Applejack shot her head upright and blinked in darkness. Jagged cold shook her. The pain and disorientation were like a thick sheet pulled over her mind, suffocating her thoughts and stopping her from remembering anything but emptiness.
A pale beam of light fell through a small, arched opening directly in front of her. Utter blackness surrounded it: blackness that held glinting claws and dripping teeth, distant echoes of whooping cries, and whispers of movement through fallen leaves.
She cowered back with her head shaking and her eyes wide with horror. Wind shrieked beyond the doorway like no wind she'd ever heard before, like a dying creature, its wails rising to shrill screams across the stone. Snow flurries blew inside, their flakes fluffy with weight, and piled up against the edges of the opening.
She went to speak, but her throat cracked with dryness and left only a whisper behind. A cough made her convulse, dampening her eyes.
Something disturbed the light coming through the doorway. A shadow moved across it, blocking it for a few seconds, and then cut it off almost entirely.
Applejack went rigid with terror. The monsters came through the blackness, claws outstretched, jaws open, teeth dripping. She cowered back, but then the shadow of a half-folded wing, the shape of a curved beak, and a glint of a golden eye came through the doorway. The shape moved into the small space of the room and went straight to the centre of the floor. A moment later a flash of light lit the interior, catching it in a still, frozen image; a circular dome made of stone blocks like an igloo. Orange flames kindled from a fresh pile of wood in the middle of the fire pit and threw wavering light onto the creature above.
The griffon with the broken beak stared at her over the flames. Ice lashed her face; her feathers frozen into white shards blown back by the winds. Her wings hung half-closed over her back, too thick and heavy with snow to fold.
All of the questions Applejack could have asked vanished at the feel of heat on her coat. Her instincts begged her to crawl closer, but her legs wouldn't move. A trill of panic rose within her, and she craned her neck to look down. Both pairs of her legs were bound with thick, rough rope below and above her knees; rope she hadn't even felt because she was so cold.
As quick as she'd arrived, the griffon leapt to the doorway and vanished back out into the shrieking winds beyond.
Applejack gasped; the fire grew quickly and blasted wonderful, incredible, life-giving heat into her coat, thawing her muscles and easing her shakes. Her legs burned with numbness and the pressure of the ropes that bound her was now obvious. Sets of heavy, rust-brown stained bandages were tied tightly against her wounded flank. She stared at them and sick realisation hit her stomach; the sight of blood on fallen leaves, scarlet and sticky amongst oranges and browns.
Something burst through the doorway. Ice and snow blasted through with it, flattening the fire and plunging the room into flickering half-light. A shape emerged beside the fire with two large wings opened to either side, and the light sputtered back to life.
A different griffon stood panting, her wings white with snow, her frightened stare directed back through the opening. She had flecks of black though her white chest ruff and looked younger than their leader. She squawked and keened towards the doorway, her voice chirping rapidly in her own language.
Another scuffle came from outside. Their leader came through first, the griffon with the golden eyes, and dragged something through after her; the third griffon from the clearing. She pulled the limp, snow-covered form over to the fire. She was breathing hard, panting, her chest rising and falling quickly. So much snow clung to her feathers and fur that it looked like she'd been buried alive.
Applejack lay still and watched the commotion with heavy, closing eyes. Despite her thirst, her hunger, and the confusion of what was happening to her and around her, the heat from the fire seeped a wonderful, soothing feeling through her that was just too strong to resist.
She awoke to the fire crackling merrily in the centre of the room. All traces of daylight from outside had vanished: the interior lit only in flickering, shifting orange that threw shadows across the curved stone walls.
She lifted her head and blinked. A wooden bowl full of crystal clear water sat in front of her, and she didn't hesitate or even stop to wonder. It tipped in her haste and splashed her neck, but she gulped everything down until her tongue lapped at the rough moisture of the bottom.
Something stirred on the other side of the fire. The griffon with the broken beak sat with her back to Applejack, gazing out of the small doorway. The scars and chips in her beak caught the firelight, their ragged edges seeming to warp and shift, to deepen and lengthen, to heal miraculously, only to reappear an instant later. What kind of creature must have made them, Applejack could only guess at; the monsters of the forest seemed every bit as frightened of this half-eagle, half-lion creature as she was.
The other two lay curled up at the back of the small space, both sound asleep. Their tails touched each other's faces, their wings tucked tightly against their sides, their chests rising and falling in opposite time.
Applejack looked back down and noticed something behind the now-empty bowl. A scattering of pine-cones lay in a small bundle just within her reach. She snapped them up one at a time, crunching hard on the tough wood-like material, too thankful to care about the pain in her teeth, the bitter, bland taste in her mouth, or the ropes binding her legs.
The three friends crested the final hill and the lights of Ponyville blazed awake and bustling before them. All of the decorative lanterns hanging from house gables and elegant wrought-iron street lights were turned up full to pool bright, splashing light across the cobbled streets, brining the town's vibrant colours back to life under the stars of night.
Rarity stopped just beyond the summit, the cool grass shifting in the breeze around her hooves, and watched crowds of ponies in the central square. The crowd stood still with their attention directed towards a single pony in their midst, a pony with a greying mane, a brown coat, and a distinctive pair of golden-rimmed glasses perched on her nose.
“What are we going to do?” Pinkie Pie asked, her voice quiet and subdued. “They're all still searching for her. What will we tell them?”
Rainbow Dash spoke up. “We tell everypony the truth. We have to tell the Princess; I bet Celestia could zap A.J back here in one second flat.”
Rarity fixed her stare on the tiny figure of Mayor Mare addressing the gathered crowds. “Do you have any idea of what the Princess may do to Twilight if she finds out she is responsible for this?”
Rainbow and Pinkie exchanged glances. Rainbow thought for a moment and frowned. “Oh, gee, I dunno, like, maybe zap her somewhere totally random and far away and make all her friends worry their guts inside-out over her? Look, Twilight screwed up really bad this time, and if telling the Princess means getting A.J back...”
Pinkie nodded, but bit her lip with indecision. “I don't want Twilight to get in trouble, but I'm scared for Applejack, and if the Princess can bring her back...”
Rarity shook her head slowly. “We do not know for certain that she can.”
Rainbow scoffed. “Oh come-on, she's the ruler of all Equestra; a goddess for Pete's sake.”
Rarity kept her eyes on Ponyville and the milling crowds. “There have been times in the past when the Princess was unable to intervene directly. She was unable to confront Nightmare Moon, or Discord, without us.”
“Yeah, but that time Twilight enchanted her doll and the whole town went crazy? She came and fixed it in like, two seconds flat. I bet she could do it again, you know, just un-do whatever Twilight did to A.J.”
Rarity shook her head. “Unicorn magic does not always work that way. While no expert myself, I know that whatever magic Twilight used must have been exotic and powerful; so powerful she was unable to control it. I fear that such magic stands little chance of being undone, even by the Princess herself.”
“So what, you think Trixie is going to help us, when even the Princess can't? She wouldn't even agree to Applebloom's face, she's never gonna help us! You saw the state Fluttershy was in after visiting Sweet Apple Acers do you want to go with her next, so you can tell Big Mac and Granny Smith why A.J isn't coming home?”
Rarity lifted her chin up higher. “No, Rainbow. I would tell them she has the best friends in all of Equestria; friends who will stop at nothing to find her.”
“So tell Celestia, tell the town!”
“Go ahead.” Rarity glanced over her shoulder at them. “Both of you, if you must; just remember what you may be condemning Twilight to. She has made a grave mistake, yes, but we are her friends. If we can put this right ourselves, I believe we should.”
Rainbow Dash stalked away several paces. She stopped, hung her head, and kicked up a clump of grass. “Aw, Cornapples!”
“Maybe...” Pinkie Pie stepped forward with a hesitant smile, “...maybe the princess will understand it was just a mistake? Maybe she'll go easy on Twilight, you know, just give her detention or something?”
“No, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash turned on her. “This is serious: like, dead serious. I bet the Princess won't let Twilight use her magic ever again if she finds out.”
Rarity nodded and looked back out to the lights of Ponyville. “We can't let anypony discover that Twilight is responsible. Not until we have exhausted our own options to find Applejack.”
Rainbow turned and glared at the back of Rarity's head. “So that's it, then. We're gonna cover up for her, aren't we? Even if Trixie turns tail and runs, we're still gonna lie to everypony that's searching for A.J.” Her voice grated harsher. “Aren't we? That's what you're saying, right?”
Rarity just kept watching the crowds below.
“Hide, stuff, from...” Pinkie trembled, wide eyed, “-the Princess?”
“What if Trixie won't help us?” Rainbow gestured behind them at the expanse of open meadows and the shadow of the Everfree forest far beyond. “She could be half-way to Hoofington this time tomorrow. We know she's a liar, we know she's a coward, what chance do you think we have?”
“I don't know.” Rarity's voice was small; smaller than they'd heard in long, long time. “I can only hope, Rainbow.”
“-guys, I'm scared of the Princess, I don't want to lie to her-” Pinkie's knees shook together, her stare fixed straight ahead, “-what if she finds out, what if she already knows.” Pinkies's eyes went huge and darted from side to side, her knees trembling. “What if she's on her way here, right now, to-!”
“Pinkie,” Rainbow snapped, “that's really not helping.”
“I'm serious guys; she could banish all of us from Equestria!”
Rainbow waved a hoof and rolled her eyes. “Come-on, she'd never do that-”
“Guys, I don't wanna do this, I'm too scared, I can't lie to the Princess.” Pinkie shivered all over, crouched low to the grass, her eyes saucer-wide. “I can't, I can't lie to her...”
“Hey, come on,” Rainbow began, and walked closer to her, “I don't wanna lie to the Princess either, but right now, Twilight needs us.” She stood taller and regained some of her confidence. “Rarity's right, we can't turn her in. Not yet. We've gotta try to find A.J on our own first.”
“But what if we can't, and the Princess finds out we lied, and everypony else...”
“They won't,” Rarity said: her voice back to its former strength. She sat in exactly the same way as before, her eyes on the lights of Ponyville below. “Applejack will be back before anything of the sort has to happen.”
Pinkie looked up at her. “But, how can you be so sure?”
Rarity climbed to all fours and turned to face them. “Because we're going to find her.” She looked back the way they'd came and walked between both of them. “And I am going to make Trixie help us, whether she likes it, or not.”
Trixie glared at them, her eyes narrowed. “The small one convinced Trixie that she should help you, but she still demands fair and appropriate compensation for all of the wrongdoings visited upon her.”
“Such as?” Rarity lifted her brows expectantly, standing forward from Rainbow and Pinkie.
“A new carriage, a new stage, every item in her possession that was destroyed, and all of the bits she has lost by her inability to travel.”
“What!?” Rainbow shot into the air. “You slimeball, we don't-!”
“Name your price.” Rarity stepped forwards, lifted her head up high, and flicked her mane behind her head.
Trixie turned her nose up and closed her eyes. “Fifty thousand bits for Trixie's lost possessions. Twenty thousand for her lost time. Thirty for due compensation and recompense.”
“A-HUNDRED-THOUSAND-BITS!?” Rainbow Dash dropped out of the air and landed on her behind, stunned, her jaw hanging.
“Uh, how much is that?” Pinkie glanced at Rarity. “I have a piggy bank under Gummy's basket that I haven't ever broken into yet.”
“The whole of SugarCube Corner isn't worth that!” Rainbow got up and shook her head. “No pony this side of Equestria has that many bits.”
“Five thousand.” Rarity kept her stare levelled on Trixie; she didn't even flinch.
Trixie's smirk oozed confidence. “Ninety five.”
“Ten.”
“Ninety two.”
“Twelve.”
“Ninety one.”
Pinkie and Rainbow sat down on the grass together, their heads flicking back and forward like at a fast-paced tennis match. The sums of money seemed to jump up and down on both sides, Trixie increasing it whenever Rarity offered too little, and Rarity rising more slowly in return, but one thing remained constant throughout: Rarity was slowly but surely whittling her down.
Trixie seemed to realise she was losing ground and abruptly stamped her hoof on the grass. “Trixie will bargain no more! Fifty-five is the lowest she can bare to go.”
Rarity closed her eyes and lifted her nose in a snub. “Well, in that case I will simply have to adjourn until you are in a more reasonable mood.”
The unicorn's eyes narrowed. “Trixie grows impatient with your tactics. She was left with nothing by your wretched little town. Fifty thousand is the lowest she will accept.”
Rainbow groaned in despair and rolled her eyes. “For the last time, we didn't smash your stuff, it was the ursa minor that you bragged about defeating, remember?”
“Trixie cares not.” The unicorn folded her front legs and turned her head side-on to them. “Either you pay her, or she does what she should have done weeks ago; leave for a town where the ponies are not out of their tiny little minds.”
“Ugh!” Rainbow rounded on all of them, “-that's it, I'm sick of her, she can't even cast this spell anyway; she's a useless liar and a fraud!”
“How dare you-” Trixie's glare trembled, her eyes alight.
“Shut-up!” Sparks of water glinted in the corners of Rainbow's eyes. Her voice thickened and went hoarse. “Our friend is lost somewhere, and all you care about is money? I hate-!”
“Fine! Fifty thousand it is.”
Everypony went still. All eyes turned on Rarity, and her look of determination. “To be paid when we find Applejack using the spell you will cast for us. My final offer.”
Trixie looked her over with suspicion. “And how will you pay that, exactly?”
Rarity didn't even blink. “Why, with Carousel Boutique, of course.”
Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow's jaws all unhinged at once.
Trixie cocked her eyebrows. “What is `Carousel Boutique'?”
“My fashion boutique; famous throughout Equestria, prized in Canterlot, unmatched by any.” A flicker of pride lifted Rarity's features into a smile, but there was nothing happy in the gesture. “The deed and all of my possessions should cover-”
Rainbow sprang forwards and landed between them, “There is NO way-”
“You can't,” Pinkie jumped beside Rainbow, her facing pleading, “you can't give away your boutique, you just can't, I mean, you can't.”
Rarity looked down her nose at the other unicorn. “Make no mistake. I will stipulate that you will be paid after we have located applejack and returned her to Ponyville, and not before. I will provide the deed to my boutique and a signed concession of its contents, but only after all conditions are met.”
“You're not doing this.” Rainbow walked directly in front of her, staring her down. “I'm not gonna let you give your home to this good-for-nothing slimeball: not in a million years.”
Trixie stared at Rarity. “...your, home?” For a moment it was as though another pair of eyes looked at her, filled with surprise and shock, but then she blinked and the uncaring detachment returned. “Hmph. Trixie does not care how she is paid, as long as the bits are all accounted for.”
“I'm not gonna let her take your home.” Sparkles of light reflected from Rainbow's eyes. “I'm not.”
“...Trixie could accept this, boutique, as collateral.” She watched them carefully over her nose. “If you can raise the bits by other means, then there will be no need for you to part with it.”
Rarity nodded. “Very well. I will draw up a signed contract of our agreement, and you can start work on the spell right away.”
“No way!” Rainbow stepped in front of her. “Don't give in to her! How can you possibly think this is a good idea?”
“Because it is the only one I have.” Rarity looked back at her: the truth bare in her eyes.
Rainbow glanced behind at Trixie, grabbed Rarity by her shoulder, and led her away a short distance out of ear-shot. She leaned in close, her voice a harsh whisper. “To hay with this! I'll go and fetch Celestia before I'll let you sell your house to her.”
Rarity whispered, but with the same determination. “If there is a chance that we can do this ourselves, we must take it, Rainbow. I will not condemn Twilight to a life without magic, or worse, a life banished beyond all of Equestria.”
“But, you can't-“ Rainbow shook her head, “-you can't give her your home-“
“Leave this to me.” Rarity's eyes never left her. “We can worry about the details after Applejack is home, and safe.”
Rainbow turned her head and looked at her side-on, their eyes locked together. “You'd better know what you're doing.”
“If it means that we can bring Applejack home, then I do not care.” Rarity stared back, defiant. “What is a tower of wood, a bundle of possessions, when-”
“Look, I get it.” Rainbow sighed heavily: the air deflating out of her, her shoulders slumped. “Fine. I'm not gonna stop you-” She shot a look back up at Rarity with some hardness still in her eyes, “-but I am gonna keep my eye on her.”
“Thank you.” Rarity nodded and stood up taller. “But remember, Trixie is at an important disadvantage.” She swept her mane behind her head, her nose held high, and despite the tired lines marring her face, smiled with a sparkle of familiar confidence. “She still does not realize quite who she is dealing with.”