//------------------------------// // Daybreak: Familial Obligations // Story: Sigil of Souls, Stream of Memories // by Piccolo Sky //------------------------------// Pinkie hummed to herself as she rummaged through the variously sized and shaped stones on the trail. Every so often, she would take one up, examine it more closely for a few seconds, and then simply toss it back and start rummaging through the others. After several of these stones, however, she finally picked up one that caught her fancy, and she beamed at it. Immediately, she leaned down and scooped up some of the mud in the road leftover from the last rainstorm to use as a crude mortar, put it on the end, and then pasted the stone upon a stack of other stones in front of her. It was the finishing touch she needed to create a ramshackle Gaitian shrine simply out of local field plants, wildflowers, bits of wood, and, of course, mud and rocks. Nevertheless, it looked authentic enough. As soon as it was put together, Pinkie took a moment to smooth out her dress, wipe off her dirty hands, slowly lower herself into a kneel in front of it, and finally clasped and prepared to pray. She just managed to open her mouth when a set of iron treads rolled by and obliterated the shrine in an instant. Her body slumped. “Aw…” As the first set of treads rolled on, however, a loud hand siren blared from nearby, causing her to look up. A moment later, she quickly backpedaled as the owner of a second set of treads, belonging to a steam mobile armor the same as the first, rolled by. Several Appleloosan soldiers were on top, swearing and cursing at her for kneeling in the middle of the road, but they quickly passed. “Damn hunks of junk!” Pinkie looked up at the sound of the voice, staring back down the road she had come on. She had been so preoccupied with her construction that, in the foggy remnants of the rainstorm she had trudged through that morning, she failed to notice that quite the crowd had gathered down the road. What looked like an entire convoy of horses and wagons was gathered with a couple of large tarp-covered wagons hauling hay up front. Crowds of Appleloosans with pitchforks were working furiously with the hay, spreading it along the otherwise muddy and near-impassible road. The convoy behind them waited impatiently. A bit of a closer look revealed most were dressed like Appleloosan soldiers or militia, and they were armed to the teeth. Many of the wagons they were hauling were, in fact, pieces of artillery. Pinkie didn’t seem to mind any of that. She simply lit up. “Oh look! Road buddies!” Hopping up from the remains of her shrine, she began to skip back a short distance toward the Appleloosans. As she got nearer, she caught not only the one who had yelled but many of the others swearing like sailors as they went about spreading hay along the road over as many mud patches and puddles as they could. They worked at a rather furious pace, practically running between the cart and the road ahead. As she drew nearer and looked at them more curiously, the initial one who had been swearing took a fresh load out and spread it on the road while still muttering. “…tearin’ up the damn road before we can get the cavalry on the move or the artillery through. Who in the hell do they think is gonna deal with them damn airships?” He threw down the last of his hay and suddenly snapped his head up to glare at Pinkie, making her halt. “And what about you, you damn fool? Sittin’ in the middle of a road when there’s a war comin’ on? You almost got flattened by those armors! You deaf or stupid?” Pinkie thought about that for a moment. “Well, I’m definitely not deaf and I wouldn’t have heard that…and I’ve never been to school…” The man groaned and rolled his eyes. “Just stand aside, would ya’? We’ve got a lot of ground to cover and not much time to do it in! We better pray that the road’s drier up ahead or we’ll be stuck out here overnight…” “Ok!” Pinkie answered. Extending a single leg, she took a single step to one side, not even fully clearing the road. “There you go! Whatcha doin’?” “We’re trying to get enough thatch on this road to get this convoy through without losin’ half the artillery. What does it look like? Now get out of here!” “Ooo…sounds like hard work. Can I help?” He sighed. “I already said how you can help…by getting’ outta here and not botherin’ us anymore! This is hard enough as it is!” “Then can I join you?” Pinkie chirped. “Walking along by myself has been sooooo boring! Now I have all sorts of people to talk to!” He let out a mutter as he went for more hay. “You must be nuts. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re headin’ into battle. And we have to be quick about it ‘cause Trottingham’s never pushed this far inland so fast. We don’t take advantage of this rain and get this artillery repositioned they’ll just sweep us with their damn airships.” “Oh, I’m not scared of that! It’s really, really important that I head east toward the border! Come on…pretty please?” His teeth grit. “For the last time-” “Hey!” The louder voice from the wagon caused both Pinkie and the man to stop and look back to the convoy. As the others continued to work, an Appleloosan officer began to walk forward looking crossly at both of them. “What the hell is goin’ on here? Wastin’ all this time talkin’ when we need to get this artillery movin’!” “I told her to clear out, ma’am!” the man angrily retorted as he went for more hay. “She’s not listening! She says she wants to help so she can tag along!” The officer turned to Pinkie Pie. She cheerfully waved back. “Oh? She does, does she?” she retorted. “Then get a pitchfork in her hands and tell her to start throwin’.” The man halted in his work, as did a few others nearby. “M-Ma’am? What-” “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re beggars that can’t afford to be choosers right now. If she wants to break her back slingin’ hay on this road, well…I ain’t ‘bout ta’ look a gift horse in the mouth.” She turned back to Pinkie, pointing a finger at her. “You! You wanna come along?” She gestured to the side of the wagon, where a few extra pitchforks were still stowed. “Pick up one of those and start puttin’ down thatch with the others. Make it quick.” Without another word, the officer turned and began to walk back to the convoy. The other road workers sighed and resumed their own task. As for Pinkie, she grinned from ear to ear, let out a little “yay” as she jumped in excitement, and then quickly ran as fast as she could across the muddy road toward the supply wagon. It went without saying that it didn’t take long for the entire work crew to grow irritated with Pinkie’s never-ending stream of questions about what they were doing, where they were going, if they enjoyed their job, if they wanted to build a maze out of the remaining haystacks, if they had ever made mud pies, if they had ever made straw pies, etc. However, no one complained. In spite of her appearance, Pinkie easily had four times the strength of the strongest of them and her stamina never wore out. When the rest of the group began to tire, she was practically doing half of the road by herself. Thanks to her, the convoy was able to maintain a slow yet steady pace. As hoped, the road did eventually move to a higher elevation and dried out somewhat, even when it began to drizzle again. It stayed that way for a good five miles before they needed to start spreading straw on the road again, giving them a nice reprieve. After another seven mile slog, with the sun past its zenith and coming down once again, the road leveled off for another three miles before it finally began to grow irregular again. This time, it wasn’t from rain alone but from heavy traffic. Footsteps, horse hooves, wagon wheels, and treads had turned it into such an immobile mess that they were barely able to keep going for an additional mile before they started to come across logs and slabs of wood that had been lain across the road to provide some traction. It wasn’t long after that when the convoy reached its destination. Sprawled out for a quarter of a mile in either direction, Pinkie saw a rather sizeable temporary military encampment. Flags of Appleloosa as well as several of its divisions, including the Appleloosan Civil Defense Corps, were flying over it. Large tents had been converted into the best temporary stable the group could muster while others were pitching as many other tents as they could to store the munitions. Already, it looked as if a half-dozen convoys the same size as the one Pinkie was in had arrived, while more were arriving all the time. The noise, hustle, bustle, and occasional yelling of an officer with an order to bark sounded even over the slowly falling rain. As the convoy drew near, the officer who had brought Pinkie in earlier stepped out front again. She held out her hand and began to direct everyone. “Alright, get a move on! Get those horses stalled and get this artillery under cover! We may need it sooner than you all like! Then get yourselves out to wherever the mess tent is and eat up! This is the last half decent meal you’re all gonna get for days!” Pinkie suddenly leapt in a bit of surprise as the officer, walking right alongside her, slapped her hand on her shoulder. “You earned your keep,” she told her as she spun to her. “I don’t know why you’re crazy enough to be headed toward the front line, but go get yourself something from the mess too before you head on. Don’t worry about not ‘dressin’ the part’. There’s plenty of civilians still coming in who haven’t got uniforms either. Just tell ‘em Lt. Mane said it was alright.” The thought of a free meal made Pinkie beam. “Okie-dokie, lokie! I mean…” she immediately threw one hand against her brow. “Aye-aye, captain!” “I just told you I’m a lieutenant, not a-” It was too late, Pinkie was already off and running. In no time at all, the pink-haired woman was mingling in with the rest of the soldiers and tents. A few of them gave her a look as they went along, but usually they just scoffed or kept doing whatever they were normally working on. A few muttered something about “scraping the bottom of the barrel”, but she didn’t mind it. She was too busy following her nose, and continued to sniff around until she finally detected the scent of food. It was definitely far inferior to what she had been eating in the royal palace. She could tell that much from the first whiff. However, the scent was still much better than what she got back in the quarry, where it wasn’t unusual for the family to season their thin soup with rocks. The aroma led her straight to a large canvas covered tent connected to a trio of wagons functioning as kitchens. The area underneath was already filled with soldiers and militiamen, who were using everything from stumps to bags to simple stacks of cloth on the ground as chairs while they ate their bowls of stew. Grinning in delight, she bounded right up to the nearest unoccupied individual with a kettle and ladle at one of the wagons. “Hello there! Lt. Mane said I could stop by here!” She put on a fake highbrow accent. “Might I have a bowl of your finest stew, madam?” The cook looked back at her dully a moment before grabbing a bowl, practically slopping a ladleful into it, and then shoving it out. “Unless you think the finest is pork, beans, and potatoes, then no.” She groused before practically throwing a spoon into it. Pinkie scooped it up immediately, but paused on seeing it. It certainly wasn’t the most appetizing looking dish. Even the beans were hard to see through the gravy-like surface. “I…don’t suppose I could get a side of bread, could I?” The cook frowned. “What do you think?” Seeing the unfriendly look, Pinkie smile faltered a little. “I…think I need to go find a place to eat my pork, beans, and potatoes.” Still smiling, she quickly swung her legs up behind her and inched backward, making her way back from the wagon until another hungry soldier stepped in to fill the void that the cook was all too willing to help (likely because he was far less talkative). As for Pinkie, she quickly made her way to the ground under the tent, spotted the nearest dry patch of ground that had miraculously escaped rainfall, and then took her spot. Several other soldiers were around her, many of them muttering to themselves or talking in between bites. Pinkie herself looked at her bowl one more time before shrugging, taking up her spoon, and getting a bite ready. Yet as soon as she tipped it into her mouth and swallowed, her lips curled, her face pursed, and she looked rather displeased with the entire affair. A moment later, she slowly put her spoon back and began to look around for signs of any rocks. She thought she spotted one near a trio of soldiers and inched closer. As she got near, she began to hear their muttering more loudly. “Never seen ‘em all mobilize so many so quick.” “Well, Trottingham means business this time. That yellow commodore of theirs… She likes her airships. Uses ‘em to drop troops right in the middle of a battlefield once she’s done blowin’ out a path.” “That ain’t gonna work this time. We got cover of all this rain. They’ll have to fly in low, and when they do we’ll light ‘em up with the big guns.” “No…you ain’t seen ‘em lately. They changed things up on us.” “How do you know? You ain’t seen ‘em neither.” “Yeah, well I heard from a guy who spoke to what was left of the Official 17th. They got new weapons or something. Big ones. That ain’t the half of it, though. The soldiers they got. It’s like they ain’t even human…” Pinkie looked up a little more on hearing that, almost forgetting her stew. “Why don’t you just shut up ‘bout all that? Ain’t no need to work everyone up on account of something you heard from a fella who heard something.” “Well tell me how else they hit the front in four places and three of them just up and fold like houses of cards then? Even if all that stuff ain’t true, they can pretty much pour right into Appleloosa now and hit us high and low at the same time. If that ain’t reason to be nervous as a cat in a room fulla rockin’ chairs, I don’t know what is.” “I’ll tell ya’ why it ain’t,” one spoke up with a grin. “’Cause you know why that fourth spot didn’t go down? Civilian Corps 39. And guess what? They got here early this afternoon.” “Civilian Corps 39? There ain’t no Civvie 39th.” “Oh, there is now. And believe you me, there’s nothing those Trottingham bastards have that’s gonna get past them. I was there when they tried to break past them. Chewed ‘em up and spit ‘em out like Old Hickory tobacco.” Now Pinkie turned her head totally toward the three. “That ain’t no big deal. Any Appleloosan can lick five of the best Trottingham soldiers in a straight fight.” “Naw, that ain’t what I’m talkin’ ‘bout. You shouldn’t seen ‘em. ‘Specially the one in charge. Just leapt right in there and started takin’ ‘em down left and right like it was nothing. And these weren’t no small fry either. They were big. Burly. Like they’d all been raised on a cattle farm along with the rest of the steers. Big enough to fold a man in half. Didn’t matter none to her. She and the rest o’ them mowed ‘em down. She didn’t even use guns to do it! Or horses! Imagine that!” “Aw, come on, you’re pullin’ our leg! There’s no way anyone could do that without getting cut to pieces!” “This one sure as hell did. You know what? Ain’t you heard the news? All that talk ‘bout them people who can do magic tricks or what have you? What if this corps is a whole mess of ‘em?” “Don’t start talkin’ like that! Last thing we need is a bunch of ‘em in this camp! They go nuts and then we won’t have to worry just about Trottingham cutting us to-” “Excuse me!” All three soldiers stopped talking and, as one, turned to who had just interjected into their midst. They found Pinkie grinning as she poked her head into their small circle. “Sorry to interrupt, but do you happen to know where I might find, um…what was it…Civvie 39th?” For a moment, the three just stared at her; none of their expressions looking too pleasant at having been interrupted. Then one of them raised their hand and gestured over their shoulder. “Last I saw ‘em, they were taking up patrol on the eastern edge of the camp. They don’t rest fer-” He cut himself off, for in an instant Pinkie was gone so fast that she left nothing but her bowl behind, spinning in a circle from the almost superhuman speed she had displayed. Pinkie, of course, wasn’t there to hear it herself. She was already outside the mess tent and charging along through the muddy rows between tents, darting and dodging around people, horses, and artillery. Even with the rain and clouds she still had her sense of direction about her. Her eyes stayed skyward as she glanced over the various banners and flags between where she was now and her destination, reading off each one. Some were well designed and others were merely paint on a rag, but she was able to make out the numbers. Finally, as the path widened up near the edge of the encampment, she looked up ahead and saw one particular flag flying that had a crudely painted apple with a “39” emblazoned across it in green paint. She looked down and saw an entire group of civilian soldiers gathered together; some of them moving out to patrol with guns in their hands but many of them centered around one individual in particular whose back was currently to Pinkie. However, seeing that this one was wearing a wide-brimmed hat and had just a tuft of a straw-blond ponytail poking out from behind it was all Pinkie needed to see. Bursting into a grin, she seemed to double her speed. She reached the individual just as she concluded talking to the others; causing them to break off from her. An instant later, she leapt in the air, extended her arms and legs, and landed on the individual’s back so rapidly it made her stumble forward in shock as she found herself wrapped in a big hug. “Applejack!” The shout plus the sudden “attack” caused several of those who were nearby to freeze and spin back, but none elicited so much of a reaction as the woman herself. She remained stunned only for a moment before she made a sharp twist and a turn—wrenching herself free from Pinkie completely. A second later, she began to reach for her side, where a fairly new claw hammer was hanging from one of her belt loops along with other field gear more typical for a civilian-turned soldier. However, she froze halfway on reaching for it on spotting who it was. “…Pinkie Pie?” Oblivious to the fact that not only Applejack but those around her had been going for their weapons, Pinkie merely grinned and literally leapt for joy. “Yay! I knew it was you! The moment I heard those other soldiers say they saw someone who was chewing up and spitting out enemy soldiers like they were Old Hickory tobacco and they said they weren’t using any guns I thought to myself, ‘Hmm…there’s only one person I know who could be chewing up and spitting out enemy soldiers like they were Old Hickory tobacco without using any guns…’, and here you are!” Seeing this reaction, as well as the fact that Applejack had stopped from drawing her own weapon and was now looking astonished at the pink-haired woman, the others continued to ease up. “Uh…” one spoke, “you know this lady, coz?” Applejack was still stunned for a moment, and had to shake her head to sort things out between Pinkie’s description. “Yeah…uh, that’s is…yeah! Sure I do! She’s one of them folks I ran inta’ Equestria with! The ones I told ya’ about that were with Twilight!” She turned fully back to the bouncing woman. “Pinkie, what in tarnation are ya’ doin’ here? The others wit’ ya’?” Pinkie stopped bouncing and giggled. “Hehe! No, silly! The others are with you!” Soon after saying this, however, she realized the context of what Applejack had just said. Her face fell soon after. “I mean…aren’t they?” Applejack grimaced. “Er…’fraid not… I was kinda hopin’ when I recognized ya’ that they were with you. ‘Specially now.” Pinkie hung her face low for just a moment more, before brightening up and smiling. “That’s ok! I mean, you’re alright, aren’t you? So that means the others have to be alright too, doesn’t it?” Applejack was quiet momentarily. “Yeah, maybe…” she half-muttered, before she forced herself to look up a bit more. “Naw…you’re right. I’m sure they are! We made it through and so did they! I mean, if we got blown all the way to Appleloosa, then I’m sure they’re out there somewhere too!” “Whoa…” one of the others around Applejack spoke up. “You sayin’ that this gal got blasted halfway across Greater Everfree too, cousin? Them Promethian Sigil things really are somethin’!” At that moment, Pinkie suddenly saw that same family member look down at her side for a moment before holding up her hand. While she was standing a bit far from her, Pinkie managed to spot the etching of an emblem on it. “How do you reckon I could go ‘bout gettin’ me one of ‘em…what’s it called…animal…animal faeries?” Instantly, Applejack wheeled around. “I told y’all ta’ keep that quiet!” she snapped, causing her cousin to recoil in alarm. “Don’t go blabbin’ ‘bout that ta’ everyone here!” The cousin swallowed and quickly nodded, and Applejack took a moment to compose herself before turning back and weakly smiling. “Heh…eh…nevermind none of that. Jus’ yackin’ a bit. I guess ya’ kind of figured out I got blown all the way back to Appleloosa after what happened in Equestria. Well…seems I was in for a spot of luck, ‘cause I got blasted just forty miles from home. When I came to, I started walkin’ and I wasn’t more than three miles ta’ go when some crier on horseback came runnin’ around yellin’ that Trottingham was gettin’ ready ta’ go to war with Appleloosa, so as soon as I get back I see the rest of the family that didn’t already join the corps is already gearin’ up ta’ fight. And, well, uh…” She began to look a little uneasy, but kept her weak smile. “One thing led to another, an’…an’ here we are.” A pause. “I, uh, haven’t introduced ya’ yet, have I?” She turned and gestured to the one who had just spoken, an auburn-haired young woman with a kerchief clasped around her neck with an old apple symbol. “This here is cousin Candy Apples.” She gestured to the next one nearby, who seemed a bit messier and freckled. “This is her brother and my other cousin, Apple Split.” She gestured on to the third nearest one, one with hair almost as curly and poofy as Pinkie Pie’s own. “This here is my third cousin Apple Brown Betty.” Finally, she turned to one who stood head and shoulders above the other three; solidly built with hair the same straw color as Applejack’s. “And this here ox is my older brother Big Macintosh.” She smiled a bit more, this time looking more genuine. “He ain’t the biggest talker in the world, but he’s swell in a fight and the second-hardest worker you ever did see, so that don’t bother anyone none. Does it, Big Mac?” “Nope,” the big man simply answered. Pinkie gave them all a wave. “Hi, Apple family!” She looked back at Applejack. “Actually, that’s kind of funny you should bring them up, because now that I’ve found you, I needed to ask you some-” “Uh, Pinkie?” Applejack immediately interjected, sharply cutting her off. Her face began to fall again. “Could, uh…um…” She glanced about, back to her family members, and then back to her. “Could whatever yer about to say be, um…said in private? Just between the two of us?” Pinkie looked slightly puzzled by this, but Applejack immediately rolled with it. She turned back to the others. “I need ta’ talk with Pinkie fer a bit. Why don’t y’all run along and finish gettin’ settled in? Then let’s all head to the chuck wagon in ‘bout half an hour. From what I’ve seen, they need all the help they can get makin’ somethin’ worth eatin’. Big Mac, I know the young folks are messin’ up their tent. Think a seasoned veteran like you can lend a hand?” Big Mac hesitated. He could clearly tell something was off with how hurried Applejack was being. From the looks of it, it seemed like the other three members of her family were much the same. However, he simply nodded. “Eeyup.” With that, he turned and began to walk off. The others looked puzzled a bit longer, but then began to head off as well. Pinkie blinked. “I was just going to ask-” Before she could say another word, Applejack spun on her, took her by one arm, and began to lead her on. “What’dya say we talk over there in the supply tent, Pinkie? It’s a lot drier than standin’ out here in all this mud like a couple o’ pigs in swallor.” Not picking up on her change in tone, the woman merely smiled back. “Ok!” Since she followed along, Applejack didn’t hold her arm long. She merely walked alongside her to the nearest tent. Applejack pulled the flap aside and walked right in, with Pinkie almost skipping in after her. As soon as she entered, she caught the woman walking in a few more steps until she was well and clear from the entrance, and then she abruptly stopped and pivoted around. Her face had become rather anxious. Pinkie opened her mouth to speak, but Applejack cut her off. “Alright…I know what you want to ask me, Pinkie. And I wanna say yes. I may’ve had to agree to help out Manehattan ‘cause I had no other choice, but when I say somethin’ I’m honest about it. I always stick to my word. The problem is…I…I just can’t right now.” Pinkie looked a little puzzled at that answer. “Um…I really wasn’t-” “The whole reason I set out from home in the first place with so many members of my family was because we had to join up with the Appleloosan Civil Defense Corps to save the farm. It was the only way they’d let us keep it.” She let out a massive groan as she pulled off her hat and ran a hand through her hair. “Then this war breaks out with Trottingham just as they got a whole peck of new weapons to try out on us, and most of the rest of the family save for the youngin’s and older folks join up too. Right after the last Nighttouched surge ‘fore we busted up that nightmare woman. I don’t even know where they got the rest of my family. All I know is we’re all gonna be thrown into this war pretty soon.” Pinkie frowned with a sad look. “Gee Applejack, that sounds really bad…but I was-” “That’s why I can’t leave ‘em here,” she cut off again, looking straight into Pinkie’s eyes. “This Promethian Sigil thing… I still don’t know if I’m gonna go nuts or not, but I do know that I’m worth a hundred soldiers with rifles easy thanks to it. And you saw what’s goin’ on out there, didn’t ya’? With the rest of my family? We got four other kinfolk who’s growin’ those things outta their hands now too! One of them’s my brother! What if they go nuts on the battlefield? They’ll get shot by the Appleloosan cavalry lickity-split! Someone’s gotta be there ta’ tie ‘em down! I’m the only one strong enough!” Pinkie was beginning to look anxious herself. “Ok, but-” She was cut off yet again as Applejack leaned in. “So please…could ya’ just let me do this fer right now? I’ll head back to Manehattan as soon as I can, but for right now my family needs me, the farm needs me… Hell, even Appleloosa needs me. We got rid of Nightmare Moon and whatever Sunset Shimmer turned inta’… So can I just do somethin’ for my folks now with this power?” Finally, Applejack was quiet. Pinkie was left standing there, staring back at her as she implored her with clasped hands. She blinked twice. “Um…I guess so, but I wasn’t going to ask you to come back to Manehattan, Applejack.” Applejack’s hands dropped. She quirked her eyebrow. “Uh…come again?” “In fact, I’m out to help my family too!” Pinkie went on, beaming again. “I landed all the way in Mount Aris, and I got to meet Princess Skystar and live with her in her palace for a couple weeks! And guess what? She said I could bring my whole family and any other Gaitians out of Trottingham and bring them to live in Mount Aris instead!” Hearing that last phrase seemed to catch Applejack, causing her to rear back. “G…Gaitians?” “Yeah! We’ve had a really rough time in Trottingham ever since the Lunar Fall meant so many of us had to move there. They keep us all in special lots where we can’t move around or work anywhere else. Ever since we lost our rock farm back home, the family has been miserable. And now they’re saying that they’re moving all the Gaitians farther away from the borders.” Applejack seemed to have been lost in thought until that point, only half-listening to Pinkie and instead beginning to look thoughtful. However, on hearing that part she once again snapped out of it. “Wait, wait… You say they’re movin’ the Gaitians that are livin’ in Trottingham further from the border? Why would they be doin’ that?” Pinkie shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe they heard about how I walked across and they’re worried that more Gaitians will do the same thing?” Applejack stared at her a second longer before looking at the ground. “I…s’pose they could be worried about them defectin’…” she said to herself, her voice dropping with each word. “Gaitians…” “Soooo…” Pinkie finally finished, twisting her hands behind her back and leaning in. “I was wondering if you could help me get them all out of Trottingham!” Applejack again snapped out of it, looking even more shocked than before. “Wh-wha…me?” “Sure! You’re big! You’re tough! You’re strong! With you helping me, I bet we could charge right through the Trottingham army and then charge back out of it again! We could hop across the border, grab my family and any other Gaitians we could find, and then we could hop back and head to Mount Aris! It’ll be easy! And since a friend is along, it’ll be fun too!” Applejack, however, looked hesitant. For once, her gung-ho attitude and tough demeanor was failing her. “You…you want me…to help you bust out a whole bunch of Gaitian refugees from Trottingham?” Pinkie looked a bit confused at that question. “Well duh… You’re one of the toughest people I know and all, and I might be able to break in but I don’t think I can break out again. So what do you say?” Again, Applejack hesitated. For a moment, a trace of anxiety lingered on her face. Possibly, as surprising as it was for her, even a hint of fear. However, she pursed her lips soon after, looked around once, and finally broke. At once, her face looked big and bold again as she narrowed her eyes and grinned from ear to ear. “What do I say? Why shucks…I say bring ‘em on! No problem! Ya’ can count on me!” Pinkie’s own grin spread across her face. “Yay! Thanks, Applejack!” “And we’ll have the perfect shot at it comin’ up real quick,” she went on. “See this camp right here? We’re all gettin’ together to stop Trottingham cold in the next big battle. We’ll send ‘em packin’ and while they’re cryin’ home to their mas and pas, we’ll break through, get to your kinfolk, and then break on back while they’re still pickin’ up the pieces!” “Hooray!” Pinkie cheered, before immediately losing her smile. “Wait…um…doesn’t that mean we have to beat an entire Trottingham army and fleet of airships first?” “Well, we won’t be doin’ it alone. We’ll have the whole Appleloosan army and civilian corps backin’ us up every step of the way. And it ain’t like they ain’t licked Trottingham before. They just need to get back in the swing of it is all. ‘Sides…” She smiled smugly, leaning in closer. “When Twilight and the rest of us were together, we whooped Nightmare Moon and she was a crazy moon god. Compared to her, how hard could beatin’ up some Trottingham gunnies be?”