//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11 
// Story: Nightmare Equestria 
// by Herald Design 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 11


The train slowly rattled away from the station in Canterlot. Amethyst stood in the shadows and watched it go. It was always her habit when she traveled to stay near the train station till the train actually left. There was a lot that could be learned at a train station. And if things got harry and she needed to leg it she could always get back on the train. Best of all though was that with the sheer number of ponies in stations it was usually possible to steal quite a bit right at the start of the journey.

That’s what her three fillies were doing now. She had told Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom to go make some money, then meet back at the platform once the train had left. Amethyst had decided the risk was worth the benefit simply because those three were together some of the best thieves she had seen. They worked together like a charm when they set their mind to it. In a few years there wouldn’t be a single treasure anywhere in Equestria that would be safe from their team. Amethyst privately hated Fluttershy for that. These three were innocents. They shouldn’t have to steal for their food.

She couldn’t wait for them to discover their cutie marks, but desperately hoped that they wouldn’t involve stealing. Each of their special talents seemed so clear to her, but they were focused so much on trying to find how it related to thievery that they couldn’t see what was right in front of their faces. 

Of course it wasn’t Fluttershy’s fault that they had to steal. There were so many other factors, but Fluttershy was the one pony Amethyst could blame directly. And in private that was exactly what she did. Amethyst was completely loyal to her mentor, who had saved her life, but that didn’t stop her from confronting Fluttershy on what she was forcing these young ponies to grow up into. It didn’t help anything. Fluttershy hated herself just as much as Amethyst did for what she was doing. Then again Fluttershy hated almost everything. She hated that she had been maimed as a child. She hated that the skies and her home in Cloudsdale had been robbed from her. She hated the Cakes for always shorting her on bread for her fillies. The only ponies she didn’t hate were the ones she took care of. Though sometimes her anger at the rest of world leaked over to the fillies and colts under her wing. 

Through the fading crowd Amethyst saw her three little fillies. Each had a small bag on their backs that jangled slightly. A good haul then. Amethyst smiled then flared her horn for a second. Scootaloo noticed the flash of light and nudged the other two. Together they quickly walked to the corner where she was standing. 

“Find out anything interesting Amy?” Applebloom asked. Her country accent was still strong despite her time living with the other children under the cottage. 

“I did, but let’s move away from the station before we talk about it.” Amethyst was always amazed by Canterlot every time she saw it. Everything rang of powerful unicorn magic. The massive, soaring towers of the capital could only have been constructed with magic. Even the eternal night didn’t affect the capital too much. There were hundreds of unicorns here and all of them rich. So the mage lights were plentiful and powerful. Here was a place where a unicorn belonged. But now was not the time to be sitting and enjoying the view. Even as they moved out of train station a huge patrol of the Midnight Guard marched past. 

Once they were farther away from the station and off the main streets Applebloom asked the question that was on all three of the fillies minds, “So what did you find out Amy?”

“The city’s on the edge of turmoil. The Midnight Guard has been on alert for several days now. They know something is coming, but they don’t know what and they don’t know when. Their fear makes them restless. Even while I watched two unicorns were arrested and beaten for small crimes. We will have to be extremely careful, with everyone this tense all it would take is a spark to ignite this powder keg.” She paused as they emerged from an alley way onto a larger street. “We need to get word back to Fluttershy and the resistance as soon as possible. If things are this stirred up already, they need to be ready to move now.”

Amethyst looked up and down the street. Unlike Manehattan where a pony could fire an arrow down one of the streets and not hit a building for miles, the streets of Canterlot weaved and wandered with the shape of the mountain the city sat on. So even though she was trying to escort the fillies down back ways and alleys they still routinely crossed main roads. She didn’t want to linger long at the mouth of an alley because that would raise suspicions. However she wasn’t about to cross a street without knowing exactly what was coming in both directions. 

Once she saw what was coming she was glad she had waited. Coming down from one direction was a large patrol of the Midnight guard. There was at least a score of the ponies in their crisp black uniforms. The rumor was that their armor was made from enchanted onyx to be extra strong and invisible in the dark. Pushing in front of them like a wave before a ship was a crowd of ponies desperately trying to get out of the way and pretend they weren’t trying to get out of the way. So there was perhaps one hundred ponies all walking faster, diverging into shops, or down alleyways being driven in front of the troops. 

In the other direction was a small squad. They were clearly protecting a VIP in the center of their circle. The very important pony was a black unicorn that Amethyst recognized from resistance hate posters. He had been some sort of advisor to Celestia and he now fulfilled a similar role with Nightmare Moon. Normally he would be a pretty high mark, but it wouldn’t be worth the risk to attempt anything now. 

Making a snap decision she quickly led the three fillies diagonally across the road towards this smaller squad. She was on the leading edge of the ponies trying to get away from the patrol, so her speed and direction wouldn’t be suspicious, and the guards ahead would be more focused on keeping other ponies away from the VIP to worry about a single unicorn and three fillies. Besides, the unicorn they were protecting seemed to have more on his mind than harassing the little folk. 

Their small group was almost across the road into another alley when Amy glanced at Nightmare’s advisor. At the same time he glanced up and their eyes met. Her insides froze but his eyes slid from her without even really seeing her. Then his gaze fell on the three fillies walking quickly at her feet. Amethyst’s heart went from almost still to what seemed like a hundred beats a minute, as the pony’s face changed. His face went from frustrated and distracted to focused, at first confused then filled with recognition. Amy had no idea why he would recognize the three fillies but she wasn’t going to stand around to find out. 

“Girls…” Their little hooves were moving faster before she had even finished the command. The girls had worked with Amy enough times before to know when to move without question. “Run!”

“Wait! You there! Stop them!” His cry brought the attention of not only his personal guards but also the patrol that was heading towards them. Before he had finished speaking Amethyst and the girls were already at a dead sprint towards the alley. Amy used her magic to shunt the confused ponies out of her way while the three fillies nimbly dodged between their legs. When they reached the relative safety of the alley’s entrance Amethyst used a touch of her magic to ignite several barrels that flanked the entrance, hoping to slow down her pursers. 

However before they were even a couple of body lengths down the alley a rumbling shake came from behind them. The power of the magic was unlike anything Amy had ever felt before, it left the walls sparking and made her horn itch. She dared to glance back for a second. Following close behind was both the smaller squad and the full patrol. They were a mixed bag of unicorns and earth ponies. In the sky there were already several Pegasi patrols following from above. 

Amy knew she had only seconds to act and her years of working with Fluttershy let her know exactly what course of action she needed. Just as Fluttershy had gone without food when there wasn’t enough money to provide, so to would Amethyst Star do what was necessary to protect her fillies. 

She used a massive wave of magic to extinguish all the nearby mage lights, throwing the area into total darkness. As soon as the lights went out she tackled the fillies into the doorway of a shop. They could never hide here for long but they were out of the way so they wouldn’t get run over. She used the last remaining bit of her magic to find a small drain in the street and push the girls inside. It was far too small to fit in herself, but they would be safe there. Almost before she was done the mage lights came back on. 

Now that every pony could see her she ran and jumped up a series of boxes so she could get on the roof. She was almost immediately lost to the sight of the three small fillies sitting inside the storm drain. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle huddled together while Scootaloo watched the different hooves go past. All three of them were trying to still their breathing so it wouldn’t give them away. 

Suddenly they heard a distant scream of pain. All three froze, then Sweetie Belle started to cry silently onto Applebloom’s shoulder. Quickly the flurry of action that was in front of them died away till they couldn’t see any hooves through the grate at all. 

After several minutes Scootaloo broke the silence by turning around to face Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. “What…what are we going to do?”

The three fillies looked at each other with wide eyes. Applebloom was the first to speak. “Amy wanted to tell the resistance about what was happening, right?”

Sweetie spoke next, her voice breaking and squeaking as she tried to hide her emotions, “Maybe if we can get on the train back to Ponyville, we can tell Fluttershy what happened.”

Applebloom was about to speak when Scootaloo put a hoof to her mouth. All three froze as the sound of a solitary pair of hooves echoed down the alley way. They huddled closely together as a powerful wave of magic swept over them. The sound of the hooves got closer as another wave of magic hit them. This time they physically couldn’t move, no matter how hard they tried. 

A pair of black hooves stopped right in front of the drain. Then the unicorn’s face pressed right against the drain. 

“Look what I have found! Won’t my Queen be happy to see you! Though not as happy as your sisters will be when they see you! Ha ha!”


	*	*	*


I stared wildly around the room. All around me my friends had fallen to arguing again. Rarity wanted to set off to find her sister immediately. She still felt ashamed that she had dragged Sweetie Belle to the edge of nowhere and she had been lost there. And she was furious with both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy for what they had done to her sister. Applejack was sitting in quiet shock. She wasn’t ready to face Applebloom yet. AJ hadn’t seen her sister since they were children. There was no way of knowing if Applebloom even remembered her older sister.  Fluttershy and Pinkie were adamantly defending the choices they made with the various fillies. Pinkie’s seemed to be largely unintelligible nonsense that I couldn’t make heads or tails of. Fluttershy was saying that she had needed thieves to help support the other children under her wing. I was at a loss of what to say. There was so much going on I couldn’t even follow and I was still shaken up from what I read earlier. 

Just when I thought that the situation might boil over the door to the library crashed opened. All of us spun to face the door then froze. There standing in the doorway his mage hammer whirling like a weather vane in a hurricane was Silver Hammer. 

“What’s happened? I could hear the shouting from down the street!”

It took us some time to calm him down again. He only dispersed his hammer after he had checked each and every one of us to ensure we weren’t changelings. Calming down Silver helped to calm the rest of us as well, but I could tell that if I didn’t take control of the conversation it would go crazy again. 

“Every pony! I need you sit down and be quite! We need to plan out our next move and we can’t act rashly or everything we are fighting for will fall to ruin, and I would prefer if you not interrupt me!” All the other ponies slowly settled. Rarity was glaring around the room, AJ was staring at the floor, Fluttershy was glaring right back at Rarity, and Pinkie, well, Pinkie Pie appeared to be tracing patterns on the wood floor of the library. While I had a moment of silence I quickly tried to organize my thoughts. 

“Rarity, Applejack, we can’t go after your sisters-”

“That’s easy for you to say! You don’t have any family here!” A stunning silence met Rarity’s words. She looked around a little abashedly then hardened her face. 

“That’s not true.” My voice was barely above a whisper. The others leaned in to hear what I had to say. “It is true that my brother died fighting Nightmare Moon. And it is true that not being able mourn him indirectly killed my parents. But I DO have sisters here. You are all my sisters.”

I looked slowly around the room, holding each of my friend’s gaze in turn. “And just as you want to do the best for your sisters, so too do I want to the best for mine. Fluttershy, Pinkie, you two don’t remember the history we have together, but you will before too long. And even earlier then that you will learn why we were friends as we work together to bring this world to rights. Applejack, Rarity, you two know that together we have faced down so many challenges and problems. We can always trust each other in a bad situation.” I paused for a second to get their nods. 

“And now we have to trust each other again. Rarity. You are going to have to trust that Amethyst Star is going to be able to keep Sweetie Belle safe. Fluttershy has protected those fillies for years, Sweetie will be safe for a little while longer.” She started to protest but I spoke over her. “The reason you have to trust her is because I can’t risk us splitting up. I can’t risk my sisters splitting up. Especially not in the most dangerous city in Equestria right now.”

“I agree.” Heads spun around as Fluttershy spoke. “Rarity, I’m sorry that I let your sister go. Just as I’m sorry that I ever let them steal for me. But there was no choice then and there is no choice now. Ponies are hurting now. And word is stirring from the capital. If anyone goes to Canterlot and something happens they will most likely be dead before the rest of us can assist them. But those three fillies are extremely capable together. Just as you say we were when worked together. As long as they stay together the will be safe. And Amethyst would die before she let anything happen to those fillies.”

Rarity stared at the floor with Applejack. After a few minutes they looked at each other, then Rarity nodded. “Alright. I don’t like it. There is nothing you can do to make me happy about this. But I’ll do what you need me to do. But Twilight…” I had started to smile, but that smile ran away from my face at her change in tone. “Twilight I want you to promise me. Promise me that once you are done with whatever you have to do, the next thing we do is try to find Sweetie Belle. Promise me Twilight!”

I looked her in the eye. “I Pinkie promise, I cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, that we will go after Sweetie Belle as soon as we are back.”

Pinkie sat up when I started the promise. “Now you had better not break that, I strictly enforce the Pinkie Promise.” From what I had read in her file I believed her, I also didn’t believe the enforcing would pleasant. 

“So what do you want us to do if it isn’t savin’ our sisters?” Applejack asked. I couldn’t tell if she was upset or relieved that we wouldn’t be going after the fillies. 

“We will be hunting down Discord!”

I braced myself as the immediate uproar washed over me. I didn’t even listen to the various arguments. Instead I used my magic to magnify my own voice. 

“ENOUGH!!” The deafening sound brought complete silence. “Silver Hammer and I have already discussed this fully. We think it is the best option. It is most likely that Discord fought with Nightmare Moon and Queen Chrysalis over the Elements. So that means that he most likely has at least one. Either way we can’t let him be free without swearing to us that he will help us.”

“But how will you do that without Fluttershy’s kindness?” Rarity asked. 

Fluttershy herself merely raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. I knew she wasn’t willing to leave Ponyville and I didn’t know if without her element if she could befriend the Lord of Chaos. “I have to try. Celestia knows I don’t trust Discord myself but at the very least I can talk to him. Then, after we have his answer, and whatever Elements he might have we can move on Canterlot.”

“What about Rainbow?” I only barely heard Applejack’s quiet question. I swallowed then looked over her head at Silver Hammer. He nodded to me. She needed to know. They all needed to know, even if they didn’t remember who she was. 

“Applejack. Girls. When I told Silver more about Rainbow Dash, he said he knew a pony like that.” Before the hopeful look could fully blossom on her face I corrected myself. “Had known. Rainbow served with the resistance under the name Storm Dash. She fought at the battle that happened in the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters. She hasn’t been heard from since. She’s dead AJ.”

“NNNOOOOOOO!!” AJ’s anguished scream tore my heart out. “It can’t be! That doesn’t mean she’s dead! She can’t be dead!”

“Applejack! When we used the Elements I could feel the connection between all of us. I can’t feel that with her.” I paused as the weight of my words seemed to physically crush her. “I’m sorry AJ, I would bring her back in a moment if I could. She died fighting for a cause she believed in, and one we are fighting for now.”

The poor earth pony collapsed to the ground. Her grief went far beyond tears or any physical sign. She just lay on the ground her eyes glazed over. Eventually she stood up and walked out the door without saying a word. Rarity immediately got up to follow her. 

“Keep your distance. She is going to need space to mourn.” I said to her as Rarity left. She nodded silently then left the library. 

The bookless library practically echoed with the silence after the front door closed. Pinkie seemed surprised by Applejack’s reaction but otherwise seemed unfazed by the news. That was probably the hardest thing. I had known that AJ wouldn’t take it well. But to see another close friend of Rainbow’s completely unaffected hurt me to the core. Fluttershy was staring the ground deep in thought. 

For the need of something to do I instructed one of AJ’s ponies to signal to the Sparrow that we would need to be picked up posthaste. I wanted us away from Ponyville as soon as Applejack was ready. Staying here wouldn’t help her any. It would be much better once we were away from all the places she had shared memories with RD. 

The Sparrow arrived back at the library before Applejack. It really was a testament to its speed that it could get to Canterlot, refuel and get back to Ponyville in that space of time. I had already started the process of loading the Sparrow with what supplies we needed. I wasn’t sure what to do with the Elements at first. If things went south and Discord got his claws on them it could be the end, but maybe it would be the best for the bearers to carry their own elements. I held Applejack’s and my own and left Rarity’s behind. 

I brought the chest Celestia had given me with us just in case. Maybe I could use it to blast some sense into Discord if he won’t listen to me. 

When AJ arrived I went to greet and comfort her, but she brushed past me without looking at me. It looked like the news had aged her a decade. It was almost as if every line of her body had changed to that of a much older mare. She got onto Sparrow without a word then when everything was loaded gave her nod to the pilot. Silver Hammer went to the front to give the directions to the pilot. 

I watched out the windows as my small town flew by underneath then faded into the distance. I prayed that there would be some ray of hope at the end of this flight. 


	*	*	*



Rarity stared at the empty sky. The Sparrow was invisible almost as soon as it took off from the balcony of the library, yet still she watched the stars. Her emotions roiled inside her. It was her first instinct to head straight for Canterlot to come to her sister’s rescue regardless of what Twilight said. She knew of course that Fluttershy had sworn that Sweetie Belle would be safe. She also knew that if Sweetie Belle was in trouble then there was nothing she could do by herself. After a few more minutes of watching the night she turned around and walked back down stairs. Down below Fluttershy waited impatiently. 

The white unicorn didn’t quite trust the Pegasus who had sent her sister to Canterlot, into the manticores den. However the ruined state of Ponyville her home in another world made her put her trust issues aside. 

“You know Ponyville’s problems best, so tell me, what do the ponies need most?” she asked. 

“They need food and they need light and heat and they need hope.” Fluttershy’s cold tone continued to surprise Rarity. “You wouldn’t happen to have any of that on hoof?”

“N-no.” she struggled to regain her train of thought. She mentally reordered her thoughts. It would do no good to try to talk to Fluttershy like she was her old friend from Equestria Proper. There they could hold this conversation during day at the spa. Here Rarity would have to put on her business armor, just like when she was debating over the selling price of one her finest dresses. “Well actually yes, if you looked around you. You would see that”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at her sudden change of tone but otherwise didn’t react outwardly. Yet Rarity could tell that she was paying more attention.

“Applejack left some supplies from the Sparrow. So we have food enough for ourselves for a couple of days. So we won’t be a burden at least till we figure out some more permanent solutions. Now I have some ideas about those problems, but first I need to know something. Do you have a fence?”

“A fence?”

“Yes. You said you were a thief so who sells your goods once you steal them? Or do you keep them for yourself?”

“Of course I don’t keep it all for myself! The Cakes are my fences.”

“The Cakes? Really? Fine. Would they mind if we brought in a sudden rush of sellable items? Would their buyers find it suspicious?” 

“Mr. Cake’s cut pays for that soup kitchen of his that helps feed the ponies. So he wouldn’t care at all. I never had contact with his buyers but he is smart enough to let the goods go in such a way that won’t raise suspicion. Why? Do you have some hidden collection of pocket watches that I don’t know about?” 

“No. Much better. I know that outside of Ponyville there is a huge field that is filled with many fabulous gems. In Equestria Proper I have been going searching for gems there ever since I discovered the spell that reveals the gems. Plus in this Equestria I have discovered a much less complex version of the Mage light spell, so any unicorn can perform it. So then we can sell the unenhanced gems to Mr. Cake and the mage lights to the neighboring towns so we can alleviate some of the pain there too.” 

Fluttershy leaned forward. “How many gems do you think you could find?”

“By myself I was never able to get more than a saddle bag full in an afternoon. But if I had some young backs to help with the digging and carrying I could probably do much more. Do you think you could arrange it?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I get some of my fillies and colts as well as a few others who can help. Also I’ll tell Mr. Cake to give his contacts a call.” 

She immediately jogged out into the night. Rarity glanced at the Pegasi guard that AJ had left. Two broke off from the group and followed her out. The white unicorn addressed Thunder Lane one of the remaining guards. 

“I think it would also be good if we had some more… battle ready help there as well. In Equestria Proper there was some unsavory characters in those fields, I would rather not enjoy their company again if I can avoid it.” 


*	*	*


With Silver Hammer’s directions the Sparrow was making good time. Applejack had barely been seen during the flight. I was worried about her. I had never realize how special Rainbow Dash was to her. I desperately hoped that she would be able to recover though I knew it was harsh of me to expect her to recover this quickly. 

“We should be approaching where the resistance thinks Discord has made his center of operations.” Silver said from the front. “We will be there soon.” 

No sooner were the words out of his mouth then the sun leapt into the sky. The control ponies cried out as the light poured through the front window of the Sparrow. They swerved desperately trying to avoid a tree that was floating right in front of the air ship. With a screech we brushed against the tree. Applejack tumbled out of one of the cabins as the Sparrow shuttered and began losing altitude. 

“What happened?” she shouted. 

“Tree floating in the middle of the sky! Must have punctured the gas bag!” The pilot shouted as he wrestled with the controls.

“Find us a place to land! Twilight I am going to need your help slowing us down once we get close!”

That was problem with the air ships, once the gas bag was gone there was nothing to keep them in the air and they had no gliding ability. My magic would be the only thing that would keep us from crashing. As quickly as I could I began weaving my magic. First I expanded the rapidly deflating gas bag to try and create some drag to slow us down. Then I began my levitation spell. Trying to stop the Sparrow’s descent out right would probably kill me, but I could at least slow us down enough that we might survive the crash. 

“Brace yourselves!” AJ shouted. 

With a rumbling crash our rapid descent came to an abrupt halt.


	*	*	*


Rarity and Fluttershy walked together to the gem field. Behind them trailed half a dozen of Fluttershy’s young ponies.  With all of the help Rarity was sure they could gather up more than enough gems to help Ponyville. As they walked they kept a stern silence. The fillies and colts laughed and frolicked around. It was clear that they didn’t get out much, yet they all looked healthy and well care for. There was nary a sniffle or cough to be heard. Privately she wondered how many hungry nights Fluttershy had had to pay for the food and medicine for these kids. 

As they were walking Fluttershy’s face suddenly lit up. Her scar was hardly noticeable as her smile spread across her face. Rarity stopped dead. There in front of them was Big Macintosh. Rarity’s breath caught in her chest. She had seen him in the line at the soup kitchen but hadn’t expected to see him again this soon, much less this close. Fluttershy walked ahead and embraced Mac with her good wing. After they had exchanged some pleasantries Rarity walked forward. 

“Macintosh.” She said. 

He turned to her, his confusion written on his face. “Do you know me?”

“Not here. But trust me Macintosh. We’ve met. But that conversation can wait. I assume you are here to help Fluttershy and I?”

“I’m here to help. I don’t know what I am helping though. And I certainly don’t know how you can help us.”

“Well Mac, I’ll show you.” She desperately tried to keep the tightness out of her voice. Talking to Applejack’s brother when he didn’t even know who she was tough but it was worse because she knew that there was no way she could explain it. Not without dragging AJ into the conversation.  Instead she used her magic. She had been silently practicing the spell ever since her memories had been returned to her. In Equestria Proper she could do the spell almost without thought. Now even with the added strain from disuse half a dozen spots on the ground were immediately illuminated by the spell. 

“Well kids, get digging!” She said as she turned to Fluttershy’s charges, her horn blazing with sapphire light. The fillies and colts quickly began to dig up the dirt under the patches of light. “Though do be careful! You might ruin the gems!” 

Her desire to create a flawless performance for Mac was far overweighed by her artistic desire for undamaged materials. As the gems began to appear Macintosh’s jaw dropped further and further. Slowly a small pile of gems grew at Rarity’s feet. She raised an elegant eyebrow at the astonished stallion. 

“Macintosh? If you wouldn’t mind.” He quickly began to gather up the gems into a small wagon he had brought with him. 

“I have never seen magic like that before! Where did you learn to do that?” It was clear the stallion had never seen this kind of wealth gathered in one place before. 

“I came up with the spell myself. Many years ago in a different place. A brighter place. Mac, I wish I could explain everything to you, but I only understand half of it myself but when my friends return I am sure they can make things clear for all of us.”

He nodded and continued his work. He was a simple pony. He didn’t need the mysteries of the universe explained to him. And he wasn’t burdened with the knowledge of another world where unicorn beside him had once been close to his heart.

 Slowly they made a circuit of the field. Even as slowly as they moved they still only dug up a quarter of the gems they could be getting. Rarity smiled nonetheless. Even the small fraction they were digging up could completely change the lives of the ponies in Ponyville. She would set any unicorns she could find in Ponyville to enchanting them as soon as she returned to town. 

“So you really knew Big Mac in your other world? Were you two… close? ” Rarity was a little surprised by Fluttershy’s question. The yellow Pegasus had been mostly silent the time. 

“Yes I knew him. We tried off and on for a few years, but his dreams lie to far flung from mine. But we stayed friends.”

She was silent for a moment as she thought about the other world that existed only in the memories of her friends now.

“Excuse me for asking… it is never polite…in fact I wouldn’t ask at all if we hadn’t been friends in the other Equestria… but… uh.”

“You want to know about my scars.” Fluttershy’s statement interrupted Rarity’s attempts at a question. The white unicorn nodded silently. “I don’t have them in your world?” An equally silent shake of her head. “What a world that would be to live in.” she said bitterly. 

“Earlier in the library you talked about a Pegasus named Rainbow Dash. Do you remember?”

Rarity was surprised by the change of topic. Instead of saying anything that might throw off Fluttershy’s story she nodded again. 

“I knew her. We met at the summer flight camp in Cloudsdale. She was such a brave pony. I am not surprised at all that she joined the resistance. It was willingness to fight for whatever she believed in that inspired me to try raising Amethyst Star. If I could help prevent even one other filly from starving on the streets then I could be proud. And when I look at all these little ones who are safe because of me I am proud. Even if I hate myself for making them into criminals.”

“The summer flight camp was the last time I saw Rainbow Dash. Or my home. Or any of my friends.” Rarity struggled to follow the story as it meandered off and back on topic. “I never found out if any of them missed me or even looked for me. But once the sky was closed to me I could never go back. Once I was on the ground I had to make my way any way I could. I only ever stole out of necessity do you understand?”

Fluttershy didn’t wait for her answer. At this point Rarity might as well be a potted plant. Fluttershy was talking more with herself than with any pony else. “I fell out of clouds at the race. I’m not mad at Rainbow for what happened. It wasn’t her fault. But when I fell I thought I was going to die. Suddenly just before I hit the ground a huge swarm of butterflies came out of the forest and caught me. I’ve never felt as happy as I had in that moment.”

Rarity choked back tears at the happy look on her friend’s face. “It was the strangest thing. All the animals were around me. Animals I had only seen in school before. It was almost like I could understand what they were saying. It was almost like they could they could understand me. But then the skies were stolen from me. With my wing I will never fly again.” Now Rarity was crying. She had come so close. Out of all of her friends Fluttershy had come the closest to getting her Cutie Mark. Her correct Cutie Mark. In Equestria Proper it was only a moment before the Sonic Rainboom would frighten the animals. A Sonic Rainboom that never happened. Fluttershy had fallen silent as Rarity tried to get her tears back under control. 

Finally Rarity asked the question. A question she had been increasingly dreading finding out the answer to. “So what happened?”

“Then they appeared.”

Fluttershy stared off into the distant night for a time. “There appeared to be a small storm out of nowhere. Then suddenly with a lightning bolt three ponies appeared. One was a small purple filly who flew up into the air. I don’t know what happened to her. One was some kind of giant bug. He had holes in his legs. Or maybe I just imagined that. Either way he could barely stand. The last one.” Fluttershy paused and swallowed. “The last one was a black unicorn. He looked like he could hardly see and his fur was singed. Yet still he recognized me. I had never seen him before but he recognized me.”

“And… and he attacked me. He couldn’t see very well and my fear gave me the speed to get away. But not unmarked. The blood blinded me as I ran. I didn’t stop running, even when I heard the lightning bolt that took them all away again. I ran and ran. In fact I ran till the last sunset. When the sun didn’t rise again the next morning I realized what he had said when he attacked me had meant. ‘With your death the sun will fall and the night will last forever!’ Well Nightmare Moon came to power even without my death, so maybe my life could help bring Celestia back. So I stopped running.”


	*	*	*


Gradually I came awake. My mouth was full of dust and the air had a metallic taste to it. I lit my horn, and moaned. I was completely surrounded by bent and twisted metal. The memory of the Sparrow falling out of the sky came crashing back to me. The metal around me groaned suddenly. 

“Twilight! Are you awake?” Silver’s voice echoed through the wreckage. 

“Yes. Are you alright?” I called back. The Sparrow wasn’t a large ship, we couldn’t be too far apart. 

“Yeah. We’re all fine. You summoned a shield around us right before we hit. AJ’s here, unconscious but alive. So is her crew and Pinkamena. All accounted for. Your shield just dissipated, so I hoped you might be awake now.”

The spell caster waking up after casting a spell like that was certainly one way a spell could dissipate like that. The unicorn’s subconscious continues powering the spell in their sleep. Ponies have died when they were knocked out with too powerful of a spell draining them while unconscious. He continued speaking, his worry clear on his tone.  

“I didn’t see you put a shield around yourself. I guess you got one up before we hit.”

“I didn’t. I couldn’t manage the spell while slowing us down and protecting you.” I glanced around the hole I was in. Something had protected me though. Eventually my eyes were drawn to my hoof. There the Omnicanicron flashed dully. Whatever magic it had used had almost completely drained it. 

“Thank you Celestia. Hopefully I can repay this.” I whispered to myself. Then, louder “The OC protected me. But it looks like its power is almost gone. So is mine. We need to get out of here before anything collapses more.”

A sudden shift in the metal brought a broken shaft of metal within inches of my fur. “Silver stop!” I shouted. “We are going to have to think this out if we are going to get out without bringing this whole thing down on our heads!”

The pieces stopped moving. Even so they wouldn’t stay where they were for long.  I desperately tried to come up with a solution that would get us out of here. Again I looked at the Omnicanicron on my hoof. Celestia’s words came back to me. While the chest is a battering ram the Omnicanicron is a lock pick. Well we had tried a lock pick and that had worked great but maybe what we needed is a battering ram right now. 

“Silver!” I called out. Distantly I could hear him moving. “You are the only unicorn with functioning magic right now. You will need to help the rest of get out. Pinkie! I know you can get out of anything, make sure you take Applejack with you.” 

They both called that they were ready. I searched the wreckage of the Sparrow with my magic till I found the chest Celestia had given me. I also found the other gap where my friends were sheltered. Their hole wouldn’t last much longer. With my magic I turned the chest as best I could so that it was almost in line with us. 

“Get ready” I shouted. Then I willed all my fear into a single concentrated spell. Hopefully the chest would know what I needed. With a deafening roar a massive column of light ripped its way through the ship. Above me I could see the Pegasi immediately taking flight as the opening appeared. Then Pinkie jumped into the pillar of light and was exploding out of the chest with AJ on her back. They were lifted up out of the wreckage and thrown clear. Finally Silver jumped down to where I was crouched. He grabbed me in his magic then summoned his mage hammer. Spinning it rapidly he punched his way through the scrap metal dragging me along behind him. With a sudden explosion of metal we were free of the ruined ship. 

Behind us the column of sunlight still blasted through the Sparrow illuminating everything around. Besides me AJ sat staring at what had been her pride and joy. Her expression of shock, even as she was recovering from being unconscious tore at me. It seems like all I could do for the poor mare was take things from her. Abruptly the light sputtered then vanished. The chest had run out of power, just like the Omnicanicron. 

We all sat in the silence that followed until it was interrupted by the screaming of metal as the Sparrow collapsed completely. Applejack stood at that sound. 

“There is no good standing around here. We need to get away from all of that, I am sure that display will attract attention.” Her voice sounded broken. Like she had been singing or shouting for days, and now it was completely spent. 

“Should we try and find Discord?” Pinkie ask. 

“No. We are all spent. I say we make camp and sleep, when we wake tomorrow we can try and find him.”

“Ah, that’s too bad. He sounds like such a fun guy.” She said then skipped away. The way she never took a situation seriously was annoying even at the best of times, now it simply grated on me. 

As we slowly walked away from the smoldering remains of the Sparrow, it seemed to me that the ship represented more than just our transportation. The ships were burnt. There was no turning back now. Whether we liked it or not, our path was set and now we had to walk it. 


	*	*	*


Corvus stood in the center of the massive throne room in Canterlot. In front of him, in a small cage were three young fillies. He recognized them from another world where they were the CMC, Cutie Mark Crusaders. The three huddled together in their cage trembling. In front of them was the cause of their terror Nightmare Moon. The Dark Queen stood triumphant over them. Corvus had explained carefully who these three were, and what they represented. 

“When your precious sisters come to rescue you, they will find me waiting. And when they come either they will hand over their silly little elements or else. Then when they are powerless against me I will destroy them!” Her cackle echoed off the walls as lightning flared from her mane. 

“Oh is that so?” The quiet voice brought complete silence to the throne room. 

“Who dares question me? I am the queen of all of Equestria!”

“Another queen perhaps?” One of the guards on the wall walked forward as he spoke. Nightmare Moon turned to him in a rage, even more lightning jumping off her. Corvus strode forward to reprimand the errant guard. Before he could get close the guard burst into a column of green flame. The column reached all the way to the ceiling and completely engulfed the guard. Corvus ran backwards behind his queen, but Nightmare stood her ground. 

As suddenly as it started the fire was gone and its place was Chrysalis the Queen of the Changelings. 

“You!” Nightmare roared. The magic blast from her horn could have leveled a building had Chrysalis not fired a blast to match. Corvus was thrown backwards from the force of the two blasts colliding. 

“Perhaps…” Chrysalis’s sibilant voice sent chills running down the spines of the three fillies. “Perhaps we can talk.”

“What could we possibly have to discuss with the likes of you?” Corvus demanded. “Guards seize her!”

“Oh yes. Guards. Seize me.” Chrysalis laughed, then she addressed the guards stationed around the room, none of whom had moved after Corvus’s command. “Guards?”

All around the room emerald fires ignited as every guard in the room revealed themselves as Changelings. 

“If you want to talk, then talk. But do so quickly. You couldn’t match me at my full power before and you had the full swarm at you back. I can sense you aren’t anywhere near your full power now and this isn’t the whole swarm.”

“If you think you will be able to defeat the ponies that are coming for you by yourself you are wrong. They have beaten you and I before in another place, another time. They are wily and the power of their friendship is strong. But together we are much stronger than they are. They cannot stand against two Queens and two armies! Then once they are defeated my Changelings will infiltrate into the population. You have your kingdom, and my Changelings have all the love they could desire.”

Nightmare Moon looked ready to angrily refuse then her face softened. “If only my fool sister had been so willing to negotiate a thousand years ago, then perhaps we would not have needed to over throw her. We have a deal!”

The two queens stood together eyeing each other, as at their feet the three fillies trembled and shook in fear. 


	*	*	*