Five of the six friends from Ponyville library trotted urgently towards the spot where the sixth was flying up and down, once, twice again. In the head of the herd was an orange earth pony mare with straw blonde hair. The pony in the rear, a stark white unicorn with a flowing purple mane, called out to her.
“Applejack, darling, must we gallop so quickly? Surely Rainbow Dash has already handled whatever situation has arisen.” The comment earned a stern glare from the mare out front.
“I ain’t waitin’ around fer somepony else to tell me what’s goin’ on. Somepony could be hurt up there, so quit yer jawin’ and gallop, Rarity!” The entire herd ran just a tad quicker after the exchange, much to the chagrin of Rarity, and soon arrived to find their friend annoyedly answering the questions of two confused mares.
“For the last time, yes, I have wings. Yes, I was born with them. Yes, that’s a perfectly normal thing, and no, you’re not dead, and I don’t know anything about your big metal bird or why you’re both so clueless!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity managed to finish a bout of coughing and wheezing just in time to step in and scold her friend, who shrunk down just the smallest bit ashamed of herself before springing back up and hovering a few feet off the ground.
“Hey guys…” Dash sheepishly said before gladly letting the focus of the group shift to the two gray and azure ponies that had just fallen from the sky. They were sitting in the grass, each with a forehoof around the other, staring at the group of Ponyville mares before them. Twilight stepped forward, extending a hoof towards them.
“Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle. And you are?” Silence reigned for a moment, during which Twilight’s genuine smile grew into an awkward grimace as she stood, hoof out, waiting for a response. After a moment, Rainbow Dash touched down from her post hovering over the rest, and the two sisters snapped back to reality.
“Hi… I’m Resonance, and this is my sister Evanescence.” Somewhere in the back of the crowd a low cheer was heard, called it. Applejack walked up to the pair, slowly making her way around them in a circle. She saw Evanescence as a fairly plain mare until she saw her cutie mark.
“A winged heart? You love to fly? But ain’t you an earth pony like me?” Applejack stretched her neck out to look at Evanescence’s back, double-checking her assertion. “In fact, I don’t see wings on either a y’all. How’d you get up there?” Applejack was now standing directly in front of Evanescence, staring at her.
“We were in a plane.” The azure maned pony said after a moment. Applejack looked around, confused.
“We’re all in a plain now, that don’t explain how you flew. You got somepony else up there we didn’t see?” The assertion annoyed Evanescence, surely these ponies knew what planes were.
“Not a plain, a plane, you know, a big metal bird-lookin’ thing, carries ponies and stuff around the country, they’re in the sky every day over Hearth.” Nopony in the crowd seemed to understand the explanation, but Twilight was most willing to play along – after her previous experiences with unexplainable things.
“So you have a plane?” Twilight said, again approaching the two mares. Just before reaching them, a bright flash appeared in the distant hillside, followed by a low rumble and column of smoke.
“I had a plane.”
Applejack again began moving around the sisters, this time focusing on Resonance. Her coat and mane were the exact same color as her sister’s, except switched. Applejack was reminded of the sisters who ran the spa, Aloe and Lotus, I think, and was willing to believe that sisters just looked like that sometimes. What made much less sense to her was the stuff Resonance was carrying, and her cutie mark. She decided to start with the former.
“What’s this big tarp lookin’ thing you got tied to yerself?” Applejack asked while trying to collect and fold the item in question.
“It’s a parachute, it keeps you from -” Resonance stopped mid-sentence to jab a hoof at her sister, eliciting a pained squeal. “It keeps you from falling too fast so you don’t die when you jump out of a plane.” The group looked at the sisters, slightly concerned, until Applejack asked the question on everypony’s mind.
“Then why didn’t both of y’all…” She was cut off by Evanescence shoving a hoof into her snout.
“We only had one. It was either me, or her, and I for one think she has more to live for.” The response again earned Evanescence a jab from her sister, followed by a tackling hug which put them both on the ground, finally free of the parachute.
“Hmm, it would be nice to have one of those when I’m flying in my balloon, mind if I take a look?” Twilight took the cloth with her magic as another quiet cheer rang out in the background, oh yeah two for two! Applejack, ignoring the exchange, continued her questioning.
“Okay, touchy subject, I get it. How ‘bout this thing?” Applejack continued to push, this time pointing at the bag on Resonance’s back. It was an angular pack made of a hard material and was connected to a band that went almost completely around her neck. Resonance reached a hoof over her shoulder, tapping on a small panel in one of the pack’s corners, and pulling out a large red stick. A smile grew on her face as the device unfolded, revealing a six-armed ribcage with strings of various lengths and thicknesses stretched across the arms. The crimson outline of it was perfectly mirrored on her flank.
“Heeeere we go…” Evanescence said jokingly. “Fillies and Gentlecolts, I give you Resonance and… well I give you Resonance.” The comment earned a small glare from the younger sister before she swung the instrument around, nestling it snugly under her chin and against her neck piece. Resonance’s horn began to glow with a bright golden magic as three bows were lifted from another section of the pack, one she took in hoof leaving the others to hover.
“It’s a violin?” Rarity asked, perplexed by the complexity of the device.
“The electric tri-bow ribcage violin, my sister’s pride and very, very special talent.” Evanescence beamed the compliment as Resonance began to put bow to string. The current carried visibly – a thin blue line streaking across her necklace down to the back of her pack signaling a large built-in speaker to rumble, soon producing low, slow, sorrowful notes. None of the mares, except for Resonance and Evanescence of course, could pick out what instrument they were actually listening to. The three bows seemed to be playing different things at the same time, making the pony in front of them a one-mare orchestra. The song soon finished, having made the mood of the entire meeting more somber.
“Why so sad?” Pinkie asked, hair slightly less vibrant than usual.
“The flames only know where we are now… we may never be able to go home again. I may never see him again… Dangit Evvy, why’d you have to remind me?” Evanescence looked annoyed for a moment, but crushed her comment when Resonance slumped down against her, quietly crying.