possibility.
“Well if you insist on wearing them we could do something else with them.
Maybe another bracelet to match the first? That would certainly fit what I’m
planning, and offset the waistcoat nicely. Are you sure you want a lot of
coverage in this outfit? It would be a shame not to display some of your
fantastic physique.”
I harrumphed and coughed to hide a slight blush. Fortunately my dark coat
aided me. “Thanks, but you can lay off the flattery.”
Rarity blinked and stared at me in surprise. “Whatever for?”
I shrugged. “I’m not used to compliments on my looks. I’m not hideous, but
I fall pretty far short of the ‘handsome’ mark.”
Rarity looked positively mortified. “I never would have guessed. I don’t
know what the girls from your home value, but you certainly look good now.
Lean, strong and with a just a hint of danger about you.” She brightened
and alarm bells started ringing in the back of my mind. “Why, when I’m
done with you there won’t be a mare in Ponyville who isn’t glancing
sideways at you.”
My life flashed before my eyes, but Rarity seemed to take my silence in
stride. She beamed as her tape measure continued its work. Bob started
up again and this time the muffled laughter from the saddlebags was finally
loud enough to attract Rarity’s attention.
“Blackstone? Forgive me for mentioning, but your bag appears to be …
laughing.” She gave me a worried expression, expecting an explanation.
I had hoped we could have gone through all this without introducing her to
Bob, but of course, I wasn’t so lucky. “That’s my research assistant, Bob.”
Rarity cocked one eyebrow in a way that unmistakably said sure, tell me
another one.
Sighing mentally, I reached for the saddlebag and lifted Bob out by

telekinesis. “He’s a spirit that lives inside this skull.” Rarity’s face twisted
with revulsion as she saw Bob, and she winced ever so slightly as his eyes
lit up. “And he is going to be on his very best behavior, or I will make his
pitiful little life hell.”
Rarity was the most prim and proper pony I knew, and I had no doubt that
she would have zero tolerance for any of Bob’s usual antics. Hopefully I
had headed that off, but there was really no way of telling with him. They
stared at each other for a moment, one in lustful silence and the other in
frozen horror. I’ll let you guess which was which.
“Hello, gorgeous,” Bob said. If he had lips I swear he’d have been licking
them.
“It talks.” Rarity whispered, disgust growing on her face. But give her credit,
once she had processed what he had said she regained her composure.
“Yes. Hello.” She hesitated. “Nice to meet you, Bob.”
Bob chuckled. “Boy, I’ll say. You, my fair mare, are the single most
attractive equiform I have ever seen. And I’ll have you know that includes
several centuries of extensive experience. In fact, if I hadn’t promised the
boss to be polite then I would’ve already made at least three indecent
proposals involving you, me and your bedroom.”
“Aaaand playtime’s over. Back in the bag for you.” I said, stuffing Bob into
the saddlebag before he managed to say anything worse. Bob protested
the treatment with a few curses but I ignored them. You’d think an entity as
smart as he claims to be could realize when discretion is the better part of
not getting your ass kicked.
Rarity’s glare by all rights should have set the bag on fire, and I think we
were lucky the only item she was holding was her tape measure. Her tone
was icy cold as she spoke. “Please inform your assistant to keep his dirty
thoughts, or even the suggestion of such, to himself next time. If there even
is a next time.” Her voice lost its edge, and she regarded me with a baffled
air. “Honestly, how can you associate with such a creature, Blackstone?”
A muffled voice from the saddlebags began to speak, “You know, I can
hear−” but a quick, telekinetic jab restored silence from that particular
corner.

“Yeah, Bob’s a pervert, but he’s also got several libraries worth of
knowledge in that twisted skull of his. It’s a matter of function over form, for
the most part.” I gave her a shrug. “And to be fair, you were the one who
asked to see him.”
Rarity gave me a sharp look and the tape measure suddenly became much
less gentle in its work. Before it had been smooth as silk, but now it was
more than a little rough. I thought she had measured just about every inch
of me, but now it wrapped around my neck none too gently.
I ignored it. “So what, exactly, were you thinking about making?”
Rarity gave me another look, clearly torn between wanting to stay mad and
excited over my interest. Excitement won out, and she began to detail my
‘new look’. “We’ll start with a burgundy silk waistcoat. That will contrast
nicely with your coat, and bring out the brightness of your eyes without
clashing with your mane or your jewelry.”
I almost told her it wasn’t jewelry, but I’d just gotten back on her good side.
Pointing that out didn’t seem like the wisest of moves. She continued
uninterrupted. “It will cover most of your scars and provide a couple of
pockets, but the main piece will be a black wool overcoat. It will be thin and
leave most of your legs exposed, otherwise you’d simply roast in the sun. It
actually will mostly cover your back and some of your sides, with a pair of
tails of course, but there still will be more than enough room for pockets.
I’m thinking a small collar with only a clasp to hold it closed. That will
display the necklace and keep the front open to show off the waistcoat.”
She paused and stared pensively at my hair. “How do you feel about hats?”
I snorted. “I never wear hats. They just look ridiculous on somebody my
height.”
Rarity pursed her lips and shook her head delicately. “I’d disagree with you
on that last statement but it’s just as well. I’ve got some plans for your
mane that are just to die for!” I stared at her with the same feeling that
drowning victim might have when he realizes that the rope he just threw
away was his only lifeline. A nervous swallow was almost cut off by the
pressure still encircling my throat.

I glanced downward in surprise. The tape measure was still wrapped firmly
around my neck, and I hadn’t even realized it. I glanced at Rarity and
almost asked her to cut it out, but the words died in my mouth.
Her horn wasn’t glowing.
I wasn’t completely familiar with unicorn magic, or really any kind of magic
here in Equestria, but I had noticed one common thread: anytime
somepony used magic, their horn glowed. I only had a small sample to
work with, but I felt safe making the assumption that the former caused the
latter. All of which lead to the conclusion that Rarity wasn’t using magic at
the moment.
So who was winding the cord around my throat?
The pressure it was exerting was so slight that it was almost unnoticeable,
especially when I was holding still. It dawned on me that whoever – or
whatever – wasn’t trying to choke me to death. They were putting me in
one of the most subtle sleeper holds I had ever imagined. Already I could
feel a vague tiredness at the back of my mind, and given another minute, I
would be out cold. All without knowing I had ever been under attack.
The adrenaline surge that came with realization banished the creeping
exhaustion, and I tore the tape measure away from my throat with a
panicked burst of telekinesis. It flew across the room, one end clattering
against the floor. There had been no resistance when my magic grabbed it,
and I couldn’t feel the touch of anyone else’s power on it. It was almost
enough to make me wonder if I had overreacted.
No. That’s just what they want me to think. I didn’t know the motive just yet,
but somepony wanted me out of the picture. The accident with the welcome
wagon could have been happenstance. The falling anvil, the second
accident, might have been a coincidence, but three times was a
conspiracy.
My mind flew as I tried to puzzle out just what was going on. Was Trixie
back for revenge? Did some xenophobic pony figure out what I really was?
Was some other entity I didn’t even know about responsible?
I rushed to the window, but when I looked out, everything seemed normal --

for this world’s value of normal, anyway. A few ponies were chatting across
the street, a couple was coming out of a merchant’s tent a few yards away,
and a few were simply walking by. One blonde pegasus with crossed eyes
even waved to me as I watched her. There were no skulking ponies in
overly-large trench coats or suspicious unicorns twirling thin, black
moustaches.
I growled and extended my more arcane senses, but I couldn’t feel
anything dark or malicious anywhere nearby. One minute and a short sigh
later I closed the window. My behavior hadn’t gone unnoticed by Rarity.
“Are you … all right, Blackstone?” Her expression was worried and
somewhat gentle. Like she was afraid of somehow afraid of setting me off
again. I briefly debated telling her the full story, but somehow ‘I was being
slowly choked into unconsciousness in your boutique by some unknown
pony who shouldn’t even know who I am’ sounded more than a little crazy.
I shook my head and gave her a disgruntled shrug. “I thought I felt
something. Something more from my end of town than yours, but I can’t tell
now.”
Rarity studied me and nodded. “Well, I’m glad it was nothing. After the
excitement during your last visit, I would hope things are calmer this time
around.”
I sighed. “Me too.” But I had the feeling that they wouldn’t be.
Something or someone wanted me dead, and it was subtle enough that I
hadn’t even realized until its third attempt. I snorted, a smoldering anger
growing behind my eyes. Not even here. Not even in Equestria could I get
a break from all the deadly games people liked to play with my life.
I glared at the peaceful village outside the window. The subtle scent of
brimstone tickled the edge of my nose, but I hardly noticed it. I was willing
to be patient, willing to wait for their next move, but they had better make it
a good one. Because the moment I knew what was going on, the moment I
knew who was doing this, I was coming after them.
And hell itself wouldn’t be able to stop me.

Chapter 6
Twilight fidgeted as she sat in the empty waiting room, accompanied only
by years-old copies of Equestria Today, Ponies, and the hideously
misnamed magazine that was neither a digest nor aimed at readers. There
wasn’t a single magical or scientific journal in the whole room. She had
checked. Twice.
She sighed heavily and tried to still herself. There wasn’t anypony else in
the room, or even a receptionist at the counter, but there was no way of
knowing when somepony would come through the door that lead into the
examining rooms. She was on good terms with Colgate, but they weren’t
close enough for Twilight to treat this as an informal occasion.
Not that she would have anyway. Dental hygiene was a serious business.
Not everypony thought so, but then not everypony had gone their whole life
without getting a single cavity. Twilight flinched slightly as she remembered
that and started fidgeting again, trying to find the nonexistent sweet spot on
her bench. Her no-cavity streak was actually the cause of her nervousness.
She feared breaking her perfect record far more than any drills, needles or
other implements that Colgate would need to fill the cavity.
At least, that was what she told herself.
Twilight was just in the middle of calculating her average sugar
consumption per periods between teeth brushings over the last two months
when the door opened up and Colgate stuck her head out.
“Are you ready, Twilight?”
Twilight jumped, a little startled. The office had been so silent that the
sound of another pony’s voice was surprising. “Sure,” she replied, trotting
over to the door. She passed through and found that the rest of the building
was just as quiet and empty as the front. “Where is everypony?”
Colgate shrugged and let the door to the waiting room close behind her.
“You’re my only appointment today so it seemed silly to tell anypony to

come in for just one patient. I kept the schedule light because I’ve got to
leave as soon as we’re done.”
Colgate gestured to one of the chairs while she donned a surgical mask.
Twilight settled herself into the seat and reclined it. She was never really
comfortable in this position, but then, what pony was? “You’re leaving?”
“Yes. I’m going back home to Canterlot for a while. Not sure when I’ll be
back, actually.” The dentist sounded unhappy, maybe even worried, about
whatever she had to do. Twilight thought about pressing her for more
information, but she quelled her curiosity. Personal matters were none of
her business.
“But,” Colgate continued more cheerfully, “I’m here now, and we’ve got
some teeth to look at.”
Twilight stretched her mouth open and tried to keep her tongue still as the
blue unicorn examined her mouth. For the first few minutes it was the same
as always: small talk from Colgate that she wasn’t expected to respond to,
some poking around with a small mirror and probe, but then everything
went horribly wrong.
“Uh-oh.” Colgate said, her words muffled by her mask. “Looks like we’ve
got something here.”
Twilight’s heart began to pound. “Whagh uoo meme by ‘sumting’? Sumting
bahd?!” Colgate withdrew her tools, more out of fear of losing them than
anything else. Twilight sat up and looked her in the eye. “Give it to me
straight, doc. What is it?”
Colgate hesitated, obviously uncomfortable in pushing her patient any
further, but with a sigh she gave in. “It’s a cavity.” She raised her fore
hooves in a gesture to forestall any panic. “But it’s just a small one. I think
we caught it just in time. If I’m right, it hasn’t penetrated the enamel yet. I
just need to do a little drilling, and we can patch it right up. It won’t take
more than thirty minutes, I promise.”
Twilight slowed her breathing and steeled her nerve. She had known this
day would come. She had known that, one terrible day, all her preparations
would be for naught. Yet knowing something and living it were two very

different things. A cold sweat broke out on her brow despite her best
efforts.
The patient’s reaction wasn’t lost on her dentist. “There’s nothing to worry
about, I promise. In fact, if you’d like, I know an anti-anxiety spell that works
as a pain killer, too. I’ll need to walk you home afterwards, but I guarantee
you won’t feel an ounce of pain during the procedure.” She solemnly placed
a hoof over her heart. “Dentist’s honor.”
Twilight hesitated for a moment. Drugs and herbal medicine were more
reliable than spells when it came to medical procedures. Magic tended to
vary not just according to the power and ability of the caster but their
condition and emotions regarding the patient. Twilight almost objected, but
she stopped herself. Colgate was a professional; treating her like anything
less would be an insult.
The scholar nodded her assent, but couldn’t help wincing when she felt
Colgate’s horn touch her temple. The spell was complex, and the dentist
took her time preparing it. Twilight was at once both grateful that Colgate
was willing to take her time and do the spell correctly, and silently cursing
every second of rising tension. But she held herself in check and carefully
lowered her defenses. It was difficult in her current mental state, but
Colgate’s spell was a delicate one. If Twilight didn’t suppress her innate
resistance there was little chance of it succeeding.
Then a surge of power registered to her arcane senses and the spell took
hold. Twilight shook for a second and closed her eyes. When she reopened
them, the world seemed to have changed. Everything was distant,
unimportant. It felt as though her mind had been partially disconnected
from the rest of her. Her thoughts were moving slower, too; their hurried
pace turning into a leisurely stroll. Twilight turned to Colgate and felt herself
say, “It’s a bit strong, isn’t it?” The words were mildly slurred, but somehow
she found that she didn’t really care.
Colgate gave her a sheepish grin in response. “Sorry, it’s a new spell, so
I’m still getting the hang of it.” Twilight tried to frown, but there was no real
anger behind the expression. While, yes, she had played a Charm Test
Dummy for Colgate, she couldn’t honestly claim that she had never done
the same thing to anypony else.

Colgate quickly changed the topic. “So, I didn’t know you had a coltfriend,
Twilight. Is he an old flame from Canterlot?”
That, at least, struck a chord, and Twilight had to cover her startled
expression with a fit of coughing. The blush that colored her cheeks,
though, was impossible to hide. “You mean Dre− Blackstone?!” That had
been close. She needed to watch herself. Fortunately, Colgate didn’t seem
to have noticed the slip.
“No, I mean the other handsome stallion you brought back to the library
with a load of camping gear.” Colgate winked and nudged the prone
unicorn. “Were you two having a little getaway in the forest together?”
Even through the haze in her mind Twilight understood the implications of
Colgate’s question. Her blush turned crimson in response. It wasn’t difficult
to see how it may have looked to her. Hopefully, it had been too dark for
anypony else to have seen what she had been carrying when they entered
Ponyville or the rumors would already be flying.
“N-no. Nothing like that. We’re just friends, colleagues in a way. We were
researching the ruins left from the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.”
Twilight sighed. “Not that I’d turn him down if he ever asked me on a date,
but I don’t think he feels that way about me.” Wait. What did I just say? Not
that it wasn’t true, but she hadn’t meant to share that with Colgate.
Twilight was too busy composing her thoughts to notice the long silence on
Colgate’s part. After a moment the dentist spoke in a teasing tone, “So
where did you find him anyway? I don’t remember seeing him at the
university.”
“I’m not surprised. Blackstone never went to any university.”
Colgate looked curious. “Really? I would have thought an archeologist
would have studied at Canterlot or at least Manehatten U. Is he selftaught?”
Twilight groaned and internally cursed herself. She searched for a proper
explanation but the harder she thought the more her mind seemed to cloud.
Twilight was facing the wrong direction to see the glow of Colgate’s horn or
the intent expression on her face.

Better to say something than nothing though, right? “He’s not an
archeologist, just interested in the castle. You know, details on the
Princesses, old magic and such. I’ve been studying with him and some of
the things he knows are just fascinating. Most of his abilities are a little
violent for my tastes, but I still wouldn’t mind learning some of them.”
“So is he actually more powerful than you? I thought you were one of the
strongest unicorns around, given that you’re the Element of Magic and the
Princess’s protégé.”
Colgate sounded worried, so Twilight hastened to reassure her. Her
speech was a more slurred than it had been a few minutes ago, but she
didn’t let that slow her down. “Nah, if you’re talking pure magic we’re about
equal. The difference is a matter of experience and training and because
he’s actually from outside our −”, wait I can’t say that, “I mean from, uh,
outside Equestria. He’s a, umm, foreign pony.”
Colgate was silent for a minute, and Twilight’s feeling of dizziness shortly
increased. It felt like she’d entered that semi-delusional state that came
from one too many nights of long studying and not enough sleep. She
giggled softly and wondered just how exactly Dresden’s spell let him cross
into the Nevernever. Celestia had refused outright to teach her that magic
just yet, and Twilight had reluctantly seen her point. Still, she had a decent
idea of the mechanics after her mentor’s explanation on the nature of the
Nevernever. Maybe I could do it if …
Colgate coughed softly, interrupting the strange calculations and wild
theorems Twilight had been playing with. “So what kind of magic is his
special talent? You said it was kind of violent?”
Twilight nodded. “I don’t know what his cutie mark means if that’s what
you’re asking but if I had to guess, I’d say battle magic. He specializes in
channeling energy, although given that he seems to mainly use it in an
explosive manner, waves of force, gales of wind, torrents of flame and
other such things, my opinion may well be justified. In fact, he fought all six
of us to a standstill during his last visit.”
“All six of us?” Colgate echoed, her voice confused. Then understanding
and horror dawned on her at precisely the same time. “You mean he was

equal to the combined power of the Elements of Harmony?!”
Twilight giggled again. “Not like that. You make him sound like some sort of
demonic archmage.” She paused, reflecting in a dazed sort of way. “Which
I guess he kind of was there for a while. But we zapped him with the
Elements and now everything is hunky-dory again!”
Twilight rambled on talking about how Dresden had used the power of
Harmony to destroy the demon that had possessed him, but Colgate had
already fled the room to send a hurried, almost panicked, message to the
rest of the Order.
Twilight continued, completely oblivious to the fact that her audience was
gone and that there seemed to be strangely little dental work going on for a
trip to the dentist. Eventually she reached the end of her monologue.
“…and that’s the story of everything that’s happened since Dresden came
back for his medal ceremony. So what do you think, Colgate?” In the
silence she realized she was alone in the room. “Colgate?”
There was still no answer. Twilight thought about standing up and finding
her dentist and confronting her over this outright dereliction of duty, but the
something told her that wouldn’t be a good idea. Probably the intense
vertigo, though the shaky knees might have had something to do with it,
too.
Instead she just raised her voice. “Colgate! Paging Dr. Colgate! Get back
here before I change from patient to impatient!” Twilight giggled again,
partly at her joke, but mostly because she could hear the clatter of hooves
as Colgate rushed back to the examining room.
Colgate came back in, her mane ruffled and a forced smile on her face.
“Sorry, about that Twilight. Somepony knocked on the door so I left to
answer it. Did you say anything else about Ob− uh, Blackstone while I was
gone?”
Twilight narrowed her eyes and pouted. “Why are you so interested in
him?” Colgate broke out in a cold sweat as Twilight pointed an accusing,
though wobbly, hoof at her. “Are you looking for a new coltfriend, hmm?
Because he wasn’t very impressed with you last night.”

The dentist forced herself to calm down, breathing deeply. Twilight didn’t
know her real interest in the matter. But then a puzzled expression crossed
her face. “What do you mean he wasn’t very impressed?”
Twilight lowered her hoof and shrugged. “He glared at you out the window
when you left and asked a couple of questions about you at dinner.”
Colgate’s face grew pale, the blood draining from it. Twilight failed to
notice. “I asked why, but he wouldn’t say. He just mumbled something
about you acting funny.”
Twilight turned to her dentist and glared. “But none of all this talking is
getting my cavity filled. I’m as desensitized to the pain as I’m gonna get, so
let’s have at the evil little thing.” She flopped back into the chair and
opened her mouth expectantly.
Colgate took her time in coming over and some distant, unimportant corner
of Twilight’s mind noticed that she was no longer wearing any of the proper
hygienic gear for an operation. Instead she was holding a cup of something
in a shaky telekinetic field.
“Actually I think I might have made that spell a little too strong. If you drink
this it should reduce the effects a little.”
Twilight almost refused it outright. Mixing magic and herbal remedies was
always a chancy undertaking. But the dizziness was still getting worse, and
her mind was starting to ache. She eyed the light green liquid warily, and
glanced at Colgate. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Colgate nodded. “I’m more certain now than ever.”
Twilight drained the cup in one quick gulp.
………
“So what do we do now?”
“I dunno. She ain’t movin’.”
“Maybe we should poke her with a stick?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Sweetie Belle said. “Opal wouldn’t like
that.”
The three fillies stared at the snoozing cat, weighing their options. Apple
Bloom was worried that Rarity, and more importantly Applejack, would be
mad at them. Sweetie Belle was more worried about what Opal would do to
them if they interrupted her nap. Scootaloo had simpler problems.
“I don’t see any good poking sticks. Do you think somepony already took all
of them?”
The earth pony and unicorn gave their friend a matched set of skeptical
looks. “Who’d take a buncha sticks, Scoots? Do you know anypony that
crazy?”
Scootaloo opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted when a pink
pony tangled up in climbing ropes dropped out of the tree above them.
“Was somepony talking about me?” Pinkie asked, her saddlebags stuffed
with sticks.
The three fillies teetered on the edge between shock and laughter. Pinkie
pulled herself out of the mountaineer’s apparatus with an audible ‘pop’ and
grinned at them. “Because my ears were burning and that means
somepony’s talking about ol’ Pinkie Pie.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle started giggling, but Scootaloo was still
confused. “What do you need all of those sticks for? “
Pinkie winked at her. “Bob may have passed the one stick test, but to get
the Pinkie seal of approval, he needs to go through the ultimate trial. The
hundred stick gauntlet!” Pinkie turned and trotted off, as though that
explained everything, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders hurried to follow her.
Not that this was potentially any less dangerous than what they had been
about to do, but it was almost guaranteed to be more entertaining.
“Wait!” Sweetie Belle yelled trying to keep up with the happily bouncing
Pinkie. “Who’s Bob?”
“Oh, he’s nobody.”

Apple Bloom was confused. “Don’tcha mean ‘nopony’?”
Pinkie shook her head. “Nope, he can’t be a nopony, because he’s not a
pony.” She paused and frowned. “But if he’s not a pony does that make him
a ‘nopony’ by definition? Does my denial of his existence supersede his
lack of ponyhood?” She stopped suddenly and sat down, and the
Crusaders piled into each other trying not to run into her. Pinkie stroked her
chin with one hoof and nodded.
“Bob is both a nobody and a nopony.” She turned around to find the three
fillies sprawled out in a dog pile. “Come on! We’ve got to get to Rarity’s
shop. I promised Blackstone I’d show him how to get to Fluttershy’s house.”
Scootaloo dug herself out from underneath her two friends and dusted off
her coat. “Who?” she asked.
Pinkie giggled. “You three are starting to sound like Owlowiscious.
Blackstone is a new pony in town. He’s getting an outfit made at Rarity’s.
I’d love to stick around and tell you more, but I’m running short on time. I
don’t even have all of the decorations for his ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party
yet.” Her hair drooped slightly. “I may even have to cut a few corners on
some of the baking to get it all done in time.”
The Crusaders pondered that for a moment while they followed the
bounding earth pony. The tiny gears in their heads began to turn, and all
three of them reached the same conclusion at about the same time.
Scootaloo raced ahead of her friends and gave Pinkie her best grin. “What
if we showed Blackstone how get to Fluttershy’s?”
Pinkie grinned and her mane poofed out to its full volume. “Could you
really? That would help out so much!”
Apple Bloom cleared her throat. “But ya know, that would take some hard
work right there. Such hard-workin’ fillies deserve a little somethin’ fer their
trouble, don’t they?”
The party pony eyed the filly carefully. “Well played. I’ll pay to the tune of
three cookies of your choice.”
Apple Bloom shook her head. “I dunno. That’s sounds like an awful lot of

walkin’ fer one cookie apiece. How ‘bout three apiece?”
Pinkie gasped. “That’s highway robbery and you know it! I won’t go higher
than four cookies.”
Apple Bloom looked at her pleadingly. “I’ve got three hungry fillies to feed
and you’re offering me only four cookies? I thought we were friends, Pinkie.
A friend wouldn’t give me anything less than eight cookies.”
“Six cookies, and I don’t tell any of your sisters about you three trying to
earn your cutie marks in extortion. That’s my final offer.”
“Deal!” All three fillies chimed.
“Well then, later gators! I’ve got a party to plan and cookies to bake. See
you at the party tonight!” Pinkie leapt in the air, yelled ‘Meep, meep!’ and
dashed off at pace that would have broken a lesser pony.
The Crusaders watched her go, then erupted into chatter so loud that none
of them could hear their own words, much less what anypony else was
saying. In the end they managed to get organized and trotted back to the
park to find their transport.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle piled into the small wagon, singing a little
nonsense song about what kind of cookies they would get. Scootaloo
joined in now and then, but mainly she focused on getting her wings revved
and ready to roll.
It was ten minutes, four verses, a heated argument, and four revised
verses later that the Crusaders finally arrived at Carousel Boutique.
Sweetie Belle marched up to the door, but stopped when she noticed that
the sign had been flipped from ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’.
“Why’s she closed?” Apple Bloom asked. “Pinkie said Mr. Blackstone was
here.”
“Well, somepony’s in there. I can hear talking.”
All three fillies fell silent, an act that would have amazed anypony who
knew them, and pressed their ears to the door to listen in.

“Must you be so rough?” That voice was unmistakable. Rarity sounded like
she was wincing, and Sweetie could just imagine the face her older sister
was making.
A response came from a gruff, male baritone. “Sorry, but I don’t have a lot
of practice. Just have a little patience, I’ll improve.” The stallion, probably
Blackstone, sounded frustrated.
Rarity huffed, and the Crusaders could tell she was frustrated as well. “You
can start improving now. Don’t just shove it in forcefully, line it up carefully
and move gently.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll try it your way.” Then his voice rose to a shout and they
could hear an exasperated anger in it. “And I swear to everything holy that
if you don’t stop giggling, Bob, I will make your miserable little life a
nightmare.”
Three pairs of eyes went as wide as saucers. The mysterious Bob was
here, too!? There was a brief scuffle to see who could open the door first,
and all three of them burst into the room trying to spot the elusive ‘nopony’.
Instead they found a tall, black unicorn holding a needle and spool in an
orange-red aura. He was sewing a strange pattern into a long coat. The
crusaders stopped and stared for a moment. Not only was he using a thick,
black thread, one that Sweetie knew wasn’t for decoration, he was sewing
the odd shapes into the coat’s lining where nopony would even see them.
Rarity was watching him with concern from several feet away, just on the
other side of a blue ribbon on the floor. The band of fabric lay in a wide
circle around the weird stallion and the mannequine he was working from.
The black unicorn reacted quickly, his body tensing, and his horn charging
with power as the door slammed open. For a brief moment Sweetie feared
he was going to turn them in toads − or worse, bugs! − but when he saw it
was only three little fillies he seemed to relax. Rarity reacted somewhat
more melodramatically.
“Goodness, Sweetie Belle! There is no reason to treat the entrance to my
Boutique that way. And didn’t you three see the ‘Closed’ sign? I’m in the
middle of a very important session with Mister Blackstone.”

Sweetie Belle cringed. Interrupting Rarity when she was with a client was
one of the shop’s cardinal sins. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were less than
daunted, though. “But we heard Blackstone yelling at Bob!”
Blackstone’s eyes narrowed with suspicion and Rarity’s expression twisted
in disgust. The stallion stepped over the ribbon, and Sweetie Belle felt a
strange sensation, almost like a soap bubble popping. She didn’t have long
to consider the feeling, though because Blackstone was towering over
them. All three fillies stared up at him; he hadn’t looked that big just a few
seconds ago. Rarity stood beside him, more distraught now than she had
been when they had crashed through the front door only moments before.
Blackstone fixed the three of them in place with a piercing stare. “And how
did you three hear about Bob?” The tone wasn’t angry, but something told
Sweetie that they had better have a good answer for him. She wasn’t the
best filly in her class when it came to magic, but even she could feel the
power that radiated off the sharp-edged mage. Twilight was the same way
when she was angry, and to a lesser extent so was Rarity, but there was
something very different about this stallion.
“P-pinkie Pie. She mentioned him,” Sweetie Belle stammered.
“Of course she did,” Blackstone sighed, an annoyed expression settling on
his face. His eyes stopped flickering like smoldering embers, calming down
to something brighter yet more tired. Somehow, without moving an inch, he
stopped looming and became just a tall, thin unicorn again. Sweetie looked
him over, confused by the transformation. He was still just as big and
strong, so why wasn’t he scary anymore? He glanced down at them. “Can
you tell me what she said about him?”
“She said he’s a ‘nopony’!” Scootaloo said, eager to join in now that he’d
stopped being so intimidating.
“That ain’t what she said,” Apple Bloom cut in. “She said he’s a ‘nobody’!”
The two of them seemed spoiling for a fight, and Sweetie was about to turn
the impending brawl into a free-for-all by reminding them that Pinkie had
really said he was a ‘nopony’ and a ‘nobody’ when they were interrupted by
a chuckle from Blackstone.

“That’d be him, all right.”
Rarity looked relieved and gave the three Crusaders a warm smile. “Thank
Celestia. But where are my manners? Girls, this is Mister Blackstone. He is
my friend and a friend to the rest of the girls as well. Blackstone, these
adorable little miscreants are my younger sister Sweetie Belle,” Sweetie
Belle remembered just in time to curtsey as she was introduced,
“Applejack’s sister Apple Bloom…” Apple Bloom stuck her hoof out in
unknowing imitation of her older sibling, and Blackstone shook it with a
small smile. “And their friend Scootaloo.”
The orange pegasus was staring at the black unicorn in mild confusion, her
gaze alternating between his neck and flanks. After her introduction she
spoke, “Why does your necklace match your cutie mark?” Sweetie and
Apple Bloom glanced in surprise at Blackstone’s backside, and the small
unicorn wondered how she could have missed something like that for so
long. Hanging around the stallion’s neck and emblazoned upon his flank
was a silver star made of overlapping lines contained within a circle.
“Didja get it for gettin’ your cutie mark?” Apple Bloom asked. Sweetie Belle
didn’t think that was likely. She’d never heard of a pony getting jewelry that
looked like their cutie mark before. Rarity had said that the Element of
Generosity looked like one of her diamonds, but that was different.
Blackstone snorted. “I’ve had this my entire life. If anything, my ‘cutie mark’
is based on it, not the other way around.” The necklace certainly looked old
enough, the silver tarnished from age and scarred by hard use. It
resembled its owner in a lot of ways; both of them were strange, sturdy and
just a little disfigured.
“Your whole life?” Scootaloo asked doubtfully. “Who gives jewelry to a
baby? Especially a colt?”
Blackstone rolled his eyes. “It’s not jewelry. It’s a pentacle, a tool for
channeling magic and casting spells.”
“Wow! I don’t know anypony other than Twilight who’s got anything like
that!” Sweetie said. She wished she had something that made magic
easier. “Who gave it to you?”

Blackstone’s ears folded back slightly, and his voice turned cross. “It was a
gift from my mother. Now, sorry to cut your game of twenty questions short,
but I’ve still got some work to do on my coat.” The black stallion turned
away, his posture tense, and stepped back into his circle of ribbon.
Rarity winced as he took up his needle and thread again. “Are you certain I
can’t help? You’re doing very well given your lack of … expertise, but
there’s always room for improvement.” Sweetie was surprised that she was
letting Blackstone alter her clothes at all. Normally she’d have a fit if
anypony else laid a hoof on her designs. Not that she’s too far from one
right now, Sweetie thought watching as her sister’s left eye began to twitch
ever so slightly.
Blackstone shook his head, focused on his work. “Sorry, I’ve got to do this
myself. Not only do you not know the spells I’m putting into the coat, but
you don’t know any of the symbols I’m using to tie it all together. Don’t
worry, I’ll be done in another twenty minutes, tops.”
“But we promised Pinkie we’d take you ta Fluttershy’s!” Apple Bloom said.
Blackstone frowned and his expression turned skeptical. “Really? She’s too
busy to come herself? What, was there a pastry emergency down at the
bakery?”
“Pretty much,” Scootaloo chimed in, “how’d you know?”
The black unicorn just stared at them a second more before sighing in
defeat and turning back to his work. But Sweetie heard him mumble
something that sounded like, “These life-forms appear to be immune to
sarcasm, Captain.”
Rarity ignored his odd reaction and gave the fillies another smile. “That’s
wonderful that you three were willing to help her out. That was very kind of
you.” Sweetie’s smile became a little forced at that, but Rarity was still
talking. “Let’s see if we can get Mr. Blackstone to let you live up to that
promise.”
“You know, I’m literally five feet away. I can hear you talking about me.”

Rarity gave him a sidelong glance. “That was rather the point of it, darling.”
Blackstone snorted, before using his teeth to clip the end of one thread.
“No dice. I’m not any good with kids.”
“Then it’s a good thing we aren’t goats.” Sweetie said, grinning up at him.
The black unicorn chuckled. “Okay that one was decent, I’ll give that to
you.” He paused seeming to consider something. “I guess you three could
show me the way, but you’ll have to wait’ll I’m done.”
Rarity sighed. “I suppose that coat is a lost cause by this point. Still, at least
promise me that you won’t do anything to the waistcoat once I’ve finished
it.” Blackstone opened his mouth to respond, but Rarity cut him off. “And
that you will come to the spa with Fluttershy once Mouse is cured.”
“I don’t do spas.” The stallion grumbled, but there was a hint of desperation
to it. Almost a plea.
“You do now. “ Rarity told him. Blackstone’s shoulders slumped, and it was
all the Crusaders could do not to laugh at him. There might have been a
few giggles, but for the most part they managed. Sweetie didn’t think
Blackstone noticed.
“Can I ask you a question, Mr. Blackstone?” Apple Bloom said.
“You just did,” he replied. He was facing away from them, but Sweetie Belle
thought she could see the curve of a smile return to his face.
“That ain’t what I meant,” the farm filly declared, pouting heavily.
The black unicorn chuckled and nodded. “Sure, but I can’t promise I’ll give
you a straight answer.” The statement made the three more curious than
ever. Who was this strange stallion? He’d shown up out of nowhere, but
Rarity, Pinkie and apparently all their friends already knew him, even
though they’d never mentioned him before. The whole thing was more
mysterious than one of the Hardy Colts novels, and now he practically told
them up front that he was keeping secrets from them.
All of a sudden, the three of them had even more questions, but Apple

Bloom managed to get hers out first. “What kinda special talent does that
there magic tentacle represent?”
Blackstone turned to look at them, horror and resignation warring for
control of his expression. A ghostly chuckle echoed around the room,
seeming to come from nowhere. The Crusaders squeaked in fear and
huddled together, trying to spot just where the sinister sound was coming
from. Rarity looked up from her work with a scowl of disapproval, but
otherwise seemed unperturbed by the evidence that her boutique was
haunted.
Blackstone was kneading his forehead with one hoof, muttering angrily.
“Why the hell does this happen so damn often? Somebody up there has
got to be having a laugh at my expense.” His voice rose and he addressed
the room. “One more time, Bob. Just once more and I’ll give you to Pinkie
Pie and tell her to go wild.”
The laugh cut off with a grumpy harrumph, and the three fillies slowly
loosened their grips on each other. Blackstone cleared his throat, bringing
their attention back to him. “It’s a Pentacle, not a tentacle, Miss Bloom.”
“O-okay.” The small earth pony said. She glanced nervously around the
room and asked in a whisper, “Is Bob a ghost?”
“Nope.” Blackstone said with a finality that clearly spelled the end for that
line of inquiry. He turned back around, picking up needle and thread again.
“Next question?”
“So what does your pentacle mean?” Sweetie asked.
“Not sure. If you take the most general meaning it would be magic, but
there could be more to it than that. The pentacle represents the five
elements bound by will.”
“Like the Elements ‘a Harmony?” Apple Bloom interrupted. “There’s six of
‘em, not five!”
Blackstone shook his head. “No, I’m talking about the five basic elements.”
The Crusaders shared a glance, but none of them betrayed any sign of
recognition. Blackstone tried again. “You know, the forces of nature.” They

just stared at him. “The five areas of magic upon which the entire universe
is founded?”
“Ohhhh,” Sweetie Belle said, nodding her head. “Now I get it.” The other
fillies nodded with her, apparently sharing in her realization.
Blackstone snorted, and gave them a flat stare. “No, you don’t.”
All three of them shrugged. It had been worth a try.
The black unicorn continued talking, suddenly reminding them of Twilight
Sparkle as he lectured. “The five elements are Air, Earth, Fire, Water and
Spirit, and all forms of magic are based on at least one of them. Sometimes
the connection isn’t obvious, like entropy magic being based on water, but
it’s there. Each of the five points on a pentacle represents one of those
elements, and the lines that connect them are the harmonious flows
between them. The circle is a symbol of control, the containment of magic
within the will of a practioner. Although, in all honesty, I have no idea just
what my ‘special talent’ is, nor do I really care.”
His explanation had produced a couple of discreet yawns, but his last
sentence immediately grabbed the Crusaders’ attention. “What do you
mean you don’t care?! Your cutie mark is one of the most important things
a pony has. Everypony knows their special talent, it’s what makes you you.”
Scootaloo shouted.
Blackstone continued working, seemly unconcerned by their distress.
When he finally responded, his tone was skeptical. “That’s ridiculous. Last
time I checked, everypony here has free will and the ability to do what they
want. Pinkie works as a baker even though her talent is partying, Twilight
pulls librarian duty despite her mark having diddly squat to do with books,
and Rarity is a seamstress, not a jeweler.” He grinned as he pulled the
needle through another loop. “To steal a line from another wizard, ‘It is our
choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities’.”
The sudden truth and depth of his response floored the fillies. They sat
back on their haunches in silence, considering his words of wisdom.
For a grand total of five seconds.

Then they were more than eager to give a rebuttal, all of them at once. It
lasted a few minutes, mainly consisting of various repetitions of four key
points: Easy for him to say when he already had a cutie mark, and they’d
worked really hard to earn their own, and their special talents were going to
be awesome, and they’d already waited too darn long to get them. Rarity
ignored them with practiced ease, and Blackstone managed to tune them
out after a while, too.
Without attention their rant slowed to a crawl and finally collapsed into
silence. A minute or two of precious quiet followed while they watched
Blackstone work.
“So what’re you doin’ anyway?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Enchanting my coat.” Blackstone replied. “If I’ve done it right, this thing will
be rip-proof, fire-proof, water-proof, magic-proof and bullet-proof.”
Rarity turned to look at him quizzically. “What was that last one?”
“Magic-proof,” he repeated. Sweetie Belle didn’t think that was what he had
actually said, but he was already rushing into the rest of his explanation.
“Though magic-resistant would be more accurate. The symbols hold most
of the power, but I’ve poured magic into the thread as well, reinforcing and
focusing the patterns’ energy. It should, emphasis on should, be as strong
as chain mail.”
“That’s amazing!” Sweetie exclaimed.
Blackstone gave a short laugh at that. “It’s a just a quick jury-rig. I’ll be
lucky if it survives more than a couple of sunrises. Give me some time and
the proper materials, and I’d show you three some enchantments worth
getting excited over.”
“Then why did you make it?” Scootaloo asked, blinking in confusion.
The dark unicorn hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “I’m just more
comfortable with a little insurance.” When that statement was met with
puzzled looks, he added, “Not everypony likes me.”
Sweetie wondered if that addendum was supposed to make sense, or if he

was playing with them again. She didn’t have long to ponder though,
because Blackstone pulled the needle out one last time and announced,
“Done.”
“As am I.” Rarity replied, holding up a thick, black band on which five silver
rings were sewn. “It’s elastic, so it should keep your rings held firmly in
place.” She stepped through the circle of ribbon and carefully fitted it onto
one of Blackstone’s hooves. Then she levitated a black bag filled with
something roughly spherical to his coat and tied it on. “And there’s that,”
she said with no small amount of distaste in her tone.
“So can we go now?” Scootaloo asked. Blackstone was interesting and all
but he couldn’t hold a candle to the thought of freshly baked cookies. Both
of the adults in the room ignored her outburst.
“Hurry along to Fluttershy’s,” Rarity said, “and don’t forget your promise. I’m
going to finish your waistcoat, then talk to Aloe and Lotus about your
manecut.”
Blackstone sighed, then straightened his shoulders and gave her a bow like
a fencer who’s met his match. “Rarity, thou art a beauty most cruel and
terrible.”
The white unicorn laughed gently and gave him a mock curtsey in
response. “You flatter me most dreadfully, my fine gentlecolt, but I think you
should get going before your charges become too impatient.”
Sweetie pouted, an expression mirrored by her friends. They weren’t
impatient! They were just ready to go while certain other ponies were busy
being silly. At last, Blackstone and Rarity said their good-byes and he
followed the Crusaders out of the Boutique clad in his new coat. Sweetie
thought it was way too hot to be wearing something like that, but
Blackstone didn’t seem to mind it.
They’d just left the building when Apple Bloom spotted Miss Cheerilee and
waved at her. Their teacher looked their way and started to wave back,
then suddenly paused with a stunned look on her face. Breaking out in a
bright grin, she crossed the road to say hello instead.
“Good afternoon, girls. What are you three up to, today?”

Apple Bloom swelled with pride. “We’re showin’ Mr. Blackstone how to get
ta Fluttershy’s cause he needs to…” She stopped, and turned to the black
unicorn. “Why are we going there again?”
Blackstone cleared his throat. “I want her to take a look at my dog, Mouse.
He’s not feeling well.” His voice and expression were odd; both of them
polite but guarded. Sweetie wondered why he’d talk like that, but then it hit
her. They hadn’t introduced them yet!
“Oh yeah! Mr. Blackstone, this is Miss Cheerilee. She’s our teacher. And
this is Mr. Blackstone, Miss Cheerilee. He’s Rarity’s friend.”
“Charmed.” Cheerilee replied, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “If you don’t
mind me asking, though, are you Rarity’s friend or…” She left the sentence
hanging and the Crusaders tried to figure out what she meant. They didn’t
have much luck.
Blackstone, however, seemed know exactly what she meant. He coughed
and averted his eyes. It was hard to tell because of his dark coat, but
Sweetie thought he was blushing. “I’m just a friend. My old coat didn’t fit
anymore, and Rarity was kind enough to accept a rush order for a new
one.”
“She did a wonderful job.” Cheerilee agreed, looking over the coat and its
wearer with unabashed interest. Though, she did linger more on the
unclothed portions than the coat itself, much to Blackstone’s
embarrassment.
“Yeah, and Blackstone entranced the coat, too. We had to sit around while
he was sewing and putting spells in it and everything.” Scootaloo offered.
“That’s enchanted, dear.” Cheerilee corrected gently, before turning to
Blackstone with a smile that looked almost … hungry. “You must be quite
accomplished at magic then. If it’s not too much trouble, could I ask you to
come by the schoolhouse sometime this week and give a lesson? I’m afraid
we don’t have many magic teachers for our little unicorns. Any help you
could provide would be invaluable, Mr. Blackstone.” She leaned forward
ever so slightly as she spoke and the object of her interest grew ever
tenser as she did.

Blackstone was at a loss for words for a moment, but eventually he
managed to speak. “I’m afraid I won’t be here in Ponyville for very long, but
I’ll see if I can spare the time.”
Cheerilee’s smile grew wider and she flicked her tail, drawing attention to
the sway of her hips as she turned to leave. “I hope to see you soon, then,
Mr. Blackstone.”
Blackstone managed not stare, but it brought a blush to his cheeks that
even his coloring couldn’t hide. He sighed in relief as the schoolteacher left
them. Until he noticed the huge grins of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They
had finally gotten the gist of their teacher’s conversation, and found
Blackstone’s discomfort nothing short of hilarious.
“Awww, do you like Miss Cheerilee?” Scootaloo teased, between laughs.
“Not any of your business, short stuff.”
Sweetie gasped and her eyes lit up. “Do you want to be her special
somepony?”
“That’s enough.”
“Are you two gonna get hitched?” Apple Bloom asked, still shaking with
laughter.
Blackstone gave them a look, and replied scathingly, “I don’t know. Are you
three going to pick up on a hint delivered with anything less obvious than a
sledgehammer?” He began to stalk away angrily, muttering as he went. “I
doubt you bunch could figure out the meaning of ‘subtle’ if you had a
dictionary.”
He moved in the direction of the market place, ignoring just about
everything and everypony in his path. The Crusaders hurried to catch up
with him, but he had a head start and much longer legs. They were just
outside the market when the three fillies finally reached him.
Blackstone stopped outside of the busy bazaar and frowned down at the
winded fillies beside him. His eyes betrayed a flicker of concern, and he

waited for them to get their breath back. Sweetie sat up and wiped the
sweat off her brow. She turned around, planning to give Blackstone a piece
of her mind for leaving them behind, but instead she gave him a scream of
terror.
Blackstone spun to face the huge, heavy cart. It was the kind of vehicle that
would have taken two stallions the size of Big Macintosh to pull, and it was
bearing down on them at a breakneck pace with a sickly yellow glow, likely
the evidence of a spell gone wrong, surrounding its wheels. There was a
gasp from the marketplace crowd as the cart closed the scant distance.
The Crusaders were frozen in terror, and only one thin unicorn stood
between them and certain destruction. Blackstone’s eyes flashed with a
terrible anger, and his horn erupted into furious light. A lime green shield
flared to life, surrounding the Crusaders even as Blackstone cast his spell.
“Forzare!” he bellowed, slamming his right hoof into the ground in front of
him. There was a crunch unlike anything Sweetie had ever heard, and
before her eyes the cart was destroyed.
No, that didn’t quite capture what had happened. The cart had been about
ten feet from turning them into pony pancakes when it was slammed to the
ground by an invisible force so powerful that it turned the heavy-duty
vehicle into kindling and made a shallow crater in the street beneath it.
The barrier surrounding the three trembling fillies vanished, and they, along
with everypony in the market, were stunned into silence.
The faint smell of sulfur hung in the air as Blackstone inspected his
hoofiwork. “Oops. I might’ve put a little too much into that one.”