“Girls, this is serious! Those changelings had clearly defeated us, and if it weren’t for my brother and Princess Cadence, Canterlot would look very different today. We could have lost everything back there!”
“Yeah, but we didn’t! It’s still there, Canterlot was still saved, and everything's just fine! We're still awesome!”
“Even though we got our rumps right handed to us, huh?”
“Hey! I was only taken down because there were too many of them. I was still awesome!”
“But that’s what I’m saying. We should make sure that ‘too many of them’ can never stop us from saving Equestria! As the Elements of Harmony, there's a real chance we may be called upon to save it again, and we owe it to Equestria to be be better prepared next time. I suggest we start on this training schedule—“
“Hey uh, Sugarcube? Ah think it’s terrific you’re takin’ your role in all this so seriously, but it’s about to be harvestin' time at Sweet Apple Acres. Maybe after that’s taken care of, we could do this trainin’ thing.”
“And I have to get started on my fall line up. Our dresses for the wedding earned me a few orders, and left me itching to translate my designs into more casual wear.”
“And… uh… I need to help some of the weaker animals gather food for winter. I mean… If I don’t, they might not have enough, and get hungry, and—“
“And I gotta train for the Wonderbolts!”
“Aren’t ya always trainin’?”
“Yeah, but I’m going to try out soon. They’re busiest during the summer, but in the winter they do fewer shows and hold tryouts. I figure it’s about time they add the Dash to their lineup.”
“And I just had a brilliant idea! I need to get ready for back-to-school parties!”
“Ew. Pinkie, seriously, who would like one of those parties?”
“Ugh, girls! This is serious!”
“Dear, we understand," Rarity said as she set her cup down on the table. "Normally we would, but we’re just so busy." She glanced around the table at her friends, and everypony's face but Twilight was filled with understanding. "Your concern has considerable merit, but we simply don’t have the time right now. You must understand, we have to be secure in our own endeavors before we can ‘train’ for some disaster that may never happen. I must take care of Sweetie Belle, especially now that our parents are so far away on vacation.” She threw a pointed gaze at Applejack. She caught the message.
“And Ah always have Applebloom.”
“Besides, Twilight," added Rainbow Dash, almost knocking over her cup, "my training for the ‘Bolts will keep me in tip top shape to fight any evil-doer that so happens to think they can mess with the Elements of Harmony— no, with the... the Mighty Mares of Ponyville!.”
Pinkie Pie burst out laughing, flailing her forelegs. She would've spilled several of their drinks completely, if Rarity hadn't had the reflexes to grab them all with her magic. Mrs. Cake shot a disapproving glance from behind the counter across from the bakery at the loud ruckus. “Who are these Mighty Mares, Dashie? Some superhero group?”
Rainbow Dash sat down, her cheeks hot. “No, it’s us, y’know. Because we’re unbeatable and pretty amazing. We kick flank!”
“Hehe, so I’m a super hero? How super cool! When did this happen? I think this calls for a Super Party!”
Fluttershy nudged her dessert with a hoof. “I don’t think I’d make a good super hero… I only talk to animals.”
“Girls!" Twilight gave the table a quick rap with her hoof, grabbing everyone's attention. "We need to be in top form! We are the guardians of Equestria, the Elements of Harmony. Now that the princesses aren't connected to the Elements anymore, we are Equestria's greatest defense. We can’t let another creature try to take over. We can't let another monster confuse us. We were useless the last two times we were needed. We can’t lose again! We can’t have another Discord!”
There was silence around the table. If they had been paying attention, the girls would've noticed everyone else at Sugarcube Corner had grown quiet as well.
Applejack was first to speak. “Shucks Twi’, Ah have to say Ah’d prefer it if we let that Discord nonsense rest. Ah know we were out of sorts and it wasn't our faults, but that’s still a pretty fresh barrel of sour apples.”
“We certainly weren't at our best," Rarity agreed. "We’ve learned, since then.”
“Yeah, I’ll never be grumpy again," Pinkie somberly added. Immediately, she perked up. "I may have to set up an anti-grump picnic!”
“And I’ll never say those things again. That was just too awful.” Fluttershy's face was barely visible behind her hair. She had completely lost her appetite for her cupcake.
Rainbow Dash simply crossed her forelegs and looked away. “I said I was sorry for the whole abandoning you guys for Cloudsdale thing! Discord confused me, you know that! I never would have left if he wasn't being all t-twisty with his words! That wasn't really me.”
Twilight had slowly slouched back into her seat, looking at her hooves. “I’m sorry, it’s just— our track record hasn’t been as perfect as I'd hoped, and..." she gulped, knowing she was losing ground to her friends. It hurt, due to how important she knew this was. "...And it would be insane for us to think we’d change our success rate if we keep all the variables the same.”
Sensing the Twilight's somber attitude, Pinkie tried a joke. “Variables? Do they have anything to do with Mareeios?”
“Sweetie, that’s just a breakfast cereal, variables are-“
Twilight looked up. “No, they don’t. I’m saying we have to get better to expect to be better. We have to put effort into it, and as great as our bestowed powers are, as great as the Elements of Harmony are, relying only on our endgame gambit is not conducive to our responsibility as protectors of this kingdom.”
“Ah’m sorry, but like Ah said, now’s not a good time. Applebucking and Applebloom-”
“And Sweetie Belle-”
“My animals…”
“Super back-to-school parties!”
“Wonderbolts baby!" Rainbow Dash flew over to Twilight, and reached over and patted her on the back. "I promise, Twilight, we can do your training later. I'll make sure of it.”
“Come on girls! If disaster strikes, there won’t be any more Wonderbolts, or any of that! There won’t be any more parties if we don’t-”
“Look, Twi’, we have our reasons. You're right, especially when you've gone and put it like that. Ah care about you, and all of you girls, in addition to my family and my farm, and Ah know we could be much better. We never said we won’t, only that we can’t right now.”
Everypony nodded. Twilight stared in disbelief, her eyes jerking from pony to pony. Eventually, she slumped down. Do they not understand? There were no smiles, except for Pinkie Pie, but even Twilight could tell it was only so she didn't feel bad. It wasn't working.
Suddently, Twilight stood up. "Fine!" She stormed out of Sugarcube Corner leaving her cupcake uneaten, prompting Mrs. Cake to look up from the counter, concerned. There was silence around the table. Fluttershy meeped and finally took a bite of her cupcake to break the tension, and Rainbow Dash simply re-crossed her forelegs and huffed.
Rarity was the first to speak. “Well, we told her we have responsibilities. Even so, I feel we should stop by sometime— soon, to check on her. You know how Twilight gets when she's worked up over something, but she does have a good point”, she suggested.
“Ah start applebuckin' tomorrow, so how about this weekend? Ah reckon this isn’t as pressing as when she was tardy, so givin’ her till the end of the week won’t be so bad. We'll go on down to the library this weekend and see what she'll have us do. Ah think we should at least give her that,” said Applejack.
Again everypony nodded, but remained quiet. They remembered the changeling queen and how surely they thought Twilight was wrong. They remembered Discord and how all of their friendships, and the even the state of reality itself, had hung in the balance that day. They remembered what happened the last time Twilight was ensnared in one of her own crises, and the resulting chaos the young mare had managed to cause in one afternoon. Of course all was forgiven and the past was the past, but making the same mistake twice would be reckless, even though they liked to think Twilight would learn from the past.
The group ate the rest of the sweets in silence, with Pinkie Pie eating Twilight’s untouched cupcake without challenge. It was getting late in the evening, and by that time they were the last group of patrons in the bakery. Realizing there was nothing left to say, they mutually agreed to head home. After the usual goodbyes, each mare took off, with Pinkie staying to help the Cakes close up shop. Applejack and Rarity split off on their own path to their homes. As Fluttershy was walking toward the edge of town, Rainbow Dash hovered in place in front of Sugarcube Corner watching her go.
“H-hey Fluttershy, let me walk you home,” Rainbow Dash called.
“Sure Rainbow Dash, thank you.” Fluttershy smiled. To anypony else, Rainbow would’ve came off as bossy, but she knew when her friend was asking to talk. She set out along the dirt path to her cottage, Rainbow silently floating behind her.
“Do ya think Twilight had a point? I mean, we’re the Elements of Harmony. If the fight gets too tough, we can just blast the bad guy with our friendship cannon, right? She says we shouldn't rely on our trump card, but it's such a good one.” Rainbow made a charade of putting her hooves together to charge some energy, then shooting it at an imaginary foe.
Fluttershy dipped her head. “But… We were helpless to stop the changelings.”
Rainbow paused. She wanted to say just how many changelings she had put out of commission, but even she knew it didn’t change anything. In the end, it was Shining Armor’s shield charged with Cadence's love that saved the day. “Okay, but what about Discord? We totally kicked his flank, Elements and everything! Saved the day— no, saved all of Equestria,” Rainbow concluded, looking proud of herself.
Fluttershy stopped walking. “But we almost lost against Discord, too.” The yellow pegasus turned to face her friend, and shivered despite the warm night. “Rainbow… We almost came out completely different ponies." She closed her eyes and her thoughts floated back to the animals at the gala.
She had seen something in herself that night, and Discord’s return, however brief, had shown her it still was still slithering about inside her. Even later, she almost lost herself again when some bad advice almost cost her her dearest friends, further cementing her fears. Fluttershy was a shy pony, and despite the strides she had made being social with her friends, this was a side of her she never wanted to talk about, or even let enter her mind. This was something she’d have to carry to her grave, with the sole possible exception being Rarity. However, she wasn't even close to being ready to tell the fashionista.
Rainbow landed and blinked a few times, surprised and even a little intimidated by how solemn her old friend had suddenly become. After a few breaths, she waved her hoof. “Whatever, we won though. Why can’t she just accept it?”
Fluttershy almost spoke, but instead sat quietly for a moment before turning around and continuing down the road to her cottage. Rainbow Dash stared for a second before catching up, mulling over the “what if’s” spawned by Fluttershy’s comments. They finished their walk in silence. When they arrived, Fluttershy opened the door and Angel Bunny greeted her with an impatient look and a tapping paw. They said their goodbyes, and Fluttershy closed her door.
As Rainbow flew away to her cloudhouse in the sky, her thoughts tumbled to her frustrated friends and their close shaves. Maybe the egghead was on to something?
“Come on…. Come on…” grunted Twilight, as sweat ran down her face. She had her eyes shut tight as she concentrated on her assistant. The glow from her horn intensified. Papers with her scribbled notes were flying everywhere and the many books that lay open were galloping madly through their pages.
Spike gulped. “Are you sure you can’t just try this on somepony else?" He quickly glanced around, and caught sight of the other resident of the tree house. "Hey, look! Owlowiscious isn’t doing anything! He can take my place while I get some gems to eat.” Owlowiscious simply hooted in response, and started to fly out an open window. Spike shot him a look and growled.
“Don’t act like that again," Spike called out. "You know I’m talking to you!” Another hoot, followed by more growling from Spike.
“Spike! Please. Stay still. Quiet. Concentrating”, Twilight forced out. An overglow came over her horn as she tapped deeper and deeper into her magical reserves, bringing a brighter light filled with more complex shades of turquoise with it. Spike cringed a tiny bit as the wind inside the library almost doubled causing a handful of flapping books go airborne. Just as the air around Spike was shimmering, the door slammed open.
Suddenly, Twilight smelled cupcakes and rainbows, and opened her eyes. “Hiya Twilight!” shouted a huge grin with a bundle of curly pink hair.
“Ah!” Twilight shrieked as she jerked back, releasing her magic into the top of her tree trunk. The bolt flew through the roof of her library as if there was nothing there, leaving a gaping, sizzling hole. She lay on her back, panting.
“What are you doing?” Pinkie sang as she bounced around the room. Behind her, Applejack walked in, followed by Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, who was carrying a basket. Applejack nudged over a seat cushion, and Rarity grabbed two with her magic, setting one down next to Fluttershy. Pinkie continued to bounce about as Fluttershy set the basket down beside her. Rainbow Dash was content as always to hover in orbit above everyone's heads.
“Whoa Twilight, just what were you trying to do to me?” Spiked asked. He trusted Twilight, but that hole looked like it would have quite uncomfortable to say the least, even with his tough hide and dragon scales.
“I’m sorry Spike,” Twilight said, as she hastily repaired the hole. She made a mental note to patch it properly later, which added yet another task to the mountain of magical skills she was working on. She started to grab books and papers with her magic to hastily straighten up. “I was only trying my hoof at transfiguration, atom rearranging. I want to be able to do more than mustaches, and when I made those wings for Rarity, it left me exhausted." She picked up a few ink bottles that had tumbled. Thankfully, they had their stoppers plugged up tight, and their contents remained undisturbed. "I guess I lost the spell when I was,” Twilight eyed Pinkie, “surprised. Sorry for the mess, I’ve been at this all week. I just have to get all these spells under my hooves before the next unplanned crisis shakes Equestria to it's very core!”
Her friends looked around the room. Books were scattered everywhere but the she parchment covered most writing surfaces. Cringing, they gave each other nervous glances. Maybe they waited too long to stop by, as that kind of talk was definitely reminiscent of the day Twilight was tardy.
Applejack looked Twilight over, and cringed. It definitely was like that crazy day. Twilight was still determined as ever, even almost a whole week later, and it showed. Despite her physical state, she was still sharp. Applejack didn’t fair nearly as well after her week straight of applebucking her orchid alone last year. It left her seeing all sorts things.
Twilight's mane was disheveled, her eyes had bags deep enough to fit a barrel of apples. The hair around her horn was slightly singed, probably due to her horn’s overuse. They were both headstrong mares, even if one was physical and the other mental. She turned her gaze upward and whistled, eyeing Twilight’s handiwork in the roof. “Remind me to never let you give me wings unless we know where Pinkie is. Are you feelin’ alright, Twi’?”
Twilight was also becoming aware of how tired she was, and could feel the week of work beginning to set in as she finally let herself relax. She glanced up too, and chuckled nervously, “Eh, I’ll fix it later.”
Spike gave Pinkie a disparaging look. She took no notice of him, too busy investigating if Twilight had acquired any more useful books under ‘E’.
He shook his head. “We’ve been working on this spell for most of the week. I’ve missed most of my naps, and today I’ve be since dawn!Dragons are never supposed to be awake before noon unless it’s voluntary! I could totally use a bite to eat, and maybe even a nap afterwards,” Spike complained.
Spike had protested waking up so early on a Saturday, but when Twilight was on to something she was stubborn and tenacious, and couldn't let it go. He was especially conflicted, since it turned out the weather ponies had done a great job of giving Ponyville one of its last clear and sunny summer days of the year. He sighed. He understood Twilight’s reasoning, but he only felt obliged to help because she was his oldest friend, and he was her number one assistant; otherwise, he’d rather be outside munching on a topaz and relaxing in the shade enjoying the warmth of Celestia’s sun.
Twilight, however, rolled her eyes at him. She turned to her new guests. “Anyways, hello girls. What brings you to the library? Especially you Rainbow." She glanced at a calendar near the door to her kitchen. "Especially on a Saturday”, Twilight added flatly, her surprise barely hidden.
Rarity stood up. “Well Twilight, we haven’t seen you all week, and we decided to give you a nice picnic-”
“Girls, I told you we have to-“
“-OR a nice lunch indoors, your choice. Maybe we eat and you catch your breath, we can take part in this... training you speak of, and maybe after we help you this afternoon we could enjoy the nice weather together. And relax,” Rarity added. As somepony used to working well into the night on hard deadlines, she could see Twilight was near the edge.
Twilight perked up at the offered assistance, but quickly huffed. “I don’t know girls, I just— I don’t want to ever be too helpless to help again.”
“Geez Twilight, you’re the Element of Magic. You don’t need to train. You’re probably already the strongest unicorn in all of—oomph!” Rainbow Dash felt Applejack give a not-so-gentle ribbing from below, and shot her a look. Rainbow Dash countered with an annoyed gaze and continued, “But anyways, yeah. We’re here to help you out, and to get you to unwind a bit. It's such a great day outside.”
“Thank you girls. Just, let me clear my table. Spike, go grab some plates and things,” instructed Twilight. She reached out and grabbed the last of the books she had been studying and started to set them aside as Spike made his way to the kitchen, still grumbling under his breath. As she lifted them, Rarity eyed a couple of the covers.
“Oh my, Twilight. I know I’m no mage, but some of these books look like heavy subjects. Some of these I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. I know I’ve at least skimmed through that red one you have. If I recall correctly, it was purely offensive magic, the stuff of ruffians. There were some awful spells in there,” she said, a hint of concern in her voice.
Twilight paused. “Where would you come across these?” she asked, hesitantly.
“I saw them here, in your library. I figured I should work on my magic too. I do so from time to time, to expand the number of items I can control at once." To emphasize her point, she snagged the plates from Spike as he entered the room, spun them around everyone's heads and gently placed them around the table. The girls ooed and awed. "Besides, it caught my eye as I passed it on the shelf,” Rarity said simply. Spike gently floated unnoticed back into the kitchen for more dishes, in awe of the lovely lady Rarity.
Twilight resumed shelving and put the red book with the rest. As she noticed Spike reenter, she magicked the dishes from Spike as he emerged from the kitchen. Rarity grabbed some as well, being the sole other unicorn. While Rarity could never match Twilight in strength, she possessed quite a bit more finesse and dexterity to her magic thanks to sewing most of her life.
“You're right, Rarity,” Twilight began as she set the table. “It’s a rare, old book, back from before Nightmare Moon and her Lunar Knights were trying to take over Equestria."
They set a place for all seven of them around her equestrian bust. Fluttershy moved next to Twilight carrying the basket in her mouth, and Twilight enveloped it with her magic to set the spread. They had brought daisy sandwiches (Twilight's favorite), a nice ruby from Rarity’s collection for Spike, and sassafras tea. Twilight’s stomach chose that opportunity to remind her of the hasty meal she dared call breakfast she and Spike had gulped down that morning, and felt a tiny bit bad for the baby dragon.
"It was originally transcribed only for her followers as a book full of secret weapons," Twilight continued, "but one of Celestia’s Solar Guard found a copy and brought it to her, putting her forces on an even playing field. However, since danger is no longer a daily thing in Equestria anymore, it has become more of a collector’s item. Almost no one would be want to be caught reading it, due to it's history concerning Nightmare Moon, especially after the banishment, and even more so now that Princess Luna has returned. That aspect of Equestria is far behind us and long forgotten." Twilight noticed Spike had entered the room carrying all the cups and silverware at once, and decided to help him out before he broke something. Spike was more than relieved to see a purple aura form around the dishes and feel them lift from his arms, and was appreciative of the girls being so helpful today.
"This one book in particular is on loan from the Princess Luna's personal collection herself, and I’ve neglected it all week until recently. It turns out the tome still has some tricks we could use. However, I've already breezed through it. It’s mostly simple stuff, and even the powerful spells I learned were just... just concentrated magical energy thrown like a… Like a ball or a frisbee.” Twilight finished setting all the cups and plates. She let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding.
Rarity lowered her last plate and raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press the subject anymore. Twilight was the Element of Magic, Celestia’s student, and at the very least the most gifted unicorn she’d ever encountered or heard about. If anything, Rarity figured there was nopony else better suited for responsibly studying an ancient book on magic.
They all took their places as she passed out the sandwiches, Rarity filled the cups, and everypony started eating. Rarity looked down at her sandwich, a tad disappointed. She was used to finer snacks and hoof-foods. If she were to have a sandwich, she’d prefer the small ones with the crust cut off. However, they were there for Twilight, so she kept her complaints to herself. She picked up her sandwich between her hooves and took a bite, being mindful to be polite to the non-unicorns in the room. She doubted they would notice, but from time to time she liked to be respectful. Besides, she thought, it is a pretty delicious sandwich. Delightfully simple.
“So Twilight, what awesome spells have you been working on?” asked Dash, crumbs spilling out her mouth. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Rarity cringe and her mumble something that sounded like ‘uncouth’. Dash ignored her.
Twilight washed down a bite with some tea. She float over her checklist, and got started. “Well, as I said earlier, I had already pretty much grasped the concept of most offensive spells, so I’ll refine those later. Again, the most powerful seem to be mostly throwing your magical weight around and that all comes from sheer magical reserves, which isn’t a problem for me. I don't expect to use them too much, actually. They're a little bit reckless in modern Equestria.'
“I’m currently working on defensive transfiguration. I long ago learned how to do small things like top hats and moustaches.” Spike looked up from his ruby and grinned. “However, I want to expand that. Remember when I gave Rarity wings? I could only do that once, and it tired me out immediately after. My goal is to increase how often I can do spells like that, and increase the variety. If I can figure it out, I could do other things like give horseshoes extra resistance or create exoskeletons.”
Pinkie looked up from her plate with crumbs all over her face. “Oooo, neat?”
Rarity practically fainted, and a whimper escaped her lips. Exoskeletons?
"What exactly are exoskele-whatnows?" Applejack had to ask.
“They’re what bugs have. Basically, they’re the outer shell of an insect. It’s like their armor,” Fluttershy responded, smiling at her own answer. She took a bite of her sandwich.
“And I bet that’s what makes them go crunch,” laughed Rainbow Dash. Immediately Fluttershy’s smiled flipped and she grimaced. She forced down the bit of sandwich she was eating, and then left the last few bits of her sandwich on her plate untouched.
“Exactly, Fluttershy. Armor. And yes, Rainbow, that’s what makes them 'go crunch'. To us, their exoskeletons is fragile and worthless. However, if I could scale it up give one to one of us, we’d be able to shrug off whatever a foe could throw at us. We’d be able to fight without getting hurt, and maybe even without becoming exhausted if I can get a good understanding of the spell.”
Applejack tapped her chin for a second. “That’s some pretty fancy stuff right there. Ah figure Ah could use a little of that on some of my horseshoes so they'd last a bit longer. Those orchards aren’t too kind on ‘em.”
“Yeah, or give my kicks some extra oomph to make the next changeling I meet see stars!” shouted Rainbow as she floated up from her seat and tossed some punches into the air. Pinkie Pie lit up and moved to pretend to take one of those punches. She fell over, producing a white flag and waving it in mock surrender.
“Not just horseshoes, girls, full suits of armor. And thanks to it being biological and organic, it would weigh less and be more intricate than armor that the Canterlot guards wear. However, I’m not so good with transfiguration,” Twilight added, finishing her sandwich. She sipped on some tea. “Ask Spike, and he’ll tell you just how little I know about it. But Pinkie's interruption gave me an idea.”
Pinkies head poked up from beneath the table and raised an eyebrow. “I did?”
“Yes, you did. If you remember how I got my cutie mark, Rainbow Dash’s rainboom gave me an incredible boost in my magical abilities. I was thinking, if you’re willing and able,” Twilight gave Dash a big smile, “Could you do another one while I try to get this spell under my hoof— er, horn?”
Rainbow Dash immediately lit up. “Alright Twilight!” she said as she did some loops around the room. “Now that’s some training I could do, no problem. Why didn’t you say so from the get go? Of course I’ll help!”
Rarity leaned forward to open her mouth to protest, but was interrupted. “Aw man Dashie, another rainboom! They’re sooo pretty,” Pinkie swooned.
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” commented Applejack.
“Now Twilight, you remember that small, little thing you mentioned where you turned your parents into potted plants and Spike into a full grown dragon. Are you sure it’s safe?” Rarity asked. Being a unicorn, even one without great magical strength, she could still sense the potential pitfalls this plan had. She had never experienced a power surge while designing or finding gems, but Rarity could still imagine how dangerous a powerful unicorn such as Twilight with runaway magic could be.
“That was a long time ago, Rarity. Twilight’s come a long way since then,” Spike defended.
Who knows, though? Rarity considered. Twilight maybe had since learned to handle herself. Spike was right. that was over a decade ago, and before she was taken under Celestia’s wing.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Spike. You’re right Rarity, but Spike is too. I was young, just a filly. I was inexperienced, and I admit had no control. Since then, I’ve read many books, received much instruction, and attended numerous lectures on magic. I’ve even had a few lessons from Celestia herself about this very subject. Even when under huge strain, like when I had to cradle that Ursa Minor all the way back to the Everfree forest from town, my magic didn't waver once. I feel one hundred percent confident everything will be alright. I may have trouble with transfiguration on an application level, but mechanically I understand the workings of the spell, through and through. I just need an extra boost, that’s all.”
As Twilight spoke, Rarity could see her determination. She knew that when Twilight had a solid idea, she wouldn’t let go until she truly tested it and mastered it. Besides, she felt Spike was right. None of their other friends protested either.
By that time, everyone had finished snack and tea, and Spike collected the dishware and stepped out to return them to the kitchen. Yawning deeply, he deposited them into the sink.
"Twilight, since your friends are here, is it alright if I take a nap, pleeease?" Spike closed his eyes and crossed in fingers.
From the common room, he heard Twilight's approval. He gleefully took his cue and plopped down in the first empty seat he could find in the kitchen at the table. Going up the steps to his basket was just too far after a weeks worth of Twilight on full blast.
“Thanks Spike, sleep well." Twilight turned to her friends. "Alright then; I need a new volunteer,” she declared.
After a beat, Fluttershy was the first to step up. “I’ll… I’ll go,” she offered meekly, but with determination.
More than one pony gasped
“Wow Fluttershy, that’s really brave of you, but you don’t really have to,” Twilight said, thoroughly impressed. While she wasn’t a pushover anymore, Fluttershy was once probably scared of her own shadow, may very well still be. In all fairness, she was probably frightened still by a number of things. Of those, Twilight was positive the idea of rearranging the makeup of the atoms in her skin would be most frightening to her out of all her friends.
“No, I’ll do it. I was helpless when we fought the changelings. I don’t think I’ll ever be as strong as anyone else, but I think if I’m protected, I’ll be less scared. Besides, I trust you Twilight,” Fluttershy added. And I still need to become a better pony, she thought.
She her eyes were stern, but her mouth quivered. Everypony eyes widened. Fluttershy had made leaps in personal progress since they all met her, but this was surprising. Even though her words were brave, she still shook a little from the anticipation.
Rarity, however, stepped forward.
“Fluttershy, that’s simply big of you to offer yourself up like that,” Rarity cut in. “You sure have come a long way from when we first met you, and I’m so proud of you. However, I must offer my hoof in your place. Twilight’s dealing with some potent spells, and even though my specialty is fashion and not magic itself, I think I’ll be better suited for transfiguration. Another benefit in being a unicorn is that I’ll be more 'in tune' with what Twilight is trying to do. With that I can at least provide a small bit of assistance, if not less resistance.”
Fluttershy looked down and let her hair fall over her face, clearly ambivalent to being overruled. She really wanted to help Twilight, but Rarity had a good point. She disliked being so ineffective against both Discord and the changelings, and a part of her was simmering at Rarity. It went away before she took notice. Finally, she said “Alright Rarity, whatever is most useful,” she said wistfully.
There was an audible sigh from the other four mares. Applejack walked over and placed a leg around Fluttershy. “Shucks Fluttershy, that was mighty upstanding of you. I’m proud of ya too, too. But if what Rare says is true, don’t feel bad. This is all about making us more efficient-like, so if Rarity’s better suited then it’s alright if she’s the one instead.”
“Okay,” whispered Fluttershy. She tilted her head up and let out a half-hearted smile. She had been more outgoing than ever since a certain minotaur's self-help seminar, but being denied by her friends still stung a little, even if the reason was legitimate. For Fluttershy, every personal victory counted, internal and external.
“I promise Fluttershy, after this day is over, we can hit the spa,“ Rarity offered. “I’ll upgrade our spa treatment today to the premium level, all on me. Besides, I may need a massage after whatever it is Twilight does to me. You wouldn’t want to be me, it would ruin your beautiful coat.” She knew both of them cherished their private alone time at the spa, and after this Fluttershy would need something to unwind from this social confrontation, no matter how small. Fluttershy looked up, smiled more broadly, and nodded.
Rainbow Dash perked up. “Finally, that’s settled! Let’s get this show on the road! I’m ready for a sonic rainboom, anypony else?” She puffed her chest out and did a few flips to prep her wings.
Pinkie Pie jumped up. “Wooo! Me-me-meee!” she sang.
With her plans back on schedule, Twilight took charge. She was determined to get this spell right. Her week since the conversation at Sugarcube corner was less than ideal, but with all of her friends back at her side she felt she had a proper bearing again. “Alright, everypony stand back. I’m going to start casting. Rarity, stand in the center of the room. Rainbow Dash, you can head out now and begin. I figure by the time you work up enough speed, I’ll be at my magical limit. When you pass over, it should be enough to get this exoskeleton buff to work. If not…” She looked at her friends’ pleading faces. “…I guess I can take a break.” Everyone cheered.
“A party break?” Pinkie asked, her eyes wide like the plates they just ate off of. "Everypony's been so busy; we haven't partied in for-EV-err! It’s been like a whole week, and all I've done is bake and sell cakes and write birthday cards!”
"But Pinkie, isn't that what you always do?" asked Fluttershy flatly.
Twilight sighed, but smiled. She was quite exhausted. “Yes, even a party break. Now I still believe we should be getting prepared for another incident, but… I guess it has been a long week.” It was true. She had been having study sessions from dawn until way past midnight. The week was taking its toll on her physical state, but thankfully not her magic. She should be on her last legs, but as long as she felt she could do it Twilight was determined to try. She took her position across from Rarity and looked at everyone. “Thanks for checking on me,” she added.
Applejack smiled. “Aw, no problem Sugarcube. Now take care of this so we can enjoy the rest of the day. I bet Winona is back home just itching to play outside.”
“Yes! Enough chit chat, let’s go!” shouted Rainbow Dash. Like a bolt of magic, she took off for one of the many windows she used as her own personal entrances to the library. Twilight was thankful she elected keep it open just in case of times like these. The ponies could hear her roaring through the sky and fading away.
“Now Twilight, please be careful. I’d rather not get my beautiful mane destroyed. I know I'm going to the spa later, but I recently had it styled,” Rarity said.
Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright Rarity, if I singe it I promise I’ll model whenever you want me to for the whole winter.”
Rarity smirked. “Including trips to the spa with Fluttershy and me?” she asked pointedly.
“Yes,” Twilight chuckled, “I'll do those too.”
Rarity nodded, and closed her eyes with a smile. “Deal.”
Twilight leaned forward, and began to cast. It didn’t take long for her to build back up an overglow over her horn. Scrap paper flew everywhere and books left off the shelf flapped wildly from the gusts. Rarity tried to stand as calmly as she could, but she couldn’t help but feel nervous. Her wings turned out alright, but she had the inclination that this was something else. All of her skin would turn into some sort of hard carbon shell. She tried not to imagine how much more painful a spell would be if it messed up what she already had instead of messing up adding a couple new appendages.
“Now Twilight, if you sense anything wrong feel free to let go it go.”
“No. Will. Not. Fail.” It took every ounce of spare strength for Twilight to utter those few words. The power surging from her horn was giving off incredible amounts of energy, and Twilight was turning that onto itself to drive the spell harder. She was sure she was going to do it this time, she was so sure of it, she could even feel it. She was so close with Spike; she knew this spell was going to work. Once she had gotten it down, casting wouldn't be a huge affair like this was. She just had to do it once. She could feel the energies in the air bending to her will, the spell forming exactly as she had read.
Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie watched in anticipation. Applejack stood on the edge of the room next to a still-yawning Spike (who had been awoken from his short nap), and had to hold onto her hat from the gust picking up from the buildup of energy. Fluttershy stood as close to Applejack as possible, her hair flailing in the wind, and Pinkie Pie kept inching closer and closer to Rarity, munching on some popcorn. She was convinced this was going to be the coolest thing Twilight had ever done. Well, second to when I used her as a magical turret. Or maybe third to bursting into flames out of anger.
High above them, Rainbow Dash was almost finished achieving the altitude she would need. Vertical sprints were the most tiring of all pegasi, so as she got close she began to round off her trajectory. She deduced she would also need to put some distance between herself and the library as she worked out her angle of attack. As she traveled farther and father away, she decided to reward herself after the boom with a quick flyover of Ponyville and the forest before returning. It really was a beautiful day, and the park was filled with ponies enjoying it. She even spotted Zecora emerging from the forest. Driven by her little treat to herself, and the ever-present prospect of being awesome, she kept on flying.
Eventually, Rainbow Dash felt she had enough room. She could see Ponyville way down below in front her. Before she began her descent, she took a look around. Rainbow Dash didn’t usually fly this up, since the only friend she had who could fly was basically afraid of heights.
Ha, a pegasus afraid of heights. She laughed; no matter how long she's known that shy pony, that joke never got old to her. I’ll get her up here one day, she’ll thank me for it.
She noticed that over Everfree some dark clouds forming. She knew that whichever pony that was stuck with cloud kicking duty was going to have a terrible time breaking up that storm tomorrow. I guess I could swing by later and see what I can do, she thought. Right after I’m done with Twilight. Those rookies would be lost without me.
Rainbow Dash did a few flips and rolls to stretch her wings. After she felt nice and loose, she locked on the library.
“Ok everypony, here we go.”
She threw herself into her vertical dive. Gravity dragged her down to the ground, while her wings kept pushing her along, faster and faster. She was dropping straight down over the outskirts of Ponyville. She would have to pull up eventually to achieve her proper angle.
Immediately she could feel exhilaration of flight take a hold of her. As she accelerated, her worries peeled away from her mind and flew behind her from the wind. Twilight’s drive, Fluttershy’s bravery and Rarity’s dramatic intervention all felt like a vivid dream. The argument at Sugarcube corner felt less and less real, and the only thing that mattered was this moment. She couldn't have asked for a better Saturday; helping her friends and performing a sonic rainboom.
The cone of the rainboom was forming around her. While it was an easy, peaceful day in Ponyville, Dash’s world was filled with roaring and whistling wind. She saw a perfect cloud in her descent, and did a few rolls to line herself up with it, sacrificing her speed. She may have hurt her flight path, but the refreshing mist and satisfyingly soft yet firm *thump* caused by slamming through the cloud was completely worth it.
As she refocused and realigned herself with her original decent, the cone started to build again. This was the hard part. As the molecules of air passed over her wings, she had to flow through them just right. It was almost an otherworldly experience feeling every little bit of air flow past her tight muscles and outstretched wings. This is what she lived for. Applejack was a strong mare built for brute force, but Rainbow Dash was a mare of speed.
The ground seemed to be desperate to catch her, but she was determined to not let that happen. She grew closer to her mark.
Eight…
Three…
One mile…
Just a few more seconds…
Finally, her mark. She pulled up with all her might, and saw the library ahead. She had less than a fraction of a heartbeat to think during this last half mile of her flight. She could feel the cone pushing onto her from all around, and the wall of sound in front of her with her hoof, and she could feel it splintering. Rainbow just had to keep pushing, keep trying. At the last second, thought crossed her mind.
Hehe, this is gonna be so loud. I bet Pinkie is gonna flip out.
...ssshhBOOOM!
Down below, those in the tree house instantly felt the sonic rainboom’s vibrations through every part of their bodies. Windows slammed open, and books were shaken from their shelves. This time the few ink bottles that fell, cracked open.
“G-g-g-guys, I’m sh-sh-sh-shaaaaking!” Pinkie said as she vibrated along the floor. Applejack had taken a defensive stance, trying to protect Fluttershy from the falling books. Fluttershy lay at her hooves with her own over her head. Rarity’s legs were shaking violently, but she remained in her place by giving herself a little magical nudge here and there.
Spike was knocked off his feet, and promptly was knocked out as a heavy tome landed on his head. Whatever book that was, Spike told himself he was going to send some of its pages to Celestia in spite, right after this true snooze he had been looking forward to.
Twilight’s eyes were shut tight, trying to hold on to the spell. Rarity was beginning to doubt this would ever work, when suddenly the room grew dim. Twilight’s horn generated another overglow, and her eyes snapped open. They were completely white, and spilling light into the room.
Rarity started mildly perspiring as she watched as all the energy condensed to the tip of Twilight’s horn. The purple energy was turning white as it condensed on the tip of her horn. Twilight looked like she was running a marathon with how damp her coat was. She dropped to her knees as she struggled to keep the spell going. As the last bit of glow from her horn reached the tip, it separated and floated gently into the air. When Twilight was finally released, she collapsed all the way down, and groggily watched her work. All she could think about was how this spell has to work, and how nice that spa was going to be.
Immediately the air stilled, the shaking stopped, and the room went dead quiet aside from the faint rumbling still echoing from the rainboom. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity all watched the ball of white light lazily flow through the air to Rarity.
“Oooo, it’s like a dandelion seed!” cooed Pinkie Pie. The small ball of light fluttered through the air. Even as she spoke, the light shuddered, as if the air from her breath was disturbing its flight.
As it neared Rarity, she gulped but stood tall. I’m ready, she thought. Twilight wouldn’t hurt me. Besides, I can detect barely any magic from this thing. I hope she didn’t tire herself out for naught.
The ball of light had gone in a large lazy arc, and closed in on Rarity, its flickering light casting long shadows around the darkened room. Rarity gazed into the light, inches from her face. It fluttered, flickered once, and then touched her horn. Rarity felt a small fizzle of energy shoot from her horn to her shoes, and... nothing else. She paused. A few moments went by, then ten seconds. She sighed. “Well, that was disappointing.”
Of all the ponies watching, Fluttershy looked the most disappointed and hurt. She was a tiny bit frustrated Rarity took her moment of bravery away for nothing, but she knew it was for the best. She took a step towards Rarity. “Gosh, I guess it wasn’t so bad after—“
“AH!” Rarity shouted in alarm, almost scaring herself with her own voice. She stumbled, but caught herself.
"What's wrong, Rare?" Applejack asked quickly.
It was short, almost to the point where she wasn't sure it was real, but she sure she had felt the worst possible pain. It had been everywhere, inside everything, and even though it had left as quickly as it came it made her skin itch.
“I... I think it was nothing or at least it's gone now. Twilight, what exactly did- Uh... Ah! Aaahh!” She screeched, and fell in a twitching mass. It was coming and going, with more frequency. Fluttershy froze. Applejack returned her hat to her head, her eyes wide. Pinkie stopped eating popcorn, her hoof inches away from her face. She dropped her hoofful. Nopony spoke.
A band of energy shot out, and connected Rarity to Twilight’s horn. Then, Rarity screamed again. Applejack flinched from the sound, but Fluttershy sprang into action. She approached Rarity, quickly scanning her body to see what was wrong. Rarity’s body began to shake even more violently. Her screams grew louder.
"Help me, Celstia, please someone make it stop!" Fluttershy frantically tried to see a cause. A black mass of goo began to seep from the base of her horn down to her hooves all over Rarity's skin. It slowly crept down her face, leaving her eyes exposed but falling into her mouth. As she still thrashed about, it crept over everything. She was trying to spit it out, and some got on Fluttershy’s front legs. She looked down. It looked like dried blood.
As Fluttershy stood over her, Twilight was slowly rising.
“Oh Celestia!” Twilight immediately ran to Rarity. Rarity’s convulsions were more even violent now, and she was flopping about, knocking piles of books over. The floor beneath her was full of pot marks from where her hooves had slammed into it. Flecks of the black mass had flaked off and were getting everywhere, and staining everything. Her screams were accompanied by liquid and dust came that came out every time she made a sound.
“Fluttershy, can't you tell what’s wrong?” Twilight asked frantically.
Fluttershy, whose voice was normally never much higher than a whisper, had to yell with everything she was willing to give to be heard. “I-I don’t know! She was fine at first, and there's nothing I can see wrong, and nothing happened but then- No." She turned to Twilight. Her voice became hard as stone. "You caused this. Twilight, you tell me what’s-“
CRACK. Fluttershy’s and Twilights pupils shrunk as they look each other, then they looked down at Rarity. She was completely covered in black. A thin line ran along her hind leg.
SSHRACK... The exoskeleton sheared apart and erupted, blowing the skeleton and blood onto Twilight and Fluttershy. Fluttershy blinked, and saw that Rarity’s rear hoof lay exposed. She gasped as she could see Rarity’s muscles still convulsing. Rarity’s scream become unlike anything Fluttershy had ever heard in all her life as a veterinarian.
“IT HURTS! IT HURTS! T-T-T-TWILIGHT STOP IT, IT HURTS SO MUCH!”
Fluttershy’s heart was pounding against her chest. She felt powerless to help. "Not again," she whispered to herself. Rarity’s words almost sounded feral.
Applejack finally snapped out of it and sprang into action. She ran over to Twilight and shoved her down and stared into her eyes. They were misting over. “What in Celestia’s name are you doing? Stop it! Stop it right now!” She shouted over Rarity.
“I-I-I don’t know what I’m doing! I have no control!” Twilight shut her eyes. Her horn was sputtering madly. “I’m trying to stop it, I am.” Tears were leaking. The screaming seemed to get impossibly louder.
Applejack raised a hoof. “Stop it now Twilight or I’m stopping it!”
“I can’t… I can’t Applejack!” Twilight was sobbing now.
“TWILIGHT PLEASE! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! SOMEPONY! FLUTTERSHY! SWEETIE BELLE!” Rarity was so loud Applejack couldn’t hear her. Applejack felt like she was running out of seconds by the heartbeat. She reared back and closed eyes, and struck Twilight on her horn as hard as she could.
Twilight screamed, blinded by pain and tears. She didn't know what hurt more, Applejack's blow to her horn or that she was responsible for all of this.
Applejack glanced over at Fluttershy and Rarity. Fluttershy was now holding Rarity down, but she could see her rear leg slowly disintegrating. As the exoskeleton cracked away, the exposed tissue was falling apart, breaking down to a mix of organic soup that looked like dark blood and splashing all over as if being expelled. Rarity’s rear leg was gone and her other hooves had already started to disappear.
Applejack turned back to Twilight again, looked at Rarity, and then left Twilight. Twilight laid there, blood trickling down from the base of her horn. She knew she was able to stand, but she couldn’t force herself to. Applejack had struck her down. Applejack. She could no longer see, everything hurt too much.
By the time Applejack walked across the room, everything was drenched. All of Twilight’s precious books were unreadable, and the timeless tomes from the Princess were lost. Some were even flying around in the wind. Fluttershy’s face was stricken with horror. Everything was so wrong. She had to deal with injured and frightened animals before, but this was beyond her. Her best friend was dying, bur all her training and caring for animals couldn't help her in the slightest.
When her legs were done, the exoskeleton peeled back, revealing her torso. Rarity’s screams became choked, and finally some of the noise quieted down. Without legs to thrash, about she merely shook her head back and forth while the spell ate her insides. Rarity’s eyes bulged and twisted, swiveling around to look every which way. Her voice finally gave completely as her rib cage was pulled away, exposing her innards. Then they too quickly disintegrated into the liquid. Fluttershy was sick, and Applejack pulled her hat over her eyes. Twilight laid still. Pinkie hadn’t moved, despite the blood that had darkened her coat.
There was nothing they could do but watch their friend be eaten alive. Soon, her neck was being consumed, then her jaw. The screams had stopped, and a grave silence fell over the tree house. Fluttershy was still looking down at her friend, wishing with all her might to Luna and Celestia that this was simply a mistake, one of her many nightmares, and that she’d wake up soon like she always does.
Applejack tried to pull Fluttershy away, but she shouted something incomprehensible and bucked her off. She wouldn't leave her friend. As only the top half of her skull remained, Fluttershy kneeled into the puddle of red, trying to get as close to her friend as she possible. Rarity’s eyes were wild as what was left of her was still processing the last of the pain. The sound had stopped, but the wind had picked up again around the edges of the room and was still rumbling and accelerating around the tree house. Finally, the spelled claimed one of her eyes. As the spell consumed it, it disintegrated into dust, liquid poured over the last bit of exposed muscle from her snout.
Fluttershy could barely see now, and realized tears had been streaming down her face. She tried to wipe them away.
Twilight tears were being ripped from her face by the wind, and her ears were still ringing. At her last moment, Rarity’s single eye rolled around and gazed up into hers from across the room. As the last part of Rarity gazed up at Twilight, her horn shattered. The last bit of Rarity vanished, leaving behind flakes that floated around the room like ash. The wind immediately died, with some of Rarity’s mist falling on the exposed pages of the books that were that were laid open by the storm. To Fluttershy, the end of spell brought with it a deafening silence. No pony moved.
Then, another sob emitted from Twilight. Just like that Applejack was broken out of her trance. She stormed back over to Twilight, hefted her up, and pinned her on the wall.
“What was that?” She yelled, her voice conjuring up all the emotion she had coursing through her heart at the moment. Her blood was pounding. “What, in Tartarus, was that, Twilight Sparkle? Where is Rarity?”
“I-I don’t kn-“
“What did you do?” Applejack’s volume caused Twilight to wince, as if it caused her physical pain.
“I don’t know, I don’t know! This is all wrong! I… I was only trying to make an exoskeleton.”
Applejack’s face tightened. “Ah don’t care about what you were tryin' to do! Ah have to know!”
“WHERE. IS. RARITY?”
Both Applejack and Twilight froze. Slowly, they turned to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy was shaking. She had never screamed this loud in her life. All the mares in their circle were special to her, and while Rainbow had the most history, Rarity was special. Rarity was her emotional rock. Their time together in the spas always filled her soul with ease when she had no other pony to talk to, which was far too often. Twilight may have brought them together and cracked her shell, but it was Rarity who broke it open.
Applejack paused, broken out of her trance, then put down Twilight and turned around to face Fluttershy. Twilight coughed, and continued to silently cry where she lay.
Applejack started towards Fluttershy and her tone instantly softened. She could sense there was something seriously wrong with her. Her tone was downright venomous, and despite not being the recipient of her rage, it hurt her too. “Whoa there sugarcube, now just calm down a bit. I lost my head, but we can work this out—”
“WHAT DID YOU DO WITH RARITY?” Fluttershy shouted again. She pushed past Applejack and stared at Twilight, nose to nose, wettening Twilight's with the remnants of her friend that had settled on her face. Twilight looked up into her eyes and gasped as she was pulled into a dark void filled with Fluttershy. The library and everypony else started to fall away, leaving her in a world with only her and Fluttershy. Her heart started pounding faster than it had all day. She felt like she had lost control of her own being, and was at the mercy of her captor.
Fluttershy was a mess. Her mane and belly were drenched in red, and the half of her face she left unhidden was splotched as well. It was twisted in a horrible manner, quivering from the turmoil writhing just under her skin. A line ran down under her eye, the only hint she had been weeping only a few minutes ago; the only hint to anypony that anger wasn't her only emotion . She was shaking, she was hurt, and she was rage incarnate.
Applejack tried to calm her, but made no attempts to approach. “Ok, let’s just calm down. Look, Ah’m sorry Twi', I lost my head but we have to do something. Fluttershy, please-“
“WHERE IS SHE TWILIGHT? WHERE IS SHE, YOU WITCH?” Applejack was speechless. Twilight flinched like she had been hit again. Fluttershy paused, then shut her eyes and slowly sunk to a knee.
Twilight let go of the breath she was holding, and felt the room zoom back into place. She tried to drink the air to refill her now freezing lungs. Fluttershy was still simmering, but she couldn’t stop crying. “Where’s my friend? Where’s my Rarity?” Her voice was fading. She fell all the way down, back into the ever dispersing puddle that used to be Rarity. Her coat was getting ruined. "Why, why, why, why Rarity?"
Applejack closed the distance and picked up her limp body. She hugged Fluttershy close, shushing her.
Fluttershy had never cried so hard in her life. Her friend was gone, in the worst way imaginable. She opened her eyes and tried to wipe her tears away again. Still feeling moisture on her face, she looked at her hoof quizzically. Finally, she realized she was wearing Rarity. Her voice had shrunk till it was barely audible. “Where is she? Rarity! Oh, Rarity…”
Fluttershy’s sobs brought Twilight back to reality. She quickly stood up and looked around. It looked like way more than one pony had been torn apart. The walls and the ceiling were covered in red splashes, but it didn’t compare to the floor or worse, Fluttershy’s face. Twilight's eyes widened.
Oh Celestia, she used her stare on me. As Twilight took it in, something snapped. I can’t be here I just… destroyed somepony. There was literally blood on her hooves. No, I murdered somepony. I murdered Rarity. I can’t fix this. I have to go. Twilight slowly backed to the door. She had to buy time to do... something, anything she could to make this go away. She had to escape.
Pinkie sill stat there, staring at the spot where Rarity’s head was. She still hadn't moved an inch, or made a sound.
Applejack looked up, and saw Twilight making for the exit. “Now you hold on there missy, you ain't goin' anywhere till you bring her back.”
Twilight didn’t stop, and only moved quicker. “B-b-but… I can’t. I don’t know how. I don’t know!”
Applejack stood up, and started cautiously walking towards Twilight. “Now, don’t do anything silly. You have to fix this. You just have to. Ah know you can.”
Twilight paused. She had reached the door. She looked from Applejack slowly advancing, to Fluttershy still quietly screaming. Her eyes landed on poor Pinkie Pie, still staring that the spot where Rarity had been just a few minutes ago, still frozen in place with a half grin on her face, as if waiting for a punchline. Twilight knew she had to leave; the crime she committed was unspeakable.
No, I can’t stay. How could my friends ever forgive me? Worse, how could Celestia ever forgive me? Her mentor would at the very least imprison her for life; at the worst banish her till everypony she knew was long gone before ending her. The longer Twilight played out her options, the more she realized she had none. She no longer had a home, her friends, a family, a teacher, or anything she could call her life. In one mistake, she had destroyed all she had worked for since being sent to Ponyville, since the day she had gotten her cutie mark. She had obliterated her past life in one afternoon, along with one of the best of the few friends she had.
Her mind was already thinking about how to leave. She’d run outside to lure her friends away, teleport upstairs to grab a few things, then start heading away from Ponyville and Canterlot till there was no more land in Equestria to put between her and this spot. A list, I need a list! I’ll need some maps, some money, some—
Suddenly Rainbow Dash slammed the door opened behind her, and Twilight jumped. "Oh man, I hope it worked. I nearly threw a wing out making the boom that loud! So Rarity, how do you look—?"
Rainbow had only a few moments to see everything covered in red, the white pieces of what she only guess was a horn, and Twilight’s pinprick eyes staring at her in panic, waiting for her move. "What the? What is all this? Rainbow took a shaky step into the room. “T-Twilight…? Where’s—“
“Grab her Rainbow!” shouted Applejack.
"No!" Twilight shouted. A quick flash and she was outside the library and on the street running for her freedom.
“Go get her Rainbow!” Applejack shouted.
“Applejack, you gotta tell me. Where’s Rarity?” Rainbow pleaded. The strange substance was slowly spreading across the floor, and she couldn’t ignore the stench.
Applejack put her hooves on Rainbow Dash’s shoulders, and looked her square in the eyes. “Ah have to take care of Fluttershy and Pinkie. Make Twilight tell you when you get her, she knows. Go. Get. Her. Now.”
Applejack's voice sent shivers down Rainbow’s back. She took a step back, seeing the mix of disgust and horror in Applejack’s eyes. It terrified her. She turned and took off, trying to catch a glimpse of the purple unicorn from a high altitude. She knew that look. She had only seen that look on one other pony once before.
Twilight ran through the street, the world a blur around her. She was completely outside her comfort zone, completely outside her ability to think logically. Ponies jumped out of her way, and shouts of concern and annoyance arose behind her as they saw the splotches of blood and grime on her coat. As she fled for what she felt was her life, all she could think was that she needed to get away as fast as possible. Also, she felt like she was was almost out of magic.
Finally, a spark in the darkness. “A train!” she shouted to herself as she ran. Up ahead was Mane Street. She pulled a hard right, throwing a couple of carts off course. Looking down the street, she could see the station in the distance at the other side. Gearing up, she put her all into her hooves.
Rainbow dropped out the sky and tackled Twilight mid-gallop. Immediately all the air was knocked out of her, and her vision became a whirlwind of colors. The two ponies tumbled over and over in the street, sending Twilight way off course.
Just as they were about to roll into building, Rainbow saw Twilight’s horn flare, heard a crack, and shortly crashed into a storefront, alone. The pain from smashing through the glass stung, but only sharpened Rainbow’s senses. Looking out the freshly broken window, she could see Twilight wheezing and desperately trying to straightening herself and start running down the street again. After a couple of quick apologies, Dash jumped through the window back out onto the street and continued pursuit.
What is Rainbow doing? Doesn't she know I have to get away? Twilight was terrified now. All hope of explaining to her friends was gone now that Applejack had let loose Rainbow on her. She felt more alone than her days in Canterlot.
Twilight pumped her legs are hard as she could. She glanced behind, just in time to see blue hooves reaching down to grab her. Another flash, and she jumped ahead. Rainbow Dash rolled where Twilight had just been, caught a hoofful of solid ground, then launched herself back into the air in smooth motion, her momentum unbroken.
"Come on Twilight, stop messing around! Come back with me me! I can help you!" Rainbow Dash was getting frustrated. She knew she was the fastest flyer in Equestria and could beat anypony in a race, but Twilight could teleport anytime whenever she willed it. If this chase continued as it was, losing Twilight was an inevitability.
“Twilight, wait!” Rainbow called. She landed in the street, skidding to a stop.
Twilight slowed and looked over her shoulder. Seeing Dash stopped in the street, she paused and whipped around to face her.
Rainbow Dash cringed. Twilight had looked tired when they stopped by, but now she looked almost feral. Her eyes and her nose had been running unchecked down her face. Her mane was matted, with splotches of red clumping strands together which seemed to originate near her horn. Her coat fared no better, with splotches of sweat all over. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, but her irises barely showed. She was shuddering and heaving, clearly fighting the flight half of her fight or flight response. Rainbow could see she was losing.
By now, ponies had come out of their shops to get a look at the commotion. The murmuring Dash heard wasn't anything she wanted to hear, and she sincerely hoped Twilight wasn't paying attention.
Rainbow began to slowly approach Twilight. “Look Twilight, I don’t know what happened back there, and yeah it looks pretty bad, but we can make it through this.”
Twilight shuddered. “No Rainbow Dash," she choked out between breaths, "there’s no going back. I can't go back. I have... stained my hooves.” She started to cry again. She sat on her haunches. “Dash, I... I murdered her....”
Rainbow Dash's heart stopped. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck. Murdered? Just the sound of that word was so archaic and alien. Searching her memories, Dash couldn't even find a synonym. She was no child; The Daring Doo novels she read always had had the bad guys try to capture the titular hero, and usually ended up with them suffering minor injury by being thrown overboard or caught in a trap, but that was simply fantasy. No pony ever permanently hurt anypony in real life. Not intentionally. Not ever. Shaking her head, she took another step.
“I don't know what you mean. Look Twi', just calm down. We can talk this out. I'm sure you have an explanation. We... We can ask Celestia for help.”
Rainbow Dash stepped on a landmine. The pain Twilight’s heart felt doubled at the mention of her mentor. Nightmare Moon had been banished because she was an immortal alicorn, unable to die. She had to be purged with the Elements of Harmony. Twilight was only a simple unicorn. She shuddered again at the thought of Celestia ever finding out what happened today. She had trespassed to a place nopony should ever tread, a place she was only privy to due to her constant proximity to a living relic all her life.
Twilight wiped her eyes. The tears had never stopped. “I’m so sorry, Rainbow.” Twilight flared her horn and, with a crack, disappeared. Rainbow immediately launched herself into the air to see where she could’ve gone, but she couldn’t see any purple pony fleeing the scene. After some time, Rainbow slowly lowered herself to the ground, and began her slow walk back to the tree house, her head hanging low.
Twilight materialized in the train station with heavy shivers, as if she had been doused with ice water. Coughing, she rose from the platform and looked around. She was surrounded by ponies going about their business. She needed to find a train to take her as far away from Canterlot as possible. As she paused to catch her breath and collect her thoughts, she noticed the ponies closest to her had stopped and stared. Looking around, she saw that there was a semi circle of ponies staring at her. Soon, she could hear whispers of people asking "Isn't she that young librarian?" Even worse, "Isn't that Celestia's personal protege?" Remembering herself, Twilight realized she was still covered in red. While the common pony wasn't familiar with the idea of murder, it was only a matter of time till someone realized something was gravely wrong.
Suddenly, there was a scream, and all the ponies who could see her face immediately gasped and shied away. Twilight tried to ignore them, and tried to look over the crowd for someone to disappear to. Spotting a train at rest on the tracks, she teleported to the last car. She found herself in a seemingly empty train car. She started for the nearest compartment to find a suitable hiding place. As she reached for the door handle, she heard a familiar voice behind her.
“Hey Twilight, is that you? Yeah, I remember that cutie mark. I haven’t seen you in ages! I thought that was you outside, what’s going on?” The voice got closer. “I’m headed... to...”
Twilight slowly turned, and she could finally identify the mare that recognized her. She was mint green, with a lyre cutie mark.
The mare speaking had trailed off and froze in place. If she hadn't seen her cutie mark, she would have never believed the face of the red covered purple mare that stared at her was Ponyville's quirky librarian. She caught a whiff of of Twilight and realized exactly what she was covered in.
“Whoa. Twi… Twilight?”
A crack, and Twilight was gone.
Lyra stared at where her old friend had been. Eventually, she flung open the compartment door and looked out into the crowd on the platform, looking for any sign of Twilight. All she saw was a bunch of wide-eyed Ponyvillans.
She sat down, and tried to run through her thoughts as to why Twilight could appear for a second covered in what looked like blood, and then leave just as quickly. In all the years she had known of Twilight, nothing would explain what she just saw. And she had looked so frightened...
“Er… Sorry about the unfortunate event folks, but it seems all is well. All aboard to Canterlot!” A nervous conductor shouted.
Lyra jumped up, and re-entered the main hallway. She reached out with her horn and lifted her bags. She paused, looking at the spot one more time, then began to make her way back to her compartment. As concerned as she was for Twilight, she had a journey to make.
At the far edge of the town, Twilight materialized, and flopped to the ground to catch her breath. She had stretched the limits of her magic today, but she still wasn’t done. She looked back towards Ponyville. In the distance, she could see Rainbow Dash flying in circles around the town. Twilight seized up, realizing she could still be spotted. She reached deep within herself, dipping into some of the very last of her magical reserves for one final jump.
Poof..
This time when she materialized, she collapsed. Her magic was spent, and all she wanted to do is rest. She couldn’t keep her heart still, even as she lay there. She felt like she still needed to get up, and get away. She couldn't rest yet.
Twilight rolled on her back and looked up, to take in her surroundings. At least I'm covered. The thick canopy would protect her from Rainbow’s searching eyes. Looking towards Ponyville, she could barely see anything through the trees. Feeling at least a little safe, Twilight let herself close her eyes. She dreamed, and it was most unpleasant.
Applejack felt like she was piecing together a smashed vase, water included. Fluttershy was a wreck, still lying in the pool of blood. Pinkie had moved, but was flipping through the bloodied spell books and talking to herself. She pushed the one she was looking through on the floor as if by accident, then moved to another one. Applejack approached her.
“Pinkie.”
Flip, flip, flip.
“Pinkie….”
Flip flip flip.
Applejack laid a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. “Pinkie Pie.”
Flip, flip, rrrip. Pinkie’s sticky hoof had caught on a page and pulled it free. She held it up to her face, inspecting it for something.
From where she stood, Applejack could tell she wasn’t actually reading the page. She put a foreleg up to Pinkie’s and lowered it. She kept her voice even and quiet, but terse. “Pinkie Pie, snap out of it! We need to clean up ourselves and leave. We can’t stay here.”
Pinkie ice blue eyes glided over to Applejack’s, and gave her a thin smiled. “Sorry AJ, we can’t go yet. I’m playing hide-and-go-seek with Rarity. She’s such a good hider, I can’t find her anywhere.”
Applejack jumped back at this, her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach. She stared wordlessly as Pinkie calmly put the page down, and started flipping through the book again
Flip. Flip. Flip.
Discouraged, Applejack looked back over at Fluttershy, who had grown silent. In the corner she saw Spike laying on his side, still out cold. Applejack could only hope he missed the worst of it. She needed to take charge and get her friends out of this library.
Applejack heard a click, and looked up to see Rainbow entering a window. “I lost her Applejack, I’m sorry. I chased her down Mane Street. She was teleporting all over the place, and I couldn’t catch her, and... eventually I lost track of her.” She landed next to her, taking care to keep her hooves out of red pool.
“That’s alright, we’ll find her later. Now we need to get these three outta here.”
Rainbow glanced over at Fluttershy and Pinkie. “What’s the plan?”
“They ain’t goin’, so we’ll just have to throw ‘em on our backs. Ah’ll grab Pinkie Pie and you grab Fluttershy. We'll come back for Spike. We’ll wash them off a bit in the bathroom and they should snap out of it. Normally Ah’d wait to let them pull together, but,” she gestured around the room with her hoof, “they can’t look at this any longer. Ah can't look at this any longer. While they’re cleanin’, Ah’m goin to find Sweetie Belle and tell her she’s staying with me. Ah’ll meet y’all back here, and then we’ll go from there.”
There was a long pause. Rainbow stood there. “Applejack, what is this?”
Applejack looked Rainbow square in the eyes and whispered, “This is Rarity. All this mess is what Twilight done to Rarity.”
“W-w-w-what? Stop kidding AJ, that’s really terrible,” Rainbow chuckled nervously. Applejack was silent. After a second of more looking around, Rainbow's face contorted into a horrible grimace, and she flew to the kitchen making retching sounds. Applejack could hear that Rainbow finally understood what she meant, or at least as much as she understood herself. She lowered her head, and pulled her hat down for a moment of silence. Eventually, she turned to Pinkie Pie.
“Pinkie, you may be a lil’ sore at me after this,” Applejack sighed, “but Ah promise it’s for your own good.” Applejack reared up, and tackled Pinkie. Immediately, she screamed.
“Let me go, let me go AJ! She’s here, I know it! Let me go, I have to find her!”
Applejack hooked her front legs around hers from the back, and slowly made her way upstairs.
Rainbow Dash wiped her mouth as she walked back in, and watched silence as Applejack dragged Pinkie up the stairs. She turned to Fluttershy, and gulped. She slowly hovered over to her. “Fluttershy, we need to get you cleaned up. We have to leave, and-“
“I’ll go, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy shakily raised her self out of the pool. Her belly had been completely soaked, and ripped dripped onto the floor. She looked down and caught her reflection looking back. She shut her eyes and took a few breaths, before putting one quivering foot towards the stairs. After two more steps, she collapsed.
Rainbow Dash zoomed over to her. “Fluttershy! Are your hurt?”
“N-no, I just… I can’t do this myself.” Here eyes were shut, but still leaking. “Pl-please, help me.”
Rainbow bit her lip, then gingerly embraced Fluttershy from behind the back. A small amount of red smeared on her coat. She could feel Fluttershy’s heart still beating quickly, and the sobs that racked her body now shook hers too. This was almost too much for Rainbow; these type of emotions were foreign to Dash, and she wanted it to stay that way.
A few flaps and Rainbow had brought Fluttershy to the second floor. Inside Twilight’s room, they could still hear Pinkie crying out.
“Applejack, leave me alone! I have to find her! I swear she’s downstairs! Pinkie swear, Pinkie swear!” She thrashed, knocking over anything within reach.
Applejack eyed Rainbow coming up the stairs. “Rainbow, help me with this crazy mare,” she called out.
Rainbow gingerly sat Fluttershy down, and slowly approached the pair. Her best friend looked like a complete mess. This was too much for Rainbow Dash. She wanted to fly away, pull several G’s and stop thinking about anything.
After some thought, she flew past them into Twilight’s bathroom, and found what was she was looking for. She tipped over the waste bin, and filled it with cold water from the sink. She flew over to the pair. As she got ready, Applejack stepped away from Pinkie, who paused, confused, from suddenly being released. Pinkie then got a face full of water. Immediately she stopped struggling.
There was silence again in the library. Pinkie simply sat on her haunches looking at her feet. He mane was drooping, covering her face. Rainbow’s stomach lurched; the way Pinkie looked now reminded her of when she found Pinkie sulking the day of her surprise birthday party. That was a side of Pinkie she never wanted to see again.
Applejack was panting. “So… Are you gonna… act right, Pinkie?”
Pinkie didn’t look up, her face half hidden by her mane. “I’m sorry, Applejack.”
Silence again. Applejack sighed and headed to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Rainbow set the bucket down, then walked over to Pinkie, and extended a hoof. Pinkie slowly raised her head, her mane parting and letting a solitary eye stare into Rainbow’s. Rainbow shuddered as the ice blue orb pierced her; it felt like only half of her friend was there.
As she lost herself in a gaze, she heard the door open again and Applejack stepped out with a clean coat. Rainbow Dash blinked, confused as to how fast that was. Wait, how long have I been sitting here? After a beat, Pinkie flashed a smiled and grabbed Dash's still extended hoof and helped herself off the floor. She then walked herself to the bathtub, shut the door, and locked it with a click. Dash heard water begin to run.
As the tub began to fill, Pinkie looked at herself in the mirror, and let out a huge gasp. Immediately there was a banging at the door. “You alright in there Pink?”
“Y-yes AJ, I’m fine,” Pinkie called back. She turned back to the mirror, and felt ill. She was covered in red from mane to tail. The wake up splash she had received had done little to clear away the blood as it had started to cake, and she could clearly see where it had caked on her face and her mane. She had found Rarity. She chuckled, and immediately was disgusted by herself.
Outside, Rainbow floated over to Fluttershy and picked her up from where she left her. She gingerly sat her on the bed, and landed beside her, making a point to not touch her coat anymore than she had to.
“R-Rainbow Dash, c-could you t-turn me towards the window?” Fluttershy asked.
“Uh, sure thing Fluttershy.” Rainbow softly spun her around to the window; she could feel her trembling.
Outside Celestia’s sun was just about to begin its decent. The afternoon was just beginning. Rainbow Dash felt dizzy, wondering just how much time had passed. Ponies were out enjoying the sun, a few making their way to the park and others to nice outdoor restaurants. She could see birds flying around outside, tweeting away happily. It felt so surreal looking out and seeing everypony so calm and happy with what had transpired. Rainbow Dash hoped they would cheer Fluttershy up.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy released a sigh she was holding as she melted into the bed. She breathed deep, taking in the view. Outside it was nice and relaxing. It kept her mind calm, and off of that Luna-forsaken unicorn, Twilight Sparkle.
Applejack turned from listening to the bathroom door. “Alright, y’all two stay here while Ah go get Sweetie Belle.” Rainbow Dash could feel Fluttershy tense up beside her. “Ah figure she’ll be better off living with me, since Ah have Applebloom and their clubhouse is on my farm. If we’re lucky, Applebloom will keep her from askin' too many questions. We have to send word to her parents. Rainbow, you’re in charge till I get back from taking her to the farm.”
There were no objections. Nopony else would be able to handle Sweetie Belle. Rarity’s little sister hadn’t crossed either mare’s mind. Fluttershy was secretly glad she wouldn’t be taking care of her. She would’ve tried if asked, but she didn’t need a daily reminder of today, or of her friend.
“Hold on, just what are you going to tell her, AJ? She’ll freak if you tell her what happened,” said Rainbow.
Applejack tilted her hat. “Well, what’s wrong with the truth? Ah’m not gonna tell her a story.”
Fluttershy's face flashed anger, but she was turned away from the arguing mares. No one noticed.
“You can’t do that, AJ! It will crush her! This isn’t a joke, she’s just a filly,” Rainbow protested. She knew it wasn't Applejack's nature to be dishonest, even with minor things, but she figured she’d have more tact than that.
Applejacke made for the door. She paused when she made it to the frame. "Fine, Ah'll let her parents tell her. In the meantime, Ah'm only going to say Rarity's gone, or something."
"Applejack, I think if you mention she was called to Canterlot, you'll be alright," Fluttershy added quietly.
The mare stood in silence. Eventually, she tilted her hat, and stepped out.
Rainbow Dash sighed. There's no way a young filly would be able to handle what happened today. She wasn't so sure she'd be able to. Then, she cringed cringed.
“Heh, oh yeah, Spike.”
Fluttershy remained silent, and the bedroom remained that way for a few minutes.
Dash spoke up. “That poor dragon is going to be so lost without Twilight. We need to find her. Fluttershy, she was terrified when I saw her. I’ve never seen anypony so scared in my life. She’s probably helplessly panicking somewhere thinking that Celestia will throw the sun at her at any second.”
Fluttershy grumbled something disdainful about a certain missing unicorn.
“Hey Shy, what did you say? You gotta speak up.”
A click, and Pinkie stepped out of the bathroom. Rainbow was relieved to have someone else to talk to. “Oh hey, Pinkie Pie. Are you done?”
Pinkie Pie walked to the middle of the room, and simply stared. Rainbow followed her gaze, and found it pierced an empty spot on the wall. Pinkie had dried her hair and it resumed its usual curly shape, but Rainbow’s thoughts kept drifting to how it was after she had been doused. Those tight curls pulled straight made her feathers shake.
Fluttershy rose and eased herself off the bed. “Do you need any more help, Fluttershy?” asked Rainbow. Fluttershy walked into the bathroom and shut the door. “Okay… what was that?”
Pinkie Pie took that as a cue and moved to bed, filling the spot where Fluttershy was. Rainbow looked Pinkie over as she sat felt the pony sit down right next to her, but Pinkie was just staring outside. She raised a forehoof and placed it around her friend, and Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously.
After a while, Pinkie asked, “Rarity isn’t coming back, is she Dashie?”
This was not a conversation Dash was ready to have, but she tried to put a lid on her emotions and be there for her friend. “No Pinkie Pie, at least not anytime soon. I think she may be gone for a long time.”
Pinkie Pie sniffed. A tear rolled down her cheek. “And Twilight?”
Instantly Rainbow Dash felt several tugs in her heart in all directions. She felt like her body had become a compas, but with the arrow spinning in all directions. She had been distracted by the scene downstairs, but instantly she knew what she should be doing, the hardest tug being very clear. She had to find Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow stood up and walked off the bed. Pinkie whipped her head around to see if Rainbow had disappeared, and whimpered.
Rainbow Dash started to pace back and forth. She had let Twilight go instead of tracking her down letting her know she was there for her. She was out there alone and ashamed, and afraid. Rainbow knew her friend would be going completely out of her mind right now, and yet she had given up her chase so easily.
“I’m going to find her, Pinkie. Ugh," Rwinbow Dash facehoofed, "I can’t believe I left her out there! I’m going to find her, Pinkie and bring her back and we are all going to work this out. I have to go right now.“ The more she spoke, the more Rainbow Dash was sure.
Pinkie made a small gasp, and was instantly off the bed and at Rainbow’s hooves. “But Dashie! You can’t leave! W-we need you!”
Rainbow slowly slid her off her leg. “Pinkie, you guys have each other. You’ll be alright. Twilight's all alone. She probably thinks that, at any moment, Celestia herself will show up and send her to the moon or something.”
“What… What about the weather ponies, huh? You can’t leave them without notice!”
“They have enough ponies to cover for me. They’ll hate me for it, but I have to go, Pinkie.”
“But you have to watch over Tank!”
“Fluttershy can watch over him.” She walked to the window.
“But what about my new cupcake recipes?”
“Applejack can taste them.” Rainbow Dash unhooked the latch.
“But what about our pranking? No one else is as good as you.”
“Do them by yourself, Pinkie!" Dash said curtly.
Pinkie shrank into herself from this.
Rainbow Dash sighed, and collected herself. “Twilight needs me and I’m going to find her and that’s that!” She pushed open the window.
Pinkie wracked her mind for a suitable excuse, but found none. The rainbow mare had always been easy going, and she had little responsibilities to tie her to Ponyville. “But Dash…" she pleaded, "I need you. Please, don’t go.”
That made her pause. Rainbow Dashed closed her eyes. She hated it when emotions got rubbed bare. “Pinkie Pie. I’m going to find Twilight. I’m your friend, but she’s our friend too. She needs help, and I’m going to give it to her. I'm not coming back ‘till I find her.” She jumped to the window sill. She thought about looking back, but took off before she did.
Pinkie pie slumped to the ground.
The bathroom door opened, and Fluttershy stepped out. She had managed to to get most of the blood off, but her coat still had a subtle tint of red in the direct light. She noticed the open window. Her eyes narrowed sharply.
“Did Rainbow Dash leave?” she hissed.
Pinkie whimpered.
“Let’s go, Pinkie Pie.”
She didn’t move.
Fluttershy walked around till she was in Pinkie’s line of sight. “I said get up.”
Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened, and she looked up into Fluttershy’s eyes in disbelief. They were uncharacteristically hard. Fluttershy’s usually light voice had found an edge, and sounded like two stones being ground together. “Is this... New Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy laughed. “Get up, and let’s go.” Fluttershy turned and walked out of the room. Downstairs, she passed Spike on the way to the door, still unconscious. She stopped to consider her options, but still decided to get him. She kneeled down, and used her wings to slide Spike onto her back. Pinkie looked on from the top of the stairs.
“I’m going home. Are you coming or not?"
No answer.
"Goodbye Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie didn’t move an inch.
Applejack didn’t know where to begin to look for Sweetie Belle. She figured she would be with the other Crusaders, but their crusading could take them anywhere, especially on such nice day over the weekend… or what had started as a nice day.
Applejack, accustomed to working outside, could feel that the temperature had dropped some. It wouldn’t prevent anyone from enjoying the day, but it was noticeable nonetheless. Eventually she had settled on starting at the clubhouse.
As she had walked, she felt like everypony had eyes on her. She wasn’t at fault for what happened to Rarity, but she couldn’t help but feel responsible, like she was carrying a huge secret. Every single pair of eyes that passed over her felt like an accusatory glare despite the warmness of any greetings she received. The attention was distracting her from spinning a story to Sweetie Belle, and was serving to only increase the already relentlessly horrific day. As she was deep in thought, a passing mare waved hello and spoke.
“Hello Applejack, lovely day huh?” The mare was a soft cream color, with pink and blue mane in tight curls. Applejack paused for a moment trying to remember, and a glance at the mare’s candy cutie mark gave her just what she needed.
“Hey Bon Bon. Sure is.”
iBon Bon. Applejack had seen her from time to time, and her pseudo-rivalry had Pinkie Pie and the Cakes referring to her occasionally. Indirectly, of course. Applejack knew little of her, other than she worked at a sweet shop and was always seen playing straight-mare to a mint-green pony, who surprisingly wasn’t stuck to Bon Bon’s hip at the moment. Applejack didn’t personally know Bon Bon too well, but could always appreciate a fellow level-headed and hard-working citizen. Unfortunately, she was busy.
“How’s the start of apple bucking season? Did you have a good yield this year?” asked Bon Bon innocently.
Applejack had to get away. She was on a mission, and as well meaning a she was, Bon Bon was slowing her down. “It’s great.” She kept her answers short, hoping Bon Bon would pick up on her rush.
"Did you hear? It sonds like Celestia's star pupil and Ponyville's finest weatherpony had a tussle on Mane Street earlier. What was that all about? Aren't they your close friends?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to go, it’s an emergency. I’ll catch you later." And before Bon Bon could also say anything, Applejack had galloped off. Bon Bon shrugged, and went on her way to the train station.
Looking at Celestia’s sun, Applejack noticed it was just starting its decent. “It’s still the beginning of the afternoon, and it already feels like today has lasted forever,” she remarked to herself. She made her way for Sweet Apple Acres. “Ah guess the girls would still be over near the clubhouse. This is not my cup of cider, but Ah figure Ah’m the best one to deal with this. Rainbow wouldn’t be delicate, Pinkie is shaken up, and Fluttershy...”
She stopped in her tracks. Pinkie had seized up, but Fluttershy had been a complete mess. What was strange though, was when she left, she had been serene, almost too much. AJ hated leaving her like that, but she could only hope Rainbow Dash got a hold of the situation. Being generally meek, and due to her attachment to Rarity, Applejack could only imagine what was going on inside Fluttershy’s head, as she tried to pick up the pieces. “Shucks, Ah’m trying to pick up the pieces too.”
Applejack figured the girls would be at the treehouse, and that’s exactly where she found them.
“C’mon girls, Cutie Mark Crusaders high divers wasn’t a complete success, but maybe synchronized swimming will do the trick!” Applejack could hear Applebloom trying to rally the troops.
“No offense Applebloom, but I’m cold, and my wings are wet. I just want to bask in the sun. I’d rather try Cutie Mark Crusaders sun tanning company instead.”
“Heh, or Cutie Mark Crusaders beach volleyballers,” suggested Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo and Applebloom rolled their eyes. “What beach would we use?” asked Applebloom.
Outside Applejack readied herself. “Ahem, girls? Ah need to have a word with y’all.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry Applejack! I promise I’ll return the...” Applebloom’s sentence trailed off as she read Applejack’s face and realized that the set of tools she had lost earlier was not on her mind.
“You and me are gonna have a little private chat later, but Ah’m here on much more important business. Uh, Sweetie Belle? Step aside with me, would you?” Sweetie Belle’s ears perked up in attention. Applejack swallowed hard, then began.
Twilight Sparkle woke up in the dirt. Everything burned, and her forehead felt numb. The air was cool, and as she slowly opened her eyes, she could see that night had fallen over the forest.
She slowly raised herself, and took stock of her situation. Everything was still attached, and she was lucky that she had collapsed at the edge of the forest, where the bigger things inside rarely tread.
She slowly walked out of the tree line, and could see all of Ponyville before her, lit gently with lights. Slowly rising, Luna’s moon illuminated the immediate area with a soft glow.
Luna, Twilight thought. Twilight’s transgression that afternoon was beyond forgiveness. The devastation she would cause her friends would forever darken their hearts, hers included. She could never face them again, for she feared their reaction almost as much as she feared Celestia's.
Celestia. Twilight had done her best not to think of her mentor, but now that her heart wasn’t beating a mile a minute, thoughts of the Goddess filled her mind. Rainbow Dash had tried to talk her out of running, but she didn’t understand. She had never studied pony history. Her friend didn’t know the weight of her sin. Twilight wondered if Dash had even figured out what she did to Rarity.
Rarity. A flash of skin floating away and a terrible shriek struck Twilight’s mind, and suddenly she was sick.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get that out of my head.” She spit the remnants of her sick out her mouth. “I don’t deserve to, at least.”
As she glanced over at the town. The closest structure to Twilight was was Fluttershy’s cottage, and she could tell the lights were on. While still a ways off, Fluttershy owned the closest building to the forest so she could help any wayward animal too timid to to venture all the way into Ponyville. Or, so she said; Twilight believed that before she met Fluttershy, it was also because she was too timid to venture into Ponyville herself, except when necessary.
Twilight sighed. “Well that’s good: Fluttershy’s home”.
She longed to go to her friends, and tell them that she wass sorry. They probably believed that was the best course of action, and they should all go to Celestia and ask for forgiveness. Unfortunately, Twilight knew the truth. Celestia would simply do away with her. What was worse, even with all their power, the Princesses couldn't save Rarity after today.
An idea struck her. While her plan to flee Ponyville was uncompromisable, maybe she could write a letter? Yes, one last letter to let her friends in on her reasons. She loved them too much to simply leave them in the dark. She gazed out at the town again. The library looked dark from where she stood.
She took a deep breath, and in a flash, disappeared from the edge of the forest.
The afternoon had fallen away to early evening over Ponyville. The sun had almost finished setting as Applejack stumbled back into the library, exhausted.
“What a day”, she practically exhaled as she shut the door the behind. Immediately the smell hit her hard, and she gagged.
After a bout of coughing, she looked up towards the second floor. “Girls,” she called out, “sorry it took me so long. Ah had to walk to Rarity’s to pack Sweetie’s stuff, then we had to get Scootaloo’s stuff because of course she had to be included in the 'sleepover', and then Ah had to explain to Big Mac and Granny Smith what went down and y’all know how hard it is for me to keep a secret. Ah thought they’d never leave me alone, and then Derpy came by with some news and... Girls?” The library remained quiet.
She made her way upstairs and opened Twilight’s room. Inside the curtains were drawn still and moonlight poured into the room. The waste bin was sitting on its side in the middle of the room, but no other signs pointed to anypony being there for hours. She walked around and checked a few rooms and down in the kitchen, and found no one.
Her stomach let out a deep growl. She sighed, and popped open Twilight’s fridge. Inside she found some apples she had recently given her. “A-Ah’m sure she wouldn't mind.”
While she was in town, she felt like everypony had their eyes on her. She wasn’t at fault for what happened to Rarity in the slightest, but she couldn't help but feel responsible just from being there. Being there, too, was a problem in itself. By simply knowing what happened, Applejack was now carrying a huge secret, which weighed twice as heavy on her heart as the next pony.
Even worse, her friends were all out of sorts. Two were having some sort of breakdown, and the only one still sane as her wasn’t the gentlest soul when it came to touchy materials. One was on the run, and due to her abilities, would be nigh-impossible to find, and that was all because...
Applejack started to choke up, and immediately changed her thoughts. She was the rock of the group, she knew that she, out of everypony, would have to keep it together.
She finished her apples, and walked back to the main room. Standing there in the dark, she felt alone. “I guess someone should clean this up...”
The floodgates broke. She fell to her knees, and immediately shut her eyes to fight back the wave of tears she felt. Nothing she did could help.
“This? This? How dare Ah?” She rolled back and looked at the ceiling. “This is my friend, one of my few, one of my best. Oh Sugarcube, how could she do this to you? How could we have let her do this to you?”
She laid there in the dark, trying to expunge her well of tears.
"Rarity, we my have had our scant few differences, but Ah already miss ya. What Ah wouldn't give for another sleepover right now." She laid there in the dark, trying to expunge her well of tears.
Poof.
Applejack perked up instantly and opened her eyes to look around. She could have swore she heard something. She slowly rose to her feet, trying to make as little sound as possible.
There! She heard some scratching from upstairs. Slowly, she crept up the stairs. She heard scratching, like pen on parchment. It sounded frantic. As she neared the peak of the stairs, she could see a faint purple glow from underneath Twilight’s cracked-open door.
She crept up to the door frame, being extra careful not to make any noise. When she made it, the scratching continued, and she held her breath. What would I say?
Seconds turned to minutes as she stood pressed up against the wall, just around the corner from the source of the noise.
Applejack couldn't wait any longer. She dashed around the door and into the room.
Twilight snapped up from her parchment. “Applejack!”
“Twilight, wait! Let’s talk! It’s—”
poof.
All that was left was a fluttering quill and paper, both slowly floating to the ground. Applejack clenched her teeth and stomped her hooves. Letting out a deep breath, she walked over to it as it landed face up on the floor.
Applejack’s eyes widened as she continued to read.
Pinkie Pie sat at Fluttershy’s table, head in her hooves. Some time ago Pinkie had slowly started crying, and hadn’t stopped. “Which one are you talking about?”
Fluttershy snapped her head to Pinkie. “Both of them!”
Her words were barely louder than normal, but Pinkie could feel Fluttershy losing control behind them. She whimpered. Fluttershy continued to pace.
“How dare they leave us, when we needed them the most?” What had been simmering all day was slowly spilling out of Fluttershy’s mouth.
Pinkie Pie slowly gazed around the cottage. None of her animals were in the house save Angel Bunny, who was out in the living room with a still-unconscious Spike. Fluttershy had shooed the critters out as soon as they arrived.
Even though Fluttershy left her in the library, Pinkie Pie eventually followed her home. She had no place to go for the solidarity she was looking for. She had rarely been to Fluttershy’s house this late at night, and by herself. Despite being in a room with one of her closest friends, Pinkie Pie felt alone, making her regret this visit. Being at home with the Cakes wouldn’t be the same or nearly as comforting; at least, being here was supposed to make her feel better.
“W-who knows? Maybe Applejack got caught up with-”
“Ha ha, Applejack? She couldn’t even come back to us. She probably didn’t want to deal with two pathetic, broken ponies.”
Pinkie Pie stared at Fluttershy, who was still pacing and hadn’t missed a beat. Her heart had been hurting already, and Fluttershy was not making it any better.
“How could she leave us sitting in there? In that library? With that SMELL? With Rarity still on the walls?” Fluttershy’s voice, originally meek and small, was building in volume.
Pinkie Pie wasn’t liking where this was going at all. “Please Fluttershy, we don’t know what happened. Today has been... hard. For everyone. Just give her time to explain and I’m sure—”
“— we’ll find out just how unimportant we are to her!” Fluttershy never missed a step. Around the corner, Angel peeked into the kitchen to see what was upsetting his mistress.
"I wish Rainbow Dash was here, she’d say something cool and make us feel better.”
Fluttershy shot her a look. Pinkie missed it because she was taking a drink from her glass. “Well guess what, she took off! Some Element of Loyalty she is. In a time of need, she simply dashes off and leaves us to pick up the pieces. Ha, ha!”
Pinkie Pie felt her soul grow cold and her world shrink around her. What in the world had gotten into Fluttershy? She was pulling off an incredible hoof-face turn, and Pinkie couldn’t figure out a reason why.
She took a bite of her sandwich, and chewed it in silence. Fluttershy continued her march. She gulped her bite down.
“I wish Twilight was here.”
The next thing she knew, Pinkie Pie was thrown off her chair, her plate and glass falling with her. With a loud crash, she landed, sprawled out on the floor. When she looked up, she came eye to eye with Flutttershy.
“Don't you EVER say her name again! She’s gone! She’s as dead to me as Rarity is! She’s... she’s...”
But she couldn’t finish. Pinkie’s eyes had glazed over in tears, and they ran almost as quick as blood from a fresh cut down her face. Her mane lay limp on the floor behind her, and she merely stared up, past Fluttershy, as if she wasn’t even there.
Fluttershy wanted to continue, to tell Pinkie Pie how exactly she felt, the deep, deep hurt coursing through her. Instead, all she saw was a broken doll. She looked up and saw Angel’s horrified face. She shut her eyes, and flew up the stairs and straight to her room, shutting the door. Immediately she began to scream began to scream. She started smashing her room apart, knocking over pictures and her lamp, instantly darkening the room. Fluttershy jumped in her bed, and tried her best to rip her pillows apart. When that failed, she simply fell into them, and sobbed.
Angel had rushed up behind her, and on the other side of the door he could hear everything. His ears drooped as he heard his mistress’ temper tantrum finally subside into pure heartache.
“Why?” Fluttershy screamed. “Why her? Why not me? Oh Rarirty, what have we done? I should’ve been the one! Rarity!”
Slowly her screams turned incomprehensible. Downstairs, Pinkie Pie slowly curled herself into a ball, her mane spread out straight all around her, her eyes as empty as her mind.
...Poof.
Twilight popped into being at the edge of the forest, and ran for several seconds before she relaxing. She had calculated right and her magic had held out, but she was still exhausted from the two cross-town jumps. Leaning on a tree, she caught her breath.
Unable to finish her letter, she hoped what she written was enough. There would still be some unanswered questions, but at least they’d know what she planned to do. She composed herself, and looked deep into the dark forest. Lighting her horn, she took her first step in her plan: leave Ponyville behind forever.
She looked back behind her, and through the trees she could make out Fluttershy’s Cottage. She stared at it for some time, soaking in the last of chapter in her life. She had a while to go before she’d make it to the other side. After a deep sigh, Twilight Sparkle turned and walked deeper into the Everfree forest.
High above, Rainbow Dash was on her way to Canterlot.
“Twilight!” Her eyes snapped open. “Bon Bon...” As the images of a terrified Bon Bon and a red-faced Twilight began to fade rapidly, she shuddered. "What a horrible dream."
As she slumbered, she had dreamt of a red-faced Twilight standing over Bon Bon. She watched helplessly as the mare begged to be left alone, all the while some unseen figure kept laughing in a deep tone. It wasn't long before it had faded away to only a picture in her mind. She tried her best to remember what else happened, but all could recall now were faces. “How unfortunate.”
Her hoof fumbled in the dark, she flipped a switch. The compartment instantly lit up, but she was more interested in outside.
She could tell it was night; all she could see was her reflection looking back at her through the darkness. Her pale, greyish cyan mane was more tussled than usual, to the point where it hid her horn. A quick hoof through, and it was back to its usual messy-but-neat style. Her aquamarine-green coat wasn't groomed how she liked it, but it would have to do for the time being.
The compartment was a small one, but being the lone occupant allowed her to have all her belongings laid out on the seat across from her. They wasn't much; all she had was her saddlebags and an instrument case. The bags didn't carry much, just her bits, and a few articles of clothing so she wouldnt feel completely naked in Canterlotian society. The instrument case, however, contained her pride and joy: her lyre. She looked at it fondly. In actuality, she probably could have brought only that. It was her favorite object in all of Equestria. It was even her cutie mark.
After a while, she turned back to the window. She tried to look past her reflection, cupping her hooves against the glass, but it was too hard to see anything. Reaching over, she flicked the lights back off and took another look. The dark world was speeding past the train as it clacked down the track. While the trip between Ponyville and Canterlot was over half a day, there wasn't much of anything between it. Occasionally she’d spot a couple lights in the distance, and she wondered if they were hermit huts or stage wagons stopped for the night. She secretly hoped the latter, as she loved that feeling of freedom. That feeling was why she left Canterlot, why she particularly picked Ponyville, and why her heart sank as she neared the capital.
After a few minutes sitting in the dark, her mind started drifting back to that dream. She shuddered; it was time to find something to do.
The compartment door slid easily enough, and the unicorn stepped out into the car. The car’s walkway was predictably empty for the time of night. Electing to head for the dining car, she headed left, towards the front of the train. As she walked, she tried to sneak glances into the compartments she passed, but almost all of them were dark and those with the lights on had their blinds shut.
As she made her way, she feared she was going to be the only one awake in the car. Just as she was feeling nervously alone, she opened the door to the dining car door. Looking around, she spotted a particular cherry-colored pony sitting by her lonesome.
“Bwah? Ms. Cheerilee?”
The pony was sitting at a table in the corner. She looked up and, despite the pen in her mouth, gave a smile worthy of her namesake.
Lyra quickly trotted over to the school teacher. “Wow, I’m surprised to see you here, especially since school’s started,” she said. She eyed the table; it was covered in a few papers, an inkwell, and a single candle. “Wait, you already have papers to grade and you’re making a trip to Canterlot?”
Cheerilee set the pen back in the inkwell. “Hello Lyra Heartstrings, funny meeting you here. Fortunately, school actually starts after next week. These are merely lesson plans.”
“Oh.” Lyra nudged out the chair facing Cheerilee. “Getting a head start, I see.”
“Ha, actually I’m behind the curve,” Cheerilee said bashfully. “How unbecoming of a teacher. I’ll finish in time, however.
Lyra sat down heavily, getting comfy. “Heh, that’s understandable. It’s been so nice out, I bet even you can’t resist these nice summer days we’ve been having. Well, what’s taking you to Canterlot?
“As for Canterlot, a week ago I went to Twilight’s library to pick up some books I’d like to do a lesson on. I’ve noticed some bully-esque behavior from my students last year, and this year I wanted to start with a lesson focused on improving the relationships between my students. Imagine my surprise when she didn’t have any books on the subject!”
Lyra grinned. “Oh, knowing Twilight, it would never cross her mind to have those kinds of books on hand.”
Cheerilee stifled a chuckle. “She didn’t have anything I needed. However, she offered to make an order to Canterlot’s library. Twilight said that while she has Spike to send personal correspondence, she still has to play by the rules when she checks out from the Canterlot Library, or at least she chooses to.”
Cheerilee paused to wonder how much of what that eccentric mare does is from following rules, and how much is from some crazy form of personal control issues. After a beat, she waved her hoof. “Anyways, she told me she’d have to send an official letter of request and wait for a response, but seeing as I had this free weekend open I decided to simply hand delivered the letter and pick the books out in person. Maybe I’ll enjoy the capital while I have time to.”
Lyra nodded in approval. “I like your thinking, it sounds like a plan. How long are you going to stay?”
“Almost the whole week. It’ll be Sunday when we arrive, right? I should be back in my home Thursday evening.”
“That sounds great. Hopefully I’ll run into you,” Lyra said.
“Yeah, hopefully. What are you heading to Canterlot for, and where’s your friend, the candy maker—”
“Canterlot, yeah,” Lyra quickly interrupted. “I have to go take care of some business.”
“Ah,” Cheerilee paused, and looked at Lyra who was practically fidgeting. Slowly, she asked, “...how long will you be staying?”
Lyra let out a quiet sigh of relief. “Oh, ‘till I finish what I start. I can’t say. Hopefully shorter than longer.”
“Hmm,” was all Cheerilee had to add to that.
"Sorry for the curt responses. I know it's not fair that you told me why and I'm not, but I'm going to Canterlot for business, not pleasure, and it's the kind of business I dislike." As quickly as she sat, Lyra rose. “Hey, I’ll see you around, alright? I’m tired; I’m going to go back to my compartment and catch a few more winks. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”
Cheerilee raised an eyebrow, but didn't press the issue. She was used to her students skimping out on personal issues with her, and while Lyra was an independent pony, she was still a young mare. “Alright Ms. Heartstrings, goodnight. I hope I'll see you around.”
Opening the door, Lyra said back, “Sorry I have to go all suddenly, but I’ll seeya in Canterlot!”
Lyra made her exit, leaving Cheerilee to wonder. What in the hay was up with that pony... Cheerilee looked down to her work and sighed. ...and how much longer till I get to catch winks too?
It was a combination of the change in altitude and the strobe of Celestia's sun that woke Lyra. She only had to feel it on her face twice to know they were making the ascent up Canterlot's mountain base and passing in and out the tunnels that lined the slopes.
Looking out, she could see all of Equestria in between the periods of darkness as the train spiraled up the mountain. As the train rose, she could see Ponyville, followed by Everfree, the Rambling Rock Ridge, and Foal Mountain, all probably a day’s worth of travel by train. Getting around the north side of the mountain, there were no landmarks, just land as far as Lyra’s eyes could see. She knew Neighagra Falls was out there, and that Cloudsdale was floating around to the northwest somewhere. Lyra relished the sights; the ascension was the best part of the whole ride. Her ears were starting to pop.
As the train neared the top, it approached a split in the rails. While the right one continued up into the city, the rail this train went left and entered a tunnel as it neared its destination; the underbelly of Canterlot. Canterlot had always been a relic of the past, being in existence for a little over a thousand years. When modern inventions called for improvements on infrastructure, it was almost impossible to expand on a city that simply had no room to grow in land area. Ponies either built up or down, and some brilliant minds decided that in order to keep up with the times, most trains were to arrive under the city. There was one small station above ground, usually reserved for special guests to the palace or smaller trains. All heavy traffic went below.
Once inside the tunnel, Lyra sat in the dark as she watched the lights pass her window. Her expression changed from the wonder she always had while ascending the mountain, to a sullen one. She sighed. She was really back in Canterlot again. She thought it would be years before she made this trip. Funny how life turns out.
The lights passed more and more infrequently, until at long last, the walls opened up and revealed the underground station. "Ha, underground at thousands of feet above sea level," Lyra chuckled. The train made one final lurch, and she had arrived.
Central Equestrain Station, more informally known as the the Great Stable, was as grand as it always had been. Most of Equestria's stations were either open-air or huge complexes. Canterlot engineers, not wanting to be shown up, had given the subterranean station the exact same feel. Everything was huge. More than a few trains could fit inside the station with room to spare, and the ceilings were impossibly tall, leaving Lyra to wonder if they were enchanted. Pegasi used the ample room to fly through the air, delivering messages amongst the trains and the ticket booth to keep everyone on their tight schedules. Most of the business in the underground were entire buildings, some with even a second story. They were laid on about a dozen moderately-sized streets that surrounded the main platforms.
Tossing on her saddlebags and securing her instrument case to her back, Lyra stepped out of her compartment and into the main passageway. She saw a few familiar faces from Ponyville as they filed out the railcar, but most of the occupants were ponies from Appleloosa and Las Pegasus who had been riding much longer than she had. Everyone was groggy and shuffling, unaccustomed to such long journeys via trains. The ride had left Lyra’s energy unaffected, being used to traveling. Slowly, she got in the line of the slow march to the doors.
As soon as Lyra stepped off the train and onto the platform, she was greeted with a wave of nostalgia. She had arrived on the exact same platform she had used when she had snuck away from her old life. The smells from the vendors filled her nose with hayfries and fresh salads, and the roar of ponies filled her ears with a pleasant hum. Despite the age of her memories, she still could remember when she and her parents used to go on vacations.
However, as spectacular as it was, it was nothing new. Soon, Lyra found herself on her way, heading to the grand staircase to the second overlooking tier of the station. Reaching the stairs, she took them two at a time to reach the top, just like she did when she was a filly. She made her way to a balcony overlooking the loading and unloading section, and paused to pony watch for a bit. Tons of ponies were filing in and out, waiting for luggage with screaming foals tugging at their tails. She was so glad she could pack light for this journey, as even though the Stable was the largest station in all of Equestria, it was only a little bit more efficient than the next, and that wasn’t very much.
After soaking in the sights a little more, Lyra headed for the exit. Lots of ponies were milling about here waiting for their carriages, loved ones, or their next train on their journey. Some were rummaging through the gift shops, and a few with plenty of time to spare were eating on the second story balcony of a restaurant she passed. She rounded a corner, and at the end of the road lay the final set of stairs, just as she remembered. Swimming to through the ponies coming and going, she ascended the steps.
Stepping through the gates, she was blinded by the sun. As her vision adjusted, she found that Canterlot was just as grand as she remembered. The entrance to the station lead her into Caelum Square in the business district. She looked around, and took in the sights.
So many shops lined each and every side of the street. Some of the best earth pony architecture in all of land resided in the business district of Canterlot, and it was evident on the face of each building. Everything looked sturdy. Lyra smiled; the style reminded her of her Ponyville. The buildings was timber-framed, but here the frames existed as a complement to the stone most of the businesses were constructed of.
Soaking in the good feelings, Lyra looked up and gasped. There was a beautiful bold rainbow directly overhead, with peculiarly vivid colors. It arced from the east, and passed directly over Canterlot castle. For a second, it made her forget why she was back in Canterlot, and the strange dream she had. Lyra was convinced it a sign of good luck, inwardly smiled, and continued her journey. Maybe returning home wouldn't be so bad.
Ponies were bustling everywhere, or at least what felt like everywhere. Lyra's short time in Ponyville had gotten her used to a thinner crowd. However, everywhere she looked, her vision was filled with ponies of all colors going about their day, trying to make bits to feed their families or pursue their dreams. Glancing at a clock that was displayed on a nearby bank, she noted hat it was shortly after noon. She realized she was in the middle of a lunch rush in the busiest district in Canterlot. She was bumped into plenty of times, but just like the other locals, she didn't mind at all. Again, that warm feeling of the past came back.
Her destination was in the residential district on the east side of town, so she made her way to the nearest carriage stop and raised a hoof to flag one down. After a time, one rolled up.
"Where are you heading little lady?" asked the cheerful driver. Lyra peaked inside. The cabbie looked friendly enough, and (thankfully) the cab clean enough. His cutie mark was, what Lyra guessed, a road.
"I'm looking to go to the residential district. My address is—” Lyra paused. Looking through the window across the street, she saw a post office. Her jaw tightened. "Hey, sorry about this. I have something I need to do. If you could wait for me, I'd appreciate it, but I'll understand if you don't. Thanks anyway," she added with a pleasant smile.
Closing the door on the confused cabbie's face, she made her way across the street. As she walked, sighed and dreaded what she was about to do. She glanced up to look for her good sign. Strangely, it was already gone. Lyra kept walking.
Stepping inside, Lyra almost immediately regretted the decision. The patron part of the post office was nice, with a stamp and envelope dispenser near the counter, a couple of tables with various forms, and a not-so-long line to the counter. As she approached the envelope dispenser however, she got a look at behind the counter.
Pandemonium.
Several shouting post masters and delivery ponies were in a mess of papers strewn about, spilt coffee, and scattered packages. Lyra couldn't believe what she was seeing, till she saw the source of the cacophony. She had to do her best to stifle a laugh, for behind the encounter, was Ponyville's sort-of-dependable but ever-cheerful mailpony Derpy Hooves, looking stressed as ever and apologizing to any and everypony that wasn't busy trying to clean up behind her. The mess then became completely understandable.
Chuckling, she fished out a couple bits from her saddlebags and nabbed an envelope, a stamp, and some parchment, and walked over to an empty counter space away from the commotion. If she could get her letter in before Derpy left, she was sure it would reach its destination in a timely fashion, if wrinkled.
She looked at the blank parchment for some time. Lyra did not want to write this letter. A special somepony had let her down, and just the memory soured her thoughts. She disliked feeling this way, with personal issues resting on her shoulders. She yearned to be carefree. It was why she had found herself in Ponyville in the first place.
Lyra exhaled, and began writing. She decided to be the bigger mare. She scribbled a quick message, and shoved it in the envelope. She wrote ‘Sweetie Drops Confectionery, Ponyville’ on the front, and slipped it into the box. Feeling slightly better and proud of herself, she turned to the door. She almost made it, till someone called out to her.
"Excuse me, miss? Is that an instrument case over your shoulder?" asked a smooth, sophisticated voice. "Particularly, a lyre?" Lyra turned around and saw that the earth pony from the front of the counter looking back at her. Her coat was dark grey, her hair black. Her cutie mark was a violet treble clef, matching her eyes.
Lyra grinned. "You betcha. It's quite the beautiful instrument."
The pony smiled, and turned back to the counter. She removed a package from her saddlebags along with a few bits, and slid them on the counter, then turned back to Lyra. Walking up to Lyra, she continued.
"Indeed, it is," she continued in a strong It's quite musically versatile in accompaniments, or playing melody. It may not be as versatile as a harp, but it plays well and isn't as cumbersome. It's a challenging instrument to sound competent with."
"Well, I'm one of the most competent players you'll probably meet. I've been playing for over a decade. I even got a few compliments from some old greats. Once, Gentle Chimes himself paid me a compliment."
The pony cocked an eyebrow. "Hmm, it's odd. I don't think I know you".
Lyra continued to smile, but blinked twice. "Well, I'd think it pretty odd if you did, seeing as we've never met. I'm Lyra, by the way."
"Yes, but I should know you," the pony insisted. She walked around Lyra, looking her up and down. "Peculiar. Are you, by chance, new here?"
"Well, yes and no. Short answer: no. I know my way around town." Lyra's smiled dipped a tiny bit. Who is this pony, and what's that accent?
The earth pony took a step towards the door. "Hmm. Lyra, where are you headed? I'm headed to the art district. Would you care to join me?"
If it was another destination, Lyra would've said no. However, the art district was on the way to the residential district, and this pony seemed to know a thing or two about appreciating music. Plus, despite it magically disappearing, she still took the rainbow as a good omen. "Y'know, I wouldn't mind in the slightest."
The two ponies stepped out the door, and made their way across the street. As they approached the carriage stop, Lyra noticed the cabbie she waved down was still parked. She walked over.
"Hello sir, were you waiting for little ol' me?" Lyra said playfully.
"Oh no, no no no, I'm merely was on my brunch break," he said mischievously. "Go ahead and hop in, I'm done."
Lyra hoofed the door and stood aside. "After you miss...?"
The pony walked past into the carriage. After taking a seat, she looked Lyra in her eyes. "Miss Octavia, if you please."
Octavia sat across from Lyra, lounging on her seat. "What a humorous tale. The Equestrian countryside sure does sound... adventurous, to say the least. However, I'd like to know you're musical history, Lyra. If you don't mind."
Lyra much preferred talking about Ponyville, but decided to oblige. "Certainly. I've been interested in music since I was a filly. I was lucky enough to go to several orchestra performances. To keep this short, they were awesome! Performance pieces included Maurice Stable, Colt Debussy, and Igor Trotvinsky. Y'know, all the contemporary big wigs. Eventually, I became interested in making my own sound. My parents bought me a tiny flute to keep me occupied. It didn't. I could not for the life of me make the sound I wanted to come out of it. It was the beginning of a long line of instruments that didn't feel just right. All the usual stuff, you know? The instruments got less and less traditional for 'little fillies' until they finally gave me this." Lyra glanced over and patted her case.
"I've always wondered if I was destined to play the lyre because of my name, or if it was just happenstance. Hmm... Anyways, I immediately fell in love. It sounded heavenly; exactly what I had in mind the whole time. Not only did my playing sound great to me, it sounded great enough for my parents. Great enough, for them to attempt to enroll me in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorn's music program. It didn't take long for the judges to decide I was more than a great fit for the program. Full ride."
Octavia's eyes were wide open as she cut in. "How marvelous!"
Lyra blushed. "Yeah, I guess. The rest is mostly history. I spent years growing up and being immersed in music. I got to meet a hoofful of prestigious musicians, I wrote a decent amount of pieces I still play today, and when I graduated I was even offered a job at the Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra."
Octavia's eye's narrowed. "What? The CPO? I don't believe it. I've never seen you, I've never heard of you, yet you were good enough to get an offer from the CPO? And why in the world did you not take it?"
Lyra stared Octavia in her eyes, and then reached for her saddlebags. She scooped out her lyre case, and unlocked it. Upon opening it, Octavia saw a weathered instrument, one that was once extremely beautiful but had suffered damage not from misuse, but from love. Lyra picked it up with her hooves. She sat up, in the position she got made fun of by Bon Bon and all her other friends in Ponyville, and looked at Octavia in silence.
Then, with a grin, she started to play.
Slowly, Octavia's jaw dropped. The first couple of notes sounded like Lyra was trying to tune, but slowly a mood built up around it. The single whole notes became accentuated with just the right lead lines that faded in and out. The piece was slow but not a grave, just slow enough to entrap the mind of anyone fortunate enough to be within listening distance. Octavia's ears were eating it up.
Lyra's face was solemn, and her eyes were closed in concentration. Eventually the piece shifted. The mood it was creating started to take on a more traditional style, and a consistent melody eked out of the lyre, with accompanying two note chords. By then, Lyra had hit her rhythm, adding triplet flourishes and unique chord voicings, her hoofs dancing around the instrument. By then, Octavia was in a trance.
Lyra a theme and variation. The she kept the theme relatively simple, sticking to the palate of sounds she had established. With the variation, she stripped the chords to bass notes and added a counter melody. It sounded as if two souls were dancing. It was beyond beautiful. Octavia started to blush, embarrassed for ever questing this mysterious pony's abilities.
Instantly Lyra changed gears. All of the sudden the piece became wild. Notes were coming faster than Octavia thought possible for that kind of instrument. More importantly however, were what pitches actually were. What the notes were saying. At first, it was heavy and melodic, but now it was frantic and strong and searching. To an untrained ear the sound would've tread a little too close to noise for their liking, but Octavia's ears, immersed in music longer than Lyra had been alive, lapped it up hungrily.
As the piece came to a close, Octavia's spirit slowly floated down from where it had been elevated. She found her breath was quick, and she felt like she had had ice water dumped on her then pushed into a furnace. She felt as alive as when she listened to her favorite composers, and she felt it, even if she wasn't sure what it was.
Finally done, Lyra looked up with a steel gaze, catching Octavia's eyes. After a beat, she broke a smile.
"Ms. Heartstrings! That was... marvelous! That was stupendous! That was, if I may, awesome! I apologize I ever doubted you, and—” Octavia’s eyes widened as she realized. Lyra was sitting up with the lyre still in her hooves. Her hooves! "You... you played... without magic?"
"Yeah. My professors were quite cross with me about that. I was at a school for 'gifted unicorns', y'know, but I insisted I played with my hooves. They eventually they let me be, but the disapproving stares never stopped. It feels good, y'know? To feel it in your hooves. Too actually feel what you're playing." Lyra ran a hoof down her old, weathered friend.
Octavia's eyes shined. They sat in silence for a while. Eventually, she said quietly, "Thank you."
"Oh, no problem. I wrote that when I-"
"No, Lyra. It's not just your music. It's how you play." Octavia stroked her mane. "Obviously, I play with only my hooves too, and it's been so... hard..." She paused. Being open with others is not something Octavia liked to do. She lowered her voice. "It's been so hard. To learn how to play my favorite instruments with hooves. I heard the sounds, I heard them in my heart but the struggle to make them real was immense. Even when I was finally capable, to get people to even take me seriously in this city was a trouble of itself. To not get laughed off before given a chance."
Octavia turned to face the window. "Of course, that was a long time ago. Lately I've finally reached my dreams, but I remember years ago fighting tooth and nail for every note I was allowed to make on stage. Most people, even my colleagues, don't remember what I had to do to get where I am today. I am the only notable earth pony cellist in the city, Lyra."
Lyra sat in silence. She was well aware of how Canterlot operated. She knew the stigmas that still pervaded behind Canterlot's pretty face. Of course, it wasn't out of malice, but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt, and it occasionally closed some doors prematurely.
"I feel conflicted, but good, though. Here you are, a young unicorn mare mastering an instrument so thoroughly, a feat I take after my own heart. And, you chose to play the way I have to." Octavia looked back at Lyra and smiled sheepishly. "I want to feel at least a little sour, as if you were showing off, but I know that's not the case."
Lyra gave her usual grin. "Definitely. On top of it all, I can barely play with my magic. Can you believe that?" She let out a small chuckle.
Luckily, Octavia joined her. As their laughter died down, they sat in silence a bit. Then, Octavia perked up.
"Uh, sir? Why are we stopped?" Octavia asked the cabbie.
"OH! Oh, sorry miss. I was just, ah..." The cabbie looked around. He had parked on the side of the street. "I guess I forgot myself, miss."
Lyra laughed again. "It's quite alright good fellow! A well laid tune can entrap any poor soul within earshot. I take it as a compliment; I thank ye," she said in a goofy voice.
"I'll just, uh, keep goin' then." The carriage started to ease back into traffic, and continue to the art district.
The carriage pulled up in front of a lavish apartment. It was gated, with a cast iron fence around it. It even had a mini park, where several foals were playing under the watchful eyes of their parents.
"Here I am," said Octavia. She gathered her saddlebag and tossed it on her back, and stepped down from the carriage onto the cobbled street. Quickly, she turned around, holding the door open. "Lyra, today have been... special. I want to properly thank you again for what you did."
Lyra blushed again. "It was nothing, Miss Octavia."
Octavia let out a coy smirk. "Simply 'Octavia' will suffice. I would love to spend some time with you to speak about music further, especially while I'm in the company of my cello. Would you care to meet tomorrow after my rehearsal?"
"Sure thing," Lyra replied. "Tell me where and when."
Octavia fished out some bits and paid the cabbie. Turning back to Lyra, she opened a side pocket on her saddle bag and pulled out a card. She set it down on the seat besides Lyra. "Meet me at 4:30 behind this building. Ta-ta." And with that, Octavia closed the door and made her way to the gate. Puzzled, Lyra reached down to pick up the car, and paused with her mouth open as she read the card. Instantly she was at the window.
"Whoa, you work there?" she shouted after Octavia.
Octavia smiled to herself, and then turned. In a haughty voice, she replied "You're not the only one with talent, Miss Lyra."
Lyra woke from her nap. It was only a quick rest, but she had dreamed. As it faded, one image still hung in her mind. It was one of the ones from before.
Twilight. Covered in red.
Lyra was wondering just what that purple unicorn was up to when the carriage stopped. As Lyra stepped out and tried to pay the cabbie, only to find out Octavia had covered her fair. She was greatly appreciative of her generosity, especially considering her circumstances. However she didn't want to be a charity case. As the carriage pulled away, she couldn't help but feel herself shrink, figuratively and physically. She slowly turned, and let out a deep sigh. "Whelp, welcome home Lyra."
The residential district did have a lot of apartments. They were all insanely expensive, costing thousands of bits a month. Artisans and engineers stayed there, gifted ponies who were some of the most talented minds in all of Equestria. However, no matter how expensive apartments where, they had nothing on the actual houses in Canterlot. Did she say houses? She meant mansions, and the one owned by Lyra's family was one of the largest in the capital.
Pegasus architecture always had a regal and exotic look about it. The style was only meant to be applied to clouds, and it was insanely expensive to try to mold solid rock into comparable structures with at least decent structural integrity. The process took the strongest earth pony hooves, the most delicate of unicorn magic, and at least one willing pegasus to put up with all the complications long enough to get the job done. Despite all this, Lyra's house was nothing but pegasus architecture.
As she strolled down the lawn to her front door, the pit in her stomach deepened more and more. The house was full of happy memories, mostly, but returning now was the last thing on her list of wants. The walk was slow, and it wasn't just the length of the lawn; it was the sullen dread that hung over her.
Lyra paused at the steps to her front door. "No. This is going to continue to be a good day," she said to herself. "This is going to be a pleasant stay. I'm not going to let it get me down." She inhaled deeply. With newfound confidence, she scaled the steps. Taking a key out of her bags, she opened the door and stepped inside.
The foyer was just as Lyra remembered it, maybe a bit bigger. It was a two story house, with a balcony overlooking it. The room was furnished lavishly, filled with modern design and art. Every inch of floor space was covered in a carpet as soft as clouds, and the three main-level exits lead to grand hallways were lined with paintings, pictures and display cases. It was the room of somepony trying to impress, and that somepony was very successful at it. A sound from the balcony made her look up. A cobalt earth pony wearing a high collar was approaching the balcony
“Who’s there? Who's this coming into my house? You better have a good reason for breaking in before I break y— Lyra? Lyra, my filly! Aria, come here!”
“What is it Granite?” A brilliantly malachite-green pegasus in an evening gown approached behind the earth pony. She gasped loudly. “Oh my, is that our Lyra? My little Lyra?”
Lyra threw her grin. “Hi mom, hi dad.”
In no time at all her parents had made it down the grand staircase and Lyra found herself in a tight embrace.
“It’s so good to see you! Why didn’t you send word? We were worried about you so much. Where have you been? What did you do to your hair?” asked Aria.
“My hair’s been like this since I left. I happen to like it, thank-you-very-much.”
Aria paused a bit. “It’s funny, after telling you no all while you were growing up, I think I kind of like it.”
“So Lyra, where have you been? You didn’t actually go to Ponyville, did you?”
Aria cut him short. “Oh Granite, leave her be. We can talk about it at dinner.”
“Actually, yes, among other places.”
Granite frowned. “And what have you been doing in... Ponyville?” Lyra felt like her father spat out the word, like it tasted like dirt to him.
“If you must know, I’ve been having the time of my life. I’ve seen so many wonders. I’ve had a run-in with parasprites, an ursa minor, and even Cerberus himself. I’ve seen a couple of dragons, I’ve seen a real-life superhero, I’ve participated in wrapping up winter and I got caught in the skirmish in Appleloosa, if you can actually call it that. Did you even hear about it all the way here in Canterlot? Did you know I was there for the return of Princess Luna? I even saw Nightmare Moon, in person!” Aria audibly gasped at this. Lyra took pleasure from it, and kept on. “And I thought that was rough till Discord came and turned Ponyville into his personal domain for half a day. Or several days, technically, since he was manipulating the sun, moon, and stars.”
Her mother stared speechless at her. Her father's frown deepened.
“Don’t worry, I was safe. There’s a local group of mares that seem to always keep the town safe. They get into all sorts of trouble, but no one’s been hurt. Our local paper calls them The Ponyville Six. Maybe you've heard of them? One of their names should be quite familiar. But speaking of them, it reminds me. I’ve made friends. A ton of them.”
Lyra paused, looking away. “Some of them are no longer with us...” After a moment, she turned back to her parents. “But they were special. They are special. All my friends in Ponyville are special. Not that the friends I had here were bad, but these ones are refreshing and won’t ask about your social status or anything. We've been through real life together, and I love it.”
Granite huffed. “‘Real life’? Do you even work?”
Lyra rolled her eyes. She walked over to the couch and plopped down, discarding her saddlebags. “Of course. I work at a candy store.”
As Aria sat down on a couch opposite of Lyra with her husband, her eyes lit up. “A candy store? That sounds highly amusing.”
“It doesn't sound like well-paying work,” said Granite as he joined his wife. “Or glamorous work. Or even hard work. Work worthy of my lineage. You can’t possibly have enough to take care of yourself.”
Lyra frowned. “Of course not, but my boss is particularly nice—”
“You have a boss?” both her parents shouted in unison.
“Weird, I know.” Lyra rubbed the back of her head. “She can’t pay me in bits right now, so I get compensated by being allowed to stay with her. She’s very hard working, and she reminds me a lot of you, dad, if you ever decided to live life a little.” Granite simply huffed in response.
“Working there is fun, and I do get vacation sometimes. I took off work to go to the Grand Galloping Gala last year, and it was wild! Those six mares I mentioned earlier showed up and utterly destroyed the place!" Lyra was flailing her arms, getting wrapped up in her tale. "Saved it from being a snore fest. I also took off to go to a wedding once, and changelings attacked! I was even impersonated by one! Again those six mares did a lot to save the day, again! It’s interesting, they seem to get around, and I’m pretty connected to one of them...”
Lyra finally looked at her parents. Her mother looked dejected, her father furious.
“Unless I’m mistaken,” he said evenly, “both of those events happened in a placed called Canterlot. A place where your two loving parents reside. Two loving parents who had no idea where you were, for how long, was it?"
Lyra swallowed hard, continued carefully. “Well, I didn't have a lot of time to hang out, being employed and all, and I only ever visited for specific reasons so I didn't have time to—”
“Time to visit your family?” Aria snapped at her. Aria’s tone was tense, but wavering. Lyra gulped. "Lyra, we love you. We raised you. How could you forget us like that?"
Granite rose. “I’m happy you’re safe. That is what’s most important to me, but clearly you don’t have your values in proper alignment. Your time in Ponyville is being wasted. Being a candy maker won’t carry you anywhere in life."
He was slowly approached Lyra, grinding his teeth. Eventually, he towered over her. "You're above that! You’re Lyra Heartstrings, you should be either making music or in construction like me, or something worthy of your time. It’s unbecoming to be a nobody at a specialty store, surrounded by a bunch of common ponyfolk. We sacrificed too much to get you where you were before you left us, and every day you slack around makes me feel like one big bucking joke!"
"You're the one who's joking if you think I feel any remorse for not repaying favors I never asked for!" Lyra shouted as loud as she could.
Granite gave his daughter a look that could've cut glass. It took all of her might to return his gaze, but Lyra stood her ground, looking up to him. Seconds passed.
Eventually, Aria sniffled behind him. With that, he made for the stairs.
“Dad!” Lyra started, but then her mother rose as well to follow him. “Mother?”
Aria shook her head, and wiped her eyes. She ascended the steps with her husband. At the top, she turned and faced Lyra, still rooted to the spot. With a pained expression she looked into her daughters eyes, and said, “Welcome home, Lyra.”