Inside the windmill at the top of AutumnBreeze Hill...
The sounds around her intensified. Her clouded senses were finally beginning to react.
Fluttershy, unconscious only a few seconds ago, slowly opened her eyes. Everything was dark. She couldn't see a thing—understandable, given the airtight latex helmet that encased her head. But that wasn't all: what she perceived next sent an immediate chill through her body.
She couldn't move freely.
"What happened?" she murmured faintly, struggling in vain.
The blurred voices surrounding her began to sharpen. It didn't take long to realize that a conversation—hostile by its tone—was unfolding nearby.
"Applejack? Rainbow Dash?" she whispered again, clinging to a thread of hope.
The conversation—one she still wasn't part of—continued, and though she recognized her friends' voices, there was another one among them that froze her blood.
She didn't know that voice. It was deep, intense, violent… and from the way it spoke, it was clear that it wasn't friendly at all.
Almost without thinking, she adjusted her head inside the helmet, securing it in place, and stayed still, alert. Listening to every word that was being exchanged.
No—this wasn't a conversation. It was an argument.
"Twilight? Fire Alicorn? Wait… the King of Harmony?" she repeated under her breath, trying to memorize and process each word.
She didn't have time for that—the argument stopped abruptly. A heavy silence filled the room.
Danger.
Her survival instinct screamed inside her. Something very bad was about to happen.
Seconds passed. The tension in the pegasus grew unbearable, nearly cutting off her breath.
Finally, the silence shattered all at once. The words that followed confirmed her worst fears.
"What do I do?! What do I do?! Twilight, what should I do?!" she begged in a desperate whisper, tears forming inside her helmet.
And then, as if a spark lit up her mind, Fluttershy remembered something—something Twilight had told her long ago, about a magical gift given to her by a queen.
The answer was clear. She knew what she had to do.
A moment later, the mesh bag she was trapped in trembled… and was crushed.
[---]
Moments earlier, in that same place...
"Please… I need to find the princess…" The deep voice echoed like a hollow bell within the dim room.
Barely visible in the half-light, a menacing creature—a massive horned beast—stood upright at the center, eyes fixed on its captives.
"...only Princess Twilight has the power to defeat the wicked mare who enslaved my people…" it went on.
In front of the beast, three mesh bags hung from the ceiling, swaying in still air. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, trapped inside two of them, stared at their captor without speaking.
"...that's why I need you to take me to her. I beg you…"
The creature's speech came to an end. Its voice, which had started as a threatening growl, now trembled at the edge of breaking, revealing something close to desperation.
Or at least, it seemed that way.
The ponies remained silent, even as the creature's expression grew more impatient.
"Don't you understand that I need help?!" it suddenly roared. "The lives of every being in my world depend on her! The wicked Fire Alicorn will stop at nothing to steal all the magic that exists across the universe. If we don't stop her soon, your world will share my world's fate!"
Its words shook the walls, thickening the air with tension.
Still, silence returned. It lingered until, cutting through the heaviness, a voice dripping with disdain broke it apart:
"I see. Nice story… 'the Fire Alicorn,' huh?" said Rainbow Dash, cracking her neck. "Does she have a name that's less stupid?"
The beast stayed motionless for a few seconds, suppressing the immediate reply burning in its throat. After a pause, it finally spoke in a grave tone: "Opaline Arcana."
"Aha!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, tilting her head. "Applejack, do you remember Twilight ever mentioning someone named Opaline Arcana? The 'evil Fire Alicorn'?"
"No…" replied Applejack, not taking her eyes off the creature.
"Exactly. She never did, and we've never heard that name before. Which probably means this is just a bunch of lies!"
"You think I'm lying?" growled the beast, no longer restraining its anger. "It's the truth! Your princess knows! Take me to her and she'll prove how wrong you are!"
"Oh yeah?! You giant furball!" Rainbow Dash snapped, flaring her wings. "If you want us to take you to her so badly, why don't you let us go first?!"
"I already told you—it's for your own safety," the beast replied, lowering its tone. "This refuge has already been invaded by Opaline's servants. If I release you now, you could fall into enemy hooves…"
"And aren't we already?" Rainbow Dash shot back sarcastically, but was ignored.
"You're safe now; there's nothing to worry about. Just tell me where Princess Twilight is."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, exasperated, and turned toward her friend, who had remained quiet all this time.
"Applejack, a little help here? Maybe lend some sense to this thing—"
"I'm GAM," interrupted the creature.
"Who cares!" snapped Rainbow Dash. "Just let us go already!"
Applejack didn't respond right away. She took a deep breath and, without looking at her friend, said:
"No, Rainbow Dash. He's right." Her voice was steady, resolute. "He needs help."
The beast's eyes flickered, and an almost involuntary smile formed on its face. Rainbow Dash, however, stared at her, stunned.
"Are you serious?!" shouted the pegasus, indignant.
"Yes, I am," confirmed Applejack calmly.
"Good. Very good," the beast nodded, releasing a hint of relief. "The King of Harmony is on our side. Will you tell me where Princess Twilight is?"
"Of course. But first, you could do us a favor," Applejack added sternly.
"Of course!" the beast exclaimed eagerly.
"Good. Then you can start by being honest for once."
The creature froze, as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over it. The silence that followed was broken only by its uneven breathing.
"Honest?" it repeated, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Who are you really?"
"I am GAM, emissary of the King of Harmony…"
"No, you're not," Applejack interrupted. "I don't know how much of your speech is truth or lies, but one thing's clear to me—you need help. You're desperate, I can see it in your eyes."
The beast didn't reply. Applejack held its gaze, firm and unflinching.
"If you really want our help, start by telling us the truth. Who are you?"
"You keep insisting on that question… why?"
"Because I want to help you. I get the feeling we've met before… am I right?"
The air grew heavier. The beast's silhouette tensed, and its eyes glowed with a threatening gleam.
"Help me?" it hissed mockingly. "Will you tell me where Princess Twilight is?"
"Will you tell us who you really are?" Applejack countered without backing down.
"No," it growled, its voice lower, darker than before.
"Then I won't tell you anything," Applejack declared, defiant.
A deadly silence filled the room. But unlike the others, this one was charged with hostility, as if the air itself could sense the danger about to erupt.
At the center of it all, Applejack and the beast stood still, locked in a battle of wills through their eyes.
Rainbow Dash, who had been silently observing until now, fidgeted inside her mesh cell, her wings taut, waiting for whatever would come next.
The silence deepened. The ponies held their breath; the only sound left was the faint creaking of the ropes suspending them.
Snap! A sharp crack suddenly split the air, like a whip striking the ground.
The ponies flinched and searched for its source. They didn't take long to find it—a long, sinuous shadow, like that of a massive serpent, swayed behind the beast.
It was its tail, now betraying the shift in its intentions.
"You're a disappointment… all of you. And your princess… she's no different," it said with palpable contempt in the darkness.
Applejack narrowed her eyes. The beast's face was nothing but shadow in that unlit space; the glowing lamps that had been its eyes were now extinguished.
"Applejack… this is bad," whispered Rainbow Dash from her cage.
The farm pony didn't have time to reply. In that instant, the beast's eyes flared open, blazing with a ferocity that froze her in place.
"I don't need all of you. Two will be enough," the creature growled.
Without warning, it glided silently through the darkness—its claw gleamed, slicing through the air toward Applejack.
No… not toward her.
"No!" shouted Applejack helplessly. At that same moment, the claw became a massive fist, lunging at Rainbow Dash instead.
A shriek filled the room—the sound of blades cutting against one another.
Then the movement stopped cold.
Applejack's heart pounded in her throat as she watched, breathless.
The claw retreated.
To her relief—and to the beast's annoyance—a colorful silhouette emerged from the shadows.
Still trapped in her cage, Rainbow Dash stood tall, wings spread wide like twin blades, braced against the claw that had tried to crush her. Without hesitation, she spat to the side, flicking a stray lock of mane from her mouth.
"Try that again," she taunted with a grin, as the beast drew back to its original stance.
Applejack let out a shaky sigh.
"I almost forgot how stubborn you are, Rainbow Dash," the beast replied in an unsettlingly calm tone.
The pegasus arched an eyebrow. Those words confirmed what Applejack had begun to suspect—this creature, whoever or whatever it was, knew them.
Applejack swallowed hard. Her expression showed she had reached the same realization—and that it only made the pounding in her head worse.
Then, in the dimness, a razor-edged grin tore across the beast's face.
The ponies tensed in their cages, ready for anything.
But it didn't matter—none of them could have predicted what came next.
The beast's claw extended again, faster than before—this time aimed at the third pony.
In a blink, it reached the bag where Fluttershy was trapped and, with no resistance from its victim, crushed it.
The first sound was a dull thud, followed by the sickening creak of straining cords. That creak repeated itself—agonizingly clear—again and again, accompanied by a chilling hiss, like the noise of a body being squeezed… or a balloon deflating.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash, horrified by the brutality inflicted on their friend, froze, minds blank, unable to think of anything else.
And indeed, something else was happening.
"Uhhhhhhh…" In the middle of the crushing motion, the beast groaned in confusion, its tone suddenly sluggish and bewildered. It tightened its grip further, as though searching for something—but the harder it pressed, the more its grotesque face twisted in disbelief. Finally, reacting to its own incomprehension, it pulled back, freeing its claw, its prey, and breaking the paralysis of the two other ponies.
Shapeless remnants fell into the dark, but the sound they made upon hitting the floor wasn't what anyone—neither the ponies nor the beast—expected.
Still unable to process what was happening, Applejack and Rainbow Dash watched as the beast gathered its strength and leapt upward. In a single motion, it struck the ceiling, shattering it and letting light pour into the room.
A white, artificial brightness flooded the space. All blinked, momentarily blinded by the sudden glare.
When their eyes adjusted, what they saw left them equally stunned.
The mesh bag that had held Fluttershy was empty. Yes, the latex suit was still there, torn and twisted like a balloon burst under extreme pressure… but there was nothing else.
No feathers. No hair. No skin. Nothing.
Even the beast looked as dumbfounded as they were.
"What the hell…?!" it roared, unable to comprehend the sight before it.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" A sudden laugh burst out beside Applejack. Rainbow Dash, grinning ear to ear and teary-eyed, was rolling with laughter inside her mesh cell.
"That coward Fluttershy…" she gasped between fits of laughter. "Ran off like always, ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Applejack said nothing, still trying to process what she was seeing. At what moment had her friend escaped? There was no explanation—but what there was was a stomach that, at last, felt free of the knot of dread that had been choking her inside.
The beast, meanwhile, was starting to grasp the scale of the disaster.
"Fluttershy…?" it muttered with difficulty. "Not Rarity…?"
"Of course it was Fluttershy, you furball!" Rainbow Dash answered, radiant with absolute confidence. "Right now, she's probably heading back to base to warn Twilight and the others about what's going on. Ha-ha-ha!"
Applejack glanced at her, confused by the mention of Twilight—until Rainbow winked at her conspiratorially.
The farm pony blinked, and an instant later, understood her friend's intention. She then added firmly, "That's right! Twilight will come to rescue us and give you what you deserve. Even Badwhiz will join in this time!"
The beast's face contorted in rage.
"That brat is still alive?!" it roared.
"Yeah—and what are you gonna do about it?" Rainbow Dash shot back with a defiant grin.
The beast didn't answer with words. It extended both claws and snatched the two ponies in a lightning-fast motion.
Applejack and Rainbow instantly felt the crushing pressure of those colossal fists. Their bodies quivered under the brute force, but their spirits remained unbroken.
"You're… wasting your… time…" Rainbow Dash managed to force out, her words ragged as the air was squeezed from her lungs.
The creature held them a few seconds longer—then, perhaps moved by her words or by the stubborn refusal of the two ponies to surrender, stopped its assault and released them.
Both fell exhausted to the floors of their cages, gasping in unison.
With a roar of frustration, the beast swung a massive punch that tore down one of the room's walls. Its fierce gaze turned to the false Ponyville that stretched beyond.
After a long glare at the landscape, it exhaled through its nostrils like an enraged bull and turned back toward the two trembling ponies who still hung helplessly, unable to resist.
"You'll be useful to me… whether you like it or not," it hissed venomously.
Moments later, the beast descended AutumnBreeze Hill, carrying two bundles across its back, and disappeared into the dark cardboard forest.
[---]
Everything was moving too fast. Normally, that would've been fine for her—but not this time.
...Tik, tik, tik...
A sharp sound drilled into her ears. Rainbow Dash squinted, dizzy. Everything around her swayed like a ship at sea. Was she… on the ocean? Her thoughts drifted while the rhythmic thudding—like crashing waves—continued to pound her hearing.
Where were the waves coming from? Below? Why did the ground seem to be moving? Was she running—or was someone carrying her?
"Tik, tik, tik. Rain…bowww…" The pegasus flicked her ears irritably. The sound repeated again and again, growing more annoying each time. Instinctively, she tilted her head, shaking her mane as much as the bindings allowed.
It didn't help. The sound persisted.
"So annoying! What's going on? Ughhh… I'm starving…" she grumbled under her breath. Her vision was dim, her head throbbed painfully, and to make things worse, she felt weak. The recent lack of air and an empty stomach were taking their toll. With no energy left to recover, Rainbow Dash was little more than a hazy shadow of herself.
Her complaint must've done something—the irritating noise vanished, leaving her in brief peace.
Then, something unexpected happened: a sweet flavor began to form inside her dry mouth. Instinctively, her tongue reached for it.
It was round, with a hard shell and sticky to chew. The flavor spread through her mouth, instantly making her smile. Chocolate always had that effect on her.
She swallowed it quickly and immediately wanted more. As if her wish had been granted, more bites appeared. Without hesitation, Rainbow devoured them one after another. She kept going until there were none left. She was still hungry, but she didn't complain—the brief feast had restored just enough strength for her to begin thinking clearly again.
What a way to regain consciousness...
"Rainbow Dashhhh!" a shrill voice exploded right next to one of her ears.
"Waaaaa—" Rainbow's body jerked in surprise. She might've shot into the air if she hadn't been in such a sorry state.
She opened her eyes just enough to see she was tied inside a mesh bag. Beside her, Applejack lay unconscious in a similar state. Beyond them, the ground—and everything around—was moving quickly, as if they were on some kind of vehicle.
Her memory snapped back all at once, connecting the dots: the capture at the caramel lake, the tense conversation with the beast in the windmill, the crushing moment, and its promise afterward to make use of them.
Her feathers bristled as she realized the situation.
Indeed—that was what was happening. Both ponies were being carried on the creature's back as it strode through the cardboard forest, taking them to its lair…
Or to someplace worse.
Without wasting time, Rainbow Dash began struggling against her restraints. But before she could make much progress, the voice returned—louder this time.
"Rainbow Dashhhh! You're awake, thank goodness you're okay!" the shrill voice squeaked inside her head.
"What the heck—?!" Rainbow twitched her ears, which were itching now.
"Rainbow Dash, it's me! Fluttershy! Don't yell—Aaaaaaahhh!" the tiny voice cried insistently.
Amid Rainbow Dash's movements, a small lump emerged from her ear.
"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, stunned, as she saw a tiny pink insect crawl out of her ear. It clung awkwardly to the ropes amid the swaying of the beast's back, until it finally perched on her nose.
Though she looked very different, it was Fluttershy—tiny, delicate, and transformed into a Breezie.
Rainbow Dash's mouth fell open, unable to believe what she was seeing. Gradually, her mind began to catch up.
"The gift from Queen Novo… the pearl… it turned you into a Breezie?" she murmured, still trying to process it.
"Yes… yes…" replied little Fluttershy excitedly. "I was with you before and…"
She didn't finish the sentence. Without warning, Rainbow Dash's tongue shot out, sweeping her up into her mouth—and the pegasus froze, pretending to be unconscious.
The reason for this lay beyond her cage.
The beast had stopped. Turning its massive head like an owl, it sniffed the air, as if sensing something among the cardboard trees.
Rainbow Dash's heart hammered in her chest, praying she hadn't been discovered. She cracked one eye open ever so slightly while a muffled squeal echoed between her clenched teeth.
The moment of tension passed as quickly as it had begun. Without a word, the creature resumed its march.
Rainbow Dash spat out the tiny Fluttershy, who, covered in saliva, looked just as dazed as the still-unconscious Applejack beside her.
"Ugh… what was that for?" the miniature pony protested.
"Not the time for questions!" Rainbow Dash hissed in a furious whisper. "Why in Equestria aren't you with the others warning them about what's happening?!"
The Breezie Fluttershy shook her head to clear it and replied, "I… I couldn't. I don't know how to get there."
"What do you mean you don't know?! You've got wings! You had the map! What else do you need?"
"Yes, yes… but the map tore apart… along with my suit."
"Ah… right. But—fly! Guide yourself from the sky!"
"No… I can't do that either. There's no wind in this place, and as a Breezie, I can't fly without it. My normal wings don't work here. I'm so scared, Rainbow… I don't know what to do!" the tiny Fluttershy began to cry.
"Aughhhh!" Rainbow Dash bit her lip, frustrated by her friend's helplessness. Everything Fluttershy said was true. After escaping being crushed, she had tried to find the others to warn them—but after only a few steps, she'd become disoriented and completely unable to move forward alone.
Accepting her own helplessness, the only idea she had left was to return to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, hoping they could come up with a plan together to escape this dangerous situation.
"So… you came back as a Breezie and clung to the beast without it noticing," Rainbow Dash muttered, half in disbelief, half amused.
"Yes… wasn't that clever?"
"No! I mean—yes! Ughhh…" she groaned, rubbing her temple. "Why didn't you attack it or something? Does that pearl only turn you into a Breezie, or what?"
"Uh… I'm not sure. It's a magic pearl—the Queen didn't exactly give me a manual for it… I was going to ask Twilight about it during our meeting in Canterlot, but that never happened…" the tiny Fluttershy replied miserably.
"Ahhh…" Rainbow Dash exhaled, struggling not to lose her patience. The improvised and unexpected conversation with her friend, bouncing on the creature's back, was going nowhere. Applejack was out cold. Fluttershy… well, she wasn't being much help. Time was running out—they had to act!
Or rather, she had to think of something. But what?
"Twilight, what would you do in a situation like this?" Rainbow Dash pleaded inwardly.
After a moment of intense concentration—almost enough to make smoke rise from her head—the pegasus took a deep breath and regained her confidence.
The master plan she had just come up with was, at least in her mind, one hundred percent foolproof. Twilight would definitely approve… or so she hoped.
"All right!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Here's what we're gonna do! You ready, Fluttershy?"
"Y-yes?" the tiny pegasus answered timidly in her Breezie form.
Without waiting for a more enthusiastic reply, Rainbow Dash began explaining her plan in a low whisper. Fluttershy listened intently, nodding her tiny head as the steady swaying of the beast's back continued beneath them.
[---]
The great Apple family barn stood only a few minutes from Ponyville. In comparison, in the toy world, the distance between the apparent building and the fake village was identical. That similarity was about the only redeeming thing between the two versions, since—like the rest of the nearby constructions—the barn was made of plastic and cardboard, making it look garish compared to its real counterpart. To make matters worse, it was painted in an orange so bright it was nearly unrecognizable.
That was precisely why the beast didn't realize what it was. To it, the place looked like a large, sturdy building—safe enough to hold its prisoners. Of course, "to hold them" meant tossing them inside without a second thought. Once done, it blocked the only entrance with a cardboard log it had picked up along the way.
Task complete, the beast turned its full attention toward the village of Ponyville, which greeted it with its garish, artificial colors.
"What in the world is this…" it muttered, puzzled, just as the ponies had been when they'd first seen it.
It had been to other "worlds," each with its own rules and peculiarities—but this one felt strange in a personal way. It had never visited the real Ponyville, but had seen enough postcards to recognize it.
It was the land it knew… turned into a parody.
"Could that damned know-it-all goat have been right?" it thought with a shiver as it advanced cautiously. "Could it be that my world is actually the reflection of a game from another one?"
The very idea sickened it. A bitter taste rose in its throat, forcing it to spit.
"No. I'm me. There can't be another version of me walking around some other world. If there really were another me, no matter how similar, she should be here with me—suffering through the same hell."
The beast took a few more steps, then froze and slapped itself, covering its face with its massive claws.
An irritating buzzing rang in its ears as its gaze returned to the village ahead.
It shouldn't think about such nonsense. It needed to focus on the mission: Twilight.
And on that point...
"Damn it! How am I supposed to do this?!" it roared inwardly in frustration.
Along the way, it had hoped some brilliant idea would come—but nothing had. The only advantage it still had was that two of Twilight's friends were captured; not much, really.
The amulet that nullified magic remained its best weapon, but now Twilight had the help of the other two ponies: the pink one and the conceited unicorn. If it used the amulet against the princess at the wrong time and one of them interfered, it could lose it easily—as had already happened to its previous bearer.
"I need to get rid of those two first… and then only the useless one will be left… Ughhh!" The beast clenched its teeth. Just thinking about that other obstacle made its blood boil. It wanted to rip out the thick fur covering its body and roll in the dirt to vent its rage.
"How did that useless pegasus escape? No—rather, how did she escape from the train back then? How dare Fluttershy still breathe the same air as me?"
To the beast, ponies like Fluttershy were a mistake that needed erasing—nothing but a headache for everyone else.
"The princess must've given her some kind of powerful magic item… yes, that has to be it. But… an item that only lets her run away? Damn it, why do I even have to stay on guard against someone like that? Grrrr…"
Having Fluttershy as a priority target was infuriating—but it knew that if it could finally get rid of her, only the princess would remain.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle…" it growled again.
It had to admit that Twilight was a princess in every sense of the word—an adversary capable of pushing it to the limit again and again. And for that, she had earned its respect.
But nothing more.
Never would it accept her as its princess.
Silently, the beast crept through the meadow bordering the false Ponyville. At that distance, and given its size, it should already have been spotted; yet nothing happened. Either no one had noticed its presence—or they were already waiting for it with a trap.
The latter seemed unlikely. It had hurried here—not as fast as Rainbow Dash in full flight, but certainly faster than a below-average pegasus like Fluttershy.
"Good… I just have to charge straight in. Shock and opportunity…" it told itself, peering through the fake bushes. The terrain was in its favor: the buildings would serve as cover, and it already had a clear view of the imitation of Twilight's treehouse. Its instincts told it that was the ponies' base of operations.
"Crush them all, then the princess… is that too much?" The beast hesitated, feeling the buzzing in its ears growing louder, almost deafening.
And not just that—its breathing was ragged, and its stomach burned. Considering its own fatigue and Twilight's defensive skill, a thought crossed its mind: wouldn't surrender be wiser?
It sighed in defeat.
"I'm screwed, huh? Breaking the deal now won't help anything…" it lamented silently.
Eyes still fixed on the treehouse, it failed to notice the small pink Breezie that slipped off its back and vanished among the nearby bushes.
A couple of minutes later, the door of the building opened in the distance—marking the start of the inevitable confrontation.
[---]
"Ahhh... my head..." murmured Applejack, slowly regaining consciousness.
"Enough of that, Applejack! Get up!" barked Rainbow Dash's voice beside her.
"Whoa!" Applejack's body was shoved and rolled until it hit a wall.
At least that's what the disoriented pony thought.
"Why is it so dark?!" she groaned—just as a blinding light struck her eyes, confusing her even more.
"Here's your light, happy now? Now bite through your ropes—I'm not doing it for you!" snapped her pegasus friend, a headlamp strapped to her head.
Applejack was still tied up, so she understood that much—though everything else made little sense.
"Rainbow Dash, what—?"
"Are you gonna bite your ropes or not?!" interrupted the pegasus sharply.
With no desire to endure more scolding, Applejack obediently began gnawing at the ropes. Meanwhile, an impatient Rainbow Dash worked at hers. Once free, she stood firm on the floor and stretched her wings. To the farm pony's surprise, they crackled like splintering wood—as if they had just broken.
Noticing her friend's alarm, Rainbow chuckled.
"Did you fall for it? That furball did, too. Faking injuries at flight school does have its perks." Without another word, Rainbow Dash stretched her wings again—this time they simply unfolded, proving that the earlier state had been a voluntary dislocation.
The beam of light danced across the darkened barn.
Rainbow gently flapped her wings in the air. She lifted off, touched the ceiling, and landed again. On the ground, she began doing push-ups like she was warming up for a marathon.
"Done!" Applejack exclaimed, tossing the ropes aside.
"Good! Now we start phase two of the plan."
"What plan?"
A distant rumble, like an explosion, shook the barn. Applejack flinched, but Rainbow Dash only smiled defiantly—the plan was going too well…
[---]
A tiny fraction of time earlier—before Applejack woke and learned, to her alarm, about the plan…
"Find the others, run, and then I'll handle it… find the others, run, and then I'll handle it… haa… haaaa…" sobbed and gasped the tiny Breezie Fluttershy. Small tears clouded her vision, but the straight path ahead left no room for error—nor did the plan Rainbow Dash had given her, which she was determined to carry out.
"Find the others, run, and then I'll handle it!" That was the plan. She repeated it like a mantra one last time, wiping her eyes.
Only a few more meters to reach the treehouse door and then…
[---]
"Can I have just a teeny bit of the salad...?"
"No," replied Rarity from across the table.
"What about the lemon juice...?"
"No," she repeated firmly.
"Pleeaase..." begged Pinkie, with the face of a starving puppy.
Across the table, overflowing with delicious food, Rarity's frown deepened… until, inconveniently, her own stomach growled.
"Enough!" she snapped, standing up so suddenly that the silverware clinked and Pinkie shrank in her seat.
"How dare they keep us waiting after all the effort I put into this meal?!" thundered Rarity, pacing furiously.
"Maybe something happened to them..." replied the innocent Pinkie, timidly.
Rarity froze and turned with a glare so fierce that Pinkie nearly vanished from sight. She seemed ready to scream—but didn't. She restrained herself, inhaled deeply, and in a softer tone said:
"Perhaps you're right… if they're in trouble, we'd better go find them."
Pinkie immediately jumped up, smiling, silverware in hoof and a bib around her neck, ready to feast.
"And then we'll all eat together," Rarity declared resolutely.
"And the food...?" Pinkie asked, her grin frozen.
"It can wait!" decreed the unicorn, wrapping herself once again in her latex suit and catching Pinkie in midair with her magic just as she lunged toward the plates.
"The food! Think of the food, Rarity!" cried the pink pony, flailing as she was dragged out of the kitchen.
Her pleas were useless. Rarity continued straight toward the front door of the treehouse, where she paused, trying to recall which direction led to Rainbow Dash's new home.
"It was that way... or maybe over there..." muttered Rarity, her gaze lost among the empty streets.
She didn't get the chance to decide. A pink butterfly swooped down and smacked her on the forehead, making her stumble back in shock.
"A Breezie...?" she managed to say, puzzled, as she looked up at the tiny creature now resting atop her head.
"Uhh... nope, I think it's Fluttershy," replied Pinkie Pie, still floating midair.
A flash of light enveloped the apparent Breezie, and in a blink, Fluttershy materialized atop Rarity, knocking her to the ground. Pinkie tumbled back as well.
"Ugh! What… what's going on? Fluttershy!" exclaimed Rarity, using her magic to push her friend aside as she got up.
But Fluttershy didn't respond right away. Her gaze was vacant, her wings trembled, and her words came out as little more than a broken whisper.
"…Candies… the beast… Twilight… run…"
"What?" cried Rarity, utterly confused.
"Huh?" Pinkie peered closer, just as bewildered by her friend's behavior.
"Beast… windmill… Twilight… Rainbow Dash… run…" repeated Fluttershy, barely breathing.
Rarity and Pinkie exchanged a look—neither had the faintest idea what she was talking about. But one thing was certain: Fluttershy needed help. Without hesitation, Rarity lifted her with magic, while Pinkie zipped back and forth, returning with a glass of water.
Fluttershy drank it immediately—but before finishing, she spat it out and, with a heart-piercing scream—as loud as her delicate voice could manage—cried out:
"The beast… a beast is coming! Run!"
"A beast? What beast?" Rarity exclaimed, alarmed.
"Maybe it's the one charging straight at us right now!" shrieked Pinkie Pie, staring at the open door in horror.
Rarity barely had time to turn before a huge shadow lunged toward them from behind.
A moment later, chaos erupted.
The entire treehouse shuddered, as if struck by an invisible storm. It tilted sideways and finally collapsed. The muffled roar lasted barely a minute, and when most of the debris had settled, a tiny Breezie emerged unscathed, perching atop what was left of the kitchen table—now exposed to the open sky along with the rest of the ruins.
A light flickered, and Fluttershy regained her original form. Incredibly, despite the devastation, much of Rarity's prepared banquet remained intact beside her.
The aroma of food clashed cruelly with the desolation around her.
"Rarity? Pinkie?" whispered Fluttershy weakly, her voice trembling as she stared at the destruction.
"I suppose that must be one of your princess's gifts," said a deep voice behind her.
Fluttershy turned—and gasped, stumbling backward before the towering figure.
Bathed in light, the beast loomed more than three meters tall. Horned and covered in fur, it resembled a grotesque hybrid of a burly bear and a wolverine. Its mouth, as wide as its face allowed, was filled with razor-sharp teeth, their gleam eclipsed by the brilliance of its black, hostile eyes. Below them, an absurdly small brown nose clashed with the ferocity above. Its coat of white and gray fur, streaked with reddish hues along the tail and back, gave it an almost blood-stained appearance.
It was a dangerous being—every sense in Fluttershy screamed it.
"Well, well… didn't think my current look would shake you that much. I thought you were used to dealing with beasts… aren't you?"
The mocking tone lingered in the air. But there was truth in its words—Fluttershy had faced creatures far more menacing than this one. Yet none of that explained why she recoiled so violently now.
It was those eyes.
They weren't innocent; they didn't reflect the wild, misunderstood soul she could usually empathize with. They glowed instead with the light of a calculating mind, closed off and fueled by a hatred that screamed run.
"I see… I suppose, deep down, you're not capable of dealing with beings like me. I could say I'm disappointed, but that would be far too honest. Let's just leave it at that, shall we, dear?"
The beast took a step forward; Fluttershy retreated six.
"Oh, no, don't run. I think you're more reasonable than the others. Allow me to explain…"
It raised its massive arms, palms open, like a mischievous child. Between its claws rested Rarity and Pinkie Pie—unconscious, but unharmed.
"See? I haven't done anything to them. Yet. So we can talk calmly, like friends. I just need a bit of your attention and your time. What do you say?"
The beast moved closer, shortening the distance. Fluttershy backed up until she hit a wall of debris that blocked her escape.
"All right, no need to talk. Just nod when I ask. Twilight isn't here, I know—otherwise, she'd have stopped me already. So tell me… do you know where she is?"
Fluttershy said nothing. The beast took another step, crushing what remained of Rarity's banquet. The food—so carefully prepared, meant to be shared when all the friends were together—was reduced to a foul-smelling paste beneath its feet.
The pegasus watched in silence; the beast didn't even notice. And even if it had, it wouldn't have cared.
Like a revelation, Fluttershy understood in that instant.
Just like that meal, her friends—Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash—were all at the mercy of the creature's whims. It would keep them only as long as they held some value. The moment that value faded, they would simply be crushed.
That was inevitable. And what could she possibly do about it?
That was the breaking point.
With her eyes fixed on that scene, despair flooded Fluttershy's noble heart, cornering her weary spirit. And then, in response, something else awoke—something only her closest friends had ever witnessed.
"Answer me, Fluttershy. Where is Twilight?" the beast pressed, its tone sharpening, its claws beginning to squeeze Rarity's and Pinkie's heads.
Fluttershy kept her head bowed… until finally, she raised it—locking eyes with the creature.
The beast froze instantly.
"Find the others… run…"
"Huh?"
That was all. The conversation ended with those simple words.
[---]
It happened suddenly.
The unmoving continuity of the toy-world landscape—so unchanging since the first day of its existence—shattered in an instant.
Within seconds, a dark mass, like a bowling ball, shot out from the false Ponyville in a straight line and crashed against one of the colossal walls of that giant-sized chamber.
A thunderous boom, like a cannon blast, echoed through the air.
Immediately afterward, fragments of trees, vehicles, and plastic buildings—obliterated by the impact—rained down in a clattering storm, a deafening reminder of the violence that had just occurred.
Little by little, the noise faded, and the artificial silence of that world reasserted itself.
But things were no longer the same.
Two towering figures had emerged beneath the stage lights.
[---]
"Ughhh..." The beast writhed in pain. It hadn't lost consciousness from the blow, but the torment running through its body left it teetering on the edge of it.
Summoning what little clarity remained, it forced its arms upward amid ragged breaths, assuming a posture like someone invoking divine power. It stayed that way for several seconds, until, at last, it managed to steady itself.
Lowering its arms slowly, its breathing now evened out, the creature's mind—ever restless with scheming—focused on what had just happened.
"Dammit..." it hissed. Its forehead burned as if struck by a headbutt. A headbutt?
In front of it, a vast trench split the ground clean in two, stretching all the way to the horizon. Behind it, the solid stone wall was shattered, and from the crater left by its impact, deep cracks spread across the entire surface.
"Could it be...?" The thought defied logic. Yet, as it focused its vision toward the horizon, its fear was confirmed.
As much as it wanted to deny it, it couldn't.
It had been brutally attacked—and the one responsible was none other than...
"Fluttershy!" it roared in fury.
So it was. The beast could see her clearly.
At the far end of the trench stood the firm silhouette of the pegasus, defying it.
[---]
The unconscious bodies of Rarity and Pinkie Pie were carefully laid down near the ruins of Twilight's false treehouse. It wasn't a safe place—but Fluttershy could do no better for them right now.
A roar thundered behind her—from the far end of the giant's room.
Fluttershy turned and saw her opponent clearly in the distance, already recovered and advancing toward her.
He was far away, though not far enough for that to matter.
Advantage? No. With the changes her body had undergone, she now stood on equal footing with her surroundings… and with her enemy.
The beast began to accelerate. Each step pounded louder than the last, its charge turning into a full-blown stampede.
Fluttershy braced herself like a drawn bow, exhaling a soft sigh as she released her last worries. She was ready.
She was no longer the frightened little pony she once was. Thanks to the magic of the pearl, all her determination had transformed into fuel for the astonishing growth she had undergone.
She would not let that beast harm her friends any longer.
Not while she still stood.
Then, stamping the ground with enough force to shake the toy buildings around her, the enormous pegasus spoke in a firm voice, as though taking an oath:
"I'll handle this."
[---]
It was madness—she knew that deep down—but she had already surrendered herself completely to it.
"Why had Fluttershy grown so much?"
"Where were Twilight and the boy?"
"How long until the ruler of chaos lost patience and wiped her out?"
Too many questions—and no time left to answer them.
The beast, in the midst of its furious charge, ignored the warnings of its own body. Its focus was fixed entirely on the gigantic pony before it.
Fluttershy, turned giant by a magic item she barely understood, stood tall amid the false Ponyville, mocking the creature's futile effort.
A deranged laugh echoed from the beast—eerily identical to that of her hateful sister… Sister? Was she imagining it? Just paranoia's echo?
The thought vanished—along with the memory of why she was even fighting.
The weight of her humiliation was too great. If she'd been in her right mind, she might have feigned defeat and fled.
But she wasn't. She no longer had the strength for that. All she could do was give in to the fury.
"You'll pay for this!" the beast bellowed, saliva flying, charging wildly.
Cardboard trees flew aside in her wake. She ran fast—surprisingly fast, given her stubby legs—and when she was barely fifty meters away, she leapt into the air. Curling her limbs together, she became a massive reddish cannonball spinning violently as she hurtled toward the pegasus.
The giant Fluttershy did not move.
The beast's vision narrowed—but she grinned silently.
"Your friends are right there, idiot! Whether you withstand my hit or not, the next thing I'll do is crush them!"
Confident in her attack, the beast fell straight toward the pegasus. And then—
"Huh?!" No sound. No impact. None of the violence she expected—only the sudden feeling of weightlessness returning… before shifting into ascent.
Ascent? Had she hit Fluttershy—or a giant trampoline?
Confused, the beast unfurled from her ball form—only to realize she was indeed in the air, rising fast.
"What the—?!" she cried, bewildered, watching the ceiling of the toy-world rushing toward her.
Without hesitation, she extended her hind limbs and, with a strength only they possessed, braced against the stone ceiling. Digging her claws deep, she clung there, motionless for a few seconds.
"Haaah... haaah..." she panted, gasping for breath.
What move had Fluttershy used to launch her like that? Unable to answer, the beast anxiously scanned the ground below, like a bat searching for prey.
Far beneath, Ponyville's remains still stood. The trench from the first strike was visible—but there was no sign of the giant Fluttershy.
"Did she escape?" she muttered aloud.
The answer came from behind her—in a chilling whisper.
"Don't move..."
Before the beast could react, two pony limbs extended from behind her: the first wrapped tightly around her neck, choking her, while the second pinned her right arm in place.
Trapped in a hold that resembled a criminal's deadly embrace, the beast tried to free her only remaining claw—but it too was restrained, this time by the pegasus's flexible tail.
Her grip on the stone ceiling vanished, and both the beast and Fluttershy plummeted toward the ground. With every meter they fell, the beast's consciousness dimmed further; her numbed body refused to respond, and her thoughts blared crimson warnings of impending death.
Now the ground was rushing upward—an ocean of colors and glittering points.
It would be there, she realized, that she'd finally taste the bitter flavor of defeat.
"NOOOO!" she roared from the depths of her being, rejecting that fate.
Her body swelled; Fluttershy's unyielding hold broke apart. Freed—just a second before crashing—she inhaled one last breath, then…
A wet explosion, like a muted splash, reached her ears, followed by a strange new sensation across her skin.
Everything went dark. Her eyes were closed, yet sparks still flickered in her blackened vision. She was barely conscious, clinging to the unfamiliar fluid surrounding her. Struggling, she swam through that unreal substance.
Not like this, not like this! she screamed inside her mind, drowning, rejecting the tide that tried to drag her down.
Desperate to survive no matter the cost, using every last fiber of strength, she pushed on until, finally, a light of salvation opened above her.
"I will prevail! I will prevail!" she repeated in madness.
Without thinking, she lunged toward it—and crossed through.
[---]
"Wow..."
Standing at the shore, Fluttershy's soft voice escaped her as she stared into the lake where the beast had fallen. It wasn't surprise at the creature's unknown fate that left her speechless, but rather the state of the land itself.
She hadn't recognized it at first—but now she was sure: this was the very place where she and her friends had been captured.
The nearby structures—half-submerged—confirmed it.
"Is it really… still spitting out candies?" she murmured with mild concern.
And who could blame her?
A vast lake of candies stretched out before her—an unexpected result of the little prank Rainbow Dash and she had played earlier that same afternoon.
Hours had passed since they had broken that mysterious mailbox that spewed sweets. They had only wanted to grab a few—but ended up damaging it, unleashing a torrent of candies that hadn't stopped since. Worse yet, it seemed to have intensified, explaining the massive size of the multicolored lake that now flooded much of the forest and surrounding lowlands.
Given that, the idea of the lake eventually submerging the entire toy world didn't seem far-fetched—it was a very real danger.
That's precisely what crossed Fluttershy's mind.
"Oh no… I hope I didn't get everypony into another big mess," she sighed regretfully, forgetting the current crisis for a brief moment.
No sooner had she spoken than her massive body began to shrink.
Realizing her mistake, Fluttershy shook her head fiercely, forcing herself to focus again and halting the regression.
The pearl's magic—whose workings she still didn't fully understand, though she was starting to—fed on her emotions. In this case, it drew power from her determination to protect her friends. That was a feeling she couldn't afford to lose, since the beast still posed a threat.
And indeed, it wasn't over.
At that very moment, an explosion rippled across the lake.
Fluttershy narrowed her eyes.
Like a whale breaching the surface, the beast burst forth, howling in desperation.
Fluttershy recoiled, shielding herself from the intense rain of candies the creature's emergence caused.
She watched carefully and sighed in relief when she saw it was still alive—though visibly wounded.
Despite everything, Fluttershy had never intended to harm it severely. From the very beginning, she had only sought to immobilize or knock it unconscious using her techniques. The initial headbutt, the attempt to paralyze—it had all been guided by that same intent.
However, her opponent still couldn't understand that—and it pained her deeply.
So when she saw it fall into the lake, she was devastated.
She had tried to wade into the thick sea of sweets to rescue it, but found herself unable to move within that sticky mass. With no options, she remained at the edge, waiting anxiously for what might come next.
Fortunately, things seemed to have calmed—at least, she wanted to believe so.
The candy rain had stopped. In the center of the multicolored lake, the beast, apparently unconscious, clung to the top of a set of playground slides that formed a small island. Its eyes were closed, its body battered. Fluttershy thought it was safe and, with a strong flap of her wings, set off toward it.
As she drew nearer, her first impression seemed confirmed. Yet when she descended to lift the beast from the wreckage, something stopped her.
A glow flickered from one of its wounded eyes.
On instinct, she backed away.
It was the right move—for in that instant, the beast's seemingly lifeless head turned toward her. With eyes and jaws flung open, a crimson light erupted from within—and then came an explosion.
Multiple explosions.
Horrified, Fluttershy flapped her wings with all her strength, trying to escape the fiery projectiles bursting from the beast's mouth.
Shot like blazing spears, the fireballs chased Fluttershy through the air. Some grazed her mane; others hissed so close that the air itself burned her skin. The entire sky seemed aflame.
Panic took over. In an instant, her transformation unraveled and she returned to her normal size. Her wings, stiff with tension, failed her—and she plummeted toward the multicolored lake.
"Ahhhhhhh!" she cried as she sank into the sticky mass, clutching desperately to a floating cardboard tree. It took her some effort to steady herself, but she finally managed to stay afloat.
From there, Fluttershy watched in terror as bursts of fire streaked across the space she'd occupied seconds earlier. They continued their path until they struck the stone wall opposite, unleashing an indiscriminate bombardment that lit up and shook the entire horizon.
With her gaze fixed on that fiery spectacle, the pegasus remained frozen, witnessing the scale of the danger she had barely escaped.
After several more seconds—though they felt like minutes—the explosions ceased. The sky fell silent again.
Pale, Fluttershy swallowed hard. The danger had passed, but she felt no relief.
Trembling, she turned to look back at the place from where the projectiles had come.
In the center of the multicolored lake, the beast—wrapped in smoke—was slowly rising, revealing a mangled, grotesque face, its eyes glowing red with that same hateful light that seemed to pour from its very soul.
"Who are you?" she asked softly, her voice trembling. She didn't understand. How could this creature hate them so much? What had they done to deserve such violent resentment? Or… was it something deeper, a hatred of which they were only accidental victims?
The beast began to roar again—long, guttural howls that froze the blood. Disoriented, it searched for its opponent, turning its head in every direction until it finally spun around, its back facing Fluttershy.
It looked like a perfect opportunity. The thought of surprising it from behind, as she had before, flashed briefly through her mind. But it was only a flicker—quickly replaced by another thought, truer to her nature.
Her attention had been caught by the strange red marks on the beast's back. They didn't look like simple stains, as she had first assumed, but rather...
"Scars?" murmured Fluttershy, stunned. She had seen that same pattern of scars before—not on a beast, but on another pony. A pegasus.
The creature's howls continued. Now it leaned down, as if drinking from the lake.
"Magi?" Fluttershy finally whispered the beast's true name.
The creature's eyes rose toward her, glowing like twin lanterns. Yet despite staring directly at Fluttershy, it didn't seem to see her.
Instead, it devoured the candies from the lake with wild, desperate hunger—as though they were its only salvation.
There was no trace of reason left in its behavior.
Horrified, Fluttershy noticed something even more alarming: the beast's body was starting to swell in several places, as if suffering a violent allergic reaction.
It took her too long to realize the cause—it was all around her.
The candies.
"No...! Stop! Magi, stop!" she screamed as loudly as she could. But the beast didn't even seem to hear her. It kept swallowing candies as if that were its sole purpose in existence.
At the same time, its already deformed body continued to inflate uncontrollably.
Desperate, Fluttershy tried to break free from the syrupy trap, all while shouting new warnings.
She was ignored completely.
The creature, lost in its insane feeding frenzy, burned ever brighter from within. Its eyes glowed hotter with each breath, and its swollen body—stretched taut like a balloon—had grown absurdly huge compared to the world around it.
It didn't stop. It wouldn't stop. Common sense dictated that such a thing could only end one way: in an explosion.
And so it would.
Accepting the worst, Fluttershy froze. Her thoughts raced chaotically.
"Should I save Magi? But if I fail… my other friends will be in danger! Yet if I only protect them, then Magi…"
She wavered, torn between choices. But when she looked back at the beast, she realized, painfully, that there had never really been a choice at all.
Resigned, tears welling in her eyes, Fluttershy turned away.
She had chosen her friends.
With enormous effort, she managed to beat her numb wings and finally lifted herself above the sticky lake of sweets that had trapped her. Running and flying at once, she fled as fast as her tired body allowed.
She didn't look back. She couldn't—the bitterness and guilt wouldn't let her. And even if she had, she would have seen a vast circular mass covering half the horizon, white and red in color.
The candy lake fell into shadow, and beyond it, the cardboard forest as well. The beast's silhouette expanded without end, swallowing a quarter of the toy world.
Fluttershy barely escaped that shadow. Flying low, giving everything she had, she reached the edge of false Ponyville.
It was as far as she got.
A second later, a white light flashed across the toy world. Then came a muffled thunder—and finally, a shockwave that swept everything away.
Moments later, a multicolored rain began to fall from the sky. And on the ground, nothing remained but emptiness.
The beast was never seen again.
[---]
In the darkness of a room filled with elegant furniture, lit only by the glow of a fireplace, a slender figure sat sipping tea.
Seated in an enormous armchair, as though an important dignitary, the being was dressed for the occasion in a style that screamed classic refinement: a gray coat, a bow tie, a slightly tilted bowler hat, and a monocle that reflected everything around him.
"Uuu..." he exhaled a long sigh, carefully setting the teacup beneath his well-groomed mustache.
His bearing was that of a respected gentleman—more an administrator than a ruler.
However, that appearance was deceiving. Up close, his face, hands, and skin betrayed their true nature—features mismatched and unnatural. He was not a creature of one species, but a chaotic amalgamation of many.
"Ou wa…" he murmured suddenly, turning toward the glowing crystal ball upon his desk. On its surface, the fading lights of the explosion that had just shaken the toy world could still be seen. After contemplating it for a few seconds, a sly smile crept across his chimeric face.
"So, at last, the curtain falls for Lady Magi. How unfortunate… juju." He brought one claw—or was it a hand?—to his chin thoughtfully. "So close to fulfilling her side of the bargain, and yet… so predictably self-destructive."
With a casual flick, he rotated the crystal, revealing another scene: the distant figure of Fluttershy, unconscious on the ground beneath the multicolored rain.
"Fascinating," he whispered, eyes glinting as he leaned forward.
Amused by what he saw, he set aside his teacup and reached for the parchment that had been waiting for him all this time. His quill danced elegantly across the paper, tracing delicate, deliberate lines.
"A contract is a contract… but it can always be renegotiated, can't it?"
He finished with an exaggerated flourish and sealed the document. A moment later, the parchment burst into flames and vanished into thin air.
The strange being rose, stretching with motions that defied ordinary anatomy. He tossed a few more logs into the fire, then headed toward the door—pausing for one last glance at the crystal.
Smiling, he left the room.
On the desk, the crystal orb flickered one final time before going dark, leaving the place bathed only in the dancing shadows of the fire.