The train rattled underneath Cadance’s hooves as she trotted from car to car. She made her way towards the front of the train, but she wasn’t in a rush. Not yet, anyway. As anxious as she was, she knew hurrying would do her little good, and would leave her with nothing to do until they arrived at their destination. So, she forced herself to keep a measured pace in order to waste as much time as possible.
Every so often, she would enter a car and immediately be greeted by countless Imperial Guards. They would usually jump to their hooves and throw her a salute, which she would return, feeling embarrassed.
In one car, she stumbled upon what could only be described as a war council halfway through a session. Shining Armor, surrounded by his chosen lieutenants, stood around a table from the dining car. All of them were pouring over maps, discussing strategy and contingency with the grim-faced stoniness of soldiers on the frontlines of a horrific war. Never mind that hardly any of them had ever seen any real action.
It had been Shining Armor who insisted that they take as many soldiers as could fit into the train. Doubtlessly his mind was still fixated on the fate of Twilight Sparkle, or perhaps he was not leaving anything to chance. A show of force, however, was not a strategy Cadance would rather employ if she could avoid it. She knew, perhaps better than anypony, that a direct confrontation with Applejack in her current state of mind would spell nothing short of disaster. But she let the strategists work through their agendas.
She quietly tapped Shining Armor on the shoulder as she passed, gave him a peck on the cheek and slipped him a small note before moving on. He gave her a questioning look, then set the note to one side for later.
Eventually Cadance left the passenger cars behind, and entered several private sleeper cars. Nearly all of them were unoccupied, the windows to each room dark and lifeless. But halfway down the first car, Cadance noticed a light on. She approached, politely knocked, and slid the door open a little.
Inside, two ponies looked back at her.
Rarity sat close to the window on a bench. In her hooves, she held a sketchbook while she magicked a quill across it. The quill danced swiftly this way and that, idly giving shape to the designs mulling about in the fashionista’s brain. It was a distraction, little more, as the sketches were all very rough, and she never seemed to spend very long on any of them. Though, in the lamp light, Cadance couldn’t help but notice a telltale abundance of flannel.
Across from her, Fluttershy sat on a foldout bed, not really doing much of anything. She gazed out the window, watching the moonlit world whizz by in dark blue, black and silver blurs.
The reason why she sat so still quickly became apparent to Cadance when she noticed the shock of multicolored hair sticking out under one of her wings.
Rainbow was in a dead sleep, limbs sprawled every which way. She was turned slightly into Fluttershy’s side, her face tucked out of sight under a canary yellow wing.
When Cadance entered, Fluttershy looked around, and held up a hoof to her lips. “Sssh,” she whispered quietly. “She just fell asleep.”
Cadance nodded, then silently tugged the door shut behind her before taking a seat next to Rarity. “How is she?” Cadance asked.
Rarity huffed under her breath. “She’s flown from one end of Equestria to the other in under a day, all to help Applejack. Honestly, it’s a miracle she didn’t pass out sooner.”
From under Fluttershy’s wing, Rainbow let out a loud snore and mumbled in her sleep.
Rarity then turned a meaningful eye towards Cadance. “I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but since you’re here, does that mean there’s been a development?”
At that, Cadance smiled and nodded. “Actually, yes. I received a letter from Princess Celestia. Twilight is safe, and the ones that foalnapped her are behind bars. They will be meeting us in Ponyville, once we arrive.”
“Oh thank goodness,” Fluttershy sighed happily, smiling with relief. “I don’t know what we would do if anything happened to her.”
Rarity noticed something else Cadance had said, however. “They?” she echoed, crooking an eyebrow. “And how exactly did you receive a letter on a moving train?”
Cadance nodded, her smile diminishing. “Celestia didn’t go into details, but she made it clear that she would not be letting Twilight travel without her supervision for some time. As for the letter… Spike isn’t the only one with a direct line to the princess. It tends to be only one way, however. I don’t have half the range Celestia does when it comes to transposition spells.”
“The princess will be waiting for us in Ponyville?” Fluttershy gasped, her eyes growing huge with surprise.
“Well I can hardly blame her,” Rarity sighed quietly, putting down her sketch pad. “Nobles, of all ponies… Coming from Rainbow, it’d sounded like she was jumping to conclusions yet again. I never would have thought in a million years any of them would stoop so low.” Her expression unexpectly brightened. “At least now we can put all of that behind us.”
“I’m just glad Twilight’s okay,” Fluttershy put in. “Shining Armor has been so upset. He must be really relieved.”
Cadance chuckled under her breath. “Knowing him, he’ll still be worried until he sees her for himself, no matter what we say.”
For a time, the room was quiet. Cadance listened to the clack of the train tracks beneath them while Rarity tucked her sketching materials away, then curled up on the bench as well. It was hardly the kind of accommodations she was used to, but seeing as the bed was already occupied, she didn’t feel the need to be vocal about it.
Fluttershy put her own head down after a while, and soon her eyes were drifting closed, little by little.
Cadance, however, didn’t feel much like sleeping. There was too much whirling around in her head for her to consider it. After so many years, she finally had the answers to the questions she’d been chasing. And yet… she still felt dissatisfied.
Such a simple thing… such a simple solution. Why had Carnation made it so remarkably difficult to find? As a test? Or perhaps she’d put too much faith in Hyacinth still being around to aid Applejack.
Something about these circumstances bothered her… but she could set it all aside. At that moment, they were hurtling through the countryside towards Applejack. Soon, they’d have her back to normal, and without those pesky conspirators to get in the way. Twilight was safe, the plot against Equestria was foiled. There’d be plenty of time to pick up the pieces later.
Cadance sat there, lost in her own thoughts, when she noticed Rainbow jolt slightly. She looked up, not sure at first if she’d actually seen anything, when she noticed Rainbow shuddering in her sleep.
“Duh…Don’t…”
Cadance perked up one ear. In the quiet of the train car, she thought she could just make out Rainbow’s voice, muffled though it was.
“Don’t… go…” she whimpered, and curled up. “Don’t…”
All at once, Rainbow jumped, gasped, and sat bolt upright, her eyes wide. “Apple…!” Her voice died in her throat, leaving her sitting on the bed, looking like she’d just been electrocuted.
Her sudden leap to wakefulness roused Fluttershy, who blinked blearily at being almost thrown over onto her back. Rarity as well raised her head, tensing before catching sight of Rainbow.
Rainbow looked around the room, noticing everyone there. “Where’s… Are we there yet?” she panted.
“No, darling,” Rarity yawned. “You were just having a nightmare. Everything’s fine.”
“R-right,” Rainbow mumbled, looking at her hooves. “Just… just a nightmare. Applejack would never…”
“Would never what?” Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow flinched, then quickly got up. “U-um, gotta use the little filly’s room,” she said, then quickly made her escape.
Everypony glanced at one another as the turbulence in the room settled. Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged unknowing shrugs and helpless looks, then Rarity eased the door shut with a flick of her horn. Cadance glanced between them. “Shouldn’t somepony go after her? She looked pretty shaken up.”
Rarity sighed. “Darling, Rainbow doesn’t like talking about her feelings. Trying to get her to will only make her lash out.”
“If something is really bothering her, she knows we’ll listen,” Fluttershy added. “We just have to wait for Rainbow to calm down, that’s all.”
Cadance frowned slightly, uncertain. She then cast her gaze towards the door, a troubled feeling gnawing at her insides.
~~***~~
Rainbow loitered between cars, alone with her thoughts. The wind howled as the train roared down the tracks. The steam engine chugged at a frightful pitch just a few train cars down. The smell of coal smoke filled the air.
It was the cool night air that Rainbow relished the most, though. It helped to wake her up fully and banish the last shreds of her dream. Even now she could barely recall it. Only the twisted feeling in her gut remained.
A knock caught her attention. She looked up reflexively towards the door behind her, and found a pink pony princess smiling carefully back at her. Rainbow blinked at her, then turned away.
Cadance carefully slid the door open and slipped through.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Rainbow said immediately.
“I know,” Cadance said back. “I only wanted to tell you that Twilight is safe now. They got the pony pulling the strings.”
Rainbow spun around. “Really?” she said, eyes big with hope. When Cadance nodded, she let out a breath and broke into a grin. “Ha! I knew she’d be okay. Twilight’s always got a plan up her sleeve.”
Rainbow turned and looked out over the countryside. The steep valleys and towering mountains had given way to gently rolling foothills dotted with forested groves. Fields of grass raced out in every direction, broken up here and there by the occasional stream that flashed in the moonlight as they passed. The landscape was starting to take on a familiar look.
“Yeah… she always knows what to do.”
“Is something the matter?” Cadance asked, raising an eyebrow.
Rainbow puffed up reflexively. “Hey, I know exactly what I’m doing! AJ’s as good as saved with me around. It’s… just the particulars that are kind of hazy. Nothing major. B-But I got this! No sweat!”
Cadance pursed her lips, but said nothing.
It took her a moment, but eventually Rainbow deflated again. “Oh who am I kidding. I have no idea what to do next. All I know is there’s a rock inside me that somehow I have to get inside Applejack or… or something. Erg… why did those stupid ghosts have to be so vague?! Why are they always vague? And if I screw this up…”
She sighed, and set her head down on the railing. “I don’t know how to put it. It just feels like, if there’s no Applejack, then… there’s no me. Does…” she chanced a glance over her shoulder at Cadance, “…Does that make sense?”
Cadance smiled. “Of course it does. I feel the same way about Shining Armor, you know. Why else do you think I’ve married him, hmm?”
Rainbow gave her a confused look. “Uh… because you love him? Isn’t that what the whole marriage thing is about?”
Cadance’s smile grew. “That’s right.” She suddenly leaned in close and raised her eyebrow at Rainbow. “So what does that say about you, hmm?”
Rainbow gave her a perplexed look, not quite following – and a little too afraid to follow. “Uh… uh…”
Cadance suddenly broke out into a fit of giggles. “Geez, Rainbow, I’m only teasing you. Unless I’m hitting a little too close to home.”
“No!” Rainbow said quickly. “I-I mean, of course not!”
“Are you sure?” Cadance teased. The sparkle in her eyes drew a defensive glower from Rainbow, who did not like whatever they were insinuating. She would just pretend that the heat burning on her face was from indignant rage. There was nothing else it could be.
“Totally positive.”
“Then why are you blushing?”
“Because you’re being super weird!”
Cadance chuckled, then mercifully backed off. Rainbow let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding and turned away to grumble to herself in peace.
…
“…But…”
Rainbow could practically feel Cadance’s judgmental gaze fall on the back of her head, which she absolutely refused to meet. The idea of what kind of look she might be getting was making her immensely uncomfortable.
“…Let’s… let’s say… hypothetically… JUST hypothetically, okay?”
“Okay,” Cadance said, and Rainbow could hear the restrained mirth in her voice.
“Ugh… let’s just say maybe, theoretically, just in order to explore every single possibility no matter how infinitesimally small they are—”
“You’re rambling, Rainbow,” Cadance said humorously.
“Ergh… You know what, never mind,” Rainbow snapped, and turned to leave. The burning on her face was reaching an all new intensity that she couldn’t bear anymore.
A gentle hoof caught her shoulder, bringing her to a stop. “I’m sorry,” Cadance said repentantly. Still Rainbow refused to look at her, yet Cadance continued undaunted. “You can talk to me. It’s just us out here, you know.”
Rainbow didn’t say anything. She stayed facing the other way, aimed in the direction of the door and ultimately safety from this uncomfortable conversation. All that was restraining her was a light hoof that didn’t hold onto her very tightly. She could just walk away and leave all of this stupid turmoil where it should be; locked up and out of sight.
And on any other day, with any other problem hanging over her head, Rainbow could have done just that. But that night, her hooves felt too heavy to move.
“… Cadance?”
“Yes?” she responded.
“How do you… do it?” Rainbow asked hesitantly.
“Do what?”
Rainbow mumbled to herself and shifted from one hoof to the next, looking uncomfortable. She almost reconsidered even saying anything, but then thought better of it.
“Shining Armor. Do you… do you ever worry about him?”
“Of course.”
“Like,” Rainbow went on, words flying out of her mouth now. “Like, so much that the idea of losing him is just—it’s unthinkable. Like if he stopped being there, you would, too?”
Rainbow started to turned to face Cadance—to look her in the eye while she answered. But at the last second, she lost heart and averted her gaze again. All she caught was a glimpse of Cadance’s face, and that was almost too much for her.
“Have… have you ever felt like… like there’s no you if there’s no him? Has the thought of failing him scared you so much you can barely breathe?”
Rainbow sighed, then looked up. She still refused to catch even a glimpse of the pony next to her, no matter what. “Have you ever missed her so much it felt like you’d go crazy? Like you were in some sort of dream, or weird alternate reality just waiting for the real world to restart again? And the only way for everything to go back to normal was for her to be there with you?”
The words finally dried up. For some reason, Rainbow felt like a wrung out dish rag. She didn’t like it.
Before she could let Cadance answer, Rainbow trudged over to the guard rail overlooking the countryside racing by. She still refused to look Cadance in the eye, especially after the uncool stuff she’d just said. Rainbow glanced down at her hooves while she toyed with them on the guard rail. Below, the tracks rushed by in a disorienting blur. The rattle of the tracks almost drowned her out completely, and some part of her wished she couldn’t be heard, anyway.
“She was the first pony I ever could call my friend here in Ponyville. Sure Fluttershy came later, and Pinkie Pie was… well, Pinkie Pie. But Applejack was always the one who made me want to stay in Ponyville. Heh… when we were fillies, we competed in everything, no matter how big or small. It always made me mad that, no matter what I did, some earth pony could always match me, pound for pound. I hated her guts so much back then, and the only thing I cared about was beating her. Now? Now just thinking that we’ll never get the chance to race again is… it’s really scary. If she’s not… if she just stopped being there… I don’t know what I’d do. And if she disappears because I messed up…”
Rainbow shivered. “So, bottom line: I can’t fail her. No way. But… what if I do?”
For a long time, Cadance was quiet. Rainbow was fully braced for some kind of teasing remark, or some other mushy jab at how totally uncool she was being. So it came as something of a surprise when Cadance spoke in a normal, level tone.
“Rainbow, I wish there was some magical thing I could say to reassure you. But I know when you care about somepony as much as you do Applejack, you will always worry about them. I do every day Shining Armor is at work. Celestia do I worry…”
Rainbow jumped when she felt a wing gently wrap around her and give her a hug. “But I promise I will give you as many opportunities to save Applejack as I possibly can. Though, I get the feeling you will only need one.”
Rainbow still didn’t turn around. She kept herself determinedly turned the other way in order to save face. Eventually the wing hugging her moved away. She heard the clatter of hooves on the metal floor, and the rasp of the door sliding open.
“You mean the world to her, too, Rainbow,” Cadance said from the doorway. “The Corastone inside you is the proof. Remember that.”
With that, she closed the door behind her, leaving a quiet Rainbow alone with her thoughts once again. She stood motionless by the rails, gazing unseeingly out across the countryside.
After a while, her hoof came up to tough her chest.
Come… come save me… ya hear…?
Rainbow clutched harder at the fur over her heart, just as the train engine let loose a deafening whistle. Rainbow barely felt the lurch or heard the screech of laboring brakes. She looked out over rapidly approaching thatched roofs.
Her wings were open. Her pulse started to rise. It was now or never.
And for her, she’d never say never.
~~***~~
It was in a deserted station that the train finally ground to a halt. There wasn’t so much as a single pony manning the ticket booths. By all accounts, the station had been shut down for the night. Not even the lights were on along the platform.
Nevertheless, the station suddenly found itself properly crowded as a regiment of the Crystal Empire’s finest burst out of the doors. Even as the train continued to boil over with steam, the guards quickly set up a perimeter around the station with the eagerness only greenhorns could muster, swinging spears at shadows that looked at them the wrong way.
Cadance tried not to chuckle at their enthusiasm as they unloaded supplies by the crate-load. One would think they were expecting a full blown war on the horizon.
But as they walked off the train, Shining Armor had a darker perspective. “There should be guards posted here,” he remarked. “What’s Steel Shod doing leaving the main port of entry in and out of Ponyville unguarded? It’s not like him.”
“It’s not just the station,” came a voice overhead. Everypony turned around as Rainbow set herself down on the platform.
Cadance caught her eye, an unspoken question on her face. Rainbow just flashed half a grin at her, then turned back to face Shining Armor. That small gesture was all Cadance needed.
“Sorry,” she added, seeing the looks she was getting, “It was taking forever for the train to stop, so I did a flyby of the area. Steel Shod usually has patrols going through the city this time of night, but I haven’t seen anypony for several blocks.”
“Then it’s worse than I thought,” Shining Armor noted with a scowl. “Steel Shod would never let his men slack off, not unless something is forcing his hoof.”
“Like what?” Cadance inquired.
Shining Armor’s expression grew darker. “Like if he mobilized the Ponyville division. And I’ll give you one guess why he’d do that.”
“Applejack,” Rainbow said quietly.
“That would be my guess,” Shining Armor said with a solemn nod. “She must be heading back to Ponyville, and Steel Shod caught wind of it.”
Rainbow felt her gut lurch uncomfortably. “If even a little bit of AJ is still in there, she’s heading for Sweet Apple Acres, no doubt about it. But if Steel Shod gets in her way…”
“I know,” Shining Armor said grimly. “But that’s what the regiment is for. Hopefully a show of force will get Steel Shod to stand down peacefully. But right now our biggest concern is actually finding him—and Applejack—before things get worse.”
Cadance suddenly flinched, then glanced towards the entrance of the station. Then, she broke into a smile. “We may be getting a solution to that,” she said.
Rainbow gave her a befuddled look. It was at that moment that Rarity and Fluttershy both exited the train and glanced around.
Cadance winked at Rainbow. “You may want to take a step back,” she advised, then followed her own advice.
Rainbow cocked her head, more confused than ever, then followed her example.
At first, nothing happened. Then, Rainbow felt the most peculiar heat emanating from somewhere in front of her. Pebbles on the roadway jittered and danced of their own accorded. A faint, but unmistakable glow grew out of midair, casting shadows across the benches and trash bins along the platform.
Then, without warning, Rainbow watched the space at the end of the train station platform suddenly pinch together, like it was imploding, then rapidly it snapped back with a deafening bang that produced enough force to knock the breath out of Rainbow and everypony standing nearby.
And just like that, there were now three ponies standing in front of them. One was immediately recognized by three friends, who all gasped and cried out.
“Twilight!” they cheered.
The alicorn in question turned, blinking in surprise as Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow all galloped her way. They, however, were nowhere near as fast as one overjoyed big brother.
“Twiley!” Shining cried out, and proceeded to all but tackle her off her hooves long before the rest of her friends reached her.
“Oof!” Twilight complained as she was picked up in a crushing hug and whirled around.
“You’re safe! Oh thank Celestia!”
“You’re welcome,” said the diarch herself, smiling in bemusement as she did.
It was then that Shining Armor took stock of the others accompanying Twilight.
Princess Celestia stood next to her pupil, her eyes twinkling with mirth. Even at night, she seemed to give off an otherworldly glow, as if no shadow could dull her coat.
At her other side, however, stood an umbral mare more accustomed to the peaceful dark. It was the sight of Princess Luna’s arched eyebrow that brought Shining Armor back to reality, causing him to rapidly replace Twilight back on her hooves and snap to attention.
“Luna?” Cadance said, pulling up short. “I wasn’t expecting you, as well.”
The princess of the night gave Cadance a mercurial look. “Equestria’s protection is not the sole duty of my sister,” she commented. “When I heard about what happened to Twilight Sparkle, I could not sit idly by.”
Celestia cast an apologetic smile towards her sister, then turned towards Cadance. “You must excuse Princess Luna. She is… at odds with some of my decisions of late.”
Luna gave Celestia a look that would have driven a lesser pony to cowering. “We were discussing a fitting punishment for the perpetrators of this travesty,” she said stiffly. “And we are given to understand that public executions are now frowned upon in this day and age.”
“That they are,” Celestia commented politely.
Luna turned towards the others. “Therefore, a public hanging is out of the question.”
“Luna,” Celestia cautioned.
“However,” Luna went on, pointedly ignoring the chastising look her sister was giving her, “there are more pressing matters at hoof, are there not?”
“Yes,” Cadance answered, frowning.
Meanwhile, as the three princesses conversed, Twilight found herself once again scooped up in a hug – this time by three relieved friends.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so happy you’re safe,” Fluttershy said, overjoyed yet still soft-spoken.
“Pfft, I wasn’t worried at all,” Rainbow said dismissively. “A couple goons against Twilight “One-Pony-Army” Sparkle? Not a chance!”
Twilight rolled her eyes at her.
“Oh, and you won’t believe what we found out in the Crystal Empire!” Rainbow gushed, but was suddenly and quite unceremoniously tossed aside, making room for an exuberant pearly white unicorn.
“That can wait. You simply must tell us what happened,” Rarity insisted. “How did you escape? Don’t leave out any detail, darling!”
“It is a most thrilling tale,” said Cassava.
To that, three mares screamed and jumped back, suddenly realizing there was a fifth party in their midst.
With an amused chuckle, Cassava’s form shimmered into existence, giving shape to his huge grin. “Buenos noches,” he greeted casually while leaning against a bench.
“He does that,” Twilight deadpanned, seeing the looks of shock on everypony’s faces. “If you ignore him, maybe he’ll stop.”
Cassava turned a hurt-filled look on her. “Reina, you wound me.”
“Oh I’ll wound you,” Twilight said menacingly. “But we’ve got more important things to do first.” She then glanced over her shoulder, looking around the empty square beyond the train station. “Agave? You can come out now.”
After a short pause, the tiny changeling filly materialized at Twilight’s side, looking somewhat sheepish. “Hi, everypony,” she said.
Rarity blinked at her. “Um… aren’t you supposed to be in the changeling district?”
“I’ll explain later,” Twilight said as Agave shied away into her side. “Listen, I think I know how to fix Applejack.”
“You do?” Rarity said, cocking her head to one side.
“Yes,” Twilight said with a nod. “It’s her crown! It acts like a storage vessel for her Corastone. If we can get it away from her, and find a way to break it open, we can get to her Corastone!”
Everypony blinked, surprised. Then Rainbow dropped on hoof onto the other in dawning realization. “Ooooh. So that must be where the rest of it is.”
Twilight gave her an uncomprehending look. “Rest of what?”
“The Corastone,” Rainbow said. “Oh yeah, by the way? I sorta have one of those in me, too. Neat, right?”
At that, Twilight gaped in astonishment at her. “There’s a WHAT inside you?! How did you find out – no, when did it happen? How did it get in there? Have there been any adverse effects? We need to do a full battery of screenings immediately!”
Beside her, Rarity cleared her throat meaningfully.
“…But I guess that can wait,” Twilight mumbled sheepishly. “B-but only if you tell me everything!”
“Well,” Rainbow said, tilting her head to one side, “It’s some sort of piece of something Applejack didn’t want to be separated. I… guess. Look, the ghosts weren’t really specific when they pulled it out of me.”
“What ghosts?” Twilight cried out.
Rarity took that moment to step up beside Twilight and put a reassuring hoof across her shoulders. “It’s been a very eventful night, darling,” she summarized. “Allow me to sum it up for you. You, uh, may want to sit down…”
“Yeah, you go do that,” Rainbow said, batting a dismissive hoof. “Oh, and don’t leave out the part where I kicked Acorn Tot, or whatever her name was!”
While Rarity lead a mildly frazzled Twilight away, Rainbow turned towards the two changelings, one of which was trying very hard not to burst out into fits of laughter.
“So… You guys find out anything interesting from the goons that did all this?” she asked. “Like, was it secretly some kind of changeling plot all along?”
“No,” Agave responded, looking slightly disappointed. “I thought it would be, too. It made so much sense. But it was some pony named Bullion that foalnapped Twilight. We checked; he wasn’t a changeling.”
“It seems he was in possession of a changeling crown,” Cassava interjected. “Or… maybe it’s best to say the crown was in possession of him. Old magic is always very confusing.”
Rainbow gave him a surprised look. “Really? Where is it?”
Cassava shrugged at that. “I can’t say. Reina Celestia’s soldiers are turning the mansion upside down looking for it, but right now there’s still no sign of it. If anypony else claimed to have seen it, I’d be starting to think they made it all up. But, as funny as Reina Twilight Sparkle is, she is no liar.”
“Yeah, that’s for sure,” Rainbow said, lapsing into thoughtfulness. “Hmm…”
“Is something wrong?” Agave asked nervously, making Rainbow jump.
“Oh! No, just thinking. What’s important is that Bullion got caught. Now we just need to fix Applejack and call it a day. Easy!”
“Not quite.”
Rainbow turned as the three princesses approached, all looking serious. At their head, Celestia had the heaviest frown. “Captain Steel Shod’s choice to mobilize the Ponyville division must indicate that Bullion’s call to action managed to get out ahead of his capture,” she said. “The captain would never react this fast, given that the only ones who know of Applejack’s current condition are either present, or behind bars.”
A look crossed Rainbow’s face when she heard that. “Wait. Are you telling me Steel Shod was in on it all along?” And then a look of horror crossed her face, “And I missed my chance to tell Twilight I told you so?!”
She suddenly snapped her head around, staring intensely down towards the other end of the train platform and in the direction of two mares. “Hey Twilight!” she shouted.
“What?” Twilight shouted back.
“I TOLD YOU SO!”
Now smiling with satisfaction, she turned back towards the awaiting diarch. “Okay, crisis averted. You were saying?”
Celestia gave her a bemused smile, then straightened her expression. “By Twilight’s account, however, that is not entirely the case.”
“Uh… what?”
Celestia’s grin was back. “According to her testimony, Steel Shod turned down Bullion’s offer of allegiance. But it is entirely possible that Bullion still reached out to him, hoping to still use him as a pawn in his own agenda. Knowing Captain Steel Shod, he would not hesitate to jump to the defense of Ponyville.”
“So what’s the difference?” Rainbow grumbled. “Either way he needs a good pummeling.”
“That seems to be the case,” Luna added. “Unfortunately, Bullion has succeeded in creating a scenario in which Steel Shod is in his rights to attack Queen Applejack in the name of defending Ponyville. And I do believe he will not hold anything back in the pursuit of that objective.”
“Pfft, like we’d let him do that. So what’re we waiting for?” Rainbow questioned, already in the air and restlessly flitting about. “Let’s go put a stop to him right now!”
“No, Rainbow,” Celestia stated firmly. “Applejack takes priority. Luna and Cadance will ensure the changeling swarm does not interfere. Be it by our hooves or Steel Shod’s, our efforts to cure Applejack may be construed as hostile by them. Precautions must be taken to ensure everypony’s safety, as well as the hive’s.”
“And… what about you?” Fluttershy asked.
Celestia smiled kindly. “Me? Well, I intend to have a brief discussion with the good captain. It will be up to him how brief it shall be.”
Rainbow’s eyes sparkled as the princess turned elegantly away. “So… awesome…”
Celestia’s eye twinkled at her, then she quickly strode away, opened her wings, and took flight into the night sky. Rainbow watched her go, until she felt a nudge against her side.
Looking up, Rainbow nearly jumped out of her skin. Princess Luna looked down at her, her façade as mysterious as ever. “I suggest you hurry after my sister. Wherever Captain Steel Shod is, Queen Applejack will most certainly be close by.”
“I agree,” Cadance put in, stepping up beside Luna. “And as tempting as it might be to deal with Steel Shod yourself, leave him to Celestia.” She then turned her attention towards the ponies behind Rainbow. “Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity? You should find Pinkie Pie, then meet up with everypony at Celestia’s location. Shining Armor, head to the Guard Post. If things get out of hand, sound the alarm and start evacuating ponies.”
Fluttershy and Rarity both nodded, but Twilight instead frowned. “Actually, I think I should go with Rainbow.” She turned towards her other two friends. “Can you handle finding Pinkie on your own?”
“Certainly,” Rarity said, running a hoof through her mane. “It’s amazing she hasn’t bumped into us yet.” As she spoke, she checked a nearby trash can, as if half expecting to find a giggly party pony stowed away inside. “I was half expecting her to appear by now.”
“We’ll find her,” Fluttershy told Twilight with a reassuring smile.
“Good,” Twilight said with a smile. She then turned toward Rainbow, who gave her a questioning look. “Let’s go,” she said.
“Twilight,” spoke up Luna, catching everypony’s attention. The alicorn in question looked around and noticed the meaningful look she was being given. “Take heed of Trochanter’s words,” Luna advised.
Twilight nodded again, looking serious. “I will. I’m not sure how, but… I will.”
Luna nodded in understanding.
“Uh… Trochanter who?” Rainbow questioned, looking confused.
“I’ll explain on the way,” Twilight said, turning back around. “Let’s go find Applejack.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Rainbow grunted, and together they soared across the night sky, hot on Celestia’s tail.
“Okay!” Agave called out, trying to hide her pout. “We’ll just… stay out of it! Again!”
“It’ll probably be for the best,” Shining Armor said.
The little filly looked around, and found the Captain of the Guard strapping on his imposing purple and gold trimmed armor. “Something tells me, even if we get Steel Shod to stand down, Applejack herself isn’t going to go down without a fight.”
~~***~~
A cold night breeze blew across Steel Shod’s frame, causing him to glance up. He stood atop a hill overlooking a shallow forested basin. On the far side, towering firs and aspens cast jagged dappled shadows across the horizon, blotting out the lowest stars.
The fringe of the White Tail Woods flanked either side of the basin like an open pincer. In between Steel Shod and the tree line, a wide open field of wildflowers, patches of clover and lush grass blanketed the ground. A hush gripped the night; no animals called in the trees, and even the breeze sounded mute and hollow in the treetops.
The clearing was almost as big as two hoof-ball fields, giving Steel Shod plenty of room to work with, and the hill overlooking the basin provided the perfect vantage point from which to direct the imminent battle. All that was left to do was wait.
Behind him, his troops were already in formation, with the lights of a sleeping Ponyville at their backs. There would be no ground to fall back to. They would either fight here and win… or lose.
His scan of his surroundings complete, Steel Shod went back to looking down into one raised hoof. There, an open locket looked back at him.
In the delicate golden frame, a mare smiled back at him, like she always had. Under the moonlight, it was hard to make out her colors, but Steel Shod would never forget. A coat as pink as the sunrise, and a long bushy mane as red as the sunset.
She wouldn’t approve of what he was about to do. There were a lot of things she wouldn’t approve of. But if she knew what that… that thing had put him through… how it’d twisted his mind into thinking she was still there, all so some parasite could suck him dry and use him to do its dirty work against his own people…! No, she wouldn’t hold it against him, and even if she did, he’d at least know that he did something to make sure it never, ever happened to anypony else. If anything else, that was goal he could live with.
“Sir?”
He clicked the locket closed between his forehooves, then tucked it into his armored collar. He turned, and found a cadet giving him a salute. “We’ve almost finished calibrating the weapon. We’ll be ready to fire at any time.”
Steel Shod nodded. “Good. Has there been any word from the scouts?”
“Nothing, sir,” the cadet said. “Not since the last sighting ten minutes ago. As far as we know, the target’s course remains unaltered.”
Steel Shod nodded again. Ever since the first flare had been sighted, he’d been doing his best to keep an eye on the approaching monster. So far, several scouts had already failed to report in, their whereabouts unknown.
“And has there been any word from Cloudsdale?” he inquired. “Can we count on Wonderbolt support?”
“Not yet, sir,” the cadet responded, looking a little nervous. “Um… I believe they were booked for a show in Las Pegasus this weekend.”
“Which puts them on the opposite end of Equestria,” Steel Shod growled. “Fine. We’ll make do with our best flyers. Gather up all the pegasi with wing power at or over ten on their records. They’ll be running interference.”
The cadet saluted in acknowledgement, when something swooped low over his head. He yelped in surprise, flinching downwards and looked around.
The owl hooted back at him as it flew away, sounding indignant.
“Where’d that come from?” the cadet grumbled, straightening up.
“Cadet.”
He looked around, praying he wasn’t about to be chewed out for such an embarrassing display in front of his superior office. But Steel Shod wasn’t even looking in his direction. He was staring off towards the horizon, as another bird whizzed over his head.
“Get the pegasi. Now,” he ordered.
As he did, a flock of quail zipped through the sky above them. A dozen ravens followed suit. Soon, the sky was filled with fleeing birds, all rushing away from the heart of the White Tail Woods.
~~***~~
Noise. Unending, deafening noise. Again she clutched at her head and swayed on the spot.
Her throat burned like it was filled with live coals. Her insides shivered and screamed for relief, creating so much noise…
She couldn’t think, couldn’t make sense of anything. There was just the noise, the screaming need, the howling hunger that bellowed so loud she couldn’t string two thoughts together.
She felt on the verge of starvation, and yet her stomach didn’t growl. She felt on the verge of dehydration, yet her mouth was not parched. She felt feverishly hot, yet she didn’t sweat nor shiver. Some primitive, urgent need was in control, and it drowned out all else.
If she could just think…
Something was wrong. She was doing something she didn’t want to do. She was doing something bad, something that twisted her up inside. But she couldn’t figure out what it was. She couldn’t think…
She had to find something. She had to get it. She had to take it.
But the moment that imperative crystalized in her head, her very being revolted against it. Her revulsion was so acute it almost brought her to dry heaves.
Not that… anything but that!
She felt it again, a burning sensation in her body, in her forehead, across her skin and down in her very bones. She couldn’t do it. She had to do it, but she couldn’t! She was being twisted up inside and had no idea how to unravel herself. And the tighter she twisted, the more she felt herself slip…
Not… that…!
~~***~~
“Incoming!”
Steel Shod glanced sharply over his shoulder, saw a half dozen ponies staring up into the night sky and scattering, before he instinctively threw himself to one side. A split second later, a thirty foot tall pine tree slammed back to earth, tumbled end over end at least four times, leaving deep divots in the earth wherever it struck, and finally came to rest on its side halfway down the reverse slope of the hill.
“Where did that come from?” Steel Shod bellowed. “Somepony talk to me!”
“Dead ahead!” somepony shouted back. “We got movement in the trees!”
~~***~~
Something was pulling her. It wasn’t the noise… yet it was. But the pull… she couldn’t resist. It was leading her somewhere, somewhere she wanted to be.
She had to find it… she had to take it…
No! Not… not that…
But something inside of her knew, whenever she felt the pull, she felt something… an echo deep down, something like the promise of relief. It was irresistible. It was so tantalizing…
She was calling to her…
~~***~~
“He said what?!” Rainbow exclaimed in disbelief.
“I know,” Twilight said back in total empathy. “It sounds impossible, and I was there! But even if it doesn’t make any sense, it may be our only shot.”
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around Trochanter,” Rainbow grunted, shaking her head. “So you’re telling me, all this time, it was—”
Rainbow let out a yelp so loud Twilight heard it. She came to a stop and turned around, and found Rainbow doubled over in midair.
She clutched at her chest so tightly it was like she was trying to keep it together. She periodically winced in pain and drew in sharp breaths.
“Something… something’s wrong,” Rainbow gasped. She grimaced again, grunting.
Through the sudden and inexplicable pangs shooting through her, she felt Twilight grab her shoulders. “Rainbow, what’s wrong?”
“I… I don’t know,” Rainbow panted. “I-it’s got to be the Corastone. It’s…!” Her eyes suddenly widened with realization. “It’s Applejack. She’s… erg, she’s gotta be close.”
Rainbow looked up, and through the lights popping in front of her, she made out a pair of purple, worried eyes. “I think she’s… calling for me.”
Twilight’s eyes grew huge. She muttered something very complicated under her breath that included something about ‘resonation’. Rainbow was finding it difficult to pay close attention. Twilight suddenly tightened her grip on Rainbow’s shoulders. “Which way is it coming from?” she pressed.
Rainbow looked around. It didn’t make any sense. She had no idea what she was looking for. Yet she could feel a tug pulling her in a direction that felt so absurdly natural, like a path she’d flown a million times before…
And as she turned her head, desperately sweeping the rooftops around her, she saw it. A familiar flash of movement as something tall bounded over a thatched roof, leaving only a trail of red in its wake.
This way!
“That way,” she said. She felt Twilight’s hooves disappear, then she was racing off again, faster than ever. She didn’t even question it anymore.
~~***~~
Applejack didn’t push into the clearing. She carved her way into it.
Trees on either side of her were shunted to the side, ripping up roots and flinging dirt sky high. Low hanging branches were crushed to splinters, no matter how thick and sturdy they were.
Bushes were flattened out of her way, and rocks of all sizes sped away from her with enough velocity to embed themselves deep into whatever stopped them, be it wood, hillside, or the hastily erected barricades dotting the clearing beyond. The earth underneath her had nowhere to go, and so it was packed down hard until the soil was smooth and flat as a well-worn trail.
Across the clearing, Steel Shod stared down at her advancing form. She really was unrecognizable now; only the color of her mane was any indication of who she used to be. Her long, gangly legs moved stiffly, and her absurdly stretched out neck was held at a horizontal angle to the ground. She stared blankly through her tangled, matted mane, her gaze never falling on the force confronting her. It was like she couldn’t even see them.
That, at least, would make things easier on his conscience. After all, now he was just putting down another monster.
“Unicorns!” he barked. “Give her a volley!”
A cry went through the ranks, and several rows of armor-plated unicorns stepped forward. The front row took a knee, allowing the row behind them to aim their horns over their shoulders.
“Aim!” called out the sergeant at the regiment’s head.
The night was lit up by countless colors of magic as horn after horn illuminated in sequence. The sudden burst of so many colors got Applejack’s attention, and she paused.
“Fire!”
Bolts of aquamarine, jets of gold and lances of red, and every color in between shot forth down the hillside. Each spell hissed through the air, buzzing with lethal intent.
A few fizzled out before ever reaching their target, much to the embarrassment of their casters. Most swung wide, impacting the ground and the trees in front of, behind and on both sides of their intended target. Several, however, flew true, only to abruptly veer off course, as if caught in a high wind.
But the volley had its intended effect.
The monster paused, and turned her eyes up towards the hill. They had her attention now. She wasn’t staring past them anymore.
As she stared, she winced, and Applejack clutched at her head. There were so many of them, all radiating something tantalizing down towards her. It was like an aroma, but… not. But whatever it was, it was so hard to resist.
No!
Applejack groaned and shook her head. She couldn’t do that! She wasn’t… she wasn’t…!
Ah won’t do it!
~~***~~
Up on the hill, the soldiers took notice. “Sir!” one called out, “she’s stopped moving!”
“Good, get the pegasi in there! Formation M! On the double, colts!” Another series of cries rang out, orders relaying down the ranks. And in a field on the reverse slope of the hill, a squadron of pegasi spread their wings.
Steel Shod turned to watch them form up, when a shout rang across the ranks. “Sir! Sir, she’s doing something!”
Steel Shod turned around, was a second away from asking a question, when he noticed the intense, burning green light at the bottom of the basin.
Applejack’s entire body hummed with pent up energy. It crackled across every limb, coursing down from her horn. Steel Shod could actually see it pumping through her veins; each pulse of green light moved down each leg like a glow in the dark spider web.
The ground trembled. Rocks all around her were pounded deep into the hard packed ground, until they disappeared from sight. Her horn burned like a nuclear reactor.
“Shields!” Steel Shod bellowed, just as Applejack let out a terrible scream.
The shockwave hit Steel Shod like a freight train. The explosive bang left his ears ringing and his head spinning. By the time he regained his senses, he was on the ground some five feet from where he’d been standing.
Through the deafening ringing in his ears, he could hear the muffled, distant voices of an army in panic. As his eyes refocused, he saw ponies falling back, some desperately running for their lives. Most were picking themselves up just like he was, a few staggered about in a daze.
With a grunt, Steel Shod struggled to his hooves and shouted. “Form ranks! All of you, form ranks! Defensive positions, NOW!”
Not everypony responded immediately. Most were too keen on heading for the hills, or at the very least getting their heads back on straight. But most slowed, then took up battle formations once more, though not nearly as far over the ridge as before.
Steel Shod glared at them, then looked down into the basin. He soon realized, however, that basin was the wrong word for it anymore.
Applejack had blown a fifty foot wide crater in the shallow valley floor. The sheer force of her magical detonation sent cracks and fissures winding all the way up to where Steel Shod stood, and flattened whole tracks of forest behind her.
The ground immediately under Applejack’s hooves was black and glassy, the intense heat she’d vented having crystalized the earth beneath her. All around her, little embers scattered by the blast started to catch, speckling the area with small orange dots. Up on the hill, Steel Shod was starting to smell smoke.
His heart pounding in his chest, adrenaline pumping, Steel Shod turned to bellow over his shoulder. “Send in the pegasi!”
~~***~~
Everything was wrong… everything was so wrong inside her. She didn’t remember why. But she hurt so much inside… and the noise…
She just had to think… that’s all. If she could make sense of her situation, maybe she could make things right, not wrong. Maybe… maybe if the noise wasn’t so loud… if she could quiet the maelstrom churning and ripping and tearing inside of her…
It was getting harder to fight… and she was starting to forget what she was supposed to be fighting… Everything hurt… everything was wrong. All she wanted was to make it stop…
Something caught her attention. Movement in front. She looked up, and her eyes fell on a number of shapes rocketing up from the other side of the hill in front of her.
And then, they turned in her direction.
No… no, no, they had to stay away. They’d only make the wrong feeling worse!
But just as she thought they were going to fly right at her, the squadron of pegasi abruptly angled to one side and swerved sharply. Instead of charging straight at her, they began circling just a few dozen feet off the ground, making a circle a hundred feet across.
Then, they began to speed up. And as they sped up, the wind began to blow.
More pegasi joined the formation, more and more piling on the wing power as they spun, round and round, over the monster’s head. Faster and faster, until dust started to rise in the swirling gale. The thin traces of smoke started to swirl round and round through the basin. It started to howl, reaching a keening pitch as the funnel took form.
At the heart of the swelling tornado, the creature gasped for air and squared her stance. The eye was too narrow to afford her any relief from the pounding winds. Soon, toppled trees started whipping over her head as the tornado reached maturity.
~~***~~
Steel Shod watched the maelstrom take form with a grim feeling of success. Applejack was strong, but even she would be pinned down by a storm of this strength. He had no intention of giving her a moment’s rest, however.
He whipped his head around, turning towards the awaiting crews behind him. “Now!” he bellowed over the rising winds.
His order was relayed down the hill, to an awaiting crew tucked away at the back of the division.
The moment they got the order, they moved into action, and started clambering all over a mass of steel glinting in the moonlight.
One crew pony jumped into an awaiting seat and started cranking several wheels. And as he did so, the contraption sprang to life. As he worked, the weapon lifted itself off of its bed and thrust a long, reinforced barrel into the sky.
The design was simple. One might say crude, even. But the defenders of Griffonstone were good at taking crude and making something exquisitely deadly to fight the never-ending civil wars ripping the country apart.
A reinforced body of Cold Iron, impervious to magical influences, within or without. A kill zone of three kilometers in whatever direction it was pointed. A bore diameter wide enough to admit a scrawny pony. But it was the payload that made the artillery piece special.
Ponies clambered about the rear of the weapon. A hatch was pulled open, and a loading mechanism extended out like a protruding tongue. At the same time, two loaders hefted one of the weapon’s shells off of a nearby rack and lugged it into the breach. Both were very keen to keep their hooves away from the intensely glowing projectile housed in the tip. It hummed angrily as it was moved, and the second it was loaded, a loud pop rent the air, and bolt of lightning struck the metal breach.
The loaders jumped back, then cautiously stepped closer before swiftly pushing the block back into the weapon and slamming the hatch behind it.
Thorium. As volatile as one would expect essentially crystallized lightning to be. The material was fragile—no tougher than a nail on a hoof, in fact—but when it fragmented, it unleashed all of its pent up energy in one big burst, like water escaping a shattered aquarium. And a slug of thorium as big as the one loaded in the howitzer could contain the same amount of power as an entire thunderstorm, to be released all at once. Not even Princess Celestia herself could withstand a strike of that magnitude. At least, in theory. Steel Shod had no intention of ever testing that theory, but he was confident that there wasn’t a changeling alive who could survive it.
That was Steel Shod’s hope, his one and only gamble. Applejack had to be stopped, here and now, for everypony in town, for his dearly beloved. And as far as executions went, an unfathomable amount of amperage was practically humane. It would be a quick, merciful death.
“Sir!” called a pony behind him over the roar of the tornado pinning his target down. “We’re ready to fire!”
Steel Shod had her where he wanted her. The eye of the tornado would be just wide enough for them to lob the shell down. It didn’t need to be a direct hit, as long as it came within twenty feet of her. His troops had been rigorously drilled on the firing range. They would not miss.
“Fire!” he ordered.
He braced as the command worked its way down the hill. Guards huddled against the ground, shielding themselves as best they could. Steel Shod made sure he kept his eyes on the target, unwilling to let himself miss even a second. He sucked in a breath and held it, and awaited the cannon blast.
…
And he waited.
After nearly ten seconds of agonizing anticipation, Steel Shod frowned. It shouldn’t take this long to line up the shot. He turned, intent on finding out what the wait was about.
What he found was a gold-tinted reflection of his own face, contained within the gorget around Princess Celestia’s neck.
“Pardon my interruption, Captain,” Celestia said tersely. “But that will be quite enough.”
Steel Shod stared at the Princess of the Sun with a look that could only be described as sheer, profound astonishment, which only grew even more profound when he glanced past her and witnessed the fate of his cannon, now completely disassembled and laid out in categorized fashion on the grass, right down to the smallest spring and washer.
Twilight Sparkle observed her handiwork with no small measure of pride, all the while holding the immobilized crew over her head in little spheres of violet magic without paying them the slightest heed.
Steel Shod stared at his dismantled weapon, his one and only hope of saving the ponies of Ponyville. Now, it was little more than odds and ends.
“What have you done?” Steel Shod breathed, his blood running cold. “Without that cannon…”
Down below, Twilight nodded to herself, pleased, and made her way up the slope towards the two of them. The spherical prison of ponies stayed where it was with no sign of weakening. As she approached, the accomplishment on her face was replaced with a stony frown. The ripping wind cast by the tornado yanked at her mane but it seemed to affect her little.
“Captain Steel Shod,” Celestia said next to him, and although the howling wind all but deafened him, her voice reached him without difficulty. When he looked towards her, he did not see anger of any sort on her face. Instead, she looked at him with the wounded disappointment of a mother. “I approved your transfer to Ponyville in the hope that spending time among changelings would heal that wound upon your heart. Perhaps… I have grown too optimistic of late. But this cannot be allowed to continue. Can you not see the path your hatred is setting you on?”
Steel Shod’s features composed themselves into a hard glare. “All I do, I do for the safety of Equestria!” He thrust a hoof down the hill, towards the swirling vortex’s heart. “Look for yourself! Even the best of them is nothing more than a monster! For every one good changeling, there are a hundred who would destroy everything we hold dear! I will not let another one of those things hurt anypony else! I won’t—”
“Enough.”
Steel Shod’s voice faded on his lips. Only then did he realize how loud he’d been shouting, and how hot his throat felt.
Celestia looked down at him, an eternal weariness dragging down her features. “That will be enough, Steel Shod. I cannot allow you to do this. For your sake above all others.”
Steel Shod searched her expression, at a loss.
“I understand the pain of loss,” she said calmly. “I have seen countless ponies born, grow, lead full, grand lives, and finally die. And I will see countless more. But it was always the ones I held dearest that hurt the most.”
Celestia turned to gaze towards the tornado. Despite the terrific maelstrom flattening trees and sending ponies skidding on their bellies across the ground, not a single hair in her mane rippled any more than usual.
“But to use their memories as fuel for your own rage does them a disservice. Ask yourself, Steel Shod; what would Amber Clad have to say to you right now?”
Celestia turned back towards a frozen Steel Shod, who struggled with all his might to maintain his composure, and uttered one final question. “And what would she have to say about what you are doing to your daughter?”
Steel Shod stared at her. Not a single thing she’d just said made sense. His daughter? He and Amber Clad had never had a…
And then the world fell out from under him.
Steel Shod found himself turning towards the monstrous tornado, which had grown wildly under the wing power of the squadron of pegasi that continued to rotate within it’s funnel.
“No… no that’s not possible…”
He turned sharply towards Celestia, glaring. “You’re lying. Amber Clad was not… We never…”
“It’s true!”
Steel Shod jerked around to stare a challenge at the much smaller purple pony princess trotting up towards him. Twilight had erected a barrier to shield herself from the lashing wind, and every so often in pulsated and flashed as some bit of debris impacted its surface.
“I know it sounds impossible,” Twilight shouted over the epic gale that screamed through the air. “But we wouldn’t be saying such a think if it wasn’t true!”
Steel Shod felt an angry, explosive heat rising up inside of him that threatened to detonate and boil over. But right as he opened his mouth to vent that heat, his eyes caught a glimpse of something thin and gilded swinging wildly around one of Twilight’s outstretched hooves.
He squinted, not quite making it out, until she drew nearer. On an offered hoof hung a thin golden chain ending in a tear-drop shaped locket embroidered with vine-like etchings.
At first glance, it bore a startling resemblance to the same necklace tucked into his collar. But the longer he stared, the more he realized that it wasn’t just some coincidental similarity. It was identical in every way possible.
Only two such lockets existed in the world. One, obviously, was draped around his own neck, the locket itself pressing just under his collarbone. And the other…
Steel Shod snapped from his daze. All of a sudden, everything seemed crystal clear. Sharp. Real.
“Where did you get that?” he demanded.
Twilight didn’t quail. “Call off your men first,” she demanded right back.
Steel Shod’s glare was fiery; a lesser pony would’ve been driven to cowering on the floor while trying not to lose bladder control. “Do not test me, Sparkle.”
Twilight’s scowl hardened. “Don’t test me, Shod. That’s my friend you’re trying to hurt. Call off your men, and then we’ll talk. Not before.”
The tense standoff that followed was only interrupted by the mounting whirlwind screaming in their ears and whipping debris about their heads with alarming ease.
Finally, after several long seconds and nearly getting bludgeoned by new fewer than three different full grown poplars that dwarfed telephone poles, Steel Shod turned his head without breaking eye contact with Twilight.
“Cadet!” he barked.
Just beyond the rim of the ridgeline, where the wind wasn’t as ferocious, a stallion’s head popped up. His helmet was promptly blown clean off and sent sailing away into oblivion. “S-Sir?”
“Sound the bugle. I want those pegasi groundside immediately.”
A look of relief lightened Twilight’s features. She let out the breath she’d been holding.
Steel Shod, however, did not look any less wrathful. “You’ve got what you wanted, princess. Now tell me—”
Steel Shod’s demand was cut short by the appearance of a building, acidic green light.
Everypony turned in unison towards the enormous twister swaying at the foot of the ridge as the light grew from deep within its heart.
The screaming in their ears was no longer just caused by the wind. An eerie, otherworldly keening grated at everypony’s senses. The ground started to tremble, green arcs of power dancing through the soil and crackling in the whirling funnel.
Twilight didn’t know what was coming, but she felt the intense surge of energy washing over her. Magic so intense it felt almost alien blew out of the heart of the tornado, and it was getting stronger.
“That’s not good,” Twilight said in a small voice, as pegasi scattered through the sky. Most were launched from their rapid orbit and sent spinning and spiraling in every direction. Some fled with angry emerald flames greedily burning their tails.
The keening reached a fever pitch, reverberating through the very air around them. Every breath Twilight took was filled with static electricity that tingled all the way into her lungs.
“Twilight!” Celestia commanded, rounding on the growing surge.
“Right!” Twilight shouted back, turning to face the storm as well.
Both lowered their horns. Gold and lavender magic poured outward and quickly entwined into an iridescent wedge that swiftly flattened itself in front of them all, just in the nick of time.
The detonation that followed ripped the tornado to shreds, banishing it in totality. A wall of unleashed, wild energy barreled up the basin, flattening all in its path, except for the stalwart barrier erected in its path.
Twilight and Celestia both grunted as the blast hit their barricade and roared by on either side. The shield held firm, bending only slightly, but Twilight felt the earth under her hooves slip just an inch or two.
After just a moment, the wave of destruction passed, leaving their ears ringing and the smell of burnt grass clinging to their nostrils.
Twilight panted, the breath knocked out of her, and straightened up. As she did, the unified barrier melted away until nothing was left. And without it blocking her view, Twilight bore witness to the spectacle that now dominated the basin.
“Whoa,” she said under her breath as she raised her eyes skyward, following the shape of a monumental, crystalline structure.
It rose over a hundred feet into the air and was comprised of dozens of individual, curling structures, like a frozen fire. As it cooled, the towering structure turned from a superheated, green-hot state to a near black, glassy one. Curious and unsettling flashes of green light continued to dance deep inside each shaft, like the fiery glow of an ignited coal.
As they all stood there, spellbound and horrorstruck in equal measure, a voice reached them like the distant echo of a mountaintop.
“Get away from me!”
Twilight stared, her heart pounding in fear. “Applejack… She’s trying to stop herself.”
Beside her, Celestia squinted at the malignant thing now dominating the landscape. “I cannot fathom what she's done to herself, but unleashing this much magic will have taken its toll,” she said. “For the moment, she will be weak.”
She turned questioningly towards Twilight. “Which leads into my question. Where is Rainbow Dash?”
~~***~~
Rainbow glided rapidly through a toppled forest, bobbing and weaving around fallen trees. The stink of fire smoke and the burning smell she’d long since come to associate with changeling magic burned in her nostrils and tingled across her coat. She’d known that had been Applejack just now—of that she had no doubt.
But up ahead, another shape darted around a pine tree stump.
It had led her in a wide, curving path through the forest to the far side of where she knew Applejack was. If not for the new monument now darkening the night sky, then for the insistent pulling on her heart. By now she had to be on the opposite end of the basin from everypony else.
Now her mysterious and inexplicable guide had changed course, and was heading straight for the clearing.
The only reason Rainbow had followed it up to this point was because, simply put, it hadn’t steered her wrong before. But not it was looking like this thing had just intentionally wasted her time.
Irritated, she sped up, catching a scratch or two from branches as she blew through them. The clearing was almost in sight when she set herself down and quickly galloped out onto the baked, bare earth.
Experience so far had taught her that she’d find nothing of her guide. Up until that point, she fully expected the trend to continue. So it was a huge shock to find her way barred by a tall figure.
It stood with its back to her, easily rising twice her height. Even in the dimming light cast by the crystal prison, it was as black as a shadow, save for two points of long, draped red shapes—one on its head, and one on its backside.
Its form was indistinct and swirled like smoke. Only its towering, elongated shape and brilliant crimson areas gave it any real features.
But as Rainbow approached, she knew exactly who and what it was. She didn’t know how, or why she immediately jumped to the conclusion she did, but the identity jumped to her mind like she’d always known.
“Carnation,” she whispered.
The ghostly phantasm turned its nebulous head towards her. Though it had no features at all, Rainbow was filled with a serene feeling, like it was smiling at her. And then, without a sound, it dissipated into tendrils of black and red mist. And Rainbow knew, with curious certainty, that she would never see the phantom again. Whatever fragment had accompanied Applejack’s heart to her was spent. Everything was up to her now.
Rainbow set her sights on the looming black crystal. The tug on her heart pulled stronger than ever.
As she drew closer, she felt a peculiar thrumming in the air. Power radiated all around her, rippling through the ground and coursing deep into the earth. As she approached, Rainbow saw strange things poking up through the dirt—strange black things that had no name, all thorn and dark intent.
Applejack was an earth pony at heart. She was channeling her magic the only way she knew how, Rainbow realized. And now whatever corruption had taken hold of her was leaking into the world itself. Just walking over dead grass and baked earth, she felt a building sense of unease not like her. It was like a sickness that was intent on darkening her mood with every step she took.
But finally, she reached the crystalline wall that now barred her path. By then she felt almost queasy from the smell of dead vegetation and smoldering fires, and that malignancy that poisoned the air.
And though a dozen dark emotions were beginning to rise inside of her, Rainbow stared squarely at the wall of crystal. She raised a hoof and touched its warm, thrumming surface experimentally.
And the next thing she knew, she was falling forward into nothing, and all went black.