//------------------------------//
// Attack on Titan 
// Story: My Brave Pony: Starfleet Nemesis 
// by Scipio Smith 
//------------------------------//


Attack on Titan




Melantha stood on the edge of victory. 

Starfleet, Friendship is Magic, both lay vanquished before her, drained by her poison and exhausted by their battle against the enslaved dragon whom she had bent to her will. 

Now her enemies lay in a tangle of weary arms and unresponsive legs before her, all down, all done, all utterly incapable of offering any resistance to her monstrous strength or murderous desire.

All save one.

Spike stood before them all, dwarfed by Melantha, made insignificant by the great red dragon who loomed over her; yet still he stood, a child staring into the darkness.

Melantha stared at him in confusion. “And what are you supposed to be doing, little dragon? Do you want to be food for your cousin over here?”

“I…” Spike’s voice trembled. “I won’t let you hurt my friends!”

It was the sort of declaration that Spike did not, unfortunately, have the size or strength or gravitas to pull off. Twilight could have made it sound stirring. Coming out of Rainbow’s mouth the words would have sound badass and cool. Fluttershy could have made the simple statement reverberate with inner strength. 

But Spike wasn’t Twilight, he wasn’t Rainbow Dash, he wasn’t even Fluttershy. He wasn’t cool and he wasn’t awesome and he wasn’t cool. He was a tiny pipsqueak baby dragon who was no help to anyone and out of his lips the words sounded as pathetic as he did. His voice shook with the fear that he couldn’t contain, his whole body trembled.

But he stood his ground.

Melantha threw back her head and laughed uproariously. “You won’t…do you have any idea how stupid you sound? You’re an ant threatening a god! You won’t hurt my friends! I’ll tell you what, pintsize, because you made me laugh I’ll give you one last chance: walk away, now.”

“Spike…” Twilight’s voice was faint and weak from the effects of Melantha’s poison. “No…go. Spike…get out of here. Go…while there’s still time.”

“And do what, live without you?” Spike demanded. “Forget about it. Don’t…don’t worry, Twilight. I got this.” He hoped that his voice carried the conviction that was wholly absent from his heart.

“Spike…Spike, please…please don’t…” Rarity murmured.

“Relax, Rarity,” Spike said. “I swear I’ll protect you.”

That was another statement that he could have gotten away with if he were someone cooler than…well, cooler than him. The truth was he couldn’t protect Rarity. He couldn’t protect anyone. All he could do was…was buy them enough time for someone actually cool to show up and save the day.

And just where is Starfleet when you need it?

“And just how do you propose to do that, little dragon?” Melantha demanded. “How are you going to protect your friends from big bad me?”

“I…I’m going to stop you with this!” Spike declared, triumphantly producing the Dragon-Knight Egg, the seat of the legendary power of the Dragon Knight, champion and paragon of their kind. 

Of course not even Twilight could work out how to access that power, but hopefully Melantha wouldn’t call his bluff on this.

Melantha cocked her head to one side. “Is that supposed to be doing something?”

Spike felt beads of sweat form on his prow. “Well…you see, uh-“

He cried out in pain as Melantha kicked him hard enough to send him flying into the air. She brought her trident down upon his head to slam him back down into the ground again.

Spike winced in pain as Melantha stepped on his head and began grinding it into the dirt.

“Stop it,” Twilight moaned. “Stop it!”

“Insolence has its price,” Melantha declared. “But slaughtering the weak brings me no joy.” She took her boot off his head. “Remain there, and think upon your folly in coming here today.”

But Spike did not remain there, on the ground with his face in the dirt. He got back up again, and flung his arms out in front of Starfleet and all his friends. “If you…if you want to hurt them you’re going to have to kill me first.”

“You realise that the only reason you’re not dead already is because of my mercy, don’t you?”

Spike swallowed, but said nothing.

Melantha smirked. “I will make a pact with you. I will leave one of your friends alive, so that they may remember your courage.”

Spike said nothing.

“What’s the matter?” she asked. “Cat got your tongue?”

“I won’t let your hurt my friends,” Spike said, slowly and deliberately. “And I won’t choose one of my friends to live and the rest to die. Because I…I’m going to save them all! I’ll protect all of my friends, with all of my strength, because I love them all!”

And the Dragon-Knight Egg exploded in a blinding light, a light so bright that Spike was wholly consumed by it, surrounded on all sides by crimson fire that gave no heat and burned not. 

And barely visible in the flames, a dark silhouette in the midst of all the crimson, a majestic dragon. 

Valour.

The word echoed through the world. Valour.

Valour.

Valour.

“A knight is sworn to valour,” the voice was old and craggy, suffused with a rich brogue filled with experience. A voice of many battles fought and won. 

“Uh, hi?” Spike said. “Um, what’s going on here?”

“You have been chosen,” the voice said. “You have proved yourself. Valour in the face of death, truth to power, wrath against evil, you have proved yourself worthy to inherit the mantle of the Dragon Knight, to embody the strength and virtue of our race. Speak now the words of the old code, and assume the powers and rights of knighthood.”

“You mean…you mean that I can save my friends?”

“Is that not why you fight?”

“Y-yes!” Spike yelled. “What do I have to do?”

“Speak,” the dragon knight said. “A knight is sworn to valour.”

“A knight is sworn to valour,” Spike repeated.

“His heart knows only virtue.”

“His heart knows only virtue,” Spike said, and as he spoke he could feel himself becoming mightier, swifter, imbued with the resilience of dragons thousands of years old.

“His blade defends the helpless.”

“His blade defends the helpless,” Spike said, thinking of Twilight and Rarity and everyone at Melantha’s mercy.

“His might upholds the weak.”

“His might upholds the weak.”

“His word speaks only truth.”

“His word speaks only truth,” Spike said, remembering all the times that Twilight hadn’t wanted to hear the truth but he had said it anyway.

“His wrath undoes the wicked.”

“His wrath undoes the wicked.” Look out Melantha, here I come!

“Rise, Knight of the Dragons,” the dragon said. “And this is so you will remember it.”

Spike screamed in pain as his body was ripped apart.



	Titan was nearly invisible beneath the all-enshrouding folds of his dark, heavy cloak. Only his hands, ancient and withered, protruded beyond his baggy sleeves: the skin was grey, like a dead decaying creature, and his fingers were crooked and bent by the passing of the years.

His nails were long and sharp, like the claws of a bird. Arminius eyed them warily. He was not a creature given to fear, but Lord Titan...it had seemed a fine bargain to make with him, service in return for the strength to defeat Starfleet. He still considered the defeat of Starfleet and the liberation of his people to be a worthy goal, but enlisting the aid of this sorcerer to do it...that no longer seemed like such a worthwhile bargain.

"So," Titan's voice emerged from a mouth invisible, a thin and almost wheezy hiss emanating from somewhere deep within his shadowy hood. "You have failed."

Arminius bowed his head. He was kneeling on the ground before Titan, who loomed over him and cast his shadow over the caribou. They were both aware of the way that this humiliated Arminius, and in front of all his warriors too.

That, to be sure, was why Titan insisted upon it.

"I would not call it failure, lord," Arminius replied. "We destroyed an entire battalion of their troops, and now FortWilliam-"

"Irrelevant," Titan declared. "All that mattered was the deaths of the mare Applejack and the dragon Spike and they have escaped you. You have failed."

"Applejack is wounded at least, most likely dead already," Arminius replied. "In the wilderness, devoid of aid or attention, her injuries will finish her quickly."

"Experience has taught me not to underestimate these ponies," Titan said. "And even if that were true that would still leave the dragon alive, unharmed and at liberty to do as he wishes."

"What can a single dragon, or even a dragon and a mare in company, accomplish?" Arminius asked. "Forgive me, lord, but I do not understand your obsession with them."

Titan was silent for a moment. "Consider this stick." With a snap, a tree branch was wrenched from one of the nearby trees by an invisible force and levitated over to them. "You may break it easily, no? So easily in fact that you may wonder why bother to take the trouble to do so. But when this stick combines in a bushel with, say, six other sticks then you may find it is too strong to be splintered. And by then it is too late. The seven must not be reunited, my caribou friend. If they are...though we are so close to victory, we may yet fail."

"I have warriors searching the woods, they will be found-"

"A generous offer, but ultimately unnecessary," Titan said. "We will deal with this matter ourselves."

Arminius looked up. "We, lord?"

A figure stepped out of the shadows to Titan's right, a bizarre cross between a reptile and a pony, a horse with scales of green covering its coat and cat-like pupils in its yellow eyes. It was dressed in black, augmented with blood red, and bore a scythe casually slung across its shoulder. The hybrid stared down at Arminius with not a little trace of contempt within.

"This is my servant Rep-Stallion," Titan said. "Together, he and I shall locate the mare and the dragon...and see that their friends never see them again alive."

Rep-Stallion said nothing, but a forked tongue slipped out of his mouth and licked his lips in anticipation.



Spike sat down on a couch that was too big for him. It's size made him feel small, about as small as his failure made him feel.

"She was there when I was born," he said. "Did she ever tell you that?"

Lightning leaned back in his chair. "Yeah. Yeah, she told me that story."

"Did she tell you that she raised me?" Spike asked. "Fed me, took care of me, all that stuff?"

Lightning nodded. "Yes, she mentioned it," he murmured. "She, um...she blew up at me when I said that you sounded like a pet."

Spike looked at him. He found himself more curious than affronted. "She blew up?"

"Yes," Lightning said softly. "She certainly tore me off a strip. You were her friend, not her pet. How could I ever think otherwise? It took me a little while to get the ringing out of my ears."

Spike snorted. "Thanks, Twi. I wonder if she knew that it...that it..."

"Did you wonder?"

"A little," Spike admitted. "When we went through the mirror portal, and I came out as her dog, it got me thinking...was that how she saw me? Was that all I was to her?"

"I don't believe that," Lightning said. "I don't see what cause she'd have to lie to me about it."

"I guess not," Spike murmured. He was silent for a moment, his mind blank, unable to think of anything else to say. "I...She was there when I was born." He repeated. "She took care of me, from that...from the very first moment. But when she needed me to take care of her...where was I?"

"Is that what you think?"

"It's the truth, isn't it?" Spike demanded. "What good is a knight if he can't protect his princess? What good is having these powers if I can't save the people I care about?"

"You shouldn't blame yourself-"

"Why not, because I'm just a kid?" Spike yelled. "Because I'm a tiny, useless kid who can't do anything to help when it matters, because I'm a burden, because I'm weak, because...because she would have been better off without me?" He closed his eyes. "She would have been better off without me."

"I was going to tell you that you shouldn't blame yourself," Lightning Dawn said, his voice low and steady. "Because you should blame me. I'm the commander of this unit but I failed to exercise proper command, I failed to maintain control of the situation...I allowed the enemy to dictate our actions by their movements. I let this happen."

Spike was silent. When he opened his eyes he saw Lightning looking at him as though he were waiting for something. Anger? Accusation? Outrage? Absolution? Spike gave him none of those. He...he didn't care. He didn't care if Lightning thought it was his fault, he didn't care if Lightning shouldn't blame himself. All that he cared about...all that he cared about was that Twilight was gone and he'd let her down.

"He said I was the strength of all dragons," Spike muttered.

"Who?"

"The voice, from the egg," Spike replied. "The first Dragon Knight I guess. He said I was the strength of all dragons, the paragon or something. So why couldn't I swat Harkin like a bug? Why couldn't I take on Raven? If I'm so great and powerful now, why is Twilight dead, huh? If I'm all that why couldn't I save her? All this power and I'm still as useless as I always was.”



All this power and I'm just as useless as I was before, Spike thought, as he sat upon a log and looked down upon the sleeping Applejack.

He was still in his dragon-knight form. He hadn't transformed out of it since the caribou attack. It was the longest that he'd ever stayed this way, and if Twilight were here she'd probably she be lecturing him right now about the consequences of maintaining his transformation for so long, but he couldn't risk it. If the caribou caught up with them again then he'd need the knight's power to protect Applejack.

Spike snorted. As if he could protect Applejack. Was he going to protect her the way that he'd protected Twilight? Maybe it was time he faced the fact that knight or no knight he wasn't able to protect anyone.

He had made a fire to keep her warm, and given her his cloak as a blanket, but she hadn't opened her eyes since she'd been wounded and about the only comfort that Spike could find in this whole sorry situation was that at least she wasn't thrashing around or moaning or seeming too distressed by it all. She was sleeping peacefully, and that seemed like a good thing. But then, he wasn't a doctor so he might be completely off base about that.

He didn't know what was going to happen to her; he didn't know when or even if she'd wake up. Even if he hadn't been such a failure as a knight then he still couldn't have protected her from what was happening inside.

"I sure wish you were here, Twilight," he said to himself. "Of course, if you were still 'here' then I wouldn't be here but...oh, you're a genius you know what I mean. I wish...I wish that..."

Spike looked down at his large, powerful hands and the broadsword lying across his knees. "For years I dreamed of something like this; getting powers, I mean, being able to fight alongside you and everyone else. It was all that I wanted: to be able to stand alongside you and the other girls and do my part. I wanted to feel useful, you know. And I know that you told me that I was useful, and that I didn't need to change who I was and that I helped you out plenty...but come on, Twi, we both know that was a bunch of bull. In this world strength is everything, and I was a weakling." He clenched his hands into fists. "But now...but now that I've become strong, I...I'd give it all up in a heartbeat to have my sister back; you know that, right? I'd give it all up for you, Twilight, if I could."

Someone laughed from out of the depths of the forest. It was an old voice, hoarse and crackling as it cackled from out of the darkness of the forest, seeming to come from all directions at once, echoing off all the trees, reverberating off of them to grow louder as it assailed his ears. It was a laugh that was familiar to Spike, a distinctive 'heh heh heh' sound that he was very much afraid he recognised.

"That...that can't be," Spike said, rising slowly to his feet with his sword in hand. "We killed you...like, three times!"

"Technically, you were only present for two of my deaths, young dragon, but what of such a detail as that?" Titan replied as he glided into view between the trees.

"That doesn't change the fact that you're supposed to be dead!" Spike squawked indignantly.

"I have, as you so astutely pointed out, died three times," Titan replied. "Which means that I have already returned from death twice. And so I ask you...what is one more resurrection that you should be so shocked by it?"

"Well...when you put it that way...is this the part where you explain to me how you cheated death this time?" It wasn't much of a plan, but if he could keep Titan talking then maybe he could come up with an actual plan to save Applejack in the meantime.

"No," Titan said flatly, dashing all of Spike's hopes. "This is the part where Rep-Stallion cuts you down like a dog."

"Wh-" Spike turned just in time to parry Rep's slashing stroke with his scythe. The reptilian pony pressed upon him, forcing Spike's sword backwards until it was practically touching his helm, and all the while his scythe ground up and down against Spike's blade.

"You too?" Spike yelled. "You're back as well?"

Rep-Stallion did not rely. His face was an emotionless mask, devoid of all expression.

Titan, however, laughed. "What is dead may never die, boy. It can only fall, there to arise again when summoned."

Spike growled, and pushed backwards on Rep-Stallion with all his mind. The pony retreated, and Spike pursued, swinging his broadsword wildly. Rep parried his slashing strokes with contemptuous ease, batting them away with his scythe before going on the attack again. Spike's guard held for one, two, three strokes as the metal of their blades rang off one another, before Rep was inside Spike's guard and his scythe was swinging for Spike's head.

Spike staggered sideways as his all-enclosing helm was knocked off his head to roll across the ground. He could feel the cool air of the evening on his face. He threw up his sword to defend himself as Rep continued his assault, hammering relentlessly upon his guard. He was so strong. Even with all the power of the dragon-knight at Spike's command and it still felt as though Rep-Stallion was stronger than he was. Their blades locked, Rep's scythe pushing against Spike's broadsword as Spike braced himself to hold steady. Rep-Stallion stared at him, his yellow pupils gleaming in the gloom.

Lightning exploded from the scythe blade, rippling up and down Spike's sword to lash at his face and chest and arms. Spike felt it through his armour, through is breastplate and gauntlets and paudrons, but most of all he felt it on his face, lashing at it like the blows of a thousand tiny whips, slicing through his scales, cutting into his flesh. He recoiled, howling in pain, eyes screwed shut against the lashing tongues of lightning. He was plunged into darkness, blind to Rep-Stallion as his guard was broken.

Another burst of lightning erupted like a lance in the hands of a charging warrior from the tip of Rep's scythe, striking Spike square in the chest and hurling him backwards across the grounds. He lay there, on his back, sword discarded, moaning in pain.

Pathetic. All this power and I'm just as useless as I was before.

"You're not useless, Spike. You help me in more ways than you can imagine."

Twilight?

"Honestly, Spike, it took more guts for a guy like you to stand up to Melantha than it takes for someone as cool as me to do...well, just about anything."

Rainbow Dash?

"You'll always be my little spikey-wikey...but you'll always be my hero, too."

Rarity.

"You're not a burden, and you never have been. You didn't need to go and find a magical power source in order to be valuable to me, Spike, or to anyone. You're a part of all of us and you'll always have been, just the way you are."

Twilight. I'm so sorry.

Applejack. I promise...this time...I won't fail.

Rep-Stallion turned away from Spike and began to bear down upon the slumbering Applejack.

"Get away from her!" Spike roared as he surged to his feet, recovering his sword and holding it before him. "You...won't...touch her," he gasped through his ragged breath. "Not while I'm still breathing." Smoke rose from his nostrils as he snorted. "My name," he growled. "Is Spike. I am a number one librarian's assistant. And I will not let you hurt my friends!" He charged at Rep-Stallion with a great roar, his shining sword borne before him.

A knight is sworn to valour.

Spike's furious assault drove Rep-Stallion backwards in disarray, parrying desperately.

His heart knows only virtue.

Lightning erupted from the blade of Rep-Stallion’s scythe but Spike did not flinch, did not falter, he bore the pain and kept on pressing because he had to keep fighting; for Applejack who had nearly died for him, for Twilight whom he had lost, and for the sake of his self-respect.

His blade defends the helpless.

With a swing of his broadsword, Spike sliced through the shaft of Rep’s scythe, severing it cleanly.

His might upholds the weak.

Rep-Stallion fell back as Spike pressed him, driving him away from Applejack, keeping her safe from danger.

His word speaks only truth.

“I will never lose another friend!” Spike yelled.

His wrath undoes the wicked!

Spike’s blade ignited with the flame of his passion as he brought it down upon Rep-Stallion’s chest. The lizardlike pony howled in pain as he disintegrated before Spike’s eyes, transforming to ashes and dust that scattered lazily upon the cool evening breeze.

Spike turned his baleful gaze upon Titan, his eyes narrowing as he snorted angrily like a bull sensing a trespasser in the field.

“Look how you storm,” Titan said, with laughter in his voice. “Oh, what a weapon you would have made in the right hands.”

Spike’s lips curled into a sneer. “Is this where you try to tempt me to the dark side?”

“No, I would not insult you in such a way,” Titan replied. “This…this is where you die.”

Lightning exploded from his hands to lash across Spike’s body, driving him to his knees as he winced in pain. Spike tried to push through it, like he had just done when facing Rep-Stallion…but Titan was much stronger than his henchpony had been, and his lightning was ripping through Spike’s armour as though it was made of spandex, slicing through his scales, sending cold blood dripping down his body.

I have to fight. I…I have to save Applejack.

With a great roar, Spike rose to his feet once again and took one tottering step towards Titan, then another.

Titan laughed, and his lightning became even stronger, even more painful, strong enough to knock Spike to the ground where the blue lightning danced across him, making him writhe in pain, making him cry out.

“The Seven will never be re-united!” Titan cried. “With your deaths Harmony shall be permanently extinguished, and the darkness shall engulf the universe!”

Spike tried to rise, tried to get up, tried to reach his sword, tried to fight. He had to do something. He had to save Applejack, he had to protect his friends, he had to fight. But Titan was so strong. The lightning was so painful. The power of the darkness was too great.

He had no friends. He was all alone. He was alone and his strength was not enough.

It had never been about being strong. He had been a fool to not get that. He hadn’t needed to get big and buff to be strong, he hadn’t needed a magical super mode, he hadn’t needed to open that dragon egg.

All that he’d needed, to be strong…was his friends.

His friends who had been taken away from him.

Alone, it didn’t matter how muscular he was, what his transformation was called, whether he embodied the strength of the dragons or not. Alone…he was weak. He would always be weak.

That was what Twilight had understood. Her strength hadn’t come from magic, but from her friends.

And when she’d forgotten that…she’d died, just like he was going to die now, torn to pieces by Titan’s power.

All alone.

Rarity, I wish I could see you…just one more time.

Spike lay on the ground, squirming and writhing in agony, as Titan laughed as he flayed the dragon knight with lightning from his ancient and withered hands.

The sound of his mocking laughter was extinguished, or at least overwhelmed, by the whining roar of mighty engines as a lavender ship in the shape of an arrow swooped down out of the sky with searchlights beaming down onto the forest.



“There he is!” Pinkie cried, gesturing wildly to the image in the viewscreen. “There they are, I see them!”

“I told you I could find them,” Kitty said. “Didn’t I tell you, Miss Pinkie? Didn’t I say so, and didn’t I do great?”

“That’s them, okay, but what’s up with Applejack?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “And who’s that guy down there?”

“It looks…do you think that…that almost looks like Titan,” Fluttershy murmured.

“Again?” Rainbow yelled. “Haven’t we got enough problems without that guy refusing to stay dead?”

“Whoever he is, he looks like he’s attacking Spike!” Pinkie shouted.

It did indeed look that way. Something, some kind of magic that might well be lightning, was being fired from the hands of…Titan, for want of a better name for him, and it looked to have Spike and Applejack on the ground. Applejack wasn’t moving, which wasn’t a good sign, but Spike was in agony which might be even worse.

Rarity couldn’t control the rapid beating of her heart. Hold on, Spike, I’m nearly there.

Rainbow turned for the doors of the bridge. “I’m gonna go down there and-“

“That will not be necessary, Rainbow darling,” Rarity declared, in a voice as sharp as a rapier point.

Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Rarity? Come on, he’s-“

Rarity rose from her chair and walked towards the viewscreen. “Fratello, what would be the effect of firing the ion cannon at that creature?”

There was a half-second of silence before Fratello answered. “Unknown, but certainly very painful.”

“Thank you,” Rarity said, in a voice as crisp as frost. “Please lock on target.”

“Target locked.”

Rarity took a deep breath. “I don’t know who you are, or if you really are Titan, but whoever you really are you decided to pick on the wrong dragon. FIRE!”



“What?” Titan exclaimed, as the burst of brilliant white light erupted from the nose of the ship towards him. “No! This is impossible! I will not-“ Whatever else he might have said was lost as the white light consumed him, rendering his remaining words into nothing more than a cry of despair.

And then there was nothing left of him.

Spike lay on the ground, twitching in pain.

He felt…he felt safe now. Not just because Titan was gone, because he hadn’t felt safe before Titan showed up, but because of that ship. He didn’t know what ship it was. He didn’t know who was on it. But he felt safe. He felt…he felt the way he’d felt when Twilight was here.

And so, as he lay on the ground, he released the power of the dragon knight.

It hurt. It hurt just as much as Titan’s lightning, it hurt more than Rep-Stallion’s scythe slicing into him. But Spike released the magic, and so Spike the Dragon Knight and all his armour and his battle scars were ripped apart and sloughed off into nothingness, and Spike the baby dragon, number one assistant, was put back together again out of whatever remained.

And so Spike lay there, under the headlights of that strange yet protective-seeming ship, curled up on the ground like a newborn, shivering and aching, yet feeling more comfortable than he had…in a long time.

“Spike!” Rarity’s voice cut through the air, just as Rarity’s face appeared above him, and Rarity’s tears fell down upon his scaley cheek. “Spike! Oh thank Celestia, are you alright?”

“Rarity?” Spike murmured. “Is it really you?”

“Yes!” Rarity cried. “Yes, Spike, it’s me. It’s me, I’m here, and I’ve got you.” She picked him up and held him close. “Everything’s going to be alright now; we’re all going to be together again very soon.”

Spike didn’t understand what she meant; they couldn’t all be together, not now, not ever again. But he didn’t want to question, he didn’t want to spoil this moment. He just clung her, and pressed himself against her, and he felt safe.



Applejack tugged on the brim of her hat, pulling it down just a mite so that it shadowed her eyes. "My granny told me once: 'grief is a luxury, not everypony can afford it'."

"And what does that mean?" Lightning asked.

Applejack shrugged. "It means that she couldn't cry over the death of her own son, my pa," she murmured. "And it means that I can't cry over the death of my best friend."

"Because...you're the strong one," Lightning said.

"Someone has to be, don'tcha think?" Applejack asked.

"Perhaps," Lightning murmured. "But that doesn't mean it has to be you."

"Can you tell me who else it's likely to be?" Applejack demanded. "Pinkie? Rainbow Dash? Don't get me wrong, I love 'em, but...someone has to hold it together. Someone has to hold us together."

"And that someone...that's you."

Applejack snorted. "It's always been me. One way or the other. The strong one, the one with her hooves - feet - on the ground. The one who keeps it together."

Lightning was silent for a moment. "So...it doesn't bother you, what happened to Twilight?"

Applejack turned to affix him with a stern glare. "Twilight thought you didn't mean to be an insensitive jackelope, she thought that you just couldn't help yourself; and so for her sake I'm going to let you have that one for free. But, boy, if you say something like that again I'm gonna bust you on the snout and you see if I don't!"

Lightning bowed his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"I never said that I didn't have feelings, I said that..." Applejack trailed off for a moment. "Were you hoping that I'd become like you or something? That I'd gotten over it like we're all supposed to?"

"Nobody's telling you to get over it-"

"But you have, haven't you?" Applejack said. "And Starla has, and your whole crew. You've shed your tear and now you're done."

"I think you're being a little unfair."

"Oh, well I'm sorry that I'm not feeling especially reasonable right now!" Applejack said. "To answer your stupid question: yes, it bothers me that my friend is dead! Just like it bothers me that Twi might not be the only one. You're going to send us out again, aren't you?"

Lightning blinked. "That depends."

"And that's a maybe, at least," Applejack replied. "They ain't soldiers. You know that. Twi was no soldier. You know that, too."

"You all volunteered."

"Well, I figured that if Twilight was going to do this fool thing then we might as well all be fools together and maybe we'd help each other through to the other side," Applejack said. A sigh escaped her lips. "I'm not even sure where the other side is no more. Don't it ever stop?"

"The fighting?"

"If this the mud and blood, then where the hay are the green fields beyond?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know," Lightning admitted. "I just...I don't know."

"Well, until we find out," Applejack said. "I guess I'll just have to keep on being the strong one."



"Hello?" Applejack called, as she wandered through the forest. The pine trees pressed her close round about, but she kept on walking.

What was especially weird was that she was walking on all fours. It felt strange, as strange as that might sound, but after so long walking around on two legs, it was kind of funny being back on all fours. Honestly, she would have thought she would have had some trouble remembering how it all worked, but she'd taken to it pretty darn fast again. So she walked through the forest, heading towards the light on a fire in a clearing.

"Hello?" she called again. "Spike? Can you hear me? Where d'you go?"

The last thing she remembered was...pain. She remembered the caribou, the fight, she remembered some fella about to shoot her down...she didn't remember nothing after that. Did that mean...Applejack shook her head. She didn't want to think about that. Everything could be explained, even her change. She just needed to find out what the explanation was.

She walked into the clearing. Two ponies, actual ponies, not converted, ponies on four legs just like her, sat around a campfire. Or at least one of them was a pony, a white mare strumming on a banjo with her fore hooves; her companion was harder to see, all covered up behind a black cloak that hid all features and colours.

Applejack trotted over to them.

"Howdy, partner," the mare with the banjo said.

"Uh, howdy," Applejack said. "Listen, have you see a little baby dragon anywhere around here. I'm kinda responsible for him-"

"You won't find him here," the mare said. "Don't you worry though, he's safe and sound. He's with his friends."

"Really?" Applejack said sceptically. "And who might you be, and what are you doing all the way out here in Rangiveria."

The mare laughed. "Rangiveria? Girl, this ain't Rangiveria! Don't you know where you are? Guess not. I apologise, permit me to introduce myself. The name's Epona, protector of horses and ponies."

Applejack's eyes widened. "Epona...like the goddess? Hey, are you the Grand Ruler-"

"No, I am not his mother," Epona declared firmly. "If I was I would have given that boy a little bit more discipline when he was growing up."

"But he says-"

"I don't have time to talk about him and all of his lies, and neither do you," Epona replied. "You're here because I got a use for you, Applejack, you and your friends. And well..."

The mare in the black cloak threw back her hood. "And because I really, really wanted to talk to you. It's so wonderful to see you again, Applejack."

If Applejack's eyes got any wider they were gonna pop right out of her skull. Her breath caught in her throat, and when she spoke it was only as a thin, small voice. "Twilight?"

Twilight Sparkle smiled, a sweet and gentle smile. "Hey. It's been too long."

"I'll leave you to it," Epona said, and just like that she was gone, vanished as if she'd never been.

Applejack stared at her. It was Twilight, but not the Twilight that Starfleet had made of her. Like Applejack herself, she was back on all fours, back the way that she'd been before all of this started. Back the way that she was supposed to be, the way they were all supposed to be.

If Twilight was disconcerted by Applejack staring she gave no sign of it. With one lavender hoof she patted the log that Epona had so recently vacated. "Why don't you sit down?"

Applejack's brow furrowed as she took the offered seat. "So...this is it then? I'm dead, just like...and this is where we all end up?"

"No," Twilight said. "You're not dead. You were hurt, although you're getting better. But the fact that you were injured meant that with Epona's help we have an opportunity to talk."

"Well then I'd say it's been too long!" Applejack cried. "What, you can appear to Lightning Dawn every time he needs a quick pep-talk but you ain't go no words to say to your real friends?"

"Please tell me that you didn't take that seriously?" Twilight said. "Please tell me that you don't think I'd appear to offer him advice and completely ignore you."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, before they both started snorting.

"You look good, Twi."

"So do you."

"Well, four legs always suited me more than two," Applejack observed. She sighed. "There are so many things that I want to say to you that I don't know where to begin. But I'm guessing this ain't strictly a social call."

"I'm afraid not," Twilight said. "Believe me, there's nothing more that I'd like to do than just sit here with you and listen to all your stories. Catch up on everything I've missed. I've tried to watch over you, but..."

"But what?"

"Something is keeping my spirit bound," Twilight said. "I can try and reach out with my consciousness, but it never lasts very long. Even with Epona's help I probably don't have a lot of time here before he pulls me back."

"He? Who's he?" Applejack demanded. "If someone's messing with you even now-"

"I know that you'd all move heaven and earth to help me, but that's not important right now," Twilight said. "I don't matter, not any more."

"You'll always matter to me," Applejack said. "And to all of us."

Twilight chuckled. "That's sweet. But what matters right now is stopping Evenfall."

"Evenfall?"

"Yes," Twilight said. "When you wake up, I need you to tell the girls that they mustn't trust Evenfall, that you have to stop her...but at the same time, don't give up on her completely. She's not all bad."

"Girl, I don't understand a word that just came from your mouth."

"When you wake up it will all start to make sense, I hope," Twilight said. "I...I know this is selfish of me, but I don't want to spend my precious time with my friend dispensing exposition. Can you forgive me?"

Applejack grinned. "Always, for anything. So...we're saving the world again is that the short of it?"

"Pretty much," Twilight replied. "Is that a problem?"

"I guess not," Applejack murmured. "But...I'm so tired, Twi. I'm tired, like dog tired. I'm tired of all of this, all this army and this fighting and these soldiers and I'm sick and tired of just about all of it! But most of all, I...I'm tired of having to be the strong one, of having to keep on going like...like none of this gets to me. Like losing you didn't get to me. I'm tired of it, the whole thing."

"I'm so sorry, Applejack," Twilight said, her voice a comforting caress. "I wouldn't ask this if...if there were another way. For what it's worth, I really believe that once this is all over, things will be different. I really think that if this ends happily it could finally bring about a world of peace, like there was before. Just one more push, I hope, should be enough to do it. And besides, if it helps, you don't have to be strong here."

Applejack raised one eyebrow. "Is this your way of offering me a hug or something?"

Twilight shrugged. "Would you like one?"

Applejack paused. "Aww, hay, why not." She allowed Twilight to pull her into an embrace, and rested her head on Twilight's shoulder.

A single tear fell from her eye. "I missed you, Twilight."

"I've missed you to," Twilight said. "I've missed you all so much. Tell them that-" her voice was cut off, becoming blurred and indistinct, even as Twilight seemed to disappear momentarily from under Applejack's grasp.

Applejack pulled back. "Twilight, what's going on?"

"He's pulling me back," Twilight said, as she vanished for a moment and then reappeared again. "I told you I didn't have much time. Remember, you have to stop Evenfall, you need to get her away from-"

"Twilight?" Applejack yelled, as Twilight disappeared before her eyes, and this time she did not return. "Twilight? Twilight?"

Applejack opened her eyes to see bright lights and an unfamiliar ceiling.

"SHE'S AWAKE!"

The unfamiliar ceiling was replaced by a familiar pink mane as it fell over Applejack's face like a blanket.

"APPLEJACK!" Pinkie yelled. "You're awake and you're okay and we're all together and Twilight's back and this is all going to be so awesome!"

"Um, Pinkie, perhaps you should let her breathe a little."

"Right, sorry," Pinkie said, retreating from Applejack a little.

Applejack sat up. She was in some kind of hospital ward or infirmary or something, and all of her friends were standing over her, looking at her like she was the dandiest thing they ever saw.

"Girls," Applejack said. "You're all here, but...I thought that...shouldn't you be all over the place or something. I mean...where are we, anyway?"

"The infirmary of the Princess Twilight Sparkle," Rarity said. "As for how we're all back together again...it's a long story, but the summary is that we're all deserters at best and wanted for treason at worst."

"Cool, huh?" Rainbow asked with a grin. "You've got a lot to catch up on, buddy."

"But first, group hug!" Pinkie yelled. "Right?"

Applejack smiled as she held out her arms. "Sure thing, Pinkie. Group hug."

Applejack was enfolded in their arms as the six friends came together, smothering one another with the love that only their bond could provide.

For the first time in a long while, Applejack thought that things might actually be okay.