A sea of oranges, browns, and yellows stretched across the trees of Sweet Apple Acres. All the fruits had been harvested and all that remained on the trees were the dying leaves. The Running of the Leaves had yet to happen, leaving the farm bathed in autumn colours. Beneath one of the many trees were three fillies, one yellow, one orange, and one white. They were sitting in a circle, paper and saddlebags between them. Each of them were busy completing their work. Silence decided to keep the three of them company.
“Hey Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom said. “Has Rarity been acting funny?”
“Funny?” Sweetie Belle cocked her head. “Define funny.”
“You’re the dictionary,” Scootaloo said. “Shouldn’t you know this?” Sweetie Belle glared at her pegasus friend.
“Scoot, I’m trying to be serious here,” Apple Bloom said. “I think there’s something wrong with Applejack.”
“What does Rarity have to do with this?”
“Well that’s the thing. Sometimes Applejack talks in her sleep. For the last few days she’s been saying Rarity’s name. Not only that, but she’s been sneaking out of the house late at night for a while.” Sweetie Belle tapped her chin in concentration.
“Now that you mention it,” she said. “Rarity has been acting rather odd.”
“Odd how?” Scootaloo asked.
“Well, last week when I stayed at Rarity’s, I heard the door open while I was trying to sleep. Then I heard these weird sounds coming from her room. They sounded like heavy panting and moaning. She also said someone’s name. While it was muffled, I think she said Applejack.” Apple Bloom stared at her friend with terror in her eyes.
“You don’t think something’s wrong with the two of them do you?” Worry set into her mind. “They could be really sick. Both Rarity and Applejack could have this incurable disease that causes them to forget who they are!” Apple Bloom’s eyes stared into space as she imagined both her and Sweetie Belle’s sister slowly dying.
“That sounds a little farfetched Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo said. “I don’t think it’s a disease. It sounds like they’ve been replaced by pod ponies.”
“Pod ponies?!” he companions both exclaimed in terror.
“Yeah, I read that they go into society and replace ponies. They assimilate into towns and slowly take them down from the inside. Since they both are saying names that aren’t their own, it means that these pod ponies haven’t got a firm grasp on their aliases.” Both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were huddled together in fear.
“So what do we do?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“It’s obvious isn’t it?” replied Scootaloo. “We sneak out at night, hide outside of Carousel Boutique, then when the pod ponies meet up, we get some evidence, and then expose them for who they really are.” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stared at their friend with an unreadable expression on their faces.
“What?”
“Well, Scoot, don’t take this the wrong way, but that’s really well thought out.”
“And?”
“And Apple Bloom and I never expected such a well thought out plan to come from you.”
“This isn’t the first time I’ve done espionage work,” said Scootaloo. “If I’m right, and I’m 82% sure that I am, then we could be on the brink of an invasion. Plus if this goes well, we could get our cutie marks. So, what do you two say? Are you with me?” Both of her friends nodded.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER INVASION STOPPERS! YAY!” All three of them screamed at the top of their lungs.
*
Night had fallen on the country of Equestria. In dozens of towns, ponies were deep in slumber. In Ponyville, the town was drifting into the land of Nodd. Not a single creature was awake, except for three little fillies. Just outside of Carousel Boutique stood a white unicorn and a yellow earth pony, the latter was pacing back and forth.
“Where is she?” Apple Bloom asked. “This was her idea. She should’ve been here by now.”
“Maybe the pod ponies got her,” Sweetie Belle said nonchalantly. Apple Bloom’s eyes widened in panic as the image of her friend being taken away by unearthly ponies appeared in her mind. Off in the distance, she could see a small figure carrying a saddlebag coming towards them. It was the size of a pegasus filly.
“Sorry I’m late,” Scootaloo said as she approached her friends. “I had to get supplies. That, and I saw Applejack coming this way, so I had to take a different route to get here.”
Scootaloo opened her saddlebag revealing at least a dozen high-tech gadgets. She held up two pairs of goggles and handed them to her friends.
“Where did you get this stuff?” Sweetie Belle asked as she fastened the goggles to her head.
“Mom and dad both build machines for the Canterlot Intelligence Agency,” she replied pulling out a stethoscope with exposed wiring all around it. “They let me test some of their inventions. When I told them we were spying on a few ponies, they told me to be well equipped and pointed me to their personal stash.”
“Wow, I didn’t think your parents would be okay with us doing this. My parents would probably…”
“Applejack’s coming!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. The three fillies dived into a nearby bush. They poked their faces out of the bush to find Applejack knocking on the door. The door opened and light spilled onto the street.
“Applejack,” a cultured voice said. “This is a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think I’d see you tonight.”
“That won’t be the only surprise tonight,” Applejack replied. “Can I come in?” The voice giggled.
“Of course.” Applejack entered the building and the door closed shut letting darkness return. Scootaloo pulled a box with dials and switches on it and plugged the stethoscope into it. She placed the bell to the wall as her friends put on headphones. Scootaloo flipped a switch and turned a few of the dials. Static was playing through the headphones. Eventually, two voices could be heard, presumably those of Applejack’s and Rarity’s.
“Does your family know about our little rendezvous?” asked Rarity.
“No, I don’t think so,” Applejack answered. “Big Macintosh might know, but if he does, he hasn’t said anything. Granny Smith is blissfully unaware of this. And Apple Bloom I know for a fact doesn’t.”
“Know for a fact huh?” Apple Bloom muttered. “Clearly you don’t pay enough attention.”
“You should be careful Applejack,” Rarity replied. “Your sister is smarter then we give her credit for. The same goes for Sweetie Belle. For all we know, they could be listening to this very conversation right now.” All three fillies felt their blood go cold. Their eyes darted around looking for an escape. After a few tense moments, laughter could be heard in the headphones.
“Like that’ll ever happen Rare,” laughed Applejack. The fillies gave a sigh of relief. “They’re probably busy sleeping right now.”
“Very true. Speaking of our sisters, we should probably thank them when we tell everypony. After all, if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have spent so much time together and none of this would have happened.”
“Yeah, we probably should. When do you think we should tell them?”
“When the thrill of doing this without anypony knowing wears off.”
“That’s not going to happen anytime soon is it?” A giggle came from the other occupant in the building.
“No, but that’s the way I like it. And I know you do too.” Their voices cut out leaving the fillies to listen to silence.
“What happened?” Apple Bloom asked. “Why aren’t we hearing anything?”
“Maybe they stopped talking,” Scootaloo replied slowly turning the dials. “Or maybe they’re talking in a frequency this can’t pick up.” Apple Bloom reached for the dials and started frantically turning them.
“Well let’s find one where we can hear them!”
“Wait! Don’t do that! You might…” Sparks started flying from the box and complete silence was projected from the headphones. Smoke rose from the box after Apple Bloom lifted her hooves from it.
“Oops.”
“Great, now I have to explain how we broke this prototype,” Scootaloo grumbled. Sweetie Belle pushed the goggles in front of her eyes and fiddled with the dial on top of it. She stared at the wall in front of them.
“Scootaloo?” she asked. “Does this thing have X-Ray built into it?”
“It does, why?”
“Cause all I see on the other side of the wall is skeletons. I can’t see them clearly.”
“That’s how X-Ray works Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo sighed. “You know what, this will be easier.” Scootaloo stood on her hind legs and looked into the window above her. Her eyes widened in shock. On the other side she could see both Applejack and Rarity on the floor; the former was on top of the latter. Both of their lips were locked together. Scootaloo lowered herself and fell onto her haunches.
“What did you see?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Were the pod ponies talking to their leader?” Scootaloo rubbed her temples with her hooves.
“Okay,” she began. “Good news is that it isn’t pod ponies and it isn’t some sort of disease rotting their mind.” Her companions gave a sigh of relief.
“So if it’s not pod ponies or a disease, what’s happening over there?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Don’t look in the window,” Scootaloo warned. “You might not like what you see.”
“Why?’ Sweetie Belle asked. “What’s over there?” She stood on her hind legs and looked through the window. Apple Bloom joined her. Their eyes widened at the sight. Instead of being on the floor, Applejack was pinned against a wall by Rarity and their lips were still locked with each other’s. The two fillies fell on the ground.
“Told you not to look,” Scootaloo said.
“So,” Apple Bloom said.
“So,” Sweetie Belle repeated Apple Bloom’s sentiment.
“Applejack is Rarity’s special somepony and vice versa,” Scootaloo said. The three of them sat in silence.
“Does this mean that Sweetie Belle and I are sisters now?” Her companions shrugged. They sat in the bush unaware of what to do next.
“Now what?” Sweetie Belle asked. In response, Scootaloo pulled three mechanical bracelets from the saddlebag.
“What are these?”
“Dad called them ‘Nous Divers’. They’re only prototypes, but according to him, with them anypony can walk into the dreams of another. Since everypony is asleep, they should also be dreaming. Want to test them out?” Both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom strapped one of the bracelets onto their forelegs.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS DREAM DIVERS! YAY!” the three of them whispered loudly. They all then gave a single high hoof and turned on the bracelets.