//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: War in Equestria // by FlamingSamurai //------------------------------// Applejack knocked on the door to the Carousel Boutique, Spike and Pinkie Pie on either side of her. Spike yawned slightly before his head nodded forward and his eyelids drooped down. Applejack caught the young dragon with her left hoof and crouched down, motioning for him to climb onto her back, but Spike just waved a hand at the gesture. “I don’t want Rarity… to see me like this…”, Spike managed to say through yawns. “I'm sure Rarity couldn’t care less about what you look like, Spike,” Applejack chuckled as she rolled her eyes at another example of Spike's not-so-secret crush on the designer unicorn. “Besides,” Applejack continued, “you look like you’ve been up all night. What were doing? Reading comics again?” Before Spike could let out an answer, he suddenly plopped onto the ground and started snoring just as the door opened. But instead of Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie saw Sweetie Belle standing there with a happy smile on her face. “Hey guys!” Sweetie Belle said. “Come on in. Rarity’s finishing up something for Sapphire Shores, so she won’t be long.” “Thanks, Sweetie Belle”, Applejack replied as Sweetie walked over and helped the snoring Spike onto Applejack’s back. As the girls entered the boutique, Pinkie looked around and noticed that the place seemed to be a mess. There were clothes scattered all about the room, along with patterns, sashes, and all sorts of garments that had yet to be woven into clothing. “Wow, this place looks like it went through a tornado!” Pinkie exclaimed “My sister calls it ‘organized chaos’”, Sweetie Belle said. “But yeah, I think it’s a bit of a mess too.” She then turned to Pinkie, motioned for her to bend her head, and whispered in her ear, “But don’t tell her I said that, okay?” “Okie-dokey-loki!” Pinkie replied in her usual chipper tone. “Good. I’m gonna go get Rarity and tell her you guys are here. Be right back!” As soon as Sweetie Belle went up the stairs to get her sister, Applejack noticed that the expression on Pinkie’s face had turned from happy to worried. “Uh, everything okay, Pinkie?” Applejack asked. Pinkie shook her head. “Oh”, she whispered in a slightly whiny tone, “I don’t like keeping secrets! Remember when Shining Armor and Princess Cadance told us they were having a baby?” “Yeah, I remember”, Applejack said. “You found out before anyone else did. It must have been difficult for you, knowing that before we did.” Not wanting to disturb the still-sleeping Spike, Applejack then motioned for Pinkie to come over and placed a hoof around her neck. “Don’t worry about it”, she said. “The trick to keeping a secret is to clear your mind and find something else to be happy about. That’s how I was able to keep you from finding out about your surprise birthday party from when Twilight was new to Ponyville.” An awkward silence suddenly fell over the two. When that had happened, Pinkie thought that everyone was avoiding her because they didn’t like her anymore. According to Rainbow Dash, her reaction was… less than nice. But she had snapped back to normal and apologized once she found out the truth, so Applejack had hoped that they wouldn’t have to bring it up again. Needless to say, the way Rainbow had described her behavior was a bit unnerving. Suddenly, Pinkie started laughing, like she had been told a funny joke. Nervously, Applejack joined in and took her hoof off Pinkie’s neck and set it back onto the floor. “Yeah”, Pinkie said, quickly calming down from her laughter. “But hey! It had to be done, right? I mean, why would I want to spoil my own birthday party? Come on!” Applejack just smiled. “Phew. Dodged an apple, there", she thought. The two of them heard the sound of a throat clearing and looked forward to see Rarity standing at the base of the stairway with Sweetie Belle at her side. “Sorry about the wait, darlings”, Rarity explained. “I was just putting the finishing touches on a dress I was preparing for Sapphire Shores. So, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” “Twilight wanted to meet us at the train station. Princess Celestia called all of us to Canterlot over some ‘dire circumstance’”, Applejack explained. “Spike here was sent to get me and Pinkie Pie. I was buying a bunch of pies for the rest of the Apple Family from her when he got to Sugarcube Corner.” “And what about Rainbow and Fluttershy?” Rarity asked. “Rainbow’s picking up Fluttershy right now”, Pinkie said. “Twilight said she’d meet us at the station once a special somepony arrived. Or at least, that’s what Spike told me, though I don’t think he was supposed to. “What makes you think that?” Rarity asked. “Because as soon as he brought it up, he covered his mouth and said that he wasn’t supposed to tell us. I wonder who that special somepony is!” Rarity held her chin in her hoof for a minute, thinking about that last part. Then she looked down at her younger sister. “Sweetie Belle, why don’t you go find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and see what they’re up to? Spike, the girls, and I will be back from Canterlot soon.” “Aw”, Sweetie Belle whined. “It won’t take long, will it?” “Hopefully not”, Rarity said as she put a hoof under Sweetie’s chin. “But don’t worry. We’ll probably be back before nightfall.” Sweetie Belle then hugged her sister’s leg, with Rarity reaching down to nuzzle her in return. “See ya, sis!” Sweetie Belle said before rushing out of the boutique at top speed. As soon as she was gone, Rarity sighed, like she had been through a huge mess. “Gotta love ‘em, though, don’t ya?” Applejack asked. “Of course I do, Applejack”, Rarity replied with a smile. “I don’t know what I’d do without her.” “So, what were you thinking when I brought that other pony Twilight’s bringing along?” Pinkie asked. Noticing the sleeping Spike on Applejack’s back, Rarity used her magic to lift Spike off of her and onto her own back. “I’ll explain on the way”, Rarity assured her in a whisper. “Besides, I was hoping to hear your ideas. So, let’s head to the train station right now. We simply can’t keep the others waiting, can we?” ----------------------------------- Twilight sat in front of the interdimensional mirror in her castle while the rest of her friends made their way to the train station. Before sending Spike off to get the others, she had written a letter to Princess Celestia informing her that they were on their way and that Sunset Shimmer would be joining them. After Spike left, Twilight wrote another letter to Sunset in the human world, informing her of what she had been told. She relayed to Sunset that Celestia wanted her help in some sort of danger about to befall Equestria, whatever that was. She hoped Sunset would respond in time, because whatever this threat was, Twilight wasn’t so sure she and her friends could stand by while this threat loomed over their home. About fifteen minutes passed after she had sent her message to Sunset and still no response. Did Twilight write at a bad time? Did Sunset misplace her book? Did that human counterpart of hers get ahold of it somehow to study how the book works? Twilight knew well that she and Sunset taught her about how it functioned, so it seemed unlikely that she would forget it. As Twilight began to pace back in forth in front of the mirror, it suddenly glowed, which made Twilight stop in her tracks. Moments later, a yellowish-orange colored unicorn with red and yellow hair emerged. Looking down as it landed, the unicorn slowly took a few steps forward, adjusting to using four legs again for the first time in what felt like forever. A few steps later, Twilight cleared her throat and the unicorn looked up to face her. The moment their eyes met and the unicorn saw Twilight’s smiling face, she smiled back. “Welcome home, Sunset”, Twilight beamed. She walked over and Sunset wrapped her front legs around her in a hug, while Twilight responded in kind with her wings. After a few moments, they broke the hug and stared at one another. “It certainly has been a while, hasn’t it?” Sunset asked sheepishly. Twilight nodded. “So, what do you think Princess Celestia asked me here for?” “According to her last letter, the same reason she asked us to Canterlot. My friends are waiting at the Ponyville train station, so we should head there now. Can’t keep them waiting, you know?” Twilight replied. “Yeah, I guess not”, Sunset said. Twilight immediately noticed the look of uncertainty that had encompassed Sunset’s face. “Sunset?” Twilight began. Before she could ask, Sunset answered her. “Do you really think… that after all of this time…” Twilight motioned towards the doors and they walked in their direction. “I think so too, Sunset”, she said. “I put in a few good words for you after what happened with the sirens and I think she may just accept your forgiveness.” Sunset smiled again. I hope so. “Are you comfortable enough to run?” Twilight asked. “Let’s find out”, Sunset replied. And with that, the two bolted out of the doors of Twilight’s castle and towards the train station, where their friends were already waiting. ------------------------------------ The train ride to Canterlot didn’t seem to take as long as it usually did. On the contrary, it lasted for only twenty minutes before the Mane 6, Sunset, and Spike arrived at their destination. During that time, Sunset had quickly become acquainted with the rest of Twilight’s friends, who were exactly like her friends from the human world. It was like she had never left. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity took an instant shine to Sunset. As Applejack reasoned, any friend of Twilight’s was a friend of hers. But Rainbow Dash was a tougher nut to crack. As Twilight expected, Rainbow was finding it a bit difficult to trust someone who had wronged Twilight in the past, and Sunset had expected this behavior as well. Fluttershy argued in Sunset’s defense, reminding her of what they had just gone through with Starlight Glimmer, who was currently visiting her old village for a few days as part of a friendship lesson. Rainbow started to soften up a little bit towards her after that. But Sunset couldn’t shake the feeling that Rainbow was still keeping an eye on her, watching her like a fox. Still, she was in good spirits by the time they got closer to Canterlot; Sunset shared stories of her experiences with Twilight’s human counterpart while the girls shared stories of their escapades against the likes of Discord, Tirek, Chrysalis, and Sombra. Sunset laughed as the girls told her about the second time they encountered Chrysalis. "So, Twilight actually beat Chrysalis twice?" she asked Applejack as she munched on some popcorn she'd gotten from the concessions cart. Applejack nodded. "Yep. This time, she beat her while the Secretariat Comet was flying over her old castle." "You should've been there!" Spike said, recalling Twilight beating down the Changeling Queen with her amplified magic. "Her magic level was incredible!" "The Secretariat Comet?!" Sunset's eyes went wide with excitement. "I've read about it, but I've never seen it!" "Well, I can tell you right now that it was every bit as amazing as the books described it", Twilight said. "I was lucky the comet was passing over when it did." Rainbow scoffed. "It was cool and all, but not as cool as my Sonic Rainboom!" "Oh, I don't know about that", Rarity piped up. "We've seen that plenty of times before. This was probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing!" "Ooh! Ooh! Speaking of which, does anyone remember when Twilight took on Tirek and they were firing magic blasts at one another and you'd swear it was like something out of an anime and - " Pinkie inhaled deeply before she continued to speak in her usual motormouth state " - then we all got our Rainbow Power forms and sent him back to Tartarus? Ha-ha! Good times, right?" The other just stared at her before Fluttershy spoke up. "Umm... how did you know about the parts you weren't there for?" "And what's 'anime'?" Applejack asked. "I think it's something from the human world", Sunset said. "There are some students at Canterlot High who enjoy watching it. But if it doesn't exist here, then how did you know about Pinkie?" "Um... no reason." Pinkie gave her widest grin as she tried to hide that she had once used the mirror behind Twilight's back to spend an hour or so in the human world. Suddenly, the train slowed to a stop, a sign that the group had arrived at their destination. As Twilight led everyone off of the train, they encountered a line of royal guards waiting for them. At the head was an orange colored pegasus stallion with blue hair and a smile on his face. A bit unusual, Sunset observed, as the other guards wore scowls that the others found typical of a guard’s behavior. The pegasus walked up to Twilight, who bore her crown on her head, and bowed. “Princess Twilight and company? My name is Flash Sentry, royal announcer of the Crystal Empire,” he introduced himself as he rose to meet Twilight’s face. “Princess Cadance as personally asked us to escort you to Canterlot Castle the moment you got here.” “Thank you, Flash”, Twilight asked. “We appreciate the gesture.”             Flash signaled for the other guards before he took off down the street in the direction of the castle. “Follow me!” he called back towards the others. Without hesitation, the girls started after him, with Spike hitching a ride on Rainbow’s back as she spread her wings and took flight, hovering a little ways above the convoy as guards surrounded the group on all sides. Halfway to the castle, Pinkie looked around her to see that all around, royal Canterlot guards were patrolling the streets, some helping civilians boarding up doors, some putting posters warning people about… Changelings!? Pinkie turned back to Applejack and they exchanged uneasy glances.             “So”, Pinkie Pie asked nervously. “What’s with all the extra guards?”             “Must be bigger than anything else we’ve faced before”, Applejack said. “Guess the princesses think this is too big of a job for just us to handle alone?”             “Are you kidding?” Rainbow Dash butted in. “We’ve faced a horde of changelings, an army of shadow ponies, an evil version of Rarity, and a magic-hungry centaur. If you ask me, the guards are just overkill.”             “Doesn’t hurt to have a little extra help”, Sunset piped up. “I’ve faced sirens and a human Twilight who went crazy after absorbing Equestrian magic incorrectly and I didn’t exactly get the job done alone.” “Those posters I saw had changelings on them”, Pinkie said. “We’ve beaten those party poopers plenty of times before, so why is Princess Celestia so worried about it?” “Maybe Chrysalis has something that she thinks will help her changelings take over Equestria?” Spike suggested. “I wouldn’t be surprised”, Applejack said. “Last time we fought King Sombra, he had his own kind on his side. What could Chrysalis have found to help her?” As Spike and the girls struggled to think of an answer, Applejack hoped that they wouldn’t have to find out. “Almost there!” she suddenly heard Twilight call from up front. “Just a few more blocks!” -------------------------------------------- When the convoy reached the castle, they saw two guards waiting for them. After Flash presented the group to them, one of the guards stepped forward and used his magic to scan the group one by one as they entered. When it was Pinkie’s turn, the beam that scanned her made her giggle, like it was tickling her, something which made Rainbow and Rarity roll their eyes. However, when Rarity was scanned a few moments later, she too couldn’t help but chuckle about the feeling it gave her. After everyone entered the castle, Flash alone led them towards the throne room while Rainbow and Applejack took up the rear of the group. “So, what do you think that was all about?” Rainbow asked her longtime friend. “Well, judging by all the other guards we saw around the city and those posters Pinkie saw, I think I’m starting to get a pretty good idea of what’s happening”, Applejack said. As their private conversation continued, up ahead, Sunset noticed that Fluttershy seemed to show signs of nervousness, something which she had come to expect. From the Fluttershy that she knew in the human world, she was the most timid person that she had ever met and her nerves always crept up on her whenever some huge danger came into the picture. Sunset nudged her side lightly and she gave out a quiet gasp before turning to her. “You alright?” Sunset asked. “Yes… I mean, no… I mean…” Fluttershy tried to explain. “It’s okay”, Sunset said. “These guards are making me afraid, too. They’re obviously getting ready for something. But you’ve faced worse, right? What about those stories you told me on the train here? Like when you and the others faced Tirek and Sombra? Or like when Princess Celestia asked you to reform Discord? That one especially impresses me! I mean, Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, was reformed by a simple pegasus! That’s an achievement I could never see happening.” “Well, I suppose you’re right about me and Discord”, Fluttershy started before staring at the ground and then back to Sunset. “But when it came to Tirek and Sombra, it was mostly Twilight who pulled us out of the water when things were going wrong. I don’t think there’s much for a pony like me to do to be some big-shot hero.” Even further up ahead in the group, Spike was now walking on the ground again and talking with Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Applejack. “You sure those posters the guards were putting up had changelings on them?” Twilight asked. “Yep”, Spike said. “Pinkie pointed them out. I’m pretty sure I saw one near the Canterlot Carousel.” “Poor Sassy Saddles was being inspected by one of the guards”, Rarity said. “I've never seen her so worried!” “I think I saw Fancy Pants getting worked up over a guard messing up his and his mare-friend’s saddlebags”, Pinkie said. “He really looked like he was gonna blow his top!” “Hold on a second”, Twilight asked before walking up next to Flash Sentry. “Flash, if you don’t mind me asking, what is going on? What’s with all the guards around the city? And the posters of Changelings?” “Sorry, your highness”, Flash answered. “I’d tell you if I could, but Princess Celestia asked that she personally be the one to break the news.” “Oh”, Twilight said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. Flash gave a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. We’re almost at the throne room. You’ll get answers soon. Promise.” Twilight smiled. When she originally chased Sunset into the human world to retrieve the Element of Magic, she had meet his human counterpart and became somewhat infatuated with him. To her, he always seemed like a nice guy, a talented guitarist who always wanted to help others. This Flash seemed almost just like him. “Thank you, Flash”, Twilight said. “You’re a true gentle colt.” “Just doing my job, your majesty”, Flash replied. Distracted, he suddenly bumped into the doors that lead into the throne room, which made Twilight giggle. “Oops.” Flash dusted his armor off with his wings. “Sorry about that.” He chuckled sheepishly before finishing, “Well, we’re here, everyone! The princesses’ throne room.” Twilight breathed deeply as Flash opened the doors and led the the girls and Spike in.