//------------------------------// // Deceiving days // Story: The Second Return // by Narim //------------------------------// Warning: This story is written by a guy who's got the English as a second language. Please be mindful about the possible grammar mistakes. Thanks. Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres It was a very hot summer day. You might think that’s a boring, common start of the story, but the hot weather was the first sign of the upcoming danger. Nopony was aware of it that time. Anyway, our story begins on the outskirts of Ponyville, at the apple orchard, where a young mare carried heavy buckets with water on her back, complaining about the weather. “It’s been a week since all this crazed hot started. When Pegasi do somethin’ ‘bout it? Ah can’t be pulling the water from the stream forevah, dat’s for sure,” cursed aloud. She came to the most weather-beaten tree. But she knew that even the cold water couldn't help. "Ah suppose this little fella is finished." She looked around the orchard. "And if Ah don't get a rain in a few days, all of them will be." She wanted to find her salvation in the sky, but only the scorching heat of the sun welcomed her. Or not? A blue Pegasus with colorful mane headed towards her. She knew her quite well, and hoped for answers. "How'dy, Rainbow Dash," greeted the blue mare. "Ah need a favor. Could you hook some of your clouds here for a few drops of water?" "That's why I am here, AJ," she replied and started explaining. "We are almost out of water at Cloudsdale and we used all of the local lakes. So I am checking the areas where the water is needed most." "And?" "And what?" "How 'bout mah farm." Applejack replied with heavy impatience. "How long before you get some clouds here?" "These sure could use some of them," said the light blue mare and expertly took a close look at one of the trees. "So we'll get them here in, uhm, five days?" "Five days?!" Applejack couldn't believe it. "This place'll turn into a dry wasteland in five days." "I am sorry, Applejack," Rainbow replied and started counting. "We have the Royal Gardens in Cantlerlot tomorrow, then Filly Delphia fields, some of your cousins near Los Pegasus and many others." "Well, that's just great, so Celestia's flowers are more important than my apples, you say?" Applejack was so angry she could buck an apple tree in half. "Hey, there's no reason to get mad at ME," said Dash, angered and hurt by AJ's tone. "It's not like I am in the charge of the Water Distribution Department. Everypony is lending a wing. Even the Wonderbolts." Applejack was ashamed. Rainbow was the last pony to blame. "Ah don't know what has gotten into me. Ah'm sorry, Dash." She tried to cheer up. "Next time we wrap up the winder, remind me to keep some of that snow in mah barn, just to be safe when this comes again." "Sure," promised Rainbow Dash with a smile on her face. She took a quick look over the orchard and pointed at two ponies walking towards them. "Look, it's Rarity and Twilight, they might know something about this." Ponyville, Dam Few hours before, Twilight Sparkle, together with her baby dragon assistant were looking at the dam. Not that she was a huge fan of dams, no. The problem was, the water held by the dam was gone. Except for a few puddles at the bottom, it was completely waterless. In those hot days, water was more important than ever and it was up to Twilight to find where has all the water gone. But she was not alone for this task, as her requested aid let itself known about being present. "I hope I am not late, darling." said the just arriving white mare with curly purple mane. "I certainly took my time choosing the right outfit for this weather, but I do have to say it was worth it." She turned around and back so that Twilight and Spike could see her large, straw boater, decorated with various flowers, purple sunglasses and a gemstone necklace. Simple, stylish and beautiful. Baby dragon Spike could not take his eyes of her. But then again, he never could. "Hello Rarity," Twilight greeted her. "We ourselves have arrived just a few minutes ago. I think I might know where the problem is, but I still could use your help." "Would you mind explaining what is the matter, Twilight?" asked Rarity and looked at the empty reservoir. "I still can not see how I could be of any use to you dealing with this situation." "You see Rarity," said Twilight and pulled some kind of map out of her saddle bag. "Two days ago, the most of water from this dam disappeared. The Pegasi planned to lift it up to Cloudsdale. I've been asked by the Mayor to find out where is it." "Could it just simply... vaporized? The weather is hot enough, that goes without saying," suggested Rarity. "I am afraid not," rejected her idea with a sigh. "Or at least not overnight. I have my theory, but I need to a closer look. Come with me Rarity. You can stay here Spike." The dragon saluted and Twilight started descending to the bottom. "Wait Twilight," Rarity sounded seriously concerned. "Do you intend to take us into all that mud and dirt?" "It's not that bad. The sun dried up the most of it. And I bet the remaining mud is even better for your skin and hooves than the one being used at the spa. Come, we can have a full service after this." "We HAVE to have a full service after this," corrected Rarity and started carefully descending behind her. When they reached the bottom, Twilight showed rarity her map. It was an old piece from the Ponyville town hall archives. "Subterranean river system of Ponyville" was the title. Twilight coughed in preparation for a long speech. "A few days ago, Pinky told me about her Pinkie sense warning about upcoming earthquake," she ignored Rarity's shocked look and continued. "After my experiences with me warning myself, I have decided not to freak out, since, as Pinkie said, it will be nothing major. The epicenter was deep beneath the earth, but I am almost sure that it blocked one or two underground rivers and created a path for a new one. It also created a few holes beneath this lake and the water simply leaked somewhere beneath us. Can you see this?" Twilight pointed on the upper right corner of the map and Rarity nodded. "If water truly leaked, it will most likely flow through here," pointed with her hoof along the theoretical path, "and will probably end in the old underground lake not so far behind the Sweet Apple Acres." "And how do I fit in all of this?" asked Rarity. She didn't want to dirty her hooves for nothing, after all. "You see, there is no way I could access these tunnels, so I was trying to adjust the gem finding spell you taught me. While it worked fine, well, since I am not a nature born user of this spell, I could only find the apple juice bottles in my cellar. I need you if I want to search... deeper." "A-are you sure, darling?" Rarity was not worried for nothing. "Is it safe? My gem crafting abilities are the core of my fashion techniques and I simply couldn't spend the rest of my life being able to search for something as common as water. Although these days, you could say that water is sure valuable than gems." "Rest assured, Rarity," reassured her Twilight. "It is completely safe. I have triple-tested it and I have a fail-safe spell if it fails and other fail-safe spell in case of the first fail-safe spell failing. Nothing can go wrong," said with a huge, honest smile. "Very well, my dear. Let's get started." Twilight's horn gently touched Rarity's and started enchanting. The purple glow slowly turned into a watery blue one. The spell was ready. "It's done. You can already see the water beneath us. I'll go pick up Spike, you can follow the path on the map, we'll catch you in no time." Rarity was glad she could finally get out of this mess. It was an easy walk for her, since the enchanting spell was strong and her horn almost pulled her along the path. Shortly after, Twilight teleported next to her, along with Spike. With each step in their hooves (and foots, since we can't forget about Spike), Twilight's theory was more and more likely. "This will be great. According to my calculations, there should be enough water to cover the weekly consumption of the middle Equestria," Twilight rejoiced. "Just remember to save some for a wonderful, relaxing bubble bath," dreamt Rarity. Just like Twilight, her hooves were muddy and her well treated skin sweaty, since they've been walking towards the sun. A tiny strip of the sun was still on the horizon when they reached Apple family's orchard. "Look, that's Rainbow Dash waving at us," noticed Spike and pointed at her hovering above Applejack. But those two weren't the only ponies they saw. Yellow and pink mares headed their way too. "It's Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie," recognized Spike instantly. "I wonder what have happened to them. They sure look exhausted. Speaking of which, I could really use a break." Twilight looked at him with her disbelieving look. Not only was he sitting on her for the half of the way, but she thought he would show more endurance and energy in the Rarity's presence. "What?" wondered Spike when he caught Twilight's look. Ponyville, Fluttershy's cottage Of all the ponies, it was Fluttershy who's got her hooves the most full. For the past few days, all animals in her caring were nervous and reckless. Fluttershy spent most of her time convincing them to eat, preventing them from running away, fighting each other and trying to comfort them. "Please, little fella, just a little tiny bit. The tiniest of all tiny bits." "Now careful, my friend. You don't want to get lost in that scary Everfree Forest, do you?" "If you are full of energy, don't fight, have fun!" "Shh, it's okey, big sis Fluttershy is here for you." Those were the lines she kept using everyday. But even her kind words and gentle treatment were not able to prevent a group of her animals from running away. Two of her birds, one ferret and a chicken ran away that morning. She knew where they have gone, even though she was not ready to face the truth yet. Everfree Forest. One might say that when you live next to something, you'll get used to it. That wasn't the Fluttershy's case. Sure, she was a good friend of Zecora, the zebra alchemist who lived there, or a dangerous and fierce manticore, who just needed to be show a little kindness, yet the forest had its old, ancient history and secrets, before which anypony's heart would freeze. When she had the need to head there, she usually took one of her animal friends or asked somepony to accompany her. Asking the animals was out of the question, she was glad for only a few of them running away. She had to ask one of her friends. But Applejack was tending her trees all day long, Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen, Twilight was busy with solving a mystery and Rarity said she'd already promised Twilight to help. She couldn't ask the Cutie Mark Crusaders, as she wanted runaways back alive and unharmed, if possible. Besides, they were in the middle of their grand crusade operation. Only Pinkie Pie was free enough to help. "Nah, it's okey. I've got plenty of free time. Maybe I could throw a party for all freetimers. Is that a word? Oh well, I sure have to make a huge party when this heat is over. With lots of iced toppings cupcakes, ice cream, iced coffee, iced tea, iced chocolate," blurt Pinkie and daydreamt for a moment about all that delicatessen. "Aaaanyway, don't worry, auntie Pinkie is always here for you when you are in a bind," she promised. "I'll catch you at your cottage, Fluttershy," Pinkie parted with her and dashed into nowhere, only to be found already waiting at the cottage when Fluttershy quickly returned. Pinkie was not waiting alone. She was with the lost bird, ferret and chicken. "How did I catch them? Well, I was bored, and since you mentioned something about 'seeking' and 'hiding', I've got eager to play hide-and-seek with them. You gave them a huge advantage, though, but it was of no use. I am the world champion, after all," said Pinkie proudly and out of nowhere pulled all her blue championship medals. "I... I don't know how to thank you, Pinkie. But there is still a little birdie missing. Who knows where he might be by now?" sadly wondered Fluttershy. "You mean that one with green and red feathers on his wings?" asked Pinkie. "Have you found him?" asked Fluttershy happily. "Yes. I had almost got him, but then I ran into Zecora in the forest and I chatted for a while." "Aw, that's bad. N-not that I blame you, or anything," Fluttershy apologized silently and cowered. "Don't be silly. We will find him. In fact, he's over there flying into the town," Pinkie pointed up the sky, on a fast moving black dot. "Let's go, Fluttershy, I don't want to lose now that the game is on." Both ponies rushed after him. To their misfortune, the prey was one of the fastest bird. It wasn't flying at the top speed, but it still required the best effort from our mares. Pinkie was determined to win, and she was running with corresponding speed, often leaving Fluttershy behind. The bird fortunately landed on a tree or into a bush from time to time, unknowingly reducing his advantage. Yet as soon as Pinkie jumped to catch him, he flew instantly into the air, almost as if he was teasing her. With none of his breaks in town, the chase moved close to Sweet Apple Acres. Pinkie was keeping up the speed, Fluttershy, on the other hand, was dead tired. She followed the pink pony, but she just was getting more and more away. A wild root appeared in front of her hooves and poor Fluttershy tripped and fell on her face. The pain wiped the exhaustion and replaced it with irritation. That's not what Iron Will taught me, Fluttershy unconsciously thought. You make me lose, I blow my fuse! She got up on her hooves. "Enough is enough," she yelled (but her yelling is more like normal pony's tone), "I've had it with this stupid bird and this stupid chase." Fluttershy spread her wings and took off so fast, it would've left even Rainbow Dash in ave. Within a split second, she rushed over Pinkie Pie and caught the terrified and confused bird in hooves. He was trying to escape, but couldn't avoid Fluttershy's stare in his eyes. She was piercing him with her legendary stare. "That's it, mister, now, you fly back to your nest and won't even think about moving your feather until I say so, you've got that clear?" threatened Fluttershy in anger. The bird started rapidly nodding. Fluttershy instantly changed to her balanced and happy expression. "That's a good boy," she kindly praised him, almost as if her thread a second ago never happened. Still terrified bird charged with his maximum power, obediently heading back to the cottage. "Hey," Pinkie's voice startled her. She almost forgot about her. "Nice job. Maybe you could join me in the next competition. No wings, though. I almost got him, then some yellowpink ray above me got him first. You know what it calls for? Celebration!" answered her own question before could Fluttershy even start processing her words. Pinkie was thinking aloud about the theme and the name, when Fluttershy's fatigue made a huge reminder. "Oh, that's right," remembered Pinkie. She helped her on her hooves and looked around. Instantly, she noticed Rainbow Dash (with her coat and mane, she stuck out among the apple trees) and Applejack. Towards those two were heading Twilight and Rarity. Great, Pinkie thought, we can start the party already. Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres The ponies, although not deliberately, gathered together in the apple orchard. Time was late, but the moon was nowhere to be seen yet. All mares were tired and dirty. Applejack from pulling the water buckets, Rainbow Dash from her weather patrol duty, Twilight Sparkle and Rarity from their mystery case and Fluttershy with Pinkie Pie from their almost mare-a-thon long chase. Well, Pinkie was still high energy, but then again, she always was. The ponies greeted each other and each group let the other know what were they doing. AJ and Rainbow kept their little dispute for themselves. "... and then Fluttershy caught the bird," Pinkie portrayed Fluttershy's grab, "and used the stare on him. And that's how I got my cutie mark," finished the story Pinkie-style. "So..." she waited for a few seconds, "let's get this party started!" Quickly pulled her famous party wagon from behind a tree like it was there since the begging of the time and with party music, she started throwing confetti and stripes everywhere. Applejack was not twice as happy about the new apple trees decoration, but she knew she can't stop Pinkie while she's in her element. "Not now, Darling," made Rarity futile attempt to stop her and interrupted her party song. "We all are tired and I can't stand my hooves dirty for any longer. If you all excuse me, I'll..." This time, it was her who got interrupted. A bright green fire accompanied by a huge burp illuminated the ponies' face in the dark. A letter from Princess Celestia, Twilight and others quickly recognized. A scroll with the royal seal on a blue ribbon. "The blue ribbon!" gasped Twilight and quickly grabbed the scroll from Spike, as he was getting his reading pose ready. "What's wrong, sugarcube?" wondered Applejack. "It's just a blue ribbon. Maybe Celestia ran out of the red ones," made her joke, but this was not a laughing matter for Twilight. Twilight knew what it meant. Red ribbons were used for Princess Celestia's letters. The blue ones were used by her sister, Princess Luna. Plus, the royal seal contained a letter L. Twilight rarely received a letter from her, so she began to worry if the Princess is safe. Her Twilight Sense was tingling. "My dear friend Twilight Sparkle," started reading, "I was asked by my sister to summon you and your friends, namely Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack, to Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville. We ask you for your swift arrival. We will meet you with my sister there. Princess Luna." Twilight finished and looked at the others with worries. "Now this reminds me of somethin'." Applejack remembered Celestia's summoning letter concerning Discord's chaos rampage. "What are we waiting for?" noted Rainbow Dash impatiently. "The princess needs us, hurry!" She turned towards the Ponyville and others quickly followed her. Rarity managed to utter something about not being properly dressed for a royal visit, but ran with others regardless. Pinkie's party wagon was left open, and along with the entire farm, far behind the rushing ponies. Ponyville, Golden Oaks Library Despite the late hour, almost everypony was outside in streets. Now, when the sun was set down by the princess, many went to enjoy the cooler temperature and to have a chat with friends. Seeing six dirty mares storming the town was not as big commotion as you might suspect. They've got used to their adventures already. It brought a refreshing excitement to everyday's boredom. Unless it was a parasprite invasion. The destroyed town was a little too much for a commotion. Our mares, followed by questions and greetings from other ponies, reached the Library. From the outside, they could see a dim light coming from the main floor. A bitter voices echoed from inside. What could the princesses discuss? Twilight knocked on the doors (despite the fact it was her house and workplace, after all, but battering inside the royal presence is highly inappropriate). She, followed by other companions, entered the gloomy room. As the last incoming Fluttershy closed the door, someone magically closed the curtains and lit all lights. Princess Celestia and Princes Luna were standing next to the table with a wooden pony head sculpture. What bowled over everypony was the sight of a familiar face. A creature with a head of a horse, with a snake tongue, a one long fang, a deer antler and goat horn, with a body made from an arm of a lion, a claw of an eagle, a leg of a lizard, a leg of a goat, a wing of a bat, a Pegasus' wing and finished with a dragon's tail with a white tail tuft. A draconequus. Discord. He sat comfortably on the table, with his claw on the sculpture and a smile directed to ponies saying "You should see the look on your faces." The one they expected to never see again is sitting right before their eyes. What is he doing here? Is the weather his doing? And why was he chatting with Celestia and Luna about? Find shocking revelations about him in the next chapter of The Second Return.