"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!!! Ah'm sorry about what I said about ya, you hear?" Applejack admitted with a strident tone. “For Pete’s sake, Dash!”
"Oh, you are, huh? 'Cause if you are, you'd be saying that to my face and not at the empty road ahead." Rainbow Dash snapped, glaring at Applejack from behind as she kept walking ahead. Her arms were crossed as she was hovering off the ground with her wings instead of walking.
Applejack came to a full sudden stop, with Rainbow Dash following en suite, hovering in place. For a moment, there was a pause of silence, followed by a sigh from Applejack. She turned her head to Rainbow Dash and said, "Look 'ere Rainbow. You know how I am: ‘Stubborn as a mule’ and well, both honest and uhh... and a bad liar. What happened that night be best forgotten. The things I said about you and your dreams were said and done because I was juiced up on the drinks. Ah wasn't myself, to put it simply."
Seconds passed when Rainbow Dash finally uncrosses her arms. She was glad to hear these words with Applejack's full attention this time, but she still couldn't help but poke a little bit more fun at Applejack. "Riiiiiggght... you do know that when you're pie-eyed, you are telling the truth. So you probably were yourself."
Applejack couldn't tell whether Rainbow Dash was just toying with her or still dubious and unsatisfied after her heart felt apology, but she felt compelled nonetheless to speak her mind. She gulped, feeling embarrassed, "Umm, yeah. Sure I guess," she said in reply to Rainbow Dash’s accusation, "but like I said; Ah'm darn mighty sorry that I made fun of you and your dreams about becoming a Wonderbolt. I only said it 'cause ya were blowing your own horn about it in my face, telling me that's you'll be flyin' with the best across the skies while Ah'm doing humdrum boring work like apple buckin' for the rest of my life!"
Rainbow Dash was in shock, not just by Applejack's strident tone but also by the returning memories from that night of what she actually said to Applejack. She couldn't believe that she forgot what she herself said to Applejack. She was in bigger disbelief that she managed to say something extremely hurtful to Applejack. Sure, she made fun of Applejack's hokey country behavior and taunted her time and time again over athletics to see who is the better pony, but this... this was too far.
As much as it wasn't her style, she took in a big gulp, bit her lips, and uncomfortably uttered, "And I'm... *sigh* I'm sorry that I was bragging about it in your face during that whole night. And I'm SoSoSoSoSoSoSoSo sorry that I made fun of you, saying you'd be doing ‘boring stuff’ like applebucking for the rest of your life."
Rainbow Dash then became surprised when she noticed Applejack still looking upset, most definitely over the ‘boring stuff like applebucking in your life’ part. "Wait, Ididn’tmeanitlikethat! I was just repeating what I said.” Rainbow Dash tried to justify herself but Applejack looked unmoved.
“Look,” Rainbow Dash started, scratching the back of her head, “You've got something amazing here in Ponyville that I don't."
"Yeah? An' what's that?" she answered, gloomily.
"You've got an amazing family, AJ. A great big brother, a kooky but quirky granny and an inspiring young filly who looks up to you. Heck, the ponies here love you for all the work you’ve done for the town. You got a trophy and all those ribborns for crying outloud.”
Rainbow Dash wrapped her arm around Applejack’s neck. “I don’t think you’re boring, Applejack.” She said upliftingly. “We cool?”
“Oh, alright, Rainbow.” A small honest smile surfaced on Applejack’s face. She then looked past Rainbow Dash. “Alright everypony, you didn’t have to hide while we were discussin’ with one another.”
The pink and golden-coated ponies emerged from hiding behind the corner of the building. They looked a bit nervous owing to the fact that Applejack and Rainbow Dash earlier almost seemed ready to get much more intense, past the verbal exchanges.
“You girls sure you’re not going to argue again?” Pinkie Pie asked, raising her eyebrow.
“Or talk about that night, again?” Fluttershy added softly, half of her face still behind the corner.
“It’s all right between us, you two.” Rainbow Dash said.
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie joyously skipped away from the corner while Fluttershy simply walked towards them, relieved that the everything's been resolved. Rainbow Dash pulled her arm off Applejack, “Now come on,” Rainbow Dash bolted into the air, hovering a couple meters in the air, “I wanna get drop you off as soon as possible ‘cause I really want to take off this saddle bag at home. It’s just messing with my flying skills.” Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground. “You wanna race to your barn, Applejack?”
“Sure as sugar, sugarcube.” Applejack declared, adjusting her hat. “And Rainbow Dash.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll be honest with you.” Applejack looked away for a second and bit her lips, before resetting her eyes on Rainbow Dash. “You have yer wings, you have yer own fan club, and you're one of the best if not the best fliers in all of Equestria. I… I guess I was a tad bit... jeal-“
“HELLPPPPPP!!!!!!”
“Spike?” They said altogether.
Two towering blurred figures appeared in front of her.
“Great, she’s waking up. I thought you spent two weeks learning that spell.”
“We’re talking about Twilight here. Sleeping magic on her probably is more like her taking a nap. She’s strong with magic.”
“No doubt about that.”
She made out that it was a voice of a mare and a colt. She tried moving her hooves but she couldn’t. It was as if something held them together. She shook her head to snap out of the daze. Two ponies, cladded in golden armor, stared at her.
“Wait? You’re the Royal Guards?”
Both remained silent, looking hesitant to respond.
“What are you doing here?” she realized she was on a chair and placed in the middle of the library floor. “Why in Celestia are you- ungh,” she struggled to move her hooves again, and saw that her hooves were tied to the chair by rope, “doing this?”
No answer.
Twilight began to understand that they wouldn’t listen to her sniveling. She knew she had to change her approach. She wiped her anxiety away and gathered strength. The two then noticed an overconfident smirk come across her face.
“I don’t know if you two actually realize this, but you’re messing with the wrong unicorn, here. Not only did you attack my assistant, barged in my home, and attacked me,” the Royal Guards looked unnerved, “but I’ll have you know that you that Celestia won’t like it one bit when she finds out that you just assaulted her student.” She ended boldly, waiting to see them start squeamishly react to that.
“Twilight,” the mare Guard began, “we know who you are. The sleeping spell may have prematurely lasted but please, don’t take us for thugs. The moment I catch you trying to untie yourself with your glowing horn, you’ll regret it.” She warned, giving a deathly glare for good measure. Twilight had thought she stopped, but she continued. “If you must know, your little assistant panicked and ran off. He was not harmed.”
“Not like last time, huh?”
The guard brushed it away. “Twilight, there are things… things far more important happening in this nation that could as well change the history of Equestria forever. All of which is occurring is Canterlot as we speak.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. ‘Canterlot? Is it the Changelings again?’
The male Guard stepped in, “We’ve been ordered to keep you here. And as much as we want to explain, and believe us, we want you to know. We have taken our oath of silence for your protection.”
“Who?”
“…”
“Who ordered you here?”
“…”
Twilight’s demand impacted little. She knew that it was the end of the conversation and she got nothing out of it but some danger in Equestria. The two withdrew themselves from further conversation and returned to their duties.
“What on earth is going on,” she whispered to herself.
The mare Guard, who Twilight now realized was a pegasus, stood guard by her while the colt guard, a unicorn, headed Twilight’s bed.
“I’m going up,” he told the other guard, walking up the stairs. Twilight was relieved that only one Guard remained but as long as she was there, Twilight couldn’t pull off anything with her magic. If only somepony or Spike were here to help.
“Sorry about the mess we’ve made.” She said, looking guilty on her face. She looked at a book lying on the floor, ‘So, You Want to Impress Others with Magic?’ “If he actually read probably as much as you, he’d be able to maybe levitate something as small as a quill so I don’t have to use a drooled-on quill when I write.” She said lightheartedly.
Twilight took it as a jest, but not when she’s tied up and doesn’t know what in Celestia is happening.
He arrived by Twilight’s bed. “I’m going to head toward the window, maybe see what’s coming our wa-”
The sound of shattering glass caught Twilight and the guard’s attention, but even before they can turn their heads upwards toward the bed, they caught a short glimpse of a Rainbow-like streak bolting right past their eyes. In that same split second, they saw the male Guard at the tip of the bolt, being propelled to a bookshelf. The impact of his body smashing into the bookshelf, at that speed, sent the whole room shaking, causing the remaining books to fall off their shelves. The impact also created a shroud of dust that temporarily hid the Captain and the attacker.
It was only after a while that Twilight was then able to see the silhouettes of the two as the smoke cleared. One of which had a smaller build and raised her hoof, feeling her forehead.
"Ugghhh..." pony said in the cloud of dust. "Remind me to never do that again, okay? Owww..."
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight hollered in joy, recognizing her voice.
A second later, the sound of a door being kicked in came to her attention. Out of the stairwells emerged Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy.
“Heh, and Ah thought that magical barrier on that door was gonna be tougher to kick down.” Applejack said overconfidently.
“What? It was thanks to me.” Rainbow Dash corrected, she got up and hovered above the ground. “If I hadn’t taken this guy out, maybe you wouldn’t have been able to break down the door. With him out cold, his magic like that magical barrier probably weakened.”
“Yeah, ‘probably.’” Applejack retified.
“I didn’t see you fly in and…”
This was Twilight’s chance as Rainbow Dash and Applejack quarrelled amongst one another, distracting the female guard. A guard was knocked out, while the other watched Rainbow Dash and Applejack argue. For once the two arguing was of some help. Twilight carefully untied herself and in a few seconds, broke free. The guard under the pile of books yelled out to the other. “Don't take your eyes off Twilight!”
As soon as she turned away to Twilight, her horn was already emitting magic but it looked bright red. A beam of energy shot off directly at her head and she laid on the ground next to Twilight, grabbing her head with her right hoof to ease the pain.
Her friends’ jaws were wide open when Twilight lifted her head. It was one thing to rarely see Twilight use harmful magic, but another to see her use it against a pony like all of them and not a Changeling.
Twilight’s stomach twisted when seeing her friends’ reactions but now it wasn’t the time. “Thanks for getting me out of that situation, girls.”
“You- you just used magic on a Guard.” Rarity uttered, mortified like the rest.
“I didn’t mean to!” She then looked at her body lying on the ground. “Look, she’s still moving.”
“Yeah, but that up close?” Pinkie added.
“She barged in my home, went through my stuff, hurt Spike, and threatened to hurt me!”
“Maybe we could’ve talked her out of fighting.” Fluttershy suggested, though it was too late already.
“I…”
Applejack quickly stepped in, breaking the argument standoff. “Whaddya think we ought to do now, Twilight?” Applejack uneasily asked, looking at the guard under the books and the other since they weren’t exactly knocked out cold. They could get back on their hooves and prove a problem soon. Worst was that all the fighting could attract unwanted attention, especially since they just took out two Royal Guards. If the Mayor or anypony found out that they were involved with the Guards, then they’d all probably be in big trouble. With sketchy details at best, it would be hard to justify attacking those who normally protect their ruler. More importantly though, the female guard mentioned Canterlot being the place where something important is going on.
Her friends watched Twilight brainstorming before the light bulb moment was expressed in her face. “Girls, we have to get out of Ponyville.”
All of her friends were taken back by that suggestion. Pinkie Pie spoke out, “Leave? Why? And whe-”
“JUST GET ON THE HOT AIR BALLOON!” Twilight firmly demanded.
Rainbow instantaneous complied and bulleted to the roof where the air balloon was, with Fluttershy flying towards it at a lower speed.
“C’mon, Fluttershy. Get strapped in!” Rainbow Dash ordered, handing her makeshift reins from rope which are used to pull the hot air balloon.
Fluttershy gulped once she received the reins. She started remembering how desperate and exhausting it was the last time she had these on, chasing Rainbow Dash across the skies.
Meanwhile, Applejack led the others up the stairs and met up with Twilight halfway. “I hope you know what yer doin’, Twilight.” Applejack said with a hopeful but also an uncertain tone whilst running up the stairs.
“We have to get to the bottom of this. Something is happening in Canterlot and I need you and the girls on this one. Please.”
“Say no more, Twilight.” Applejack reassured hearteningly, both exchanging smiles to one another.
They reached the top floor and jumped into the carriage. It was cramped but it managed to fit four ponies anyway. Twilight activated the switch with her magic to open the doors for the hot air balloon to rise out of the building. The doors would usually open slowly, giving Spike who would’ve done pulled the lever to quickly get in the carriage with her.
"Uh... Twilight. One of them is getting up." Pinkie alerted worryingly. Everypony in the carriage looked downwards to see the mare trying to get back on her hooves. Wings extended side to side as if she's trying to get a grip of her body and preparing to pursue their air balloon.
The doors finally opened. "Let's go Fluttershy."
"Okay... just not so faaAAAASSSSSTTTT!!!"
Rainbow Dash singlehandedly pulled the air balloon right through the doors at a great speed. Fluttershy struggled to keep up at first but she did her best and eventually managed to keep herself within acceptable distance from Rainbow Dash. The ponies in the carriage grabbed onto the edges with both of their front hooves, their manes flying against the wind. Applejack carelessly kept on hoof on the edge while the other to keep her hat on.
When Rainbow Dash eventually looked back, they were well away from Ponyville and the Guards. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash could now take a breather, but they like the rest had questions for Twilight.
Twilight felt the eyes of everypony focusing on her. Stuck in a carriage with Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy hovering around the carriage was tense enough but worse was that she she trapped in the corner, being hundreds of feet above ground that is.
"Twilight?" They all said simultaneously.
"What's happening?" Fluttershy asked.
As confused she was about the whole thing, she probably knew the most and sadly, it was ambiguous at best. "I- I honestly don't know, Fluttershy. They knocked me out with a sleeping spell but when I woke up, I tried asking them questions."
Everypony instinctively listened in on Twilight. All they knew was that they just creamed two Royal Guards. And Rainbow Dash didn't intend to knock out the guard through the window. The fact that they knocked out one Royal Guard for no good reason and Twilight used her magic against the other instead of maybe peacefully resolving the situation is definitely not good if they're caught by the authorities, let alone by the everyday ponies of Ponyville.
"And what did they say, Twilight?" Applejack asked.
"I couldn't get much out of them. They were thin on the details but from what they've said, there's something happening in Canterlot that might change Equestria."
"The... Changelings?" Fluttershy suggested, moving onto biting her hooves in anxiety.
"I- I honestly don't know, Fluttershy. It could be, but then why hasn't Spike delivered a message from Celestia. Unless she's hurt..."
Looked away from her friends and stared at Canterlot in the far distance. It looked peaceful but Twilight felt something ominous about the capital. "We may as well be walking into a trap when we get to Canterlot, for all I know." Her heart sank even lower, worrying about her mentor, Princess Celestia. Whether something ill-fated happened to her or not. She sat her head on the edge of the carriage, focusing her eyes on Canterlot.
Her friends all looked at each other. They all wanted to cheer Twilight up but they couldn't help but watch Twilight be consumed by sorrow.
"Something's wrong, girls. Very wrong. Like... there's lack of harmony there."
Celestia on Trial
By Samut-Kun
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew towards Canterlot at a moderate speed. "Fly Casual," Rarity suggested earlier. “As if she didn't trust my flying abilities.” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself. They originally planned to get off at the City Plaza, which offered a good enough landing zone. The only problem: the Guards.
Rainbow Dash already tried avoiding the question since things already were tense enough for Twilight, but the safety of her friends was more important. "Hey, Twilight! What's the plan in case the Guards are like the ones in Ponyville and they all notice this bright pink balloon trying to land in a wide, clear area?"
"She’s right, Twilight,” Rarity was just behind Twilight, who instead was looking at the approaching city, “I don't plan on running away from a whole platoon of Guards." Rarity professed, rather annoyed by Twilight’s seemingly lack of attention.
"I'm all for exercise but I'd rather play regular tag than Cops and Robbers." Pinkie stated further.
Twilight turned her head to face the three ponies in the carriage. That is true about what Rainbow Dash said. What if the Guards respond violently like at the library? She let out a sigh. "Look, the plan is that as soon as we get off the air balloon, we get ourselves into Celestia's tower." Twilight paused, thinking about the alternative. "And if we find trouble, the best we can do is give ourselves up."
"What? Give ourselves up?" Rainbow Dash responded in shock. Fluttershy found it quite remarkable that Rainbow Dash managed to maintain her flight pattern and continued to fly ‘casual.’
Rainbow Dash crossed her shoulders, but understood that fighting the Royal Guards was definitely not a good idea and her friends, like Fluttershy may get hurt.
"We can get to Celestia without getting them or us hurt, Dash." Twilight said. "We'll try to do it peacefully, this time."
“And how do we know she’d even be in her tower?” Applejack put across.
A small compartment in the carriage opened thanks to Twilight’s magic and a pair of binoculars floated toward Applejack’s hooves. She observed the city but the towers by the City Walls caught her attention.
"Hoo' Nelly, Twilight. I think you should take a look."
Applejack passed her binoculars to Twilight and pointed at the Guard Towers.
The towers were garrisoned to the teeth but something was not normal. They did not look like Royal Guards. The guards wore golden armour that was attached to a golden cape. Mail armour was visible on the lower neck and chest. They also wore a different helmet with a visor. Then something else emerged from the corner of the tower. Another guard but this one looked awfully different. At first glance, the best comparison to what he was wearing would be a hockey player. His armor looked more like a thick tan-colored vest, not made of steel or metal. Under his vest he wore red. His tan helmet looked modern, more modern than the helmets the six once wore when observing the dragon migration. But striking of all, he covered his mouth with a red mask. Immediately upon looking at his features, he looked directly into Twilight's eyes.
"Fluttershy, Dash!" The two turned their heads toward Twilight's voice. "Land us there, quickly!"
They picked up the pace and flew past the Canterlot Walls, and saw the entire city deserted, and instead, occupied by a never-before seen force that outnumbered the Royal Guards during the Canterlot Wedding. More and more of them were reacting to the sight of the Air balloon right above the city.
As they descended down into the empty plaza, so too did the soldiers converge toward the plaza.
Her hopes of getting to Celestia quickly faded and they touched down on the ground. As much as a fifty or more soldiers totally surrounded them on all sides.
"Step away from the carriage, girls." A soldier ordered.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy unshackled themselves from the reins while the rest slowly got off the carriage. Twilight was the last to get off. They saw that the majority of the soldiers surrounding them were in gold while a small handful of them were in red. They then noticed a bunch of soldiers making way for somepony. A colt emerged from the crowd, wearing the attire of the soldiers in red but with several decorations. Grey coat, black mane, amber eyes, he was an earth pony. He looked at the six, and snickered a bit.
"Well, this isn't something you see everyday." He started off, "Applejack, Pinkemena, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle. We expected you to arrive here by some other conventional means. Train for example, but this pink hot air balloon? Mares and colts, these are the ponies who saved Equestria.” He was mocking the six girls in front of the soldiers. Some of them were even quietly laughing to themselves.
Twilight quickly became tired of this pony's melodrama. "What's happened here? Where is everypony? And who are you all?"
"Huh…” He raised an eyebrow. “If Celestia sent for you, then she really forgot to mention the 'small' details regarding the situation in Canterlot." He further mocked.
"Celestia didn't send for us. Now tell us, what's going on!" Twilight demanded, stomping her right hoof onto the ground
"Hmph, if you must know, Martial law has been put in place. Civilians have been advised to stay indoors while the matters of the state are being resolved."
Twilight and her friends looked around at the buildings. They noticed a few ponies watching the whole fiasco behind their windows.
"We can talk more when we escort you to camp." He recommended.
"Um... That sorta sounds like fun..." Pinkie uneasily thought aloud.
He responded by rolling his eyes. "Not that kind of camp. It's a camp where we put dissidents and ponies of interest like you six, in. Like a modern dungeon.” He took note of Fluttershy wincing at the sound of dungeon. “There, we can talk.” He ended sinisterly. “Now,” he looked to his left and right, and pointed at the six, “arrest them.”
"STAND DOWN!" A booming voice erupted from above.
Everypony; the soldiers, the ponies under house arrest, and the six ponies looked up.
"Princess Luna!" Twilight exclaimed in happiness.