My Little Persona Quest: Social Links Are Magic 第3章

>Last Chapter: http://pastebin.com/6jqrre08
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>Archive of first thread: https://archive.moe/mlp/thread/20445414/
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>Mini-Ponesona Quest by another anon (somewhere between the 1st part): http://pastebin.com/wHZWUGj0
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“Well, if Fate is the idea that our actions and their results are all predetermined from the moment we’re born… then no, I don’t.”
>”I see…”
>DTR lays down on her bed, looking at the ceiling.
>”I hate the idea of ‘fate’. If life is already set in stone, then what’s the point of being born? If you can’t change what you’re born with, then what’s the point of living? I don’t want it to be true… but dad tells me it’s real. That I need to accept fate and be grateful for it.”
>”I never told you this, but… I have an older brother, Richie. He’s studying business in Canterlot to take over my father’s company.”
>”My father’s always telling me to leave everything to him and just enjoy my life. I’m getting a big inheritance, and I’ll be taken care of for the rest of my life, so I don’t need to do anything.”
>”But then… what’s the point? It’s so stupid… just because he was born first and I wasn’t, dad treats us differently. Dad’s always calling me a delicate little princess, but those aren’t the kinds of princesses I like. The good ones are the ones that go out on adventures and do stuff, not the ones that sit in their tower all day. Nobody writes books about those princesses.”
"DTR..."
"I won't deny that some ponies are born to different circumstances. That's just part of life."
"But the things that can be made from those circumstances are endless. The possibilities are infinite. Too often we accept something as a 'limitation'. As something impossible. But those things are only limits if we choose to accept them."
"I've seen ponies born to high class use their status to help others, and to look down on others. Leaders creating peace through fear or hope. Those born with nothing aiming for the stars, and those born inferior confused about the point of their existence."
"You may only have the cards you're dealt... but the number of ways you can play those cards are infinite."
"Some paths are easier than others, but only taking the easiest path won't get you what you want."
“So even if something can’t be changed… it just means you’ll have to take a different approach. You can still be the kind of pony they write books about. You just have to figure out the path. And that’s one of the great things about being young. You’ve still got time to make mistakes, figure out what you like, and understand the limits of what you can do. It’s way too early for you to be giving up, DTR.”
>Diamond Tiara lays silently on her bed for a few moments, pondering hard on your words.
>She turns and sits up in her bed, calling out, “Randolph!”
>In an instant, the elderly butler opens the door. “Yes, Mistress?”
>”... go buy me a new bookbag. And make sure to take me to school on time next week.”
>”At once, Mistress.” he bows and exits.
>”And make sure it’s purple!” She calls out as he leaves.
>The door shuts and you look at the filly with a smile.
“Gonna be a little rough coming back after a month. Sure you’re up to it?”
>”I’m only gonna get out what I put in, right? I’ll be fine, Sensei. You won’t have to worry about me.”
“So this is going to be our last session?”
>”Are you crazy? You just have to see me in the evening instead. I told you that you’re hired forever, didn’t I? You’re not getting off the hook that easy. I want a 4.0 GPA!”
>You stand up and give her a deep bow.
“At once, DTR.”
>She sighs and shakes her head “... Sensei, you’re such a dweeb.”
“I get that a lot.”
>You resume your normal tutoring duties.
>DTR does quite well today.
>All the techniques and study habits you showed her are really paying off.
>You feel like her dream of getting a 4.0 might not be too far off.
>Still, one thing’s for sure.
>You feel as though you’ve grown quite close to Diamond Tiara.
>And she in turn has grown closer to you.
>After your lesson, you head out into town.
>School should be out by now.
>You decide to see if you can find Cheerilee and spend some time with her.

Afternoon, Ponyville Schoolhouse
>You’re closer to the schoolhouse than her place, so you decide to check in there first since school didn’t get out too long ago.
>Looks like you’re in luck. She’s still here managing some papers.
”Good afternoon.”
>Cheerilee looks up from her desk. “Oh, hello Anonymous! You came out here to see me?”
“Yeah, do you have some time? Or are you busy?”
>She looks at her stack of papers.
>”Well… I still have a lot of papers to grade…”
“I could help if you like.”
>”Would you? That would be wonderful… I know it’s not very romantic, but I’m just so busy…”
“I understand. I’d be happy to help.”
>”Oh, thank you so much! You have no idea how busy I’ve been…”
“Heh, you should have seen me on Sunday.”
>She gives you the answer key and you begin grading the tests for the fillies.
>You work hard with her to clear out the stack, grading paper after paper.
“Oh yeah, so I saw DTR today, and guess what?”
>”What’s that?”
“She says she’s going back to school on monday.”
>”You really got through to her, Anonymous? That’s wonderful!”
“Wish I could have done it sooner, but yeah. She seems like a pretty bright filly, she just has some personal issues with motivation to work through.”
>”Well it’s really great news. And good news is hard to come by these days.”
“Yeah, sometimes it can feel like you’re going one step forward and two steps back. But I think it’ll all work out in the end.”
>”I suppose…”
“Something on your mind, Cheerilee?”
>”I just… want to apologize again for last time. I didn’t mean to get you involved in that. I just feel so ashamed about the way things are with my Sister...”
“If anyone should be ashamed, it’s your sister. You don’t have any reason to apologize.”
>Cheerilee shakes her head, “You don’t understand… it’s not that I’m ashamed because she was drunk.”
“Huh?”
>”It’s easy to get the wrong idea like that, but… she’s the ‘good one’. Not me.”
>”I’m in no position to complain because she’s supporting me, Anonymous.”
“Supporting you?”
>”I can’t afford to pay off the debt from college on a teacher’s salary and still live alone. But Pinot… well, did Derpy ever tell you my real name?”
”Cheers Liqueur, right?”
>”That’s right. My parents owned a vineyard, one of Equestria’s largest. And Pinot owns it now. She doesn’t even do anything, she just goes to shareholder meetings once a week and spends the rest of the time letting herself into my house and getting drunk.”
>”Meanwhile I’m busting my flank trying to teach these foals, working long hours every day without overtime pay, buying school supplies out of my own pocket, and I can’t even afford a decent living alone?!” She exclaims, knocking over a cup full of pencils on her desk.
“Cheerilee…”
>”Sorry for raising my voice… I just… I can’t tell her these things because she’s the one supporting me. She keeps giving me money, helping me pay for my rent because I can’t do it on my own…”
>”I’m ashamed to be so reliant on my sister and that I let her her walk all over me. But what kind of choice do I have?”
>“On top of all that, she's got a beautiful house with a husband, a kid sister, and a daughter, and she still just spends all her time bumming around my place drunk as a skunk getting on my case, ‘Oh, Cheers why don’t you have a drink? Cheers you’re working too hard! Cheers, you’re so mean, why don’t you like me?’ It’s just… I can’t deal with it."
"Have things been like this for a while?"
>"It's gotten worse lately. She wants me to move in with her so she doesn't have to come out to my place all the time. I just don't even know what to do at this point..."
>You put your arms around her from behind, letting her head rest against your chest as you hold her tight.
“Anyone would get frustrated dealing with that… you’ve worked really hard to get where you are right now, didn’t you?”
>”I did… even though it made my parents angry, this is what I wanted to do. It’s what I was meant to do.” She says, turning her head slightly to look at her flank as her ears fold down.
“It’s an amazing thing you’re doing, Cheerilee. Even if some ponies don’t appreciate what you do here, I do. And so will those foals when they grow up.”
>”I followed my dream… but was it really the right decision?”
“Of course it was. Even if you’re struggling right now, that doesn’t mean it’s always going to be like this, Cheerilee. You can work to change things and make your life better while still doing what you love. Don’t give up on your dream, okay?”
>You feel the teacher relax and lean back into your arms.
>”Thanks… I feel a lot better now.”
“I’m glad. But I really think that it might help if you talked with your sister about what’s bothering you.”
>”I’ve tried, but… I want to talk to her when she’s sober. She always ends up drinking when we try to talk, and if I tell her she can’t then we start arguing about her drinking and we never end up talking about what really matters. And… I still don’t know what to do. I don’t want to ruin things between us. Not just because I need the money, but because she’s still my sister. I still love her… and if we start fighting I don’t want to cause trouble for Pina or Pinch. I’m the one with the problem, after all… it’s just ‘cause I don’t know how to relax, isn’t it? That’s what I keep thinking to myself.”
“It’s not your fault, Cheerilee. She needs to listen to you and respect your space. And you’re right. She is your sister. And I think she loves you too, but she just doesn’t know how to talk to you. I think if you can get a serious conversation and really talk, you can work this out with her.”
    >”I want that… I really do. I want to talk to my sister and get our lives figured out again. It can get pretty stressful… feeling like you’re not in control of your own life.”
    “I know, Cheerilee. But I think you can do it.”
    >Cheerilee sighs and rubs her head against you.
    >”Sorry I’m not a better marefriend… I ended up making you grade papers and listen to my problems like this.”
    >You sit on the floor to speak with her face to face, gently placing your hand under her chin and looking her in the eye.
    “Cheerilee, you’re a wonderful marefriend. And an amazing teacher. You just need to try to find the time to take care of yourself. Your mind’s always on your work because you love it so much, right? It makes you feel like you have a purpose in life. But you’ve got a lot more to offer than just being a teacher. You’re so gentle, caring, intelligent, hard-working, and absolutely beautiful. Don’t think you’re just some unimportant school teacher. I care about you. Your problems matter. You matter, Cheerilee.”
    >As you look into her eyes, she looks like she might begin to cry…
    >But instead, she presses her lips to yours and kisses you deeply.
    >You wrap your arms around her comfortingly sharing kiss after passionate kiss.
    >You lose yourselves in each other, rolling around on the floor and smooching playfully, giggling like idiots before Cheerilee stops you.
    >”All right, that’s enough. If we keep going like this… it’s going to be a pretty inappropriate thing to be doing at school.”
    “I get it.”
    >”Besides, I want our first time to be at my place. In my bed.”
    “Fair enough. You’ve got yourself a deal.”
    >"Deal?"
    "We can't use your bed if your sister's still there, right? We'll figure out a plan for you to have that talk with her, and I'll be there for emotional support."
    >Your marefriend smiles and rubs her cheek against yours.
    >"Thank you... I'm so glad I met you."
    "I'm glad I met you too, Cheerilee."
    >You continued to talk for a while until you both got tired and went home.

Sunday, December 3rd

>In the morning, you have breakfast with Gilda and head out to Cranky’s place for work.
>It’s disappointing that you have to forego seeing Celestia today, but you have a responsibility here.
>She’d understand that you had to put work first.
>You can’t help but feel a little distracted, but Cranky doesn’t seem to notice.
>As you’re working, you’re startled by an adorable sounding voice.
>”Hi, Anonymous!”
“Whuh?”
>You turn around and notice Derpy standing there holding the mail.
“Heh, you snuck up on me, Derpy.”
>”Sorry, I didn’t mean to! I’ve been getting that a lot though. I’ll just leave today’s mail here.”
“So how’s your route been going?”
>”Really well! You were right, if I just walk a lot more, I don’t end up having as many accidents.”
“Glad to hear it. And how’s your time been?”
>”I’ve been keeping up a good pace. I think I’m actually a little early today!”
“That’s great news then, Derpy. Keep up the good work.”
>Derpy salutes, stuffs Cranky’s mail into the box, and heads out.
>A few minutes later, Cranky pokes his head out of the house.
>”Hey, Kid. Did the mail come today? I haven’t gotten anything since Wednesday!”
“Of course, Master. Derpy was just here.”
>”What?! Why didn’t I hear her?”
“She stopped doing her route flying, so she isn’t crashing into things as much. Did you… not actually check the box?”
>Cranky furrows his brow. “I usually just wait until I hear her break something... why’d the sudden change anyway?”
“Her job’s in trouble. Her new boss wants to replace her because of her disability, so if we prove she can manage it, she might be able to keep it.”
>”Losing her job… let me guess, the new boss is some canterlot type aren’t they?”
“She is, yeah.”
>”Feh! Canterlot bean counters don’t know the first thing about what makes small towns great. Mark my words, if she tries to get rid of their mailmare, there’s gonna be hell to pay.”
“You think so?”
>”I know so. Now get back to work!”
    >After you finished work for the day, you thought about going to see Celestia to apologize for being unable to see her…
    >Only to realize you have no way of properly locating her because you don’t know what her disguise looks like.
    >Guess you couldn’t really see her today even if you wanted to…
    >Rather than running around town looking for her, you decide to just go see Fluttershy.
    >You’d been meaning to check on her ever since her SIHN event.

    Fluttershy’s Cottage, Afternoon

    >You head to her cottage and knock.
    >The door is answered by the former changeling Captain you met that night.
    >”Good afternoon, Sir. Here to see Fluttershy?”
    “Yes, Captain… Domino, right? You ended up being her guard after all?”
    >”That’s right. Things have been pretty quiet on this front, but I’ll stay as long as she needs me. Miss Fluttershy! Anonymous is at the door!” she calls out into the house.
    >You hear hoofsteps as Fluttershy comes down the stairs. “Um, could you not call out so loudly, Captain Domino? Some of my animal friends are trying to have their mid-afternoon naps…”
    >”Y-Yes, Miss Fluttershy. I apologize. If I could just have you verify his identity.”
    >Fluttershy stares up at you, and her eyes glow bright blue for a moment.
    >”It’s him, Captain. At ease. That’s… the right thing to say, isn’t it?”
    >”Of course, Miss Fluttershy.”
    >Domino heads back into the house as Fluttershy stands in the doorway.
    >”Well then, how can I help you, Leader?”
    “You don’t need to call me that outside of Dream Team business, Fluttershy. I was just hoping to talk is all.”
    >”Oh, would you like to come in for some tea in that case?”
    “Tea sounds lovely. I’d love to.”
    >”Wonderful! Please, make yourself at home then.”

    >You take a seat at the table, and soon Fluttershy joins you with a pot of freshly brewed tea which gives off a strong dry aroma that makes you feel a little hungry somehow…
    >”So then, what would you like to talk about first?"
“Well, I guess I’d just like to ask how you’re holding up. You went through a lot on Sunday, after all.”
>”It was pretty scary… but I feel better knowing that all of my friends are here to help me whenever I need them. Especially you, Anon. You gave Queen Chrysalis a chance when nopony else in the world was willing to. When everypony else was too scared, you rushed to her rescue and gave her your true love to save her! Oh, it might just be one of the most romantic things I’ve ever seen!” she exclaims, flapping her wings excitedly.
“I don’t blame them for being scared. She was in a very dark place for a long time. I’m just glad I could save her in the end.”
>”And you saved me too. Thanks to you I’m able to accept that side of my heart I tried to keep locked away. I’ll be happy to fight alongside you to repay the favor. Well, not… directly alongside you. I’m not very strong after all. And my Persona is a bit shy, so he’s not very suited for combat either. But I’ll be supporting you from the sidelines as best as I can!”
“I’ll look forward to working with you then. So you’ve been holding up okay? How are things with you and the captain?”
>”Oh, Captain Domino? She’s very nice, and very patient. I feel a lot safer knowing she’s here. She even checks under my bed for me! And… she let me touch her horn too. It feels so… hee hee!” Fluttershy giggles, rubbing her hooves together and blushing.
“What?”
>”It’s almost like a Narwhal’s tusk, but it’s her horn instead… it’s so long, and the texture is all spirally and bumpy… I just really like touching it for some reason.”
“The shy ones always end up being so lewd…”
>”Hm?”
“Nothing.”
>”Anyway… I think I’ll be safe as long as she’s here. Oh, hello, Angel. What’s that?”
>The little white bunny hops up to you holding a bright orange carrot.
>He holds it out to you, looking away sourly.
>”Oh! ‘This is for protecting Fluttershy in my place… just take it so we’re even. Don’t think this means I approve of you though.’ is what he says."
“You understood all that?”
>”Of course. I understand all of my animal friends… it’s part of my special talent.”
>You take the carrot from him, and he walks off in a huff.
“I think your rabbit might be tsundere for me.”
>Fluttershy giggles happily, “Oh, you know that phrase too? Your pronunciation is a teeny bit off though…”
“Just something I picked up. I don’t… actually speak the language. Please don’t try, it’d just embarrass me.”
>”Well, I think Angel is a bit embarrassed himself, running away like that last Sunday.”
“Running away?”
>”Yes… when the Culprit came to my house to attack me, all of my animal friends had run away. Even Sir Bearington was scared off.”
“Wait, does that mean they saw the Culprit?”
>”Unfortunately not… but right before the Culprit came, they all said they sensed something very dangerous was coming… like a storm, or an earthquake. They felt that they had to get to safety as soon as possible, so they all ran away from my house and didn’t come back until the Culprit had already left.”
“The Culprit is really that dangerous…?”
>”It’s possible it was some sort of spell… I can’t be too sure. Their memories weren’t altered though. Oh! But it does seem that Discord’s were… we just found that out recently.”
“Discord’s memories?”
>”Yes, when the Culprit incapacitated him by saying the keyword, he heard the Culprit speak… but the Culprit took away the 『Identity』 of the voice. He seemed a bit upset as well that he couldn’t protect me.”
“I guess we all let you down, huh?”
>”Oh, not at all. If anything, I’m glad that nopony ended up getting hurt by the Culprit. Who knows what they might have been willing to do to get to me… but Captain Domino says that she’ll protect me no matter what.”
“At least you’re in good hooves now.”
>”Mmhm. I’m not too worried about being attacked again. But I guess… I’m still a little worried about all those other things."
“About your ‘family’, right?”
>Fluttershy nods sadly.
“Well, how about you pour me some tea and tell me the whole truth this time? About your parents. Back when you first talked to me about them.”
>”Oh, of course. Where are my manners…”
>She takes the teapot and pours out a nice fragrant cup.
>”It’s genmaicha. Green tea with brown rice. Please enjoy it.”
>You begin taking a sip.
>”When I first talked to you… you mean back at the party? About the Electra Complex?”
>You nearly choke on your tea, coughing loudly.
>”O-Oh my, are you all right?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine… what’s this about an Electra Complex though?”
>”You don’t remember? Back at the party I was talking to you about my parents and I mentioned it.”
“I don’t think I was there… I left to go tell Twilight about Pinkie. You had your eyes closed back then, so you might have just been talking to yourself.”
>”Oh… well, I suppose I should start from there, shouldn’t I?”
“Yes, please do.”
>You settle in and have another go at your tea. It’s quite good… the brown rice adds a wonderful smooth aftertaste that mixes well with the bitterness of the green tea on the tip of your tongue.
>”Anyway… I’d been thinking about my parents recently. It had all started when I read this article about an Electra Complex…”
>”It really surprised me that a daughter could love her father so much that she became sexually attracted to him. It got me thinking about my own father… whether I would think he was attractive now that I’m grown... and I started to realize that I barely remember what he looks like.”
>”I’d gotten rid of all my photos of my parents when they died… part of that was because I didn’t want to be sad when I saw them… but it was also because I wanted to get away from that part of my life.”
>”When my parents died, Fugo-san, I-I mean, Mr. Hugo told me the news and said I had to return to Tennouji in Neighpon right away to take the head of the family. But I told him I couldn’t. I told him to deny that Shizuka existed."
“So then what happened? How are things with the Umaguchi right now?”
>”They’re… not very good.”
>”The current leader is viewed as illegitimate. He doesn’t have “The Stare” that qualifies him to lead. This has caused portions of the Umaguchi to splinter off and begin fighting the main branch. And the infighting between the Umaguchi hasn’t gone unnoticed by the other Yakuza groups. They’re taking advantage of the chaos and expanding their efforts. The Umaguchi’s influence is growing smaller and smaller, while other more violent groups are gathering power.”
“A power vacuum, huh?”
>”That’s correct. And with the way things are… it’s possible that the Umaguchi could end up in an all out gang war for control over Neighpon. Innocent ponies would get caught in the middle of it. The legitimate business fronts that the Umaguchi own would suffer. The Cloudsdale rainbow factory might go under without the support of the Umaguchi, and that’s just one of them.”
>”And… even though I know they’re criminals… I still don’t want any of the Umaguchi to lose their lives fighting either. I mean, I detest fighting, and I wouldn’t want to see anypony lose their lives of course, but the members of the Umaguchi… I still feel like I’m responsible for them.”
>”My parents cared for the Umaguchi as if they were their real family. The Umaguchi always treated me with respect, and they were so nice to me… they took care of me when my parents couldn’t be around, they educated me when I was too much of a hikkikomori to go to school, they taught me how to defend myself, how to do business, they pretty much raised me. So… in a way, the Umaguchi are my family too.”
>”I don’t want them to get hurt… but I don’t want to be responsible for all of their sins just because of who I was born to. Is it really okay to let others die just to keep your hooves clean? Or do I have a responsibility to end suffering, even through violence?"
“Fluttershy, I think that if you really do care about the Umaguchi, standing by while Neighpon rips itself apart is something you can’t do. But just because your family has a history of violence doesn’t mean you have to do things the same way they did. It’s true that with great power comes great responsibility. Right now you may be the only one who can save them. But I think that if it’s you, you can find a way to do it without committing the same crimes that your parents did. You can change what the Umaguchi-gumi is from the inside. You have that power. Nopony else can do it but you… so you need to decide if you’re willing to put yourself out there and make the effort to change things.”
>”I see… I suppose they’d still be willing to listen to me… but I still have to deal with the other Yakuza families, and restructuring the Umaguchi-gumi into a nonviolent group is easier said than done. If they view us as weak… unwilling to defend ourselves… they might try to take us down. Then things could be worse than ever.”
“I admit I might not know the details, but I think that you’re not the kind of pony who won’t try anything at all. Even if you don’t know if it will work, you have to decide. Going back to the old ways might be easier, but it just means that cycle continues. This burden will be passed on to your children just like it was passed on to you. And trying to change things might not be easy, but in the end I think it’s the option that will create the best future for everypony.”
>Fluttershy nods and takes a slow drink from her teacup.
>”I see… I’ll have to think about how I can make this work. But… even if I tried to get them to listen to me, I don’t know if I can do it without The Stare. Every time I’ve tried to use it, my wild side takes over and I change completely. Discord said I calmed down on my own after a while, but he said I was… “scary”. I don’t even remember what happens when I lose control."

“You should learn how to control it, Fluttershy. Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t look away from that part of yourself anymore?”
>”I know… but I’m just not sure that I can control it. What if I can’t change back?”
“I think you just need practice. If you want help learning to control your other side, I’ll be happy to do whatever I can.”
>”You really think I can do it, Anon?”
“Of course you can, Fluttershy. It’s just a part of yourself. You’re the only one who can decide what you do. Like any emotion, it can be conquered with willpower. You want to save your family, don’t you?”
>”I do.”
“You want to save your country, don’t you?”
>”I do!”
“Then you’ve got the motivation you need. And I’ll be here for you every step of the way. You can do this, Fluttershy. To protect the ones important to you.”
>”I will protect them… thank you, Anon.”
“No problem, Fluttershy. But since I’m going to be helping you out like this... I think it’s only fair that you call me Senpai, don’t you?”
>Fluttershy giggles happily, “No way!”
“H-Huh?”
>”If I’m going to be taking charge of the Umaguchi-Gumi, I can’t afford to be calling someone like you Senpai. It would damage my reputation in front of the gang and make me look weak."
"You're right, Fluttershy. From now on you've got to be strong and take charge. This was your first test, and you passed with flying colors."
>"Oh hurray! I'm glad I passed."
>One of these days you'll trick one of these ponies into calling you senpai...
>"Anyway... I'll think hard about how to deal with the Umaguchi. I'm sure I could arrange for some of them to come to Ponyville for a meeting, but it'll have to wait until you're sure I'm ready. Till then, I'll be counting on you to help me figure out a way to control Flutterbat."
"You can leave it to me, Fluttershy."
>You continued to chat a bit more casually over tea until it got late, and then headed home.

Your House, Evening

>You’re sitting at home with Gilda when you hear a knock on the door.
>”I ain’t gettin’ it.”
“Wasn’t expecting you to. Anyway, whoever it is, be polite. Especially if it’s Derpy.”
>You open your door and find yourself face to face with Princess Celestia.
“Oh.”
>”Sorry, I’m not bothering you at this hour, am I?”
“Uh, no, not at all. I wanted to see you, but I was busy, and I thought you might have left already…”
>”May I come in then?”
“Sure, come on in. Gilda, this is my friend Tia.”
>”Hello there, Miss Gilda.” Celestia smiles as she walks into your cozy abode.
>Gilda just stares slack jawed at your guest.
“Gilda, what did I just say?”
>”Anonymous… I believe your roommate is simply surprised at my presence, and your casual introduction, seeing as I am not using my glamour spell right now.”
“Huh? Oh! Wh- How am I supposed to tell? You always just look the same to me!”
>Celestia chuckles playfully, “Oh, Anonymous… you really are fun to tease.”
>The Alicorn princess walks to Gilda and extends her hoof. “Thank you for allowing me into your home. It’s nice to meet Anonymous’s roommate. Are you enjoying living with him?”
>”Y-Yeah…” Gilda squawks out nervously, shaking her hoof with her talons.
>”I’m glad to hear that. Do you mind if I speak to Anonymous alone in the other room?”
>”Go ahead…” Gilda replies in a daze.
>”Thank you, Gilda.”
>You follow Princess Celestia into the other room… which happens to be your bedroom.
>Celestia climbs onto your bed, which seems to fit her nicely, and lays down.
>”It’s been quite a day for me.”
>You sit on the edge of the bed next to her.
“Tell me about it.”
>”Well… it’s the first time anypony has ever stood me up like that.”
“Sorry… I had to make up a day of work to Cranky.”
>”I understand. Besides, we never made any sort of real agreement to meet there every week, it just worked out that way. But nevertheless, I continued to go through the routine, and revisited the bowling alley where I met Iron Will again.”
“How was he?”
>”He seemed quite pleased to see his “rival” again, and we played many games together. And though the games were not quite as close this time, he permitted other ponies to compete alongside us, and found himself making many new friends over the sport.”
“Sounds like he turned his attitude around pretty fast.”
>”Sometimes all it takes is one good pony to make a difference in your life and change your whole outlook. And sometimes… it just takes one good man.”
>Celestia looks at you and smiles.
“Me? What did I do?”
>”You helped me realize something… do you remember when I told you that I did not know how much longer I wished to remain in this world?”
“Yeah, I do…”
>”Seeing Twilight grow up… made me feel as though she might be the one to take the place of my sister and I. She may one day be the one who raises the moon and sun, though I do not know if Equestria will need a ruling Princess in those days.”
>”When I realized this, I felt proud, but also very sad. I am overjoyed to see her grow into what could be my replacement. But at the same time, the more she grows, the less I feel that I have a place in this world. I believe Equestria’s culture is maturing so that it no longer needs the wisdom of immortals to guide it. With Twilight to fill the role of Equestria’s protector and manage the Sun and Moon, what place would I have in this world?”
“Tia…”
>”But my time with you has reminded me just how much I still have left to teach Equestria. Facing a blank slate, I’ve been able to see just how much of my wisdom I still have to offer.”
>”I thought that I had been growing obsolete, but I see that I am just as needed as ever now.”
>”And that’s why I’ve made my decision. So long as I still have something to teach this world… I will remain.”
>You place your hand on her hoof gently.
“We could all learn a lot from you, Tia. It’s good to know you won’t be leaving us any time soon.”
>”Indeed, it might take a long while. But I know that I will enjoy every moment of it so long as I am spreading the virtues I hold dear to my children. Thank you, Anonymous. You helped me greatly in reaching this decision.”
“Ah, come on… I didn’t do all that much.”
>”You did more than you know. You gave me a friend. An equal comrade I could speak with about my fears and troubles. It’s been many years since I’ve had such a relationship. I could not even speak with this about my sister. It was too painful to discuss my departure so soon after she returned from her banishment.”
>”But you… treat me like just another Mare. So much so that you can skip our ‘appointments’ without even an explanation.”
“Heh, sorry about that again.”
>”Don’t be sorry. I wouldn’t prefer it any other way. I treasure our relationship. I… treasure you, Anonymous. You are a true friend to me.”
>!

————————————————————

Thou art I… And I am thou…

Thou hast established an inseparable bond.

This inseparable bond shall have a permanent home in thy heart.

We bestow upon thee the ability to create Baast, the ultimate form of the Empress Arcana...

————————————————————

“Thank you, Tia. I’m glad to be your friend.”
>”There’s more. I have something for you, Anonymous.”
“Something for me?”
>”There’s usually a big ceremony and lots of paperwork to fill out before doing this, but I’ve heard public appearances aren’t exactly your forte.”
>Celestia’s horn glows, and a little orange-yellow medallion shaped like Celestia’s Cutie Mark floats in front of you.
>”Anonymous, for breaking the curse on Queen Chrysalis, as well as rekindling my will to live… I bestow upon you the highest civilian honor I can grant you. The Solar Medal of Freedom.”
“A medal…?”
>”You brought hope and love to an entire species that the world had turned its back on. You deserve it for that at least.”
>You take the medal carefully in your hands.
Obtained: Solar Medal of Freedom
“Thank you, Tia. But to me, this will be a reminder of our time together. You’ve taught me many things… I really do cherish the time we spent together.”
>”As do I, Anonymous.”
>As you’re sitting on the edge of the bed, you think you feel something warm push on your back, causing you to fall against the princess laying in your bed.
“Whoah!”
>”Whoops.”
“You pushed me like that on purpose?”
>”It seems I don’t know my own strength…”
>You’re laying prone against Celestia’s body now.
>It’s always so strange just how warm it is…
>Her fur and wings are just like a heated blanket as you lay against her body with her wing wrapping around you like a curtain.
“Y-You know… you’re kinda sending me some strange signals here, Tia…”
>Celestia lets out a laugh that fills your heart with a warm sensation.
>”I’m sorry if I’ve confused you. This is… something I used to do with Twilight when she was still my student.”
>”Sometimes she would tire herself out studying with me… and I would allow her to lay against me and fall asleep.”
“Heh, I bet she liked that…”
>”Do you?”
“Well yeah.”
>”I mean, do you like it?”
“I… yeah. You’re… really warm.”
>Celestia puts her foreleg around you and pulls you closer.
>”Say, Anonymous… would you like to touch…”
>”My mane?”
“Your mane?”
>”I noticed you looking at it quite a bit. I don’t mind if you touch it.”
>You look past her face to her flowing mane that seems to “move without moving”.
“Sure…”
>You reach out and gently run your fingers through her mane…
>Little twinkles like gleams of stardust appear as you touch it, sending a strange tingling feeling up your arm.
>It feels kind of nice… it’s like putting your fingers in a tye-dye stream of water, watching the colors mix together and flow…
“Hee hee… it feels funny.”
>Celestia smiles and hugs you tightly in her forelegs.
>You take your hand away from her mane and hug her back, wrapping your arms around her pillowy soft, warm body.
>You’re filled with such warmth and comfort, it’s hard to keep your eyes open as you lay against the Alicorn Princess.
>Soon, you find yourself drifting off to sleep, cuddled up with her closely.
>You spent a long time with Princess Celestia…


Sunday, December 4th.

>You wake up the next morning...
>Celestia is still sleeping in your bed with a pleasant expression on her face.
>This time you're sure it's actually her and not an imposter sharing your bed.
>You might not get an opportunity like this again...
>What should you do?

    >This time you’re not going to screw it up.
    >You decide to try to make breakfast again.
    >Gilda is already up, it seems.
    >She stares at you as you come out of your bedroom.
    “What?”
    >”Dude… did you just… fuck the princess?”
    “Not this one, no.”
    >”W-What were all those weird noises I heard her making last night then?”
    “You’d have to ask her. Anyway, I’m making breakfast. You want some?”
    >”Sure… is she still here?”
    “I didn’t expect you to be so star-struck by royalty.”
    >”I’m not star-struck! This is… you’re the one who’s taking this too casually, dumbass!”
    “You think so, huh? Well, maybe. I guess that’s why she’s so happy about it.”
    >”Whatever…”
    >You begin preparing the french toast like you did before…
    >But partway through, Gilda starts helping you out.
    >”I don’t want to get banished to the moon for serving her shitty pain perdu without nutmeg and cinnamon.”
    “Pretty sure that’s not going to happen…”
    >”They’ve got royal chefs at canterlot. They probably have some asshole whose only job is to make perfect pain perdu and nothing else whenever she wants it. The least we can do is put nutmeg in it.”
    “Do you really like cooking?”
    >”Do I… I mean, it’s not like a huge thing… I’m not that great at it.”
    “You’re tsundere for cooking too, huh?”
    >”What the hell does that mean? Quit being a jackass.”
    “Haha, nevermind. Let’s make her some good stuff.”
    >With Gilda’s assistance, you manage to whip up some French Toast that looks a lot nicer than what you made for Trixie that day.
    >You take it on a tray for her and walk into your bedroom.
    >Looks like she’s still asleep, splayed out on your bed with her long mane all over the place.
    >You place the tray to the side and lean in close.
    >She’s fast asleep…
    >But you can think of a way to wake her up.
    >You lean in closely and touch your face to her muzzle
    “Boo-mff!”
    >As you try to boop her nose, she unconsciously reacts by moving towards you and pressing her lips to yours, locking you in an unexpected kiss.
    >Celestia’s eyes open and you quickly pull away.
    >You’re worried that she might be furious at what just occurred, but she simply smiles and laughs.
    >”Anonymous, I know in the stories it’s tradition to wake up the sleeping princess with a kiss, but don’t you think Twilight might not approve?”
    “I-It was an accident…”
    >”I’m sure it was. I see you’ve made me breakfast?”
    “Yeah… Gilda helped a bit. Hope you like it. I know it’s probably not what you’re used to getting at the castle, but… please enjoy.”
    >Celestia floats the tray over and begins munching on the french toast.
    >”Mmm… it’s quite scrumptious. My compliments to the chefs. You know, after all these years… I’m still absolutely dreadful at cooking.”
    “Really?”
    >”It’s true. Although… when Twilight was a filly, I attempted to cook hayburgers for us once to reward her for doing well on a lesson. I failed utterly, and had to send somepony to pick up fast food hayburgers for us to eat. Twilight was so pleased, I could never bring myself to tell her that it wasn’t my cooking. So it ended up being somewhat of a tradition that I would secretly send up hayburgers for the two of us. I’ve ended up developing a taste for them ever since. They bring back such good memories. Do you think she feels the same way?”
    “Yeah, I think so. I’ve heard she’s… enthusiastic about them.”
    >”Is that so? Well then, that’s lovely.”
    >Celestia continues eating her french toast happily until she’s cleaned her plate.
    >”Thank you, Anonymous. This has been truly wonderful. Though I’m afraid I may not be taking more vacations for quite a while.”
    “You won’t?”
    >”I think I’ve gotten what I needed. I understand that I still have a place in this world as Equestria’s guide. But don’t be sad. If you ever need to contact me, just send the letter through Spike, and I shall write back right away. Or you can contact me through the mirror Twilight set up. The march of progress is truly astounding… I can’t help but look forward to every bit of Equestria’s future.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Tia. We’re all eager to learn whatever you have to teach us, no matter what the Glenn Bucks and Daily Cloppers out there try to say.”
>”I appreciate you saying that. Now then I suppose I’d better get back to the castle… they might begin to wonder where I’ve gone.”
“Uh, before you go… what was Gilda saying about hearing… noises last night?”
>Celestia grins, “Well, she seemed so intent on hearing something, I thought I’d give her something to listen to.”
“If only you could teach me how to mess with folks like that...”
>”Perhaps next time, Anonymous.”
>Tia leaves you with a heartwarming smile, striding out of the house regally before spreading her wings wide and taking flight, zipping into the air in a white flash and disappearing from sight.
>Gilda pokes her head out.
>”Did she… like the food?”
“Interested? I think Tia might be too much of a carnivore for you to handle…”
>”Wh- fuck off! Don’t be retarded! I just… I just want to know… because of my pride.”
“Haha, yeah, she liked it. Anyway, I’m going to be spending most of the day out of town. You need anything first? Groceries, medicine, goodbye kiss…?”
>”Touch me and I’ll claw your dick off. I’d have to wash my cheek with bleach so I don’t catch your lameness.”
“Alright, I’m going then. Later, bitch.”
>You head out to see Pinkie and get ready to take that trip…
>But something she said sticks in your mind.
>Catching your lameness…
>Obviously that’s impossible, but what if she could catch something else?
>Things are beginning to piece themselves together…
>It’s possible that you are the one responsible for transmitting SIHN.
>But then… what does that mean for you?
>Are you in league with the Culprit without knowing it?
>What will happen if you share this theory with the Dream Team?
>This is an important decision…
>You must choose wisely.

>You have to tell the truth…
>For the sake of everyone’s safety, you must be honest about your theory.
>You run to the castle and inform the guards that you need to meet with Twilight, Spike, Dash, Pinkie, and Fluttershy immediately.
>Soon they’ve all gathered in the meeting room.

Twilight’s Castle Meeting Room, Morning

>They’re all sitting in their respective chairs in the big circular meeting room.
>”So what’s all this about? You got some kind of idea?” Dash asks.
>”It must be important for you to call us all here like this.” says Twilight.
“It is important. I think I may have figured out the SIHN Transmission Method… which should allow us to predict the order of the next Roots.”
>”Way to go, big guy! Lay it on us!” Spike cheers.
“First off, I’ll need to confirm something. Fluttershy.”
>”Yes, Anonymous?”
“Before the events of your Fantasia… did you ever “touch” me?”
>”Touch you? I… I don’t know. I don’t think so though… I couldn’t even look at you after all. But, no, I don’t think I did.”
>”You never even touched him?” Pinkie gasps, “But he gives the best hugs!”
“Thanks, Pinkie, but that’s not the point. In fact, it’s good that she never touched me. That’s why I believe she wasn’t infected with SIHN.”
“We’ve been calling SIHN a disease all this time, and trying to think of how it spreads… but I’ve been overlooking the most obvious way about how a disease spreads. Through contact. Or at least, I’d been dismissing the theory until recently.”
>”You think that your touch spreads SIHN? But why?” Twilight asks.
“Allow me to explain. When you think about the order of the roots, it starts to make sense. So then… who was the first one of you I touched?”
>”Uh, that’d be me, big guy.” Spike says, raising his hand. “We were touching each other all over the place when I was trying to get you clean, and I even touched your skin.”
“Phrasing. But you are correct. And you ended up being the first victim of SIHN. Now then, which one of you did I touch second?"
    >”Right here.” Dash says. “I helped carry you back to the castle. How the heck are you so heavy anyway? I nearly threw out my back dragging you there.”
    “Exactly. And Dash was the second SIHN victim. I forgot that she touched me for a while because she did it while I was unconscious. I ended up overlooking it and dismissing the touch theory.”
    >”So… next is me, right?” Pinkie asks.
    “That’s right. You came up behind me and put your foreleg on my shoulders telling me you were going to have a surprise for me. And you ended up being the third SIHN victim.”
    >”B-But… I never touched you. Why was I next?” Fluttershy asks.
    “Don’t forget what the culprit said. You weren’t “in line”. The culprit expected us to be “confused” because of you. The culprit threw you in manually, ignoring the established order. Because otherwise you would have been last.”
    >”Are you sure we can trust the culprit’s words?” Twilight asks.
    “Maybe… everything seems to fit when we do. It’s possible the culprit wants us to know why it’s happening but not who’s doing it.”
    >”So then… who did you touch next? Do you remember?” Twilight asks.
    “I do remember. I shook Applejack’s hoof. That means Applejack should be next. And then Rarity. Although I didn’t touch her until the day Celestia visited and she helped me get ready.”
    >”So that would be the sixth of November…” Twilight says, thinking.
    "Which means it'll be Applejack and then Rarity."
    >"Wait a sec, what about all the ponies you touched in that time? I mean, you were walking around in Nightmare Night taking candy from ponies, bumping into them in the crowds... it could be anypony in Ponyville next after Applejack, couldn't it?"
“I’m not sure, Spike. It might really just be limited to those who are closest to the Elements of Harmony. It’s a possibility, but no matter what, Applejack is going to be next in line. And there’s something else I want to discuss while we’re here… what “activates” the dormant Roots.”
>”Stress, right?” Dash asks.
“That’s something I want to ask about… tell me how you stressed felt about your problems before your SIHN activated.”
>”Well…” Spike starts, “I guess it was bothering me that Rarity didn’t comment on my costume that night. She didn’t invite me to the Nightmare Night party she was going to… and she was paying more attention to you than to me that night. I guess I started wondering just what she saw me as... “
>”Oh, and I ate like 40 of those cinnamon candies and started feeling crazy sick. So I guess… that’s another kind of stress.”
“I’m… not sure if it’s related, but you’re right. Physical stress might be a factor too. Dash, what about you?”
>”Well you saw me the day before, right? I was totally grounded, and on top of that I had you poking around my past about Gilda. It ended up bringing up all those bad memories... so yeah, I was super stressed.”
“And Pinkie?”
>”I was LOSING MY MIND. Twilight told me to wait to throw a welcome to ponyville party for you but she never told me when so I had to stay up just in case she told me that it was okay to throw a party for you because I needed to be ready to party at a moments notice and I didn’t want to be asleep when she told me and then I wouldn’t know that I could throw a party for you and then SIHN hit again and that made me even more stressed out but I couldn’t sleep so I got stuck in that weird halfway in halfway out part where I couldn’t tell what was the real life and what was just fantasy so yeah I was a little bit stressed.”
“... there you go. But Applejack doesn't seem stressed to me. That might be why she's taking so long."
>"So how should we handle this? Do we just try to keep her relaxed?" Twi asks.
“I don’t think it can be stopped, just delayed. And if we tried to keep it from happening for too long… that Culprit might try to force her in. I wouldn’t want to put Apple Bloom or Granny Smith in danger like that...”
>”So even though we know AJ’s next, we can’t do anything to stop it? That sucks!” Dash pouts.
“We may not be able to stop it, but we’ll be ready for it. We’ll be able to react more quickly and minimize the risk. But being too obvious about watching her will just accelerate the process. She’s already pretty suspicious, and she doesn’t seem to appreciate others barging in on her property without permission.”
>”At least this means we know we don’t have to worry about Rarity just yet. We can let her be. Though to be honest… it’s in our best interests to keep Applejack from falling into Fantasia until Rarity is feeling better.” says Twilight.
“Just ask if she needs any help around the farm, or tell her you’re willing to make accommodations for her. You know her better than I do. Just be her friends and try not to make things worse.”
>”Hey, big guy? Is it… are you really sure that you’re the one spreading SIHN?”
“It seems pretty likely… maybe I’m not spreading it, but the order I’ve made contact with all of you seems to fit. But it’s the culprit who has the ability to throw them straight into Fantasia. Still… I can’t help but wonder if the Culprit is somehow related to me, or if I’m somehow the Culprit without knowing it…”
>”I-I don’t think it could be you.” says Fluttershy. “I was being held by telekinesis, I think… and a foreleg covered my mouth, not a hand. I don’t see how you could do something like that… and scare off my animals with your presence alone. They’re not scared of you in the least.”
>”Besides, you were totally with Queen Chrysalis when the Culprit attacked Fluttershy. You’ve got a perfect Alibi!” Dash adds.
“Yeah, I guess… still, I can’t help but wonder who it could be. Anyway, I think that's all for today..."
“Oh! I almost forgot… I was planning on going out of town with Pinkie today.”
>”You are? Pinkie, you don’t want us going too?” Dash asks.
>”It’s… probably best if you all stay here. Dad never really liked crowds. I’m not gonna be there long anyway.” Says Pinkie.
“The problem is I need your approval to go, Twilight.”
>”You’re worried about infecting her family?”
“Not exactly. I think I might no longer be infectious given that the Culprit had to throw Fluttershy in manually.”
>”I see… well just to be safe, try not to touch anypony there.” Twi says cautiously.
>”Shouldn’t be a problem. They’re not exactly big on touching.” Pinkie replies.
“All right. And in case AJ’s SIHN manifests, do you have some way to contact me?”
>”I could figure something out. I know where you’re going after all.” Twi says.
“That should work then. Guess that’s it for the Dream Team meeting. Pinkie, you ready to go?”
>”I’ve got a bag back at Sugar Cube Corner. I just need that and we can go.”
“All right then. Dream Team dismissed.”
>The dream team goes their separate ways, leaving you with Pinkie.
>You went with Pinkie to get her luggage, and helped her carry it to the station.
>After showing your IDs, you’re cleared to take the train down south.
>As the train chugs along, you see Pinkie staring out the window looking forlorn.
>You place your hand on her shoulder.
”What’s on your mind?”
>Pinkie looks back at you, putting on a weak smile. “I guess… I’m just a little anxious. I keep trying to think of what I want to say to dad when I get there… but nothing really sounds right. I just… don’t know how to put how I feel into words. I guess it’s ‘cause I just don’t know how I feel.”
“You don’t have to worry about that just yet, Pinkie. When you get there… just say whatever’s on your mind.”
>”I just feel so many emotions at once… but none of them seem real.”
“It’s okay to be confused, Pinkie. When we get there, I’m sure you’ll understand how you really feel.”
>”What if I get there and I don’t know how I feel? What I get there… and I just don’t have anything to say to him?”
“Maybe… just talk to him like you would when he was still alive. Just say something. Anything. It doesn’t matter what, but I think being there will help you figure it out.”
>”I hope you’re right…” Pinkie says, leaning against you.
>Pinkie seems troubled…
>What should you try to talk to her about?

“So… you said you had a sister, right?”
>”I have three, actually! Maud is the eldest, then me, then Limestone, and Marble is the youngest.”
“So how was it, growing up with three sisters?”
>”Well… Maud’s a year older than me, so we’ve always been really close, and she’s real protective and sweet, but not all of my friends really think she’s very exciting. I say she’s just avant garde, and they don’t really “get” what makes her so great, but to each their own. She loves me, and I love her, and that’s what really counts. We don’t share a lot of interests, but we’re still real close! Limestone and Marble are a bit younger than me, so we didn’t exactly have that same kind of relationship, but they really loved it when I threw parties. Well, until dad started saying I was a bad influence on them anyway… he wanted them to focus on rock farming like Maud. We weren’t even allowed to talk or smile while we were working, and we worked a lot. Part of his weird philosophy…”
“You couldn’t talk or smile? That sounds kind of messed up…”
>”Well it’s part of his method for running the “Most Successful Rock Farm in History.” so we can’t complain, right? That’s what he always said… and Maud would always take his side on that. Not that it matters. He gave away every bit we didn’t absolutely need. We could have had a swimming pool! A swimming pool the size of a lake! Filled with JELL-O! But no, he said I’d just get sticky and that we didn’t ‘need’ it.”
“You actually asked him for one?”
>”Wouldn’t you?”
“Uh, I guess? Either way it sounds like things were a little rough… what about after you moved?”
>”After I ran away, you mean?”
“Yeah…”
>”I was still young, but… I had my cutie mark already, and that counts for a lot. I got my start with a travelling magician, Mr. David Clopperfield, and I went around with him for a while helping him perform tricks and entertain ponies at parties.”
“That last name does not sound foal-friendly."
    >”What, Mr. Clopperfield? He was super legit, Anon! He taught me all kinds of neat tricks. I stuck with him for a while until we came to Ponyville. That’s when I met the cakes… they were taken in by my charm and good cheer, and told me I could stay with them in Ponyville in exchange for working at Sugar Cube Corner. And I’ve been doing it ever since!”
    “I’m glad things worked out okay.”
    >”Mmhm! And I even ended up getting a reputation as Ponyville’s Premier Party Planning Pony, so I had that going for me too! But that’s really just a side thing. I make my living with my work at Sugar Cube Corner. Although… I guess it’s kind of the opposite of how I wanted it.”
    “You wanted to be a full time party planner?”
    >”I did, but… it’s just… I guess dad was right. You can’t make a living off it. Or at least, I can’t… not in Ponyville anyway. But Ponyville’s where all my friends are. So in the end… I just didn’t quit my day job. I guess that’s why my shadow got so mad, huh?”
    >”I couldn’t make a living doing what I loved. Not that I hate working at SCC or anything, but my talent is to make ponies smile, not baking… it’s not what fulfills my destiny.”
    “Your destiny is what you choose it to be, Pinkie.”
    >”I know, I know… but I just always thought I could find a job where I’d make ponies smile. But I just… I could never commit to something. I tried stand-up, but got bored of it when it didn’t seem like it was going anywhere… I tried clowning, but some ponies think clowns are too scary, and in the end I guess I just gave up. I never really found a job that speaks to me. One that fulfills me and makes me feel like I have a place in the world. I want to do something that makes the world a happier place than it would be if I wasn’t there… and I guess baking makes some people kinda happy, but it’s just not the same. I don’t think this is what’s right for me. I'm not doing what I want to be doing. I'm not fulfilling my dream. I want to do more, Anon... this just isn't enough for me."
    >You put your arms around Pinkie and hold her close to you.
    “You’re already making the world a happier place, Pinkie. Just by being you. Being around you makes me want to smile… and it makes me want to see you smiling too.”
    >”Thanks, Anon…” Pinkie says, snuggling up against you.
    >You sit there for a while and take a nap together on the train until it finally pulls into the station.
    >”Now arriving at Galloping Gorge.” calls a pleasant voice.
    >Pinkie grabs her bag and exits the train with you.
    >Waiting for the two of you on the platform is a single gray-coated pony wearing a conservative gray-blue frock with a purple mane.
    >”Maud!” Pinkie squeals excitedly.
    “That’s your sister?”
    >”Yup! Anonymous, meet Maud Pie. Maud, meet Anonymous!”
    >The gray mare looks at you for an uncomfortably long time.
    >...
    “Uh-”
    >”Are you the cool possibly-but-not-really-but-still-probably-human with no face and a cute bottom that Pinkie told me about in her letter.” Maud asks in a completely monotone voice.
    “... Yes?”
    >”...”
    >”... I thought you’d be taller.”
    >There’s another intense moment of silence before Maud turns around and starts walking.
    >”It’s this way.”
    >Pinkie and you follow her, hanging back slightly.
    “Looks like she’s taking it pretty hard…”
    >”I know what you mean. Poor Maud… she’s trying so hard to hold herself together she’s talking twice as much as normal.”
    “Uh… yeah.”
    >The walk to the farm is painfully slow.
    >”So, Maud, did you bring your pet rock to show to Anon?”
    >”Dad died when the rocks he was standing on gave way and he fell into the gorge. Boulder and I haven’t been on speaking terms since it happened. I know not all rocks are murderers. But I just can’t look him in the eye after what his brothers did to dad. He sickens me.”
    >"Oh... well I hope you make up soon."
    >"Not likely."
    >It seems Pinkie Pie's family may not be crazy "like her", but it's starting to seem likely that they're all "crazy", like her.
    >After what feels like hours of walking in silence, you arrive at the rock farm.
    >The skies are dark, and a cold silence fills the air giving the entire farm an oppressive atmosphere.
    >No animal noises, no hum of idle chatter in the background, just pure silence broken only by the sound of muted hoofsteps on the ground.
    >You reach the drab gray house, and Maud opens the door to invite you in.
    >Inside, three other ponies are sitting at a dinner table.
    >A stern looking old gray bespectacled mare sits at the head of the table. Most likely Pinkie’s mother.
    >Two younger fillies who you take to be Limestone and Marble.
    >”You’re late for supper.” Pinkie’s mother scolds.
    >”It’s my fault. I took them through the scenic route.” Maud explains plainly.
    >This pony either has the most deadpan sense of humor or her whole family is absolutely nuts.
    >”Sorry we’re late, Mom. Anon, I’d like you to meet my mother, Cloudy Quartz. And those are my two little sisters, Limestone Pie and Marble Pie. Everypony, this is my good friend, Anonymous.”
    >”Hello.” the two sisters say in unison.
    “Pleased to meet all of you.”
    >”Have a seat.” Cloudy Quartz says. “We’re having stone soup.”
    >”Oh, my favorite!” Pinkie says cheerfully.
    >You settle in and are served a bowl of thin-looking soup.
    >To your relief, there aren’t actually rocks in it.
    >To your even greater surprise, it actually doesn’t taste that bad, though you’re not really sure what it “tastes” like.
    >Still, it’s all pretty quiet at the dinner table.
    >You’re not sure if this is normal, but given their demeanors, you wouldn’t rule it out.
    >Pinkie looks at you, seeming to sense that you’re uncomfortable, and decides to break the silence.
    >”Maud?”
    >”Yes, Pinkie?” she responds.
    >”Looks like there’s plenty of food for all of us. Does that mean Mom knew we were magnesium iron silicate hydroxide?”
    >You see a slight smile come to Maud’s face as Limestone and Marble snicker.
    >”Pinkamena Diane, no jokes at the table.” Cloudy scolds.
    >That was a joke?
    >”Mom, we have a guest… can’t we just forget about that for now?” Pinkie asks hopefully.
    >”Just because your father’s gone doesn’t mean his rules are gone too, Pinkamena Diane.”
    >”Well would it kill you to show some hospitality?” Pinkie scowls.
    >”Is that what you want? You want me out of the way too so you can run off with Limestone and Marble to the big city and leave this farm to rot?” Her mother asks with a glare.
    >”I’m not running off with anypony that doesn’t want to run off, but if they do, then maybe they should be allowed to!”
    >”Please don’t fight.” Maud says quietly.
    >”How dare you speak to your mother like that, Pinkamena Diane. Do you have any idea what you put your father and I through?”
    >”I never saw anypony come after me! You still had Maud, so it’s fine, isn’t it? I was only getting in the way! All you two ever did was tell me I wasn’t working as hard as Maud, or working as fast as Maud, or being as quiet as Maud, well I’m not Maud!”
    >”Pinkamena Diane Pie, how can you be so ungrateful after everything we’ve done for you?”
    >”You did the bare minimum! What do you want, a cookie? So what if you never did anything so bad, you never did anything great either, what do I have to be grateful for?!”
    >”Get out.” her mother commands. “I want you out of this house right now.”
    >”Fine. Tell me where dad is first.” Pinkie demands stubbornly.
    >”He’s dead. He isn’t anywhere.”
    >”Then where’s his grave?”
    >”He doesn’t have one.”
    >”Then where’s he buried?”
    >”In the ground.”
    >”Where in the ground?”
    >”In the fields.”
    >”Which part of the fields?”
    >”The East Fields.”
    >”Where in the East Fields?!”
    >”Somewhere.”
    >”Fine! Then I’ll just find it myself!”
    >Pinkie runs from the table and out of the house.
    “Pinkie…”
    >The rest of her family remains cold and silent.
    >You get out of your chair awkwardly and walk out of the house.
    >As you’re about to run after her, you feel a tug on your pant leg.
    >You look back and see Maud holding on to you with her hoof.
>Maud’s head hangs low to the ground as she mutters, ”... Cummingtonite.”
“Huh?”
>”... Pinkie said you and her were.”
“Whoah.”
>”Magnesium iron silicate hydroxide… it’s a rock. Called Cummingtonite. That’s the joke.”
“I… see.”
>”... it was a good joke. Let her know.”
“You should come with me and tell her yourself. You’re her sister, shouldn’t you try to help her?”
>”I don’t know how.”
“But she says she always loves hearing from you. Can’t you just try to tell her it’s going to be okay?”
>”... that was the first time any of us talked since dad died.”
>”I don’t know how to make her smile. She can make me smile when I’m sad. But I don’t know how to make her smile when she’s sad. I don’t know how to do anything unless it has to do with rocks. That’s all I’m good for. But she can do other things. She can do anything.”
>You think back to the things her shadow said…
“... I guess I can see how you’re related after all. I’m going after her. You can come with me or you can stay. It doesn’t matter to me, but I’m going after her either way.”
>Maud pauses, and then lets go of your pants.
>You run off to the east to find Pinkie Pie.

>It’s not hard to spot her against the drab gray surroundings in the field.
>You see her sitting and staring at a little pebble.
>She doesn’t look away from it as you approach.
“Pinkie…”
>”I think this is it.”
>She touches the ground near the pebble gently with her hoof.
>”It’s looser than the rest of the dirt in the field… about the right size and shape… I think it’s here.”
>It doesn’t seem all that different to you… but you figure Pinkie has a better sense than you for this.
>You sit down next to her and watch carefully.
>She stays still, staring at the little pebble on the loose soil.
>It looks like she’s about to speak a few times, but stops herself.
>You wonder if you should try to help…

    >You stoop down to Pinkie, and she turns to look at you.
    >You reach out and put your arms around the mare, bringing her close and hugging her tightly.
    >After a second, she puts her forelegs around you and squeezes back.
    >You stay like that for a long time until she squirms away and turns back to the pebble.
    >”That was Anon just now.”
    >”He’s my new friend. And… somepony very special to me.”
    >”I wonder if you would have liked him.”
    >”He’s not serious like you were, and he doesn’t know much about rocks…”
    >”But he’s always working really hard.”
    >”I think that has to be his best point for me.”
    >”No matter what, he never gives up until the very end. He won’t let anything stand in his way. Even when it might not be a great idea, he pushes forward and won’t listen to anypony telling him to give up.”
    >”A lot of ponies might think he’s just an idiot…”
    >”But I think you could understand him.”
    >”You were really stubborn too, after all.”
    >”If there were good times or bad times, you’d always stay the same. You’d never stop working. And I guess you did it for the same reason, right? You wanted to protect us.”
    >”To be honest… on the ride over, I kept thinking about how the first thing I wanted to say was that you were a terrible father.”
    >”I wanted to yell at you and scream about how you screwed me up… about how you raised me wrong, and that’s why I always keep my emotions inside like I do.”
    >”I wanted to say that I hated you… and that I wish I had a different father.”
    >”... but that’s not true.”
    >”You weren’t… a terrible father.”
    >”You weren’t the perfect father… and maybe you weren’t the father I wanted, but that’s not how the world works.”
    >”You don’t get the father you want… you love the father you have.”
    >”I never understood how you loved me. I never felt loved by you. When I ran away and nopony came after me, I thought that meant you really didn’t love me.”
    >”But that’s not true either, is it…”
    >”You just didn’t know how to express your emotions to me, right?”
    >”That’s why I have so much trouble… and I guess I can’t blame you for not teaching me how to do something you never learned to do yourself.”
    >”But… I should have tried to show you I loved you more. I said I never felt loved by you but… I don’t know how long it’s been since I showed you how much I loved you either.”
    >”You weren’t a perfect dad… but I wasn’t a perfect daughter either.”
    >”Hey, dad?”
    >”The reason you didn’t come after me…”
    >”Was it because you thought you weren’t being a good dad either?”
    >”Did you think it was because I hated you?”
    >”That I never wanted to see you again?”
    >”... I really wanted you to come after me.”
    >You hear a sniffle as Pinkie’s eyes begin to water.
    >”I wanted you to tell me to come back…”
    >”But you didn’t look for me… because you thought I’d be happier without you, right?”
    >”I… I’m sorry, dad.”
    >Tears are streaming down Pinkie’s cheeks.
    >”I’m sorry I made you think I didn’t love you!”
    >Pinkie throws herself at the ground and sobs heavily.
    >”I-I just… I just spent so long wishing you’d show me how you felt...”
    >”I forgot to show you how I really felt!”
    >”I love you, Dad!”
    >”I’m sorry!”
    >”I miss you!”
    >”I should have told you but… I just… I just couldn’t…”
    >”Please don’t think I hated you…”
    >”I really loved you…”
    >”And you loved me too, right?”
    >”... He did.” says a hoarse voice from behind.
    >Pinkie looks up and turns her head to see her older sister standing there, a single tear rolling down her her face.
    >”M-Maud?”
    >”... When you ran away… we all looked for you.”
    >”We thought you were just hiding… we… didn’t know how far you went.”
    >”Dad… was out there all night…”
    >”He looked for you until he collapsed in the fields.”
    >”We all thought something terrible happened to you.”
    >”We were worried sick, Pinkie.”
    >”We didn’t even know you were alive until you sent us that letter.”
    >Pinkie stares at Maud, shocked.
    >”You sounded so happy… Dad didn’t want to take that away from you. None of us did. That's why we didn't ask you to come home."
    >Pinkie runs up and hugs her sister.
    >”I wish you would have just told me…” Pinkie sobs
    >”I’m sorry, Pinkie. We just never knew how to tell you. And now it’s too late. This is our fault.”
    >”It’s not, Maud…” Pinkie says, rubbing her cheek against her sister’s. “It’s mine too. It’s just us being a family and making mistakes. And… it’s not too late. I thought I’d never understand how my dad felt about me now that he’s gone… but I think I understand him right now. More than ever. I understand his feelings. Do you… think he understood mine?”
    >”You were the only one who could make him smile, Pinkie. The only one who could make any of us smile. I haven’t felt this bad since you ran away, but you still made me smile. He knew you loved us. And he loved you back. That’s why he kept this.”
    >Maud reaches into her frock and hands Pinkie a little flat stone.
    >Pinkie looks at it in wonder.
    >”Dad had a great rock collection. But this one was always his favorite. It isn’t rare. Or shiny. Or valuable. Or big. But it’s the first rock you ever mined. Dad left me his rock collection. You should have this one.”
    >”This was his favorite…?” Pinkie asks.
    >”Sometimes he would put it in your seat at dinner and serve it a bowl of stone soup.”
    >Pinkie lets out a bubbly giggle that warms your heart to hear. “Dad sure was a strange one, wasn’t he?”
    >”I guess we all are.” Maud remarks plainly.
    >Pinkie looks back at the little rock marking where her father is buried. “Do you think he’d like it if I sang something for him?”
    >Maud lets go of Pinkie, who walks to her father and begins to sing.

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpUy8r7pE5Q#t=106

    >”I never said how much I love you, Dad…”
    >”I’ll treasure forever all the times we had…”

    >”And even though now we’re apart…”
    >”You will al~ways be in my heart.”

    >”Oh my dad~”

    >”Yeah you were my dad, you never were so bad.”
    >”And though I won’t see you again…”

    >”I will always know…”
    >”No matter where I go…”
    >”And no matter when…”

    >”I am your daughter forever...”

    >Pinkie gently touches her hoof to the soft ground.
    >"Goodbye, Dad. I'll miss you. But I want you to know I'm happy. Just like you wanted me to be."
    >Pinkie wipes away her tears and looks up at you and Maud, smiling.
    "That was beautiful, Pinkie."
    >"I liked it." Maud agrees.
    >"Thanks. I hope he liked it too." Pinkie says as she starts walking back to the house.
    >”Pinkie.”
    >”What is it, Maud?”
    >”Dad left you something too.”
    >"He did? But he gave his rock collection to you... what's left for me?"
    >"When dad donated the bits we earned, he put some away for us. It's how I could afford to go to college. He was going to give it to you if you ever needed it to start a business or go to college. It's yours now. You can do something with it if you want."
    >”He kept saving up even after I ran away?”
    >Maud nods.
    >”But… but what about the rock farm? With dad gone, what’ll happen to the farm? I don’t know if I should take this money…”
    >”Take it.” Maud insists. “Dad made sure we could take care of ourselves if something ever happened. You belong out there.”
    >Pinkie seems conflicted, but you nod at her encouragingly.
    >”All right… thank you, Maud. I won’t let you down. I’ll make dad proud.”
    >”We’re already proud.” Maud says, placing her hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder.
    >Pinkie springs onto Maud and wraps her in another sisterly hug.
    >You return to the farmhouse together.
    >It’s getting dark, so you don’t end up staying long.
    >Pinkie talks a bit with her mother and her sisters, apologizes for her behavior earlier, and leaves them each with a hug.
    >Before too long, you find yourselves saying goodbye and walking to the train station, hopping on the train to Ponyville just as the sun is going down.
    >Pinkie watches the train station until it passes the horizon, then turns back to you.
    >She's sitting much closer than she was on the ride over.
    >”Thank you for coming with me, Anon. Thanks for everything, really. I know we haven't been friends for super long, but... you mean a lot to me."
>You put your arm around Pinkie, bringing her close and holding her tight.
“You mean a lot to me too, Pinkie.”
>You see Pinkie’s pink cheeks grow a little bit redder as she looks up at you.
>”Heh… yeah… that’s nice…”
>”You know… maybe it’s because I’ve just been so emotional lately… I’ve been going through a lot after all.”
>Pinkie shakes her head rapidly, “Golly, look at me, getting all embarrassed like this… it’s just so unlike me.”
>”Well… what I wanna say is… Anon?”
“Yes, Pinkie?”
>”I… I like you. I like you like you. Do you… like me like me?”
>You place your other arm around her, looking down into her sparkling blue eyes and holding her firmly.
“Of course I like you like you, Pinkie.”
>A brilliant smile comes to Pinkie’s face. “Then… will you let me be your marefriend?”
“I’d love to, Pinkie.”
>Pinkie lets out a delighted squeal and pounces on you, hugging you tightly, “Ohmygoshohmygosh you said yes I’m so happy you’re gonna be my coltfriend and we’re gonna kiss and drink milkshakes together and watch bad movies together except I don’t know if I should call you my coltfriend because you’re not a colt except when you use that necklace but that was really more of a disguise and you don’t seem to like it but you have to admit it was pretty convenient until I could do that party to introduce you to everypony but if we did that right away before you got all that street cred by saving scootaloo and all that other cool stuff it might not have worked as well because I mean we’re all pretty friendly but the ponies in this town are pretty easily spooked I mean you should have seen how they were when Zecora was around and she’s just a Zebra with a real face and everything but they still got all scared and confused when she came to town because nopony understood her and I even sang a song about how she was evil and stuff but then she turned out to be super nice and so did you!"
"Heh, all right, I get it. I'm happy too, Pinkie."
>You snuggled with Pinkie for the rest of the train ride home.
>There wasn’t much need for either of you to talk.
>You just enjoyed her soft body, her silky fur, and her fluffy mane that smells like bubble gum.
>You’re not quite sure what she sees in you, but she seemed to really enjoy being cradled in your arms as you stroke her mane and back.
>It’s quite late when you get back to Ponyville.
>The two of you walk back to Sugar Cube Corner before you part ways.
>”Thanks again for coming with me, Anon. I think… this might be the chance to really get my life back where I want it to be.”
“You have an idea of what you want to do?”
>”Not yet… but I’m thinking about it. I’m starting to wonder if I really want to do things with parties anymore. I guess… I’ll have to give it some hard thought. But I’ll figure it out.”
“I’m sure you will, Pinkie. Have a good night.”
>”You too! Sweet dreams, Anon. See ya later!”
>Pinkie waves and heads inside to go to sleep.
>You’ve got work tomorrow, so you decided to head straight home and go to sleep.
>You’ve got work tomorrow, so you decided to head straight home and go to bed.
>Then again… perhaps there’s somewhere you could go for guidance since you’re starting a new week after all.
>You touch the magic key in your pocket, trying to decide…
>Should you go to the Velvet Room tonight?

    >It’s been a while… you should see them for some guidance.
    >You use the key and enter the mysterious blue library.

    Velvet Room, Night

    >Igor sits waiting for you with a smile, Elizabeth by his side.
    >”Welcome back to the Velvet Room.” Igor greets you. “The bonds between yourself and others grow stronger each time we meet. I look forward to seeing your growth as always.”
    >Elizabeth holds up a single blue card, and two golden ones. ”You’ve done quite well this past week. The Tower Arcana has revealed itself to you, granting you the power of the Persona AM. In addition, The Empress and Moon Arcana have earned a special place inside your heart. You will carry them with you as long as you live.”
    >Igor slides another deck of cards across the table to you.
    >”I believe you could use some guidance, correct? Take three cards, and place them face down on the table. I shall read the past, the present, and the future as they present themselves through the cards.”
    >You draw three and spread them out.
    >With a flourish, Igor flips the first card and introduces it.
    >”The World reversed…”
    >”It is natural to expect results after expending great effort.”
    >”But sometimes, despite all our efforts, we are left with less than we expected… or perhaps nothing at all.”
    >”The World reversed is an anticlimax. As the last card in the deck, The World represents completion of a journey. But when it is upside down, what should be a victory has left something unfulfilled and incomplete.”
    >”But why is this? Perhaps…” Igor says as he flips over the second card. “It is because one is ignoring their inner voice.”
    >”The Priestess reversed. Sometimes we know the answer to our own problems, but are deaf to the voice inside of us trying to shout it out. In those times it is necessary to trust one’s intuition and listen the the voice of their heart.”
    >”The more this voice is ignored, the more it leads to a future…” he flips over the last card. “Of a desperate struggle for control.”
    >”The Emperor reversed. With great power comes great responsibility, yes? Power must not be abused… nor should one try with too much effort to maintain control of their own destiny. Sometimes it is beneficial for us to ride the waves of the ocean rather than struggle against the current.”
    >”This concludes your reading for today. But remember that these cards can mean a great many things. They may not be telling you your own fate, but perhaps they are detailing the story of another. Or it could be that this advice is applicable to many situations you are in right now. Alas, we can not know for sure.”
    >”Though I find it interesting that you have drawn each of your cards reversed today. Each of them is upside down… but then, perhaps it is only your perspective.”
    >”From the other side of the table, they appear to be right side up. By changing your perspective, something that appears to be a negative can become positive.”
    >”Who is to say which side of the card is reversed? Should it be the perspective of the fortune teller that dictates it, or the one getting their fortune is read? Perhaps… he could tell us.” Igor draws the top card of the deck and holds it up. “The Hanged Man finds that by changing what he views as up and down, he better understands his situation. It could be that you will meet one like this very soon. Until then, fare thee well…”

Monday, December 5th

>You wake up the next morning and go to work as usual.
>It goes well today, but you end up thinking a lot about Spike.
>You asked Cranky if he knew anything about fishing, and ended up learning a few tips about where you went wrong last time.
>After work, you tell Spike you want to try fishing again, determined to put your newfound knowledge to good use.

>Ponyville Lake, Afternoon.

>You and Spike get your equipment set up and cast your lines deep into the lake.
>Honestly you’re not particularly interested in catching anything, but Spike seems determined.
“So you just watch the bobber like that and…”
>”Right, got it. Now we just wait.”
>You sit and watch the quiet lake for a bit with your little dragon buddy.
>”Oh yeah!”
“What is it?”
>”I almost forgot, Twilight wanted me to let you know that Sunset Shimmer is going to come to Equestria on Friday to help you out!”
“Help me out?”
>”Twilight figured that since you’ve been working so hard to figure out who that culprit is, she should try to help you figure out who you are too. And Sunset Shimmer might be able to help you out!”
“You really think so?”
>”Well… maybe. She’s spent so long in the human world after all, she might be able to tell you something. But uh, when she does come, just remember that she doesn’t know everything about SIHN that we do.”
“She doesn’t? Why not? It’s not like she’s in any danger out there.”
>”Luna and Celestia said to keep it between the dream team and the princesses. Sunset Shimmer just… doesn’t get to be in the loop I guess.” Spike shrugs.
“I feel like she’d be able to help more if she knew what was going on.”
>”Yeah, but Sunset Shimmer’s kept insisting to Twilight until Luna and Celestia approved of it.”
“It was Sunset’s idea?”
>”Yep. She knows about you, just not the truth about SIHN. She figures that if she can help you find your identity, she should do it.”
“But she knows she could catch SIHN?”
>”She says she doesn’t care if it’s dangerous. She wants to help.”
“Well, I guess I could use all the help I can get. To be honest, I haven’t made a whole lot of progress in figuring out who I am.”
>”Eh, you’ll figure it out. I mean, you turned an entire species of weird shapeshifting love-eating bug things into a lost subspecies of pony. Is there anything you can’t do?”
“Public speaking, cooking, making decisions, respecting authority, standing 720 for command grab supers…”
>”Not like that, I mean it’s like you get all the things you work hard on, but for me, even my best just isn’t good enough.”
“I know, and it’s normal to be disappointed by something like that… but you still just have to keep trying. If you can match my determination, you can do it. I know you can. Just remember the advice I gave you, and yo-”
>!
>”Whoah!”
>Spike’s line suddenly gets a harsh tug!
>He takes hold of the rod firmly and starts reeling it in.
>”I got it! I think it’s gotta be that same one from before!”
“How do you- nevermind, focus on it, remember what I said!”
>”Right, pump and wind, pump and wind…”
>Spike angles the fish with a determined look on his face. “Keep the line tight…”
“You got this, it’s coming in!
>Spike reels hard, and the line pulls in closer and closer until Spike yanks it out of the water, revealing a whopper of a fish dangling on the end of the line, flailing about wildly like a living Pinata.
>Spike stumbles as the fish struggles on the end of the line, swinging around like a flail.
>”AAAH! W-why is it moving so much!”
“Because it’s still alive!”
>”MAKE IT STOP!
>The fish swings around and you drop to the floor to avoid getting smacked in the face with it
"Put it in the bucket!”
>”WHERE?!”
“Here! Quit swinging it around!”
>”IT WON'T STOP MOVING!!”
>You try to catch it to steady the rod, but the fish thrashes and cuts the palm of your hand.
”AGH! Put it in!”
>“I DON’T KNOW HOW! GET IT OFF!
"Stop swinging i-oshi-!”
>As you step back to dodge, you slip and fall off the pier.
>A second later, Spike falls in after you.
    >You swim to the surface, spitting out the lake water and climbing back on to the pier, your clothes absolutely soaked.
    >Spike crawls onto it after you, still holding his rod, but the fish seems to have escaped.
    “Well, I expected that to happen to us sooner or later.”
    >”I can’t believe it… I had it right there!”
    “You caught it. Isn’t that enough? It’s just sort of catch and release in a bit of a roundabout way.”
    >”No way! I’m not settling for just catching it! That stupid fish humiliated me twice now! Well I’m not gonna let it happen again. I’m gonna catch that fish and eat it if it’s the last thing I do.”
    >Spike reels the hook back in and casts off again, sitting down and staring intently at the middle of the lake.
    “I’m kinda soaked here, little man. I need to change into something dry.”
    >”Just go home then. I need to catch this thing myself anyway.”
    “You sure about that?”
    >”I’ll be fine. If I see that stupid fish again I’m gonna roast it with my fire breath. Then we’ll see who’s laughing…”
    “Well… all right. Take care of yourself. Don’t stay out too late.”
    >”Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
    >Seems like Spike has made up his mind about this…
    >You decided to go home, dry off, and call it a day.


    Tuesday, December 6th

    >The next morning, you go to work as usual.
    >While you’re at work, you have a bit of time to consider your current situation.
    >Trixie should still be out there in the woods wherever she is…
    >But it seems strange to you.
    >The situation as she described it seems a bit different from the way Gilda and Twilight seem to view it.
    >You wonder what you should tell Trixie… and how to handle this situation.
    >Should you help her leave ponyville in secret?
    >Or perhaps it’s better if she stays…
    >Should you tell her what everyone thinks?
    >Should you let Twilight know that Trixie is here?
    >You aren't going to put off visiting her any longer... you should decide what to do you before you see her today.
    >It seems this is a delicate situation… you’ll just have to proceed with caution and figure out what you can from her.
    >Either way, the best thing to do right now is to talk to her directly.
    >You head to the spot she marked on a map for you.

    Everfree Forest Outskirts, Afternoon

    >As you approach the marked location, you see a rather poorly constructed structure that reminds you of a large doghouse.
    >It’s covered by a blue tarp that seems a bit too small for it.
    >The wood is uneven in spots, making portions of it look more like a fence than a wall.
    >You see a pair of wagon wheels lying next to it, one of which seems too rotted to be of any use even if it were attatched.
    >As you circle around, you see that it’s lacking a wall on the left side, being concealed only by a thin blue curtain.
    “Trixie, it’s me!”
    >As you call out, the curtain parts and Trixie pokes her head out, brushing back her white mane.
    >”Ah! You have come to visit The Great and Powerful Trixie, Anonymous?”
    “Yeah. So this is… the caravan?”
    >”Only for now. Trixie’s other one was much better. But by now, Trixie hardly expects that it is where she left it. It has been a month, after all. Trixie did not expect to have to leave it there for so long, somepony has likely made off with it by now.”
    “Hope you didn’t have anything valuable in it…”
    >”Trixie kept her most important possessions in her saddlebags. Everything else can be replaced.”
    “I see… so, Trixie, you should know… that Griffon you told me about, Gilda? She’s actually been in town this past month.”
    >”She has? But… Trixie hasn’t seen her… why would Gilda stay here?”
    “In the first SIHN event, Gilda collapsed 30 feet in the air. She was hospitalized for the whole month. She only got out recently. She’s staying at my place while she recovers. She was in town doing community service for theft.”
    >"Community... service?"
    "Yeah. Not related to what you two did."
    >"She... she must have thrown Trixie under the wagon to spare herself punishment..."
”Actually, Trixie… Gilda said it was mostly her fault anyway. She told me she’s the one who put you up to it because she thought it would help you get over Twilight.”
>”But… how did she avoid punishment for what she did? Clearly that must not have been… but… Trixie is confused.”
“Gilda… seems to think that what happened wasn’t all that major. It might be that your whole deal with Twilight isn’t as bad as you think it is.”
>”It is important! It is a matter of cosmic importance! Twilight Sparkle and I are tied by the strings of fate… and our connection grows stronger and stronger.”
>”Why do you think you’ve got this connection with Twilight anyway? Gilda said you were talking about her stealing your destiny?”
>Trixie gets a serious look on her face, staring up at the sky.
>”Twilight Sparkle… if she had not overshadowed Trixie undeservedly… if only she hadn’t tried out for that school, Trixie would have become the top student in the class. Trixie would have been the one chosen by Celestia! Trixie… would have been the one to become an Alicorn.”
“An Alicorn?”
>”Trixie worked harder! Trixie had nothing, while Twilight was handed everything without working for it! Twilight Sparkle doesn’t even know what it means to be an Alicorn! Trixie doesn’t think she even knows the name of the spirit that empowers her! But Trixie knows her name. The first Lulamoon. She was an Alicorn. And Trixie is a pure-blooded Lulamoon, the first unicorn born to our clan in all its history! Trixie knows… Trixie knows her spirit is calling for Trixie! It is Trixie’s destiny to become a vessel for her power! She wishes to return from the cosmos and inhabit Trixie’s body to lead Trixie to greatness. Just as the story has been passed down in Trixie’s clan in generations… Trixie know it is meant for her! The others in Trixie’s clan may believe she is a heretic, or impure… but Trixie knows that it is destiny. And if it weren't for Twilight Sparkle... Trixie would be an Alicorn now."
    >You back up a little bit as Trixie rants angrily, swinging her hooves dramatically and posing as she tells her story.
    “That’s… pretty intense. What do you mean though, about the first Lulamoon? I’ve never heard of her.”
    >Trixie gives you a suspicious sideways glance.
    >”Hmm… the Great and Powerful Trixie supposes… since you have been so kind to Trixie, you are worthy to hear of the secret Lulamoon Clan history.”
    >”You see, long before Equestria was founded, before Hearth’s Warming, before Celestia and Luna, the other races lived separately. For many of these years, Earth Ponies were ruled by a benevolent Queen Lulamoon. This Alicorn Queen took care of the duties that earth ponies could not perform without wings and horns. She cared for them, protected them, and they lived comfortably in her kingdom.”
    >”But one day, a group of heretic ponies grew restless and decided that they did not need an Alicorn to rule them, but that it was Earth Ponies that should rule Earth Ponies. They resolved to enter trade agreements with the tribes of the other races and live apart from Queen Lulamoon.”
    >”The Queen was sad to see them go, but she graciously allowed them to secede and form their own tribe. For many years they continued to live seperately. Even when the Great Windigo Blizzard raged across the land, Queen Lulamoon’s kingdom remained untouched because of her love and protection.”
    >”Then at the end of the blizzard, when the tribes united, they became strong enough to return to Lulamoon’s kingdom and destroy her, borrowing the power of an Ancient Alicorn to do so. Some of the Earth Ponies from Lulamoon’s kingdom joined Equestria and became part of the new united country, but us, the Lulamoon Clan, were loyal to our queen, who promised one day to return and grant us the paradise that was so rudely stolen from us by the Equestrians.”
    “How did you learn all this…?”
    >Trixie smirks, “Some of it was passed down to Trixie. As for the rest, a magician never reveals their secrets."
“Well I mean, it’s not like this sounds completely impossible… I just don’t understand how Twilight even fits into all this. How can you say she stole your destiny? Just because she became an Alicorn, why does that stop you? If it’s really your destiny, won’t you become one regardless of her? Why is she so important?”
>”Trixie doesn’t-” she begins, but holds her tongue, reconsidering. “We remember when we were in school with Twilight. At first, we thought… perhaps we could learn together with Twilight Sparkle. After all, Twilight Sparkle had been the top student at the school. We were not in the same class, but we decided to ask if Twilight Sparkle would like to study together with us.”
>”But when we asked her… Twilight just said to us, ‘Oh, I didn’t know somepony like YOU went to our school. I don’t have time to waste with somepony of your level. Unless you can surpass me, I don’t even care to learn your name.’ That is why Twilight Sparkle has stolen our destiny. Until we are able to surpass Twilight Sparkle, the Lulamoon Queen will not return to us. Overcoming Twilight Sparkle… has always been our goal. It is how we will prove our worth.”
“Is that… really true? That just doesn’t sound like Twilight…”
>Trixie’s eyes narrow. “She has you fooled too, does she? Well make no mistake. Ask anypony who went to school with her. She thinks she’s better than everypony else. She almost had Trixie fooled too… Trixie thought perhaps she had changed… perhaps Trixie wasn’t meant to be her enemy after all… but it seems destiny has other plans. It has to be this way…”
“I see… I think I should go for now.”
>”Go? But… weren’t you going to help Trixie with her caravan?”
“I… need more materials anyway. There’s not really much I can do here.”
>Trixie looks a little disappointed.
>”Trixie understands. You’ll… come back soon, won’t you?”
“Yeah, when I have time.
>You walk back to town.
>It’s quiet and cloudy today…
>Every once in a while, you find yourself looking over your shoulder.
>It seems you’re not being followed, but…
>You’re still not quite sure.
>To you, Trixie seems unbalanced.
>Unstable.
>It could make her dangerous.
>As you reach your home, you place your special key inside the door and open it up, entering the Velvet Room.

Velvet Room, Afternoon

>You enter through the back entrance, finding only Elizabeth reshelving some books.
>”Oh? Welcome back, our esteemed guest.”
>”I apologize, but my master is out again.”
>”As for where he goes… that is a mystery even to myself sometimes.”
>”Perhaps he has gone out dancing.”
>”Isn’t that a wonderful thought?”
>”Even my master must surely know of the importance of recreation and relaxation.”
>”And dancing allows you to express your soul through the movements of your body. It truly is wonderful.”
>...
>”Hmm? That look…”
>”Are you expecting something from me?”
>”You feel you need more guidance, perhaps?”
>”I can promise to help you however I can, but…”
>”Perhaps you have forgotten. You signed a contract at the start of your journey.”
>”You have agreed to take responsibility for the choices you make, and acknowledge that you chooseth this fate of your own free will.”
>”I’m sure my master’s showmanship last time impressed you… but in your readings, it is you who draws the cards.”
>”I am not allowed to influence your choices. You must choose your own fate, and accept responsibility for the outcome.”
>”But I suppose you have somewhere to be, don’t you?”
>”Then good luck on your journey.”

>This is an important decision.

    >It’s a tough call to make…
    >... but in the end, you’d rather trust her, even if it means you risk getting hurt.
    >You sigh and return through the other side, entering back into your house.

    Home, Evening

    >Gilda looks up from her bed as you come in. “Oh, you’re back. So… how was your day?”
    >You have a seat on the couch.
    “Honestly, pretty stressful.”
    >Gilda stares down at her twitching tail. “Do you, uh… want to talk about it?”
    “You’re actually interested?”
    >”Not really. Just… bored. It’s pretty boring here. There’s not much to do. So even your day sounds… kind of interesting just ‘cause it’s been so dull around here. Walking around town is a chore, and I still don’t exactly feel like… it just sucks getting stared at all the time. I hate it. But it’s not like I can even do anything about it. I’m on thin ice, and I’d be a real bitch if I did something that got you in trouble after all the shit you did for me.”
    “I don’t really mind the looks. I’m used to it by now.”
    >”Yeah, but that’s you, isn’t it? Besides, the whole town pretty much knows you as some fucking hero that saved a little filly or some shit. So when you get stares it’s because people are curious. But when I get stares… it just makes me feel like they’re waiting for me to fuck up. Waiting for me to do something wrong. Or even worse, like they’re fucking pitying me. Like they think I’m weak or some shit, and it just makes me wanna claw their stupid fucking faces.”
    “It’s natural to get looks if you’re injured, isn’t it? It’s not like they mean anything bad by it, it’s just… you’re not exactly a common sight.”
    >”I know it’s like you said… I have to stop clinging to the past. Just move on and try to get a better start. But sometimes it’s hard, you know? Just… all those emotions come back. It’s hard to deal with alone.”
    >Gilda asked about your day…
    >Should you tell her about how your day with Trixie went?
    >She seems to have been close with her in the past.
    >You decided to tell Gilda about your visit with Trixie, and about how she was acting pretty strange.
    >Gilda looks a bit guilty.
    >”Shit… sounds like she’s gotten way worse since we broke up.”
    “So all that stuff sounds familiar to you?”
    >”Pretty much. I mean, I didn’t pay that much attention because I didn’t really give a shit, but… everything just changed when Twilight became a princess.”
    “It changed?”
    >”Yeah, I mean, she’d bitch about Twilight when it came up, but it wasn’t like the only thing on her mind. We just kinda did shit with each other and had ourselves a good time. I vented to her about Dash, she vented to me about Twi, we hatefucked it out, I made her some food, and we enjoyed the rest of our day.”
    “Yeah I did kinda get an… obsessed vibe from her.”
    >”Just… Twi becoming a princess really felt personal I guess. That’s when she started having those nightmares and shit. Guess it’s just gotten a lot worse. I mean, hell at least I had you visiting me every once in a while. And I got fed some shitty meals, but at least they were nutritionally balanced, not just whatever I could steal at the time. But she’s been living in a box in the woods for a month. For a unicorn especially, that’s gotta be rough…”
    “What does a unicorn have to do with it?”
    >”You don’t know? I’m a griffon and even I know Unicorns have to eat more. Using magic takes a lot of energy. Ponies that use a lot of their magic have to eat more.”
    >You briefly recall the sight of Celestia inhaling several double hayburgers…
    “I see… this all happened when she heard about Twilight becoming a princess?”
    >”Yeah, pretty much. I guess shit’s just been getting worse and worse for her. Rough time, huh? But what’re ya gonna do?”
    "That's a good question."
    >"Well my first instinct would be to say let her fend for herself but... you've got some kind of moral issue with that shit, don't you? Then again you did kind of leave her like that."
    "I was planning on sending Celestia a letter.
    >Gilda shrugs. "Do whatever."
    >Getting some info from Celestia sounds like a decent idea…
    >You write up a letter for her.

    Dear Princess Celestia,

    I heard something interesting recently about an Alicorn that lived before the founding of Equestria, Queen Lulamoon. I was wondering if you could tell me what you know about her. What was she like, and what happened to her? From what I heard, she used to rule earth ponies? If there’s anything you know, it would help me a lot to learn it.

    Thank you for your time.

    Sincerely,
    Anonymous

    >Seems pretty solid.
    >You close up the letter and seal it.
    >There’s probably no need to address it, and you’re not exactly sure how that works anyway.
    >Derpy could probably tell you.
    >Speaking of which, you should probably do something about her situation tomorrow.
    >You could just spend time with her as usual and talk about her situation.
    >But you’ve also been thinking about meeting with Pearl Shine for yourself.
    >Either way, for now you should get this letter to Celestia.

    Twilight's Castle, Evening

    >You make your way to Twilight’s Castle and knock on Spike’s door…
    >... but there’s no response.
    “Spike?”
    >”Who?”
    >You look up and see Twilight’s owl assistant perched on the window.
    “Spike. Have you seen him?”
    >”Who?”
    “I just said it’s Sp- forget it I’m not doing this shitty gag. Do you know where Spike is? I need him to send this letter.”
    >Owlowiscious hoots and points his wing out the window.
    "So he's somewhere out there. Can you give him this letter and ask him to send it to Celestia?"
    >Owlowiscious shakes his head.
    "But you know where he is?"
    >The owl hoots.
    "Could you take me to him?"
    >He hoots again and flies in front of you, looking backwards to make sure you're following him.
    >You follow the Owl...
    >All the way down to the lake.

    Ponyville Lake, Evening

    >Spike is sitting on the pier's edge hunched over, holding on to his fishing rod with a lantern next to him.
    "Little man. How long have you been out here?"
    >"Huh? Oh... hey big guy. A while I guess."
“How long is a while? You’ve been going home at night, right?”
>”Yeah, of course, just… thought I’d come this afternoon after I was done with some stuff.”
>Owlowiscious hoots angrily.
>”Okay fine, I thought I’d come here as soon as I woke up.”
“Little man, your hard work is admirable, but don’t you think being out here alone is against the spirit of the man club?”
>”This isn’t about that anymore… this is personal.”
“You still have your own duties to Twilight to take care of. Did you let her know you’d be down here?”
>”It’s fine, isn’t it? This is important too. If I don’t do this, I won’t be able to fight…”
>Owlowiscious hoots and holds up a little tied scroll from a pile.
“What’s that?”
>You take a closer look… seems it’s sealed with the royal insignia.
“Spike, is this a letter from Celestia?”
>”I dunno… probably.”
“Don’t you think Twilight wants to see this?”
>”I was gonna give it to her when I was done out here! I did it yesterday, I should be able to catch it on my own…”
“Spike, you’ve still got to take care of yourself, and of your responsibilities. Blowing off your work to spend time fishing isn’t what a real man does, you got that?”
>”Yeah, yeah…”
“I’m serious. Spike, go home and give Twi that letter from Celestia. I’ll go fishing with you on Thursday, but until then you need to take care of yourself and do your work. Okay?”
>”Fine, I get it. I’ll go home…”
“One more thing, I need you to send a letter from me to Tia. When you get a response, you don’t have to give it to me yourself, but just make sure it gets to me.”
>You hand Spike the letter.
>He takes a deep breath and blows it away in a puff of green flame.
>”Thanks, little man. I’ll go fishing with you as soon as I can, okay? And it’s fine if you do it on your own time, but don’t neglect your duties to twilight.”
>”Yeah, I get it… sorry big guy. I’m just… I don't know. I feel like I have to catch that fish! I can't just let it get away like that after humiliating me. This time I have to finish the job…”
“There’ll be time for that fish later. Fish live a long time… I think. I don’t know. Either way right now Twilight needs you. She depends on you. Being a man isn’t about self-satisfaction, it’s about living up to your responsibilities.”
>”But… what about my responsibility to fight? I just… I don’t want to see my friends get hurt. It felt really great, fighting with them. Knowing that I had a way to protect them. But now I can’t help them. How can I be a man if I can’t even fight to protect my family?”
>You sit down and place your hand on his shoulder.
“Little man, patience is never easy. But that’s why it’s so important. Being patient, waiting for your chance to act, not being able to do anything… it’s really stressful, I know. When Chrysalis was dying… I didn’t know how to help her. For a moment there, I really thought it was over. Everything I did just… wasn’t enough. But it worked out in the end because I held on to my principles and did everything I could. As long as you live your life according to what you believe, and follow your heart, you’re a true man, and you don’t have to be ashamed no matter what the outcome is.”
>Spike nods silently.
>”... all right, I’ll go back to the castle. But I’ll see you on thursday, right?”
“Actually make it Friday.”
>Spike groans in frustration.
"Sorry."
>Spike packs up and heads back to the castle.
>It’s getting a little late.
>You head home and turn in, exhausted.

Wednesday, December 7th

>The next morning, you went to work for Cranky as usual.
>You're doing some work on the roof, replacing the shingles.
>Around mid-day, Derpy arrives.
>You hear her call out from below, "Letter for Anonymous!"
"All right, I'll be right down."
>"No, no, don't bother! I'll come up there."
"Uh, you sure?"
>"It's fine, I can handle a little bit!"
>Derpy gently floats up to the edge of the roof and touches down. "See? Fine!"
>Suddenly, the loose shingles under her hooves give way, causing her to slip, tumbling off the edge of the roof.
"Derpy!"
    >As Derpy falls backwards, time seems to slow down.
    >You see her eyes widen in fear as she instantly realizes the danger she’s in.
    >Her wings stretch out, but they’re moving unevenly, failing to maintain her balance.
    >You dive across the roof and reach out, but her hoof lacks the fingers to grasp onto your hand and secure her grip, slipping out of your hand.
    >You feel your heart sink as she falls from the roof…
    >But before she can fall more than a couple of feet, a white, winged figure swoops beneath her, a determined glare in his brown eyes as he flies upside down and quickly seizes her body with his foreleg, catching her and changing their trajectory so they slide to the ground together at an angle, with the white pegasus breaking her fall.
    >You quickly climb down the ladder, Cranky yelling something from inside the house as you go to check on the two.
    >Derpy and the mystery stallion climb to their hooves slowly.
    >”That was too close… are you hurt, Miss?” The white stallion asks with a bit of a faint hispanic accent.
    >Derpy shakes her head regaining her senses. “N-No, I’m fine… thanks to you. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
    >”No problem. All in a day’s work, my dear.” The pegasus says, flexing his wings with a grin.
    >As you get closer, you notice that the grinning pegasus has stump where his right foreleg should be.
    >Derpy looks him over a bit confused.
    >”Oh!” she suddenly exclaims, surprised. “Are you…”
    >”Are you from out of town? I don’t think I know you!”
    >”As a matter of fact, I am. I came here for a job at the post office. Miss Pearl Shine told me to run this route when I saw you take that fall. Judging from your attire, you work there too, no? I suppose that makes you my new co-worker. Pleasure to meet you! My name is Abrolhos. I look forward to working with you." the stallion says, balancing carefully on his rear legs and extending his left hoof to shake.
    >Derpy shakes his hoof and giggles, "That's a nice name! Sounds familiar... I'm Derpy. Nice to meet you!"
    >You briefly glare at Mr. Abrolhos… but he probably can’t tell since you don’t have any eyes.
    >Derpy really doesn’t seem to know he’s here to take her job.
    >Does he not know either? Or is this a ruse?
    >Either way you at least owe him your thanks for helping her… you should be courteous for now.
    “Thanks for saving her. It’s a good thing neither of you are hurt.”
    >The Abrolhos shrugs. “I was lucky to be here at the right time. But you are Mr. Anonymous, no? I was told Ponyville had some colorful characters. It is good to meet you. As I said before, I am Abrolhos.”
    >You shake his hoof a bit hesitantly.
    >”Ahh, no need to be so gentle. Or does the stump creep you out?” He asks, raising his eyebrow. “I have a prosthetic at home, but throws off my balance when I fly.”
    >”I don’t think it’s creepy. It makes you look cool!” Derpy says cheerfully.”
    >”Haha! I think so too, Miss Derpy. It’s a shame I did not lose it in a cooler way, like fighting off a street punk with a sword. I lost it to an infection when I was young.”
    >”What are you loafers yakking about on my lawn?!” Cranky yells, poking his head out of the door.
    >”Sorry, Cranky! I slipped and fell, but I’m all right now. I’ll just give Anonymous his mail and go.” Derpy replies.
    >Cranky grumbles and closes the door.
    >Derpy looks back up at you and hands you the little letter sealed with Celestia’s royal insignia and addressed to you.
    “Thanks, Derpy.”
    >Derpy salutes happily.
    >”Just to make sure you’re okay, perhaps you wouldn’t mind if I came along on your route, Miss Derpy? I just got in today, so it would be nice to hear about the town.” the stallion says.
    >”Sure! That sounds like fun!” Derpy replies, excited. “See you later, Anonymous!”
    “Uh, yeah...”
    >Derpy and Abrolhos turn to leave.
    >You’ve got your reply from Celestia.
    >But it looks like Derpy’s replacement is finally in town.
    >You’ll be off of work soon, but you wonder what you should do...
    >This is a good chance to talk to Pearl Shine before anything happens.
    >You’re pretty anxious for the rest of the day, and you try to work as fast as you can.
    >Once you’re done you knock on the door.
    >”Huh? What is it?”
    “Master, could you take a look out there? I’d like to know if I can go yet.”
    >”Already? What’re you rushing for? You better not be half-assing it to skip out early.”
    “Sorry, Master. It’s just that the Stallion from earlier is the one replacing Derpy. I kind of wanted to see if I could ask Derpy’s boss if she could reconsider.”
    >”That so?”
    >Cranky glances at the roof out of the corner of his eye.
    >”Looks good from here. Get off my property.”
    “Thank you, Master.”
    >You take off and head straight for the post office.

    Ponyville Post Office, Afternoon

    >You see a lime-green earth pony mare and black unicorn mare working the front desk as you walk in, talking to each other casually in the empty post office. Their placards read Lime Bell and Black Lotus respectively.
    “Excuse me, I’m looking for Postmaster Pearl Shine. Is she in?”
    >”Yes, sir, she is.” Lime Belle replies politely. “Do you have an appointment to see her?”
    “Uh, not exactly. It’s… I’m a customer on Derpy’s route, and I was hoping to talk to her about Derpy…”
    >”A damage complaint? But she’s been doing so well lately…” Black Lotus laments.
    “Oh, no it’s not a complaint, it’s uh, more of a…”
    >”Oh, well I’m sorry, but… well if it’s her you’re concerned about, you see, things are a bit... Derpy’s probably going to be… moving on after today anyway.“ Lime tries to explain.
    "I know. That's why I'd like to talk to her."
    >The two mares look at each other.
    >"It couldn't hurt, right LB?" Black Lotus asks.
    >Lime Bell looks at the office door. "Well... I'll tell her he insisted."
    >The Pegasus knocks on her door and enters, explaining the situation.
    >A moment later, you're let in to see the bespectacled unicorn with the pure white coat.
    >She looks at you over her glasses.
    >"You're that Anonymous thing then?"
    >You stare back into those cold blue eyes.
    “My name is Anonymous, yes. Miss Lime Bell has told you why I’m here?”
    >”She told me you insisted on seeing me about one of my employees. Well then, what is it?”
    “I wanted to voice my concern about these rumors I’ve heard that Derpy might be losing her job.”
    >”Miss van Hüv’s employment is an internal matter subject to my own arbitration as her employer. I do not have any obligation to entertain small town gossip about her hypothetical termination.”
    “So it’s just gossip then, is it? Because I think I speak for a lot of ponies when I say that we enjoy having Derpy as our mailmare, and if something happened to her position, we wouldn’t be very pleased with that.”
    >”Are you attempting to threaten me? And I’ll have you know that you hardly represent the collective opinion of Ponyville. Do you have any idea how many complaints she generates? It’s more than the entire staff put together.”
    “Maybe, but I know she hasn’t gotten any recently.”
    >”A week’s performance hardly makes up for 10 years of poor service, being responsible for disaster after disaster, causing property damage, making numerous errors, complete failure to keep to a schedule, why in the year she’s worked for me alone there is more than enough to justify termination. The only reason she’s lasted this long is because of the sentimentality of an old man who believed that charity towards one pony justified keeping a worker who was not up to the task she has been given. She performed poorly, so she must face the consequences of those actions. End of story.”
    “A simple change was enough to drastically reduce her complaints. If you care so much about those, why didn’t you do something like that earlier?”
    >”It is not up to me to teach her how to manage her own medical condition. While tragic, it is ultimately her responsibility. Even with the leeway it affords her, she simply hasn’t performed satisfactorily.”
“You’re her manager, isn’t it your job to make sure your employees are working to their full potential?”
>”I implemented many changes in my time as postmaster, and efficiency has gone up with my other employees.”
“What changes?”
>”Those are not a matter of public record. I am under no obligation to disclose my private management decisions.”
“It just seems pretty fishy that you seem to be the only one raising a fuss about her after 9 years. Her performance has really been the same all these years, and it’s only now that she’s being considered for termination?”
>”Why yes, I agree. It is a mystery that she’s managed to keep her job for this long with that sort of performance.”
“Unless that’s not the only factor.”
>”I don’t know what you could be talking about. I see no reason to be defending her so vehemently.”
”She’s a good mailmare. The ponies in this town like her.”
>”Their sentimentality towards her has nothing to do with her inability to keep schedule and fly properly.”
“I’ve seen the kind of ponies that complain about her, and they don’t seem to want her gone either. I have to wonder what your reason for disliking her so much is.”
>”I don’t have a clue what you could be implying. And frankly, I find the notion that you believe I would let personal feelings get in the way of making management decisions insulting.
>Suddenly, the door opens behind you.
>”Postmaster Shine, you wanted to see me after my route?” Derpy asks as she enters. "A-Anonymous! What are you doing here?" she stammers.
>”Ah, this simplifies matters. Deirdre Pianissimo van Huv, you are fired. Effective immediately."
>Derpy's eyes widen in shock. "F-Fired..."
"You can't do this."
>"I believe you'll find that I can. You have one hour to remove your belongings from the premises and vacate. Turn in your badge and leave before I call the guard."
>Derpy reaches into her post bag and picks up a small silver badge.
>You see tears forming at her golden eyes as she looks at it.
>"I guess... it's over."
    >”Hold it right there!”
    >!
    >Rainbow Dash stands in the doorway, breathing heavily and looking seriously mad.
    “Dash…?”
    >”Miss Rainbow Dash?” Derpy says, looking completely blindsided.
    >”I heard all about what’s going on. You think you can just come in here and fire Derpy? She’s a hero!
    >”A-A hero?” Pearl spits incredulously. “What’s heroic about being a failed mailmare?”
    >”Failed? Derpy’s an inspiration to every little pegasus out there with MCA. Most pegasi with it just give up on flying altogether, but I’ve seen her put out more wingpower than some ponies without MCA!”
    >”Yes, I’m sure she makes them all proud, but my decision is final.”
    >”Not if we have anything to say about it!”
    >You spin around again and see Mr. and Mrs. Cake walking in.
    >”Derpy has been part of our community for years! In all my life I’ve never met a mare so committed to customer service and satisfaction!” Mrs. Cake says proudly.
    >”That’s right! She knows everything about everypony in town! She always delivers the mail with a smile, and I’ve never once seen her take a sick day!” Mr. Cake says, standing tall next to his wife.
    >A vein on Pearl’s forehead bulges. “Now see here, this office is not open to the public. It is my decision, and I’ve made it!”
    >”Now hold on one apple-buckin’ minute!”
    >AJ marches into the increasingly crowded room.
    >”What are all these ponies doing in my office!”
    >”Canterlot-type like you really wouldn’t understand. But Derpy here’s a part of our town. An’ here in Ponyville we take care of our own! That’s what makes this town great!”
    >”My heritage has nothing to do with this! And you can say what you want, but you can hardly claim to speak for the entire town.” Pearl sneers.
    >”Applejack’s family built this town, I’d say she knows a lot more about it than you do!”
    >”And who- P-Princess Twilight?” Pearl stammers out.
    >Twilight squeezes through the doorway, apologizing as she accidentally hits Mr. Cake in the face with her wings.
    >”I know it’s an abuse of my authority to get officially involved, but I’m not here as a princess today, but rather a mare who loves this town and the ponies that live in it! I want to voice my opinion that Derpy’s spirit and attitude is much more important than timetables!”
    >”If… if you’re not acting in an official capacity, then you know that you have no right to make any sort of comment on my decisions.”
    >”Maybe we don’t, but I think she might.” Cheerilee says with a glare as she walks in.
    >Derpy’s face lights up, “Hi Cheery!”
    >”Sorry I’m late.” Cheerilee apologizes. “I had to call in a favor from a friend.”
    >”This office is not open to the public!” Pearl Shine screeches.
    >”But it is open to me, isn’t it?” Mayor Mare asks as she squeezes into the room.
    >”M-Mayor Mare? What are you doing here?”
    >”Did you think you were the only one with friends in high places?” The Mayor asks. “I was in the same grade as Derpy and Cheerilee after all. Now then, why are you firing a major pillar of our community without even consulting me first?”
    >”S-She… her performance is clearly subpar, she’s been receiving numerous complaints over the years…”
    >”Consider them withdrawn!” Cranky barks as he barges into the office.
    >He looks around, “What in the... how did I get here last?”
    “Master, did you tell all of these ponies…?”
    >”Heck no! I only told one. And it looks like she’s not here, actually. Unless one of you’re squishing her. Well, anyway. I may have made a lot of complaints about Derpy’s performance, but it’s a manager’s responsibility to ensure her employees are being safe! But from the sound of it you don’t give a rat’s ass about Derpy’s safety, even if she’s injuring herself on the job, she never complains, so somepony’s gotta take a stand and show some concern!”
    >Pearl’s white face is flushed a deep red. “H-How dare you question me… do you have any idea who I-”
    >”WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!”
    >You’re all knocked to the side of the room as Pinkie Pie barrels in like a cannonball.
    >The room lets out a collective groan of discomfort.
    >”Mr. and Mrs. Cake, you almost left Pound and Pumpkin home alone! But it’s okay. I got Fluttershy to watch them while I went and told everypony in town about what’s happening!”
    “Y-You’re not kidding… when you say everypony…”
    >”Mmhm!” Pinkie nods. “Now where was I? Oh right… YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”
    “W-Wrong character, Pinkie…”
    >”Oh, whoops! Lemme try again.” She clears her throat and pounds her hooves on Pearl’s table. “I want the truth!”
    >”The- What are you babbling about?! This is a disgrace, government institutions are not run on mob rule! This is madness!” Ms. Shine shouts.
    >”THIS IS PONYVILLE!” Pinkie yells back.
    >”There are rules here! Your baseless accusations don’t hold any water, I’ll fire her if I want to! If you want to come after me like civilized members of society then I know some very good lawyers who would be willing to take my case.” Pearl says haughtily, adjusting her glasses and trying to regain her composure.
    >”In that case, we’ll be filing the suit with her.”
    >You see the receptionists from before as well as a couple other employees making their way in through the crowd.
    >”We’ve been talking for a while and we found out something quite interesting...” Black Lotus smiles.
    >”You’ve asked all of us what race our parents were at some point or another.” Lime continues. “If Derpy hadn’t mentioned it a couple days ago, we never would have caught it.”
    >”I too thought nothing of it before today!” calls a smooth voice.
    >Pearl seems to be sweating heavily. “A-Abrolhos, don’t… didn’t I say it was just friendly conversation? I-I just wanted to know more about you!”
    >”You did say that. What you didn’t say was that the mare I would be replacing had MCA. And I’ll have you know my pegasus father was a cabrão who drank away the money for the medicine that could have saved my leg. It was my dear Avó on my mother’s side who took me in and cared for my recovery. An Earth Pony, not that it should matter.”
“So, Ms. Shine. Care to explain yourself? I mean, it doesn’t look like you’re getting out of this, but by all means. I’d love to see you try.”
>”You…”
>Pearl Shine trembles with anger.
>”You… you…”
>”YOU WORTHLESS HICKS!!!”
>”How dare you treat me like this! I worked hard to be at the top, and they shove me into this backwards podunk town?! And when I try to fix this place and bring it into the modern era, you all rush to defend this little freak?!”
>”This festering hole of a town doesn’t deserve somepony like me!”
>”You mixers make me sick!”
>”Can’t you get it through your thick skulls that this little retard marechild is proof that you’re being punished for going against the natural order of things?”
“I think you’re the one who’s backwards. The modern era is getting along just fine without ponies like you.”
>”He’s right.” the mayor agrees firmly. “I think you’re the that’s sick. You had better get out of Ponyville before I start looking through the books to see if we can banish you to the Everfree forest for this disgusting display of hate and bigotry.”
>”Don’t worry about getting a travel permit. Consider your flank fast-tracked for the first train out of Ponyville.” Twilight glares.
>”You’re a bad pony. Go away and don’t come back.” Derpy finally speaks up.
>”Yeah, go away!”
>Go away!”
>The entire crowd squeezes out of the way to give Pearl Shine a clear path to the door.
>The entire room watches Ms. Shine, ready to pounce on her at the slightest hint of trouble… but she just storms out of the building without a word.
>The whole room cheers as she leaves… but not just the room.
>You hear voices from out in the lobby too, and even outside of the building.
>You feel a sudden weight hit your chest as Derpy throws herself at you and kisses you hard on the lips.
>You quickly grab hold of her so you don’t fall over, holding her up as she breaks away, smiling with joyful tears in her eyes.
>"That... that time wasn't an accident. Is that okay?"
>You grin and look into her beautiful golden eyes.
“No objections here.”
>You hold her close and give her another deep kiss.
>Derpy’s wings flap wildly as you kiss her, causing you to stumble a bit, but you hold on tight until she calms down and the second kiss ends.
>Your other Marefriends look on approvingly while Cranky tries to slip out unnoticed with a sour expression.
“Hold on, Master. I need to thank you for helping me out like this.”
>”Feh! I didn’t do anything. I just tipped off Pinkie. You should thank her.”
“Well then thank you, Pinkie Pie.”
>”All I did was tell them what was going on.” Pinkie says, smiling. “I didn’t tell them to come out here! When they heard it was Derpy in trouble, they came running ‘cause they all love her so much!”
>Derpy giggles, “Didn’t I tell you? I’ve never considered myself unlucky. Just by coming to Ponyville and meeting all these wonderful ponies… I feel like I’m the luckiest Mare in Equestria. But… thank you, Anonymous. I’d already given up on this before I met you. I thought it was just part of life. I was ready to give up on what I loved, just because I thought that’s what fate had in store for me.”
>”But you gave me the courage not to give up just ‘cause things looked bad. Just because you can’t change some things doesn’t mean you can’t change anything. And if I love my life, and treasure it, it’s okay to fight for it. Ponyville is my home. And I’m Ponyville’s Mailmare! And from now on, I won’t let anypony take that away from me.”
>!

————————————————————

Thou art I… And I am thou…

Thou hast established an inseparable bond.

This inseparable bond shall have a permanent home in thy heart.

We bestow upon thee the ability to create Father Time, the ultimate form of the Fortune Arcana...

————————————————————

“I’m so happy you can keep your job now… and it looks like Ms. Shine is going to get what she deserves for treating you like that. But uh… I guess now that she’s gone we just… go home, right?”
>”Go home?!” Pinkie exclaims “When we’ve got all these ponies in one place and we’ve got something to celebrate? Can’t let you do that, Anon! Times like this call for a PARTY!!!”
>Pinkie pulls out her party cannon and fires it off in the crowded room, knocking all of Ms. Shine’s belongings off the desk and walls and obscuring them with confetti and balloons.
“I-Is it really okay? It’s still the post office…”
>Woohoo! Party!” Derpy cheers, knocking Ms. Shine’s desk over in excitement.
>You shake your head and laugh.
“Haha, looks like we don’t have a choice!”
>The room erupts in cheering and joy as a party breaks out in an instant, spreading to the entire post office as Pinkie decorates it at inhuman speed.
>Somehow refreshments even manage to show up for everypony that came in support of Derpy.
>Everyone spends the rest of the night laughing and enjoying themselves, carrying Derpy around as the Mare of the Hour, making a complete mess of the post office, and having a damn good time.
>Even Twilight and Applejack seem to be talking again.
>Despite Mayor Mare’s insistence that you can’t all be drinking in a government building, the cider makes its rounds and everyone ends up having a few.
>Everyone goes wild, celebrating Derpy’s… not being fired.
>It seems like a bit of a silly thing to go all out for, but nobody seems to be complaining.
>Least of all you, especially when Cheerilee and Twilight end up drunkenly making out through some wild chain of events.
>The party lasted all night until you each stumbled home, except for those of you that fell asleep at the Post Office, like Derpy.
>Once you got home, you instantly passed out in bed, sleeping until the next day.

Thursday, December 8th

>You wake up with a dry mouth and a headache, but you figure Cranky isn’t going to take that for an excuse, so you end up going in to work anyway.
>You only hope Cheerilee didn’t overdo it.
>Or maybe she didn’t need all that much convincing…
>It seems that she’s not completely opposed to drinking, but it seems like her sister just takes it way too far.
>When you get into work, Cranky ends up forcing a disgusting drink down your throat made from a raw egg, worcestershire sauce, and tabasco.
>It seems to cure your headache after an hour or so. But maybe that’s just your body trying its hardest to justify swallowing that mess.
>You’re feeling better by the time you get off of work.
>Gilda wanted to make you a real dinner… you figure it’s about time to take her up on that offer.
>You headed home after work to find her laying around the house as usual.
“Hey, Catbutt.”
>”What’s up, faggot?”
“How are you feeling? I wanted to go shopping with you tonight for that dinner.”
>”Hmm… I guess I could do it tonight. I mean it sounds like a pain, but whatever. And don’t complain if it takes a while. We have to go shopping first after all. Damn, I’m probably not going to be able to make everything I wanted… whatever, I’ll make it work.”
“Guess we better get going then.”
>You wait for Gilda to get ready, which takes a while because of her injuries, but soon you head out to the market with her.

Ponyville Market, Afternoon

>You keep Gilda entertained with some stories of the previous night, which seems to put her at ease as you walk through town together.
>Still, she seems intent on staying close to you like a lost kitten.
>It’s kind of cute, the way you can tell that she’s nervous.
>As you walk through the market, she stops whenever she sees something she needs, orders you to buy it, criticizes your ability to discern good produce and herbs, and shows you the right way to pick out what’s good.
>You pick up a bunch of green herbs such as dill, tarragon, and fennel, as well as some vegetables like spinach, carrots, and potatoes.
>She also buys a freshly baked baguette, some olive oil, brie, raclette…
>You’d expect all of this stuff to cost a pretty penny back home, but to your surprise it’s actually not all that expensive here.
>The price of the wine on the other hand is a bit less manageable on your budget.
>She looks heartbroken as she admires a bottle of Griffon-made wine that nearly costs more than your rent.
>Gilda is disappointed that you have to “settle for the cheap stuff”, despite that cheap stuff costing 60 bits for a single bottle.
>After buying the greens and Chardonnay, you head to the fish market with her.
>She ends up buying bass, cod, a lobster, some shrimp, mussels, clams…
“How many things are you going to make?”
>”Just three. Well, four if you count the appetizers, but it’s no big deal.”
>The more she buys, the more comfortable she seems to feel out in public.
>Though you still end up having to defuse the situation when she accuses the fishmonger of not giving her the freshest catch.
>By the end of the trip, you end up having to rent a cart to bring everything back home.
>”Good thing they pay out so much for disability…”
“Good thing Twilight’s footing most of my rent…”
>”Do me a favor and don’t tell me how much we spent.”
“I’m trying not to think about it too.”
>”Sorry I couldn’t carry anything. I’ll try to work fast so you can have something to eat soon.”
>Gilda gets to work in the kitchen.
>She seems to be struggling with her two busted limbs… she’s managing surprisingly well in spite of them, and you’re pretty impressed by her dexterity with that tail, but still…
>Should you offer to help her?

 >You wouldn’t want to hurt her pride by insinuating she can’t do this alone, but you think being nearby might help.
>You have a seat near the kitchen, deciding to try to talk to her.
“So… who taught you how to cook?”
>”It’s not like I took classes or anything, but… my mother taught me a little bit back when I still lived with my parents back in Griffonia. She was a really good cook. She always let me hover over her shoulder when she was making dinner.”
“You came to Equestria when you were still pretty young, right?”
>”Yeah, just a fledgeling.”
“You really learned all this back then?”
>”Of course not, dumbass. She just got me interested in it is all. I just ended up learning everything else from Tenor Black.”
“Who?”
>”He’s a Griffon Chef that wrote a lot of cookbooks. I picked up a couple of them since they were the only books I could actually read. In secret, of course. I had a reputation to maintain.”
“Of course. So… any reason why you came to Equestria?”
>”Well… it started off as just a foreign exchange program. There’s all kinds of stuff like that as a sort of “good will” thing between Equestria and Griffonia.”
“I remember Twi telling me a lot about aggression between the two nations in the past. There were even some wars in the past, right?”
>”Yeah, it’s been a real on again off again kind of deal. Sometimes allies, sometimes enemies.”
“Your whole country is tsundere.”
>”The fuck are you talking about?”
“Nevermind. So then if it was just a foreign exchange program, why’d you stay?”
>Gilda stops dicing the carrots and stands in silence.
>”... Do I really have to say it?”
“I get it. You don’t have to talk about it.”
>Gilda sighs and continues chopping. “It’s fine. It’s not like she was the only reason. Besides, we were just friends back then. Not that we were ever anything else according to her.” she remarks bitterly.
“So there were other reasons?”
>”Yeah, Dad's a prick, so I wasn't in a rush to go home to him. He thought I should act more 'feminine' and shit."
 >”I liked cooking, but I liked flying more.”
“Is Twilight the only mare in Equestria whose parents aren’t either dead or jerks?”
>”Beats me. At least they can’t be jerks if they’re dead. But it’s not like he would have gotten a lot of shit for it back there. It’s… a lot more common in Griffonia for Toms to be the ones out bringing home the bacon while the Mollies stay home and take care of the kittens. There’s a lot more opportunity for me here in Equestria.”
“Huh…?”
>“The uh, males, and the females.”
“Oh. Also, question, do you miss bacon as much as I do?”
>”It’s been a while but yeah. I wanted to make quiche lorraine but it’s kinda hard without ham or anything. So it’s gonna have t-AH!”
>Gilda is suddenly cut off as she falls to the floor, clutching her hind leg in pain as a plate crashes to the floor, shattering loudly. “ffFUCK! GOD… FUCKING DAMN IT!”
“Are you okay?”
>”FUCK… Fucking... SHIT!”
“Do you need to go to the hospital?”
>”Fuck off! I’m fine, I just… god… damn it!”
“What happened?”
>”I’m fine, okay? It’s just my back leg. I put too much pressure on it and it started hurting. It just… caught me off guard. I didn’t mean to yell at you, I’m just… really pissed off. It hurt, but I’m fine now. Just… give me a second.”
“... All right, but let me clean up that plate.”
>”Yeah, fine... “
>You sweep up the plate while she lies there, carefully testing her back leg.
>”Looks like I just twisted it. If I broke it again I wouldn’t be able to talk.”
>You still feel a little unconvinced. A thought that seems to be communicated as your gazes meet.
>”... look, I… I think you’re probably not… useless at cooking, so… how would you like to just do the boring parts for me? Just to speed things up. It’s not like I can’t finish it on my own, this is just to make it go a little faster.”
“I get it. Sure, let’s finish it together.”
>You see Gilda smile a little bit.
>”Alright, well first, you need to wash your hands. Then, you can…”
>You began cooking dinner together with Gilda...

 >She explains what you need to do clearly, and you manage to follow her instructions decently enough.
>Mostly anyway.
>”What are you doing, fucktard! Don’t throw the fish bones out!”
“Huh?”
>”Fucking hell, do you even know how stock is made?”
“I think it involves cubes…”
>”Look, just watch. I’ll show you, dumbass...”
>It seems she’s making some kind of a seafood stew for the main course, as well as a spinach quiche.
>Once everything’s cooking, she gets the table set up with a plate of baugette slices topped with baked brie, fresh cracked pepper, and brushed lightly with garlic butter.
>She pours each of you a glass of Chardonnay, and has a seat across you to enjoy the appetizers while you wait for the other courses to finish cooking.
>”Well… eat up.”
>You pick up a slice of baugette, noticing Gilda watching you anxiously out of the corner of your vision.
>You have a bite…
>This is…
>The rich cheese just melts perfectly into the baguette, and the seasoning complements and accents the flavor of the brie giving it a greater range without overpowering any part of it.
>The crumb of the baguette is light and airy, with a crust that’s crisp but not too hard. The freshness of the hoof-kneaded locally made bread clearly shows in the quality of the flavor, which adds a distinct and apparent taste as opposed to the cheap flavorless stuff you’re used to eating...
“God damn this is good!”
>”Heh, it’s just some baguette and brie. I barely did anything.”
“Can’t wait to see what you’ve got next.”
>”Well, it’s pretty hard to fuck up an appetizer as simple as this… try the wine.”
>You take a sip of the clear golden wine…
>You aren’t an experienced wine taster by any measure, but gives you a wonderfully warm feeling when you drink it with a crisp bitter flavor that seems to go well with the appetizer.
“Very nice. You sure you’re gonna be okay with that much though?”
>"Unlike some ponies out there, I know how to hold my wine."
>You remember being told Dash was a lightweight...
“Back when I was still using that disguise necklace, I ended up getting drunk… I guess ponies don’t really have a very good alcohol tolerance.”
>”Yeah, plus you’re a big guy.”
“For you.”
>”Huh?”
“Nevermind.”
>Gilda scoffs and shakes her head. “Fucking weirdo.”
>You finish the appetizers and help Gilda take the next dish out of the oven.
>A couple of freshly baked spinach quiches in some small single serving pie tins await you.
>The crust is a perfect golden brown, and the spinach and eggs give it a beautiful marbled green and yellow appearance.
>Filling seems light and airy just by looking at it, gently rising up past the crust.
>”Sorry it has to be vegetarian… I wanted to make one for you with bacon or ham, but… y’know. Stupid lame herbivore ponies.”
“I don’t mind. It looks delicious.”
>You sit across from Gilda and have yourself a bite…
>It’s fluffy, yet firm… maintaining its shape easily as you cut off a piece, but still melts in your mouth and feels like silk on your tongue.
>The crust is cooked to a nice uniform flakiness, not too thick or thin…
>There’s a sort of gentle sweetness to it that comes from her using shallots instead of onions, and that Gruyere cheese she bought seems to serve as the perfect bridge between the flavors of the egg and the spinach.
“This is amazing, Gilda! The one I had at the Hay & Clover wasn’t even this good…”
>”That place is shit. Way too much spinach and onion in their quiche. They’re not even using the right kind of onions. The ones grown around here aren’t any good for that. It’s better just to use shallots.”
“Pretty impressive that you know all that. This is the best quiche I’ve ever had. Thank you, Gilda”
>C-C'mon, it's not that great. I mean, I think it’d be better if I had some ham…” she says, nervously averting her eyes.
>You just smile and take a sip of wine, not feeling like flustering her any further with your compliments.
>Next, you help her serve the main dish of the evening.
>A traditional seafood stew called Bouillabaisse, packed with all sorts of seafood and served in a bowl with a thick baguette slice in the center.
>Probably 90% of the ingredients that were bought today went into this thing…
>You forgot about 80% of them by the time you were walking home.
>But when you take a sip of the broth, it seems that they’ve all come together to form a single complex whirlwind of flavors all mixing together...
>Salty, savory, and even a bit of spiciness.
>As you try the fish and shrimp, it sounds like such an unusual thought, but it doesn’t taste, well… fishy.
>The seafood has become soft and savory, absorbing the flavors from the broth.
>And while each piece has it has its unique flavor, it doesn’t have that strange fishy aftertaste that can be somewhat unpleasant.
>Before you know it, you’ve almost polished off your entire bowl without a word.
>Gilda looks very pleased to watch you chow down on the stew she put so much into making.
>You finish your entire bowl without a word, figuring this is the best way to pay her the compliment you want to give her.
>It seems your feelings have been properly conveyed once you’ve emptied your bowl.
>”Glad you liked it. I kind of made a lot.”
“I think I’m going to have seconds.
>”Don’t fill up too much, okay? Leave room for dessert. It should be done cooling soon.”
“You made a dessert too?”
>”Duh, what do you think the chocolate was for? But I just didn’t want you to help me with that part. It's kinda... special."
“I see… I guess I’ll understand when I try it.”
>You get another glass of wine and carry on a pleasant conversation.
>"Can't believe you're a tutor for a filly. I can't stand those little brats. I never want to have a kid. What about you?"

“Not too many… maybe about 9. So I can have them form a baseball team.”
>Gilda looks terrified. “I-Is that really normal for your species…?”
“Hah, no, I’m just kidding. 9 would be way too many. But I would want kids someday for sure. I dunno when, especially the way I am here and now. It’s not exactly like I’m “compatible” with anypony.”
>”What about that stupid necklace?”
“What stupid necklace?”
>”The stupid necklace that turns you into a pony. Wouldn’t you be “compatible” with a mare if you put that on?”
“Oh right. I keep forgetting I even have that.”
>”You dumbass.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve had to use it. Besides, it’s just kind of awkward. I dunno if I’d really uh, enjoy it. Or if it’d even work. I have no idea how that necklace actually does anything, or if I’d even be able to do something like that.”
>”Even without that, there’s all kinds of weird kinky spells that can pull off some pretty crazy shit.”
“Kinky spells…”
>Playful laughter rings through your head as you have flashbacks to all the unnecessary information Princess Cadance filled your head with.
>”Uh, dude, you okay there?”
“Not… sure… if want…”
>“Yeah… you know, Dash actually told me she wanted kids once. Well, she told me a lot of times, actually. Probably shoulda been a clue.”
“Dash wants to be a mother?”
>”What, you don’t think she’d make a good one?”
“I just didn’t think she’d slow down for anyone.”
>”She was always telling me how much she’d love to teach her kids to fly as fast as her some day. I guess she wouldn’t be bad at it… she really seems to want ‘em after all.”
>”You know… maybe you wouldn’t make such a terrible dad yourself.”
“Really?”
>”Yeah. I mean, I guess it’s sort of hard to see it at first, but when you get down to it… maybe you’d be all right.”
“Thanks, Gilda. I think you’d be a good mother too if you tried.”
>”When hell freezes over I would. Kids are brats. They stink, they scream, and they always try to pull on my tail. No fucking way.”
“To each their own, I guess. Either way, now’s not the time for me to be thinking about kids.”
>”Yeah… but speaking of time, I think dessert should be ready. Could you go grab it from the fridge?”
“Sure.”
>You open the fridge and find a silver plate with several eclairs topped with some sort of chopped nut.
>As you carefully take it over to the table, you see that Gilda has moved to the couch while you had your back turned.
>”It’s… I think we’re out of plates, so it’ll be easier if we just eat off the same plate, right? So we should just… sit next to each other.”
“I see. Alright, that’s fine with me.”
>You carefully have a seat next to Gilda on the side with her good arm.
>You hold the plate of chilled eclairs towards her, but she shakes her head.
>”You should try it first…”
>You give her a nod of understanding and pick up an eclair, taking a big bite out of it.
>!
>The dark chocolate coating is balanced perfectly by the cool creamy filling… the inside seems to be barely sweetened at all, allowing you to taste more of the individual flavors of the dessert without it becoming overpoweringly sweet.
>The pastry of the eclair is pleasantly firm without being too dry,.
>And at the end, the flavors blend together with the chopped hazelnuts, adding another layer of complexity along with a satisfying crunchiness.
>Gilda watches you intently, unable to hide her anxiousness.
>You smile and finish the eclair in a second bite.
>”You know… eclairs are really popular in Griffonia. There’s uh, actually this old myth that Princess Luna averted a war with Gregor the First by giving him some eclairs. And, well, they say every family in Griffonia has their own unique recipe for eclairs, and that no two eclair recipes are exactly the same. And I mean, it’s probably not true either, but I mean… this is the one my mother taught me. And I think it’s pretty unique. So in a way, it’s kind of like… these eclairs are sort of… y-you know. P-Part of… who I am.” Gilda stammers nervously.
 >Gilda looks away, embarrassed. “Damn it… I… I sound super lame right now… just forget I said anything.
“I don’t think it’s lame. You’re the only one who makes eclairs like this. That’s why you had to make them by yourself, right?”
>”Y-Yeah. So you get… you get what I mean, right?”
“I do. They’re wonderful, Gilda. Thank you for making them for me.”
>Gilda looks a little relieved as she reaches out and takes one for herself, biting into it and leaning against you.
>You continue eating the eclairs with her until you feel something pushing at your back…
>You turn your head and see that her wings are extending stiffly on the couch, spreading out wide and pushing you.
>Gilda notices it as well, and quickly moves away from you.
“Oh my.”
>”I-It’s not what you think. I just… it’s...it’s just because the eclairs came out so well…”
“Oh really?”
>”Shut up, dweeb…”
>You grin smugly and pop another eclair into your mouth.
“I guess they are pretty good.”
>Gilda grumbles to herself and clenches her forefoot, closing her eyes in concentration as if working herself up for what she’s about to say.
>”Anon, can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead, Gilda.”
>Gilda takes a deep breath, placing her right forefoot carefully on your leg.
>”Do you…”
>Gilda shakes her head and grumbles, trying again.
>”What I’m trying to say is, do you... “
>”Do you… like…”
>”... Do you… like my eclairs?”
“Your eclairs?”
>”I know that… you already have a lot of other places you could get some.”
>”And they’re probably sweeter… not so bitter... maybe better made… a lot prettier… less trouble... less fragile…” she says, looking at her injured foreleg. “I don’t even know if… my ‘eclairs’ could really satisfy you like this or if I- they’d just… fall apart on you.”
>”But… I’m tired of making them for myself. I don’t want to be like that anymore. And… I didn’t realize it at first, but I really do love making them for you.”
>”So… do you like them?”
 >You gently wrap your arms around Gilda, pulling her closer into a soft hug.
>She looks up at you, wide eyed and blushing, unable to speak.
“I love them, Gilda. I know your eclairs might not be perfect… but they’re yours. And that’s good enough for me. If you do want to change your recipe, that’s fine with me too. If there’s something you don’t like, you have the power to change it. But if you’re happy with it then so am I. And even though they’re a little bitter on the outside, I know they’re actually plenty sweet on the inside. I want you to keep making me eclairs, Gilda. Because no one else could ever make them the way you do.”
>You stare into Gilda’s golden eagle eyes…
>She closes them and slowly moves her face closer to you...
>You close your eyes in anticipation...
>But to your surprise, instead of feeling something against your lips, you feel soft downy feathers pressed up against your cheek.
>Gilda rubs her cheek into yours while a low rumbling sound emanates from her chest.
>It seems she’s… purring.
>”I hope this is okay... This is how griffons do kissing.” she mutters nervously.
>You rub your cheek back against hers in response, enjoying the soft tickling sensation.
>”Thanks… you know, what you said was probably the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me. Even if it was a big weird metaphor.”
“Well, it’s true. You’re an amazingly unique girl. There’s no one that could take your place.”
>”It’s kinda funny... When I fell from the sky, I thought my life was over. That I’d just be wasting the days away for the rest of my miserable life until I died a pointless death. But now I’m starting to see the truth. I was already doing that. I stopped giving a damn about anything in the world, including myself. I didn’t give a shit about tomorrow, or whether I lived or died. I thought that meant I was living a free life, but I wasn’t really 'living' at all. That fall didn't end my life. It gave me a chance to start it over. And this time I want to do things right."
 >You and Gilda sat together for a long time in silence.
>Eventually, you fell asleep with Gilda snuggled up against you.
>Gilda has become very close with you…
>But it seems your bond still has room to grow.
>Perhaps she has ‘unresolved issues’ which she needs to confront before she is ready.

Friday, December 9th

>You wake up on the couch next morning, smelling something nice…
>“You up yet, dweeb? I got breakfast for you.”
>Gilda places a plate with an Omelette in front of you.
“Oh sweet. Thanks, Gilda.”
>”Just a little something with the leftover ingredients.”
>The Omelette du Fromage is as delicious as you expected.
>You enjoy your breakfast before getting ready to head over to the castle as you promised.
>Before you leave, Gilda “kisses” you goodbye.
>Afterwards, you headed to the castle, only to find that Spike had already left for the lake.
>You headed down to Ponyville Lake to meet up with him.

Ponyville Lake, Morning.

>Spike is hunched over with his rod out, staring fiercely at the lake.
“You came here without me?”
>”You were taking too long. It’s Friday, isn’t it? I already told Twi I was going to take the day off… besides, I had plenty of time to take care of her errands last night. The way things are I’ve barely slept…”
“You can’t sleep? Did you tell Twi about this?”
>”It’s not SIHN or anything. I just… I just can’t close my eyes without thinking of that stupid fish!”
“You need your sleep, little man.”
>”I know… but it’s fine. I just have to end it today. I’m going to hunt it, kill it, and eat it. Then I’ll be done.”
“Little man, is this really about the fish?”
>”What are you talking about? Of course it is!”
“Then what exactly is your plan here?”
>”Catch the fish. Cook the fish. Eat the fish.”
”And then what?”
>”Then I’m going to get my persona so I can fight! That fish is the secret to obtaining my destiny, I know it is! I have to catch it!”
“You can’t just force yourself to gain a new persona, little man. It can only come from personal growth and understanding.”
>”This is growth! I’m showing myself I have the strength I need.”
>”All my life I’ve been weak… I’ve never really tried to become strong. I’ve been trying to ignore my instincts as a Dragon instead of trying to control them like I should. Well it ends today.”
“But are you controlling them, or are they controlling you?”
>”I’m the one in charge! And I’m going to use my power to catch that stupid fish! If I can’t do this, I won’t be able to call myself a man!”
“Spike… your worth as a man doesn’t hinge on your ability to fish, or hunt, or fight, or do any of that stuff. It’s not about being strong. It’s not about what you can do, or how much you can do, it’s about how you do it.”
>”I don’t care if you don’t believe I can do it. I’m going to eat that fish, and then we’ll see who’s right.”
“Spike…”
>?!
>The end of Spike’s rod bends and the bobber goes under.
>He got a bite!
>”I’ve been waiting for this! You’re not getting away this time! Stand back, Anon. I’m going to do this!”
>Spike focuses intensely, manipulating the rod with ease to tire out the fish, reeling it in closer and closer.
>As you watch him, you catch a glimpse of his eyes, narrowed to slits.
>”Come on… get over here!”
>With a mighty heave, Spike whips his rod upward, sending the fish flying out of the water and unleashing a massive spray!
>He quickly turns around and lowers the fish from the rod into a barrel of water.
>”Hah… hah… I did it… and now I’ve got plenty of time to finish you off...”
“Spike… you’ve won, all right? Don’t sour your victory by tainting it with vengance.”
>”It’s still not enough… I still don’t feel it yet. I need to finish it off! I need to kill it…”
“Is that the kind of man you want to be, Spike? The kind that only follows his instincts? The kind that needs to kill everything that’s wronged him, and stop at nothing to take revenge?”
>”If I don’t… I won’t be able to fight!”
“But if you do, you won’t be a man, Spike. You’ll just be a beast. A monster. Do you think you can protect Rarity like that?”
>”Shut up!”
>Spike places his claws on the rim of the barrel, looking over it down at the fish swimming inside.
“Spike… right now that thing is completely at your mercy. It’s up to you what to take from this. I’m not going to make this choice for you, but I want you to look at what you see. Think about it. Think about what you’re doing, and what kind of Dragon you want to be.”
>Spike stares hard into the barrel.
>You watch him as he gazes at it with hatred in his eyes…
>... but then, you see his expression start to soften.
>”I see…”
>”I see… myself. In the water.”
>”... is that really what I look like right now?”
>”And that fish…”
>”It’s so small.”
>”... are you even the same one?”
>”Were you ever the same one?”
>”What have I been trying to get revenge for all this time? You didn’t do anything… none of you did. I snapped the line. I fell in on my own. You’re not some monster I have to slay to prove my worth… you’re me. I wanted to feel like I had power… like I could control myself. So I tried to put that on to you. But you don’t have anything to do with this, do you? You’re not so big… you’re just a kid like me, aren’t you?”
>Spike stops leaning over the barrel and shakes his head.
>”Killing you won’t solve anything. It’s not going to prove that I’m a man.”
>Spike throws his arms against the side of the barrel and pushes it hard, sending it off the side of the pier and into the water, allowing the little fish to swim back to its family.
 >Spike wipes something away from the corner of his eye.
>”I get it now, big guy. It’s not about being strong… being able to hurt things… that doesn’t make you a man. Being a man is… having that power and choosing to use it for the right reasons. That’s what I believe now.”
>!?

Spike’s strong will that allowed him to accept and overcome his weakness has awakened his heart’s true power…

Spike’s Persona has been reborn!

Python has transfigured into Ouroboros!

>”This feeling…!”
>”I know now… this is why I couldn’t fight.”
>”It’s because I wasn’t ready until now.”
>”I didn’t understand what it meant to be strong. I needed to learn this lesson before I was ready for the responsibility of that power.”
>”Thanks, big guy. Thanks for sticking with me. And showing me the way a man needs to act.”
>”I won’t treat this power like a game, or like a joke. I’ll make sure to use it right.”
“I knew you’d figure it out, little man.”
>”Y’know… I think it’s time I disbanded the ‘Man Club’. It was a dumb idea, trying to force myself to grow up like that. It doesn’t work like that. But we had some good times, huh?’
“We sure did.”
>You extend your clenched fist down to Spike.
>He grins and clenches his own fist, leaping up and striking your knuckles together.
>You feel a tight bond between you and Spike…
>!

————————————————————

Thou art I… And I am thou…

Thou hast established an inseparable bond.

This inseparable bond shall have a permanent home in thy heart.

We bestow upon thee the ability to create Merlin, the ultimate form of the Magician Arcana...

————————————————————

>”Heh, nice. Anyway… thanks for helping me out so much. You know, I was always thinking about maybe making some badges or a jacket for the Man Club, but… how’s this to remember it by?”
>Spike fiddles with the end of his rod and hands you the small fishing lure.
Obtained: Spike’s Lure
>”I'll see ya around, big guy.”
"Take care, little man."
>You both turn away and head home.
>You should probably read that letter...

>You’ll probably have a bit of time before DTR gets out of school and gets home.
>In the meantime, you head back to your room and open the letter Celestia sent you.
>It reads as follows…

To my dear friend, Anonymous,

It has been a very long time since I have heard the name Lulamoon used to refer to that Queen. I am sure you are familiar with the Lulamoon Clan if you have heard that name. It is said that the Lulamoon Clan are direct descendants of that Alicorn Queen. Because of this, some members of the Lulamoon Clan view the current monarchy as “illegitimate”, refusing to respect its rules or culture by the belief that they should hold a higher position in society.

But time has forgotten the Lulamoon Alicorn, it seems. Even when I came to Equestria over a thousand years ago with my sister, she had been long gone. But the Earth Ponies I spoke to informed me that her kingdom was run as an oppressive Facist regime. Queen Lulamoon asked them to worship her as they would a god. But some of the Earth Ponies decided to rebel and seek freedom, choosing to form a democratic society. This action was met with violence from Queen Lulamoon, but in the end they managed to break free and form an independent tribe, which eventually became the equestrian earth ponies we know today. But the details of her defeat are very much unknown. I asked why, but the only answer I received was that the power used to defeat her had to remain a secret, lest it fall into the wrong hands.

Of course, I ask that you take all of this with a grain of salt. I’m sure you have seen by now just how inaccurate our history books can be when they are written only by the victors. And in fact, the erosion of history is such that I believe many of the current Lulamoon clan do not even know why their people reject the monarchy in the first place. But this sort of culture is a vicious cycle. I do not look down on the Lulamoon clan, though many of my citizens have more than a few harsh words to say about them, calling them thieves, vagabonds, and outlaws. Even the phrase “to gyp” comes from the word “gypsy” used for them. And it seems that many of them have their own rather troubling views on racial purity. But I have hope for the day when we are able to put aside our differences and come together as ponies.

Your dear friend,
Princess Celestia

>It seems that some did not see her as a benevolent ruler like Trixie believes.
>You can’t help but wonder whose story is true.
>After all, the world’s view of changelings had been skewed by blind hatred to the point where even Twilight had difficulty accepting that the information about them might have been incorrect.
>You were possibly hoping for a more definitive and helpful answer, but you get what you get.
>Either way, you have to go tutor DTR now.
>This is her first week back at school. You're interested to hear about how she's doing...
Riches Estate, Afternoon

>DTR calls you in happily when you knock on the door to her room.
>”Come in!”
>She’s sitting on her bed as usual, with that book you bought her laying on the nightstand.
>”Good afternoon, Sensei!” she greets you cheerfully.
“Good afternoon, DTR. How was school?”
>”Oh, it was okay. It was a little tough getting used to everything again, and there’s a lot of new material, but I got to see Silver Spoon again!”
“That’s great. She was happy to see you?”
>”Mmhm! We had a lot of catching up to do this week. After she apologized for not visiting me of course. But I forgave her. It’s not like she didn’t want to, it was her stupid parents that told her not to.”
“Right. Well then, why don’t you tell me what you learned this week, and show me your homework so we can get started?”
>”Well, in English we…”
>You spent some time helping DTR with her studies.
>Her progress is quite impressive, but there’s still a few new concepts being thrown her way that she has to figure out.
>”All right, I think that’s enough for today. You can go for now.”
“So even though you’re going back to school, you still want me as your tutor?”
>”Duh. Don’t you remember our agreement? I need to become a straight A student. Then I can fire you.”
>Diamond Tiara is quite close with you now…
>But it seems your relationship can’t deepen any further right now.
>After you finished, you decided to take a shortcut to the castle through the Velvet Room.

Velvet Room, Afternoon

>Elizabeth is waiting for you at the table…
>”Welcome back to the Velvet Room.”
>Two golden cards float in front of you.
>”Impressive as always. The Fortune and Magician Arcana have both earned a special place inside your heart. You will carry them with you as long as you live.”
>”But it seems that your bonds of the Lovers and Devil Arcana are at an impasse.”
>”You must find the key to this lock on their hearts before your bond can mature.”
>”Until then, fare thee well.”

Twilight’s Castle Library, Evening

>You head over to the room with the interdimensional mirror portal.
>Twilight and Spike are both waiting for you there.
“It’s just us?”
>”I figured it wouldn’t really feel right to have all of us there without Rarity or Applejack. And Sunset Shimmer asked for as few of us as possible to be here.” she explains.
“Pinkie’s not gonna go nuts again, is she?”
>”She pinkie promised not to go nuts, so… she should be fine.” Twi shrugs.
>”Why do you think she asked that though?” Spike wonders.
>”Maybe Sunset Shimmer feels strange meeting the other versions of her friends when she comes back to this world. It was a little disorienting for me as well.”

“Does seem kinda Twilight Zone.”
>Twilight looks at you, confused.
“Not like- nevermind.”
>The magic diary buzzes.
>”Oh! That’s her!”
>Twilight goes over and reads it.
>”Umm… Anon? Could you translate?”
>You peek over her shoulder at the book.
>It reads, “K. im rdy. u sur noone else is w8ting 4 me? o.o”
“She’s ready. She wants to know if it’s just us.”
>Twilight writes down, “Absolutely. I assure you that it is only Spike, Anonymous, and Myself waiting for you on the other side of this mirror.”
>”k. imma say bb 2 my girlz n com thru.”
“She’s going to say goodbye to her girlfriends and head through the portal.”
>Twilight writes again, “Very well. Let them know that you will still be able to communicate with them through the diary if they wish to contact you.”
>There’s a pause before a few more words appear in the diary. “Dun flip out k?”
“Do not be alarmed.”
>Twilight looks a bit puzzled. “Okay.”
>Another moment of silence followed by more words. "... Please promise me there's no one else there. I really don't want anypony but you three to see me all at once."
"... I guess I don't need to translate that one."
>Twilight writes down. "I promise. Is there something wrong?"
>The diary replies, "I guess you'll see it soon enough. I'm coming through. Stand back."
>The surface of the portal swirls...
 >The first thing you see is an orange hoof that slowly makes its way out of the portal before the rest of the unicorn follows.
>Her red and yellow mane is long and flowing… her head is turned to the side as though she doesn’t want to look directly at Twilight.
>”Sunset… you’re…” Twilight gasps.
“What?”
>”She uh… she looks… different.” Spike tries to explain.
“Different?”
>Sunset Shimmer sighs. “What you two are trying to say is… I look old, right?”
>”Oh no! Not ‘old’, I’d never say that. But… you look a bit… older than last time I saw you in this world.” Twilight says frantically.
>You look over Sunset Shimmer… it’s still not as easy as it would be to tell humans apart, but in the month you’ve been here you’ve learned to estimate the ages of most ponies. It’s something about the quality of their coat, as well as slight differences in their face, and the mane style usually looks more reserved the older they get.
>Judging by her appearance, you’d estimate she might be about as old as cheerilee, if not older.
>Sunset shakes her head. “It’s only natural. It’s been over 10 years since I was removed as Celestia’s pupil and escaped to the other world. When you saw me the night I stole your crown… I was using an age spell.”
>”An age spell?” Twilight sounds surprised.
>”Yeah, I was… sort of thinking that if Celestia saw me again, I wanted to look exactly like I did the night I left her. So I used an age spell to fix my appearance at that age.”
>Twilight’s eyes are wide in surprise.
>”That’s…”
>”That’s amazing! You can do an age spell? Even I couldn’t do an age spell before I became an Alicorn!”
>Sunset blushes modestly. “It’s not all that hard… I studied up on one to try to impress Celestia. A-Anyway, that’s Anonymous, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Sunset Shimmer.”
“Nice to meet you. So you used to be Celestia’s pupil before Twilight?”
>”Yes, why?”
“So then… that makes you Twilight’s senpai!”
>”H-Her senpai?!”
>”Sun-pie? That’s a funny nickname, Anon!” Twilight smiles.
 >Sunset covers her face with her hoof, exasperated. “That’s not it, Twi…”
“Wait, do you actually know what that means?”
>”Do I- N-no! I don’t know! That’s why it’s so weird! Don’t call me that weird word! And why are you wearing a fedora?”
“What’s wrong with my fedora?”
>”Seriously? You’re gonna ask me that with a straight face?”
“No, I’m going to ask you that with no face.”
>”Hey, don’t start fighting, I wanted you two to get along…” Twilight frowns.
“Sorry, let me try again. It’s nice to finally meet you, Sunset. Twilight’s told me a lot about you.”
>”Yeah... she told me a lot about you too.” Sunset says, glancing over at Twilight who looks away guiltily.
“Is there something…”
>”It’s nothing!” Twilight blurts out quickly.
“Uh, all right…”
>Spike looks at you and shrugs, clearly clueless as well.
>There’s a bit of a tense silence.
>”... Anyway, I came here to see if I could help you figure out your identity. Since I’m on winter break, I figure it’s the least I can do.”
“So you came here just to help me?”
>”Well… not exactly. I’m going to be staying here in the castle over break. Equestria was my home after all. It’s… nice to be able to visit it.”
>”She’ll be staying in your old room, Anon.” Twilight explains.
“Too bad it couldn’t have been at a more peaceful time.”
>”It’s nice to be back in my old body at least. Anyway, let’s sit down. I want to ask you a few questions about your memories that should help you figure things out.”
“Sounds good to me.”
>Sunset spends a while asking you some simple questions. The names of historical figures, the level of technology you’re used to, how many lights you see, what facial features you’re missing, etc. etc. until she finally draws her conclusion.
>”Well, I think it’s pretty clear. I don’t think you’re from that other world. But the world you’re from is closer to the ‘human world’ than the ‘pony world’.”
“Guess you don’t know who I am either then, huh?”
>”Sorry. The cultures are similar, but... just slightly different."
“Yeah, you even know what Senpai means.”
>”I told you I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Sunset says unconvincingly.
>”But there’s a lot of stuff you know about that I know too, like when I asked if you knew what Slenderman was. I’ve seen him in my world.”
“Yeah, you- wait you’ve seen him like on the internet or in person?”
>”I-”
“Is Slenderman real in these worlds?”
>”N-No, just… a bunch of fake urban legend videos and a game everyone in their mother plays on webcams.”
“Damn, I miss the internet.”
>”Heh, I bet. I’m already missing it and I’ve only been back here for a couple hours. The temptation to look at my cell phone is overwhelming.”
“I know. It’s impossible to good fap material.”
>”Eww, tha- I mean… I don’t know what that means.”
“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”
>”I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s Shakespeare.”
>”I know that! We have Hamlet in both worlds, and I was in high school.”
“How does that work anyway? How old were you when you left this world?”
>”I was… pretty much Twilight’s age. But it’s kind of complicated and really confusing. I don’t really understand myself, so don’t wait for me to explain how that stuff works.”
“Were you really in high school for 10 years then?”
>”Heh, it sure feels that way. But no, I wasn’t. In fact there was a lot of time I wasn’t in school at all.”
“What were you doing then?”
>”I… well, it’s not like I was really eager to go back to a place where Celestia was in charge. So I… well, I managed. I don’t really want to talk about it any more than that. I was going through a dark time in my life before Twilight saved me.”
“By shooting you with friendship lasers, right?”
>Sunset Shimmer chuckles and rolls her eyes, “Pretty much, yeah!”
>Perhaps you should talk to her about something else…

“So what exactly did Twilight tell you about me?”
>”Oh. Just, you know. That you’re kind of awkward, but funny. And that you’re her boyfriend now. You know. Things like that.”
“Uh huh… you change your story pretty quick, Senpai. I thought you said she told you a ‘lot’.”
>”Quit calling me Senpai!”
“I’ll stop calling you Senpai if you tell me what you told her.”
>Sunset growls as she weighs her options. “All right, fine. You’d probably just ask her anyway… I told her some things that you should be very thankful to me for.”
“Thankful?”
>”Very. Thankful.”
“I’m… not sure I understand.”
>Sunset sighs, “Good grief… I thought Twi said you were smart.”
“Come on, Twi said we should be nice.”
>”Twi owes me so big for this… in fact, you know what? You should owe me big for this too.”
“For what?”
>Sunset takes a deep breath and exhales. “When things started getting serious between you two… Twilight had some… questions.”
>”She needed to do research. On… human anatomy.”
>”Human male anatomy.” she clarifies.
“You gave Twi a sex talk?”
>”Oh my god just freaking kill me.” Sunset mumbles into the table.
“In that case I really do have to be thankful. ‘Cause I mean daaaaaamn.”
>”Or maybe I should just kill you.” the fiery-maned mare glares.
“Truly a Senpai in the sheets.”
>”I should have told her to snap it off, you creep.”
“Is that why Twi was so cray you couldn’t even?”
>”Ugh… please stop talking like that…”
“Then why do you write like that?”
>Sunset rolls her eyes. “To fit in, obviously. A lot of things humans do seem absolutely insane to me, but I have to do them because I can still barely tell what’s normal. Even after all those years, I’m still just a Pony in a human’s body. I had to learn a bunch of things when I first got there about how to act, how to speak, how to eat, the difference in technology was mind-blowing, and without my magic I felt completely naked.”
"At least you can use technology. I can't use magic at all."
>"Yeah... must be kinda hard for you too."
“On the plus side, I had Twilight taking care of me all that time. I’ve got a couple part time jobs but I’m still getting a lot of financial support from her.”
>I'm happy to hear that. It’s great that you had somepony to take care of you out here. It’s really tough being on your own. I was like that for a while.”
“I can’t imagine how tough it would be without Twilight and everyone in ponyville taking care of me.”
>”I feel the same way. I never want to go back to being without my friends. It's a bit troubling being out here without them, but I owe Twi. It’s the least I can do to come help her figure things out with you on break. Even if this is all I can figure out for now, I hope it at least helps a little bit.”
“Twilight’s pretty amazing, isn’t she?”
>”You said it. She got an entire High School to like her in like a day. Do you know how hard it is to get High Schoolers to like you? It's kinda weird..."
“What is?”
>”Well… usually you’d think that the kind of awkward booky types as having terrible social skills. But despite all that, there’s something about Twilight that just really seems to draw a lot of people and ponies to her.”
“I know. I’ve been told the same thing about myself.”
>”You?” Sunset asks incredulously, looking you over.
>You stare back at her and slowly raise your arm trying to flex a bicep.
“Just raw animal magnetism I guess.”
>Sunset’s serious facade cracks as she starts snickering at your antics. “Heh, I think it might be that you two are so pathetic that our minds just can’t see you as an enemy. I guess it works though.”
>!

Thou art I… And I am thou…

Thou hast established a new bond…

It brings thee closer to the truth…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Hanged Man Arcana.


>"So... I guess that's it for now. Hit me up if you want a hayburger sometime. It's been ages since I had one. Maybe we'll figure something out about you if we talk over lunch."
"Sounds good. See you around then."
>You headed straight home.

>But before you left the castle, you decided to make a couple additions to the scrapbook.
>You gently affixed the Solar Medal of Freedom along with Spike’s Lure to a place in the book.
>It’s a good think they’re pretty small and thin.
>You went to bed and slept peacefully until the next morning…

Saturday, December 10th

>The next morning you woke up and headed over to Dash’s place.
>It seems her floating cloud house has a little bell you can ring from ground level to announce your arrival.
>You ring the bell and wait…
>A few second later, You see Dash swooping gracefully from the cloud, performing an inside roll and landing in front of you hard, generating a powerful shockwave of wind.
>”Sup?”
“Subtlety isn’t exactly your preferred modus operandi, is it.”
>”I don’t even know what those words mean.”
>Clearly.
“Anyway, are you free today? I wanted to hang out for a bit.”
>”Totally. I mean, I was just gonna catch some Z’s, but I figure since you’re here, we could get a bit of practice in.”
“Practice? For what?”
>”Uh, for fighting shadows? Duh. We should totally spar! Unless you think you can’t take me without your personas.”
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
>”Then we can do it in Fantasia. If you get hurt, just heal us up. But no using ice spells like a cheater, got that?”
“So we’d have to go see Spike in that case, right?”
>”Or Fluttershy. She can do it too.”
“Hmm…”
>Should you go along with this, or try something else?
>There’s a lot of stuff you’d like to test out, so you figure a sparring match would be good.
“Sounds fine with me. Let’s go see Fluttershy.”
>”Awesome. See ya there!”
>Dash takes off without you.
>Welp. You’re going to take your damn time walking there.
>Though first you take a quick side-trip to the velvet room to allocate a few Personas for the sparring.
>You decide to take Kirin, Joan of Arc, Tau, and D’artagan for a spin this time, as well as Zhar-Ptitsa for healing.

Fluttershy’s Cottage, Morning

Dash is waiting for you with Fluttershy in her sitting room.
>”Geez, you’re so slow. Were you even trying?”
“Nope.”
>Dash frowns. “Lame. Oh well. Just means I got to stretch a little first. Fluttershy, you ready to take us in?”
>”I suppose… are you sure this is a good idea? I wouldn’t want anypony to get hurt…”
“We’re just practicing. I’ll heal us up afterwards. We’ll go into Dash’s Fantasia since the shadows there should be less of a threat.”
>”W-Well, as long as you’re sure it’s okay. Now then, just face me...”
>You look at Fluttershy and see her eyes glow brightly.
>Your surroundings melt away, and you find yourself in the empty stadium with Dash and Fluttershy.

“Okay, Fluttershy. Summon your persona and keep an eye out for shadows.”
>”And make sure he doesn’t cheat.” Dash adds.
>”Okay. Here goes…”
>Fluttershy concentrates and a blue card floats in front of her.
>She carefully holds her hoof up and geeeently taps it, causing it to shatter.
>”Eep! P-Persona.”
>...
>Nothing seems to be happening.
“Did it not work?”
>”What do you mean?” Fluttershy asks, sounding genuinely confused.
>”He means where’s your persona?” Dash asks, looking around the stadium.
>”I don’t know what you’re talking about. You really can’t see shoggy? Is… is this a prank?”
“We’re not pranking you, Fluttershy. And… shoggy?”
>”My Persona, Shoggoth. He’s standing to my right.”
>Fluttershy sticks her right hoof out, holding it in midair.
“I don’t see anything.”
    >”You’re… starting to creep me out, Fluttershy.” Dash says, backing away slowly.
    >”Oh, I see…” Fluttershy nods. “You’re just a shy little fellow, aren’t you, shoggy?”
    >Fluttershy starts leaning on something invisible, hugging it and nuzzling it.
    >You hear some strange unearthly sounds coming from the empty spot.
    >”Yes, you’re just a shy little shoggy-woggy, aren’t you… hee hee, that tickles!” Fluttershy giggles as her right foreleg suddenly vanishes partway.
    “WHOAH.”
    >Fluttershy looks over at you with her foreleg still partially vanished, giving you a rather graphic cross-section of her leg.
    >Dash stares, horrified.
    >”Is something wrong?” Fluttershy asks innocently.
    “Y-Your foreleg is gone…”
    >Fluttershy looks over at the invisible creature and pulls back slightly, restoring the rest of her foreleg.
    “It’s back now. What did you do?”
    >Fluttershy gasps in realization. “Oh! You couldn’t see it when my hoof was in Shoggy’s mouth?”
    “Is that what happened?”
    >Fluttershy stares at the empty spot and carefully puts her hoof in, causing it to vanish.
    >”So you can’t see it now?”
    “Y-Yeah…”
    >”Well what if I-ooh!”
    >Fluttershy suddenly tumbles forward and vanishes entirely.
    >”Fluttershy!”
    ><Yes?>
    >You didn’t hear anything… but instead saw a little floating message in front of you reading “Yes?”.
    “What happened? We can’t see you.”
    ><Oh. I fell into one of his mouths.>
    “You fell into…”
    >”ONE of his mouths?”
    ><Yes. You can’t see me at all?>
    “Not at all. You just vanished when you fell in.”
    ><Oh my! This is very useful! If I’m like this, shadows won’t be able to attack me!>
    “Yeah, but… are you really okay like that?”
    ><Oh, he would never swallow me. He’s my friend. And there’s plenty of room. He’s quite big after all.>
“Well, I guess that works… anyway, just keep an eye out for shadows and we can get started.”
>”Finally. Let’s freaking do it! Fluttershy, you count us off.”
><Okay. On your marks…>
><Get set…>
><... ready…>
><... are you both ready?>
“Yes.”
><O-Okay.>
><... Are you sure you’re ready?>
>”Just say go already!”
><I’m sorry.>
>...
><... Oh, go.>
>You begin the first match…
>Father Time isn’t just fast, everything around him seems to move slightly slower, allowing him to dodge even Red Baron’s bullets.
>Rainbow Dash ends up speeding herself up, to which you respond by slowing her back down with Father Time, only for her to speed herself back up.
>You continue undoing each other’s spells over and over until you’re both just about out of magic… but then you see Dash throw something into her mouth, causing her body to crackle with energy.
>The little SP Gauge in your vision provided by Fluttershy starts filling back up.
“What the- hey, we never agreed to have items on!”
>”Didn’t say I couldn’t bring anything. Persona!”
>Dash begins moving faster than you can react to, and makes quick work of you, taking you down and causing Fluttershy to award Round 1 to Dash.
>You heal yourself up and glare at the celebrating pegasus.
>”Who’s awesome? I’m awesome!”
“What did you eat anyway?”
>”Zap Apple candy. I can’t believe that worked! I mean, I had a feeling since they’re good for the mana core and all, but it looks like they help us out with this kind of magic too!”
“I’ll give you that one, but no more food or drink during the match.”
>”If you say so. Ready for round 2?”
“Ready when you are.”
>Fluttershy counts you off, and you begin round 2!
>You attempt to use Kirin’s magic to weaken her with a status spell… but it completely fails to have an effect.
>Dash just smirks. “Really? It’s like you’re trying to lose.”
>Before you have time to change personas, Dash plows into you, sending you to the ground easily due to Kirin’s weakened defenses.
>Dash follows up by grabbing onto you, lifting you high into the sky, and coming down with an explosive spinning piledriver to finish you!
><S-Second round goes to Dash, are you okay?>
“What the hell…”
>”You’re telling me. Your persona’s weakness is physical attacks? It’s like you were begging to get your flank kicked like that! Why didn’t you use D’Artagan?”
>”I was trying to- wait, how do you know that?”
>”Uh, because I ask Fluttershy and Spike to scan you? How am I supposed to help you fight if I don’t know what you can do?”
><That’s right. She asked me about your current abilities while we were waiting.>
>”Yeah, I always ask them about you. So why didn’t you just use that guy? It’s like he’s tailor made to beat me.”
“I was trying to fight you with 2 at a time. I was saving him for last.”
>Dash frowns. “I asked you not to use ice magic. I didn’t ask you to totally hamstring yourself. Are you just making fun of me, trying to hold back that much? What's the point of sparring if you don't fight me seriously?"
“All right then, give me a second to catch my breath. I’ll go at it for real next time.”
>”Gimmie your best shot. I wanna see how I stack up.”
>You take some time to regain your strength and formulate a plan.
>You lead with Father time, and prepare to begin the fight.
><O-Okay you can fight now.>
>”Change!”
>You immediately swap out to Merlin, calling forth the blue-robed enchanter to raise a magic reflecting shield for you!
>”That new guy huh? Guess I’ll be fighting you the old fashioned way then!”
>Dash empowers her own agility, putting you on even ground as she prepares to strike.
>Quickly you draw the Moon card from your pocket, shattering it and summoning a man with flowing white hair in a regal black coat.
>He draws his sword and quickly dashes forward, striking at Dash who quickly takes flight to dodge!
>In an instant, the Red Baron appears above Alucard, firing a hail of bullets that force him to nimbly slip and weave backwards, moving with such speed that your own eyes can hardly keep up.
>The vampiric persona leaps straight up, and bounds off the air itself towards Dash, catching her off guard with a quick sword strike, drawing blood!
>”Ah! Now that’s more like it! But can you keep up too?”
>Dash streaks towards you, forcing you to quickly parry the wing blades with the shaft of your warhammer, metal scraping against metal as you quickly try to counterattack with a swing, but Dash simply darts out of your reach.
>You see her grinning as she goes back in for another pass, but you quickly bring your hammer up to guard and stop her strike.
“Change, Baast!”
>Alucard vanishes as you smash a card from your pocket, calling out a small purple feline creature.
>Dash momentarily is distracted by its adorably diminutive size before it leaps at her with a furious slash of its claws, dealing a deceptively large hit.
><That Persona looks a bit familiar…>
>”Guess just because it’s small doesn’t mean I can let my guard down… Red Baron!”
    >Another spray of gunfire is easily evaded by the speedy cat as it flips and sprints around to easily dodge its fire and leaps at Dash!
    >Dash tumbles and tries to fight off the persistent persona, grappling with it and managing a few strikes with her hooves, but not before taking some deep cuts from the feline persona.
    >The two continue struggling against each other, the damage reflecting onto your own body as they tumble around on the ground attacking each other…
    >But just as Dash finally pins the persona to the ground, you rush in with your warhammer, and without remorse, land a solid swing into Dash, sending her flying straight into the wall of the colosseum and knocking her out.
    ><Oh dear… are you sure you weren’t a little too rough on Dash?>
    “She izuna dropped me last round! Ah, whatever… just let me heal her.”
    >You call Zhar-Ptitsa out, and the firebird revives dash with a warm light, restoring her energy and healing her wounds.
    >Dash shakes herself off and flaps her wings to make sure nothing’s broken.
    >”Good as new. Nice match, leader.”
    “You too, Dash. Sorry if I offended you by holding back earlier.”
    >”Don’t worry about it! That last match toootally makes up for those other crappy ones. Of course, I still win. 2-1.”
    “Of course.”
    >”All right! Let’s get back to reality so we can clean off in Fluttershy’s bath!”
    ><M-My bath? Why my bath?>
    >”Because you’ve got the super huge heated one you use for the animals, duh.”
    ><But that one… I… well, I guess I’m not using it right this moment… okay.>
    >”Sweet!” Dash cheers.
    >Fluttershy removes you from the Fantasia and gets a bath drawn.
    >It’s a huge outdoor heated tub… does she have to bathe elephants?
    >”Lookin’ good…” Dash says as she floats over the tub to inspect it.
    >She lowers herself in slowly, getting used to the heat and letting out a loud contented sigh as she leans up against the edge of the tub.
    >”Well, what are you waiting for, Anon? Get those clothes off and jump in!”
“Heh, fine by me!”
>You throw all of your clothes off, stripping down even past your underwear.
>Once you’re completely naked, Dash makes no effort to conceal her gaze, checking out your body before smirking smugly. “Hm.”
“It gets bigger.”
>”Your muscles do?”
“Yes. That’s what I’m talking about.”
>You quickly climb into the tub.
>The water is steaming hot as you slip into it and sit against the side.
>”Aww yeah… nothing like a hot soak after a workout. I almost wish you didn’t heal me so much.”
“I don’t think Fluttershy would have wanted you bleeding in her tub.”
>”Yeah, but y’know… just enough to close the wounds and all. I love that feeling when your whole body is aching from a crazy intense workout and you can barely move!”
“If that’s how you like it, I could go get my hammer again.”
>”Ha ha. But seriously, don’t. In case you hadn’t noticed, we can’t exactly take hits like those in the real world. Just having a persona makes us a lot more resilient. And you can’t heal injuries you get in the real world in fantasia.”
“Sounds like you know a lot.”
>”Of course I do! I’m not gonna let my friends get hurt ‘cause I didn’t do my homework on this stuff. I’ve been studying and practicing how to fight every day. What about you?”
“I’ve been… getting stronger in my own way. But I guess I haven’t been practicing with my hammer as much.”
>”You’re telling me. It’s like you sent me a singing telegram every time you wanted to swing that thing. I could dodge it in my sleep! Well, except that last time. But I was being held down, so it doesn’t count.”
“I get what you’re saying. In a battle without personas, I probably wouldn’t stand much of a chance against you.”
>”Heh, don’t feel bad. It’s not like the others would either.”
>”In the real world I might give Twi the edge. But without her magic? I could take her, hooves down.” Dash smirks confidently.
>Dash seems to be in a good mood.
>Perhaps you could bring something up...
>You’ve got a little bit more tact than to just jump into talking about her issues though, and you’d hate to spoil her mood so quickly.
“So… do you want to do this again?”
>”Do what, the sparring or the bath?”
“I meant the sparring, but I wouldn’t say no to the bath either.”
>”Same here. It’s good to have someone around here that can really challenge me, and I gotta work hard if I want to stay ahead of Twi and Spike with their new personas.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing Spike in action.”
>”Yeah… but not everyone’s gonna make the cut, right?”
“Hm?”
>”Remember what they said? Having more than 5 active personas causes some bad stuff to happen. So me, you, Twi, Spike, Pinkie, and Fluttershy make 6. One of us is going to have to hang back and watch.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
>”So… yeah. Any thoughts on who’s getting cut?”
“That uh, I haven’t really thought about it yet.”
>”Oh. Well okay. I guess you wanna wait until next time then, huh?”
“Something like that…”
>There’s a bit of an awkward silence until Dash tries to change the subject.
>“So… you and Derpy, huh?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
>”And Twi too, right?”
“That’s correct.”
>”And Cheerilee…”
“And Pinkie, and Farfalla, and uh…”
>Dash blushes and sinks lower into the bath.
>”W-Wow… that’s really impressive. Over five mares… and I’ve only ever had one partner at a time.“
“Well they’re not all exactly mares”
>Dash looks up, surprised.
>”Are you saying you like dudes?”
“N-No. I don’t… that’s not what I meant.
>"Oh. What'd you mean then?"
"That's..."
>You wonder how you should break the news to Dash that Gilda confessed to you...
    >At this point, honesty is probably the best policy.
    >And if not, you’ll find out.
    “Gilda confessed to me a couple days ago.”
    >”She… she did?”
    “Is that not okay with you?”
    >”No, of course it’s okay. Why would I be upset about that? It’s none of my business.” she says attempting to sound nonchalant.
    >Dash notices your concerned frown.
    >”... yeah, didn’t think that was gonna fly.” she sighs.
    >”I know it’s none of my business, or it shouldn’t be my business who she dates, especially after the way I treated her. But I still can’t help feeling… I don’t know. Jealous, I guess. But it’s just me being selfish. It’s like my shadow said, right? I just want her to myself. You shouldn’t care about how I think, it’s not important.”
    “It is important to me, Dash. You’re my friend, and I want you to be happy.”
    >Dash sighs, dunking her head in the warm water and brushing back her mane.
    >”It’s… it’s just so complicated.”
    “Do you want to talk about it?”
    >”Maybe. I don’t know… I know I should talk to somepony about it, but I just… geez, I turn into such a wuss when it comes to this stuff. I’m not scared of fighting monsters 100 times my size, but when it comes to talking about how I feel… I just can’t find the words, you know? I mean… you remember the last time I tried to talk to her, right?”
    “Yeah, I remember. You got a little upset and said some things you didn’t mean.”
    >Dash leans back against the edge of the tub and looks up.
    >”Guess that’s why I keep getting into trouble. I suck at talking.”
    “I think if there’s one thing we can learn from all these shadows, it’s that no one talks about the things they should. It’s not a problem unique to you.”
    >”I guess… but it’s just so frustrating. I do want to talk about it. But I just don't know how..."
“If you need to talk, I’ll be happy to listen, Dash. It doesn’t have to make sense, just… go ahead and get your feelings out there. About anything. And I won’t even say a word unless you ask for my opinion.
>Dash considers the idea.
>”Well… I guess I could try it. This is a pretty good way to work off some stress after all. How ‘bout we try that next time? Right now I think we’d better get out of the bath before you turn into a green raisin.”
“Probably a good idea, I’m seeing Cheerilee after this.”
>”All right. Later, Anon.”
>Dash steps out of the bath, tossing her mane back and quickly taking flight, presumably relying on the wind to dry her off.
>You take one of Fluttershy’s guest towels and dry yourself off before putting your clothes on and heading over to Cheerilee’s place.

Cheerilee’s house, Evening.
>You arrived at her place and knocked on the door, hoping to see her before her sister.
>To your relief, it’s Cheerilee that answers the door.
>She looks happy to see you. “Oh, good evening! How are you doing?”
“Pretty good. What about you? Last time I saw you…”
>Cheerilee sighs and leans against the doorframe. “Yes… I suppose it was quite unbecoming of me to become intoxicated and kiss Twilight… but I actually went and talked to her the next day, and well… she wasn’t upset in the least. She thought that if anypony should apologize, it should be her. But I suppose we all had a pretty good time that night.”
“So then are you two…”
>Cheerilee smiles, “We’re discussing it.”
“Wow.”
>”So what brought you by?”
“I was thinking… how do you feel about sitting down and having that talk with your sister?”
>Cheerilee looks back into the house.
>”Well we won’t have to go far, but she’s already got more sauce in her than a deep dish pizza. Then again, that seems to be the status quo for her these days. I don’t know… should we really try tonight?”

“If she’s really like that all the time, will waiting change anything? What’s the point of waiting if she’ll just be drunk the next day and the day after that? You need to do this not just for yourself, but for your sister. This can’t be healthy for her.”
>Cheerile’s ears flatten sadly.. “I suppose you’re right. No time like the present then. I just have to bite the bit and get it over with. Well… come on in then.”
>You enter Cheerilee’s cozy little home. Her sister is lying down on the couch watching the fireplace and smiling.
>She rolls over as the two of you approach.
>”Hey Cheers, you brought yer coltfriend? Does he wanna drink? I brought some good stuff~!” she sings, holding up a green wine bottle.
>”He’s fine, Pinot.” Cheerilee answers seriously.
>”Hey, don’t answer fer him!"
“Uh, no thank you.”
>”Mmkay, suit yerself.” Berry says before taking another swig.
>”Pinot, could you stop that for a minute? I need to talk to you.”
>”Aww, a whole minute?”
>”Pinot, this is serious.”
>”Is it… Cheeeerious?” Berry giggles.
>Cheerilee rubs her forehead, exasperated.
>”Pinot, listen. I’m trying to talk to you as your sister. And I love you, but right now this isn’t working.”
>”Are you breaking up with me?" Berry giggles/
>”Pinot, please. I can’t deal with you being at my house and getting drunk all the time.
>”Soooo come live with me an’ you won’ have to ‘cause we’ll be at my house!"
>"That isn't the point! This... urgh!"
>Cheerilee storms off into the other room.
>You quickly follow her.
>"This isn't working, Anon... Do you see what I meant? She doesn't take anything seriously!"
"Yeah, I kinda see..."
>"I just... it's so frustrating I don't even know what to say. Where do I even start with her? I don't know if I should try to be strict or nice, or what to bring up. This is just what happens every time I try to talk to her. I don't even have any idea what to say..."
>Cheerilee seems confused...
>Perhaps she could use some advice.
>What should you tell her?

“Well, Cheerilee… your sister is doing this for a reason. And you have to figure out what that reason is if you want to get her to stop.”
>”As far as I can tell… she keeps saying she wants me to do it so that I’ll loosen up. But she should know I don’t drink anything except for Cider.”
“Wait, why not?”
>”Because… well, I suppose I should tell you about what happened. See, our parents didn’t like that I decided to become a teacher instead of joining the family business. And I said some pretty nasty things to them about wanting to help brain cells instead of killing them… so I ended up being the black sheep of the family. Mom and Dad cut me off and cut me out of their will so Pinot ended up with everything. I haven’t drunk a drop of wine since then.
“Wow.”
>”It’s just as well. I’m a complete lightweight.”
>”Besides, it’s… irresponsible. I’m a teacher now. I shouldn’t be getting drunk.”
>”I’m trying to take my job seriously and do things right. She just… she just doesn’t understand how important this is for me.”
“I can definitely see why you’re so upset now. It’s bad enough you have to deal with all the shit your job throws at you, but splitting off from your whole family like that… must have been rough.”
>”It was. But I got a job doing something I love, even if it’s a bit… trying at times.”
“Before you decided to become a teacher, were you close with your sister?”
>Cheerilee smiles, “I was pretty wild back then, actually. Wasn’t until I decided to change my major and become a teacher that I started to settle down. I just… didn’t have time for partying anymore after that. But before, I used to go drinking with my older sister all the time. Oh, the things we’d do for shots in college…” Cheerilee muses wistfully.
“Sounds like you used to get along all right. What happened?”
>”After my parents cut me off, we stopped talking for a while. I moved away from Canterlot and came down to Ponyville for my work. Pinot moved here later, and then we started having these problems."
“Cheerilee… I need to know, how do you feel about your sister?”
>”How do I feel?”
>Cheerilee thinks it over.
>”Well… I love her, but she just seems so inconsiderate and childish these days. I want her in my life, but I want it to be the sober her. Not the her out there right now.”
“Do you hate her because of what happened with your parents?”
>”I could never hate her!”
>”But… I guess I’d be lying if I said it didn’t still hurt.”
“Did you ever really talk to her about it?”
>”I told you, it’s impossible to talk to her about anything serious…”
“Maybe, but I think this is something you really need to try for, Cheerilee. I think maybe your sister thinks you still blame her for what happened.”
>”That’s ridiculous, it’s not her fault just because they cut me off, it was my decision.”
“I don’t think she knows that, Cheerilee. And you can’t just expect her to know without saying it. A lot of families… never say the things to each other that matter before it’s too late. They just expect each other to understand without words, and get upset when they don’t. How do you think your sister feels when she keeps offering you her wine and you reject it like that?”
>Cheerilee looks a little guilty.
“Actions speak louder than words, Cheerilee. And I don’t think your sister is just some drunk. I think she’s trying to tell you something but doesn’t know how to say it. Or maybe she’s just afraid.”
>”What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I think you should have a glass with her. You should tell her that you love her and that you still want her in your life, but not like this. You need to tell her what you told me, and ask her how she feels. Then you can really talk. You do forgive her, don’t you?”
>”Of course I do…”
“Then why hold yourself back like this? Why do you refuse to drink wine?”
>Cheerilee bites her lower lip…
>”... I guess I don’t have a good reason. I’m just holding a stupid grudge against my parents.”
“You can’t let them control your life forever, Cheerilee. You’re a grown mare. You can drink whatever you want to and be responsible about it.”
>”You’re right… it’s one thing to want to have a personal boycott, or to abstain to be responsible, but I’ve been completely unreasonable. Well, it ends now.”
>Cheerilee smiles at you and walks back into the living room where her sister is.
>”Yer back!”
>”Yes, Berry, yes I am.” Cheerilee says as she walks over to the bottle and picks it up with her mouth, glugging down the remainder without even using her hooves.
“I was going to say just a glass…”
>Cheerilee’s sister watches happily as the teacher chugs the wine, holding the bottle in the air with her mouth until it’s completely empty, then setting it down on the table.
>”Cheerilee…”
>”Yes, Berry Punch?”
>The older sister throws herself forward, hugging the teacher.
>”I love yooou.” Berry slurls lazily.
>”I love you too, Berry. And I want to talk to you. Could you please listen to me?”
>Berry sits back down on the couch and nods. “Mkay… I’ll listen.”
>”I’m sorry if I made you think I hated you, Berry. I know I act strict, but it’s just because I want to be responsible. I’m a teacher, you know? And I want to be a good one for all my students. I want to be the best teacher I can be.”
>”But you never wanna spend time with me…”
>”It’s not that I don’t want to, Berry. I really do. And you’re right, I don’t relax enough. But it’s just so hard to find the time to do it. I know drinking is how we used to relax, and you’re just trying to help, but it’s not helpful, Berry. It makes me more stressed because I want to talk to sober Berry, not drunk Berry.”
>Berry punch starts sniffling. “B-Bud yer so hard do dalk do… I… I ged so nervous an’ I don’ wand you do hade me…”
>"Berry, you know better than to drink because you're nervous. That's a dangerous habit."
>"I jus' wan you do like me again..." Berry sobs.
>"I never stopped liking you Berry. I love you."
>"I love you doo..."
    >The two sisters began to talk closely with each other, having a long emotional conversation.
    >They seem to be reconnecting and honestly speaking about their feelings.
    >Although it seems Cheerilee wasn’t kidding about being a lightweight.
    >After a while she seems to be expending great effort just to continue the conversation.
    >She starts to drift off after a while, falling asleep early on the couch next to her sister.
    >It seems things are looking up for these two.
    >They may not be perfect just yet… but they’ll be able to manage.
    >You decided to head home.

    Home, Night

    >You’re sitting in the living room with Gilda when you hear a knocking at the door.
    >You opened it up to see a large package waiting outside.
    >It’s addressed to you.
    >You reach down and try to pick it up to take it inside but…
    “Rrgh… why is this so heavy?”
    >You end up having to drag it through the doorway.
    >”The fuck is that?” Gilda wonders aloud.
    “I don’t know… it says it’s for me, but I didn’t order any-”
    >”Hello!”
    >As you lean down to check it, the package bursts open, and a golden haired pegasus pops out of it, accidentally colliding her head with yours and knocking you back.
    “OW.”
    >”Owiieeee…”
    >Gilda just stares, bewildered.
    “H-Hello, Derpy.”
    >”Are you okay?” Derpy asks, leaning up to look at your forehead.
    “Yeah, I’m fine… what about you?”
    >”I think I’m okay. Good evening, Anon!”
    “Good evening, Derpy. Gilda, this is Derpy, you remember me telling you about her, right? And Derpy, this is Gilda, my… griffon...friend?”
    >Gilda rolls her eyes. “Sup.”
    >”She’s so pretty!” Derpy coos sweetly.
    >The mailmare runs up and starts nuzzling Gilda gently.
    >”H-Hey!”
    >”Pretty! Your feathers are so soft, Gilda!”
    “U-Uh, Derpy, so is there a reason you mailed yourself to me tonight?”
    >”Oh! I almost forgot. I need to talk to you, can we talk in private in your room?”
    “Sure…”
    >Derpy runs into your room.
    >You look back at Gilda.
    “Sorry."
    >”Just so we’re clear, if anyone but her tries that, the claws come out.”
“Uh, understood.”
>”Good. Anyway try not to break it in there. At least it’s not another princess…” Gilda mumbles as she goes back to sleeping on the couch.
>You head through the door into your room.

>Derpy is waiting for you on the bed, rolling around on the mattress.
>”Hee hee! Your bed’s so soft, Anon!”
>You sit on the bed and put your arm around her.
“So what did you want to talk to me about, Derpy?”
>”Right, I had a couple things… uh, first I have something I want to give you. Close your eyes, okay? Oh. Uh, you don’t have them… okay then look away please.”
>You chuckle and turn around.
>Derpy reaches around your chest from behind and places something on to your shirt.
>”There you go!”
>You turn back and look down at your shirt.
>It’s a little paper badge with the serial number 777.
“What’s this?”
>”It’s a mailpony badge! I made one for myself out of paper before I got a real one. I’ve kept it all these years… but I don’t think I need it anymore. I want you to have it to say thanks for helping me keep my job.”
Obtained: Paper Badge
“Thank you, Derpy. So how are things going at the mail office?”
>”Pretty good! When Pearl left, everypony just kind of moved up a step. Since that meant we had an open spot, we asked Mr. Abrolhos to stay and take over a different pony’s job. But I still kept my old job. They offered me a promotion, but I like the job I have right now.”
“I can’t think of anypony more suited for it, Derpy.”
>You lean down and give her a gentle smooch on the lips.
>She giggles and kisses you back.
>The two of you trade kisses for a while until she suddenly backs off saying, “Waitwaitwait I just remembered the other thing!”
“Oh, what is it?”
>”It’s um… about us. And about my condition.”
“Oh. All right.”
>You sit back and listen to what she has to say.
>”Okay, so… you remember… how I said my body works?”
“Right.”
>”And… I want to be close to you. And I want to do everything with you that a marefriend is supposed to do.”
>”But… because of my condition, I don’t know if it’s safe. You remember I said it happens when I get excited, right? Well… if I get “that” excited, it could be dangerous. I might get hurt. Or even worse, I might hurt you.”
“Derpy…”
>”My doctor said it’s safer not to take that chance. But I… I really want to do this with you, Anon.”
“I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”
>”I know. And that’s really sweet of you that you feel that way. So… I talked to Twilight. She was worried for me too, but she said she had a couple ideas. One would be for her to use her magic to help me out and make sure my mana core is working right while we do it. But she’s still not sure if it’ll work or not. So the other thing she said was that you… ‘had something’ that she gave you that could help because it would disable my mana core while I was using it. She said to tell you that it… works in reverse? Do you know what she’s talking about?”
“Maybe…”
>”So… what should we do?”

"Let's play an exciting round of monopoly instead."
>"Yus." said Derpy, all hot and bothered
>And so you, Twilight, and Derpy played a rigorously competitive game of monopoly until bedtime.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>NSFW version: http://pastebin.com/9PDcXBmQ

Sunday, December 11th

>You open your eyes slowly…
>Blinking away the sleep, you see your beautiful caring partner from last night still in your arms as you gently spoon her.
>Sunlight shines through the window onto Derpy’s golden mane.
>You can’t help but reach out and run your fingers through it.
>It feels warm from the light…
>You hear her giggle as she turns over.
>”Good morning, sleepyhead.”
“Morning, Derpy. How are you feeling?”
>Derpy smiles and stretches her wings. “I feel really good. Last night was really special.”
“It was special for me too, Derpy.”
>”I know, but… I never thought I’d find somepony who cared so much that they’d want to try that with me. Or that I’d find somepony I cared about enough to do that. I was too scared to ever try it. But with you… I don’t feel scared. I can tell you really care about me. You’d never let anything bad happen to me.”
“Of course I wouldn’t. I love you, Derpy.”
>Derpy squeezes you tightly in her forelegs. “I love you too, Anon!”
>She touches the tip of her nose to your face and nuzzles you affectionately.
>You kiss her nose in reply.
>”Hee hee!”
“You’re so adorable.”
>”You’re so sweet.”
>You kiss and snuggle for a few more minutes...
“Good thing I don’t have to go to work today.”
>”Me too. Anon, do you mind if I use your shower? I probably shouldn’t go out smelling like… you know.”
“Heh, of course I don’t mind. Actually, why don’t we save time and shower together?”
>”Ooh, that sounds like fun!”
“Glad you think so. Come on, let’s go.”

>You managed to squeeze yourself and Derpy into the shower.
>It’s a bit cramped, but you’re both enjoying being close to each other.
>You wash each other with care, getting all those tough to reach spots.
>While you’re scrubbing Derpy’s hooves, you catch her smiling the little bubbles forming.
“You like bubbles, huh?”
>”I do. Not just ‘cause they’re pretty though. ‘Cause they remind me of my time with Cheery back then.”
“You ever gonna tell me that story?”
>Derpy thinks as you scrub her hooves.
>”Well… it’s okay with me! But you should ask Cheery if it’s okay with her too.”
“Sounds good. I’ll ask her permission when I see her again then.”
>You finish your shower together without much incident.
>Derpy only slipped on the soap twice and neither of you were seriously injured.
>Especially since she was more than willing to kiss that bump on your head all better.
>After a nice thorough toweling off, she waits for you to get dressed before giving you a gentle goodbye kiss and heading home.

>Today you planned on visiting Fluttershy…
>But you figure Twilight might want to be there to help as well.
>She said she was going to be busy this morning.
>You should probably wait until later to do that.
>Instead, you decided to go see Pinkie Pie.

Sugar Cube Corner, Morning

>They’re closed for business, but Mrs. Cake lets you in to see Pinkie Pie upstairs.
>Pinkie invites you into her room, and you find yourself sitting with the pink pony on her bed.
“So how have you been, Pinkie?”
>”A lot better.” Pinkie smiles.
>”But I have had to think pretty seriously about what I want to do with the money dad left me.”
“Are you going to start a party planning company or something?”
>Pinkie shakes her head. “Well, I mean I thought about it. And it’d be a lot of fun, and I’d probably be real good at it. But… lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the things my dad said to me.”
“I see…”
>”I’m really starting to wonder if he knew me better than I knew myself.”
>”Maybe he knew that partying wasn’t going to fulfill me the way I needed it to.”
“But you love parties.”
>”Oh, I do. And I think you know I know how to throw a real rockin’ one.”
“Hell yeah.”
>You fist/hoofbump Pinkie in approval.
>”But more than parties, what I love is seeing ponies smile. And parties sure can put a smile on a pony’s face, but… I’m wondering if it’s really the best way to do it.”
“What do you mean?”
>Pinkie stares out the window.
>”Well… parties are something you do when you’ve got something to celebrate. And it’s easy to put a smile on a pony’s face when they’ve got a reason to be happy.”
>”But that isn’t enough for me anymore. I’ve got an opportunity here, and I don’t want to waste it taking the easy way.”
>You sit closer to Pinkie and place your hand on her back gently.
“Sounds like you’ve really been thinking hard about this.”
>”I have. And I know what I want to do now.”
>Pinkie takes a deep breath before turning around to face you with a confident smile.
    >”I’m not going to just help ponies who have a reason to be happy. I want to bring smiles to the sad ponies out there who really need me. That’s why… I’m going to use the money dad left me to go to college so I can become a therapist.”
    “A therapist?”
    >Pinkie looks away shyly. “I know I might not be the smartest gal in town, but I really think this might be what’s best for me. When I was feeling down and didn’t know who to turn to… talking to you about my problems helped me understand them. I didn’t need a party, I needed somepony who cared and understood. And I want to do the same for as many ponies as I can and get them to smile again. That’s my decision.”
    >!?

    Pinkie Pie’s strong will that allowed her to accept and overcome her weakness has awakened her heart’s true power…

    Pinkie Pie’s Persona has been reborn!

    Apollo has transfigured into Apollo Medicus!

    >”Wow… it’s like I’m a brand new me!”
    >”No, that’s not it. It’s… it’s like a part of me I never knew was there.”
    >”I’ve never felt so sure of my future before.”
    >”It’s an amazing feeling. Thank you for helping me find this part of myself, Anon.”
    “I think you’ll make a great therapist, Pinkie. This town sure could use a good one…”
    >”Hee hee! You got that right!”
    >”So… you know, I think there’s something I want to give you. Just to say thanks.”
    “What is it?”
    >Pinkie hops over to her drawer and pulls out something small, handing it to you.
    >You take it and look at it in the palm of your hand.
    Obtained: A rock.
    “It’s…”
    >”The first rock I ever farmed.”
    “You’re really giving this to me? But… it’s a memento from your father, isn’t it?”
    >”My father left me some things a lot greater than that rock. He left me his love. The rock… I want it to be my gift to you. Y’know, so if I end up going to college you’ll have something to remember me by and all.”
    “I’ll make sure to feed it soup every night you’re gone.”
    >Pinkie giggles, “Don’t worry though, I’m not leaving for a while. At least not until we’re done saving Equestria! I’ll be right here with you, Anon.”
    >Pinkie holds onto your shoulders and kisses you deeply.
    >You feel a tight bond between you and Pinkie Pie…
    >!

    ————————————————————

    Thou art I… And I am thou…

    Thou hast established an inseparable bond.

    This inseparable bond shall have a permanent home in thy heart.

    We bestow upon thee the ability to create Maui, the ultimate form of the Sun Arcana...

    ————————————————————

    >You spent longer than you realized talking with Pinkie about her new future.
    >It might not be easy for her, but she seems confident that she can do it if she tries.
    >You headed back to the castle to speak to Twilight about helping Fluttershy.
    >But along the way, you decided to place the pebble Pinkie gave you into the scrapbook.
    >You found Twilight in the castle and explained the situation to her.
    >She seems interested in helping Fluttershy with this problem as well, especially since she’s partially responsible for it in the first place.
    >The two of you make your way down to Fluttershy’s Cottage and begin preparations for Operation Applesauce.
    >None of you could agree on a good name for the plan to help her gain control of her stare so you ended up with a nice compromise that left everyone unhappy.
    >Nevertheless, the scene unfolds with Fluttershy wearing a collar chained to a post in the ground.
    >You, Discord, Angel Bunny and Twilight are sitting with some supplies you all gathered up.
    >A bushel of apples, some apple cider, zap apple jam, a stuffed dolphin toy, and a bag of popcorn that Discord is eating from.
    “So… could we go over this one more time? I’m not sure why we have all these things…”
    >”Well…” Twilight begins, “The plan is to have her use the stare on the plush dolphin because Fluttershy isn’t very fond of them. The chain and collar are to make sure she doesn’t go berserk and fly away, and the apples and apple food products are to test her reaction while in her changed state.”
    “And the popcorn?”
    >”The popcorn is mine, but I shall let you have some if you ask politely.” Discord says plainly.
    “I think I’ll pass. And what’s with your obsession with seeing Fluttershy collared and chained up like this?”
    >”Actually…” Discord smiles, eyeing Twilight, “The chains were provided by your dear little cutie pie over there. Prrow~” he purrs mockingly, waggling his eyebrows.
    >”Those chains are for purely utilitarian purposes.” Twilight retorts firmly. “And what’s with that lame excuse saying ‘you don’t remember what happened last time she tried it’?”
    >”I’m as shocked as you are, I assure you Twilight. But memory is a funny thing! I bumped my noggin on a shower curtain and just so happened to forget everything about my encounter with Flutterbat. I only remember that it was quite frightening .”
    >”Naughty.” Twilight glares.
    >Discord’s face slams straight into the ground.
    >”Did that jog your memory?” Twilight asks impatiently.
    >”Who said that? What year is it? My love, is that you? Whereforeart thou… line, please?”
    >...
    >”... I’m sorry.” Discord apologizes frumpily from the ground. “I really don’t remember though.”
    >Twilight sighs, “Apology accepted, I guess.”
    >Discord pulls his face up, leaving a discord-shaped imprint in the ground.
    >”Besides, it’s just not good science to use the data from our experiments. They weren’t even peer reviewed. You’ll just have to do your science from scratch. No hoof-holding!”
    >”Let go of my hoof so we can start.”
    >Discord removes his lion paw from Twilight’s hoof and giggles innocently.
    >Twilight just rolls her eyes and floats the dolphin toy over to Fluttershy.
    “Are you ready, Fluttershy?”
    >”U-Um, I suppose so.” she stammers nervously.
    >”Now just use your stare on the toy and we’ll observe you from here.” Twilight says as she puts on a pair of reflective goggles.
    “Why don’t I get those?”
    >”You don’t have a ley system for her ability to infiltrate.” Twilight explains.
    >”Besides, everypony knows they do nothing anyway.” Discord adds.
    >Fluttershy is staring at the Dolphin, but nothing seems to be happening.
    >”Come on, Fluttershy, don’t be scared. We’re here if anything goes wrong.”
    “I don’t see why Fluttershy would have a problem with Dolphins. They’re so cute.”
    >”They’re not cute!” Fluttershy yells.
    >”They… they might look friendly, but they do all sorts of terrible things! They gang up on females and isolate them in caves where they force them into having sex, they kill baby dolphins just for fun, rape them, and play games with their corpses!”
    >”They’re just a bunch of bullies… and everypony thinks they’re all right just because they look cute, well they’re not! They’re the biggest bullies in the ocean!"
    >"Why… why are you so mean!”
    >You see Fluttershy’s eyes glow a bright ruby red...
>Fluttershy’s wings absorb her feathers and change to the leathery bat-like wings you saw in her Fantasia.
>You watch as her mane becomes wild and shaggy, and her ears change shape.
>Her cutie mark glows as the purple butterflies shift into a swarm of purple bats.
>You feel a deep sense of dread as the bat-pony looks up at you with her red eyes and licks her lips…
>”Hajimemashite, my dear kobun.”
>Twilight’s wings are raised slightly... “This isn’t like last time… she couldn’t speak when she was transformed in Sweet Apple Acres. If she’s intelligent enough to speak, she just became a lot more dangerous. Who are you exactly? Are you… Fluttershy’s shadow?”
“I don’t think so. She said nice to meet you. So she hasn’t met me before.”
>”But she doesn’t seem like the Flutterbat from before…”
>”I’m neither of those, though you aren’t far off.” the batpony grins. “If you want to be accurate, I think you should just call me Shizuka. Flutterbat was a foreign entity controlling our mind. But the experience left its mark on our subconscious… and when we stop suppressing the parts of us we hold back every day, Shizuka gets to come out to play.”
“So what, Fluttershy has just always had a split personality?”
>Discord rolls his eyes. “Obviously, in order to use her stare she has to suppress her super-ego and allow her Id to fully dictate the actions of the Ego without interference. But now that her Id has been altered by Twilight’s spell, it’s just become too powerful for her super-ego to put her Id back in its little cage, thus leaving her in a coherent state of mind purely dictated by her Id!”
>”That… actually kind of makes sense. How did you figure that out?” Twilight asks.
>Discord winks, “You pick up a thing or two interning at the mental hospital. Although they should really have clarified that it’s the patients that are supposed to be mental.”
"So now what?"
>Twilight looks at you. "For now, just try talking to her."
"Right..."
>You get a little closer to the batpony, though you’re still careful to remain just out of her reach.
“So. Shizuka. What’s it like being cooped up in Fluttershy’s subconscious all day?”
>She flashes you a fanged grin. “I’ll be honest, it really bites.”
“We’re doing vampire puns now?”
>”At least they aren’t apple puns. Now that would be some low-hanging fruit.” Discord says, nudging you with his elbow.
>”It really is the worst though. I’ve seen nuns be more self-indulgent. Speaking of which…”
>Shizuka looks up at you coyly, “Oh, Senpai… if you help me out of these chains, I’d be totally down to fuck. Like you wouldn’t believe.”
>You can feel Twilight’s own “violent intent” as she glares at you firmly.
“I-I’ll have to pass…”
>”Oh… that’s too bad. Hey Discord, I’ve always been so curious what you’ve got going on down there…”
>”Tempting, Shizu-chan, but I’m very committed to my “it’s complicated” status on facebook.”
>Shizuka bares her fangs angrily for a moment, but then shakes her head and smiles warmly at Twilight.
>”Say, Twi… if Friendship is Magic, what does that make Friendship With Benefits?”
>”Off the table.”
>”You’re all so mean…” Shizuka sulks. “This is what we really want! What’s the harm in letting us indulge ourselves?”
“If Fluttershy wants these things she can ask us herself. You’re the one who said you’re Shizuka, not Fluttershy.”
>The batpony quickly charges at you, but the chain attached to the collar holds firm and keeps her from reaching you.
>Twilight brings you back over to the table.
>”Well… it definitely seems like she’s pure Id right now. And she doesn’t like being chained up. maybe it’s time to move on. We’ve got the apples, the cider, and the zap apple jam. We should see how she reacts to one of them.” Twilight suggests.
“I say we go for the Jam.”
>”The jam? Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, it stimulates the mana core so it would definitely have some sort of strong effect I think, not to mention the quality of the product is higher than normal, but…”
>”No need to be a Trouting Thomas, my dear! If she does anything reel fishy, I’m sure an alicorn can kipper under control!”
“Are you sea-rious right now, or are you just doing that for the halibut?”
>”Just give her the jam…” Twilight mutters, clutching her forehead.
“Do we have some toast I can spread it on, or should I just j-j-jam it in to her mouth?”
>An apple sails over your shoulder.
>”Next time I won’t miss.” Twilight threatens, holding an apple up with her magic.
“I’ll uh, just give her the jam.”
>Good thing she isn’t a durian vampire.
>You take a little bit of the jam onto your fingertips and approach Shizuka cautiously, holding your hand out far from yourself.
“All right Shizuka, you want some zap apple jam?”
>Her red eyes go wide as she watches you with a smile. “Yes please…” she says sweetly.
>You hold out the little dollop of jam on your fingers to her mouth.
>She licks her lips and opens wide…
>You shakily move your fingers closer… and she gently closes her mouth over your outstretched fingers, licking the jam off and sucking on them.
>You look over to see Twilight watching a bit worriedly, while Discord watches it looking intensely interested and shoveling popcorn into his mouth.
>”Mmm…”
“Heh, see? Everyth-”
>Shizuka’s lower body suddenly twists as she spins around and kicks at your other arm!
>You quickly stumble backwards, but the impact causes you to drop the jar of jam, which Shizuka quickly pounces on and begins slurping at.
>In a matter of seconds the entire jar is licked clean.
>”Ahh… so yummy~!” Shizuka squeals as she flops on her back.
>”I’m full…”
>You see her eyes fade from red to blue as her body shifts back into its normal state.
>Fluttershy suddenly snaps to attention.
>”Huh? What happened?”
“Well it turns out that your other self is a lot more intelligent than we thought. She’s less like a wild animal and more like your shadow. She wanted us to call her Shizuka.”
>”And it seems she’s focused on fulfilling your desires. Once she feels satisfied enough, she goes dormant.” Twilight adds.
>”I… I didn’t hurt anypony, did I?” Fluttershy asks.
“Not really, but you went to town on that zap apple jam.”
>”I ate an entire jar by myself? Oh no! I’m going to get so fat!”
“I feel like I’m starting to see Shizuka’s point.”
>”You see her- I mean my… or should it be our… What do you mean?”
“You don’t satisfy yourself very much do you?”
>Twilight glares at you.
“I didn’t mean it like that!”
>”Like what?” Fluttershy asks innocently.
“The point is, you don’t really do a lot of things just to help yourself, do you?”
>”Well of course not. If it only helps myself, that’s just being selfish. Why would I want to be selfish?”
“You can treat yourself without being selfish.”
>”He’s right, Fluttershy. You’re in the prime of your youth, you know. Live it up! Get wild! Run naked through the streets! Oh wait, you already do that one.” Discord smiles.
>”I don’t see why Fluttershy should have to change if she doesn’t want to.” Twilight retorts. “There’s nothing wrong with being responsible about your finances, or taking care of your health, or abstaining from… other things. It’s Shizuka that needs to learn to play nice.”
>Discord rolls his eyes, ”Oh please, Mother Theresa would tell her she needs to get out more. And I should know. That gal had some dirty habits behind closed doors if you catch my drift.”
>”And what she does behind closed doors is her business.” Twilight says firmly.
>”Oh, you always get like this. But don't you remember that the reason you came to Ponyville was because Celestia wanted you to get out of your shell?”
>They’re starting to argue like an old married couple.
>You should probably throw in your two cents.

    >Discord and Twilight continue to bicker until you make a decision and intervene.
    “Alright, that’s enough, you two. No fighting. Discord… kind of has a point. She doesn’t need to go wild, but the fact that she’s having this problem shows that she’s not as healthy as she could be.”
    >”I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eat all of it…” Fluttershy whimpers.
    “Not like that. It’s fine to be responsible, but she’s clearly not okay with the way she is right now. I think Fluttershy needs to learn how to understand and address her desires instead of ignoring them. “
    >Twilight frowns. “Well yeah, but getting Fluttershy to be less… “Fluttershy” isn’t exactly easy. It’s not the first time somepony’s tried to help her out like this. You really think you can pull it off?”
    “I’d like to try at least.”
    >”I-I’m okay with this. I know I can be difficult to work with because I’m so timid and scared of everything, but I really do want to change, Twilight. I want to be able to protect the ones I love. And if this is what I need to do it, then that’s just the way it has to be.”
    >Twilight smiles. “Well, you certainly sound motivated. I’m just sad I won’t be able to help much. Ponies who live in glass houses… you get the picture.”
    >You’d make a comment about her having no trouble enjoying herself last night, but your superego tells you that Twilight would murder you if you did.
    “You can count on me then.”
    >”Guess it’s time to call it a day then. Good work, everypony.” Twilight waves and flies back to her castle
    >”I look forward to watching your methods. ‘Love and justice’, was it?” Discord grins before walking back to the house.
    >”Thanks for agreeing to help. I’ll do my best. I just hope I can follow through with your plan.” Fluttershy says.
    “You’ll do just fine. See you tomorrow. I’ll be coming over with Dash.”
    >"Okay. See you tomorrow, Anon!"
    >Plan...
    >You should probably think of one before you come over to help her again.
    >For now you decide to head home and go to bed.
Monday, December 12th

>Work went well as usual.
>With one fun little change, of course.
>Now instead of Derpy’s routine of crashing into something every day…
>You get a daily kiss from her instead.
>Pretty good deal.
>Although Cranky starts yelling at you when you take too long talking to her.

>After work, you drop by Dash’s place to invite her to spar again.
>She eagerly accepts.

>This time you chose not to hold yourself back.
>Dash is still tough enough to make most of the fights fairly close, and you can’t let your guard down for even a moment without her taking that opportunity to pump you full of lead or smack you with a Ziodyne spell.
>However, in the end you win a majority of your bouts.
>But she doesn’t get salty about it because, "It’s not like it’s a fair fight anyway. One-v-one I own you. But that’s just not even fun.”
>Maybe a little salty...
>After the sparring, you get back to the real world and strip down to enter the bath.

Outside Fluttershy’s Cottage, Afternoon

>After you enter the steaming bath and lean back against the edge, Dash slips into the water to your right, opting to sit next to you instead of across this time.
>She sighs and looks straight ahead.
>”... So a few days ago, Cloudchaser asked me out.”
>You nod silently, getting the idea that she wants to vent right now.
>”I totally overreacted… I started yelling at her and saying I wasn’t like that, even though she sounded like she just made an honest mistake.”
>”I think I made her cry…”
>”And she probably thinks I’m homophobic now too.”
>”It’s not like I’m the one that has a problem with it, but I just don’t want anypony thinking I’m like that.”
>”I guess you wouldn’t really know but… some ponies think lesbian chicks are just settling because they’re not good enough to land a stallion.”
>”Not that I’ve ever had a coltfriend.”
>”It’s not a huge mystery why.”
>”My mane is a train wreck, my coat is coarse, my voice sounds like a little colt, my flank is too small… you get the picture.”
>Dash leans back and looks up.
>”I guess when people think I’m gay… it just feels like they’re trying to call me ugly again.”
>”Most stallions aren’t into tough chicks anyway.”
>”But Cloudchaser’s a good flier, and she’s cute. Good enough to get with Thunderlane… what does she need me for?”
>”I thought for a moment that maybe she was messing with me. Trying to pull off some kind of prank…”
>“But I don’t think so. She seemed really upset.”
>”What could she even see in me?”
>”I mean… Gilda was one thing. She’s a Griffon. Her standards are totally different compared to a pony. I thought she was beautiful of course, and she was an amazing flyer, but I never really asked her why she liked me.”
>”I just… never really questioned it. I told myself we were just friends who wanted to help each other… de-stress, you know?”
>”But it wasn’t true.”
>”I knew she needed me and… it felt really good. Having somepony that appreciated me and cared about me… somepony that thought I was amazing as I thought I was. I don’t know if it was just because I wanted the attention or what. But I liked it.”
>”Still… it doesn’t make sense.”
>”I don’t get it. Why was I so upset the other day when Cloudchaser asked me out, but I was so okay with Gilda?”
>”What does that even mean?”
>Dash sighs and sinks down into the water, looking down.
>Perhaps you should say something to make her feel better.
>Or maybe you should just remain silent.

“Dash… can I say something?”
>”Yeah… I guess. Go ahead.”
"I think you're selling yourself short with Cloudchaser. You have a confident outgoing personality, your mane is gorgeous even if you don't style it as much as some mares do, what your flank lacks in size it makes up for in tone, not to mention you're a fantastic flier. She has plenty of reasons to take an interest in you. As for why you were so upset... I can't say for sure but I think maybe it's because with Gilda you had built up a real connection. Whereas Cloudchaser just asked you out on the street and you had no way of knowing if she was being sincere."
>”Why should it matter if she’s sincere or not? I told you I don’t… Urgh.” Dash groans, frustrated.
>”You’re just too different. Of course you wouldn’t get it. You just don’t know anything about our world.”
“Maybe not. There’s a lot of things I don’t know about what’s considered good and bad in your world. Something like flank size doesn’t mean much to me. I can barely tell the difference between some of you. But… in this world, ponies consider a rainbow beautiful, don’t they?”
>”Of course they do. But short frizzy manes totally aren’t. And I don’t want to grow it out because it’s easier to fly with a short mane.”
“I think you’re focusing on the wrong thing, Dash. Because in my world, even with all of its separate cultures and countries and languages… even to cultures that have been isolated for thousands of years from each other, all of them believe that rainbows are beautiful. Without any bias from culture or upbringing, the rainbow is considered universally beautiful. How could I look at you and say that you’re ugly with something like that?”
>Dash looks away, seeming flattered...
>”Heh, wow. That’s kind of a long way to go for a compliment, dude. But thanks. It is kinda cool knowing people like rainbows that much. But everything else..."
"Is subjective. Dash. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
>"Are you saying you think I'm beautiful?"
“You’re a lot of things, Dash. And beautiful happens to be one of them, in my eyes. But not just mine. I think Cloudchaser and Gilda both see you that way too. Beauty isn’t just measured in flank size. Your loyalty, your drive, your strength… all of it is beautiful.”
>You notice Dash sinking slightly into the water…
>It looks like she’s trying to hide the fact that her wings are slightly raised.
>”That’s… heh, wow. Thanks. I mean I hear ponies using words to describe me like cool, or awesome, or awesomely cool, or amazing, or the best flyer in Equestria bar-none, but… I don’t really hear beautiful a lot. Guess it’s kinda nice.”
>”A-Anyway. Thanks for the fight, leader, but it’s getting kinda dark. I should head back.”
“See you around then, Dash.”
>”And uh, thanks for the talk too. I guess it does help to just get it out sometimes.”
“Any time.”
>You feel as though you’ve grown quite close to Rainbow Dash.
>And she in turn has grown closer to you.
>”Oh, and… I guess I should apologize to Cloudchaser. Maybe… I should ask her why she asked me out in the first place.”
“I think that sounds like a good idea. Oh, and before you go, do you know when it’s going to start snowing?”
>”Well I’m not actually supposed to say, buuut first snowfall is gonna be the 15th. We had to start late this year because of SIHN. Anyway catch you later!”
>Dash flies off.
>You got dressed and returned home yourself.
>It’s going to start snowing in a few days…
>You wonder if Trixie will be okay out there.
>You’d been meaning to see her tomorrow anyway.
>But what should you do when you get there?

    >It’d probably be best to buy some supplies for her tonight since you have time.
    >You went by the market before it closed and bought some extra food, blankets, and a bit of firewood.
    >Gilda’s been good about chipping in for the groceries and other necessities, and you haven’t made many extravagant purchases beyond that dinner, so you manage to afford it for now.
    >After tiring yourself out shopping, you head home and go to sleep for the night.

    Tuesday, December 13th

    >Cranky has you chopping some extra firewood today.
    >After work, you ask him if you can borrow some of his tools to help a friend out with a project.
    >He seems fine with it, on the condition that if you lose them you’re fired.
    >Seems fair.
    >You take a wagon with you to carry the supplies, pick up a hayburger to go, and head out to Trixie’s hiding place.


    Everfree Forest Outskirts, Afternoon

    >You approach the ramshackle half-built caravan.
    “Trixie?”
    >After hearing no response, you circle around and carefully peek through the blue curtains.
    >Trixie is sleeping inside her caravan with her cloak wrapped around herself.
    >Judging by the way she’s using it as a blanket, it’s likely that she meant to fall asleep, meaning it probably isn’t SIHN.
    >Despite the cold weather, she seems to be sweating in her sleep…
    “Trixie?”
    >”Stop it…” she mutters to herself, pulling the cloak against herself tightly.
    “Trixie.”
    >”It hurts…” she winces in her sleep, trembling and rolling around fitfully.
    “Trixie, wake up!”
    >”Ahh!” she opens her eyes and flails around, startled.
    >”Oh… thank the heavens. Trixie is very glad to see you, Anonymous.” Trixie smiles, relieved, and brushes her mane out of her face.
    “You looked like you were having a nightmare.”
    >”Yes, but… Trixie is fine now. It isn’t important.”
    >She still seems a bit shaken up…
    >Should you ask her about her nightmare?
“You sure you don’t want to talk about it? Might make you feel a little better.”
>”Trixie would rather forget about it right now. It’s not like a dream can really hurt you.”
>Yeah…
“Well alright then. How about we work on your caravan a bit? That should help take your mind off it.”
>”Yes, Trixie would like that very much. The sooner Trixie can leave, the better.”
“Oh, but first I almost forgot…”
>You quickly bring out the paper bag from your wagon and hand it to her.
“I know it’s just fast food, but I brought you something to eat. Hope it didn’t get cold on the way over…”
>Trixie’s face lights up.
>”It’s been ages since Trixie had a fresh hayburger… The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t usually eat them, but Trixie’s weight isn’t her main concern at the moment. Thank you for bringing it, Anonymous.”
“You know, I’m kind of wondering, how did you know my name?”
>”Your welcoming party, of course. Trixie watched it from a distance. Everypony in Ponyville was there after all. Trixie had to see what the commotion was.”
“And no one made their spot check? You’re pretty stealthy.”
>”But of course. The Great and Powerful Trrrixie is a master magician! Trixie is a master of the art of disappearing, and often the best way to disappear is to never have been seen in the first place.”
>You wonder if that really fits the definition of disappearing then…
>Either way, you get your tools out and begin working on her caravan.
    >It’s pretty poorly made… clearly craftsmanship isn’t one of her strong suits.
    >But you manage to replace the improperly fitted boards so that her walls are flush.
    >Trixie helps out as well, using her magic to hold things in place for you when you need her to.
    >She’s quite skilled.
    >Every movement from her telekinesis is precisely according to your instructions.
    >Trixie even does the sawing for you.
    >She at least knows how to do that properly, being a stage magician and all.
    >After a few hours of improving her caravan’s defects, it seems like it can serve as a half-decent shelter.
    >Though functionally… you’d say it’s more of a doghouse than a caravan.
    >Either way, as you sit down to take a break, you notice she only ate half of her hayburger.
    “Was something wrong with your burger?”
    >“Oh! It’s… not that Trixie isn’t grateful for your meal, it’s just... Trixie has to make sure it lasts.”
    “What about all the other food I’m giving you?”
    >”Trixie has to make sure that lasts as well. Trixie doesn’t know how much longer she’ll have to live off of this food. Trixie has learned from life to expect the worst and prepare for it.”
    “That’s…”
    >”Trixie swears none of it will go to waste! It is against Trixie’s code to allow food to be wasted. In fact, it is best that you take your firewood back. Trixie will not be using it.”
    “Why not? It’s going to start snowing soon.”
    >”If Trixie were to start a fire, the smoke would draw the attention of the townsponies. Trixie would rather brave the cold than be discovered and brought before Princess Twilight Sparkle…”
“Trixie… it’s going to start snowing on the 15th. This thing is looking a little better, but I don’t want you out here in the snow if you can’t start a fire. So if you’re not going to start one, come over to my place on the 15th and wait out the snow.”
>”But… she’s there, isn’t she?”
“Then it gives you a chance to ask her what happened to her face, doesn’t it?”
>”What if she tries to turn me in… she might do that because she’s upset that Trixie broke up with her…”
“She wouldn’t do that. She’s living in my place, so she wouldn’t do something that could get her kicked out like that. And you should know that I have no interest in seeing you arrested or anything like that, don’t you?”
>Trixie seems conflicted…
“If I wanted to get you arrested, I had plenty of opportunities to do it before now, Trixie. Can you think of any reason I’d want to do it now? Any reason at all?”
>”... Just because Trixie can’t think of it doesn’t mean there couldn’t be one.”
“Trixie… is it really that hard for you to trust me after everything I’ve helped you with?”
>”Trixie appreciates your kindness, Anonymous. You are not of this land, correct?”
“Yeah.”
>”You must come from a very beautiful place then if others are like yourself.”
>You shake your head and place your hand on Trixie’s shoulder.
“It’s not like that at all.”
“I don’t remember anything about anyone I knew from that world… but I know that it was cruel and unforgiving. People there don’t trust each other. Don’t forgive each other. They hurt and hate each other for no reason. In that world, magic doesn’t exist. In that world, people who have hope for the future are fools. I can remember… a feeling of wanting to escape from that world where miracles didn’t happen. More than once I lost myself in stories, wishing I could be part of a world happy endings existed. A world where I wouldn’t be suffering.”
    >Trixie leans against you sadly.
    >”Then Trixie is sorry you had to come to this one. It is not so kind either.”
    “I know it’s not perfect. I’ve seen this world be cruel to its inhabitants as well.”
    “But now that I’m here, I have ponies who care about me and want to help me. They’re supporting me and giving me a chance to live a happy life in their world. I have friends willing to fight for me. Lovers who cherish me. I feel like I couldn’t really ask for much more. But… that’s why when I see somepony suffering in this world, I can’t just sit back and excuse it as someone else’s problem. I know what it’s like to feel alone in the world, or to be suffering from things beyond your control. I know how much it hurts. I don’t want anyone in this beautiful world that saved me to have to feel that pain.”
    >The azure mare sighs deeply…
    >”Trixie knows that pain dearly as well.”
    >”Because of Trixie’s birth, nopony who knows her name would dare to trust her.”
    >”Anypony who has shown Trixie kindness has always wanted something in return.”
    >”For Trixie, ‘trust’ is a dirty word. A sentiment that has been passed down by her family for generations.”
    >”They would say ‘the Equestrians wronged us long ago. They are heretics who serve a false queen. If you lie, cheat, or steal from them, your sins will be forgiven by our mother.’ But Trixie never believed that. Trixie… hated that idea that if we were better than them, we should have to resort to theft. It was beyond foolish in Trixie’s eyes. Trixie saw no need to live apart from them, especially when they considered her born of their own blood an aberration. Trixie wished to forge her own path and earn her way to the top. But… Trixie soon realized the harsh realities of the world. She could not overcome the prejudice that others shared for her because of her birth. Trixie began to curse her fate, and question why she was even born. But then… Trixie learned of the great secret of alicorn ascension. Trixie travelled far and wide to learn more about the lost history of the Lulamoon Tribe and the process of becoming an Alicorn. For the first time, Trixie began to change her perspective. Perhaps she was not born into this world cursed, but rather blessed. It couldn’t have all been for nothing. That is what Trixie decided. So Trixie began to seek out her destiny. Surely… one day Trixie will receive her happy ending.”
    “I think you will, Trixie. And I want to see that. But you know, sometimes our happy ending doesn’t end like we thought it was going to. Sometimes… the key to having a happy ending is just learning to be happy with your ending.”
    >”Happy… with your ending?”
    “Sometimes all it takes is a change of perspective. Looking at the world a little differently. You said it yourself, right? Sometimes something can look like a curse, but it can turn out to be a blessing.”
    >Trixie smiles, “That’s very poetic. And nice of you to say. But right now it’s getting a bit late. You should go home. Trixie… shall consider joining you on the 15th.”
    “All right then.”
    >You waved goodbye and started to walk home.
    >On the way back, you decided to take a shortcut through the Velvet Room to Twilight’s Castle to speak with her.

    Velvet Room, Night


    >Only Elizabeth here tonight.
    >”Welcome back, esteemed guest.”
    >”You’ve been in a bit of a hurry lately… won’t you slow down for just a moment for my sake?” Elizabeth smiles.
    >You decide to take a seat for just a minute.
    >”Thank you. Now then, allow me to congratulate you on your progress with the Sun Arcana. It has earned a special place inside your heart. You shall carry it with you as long as you live.”
    >”But as one journey ends, another begins. You have formed a new bond, and the Hanged Man has revealed itself to you, granting you the power of the Persona Joan of Arc.”
    >”You know… my master scolded me for last time. Saying that my speaking may have influenced you.”
    >”I must apologize. That is quite the opposite of my intention.”
    >”Responsibility simply means to accept the results.”
    >”If you wish for more guidance… please feel free to visit us again for a reading when you feel troubled.”
    >”I can not guarantee that it will relate to what you wish to hear about, but we shall do our best to guide you however much we can.”
    >”Until then, fare thee well.”

    Twilight’s Castle Library, Night
    >While you’re here, you decided to place Derpy’s paper badge in the scrapbook.
    >After, you sought out Twilight and found her in her room.

    Twilight’s Room, Night

    >Twilight’s room is quite large, though much of it is taken up by file cabinets and bookshelves. Beautiful starry purple banners line the walls, and tapestries depicting many events from Equestria’s history, ancient and modern, are hung up.
    >There’s even a paper poster advertising the CHS Battle of the Bands.
    >Twilight seems to be writing something with a stack of papers next to her.
    “Evening, Twi.”
    >”Hey, Anon. What’s up? You’re here pretty late.”
    “I uh, have something to tell you.”
    >Twilight turns in her chair to face you.
    >”Sure thing. What’s going on?”
“Well… you know that Trixie mare? The Great and Powerful one?”
>”What about her?”
“Turns out she’s been in town since Nightmare Night. She got stuck because of the travel ban, so she ended up having to hide until she could build a new caravan. So she’d been sleeping by the Everfree Forest, or in my house back when it was unoccupied, and she was kind of stealing to survive. So when I slept with you that night, Trixie came into my place after you left that morning, and I found her when I woke up. She told me she didn’t want anyone to know she was there because she thought she was wanted for treason but it wasn’t her fault, and she just started begging me to not turn her in, so I let her stay that night before telling her she had to leave because of Gilda, but I promised to help her construct her Caravan because she wanted to leave Ponyville. I gave her some extra food so she didn’t have to steal, and I’ve been visiting her for a while to help her out, but she seems to be acting kind of paranoid, saying stuff about how you stole her destiny and she should have become an Alicorn instead of you, and about how you’re her eternal rival and she needs to defeat you to prove that hard work is better than talent or something, and she’s not eating very well, and it’s going to start snowing soon, so I planned to invite her to my place on the first snow and have all of you girls show up so that she’d see that she wasn’t wanted for treason and wouldn’t be able to trick herself into thinking otherwise.”
>Twilight hops out of her chair.
>”So… when I slept with you… on the night of the 28th, right?”
“Yeah.”
>”And it’s the 13th now, right?”
“Right.”
>Twilight takes a deep breath.
>”So how many times did you visit her out there since then?”
“Today makes twice, why?”
>...
>”ARE YOU CRAZY‽‽‽” Twilight’s voice rings out loudly, shaking your entire body when she speaks.
“Uh-”
>”YOU LEFT HER OUT THERE IN THE WOODS FOR TWO WEEKS AFTER SHE’S BEEN LIVING OUT THERE FOR A MONTH AND YOU’RE ONLY TELLING ME ABOUT IT NOW‽
“Well-”
>”AND YOU’RE HELPING HER MAKE A CARAVAN TO LEAVE PONYVILLE AFTER I SPENT ALL THAT TIME FORCING THE ENTIRE TOWN TO HATE ME BY IMPOSING THE MOST DRACONIAN TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS POSSIBLE SO I COULD KEEP TRACK OF EVERY PONY IN TOWN JUST ON THE OFF CHANCE THAT ONE OF THEM BECAME A ROOT, AND NOW YOU’RE TELLING ME THERE’S AN UNREGISTERED PONY WHO’S BEEN LIVING IN OUR TOWN SINCE NIGHTMARE NIGHT IN THE EVERFREE FOREST THAT I HAVE NO WAY TO FIND IF SHE TURNS OUT TO BE A ROOT‽”
“But-”
>”AND ON TOP OF THAT SHE’S STARVING HERSELF AFTER YOU KICKED HER OUT AND YOU DIDN’T EVEN TRY TO ASK ME FOR ANY EXTRA MONEY FOR FOOD OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, AND YOU ONLY EVEN CHECKED ON HER TWICE‽”
“I didn’-”
>”AND NOW YOUR PLAN IS TO LURE HER INTO YOUR HOUSE UNDER FALSE PRETENSES AND AMBUSH HER WITH A PONY THAT SHE THINKS WANTS TO LOCK HER UP FOR TREASON AND YOU THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA‽ WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU‽ HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HER‽ WHAT KIND OF A FRIEND DOES THAT‽ DO I EVEN KNOW YOU‽ WHAT WERE YOU THINKING‽”
>Twilight trembles with anger, biting her lip to keep herself from yelling again.
>”I want you… to explain yourself. Right now. And it had better be a damn good explanation of why you did what you did.”
>You’ve never seen Twilight this upset…
>You're going to have to choose what you say very carefully.
“Twilight… you’re absolutely right, and I’m sorry. I thought I was helping by respecting her wishes and keeping her secret. But I was just assuming she’d be fine like an idiot. I should have checked on her more but I fucked up because I was too busy trying to think of what to do. When I met her, she was so terrified of you that she said she’d be my slave if I didn’t turn her in. I thought that she was fine for that month so I didn’t have to worry but… I just had no idea. I wanted to come to you, but… I thought if I betrayed her trust like that I’d never get it back. But I just betrayed your trust instead, Twilight. I gave her food and tried to shelter her, and I thought that was enough, so I didn’t pay as much attention to her as I should have. I’ve been tearing myself apart over how to fix this until I came up with this idea that sounded good in my head, but on paper it’s absolutely moronic. I wanted to help her, and I thought I could figure it out on my own. I thought I had to. But this is the best I can come up with. I was being… arrogant. Prideful. Trying to solve everything on my own and not realizing just how much my actions were hurting her. I’m so sorry, Twilight. Not just for what I did to you, but what I’ve been doing to Trixie. I should have done this earlier, I know. But… Please. Trixie needs help.”
>Twilight sighs, closing her eyes and turning away…
>”Anonymous… I understood with Chrysalis. But this… I just feel…”
>”I’ll be honest, it hurts, Anon. It hurts me that you didn’t try to talk to any of us sooner.”
>”Haven’t we been your friends all this time? We’ve all put our faith in you… we trust you with our lives, Anon. Even if it wasn’t me… couldn’t you have trusted anypony at all with this?”
"Not that it makes any of this any better, but I did trust Gilda with this. Not because I trust her any more than you or the others, but because I was afraid Trixie would lose it if she found out I told you or any of your friends. Gilda and Trixie have a history together so I figured she'd be the safest person to tell."
>”That’s… that’s something, but it’s still… it’s not even just that. I know it turned out for the best when you did what you had to by hiding Chrysalis. But this time, somepony is really suffering because of your actions. Just think… she’s been out there alone for 6 weeks. How would you feel if you were out there?”
“I’d… feel terrible of course.”
>”I couldn’t imagine being alone and living on the streets for that long. Thinking that I was a hated fugitive when it’s all just a misunderstanding…”
“I’m so sorry, Twilight. I know you’re probably tired of hearing it, but I really screwed up bad this time, I know I did.”
>”Anon, I’m not… well, I am a little mad. But mostly I’m disappointed in you. And I’m really upset that something like this happened. Especially when it’s my duty to help protect the ponies suffering like her. But… this is a lesson I’ve had to learn as well. To not try to solve every problem by myself, and to put my trust in my friends when I feel lost."
>"So... maybe I overreacted... just a little bit. Yelling at somepony isn't the way Celestia taught me to handle someone who's made a mistake. I felt hurt, so I got mad. But right now I should be worried about Trixie."
"You're willing to help her?"
>"Of course. I'd never turn my back on somepony in need. I'm... still pretty upset. It's hard to think straight like this."
>"But... you did what you did because you want to help her, right? Because you care about her?"
"Of course I care about her. From what she told me she's been alone for a long time now. A lot longer than the past six weeks. I want to show her there's a place for her here if she wants it, but I have no idea how to even begin without driving her further away."
>Twilight smiles a bit weakly. “Well… then we’d better not waste any more time.”
>The door glows as Twilight opens it. “I’ll go grab us some co- oh!”
>Twilight nearly bumps into Sunset Shimmer on the other side of the door.
>Sunset steps back, looking startled. ”Sorry! I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop or anything, but you were yelling pretty loud, and you sounded kind of upset, so I was waiting outside to see what was going on.”
>”Oh. So how much did you hear…?” Twilight asks nervously.
>”Nothing much.” Sunset admits. “I did hear something about treason though. Were you… talking about me?”
>”Huh? Why would you think we’re talking about you?” Twilight wonders.
>”Oh, no reason. Just… you know. Betraying celestia, breaking into the castle, attacking royal guardsponies, the whole crown stealing thing, trying to lead a slave army to conquer Equestria… you know. The treason.”
>”Right. The treason. Well all of that’s in the past now, Sunset. You’ve been forgiven for it. And we weren’t talking about you, we were talking about somepony else.”
>”Somepony else, huh? Is there… anything I can do to help? You sounded pretty upset, Twilight.”
>Twilight looks over to you. “Well… Anon?”
“At this point, we need all the help we can get. We’ll be happy to have you on board Senpai.”
>Sunset’s eye twitches. “R-Right…”
>”I’ll ask for some coffee to be sent down to us. Would you like some, Sunset Shimmer?”
>”Sure, I’ll have a grande soy- er… I guess not, huh. Cream and Sugar then.”
“We’d better take it in the library. I’ll need to contact Tia- I mean, Princess Celestia about this.”
>”Princess Celestia? I know I said you should count on your friends, but… you want to involve her too?” Twilight asks.
“There’s something she can explain better than I can. You’ll see when we get there.”
>Twilight and Sunset seem confused, but they accept your explanation for now.

Twilight’s Castle Library
>You head to the mirror room where the staff delivers some coffee for each of you.
>Twilight begins messing with the mirror while Sunset looks around.
>”So… where’s Spike? Is he going to be here soon?” Sunset asks, taking a drink of her coffee.
“We’re using the mirror to contact her, Senpai. Twilight invented Skype.”
>Sunset suddenly chokes on her coffee and begins coughing loudly.
>”Are you okay?” Twilight asks, concerned.
>”Y-Yeah… I’m just getting used to my old body again, I guess. So you’re saying that we’ll be able to see her in the mirror?”
“Yep.”
>”And uh, she can see us too?”
>”That’s right. Is something wrong?”
>”No, not at all. That’s just… really impressive, Twilight! You should be proud of setting up something like that.”
>“Thank you! I did work pretty hard. I figured we needed a quicker line of communication because of SIHN."
>The surface of the mirror swirls, and slowly the image of an alicorn appears on the other side.
>But to your surprise, it’s not the white Alicorn you were expecting...
>”Oh! Princess Luna! Sorry to disturb you.” Twilight says, bowing respectfully.
>"Good evening! The servants informed me of a call. Were you expecting Celestia?"
"Yeah, I guess she's sleeping though."
>"Indeed she is. For what reason do you call upon us at this hour?"
“It’s uh, it’s sort of between Tia and Twilight. If she’s not up now, it’ll just have to wait until tomorrow when she is up.”
>The indigo alicorn looks you over. “We see… very well then. It has been a quiet night for us either way. We welcome a change of pace however slight. It is good to see all of you. And are you not going to introduce yourself to us, Sunset Shimmer?”
>Sunset seems to be hiding behind you slightly.
>”Oh… my apologies, Princess Luna. I did not mean to disrespect you. I am Sunset Shimmer, former student of Princess Celestia. It is an honor to meet you.” she says as she steps forward and bows.
>”We will forgive your inability to kiss our hoof, given the limitations of our means of contact. Are you enjoying your vacation in Equestria?”
>”Yes, Princess. It’s very good to be back. Have you been well?”
>”We regret that our image has been tarnished… but our sabbatical has given us much time to hone our skills at Mare-vel. Prepare yourself, Anonymous one. Soon, you shall have much fun when I return to dominate you!”
“Not sure if want… but uh, good that you seem to be doing well. Goodbye for now.”
>”Farewell, friends, and good night.”
>The mirror shuts off.
>Twilight looks up at you. “You can tell Celestia but not Luna?”
“Moonbutt’s social skills won’t help us out much here. At least, not right this moment. If she’s that bored, she might show up and make things worse. Besides, it’s really something I wanted to leave Tia to tell you when she’s ready.”
>”Tell me what, Anon?”
“It’s about being an Alicorn. About becoming one. She wanted to tell you herself when she felt you were ready to hear about it, but if you want to help with Trixie you’re going to at least have to know a little bit.”
>”M-Maybe she shouldn’t then.” Sunset interrupts.
“Huh?”
>”When Celestia tried to hide something from me and I disobeyed her… she removed me from my position as her student. She had her reasons for hiding that from me.”
“Twilight’s not her student any more. And if she has a problem with Twilight learning about it, it’ll have to be on me, not her. Besides, she told me her reasoning for keeping quiet about it, and I don’t think she’ll mind that much.”
>Sunset lets out a sigh. “You’re right. It’s not like with me. You’re talking about Ascension, right? I already found out about how it works, so you won’t have to worry about spilling anything unnecessary to me.”
>”What’s she talking about, Anon?” Twilight asks, beginning to sound a bit worried.
“I’ll explain everything.”
>You proceeded to explain everything.
>Most of everything, anyway.
>You only told her about Alicorn Ascension as far as Trixie seems to understand it. You didn’t mention anything Celestia told you.
>Still, your two friends seem a bit troubled once you explain it.
>”How did she learn all this?” Sunset wonders. “Even when I had access to all that information as Celestia’s student, I still had to break a few rules to figure out how a pony can become an Alicorn Princess. And even then I didn’t know the full story. That information is very heavily protected... Did she mention the Sea of Stars? Did she say the name of the spirit?”
“Nothing like that. She was pretty vague. Even Celestia doesn’t seem to know all of it. Twi, what do you think?”
>”An… ancient alicorn… is inside of me? But… who? What were they like? Am I really myself anymore? What if the alicorn inside of me is evil? What if she starts telling me to do things, or what if she’s already doing that? Is it even a she? Am I even the same pony anymore? Did her soul merge with mine, or is it sharing my body or… or…”
>You’re starting to see why Celestia was hesitant to tell Twilight.
>Sunset places her hooves on the panicking Alicorn’s shoulders.
>”Hey! This is no time to panic, Twilight. Somepony needs your help, remember?”
>”R-Right…”
>"There's no way Celestia would have let something like that happen and not tell you if you were in danger."
“Sunset’s right. Celestia told me it isn’t actually like that. It’s just that the Alicorn sees you as worthy enough to lend you some of their power. Cadance ascended too, remember? And she turned out just fine. If you’ve changed in any way, or if you ever do change, I’m sure you can count on your friends to tell you. But from what I’ve heard, you’re still the same Twilight Sparkle you used to be. Just with a few upgrades.”
>Twilight sighs. “You’re both probably right. I just got a little worried when I heard that. I just… never noticed something like that at all. I never would have guessed that I had some kind of ancient cosmic benefactor. But then again, even magical energy can’t come from nowhere. It can be used up, converted, transferred, but not spontaneously generated from nothing. I thought Celestia might have done it herself, but she didn’t seem to be using her magic when it happened, and there’s no way she could have transferred Cadance or myself into that starry place without knowing where we were at the time, which would certainly imply that this is a-”
“Twilight.”
>”Hm?”
“I think you should save your questions for tomorrow when you can talk to Princess Celestia.”
>”Sorry. I’ll let you finish.”
>You finish explaining the situation to Twilight and Sunset Shimmer.
“... but she doesn’t seem like she’ll believe she isn’t wanted for treason.”
>”Umm, question. Why… does she think she’s wanted for treason again?” Twilight asks sheepishly.
“Because Gilda and her tried to sandbag your efforts as princess while you were wearing some kind of weird amulet after you became princess.”
>”I… wait- oh that time! With the Crystal Heart! Yeah… I think I remember now.”
“You remember?”
>”A little bit. But I guess… it just wasn’t that important so I kinda forgot.”
“It wasn’t important?”
>”Not really. Nopony got hurt after all. I go through crazier adventures all the time. I didn’t even end up writing a report on it or putting it in the diary. It was just kind of a non-issue."
"I got the same impression the way Gilda talked about it, but sometimes non-issues for some can be a huge deal for others. It might be helpful if we got your version of events."
>”Well… is it really that big of a deal? All I remember is that I was feeling really unsure how to handle my responsibility as a princess, and Gilda and Trixie started telling me that I should do what I want instead of listening to everyone else’s suggestions. I thought it sounded right at the time, but it turned out to be pretty poor advice. That necklace I was wearing that Princess Cadance gave me started amplifying my negative thoughts, and I felt sort of distant from my friends and started hanging out with Gilda and Trixie. Then I started realizing that I was being influenced by the necklace, so I went back to my friends to apologize. I decided that I wanted to be the kind of princess that would listen to her friends instead of just doing what I wanted all the time. So all they really did was give me some poor advice I guess. But if they didn’t do that, I might never have realized how important it was to listen to my friends about what I should do. So… in a way, they helped me out!”
“Sounds like the events are all the same… but everyone seems to have their own spin on the meaning behind those actions.”
>”All’s well that ends well, isn’t it? I don’t see any reason why Trixie should be in trouble for what she did.” Twilight says.
“What about that school for gifted unicorns? Do you remember what you were like with her there?”
>”I don’t think I ever saw her. I feel like I’d remember somepony like Trixie… she wasn’t in my class at least.”
“She said you told her you didn’t have time to waste with somepony of her level, and that you wouldn’t even care to learn her name unless she could surpass you.”
>”That was a long time ago… if it did happen, I just don’t remember.”
“Is it something you’d really say?”
>Twilight looks a little guilty. “Well… maybe not in those exact words."
“Do you remember what you did say, Twi?”
>”I don’t, but… I might have said something like that. I wasn’t always as… friendly as I am now. I didn’t interact with many ponies in school. I remember ponies asking me to study with them or hang out, but I always turned them down. I figured…”
>Sunset finishes for her, “You figured that if they couldn’t score higher than you, studying with them would just be a waste of time, right?”
>Twilight frowns. “When you put it like that, I sound kind of like a jerk.”
>”I know. Because that’s how I used to feel. But I was stuck in that mentality a lot deeper than you were. And for a lot longer.” Sunset admits, looking away shamefully.
>Twilight looks down sadly. “I guess I might have been meaner than I thought to Trixie when I was in school. And I don’t even remember her.”
“That seems like a pretty big thing with her. She’s always seen you as her rival since she was young, but in your mind, she’s not even a blip on your radar. Her life is a footnote to you, and she can’t stand that.”
>”It’s… I don’t know. It still seems really strange to me. We left on such great terms. I really thought we could be friends then. She even had a little adventure with Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy out in Manehattan. So why is she acting… like this?”
“Apparently it all got a lot worse when you became a princess.”
>”Seeing your rival getting what you see as undeserved success can be pretty upsetting when you’ve worked hard to get where you are.” Sunset explains. “Remember how upset the other Trixie was when we beat her in the Battle of the Bands? I don’t think the Dazzlings needed to push her too hard to do what she did. And when you started getting popular after a couple days at CHS when I’d spent years learning how to live in the human world? I was… really mad. And I know you worked hard for what you have, Twilight. But some ponies end up working hard and getting nothing out of it. And when that happens, it’s pretty easy to get jealous and hateful.”
“There’s another reason she might be so upset. Twilight… you remember that Alicorn Amulet, right?”
>”Of course. It’s a dangerous magical artifact. The book said it blesses the user with untold powers, but corrupts the user the more it’s used.”
“What exactly is the source of its power? Do you know where it comes from?”
>Twilight scrunches her face, trying to recall. “I… I don’t think it mentioned that. The book I read seemed pretty clear about what it can do, but not why it can do it. Still… it’s like I said earlier. You can’t get magic from nowhere. An amulet that enhances your magical abilities outright is the kind of thing that shouldn’t be possible. If you could just make those kinds of things, everypony would use them. I thought that the extra power was being paid for with a curse, but… are you saying that there’s an Alicorn’s soul inside of that amulet?”
“I think it’s possible. If it corrupts the user, maybe it’s that Alicorn’s mind trying to take over. And maybe part of that Alicorn’s mind is still influencing Trixie.”
>”Hold up.” SS interjects. “Even if we know all of this… suppose there is an Alicorn’s spirit haunting her brain… my question is, what do we do? We still have to get her off the streets and get her to realize that she isn’t wanted for treason. I’ve been in that kind of situation, and I wouldn’t wish it on anypony.”
>”Sunset has a point, Anon. We need a plan. How can we convince her she isn’t wanted? Is there anything we can do?”
>It seems they're concerned about Trixie.
>Perhaps you should formulate a plan...
>Last time you failed.
>But this time you have your friends by your side.
>What should you do?

>You sigh as you strain to find an answer…
“Right now… the best thing I can think of is waiting until the 15th. It’s going to start snowing on the 15th. She said that she’d come by my place on the 15th. Once she’s there, maybe Gilda can convince her that she isn’t wanted.”
>”I thought she said she blames Gilda for what happened… and she thinks Gilda sold her out to not have a sentence. Isn’t that right?” Twilight asks.
“Does the post office have wanted posters or something?”
>”They do. I actually have the local and national wanted records for decades in those file cabinets. I was searching through them when we were trying to find- uh, that culprit. For that thing.” Twilight replies.
“Maybe if we show her those, we can convince her she isn’t wanted.”
>”Yeah but… you sure she’s going to believe her ex? Doesn’t sound like they left on great terms.” Sunset says incredulously.
“Their relationship was fine before Twilight became a Princess. I can’t think of anyone else in town she’d trust.”
>”Well… what about me?” Sunset suggests. “I definitely did some things to deserve being on that list. I don’t know how well known my betrayal was, but I definitely committed treason against the princess herself on top of plenty of other crimes. Maybe she’s heard of me, and if not there’s still my wanted poster. If she talks to somepony who’s been through the same things she has, maybe I’ll be able to get through to her.”
>”I actually saw your poster. It was only up for a month after your disappearance though. Celestia probably knew there wasn’t much point. But… I don’t know. Can’t you just try to convince yourself, Anon? She trusts you, doesn’t she?”
>Perhaps the best solution here is to straightforwardly convince her with facts.
>But how should you go about it?

“I think… Twilight might have a point here. If I have evidence this time, I might be the one who can best convince her. She might not want to listen to Gilda. But it’ll still have to wait until she comes over on the 15th.”
>”So she’s still going to be out there?” Twilight sounds concerned…
“I fixed up her caravan. It’s… honestly not much better than a doghouse, but she has a lot of blankets and more than enough food to get through the night. If I visit her again so soon, she might get suspicious. I’d like to minimize those factors.”
>”I guess that makes sense, but it’s still…” Twilight frowns.
>”One more day with all that wouldn’t be too bad. It’s better than risking everything by going back too soon, Twilight. Just be patient. We’ll help her.” Sunset says.
“Thanks for understanding.”
>”At least it’s a reasonable enough plan… come on, let’s get the posters from my room.”

>The three of you walked back to Twilight’s room where she opens up a file cabinet and carefully selects a folder filled with papers.
>”Okay… here’s a copy of the most recent wanted list for Ponyville as well as Equestria’s most wanted.”
>She hands you the list with pictures, and sure enough Trixie is nowhere to be seen.
>However, one bounty in particular catches your eye…
>There’s a sketch in the center of a black coated unicorn stallion with his face obscured, a firey red mane and tail, and a red bonfire cutie mark.


WANTED ALIVE

NAME: UNKNOWN

FOR ARSON, TRESPASSING, AND THE MURDER OF MISTER WILLIAM DABINETT APPLE AND MISSUS KATYA APPLE

REWARD: 10,000 BITS

“This is…”
>Twilight looks at the poster. “Hm? Oh… him. He started the fire that killed Applejack’s parents. Nopony’s seen him since.”
>Sunset stares at the poster. “He… looks kind of familiar.”
>”He does? Are you sure?” Twilight asks.
>”Uh, not… not really. I mean, a black coated unicorn with a fire cutie mark… I don’t think I’ve met somepony like that, but somehow I feel like I might have seen him somewhere.”
    >You take a look at the poster again.
    >There are a lot of ponies in town but… there’s no way you’ve seen a guy like that around Ponyville. A distinctively dumb-looking appearance like that would have been noticed in a small town like this.
    >Still, black coat and a fire cutie mark… you’ll keep it in mind if you ever see it again.
    >”It might just be my imagination.” Sunset says. “Besides, it would have been over 10 years ago in Canterlot. I doubt it’d help her much.”
    “Probably not. Anyway… thanks for the help, you two. I’m sorry I let it get to this point. But I’ll take responsibility for it.”
    >Twilight nods. “I know you were just trying to do the right thing. But next time, just ask somepony if you need help.”
    “I will. Thanks again.”
    >You headed home and collapsed immediately…

    Wednesday, December 14th

    >You’ve mostly finished the exterior of Cranky’s house… which is good for you, given the upcoming weather.
    >But he still has a lot of interior work for you to help him with.
    >After work, you find yourself thinking about cutie marks for some reason…
    >It reminds you that it’s been a while since you’ve spent some time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
    >You figure today’s as good a day as any to go there.

    Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse, Afternoon

    >The three little fillies are sitting outside the clubhouse with a bunch of papers and pencils…
    “Hey there, girls. What are you up to?”
    >”Homework.” Scootaloo answers dully.
    >”And it’s gonna start snowing any day now, so we might as well be outside while we can.” Sweetie Belle explains.
    >”Ahm so bored…” Applebloom complains.
    “Would you like me to help? I won’t tell you the answers or anything, but it’ll go a lot faster if someone’s there to explain it to you. I’ve had some practice tutoring after all.”
    >The trio looks excited. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER Study… buddies.” they say, losing enthusiasm before the end of the sentence.
    >Scootaloo sighs. “Let’s just get this over with.”
    >You began helping the three of them with an essay…
    >They have to write three paragraphs on a pony they want to be like in the future.
    >Sweetie Belle is writing about Princess Luna, Scootaloo is writing about Rainbow Dash, and Apple Bloom is writing about her sister, Applejack.
    >You check their writing for spelling, grammar, and style errors.
    >Sweetie Belle barely needs any help from you, while Scootaloo ends up making a few mistakes.
    >Apple Bloom on the other hand… probably has talents that lie elsewhere.
    >Well, it’s not like you can blame her.
    >Her family doesn’t exactly adhere to the standard Equestrian dialect conventions.
    >Apple Bloom ends up having to work on her paper a lot longer than Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who end up heading home shortly after they finish to take care of their chores.
    >After many corrections, you judge her paper to be passable.
    “Just remember to watch those double negatives. Saying ‘there ain’t nopony’ means ‘there is somepony’.”
    >”But don’t everypony always say two wrongs don’t make a right?”
    “Ethically they do not. Grammatically and mathematically they do. Anyway, I think you’ll do well. You have a lot of nice things to say about your sister.”
    >”Mmhm! Mah whole family’s amazin’, but I’d like ta be like mah sister most of all. I’ve been practicin’ a real neat trick I seen her do too. Wanna see me do it?”

    Yes
    Yes
    Yes

    "Yes."
    >There's just no way you could say no to a face like that.
    >"Great! C'mon, this way!"
    >Apple Bloom drags you to a part of the orchard that still has a few apples remaining.
    >She positions herself next to a bare tree and places a bucket under the adjacent tree which still holds some fruit.
    >"You watchin' Mister Anonymous?"
    "I'm watching, Apple Bloom. Go ahead and show me."
    >Apple Bloom readies herself, looking between the two trees before rearing up and bucking it.
    >The branches rustle, but nothing happens.
    >Apple Bloom frowns.
    >”I-I really can do it! I just wasn’t ready. Lemme try again.”
“I believe you can do it, Apple Bloom. You don’t have to impress me or anything.”
>”I swear I can, just gimmie a few more tries.”
“Be my guest. I’m not busy tonight.”
>Apple Bloom tries over and over, kicking the tree with her hind leg, causing a couple leaves to fall, and trying again.
>But about 10 minutes later…
*thunk*
>An apple falls from the adjacent tree into the bucket.
>”Ah did it!” Apple Bloom squeals excitedly, jumping up and down.
>You chuckle and clap lightly at her trick. “So you made the apple fall by kicking a different tree, huh? Pretty impressive, Apple Bloo-”
>”APPLE BLOOM!”
>You hear AJ’s voice shout angrily from behind you.
>”Oh! Hey, Sis! Didja see it?”
>”Don’t you ‘hey sis’ me, young missy! What’d I tell you about that trick?” Applejack glares as she approaches her younger sister.
>”Y-You said ah needed an adult watchin’ right? Mister Anonymous is an adult ain’t he?” Apple Bloom asks, nervously backing up.
>”When I said that I meant me, Big Mac, or Granny have to be watchin’ you! Apple family!”
>”B-But…” Apple Bloom whimpers.
>”No buts, missy! You are grounded for a month!”
>”A month?! That ain’t fair, sis!”
>”Don’t you talk back to me, Apple Bloom! Now git yer rump in the house or it’ll be two months!” Applejack yells sternly.
>Apple Bloom seems to be on the verge of tears…
>What should you do?

“It’s my fault. I asked her to show me. Apple Bloom only did that trick because of me.”
>Apple Bloom stares at you, surprised.
>Applejack turns around and glares at you. “You think ahm playin’ games here? Apple Buckin’ ain’t no easy task for a filly her age! She ain’t ready to pull off somethin’ like that at her age! You got no idea jus’ how dangerous somethin’ like that is, do you? Huh? Do you?”
“Uh, not really…”
>”Ah didn’t think so! You ain’t got no clue just how hard I work ‘round these parts! how much danger you just put her in! Who went an’ gave you permission to look after my kin? You ain’t her pappy! You got no right to meddle in our affairs! I don’t want to see you ‘round my farm again, you hear me?”
>Applejack has closed herself off to you…
>You feel a cold sensation in your heart…
>!

>The Social Link has become reversed!
>Until you reconcile, your relationship cannot move forward…

>Applejack stares at you coldly. “Goodbye.”
>She turns around and walks back to the house.
>Apple Bloom follows her… but gives you one last look over her shoulder.
>She seems grateful.
>You decided not to remain here any longer and headed home.

>Something unfortunate has happened…
>Perhaps you should consult the Velvet Room about this development, and seek a reading as well.

    >You placed the magic key into your door and entered the velvet room…

    Velvet Room, Evening

    >Tonight, Igor sits across from you with his assistant by his side.
    >”Welcome back to the Velvet Room.” Igor greets you.
    >Elizabeth holds out a red upside-down card with her telekinesis.
    >”It seems an unfortunate event has occurred… your bond representing the Strength Arcana has become Reversed. So long as your bond remains in this state, you will be unable to use your Persona of the Strength Arcana. But do not worry. This state is not permanent. With time and heartfelt effort, this can be corrected.”
    >Igor smiles widely and places a deck in front of you.
    >”Now then, perhaps we can illuminate your path for you. Draw three and place them on the table.”
    >You do as he says, and Igor flips over the first card with a swipe of his hand.
    >”The past… is that of the Temperance reversed.”
    >”When Temperance is upright, it symbolizes that which differs being in balance. When it is reversed, it can symbolize argument and conflict between opposite sides. Two extremes clashing, resulting in a lack of progress. It can also mean an excess… or a lack of something. Extremes of both sides can be dangerous. Greedy or miserly… gluttonous or starving. This past has led you to the present. And now…”
    >The second card reveals itself.
    >”A reversed Emperor has shown himself.”
    >”Perhaps this is undue pressure and authority being exerted.”
    >”Or perhaps it is one rigid and stubborn in their thinking. Recall the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes. Trapped by his need for control, he would refuse to acknowledge his nakedness until confronted with undeniable truth.”
    >”So then what lies ahead for this emperor?”
    >The last card flips over.
    >”The Star reversed.”
    >”Stars light the way in the dark, showing us the path ahead.”
    >”But when it is reversed, we are left in the darkness, unable to see if we are still on the right path in the black night.”
    >”If you take another step… will your feet even find solid ground? Or will you simply fall?”
    >”The Reversed Star represents the spiritual discouragement caused by a lack of guidance from the universe.”
    >”At times like this, faith is of utmost importance. Faith to step blindly into the unknown and search for the light, trusting your heart to keep you on the path, instead of standing still in the darkness forever.”
    >Igor shuffles the cards back into the deck.
    >”Take care. We wish you the best of luck.”
    >”Until next time…”
    >You left the Velvet Room.

    Ponyville, Night

    >Before you went to bed, you quickly stopped by Sugar Cube Corner to see Pinkie Pie.
    >You informed her of the situation with Applejack and asked her to fill the others in as well.
    >Pinkie agreed to keep an eye on Applejack, but be subtle about it.
    >You worry about what she considers subtlety, but you figure it's the best you can do for now.
    >After speaking with her you headed home and went straight to bed...

Thursday, December 15th

>First snowfall is today.
>Winter is officially here in your eyes, though you’re sure that many more logical people would point out that there are actual methods of determining the start of the season by using the solstice and equinox to mark definitive dates for the seasons, but you would then point out that the sun and moon are controlled by a pair of magical alicorn princesses who raise and lower the moon whenever they get around to it rather than the length of the days being determined by the tilt of the planet’s axis as it revolves around the sun.
>In fact, you aren’t even sure if this planet revolves, rotates, tilt’n’tumbles, or just screams through space like a fastball pitch, and you pretty much don’t care.
>Rather, you feel as though finding out might sever the last thread of hope that this universe follows the same laws of physics that yours does which could cause the nuclear strong force holding your atoms together to take its ball and go home if the world refuses to take this seriously.
>It’s going to snow. That means it’s Winter. Q.E.D.
>As for why you’re thinking so much about something so unimportant, it’s probably to distract you from the very important thing happening today so you don’t freak out.
>While you’re at work, Cranky seems to take note of your excessive internal monologue.
>”What’s the matter, kid? You’re looking more green than usual. Something got you down?”
“ I’ve been… busy. I made some pretty stupid mistakes. Now I’ve got two girls upset with me and if current trends continue, I might just end up with a third.”
>”And that’s part of the reason I never set my sights higher than one. Not that it’s all sunshine and roses either.” he admits frankly.
>You do recall Derpy telling you about Cranky having someone named Matilda…
>But Cranky’s never really brought her up.
>”Y’know. You seem pretty stressed… maybe some time after work we oughta... stop by the watering hole together. What do you say?"
“You know… that actually sounds pretty good today, Master. I’ll take you up on that.”
>”We’ll head out once you’re finished up here. Now get back to work.”
>You finished your work and headed out to a bar literally called “The Watering Hole”.

The Watering Hole, Afternoon

>You decided to order a Steak Sandwich and some Jim Beam...
>Until you realized they don’t eat steak, so the chances of them having that are pretty much zero.
>In addition, James B. Beam probably doesn’t exist in this world. It’s likely he hasn’t been born yet, and if he has then, his name would probably be morphed into some sort of ridiculous horse pun.
>You briefly lament the loss of the joys of greasy animal protein and alcohol before settling for some mozzarella sticks to go with your beer.
>As always, the quality of the food in this world is superb. The fresh mozzarella is perfectly soft and stringy, with a wonderful savory taste that melts in your mouth.
>The beer is beer. You kind of cheaped out since you don’t want to get drunk anyway.
>Cranky orders himself some scotch.
>You wonder what would happen if you ordered “two fingers of scotch”. Would you have to say two hooves instead?
>It doesn’t matter anyway since you don’t know what two fingers of scotch means in the first place.
>Cranky speaks to break you out of your internal monologue.
>”Women, huh?”
“Heh, yeah. Women.”
>”You say you screwed up pretty bad?”
“Yeah… I wasn’t really sure who to trust, so I tried doing everything on my own. Didn’t really stop to think enough about how it was affecting the ones around me.”
>”Well, hindsight’s 20/20. You may have screwed up back then, but there’s no use griping about screwing things up in the past. Especially when you’ve still got a chance to fix things.”
“Yeah… I’ve gotta set everything straight tonight. I have to convince an emperor they have no clothes.”
>”Got a bit of an ego, that one?”
“She’s practically based her whole life around it. It’s up to me to get her to face the truth… but it’s not easy.”
>”Because you don’t want her to hate you, right?”
“Yeah. Or worse, she doesn’t believe me, and goes deeper into the hole she’s digging for herself.”
>”Well I’ve got a question for you then. Does she seem like a brain-dead bimbo?”
“Not at all. If anything, she’s a genius who fought through every disadvantage life gave her to be the best. She taught herself to use magic even when her whole family was against it. She’s been struggling her whole life to earn her place.”
>”So what makes you think she’s so dull that she won’t accept the truth when it’s laid right in front of her?”
“That’s… hard to really say.”
>”I bet she has her reasons for thinking the way she does. A reason why she can’t accept the truth.”
“Someone close to me once said, ‘lies are the shield that protects our heart from the harshness of truth’. Because lies are more comfortable than living in the real world. She’s probably trying to live in this fantasy because she’s not ready to accept the facts.”
>”Maybe… maybe.”
“I guess I have to get her to face the truth, but I barely have any clue what to say. I don’t know if I should break it to her gently, or get it done all at once like ripping off a band-aid.”
>Cranky thinks as he takes another drink of his scotch.
>”Well… I can’t speak to her personal preference. Or give you any ideas for some fancy poetry. But I can tell you this much.”
>”The thing about sharp women… is that it doesn’t matter so much “what” you say. The important thing is “why” you say it. Some women can see right through you if you’re flattering ‘em and they won’t stand for it. When it comes to those kinds of women, you gotta keep in mind why you’re saying what you say. You gotta remember who you’re talking to, and not say things to ‘em because you want something or 'cause it's what they want to hear. There’s a difference between telling the truth and being honest.”
"Heh, you're a damn genius master."
>"Eh, I try..."
>You both take another drink and let it sit for a moment before Cranky speaks again.
>”Matilda’s pretty good at seeing through me.”
>”Ever since we first met… she’s been able to understand me even when I don’t understand myself.”
>”She told me… your words may be harsh, but I can tell your heart is kind.”
>”I never was one for dancing around the truth. I always laid it out there exactly how I want to say it.”
>”Matilda on the other hoof… well, she’s honest, but she knows how to make the medicine a bit sweeter goin’ down.”
>”She told me recently, ‘You know, Doodle, your heart might be in the right place, but sometimes it’s just not on the same page as your brain. It’s no fault of yours, just the way you were made. But take some time to get ‘em working together again.’ She’s an angel to be so patient after all these years with an ass like me.” he says mournfully.
“Did you do something to make her upset?”
>”Wasn’t quite something I did… it’s just been the mood between us. I just feel so distant from her these days… and I can’t quite seem to figure out why.”
>”Spent my whole life lookin’ for her, and now she’s absolutely everything I dreamed of and more… I just don’t get what’s missing.”
>”She’s perfect. Just like the day I met her. But some part of me just… can’t enjoy it. I’ve wanted this my whole life, and now that I finally have it… it’s not even that it doesn’t live up to my expectations, ‘cause she blows ‘em out of the park. So what’s missing?”
“You know, Master… maybe you’re still setting yourself up too much, overthinking everything and trying to make sure it’s perfect. And I don’t really think that’s you. I can see wanting a happily ever after, but… maybe something like that just isn’t what you want. I think Matilda might be trying to tell you that. You gotta listen to your heart, right?”
>Cranky scrunches his face and “Hmmm”s loudly.
>”All I want is to make Matilda happy. But I just… don’t rightly know how to go about it.”
“That’s what she wants, but what about what you want?”
>”You’re not making any sense, kid. I told you, I just want her to be happy. What I want and what she wants… they’re the same, aren’t they?”
>You shrug and have another drink.
>You can’t really give him a sure answer on that.
>He seems troubled by his relationship with Matilda…
>Perhaps you could help him by speaking with her some time.
>The conversation winded down, and you spent a little more time talking casually before paying for your drinks and going home.

Home, Night

Track: ~SNOWFLAKES~

>Snow has already begun to fall on your way home.
>The whistling of the cool winter air is all you can hear on this quiet night.
>You already informed Gilda about your plan for tonight...
>She seemed a little worried… but just wished you luck and accepted the terms.
>While you’re waiting, you start a fire in the fireplace to keep the house warm.
>You watch the dancing flames as you wait.
>It gives you a lot of time to reflect.
>You wonder what you could have done instead.
>Or if anything could have been done at all.
>Is it your fault she’s like this?
>Or is she just… messed up.
>Didn't you do everything you could?
>If you did, then why do you care so much?
>Why do you feel responsible?
>Are you worried about what could happen to Twilight?
>Or about what could happen to Trixie…
*knock knock knock*
>You open the door to see the azure unicorn looking up at you, shivering in her black hooded cloak.
>"May Trixie... come in?"
"Of course."
    >Trixie enters the house, brushing the snow off her hooves on the doormat and removing her wet cloak.
    “I’ve got a fire going. You should warm up by it first.”
    >”Trixie thanks you…” she says, laying down and watching the flames.
    >You grab a soft wool blanket from the couch and throw it over her.
    “Here.”
    >She adjusts it with her magic, wrapping herself in it snugly.
    “Is that better?”
    >”Much better... “ she smiles.
    “Can I get you something to eat? Are you hungry or thirsty?”
    >”Is something the matter, Great and Caring Anonymous? You seem rather tense tonight.” she says, looking at you suspiciously.
    “Well, I’m worried about you. If you’re not eating, that’s pretty bad for a unicorn, isn’t it? You’re here now so you don’t have to worry about saving food, ‘cause last time I saw you, you barely ate anything. But… it’s not just that. I’m nervous.”
    >”Nervous? What ever for? Surely you should know the Great and Powerful Trixie considers you someone more than worthy to be in her presence by now.”
    “It’s not that, Trixie. I… I have something to tell you. But I’m worried you won’t believe me.”
    >”Trixie… would listen to what you have to say, Anonymous. If you are telling the truth, Trixie will believe you. It is as simple as that.”
    “It’s less that I’m worried about whether you will believe me or not… it’s more of what I’m afraid might happen if you don’t believe me.”
    >”What would happen?” She asks, sounding a little worried.
    “You might leave and not come back. I don’t want that to happen. I don’t want you to be out there alone in the cold. Having to steal to survive. No one deserves a life like that.
    >”What are you saying? What… what is it you want to tell Trixie?”
    >This is an important moment.
    >You must decide what to say next.
    >And once you do, you must accept responsibility for what happens next, for better or worse.
“Trixie…”
>”Yes, Anonymous?”
"Do you remember when I came out and spoke to you last week? I told you I spoke with Gilda about that incident. I know you think she threw you under the chariot but... Well I've done a little bit of research on the subject and this is what I've found."
>You take the file you got from Twilight and remove the papers from it, handing her the current “Most Wanted” poster for both Ponyville and Equestria as a whole.
"Those are the latest wanted lists. You're not on the local or the national. I know you've spent a long time thinking you were wanted but… it’s just not true. You don't need to keep living out in the woods like a fugitive Trixie. You don't have to keep sneaking around town trying avoiding getting caught, to keep stealing and starving yourself to get by. There's a place for you here in town if you want it. They’re all willing to give you another chance, Trixie. The only one who hasn’t forgiven yourself is you. Don’t just punish yourself like this… I can't stand the thought of you starving yourself half to death out there in the freezing cold for no reason."
>Trixie stares at the wanted lists.
>She looks them over several times, checking the front and the back.
>As if to drive the point home, there’s even another pony wanted for treason on the national list.
>”This… this has to be some kind of mistake. Trixie doesn’t understand… how is this possible?”
>You see tears flowing from her eyes.
>”Why…”
>”Why…?”
>”WHY DOESN’T TRIXIE MATTER TO HER?” Trixie screams, throwing the folder away.
>”Even when… even when Trixie tried to hurt her she still doesn’t notice Trixie!” she sobs into her hooves.
>”Trixie dreams of her every night… but she doesn’t even care that Trixie exists!”
>”Trixie tried so hard and still…”
>”Trixie isn’t wanted…”
>”Of course she isn’t…”
>”Nopony in this world has ever wanted Trixie as long as she’s lived. Not her parents… not that school… not her holiness… not Twilight… not anypony.”
“That isn’t true, Trixie.”
>”It is true… Trixie thought she had finally find her place in the world… that she had a blessed fate… Trixie believed that perhaps her life was something beautiful. Trixie believed she had a destined partner… or perhaps a rival. Trixie thought that her life had purpose… Twilight Sparkle gave us purpose. Ever since that day, we wished to surpass Twilight Sparkle so she would know our name. Trixie thought to herself, ‘Isn’t fate something beautiful? Even if you are born under a star of misfortune… it is all part of a divine path leading you to every single joyful moment you will have.’ Trixie believed this… it made her able to bear the suffering, thinking that in the end she would be rewarded. It didn’t matter when they laughed at her, or spat on her, or called her a gypsy… because Trixie had somepony in the world who would one day acknowledge her worth. Even after Trixie had been humiliated twice by Twilight Sparkle… Trixie had faith that she would one day surpass Twilight Sparkle. It couldn’t have been for nothing… all of Trixie’s pain and suffering.”
>”... but in the end Trixie is just an ant to Twilight Sparkle. Trixie is just… a worthless freak.”
>You can’t bear to hear her speak like this any more.
>Without hesitation, you throw your arms around Trixie and embrace her tightly.
>She seems startled for a moment… but her crying stops.
>“Anonymous…”
“Please, Trixie. Don’t say that about yourself anymore.”
“You don’t have to be Twilight Sparkle, or her shadow. If you keep trying to tie your worth to her… you’re never going to be happy.”
“If you only look at what she has that you don’t, you’re going to miss out on everything you have that she could never hope to match.”
“You're the hardest working Unicorn I’ve ever met. Don’t give up on yourself, Trixie. There are those in this world that want you just as you are. You’re looking at one of them right now.”
>Trixie’s eyes sparkle with tears.
>”You really… mean it?”
“I do. I want you, Trixie.”
    >The azure unicorn relaxes and lets her body fall against you softly.
    >”Trixie… has waited a long time to hear somepony say that.”
    “It’s true, Trixie.”
    >She snuggles closer against you.
    >”Trixie knows. Trixie can tell.”
    “And I don’t think I’m the only one. Gilda too. And I’m sure there’s a lot of ponies out there who want you that you just don’t know yet.
    >”Trixie… has made many enemies. In her effort to be acknowledged. Trixie isn’t sure that they will all be so forgiving.”
    “Maybe not, but you’ll never know if you don’t try. I know it seems dark… not having a goal, and not knowing your destiny. But there’s still a path for you, Trixie. Even if you can’t see it. And I’ll be happy to hold your hoof if you’re scared.”
    >She rubs the side of her face into your chest.
    >”Trixie isn’t scared any more. It feels so warm…”
    >You feel your cheeks redden a little bit.
    >”Anonymous… if Trixie has bad dreams again, you’ll wake her up, won’t you?”
    “Of course I will. Any time, Trixie.”
    >Trixie sighs and cuddles up close to you in the warmth of the firelight.
    >She sleeps peacefully, smiling in your arms…
    >You hear the door creak open.
    >Gilda slowly hobbles up to you in the living room and looks at Trixie.
    >”Guess you pulled it off.”
    “You probably heard her yelling, huh? But I think she’s okay now. Everything’s gonna be fine.”
    >Gilda looks around nervously before settling in next to you.
    >”... it’s warmer out here.”
    “Jealous?”
    >”Only of the warmth. It’s not like I care about doing something like that.” she lies.
    “Ah, I see. Feel free to steal my warmth if you like.”
    >Gilda puts her large feathery wing around you.
    >”You better not move in your sleep and bump my leg or something.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind while I’m unconscious.”
    >”Fair warning, asshole.”
    “Tsundere.”
    >”Quit acting like a jackass…” she mutters as she snuggles against you.
    >She falls asleep soon after, as do you.
    >The three of you slept peacefully all night...
Friday, December 16th

>You awaken to a sweet smell in the air…
>Last night you fell asleep with those two in front of the fire… but it seems they got up before you.
>You stretch and stand up, seeing the two of them in the kitchen making french toast.
>Trixie and Gilda seem to be enjoying each other’s company.
“Morning, you two.”
>Gilda looks up at you and smirks, “About time. Seriously, how much sleep do you need?”
“Average for a human is something like… eight hours I think. Is it lower for ponies and griffons?”
>”No, not really.” Gilda replies. “You just really like sleeping in I guess. Whatever, we made breakfast.”
>”Trixie helped!” The unicorn says happily. “Last night Trixie didn’t have a bad dream, so Trixie wanted to do something to say thank you!”
“That’s really great to hear. I hope you can sleep a lot more comfortably now, Trixie.”
>Trixie levitates a plate of french toast to you and the three of you begin eating breakfast.
“So do you know what you’re going to do now, Trixie?”
>”Trixie isn’t quite sure… perhaps Trixie should visit her other friends in town. Applejack, Fluttershy, or Rarity…”
“Applejack and Rarity have been a bit off lately… Fluttershy might be all right though. I was actually going to her place today with Dash for some stuff. And that Guard Captain Domino is there too, so you can talk with her if you need to. She’s pretty big on forgiveness, considering she used to be a changeling.”
>”Perhaps… Trixie should start to reconnect with the rest of the town. Will you go with Trixie? Trixie is scared to go alone…”
“Of course I’ll go with you. I don’t want to keep you all to myself. I want the rest of the world to see how great you are too.”
>Trixie smiles warmly. “Thank you, Anonymous…”
>She runs up and rubs her head against your leg affectionately.
>You respond by stroking her mane and chuckling.
>You feel as though you’ve grown quite close to Trixie.
>And she in turn has grown closer to you.
>While Trixie goes to use your shower, Gilda pulls you aside.
>”Hey, Anon… listen, about Trixie.”
“What is it?”
>Gilda sighs, “You remember what I said about herbivores, right?”
“Yeah, what about them?”
>Gilda looks at the door to the bathroom. “She’s kind of… an herbivore in the extreme. I know she acts really confident and independent, but it’s just a front.”
“What are you saying?”
>”Nothing much, just… she really seems to like you. So don’t take advantage of her or anything.”
>Gilda looks a little sad saying that.
“Do you think that’s what you were doing?”
>”Kind of…” she admits. “It’s like I said, right? I wanted somepony who couldn’t hurt me like Dash did, but I ended up just hurting her instead. I was a real selfish bitch.”
“So how are things with you two now?”
>”I don’t know… it's not that there aren't still things I like about her. I still think she's beautiful, sweet, determined, and really hard working, and those are all things I like. But even after all the times I slept with her, I think sleeping with you was the first time she didn’t have those nightmares. Maybe you’re just a better match. I'm just not sure.”
>Perhaps you should say something to her...

“C’mon, Gilda. You like her right? Ask her how she feels.”
>”Are you sure?”
“Of course. It’s totally fine by me if you two wanna get together. You might have made some mistakes, but this is your chance to get a fresh start. For both of you. You’ve grown a lot since I met you, and I think you can learn from your mistakes.”
>Gilda’s tail twitches happily as she smiles. “Yeah… I’m gonna treat her right this time. Thanks, dude.”
“Pssh, whatever bitch.”
>Gilda giggles playfully. “You’re such a cocksucker, Anon!”
>The bathroom door opens, and Trixie exits, toweling herself off.
>Gilda limps over to her, looking a bit apprehensive. “Uh, hey, Trixie? There’s something I wanna say.”
>Trixie folds the towel gently with her magic and sets it aside. “Is there?”
>”Yeah, listen. I know I was kind of a bitch before, but… I really did like you for you. I’m sorry I didn’t treat you as well as I should have. But I’ve been thinking a lot about my life, and I want to start over. And there’s no pressure or anything, but Anon and I are in an open relationship so… how would you like a do over on our relationship?”
>Trixie seems a bit troubled as she thinks to herself, considering it carefully.
>”Trixie… will allow you a second chance, if you are willing to forgive Trixie for the things she said to you.”
>”Of course I forgive you. You were pretty much right anyway. I was totally stuck in the past with some of that shit. I’m sorry for dragging you back into that.”
>Trixie touches her cheek to Gilda’s and rubs against her. “Trixie is sorry too. Trixie was lonely without her kitty...”
>”I missed you too, Trix. I promise I’ll do better this time.”
>Gilda seems to have committed herself to change.
>You feel as though your bond with her can grow deeper once more.
    >You left with Trixie, allowing her to follow you around today.
    >She sticks close like a scared little puppy dog.
    >It’s the first time she’s walked around openly in a while, after all.
    “Just act natural, Trixie. If you keep trying to hide like that, of course ponies are going to look at you.”
    >”Easier said than done… even if Twilight and some of her friends forgive Trixie, she still caused a great deal of trouble for this town.”
    >”Good morning Anon!”
    >You hear Derpy’s voice call out as she runs up to you with the mailbag on her side.
    “Oh, good morning, Derpy.”
    >Trixie tries to stay behind your legs, but Derpy seems to notice her anyway.
    >”Oh! You’re… The Great and Powerful Trixie, right?” Derpy says happily.
    >”Y-Yes, that is I, the Great and Pooowerful Trrrixie!” the unicorn proclaims proudly.
    >”I thought so! I really liked that magic show you did that one time… but I really didn’t like the time you enslaved our entire town and forced us to do your bidding.”
    >Trixie’s high spirits are squashed back down almost immediately as she returns to hiding behind your leg.
    >”If you do more magic shows and don’t do more enslaving, I think I’d like that lot more!” Derpy smiles innocently. “Anyway, I gotta get back to my route. See ya!”
    “Bye, Derpy.”
    >The mailmare runs off.
    >Trixie looks up at you.
    “More magic and less enslaving. Seems fair to me.”
    >”Perhaps… Trixie should put on another magic show. But she’ll still need to fix her caravan to do that.”
    “Well I hate to leave a project incomplete… I’ll see about helping you with it again some time.”
    >"If you would help us... Trixie would promise to put on the best magic show of all time! You'll come watch it too, won't you?"
    "Sure, Trixie. I'd love to see your show."
    >Trixie seems quite happy to hear that.
    >She follows you to Fluttershy’s place looking a lot more confident.
    >Dash is waiting for you there, but since you can't spar while Trixie's here, you agree to just skip straight to the bath while Trixie talks with Fluttershy.

Outside Fluttershy’s Cottage, Morning

>You strip down and climb into the tub where Dash is waiting for you.
>The ground around you is blanketed in thick fluffy snow, making it feel that much warmer when you slip into the steaming water.
>Rainbow Dash sighs loudly. “Man… nothing like a hot bath on a cold day.”
“My head is freezing.”
>Dash snickers to herself. “Heh, yeah. Guess it helps to have hair.”
“Why am I so bald…”
>”Aww, cheer up. You’ve got those fingers and stuff. They’re probably pretty useful, right?”
“They’re really good for grabbing things.”
>You hold your hands out and make groping motions to demonstrate.
>Dash smiles nervously. “Right…”
>She looks around, seemingly debating something with herself before deciding to speak.
>”... So I talked with Cloudchaser again.”
>”I told her I was sorry for blowing up at her, and that I felt really bad about it and stuff.”
>”She said it was fine, and that she shouldn’t have assumed, but… anyway, I asked her why she asked me out.”
>”She told me it was because I’m a fun pony to be around, and she thinks tomboys are kind of cute. But also… she said I haven’t been myself lately. And that I seem kinda lonely. She said she was looking for somepony new, and I could looked like a relationship might be good for me right now, so she figured she’d see how I felt about it.”
>”So I guess that’s that…”
>”But I still feel kind of weird about it.”
>”I’ve never really been in what you’d call a healthy relationship with a mare or a stallion.”
>”But I’m starting to think… maybe I was a little happier with Gilda than without her.”
>”And what Cloudchaser told me… really kinda caught me off guard.”
>”A relationship might be good for me… I don’t know. It’s just kind of weird for me to think about.”
>”I mean, I guess… isn’t it better to have a relationship than to not have one?”
“Well, Dash… It’s good to have someone that cares about you like that. Being in a relationship is pretty great. There’s a lot of things you can get from it that you just can’t get from your friends. But if you go into a relationship for the wrong reasons, someone could get hurt. I don’t think it’s right to go into a relationship just for the sake of it. It’s something that should happen when you’ve got a real connection that you want to explore with someone. You don’t have to both be in love at first sight, but you do need to be honest and understand each other’s feelings. You have to both care about each other and want the same things out of the relationship.
>Dash looks a little guilty as she stares down into the water.
>”I really screwed up big time with Gilda.”
“Maybe so. But it’s pretty rare to do everything right the first time.
>”I knew she needed me. It felt so good I just... didn't question it. Maybe I needed her too. Maybe I still need somepony. But instead of telling her I wasn’t sure about things between us, I just let her think what she wanted until it all blew up in my face.”
>”I dunno if you noticed but… I’m not real great at the whole ‘thinking ahead’ thing.”
>Dash looks a little embarrassed. “I, uh, can I ask you something?”
“Of course you can, Dash.”
>”Could you… uh… could you wash my back? Y'know, if you don't mind."
“Sounds fine with me.”
>Dash swims over to you and turns around.
>Her cerulean wings are extended… you’re not sure if she’s doing it to make it easier for you, or if it’s a more involuntary action.
>Either way, you start washing the Mare’s back for her.
>You end up massaging her while you do it, rubbing the warm water into her soft blue coat.
>Her tension seems to melt away at your touch, causing her to let out soft sighs of relief.
>”Hey… can I ask you something else?”
“What is it, Dash?”
>”I wanna know… do you ever get scared, thinking about the future?”
    >You can't help but laugh a little.
    >She looks a little upset at first, but you shake your head.
    “No, no, it’s just… yeah, there’s no way I could say I don’t. I have no idea how anything in my life is going to turn out. Whether it’s going to end happily ever after or blow up in my face. There’s a lot of shit in my future I’ve got no clue how it’s gonna turn out. And it’s scary as hell. SIHN, my relationships... anything could go wrong at any second.”
    >Dash looks relieved…
    >”Yeah… tell me about it. Planning for the future just… freaks me out. That’s why I still don’t know what to do about the wonderbolts. If I go… what if I end up finding the pony of my dreams? What if I find some friends even better than the girls here in ponyville? But then… what if it sucks? What if I make a huge mistake and get stuck somewhere away from all my friends… I couldn’t just quit halfway like that. I just don’t know… it freaks me out, and I don’t even want to think about it. The future sucks.”
    “The unknown stuff is pretty scary, yeah. But you can't just let your fears hold you back. There's all sorts of great things about the future to look forward to, you know. Like kids.”
    >You see a smile finally come to Dash’s face. “Yeah… kids would be awesome.”
    “Enough to form a baseball team.”
    >Dash laughs and shakes her head. “Not that awesome. I’m thinking three. One boy, one girl, and the last one… eh, leave it up to luck.”
    “What if they’re all girls?”
    >”I’ll make sure at least one of them’s a boy.” she says confidently.
    >There’s either some weird unicorn spells out there or she’s planning on forcing one of them to grow a penis with sheer willpower.
    >”I mean… I could always adopt.”
    >Or that.
    >”And there’s those weird spells…”
    “Wait, which ones?”
    >”Y’know, the ones that… I mean maybe there’d be a way for even us to… n-nevermind. I’m just being weird. That's not... something I should think about. Forget I said anything..."
“Come on, Dash. You can’t just drop a mystery to your fearless leader and not expect him to want to get to the bottom of it.”
>”I don’t know… I mean, you are my leader after all. I wouldn’t want to say something dumb and mess things up between us.”
“I say dumb things all the time and it seems to work out okay.”
>”Yeah, but I’m supposed to be cool.”
“I think wanting to be a parent is pretty cool, Dash. And you’d make a really great one.”
>You see a tint of red on Dash’s cheeks when she hears you say that.
>”Well… I mean, I’m just saying… there’s a lot of weird spells out there that can do some pretty crazy stuff to make ponies… compatible. Not like I go around looking for this stuff or anything, I just heard Twilight talking about it one time.”
“Of course.”
>”I mean, I was just thinking… maybe it’d be not impossible for you to have kids with me. O-Or just somepony! Not necessarily me or anything, just… I mean, it might be possible. I don’t know.”
“That’s all? I don’t think that’s dumb, I think it’s pretty neat that I might have that option.”
>Dash looks a little nervous. “I just… don’t want to scare you off or anything. Talking about kids like that. Girls who bring up having foals right away are usually complete crazies.”
>She sighs and sinks into the water. “Geez, I suck hard at talking to guys…”
“Dash, there’s nothing wrong with letting someone know what you want. Especially when it comes to a relationship. You have to communicate, remember? If you’re not on the same page, well… I think you know better than anyone how bad that can turn out.”
>”Oh yeah… right.”
“You don’t need to feel embarrassed. If anything, talking about this is good. It’s showing that you’re starting to grow. You’re not making the same mistakes anymore. Not to mention I kind of brought it up in the first place.”
>”Heh, that’s right. You did, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. And I do want kids some day. Obviously not right now. But once this is all over and we get some peace… it’d be nice to settle down.”
>Dash leans back against the edge of the tub. “It sounds pretty great. But what about my career? If I become a full blown Wonderbolt, I’ll have to travel all the time. I might not get to see my kids as much as I want.”
“Being a Wonderbolt and being a mother are both big responsibilities, Dash. I can’t really tell you what to do there. Personally, I think you’d be amazing at either one of them. But you have to decide what’s important to you and take that path without regrets, even if you don’t know where it leads. Be honest about what you want, Dash.”
>”That’s the problem. I don’t know what I want. I never do. To be honest… I don’t even know for sure that I like dudes.”
>”And I’m scared of finding out the hard way and hurting someone I really like. I don’t want things to end up like they did with Gilda.”
>Dash rubs at her eyes and looks away from you.
>"Damn it..."
>"Why is this so hard..."
“Dash… a real relationship is always going to have that risk. The more you open up, the more someone can hurt you. But they can help you more too. If you need time to figure things out, that’s great. I want you to know what you want, Dash. And I want you to be able to tell me truthfully about what you want. Just know that whatever you have to say, I’ll always be ready to listen to you.”
>You place your hand gently on Dash’s cheek.
>She turns her head and looks up at you with a coy smile.
>”... thanks.”
>”I… I do have something I want to say to you.”
>”But it wouldn’t be right to say it now.”
>”I still have a lot of things I need to say to Gilda first.”
“I understand. That’s very mature of you, Dash. I think if you talk to her honestly, she’ll listen. She’s changed a lot in the time she’s been here. But I think she still wants you in her life, one way or the other.”
>Dash sniffles and quickly throws her arms around you, hugging you tightly.
>”I miss her…”
>You pat her back reassuringly.
“She misses you too. Maybe you could give her one of those books you like. Do they have them in her language?”
>”Her language? I think so… but would she really read it? She got pretty mad last time I gave it to her…”
“Well… maybe she’ll read it, maybe she won’t. But my master said it’s the feelings behind the gift that matter. Back then, you gave her your copy. I think now… maybe you should give her “her” copy.”
>”Her copy…”
>”Yeah… I’ll see if I can get my hooves on something like that. Thanks.”
>You brush Dash’s mane playfully with your fingers.
“Any time, Dash.”
>You stay there for a while holding on to each other.
>”... I really don’t want to get out of here.”
“I know what you mean. I want to stay here with you forever.”
>”My wings are going to turn into icicles.”
"We didn't think this through."
>You stayed with Dash until you could muster up the courage to run screaming back into the house.
>You feel as though you've grown closer to dash.
>And she in turn has grown closer to you.
    >Later that day, you went to tutor DTR.
    >She’s writing the same English assignment that the CMC were.
    >”I’m going to write about Pluto.”
    >”Pluto’s the strongest, the best looking, the richest, and no matter what happens, everypony has to die eventually. So if you mess with Pluto, Pluto gets to decide your fate for the rest of eternity.”
    “Uh, Pluto? You sure about that?”
    >”Well yeah, I mean Jupiter might be the leader and all but it’s like… I don’t get him.”
    “What part of him don’t you get?”
    >”Like, why does he turn into a swan instead of just going to Leda as a Unicorn or something?”
    “You make some good points about Pluto. Let’s stick with that.”
    >You continued to tutor her for a while before going home.

    Home, Night

    >It seems Trixie is still planning on crashing on your couch for a little while.
    >Since you don’t have to hide her anymore, it’s a lot more reasonable of a request.
    >You hear someone knocking on your door to the rhythm of "shave and a haircut."
    >Opening the door, you find Pinkie Pie standing outside in a scarf and cap.
    >"Hi, Anon! Can I come in? I have something important to tell you!"
“Uh… okay but… you know Gilda is here right?”
>”And Trixie too, right?”
“Yeah, and uh, you know that Gilda and I are… dating, right?”
>”Yup!”
“And uh, I might not really have told her about you and me yet…”
>”I see! Don’t worry, I know how to handle this kind of thing. So can I come in?”
“If… you think you can handle it, uh, sure. Come in.”
>You let the pink horse in.
>Gilda spots her from over on the couch, and her eagle eyes narrow fiercely.
>”Hi, Gilda!” Pinkie waves cheerfully.
>Gilda just glares.
>Pinkie bounces up to the couch and sits down next to Gilda. ”So! I’m dating Anonymous. And you are too. Is that gonna be okay with you?”
>Gilda looks away grumpily.
>Pinkie slides closer to her on the couch “Gilda… I don’t wanna cause any trouble for Anon or the ponies and gryphons he loves. So if I’m going to be a problem, just say the word and I’m gone. ”
>”What? I- you don’t need to do that, okay?”
>”You sure? ‘Cause I don’t want to see you unhappy.”
>”I’m sure. Just… I may not like you very much, but I don’t need you to break up with him out of pity or anything. I already agreed to share him.”
>Pinkie smiles, “Well, okey dokey loki! Anyways… Anon, I just needed to tell you that Applejack's probably going to be busy on the 20th." Pinkie says with a wink.
“She is?"
>"Mmhm! I was talking to Twilight, and we remembered it's an anniversary for her. Just letting you know."
"I see... thanks for the heads up, Pinkie."
>"Yup! That's all for now. See ya around!"
>Pinkie turns to leave, but before she makes her way to the door, Gilda calls out.
>"Wait!"
>"Hm?" Pinkie turns around.
>"I... I'm not going to lose to you, okay? So don't think there's any chance of you getting in our way, got it dweeb?"
>Pinkie looks a little surprised, but just smiles cheerfully. "Okay! I understand. Thanks, Gilda."
>Pinkie left, humming to herself happily.
>You look at Gilda and grin, shaking your head.
>"Shut up." she blushes, curling up on the couch.
>You decided to go to bed soon after...

Saturday, December 17th


>Pinkie seemed to imply Applejack might become a root on Tuesday, the 20th.
>If you can predict it ahead of time, Twilight can take steps to minimize the risk to any potential branches.
>Twilight is probably going to issue a no fly warning for that day…
>If you had to guess what this “anniversary” was that could trigger an attack…
>Your gut tells you that her parents must have died on the 20th of December.
>For now, there’s not much else you need to do to prepare.
>You decide to pay a visit to Discord and have some coffee, since it’s been a while.

Outside Fluttershy’s Cottage, Morning

>Discord is sitting on a picnic blanket out back with Angel, leaning down and using a pencil to draw a large multi sectioned square on his belly, filled with numbers.
>”... so a 6 next to the 9 there. Right, right. Oh, good morning there, Anon.”
“What are you doing?”
>Discord smirks, “Well, isn’t it obvious? I was so distraught by your inattention to me that I just couldn’t bear it anymore and decided to commit Sudoku. Not to mention my failure to mamoru Fluttershy-ojou-sama. It’s just the honorable thing to do.”
TN: Mamoru = Protect
>You brush away the floating words.
“All right, I’m sorry I didn’t visit you more. I’ll try to come by more often if you like.”
>”Hmmm…” Discord thinks as he rubs his belly, smudging away the sudoku pattern.
>”I wonder if you’d visit me more if…” he ponders, circling around your back
>”... I looked more like this.”
>As Discord reappears, you see Discord’s face has taken on a decidedly more feminine appearance, with a matching sultry voice.
>The second you blink, he seems to have turned back to normal.
>”Or perhaps not. Either way, it’s your loss. If I’m bored, I have Fluttershy to play around with. I’m only disappointed that you seem to be taking the things I say at such a basic face value. Really now, good comedy is all about subtlety, don’t you know?”
“I feel like you’re the last one I want to hear that from.”
    >”By the way, Sir Bearington won’t be joining us for a while. He has to hibernate, you know.” Discord explains as he pours you a cup of coffee.
    “I see. That’s too bad, he was a bro. And I have to thank you too. Without your help I might not have been able to save Chris.”
    >”My, I simply don’t know what you’re talking about. How could I have possibly known that you were secretly keeping the Queen of the Changelings in the everfree forest and making regular visits to her to discuss her nihilistic views on life and her twisted secret history?”
    “I don’t know, how could you?”
    >Discord chuckles to himself, “Say, have you ever heard of Peter the dolphin?”
    “I’m waiting for the HD re-release.”
    >”He was part of an experiment to see if they could teach dolphins to speak. By having a woman live in a flooded room together with a dolphin and giving him speech lessons, they believed that they could get the dolphin to understand language. But in the end, Peter could only mimic the sounds of words for reward without putting them together or using them unassisted to truly communicate. Peter was more interested in getting the woman to play with HIS ‘peter’ if you know what I mean. Which, fun fact, is prehensile. Now then, do you understand what I'm trying to say here?" Discord asks with a grin.
“Nope.”
>”That’s exactly right! How can either of us really understand what the other means just with words? After all, the things I’m saying are all things I have no logical way of knowing, aren’t they? So who’s to say I know what I’m saying at all, or that I even understand your speech?”
“I think I get what you’re saying… or rather, I get that I can’t get what you’re saying. Because you’re saying that anything that you say that just happens to be true… is nothing more than a coincidence, right?”
>Discord points at you. “You’re pretty good. After all, what guarantee do you have that I even understand the words that are coming out of your mouth? For all you know, I am merely a beast that is intrigued by the sounds it can create, and is stringing them together in a way that randomly coincides with what you interpret as a conversation. And I have no guarantee that you are not doing the same.”
“It’s like they say, 1000 monkeys at 1000 keyboards could bang out the works of Shakespeare if they had enough time.”
>”And I happen to have nearly all the time in the universe, and a great deal of luck.”
“So that’s how you can get away with saying things that you shouldn’t know about, right? But you can’t tell me the truth directly because you don’t actually know it?”
>Can’t tell you, don’t want to tell you, could be either, could be both, and perhaps I’m simply lying through my teeth.”
“So suppose you were to randomly say a certain name to me, and that name just happened to be the name of the Culprit we’re looking for…”
>”It would end very poorly for you.” Discord grins.
“Poorly?”
>”Sorry, no spoilers here. After all, this little no fun allowed headband would prevent me from truly knowing anything too useful, even with those loopholes.”
“But you do want to help me, right? You care about Fluttershy, and Twilight, don’t you?”
>”As a heads up, I’ve always preferred older partners anyway. Fluttershy's a bit young for me, so you won't have to worry about me stealing her from you."
“Uh, I appreciate it… I think. But when you say older, do you mean like Celestia?”
>Discord smirks, “I suppose Celestia or her sister might be more my speed if I got back into the game. Though I have to wonder if Luna’s all there. And Celestia, well who can tell what goes on in that princess’s mind?”
“This just in, pot goes on racial tirade against kettle in the audience at the Laugh Factory. More at 11.”
>”I appreciate the irony of the situation, but I suppose I just sass the kind of frood who really knows where their towel is. After all, they say opposites attract. And it’s always fun to put a little chaos in them to drive them wild.”
>Discord leans in and whispers quietly, “Perhaps you’d like to get a little chaotic sometime yourself.”
“I think… after everything I’ve gone through with Trixie, I might want to settle down for a bit. Maybe just start spending my time after work learning to knit.”
>Discord keks loudly, “Oh, Anonymous you loony! Really, you are too much.”
“What?”
>”Haven’t you heard by now?” Discord grins wickedly. “The ride never ends.”
“You better be trolling me right now.”
>”That’s my secret. I’m always trolling you. Now then, I think I’ve given you enough hints for one day. Run along. Your homework is to review chapters 13,138-13,255.”
“... huh?”
>Discord packs up and heads back into Fluttershy’s house.
>You have no idea if you’ve grown close to Discord or not.
>Either way, you should go see Cherilee today to see how things are going between her and her sister.

Cheerilee’s House, Evening

>Cheerilee answers the door when you knock.
>”Good evening, Anonymous. Come on in.”
>You enter her cozy little abode and sit down on her couch, now free of loafing sisters.
>She has a seat next to you and immediately snuggles right up against you with a warm hug.
>”Thanks for helping me out last week. Things have been a lot better between me and Berry.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Cheerilee. Looks like she’s not here today, huh?”
>”She’s been respecting my space and staying at home. Her husband is pretty strict about how much she can drink there because he doesn’t want her drunk around the foals, and she respects that rule. That’s actually part of the reason why she spent so much time at my place.”
“So has she been keeping her drinking under control?”
>”She has. Now that she understands her habit a little better, it’s easier for her to identify it and keep it under control. We’re all keeping an eye on her for now, but I think she cares about me more than she cares about getting drunk. So I’m not too worried.”
“That sounds really great, Cheerilee.”
>”It is. It really is. It feels like I finally have my sister back. And I love being with you. It makes me feel… youthful. The way I used to feel, back when I was the kind of rebel that wouldn’t listen to what anypony told her to do.”
>”Heh, then again… I guess I was still trying to rebel just a little bit. Holding on to that silly old grudge against my parents like that. I feel like I’ll be able to have a lot closer of a relationship with my family than before. I realize how important they are to me now. In fact, I might even take Berry up on her offer.”
“You want to move in with her?”
>”I admit… it’ll be a bit of a step down in terms of privacy or independence. But I want to be part of my family again. Pina and Pinch still call me Miss Cheerilee like everypony else, even outside of school. But I think I’m going to try to leave “Miss” Cheerilee in the classroom from now on."
    >”I won’t let my life pass me by any longer. I’m going to start making more time for myself. And the ones I love.” she says, looking into your eyes warmly.
    >You smile back and stroke her mane.
    >There’s a bit of silence as she just smiles at you knowingly.
    “... oh! Uh, I love you too!”
    >Cheerilee giggles, “This isn’t a quiz, silly. I can already tell you love me.”
    >She kisses you sweetly on the lips and smiles. “Care for a glass of wine?”
    “That sounds lovely. You’ll have one too of course, right?”
    >”Of course.”
    >Cheerilee grabs a bottle and two glasses, pouring you a bit of the sweetly fragrant crimson wine.
    >”Oh! Before I forget, I… have something else for you.”
    “Something else?”
    >”Hold out your hand, please.”
    >You do as she says.
    >She places something small into it, and as she takes her hoof away, you find a shiny little gold star sticker.
    Obtained: Gold Star
    >”It… might seem a little juvenile, but I assure you that I have notoriously rigorous standards for what gets a gold star.”
    “In that case, I’m honored.”
    >Cheerilee grins, “I knew you’d get it. But this is my way of saying thank you. This gold star… means I’m completely amazed by your performance. I never thought I’d be able to turn my life around like this. And I have you to thank for it.”
    >You feel a tight bond between you and Cheerilee…
    >!

    ————————————————————

    Thou art I… And I am thou…

    Thou hast established an inseparable bond.

    This inseparable bond shall have a permanent home in thy heart.

    We bestow upon thee the ability to create Solomon, the ultimate form of the Hierophant Arcana...

    ————————————————————

    >Cheerilee holds her glass up for you.
    >You hold yours up to hers and gently clink it.
    “Cheers.”
    >”Cheers.” she replies warmly.
    >You spent a long time with Cheerilee...
Sunday, December 18th

>You woke up in Cheerilee’s house to the sound of two mares chatting…
>Stumbling towards their voices, you rub your eyes and see Cheerilee and Derpy talking together at the table over a basket of muffins.
“G’mornin, you two.”
>”Grf mrnrn, Amnm!” Derpy greets you happily with a mouth full of muffin.
>”Good morning, Anonymous. Did you sleep well?” Cheerilee asks.
“Yeah, and it looks like I woke up even better. Two of my favorite mares and a basket of muffin flavored muffins? That’s a heck of a way to start the day.”
>”Come sit down! We saved you some.” Derpy says, holding one out for you.
>You pull up a chair and have a seat, taking the muffin from Derpy with a courteous nod.
>”We were just talking about you. Derpy tells me you wanted to know about how we got our cutie marks?”
“Yeah, I was thinking I’d like to know the story.”
>”Can we tell him, Cheery?” Derpy asks optimistically.
>”Of course! I think he’s more than earned it after everything he’s done for both of us.”
“Sounds like I’m in for a treat. You don’t tell this story to a lot of other ponies, do you?”
>Cheerilee giggles, “I actually tell my class I just woke up one morning and found my cutie mark the next day. For the sake of our privacy.”
>”But the real story’s a lot funner! Cheery’s the hero in the story!”
“A hero?” you smirk.
>Cheerilee shakes her head, “I don’t know if my actions were too “heroic” but it’s probably best to just tell you what happened. Derpy, would you like to start us off?”
>”Sure, Cheery!”
>Derpy clears her throat and closes her eyes as she begins the story.
>”It all starts when I was a little filly back in grade school. Because of my condition, I didn’t learn as good as other ponies. I got held back a couple grades, I got teased a lot because of my eye and my flying, and I was having a really bad time.”
    >Cheerilee adds, “Back then, Special Education wasn’t as widespread or as functional as it is now. Schools weren’t equipped to deal with students that had different needs.”
    >”Right, that. So I was really sad all the time, and I didn’t want to go to school anymore. A lot of times I’d stay home and fake sick so I wouldn’t get teased. It wasn’t really fun. And one day my parents ended up having to move to Ponyville for work stuff. So I was kind of excited ‘cause it meant it’d be a better school, and nopony would know I got held back before. But… it wasn’t a whole lot better. Especially the teacher, Ms. Hickory. She was really mean to me because I made her look bad and I always needed so much help.”
    >”But…” Cheerilee says, “it just so happened that I had a seat next to poor Deirdre Pianissimo van Huv.”
    >Derpy blushes upon hearing her full name being used.
    “I think the middle part’s really cute. Pianissimo.”
    >Derpy fidgets nervously. ”C’mon… it’s all embarrassing and stuff. Deirdre makes me sound like an old lady. That’s why I shorten it. Deir. P. Hooves. Derpy Hooves. Or just Derpy!”
    >”And a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Cheerilee comments. “But of course, I didn’t realize such things back then when I was just an immature little filly. To be honest, I… was unappreciative of Derpy’s finer qualities. I had yet to realize that she was a diamond in the rough. When I first started sitting next to her… I’m ashamed to admit the things I thought about her, but at the very least I managed to never say them out loud, unlike some of my peers.”
    >”If you don’t have anything nice to say you shouldn’t say it at all.” Derpy says strongly.
    >”Very true, Derpy. But even if I wasn’t your #1 fan, at the very least I wasn’t a fan of the way you were being treated. And when I saw you crying after school that day… I just couldn’t let it go.”
    >Derpy’s wings flutter happily. “Mmhm. You came up and asked me what’s wrong, and I told you I was really scared ‘cause Ms. Hickory said I was going to get held back a grade if I got another zero… and getting held back is really bad. Everypony in your grade knows you’re dumb right from the start if you’re held back, and you have to see all the other ponies in the next grade all year so they can make fun of you…”
    “Sounds pretty terrible.”
    >”I thought so too.” says Cheerilee. “Which is why I just… I still don’t know how I managed to convince myself to do it, but since I was one of the best students in the class, I offered to tutor her back at my place. And when we got there… it wasn’t very easy. Derpy’s difficulties were a bit more than I expected as a young naive filly. And she was very low on motivation.”
    >”Because back then everypony told me I was dumb… and I believed them.” Derpy frowns.
    >”But stubborn little me thought she could perhaps get extra credit for pulling it off, so young Cheers Liquer kept trying her best day after day to help Derpy to study.”
    >”And then one day Cheery started getting kind of mad ‘cause I wasn’t trying hard enough.”
    >”I… tried to be more concerned than angry, but I suppose i was a little upset. I forced Derpy to answer and asked her why she couldn’t study. That’s… when I started to realize that Derpy really just saw the world differently than other ponies.”
    >”I started crying, and I told her that when she tried to teach me I wanted to remember what she was saying, but for me, trying to remember stuff was like trying to catch air… it was just plain impossible. And I’d never be able to do it. That’s what I told her.”
    >”But I was too stubborn to accept that. I held Derpy’s shoulders firmly as she cried and told her, “Don’t cry, Derpy. Promise me you won’t cry until it’s all over. Save your tears for the end so they’ll be tears of joy.” is what I told her.”
    >”It was the most inspiring thing I ever heard, and I stopped crying right away and said “okay, I promise!”.”
    >”It was a line I stole from a movie I watched.” Cheerilee admits shamefully. “I didn’t know how to get Derpy to stop crying, so I just repeated the line and it worked.”
    >”But that’s not all she did~!” Derpy sings. “Tell him what you did next!”
    >”Well…” Cheerilee continues, “I wasn’t going to accept her saying that it was impossible for me to teach her, so I showed her how to catch air. I went to the sink, got a bunch of water and dish soap, and showed her the soap bubbles and said, “There, you see? It’s not impossible to catch air, so it’s not impossible for you to learn either!” and for Celestia knows whatever reason, that seemed to make something click in Derpy’s head.”
    >”It was like my whole world was turned upside down. I just never thought about things that way, so I started to wonder if maybe I made my mind like the soap bubbles… I could remember things a little better. So every time I learned something new, I put it in a little bubble in my mind so I could look at it whenever I wanted. And it was working!”
    >”I don’t know if it was just the placebo effect giving her the confidence to succeed, or if it’s just part of the special way her mind works, but she was improving drastically. She was motivated and ready to learn from me. And then came the day of that big test…”
    >”I was really nervous…” Derpy says, looking at her hooves. “But every time I started getting scared, I looked over at Cheery and I felt myself calm down a little bit. And I got all the way through the test.”
    >”I was very excited to see how my pupil did, so imagine my shock when I looked at her paper after class and saw a big fat zero. But I was sure all the answers were correct!”
    >”It wasn’t that big.” Derpy smiles. “But it was pretty bad. I was really sad, but Cheery wanted answers, so she dragged me back into the classroom after everypony but Ms. Hickory was gone and asked why I got a zero. And Ms. Hickory said it was ‘cause I cheated.”
    >Cheerilee begins speaking in the voice of a cranky old crone, “I saww yooou looking over at Miss Liquer’s sheet all afternoon, Dierdre! You’re a cheat and I’ll be telling your parents so! There’s no way in Equestria you’d ever get a perfect score on any test ever!”
    >Derpy giggles, “Mmhm! That’s what she sounded like. So she said that to me, and I started crying ‘cause I thought it was over… and that’s when Cheery got mad. Real mad. Madder than I’ve ever seen her get ever!”
    >Cheerilee blushes shyly. “I… well, I did become quite irate. I told her, “How dare you make my friend cry? Derpy’s no cheat, you big fat ugly…” I won’t repeat the words I used after that, because they’re very inappropriate. And… I don’t remember all of them. I’m quite sure I made more than a few up on the spot, and pulled out every cuss word I ever heard in every movie I wasn’t supposed to see.”
    >”And she yelled ‘em so loud the whole school heard!” Derpy says proudly.
    >”I got in so much trouble… my parents were furious, and even after I explained what happened, I was grounded for the rest of the school year.” Cheerilee sighs.
    >”But since she kicked up a fuss, they made Ms. Hickory let me take the test again and I got 100% that time too!”
    >”And even though I was grounded, my parents let Derpy in to see me to say thank you.”
    >”And when I went there, I brought her daisies to say thanks. I told her my parents gave me them to give to Ms. Hickory for letting me retake the test, but I decided to give them to the pony who taught me something really important. Just because something looks impossible doesn’t mean it is impossible.”
    >”And when I saw her smiling face, I realized I wanted to see that kind of smile for the rest of my life."
    >”And we both felt this amazingly warm feeling as our flanks began to shine…
    >”Then both of our cutie marks appeared!”
    >”And we’ve been friends ever since.” Cheerilee concludes.
    >”The end.” Derpy adds as she embraces Cheerilee.
    “That was a wonderful story, you two. So that’s what inspired Cheerilee to become a teacher, huh?”
    >Cheerilee laughs, “Well, not exactly. Not right away, anyway. In fact, for a while I absolutely hated teachers. I had a chip on my shoulder ever since that day when it came to them. I started thinking they were just a bunch of power tripping jerks who got off on bossing around little fillies.”
    “Heh, well you were still young I guess.”
    >”It wasn’t until much later that I started to think about what I wanted to do, and I realized that I wanted to be the kind of teacher I wish I had back then.”
    >”But if Ms. Hickory wasn’t such a bad teacher, you wouldn’t have become such a great teacher, and we wouldn’t have become such great friends!” Derpy points out.
    “Silver linings, eh?”
    >”Derpy always has been good at looking at a bad situation in a positive light.” Cheerilee smiles.
    “All’s well that ends well, after all. Thanks for sharing this story with me, girls. It’s a really great one.”
    >”Thanks for listening!” Derpy says, helping herself to another muffin.
    >You talked with the two of them for a bit longer before leaving to start your day.
    >Those muffins were good, but you feel like you might have room for something more.
    >Sunset asked about grabbing a hayburger some time.
    >You decide to take her up on that offer and head to the castle.
    >You go to your old room to talk to her, and she agrees to meet you down there.
    >A few minutes later, you find yourself sharing a table with Sunset Shimmer.

Hayburger, Morning

>”Thanks for coming out here with me, Anon.” She says as your orders arrive. “I can’t believe it’s been over a decade since I had one of these…”
“You didn’t come here before now?”
>”Well… honestly I haven’t left the castle too much. It’s just kind of strange, being back.”
“How so?”
>”Just… maybe it’s because so much time has passed, or because I’m more used to Canterlot, but everything just feels kind of off. It’s like… you know how when you record your voice and listen to it, you don’t sound anything like you thought you would? Like that."
“You think it’s because you’ve been in the other world for so long?”
>”It might be that. And it’s really weird talking to all my… friends. You know, Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, AJ, Rarity…”
“You talked to Rarity?”
>”Yeah, I heard she locked herself up because of some drama with Princess Luna, but her store opened back up on the 15th.”
“I see. I might have to pay her a visit in that case.”
>”Anyway, it’s just really strange talking to all of them. They seem nice, and their basic personalities are all the same, but it’s those little differences, you know? They might be their parallel world versions, but they’re just not the same people. Or ponies. But maybe it’s not just that. Something else seems off, but I can’t really tell what it is. Just… something about all of them gives me this really uneasy feeling.”
“It could be because of SIHN. They’ve all been affected by it in some way.”
>”Yeah, that’s probably it...” Sunset sighs.
>”It’s too bad. I was really looking forward to this. I thought it’d be like meeting my friends all over again, but I just can’t help feeling strange about it. So I’ve kind of been in my room most of the time. Even Twilight… she keeps giving me this weird look like she feels guilty about something. And I can’t help but feel like she’s hiding something from me. I know I shouldn’t think that way about my friend, but it’s just… this weird gut feeling. I’m probably overreacting though.”
“It could be that she feels guilty that you aren’t enjoying your vacation as much as you should be.”
>”Well, I mean, it’s not just a vacation for me. I wanted to help however I can. But now that I’m here… it just doesn’t seem like I can do that much.”
”That could be it too. I’m sure Twilight doesn’t want you to feel like an outsider. She probably felt like one when she went through the mirror the first time. Twi’s pretty empathetic. She might be picking up on that. And I know you might not think you’re being too useful, but you’ve really helped a lot. It’s good to know that I’m not from this world or that one. And you were really supportive when we were talking about how to deal with Trixie. I appreciate that a lot.”
>”I’m glad things worked out for you two. But it’s just that after Twilight saved me that way… nothing seems like it’ll ever be enough. I feel like even if I spend the rest of my life working for it, I’ll never be able to repay her for everything she did for me.”
“Sunset, you should know Twilight isn’t that kind of pony. Your friendship is enough for her.”
>”I know, I know. But it’s not about her. It’s about me. I’m the one who’s not satisfied yet. I feel like I need to do more, you know? Even if I can never fully repay her, I have to try.”
“And you’re doing a fine job, Sunset. I know Twilight was really excited to have you here. She probably wanted you to be friends with the ponies of this world too, but despite their similarities, they’re really just strangers.”
>Sunset looks at her hayburger morosely. “It took Twilight like 2 days to get the girls at CHS on her side. I’ve been here over a week and I still just can’t gel with any of them here. But it’s not because of them. They’ve all been more than friendly enough. Pinkie even offered to throw me a Welcome to Ponyville party. But… I turned her down. In fact I’m the one who said it should just be you three when I came through in the mirror.”
"Why?"
>"I just... I don't know. It's complicated."
“I’m used to complicated by now. If it’s really bothering you, you can tell me. I want you to enjoy yourself here too after all.”
>Sunset looks up at you. “Well… then again, I guess if anyone here would understand, it’d be you. I just… don’t feel comfortable here. And I’m starting to wonder if I feel comfortable anywhere. I know this world is my home, but I turned my back on it. I spent most of my life here, but the other world is the first place where I truly had friends. But in the other world, I’m not even really myself. This is what I really look like. I’m a unicorn, not a human. And my friends are okay with that and all, but I’m just not so sure if I am or not.”
“I do get what you mean. Because I lost all of my memory of what my life was like in my own world, I don’t remember if I have anything to go back to there. Even though I know I’m an outsider here, I’ve made friends, and even fallen in love. Right now, I don’t know if I can ever return to my own world. But… I’m kind of hoping I won’t have to. Here, I know what I have. But back there, anything could be waiting for me. I'm not sure if I'd want to leave."
>You see Sunset smiling subtly. “You really like this world a lot, huh?”
“Yeah, I do.”
>”Well it’s not like I think this place is awful or anything. And if I stayed, at least I’d have Twilight. But I’ve just gotten so close to my other friends… they’re all so amazing to forgive me the way they did. I’m even in a band with them called the Rainbooms! It’s pretty sweet.”
“Twi mentioned it. What's your part?”
>”Rhythm guitar and backup vocals."
"That so? I'd love to hear you sing sometime."
>Sunset nervously strokes her long mane. "I'm not that great... especially without the rest of them. Dash is the lead singer. I wonder, does Rainbow Dash sing well in this world too?"
"Never thought she was the singing type."
>"She's an athlete here too, right? Well you'd be surprised..."
>You continued talking with SS about her friends for a while before parting ways.

Afternoon, Fluttershy’s Cottage

>You stopped by Fluttershy’s place to visit her, hoping to make some progress on Operation Applesauce (Name subject to change).
>After the guard captain lets you in, you sit down with Fluttershy, though it seems she first wishes to discuss business with you.
>”So… has Pinkie told you that we’re predicting Applejack’s attack to happen on the 20th?”
“She has. Something about it being an anniversary. I feel like I can guess what that means.”
>Fluttershy nods. “It’s the anniversary of her parents’ death. If there’s any day that her stress might reach its peak, I think it would be that day. The difficulties in running the farm is something she can handle, but I’m sure as you saw back at Pinkie Pie’s house, when it comes to her parents, she feels very strongly about them.”
“I thought as much.”
>”Dash is volunteering to cover weather that morning since she won’t be affected by SIHN, and the guards are going to be on high alert for anypony at risk those days. I hope nopony gets hurt…”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine. For now, you need to relax. That’s the best way for you to be ready to fight with us. And the best way for you to learn to control your powers. So tonight, I was wondering… is there any place to eat in town you’d like to try that you haven’t for some reason?”
>"Somewhere I haven't tried…” Fluttershy thinks.
>”I haven’t tried that eastern fusion place in town. I didn’t want anypony to make any kind of connection between me and Neighpon, so I’ve never been there.”
“Great, let’s go there.”
>”H-Huh? You want to go there tonight? I… oh, I’m not sure… I mean, letting you know who I am is one thing, but I still don’t want anypony to know I came from a yakuza family…”
“Eating eastern food isn’t going to make somepony think you’re in the Yakuza. It's just food, Fluttershy.”
>”Yes, but… I don’t know. What if it isn’t any good? Maybe we shouldn't. I wouldn’t want to waste your time taking me out somewhere...”
“It won’t be a waste, Fluttershy. I’ll be going out with a friend after all.”
>”Well… I suppose there’s not much for me to do here. Things are pretty slow since most of the animals are hibernating for the winter. Okay, if you really want to go out with me tonight, I’ll go.”
“Glad to hear it.”

Yiwe Sushi

>You found a nice table somewhere in the back of the restaurant together.
>The menu seems quite varied…
>You’re not sure that everything on this menu is actually Ja… Neighponese, but you suppose that’s where the “fusion” part comes in.
>It feels almost like they’re saying, “We wanted to open a Chineighse place, but there’s already a good one in Ponyville, so we just learned to make other asian food to set ourselves apart. But we have sushi and they don’t. So eat here.”
>This view is reinforced as Fluttershy informs you that the staff is all Chineighse, much to her relief.
>You’re further informed that “Yiwe” is not Neighponese. In fact, it’s impossible to even spell that out in the Neighponese language, as it consists of two characters that are absent from their alphabet.
>Incompetence? Or secret insult to baka gaijin who can’t actually tell the difference and probably think this stuff all comes from the same country anyway?
>You can’t be sure either way.
>You decide to stick to your plan and ask Fluttershy to order without regard to price or health.
>She seems a bit unsure at first… but you manage to convince her to go along with it.
>You end up ordering curry udon while she has a plate of tempura fried shrimp and vegetables, as well as some fried agedashi tofu.
>Your food is pretty good. You feel thankful that you don’t have a nose, as the heat from the curry would be causing it to run like Usain Bolt right about now.
>Still, you get the sense that Fluttershy isn’t enjoying herself.
>She keeps looking off to the side, and doesn’t really seem to be paying attention to you or the food.
>Perhaps you should say something to her.
“Is something bothering you, Fluttershy?”
>”I… I don’t know. It’s not really that important…”
“If something’s bothering you, I want you to be honest, Fluttershy. You should be enjoying yourself, and if you’re not, then tell me so I know what to do.”
>”Do you… really want to know?”
“Of course, if you’re okay with telling me. So what, are you not enjoying the food? Should I not have ordered that for you?”
>”Oh, it’s not bad or anything, I mean… I suppose it is a little unhealthy, and I can’t help but feel worried a little bit about that since I don’t exercise enough, and it’s not quite as good as the tempura I was used to eating from my personal chefs in Cloudsdale which I expected, and I’d rather be eating sushi but that’s even more difficult to prepare and I know that the hamachi wouldn’t be fresh because Seriola quinqueradiata don’t live close enough to Equestria for it to be fresh at these prices unless they’re using some other species of yellowtail but those tend to have an aftertaste that real hamachi lacks which makes it a bit unpleasant for me, not to mention that they’ll probably put seiyou wasabi in it rather than genuine wasabi due to the plant being difficult to cultivate outside of Neighpon, but that isn’t what’s bothering me.”
“... so what is bothering you?”
>”It’s my family. Eating this kind of food makes me think of them. My family used to make me neighponese food whenever I was feeling down, which was pretty much all the time. So now I can’t help but think of them and be worried about what kind of danger they’re in because of me.”
>You can’t help but wonder if this was such a good idea.
>”I’m sorry... I’m not making this very fun for you. This is why I don’t talk very much. I tend to worry a lot when I feel uncomfortable, and I don't want to bring anypony down by saying anything negative, so I just don't say anything at all most of the time."
“Your friends want to hear it if you’re unhappy, Fluttershy. Don’t forget that.”
>”I really do have such wonderful friends. They’re the best part of my life. But sometimes… I wonder if I’m the weakest link out of all of us, you know? I’m supposed to be one of the Elements of Harmony, but I’m such a coward.”
“It’s not about not being scared, Fluttershy. It’s natural to be afraid of danger. But being afraid and still being there for your friends when they need you makes you brave.”
>”You think so?” Fluttershy asks hopefully.
“Absolutely. But it’s not about being strong or weak, it’s about being there for each other. And that goes both ways. You should never feel bad about needing to confide in us or tell us if you’re feeling bad because I know you’ll be there for us whenever we need you.”
>Fluttershy blushes demurely. “Oh, I don’t know about that… I usually just get scared and try to hide whenever there’s trouble…”
“I don’t think that’s true, Fluttershy. Back when the Culprit attacked you in your place, I know you were understandably scared… but even when the culprit had you pinned to the ground, when you heard that the culprit did something to those animals, you were angry. You were ready to stand up to that culprit and fight. And I hear that’s not the first time you’ve stood up to something a lot stronger than you because your friends were in danger. But you just need to learn to treat yourself the way you treat your friends.“
>Fluttershy nods. “You’re right… I have to be a friend to Shizuka. To myself. Thanks, Anon. I feel better now.”
“And if you’re really not enjoying yourself, we can always leave.
>Fluttershy looks at you warmly. “It’s okay. I’m enjoying myself now.”
>The rest of the night went smoothly.
>Fluttershy seems a bit more comfortable around you now, but there’s still work left to be done.
>As you came home, Trixie and Gilda are sleeping together, cuddled up in front of the fireplace for warmth.
>You placed a blanket over them and went to bed.

Monday, December 19th

>One more day until Applejack’s predicted SIHN attack.
>You focus on work for today.
>Cranky’s mood seems to be somewhat improved ever since you went drinking with him.
>Or maybe he’s just pleased that he doesn’t have to chop his own firewood.
>Either way, work goes well.
>Sunset Shimmer told you that Rarity’s store reopened recently.
>You figure this means it should be okay to visit her by now.
>After work, you head straight there.

Carousel Boutique, Afternoon

>Rarity cheerily calls out “Come on in!” as you knock.
>You enter to find Rarity’s boutique looking quite… festive.
>She’s certainly in the holiday spirit, with the entire place covered in red, white, and green decorations.
>Banners, wreaths, stars, and even a picture perfect evergreen tree all done up with lights.
>”Hello, Darling! So sorry that it’s been so long…” Rarity says as she gets up from her worktable, wearing a stylish black winter dress with some warm looking fur trim and a matching fuzzy black ushanka.
“Not at all. I’m just glad you seem to be doing so much better. You’re open for business again?”
>”Of course I am, Darling. Winter always has been my favorite season. With everypony looking to buy warm stylish winter clothes, I’d have to be truly insane to close my doors to them now! And it’s true I had been going through a bit of a… slump, but the past is in the past. Everypony seems to have forgotten that dreadful incident, and I intend to leave it behind just as they did.”
“Yeah, that’s a good attitude to have.”
>Though it would have been a better attitude to have several weeks ago.
>”Are you looking for a fresh winter style, perchance?”
“You know, that could be good. I’m actually pretty cold most of the time since I don’t have any body hair. And I’ve got enough saved up from my jobs to afford a nice sweater or two.”
>”Consider the first one an early hearth’s warming present, Darling. Oh, do you know what that is?”
“Twilight told me during our history lessons. I’ll need gifts though, right?”
>”Indeed, the 31st is not far away.”
“The 31st?”
>”Hearth’s Warming Eve, my dear.”
“It’s not the 25th?”
>”Of course not. The first day of the Equestrian Calendar happened after the tribes united and founded Equestria.”
>Lucky break for you.
>You haven’t been really thinking much about gifts.
>This should give you some extra time to plan.
“So I’ll have to get gifts for all of my friends?”
>”Some ponies do, but it isn’t strictly necessary. I don’t believe too many ponies would feel remiss if you didn’t get them anything, since you aren’t used to our traditions. Get as many or as few as you like. Perhaps you might wish to limit it to those you are romantically involved with.”
“Might make things more manageable… I’ll think about it.”
>”If you do decide to buy gifts, would you like me to help you shop for them?” Rarity asks hopefully.
“Sounds like it could be fun.”
>Rarity lets out an ear piercing squeal of delight.
>Seems she really likes shopping…
>You spent a while talking to Rarity, getting her caught up on what’s been going on in your life.
>It’s a good talk, and you part ways amicably.
>But there’s still a strange gut feeling you have about her.
>Every time the conversation started to steer towards her, she changed the subject.
>Despite appearing friendly, Rarity still seems to be keeping you at a distance.
>It may be difficult for your relationship to progress like this.
>You headed home and went to bed early to prepare for the next morning...

Tuesday, December 20th.

>You’re sitting at the table eating some eggs Gilda made for you when it happens.
>You hear shouting outside…
>Guards are rushing around and ponies seem panicked.
>A mare you recognize as Golden Harvest has collapsed on the ground.
>Immediately you go to your closet and grab your warhammer.
>Just as you have it in your hand, little floating message appears in your vision.
><Anonymous. Are you receiving this message properly?>
“Fluttershy?”
><Oh, good. I see you’re in your room. Applejack has reached Stage 3. As soon as you’re ready, I can communicate your location to Twilight and have her pick you up.>
“I’m ready.”
><Just one moment.>
>In a few seconds, there’s a series of two consecutive purple flashes as Twilight appears in your room and instantly transports you along with her to the farmhouse.

Sweet Apple Acres, Morning

>The rest of the team seems to be assembled outside of AJ’s place.
>Fluttershy is staring blankly into space with a vacant look in her eyes for a few seconds before shaking her head and snapping out of it.
“Feels kind of un-leaderlike of me to get here last, but oh well. Applejack’s in there, right? Is uh, Granny Smith handling it well?”
>Twilight looks at the door sheepishly. “Well… yes and no.”
>Curious as to her meaning, you open the door.
>Applejack is collapsed in the living room, along with the rest of her immediate family.
>Big Mac, Apple Bloom, Granny… all of them have been brought in as branches.
“They all reached stage 3 right away?”
>”It tends to affect ponies you know more quickly.” Twilight explains.
“Right… so I was thinking, one of us needs to stay out here, right?”
>”N-Not necessarily.” Fluttershy interjects. “We should only have 5 of us using our personas at once, but Shoggoth can hide one of them in his mouth and keep them safe. So we can all go in.”
>"So who rides with Fluttershy, leader?" Dash asks you.

“Pinkie Pie, you can stick with Fluttershy for now. Dash, Spike, and Twilight will be on the front lines with me.”
>Your team nods in understanding.
>Dash seems pretty excited that she’s still a first stringer.
>Before you enter Fantasia, you make the excuse of having to investigate something very quickly and find a door to enter the Velvet Room.

Velvet Room, Morning

>Elizabeth is waiting for you as always.
>”Welcome back.”
>She holds up the golden Hierophant card for you with her magic.
>”It seems the Hierophant Arcana has earned a special place inside your heart. You will carry it with you as long as you live.”
>”Now then, have you decided what powers to bring with you into your next battle?”
>Elizabeth fans out the cards for you. You select Demeter, AM, Amaterasu, Joan of Arc, and Cyrano.”
>”Excellent choice. I hope they prove to be valuable assets in the coming fight.”
>”You know… the Velvet Room has taken many forms to suit its guests.”
>”An elevator, a limousine, and now a library.”
>”I wonder what we might see next.”
>”Perhaps… a boat.”
>”I hear that boats are quite popular. Perhaps our next guest should be a swashbuckling pirate, fighting for love, justice, and freedom on the high seas! And ours would be the S.S. Velvet, the cabin air tinged with the smell of the salty sea spray! It’s quite a romantic scenario, don’t you agree?”
>”But… now that I think about it, I believe my master has mentioned he is prone to seasickness.”
>”A pity. I would have liked to meet a real pirate.”
>”Of course, video game piracy is wrong. You did pay for this game from a licensed retailer, didn’t you? If not, the next game might get translated into your language. いやな事ですね。あなたは日本語がわからないから。”
>”I’m only joking. Who in their right mind would pay for this?”
>”But that’s enough for one day. You have a challenging road ahead of you.”
>”Have faith in your bonds, and never give up.”
>”Until next time.”

>You return to the living room.
“Everyone ready?”
>”Ready!”
“Take us in. Let’s go!”

Applejack’s Fantasia, Stairway to Heaven

>The Dream Team “wakes up” on a white marble floor in front of a white and gold gate fencing off a tall ivory tower.
>The outside of the tower seems to be textured like the bark of a tree, and at the top, clouds spread out like branches covered with thick snowy leaves.
>Fluttershy summons her persona immediately and begins staring up at the tower.
><That’s strange… I can’t quite locate Applejack’s shadow. I can see numerous smaller shadows inside the tower, but I can’t find Applejack.>
“Maybe she’s out of range?”
><I’m not sure... she might be. I can’t quite see through those thick clouds above us.”
>”Right, so same deal as last time. We fly to the top and blast out way in. Done!” Dash says confidently.
><Oh, um… that might not be a very good idea. Shoggoth can’t fly, and I’m detecting numerous flight-capable shadows outside of the tower.>
>”We’re not trained for an aerial battle like that. I say we go through that tower. We minimize their angles of approach that way, and can force them into choke points. Getting swarmed by shadows from every direction wouldn’t end well for us.” Twilight says.
“I agree with Twi here. Looks like we have to do this one by the book.”
><Okay. Pinkie Pie, would you please come over here?>
>Pinkie walks towards Fluttershy, who pulls Pinkie into the void of Shoggoth’s mouth. “Wheee!” Pinkie exclaims as she falls in.
><Shadows shouldn’t be able to notice us like this. We’ll be right behind you, so don’t worry.>
“Got it. So it looks like we’ll have to break open that gate to get in. Any volunteers?”
>”Ooh! Big guy, can I do it?” Spike asks eagerly.
“Be my guest.”
>You notice that Spike isn’t carrying any weapons, and in fact doesn’t seem much different than usual other than his spectacles.
>He walks up to the gate and cracks his knuckles…
“Wait, so you don’t have a weapon? How are you going to fight?”
>”That’s easy. I’m a dragon. This is my weapon!”
>Spike’s fist becomes wreathed in emerald flame as he steps forward and takes a swing straight at the center of the gate.
>His punch connects explosively, blowing the pearly gates right off their hinges and sending them spinning through the air before landing a good 30 feet away.
“Whoah…”
>”Pretty good, huh?” Spike grins.
>”That was amazing, Spike! No wonder you said you didn’t need to learn a weapon…” Twilight says, astonished.
>”We really gotta spar sometime.” Dash smiles with her wings extended.
><Everypony, look out! Two incoming shadows from above!>
>You look up and see two figures plummeting towards you.
>Quickly you jump back as they land on the marble with meteoric force, shattering the floor as two giant humanoids make contact.
>They wear a somewhat feminine looking blue mask, but their shapes are that of hulking bodybuilders wearing gold codpieces.
>Their bodies are primarily a cloudy white with golden designs, including a pair of undersized gold angel wings.
><They’re called Angelic Gigas! It looks like they aren’t too happy that we’re trying to get in.>
“Not a fan of gatecrashers, huh? Looks like we’ll have to get through them first. Dream Team, engage!”
    >”These guys look pretty slow. Father Time!”
    >You tap the card and an ancient scythe wielding man rushes out of it, swirling around the Gigas as he flies through the air.
    >He swings his scythe wildly, but it leaves mere scratches as the Gigas slowly tries to swat it away with its beefy arm.
    ><Looks like physical attacks aren’t as effective. Try using magic!>
    >”Can do! Light ‘em up, Baron!”
    >Dash tosses her card high and soars through it, summoning the bright red fighter plane and raining thunderbolts on the Gigas.
    >”If it’s magic, I’ve got you covered! Nimue!” Twilight runs the card through with her horn, causing a blue pool to expand beneath a Gigas’s feet.
    >It panics and takes to the air on its golden wings, but a massive glacier roars out of the surface of the pool, chasing after him and catching it in its icy grip, encasing his legs in an icy prison as he struggles futilely.
    >”Show him a dragon's breath! Ouroboros!”
    >Spike blows away the card in a gout of bright green fire, and a serpentine black dragon rises 15 feet into the air, spreading its leathery wings as it gathers white hot flame in its mouth.
    >You feel a rush of intense heat as a the dragon roars and emits a searing concentrated beam of white hot plasma, cutting through the glacier as it travels up to the Gigas and slices at him, leaving a chain of blinding explosions in its wake!
    >No longer supported, the gigas plummets to the ground, but recovers midair, extending his fist and slamming into marble, causing pieces of it to fly off at the group!
    >You and Dash manage to evade the marble hurtling towards you while Spike and Twilight shield themselves with their personas.
    >But as you’re focused on dodging, the other gigas charges with deceptive speed and seizes you firmly by the head!
    >You find yourself being tossed to the air, and the Gigas leaps after you, grabbing you by the midsection with a single massive hand before slamming you back into the ground with enough force to crack the marble!
    ><Anonymous! Are you okay!?>
    “I got… slammed…”
    >The giant shadow raises its fist above you, but a thundering blue bolt strikes him squarely in the chest, knocking him back.
    >Twilight swoops to your side and pulls you back to your feet. ”Hang in there, Anon!”
    >You draw a new card from your pocket and tap it weakly. “Change…”
    >The nimble Baast tumbles out of the air and lands in front of you, taking away your pain with a wave of healing white magic.
    >You get your head back in the game just as Spike fires another burning laser of heat that hits its mark straight at the reeling Gigas’s chest, blasting it into the wall of the tower as Spike turns up the heat until a bright orange hole burns into the Gigas’s chest, causing its body to explode in a mess of fire and smoke.
    ><Oh my! Only one left!>
    >The other Gigas approaches you again and takes a giant swing, but your cat-like reflexes allow you to sidestep his heavy haymaker punches.
    >He rears up for a large double-handed hammer blow, but you jump straight into the air and quickly draw a card. “Change, Alucard!”
    >The silver-haired vampire opens his cloak and launches a trio of fireballs that pepper the Gigas, causing him to clutch his face in pain.
    >Spike directs Ouroboros to fly at the beefcake angel, wrapping around his limbs and constricting him painfully, pinning his arms back as the shadow struggles and grunts, trying to throw him off.
    >”I got him! Hit him as hard as you can!” Spike yells as he concentrates hard trying to overpower the shadow with his will.
    >”Let’s do it, Twi. Lightning rod!” Dash grins.
    >”Got it. Pierce through, Nimue!”
    >The lady of the lake rushes at the shadow and sticks the shimmering sword straight into his sternum.
    >”Go for it, Dash!”
    >”Persona!” Dash cries as lightning lances into the longsword and electrocutes the shadow from the inside, bypassing his thick skin and tearing him apart in a bright explosion!
    ><You won! That was so exciting it just makes me want to shout!>
    ><... yay.>
>Your personas vanish as you all approach the tower, having taken out its guards.
“A stairway to heaven, huh?”
>”It makes sense.” Twilight nods. “Family has always been one of the most important things in Applejack’s life. But she never seems to want to talk about her parents whenever I’ve brought it up. It must be something very painful for her.”
>Pinkie pokes her head out of the invisible monster’s mouth to join the conversation. “I’ve been her friend the longest and she’s still never really talked about them with me. But I talked with Granny Smith about ‘em a few times, and she said that they were both really wonderful ponies that Applejack loved very much. It’s no wonder Applejack wants to see them up in heaven.”
>”Why are all the angels attacking us?” Dash complains. “Aren't we good enough for heaven?”
>”I’m not going to comment on the theological implications of where anypony is going to go when they die, but I think “heaven” is supposed to be a place for the dead. It’s natural for them to think we don’t belong there.” Twilight says.
>”Plus they're guarding AJ's shadow. If we’re getting attacked, we must be going in the right direction.” Spike adds.
><I suppose so. But it’s still strange… could Applejack really be up past those clouds in “heaven”?>
“There’s only one way to find out. Let’s move. Everyone get inside before more show up.”
>Pinkie Pie ducks back into Shoggoth’s mouth and you open the door to the white tree-like tower.
>Inside is a long white hallway that appears to spiral upwards the entire way through, lined with picture frames.
>”Hey, check these pictures out.” Dash says.
>There are several photographs, most of them containing a beautiful mare and a stallion with rugged flowing sideburns.
>Granny Smith is in some of them, as well as a younger Big Mac and a swaddled newborn you take to be Apple Bloom.
>”Those are Applejacks parents.” Twilight confirms. “I’ve seen their photos before.”
>Something strikes you as odd.
”AJ isn’t in any of these..."
    >The rest of them crowd around to look at the pictures.
    ><He’s right… Applejack isn’t in any of these photos!>
    >”Maybe she’s taking the picture?” Spike suggests.
    “I don’t know, Little Man. I think that there’s a meaning behind everything here.”
    >”What could this mean?” Twilight asks. “Applejack loves her family. Why would she not want to be in the pictures?”
    “Maybe it’s because she doesn’t feel like she belongs in them. Remember where we are, Twilight. This is supposed to be heaven, right? But Applejack isn’t anywhere to be found. Even Fluttershy can’t find her in this tower. And that might be because she isn’t in the tower.”
    >”Then... where is she?” Dash asks anxiously.
    “That’s what I’d like to find out. Little man, can you use your persona to listen for Applejack?”
    >”Sure thing.” Spike says, commanding Ouroboros to encircle him and bite onto its tail.
    >[Analysis mode engaged. One sec… aha! No wonder you couldn’t see her, Fluttershy! You were looking up! Applejack’s down below us along with a bunch of branch victims and shadows.]
    “In that case… I think we might have to find Applejack in hell.”
    >The party gasps.
    >Pinkie’s torso pops out of thin air. “Whaaat?! Why would Applejack be down in H-E double hockey sticks? She’s got 200% of your daily recommended allowance of moral fiber in every bite!”
    >”She’s almost a stick in the mud sometimes.” Dash adds.
    “All the more reason for her to judge herself harshly when she can’t practice what she preaches. I can’t be sure what Applejack did, but I feel like she thinks she won’t be able to go to heaven because of it. Or at least she doesn’t think she belongs with her family.”
    “Look around, maybe there’s a secret entrance to the basement. A trapdoor or something…”
    >Everyone briefly searches the area, but there doesn’t seem to be anything built into the tower to let you get to the basement from here.
    ><Maybe we should get moving… Applejack’s still in stage 3, but there are many shadows lurking in this tower.>
“We might have to be a bit forceful. There’s no sense in running around this tower of lies. We have to find the real Applejack. If there’s no door, we’ll just have to make one ourselves. Fluttershy, can you scan the floor for a weak point?”
><I-I’ll try. Let’s see… there! That portion of the wall is only three feet thick! It’s like a big hollow root going down into the earth.>
“Let’s bust it open. Maui!”
>You break the golden Sun card and a rotund man in a grass skirt carrying a primitive fishing rod charges at the wall, leaping at it with a flying headbutt!
>He collides with the wall hard, causing long thick cracks to appear on the ivory.
>[I’ll help too! Ouroboros, combat mode!]
>The dragon relinquishes its grip on its tail, its green eyes glinting as it takes a spinning dive headlong into the cracked wall, slamming into it and spiraling faster and faster, becoming a dark blur of fangs and claws as it spins against the cracked wall.
>Loud cracking sounds fill the air as the wall chips and crumbles until finally the dragon crashes straight through, knocking the ivory wall to pieces and revealing a dark hollow shaft leading down.
><Um, it looks dark… but the bottom isn’t too far. We’d just have to fly straight down. If we’re going to go, we’d better go now before the shadows in the tower catch up to us.”
>”I got Spike and Pinkie.” Dash volunteers.
>”You can ride my giant serpent, big guy!”
“Thank you, Spike. Come on, let’s go!”
>You each take your places and fly down the pitch black hole.
>There’s an intensifying heat the further you go down, and soon you begin to see a faint red glow…
><We’re getting close!>
>You keep a tight grip on your weapon as Ouroboros pulls out of his dive just before you hit the glowing red floor, swooping out of the alcove.
>You exit into a cavern illuminated by pools of boiling magma and flaming black trees. Chains hang from the ceiling with various torture implements attached to them.
>There's no doubt where you are.
"So this… is Hell."

Pit of Hell

“Twilight, stick with Fluttershy for now. Pinkie’s up.”
>Twilight nods affirmatively and switches places with Pinkie, grimacing as she climbs into the invisible creature’s maw.
“You good in there, Twi?”
>Twilight: <Aaah! Fluttershy, did you just tell your persona to lick me?>
>Fluttershy: <I didn’t tell him to. He’s just curious, Twilight. He likes you!>
>Twilight: <We really need to get your subconscious under control, Fluttershy.>
>Fluttershy: <Why would my subconscious want to lick you, Twilight? Is it hungry?>
>Twilight: <Nevermind…>
“Yeah, she’s good.”
>You keep your weapon out and begin walking.
>The red stone path is dirty with soot, trash, and debris.
>Bits of splintered wood and shredded paper litter the ground.
>You take a closer look at some of the shredded paper.
>It seems to have words on it.
>The fonts seem to match up with each other.
“I think these scraps are from the same paper. Can you guys gather some more?”
>”Seriously? Do we have time for this?” Dash asks.
“We just took a pretty big shortcut. Might be a clue.”
>Dash shrugs and begins gathering up papers with the rest of them.
>You quickly assemble the pieces of scattered paper until you begin to recognize it as the wanted poster you saw before. But there’s something different about this one.
>The word “Alive” next to “Wanted” has been crossed out in what looks like red crayon and replaced with “DEAD”.
>”Yeah… that doesn’t look ominous or anything.” Dash remarks sarcastically.
>”Does anyone else think he looks kinda familiar?” Spike asks.
“You too? Sunset Shimmer said the same thing.”
>“But Sunset Shimmer left Equestria before Spike was even hatched! How could they have seen the same pony all those years apart?” Asks Pinkie.
>”Not like walking around, he just looks like… I know I’ve seen him somewhere but where?” Spike wonders.
>You're starting to feel like you've seen that unicorn yourself.
>But where could you all have seen him?
>Or is it just in your head...
“It might just be your mind playing tricks on you. Deja vu happens sometimes in dreams. He’s even starting to look familiar to me, but there’s no way I’ve ever seen a guy like that. He’s just a generic unicorn, right? Our minds are filling in the blanks of any other unicorn with a black coat and red mane we might have seen.”
>”Yeah, maybe you’re right. I thought I might have seen him in a movie or something, but a movie star would get caught right away if he did something like that, right? Especially if she saw his cutie mark.”
“Yeah, I- wait, movie… not a movie. I know where we saw him!”
>”Huh?” Spike spins around and looks at you.
“Little man, you love Marevel comics, right?”
>He grins, “I was IN a Marevel comic. But yeah, why?”
“He’s from a comic book isn’t he.”
>Spike’s eyes widen. “That’s it! He’s Blackburner!”
“That’s the worst name I’ve ever heard.”
>”Oh he’s awful. I mean, his power is to make fires grow and control them, but he can’t even make his own fire! He has to light a match, or use a nearby lantern, or use this big flamethrower device, and they always beat him by turning on the sprinklers, or making it rain on him, or just cutting the fuel line on his flamethrower. He’s usually in costume, but that’s definitely where I saw a black unicorn with a red mane and a bonfire cutie mark.”
“I remember now. He’s in the background of the Maretropolis stage in MSH.”
>”Yeah, talk about C-list villains.” Spike rolls his eyes.
>Pinkie gasps. “I can’t believe it! Applejack’s parents were killed by a comic book character!!!”
“Or, Applejack saw that character in a comic book as a child and used him as a reference for what the arsonist looked like. She might have even done it subconsciously."
>”Why would Applejack just make it up like that? She’s the most honest pony I know!” Dash retorts.
“Maybe there’s a reason she couldn’t say who really did it. I think her shadow believes that pony deserves to die. But I don't know if I want to throw out accusations just yet..."
>The party looks a bit disheartened at this revelation.
>You wonder if they’re suspecting the same thing you are.
“Whatever happened that night… we know who the Applejack right now is. And she needs our help. We can’t afford to stop here. The only way to find out what really happened is to go there and see for ourselves. And if Applejack can’t accept what happened, we’re going to show her that we’re still willing to accept her.”
>Dash nods. “Right! Whatever happened, I’m not turning my back on my friend when she needs me.”
>”We gotta get there to cheer her on!” Pinkie says, raising her hoof excitedly.
>”Nothing’s gonna get between us and Applejack!” Spike says determinedly.
>Twilight: <We won’t let her suffer alone. As friends, we’ll share her burden no matter what!>
>Suddenly, you hear a loud howling in the distance.
>Fluttershy: <I’m sensing a powerful shadow just up ahead! Be careful!>
>You tap the card of Father Time to keep him on standby and run towards the source of the sound.
>As you round a corner in the cavern, you see a massive shadow that resembles a three-headed 2 story tall Border Collie standing in front of a towering obsidian gate with a large blue gem in the center looking like an upside-down apple with red leaves coming from its stem.
>The three-headed dog bares its bright white teeth at you. The top halves of its heads are covered with three blue masks identical to those you saw on the gigas before.
>Fluttershy: <Oh no! Please don’t hurt the doggie! He’s so cute!>
>The left head opens its jaws, and a scorching blast of fire jets out your way.
>You quickly roll to the side to avoid it, leaving a blackened spot on the floor where you used to stand.
>Fluttershy: <NO! Bad doggie! You're going to go to time out!>
“Glad to see you’re back on our side."
    >You draw the card from your pocket as if unsheathing a sword. “Change, Maui!”
    >The plump sumo man stomps the ground and raises his fishing rod, swishing it through the air and sending the hook flying at the dog’s center head!
    >It snags the beast’s chin, and with a mighty tug, Maui slams the dog’s middle head straight into the red stone.
    >Dash sees her chance, taking off with an explosion of rainbow light and soaring to the top of the cave before looping back down into a spinning dive straight at the top of the pinned shadow’s head, crashing into it with the force of a bomb and causing the three-headed beast to yowl in pain!
    >The left head retaliates by sending a blazing fireball at Dash, but she just zips away with a smirk, causing the fireball to miss her and careen straight into the center head, scorching it painfully.
    >”Ha! Too easy!”
    ><No, the center head isn’t taking much damage from physical strikes… but fire seems to still work. Look out, here it comes!”
    >The right head looks at you and its eyes flash black for a moment.
    >”Big guy, look out!”
    >Spike dives at you, knocking you away just as a black sphere erupts where you were standing, catching Spike and trapping him before shattering with a low pitched *BWOOM*.
    >Spike tumbles to the ground lifelessly…
    ”Little man!”
    ><Oh no! Spike!>
    >”Don’t you worry your pretty green head about that. Pinkie’s gotcha covered!”
    >Pinkie leaps into the air and slaps straight through her card with a high-hoof.
    >”This is my new power. Apollo Medicus!”
    >A radiant white man, angelic in appearance with red and gold hair like the rays of the sun appears in front of Pinkie.
    >He strums the lyre gently, and a warm light envelops Spike, bringing him back to his feet.
    >”Ugh… thanks, Pinkie. You okay big guy?”
    “I’m fine now. Thanks.”
    ><It looks like the side heads use magic, while the center uses physical attacks. What should we do... should I try to help?>
“Pinkie, stay back and keep on the defensive. I’ll engage the right head directly. Spike, you take the left. Dash, take the center!”
>”Roger!” Your team sounds off in unison.
>The three of you split off to take your targets on while Pinkie hangs back.
>Dash circles around the center head, darting around to confuse it and peppering it with lightning bolts.
>Ouroboros flies at the left head, grasping onto its jaws with its black claws, trying to force them shut.
“Time for a switch. Change, Alucard!"
>The vampire leaps at the right head with his thin sword drawn, flying at him like a leaf on the wind and slicing at him with a flash of silver.
>The left head smokes as the serpentine dragon keeps his jaws forced shut, but the center head comes to its aid by lunging at the Ouroboros and biting down harshly, causing a matching bite wound to appear on spike’s side as he winces.
>The right takes aim at the pegasus hounding the center, firing off a sphere of shadowy energy and forcing her to swiftly dive.
>Fluttershy: <They’re trying to protect each other!
>Spike runs to left head as his clenched fist gathers green flame…
>Spike leaps, flying straight at the black dog’s jaw with his fist outstretched!
>His blazing strike connects with the dog’s jaw with bone-shattering force, letting out a loud crack!
>The dog’s head flops to the ground, causing the rest of its body to tilt sideways as the head stays down dazed.
>Fluttershy: <He’s become weak to fire! Maybe you could try an agi spell… if it’s okay with you.>
“Alucard!”
>With a swirl of his cloak, Alucard sends a rain of fire flying at the dogs, burning their faces and sending them crashing to the ground, writhing in pain.
>Spike turns and grins at you. “Ready to go all out, big guy?”
“You got it!”
>”Let's go wild!"
>You lead the charge, and the four of you assault the fallen shadow with everything you’ve got, hammering away at him until he breaks out of your melee and stands up, howling in anger.
><Just a little more!>
“He’s mad now. Everyone be on your guard.”
>You quickly draw the card of the Fortune Arcana and shatter it.
“Father Time!”
>A golden shield envelops Pinkie Pie as your Tetraja spell activates.
>”Nice! Now if he wants to kill me, he’ll have to do it the slow and painful way!” Pinkie remarks positively.
>The three heads converge and open their jaws wide, forming a ball of white hot energy.
>The ball crackles and shimmers before erupting in a powerful shockwave, battering you with a wave of pure energy, causing the ground beneath you to shatter and explode from the force of the megido spell!
>You plant your warhammer in the ground to keep your balance until the dust settles.
><Leader! Are you all right?”>
“I’m… not done yet!”
>”Get right back in there, everypony!” Pinkie cheers as Apollo Medicus plays a tune on his lyre, reinvigorating the entire party!
“Let’s see if I can disrupt their teamwork. Change, Solomon!”
>A brown-bearded king sits upon a floating golden throne.
>In his right hand he holds the chain of a dangling silver medallion emblazoned with a star-symbol, pointing it to face the demon.
>A viridian ray of light to lances out and strikes the center hound’s forehead, leaving a glowing green star insignia where it lands.
>The center head looks to its neighbors and growls, attacking the right side head, biting at its ears and growling fiercely! The right head whimpers as the entire beast’s body falls to the side from the imbalance.
><It’s now weak to physical strikes! Quickly!>
>”Quickly is my middle name!” Rainbow brags before quickly swooping at the monster’s left neck, her wings leaving a long cut that sprays black blood!
>”One more!” Dash yells as she tags the blue card in midair, directing the red biplane to dive bomb the center head, driving it into the ground and slicing away with its propeller before vanishing, leaving the shadow prone once again.
>Spike looks over at you. “What do you think about finishing this one off together, big guy?”
“Hell yeah!”
    >The two of you simultaneously break your cards of the magician arcana and shout together, ”PERSONA!”
    >An ancient figure with a flowing white beard in a starry blue robe and a pointy hat appears next to the black dragon, raising his oak staff up and gathering blue flames into a sphere at its tip.
    >Spike’s other self opens wide and forms an expanding ball of emerald fire in its mouth….
    “FIRE!”
    >Your personas unleash a simultaneous stream of green and blue fire, striking the three-headed shadow in its chest as they converge upon a single point!
    Team Up Attack: Double Burning Fire!
    >The burning beams twist and spiral around each other, drilling into the shadow, the sheer force launching it away, slamming its back into the gate as the beams of flaming energy rage on!
    >”One more push!”
    “Hellfire is nothing compared to our burning manly soul!”
    >The twin flames pierce straight through the shadow’s chest, roasting it from the inside and burning it away into a cloud of shadowy ash!
    >The blue apple jewel embedded in the black gate shatters into shards, revealing a handle.
    >”Heh, this time I’m not just an assistant!” Spike grins, extending his fist to you.
    >You give him a quick congratulatory fistbump before he pops a zap apple candy to restore some of his expended energy.
    >”Whew… pretty strong, but it sure does take a lot out of me.” Spike says, wiping his brow.
    >Fluttershy: <It looks like the door is open. We can proceed whenever you’re ready, Leader.>
“Dash, eat one of those zap apple candies. I don’t want you running dry at the next fight.”
>”Got it, leader.”
>You take a look at the door handle where the shattered blue crystal once was.
“So what was the deal with that anyway?”
>Twilight: <I guess you’ve never seen it… it looked like her element, Anon. The Element of Honesty. But it was upside-down, and the color was wrong.>
>Fluttershy: <Inverted, actually. The opposite of orange is blue, and the opposite of red is green.>
“So then this gate is the lie protecting her… is she behind this door, Fluttershy?”
>Fluttershy: <There’s something else up ahead. A large room filled with branches. After we get through that room, we should be very close to Applejack’s Shadow. But the next room… I’m picking up some intense heat readings, but no shadows.>
>”Then what’re we waiting for? Let’s speed through it and find Applejack!” Dash says.
“Not much point in waiting around I guess. Let’s see for ourselves.”

>You grab the handle and open the massive door with surprising ease, despite its size.
>The group steps through the gate, and you find yourselves in a cavern filled with a forest of flaming trees growing tall enough to press against the ceiling.
>Barred cages hang from the trees, some empty, but some holding various ponies you’ve seen around town.
>”That’s Flim and Flam!” Spike points at two sleeping stallions in adjacent cages.
>”Berry Punch? What’s she ever done?” Dash frowns.
>You notice Derpy’s former boss hanging in a nearby cage as well. You feel a surge of anger swell in your heart as you stare at her, until you feel Pinkie tug at your waist.
>”Don’t think about her right now. We gotta save AJ, right?”
“Right…”
>Fluttershy: “There’s no room to fly over the trees, but I can see a path through the forest. I can’t detect any shadows, but… something still doesn’t feel right.”
“What do you mean?”
>Fluttershy: “I can’t quite put my hoof on it. But this place feels dangerous somehow. I mean, besides all the fire."
“I see… everyone, stay alert. Little man, can you try a quick scan?”
>”On it, big guy.”
>Ouroboros coils around spike as he concentrates.
>[... It’s quiet.]
>[Too quiet.]
>[Literally. I should at least be hearing something more than dead silence. There’s no way Applejack has so few shadows in her Fantasia. There’s usually some indistinct noise, but it’s completely quiet.]
>”So what, is it a trap or should we go?” Dash asks impatiently.
“I feel like it’s a trap. But we should still go. We’ll just have to take it slow and watch for an ambush.”
>Fluttershy: <Applejack has entered stage 4.>
“Maybe not too slowly. Let’s go, weapons out!”
>You run forward with your team in tow into the thick burning forest, keeping Father Time on standby.
>The smoke and flame makes it difficult to see where you’re going, but Fluttershy begins displaying instructions for you. <Straight ahead, then take a left at the fork.>
>You follow them, ignoring the splits in the path until she tells you where to turn. <In 30 meters, turn right.>
>As you turn again, you nearly collide with a low hanging flaming branch, but you manage to quickly duck under it.
“Whoah! That was close. Maybe we sh-”
>As you’re speaking the branch suddenly swings at you, forcing you to jump back to avoid it.
>Fluttershy: <Anonymous, look out! It’s a shadow! The trees are moving and turning into shadows!>
>The burning tree that swiped at you uproots itself from the ground as a blue mask emerges from its trunk.
><It’s called a Hell Nyogo. And it’s not the only one, either. The forest is full of them and they’re approaching from all directions! Oh no... what do we do? Should I try to help?>
“We might not have time to fight them all. Fluttershy, can you really take some of them out?”
>Fluttershy: <I think so… is it okay?>
“Go for it.”
>Fluttershy: <O-Okay, but please don’t look behind you, whatever you do.>
>You feel a growing sense of inexplicable dread…
>Fluttershy: <Activating Senrigan... GET LOST!>
>Even without looking, you feel a surge of dark intent that gives you goosebumps.
>Some of the treant shadows facing you shiver and quake in place, retracting their masks and turning back into normal trees.
>Shizuka: <Oh? 80% accuracy rate… I’m not sure if I should be happy or disappointed. Oh well. You’ll put on a good show for me with the remaining 20% won’t you?>
>Unlike the usual messages from Fluttershy that appear in your vision as floating blue letters, the text from Shizuka’s communication is a bright shiny red.
>Shizuka: <Ooh! Here comes more! Can you make them bleed? I wanna see if these ones bleed pretty!>
“Shizuka, you’re still on our side then?”
>Shizuka: <Of course I am. I like seeing you hurt things. I’ll even tell you just how to hurt them the best!>
“Works for me.”
>The tree-like shadows push their way through the flames and advance on you from all directions.
>Despite taking out 80% of them, it seems like there’s still quite a few…
“Time to test this one out.”
>You swiftly draw the card numbered XVI and stab through it with your finger.
“I think therefore, I AM!”
>A crooked black monolith falls from the sky and plants itself into the ground.
>Glowing yellow writing begins scrawling itself on the face of the structure as the ground beneath the shadows erupts in bright white explosions, causing the chains and cages to rattle in the air as the shockwaves rush past them.
>Shizuka: <I like this one! I feel like we could be very good friends. Try not to run out of energy before you kill them. I still want to see you fight Applejack’s shadow, so you can’t die here.>
“Thanks for the encouragement…”

Meanwhile, at Sweet Apple Acres...

    >The farmhouse is surrounded by royal guards on all sides, as well as some patrolling the skies.
    >Sunset Shimmer walks along the dirt path to the farmhouse, carrying a saddlebag containing a few thick books.
    >As she nears, the spiral horned former changeling steps out to block her path. “Halt, Sunset Shimmer. We are in a temporary state of emergency right now, and this farmhouse is currently off limits.”
    >”Captain, please let me through. Twilight’s here, isn’t she? I need to see her so I can try to help.”
    >”I’m sorry, Ms. Shimmer, but this is an order. Return to your home for your own safety until the all clear is sounded.”
    >”Just tell Twilight I’m here. I came back so I could help! At least let me talk to her so she can tell me what’s going on!” Sunset says impatiently.
    >”Princess Twilight will speak with you when she is ready. As of right now you do not have the proper clearance to enter this location.” Captain Domino says firmly.
    >”Twilight! Twilight it's me!” Sunset calls out as she rushes at the doorway, trying to push through the pair of earth pony guards blocking the way in.
    >As Sunset struggles with the guards, she catches a glimpse of Pinkie Pie laying on the floor with a large burn on her side.
    >As her eyes widen in shock, the two guards push her back, and Domino interposes herself between Sunset and the doorway.
    >"What was that?"
    >”Ms. Shimmer, this is your final warning. I know you’re not above getting violent with me, but let me warn you that if you make one more wrong move, I won’t hesitate to restrain you with as much force as is necessary.”
    >”I- It’s not like that! Please, Captain Domino. I just want to help!”
    >The unicorn captain glares fiercely. “Stop! Who… who…”
    >In an instant, her gaze softens like a bulb burning out as she falls over.
    >The earth ponies behind her fall similarly, as the Pegasi in the air drop like flies.
    >Sunset looks around panicked as every guard in the vicinity collapses and falls asleep.
    >”They fell asleep? What's going on?"
    >Sunset leans down to check the fallen guard.
    >”Definitely asleep. Is this SIHN?”
    >She looks at the house with trepidation. “Looks like I’ll have to investigate on my own.”
    >Sunset steps carefully over the fallen guards and enters the living room.
    >6 of you are neatly arranged in a circle around Applejack, while her family lies nearby, undisturbed from their original position.
    >The unicorn walks over and picks up Granny Smith’s dropped cane to examine it.
    >”It looks like they all collapsed at once… probably the same way the guards did. But why is everyone else laying around Applejack like that? If they were talking together they’d be sitting down on something, not in a circle like this.”
    >She takes a closer look at Pinkie Pie.
    >”That burn is gone… but some of the others look kind of scratched up. And… they’re holding weapons too. Are they fighting something inside a dream? But why? Shouldn’t Princess Luna be doing something like this?”
    >Sunset opens up the saddlebag and removes a book from it.
    >”I guess that’s why I found this book open in the library. Dream Diving spells… I’d seen them before, but I’ve never tried it myself.”
    >She flips open the book and starts reading from a passage.
    >”When entering a dream you may find yourself disoriented… not realizing you’re in a dream. It may take time for you to understand your surroundings and remember that you are in someone else’s dream, yada yada… personal posessions may follow you but you may dismiss them in your confused state... Okay, I have to figure this out before I get in there."
    >Sunset looks down at the sleeping princess, worried.
    >"Twilight... I'm not sure what's going on, but I'll be there for you soon. I won't let anything bad happen to my friends no matter what world they're in. I promise."
Back in the Pit of Hell…

>You toss back a Zap Apple Candy and feel mentally rejuvenated as a tingling sensation warms your body.
“Man… I think I speak for all of us when I say that was our most visually impressive fight yet.”
>”I know! There was so much going on at once even I couldn’t keep up with it!” Pinkie says, bouncing up and down.
>”I don’t think I’ll be able to eat oatmeal for a week after that.” Spike says.
>Shizuka: <I liked the part where you killed every last one of them. And I know the perfect way to celebrate that victory when we get out! It involves a tub of applesauce and lots of lubrication. And you’re all invited!>
>Twilight: <Let’s focus on getting out first… how’s Applejack doing?>
>Shizuka: <She’s in stage 5.>
“Stage 5? Why didn’t you say that earlier! We have to move!”
>Shizuka: <But you looked like you were having so much fun… I didn’t want to interrupt you!>
“Which way?”
>Shizuka: <Straight ahead! Let’s go already, I wanna get a good seat!>
>You charge through the forest until the trees begin to thin out and form a clearing.
>Seats are set up with a few ponies occupying them in questionable states of consciousness .
>Applejack is tied to a post with rope, struggling against her bonds angrily. At the bottom of the post is a pile of tinder and firewood.
>There’s a stage set up next to her with a podium and a chair.
>At the podium you see Applejack’s other self. her hair is untied, and she doesn’t seem to be wearing her hat, and she holds a judge’s gavel in her right hoof.
>Most telling are her bright yellow eyes gleaming in the firelight of the burning forest.
>”All rise!” she calls out in her echoing voice as your group approaches.
>As you close in, you notice Applejack’s family has a front row seat.
>”Now then, looks like our gallery’s fillin’ out mighty nice, so how’s about we get this here trial a rollin’? The dishonorable judge Applejack presiding for the trial an' execution of Applejack for the murder of Dabinett and Katya Apple."
    >A frightened murmuring comes from the crowd before Applejack’s shadow before she silences them with a pounding of her gavel. “Order! Ah say Order! Now then… ‘Applejack’ you said yer name was? How do you plea to these charges?”
    >”What kinda question is that? I didn’t do nothin’!” Applejack yells from the pyre.
    >”So you admit you did do ‘something’.” Her shadow smirks.
    >”You ain’t makin’ a lick of sense! I’m sayin’ I plea not guilty! Now get me down from here, whoever you are!”
    >”The name’s Applejack. An’ I can’t have you runnin’ away any longer. Now then, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, an’ nothin’ but the truth?”
    >”Of course I do! I always tell the truth. I’m the Element of Honesty for pony’s sake! And I’m the only Applejack ‘round here!”
    >”Off to a bad start with those lies, sugarcube. But I’ll let it slide. Now then, Applejack, why don’t you tell everypony what happened the night of December 20th, 7 years ago?”
    >”It’d be my pleasure. Don’t worry, everypony. I’ll prove I’m innocent right here.”

    WITNESS TESTIMONY
    >”I was just a little filly… I couldn’t sleep, an’ I was gettin’ a glass of water late at night.”
    >”That’s when I saw him… he was standin’ there outside our barn, an’ I saw him go in.”
    >”I snuck out an’ went after him, ‘cause I didn’t want him gettin’ away.”
    >”I crept into the barn, lookin’ round for the intruder… an’ suddenly I saw a bright flame at the entrance of the barn!”
    >”He used his magic to make the hay catch fire, an’ it blocked me off so I couldn’t escape… an' that's when I saw him."
    >”I remember seein’ him walkin’ away… that black unicorn with the mane like fire, an’ the bonfire cutie mark.”
    >”I was trapped… I tried to put the fire out, but it was too big. I ran up to the loft and stuck my head out the window cryin’ fer help.”
    >”Ma an’ Pa heard me hollerin’ an’ ran into the burnin’ barn to save me.”
    >”I was so scared… the fire trapped me an’ I couldn’t get out.”
    >”They climbed up to me an’ started tryin’ to figure a way out.”
    >”We were too high up to jump, an’ the fire already spread too far outside.”
    >”So Pa took his hat… an’ Ma took her ribbons, an’ they tied ‘em together to make it into a basket.”
    >”Then they put me in that basket an’ strung it through a rope… tossed the rope out to Big Mac an’ Granny who came out after.”
    >”They slid me down the rope to safety… but they couldn’t get out.”
    >”I still remember that terrible night… watchin’ the barn burn down as the ash mixed with the snow an’ turned it black…”
    >”I told the authorities who I saw, but they never found him.”
    “Ever since then I’ve worn these to remind me of their sacrifice, an’ to grow up strong like they were.”
    >Applejack finishes her story with tears in her eyes, but her shadow just looks bored.
    >”I’m sorry, but I wasn’t asking for your lies. I asked for Applejack to tell us. The real Applejack.”
    >”I am the real Applejack!” she shouts tearfully from the post.
    >The shadow ignores Applejack and turns away. “Now then, Real Applejack, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
    >Shadow AJ jumps onto the witness chair and puts on a childlike voice, “Only when it suits me!”
    >The Shadow moves back to the podium, “Now that’s an honest girl! So little lady, why don’t you tell us what really happened that night?”
    >She sits on the chair again. “Okay!” she sings out innocently.

Witness Testimony

>”Ma an’ Pa always told me to let one of them watch me when I was practicing my apple bucking. I told ‘em I would, but that was a lie.”
>”So on December 20th, I took a lantern an’ snuck out to the barn to try out a real neat trick!”
>”It was so cool the way Ma used to kick a tree an’ make apples fall down from every tree around it.”
>”I thought I could do it too. I’m her daughter after all!”
>”So I put down the lantern an’ tried to knock over an apple I put up to practice.”
>”I tried over an’ over… but I couldn’t get it right.”
>”An’ then I missed!”
>”Instead of knockin’ the apple off… I knocked the lantern off!”
>”The lantern oil spread all over… I thought I could snuff it out by puttin’ hay over it, or splashin’ water on it, but it didn’ work.”
>”I couldn’t get caught breakin’ the rules, so I had to put it out myself! But it just spread an’ spread an’ got too big…”
>”I couldn’t put it out, an’ I was trapped. I had to run up to the loft an’ call fer help.”
>”Ma an’ Pa ran into the burnin’ barn an’ saved me!”
>”But when they asked me who done it… I couldn’t tell ‘em I killed my Ma an’ Pa, so I lied. I told ‘em it was some bad guy who done snuck in. I remember a comic I read one time about a unicorn who started fires… so I told ‘em it was somepony who looked like that.”
>”An’ I’ve been lyin’ bout it ever since. The end.”
>Everyone stares in silence as the shadow walks back to the podium.
>”I think that’s pretty damning testimony, don’t you?”
    >You slam your hand down on an empty seat for a dramatic sound.
    “OBJECTION!”
    >”Overruled!” Applejack’s Shadow replies. “I’m the judge, prosecutor, and the defendant, remember? And as the accused, I choose to represent myself. Judgement by the apples, of the apples, for the apples! There ain’t room for anypony else. Especially you! But let’s give poor lil’ AJ a chance to save her soul by confessing her crimes. Now then, liar, tell us what really happened that night!”
    >”I did tell ya!” Applejack yells angrily. “I-I remember I saw him! Girls, Spike, you believe me don’tcha?”
    >The three of them look uncomfortable as they’re unable to answer in the affirmative.
    >”Applejack… did you really see somepony that night, or do you just think you saw somepony?” Pinkie Pie says hesitantly.
    >”Applejack, it was a long time ago. It’s okay if you don’t really remember what happened. It was an accident, right?” Dash says hopefully.
    >”I don’t believe you two! How can you listen to her instead of me! I’m your friend, ain’t I? Why… why are you sayin’ I did such a terrible thing! It wasn’t me! I-I couldn’t… she’s the one that’s lyin’! Don’t believe her!”
    >”It’s because they know I’m tellin’ the truth. On account of I’m the Element of Honesty an’ all. An’ I know what we did because I am you!”
    >”No… no it wasn’t me!” Applejack cries. “I couldn’t have done something like that! I ain’t a killer... Yer a liar! YER NOT ME!”
    >A light goes out in Applejack’s eyes, and she goes limp in her bonds.
    >Her shadow smiles wickedly.
    >”Heheh… that’s right. I ain’t you. I’m my own self now!”
    >Flames stream to the shadow from the trees, enveloping her and causing her to grow.
    >Her gavel changes shape along with her, shifting into an oversized bloody axe as she grows into a towering dark-skinned demon with broken shackles around its neck, left arm, and right foot.
    >It smiles with gleaming white teeth.
    >”I am a shadow... the TRUE self! The trial is over... it's time to execute the sinners of this world!"

    >Pinkie stares at the giant demonic woodsman. “Even Applejack couldn’t accept herself…”
    “But she sounded unsure near the end. I don’t know if she remembers the truth, but right now it’s too painful for her to believe. So we’ll just have to do what we do best.”
    >Shizuka: <Yay! I love the part where you all get violent!>
    >”If Applejack’s gonna be like this, we’ll just have to knock some sense into her!” Dash says with her wings spread wide, ready to fight.
    “All right…”
    >You draw the card of the Fortune Arcana…
    “Your time is here!”
    >You smash the card and summon a gleaming gold aegis to guard Pinkie.
    “Everyone don’t go too deep until we know what she’s capable of.”
    >Your team nods in confirmation and begins barraging the giant with a volley of ranged attacks, spraying it with fireballs, bullets, and party supplies.
    >But after the dust settles, the monster hardly seems fazed.
    >Shizuka: <This one’s pretty resilient. But that just means I get to see you fight more! Oh, but don’t use fire. It won’t make it bleed well.>
    >”Sinners… your hour of judgement is at hand!” The shadow’s voice booms as two black axes appear on both sides of Pinkie and swing at her!
    >Pinkie barely dodges the first, but the second passes right through her body, dropping her to her knees as she cries in pain.
    “Pinkie!”
    >Shizuka: <Oh! A dark spell that cuts her health instead? It’s more fun than an instant kill I suppose.>
    >The shadow raises its giant axe and swings it with deceptive speed at Spike to follow up!
    >His Persona rises to catch the axe, trying to block the strike… but the Shadow flexes its muscles and breaks through, slicing deeply along the dragon’s belly and sending a spray of blood from spike’s chest as the wound reflects on him.
    >Shizuka: <Wow! Applejack must have really denied her shadow hard for it to be this strong… it might be your strongest foe yet!>
“We’ve got to eliminate some of that strength… change, Cyrano!”
>The dandy long-nosed swordsman appears to laugh at Applejack’s shadow, casting a spell to soften her blows while Dash tries to hold it at bay by raining bolt after bolt at it’s chest while Pinkie and Spike try to get back to their feet.
>The shadow simply ignores the pain and slices at the plane with its bloodstained axe, sending it tumbling through the air.
>”Darn it… this thing is crazy strong, even with all that!”
“We’re still in this, Dash. We just have bring it down until we can handle it.”
>You summon Cyrano once more, his wordless insults making her less resilient to your assaults.
>Pinkie high-hoofs her card and brings wave of reinvigorating light over the party as Dash and Spike send their personas charging into the now weakened shadow, ramming into it and forcing the giant to step back.
>But the giant merely grins and raises its arm. “From this range… I cain’t miss!”
>The giant’s mouth opens, and black spheres come swarming out!
>You and Pinkie run for cover, but two of them land against Dash and Spike’s personas before they can get away, causing their bodies to slump over unconscious.
>Shizuka: <Coward! That was a lucky hit!>
>”I can get one of them back up, Anon, can you handle the other?”
“Maui’s weak to darkness. If I revive them I’ll be vulnerable to that too.”
>Twilight: <I can jump in if you need me.>
>Shizuka: <Oh! Good news! Sunset Shimmer had manually entered Fantasia and her Shadow is beginning to manifest! Now we’ll get to fight twice as much!”
“What?!”
>”But… but we’re not even done with this one!”
>Twilight: <How is that possible? This is bad... this is really bad! She spent 30 years in that darkness... and now she has to face it alone?>
“Damn it! How far is she…”
>Shizuka: <Just at the edge of the forest. Look! I’ll even give you picture in picture so you can watch.>
>In the corner of your vision, a small image flashes on screen of Sunset Shimmer sitting in a cage…
    >Sunset leans against the bars of her suspended cage.
    >She looks around at the burning forest beyond the bars.
    >”Where am I…”
    >”I came here for a reason… why am I here…”
    >Sunset glances at her right foreleg and notices a message written on it.
    >”Find… friends…”
    >”Is that why I’m here? But… I’m trapped. And I don’t see my friends anywhere. Why aren’t they here… and where is here?”
    >”Isn’t it obvious?” a voice asks from behind.
    >Sunset turns to see a doppelganger of herself with golden eyes forming behind herself.
    >”You’re exactly where you belong. In a cage, far away from your ‘friends’. They can’t help you here. And you can’t help them either. And why would you want to?”
    >Sunset looks at her other self, afraid. “What… what are you talking about? Of course I want to help them… that’s right, I came here to help Twilight Sparkle!”
    >Sunset’s shadow leers at her. “Give me a break. Help her? Why? You want to stay right here. I know you do, because I am you. And it’s better for us if we sit here and watch Twilight Sparkle fail.”
    >”Why would I want her to fail? That’s ridiculous… she’s my friend!”
    >Her shadow lets out an echoing laugh. “Ahahaha! Friends? We don’t deserve them. We don’t need them! If Twilight dies… you know what will happen. Her Alicorn spirit will leave… and you will have your chance to be what you were always meant to be. If something happens to Twilight, you know Celestia would have to accept you as her student once more. And then… you can be a Princess. just like you always wanted to be.”
    >”I… I wouldn’t! Twilight earned her ascension! And I have a new place at Canterlot High! I’m happy just as I am. I don’t need Twilight’s spirit!”
    >Sunset’s shadow grins and steps closely to her other self. “But how long will they remain your friends once you tell them the truth? That you don’t really belong there… look at you. You’re not some child! Oh em gee i can not even el oh el! It makes you sick to talk like that all the time!"
    >”Stop it…” Sunset begs.
    >”You try so hard to fit in, but you know that this is what you really are! You’re an adult… you don’t belong with those children! Well, I suppose calling you an adult would be too generous. You’re just a sad marechild who wants to have a second chance at going through school with her bee eff effs because she was too much of a selfish bitch to do it the first time! That’s a lie… that isn’t you at all! You are Sunset Shimmer, the ambitious and talented unicorn! Why stay at CHS where you are denied your magic? That Alicorn spirit inside Twilight… you know it accepts you too! You felt its power when you defeated the dazzlings, you recognized it right then and there, even if Twilight didn’t understand its significance. It would surely choose us this time! We are worthy!”
    >”Stop it… stop saying that! I wouldn’t do that to Twilight! I’m different now!”
    >”Deny it all you want, but you know it’s the truth! You can’t erase what you did… your past is stained indelibly. You are a traitor! You have no place in either of these worlds unless you seize it for yourself!’
    >Sunset collapses to her knees and starts sobbing. ”Please… that isn’t true… you… you’re…”
    >!
    *bzzt bzzt*
    *bzzt bzzt*
    *bzzt bzzt*
    >Sunset’s saddlebag begins glowing and vibrating as a book emblazoned with a sun falls out.
    >Sunset’s Shadow looks shaken as her other self reaches out to the book and opens it up.
    >On the pages, magical writing begins scrawling itself.
    >Rainbow Dash: “Don’t give up, Sunset Shimmer! Remember why you’re there! Find your friends and save them!”
    >Rainbow Dash: “How was that? It’s been 10 minutes, right? That’s way too long to wait to write you back!”
    >Fluttershy: “Are you okay in there? Please be safe. We’re all looking forward to seeing you when you come back!”
    >Pinkie Pie: “Go get ‘em, Sunset Shimmer! Do your best!”
    >Applejack: “I know whatever you’re up against, you can handle it.”
    >Rarity: “We’re with you every step of the way, Darling. Don’t forget that!” <3
    >A smile comes to Sunset’s face as she reads their words.
    >She brushes the tears out of her eyes with her hoof.
    >The fiery-maned mare stares straight at her other self.
    >”I’m not alone anymore. I’ll prove it to you right now!”
    >At that moment, a mysterious thing occured.
    >Though you were only watching the scene play out on video inbetween dodging the shadow’s attacks…
    >You began to hear a voice as though it were right next to you.

    >”Once…”
    >”Upon a time…”
    >”You came into my world and made the stars align…”
    >”Now…”
    >”I can see the siiiigns…”
    >”You pick me up when I get down so I can shine!
    >”Shine like rainboooows!”
    >”Shine like rainboooows!”
    >”Shine like rainboooows!”
    >”Shine like rainboooows!”

    >As Sunset’s song continues, Applejack’s shadow halts its attacks as if hypnotized by the music.
    >Sunset’s own shadow begins recoiling as if in pain as her song continues.

    >”Friends, you are in my life!”
    >”And you can count on me to be there by your side!”
    >”And when the music comes alive!”
    >”We sing our songs to lift us up so we can shine!”

    >Spike and Dash slowly begin to stand.
    >”This song… I can’t just give up now!” Dash says confidently.

    >”And the sound that we hear in our hearts!”
    >”Makes a crescendooo!
    >”And the light that ignites in the dark!”
    >”It makes us all gloooow!”
    >”And shine like rainbows!”

    >Sunset's Shadow lies cowering before her. "That song… it hurts!"
    >”You recognize it, don’t you? It’s the one we wrote straight from our heart. To show our friends what they meant to us. So that if we ever felt alone… we could sing that song to remember them.”
    >Her shadow looks up, shocked at Sunset’s words.
    >”Yeah. We. You’re saying you’re me like it’s something I don’t already know… of course you’re me, damn it! How could I not recognize that voice from all those years in the darkness? I spent 30 years listening to what you had to say. And you're still there every day, telling me how much I don't deserve this. But you're not the only voice in my heart anymore!"
>”All that shit you said about me is absolutely 100% true! I am a complete marechild! I hang out with girls half my age! I wear a freaking leather jacket and play guitar, then go sing anime songs in the shower! I still feel jealous of Twilight! And even if I spent my whole life repenting, I wouldn’t deserve even one of my friends! And none of that means a damn thing to them!”
>”They’re not my friends because I deserve them. They’re my friends because they see that you aren’t the only me. They accept you. And so do I.”
>”You’re me, and I’m you! How long are you going to sit there feeling sorry for us? That’s not going to do anything!”
>Sunset extends her hoof to her shadow.
>”Come on! Let’s go save our friends together!”
>Her shadow smiles and grasps it firmly.
>”Let’s do it!”

The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest…
Sunset Shimmer has faced her other self…
She has obtained the facade used to overcome life’s hardships, the Persona, Masked Rider!

>Sunset’s shadow vanishes into motes of light.
>Sunset places her book back in the saddlebag and grabs the cane laying at her hooves she took from the real world.
>”Hope you don’t mind me borrowing this, Granny.”
>Sunset draws the blade and slices through the iron cage bars, cutting an exit out for herself and leaping from the cage, landing in the forest.

>Shizuka: <Ooh! She’s strong! And her persona won’t lose to darkness either! Can she fight with us? I wanna see her fight! She can get here real quick too if I guide her!>

“And leave you unsatisfied? Wouldn’t dream of it. Twi! Dash! Let’s hold the line until she gets here!”
>You call forth a tetraja shield from Father Time, guarding yourself from her deadly spells as Dash sends a burst of green energy through all of you to enhance your Agility.
>Twilight keeps her Naginata firmly in her mouth and maintains a ready stance with her wings outstretched, watching the shadow’s movements carefully as it raises its hatchet and brings it down swiftly!
>”DIE!”
>At the moment before impact, Twilight leaps to the side with a mighty flap of her wings, slipping away from the shadow’s strike and leaving its axe embedded in the ground.
>The shadow grunts and struggles as it tries to grip its axe with both hands to pull it out.
“This is our chance! Twilight, freeze its feet!”
>”Go, Nimue!”
>A glowing blue light expands beneath the shadow before turning to ice in a flash, creeping up the giant’s legs and trapping him.
”While he can’t move, let’s blast him together, Dash!”
>”Got it. Red Baron! Full power!”
>The plane’s propeller spins and gathers sparks, charging up for its attack…
“Change, Morgan le Fay!”
>The brown haired witch raises her wooden staff tipped with a topaz crystal. The crystal glows gold as she extends her staff, and her black cloak flutters in the wind…
>”Ready when you are, leader!”
“Let it fly!”
Team Up Attack: Double Lightning Buster!
>Beams of white lightning lance out from your personas and strike a single point at the shadow’s chest, arcing wildly and sending a shower of sparks as they collide.
>The bolts seem to fight against each other, energy crackling and bursting every time they touch until finally the white hot light grows into an explosive flash, causing the shadow to howl in pain!
>”Y’all are in fer it now!”
    >The shadow yanks its right foot out of the ice and brings it back down, shattering the ice and causing a massive quake as the ground beneath you cracks and breaks apart.
    >Flaming trees topple over and spray embers as they crash to the broken forest floor.
    >Applejack’s Shadow yanks its axe from the loose ground, and as it raises it over its head, you hear the roar of an engine from behind, accompanied by a mysterious voice.
    >"Together we stand... as the rain begins to fall..."
    >A streak of red, white and black flies past you from the flames!
    >A green figure clad in a red scarf grips the handlebars of his motorcycle tightly and leans down as the bike ramps off a fallen tree, launching him at the shadow!
    >He leaps from the bike in midair, flipping into forward somersault before delivering a devastating dropkick straight to the shadow’s chest, knocking it back before vanishing into a light that returns to a unicorn steadily walking through the flaming forest, carrying Granny Smith’s sword cane.
    >"And holdin' our heads up high as the sun shines through it all!"
    >”Sunset Shimmer!” Twilight calls out.
    >”Sorry I’m late, everyone. ‘Shizuka’ gave me the gist of it. We need to defeat this thing to save Applejack, right?”
    “That’s right. It’s pretty strong, can you follow my orders for now?”
    >”He may not look it, but he’s a pretty savvy commander.” Dash says in your defense.
    >Sunset laughs and shakes her head. “Well, I’m just winging it here anyway. When in Rome, right? Let’s save her together.”
    “Good to have you on board, Senpai.”
    >Sunset sighs. “I immediately regret my decision.”
    >The shadow spews another hail of dark spheres, but each of you weaves your way through the barrage fearlessly, confident in your victory with your new ally’s arrival.
    “Sunset, let’s back up Twi and Dash!”
    >”Here goes…”
    >The blue card floats gently in front of Sunset’s face.
    >Her eyes glint as she slaps it with the back of her hoof, shattering it.
    >”Persona!”
    >The green masked hero strikes a pose, invigorating the group with a blue defensive energy.
    “Lend them your strength, Joan of Arc!”
    >A blonde armored woman appears before you with a radiant halo of light about her head. She raises her sword to the sky, and a heavenly white light falls on the team, honing their attacks as Dash and Twilight take off together!
    >They dart about the shadow with their blades extended, becoming nothing more than streaks of colorful light and glints of steel as they swarm the shadow with their combination assault!
    >Their weapons cut deep, tearing red lines along its body and sending it reeling in pain!
    >The monster raises his axe and swings its arm wildly, winding up and delivering a reckless strike to Joan!
    >You’re caught off guard by its speed, and the force of the blow slices through her and splits the ground in a massive fissure… but as the dust settles, the light from Joan’s halo shines bright and keeps her standing.
    “Gonna take more than that… Sunset! This is your path to victory!”
    >”Couldn’t have said that like a normal person? Oh well… Go! Masked Rider!”
    >Sunset’s Persona materializes on its bike at the end of the monster’s embedded axe. The engine roars as it rides along the shaft, travelling up its arm before the rider bails out with a backflip, sending the motorcycle crashing into the shadow’s face, tires squealing as they rev against it of their own accord.
    “Twi! Dash! Slip it up while it’s off balance!”
    >Twilight quickly forms a frozen puddle at the giant’s feet as Dash tackles straight at its chest!
>The woodsman shadow loses its footing and goes crashing to the ground, its back landing painfully on the flaming trees.
>Sunset looks to you. “Shall we show them the power of friendship?”
“Go for it!”
>”LET’S ROCK!”
>Twilight and Dash streak across the fallen shadow’s chest over and over, slicing in an X pattern directly over its heart as they cut deeper and deeper into its skin!
>Sunset gallops swiftly and jumps at it with the sword held firmly in her mouth before grasping it with her hooves in midair, performing a downward strike to drive it through the center of the X!
>You leap after her with your hammer held high, carefully lining up your strike before bringing it down directly on the hilt of the cane-sword embedded into it, driving it in like a nail and piercing through the shadow’s heart!
>The shadow lets out an unearthly bellow as black blood spurts from the wound and it begins to dissolve bit by bit until there’s nothing left but the golden-eyed mare, laying in the ground in front of the pyre built for Applejack.
>Applejack’s bonds loosen on their own as she regains consciousness, walking off the pyre and looking down at her shadow tearfully.
>”I was so sure… I thought I saw him. But if I really did it… then I really do deserve to be up there."
>Applejack still seems troubled...
>Perhaps she still needs help...
“Applejack… that isn’t true. Even if you started that fire, it doesn’t mean that you deserve to die. I know that even if your parents knew it was you that started the fire, they wouldn’t have hesitated for a second to do what they did. They loved you, Applejack. They treasured their child’s life more than their own, and went in there knowing that they might have to make that sacrifice.”
>Sunset steps forward cautiously. “Applejack… I know it hurts right now. And I know how much you wish you could forget and say it isn’t so. But that other Applejack is a part of you. But right now, you need to look at all of your friends that came all the way here just to rescue you. They fought that darkness off, even knowing what you did. Because it doesn’t matter to them what you did in the past. Their love and friendship is too strong to be broken by something like this.”
“You once said to me… the Apple Family would accept me exactly as I am. Well we accept you too, Applejack. Just as you are. Even if you made a mistake in the past and can’t forgive yourself, we forgive you. But throwing yourself into the fires of hell won’t stop others from burning. You have to accept it, and treasure the life your parents saved.”
>Applejack walks slowly to her shadow.
>”I… I couldn’t handle the truth. I was scared… I thought I’d lose everythin’ if they knew what I did. So I lied. I lied and made up some tall tale ‘bout an arsonist so I didn’t have to feel that guilt. So I could go on with my life an’ fill their place by keepin’ the farm alive an’ keepin’ the family together. I started convincin’ myself that I really did see somepony that night… that I was just confused, an’ it couldn’t have been me who done it. Came a point where I started believin’ my own lie was the real truth.”
    >”... Somewhere deep down I always knew. An’ I kept punishin’ myself for it. I pushed myself to be perfect. I had to pay fer my crime by keepin’ the family business together on my own. I didn’t want to let anypony help me. It was my fault. I should be sufferin’ for it. I shouldn’t get to enjoy my own life ‘cause I don’t deserve it.”
    >”But that ain’t what my parents wanted fer us. And that ain’t what my friends or my family wants neither. Torturin’ myself won’t make my parents happy. Sacrificin’ myself won’t bring ‘em back. We’re all that’s left. An’ we have to make the most of it.”
    >”I… I did it. I started the fire that killed my parents. It was an accident. But I have to admit it. Yer right. You are me. An’ I’m you.”
    >The other Applejack vanishes into glittering stardust...

    The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest…
    Applejack has faced her other self…
    She has obtained the facade used to overcome life’s hardships, the Persona, John Henry!

    >Applejack begins weeping…
    >Her friends rush to her side and hug her tightly.
    >”I-I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…” Applejack sobs.
    >”It’s okay, Applejack. Everything’s going to be all right.” Twilight says gently.
    “I think we should probably get out of here. Shizuka, can you take us out?”
    >”Aww, but I wanna see more fighting…”
    >You sigh and toss a Zap Apple Candy which she catches in her mouth instinctively, causing her red eyes to fade back to blue.
    >”S-Sorry about that. I’ll take us out right away.”

    Twilight's Castle Meeting Room, Evening

    >You all let Applejack take some time to recover from what happened to her before reconvening at the castle to explain things.
    >Sunset joined in as well, and you told them everything about what's been happening with SIHN.
    >Many apologies were given on all sides, and all accepted.
    >As Sunset explains the events leading up to her entering Fantasia, Twilight seems worried.
    >"But… that shouldn't be! I haven't touched that book in ages! Why would it be laying around?"
“I doubt it was there on accident. I think someone put it there for Sunset Shimmer to find.”
>”You mean… that ‘culprit’ left it there for me?” Sunset asks.
“That’s what I think. And I think that the culprit was there this morning. There’s no way that many guards fell into SIHN on their own simultaneously. Though I have to wonder, is that book the same one Twilight was using?”
>”Probably. It has a label like all the other library books. That’s why I took it with me. I wasn’t going to just steal somepony’s book off the table while they were in the bathroom or something.” Sunset replies.
>”So anypony with access to the Library could have done it. Which is… pretty much anypony who asks. But visitors are usually watched pretty closely, so I’ll try to ask the guards if any of them saw somepony leave that book out.”
“Worth a shot I guess. It’s possible the culprit is someone we know of, but don’t suspect. Or they could have disguised themselves as somepony trustworthy.”
>”Guests are scanned for illusion magic. But of course, that doesn’t prevent them from using mundane disguises.”
“Is it possible they snuck past the guards and went into the castle without them noticing?”
>Twilight frowns. “Well… nothing’s impossible. But there are a lot of guards. Even if you snuck past the entrance without being scanned, if you were spotted walking around unescorted, you’d draw attention immediately.”
>”Don't forget I've snuck through Canterlot castle twice." Sunset chimes in. "I got caught, but it's not impossible for a skilled enough unicorn to make it through unnoticed."
>You're interrupted as the spiral-horned captain bursts through the doors.
>Her breathing is labored as she pants out, "Princess Twilight... sorry to interrupt..."
>"Captain, you should be resting!"
>"Saw somepony... at farm. Couldn't see them well. Called out to them... saw their horn glow. Purple and Green. Dark Magic. That's all... Princess." Domino finishes before collapsing to her knees.
“Dark magic…?”
>Twilight looks grim. “I mentioned it to you once before… it’s very dangerous and very powerful. It can let a unicorn perform spells even an Alicorn would have trouble with. But if you keep using it… you’ll either lose your life or your soul. I don’t know which would be worse. And the scariest part is how easy it is. When Rarity got her hooves on a dark magic spellbook, she was able to change reality to fit her imagination. It took three Alicorn princesses all day to reverse the damage she caused.”
>”And it was totally messing with her head!” Spike chimes in. “She was only going to use it to change one little thing, but she started talking about the book like it was alive, and her eyes went all green, and it just turned into a huge disaster. She was going to give the entire planet an extreme home makeover if I didn’t stop her!”
“So then… our suspect list just got a lot larger.”
>”Not necessarily. In fact, I think this culprit just gave us a way to find them.” Sunset says.
“They did? How?”
>”Dark magic leaves marks on its user. There are ways to tell if a pony has been using dark magic by looking for its stains on their mana core.” Twilight explains.
>”So what do we do, make every unicorn in town go through a check up?” Dash asks.
>“No! Dash, that’s an inquisition. I’m not starting a witch hunt in this town.” Twilight says scoldingly.
>”Besides. If the culprit saw everypony being rounded up and scanned so obviously, they’d just skip town.” Sunset adds.
>”But it could be anypony! How are we supposed to find a culprit like this?” Dash asks, exasperated.
“To be honest, we still don’t have enough information to pursue the culprit at this time. We have something to possibly identify them, but until we have a solid suspect, we need to remain calm.”
>”Agreed. I didn’t realize we should have been looking for a dark magic user before, but now that we have confirmation, we can take the proper measures.” Twilight says.
“You didn’t think SIHN was dark magic?”
>”Just because it’s powerful doesn’t mean it’s dark magic. There are some things you can only do using dark magic, but really it’s more like we just discovered the culprit is using steroids. It lets them surpass their normal limits, but there are ways to test for it, and symptoms they might show.” Sunset explains.
“And how accurate is this test?”
>”I… don’t actually know how to do it.” Twilight admits. “Dark magic is so dangerous, researching it is heavily restricted. And because there’s not a lot of information on how it works, there’s not a lot of information on how to counter it either.”
“Sunset?”
>”I did a bit of independent study on how to use it but… detecting it is something else.”
“So then who?”
>”Actually… I do know one pony who can help us. My brother, Shining Armor. As the former Captain of Celestia’s Royal Guard, he’s had training in dark magic countermeasures and detection. I can call him and ask how to perform the spell.”
“Good thing we have that mirror. I’ll leave that to you and Sunset then. So I guess that’s all we need to discuss about the culprit. For the rest of the dream team business…”
>You look between Sunset and AJ.
>”I’ll ask them to send my homework through the mirror if I need to. I’m not leaving.” Sunset says affirmatively.
>”I’m sorry I put you all through so much trouble. An’ I’m sorry fer snappin’ at you. An’ fer not trustin’ all of you a bit more.” Applejack says. "It still don't sit right with me to keep secrets from Rarity, but it ain't like I can really talk. I still don't know what I'm gonna do 'bout my family."
“I don’t think anyone would blame you if you took some time to rest right now, Applejack. Once you’ve all recovered, you can choose what to tell them. If you need help, I’m sure any one of us would be happy to be there for you.”
>Applejack nods. “I’ll tell ‘em. I know I got to, but…”
>”There’s no need for you to push yourself, Applejack. We know you’ll tell the truth as soon as the time is right.” Fluttershy says comfortingly.
>”Thanks, y’all. I still feel like a bundle o’ nerves right now but… I’m glad to have my friends back. All of ‘em.”

>You feel a warm sensation in your heart…
>Your social link of the Strength Arcana has become upright!
>Your relationship can progress once more.

>The meeting ended soon after, and you headed home.

Home, Night

>Gilda is waiting for you when you return.
>Trixie seems to be sleeping over on Gilda’s bed.
>”What the hell happened to you this morning? You just disappeared.”
“Twilight kind of picked me up from my room. I had to help her out with some stuff related to SIHN.”
>”You coulda said something, dweeb. We were both worried sick.”
“She didn’t really give me any warning either. Sorry I left without saying anything. It’s very sweet of you worry about me though.”
>”S-Shut up!” she blushes.
“Haha, anyway, how was Trixie today? Was she okay?”
>”What do you mean?” Gilda asks.
“I mean… just how was she. Was she here with you the whole time?”
>”Yeah, I mean she wasn’t in any rush to go out there with all those guards running around. She was worried about you going missing, but I kept her calm until it was over.”
“I see… thanks for that.”
>”No problem. But… I think there’s something else you should know. She hasn’t told you but… she’s still having those dreams. Guess she was fine that one night, but it looks like they’re back.”
“I was hoping she’d be over those by now. Thanks for letting me know.”
>”Whatever.”
>You talked with Gilda for a while until she went to throw Trixie out of her bed.
>You went to sleep soon after.
    >The next morning, you decided to speak with Trixie after breakfast.
    >Gilda leaves the room to give you some privacy.
    >”What is it that you wish to discuss with Trixie?”
    “Well, it’s about your bad dreams… are you still having them?”
    >Trixie frowns. “Trixie didn’t have one the night she slept beside you by the fire. But… it seems they’ve been coming back.”
    “You were looking for Princess Luna the night you came here, right?”
    >”That’s correct. Trixie wishes for Princess Luna to observe her dream and tell her what it means… and how to make it stop.”
    “They’re still that bad?”
    >Trixie nods sadly.
    “If that’s the case… I might be able to ask Princess Luna if she’d be willing to come back to ponyville.”
    >Trixie looks up, “You can?”
    “I might be able to. At the very least I could ask her. Is that something you want?”
    >”Trixie would like that very much. It is difficult for Trixie to sleep with these terrible dreams… even sleeping next to Gilda does not seem to help much.”
    “In that case, I’ll try to contact her as soon as possible.”
    >”You will?”
    “Sure. We were hanging out before that whole scandal thing happened, so she’s pretty friendly with me.
    >Trixie slumps back on the couch and sighs. “Oh, thank goodness… Trixie is finally going to be able to sleep properly again…”
    “I can’t make any promises, I’m just going to try to talk to her, okay?”
    >”You offered to help Trixie with her magic show, you took her into your home and off the streets, and now you wish to help Trixie with her bad dreams?”
    >Trixie jumps up onto you and squeezes you tightly in her forelegs. “You really are the Great and Caring Anonymous!”
    “Hey, it’s nothing much. Anyway, I gotta go to work. I’ll be back later, okay?”
    >”Very well. Trixie shall see you later, Great and Caring Anonymous!”
    >You feel as though you’ve grown quite close to Trixie.
    >And she in turn has grown closer to you.
    >You said goodbye and headed out to work.
>That day, work proceeded fairly normally.
>You’re still doing work inside the house due to all the snow.
>After you’re finished, you decided to head home early today to spend some time with your housemates.

Home, Afternoon

>When you return, Gilda is sitting on the couch with a Manila envelope.
>Her face lights up when she sees you. “You’re back!”
“That’s a lot less abusive than my usual greetings. Did something good happen?”
>Gilda tosses the beige envelope at you. “Read it!”
“Okay, okay. Gimmie a second.”
>You take your shoes off and sit down to read the contents of the envelope.
>It appears to be from the hospital.
>About 90% of the document you understand about as well as Gilda does.
>But you manage to figure out the important part…
“You’re getting your casts off next wednesday?”
>”Fuck yeah I am!”
“That’s awesome!”
>”I know! It’s been almost two months, but I’m finally gonna be able to take this stupid itchy bulky piece of shit off my legs.”
“I’m really happy for you Gilda. Do you want to go somewhere to celebrate?”
>”Go somewhere?” Gilda thinks… “Well, we don’t have to. But it’d be nice to celebrate a little bit. I guess.”
>As you’re pondering what you could do to celebrate, you hear a knock at the door.
>”Could you get that?”
>You go over to the door and open it.
>Dash is standing there nervously looking up at you.
>It seems she’s holding a book in the saddlebag on her side.
>”Uh, hey… is Gilda home?”
“Yeah, she is.”
>”Do you… think I could come in to give her this?”
“One second.”
>You walk back over to the couch.
“Gilda, Dash has something she wants to give you. Do you want to see her right now?”
>Gilda looks unsure.
>”I… I guess so. Tell her to come in.”
>You walk back to the entryway and give Dash a nod of approval.
>She wipes her hooves on the mat and comes in slowly.
>As soon as the two see each other, they immediately begin avoiding eye contact.
>There’s an uncomfortable silence…
>Should you say something?

    >You decided to wait this one out.
    >They’re mature adults.
    >They can handle this themselves.
    >Dash seems to be aware of this as well as she tries to speak first.
    >It seems to take her a great deal of effort to swallow her pride and speak.
    >”I…”
    >”I want to apologize for everything I did to you, Gilda. You were my best friend, and I treated you like garbage. I screwed up. I was too chicken to tell you how I was really feeling, so I just kept my mouth shut like a coward because I didn’t want to rock the boat. And I broke my promise. I’ve been so confused with what I wanted to do and… I should have tried to tell you that. I should have told you I was feeling confused. I’m still confused. I have no idea what I’m doing, or where I’m going to go. I’m sorry. I’m really, really, really sorry.
    >Gilda closes her eyes, trying to maintain her composure.
    >”Dash… I used to like how direct you were. You'd just say what you felt without the bullshit. Why didn't you just tell me that to my face?”
    >Dash looks hurt as she replies, “... Because I thought… you wouldn’t like me anymore if I wasn’t so confident and cool all the time. I didn’t want you to think I was lame so I just hid all that stuff from you. I didn’t want to lose you.”
    >This time it’s Gilda that seems to be forcing herself.
    >”… I don’t blame you for thinking that. Of course you wouldn’t tell me. It’s the same shit I pull all the time. And then the one time I tried to be honest, I ended up getting burned. But I’m the one who kept telling you that talking about your feelings was for pussies. I gave you a bullshit double standard. I didn’t want you to talk about it, and then I got pissed when you didn’t talk about it. So I guess what I’m trying to say is I had it coming. And I’m sorry too. For always being such a bitch about everything, and getting all paranoid and possessive. I guess I wasn't ready for a relationship with you back then. I still had a lot of growing up to do."
    >"I think we both did." Dash agrees.
    >There’s another long pause as they try to find the right words…
    >”Dash… how do you feel about me?”
    >Dash sighs. “That’s... a tough question.”
    >”Just level with me. Don’t try to give me some bullshit to make me feel better this time. Just say how you really feel.”
    >”Well…”
    >”I really used to love hanging out with you. I felt like you really understood me. But I… I didn’t want you as my marefriend. I don’t think we’re really right for each other. I’m sorry.”
    >Gilda shakes her head. “No, I… I think you’re right. I had feelings for you, but that’s just… not really enough. We might have made good friends, but for a relationship, I think we’re just too similar. It was fun, and it made me pretty happy being with you back then, but I wasn’t what you needed. And you’re not what I need.”
    >Dash nods sadly. “I’m sorry, Gilda.”
    >”You don’t have to apologize, Dash. That’s just how life works, you know? Sometimes you gotta make the wrong decisions. It’s better to try something and fuck it up than just doing nothing.”
    >”I know, but… I still really cared about you. Maybe not in the same way you felt about me, but I never meant to hurt you and push you away like that. I still really care about you a lot, you know.”
    >”Yeah, I know… I still care about you too.”
    >Dash approaches her nervously. “Do you… think we could be friends again, Gilda?”
    >The gryphon sighs and extends her claw for Dash to shake.
    >”Yeah. Just friends this time. Good friends, but… I think we both know romance isn’t meant to be with us.”
    >Dash shakes Gilda’s claw firmly. “Thanks… and uh, I have something for you.”
    >”Something for me?”
    >”Yeah, but just… hear me out. I know you think reading’s for eggheads and all that, and I thought that too. But when I injured my wing and couldn’t fly… reading this book got me through it. You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to, but it’s just… it’s something that means a lot to me, okay?”
    >Dash places the book on the couch.
    >"Plus the main character is a smoking hot Pegasus."
    >Gilda looks over the Daring Do book…
    >It’s completely unintelligible to you, but judging by the picture on the cover, it’s the same one Dash tried to give to Gilda in the hospital.
    >”... Thanks, Dash. That’s… really nice of you.”
    >Dash looks relieved.
    >”Glad you like it. I was kind of worried you’d throw it at me again.”
    >Gilda suddenly reaches out and pulls Dash into a hug.
    >”Gilda…”
    >”Sorry I was such a bitch. It wasn’t your fault. I was just… throwing a fucking tantrum because I was pissed at myself.”
    >”I’m sorry too.”
    >They hold onto each other for a while before Dash backs away.
    >”Anyway… I gotta go for now. I’ll see you around, I guess.”
    >Gilda smiles, “I’ll tell you what I thought of the book.”
    >You see a bashful smile come to Dash’s face as she leaves.

    “I think you handled that very maturely, Gilda.”
    >”Yeah, well… I can’t keep acting like I’m in flight school forever. I might talk big, but I guess me and Dash are both kind of still children when you get down to it.”
    >You have a seat next to Gilda and put your arm around her.
    “Y’know, sometimes adults tend to have the hardest time admitting when they’re acting childish. I think being able to do that is a good sign of maturity.”
    >Gilda moves closer to you and rubs her cheek against yours.
    >”Thanks. Feels good hearing you say that… I mean, I’m not even above the age of consent for Griffons, but you see me as real woman, don’t you…”
    “Wait, what?”
    >”It’s okay, I mean, you can just say you didn’t know the laws, right?”
    “Uh…”
    >Gilda looks up at you with her glimmering golden eyes…
    >And begins snorting with laughter.
    >”PFFffaahahaha! Oh, fuck, you’re too easy! I totally had you going there."
    "You whore. That's the last time I believe something you tell me about Gryphons."
    >"Yeah, like you don't bullshit me whenever I ask you about your world."
    >You just shrug and kiss her again.
    >You spent some time teasing each other on the couch until the sun went down.
    >You should go speak with the Princess about Trixie...

Twilight’s Castle, Evening

>You went to the Library to make use of the modified crystal mirror.
>After connecting for about a minute, the midnight blue alicorn appears on the other side.
>”Anonymous one. It is good to see you again. Unless you are merely calling for my sister once more…”
“Actually, no. That’s why I waited until the sun went down.”
>”Oh? Well then, for what reason do you call upon us?”
>You briefly explained that Trixie has been troubled by recurring nightmares.
>”So this Trixie was seeking us, but could not approach in public until now? How interesting… we had never noticed her watching us. Very well. We have been hoping to resume our vacations to ponyville, and this seems a suitable impetus for our return. Shall I see her next sunday then?”
“You want to meet her face to face? Why not just go into her dreams remotely?”
>”It will be more effective to counsel her on the meaning of her nightmares if we are able to speak with her personally. Or perhaps there is a reason you do not wish for us to return? Are you living in fear of the day which I return to crush you in marevel?”
“Not at all. I’d welcome the chance to face off with you.”
>”Very well then. You’re free to go.”
>The mirror swirls and returns to normal as the call disconnects.
>You decided to head back home after placing the Gold Star you received from Cheerilee in the scrapbook.
>When you got home, you explained to Trixie that you managed to convince Luna to come to town on Sunday.
>She seems quite grateful to hear that, and lets you know she’s looking forward to it.
>Gilda seems to be pretty engrossed in her book, but closes it and acts nonchalant whenever she catches you looking.
>You laugh it off and spend some time with them before going to bed.

Thursday, December 22nd

>That morning, you receive a delivery with your mail.
>It looks like Rarity finished your new winter clothes and decided to send them over.
>Just in time, too. Last night was a pretty heavy snowfall.
>You put on a long black overcoat and a beige toque and head out for work.
>Once you get there through the foot of snow, you end up having to do some shoveling.
>It’s a good thing you’ve built up some endurance from the work you’ve been doing so far.
>Though you wonder if getting exercise in Fantasia fighting shadows actually helps you build muscle out here.
>If you do have muscle, it’s not immediately recognizable.
>You wonder if it’s actually possible for your appearance to change, or if you’ve changed at all since you came here.
>Maybe some of your features have become a bit more defined… or maybe you’ve just gotten better at seeing them.
>It’s hard to tell.
>After work, you walk around town for a bit until you come across the Cutie Mark Crusaders playing around in the park.

Ponyville Park, Afternoon

>The three girls are hard at work crafting something out of the snow…
“Good afternoon, girls. What’re you making?”
>Applebloom looks up at you happily. “Mister Anonymous! Thanks fer stickin’ up fer me the other day. That was real nice of you. An’ mah sister even said sorry an’ ungrounded me, so now I get ta’ be out here makin’ snowponies with mah friends!”
>”I even borrowed some buttons from my sister for the eyes!” Sweetie Belle says cheerily.
>”You did tell her we were borrowing them, right?” Scootaloo asks cautiously.
>”Yeah, and she spent an hour trying to “help” me pick out the right ones.” Sweetie Belle rolls her eyes.
>”Better than when we tried coal an’ it got all into our coats.”
“Snowponies, huh? I’ve never done it before. Mind if I join you girls? If you teach me how to make a snowpony, I’ll show you how to make a snowman.”
>”CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SNOW SCULPT… uh…”
>”Sculpturers?”
>”Sculpters?”
>”Sculpturists?”
“Sculptors.”
>You spent a while playing in the snow with the three girls.
>Making a snowpony is pretty simple.
>One long blob of snow for the body, a round sphere for the head, and a little ball for the muzzle, with leaves for the ears.
>Apple Bloom seems to be the most talented at it, while Scootaloo complains that hers looks like a snow donkey.
>They take pretty well to learning how to construct a snowman.
>Though there are a lot of comments about it having a fat butt.
>But even if the ass was fat, you have a good time making it.
>Eventually the snow sculpting devolves, or evolves, depending on your point of view, into a full on snowball fight.
>They sure are good at making snowballs without opposable thumbs.
>You on the other hand are suffering due to your lack of body hair to insulate you from the freezing snow flying at your face.
>The injustice of it all makes you want to go onto the forums and complain about whoever was in charge of balancing the races in this game.
>Weren’t you supposed to get a bonus feat?
>Oh right, you put that all into Skill Focus: Knowledge (Memes)
>You decide to make use of your superior size category to pick up the snowman’s head and chase the cutie mark crusaders around until it falls apart.
>They seize their chance to tackle you over and hit you with an All Out Attack!
>As you’re lying on the ground, utterly defeated, you notice the sun seems to be going down.
“Looks like it’s getting late. I concede my defeat for now.”
>”We’d better mosey on home ah suppose.”
“Want me to walk you girls home?”
>”But we all live in opposite directions.” Scootaloo points out.
>”If we all walked together it’d get dark before at least 2 of us go home. But we can make it alone.”
>”So who’re you gonna go home with, Mister Anonymous?” Apple Bloom asks.
>The trio looks up at you expectantly.
>Somehow you feel this is an important decision.
>The future of your relationship is tied to this moment.

    >You decided to go with Apple Bloom.
    >The other two look a little disappointed, but they had enough fun with you today.
    >You end up walking along the long snowy path to Sweet Apple Acres together with her.
    >”So you an’ my sister are good now, right? She told me you two made up.”
    “Yeah, she’s just been under a lot of stress lately.”
    >”Our whole family must be considerin’ we all got sick at the same time. But I guess it just goes to show how good a family we are, right? We even get sick together!”
    “I guess that’s one way to look at it. Are you feeling okay now? I hear SIHN can be pretty rough.”
    >”Earth ponies are tough like that, Mister Anonymous. We had a little fever fer a day, but it broke soon enough. An’ now our whole family’s fit as a fiddle!”
    “I see… so did Applejack talk to you all yet?”
    >”Mmhm. She said she was real worried ‘bout all of us, an’ she’s sorry she let us get like that. She also said she wasn’t bein’ fair groundin’ me like that, an’ I was ungrounded.”
    “Did she say anything else?”
    >Apple Bloom tries to remember. “Jus’ checkin’ up on us to make sure we were recuperatin’ all good.”
    “I see…”
    >”Oh! Looks like we’re here already. Wanna come in for some hot apple cider? It’s great on a cold day!”
    “Are you allowed to drink that? I thought it has alcohol.”
    >”What? Of course it don’t! Don’tcha know the first thing about apple cider?”
    “Uh, I thought I did but apparently not..”
    >”Well come on in! I’ll learn ya all ‘bout it.”
>Apple Bloom drags you into the house and into the kitchen.
>It seems there’s already a pot of a warm golden brown liquid idling on the stove.
>You can smell a heavenly mix of apples and spices coming from it as Applejack ladles you a mug of it.
>”See, usually when it’s got alcohol in it, ya call it hard cider or just cider. But when it don’t got no alcohol in it, you call it soft cider or apple cider.”
“Then… what’s the difference between soft cider and apple juice?”
>”Soft cider’s what you get from juicin’ apples straight without messin’ around with it. It’s kinda cloudy on account of all the little bits of apple left in it. Apple Juice is when you boil it an’ filter it to just the juice. Juice is all clear an’ see through, an’ it ain’t so tart.”
“I see… so this is hot apple cider?”
>”Mmhm. An’ sometimes it’s called mulled apple cider. You warm up some apple cider in a pot with some citrus an’ spices, serve it on a cold day, and enjoy!”
>You take a sip of the hot apple cider…
>It’s certainly more than just apple juice… the spices mix neatly with the sweetness of the apples.
>You can taste cinnamon among a few other spices giving it depth, with just a subtle hint of citrusy tartness at the end.
“It’s delicious… you and your family sure know your apples huh? I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less at this point.”
>”Mmhm! I don’t know as much as my sister just yet, but I know I’ll get there some day.”
“That’s the spirit.”
    >You enjoyed the mulled cider with Apple Bloom for a while…
    >Soon after, Granny Smith wakes up from her nap and joins you for a cup.
    >Big Mac comes home from the hardware store and joins you as well.
    >A few minutes later, Applejack pushes through the door and wipes her hooves carrying some saddlebags full of soup cans.
    >”Sorry I’m late, everypony. I was j- oh! A-Anonymous!”
    >Applejack seems so startled by your presence she nearly drops her saddlebags.
    >Luckily for her, they’re saddlebags.
    >You can’t drop them because you don’t hold them.
    >If you found a way to drop saddlebags in surprise… you’d probably be Derpy.
    “Good evening, Applejack. I was just having some cider with your family. Is something wrong?”
    >”Oh, it’s… I mean of course yer welcome back at my place. I was completely outta line sayin’ I didn’t wanna see you ‘round here, I just… could I speak with you in the kitchen fer a moment?”
    “Sure…”
    >You head over to the kitchen to be alone with AJ.
    >She looks at the floor nervously.
    “Is something up? Should I not be here?”
    >”It ain’t like that… I mean, I… you didn’t mention anything about that, right?”
    “That? No, I didn’t… I wasn’t sure if you’d told them yet or not.”
    >”R-Right, well… I didn’t. So now you know”
    “I guess so. Well if you didn’t tell them yet, when are you going to?”
    >”I’m… honestly not sure when I’m gonna tell ‘em. I mean I know I said as soon as they’re rested but… well, what if one of ‘em is just tryin’ to put on a tough face? Maybe they’re not ready yet…” she says unconvincingly.
    >”...Or maybe I’m not ready yet. But then… when am I ever gonna be ready to admit somethin’ like that. It’s one thing to admit it to myself. But to say it to Granny, Big Mac, an’ Apple Bloom… I just don’t know if I can do it.”
    >Applejack seems unsure…
    >What should you say to her?

“I don’t blame you for not being ready. You know that you need to tell the truth… but acknowledging it is just the first step. It’s okay if you want to wait until you know how to tell them.”
>”How to tell ‘em… it’s simple ain’t it? I did it…”
“But are you ready to say it? If you are, then you can tell them. But I don’t want you to tell them before you’re ready.”
>”Am I ready? I don’t know… I just don’t know how I could be ready to say somethin’ like that.”
“It’s only been two days, Applejack. It’s not fair to expect you to be able to confess this right away. These things take time to process. And if it’s really bothering you, and you don’t know what to do, you can always talk to your friends.”
>Applejack looks a little relieved.
>”Thanks… I’m glad to know y’all are here for me. Guess we better go back there ‘fore they start wonderin’ what’s up.”
“Sure. Just remember we’re here if you ever need to talk.”
>You went back with Applejack and finished your cup of mulled cider, having a short conversation before excusing yourself to head home.
>Speaking of telling the truth…
>You still haven’t told Trixie that you’re dating Twilight.
>It’s possible she could react poorly…
>But you worry about what might happen if she finds out on her own.
>Perhaps it’s time to come clean with her about it.
>But how should you break it to her?
>For this… it’s about time you told her.
>You head straight home…

Home, Night

>Gilda seems to have fallen asleep reading in bed, but Trixie is still up when you arrive.
>”Welcome home, great and caring Anonymous.” she smiles.
“Trixie… good, you’re still up. Could I talk to you for a bit? There’s something I need to tell you.”
>”Talk to Trixie? About what?”
>You sit down on the couch, and she takes the seat next to you.
“Trixie… you remember when you offered to be my marefriend in exchange for keeping quiet about you?”
>Trixie nods.
“Well… I said you didn’t have to because I already had one. And see, I ended up keeping who it was a secret from you. Just like I kept you a secret from her for all that time. But… the one I was talking about was Twilight.”
>”Twilight… Sparkle…”
“Yeah. She was one of the first ponies I met when I came to this world. She took me into her home and helped me get my feet on the ground. She trusted me and became one of my first friends. And before I knew it, she became my first marefriend as well. When you told me how afraid you were of Twilight… well I wasn’t quite sure what to do. So I kept you both a secret from each other until I could figure out what was really going on. Eventually I learned more about what happened that day with the necklace. But every time I tried to test the waters, you didn’t seem like you wanted to listen. And you were doing awful out there, Trixie. You weren’t eating, you couldn’t sleep, and you wouldn’t even risk making a fire to keep warm."
"I couldn’t just let you die like that. So I had to tell Twilight. And when I did… well, she got pretty pissed at me and forced me to come out and tell you everything. And she helped me with that. She was very upset when she heard you were out there suffering. And to be honest, I should have tried harder to convince you about the truth. It hurt me to see you like that too, but I just didn’t get what to do. But I don’t want to keep any more secrets from you, Trixie. So that’s the truth. I’m in a relationship with Twilight Sparkle. It’s an open relationship, but that’s the way things are.”
>The unicorn stares down at the couch.
>“Trixie… already knows.”
“You… you do? Since when?”
>”Trixie… may have always known. But she didn’t want to believe it. A magic show is more fun when you let yourself believe. Isn’t life the same way? Trixie put her hopes in you because she wanted to believe in the Great and Caring Anonymous. That perhaps our meeting was more than mere coincidence… that our meeting was a beautiful fated encounter. That perhaps you could be Trixie’s new destiny. Her new reason for living. But… it seems Twilight Sparkle is ahead of Trixie once again.”
>”She always gets ahead of us… even when we try to turn away from her.”
“Trixie…”
>Trixie turns away. “Nevermind. Trixie… Trixie is saying too much. Trixie should be grateful for what she has. Twilight Sparkle… doesn’t have any connection to Trixie. Please forget Trixie’s selfishness. It is just a bad habit. Just… please forget about it. You've already been so much better to Trixie than she deserves. Trixie doesn't want to lose that too..."
    >You gently take hold of Trixie’s hoof.
    “Trixie… didn’t I tell you? You don’t have to be anyone else for me. Twilight isn’t your superior. You aren’t living in her shadow. You and her are completely different ponies. There are no strings of fate tying you to her. You’re free to choose what you want out of life. And I know you might believe in all that stuff about fate… but I believe in making my own choices in life. I don’t believe fate brought me to you. We aren’t destined to be together.”
    >Trixie looks crestfallen for a moment, but you quickly throw your arms around her.
    “This is my choice. I’m not following fate or destiny… I’m listening to what my heart tells me. That’s how I live my life. And my heart is telling me that I love you, Trixie. I love you so much it drives me crazy. And I love you because of all the things that make you yourself. You’re not inferior to Twilight. You’re nothing like her. Trying to compare the two of you is just absurd. I love Twilight, and I love you too. And I don’t want you to keep trying to become Twilight, or anyone else other than who you really are, Trixie Lulamoon.”
    >”Anonymous…”
    “I love you, Trixie. And I wouldn’t change a single thing about you. So tell me. And be honest… what do you want? Who do you want?”
    >”Trixie…”
    >She pauses and shakes her head, “I… I want to follow my heart like you.”
    >“Right now… my heart isn’t sure how it feels about Twilight Sparkle. But it knows how I feel about you.”
    >”You’ve always taken care of me, listened to my worries… made me feel like I was welcome in this world.”
    >”I want to be with you.”
    >”I love you.”
    >You lift the unicorn up, letting her place her hooves over your shoulders and kiss you deeply.
    >Your lips don't separate for a long time.
    >When they finally do, Trixie smiles at you through her tears.
    >"Thank you..."
    >You just smile back and hold her to your chest.
    >You fell into a deep sleep together on the couch...

    >You slept in for a while until next morning.
    >When you woke up, the two lovely ladies living with you seem pleased to see you.
    >Apparently, Trixie and Gilda talked things over while you were out.
    >They both seem pretty happy about the situation, especially Gilda.
    >You give them both a kiss before you leave, and head over to Fluttershy’s place to meet up with Dash for training.

    Fluttershy’s Cottage, Afternoon
    >You spent a while training together in Fantasia.
    >Today, you decided to forego the sparring and focus on hunting shadows.
    >It’s mostly enemies you’ve fought before, but you notice some new ones appearing as well.
    >According to Fluttershy, because they’ve been maturing, the shadows in their Fantasia have become even stronger.
    >She tells you the fantasias of those who have obtained a new persona actually generate a new very powerful shadow.
    >Fluttershy takes this as cause to be careful when poking around in Spike and Pinkie’s heads, but Dash seems eager for the challenge.
    >Once you’re all running low on mp and candy, you decide to call it for the day.
    >Not keen on making the same mistake as last week, you and Dash make use of Fluttershy’s indoor tub this time.
    >It’s quite a bit smaller, but still just as warm and refreshing when you climb into it.
    >Besides, Dash doesn’t seem to be making use of the space too much anyway, having chosen to climb in right next to you and relax.
    >”Man… that was a heck of a workout. Maybe we should start bringing some of the others with us.”
    “You think so?”
    >”Yeah, I’ve been itchin’ to see Applejack in action. I bet she’s pretty crazy strong.”
    “That so… I haven’t talked to her about her power much. What kind of magic does she use?”
    >”She doesn’t really have much for magic. But when it comes to sheer strength, I don’t think any of us come close.”
    “You make her sound pretty tough. I wonder if you could even take her."
    >”Hah! Applejack might be strong, but I bet she couldn’t even touch me in a fight.”
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