"Applejack!?" I said to her, unable to believe what my eyes were reporting. She glanced over at me. Her eyes scanned over my body, a pink mare with an orange mane. I walked closer.
"Do I know you?" she asked. I waved her in closer, to whisper in her ear.
"It's me, Pineapple."
Her face went through many expressions in quick succession.
Doubt, anger, confusion, sadness, and then anger again.
The last thing I saw was her cocking her hoof back and throwing her whole body-weight into the punch. Then all I saw were stars.
~~~~~
When I opened my eyes, I was back in the alleyway where she had, presumably, dragged me. She stood over me where I was laying against the wall. Her eyes were bloodshot. She had been crying.
"A.J. I-"
"How DARE you!" she growled. "After all this time! How dare you let us all believe that you were dead, and then just show up like this!?"
"A.J.-"
"I will have you know, that letting somepony believe that you are dead, when you are not, is exceptionally cruel!" she cried.
"I thought you were dead!" I said finally. Her angry sadness changed back into a neutral confusion.
"What!?"
"I thought you were dead!" I repeated. "All of you, in the fire! That was why I've been gone."
"What? No! We- we weren't even in Ponyville that night."
"Really?"
"You had gone missing! We were out looking for you!"
"Oh."
"Come on." She grabbed me by my hoof, pulling me up from the ground. My vision blurred a bit as I tried to stand.
"Where are we going?" I asked, trying to walk off the concussion.
"We're going home."
Back on Sweet Apple Acres, I changed into Pineapple. Applejack looked at me and winced.
"It's hard seeing you like that," she said. "It's like seeing a ghost."
"Yeah well... Imagine how I feel," I said, looking back at her.
"Pineapple!" Apple Bloom shouted as I walked into the farmhouse with Applejack. She bowled me over as she tackled me in her hooves. Big Mac came thundering downstairs at the sound of my name. I was in awe of the house itself.
"How?" I asked, amazed. "The last time I saw this place, it was nothing more than a pile of ash." Apple Bloom chortled.
"What? You think the farm's never been destroyed before?" she said. "There was that one time with the Parasprites-"
"When you crashed the wagon into it, at the family reunion," Mac said to AJ.
"All them Pinkie Pie clones," Applejack said.
"The dragon attack."
"The Ursa MAJOR."
"..."
"Oh, and there was that time that I left the coffee maker plugged in," Apple Bloom said.
"But that's why you have insurance, Sugarcube," Applejack said to me. "This is the eighth time we've rebuilt it. And we have become exceedingly efficient at it."
"So where in the hay have you been all this time?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Canterlot," I told them. "I uh, I joined the Royal Guard."
"That's not funny, Don," Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah well, I'm not laughing," I said.
"Wait, so what are you doing in Ponyville?" AJ asked.
"Well I'm actually guarding Twilight," I said. Mac scoffed. "No, seriously. And- actually there is something else too. Something I need your help with." I shape-shifted into Dawn. "This is Dawn," I introduced myself, and looked at Applejack, "I need you-" I stopped myself in my words, considering my idea to have Applejack lie. I pointed at Apple Bloom instead, "I need you to say that she's been working on the farm while I've been gone."
"Why Apple Bloom?" AJ asked. Everypony rolled their eyes.
"Well, we all know how good you are at lying," I told AJ.
"Hmff." She crossed her hooves.
"Dawn was a pony that I made up while I was... away. There's a missing-pony report out on her, and I need it to be closed as quickly and quietly as possible."
"Who's investigating it?" Big Mac asked.
"I am, actually. By which I mean-" I shape-shifted into Storm Cloud, "I am. This is Storm Cloud. He's my identity in the Royal Guard. You can pretty much expect to be seeing him most, nowadays."
"Lying begets lying, Don," Mac said as he shook his head.
"Listen guys, this will be the beginning and the end of it, I promise. From now on, I'm on the straight and narrow," I told them. "Which reminds me, I need to get back to Twilight's castle." I turned, but Apple Bloom grabbed my hoof.
"Wait! So that's it then? You're just going to leave?"
"I'll be back tomorrow," I said.
"And then what?" she asked with pleading eyes. I looked away.
"I'll be at Twilight's castle for a while and then I'll be going back to Canterlot." She looked hurt. "I'm not a farm pony, Bloom. You know that," I told her. "I'm not moving back. I can't. I'm in the Royal Guard now..." I sighed. "Pineapple died in that fire. It needs to stay that way." She started to cry. "Hey," I lifted her chin with my hoof, "I'll still be around. I'll come and visit when I can. I promise." I hugged each of them, and headed out, back to the castle.
~~~~~
There was one question burning in my mind more than anything else as a result of all of this. And I was going to find out the answer. I returned to the castle, opening the door with the key that I had been issued. I walked into the foyer. Not more than three steps inside, a weight dropped from the ceiling, spearing a leg into the middle of my back, pinning me to the floor.
"Hello, Echo," I groaned with the wind knocked out of me.
"Guess again," came a masculine voice. I looked up from the floor. One slit eye looked back at me. The other was occluded by an eye patch.
"Sunshine. Always a pleasure." I wrestled him off me and got to my hooves.
"You should be more alert," he said.
"Well what do you expect?" Echo said from the darkness. She lofted down from the rafters. "I can smell the booze on him all the way from here." She sauntered over to me. "So? Did you find anything at all before you found your way into a bottle?"
"Actually, yeah. As a matter of fact, I did," I told her as I dusted myself off. I motioned to Sunshine. "Why's he here?" I asked.
"I needed to select another bat pony for the Night Guard shift here while I was assigned with you, and Meadowlark was busy on another assignment," Echo explained. "Now, you were saying?"
"I found Dawn."
"Really?" Echo said with extreme doubt.
"Yeah. It wasn't hard," I said in a completely smug tone. "She was at the Cider Hall. Apparently she's been working at Sweet Apple Acres since the fire."
"You spoke to her?"
"Yeah. She bought everypony a round," I said.
"Other ponies saw her?"
"It was a Friday night in a bar. There were plenty of witnesses," I said. She stared at me. I leaned in closer to her. "This is the part where you say, 'Gosh, it sure is a good thing that you went to a bar'."
I grinned.
She didn't.
"How is it that the other Royal Guard ponies were unable to find so much as a trace of her before?" Echo asked.
"Well I don't want to call the Guard incompetent, but..." I trailed off, "...I don't know how to end that sentence," I said.
"Watch it," Sunshine barked at me.
"Anyways, the mission's complete. Problem's solved from here. She's not dead. And she's certainly not in the Crystal Empire having an affair with the prince."
"I should like to speak with this pony," Echo said.
"I thought you might say that. I've already made an appointment for me to go to Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow at lunch and collect written statements."
"I should like to speak with this pony, myself!" she said.
"Ooo-kay, well I, uh, could have her meet you someplace tomorrow night, so you don't have to lose out on sleep-"
"No. We will come with you tomorrow," she said in a resolute tone. I could tell that there was going to be no way that I would be able to reasonably argue with her with arousing more suspicion.
"Okay. If you want," I said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Thanks for the warning," Echo said.
The next morning, Pound and I got ready in our quarters.
"Alright. Are you actually going to help with the books today?" he asked.
"Yeah, of course!" I told him. We passed by the library. "But I have a meeting with the princess first."
"Really?"
"Yes. Go on. I'll be right there," I told him. I slipped into the library as he walked off. I still had a burning question than needed an answer, now.
"Twilight!" I shouted. She looked up from her desk, startled.
"Storm! There is no shouting in a library!" She scolded me in a harsh whisper.
"So when were you going to tell me, hmm!?"
"Tell you what!?"
"That Applejack was alive this whole time! And Apple Bloom and Big Mac!"
"I never said that they were dead," she replied calmly.
"Well I thought they were! Shining did too! We watched their home burn down!"
"Lower. Your. Voice!"
"I deserve answers!"
"You probably deserve to be court-marshaled by now," she said.
"How can you be so glib about this? They were- they are the closest thing I have to a family."
"Storm... Applejack is an Element of Harmony. If she was dead, I would have- no, Equestria would have far bigger problems to worry about than your feelings. It is unfortunate that you were misinformed. But I do NOT have to apologize to you for not keeping you up on current events!" She snapped her quill in half. She huffed and held her breath, motioning with her hoof in a sigh, calming herself.
"I knew putting you in the Guard was a mistake," she said. "But Shining was insistent. He wouldn't listen to me. But he doesn't know you like I do. You're in the Guard now. I suggest you start acting like it. Your insubordinate attitude ends now! Is that clear?"
"... crystal," I said. She retrieved another quill from her desk, dabbing the ink well.
"You are dismissed, Private." The door behind me flung open with purple magic. I left saying nothing else. The door closed behind me. Maybe she was right. Maybe being in the Guard was a mistake. But while I was here, I needed to finish tying up loose ends. I needed to warn Applejack that my visit today was going to be more... complicated than I planned. I left the castle without notice. I would deal with the fallout later.
"Getting an early start, I see," Echo said from above.
Or I would deal with it now
"Commendable," Sunshine said, beside her. I froze in my tracks.
"Well? Go on then. Don't let us slow you down," Echo said. I walked on, away from the castle, with the two bat ponies following close behind. I said nothing. My mind raced along with my heart. I struggled to form a plan. It was early in the day. Much earlier than anypony on the farm would be expecting me, well, us. There must be some way I could use that to my advantage. We walked through the gate at the road onto the farm.
"Looks, you guys really don't need to be here," I said at last in a final gambit. "Give me some credit. I can at least do paperwork for statements."
"I need to see this mare for myself," Echo said.
"Alright..." I knocked on the front door. After a moment, Applejack opened it. I was hoping for Apple Bloom. But as they say, you can hope all you want... "Good morning Applejack," I greeted, "I'm Private Storm Cloud. We met last night at the Cider Hall, along with Dawn."
"Good morning... sir," she said, glancing at the others with me.
"These are my Night Guard counterparts, Sunshine and Echo, here to help in the investigation concerning Dawn's whereabouts for the past two months. If you don't mind answering a few questions?"
"Where is Dawn? We'd like to speak to her." Echo interrupted from behind me.
"Oh, it's still early," I interjected. "She's probably still sleeping off last night, by the way she looked when I last saw her, heh heh."
"Yeah, she's- still asleep," Applejack said, following my lead.
"Miss Applejack," I said, "I hate to intrude but would it be alright if I used your restroom?"
"Seriously!?" Echo said.
"It's alright. It's upstairs, second door on the right," she told me, even though I knew perfectly well where it was. She was good at playing along at least.
"Thank you. I'll be right back," I said. I trotted upstairs and turned around the corner, out of sight.
"Oh, Dawn, good morning!" I said loudly into the empty hallway. Apple Bloom and Big Mac poked their heads out of their rooms. I silently made a 'shh' gesture and waved them away, back into their rooms.
"Good morning Storm Cloud," I said to myself loudly in her voice, carrying on the one-pony conversation. "You're here early."
"Well as they say, early to bed, early to rise makes a pony healthy, wealthy and wise. Heh heh. Could you head downstairs? I need to use the restroom for just a moment and I'll be right with you," I said, closing the door beside me loudly. I shape-shifted into Dawn and went back downstairs.
"Oh my goodness," I feigned surprise, as Dawn, at the bat pony guests.
"It's alright- Dawn," Applejack said. "These are Royal Guards. They just want to ask you a few questions."
"Okay," I said. They walked into the kitchen and each took a notepad from their bags.
"Please, have a seat," Echo said, directing Applejack and me to the kitchen table. "Ms... Dawn, we met in Canterlot approximately eight weeks ago. Do you recall?"
"Yes," I answered simply.
"You were with the Prince, Shining Armor, yes?" Echo added.
"Yes," I answered. Sunshine wrote down everything we said in his notebook.
"How would you describe your relationship with the Prince?" she asked.
"Professional," I said. "I was an intern to the Crystal Empire royalty, briefly. I found that it wasn't what I wanted in a career, and I wanted to move back to Ponyville. The Prince was kind enough to offer me a chance to be his assistant while he visited Canterlot, a stop on my way here."
"In exchange for...?" Echo asked.
"Excuse me?"
"What did he want in exchange? Favors?"
"Favors!?" I asked indignantly.
"Romantic favors?" Echo pressed.
"Well I never!" I scoffed "He did no such thing! The Prince is a married stallion, with a foal. His behavior towards me was nothing less than polite professionalism. He offered me help generously without expectations of anything in return."
"Begging your pardon," Applejack cut in, "But I've met the Prince, personally, on several occasions. And I can speak for the quality, and fidelity of his character. So if you have any other suspicions to his motives, I suggest you ask him yourselves!"
"Fine..." Echo sighed, flipping ahead a few pages. "And you've been in Ponyville ever since?"
"Yes," I answered.
"You've been hard to find, considering how small this town is," she said.
"I... mostly stayed on the farm," I said. "Miss Applejack was kind enough to offer me work here, helping to rebuild the barn after the fire, and working the orchard since."
"I see..." Echo ran down the list on her page. The frustration on her face grew. "Where the hell is Storm? This is his investigation."
"He's probably feeling a little sick after last night," I said, with a small smile.
"I'll get him," Sunshine said as he rose from his seat.
"ACTUALLY-" I cut him off, "I, uh, forgot my work boots upstairs. I'll check on him while I get them." I ran upstairs before he could object. I ran into the bathroom and flushed the toilet. "Oh, Storm Cloud," I said loudly, "They're waiting for you downstairs."
"Sorry, I was feeling a little sick from last night," I said in Storm's voice.
"Actually, I need to go, myself. Why don't you head down and I'll be right there."
"Okay." I shape-shifted into Storm Cloud and trotted downstairs. "Hey, sorry about that. What did I miss?"
"A lot," Echo said, clearly irritated with me.
"Well, give me the short version," I said.
"Dawn's been in Ponyville since the fire, working here, on the orchard," Applejack said. I looked back at Echo. She seemed unconvinced.
"Sunshine," Echo said, "Head outside. Get airborne and establish a perimeter. Make sure nopony tries to make a run for it." He moved without another word, out the door and taking to the sky. "She's hiding something," Echo said to me, "she's trying to avoid us." She stood up from the table, eyeing the stairway, ready to go up and apprehend Dawn.
"I'll run up and bring her down!" I said quickly, "You, uh, cover the exit!" I turned and ran upstairs, ducking out of sight into the bathroom. I glance out the window quickly. I could see the silhouette of Sunshine circling above. I closed the window and shape-shifted into Dawn.
"What the hell!?" I heard behind me. I turned and saw Echo, standing in the doorway behind me, her eyes were as wide as dinner plates.
Oh shit!
"Changeling!" she shouted. In a flash of motion, she was upon me, tackling me to the tile floor. She tried to force me into a grapple as we had been taught in the guard. And just as so, we had been trained to counter the move. I turned and rolled my body, flipping her up and over the edge of the tub. But she still had a decent hold on my neck, and she was squeezing tighter.
-
You see, the thing is, most ponies have never been in a fight before. A real fight.
The ones you see in the movies, it's all flashy, for show and spectacle.
A real fight usually only lasts a few seconds. All things being equal, it's usually the first pony to get in that one good shot on the other, to incapacitate them... or worse.
And that's the thing. A dirty fight to the death is easy. You either win or... well, you don't. But either way, it's fast.
But when you're fighting without trying to really hurt the other pony, it's more difficult. You pull punches. You try to be careful where you hit.
And I didn't want to hurt Echo.
She, on the other hoof, did not share my restraint. She pulled her service knife from her belt.
But if growing up on a farm had taught me anything, it was how to 'wrastle'.
-
I arched my back and rolled into a somersault, flipping her over again, trying to get her off-balance in the small space of the bathroom. She twisted back at me like a coiled viper. She dove with her full weight behind the blade. I wasn't going to be able to stop her. It was much easier to adjust her course, shoving her to the side as she came down. I grabbed her saddle bag and yanked it to try to get a hold on her. The top flapped open as she tumbled to the floor. Before I could even capitalize on the gain, she jumped onto my back again and wrapped her hoof around me, blocked only by my own. She pressed the knife closer by inches to my neck. She had more strength and she had more leverage than I did. It was only a matter of time before she'd slit my throat.
The strap on her bag let go and it fell to the floor under me. A small, round mirror rolled up between my hooves. I grabbed it quickly with my free hoof in a final gambit, pointing it back at us and I shut my eyes.
"GOING MY WAY?" I gasped as clearly as I could.
In a flash of light, her body went limp. I quickly scurried out from under her and took her knife from her hoof, putting it back in its sheath. Her eyes has shrunk to tiny slits, in the midst of the spell. I put the mirror back in her bag and, out of her sight, I changed back into Storm Cloud.
"You are satisfied with the investigation and you are now anxious to go home," I told her.
Heading out into the hallway. Applebloom and Mac both looked out into the hall, nervous from the noise of the struggle. I waved them away again. I didn't want them to get involved in this. After a moment, I could hear her coming to. She stepped out into the hallway.
"Oh, hey Echo," I greeted her as nonchalantly as I could after having been so close to my own death, "Was there anything else you wanted to ask Daw-"
"No. I'm satisfied with the investigation. Let's get going," she said.
"By your orders, Lieutenant," I said. I followed her brisk pace downstairs and outside. Sunshine was quickly right above us at the sight of movement.
"Sunshine, let's go. We're done here," Echo said.
"Ma'am," he obeyed, and fell in line behind her without another question. I followed them both, casting a glance back at my old home. My heart was still pounding. It was too close of a call. I needed to be more careful.