//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Thorns of Truth // Story: Storm of Secrets // by Wolf Guardian //------------------------------// “NO! LET ME GO! I AM NOT GOING TO HEAR ANYMORE OF YOUR LIES!” Dash flew over Ponyville; confused and half blinded by her tears. What had happened? What had she missed? What could she have done to prevent it? She didn't care where she was going. She had forgotten about the message she was meant to get, and wouldn't have cared about it if she did remember. The only thing she wanted was to get away from the two unicorns who at that moment, she hated more then anything else in the world. She knew what she had seen: Silent Storm and Twilight Sparkle locked in an embrace not two feet from a chaotically ruffled bed that was soaked in sweat. If you had asked her just then what claim she felt she had over Storm’s affections, or how she thought he had lied to her, she couldn't have answered. She just felt like there had been a bond between them—one she would have remained loyal to, one that he hadn't. Who did this guy Storm think he was? Did he just go around looking for young gullible mares to seduce, and then dump? Was that the real reason he had saved Derpy and left when she turned him down? Was that what he had done to Twilight? But then, why hadn't he tried anything with her? Dash wanted to be alone, but for some reason Storm and Twilight were following her, and now Apple Jack seemed to have joined in the chase. “Rainbow Dash!” called Twilight as the two unicorns chased the pegasus through a maze of fruit, “Come back!” Dash ignored her and swerved through the trees as fast as she could, but as she came to the crest of a hill, there was the flash of a teleport behind her, and she felt her body being grabbed by telekinesis. “LET ME GO STORM! I AM NOT GOING TO TALK TO YOU!” Rather than spinning an already angry mare around to face him, Shining Armor tried moving around so he could face her, but he accidentally got too close. Dash let forth with a quick kick that caught him between the eyes. Shining Armor faltered for a second, and Dash was released from his grip, but was caught an instant later by Apple Jack's lasso. Dash struggled fiercely, but Apple Jack held firm, looping her a second time, and tying the other end of the rope around a tree. Shining Armor used his magic to pull her to the ground and stood over her, ignoring the thin trickle of blood leaking down his nose. “Rainbow Dash, settle down!” “Don't listen to him, Apple Jack! He's trying to trick you, just like he tricked Twilight and just like he tricked me a few days ago!” Apple Jack spun around at the red stranger in her orchard. She didn't know who this guy was, but if he was lying to her friends she'd run him out of town. “Well, mister? You've got some explaining to do—gonna tell me what's goin’ on?” “He's alright Apple Jack.” Twilight had finally caught up and was standing beside the red stallion panting. “Well maybe you can tell me what's going on then,” said Apple Jack turning to Twilight, “Who is this guy? Why ain't Rainbow Dash in Canterlot? Why is she running from you two, and why were you trying to chase her down?” Twilight looked at her friends for a moment and blushed, “I... don't know. But the red pony is my brother.” Apple Jack frowned, “I don't see any family resemblance between you two, and you once showed me a picture of who you said was your only brother when his fancy wedding got canceled. This guy doesn’t look anything like Shining Armor.” “See, I told you he was lying!” cut in Dash, “He wouldn't tell me anything except that his name was Silent Storm; and now he's got Twilight thinking he's her brother!” “I am not Silent Storm!” proclaimed Shining Armor. “So even that was a lie?” Apple Jack looked back at this intruder on her farm with new hostility. “I don't know who you are, but if you’re not running out of my farm in ten seconds, I'm gonna drag you out by your mane. 1...” “Girls, calm down!” Twilight commanded in an annoyed voice. “Look, I have a letter from the Princess that explains everything.” She took a scroll out of her saddlebag and held it up for Apple Jack to see. “Well that explains some things, but not everything;” said Apple Jack after reading it, “looks like this handsome fellow really is your brother, in mind at least. Have you read this Rainbow Dash?” “No, what does it say?” Rainbow had calmed down enough to listen to Apple Jack at least, and if the Princess had sent a letter, then there must be a reasonable explanation. “Says that Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, swapped bodies with somepony, and came to visit her in the other pony’s body. Doesn’t say how come though,” she turned again to Shining Armor but more kindly this time. “Alright Shining Armor, care to explain why you swapped bodies with some other pony, and why you needed my friend so badly I had to tie her to a tree?” Shining Armor opened his mouth to answer, then stopped; after a moment he started again. “To be honest I'd rather not. Thank you, whoever you are, for your help, but the Princess sent another letter today, and this one regards Rainbow Dash, not you. If you like, I'll pay you a hundred bits for your help, but I'd appreciate it if you left now.” “Oh no, you don't! You can keep your money, but I want a straight answer about what's going on, and what you need Rainbow Dash for.” “That information is classified,” said Shining Armor in an official voice, “I'm sorry I can't tell you any more, but believe me when I say that it is extremely important. If you told the wrong pony the consequences could be disastrous.” “Its ok,” said Twilight confidently, “Apple Jack is the most honest pony I know; if she says she will keep your secret, she will keep your secret, you can trust her.” Shining Armor looked from Twilight to her two friends, “The orders were for Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts to be given a mission, nopony else was to be told unless absolutely necessary.” “Well, the Wonderbolts and I won't help you unless you tell Twilight and AJ what's going on as well!” Rainbow's voice still had a keen edge of mistrust and hostility in it, “If you want my help you will have to tell them too, and that makes it necessary.” “All right!” Shining Armor conceded, “The letter was for Dash and the Wonderbolts to assist in an emergency search and rescue mission, for two ponies lost in the Everfree Forest.” “Yeah? Who are they?” Dash challenged. “One of them is the pony whose body I'm using now, Silent Storm.” Dash blinked when she heard the name, and this time she thought before she spoke, “When I last saw him two nights ago, he was going to meet somepony in the Royal Palace.” “The pony was me; he was coming to swap bodies with me.” “How come?” “I'd rather not say.” Dash wasn't convinced, “Well, he can't have been missing for long; and even if he was, Silent Storm could take care of himself.” “If he had his own body with him he could manage just fine, but he doesn’t. His body is here, wasting time talking to you instead of looking for him. The body he's using right now, my body, is almost useless at the moment. But I would like to know how you know Storm so well? How long have you known him? What has he told you?” Rainbow wasn't ready to be the one being questioned and suddenly felt her face go bright pink “Aaa… nothing. I don't know him. I mean, I hardly know him. I just met him once at one of my performances, and he seemed interesting; that's all.” “Fine, keep your secrets while drilling for mine. The important thing is Silent Storm and another pony are lost in the Everfree Forest, and we don't know where. The Wonderbolts are the best fliers available, we need their help to cover a lot of ground quickly if we're going to find Storm and Cadance before something happens to them.” “Cadance?” Twilight said the name like it meant something to her, and Dash vaguely recalled Twilight mentioning her old foalsitter from when she was a filly. Shining Armor's jaw tightened, “The other pony is my fiancé, Princess Cadance. She came to visit Storm, thinking he was me, and when they were checked on an hour later they were both gone. Storm's portgem was also missing. Cadance's was still in the room next to Storm's bed. We don't know exactly where Storm's portgem leads to, but we know it is deep inside the Everfree Forest.” “Whoa, hold on there!” Applejack was raised on a farm but that didn't make her dumb, far from it, “Portgems are rare and mighty expensive, why would this Storm character have one that led out to the middle of nowhere?” “He had business out there after we swapped our bodies back,” Shining Armor snapped. It was easy to tell that Shining Armor was getting edgy. Dash suspected that he hadn’t intended to give away Cadance’s identity and was almost certain he had said more then he meant to about Storm’s portgem leading into the forest. Answering the next question would force him to say everything. Rainbow Dash stared at him with eyes like steel and spoke with a voice like the grave, “Who is he? If you want my help, you will have to tell me that. Who is Silent Storm?” “Twilight,” he said helplessly “please forgive me for what I'm about to do to you and your friends; I wish there were another way to save Storm and Cadance, but there isn't.” “Who is he?” demanded Rainbow Dash one final time. “He is an Everfree Ranger.” Shining Armor's voice was flat, as though he realized that it was hopeless to get anywhere without telling the truth and had consigned himself to telling all. After pausing to take in the puzzled glances of the three friends, he continued. “The Everfree Rangers are an elite band of warriors who live in the forest, spending their lives and their blood to keep us safe from the monsters therein. If it was not for them, we would have all been killed many, many years ago.” Apple Jack jolted when he mentioned the woods, “They live in the forest! Are they all crazy ponies? Who knows what kinds of nasty critters live in there?” “The Everfree Rangers know exactly what's in the forest, and that is why they are there—to make sure that the things that are in the forest stay in the forest. That's why they're called the Everfree Rangers, they are sworn to keep Equestria everfree from the creatures within the forest, and the price they pay is their blood.” Rainbow Dash listened closely, trying to decide if she believed him or not. “You mean they fight the dragons and ursas, and keep the paths clear of poison joke? Stuff like that?” Shining Armor shook his head “If it weren’t for the dragons and the ursas, the Rangers would never have lasted as long as they have. They're too strong and independent to be used as pets or soldiers, but nevertheless they play critical roles in the defense of the forest. As for the poison joke, the Rangers themselves plant that along the trails to discourage ignorant ponies from venturing into the forest, and to deter others from using the same trails to come out.” “Sooo, what do the Rangers fight in the forest?” Rainbow was loosing her self-assuredness and was beginning to see her life as part of a much larger picture than she'd ever imagined. “Have you ever heard of the terrormongers?” The three friends shook their heads. “Many races throughout the world feed off the emotion of others. Ask Twilight and she'll tell you from her books about winter spirits called windigos which feed off of hatred, or changelings who take the form of somepony you love and then feed off of your love for them. What her books won't tell you about are the terrormongers, who feed off fear. They're telepathic, able to read your mind, and almost instantly know all about your life and what you’re afraid of; and they're able to project hallucinations of almost anything, sounds and smells included. When they find a prey they begin throwing ghostly illusions into its mind, designed to scare it. As the victim becomes more and more frightened, the terrormonger feeds off the fear, using that energy to make the nightmare grow worse and worse. They can feed for days off a single prey, savoring its horror as they invade every thought and memory with visions of whatever they fear the most. If the prey cannot either destroy the terrormonger, or escape; the terrormonger will keep feeding until the prey dies; at which point they move on in search of more food. We don't know where they come from, but there seems to be an endless supply streaming from somewhere south of the Everfree Forest. They are intelligent and organized; working together to create a web of fear and deception, always trying to move northwards into Equestria and blocked only by the Rangers.” The three friends looked blankly at Shining Armor for a few moments and then Twilight asked what the other two were thinking. “Why haven't we heard any of this before? I've read books from all over Equestria and have never heard anything about these things, these terrormongers.” “Really, the answer is obvious if you think about it. Terrormongers can smell fear from miles away; they're drawn to it like moths to light and feed off it like maggots on rotten fruit. We don't know how many there are, but we get the feeling that there are a lot more then we've ever seen or could ever hope to fight. Perhaps they aren’t fully aware of us, or aren’t interested in Equestria because it’s typically a land of great peace and security without a lot of fear to draw them, or maybe they're too busy trying to invade somewhere else; we just don't know. If the general population realized how close they lived to destruction, it could cause a mass panic; inviting the terrormongers to make an all out invasion, and giving them the strength to do it. How do you think your friends Fluttershy or Pinkie would handle it if they found out the truth? We could be overrun if word of the war ever got out. The masses of Equestria have no idea of the war that is waged, or the sacrifices that are made, to keep the peace which most of them take for granted. But if we are to survive, that's the way it has to be. That is also why none of you must ever breathe a word of this to ANYPONY unless the situation is absolutely critical. Failure to keep this secret could result in the deaths of us all. Silent Storm is one of the Rangers, we don't know where he is posted, but we do know it’s at the uttermost forefront of the protected wood. Now he is out there, in a body that can barely stand, with Cadance, who doesn’t know the first thing about survival or combat, outside of her medical skills.” Shining Armor heaved a sigh, then focused on Rainbow Dash. “Now you know. I wouldn't have told your friends, but you insisted. There's the truth, or at least the shape of it; there's a thousand details which we don't have time for now. However, you and your friends will have to live with this for the rest of your lives, being unable to tell another soul, carrying the secret to your graves. You've brought this not only on yourself but on your friends as well. I hope you’re satisfied.” …................................................................................................................................................................. Cadance's horn lit the way as she carried Storm through the opening. Inside, the hill was hollow, but the walls and roof were laced with thick support beams; so to anything climbing over the hill it would seem just as solid as any ordinary mound of dirt. Inside, there were several large holes in the roof. Above each of them was one of the dead trees that crowned the top of the hill, which Storm had carefully hollowed when he built this place. One large hole in the top of the domed roof drew hot air out of the burrow, several smaller holes around the sides brought cooler air in, like an ants nest. Anything passing by would take the trees for merely trees unless they knew to look inside the hollows of the dead trunks. The far wall was covered floor to ceiling with densely packed shelves containing a variety of foods and other supplies in an organized fashion. Nine lamp stands (fueled with peanut oil so they wouldn't give off any smoke) stood at even intervals throughout the large single room. On one wall hung three identical clocks, each showing the same time—without any natural light to tell the time, Storm had once missed an important engagement when his clock started running slow; he had sworn that he wouldn't let it happen again. Built into one wall was a well that led to a fast moving underground river that flowed deep into the forest, and along the opposite wall was another hole for trash that led to the same river, downstream of course. Next to the door stood a magnetic rack for Storm's armor and weapons, which was currently empty except for a spare sword and a few knives. A simple bench was all that resembled a kitchen, dining room or lounge room, and in one corner was a comfortable looking bed of hay. Storm was glad when, after taking in the room, Cadance's first act was to help him toward the bed; and, as designed, the door swung shut automatically behind them. But his relief vanished when he heard Cadance speak again: “Rest, my love. I don't know where we are, but there must be somepony around here who can help us. I'm going to have a look outside, but I'll be back soon.” How could she be so stupid? Storm had lived in the darkest parts of the forest long enough to know what would happen if she went out there. She'd make noise, she'd leave tracks, they would find her and they would kill her; not cleanly, not quickly, but over days. A soft mind like hers would offer succulent nutrition that would be easily ravaged by even the weakest of terrormongers. It would suck her dry and discard her, then follow her tracks back to the burrow and do the same to him, if he was still alive by then. If she opened that door, they would both die! “Don't!” he tried to emphasis as much as he could but ended up in a coughing fit that made his lungs ache. “What?” Cadance put her ear next to his mouth so he wouldn't have to talk loudly, but Storm's voice was already beyond gone, he couldn't afford to waste another word. If he didn't convince her not to leave with the few words he had left, it would be over for both of them. He tried to think, searching for the perfect words to make her understand why she mustn’t leave the shelter, but he was exhausted and his thoughts came slow. One idea alone presented itself, and he took it. “Don't leave me.” he begged, trying to sound pitiful. Cadance smiled and then lay down next to him, half on the hay and half on the dirt. Spreading one of her wings over him like a blanket, she said in the sweetest voice Storm had ever heard, “I'm here.” Storm knew that they were safe, at least for the moment, and let his exhausted muscles relax. Within minutes he was sleeping soundly while Cadance kept watch, keeping him warm in her silent embrace. …................................................................................................................................................................. The three friends stared at Shining Armor; for the first time Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack believed that he was telling them the truth, and for the first time they wished he wasn't. Twilight was just as horrified as her friends, but her horror was offset by the excitement of learning something totally new and quite unexpected. She was determined to get all the facts out of her brother as fast as she could. “If there are already Rangers in the forest, can't Celestia just send a message to one of them since they're a lot closer to Storm and Cadance then we are? Don't they have dragons?” “They don't have dragon assistants like you do, but even if they did, it wouldn't make any difference. The laws of magic work differently in the forest; the dragons are unable to teleport once they’ve crossed the border of the Everfree Forest. We can't use drums or horns or anything like that to communicate either. We tried that a long time ago, but it wasn't long before the terrormongers decoded out messages and began sending out false signals to lead Rangers into traps. For every legitimate message that was sent, ten fake ones were relayed. Many Rangers were led to their deaths by the brilliant forgeries, and the signals that were legitimate were usually ignored by whoever heard them in case they too were frauds. Changing the codes wasn't much help either, because the terrormongers are telepathic and would simply rip the new codes out of whatever Ranger they caught. The only safe way to spread messages is in person. Even so, anypony you meet in the forest might well be a changeling. That, combined with the fact that every ranger squad keeps its specific routes secret, makes it almost impossible for news to spread quickly among the Rangers.” Twilight took the moment’s silence to note Shining Armor's curious language, “You keep on saying 'we' whenever you refer to the Rangers, but I thought you were one of the Royal Guard.” Shining Armor nodded, “I'm both. Membership between the Rangers and the Royal Guard overlaps. Any member of the Royal Guard who proves himself brave and trustworthy is told about the Rangers, and many Rangers become senior members of the Royal Guard when they retire from active duty. Every Royal Guard past the rank of sergeant knows about the Rangers, and promotion past major require at least one tour of active duty in the Forest.” “What was it that you said about changelings?” Rainbow asked, for the first time with a note of respect, “I thought the Rangers were fighting the terrormongers, or are there more enemies you have to watch out for?” “The terrormongers are our worst and greatest enemies, but there are others. Thousands of changelings fight alongside terrormonger forces. We are unsure of the exact nature of their alliance, but it seems clear they both seek the destruction of Equestria, and work relentlessly toward this goal. There are also wild beasts: manticores, cockatrice, timber wolves and so on. These, by themselves, are little more than pests to the battle hardened Rangers, but they become tools of death in the claws of a terrormonger. Terrormongers don't seem interested in feeding off the fear of unintelligent creatures, perhaps they're unable able to, but they can still fill their minds with visions of fear, and then use those fears to bend animals to their will. It’s rare to see a terrormonger necromancer without at least a few wild animals acting as an dark honor guard, and waves of predators driven mad by fear will accompany the ghosts conjured by the terrormongers’ dark arts. The truly awful thing is how terrormongers will summon several phantom creatures for every real creature they control. If you ever fight a terrormonger, you will feel beset by scores of wild animals. Only a few of them will be real, but you have no way of telling which are real and which are fakes until you actually hit one, and so you are forced to fight them all, and hope you don't spend your strength fighting an illusion while a real enemy grabs you from behind. Meanwhile the terrormonger will be feasting on your fear and using it to create more phantom monsters.” This was getting to be more than Twilight wanted to handle, but her inquisitive mind wouldn't let her drop it; she had started asking and she would keep asking until she understood. There had to be some good things about this war—if they were still alive it meant the Rangers had been capable of protecting them so far; it must mean they were at least as powerful as the terrormongers. “What about the Rangers? Are they all ponies, or is there anything that helps them fight the terrormongers and the changelings?” “Most of the Rangers are ponies, but a few griffins from the north have joined us, along with a tribe of diamond dogs who initially came seeking the riches of the forest, but became warriors when they realized how much was at stake. A few rangers have pets like bats or phoenixes but aside from that, we fight alone.” Something about the way Shining Armor said, “we fight alone,” made Twilight suspicious. It was like when they were kids—if there was ever a party she hadn’t been invited to but he had (which happened quite often), he would try to avoid telling her so she wouldn’t feel hurt; even if it meant not going himself. This was like that. “Earlier you mentioned dragons and ursas being the reason we weren’t already dead. How do they fit in?” Shining Armor hesitated, “You don't really want to know, Twily. When you need to know I promise that I'll tell you, but right now we should be getting ready to go.” “B.B.” Twilight wasn't going to budge, “any information you give us could save our lives, whatever it is, it can't be worse then what you’ve already told us about the terrormongers.” Shining Armor sighed, “Centuries ago, Celestia came upon an unusual egg, abandoned and uncared for. She took it back to the palace and the egg hatched into a baby girl dragon of a breed she'd never seen before. She raised it as a companion, but one day the dragon suddenly changed and became ravenously greedy. The greedier it got the larger it got, and the larger it got the more it could grab, the more it grabbed the greedier it got, so by the end of the day Celestia's gorgeous little pet had become a monster. In order to protect Canterlot, Celestia had the beast restrained and released deep within the Everfree Forest. The dragon established a horde of gems, which are common in the forest, and began protecting it. Unexpectedly, the terrormongers began avoiding that part of the woods for fear of the dragon, allowing the Rangers who once protected that sector to move elsewhere. In time; the dragon mated with a dragon native to the forest (which was extremely rare at the time) and laid two eggs, which she left unattended as though she cared nothing for their survival. Two Rangers, who were about to retire, decided to take the eggs back to Equestria. The dragon eggs hatched, and the Rangers took great delight in their small companions. But what happened to Celestia's dragon happened to these two as well; almost overnight they turned from cute little assistants into raging monsters. These too were cast into the Everfree Forest, where they built their own hoards, and again the terrormongers and changelings steered clear of those parts of the woods. At this point, the Rangers started to realize the incredible potential of the dragons. They started collecting every dragon egg they could find, and sent them in batches to Celestia. She in turn gave them to her school for gifted unicorns. Each student was given one egg to care for. The dragons proved themselves to be great study partners; and in later generations we were even able to breed in the ability for them to function as teleporters for small objects like scrolls, allowing Celestia to keep in touch with her students over long distances. But each dragon is also micro-chipped during their early days at the academy. When they mature, the microchip lets off a beacon, and specially trained Rangers are dispatched to capture them. They are then brought to the Everfree Forest where they are given a hoard to protect. As long as the hoard they're given is too big for them to easily carry; they will not try to move it or leave it, so it's easy for us to position them where we want them. We form them into great chains stretching out over the length of forest, each just far enough from the next so they don't fight over territory. The dragons protect their hoards and thus their territories from both Rangers and terrormongers. The only way to pass them is either with an army large enough to defeat a dragon, or in groups too small to attract their attention, no more then ten at the most. This forces both sides to break their armies into dozens of small squads which fight innumerable skirmishes across the breadth of the entire forest, which is advantageous to the smaller army—us. I'm sorry Twilight, but that's the truth. Training gifted unicorns is only one of the purposes of Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, the other, more important purpose, is weapons production.” For Twilight, learning about the terrormongers was like cold water being dumped on her face, but this? This was like a dagger to the heart. Her eyes blurred, and she thought of sweet, innocent little Spike, who was at that moment making food for her. She had only been away from him for an hour, and yet she missed him already. How could Celestia have kept this from her? She told Celestia everything she learned about friendship and magic, but it looked like Celestia thought it perfectly all right not to tell her that the entire purpose of her education was a lie! “It can't be true. Please tell me that it’s not true.” “It is true, but don't make it sound like it’s that bad. If the dragons were born in the wild they would spend their childhood alone, then mature, gather a hoard and protect it for the rest of their lives. With our involvement they spend their childhood loved and cared for by Celestia’s students, and they assist in training the future leaders and magic professors of Equestria. Then, when they get big, they are given an already started hoard which they are happy to protect, and in doing so protect all of Equestria. I know it’s hard to accept; but this takes nothing away from their quality of life, in fact it adds to it, meanwhile the benefits to Equestria can hardly be measured.” “But it's all a lie! The whole school is a lie!” “No it’s not. The school was training unicorns long before it started training dragons. Adding an extra purpose to the school has not diminished its original function; it has, in fact, expanded it.” “It won't happen to Spike!” said Twilight desperately, “Spike already matured once; he got big, but came to himself and turned back into a baby dragon. He can fight it, he doesn’t have to change.” “He's delayed maturation but hasn’t canceled it. One day he will leave; it’s natural. All I can say is, cherish every moment you have with him, because you won't know what day with him will be your last.” Shining Armor leaned over to stroke his sister’s mane with his horn but she recoiled. Shining Armor knew that too much information at one time could be burdensome, he remembered how he’d felt the first time he heard the truth. He needed to make her think of something else. “The ursas are native to the forest;” He said gently, “they are extremely rare, but are our only hope to repel a major attack. Dragons are useful for turning away moderate assaults, but sometimes the horrorlords of the terrormongers will gather a huge army, capable of cutting through our dragon walls. When that happens, only an ursa major can save us. We’ve never been able to tame ursas; as we are barely insects in comparison to them. But long ago we learned that large teams of Rangers, working together, could create music, lights, and smells that would lure them to a battle field. It is the most difficult craft a Ranger can learn and also the most important. Ursas do not actually engage in the fighting, but if we can get one onto the field, their presence changes everything. The mind of an ursa major is centuries old, but contains nothing but basic animal instincts. Their minds are too large to be deceived or corrupted by even the most powerful of necromancer spells, but simple enough that they can be read easily. The Rangers have a spell, which one unicorn can use on a large group of Rangers, that will telepathically piggyback their minds onto that of the ursa major. Those under the influence of the spell will see and feel the same as the ursa does. Their minds become immune to the terrormonger illusions and, as ursas typically regard our epic battles with little more then curious amusement, the fear of the Rangers will dissipate; starving the terrormongers of useful energies and leaving them powerless before us. In short, if the terrormongers and changelings mass in the thousands, an ursa major is our only way of stopping them.” Shining Armor surveyed each of the three mares sitting around him. All of them looked very uneasy with the information they had received, but none of them were cowering like frightened foals. Overall, they were handling it better then many soldiers did, when they first found out the truth, even Twilight seemed to rapidly recovering from sudden shock of realizing Spike's true purpose in 'her' education. Finally Shining Armor's eyes rested on Rainbow Dash, “We need to go, Rainbow Dash. I have done as you demanded, and told you and your friends everything about your mission. Now, in the name of the Princess, I command you to ready the Wonderbolts and help me find Cadance and Storm.” “You’re going?” Dash sounded surprised. “I am, and as captain of the Royal Guard, I'm assuming command of the mission.” “But you just got here, and are still weak from keeping the shield up for so long.” Twilight reminded him, “The Princess sent you here to rest; there's no way you can go on this mission in your condition.” “My fiancé, my friend, and my body are out there in that forest. I won't rest until I know they're safe and I couldn't rest now even if I tried. Staying here would be more stressful then going.” “The Wonderbolts will travel faster without having to wait for earthbound ponies.” Dash said confidently, “The whole point of us coming is to cover a lot of ground quickly, and you won't be of much help there.” “Ten miles in the right direction is better then a hundred in the wrong direction. Really, do you have any idea where to start looking? I know the general area where Storm lives, but if I'm off within ten miles that would leave more then a hundred square miles of dense forest to search, for something that is going to be hidden. I'm coming and that is final.” “Then I'm coming too.” said Twilight, “The Princess told me to watch you and make sure you were ok. That would be hard to do from Ponyville if you’re in the forest.” Shining Armor looked at his sister, not surprised by her audacity, but worried for her safety, “Did you read those books I gave you on magical combat techniques?” “Yes.” “Did you practice them?” “Along with the bonus materials referenced in the back, and I got a 95% on the written test.” Shining Armor smiled, “That's my sister, you can come; but remember this won't be a book, this will be real, do or die situations. If you come, you will do exactly as I tell you, or you may not get back alive.” “Agreed,” promised Twilight. “I'm coming too!” Ever since Shining Armor first mentioned the Rangers, Apple Jack had been so quiet the others had almost forgotten she was there. They were surprised to hear her speak up so suddenly and with so much certainty. “That's ok, Apple Jack,” said Twilight moved by her friend’s loyalty, “you don't have to go, the three of us and the Wonderbolts can find Cadance and Silent Storm.” “Not on your life!” growled Apple Jack, “Ain't no way that you’re leaving me behind on this one; there ain't no way. I'm going!” “You will stay,” said Shining Armor with equal resolution, “this does not concern you.” “Not my business? How can my family not be my business?” AJ's voice sounded like nothing Twilight had ever heard, and she thought she saw her blinking tears out of her eyes. “I won't be left behind again. I won't!” Twilight looked at her friend in confusion, “We've always taken you on our adventures, when did we ever leave you behind?” Apple Jack looked down between her hooves, “You didn't.” “Then who did?” asked Rainbow, confused at AJ's sudden surge of emotion. Apple Jack looked between her friends and then answered in a voice full of hurt, “My papa.” Twilight was stunned, “You’ve never said anything about your parents before, not ever.” “Well that's cause you never asked! It’s not something we really talk about.” Shining Armor regarded her solemnly, “Who was your papa?” Apple Jack fought for a minute to get her feelings under control, “His name was Lasso Mac—even had a lasso for a cutie mark. He was the best darn rodeo king ever to set hoof inside the ring. He was amazing, Twilight, you should have seen him; he’d fill his lasso with dozens of little whistles, so he could play them like an instrument, or he would weave little bottles into it, that would open when they spun at different speeds and release different colored smokes.” Twilight looked on in amazement as her friend poured out things she had never talked about before, maybe never told anypony. So far these sounded like they should be happy memories, but the way AJ was saying them; it was like a dam full of hurt and frustration had suddenly burst and wouldn't stop flowing until the pain was emptied. “Traveled all around Equestria he did, winnin’ medals and trophies until he met mamma and settled down at the farm. I remember growing up with Big Macintosh, how we wanted to be just like him. When I was a filly he got me my first lasso and taught me to throw it. He was great at the farm to; he had a special connection to the apple trees that kept them healthy and I don't reckon I've ever tasted apples as sweet as when he was growing ‘em. When it was time for apple harvest, he would get out his lasso with the whistles and make just the right sound that made the tree stems vibrate, and all the ripe apples would fall right off, without him even touchin’ the tree. Us and mamma adored him, but he never stayed! HE NEVER STAYED! He would just disappear, for weeks at the time, and he never told us where he went! When we asked him where he went, he'd say he didn't want there to be any lies between us, but that he couldn't tell us the truth. Tore mamma up inside being treated like that, tore the rest of us up too, but she was the one I heard cryin’ at night for him to come home. I started practicing with my lasso as much as I could, hopin’ maybe if I was as good as he was, maybe he'd want to stay home more; but no matter how good I got it didn’t seem to matter. We never knew when he'd be home or when he'd leave. Sometimes he'd bring strangers home for dinner, sometimes he'd take a wagon of apples away and not come back with any money, but other times he'd have money that we didn't know where he got it from. But he'd NEVER tell us what was really goin on. Then one night right after Apple Bloom was born, he just disappeared and never came back. Mamma couldn't take the secrets anymore so she decided to go out lookin’ for him. She followed his tracks into the Everfree Forest and she never came back either. Poor Big Macintosh cried for weeks, and eventually got so wrapped up that he never wanted to deal with anypony again. Apple Bloom never knew either of her parents; Granny was too old and too upset to help much with the farm or Apple Bloom, so I raised Apple Bloom like I was her mother and kept the farm running! Now you’re tellin’ me about these secret Rangers livin’ in the woods, fightin’ against these terrormonger and changelings and who knows what else. What if my daddy was one of you?! The answers could be in that forest. If you know the deep forest, and you’re goin’ in, then I'm comin’ with you!” Apple Jack stood squarely and faced Shining Armor down, turning almost as red as he was, but whether from anger or shame at realizing what she had said, Twilight couldn't tell. In all the time Twilight had known AJ, she had never acted like this. Twilight was scared; a few hours ago she thought she knew what the world was like, but now it seemed she didn't know anything about a forest that was practically on her doorstep, or about the truth behind her education, or her brother, or even her closest friends. At the same time she felt compassion welling up inside her for the entire Apple family. She nearly fell over when she heard her brother’s response. “No,” he said firmly, “you are not coming.” “Yes I am!” insisted Apple Jack, “I won't take no for an answer.” “This is an urgent rescue mission for two missing ponies. We do not have time to help you run down a personal family vendetta. If you ran off by yourself, you would be dead within a day, and I will not have that on my hooves.” “I won't run off, I'll help with the rescue, but in exchange, on the way back, I want you to point me to where I can find somepony who can tell me if my papa really was a Ranger.” “Let her come B.B. I've seen what she can do, she will - ” “Stay out of this Twily!” Shining Armor was sounding more like a military officer and Twilight didn’t like it, “I said no, and that's my final answer. Stay here and mind your apples, apple mare. Rainbow Dash, get the Wonderbolts. Twily, come with me.” What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. Shining Armor turned to leave, but before he could take a step Apple Jack raced around, blocking his path. Shining Armor moved to push her aside but she lunged forward with a kick, barely missing his head. Before Twilight could do anything, her friend and brother were both rearing and kicking fiercely. Twilight tried to stop them but found she had suddenly lost the ability to move. Shining Armor flipped AJ, who tumbled onto her back. Lowering his horn, Shining Armor ran forward as if to hold his horn to her throat; but before he could get close enough, AJ's hind hoofs kicked powerfully into his chest. Shining Armor staggered, and AJ leaped to her feet in a single splendid movement. Grabbing another coil of rope from another tree, AJ lassoed his front-right hoof and pulled, trying to drag him off his hooves. Shining Armor began to fall forwards but stomped his other front hoof onto the rope, canceling the pressure. Ducking his head, Shining Armor plunged his horn through the rope and into the ground; then, flicking his head back up, he sprayed Apple Jack's face with loose bits of dirt and gravel. Strange, thought Twilight, Shining Armor wasn't using any of his magic. His horn was glowing brightly, but she could see that it wasn’t having any effect. She tried again to move, but still couldn't. AJ retreated to a nearby apple tree, one kick sent a course of fruit falling, another kick sent two apples directly toward Shining Armor's face. He ducked just in time and rolled; then picked himself up and charged full speed. Apple Jack stood her ground until the last second and then leaped to one side, letting Shining Armor barrel harmlessly past. Shining Armor cantered around a tree before wheeling back to face Apple Jack; but instead of trying to charge her again, he slowed to a trot and then a walk, “You’re not bad for a farm girl, not bad at all.” “I've wrestled with Big Macintosh enough, and I'll finish you yet!” Apple Jack shouted as she charging toward Shining Armor. But suddenly she was lifted off the ground, with her legs running helplessly in the air. “Enough,” said Shining Armor. “I ain’t letting you go without me!” Even powerlessly dangling in the air, Apple Jack still had the nerve to make demands. “All right, you can come,” with that Shining Armor’s horn died down and Apple Jack fell a few feet to the ground. Twilight gasped as she suddenly realized she could now move as well. “Do you mean it?” asked Apple Jack slowly; wondering if this was some sort of trick. “First of all” said Shining Armor, “I needed to see if you knew how to fight, and you do. You were highly emotional, but you didn't let that block your thinking, as demonstrated by the tactics you used. Second, I can't be sure, but I think I have heard of a Lasso Mac in the Ranger archives. Your description of him fits a Ranger; and if your father practiced making different sounds and spreading different smells over a wide area with his lasso, that could very easily have been used to help lure an ursa major. Third, there are archives and graves that are maintained between the first and second Dragon Walls. After, and only after, we find Storm and Cadance I will show you where they are, and you can look for your father there. However, if you come on this mission you will accept my command. I am the only one with experience in the deep forest, and I meant it when I said that if you ran off by yourself, you wouldn't last a day. Will you accept my command? Apple Jack blinked a few times trying to process everything had happened, “Yes sir.” “Good.” Turning back to Rainbow Dash, Shining Armor asked one final question, “When will the Wonderbolts be ready for departure?” Rainbow looked down at Apple Jack's lasso still coiled around her waist, “As soon as one of you unties me from this tree!”