Bright and early next morning, Twilight opened the shop. She turned on the lights, started the coffee pot brewing, and put on her uniform.
Cadance was the first to show up, and had her key in the door before realizing it wasn’t locked.
She came in, nodding to Twilight. “I always thought you were more of a night owl than an early riser.”
“Coffee,” said Twilight. “Also, I don’t really like the night anymore.”
Cadance nodded, understanding. She headed for the back room.
Pinkie was the next to arrive. She said hello to the other two and went straight to the back to begin the day’s baking, humming as she went.
Twilight hadn’t seen her very often since the end of the war, but Pinkie seemed more cheerful than she remembered. Maybe it came with purpose.
Spitfire and Soarin’ came in a few minutes later. They both got coffee and sat at the counter, quiet.
Fluttershy came in exactly on time for “work,” early enough to put on her uniform and do some prep before the shop officially opened.
Rarity was a few minutes after that, Spike drifting along behind her. She yawned. “Twilight, could you make me a quad skinny hazelnut macchiato with sugar-free syrup?”
“I could pour you a coffee,” Twilight said.
Fluttershy helped Twilight figure out Rarity’s order, which Rarity appreciated when she tasted it.
Rainbow arrived in another fifteen minutes. Twilight saw her coming in. “All right, everypony’s here, let’s get started.”
Twilight would have liked Sunset Shimmer to attend, to maintain the liaison back to Princess Celestia, but decided it wasn’t strictly necessary. Sunset wasn’t on the operations side of the group. Those that were gathered around warm breakfast croissants in a fake sweet shop in Canterlot to discuss how they were going to protect the country from evils unknown.
Twilight hadn’t put much thought into a speech, but now that she was in front of them, that seemed like an oversight. She decided to go with what was on her mind. “Thank you all for meeting today. I know Cadance has run this organization with everypony under various assignments, but I hope we can evaluate the overarching goals and bring our efforts together. Here’s the layout of the organization, for clarity.”
Twilight summoned a chart in midair and showed it to them.
Princess Celestia
- Spike - Facilitator
- Sunset Shimmer - Research Lead
Cadance - Commander, Element Warfare Development Group
Twilight Sparkle - Leader, field operations
- Applejack
- Fluttershy
- Pinkie Pie
- Rainbow Dash
- Rarity
Royal Guard Special Forces detachment
- Soarin'
- Spitfire
“Who’s Sunset Shimmer?” said Rainbow.
“The Princess’ top researcher,” Twilight explained. “She’s discovered a portal to another universe and believes that is is the target of an as-yet unknown evil group.”
There were a few surprised mutters from the group. Secret magic, sure, that made sense. Interdimensional portals were another thing.
“Why is she above everypony else?” Rainbow asked.
“She isn’t. This chart shows hierarchy of leadership. Spike, Sunset, and Cadance all work directly for Princess Celestia. Cadance also has ponies working for her.”
“I should have ponies working for me.”
“We can break down further into tactical units as needed by situation,” said Twilight.
“We should at least have cool codenames.”
“Cupcake!” Pinkie shouted, banging her hooves on the counter.
Everypony else was too surprised by the outburst to argue. Twilight glanced around, sighed, and then crossed out field operations with her pen and replaced it with Task Force Cupcake.
“Moving on, we should discuss the mission of the development group. As we’ve heard, we’re facing an unknown enemy. We’re going to need information.” Twilight turned the organization chart around to show them the back. Intelligence and operations was written on it, with arrows from each pointing to the other. She briefly transformed her pen to its sword form to use as a pointer. “Intel drives ops, and ops collect intel. We need to find leads, and we need use those leads to find more leads until we eventually solve the problem.”
“The hydra attack seems that it was intended to hurt or kill ponies. Hydras don’t live on the coast, and it was being magically controlled, so this was no accident. Combining that with Trixie coming after me, I believe there is something bigger at work here.”
“Could Trixie have been the one to compel the hydra?” Rarity asked.
“It’s possible.”
“Well, she’s dead now,” Rainbow pointed out. “Case closed.”
“Something is bothering me about that,” said Twilight. “She wasn’t an Element, not a real one, yet she seemed to know me from the newspaper. Not being an Element, she shouldn’t have been able to see through the glamour. She also found me so quickly. Whether she had a kind of magic we still don’t understand or if somepony is helping her, I want to investigate it further. I’m leaning towards Trixie not being the end of the chain. We need to dig into anything we can find about her. Also, that artifact she was wearing. It’s locked up tight in the basement. However, we already have a lead on the two griffons who were working for her. Their names have connections to Griffonstone.”
“Roadtrip!” cheered Pinkie, thrusting a hoof in the air.
“We don’t know what we’ll find there,” said Twilight. “Two magic-using griffons was a surprise. I don’t want a surprise like that again.” She hesitated, and then added, “Plus, it could be a good teambuilding event.”
Rainbow burst out laughing. “What is this, a self-help seminar?”
“I’m just saying, we’re out of practice in working together. We could take the whole group.”
“Like I want to go to Griffonstone,” said Rainbow.
“It’s not about you,” said Twilight, realizing she was echoing Cadance.
Rainbow picked up on it, too. “So when did you decide to start working for the greater good?”
“Well, better late than never,” Twilight replied, more cooley than she felt.
Rainbow snorted and got up. “Call me when you need somepony killed.” She started for the door, pausing to look back at Spitfire and Soarin’. Instead, it was Twilight who crossed the room to her, crowding Rainbow out the door.
Outside, Twilight put her foreleg around Rainbow’s neck and steered them both around the corner, away from the front window. Twilight let her go, but stood nose to nose with her. “I could see you had something on your mind. We’re alone now, if you want to say it.”
Rainbow was only momentarily put off by Twilight’s forwardness. “Okay. I guess I just think it’s stupid that somepony who turned her back on Equestria to go live in a dream world thinks she can just come back and expect everypony else to just go along with what she says.”
“So is that why the self-professed fastest pony in Equestria was late this morning, when I told her what time to show up?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” said Rainbow. She smirked.
“I’ll acknowledge that I didn’t expect Cadance to appoint me,” said Twilight. “But she did. So here I am. If you have an issue with how things are run, you could try making constructive suggestions.”
“Okay.” Rainbow poked Twilight in the chest. “Stay out of my way.”
“Do you talk to Cadance this way?”
Rainbow paused, but said, “I’ll talk to her - or you - any way I want.”
“I might ask her to come out here to call you on that, but I shouldn’t have to rely on her authority. She told me, so I’m telling you.” Twilight paused for a breath, and then decided to press her point. “You know, maybe she chose wrong, calling you the Element of Loyalty.”
“What do you know about it? You haven’t even been here!”
“You weren’t there for Firefly, or Surprise, or Night Glider.”
Rainbow’s eyes opened wider, apparently stunned that Twilight would go there. “Well, Spitfire and Soarin’ would do anything for me!”
“They’re soldiers. Their commanding officer - who isn’t you, by the way - told them to.” Twilight decided not to point out that neither of them had come to Rainbow’s defense on this matter. “We’re going to go to Griffonstone. If you know a better way of saving Equestria, then show me.”
“Fine!” Rainbow snapped. “If I’m all in, then so are you. If you want to be a hero Element so much, then get rid of your school friends.”
“I did,” said Twilight. She gave Rainbow one more look, and walked past her back into the shop.
Spike hastily looked away as she came in. Twilight realized she had forgotten to disconnect him. Fortunately, it seemed like he hadn’t passed it to anypony else.
Thanks.
Uh, yeah. No problem.
Twilight went to see Cadance. “We’re going to go track those griffons down. Are you coming?”
“I’ll watch the shop,” said Cadance. “But I’ll arrange transport for you.”
Twilight’s internal tension, already vibrating from her own feelings and the argument with Rainbow, tightened further. No Cadance, no hoof holding. It was her team now.
The train car was nice. At Cadance’s call, the rail company had hooked up a government VIP car to the next train to Griffonstone. It wasn’t Celestia’s personal car - that would have attracted too much attention - but one that was fairly inconspicuous with tinted windows and muted paint, yet plush. There was a small kitchen and a few bedrooms in the back.
Rainbow was grumbling under her breath, and not just about lack of snacks, Fluttershy thought. Rainbow had come to sit with her. Fluttershy couldn’t help but notice that she was on the opposite side of the car from Twilight.
Fluttershy hadn’t heard the conversation between the two of them outside the café, but was concerned. Rainbow usually didn’t let anything bother her. She usually didn’t turn to Fluttershy for comfort.
Not that Rainbow was now, but Fluttershy could see the cycle already starting. Rainbow was definitely in the anger stage now. She might come around to accepting whatever was on her mind, and would appreciate Fluttershy being there.
About halfway to Griffonstone, Fluttershy felt her blood sugar beginning to drop. “I’m going to go forward to find a snack. Do you want anything?”
“No.” Rainbow paused. “Well, maybe I’ll come with you.”
The two of them got up and walked forward. Rainbow slipped on some sunglasses and a ball cap. Her saddlebags covered her cutie mark.
They walked into the next car, coming out of a door marked private. Rainbow led the way, her head turning back and forth to scan faces as they passed. Finding a conductor with a cart of snacks, Rainbow waited while Fluttershy bought some fruit.
On the walk back, Rainbow stopped suddenly between the two cars, the doors on either side of them closed and the walkway protected by weather curtains.
“Did you ever think I abandoned you?” she asked, voice just audible over the sound of the train.
There it was, Fluttershy thought. “I can tell you’re worried about this,” said Fluttershy. “But you’re my oldest friend, and you’ve always come back, eventually.”
“I…” Rainbow looked away. “Just wondering. Thank you.”
The two of them walked back into the private car together and sat in their original seats. Rainbow didn’t take her sunglasses off and leaned back, pretending to sleep.
What had Twilight said to her that morning? Whatever it was, it was Rainbow’s business, but Fluttershy was there for her. Somepony had to be.
Stepping off the train in Griffonstone, Twilight felt prepared. She’d read her history and a few other books along the way. She was still slightly surprised by the sight of the place. Maybe griffon architecture was just different on a basic level than pony.
“Okay everypony, we’ve got two names. Let’s find a griffon that knows one or both of them and see where it leads.”
“Ooh!” said Pinkie. “I heard about griffon scone shops! There’s got to be a happening scene there, because they sure don’t have much of anything else going on around here.”
“The scone shops could be work a look,” Twilight agreed. “I would also think the library and the local records office would be good places. Let’s use the buddy system, though.”
“Given my choices, I think I’ll go with Pinkie,” said Rarity, casting a disparaging eye around town.
“I’ll check the library,” said Twilight.
“Then I’m with Fluttershy,” Rainbow quickly put in.
“Spike?” said Twilight. He snapped a salute and came over.
“We can set up an overwatch and reaction force,” offered Spitfire, gesturing to Soarin’ beside her.
The group divided up. Twilight headed for the library. Ground-bound as she was, Spike flew above her, staying out of sight.
I remember you like libraries, he said.
Twilight chuckled. You sure remember correctly.
After memorizing a map of the town, finding the library was fairly easy. The outside was completely alike every building near it. The door creaked as Twilight walked in.
It was a library in the sense that it had more books than Twilight would have expected to find if she walked into any random building, but that was about it. An elderly griffon sat behind a desk, and seemed surprised to see her.
“I’m looking for local family information,” said Twilight, walking up to the desk.
“That’ll be five bits.”
Twilight frowned. “Isn’t this a public library?”
“I’ve got to get paid.”
“But isn’t this a public library with salaries for employees?”
“Yes. But I’ve got to get paid.”
Twilight sighed. One of her books said griffons were like this. She put the money on the desk.
The librarian put a large, dusty book in front of her that seemed to be older than dirt, and also full of it. The cover creaked open just like the library door and dust poured out.
Twilight spent a few minutes searching. Her pulse quickened when she found the first name. She glumly glanced at the rest of the book, not even being a quarter of the way through. This was going to take a while.
She started to turn the page, but then blinked in surprise. There was the second name, just one line down from the first. Brothers? She traced the line between the two of them back. There was a third sibling, named Gilda.
“Do you know where Gilda lives?” Twilight asked the librarian.
“No.”
“Do you know anypony who might?”
“Five bits.”
Twilight paid.
“No.”
Twilight sighed in exasperation and closed the book. On her way out of the library, she transmitted Gilda’s name to Spike, and had him push it to the others.
After a few minutes, there was a reply. Fluttershy says they have an address for Gilda.
Oh really?
Rainbow doesn’t think it’s accurate, though.
Well, give it to me and we can see for ourselves. Twilight paused. Why doesn’t Rainbow think it’s accurate?
Don’t know. She heard the shrug in his voice. I asked.
Twilight followed the directions and came to a small house with a thatched roof that looked much like every other one on the block. With an unspoken look between them, Spike flew around back to get a view through the windows. Watching, Twilight didn’t see anything to indicate that anypony was home. She still knocked on the door, though.
There was no answer, but just then Rainbow showed up, followed distantly by Fluttershy.
“I don’t think she’s here,” Rainbow blurted.
“She probably isn’t,” Twilight replied. “Do you know where she is?”
“Nope.” Rainbow shook her head.
“Hey girls,” said Spike, coming down to them. “Pinkie says she has a lead.”
The group of them met back up at the train station. Pinkie explained what she had learned, once she’d been given Gilda’s name.
“She sells scones, and because everygriff hates each other, the scone shop always did their best to keep track of their rivals. They said she was headed towards Ponyville.”
The others traded looks.
“Did they say why?” Twilight asked.
“No, but apparently she’s always off to every corner of Equestria for weird ingredients and yet never sells many scones.”
“Can we get a message to Applejack?” said Twilight, looking at Spike.
“No, she left the network,” he said, tapping the side of his head. “I’m not sure I could reach her from this distance anyway.”
Their train car had been dropped off on a siding near the station when they arrived. They got the train company to hook it to the next train bound for Ponyville.
The trip would be another long ride, getting them there after dark. Night and Ponyville was a combination Twilight was not looking forward to with enthusiasm. She distracted herself on the trip by puzzling through a few details. Why had Rainbow reacted to Gilda? It hadn’t even seemed subversive to get back at Twilight for their altercation that morning. She glanced down the length of the car, but Rainbow appeared asleep. Twilight decided to ask her later.
Applejack sat on the back porch, drinking cider and listening to the crickets chirp. She stared at the darkness, rocking in an old chair that used to be her Granny’s, the slow creak-creak of wood on wood rhythmic and soothing.
It was good for thinking, though she rarely did much. Mostly it was just good. She took another sip.
Something had been poking at the back of her mind all day. She hadn’t figured out what it was yet. Something forgotten, maybe. A change in the weather? Maybe she was coming down with something.
Applejack let her thoughts drift that way. She considered it, but didn’t push it. Whatever it was would come eventually, and she would deal with it then.
She abruptly stopped rocking. In the silence, she realized...well, the silence. The crickets had stopped.
A different feeling slowly slid up her spine, prickling the back of her head. No, Applejack decided, it was the same feeling, just stronger.
She got up and drained her glass. She went into the kitchen to wash it, but didn’t turn on the lights. After setting the glass to dry, she went back out on the porch.
Leaning against one of the support beams at the edge of the porch, she stared at the darkness again, looking out towards the trees of the Everfree. She still didn’t know exactly what some part of her senses had picked up, or what it was telling her, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was something just plain evil.
What it was remained to be seen. Though it didn’t much matter. Applejack took out her knife and stepped off the porch, heading for the forest.
Stepping off the platform, Twilight cast a wary eye on the darkened homes of Ponyville. There was something comforting about the town still standing, having endured the forces of evil that nearly tore apart all of Equestria. She was even grateful that it was too dark to see the scars in the earth.
That wasn’t quite enough to get over her apprehensiveness, though. Better to be doing something about it.
“Alright everypony, we need to find Gilda. This far south in Equestria, griffons are rare, so she shouldn’t be difficult to spot, though maybe she’s already turned in for the night. Check public spaces, any place still open, and the hotel.”
The others began to break off into groups. Twilight called out, “Rainbow, can I talk to you?”
There was no place to get away from the crowd, so Twilight just kept her voice low as Rainbow came over. “Do you know something about Gilda?”
Rainbow paused, unwilling, but said, “We went to flight school together. That’s been more than ten years ago now.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Twilight nodded. “Thank you.” Though she wished Rainbow would have volunteered the information. She also wondered about Rainbow’s comment regarding Gilda’s address.
The group split up. Twilight was with Spike again. They made a sweep through the public spaces of town. There were a few new buildings, and a few under construction. Twilight walked through the town square, with its fountain. Late as it was, only a few ponies were out.
Twilight was just turning down the next street when Soarin’ descended beside her. “I think we’ve got her. Follow me.”
Twilight quickened her pace, while still appearing nonchalant. A couple of blocks away, she spotted a griffon, down near where the street ended.
Spike, take the other side.
She watched as he skirted the rooftops, slowly circling around. From down a different street came Rainbow and Fluttershy, with Spitfire. When they had linked up with Twilight, Spitfire flew off to get Pinkie and Rarity.
Gilda, if that’s who it was, seemed to be waiting. Spike showed the rest how she was shifting her feet and grumbling to herself. The houses in this part of town had been literally crushed under some enormous elephant-looking creature of shadow, if Twilight remembered correctly, and were only now in the midst of rebuilding. At night, the bare skeletons of wood sat empty and dark.
Twilight spotted some movement in the darkness. A hooded figure emerged, from the direction of the Everfree Forest, she noticed. They were pony-shaped and had an odd gait, but Twilight couldn’t tell anything else about them from under their cloak.
“There you are,” Gilda snapped as the unknown visitor approached. “Why do you only ever want to meet here, on this end of this one dinky town?”
The reply from under the cloak was vaguely female, but mostly overlaid with the sound of a cement mixer churning gravel. “We both serve the Commander.”
“I just lost both my brothers to the Elements,” Gilda snarled. “What’s the Commander done for you lately? If you could have done something, why weren’t you there?”
“Do you have the ingredients?”
Gilda’s hackles went up at being ignored, but she handed over a bag. Her conversation partner abruptly turned and began to walk away.
The others weren’t here yet, but whoever the cloaked figure was had started to leave. Gilda would probably not hang around long, either. It was time to act.
“Rainbow, Fluttershy, get after that pony. Soarin’, we’re going after Gilda.” Twilight transformed and started down the street at a trot. “Hey, Gilda!”
“You!” Gilda roared upon spotting Twilight.
“I want to ask you a few questions,” said Twilight. But Gilda had already charged.
Knowing what her brothers could do, Twilight was prepared with a shield. Gilda didn't hesitate to close the distance, her talons raked off the shield as she tried to claw her way over it. Soarin’ dove at her from above, keeping her back.
Gilda came at Twilight again. She grabbed something in her palm and slammed it forward, hammering against Twilight’s shield. It must have been a small explosive, because the concussion started Twilight’s ears ringing and put a crack in her shield, despite not seeming to hurt Gilda in the contact. Simultaneously, she reached forward for Twilight’s face with her other foreleg, leading with talons.
Twilight got her head back in time, swinging her sword and cutting the tips off Gilda’s talons. It didn’t hurt her, but it definitely inhibited her fighting style. Pressing her advantage, Twilight reversed her sword and cracked Gilda between the eyes with the pommel.
She should have expected Gilda to be hardheaded, as it only shook her, but didn’t put her on the ground. Gilda grabbed something else and threw it to the ground, smoke filling the air.
Soarin’ gained altitude to keep out of it. Gilda emerged from the cloud of the smoke bomb, using it to buy time and space. She spotted an unassuming unicorn coming around the corner of one of the buildings and seized her by the throat, lifting her into the air. Soarin’ leveled his crossbow, but held back to avoid hitting the hostage.
“Don’t come any closer,” warned Gilda, hovering across from him. “Turn around and leave, or I’ll kill her.”
“That’s what I was waiting to hear,” said Twilight. Gilda jerked in surprise at the mare she didn’t recognize suddenly transforming into an Element, but didn’t have time to react. Twilight’s sword cut off the talons Gilda still had, and the foreleg along with them, releasing Twilight’s throat. The next slice took her wing.
Twilight kicked off Gilda, landing on the ground a few feet away. Gilda fell in a heap, the breath and fight taken from her. Blood began to pool.
“Um…” said Fluttershy.
Twilight glanced up at her, as she hovered over the scene, and then looked after the hooded figure who had switched to a run upon noticing Twilight’s fight with Gilda. Twilight glanced back through the dissipating smoke and saw Rainbow still standing where she had been.
“What is wrong with you!?” Twilight shouted at her. New plan. “Fluttershy, take care of Gilda. Soarin’, come with me.” Twilight charged into the darkness after the vanishing cloak.
Rainbow turned and sat down heavily with her back to a half-finished house’s foundation, breathing hard though she hadn’t even been walking in the last few minutes. After a long minute, hoofsteps approached, and Fluttershy came into view. “Are you okay?”
Rainbow swallowed. “Y...yes.”
“You don’t look okay. What’s wrong?”
Rainbow met Fluttershy’s eyes. “I know her.”
“Gilda?” said Fluttershy. She glanced back down the street. When she looked back to Rainbow, her expression had softened. “She’s alive.”
Rainbow let out a breath and leaned her head back, staring at the starry sky.
“Is she important to you?”
“I met her at flight school, even before I knew you. She’s basically my first friend, but I haven’t seen her in years. I didn’t know what happened to her.”
Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably. “I think Twilight didn’t kill her so that we could find out what she knows.”
“What if she…” Rainbow gulped. She looked at Fluttershy again. “I don’t know if I can face Gilda again. I feel like I abandoned her, and then she got involved in whatever this is. It’s...it’s my fault.”
“It’s not your fault,” said Fluttershy.
“What if I have to prove it? What if...she needs to be interrogated? Persuaded. I don’t know if I could do that to her, but I know her, so I might have to-”
“I’ll do it,” said Fluttershy.
“What?”
“I know this is hard for you. I know you’re not used to feeling this way. But I’m here to help you, Rainbow. You’re my friend. And if that means interrogating Gilda, I’ll do it.”
Rainbow closed her eyes and her forehead dropped to Fluttershy’s chest. “I-I can’t believe…”
Fluttershy put her hoof on the side of Rainbow’s face. They stayed like that for a few seconds.
There was a small sound from down the street. Fluttershy’s head turned. She gently lifted Rainbow’s head. “I’ll be right back. I think I didn’t use enough anesthetic. Will you be alright?”
“Yeah,” said Rainbow. “Thanks.”
Fluttershy walked away, pulling out a syringe. Rainbow didn’t watch.
As Twilight left town with Soarin’, racing after the cloaked figure who had met with Gilda, she saw Spitfire come in from the sky to join them, leading Rarity and Pinkie. Good. Looking ahead, she saw the looming trees of the Everfree. Without knowing who - or what - they were after, Twilight much preferred to keep the fight out in the open. “Soarin’, take them down!”
Soarin’ aimed his crossbow and fired, the bolt going through the thigh area of their target. Amazingly, it stuck in something, but the enemy wasn’t slowed in the slightest. To be fair, with their shambling gait, it was hard to tell.
Over their shoulder, and with barely a look, the cloaked figure threw a glass vial. Twilight swatted it away with her sword. The glass broke, the green liquid inside sizzling off the enchanted steel.
“Shall we use something a little bigger?” called Rarity, hefting her lance.
Skewering somepony with a javelin was generally counterproductive to leaving them in a state where they could talk, but as the trees got closer, Twilight replied, “Do it!”
Rarity hurled it forward. She made a good throw, and the lance came came down at an angle, spearing through the cloaked figure from the lower back to the chest.
And it didn’t stop them.
Pinkie had started to draw one of her katanas, but put it back. “Well, I’m out of ideas.”
Twilight readied herself for a spell, but up ahead somepony appeared out of the forest. The scythe...Applejack?
The running target veered away as Applejack emerged from the trees. Applejack seemed surprised to see the rest of them, but fell in pace as they came by.
“No idea what we’re up against,” said Twilight, dropping the greeting to save time.
“No idea,” said Applejack. “But trust me, nothin’ good.”
Twilight realized that if they went much further, they would run into the Apple farm. She charged her horn and let the blast go just as the front gate came into view.
Her aim was true and it knocked the target off their hooves and right over the fence. Everypony crowded through the gate and had set up in a circle around their quarry by the time they got up. Twilight lit her horn to give the group some light.
“Right, give me that back,” said Rarity, starting forward. She tugged at her lance with magic, still stuck.
Surrounded, the figure in the cloak had no choice but to go on the offensive. It lashed forward at Rarity, hood falling back to reveal a decaying grey coat and the remains of a striped mane, eyes nothing but a mass of wispy black, like shadows made whole.
“What is that, a zebra?” said Twilight.
“Was, more like,” growled Applejack.
“Some kind of lich held together with magic?” Pinkie put in.
Rarity had blocked the decaying zebra’s first attack with her shield, but reaching for her lance left her foreleg exposed, even encased in armor as it was. The zebra’s hooves clanged off it, but when she opened her mouth, shadows poured out in the shape of fangs and snapped shut.
Rarity screamed and swung her shield around, knocking the zebra over. She stumbled back, limping on her foreleg, even though the armor was intact.
Twilight readied one of her force spells, but tendrils of shadow began to pour off the zebra as she stood up. Closer to Applejack’s house, something began to rise from the ground.
Spitfire and Soarin’, with a height advantage from hovering over the scene, were the first to realize what had happened and began to frantically fire crossbow bolts in that direction. Stumbling into the light of the circle, Twilight realized to her horror, were the dead-and-previously-buried remains of Applejack’s family.
Applejack let out a strangled cry, too emotional and enraged to put words to it, and charged forward. She swung her scythe with such force that it lopped off one of the zebra’s forelegs and still had enough momentum to dig a furrow as deep as the blade in the gravel path, throwing off sparks.
The zebra leaped forward, grabbing onto Applejack. The point of Rarity’s lance, still stuck in her body, stabbed into Applejack’s side and the zebra opened her rotting mouth, aiming for Applejack’s neck.
Twilight hammered the zebra with a force spell that tore her away from Applejack and slammed her into an apple tree a hundred feet away, showering her with fruit shaken off. Twilight’s next spell lit aflame the approaching bodies of Applejack’s family, risen from their graves.
That seemed to do the trick, at least. Encouraged, Twilight ran towards where the zebra was just getting up. Somehow, despite all the punishment her dead body had endured, some shadow magic still powered it.
But not for much longer. Twilight fired another flame spell, lighting up the zebra and the tree behind her. And this time, the attack actually had an effect.
There was some sort of otherworldly groan as the zebra raised her head. The shadows they’d seen before poured out of her nose and mouth, rising into the sky. In a flash of inspiration, Twilight conjured up a large, magically-reinforced glass jar and a focused whirlwind, shoving the substance inside and capping the jar. Whatever it was seemed to have much less power when without a body.
The zebra fell over as she continued to burn. Her eyes, no longer clouded with shadows, were milky and septic, but they focused on Twilight and her mouth seemed to briefly smile. “From this shadow, I could not flee; thank you, Element, for releasing me.”
The fire took the rest of her.
Twilight turned, keeping the jarred shadow where she could see it. Applejack sat on the ground in stunned silence, ignoring the bleeding wound in her side. Rarity was hyperventilating and holding her foreleg, upon which a bite mark had appeared, the shadow apparently able to phase through metal armor. Pinkie had come over and was casting worried glances at them both, but seemed hesitant to touch either. Spitfire and Soarin’ kept a respectful distance but close watch on the other burning bodies.
Spike, we need Fluttershy!
Already on it!
Twilight hurried over. Applejack got up slowly, looking down at her scythe buried in the ground and then over to the nearest fires. Spitfire and Soarin’ inconspicuously moved sideways in front of them.
Applejack looked at Twilight and blinked a couple of times. “So I see you’re back with the group.”
That wasn’t the important thing right now, but Twilight nodded. “That’s right.”
Applejack looked at the fire again, and then back to her. “Well, I reckon I’ll come on up to Canterlot. There ain’t nothing left for me here anymore.”