“Once mental defenses are broken, there is a thin line between hysteria and control of the mind.” -Unknown author, Mastering the Mind
“What did you have to tell me, everypony?” Celestia asked, before taking another sip of black coffee from her small porcelain cup. She sat with Applejack, Fluttershy and Umbra at a round picnic table on a hill overlooking Sweet Apple Acres, the local apple farm.
“Well, I reckon we should all have a turn to speak, but I’ll go first, unless y’all want to.”
“It’s fine. You go ahead, Applejack,” Fluttershy said with a smile.
Umbra shook his head. “Go on ahead.”
“Okay, here goes. The three of us made our way into the forest, the way behind Fluttershy’s cottage, just after you had told us about Shadowdancer. Nothin’ really happened until we came to the old castle ruins. Luna was there, meditating. We apologized for interruptin’ her. She said she saw a pegasus go by a few minutes before, but wasn’t sure who though.
So we continued on, thinking we were prob’ly onto something. Just when we were out of sight of the ruins, something howled horribly fierce and I swear I saw something zip through the bushes. We were a little more careful after that, but we never ran into the thing that made that noise. Once we reached the end of the forest, we could see Dodge City in the distance. Umbra said we should check it out. I reckon it’s about time you took the floor, huh Umbra?”
“Nah, it’s fine. Keep going. Or let Fluttershy go.”
Fluttershy grinned nervously. “No, it’s okay. I think Applejack can tell it better than me.”
Applejack nodded. “All right, if you say so. Well, we got to Dodge City and asked around a bit. The ponyfolk there sure have some loose lips. Said there was a pony that came into town recently called Crystal Rose staying at the local inn. We headed that way and ran into a couple of ponies talking. One of them we assumed was Crystal Rose. Looked about right, blood red mane and all, even in the darkness. I haven’t met Shadowdancer, but Umbra was certain he was the other pony. Crystal glared at us as soon as we approached. We took the hint and made it out of there. Made a stop at the Twinleaf Brothers’ for a bite to eat before we left. Those were some mighty fine alfalfa rolls.”
Applejack paused for a moment. “So that’s about the end of our story.”
Celestia nodded her acknowledgement and smiled. “Thank you all for letting me know. I’ll keep an eye out for anything unusual.”
“She had big, sharp fangs, like a vampire.”
Applejack grimaced, leaving her face a sort of confused frown. “She did? I don’t recall her havin’ fangs and such, but…vampires exist?”
“I saw one by the edge of the Everfree forest not long ago. I’m sure he wasn’t evil…I mean, vampires are ponies too. They can’t be all bad.”
“Are you sure that wasn’t Shadowdancer or something?” Umbra said with a slight chuckle. “I have to admit, the night guard do look something like vampires, although I have nothing against them. Princess Celestia, there aren’t really any vampires, are there?”
“Of course not. Those are just ponies’ tales made to scare people. But you’ll be the first to know if anything comes up. Luna and I will be sure to let the guards know to watch for suspicious activity. There’s no need to worry.”
“Thank you, Princess Celestia, for taking time out of your day and coming here to talk with us. It means a lot.”
“Yes, we’re very honored that you were willin’ to listen to us.”
Celestia chuckled. “Oh, it’s nothing, really.”
“We shouldn’t keep you any longer, Princess.”
“Thank you for your concern, Applejack. I probably should be leaving. And thank you all for the wonderful breakfast. Take care, everypony.”
With a flaring of her wings, Celestia soared into the dawn haze.
Applejack yawned. “Well, I’d best be off. Need to take a nap, and then it’s back to work. I reckon everypony has somewhere to be.”
“Oh, I need to tend to the chickens and make sure everything’s all right.”
“Don’t really have anywhere to be myself. Really need a job. Maybe I can get to work on that Apple family drawing for you, eh?”
“Sounds good to me. Catch y’all later,” Applejack said as she headed back toward the red Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse. Umbra and Fluttershy likewise went their separate ways.
As Applejack reached to open the door, a brash voice called directly behind her.
“Hey!”
Applejack spun around and put up her front hooves. “Hold it right there! Who are you?”
“Shadowdancer. You might have heard of me.”
Applejack frowned. “Yeah, that pony that’s been causin’ trouble for everypony. Now why don’t you hightail it outta here!”
“Whoa, I just wanted to make it up to your friends. Your friend Twilight or whatever her name was told me you could always use a bit of extra help.”
Applejack dropped her hooves. “Twilight, huh? Well, it’d help if you didn’t startle me first. Hm…why don’t you buck some apples for me? I’m trusting that you won’t cause a ruckus on the farm.”
“Buck some apples? What the heck is that?”
Applejack sighed. “You don’t know what applebucking is? Here, come with me and I’ll show you,” she said jadedly. City boy, I bet.
She led Shadowdancer out to a vast orchard of apple trees aligned in rows and approached a single tree at the beginning of a row.
Applejack pointed to a set of wicker baskets stacked up by another tree. “Now get those baskets over there and bring them by this tree.”
Shadowdancer rushed over and brought back a stack, setting it by the tree.
“Good. Two will do fine for now.”
Shadowdancer picked two baskets out of the stack and set the rest aside.
“Watch me now. This is important.” Applejack stood on her front legs, balancing her hind legs in the air. “Give the trunk a nice strong kick,” she said as she poised her legs, then sprung them out to deliver a firm kick to the trunk. Several ripe apples dropped and most landed in the baskets. Shadowdancer began to pick up the remaining fallen apples.
“Now don’t you worry about that. I’ll pick up the rest of ‘em, you try it out on the next tree.”
Shadowdancer dubiously trotted to the next tree in the row. He turned away from the tree, stood on his forelegs, and fell on his face. Applejack stopped and looked.
“All right sugarcube, I’ll do this like Big Mac did for me. And you should probably have a few baskets too,” Applejack said, chuckling. She picked up a stack of baskets and headed toward Shadowdancer, but stopped. The marks on the sides of his flank piqued her interest. “Hoho, what kind of cutie mark is that you’ve got there? Looks like a theater mask split into black an’ white. In the acting business?”
“Tried a little bit in high school, but no. And what is a cutie mark? You mean these butt tattoos?”
Applejack laughed, bearing an amused smile. “Well, you sure can play dumb. Or did you hit yer head pretty hard there? Maybe Rainbow gave you a bruisin’?”
“Oh, that Rainbow? Well, yes…but that’s not why I don’t know a thing about ponies. Can I say Poppy and I are not from this world? She’s the expert on all you ponies though. I couldn’t have cared less until she dragged me along. We were humans, but your princess decided to make us ponies to keep everyone from thinking something weird was going on.”
“Well, humans…hmm, sound familiar somehow. But honestly, I think you’re spoutin’ a bunch of hooey and ya just hit yer head real hard on something. I’ll accept that you don’t know a thing though, so I’ll tell ya what you need to know. Ponies come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I’m sure you’ve seen that much in the last few days. Earth ponies, like me, are yer normal pony, no wings or horn. Still, we can claim to know the earth better than the other ponies, and I’d like to think we’re generally a little tougher built, maybe a little more inventive, since we don’t have the magic or flight to help us. Rainbow Dash might not agree with me, but anyway, that brings me to pegasi. They’re the fliers, and usually fairly athletic. Really takes some muscle to move those wings. And they’re airheaded. Always have their heads in the clouds.”
Shadowdancer glowered. “You don’t mean me, do you?”
“Hehe, forgot you were a pegasus for a moment. Sorry. I just like to give ol’ Dash a hard time. I expect the same from her anyway. So, continuing on, unicorns. They’re the magic users. They use their horns to perform spells, pick up objects, and such. Unicorns are the stereotypical smart ponies, but being a unicorn just means you can use magic, nothin’ else. And of course a few unicorns, or alicorns, as some might say, have wings. That’d be mostly the ponies in any of the royal families though, and Princess Celestia and Luna, for example. And, since you’re here, I should mention you’re a pegasus, but you look like one of the night ponies. That includes all of Luna’s royal guards, I believe. Not sure, since I don’t see much of them. They’re basically the same as other ponies, but they’re adapted to the night, and have different features. Have the glowin’ cat eyes, and I guess fins instead of the normal mane or tail. Also have dragonlike wings instead of the feathery ones.”
“Anything else I should know? You haven’t told me what this ‘cutie mark’ butt tattoo thing is yet.”
Applejack put a hoof to her face. “Oh, sorry sugarcube, you’ve been such a good listener that I just kept goin’ on and on. Hope you’ll forgive me.”
“No problem. Keep going. Much better than sticking with Poppy and that crazy Pinkie character.”
“Oh, Pinkie. To be honest, she’s a pony that people like, or they don’t. She’s a good friend and I love baking with her, but I can understand how you’d feel that way. She means well though. So, back to where we were. Different kinds of ponies. Twilight could probably tell ya better, ya know, but since you’re here and all lost, I should help you out, considerin’ you’re helping me. This tidbit isn’t important, but I’ve heard rumors about seaponies. Never seen one, and most of us haven’t, but it’s a thing that gets tossed around from time to time, so you might want to know. They’re just ponies who are supposed to have lived in the ocean or lakes, but I think something happened to them. Don’t know if they’re still around. Lastly…I think there are some sort of special pegasi in some communal society across the ocean. They never got out much anyway, as I heard, so most ponies don’t know about them. The princess told us a bit about them, but it’s not something anypony’d expect you to know about. Now, cutie marks. My sis Apple Bloom’s favorite (or least favorite) subject (she still doesn’t have hers yet). Cutie marks gen’rally represent a pony’s special talent, but sometimes the real meaning can be quite mysterious. It’s mostly pretty straightforward. It’s a sign of coming of age, findin’ your own meanin’ to life in a way. At least that’s how I think of it.”
Cutie marks…my god, have I been sent to my personal hell or something? I’m going to die of a headache if things get more ridiculous. At least there’s some sense to them. “So wait, everyone has a tattoo like this, a ‘cutie mark’ thing on their butts…? Okay, I just thought tattoos were popular around here, and everyone had bad taste in them. Good to know you aren’t all…cray-cray in the hey-hey. Or at least you’re not. You’re about the first halfway decent pony I’ve come across. What was your name again?”
Applejack smiled and blushed. “Shucks, that’s quite a compliment. But trust me, once you get to know everypony better, you’ll warm up to them. And the name’s Applejack. Thanks for listenin’ to me, Shadowdancer, and welcome to Sweet Apple Acres.”
“Not a problem. Now you were going to help me with this applebucking like Big Whatsit?”
“Ah, my older brother, Big Macintosh, or Big Mac for short. You might meet him an’ Apple Bloom later. When I was first learning to applebuck, he’d help me keep my balance so I could practice, and slowly helped less until it became second nature. I’ll try to see what I can do today, but I can’t guarantee much. Hope you’re a fast learner.”
Shadowdancer stood on his forelegs again, and before he fell, Applejack grabbed him just under the forelegs.
“Now give ‘er a kick,” Applejack instructed.
Shadowdancer whipped his hind legs out. With a thud, the tree wavered and several apples dropped and scattered across the ground.
“Whoa, you’re a natural, Shadow! Just need to work on that balance and I think you’ll have it. Want to help me get these apples?”
“Sure.”
The two stopped to pick up all the apples and load them into a few baskets. Shadowdancer glanced at the horizon. The sun was already high in the sky.
“Ah, I reckon you wouldn’t recall how the sun n’ moon work around here, would you?”
“Not at all. What, the earth doesn’t orbit the sun and the moon doesn’t orbit the earth?”
“Wha—not like that at all, partner. I think you’ve met the princesses. You and your friend Poppy came around here from Canterlot. Well, Princess Celestia raises and lowers the sun, and Princess Luna does likewise with the moon. That’s somethin’ everypony’s known since they were little foals. I should take it easy on ya, though.”
Shadowdancer chortled. “Remind me not to piss them off. I wonder what the next crazy surprise about this place will be.”
“You never know, sugarcube, you never know. So, back to work then?”
“Oh, of course. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No problem. I’m just glad you decided to come help. Why don’t you try bucking on your own once? See how it goes.”
“Sure thing.” Shadowdancer tried again, and missed the trunk, collapsing again.
“Why don’t I help you out for a little longer?”
Shadowdancer sighed. “Ha, sounds good.”
Applejack and Shadowdancer practiced applebucking a few more times before he stopped, brushed off his purple cloak, and said, “I think I’ve got it now. I’ll try this tree here.”
“All right. I’m rootin’ for ya. Let’s see it.”
Shadowdancer hunched and balanced on his forelegs, and loosed a strong, decisive kick. The tree shook and several apples fell into the baskets placed around it.
“A right fine job you did, Shadowdancer! Knew you had it in ya. Do you mind if I go back to take a nap while you buck some more apples?” Applejack yawned and adjusted her hat. “Last night was a tough one. Didn’t get any sleep until early this mornin’.”
“Of course. Unless you don’t trust me alone out here.”
“Haha, of course I trust ya, partner. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“That I wouldn’t get anything done.”
“I don’t see why not. You are going to buck them apples, right?”
“Yeah, I will. No need to worry. Now why don’t you head back home and get some sleep?”
“Sounds good, sugarcube. And thank you again. It makes for a lot less work for everypony.”
Shadowdancer watched as Applejack cantered back to the farm house. Did I see her last night…? Well, doesn’t matter right now.
Applejack went upstairs and laid her head on her pillow. That Shadowdancer sure turned out to be a nice guy. I guess we were all wrong about him.
“Applejack!” cried a little filly with a yellowish coat, red mane, red tail, and a pink bow in her mane. “Ah just thought of somethin’! We can get our cutie marks for matchmaking! We can set up a date for you an’ Shadowdancer!”
Applejack groaned. “Apple Bloom! Where’d you get that idea? We only met today. Shadow and I are just acquaintances.”
“Then you can know each other better!” Apple Bloom piped.
“No, Apple Bloom. That’s our business if we’d like to know each other better.” Applejack turned and pulled her blanket over herself.
“Fine. But I bet yer thinkin’ about him right now.” Apple Bloom indignantly trotted away, but not before whispering, “Don’t forget to kiss him before he leaves.”
“Phew, finally, I can sleep,” Applejack said with a sigh. She stared at the ceiling for a while.
She noticed a small crack. The whole house suddenly shook and the crack widened. Earthquake? There hasn’t been one for years! An orange-red light glared through the crack, and a huge black spider, as large as Applejack’s bed, crawled out.
“No, nonono! Get away!” Applejack cried in fear as she leapt from her bed. The spider lowered itself onto her bed and turned toward her. Its face was that of a bony horse, wide yellow eyes boring into her as she backed away. The creature grinned maniacally with its single fang as it advanced toward her, trapping her against the wall.
“Miss me, Applejack?” said the creature in a smooth, sarcastic male voice. “I had such fun with you and your friends. All that fighting…oh, it was hilarious! And you had to trap me back into stone, didn’t you? Can’t just live and let live?”
The spider now stood directly before Applejack, who stood on her hind legs, body pressed against the wall and trembling. Creeping upon her body, the creature began to laugh. “You know what I’ve always wanted to do, Applejack?” the creature cackled. “Eat you.” A single leg tugged at part of her mane and stuffed it into its writhing mouth. “Tastes like…apple cider. What a surprise,” the creature sighed, narrowing its eyes in disappointment. “Oh, just wait until I get to the main course!” it cried joyfully.
“No!” Applejack yelled, tearing her mane away and kicking the creature in the face. The house shook again and the floor and walls collapsed. Applejack felt herself falling, her tattered mane flailing.
A thunderous thump was the last she heard before everything disappeared.
App…! Over! Applejack! Can you hear me? Are you okay?
“Am I in heaven?” Applejack asked hopefully.
“No, Applejack, you’re still here in Ponyville. We’re so glad you’re still here with us.”
“T-Twi?” said Applejack as she opened her eyes. It was a while before her eyes adjusted to the blinding sunlight. Twilight, smiling, appeared before her.
Something strange was happening as Applejack watched Twilight’s face. Twilight’s eyes began spinning, and then she puffed up her cheeks as though she was about to vomit. Then she did…onto Applejack. Mouth opened wide, something began to poke its way out. Something black. Then its face…that maniacal, grinning face. As it left, Twilight’s body crumpled like a discarded outfit.
“I ate her. Now it’s your turn, sweet little Applejack.”
Applejack screamed, tears running down her cheeks. She was in her bed, drenched in sweat.
“Please, I don’t wanna sleep any more,” Applejack said, crying as she stepped out of the bed onto marble floor.
“Wait, this isn’t Sweet Apple Acres. Where am I?”
A pair of elliptic green eyes flashed before her. “Perfect,” they said in a cold female voice.
Around the corner, a voice muttered, “I’ll kill her. Should never have trusted her.”
A cold touch startled Applejack. The point of a blade on her back.
“Move, and I kill you now. Don’t even turn your head. But what’s the good in that? I want to see you painfully bleed to death.”
“I’ve done nothing, I swear!” Applejack stammered.
“Oh, really? That’s what they always say.”
Her back seared with splitting pain. Something warm trickled to her hooves.
“Ah, forget it. You’re going to run if I don’t kill you now. And then I’ll be left to face your responsibilities. Your crimes.”
Applejack gasped as the blade was placed across her throat. A dark hoof quickly dug it through as she screamed and fell to the floor.
“No! I’m sorry!” Applejack cried before a plane of eternal darkness.
“Applejack! Wake up! What’s wrong? It’s Shadowdancer!”
“Get away from me! Everypony get away!” Applejack shouted, fumbling in the darkness.
“No, it’s really me! I was bucking the apples like you said, but your sister heard screaming and brought me in here to help.”
Applejack opened her eyes and blinked several times. She lay on the floor in front of Shadowdancer and Apple Bloom.
“Sis! Are ya okay?”
“Why don’t I help you up, Applejack?” said Shadowdancer as he dragged Applejack to her feet. “Didn’t get any splinters, did you?”
Applejack shook her head curtly.
“Naw, Applejack’s big ‘n strong,” Apple Bloom added proudly.
“Good. Now what happened there? What was in your dream?”
“Shadowdancer, I—Can we talk about it later?”
“Sure. Maybe over some food? Cleared some apples if you want to check.”
Applejack nodded and donned her hat. “All right, let’s see how ya did, sugarcube.”
“Shadowdancer bucked a whole field ‘a apples! You should ask him to stay and help on the farm more!”
“A whole field? We’ll see, little sis.”
The three made their way out to the apple orchards. Applejack stopped and her eyes widened. Six entire rows of trees were cleaned of their apples. “Great galoshes! If you stayed on the farm a day or so, I’m sure we could get all the apples on the whole farm!”
“I don’t know, I’m supposed to catch the train back to Canterlot in a while…”
“Won’t you stay fer just a night?” Apple Bloom pleaded with wide eyes.
Shadowdancer paced for a bit and paused, hesitating as he watched Apple Bloom stare piteously at him. “Fine. But I need to write a letter to Celestia somehow. She’s accommodating me.”
“That’s no problem. We can head to Twilight’s for a spell and have Spike send your letter.”
Ugh…doubt she wants to see me again. Nor do I really want to see her. Something about her scares me, especially since she can easily make me powerless with her magic. Shadowdancer’s eyes wandered to the sky.
Dusk began to spread its wings over the sky and the moon even began to peer over the horizon. Shadowdancer, Applejack, and Apple Bloom ambled towards the main area of Ponyville as they conversed.
“Hmm…all right. You talk to her first though. She wouldn’t want to see me first.”
“Why not? Somethin’ sour between you two?”
“Obviously, I left a bad impression. She was royally pissed at me for being fairly crude, so she shut me up and lifted me into the air. Never felt that helpless before.”
“It’s best to stay on her good side. But I thought she sent ya over here? She might think there’s some good in you yet. At least I feel that way about ya.” Applejack smiled and patted Shadowdancer on the back.
“Aw, ain’t that sweet!” Apple Bloom said, hopping up.
“Apple Bloom!”
“It’s fine. I thought so too,” Shadowdancer said, chuckling.
Applejack narrowed her eyes and sighed. “Anyway…Twilight’s real nice and thoughtful once you get to know her. She may seem absorbed with her books, but deep down she loves her friends more than anythin’.”
“Well, how is the friend thing going?”
“You again? It’s going fine. I’m liking this Applejack character.”
“Don’t get too attached now.”
“What are you implying? That I have a crush on her?”
“Ha, no. I’m saying that although friendship is crucial, you need to remember what you came for.”
“I don’t even know anymore. It doesn’t seem as bad as I thought.”
“Remember what they did to you?”
“Yeah, let me stop you. It doesn’t work that way.”
“Do you want me on your side?”
“Yeah…”
“Then stop arguing with me. Do your part, and I’ll do mine, darling.”
“What? Darling? I must be lonely. I’m arguing with a voice in my head that calls me ‘darling’.”
“You heard right. Alright, I see. I’ll leave you some alone time with Applejack.”
“The hell…Fine. Good night, Chrystal, you funny little voice in my head.”
“Nighty-night, darling.”
“Hehe, you dreamin’ about Twilight? She’s not a bad-lookin’ one, is she?”
“What? No! I was talking to voices in my head.”
“Gee, Shadow. You really messed up your head, or maybe you’re just makin’ a terrible joke.”
“Sure I am. I really was talking to voices in my head. You know, when I’m bored or kinda lonely.”
“Lonely? You’ve got us two walking with you! But what did the voices say then, sugarcube?”
“Oh, just reminding me to make friends around here. And arguing with me over what I should be doing.”
“Hahaha, you’re too funny! But why do ya feel lonely?”
“Well, I don’t really have many friends, and I just don’t feel that I fit in here.”
“Aw, well, at least you have us. I know the feeling of not fittin’ in. Went to stay with my aunt and uncle in Manehattan for a while once. I tell ya, I really missed the farm life. Could never fit in with those sophisticated folks.”
“Yeah, I don’t see you as one of those people…”
Applejack waved a hoof in front of Shadowdancer and pointed toward a large tree with several lit windows and a wooden door at the front. “Hold on, Shadowdancer. It’s this way.”
“She lives in a giant treehouse?”
“Sure does. It’s the local Ponyville library.”
“She lives…in a library. Wow. Just wow.”
“Okay, why don’t we just go and see if she’s in?”
“All right. You first, remember?”
Applejack trotted to the door and knocked a few times.
Twilight opened the door and beamed. “Applejack! What brings you here tonight?”
“Oh, Shadowdancer wants to send a letter, but he’s afraid to see you.”
“Afraid? I’ll admit he was very rude and mean yesterday, but that doesn’t mean I won’t see him. He did help you out today, right?”
“Sure did. He’s here to write a letter to the Princess tellin’ her he won’t be back tonight because he’s stayin’ with us to help out more on the farm. Cleared a whole six rows!”
“That’s wonderful! Tell him it’s fine to come in!”
Applejack turned and shouted, “Shadowdancer! Come on over here! Twilight gave ya the okay!”
“Okay, okay, I’m coming.” Shadowdancer and Apple Bloom made their way to the door.
“Hi Miss Twilight! Shadowdancer wants to say hi to you!”
“Hello there Apple Bloom. Hello Shadowdancer.”
“Hi. Well, actually, I wanted to write a letter and send it. I hear I’m supposed to talk to a ‘Spike’?”
“Oh, yes, he’s my assistant. He’s over at Rarity’s right now. Would you do me a favor and tell him to come back to the library? I’d really appreciate it.”
“Sounds fine. Now where is Rarity’s place?”
“I’ll tag along with you and show you the way,” Applejack said.
“Me too!”
“Okay, I’ll see everypony in a few minutes, then?”
“We’ll be back in a jiffy. Y’all take care now!”
“Thank you. See you then!” Twilight said as she closed the door.
The three went around the library and down what appeared to be a larger main street. The streets were now lit with a few streetlamps here and there. At the end was a circular building with a spire and balcony above. It appeared to be purplish in the twilight. A few lights shone through the windows.
“Must have another fashion idea. Well, she shouldn’t mind.” Applejack knocked on a tall split door with a large gem in each half.
“She sure is well-to-do, isn’t she?”
Applejack laughed. “Rarity can come off as a bit of a snob at firs’, but don’t worry. She’s got good in her. So we mayn’t always see eye to eye, but she’s a hardworking and kind spirit. Always willin’ to go the extra mile for her friends.”
“An’ her sister Sweetie Belle’s one of ma bestest friends!” Apple Bloom said with a grin.
“Now we shouldn’t stay too long, but you can visit with Sweetie Belle for a bit if she’s around.”
“Yay!”
A mare with white coat and a curled and meticulously styled purple mane and tail answered the door. “Hello, Applejack, darling. How are you tonight?”
“Right wonderful. Have Shadowdancer helpin’ us on the farm tomorrow. And you?”
“Marvelous, thank you. Who is this Shadowdancer? A newcomer in town?”
“He’s right behind me. Shadowdancer, this is Rarity. An’ Rarity, Shadowdancer.”
Shadowdancer stepped out beside Applejack. “Evening. Shadowdancer. Pleased to meet you.” He held out a hoof.
Rarity gasped, horrorstruck. “My dear, why are you wearing those rags? Quickly, come with me and I’ll get the perfect outfit for you!” She snatched Shadowdancer inside and untied his cloak, then turned back to the door. “Oh, where are my manners? Come in!”
Apple Bloom trailed behind Applejack through the door. Apple Bloom immediately began looking around.
“Is Sweetie Belle here tonight?”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry, Apple Bloom. She’s not visiting me at the Boutique tonight,” Rarity said as she threw a measuring tape around a still and perplexed Shadowdancer.
“Aww…Is Spike here? He needs to come back to Twilight’s soon.”
“Hold your horses, I’m coming!” called a voice from the back. A short purple lizard trudged out on two legs, holding a bundle of fabrics of various colors.
“Hello…Spike?” Shadowdancer said, confused.
“Yeah, I’m Spike. You need me to go back to the library, right?”
“Yes, that. But I was expecting you to be a pony…”
“Me? No, I’m a baby dragon,” Spike said as he set the fabrics down on the floor. “Here you go, Rarity.”
“Oh, thank you, Spike. Could you bring me another roll of purple, please?”
“Of course, Rarity. Anything for you.” Spike raced back hastily and retrieved another roll of fabric.
“Excellent. So Twilight sent you here with Applejack? They are both wonderful friends of mine.”
“Now how about that Rainbow Dash? Surely you don’t get along with her?”
“Nonsense! We’re quite good friends too! I made them, and two of my other best friends, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, dresses for the Gala. Haha, of course, the Gala didn’t go quite as planned, but we made the best we could of it, didn’t we, Applejack?”
“Sure did,” Applejack said, chuckling.
“So, where are you from, Shadowdancer? I hear you’re from Canterlot. Oh, the sophistication, the culture! Simply marvelous!”
“Ha, I guess. But I’m actually from another place entirely…where there are humans and no talking pony things.”
“Humans? Whatever do you mean?”
“You know, they walk on two legs, are pretty much hairless except on the head, and have hands and thumbs?”
“Rarity, you’re bound not to understand. Seems the poor guy’s lost around here. Claims he’s from another planet and don’t seem to know a thing about ponies.”
“Oh, Shadowdancer, dear, you must take a rest. Come and have a cup of tea while I work on your cloak!”
“We’d be happy to, Rarity, but Shadowdancer’s got a letter to write, and Spike needs to come back too.”
“All right. I’ll have your cloak finished by tomorrow, Shadowdancer! Take care now, dears! You too, Spikey-Wikey!”
“Bye!” the group said in unison.
“Spikey-Wikey? Oh, that’s cute!” Shadowdancer cried, laughing.
Applejack narrowed her eyes and glared at Shadowdancer. “Give him a rest, Shadow.”
“Okay, sorry. I just lose it after I get tired. That’s only the tip of the iceberg.”
“We all do, Shadowdancer. We’d better get that letter taken care of and get you some sleep then.”
“Right-o.”
The crew started at a brisk jog and quickly reached Twilight’s library. Twilight immediately opened the door for them. Shadowdancer immediately asked for a pen.
“Right here,” Twilight replied as she handed him a white quill and pointed to an open ink bottle and parchment on a desk. Shadowdancer dipped the quill in the bottle and tried to scrawl something on the parchment, but dropped it and left a blot.
“Damn it! Maybe one of you could write…? I’ll figure out writing later.”
Applejack and Apple Bloom giggled. “Oh, Shadow, looks like you’re learning everything over again! Just like a little colt. You’re a fast learner though,” Applejack said.
“Yeah, give me a break on all this, okay? This is my, what, third day in this body? And of course I’m learning it all fast. That’s because I already learned all this years ago as a human.”
Twilight’s eyes brightened. “Humans? That’s very interesting. I was just reading a history book about them. I guess before ponies came to what is now Equestria, they may have lived on another continent with humans.”
“Uh, no. Not there. I’m pretty sure I’m from a different planet or this is some messed up alternate dimension.”
“Alternate dimension?” Twilight said, the spark in her eyes even greater than before.
Shadowdancer’s face sunk, unamused. “Ah, never mind. Could you write me that letter?”
“Oh, sorry. I get sidetracked all the time. I love talking about existential phenomena! We should talk more about it when you have time.”
“Sure…I guess.” God damn, why did I just agree to that? Now I’ll hear no end of that talk! I may not be an idiot, but there’s a reason I didn’t do any more science or philosophy classes after high school. Of course, the whole point is for you to do what they want anyway.
Twilight sat at the desk and readied her quill. “What did you want to say to Princess Celestia?”
“Hm…There’s no need to worry. I’m back in, er…Ponyville, and staying with Applejack, at least for tonight. I’m going to be helping her at Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow. Tell Aliya not to worry her crazy little head about me. Twilight will make sure I stay in line. Oh, and she wrote this letter, because my hooves are worth crap for writing.”
“Is that everything, Shadowdancer?”
“One last thing. P.S. How’s the liquor in Canterlot? I’ll be back early if I can get some good stuff that hits you faster than a cheap one off the street.”
“Hits you faster than what?” Twilight asked, baffled.
“Nevermind that. Just write it and send it off.”
Twilight scribbled down “…a cheap one off the street.” She glanced at what she’d written again, shrugged, and sealed it. “Spike? Would you send this?” she said as she passed the sealed scroll to Spike. With a puff of his yellow-green fire, the scroll seemed to burn away and vanish.
“Hey, wait! You burned it up?”
“No, don’t worry, Shadowdancer. That’s how I send letters to Princess Celestia. Then when she sends letters back, Spike will, well, burp them out.”
“Okay. What. The. Friggin. Hell…is wrong with this place?!”
“I know it’s a little weird at first, but—”
“No, ‘weird’ doesn’t even begin to describe everything I’ve seen here. This is f—fudgecaking fudged up! I may as well be trippin’ on everything in the book while at a frickin’ anime convention in Mexico! I don’t even know if that makes sense! To hell with sense! It all makes as much sense as a pig’s ars…enal. And why in the hell do you do this to Spike? Have him burp up everything that’s sent to you? No, I’ve had enough of all this. I just want to cry myself to sleep, and wake up all warm and comfortable on Earth with hands. Not hooves. Please, mommy, I want to go home…”
“Uh, Shadow, take it easy there, fella. You’ll be all right.”
“NO! Get away from me! You all scare me! I want to die a horrible death so I don’t have to think about e-ever being t-tortured here again!”
Applejack whispered to Twilight. “What do we do? We can’t just leave him here. I think he’s gone fully insane if he hadn’t before.”
“No, I think I believe him. I’m not sure how it’s possible, but it could happen. I have some vague ideas of how. But as for Shadowdancer, we’ll have to leave him for a bit. I can’t think of anything yet, but if all else fails, I can at least put a sleeping spell over him.”
“Did somepony say ‘fudgecake’?” Pinkie Pie said as she suddenly burst through the door. “I love fudge! But too much fudge means—”
Shadowdancer sobbed, now behind a podium. “P-p-plea-please…stop. I can’t…I CAN’T!”
Pinkie Pie only smiled and addressed Shadowdancer. “Can’t what? Can’t walk like this?” she said as she began to walk, almost like a ballet dancer, on her hind legs. “Don’t be sad…I can teach you!” Pinkie Pie cried jovially.
“No…home…no more ponies. Kill me.”
Pinkie Pie’s smile suddenly faded and sunk into a wide-eyed frown. “Kill me.” The hardened words continued to echo in her head, funneling into a part of her mind that rarely ever surfaced.
Applejack stared hopelessly at Twilight. “Twilight…hold me.”
The two cowered and trembled. Apple Bloom and Spike, bewildered, ran for the door.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” was the scream from Pinkie Pie’s mouth, describable only as a screeching banshee howl.
Time almost appeared to have stopped. Everyone lay on the ground, aside from Pinkie Pie, eyes wide and absent, and her face drawn into a maddened frown.
“Waaaaaaaaa!” Pinkie Pie wailed, tears freely streaming down her cheeks. “Why can’t I make anyone happy? Why? WHY!” She began to jump and flail wildly about the library, flinging books across the room and toppling furniture, including the podium that Shadowdancer had been hiding behind. Shadowdancer buried his head under a book.
The book lifted from Shadowdancer’s head and he felt himself raised to Pinkie’s eye level. Bitter, unsympathetic eyes met his and sealed his fate.
“Speak.”
All that came in response was a muffled squeal.
“I said, ‘speak’.”
Nothing but trembling lips.
“Speak!” she cried. Her hooves, as well as her eyes, dug deeper into him with every passing moment.
The door flashed open and flooded the library with yellow-white light, marking Princess Celestia’s entrance. She stepped through the door with a commanding air.
“Pinkamena Diane Pie. Shadowdancer.”
Pinkie Pie released Shadowdancer, allowing him to collapse on the floor. She gaped at Princess Celestia, eyes shrunk.
“What happened? Not only did you wake several Ponyville residents, but both of you have terrified your friends beyond imagination. Explain.”
Pinkie Pie and Shadowdancer simply stared blankly at Princess Celestia, silence filling their mouths.
Finally Pinkie Pie spoke. “H-he said he wanted to d-d-die.”
Princess Celestia nodded understandingly.
“Princess! Wait!” Applejack said as she stood to her hooves. “It—it’s not anyone’s fault! We can explain!”
“Shadowdancer says he was a human from another world…and I think I believe him, as crazy as his story might be,” Twilight added. “We have to help him go back! He can’t comprehend the way this world works…please, it’s driving him insane!”
“I know. But there’s nothing I can do to help him go back, unfortunately. Shadowdancer, would you like to come back to Canterlot with me?”
Shadowdancer trembled. “No. I-I’ll stay.”
“Well, have any of you learned any lessons you’d like to share?”
“Y-yes. When in doubt…don’t panic. Things will o-only get worse.”
“Thank you, Shadowdancer. That is an excellent lesson. I hope you all have learned something tonight.”
“We have. Thank you so much, Princess Celestia!” Twilight said, hugging Princess Celestia. She hugged Twilight back.
“Of course, Twilight. I always want to be sure everything’s okay. Can all of you look after each other without my help?”
“Yes, I think we can.”
Pinkie’s eyes pooled with tears. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry I did all this!”
Twilight smiled and hugged Pinkie. “It’s not your fault, Pinkie. We still love you, right, everypony?”
Applejack joined Twilight, and Princess Celestia wrapped a wing around Pinkie. Twilight’s eyes narrowed at Shadowdancer. “You too, Shadowdancer.”
Shadowdancer grumbled as he heaved himself up and joined the group hug.
“Aw, I love you all too!”
Princess Celestia smiled. “I hope you all can continue to keep each other strong through friendship. And before I go, Shadowdancer, what does “faster than a cheap one off the street” mean?”
“Oh…that. You know…prostitutes, I guess you’d say.”
Princess Celestia simply paused, aghast, mouth open and wordless.
“I’m sorry, Princess. No more sexual innuendos in my letters, I promise.” Shadowdancer offered a hoof to shake.
Princess Celestia remained silent, and finally shook Shadowdancer’s hoof. “Alright. Good night, everypony. And don’t forget to apologize to everyone who you woke up.” She then walked out the door as Spike and Apple Bloom came running back inside.
“You’re all okay!” Spike announced.
“Of course we are!”
“Please don’t let that happen again,” Applejack said, shaking her head.
“Well, at least it’s over now,” Pinkie concluded. Everyone sighed.
A knock at the door interrupted them.
“Fiddlesticks. Who wants to answer?”