“Sunshine, you haven’t touched your food,” Starlight said with concern. “Is something the matter?”
Sunshine gulped as multiple pairs of eyes shifted onto her. “I…I’m not hungry.” She pushed her bowl of porridge across the table and crossed her forehooves.
“Not hungry? That’s not like you, Sunshine.”
Prism shrugged and swiped Sunshine’s bowl towards herself. “If you’re not hungry, more for me then!”
Sunshine growled and jumped down from her seat before bolting toward the girl’s bedroom. Sniffling, she climbed onto her bed and pressed her face into her pillow. It wasn’t long before a hoof rested on her back.
“Sunshine, tell me what’s wrong,” Starlight said. “You’ve been very picky with your food lately—you’re usually the first one to clean out your bowl.”
A muffled reply. “Nothing.”
“Sunshine, if you don’t tell me what’s wrong, I cannot help you. The problem won’t go away if you keep ignoring it.”
There was a shift. Then Sunshine slowly pulled the pillow away from her face. Her hoof went to her jaw and her eyes squeezed shut in pain.
Starlight’s eyes widened. “Ohhh, I think I know what the problem is.” She gestured Sunshine to open her mouth and peered inside. “Where is it?”
Sunshine’s tongue passed over to the left side of her bottom teeth, and a single tooth started to wiggle. “Oh, my stars,” Starlight breathed. “It’s…It’s your baby tooth. You’re the first, Sunshine!”
Sunshine closed her mouth and her hoof flew to her jaw again. “But I don’t wanna be first! I don’t want my tooth yanked out!”
“Yanked out? Now just where did you get that idea?”
“P-Prism said that when we start losing our baby teeth, you’ll yank them out.” Sunshine’s lower lip trembled despite herself.
Starlight sighed and shook her head. “Prism and her wild stories. I’m going to have a long talk with her, believe you me. Is that why you haven’t been eating much these past few days?”
“It…It hurts really bad when I try to chew something. I didn’t tell because I didn’t want you to y-yank it.”
Starlight’s hoof trailed Sunshine’s jaw. “Sunshine, you silly pony. I’m not going to yank it out. It seems that you have two choices. One, we can simply leave it be, and it’ll fall out on its own…or two, I can help you remove your tooth.”
Sunshine mulled it over. “I…I want it out.”
“I thought so. Now let me see…” Sunshine let out a low, fretful whine as Starlight moved in on her tooth.
“Ah ah ah. Trust me.” Her horn lit up and her aura encased the loose tooth. “I’m going to maneuver it out on a count of three.”
Sunshine squeezed her eyes shut.
“One…two….”
Sunshine braced herself. She waited and waited for her mother to say ‘Three’, but it never came. “Uh redeh,” she said with her mouth still wide open.
“It’s out.”
The filly’s eyes popped open. “Huh?” Starlight smirked as she held up the tiny tooth for her daughter to see. “My tooth!” She worked over the empty space where her tooth used to be with her tongue. “It didn’t even hurt!”
“And it would have been out a lot sooner of you had just come to me in the first place. Which ended up being more painful? Keeping secrets or revealing the truth?”
“Keeping secrets,” Sunshine admitted. Her ears flattened against her head. “I’m sorry, mommy. I should have trusted you. I can always trust you, right?”
Starlight’s eyes dimmed. “Right,” she said softly, gazing at Sunshine’s tooth. “It looks like you’re on your way to growing up, aren’t you?”
Sunshine cheered up at this. “Are you proud of me, mommy?”
Starlight’s gaze lingered on the tooth a moment longer, and her subdued look vanished as quickly as it came. “Of course. I think…I think I’ll start collecting these—your baby teeth and your sisters baby teeth.”
“Gross!” Sunshine laughed, grabbing her tooth out of Starlight’s aura. “I’m gonna show the others!” She jumped down from her bed and rushed into the dining room. “Look, everypony! My baby tooth’s out!”
All at once, her sisters sprung out of their chairs and crowded around Sunshine in an instant.
“Whoa!”
“Let me see!”
“Did mom yank it out?”
“Did it hurt?”
“I-I’d like to see!”
“Aww,” said Sapphire, frowning. “I want my baby teeth out too!”
“Me too,” Buttercup said, her eyes starting to water.
“Me too too,” Pearl choked.
Sunshine rolled her eyes as some of her sisters began to cry.
“I ain’t seein’ no shrink,” Applejack said with a stomp of her hoof. “It ain’t gonna happen.”
“Applejack, be reasonable,” Twilight said tiredly, rubbing a hoof against her temple—the one that wasn’t currently bandaged. “We’ve been through a lot more than we can handle. Feelings we don’t even know what to do with…the confusion…” She tried not to glance at Rarity at the last word. “All things that these doctors can help us with.”
“Well, I don’t know about you Twilight, but I’m not gonna just sit back and let a bunch of strangers tell me how crazy I am!”
“Applejack,” Fluttershy reprimanded. “Nopony said anything of the sort. Doctor Horse asked for them specifically, and they were nice enough to agree to travel from different cities just to help us. The least we can do is spend some time with them.”
“It’s might nice, yes. And I’ll be sure to apologize to them personally when they arrive tomorrow, because it’ll be a waste of a trip.”
Twilight looked angry now. “We’re all shaken, Applejack! All of us, even you! Don’t pretend that you’re not!”
“I’m not pretending anything!”
“Why do you always have to pick a fight with me!?”
“Why do you always think that you know what’s right!”
“Girls!” Rarity hissed with a glare. “Will you please control your tempers? You do remember that Rainbow Dash is just down the hall, or have you all forgotten? She can hear you.”
Both mares shut their mouths tightly and retreated to the opposite sides of the room. A nurse poked her head inside. “Everything alright, ladies?”
“Yes,” Twilight said, mustering up a smile. “We’re fine, thank you.”
The nurse nodded and disappeared back into the hall. The five elements had crowded inside Rarity’s hospital room; they needed to be close, especially since they were one short.
Rarity rolled around on her bed and sighed, staring at the celling. “Why must they make the lights so dark? It’s looking more and more like a dungeon by the minute.”
“To relax us, maybe,” Twilight said, casting an irritated glance towards Applejack. “Not that it’s helping much.”
Applejack huffed but said nothing. Pinkie Pie, who sat on the bed alongside Rarity, took a crayon in between her teeth and wrote something down on paper. Then she held it up for all to see.
Please don’t fight
We need each other
“Pinkie’s right,” Fluttershy said, emerging from the back corner. “We’re all in this together, remember? Now is not the time to start bickering.” Twilight and Applejack’s eyes met each other briefly before flickering away. “Come on now. Let’s not make things more difficult than they already are. Say you’re sorry, both of you.”
Both mares shifted on their hooves. “Sorry I yelled,” Applejack managed curtly, looking away.
Twilight nodded. “Me too.” After a pause, she added more softly, “I just…want us all to find some healing, if we can. I don’t want this to break us.”
Applejack sighed. “I know, Twi, I know. I still don’t like the idea…but I’ll think on it. I will.”
There was a knock on the doorframe. “May we come in?”
Doctor Horse stood in the doorway with a Celestial Guard at his side. “Come in, come in!” Rarity sang with a wave of her hoof.
“I’m here to inform you that some of your families have arrived,” Doctor Horse said as they entered the room.
The girls fell silent with wide eyes. “W-Which…. which ones? I mean, which ones are here?” Fluttershy finally asked.
“So far, only the ones who are living here in Ponyville.”
The Celestial Guard, the one known as Silver Shield, pulled out a list. “Doctor Horse gave me visual conformation, but we wanted to run the names by you first. “For Applejack…”
Applejack swallowed.
“I have Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh. Does that sound correct?”
“…Yes sir,” Applejack said quietly.
“And do you wish to meet with them at this particular time?”
“Yes…very much so.”
With a nod, Silver Shield continued. “For Rarity, I have Hondo Flanks, Cookie Crumbles, and Sweetie Bell. Is that correct?”
Rarity rolled back onto her stomach and sat up, her eyes shining with tears. “Yes…yes, it is.”
“Do you wish to meet with them at this particular time?”
“Of course I do.”
“Lastly, for Pinkie Pie—they’re not relatives, but they say you’ve lived with them for years and insist upon seeing you. I have Carrot Cake, Cup Cake, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake. Does that sound correct?”
Pinkie nodded vigorously. Silver Shield turned to Doctor Horse. “Are you sure she’s fit for this visit? She’s shocked to silence, and I worry it might have a negative effect on her or the children.”
Pinkie switched her anxious gaze to Doctor Horse, and he offered a small, reassuring smile.
“I don’t see why not. Miss Pie’s behavior’s been on the regular these past few hours. Her voice will come back to her when she herself is mentally ready to speak. Perhaps seeing those she loves might help a bit.”
Silver Shield nodded. “Very well.”
“Is…anypony here for Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked curiously. “Does Scootaloo still live in Ponyville?”
“Yes, she tried getting in, but I’ve told her that Rainbow Dash is not mentally fit to see anypony at the moment,” Doctor Horse said. “I’ve tried to explain that it might be a while before I clear miss Dash for visits, but she refuses to leave.”
“Oh—me and Twilight will see Scootaloo, if it’s alright,” Fluttershy said. “The poor thing was always like a sister to Rainbow, and we’ve always loved her. I’d hate for her to go home without seeing anypony.”
Doctor Horse rubbed his chin. “That can be arranged. I don’t want to crowd the room, so if you don’t mind, I’ll have you return to your respective rooms, so you’ll have some private time with your loved ones. I’ll start sending them up.”
As he and Silver Shield left the room, the girls shared looks ranging from excitement and disbelief to apprehension and absolute terror.
Twilight gave them all an encouraging smile. “It’ll be alright. Take as much time as you need, okay?”
Applejack nodded. “We’ll all need some time, that’s for certain.”
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Rarity said softly.
Pinkie wrote something down.
Nopony leaves without a hug!
Grins traveled around the room. “We wouldn’t dream of it, Sugarube,” Applejack chuckled, stepping forward. The five of them came together and held each other close, some exchanging kisses on the cheek like they used to do as sisters.
Twilight nuzzled Rarity, whispering “I love you too,” before turning to look around at the rest of her friends. “I love all of you, and Rainbow Dash too.” Her words were met with nods and sniffles, their eyes still fresh with sorrow over the state of their friend. “We’re not sisters by blood, I know. But I’d be lying if…” Twilight cleared her throat roughly, keeping her voice steady. “Even before Starlight’s spell, you’ve always been like a second family to me…sisters I never had. And you are that.”
“Likewise,” Rarity affirmed, offering a small smile.
“That goes for me too,” Applejack agreed.
“And me,” Fluttershy sniffled.
Pinkie Pie nodded, smiling as wide as she could.
They were home.
Applejack paced back and forth in her room, her breathing slightly uneven. She recalled everything Sunset had told her before they left for Ponyville. She missed so much of their lives, especially Apple Bloom’s. From the very day her little sister was born, Applejack had promised that she would always be there for her.
Now, as fate would have it, she had been absent from Apple Bloom’s life much longer than she had been present. It’s been so long…even if she managed to reassert herself back into her old life, things would never be the same, not really.
“Sakes alive,” said a hushed voice. “It really is you.”
Applejack froze. She knew that voice anywhere. It was a mare’s voice now, but it was still high and sweet, like a summer breeze. She turned slowly.
Apple Bloom stood there, staring into her eyes. She grew up, no question about it. Her cherry red mane was tied up in a bun, and a hot pink scarf was tied around her neck. She was a head taller than Applejack, a far cry from the little filly that barely came up to her middle. And most of all, her belly was swollen.
Filled with life.
Applejack watched as tears slipped down her ‘little’ sister’s face. “It really really is you, isn’t it, Applejack?”
Applejack tried to smile. “I, uh…I ain’t as big as I used to be.”
“Oh, who gives a hoot?” Apple Bloom rushed forward and tackled Applejack in a hug. “You’re here, you’re here with me,” she sobbed, kissing the top of her head.
Applejack bit her cheek hard to keep the sob from escaping her throat. She whispered her sister’s name over and over, squeezing her tightly. Apple Bloom either laughing or crying, she couldn’t tell.
Eventually, she forced herself to ease up. “Here, let me get a good look you.” She pulled back and took her sister in, inch by inch. She ran a hoof down her face. “Ain’t you a sight. Just as pretty as Mama was. Prettier even.”
“Nopony can compare to Mama,” Apple Bloom chuckled, wiping her eyes. “Nopony except you, Applejack.” She glanced at the doorway and stepped to the side. “It’s really her, Big Mac! See?”
Big Mac stood at the doorway, just barely fitting in. He was even larger than he was before, his muscles large from years of working at the farm, though not grotesque-looking. He’d grown a beard too, big and bushy. Her brother’s green eyes misted over as he gazed upon his sister. “Eeyup,” he said softly. “I see.” His voice had deepened considerably. It reminded Applejack of a low rumble of thunder before a storm.
She looked in between her siblings, her throat tightening. “I…I’m mighty sorry about my appearance…and my absence. T-There was a spell, and—”
Big Macintosh crossed the room in two strides and wrapped her up tightly in his embrace. Given his size, Applejack braced herself to be crushed, but he held her like she was the most fragile thing in the world. Big Mac buried his face into her neck, and his shoulders shook. His heavy breathing turned into gasps, and Applejack felt drops of water trickling down her backside.
“Oh, Mac…” Her own breathing started to shake as she held on tightly to her brother.
Still, she kept her composure for the sake of her family. The last thing they needed was to see their sister fall apart. The warm exchange lasted for another moment or two before Big Mac finally pulled away, albeit with great reluctance. He swallowed quietly and spoke in a quieter tone. “Welcome home.”
Apple Bloom reached out a hoof and ran a hoof her sister’s golden mane. “We missed you somethin’ awful, Sis. It’s been…” she winced in visible anguish, tears sliding down her face. She couldn’t go on.
“Now, now,” Applejack soothed, wiping away the mare’s tears.
Apple Bloom leaned her cheek into Applejack’s familiar caress and closed her eyes.
“Are you hurt?” Big Mac asked gently.
“No, I’m alright, relatively speaking. All things considering, I turned out pretty well, unlike Dash.”
“How is she?” Apple Bloom asked, her voice starting to gain its strength back. “Is she really as bad as the doctors say she is?”
“She might be, Sugarcube. I’m not entirely sure what her condition is, but she’s not herself.”
“Rainbow Dash’s a strong mare,” Bic Mac said assuredly. “Eighteen years won’t change that. She’ll pull through.”
“I hope so. The rest are fine, though Pinkie ain’t speakin’ and Fluttershy’s wing is…well, she can’t fly anymore.”
Apple Bloom gasped. “Goodness, no! D-Did Starlight—”
“No. She actually…saved her. It’s a long story. Fluttershy’s gonna be just fine. We’re all gonna be fine.”
“What y’all must have been through.” Apple Bloom’s voice started to shake, the realization hitting her. “Somewhere out there, ya’ll waited, waited all this time for us to come rescue you, but we never—”
“No, Apple Bloom, no. It wasn’t like that, it was…it’s complicated.”
“Complicated how?” Big Mac asked. “What did she do to you?”
Applejack wavered.
“It’s alright now, you can tell us, we’re your family.”
“…She…well, she…” A small, hysterical laugh bubbled out of her, earning more worried looks from Apple Bloom and Big Mac. She couldn’t help it though—now that she thought about it, really thought about it, her story suddenly seemed utterly ridiculous.
“Sis?”
“It’s alright, we’re right here.”
With another half-hearted giggle, Applejack replied, “She turned us into foals and raised us as her own daughters. She erased everything about us. Our cutie marks, our names, even our memories. Y’don’t need to worry about me waiting for somepony to rescue us, ‘cause I didn’t remember any of y’all! My family, my friends, everything I’ve ever done in my entire life—gone! Applejack didn’t exist. For eighteen years, there was only Sunshine Glimmer!”
The silence was deafening. Outside, the sounds of distant conversations and soft sobbing wafted up and down the hallway.
“Hoo,” Applejack sighed, her giggles subsiding. “That mare’s sure somethin’ else, ain’t she?”
There was a lull, then her hoof flew to her mouth.
Big Mac and Apple Bloom stood like statues. Big Mac was a big and strong stallion, but now it looked like even the smallest breath of wind could knock him off his hooves. And worse, Apple Bloom looked a little filly who had just lost her innocence.
Applejack stammered. “I…I’m sorry, I-I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know what…no, don’t look at me like that. Please don’t look at me like that. I’m sorry…”
Apple Bloom’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water before she cried out in pain, clutching her stomach. Applejack and Big Mac immediately moved to help, sliding up a chair and sitting her down. “No…no I’m fine,” Apple Bloom said between puffs.
“There’s a few nurses down the hall,” Applejack told Big Mac, who was already at the door.
“Mac, wait! Just…wait.” She breathed in and out as Big Mac slowly returned to her side, unsure. “Both of y’all just wait.”
Neither sibling looked happy about it, but they complied. They pulled up seats for themselves, and the three Apples sat together in silence.
The distant voices from the other rooms had died down, but a few select words were still audible. Applejack didn’t pay attention to any of them. She stared at Apple Bloom’s belly with apprehension and licked her lips. “We should really get a doctor or nurse to take a look at you.”
“No we shouldn’t, now just hold on and wait. We’re here for you, not for me.”
“Land sakes, you’re just as stubborn as I am.”
This brought a smile to Apple Bloom’s lips. “You say it like it’s a bad thing.”
The three of them chuckled softly and lapsed back into silence. The minutes ticked by, but they continued to sit still—Poised, breathing, taking each other in.
Finally, Applejack broke the long silence. “I’m sorry I said all that. I don’t know what got into me. I ought to know better, with your condition.”
“Dang it all, A.J., ain’t it just like you to worry about sompony else when you should be worryin’ about yourself. We shouldn’t have pressed you like that.”
“Is there anything else she did?” Big Mac asked.
He asked the question in a calm, steady tone, but his eyes burned with something that almost made Applejack want to scoot back in her chair. For a split second, she almost felt sorry for Starlight, because this was just a small taste of what the unicorn would have to face if she ever got caught.
“Well, she behaved like a mother, a strict one. Ultimately, she got us to help with her dirty work, but not much else.”
“She had no right to do that,” Apple Bloom near growled. “First she kidnaps you, then she had the nerve to pretend to have any kind of authority over you. Her day of reckoning will come, Applejack, make no mistake about that.”
“Alright now, take it easy. Let’s just focus on the good for now, alright? No more stress. How’s the family?”
Apple Bloom’s face brightened a little. “Oh, the Apple family tripled in size, Applejack. You should see ‘em. We’re spreadin’ like an epidemic. But Babs Seed’s got everypony beat when it comes to expanding the family. She sent me a letter just last week. Turns out she’s carrying her eleventh foal as we speak!”
Applejack’s eyes widened. “We’re talkin’ about Babs, right? Little Babs Seed with eleven kids?”
“Well, she’s got the means to support ‘em. She’s got that fancy hairdressing job in Manehattan—she even cuts celebrities’ manes sometimes! Ever since she got her cutie mark, she—oh pony feathers! I almost forgot!”
Grinning, she turned to the side. “Lookie here. After all that runnin, jumpin’ and crashing into things, I finally got my cutie mark. All three of us did, at the same time!” She gestured to the red and magenta colored shield on her flank with a little apple in the center. “You were right, A.J., about bein’ patient about getting my mark. Now I get to help ponies find their cutie marks. That’s my special talent.”
Applejack stared at her cutie mark with an odd expression on her face. For a while, she didn’t say anything.
“Applejack?”
Blinking, the farm pony shook her head. “T-That’s great, Sugarcube. Wow, that’s…that’s great! Wish I was there to see it.”
Apple Bloom beamed, and Big Mac smiled through his beard. “It’s good to have you back, Sis. The family’ll be thrilled to see you again. They’ll be traveling in from all over.”
“Speaking of family…” Applejack’s mouth quirked. “I heard that you two tied the knot with a couple ponies. Are they around?”
“Nope. We didn’t wanna overwhelm you, and they agreed to hold off a while ‘till we were sure.”
“Well, shoot, I’m fine. Next time y’all be sure to bring ‘em around.”
“Well, Snails is out there, but right now, he’s with the rest of them, keeping the crowds away from the Hospital. He’s on the Ponyville police force.”
“Police force?”
“It’s a long story. Snails isn’t the fastest officer they’ve got, but he’s real good at diffusing situations.” Apple Bloom’s eyes sparkled. “You’ll really like him, Applejack. He’s not like the colt he was when we were kids. He’s got a cool head and a way with words. He helped me through a lot.”
Applejack smiled warmly and patted her hoof. “Sugarcube, if you’re happy, then that’s good enough for me. I can’t tell you how glad I am to see that you two really would be alright if I really did pass on. It might be a while before we can figure out living arrangements. They’d like us to stay here a little bit longer, and…well, we’re not too keen on splitting up right now. Especially when Starlight’s on the loose.”
“Ohh, if Starlight were ever here,” Apple Bloom said, shaking her head. “I’d give it right to her. I’d hit her over the head with my skillet, and I’d tell her to go straight to Tartarus. Then I’d hoof her over to Snails, and he’d arrest her, lock her up for good.”
“I could do you one better ten times over,” Big Mac said in a matter of fact tone. “But as satisfying as it might be, it ain’t your place to serve punishment, nor is it mine. Only Applejack and her friends have the right to that, I reckon.”
Applejack’s smile dimmed, and she fiddled with the hospital band fastened around her hoof. “They want us to talk to a bunch of fancy head doctors. Try to straighten us out. Maybe I should at least try it like Twilight said. But I don’t know if I can. I don’t like the feeling of bein’ scrutinized, especially by strangers.”
“Hm. In my opinion, if it ends up helping you, Applejack, it’s not entirely a bad idea,” Big Mac said, rubbing her back. “They can help you with things other ponies can’t. But at the end of the day, it’s your decision. You don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna do.”
“I agree. It’s entirely up to you, but…if you want my two cents, it might be good for you. At least try a session or two, and if you don’t like it, you’ll never have to see ‘em again,” Apple Bloom said.
Applejack nodded, not looking up from her band.
The small white strip that bore her name started to blur, and something dripped onto her hoof. “…I trusted her. I trusted her with everything. Starlight…Starlight was my mother. And my friends were my sisters. Heck, they still are, but…I’m confused. She did it out of revenge, but…there were times. Times that I really thought she loved and cared for me. Can a pony really keep up that kind of act for eighteen years?”
She angrily wiped a hoof across her eyes. “She said she did me a favor, bein’ a momma to me when I had none. But I lost so much more. Your lives, my life…and the end of Granny Smith’s life.”
She sunk and curled into a little ball, wrapping her hooves around herself as she rocked back and forth.
“My momma isn’t Starlight Glimmer…Starlight Glimmer is Starlight Glimmer. But I still call her momma in my mind…is that bad?”
Apple Bloom and Big Mac exchanged worried glances.
“We got another one!” Eagle Eye shouted, grunting as he and his team dragged a wriggling silver net across the ground.
Roundabout let out a whoop as he rushed toward them, eyes shining. “Lookie there!”
Grinning, he knelt to peer at their latest catch. The dragon thrashed around and tried to breathe fire, but the flames quickly turned into faint puffs of smoke.
“Sorry, can’t do any of that,” Roundabout laughed, straightening up. “That there’s a magic dragon net. You can claw, scratch, and blow fireballs at me all day, but you’re not goin’ anywhere.” He looked up and extended his hoof with a smirk. “And neither are these lizards.”
Rows upon rows of special dragon cages were lined up before them, all ranging in different sizes and shapes. Angry hisses, growls, and even a few whines bounced off the cave walls, but Roundabout just laughed.
“Hope you like the place, ‘cause this is gonna be your new home from now on, least ‘till we get sometin’ good out of ya.”
The trapped dragon let out a growl of her own.
“We scored big with this one,” Eagle Eye said. “Just about the prettiest dragon we ever captured. Ponies’ll pay big for those pretty scales of hers.”
Roundabout nodded. “You’re not wrong about that. Look like a damn near Queen.” He smiled widely, showing his yellow teeth. “Queen of the lizards! That’s what we’ll call ya! How’s that sound, sweetie?”
“Hmm. I’d much rather prefer ‘Princess of the Night’.”
Roundabout’s eyes bulged, and the group of wranglers froze. “Wh-What the—”
A bright light exploded from inside the net, blinding them all. The wranglers screamed and shielded their eyes, dropping the net.
When the light finally dimmed, a tall, slender alicorn stood amongst the net’s remains, rolling around a stiff shoulder. “But after tracking me, attacking me and trapping me in a net, ‘Princess of the Night’ seems a little bit too formal at this point, wouldn’t you say?”
“P-Princess Luna!” The wranglers fell onto their faces, trembling and shaking. “W-We didn’t…” Eagle Eye stammered. “We thought that—”
“Yes, yes, I fooled you,” Luna said impatiently, rolling her eyes. “Why are you capturing dragons and treating them in such a horrid manner?”
The wranglers shivered, their faces still on the ground.
“SPEAK!”
Roundabout jumped and spoke in a tremulous voice. “D…Dragons are a great commodity in Equestria, your excellency. M-Most of their greatest features are of great value. Their teeth and scales alone are extremely valuable.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed. “And when a dragon is stripped of all of his or her ‘valuable’ assets? What exactly becomes of them?”
Shaking, Roundabout couldn’t find it in himself to answer, but he didn’t need to.
Luna uttered a sound of disgust. She let out a low whistle, and numerous Lunar guards swarmed the cave. The wranglers gasped in fear, but they didn’t dare move. “I’ve heard whispers of dragon wranglers near these lands, but I very well couldn’t ask around, else you’d simply pack up and move on. Normally, my sister would deal with matters such as this, but her hooves are tied at the moment.” An unnerving mile snaked across her face. “So that leaves you with me.”
Some of the wranglers whimpered.
“Recently, I’ve sent out my pupil to scout the grounds, but he has yet to return. Speak the truth. Is a dragon by the name of Spike amongst these poor souls?”
“Truthfully, we do not know of a dragon by that name, your grace,” Eagle Eye gulped. “We…we don’t know any of their names. W-We call them by numbers!”
Luna bristled and spoke through clenched teeth. “Then tell me of the recent dragons you’ve caught. More specifically, ones with purple and green scales.”
“Oh!” one wrangler exclaimed. “We have a dragon of that description! We brought it in a couple of weeks ago!”
“Oh, yeah!” Roundabout said, raising his face a little. “He brought him in a couple weeks ago! Bought him from that dame!” He shrank back from Luna’s hardened gaze and lifted a shaky hoof. “H-He’s near the back…number forty-six!”
“Arrest these delinquents,” Luna told the guards. They saluted and closed in on the wranglers while she turned and flew toward the cages.
With each row she passed, Luna struck the dragon-resistant padlocks with a spell, rendering them cracked and useless on the ground. “You are all free to go!” she announced, paying little attention to the cheers and whoops that followed. “Spike! Spike, where are you?”
“Luna? Is that you?”
A pair of green eyes peered at her behind thick bars. “Spike!” Luna immediately fired a blast at Spike’s padlock and it dropped like a stone at her hooves. The magic from the padlock faded, and Spike swung his cage open. “Thank goodness you’re alright. Spike, there’s been news. News that will be of shock to you as it was to me. Twilight is…Twilight is alive, and so are her friends.”
Spike’s eyes widened, and his jaw went slack. “So…so it was her!”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“B-Before I was captured, she…Twilight. I knew it! Twilight’s alive…Twilight’s alive! I’ve gotta go find her!”
He raised his wings to take flight, but Luna stopped him. “No, Spike, she’s safe in Ponyville, they all are. But I need you to come and help me track down Starlight Glimmer.”
Spike blinked. “Starlight Glimmer…Starlight Glimmer…don’t I know that name from somewhere?”
“She was the one behind the elements’ disappearance, and we need to go quickly before her trail runs cold!”
“But I have to get to Twilight! She needs me!” He tried taking off again, but Luna’s magic wrapped around his tail, pulling him back down.
“I know you want nothing more than to be with her. But if you come with me and track Starlight down, you’ll be protecting her from danger.”
Spike looked down in surprise.
Luna’s face remained in its hardened mask, but her eyes were soft and tender as she regarded her pupil. “Twilight and the others are the most courageous and trustworthy ponies I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. They’ve been there for me and my sister more times than I can count. To allow the pony responsible for their kidnapping disappear into the shadows would be a great disservice to them. The guards are searching far and wide, but between the two of us, I know we can catch her. But we’ll have to act quickly. If she gets away, she could easily come back anytime she pleases and harm Twilight when she least expects it.” She gazed at him searchingly. “Do you wish that upon her?”
She watched as Spike’s expression shifted from anxiousness to hard determination. “Not in a million years,” he murmured, clenching his fist. “I won’t let anypony hurt her again. I’m with you, Luna.”
The alicorn nodded. “Good.” Her ears suddenly perked up, and she turned to see a large group of dragons standing behind her. Several pairs of eyes blinked at her and she frowned. “I told you that you’re all free to go. You needn’t stay in this foul place!”
“We know,” said one of the dragons, cocking her head slightly. “You…could have just walked past us and came for the dragon you were looking for, but you let us all go free.” She raised a curious eyebrow, though her stance remained defensive. “How come?”
“Why on earth would I leave you here?” Luna returned, looking slightly offended. “Those ponies had no right to hold you all here, and they’ll be punished to the full extent of the Equestrian Law. There’s probably more of them lurking, but my guards will seek them out. Now, if you’ll kindly excuse us, we have a certain unicorn to apprehend.”
She started to move forward, but some of the dragons stood in her path. “We don’t like owing ponies,” said another dragon, crossing his arms. “Especially princess ponies like you.”
Luna fought the urge to groan in annoyance. “Well, I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but we must go.”
“Don’t you get what we’re trying to say here?” the first dragon said irritably, once again blocking Luna’s path. “You just freed us from years of possible imprisonment and humiliation. Maybe even death. We dragons take these things very seriously. We owe you a great debt, one that we have every intention of repaying.”
Before Luna could respond, Spike interjected. “Then you can start by not declaring ponies as your enemies. The ponies that held us here aren’t like the others, but they’re not wimps either. I’ve told you that time and time again! I know the relationship between ponies and dragons are bad, but maybe you can change that, Ember.”
“You know I don’t have the authority to do that,” Ember argued. “Only Dragon Lord Garble can do that, and he’s not the sort to make nice with ponies.”
“But you’re a princess!”
“Was a princess. With Garble on the throne, I have no interest in standing anywhere beside him.”
“Even so, Princess Luna just saved a bunch of dragons. He’ll have to listen to reason then.”
Ember snorted. “Reason. But, I’ll speak in your favor.”
“Great.”
Spike and Luna started pushing through the crowd and Ember followed them. “You know, you’re really bent on finding…what did you call her? Glamour?”
“Starlight Glimmer. If we lose her, we could lose her for good,” Luna said.
“And catching this pony would mean a lot to you, wouldn’t it?” The two stopped short and glanced back at Ember.
“It would mean everything,” Spike said quietly. “The mares I told you about…they’ll never be truly safe with Starlight on the loose.”
Ember nodded. “Well, if it means that much, even to a royal sister, then I’ll help you out. I can track her down for you, no sweat.”
“Me too,” said one dragon.
“And me,” said another. “I was about to be made into shoes!”
All at once, the dragons surrounded them in a circle, voicing their assent. Stomps and whistles filled the air.
Luna’s head whipped from side to side, baffled. “You’re…willing to help us?”
“A favor for a favor. We’ll help you scout out Stoplight—”
“Starlight.”
“Whatever. And we’ll see about fixing relations between ponies and dragons, though I guarantee nothing. But that’s it. We’re even then. No more owed. Understand?”
“I suppose so,” Luna said slowly, recovering from her confusion. “Thank you. We’re looking for a unicorn with a pale pink coat with a purple mane and tail lined with blue streaks. She’s very powerful with magic, so I suggest proceeding with extreme caut—”
“Got it! You heard the mare!” Ember shouted. The dragons rallied together, butting heads and letting out roars as they geared themselves up for the hunt. “First one to find her earns a dragon’s feast! LET’S GOOOOOO!”
With a few deafening roars, the dragons charged out of the cave and launched into the sky, spreading out in all different directions. “W-Wait!” Luna shouted as the dragons dispersed. “Don’t harm her!” She drew in a breath, then bellowed in her royal canterlot voice, “If you find her, bring her back unharmed!”
Soundwaves rippled through the clouds, and Luna shook her head. “With a bunch that riled up, there’s not telling what condition they’d bring her back in.”
Spike’s mouth twitched as he watched the skies. “And you say I get too excited about my dragon code. We’re rough around the edges, but when dragons help out, we help out big.”
They spread their wings and took off into the sky. “Luna, I think I’ve seen Starlight before. Before I got captured, I saw a mare of your description with Twilight.”
“Tell me everything, Spike.”