“Here you go. Just lay down here.”
The older refugee hesitated, but then made her way over to the bench. She very slowly began to lower herself, but before she could get that far Fluttershy already went to work taking up one of the empty food packages, spreading her outer shirt over it, and fashioning it into a crude pillow for her.
“I’m sorry I can’t do more than that. The next place we stop, I’ll see if I can find anything for more bedding.”
“Oh, don’t trouble yourself with that, dear,” the refugee answered. “But you’ve been up and standing for some time. I can just sit here and let you sit beside me.”
“Oh no, I’m fine,” she answered with a small smile. “You just worry about yourself for right now. Everyone needs to get as much sleep as they can when they can. If something comes up, we all have to be ready to move. Now you’re not still hurting anywhere, are you?”
“Thanks to you and Shining Armor? Not at all. My knees feel fine,” she answered as she finally lay back to put her whole length on the bench. She nearly put her head down before leaning up again. “Now are you sure you don’t want to sit? Just for an hour or so?”
She nodded back. “I’ll be fine.”
The older woman hesitated a bit longer, but then finally leaned back and put her head on the makeshift pillow. “You’re such a nice woman, Ms. Fluttershy. I don’t think I would want to go through the past few weeks again for anything in the world, but the one bright spot is I’m glad I met you and your friends.”
“Oh…that’s very sweet of you to say, but we’re just trying to do what we can. And we don’t mind at all.” She looked down to her bag hanging at her side. “Do we, Angel?”
Naturally, the rabbit looked about as opposed to the whole idea as possible, having clearly wanted to have a chance to sit down and stretch out on the bench for hours now. Instead, he gave an angry sound before slumping back in the bag and stretching as much as he could.
“He’s just a little grumpy because I haven’t been able to give him carrots.”
The woman smiled back before leaning down, and Fluttershy turned away and looked to the rest of the cramped, crowded inner compartment. Everyone was resting in shifts now, with two-thirds of the people standing or squatting and the remaining third using what little bench and floor space there was to rest on. Nevertheless, no one was complaining. Most were trying to do whatever they could to pass the time or occupy themselves.
Fluttershy, however, moved over to another person reclining. “How’s the shoulder doing?”
He opened his eyes and smiled back. “Feels good as new at this point.”
“Wonderful!” she moved on a bit further to the next person lying down. “How’s the bullet wound?”
She smirked back. “Are you kidding? There’s barely even a scar. You and Shining Armor are miracle workers.”
“Oh…that’s very nice of you to say. Just take it easy just in case, alright?”
She leaned up afterward and did a quick once over of the inner chamber. Seeming to realize she had hit all individuals, she paused for a moment to relax. As she did she spotted Rarity coming up from the back. She greeted her with a smile as she walked up, weaving her way through the crowd until she was right next to her.
“You really are a godsend, Fluttershy. And I’m so glad you’re opening up to this. I know how hard it is for you.”
Fluttershy blushed a little, but not entirely out of embarrassment. “Well…I was a bit nervous at first…but I think I’m getting used to being around all these people now.”
Rarity paused a moment, then looked hopeful. “In that case, I don’t suppose I could persuade you to take another look at the children in the back? Shining Armor has done a wonderful job but, frankly, you have more experience than either of us.”
Fluttershy’s face blanched on hearing that suggestion. “Oh…” Her head bowed, and her eyes turned to one side. “Oh, I’m…I’m afraid not, Rarity. Getting used to adults is one thing, but…but I just can’t handle children. I…I wouldn’t know what to do or what to say…”
“Oh, pish-posh, darling. Just talk to them how you would everyone else and you’d do fine.”
Her only response was to bow her head a bit more.
Rarity sighed. “Well, I tried, but it doesn’t really matter. None of them have anything life threatening.” She looked to one side, growing troubled. “The real problem is going to be finding food and water for everyone. Starlight really wasn’t planning on having these many passengers. And all of them could use a decent place to rest and stretch out on top of that. Not to mention a quiet place to sit and take in everything that happened…”
Fluttershy looked up again when she said all this. In spite of Rarity beginning to fret, she smiled at her.
The woman soon noticed. “Oh? Did I say something amusing?”
“Oh no…it’s just what you’re saying,” she answered while still smiling. “You’re the one who’s really caring, Rarity. You’re always thinking of others. Just like with Carousel Couture.”
Rarity was quiet for a moment, her smile ebbing a little, before she waved her hand at her. “Oh, that’s nothing, dear…”
Fluttershy looked at her more intently. “It means everything to the people from your hometown, Rarity. And all your employees. After everything you went through to get them that contract? That was wonderful. You’re really selfless.”
Rarity bowed her own head slightly, inhaling deeply and exhaling. “Well…I suppose I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t sacrifice a great deal for that business, but I can’t say I’m entirely selfless. I’ve had an opportunity to enjoy the fruits of my labor the same as everyone else who works for me. Even if I was helping Ponyville, the bottom line is I was helping family and friends, so in a way I was still benefiting myself.” She looked up again with a more wistful smile. “I think the first time I ever did anything truly selfless was when I went with all of you into Equestria to stop Nightmare Moon.”
Fluttershy smiled a little more, bowing her head again. “I don’t know about you, but I’d say that was definitely true for me. You know…I was really scared then, and I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to do it again if I had to, but…” She raised her head. “I’m glad I did.”
Rarity smiled a little back. However, before she could say anything else, a voice came from the cockpit area.
“Something’s coming up ahead.”
This caused not only the two women but several others in the steam car to look up. Among them was Starlight Glimmer. She had been rather uncomfortably squashed into a corner on a bench between two other people, leaning against the metal walls and struggling to get some sleep, after switching off with Double Diamond at the last stop. Now, however, she snorted, stiffened, and cracked open her eyes and looked up and around. Soon after, she became fully awake and stood up, stretching herself out as best as she could in such cramped corners, before beginning to walk to the cockpit area.
She wasn’t alone. Shining Armor, who hadn’t slept since he fell in with them, rose up from the back where he had been entertaining the children who were still awake, and soon he began to push his way to the front. Rarity and Fluttershy likewise stepped forward.
Starlight reached first, however. “What is it? Are we out of the forest?”
“Uh…not yet.”
“Is the road clearing up?”
“Er…no.”
“Is it the Appleloosan Army?”
“Nope.”
She paused. “Is it some abandoned food? Because we could really use some right now.”
“I…don’t think so.”
“How about something we can cannibalize for coal, oil, or parts?”
“Uh…possibly?”
Starlight’s face sank. “I’m sick of playing twenty questions. What is it, then?”
“Well, I always said I wanted to see the circus someday…” Starlight frowned as she leveled her shoulder at an overturned wagon and began to heave and push. “Too bad it’s the only circus that uses horses and steam carriages instead of a locomotive to get around, and they happened to abandon all of their stuff right in the middle of the only road into Appleloosa eight years ago…”
“Watch yourself,” Shining Armor spoke up nearby as he leveled himself against the same object, along with two other refugees. “There’s a lot of jagged metal here. Last thing we need is tetanus on top of everything else…”
Starlight merely sighed. “Ok, one, two, three…”
The group all began to push and slowly started to shift a large, overturned, wagon/pen off of the road. The rest of the group from the steam car was fanned out over the area, which consisted of a long stretch of road jammed up and down with the remains of a circus caravan. It was made up of several larger steam engines that had functioned as locomotives, as well as many smaller wagons or wheeled carts that had been pulled along behind them. Most of the wagons on the road were still erect and on their wheels, but several of them had been knocked over. All of them, however, had to be cleared for them to be able to proceed. The surroundings had long gotten too overgrown for them to simply drive around.
It wasn’t terribly pleasant work for any of them. Many of the wagons were so heavy that it took half of them just to budge them a little, and all of them were running on little sleep and even less food and water. They were all beginning to look rather grimy and dirty for it to say nothing of mottled with a few rust spots from pushing.
As another group grunted and managed to shove another wagon off the side of the road, Double Diamond, letting out a tired exhale, came up from around the bend up ahead and began to walk to Starlight’s group. By the time they managed to shove the latest wagon off the road, and most of the group split up to tiredly go to the next one, she was able to look up to him.
“So…any parts?”
He shook his head sourly. “The steam engines here all predate interchangeable part design. None of the gears will work on ours. There’s a bit of coal but that’s about it. Oil dried up years ago.”
“Terrific… What about food?”
“It all rotted or spoiled a long time ago. I think some of the old potatoes may have sprouted, though…”
Starlight let out a groan and ran a hand through her hair. “This trip just keeps getting better, doesn’t it? And we’re not even to the country yet where we could get killed in crossfire… Just get what we can from their engines and then help me think of a way to push them aside. At this rate, we might have to cut down trees to get the car through…”
Double Diamond grimaced at the thought, but nodded before turning to get back to work. Meanwhile, Starlight wiped her brow and moved to the next wagon.
Further up the chain, several of the folks from the steam engine were poking around a considerable pile of old pen wagons cluttered about the road, trying to find the best way to get by them. Among them was Rarity. Naturally, she had only been tenderly and gently placing her own fingertips on the wagons and then only very reluctantly giving small pushes. The way she moved around she was doing her best to avoid touching any of the rusty or greasy spots.
Fluttershy was also nearby, along with Angel still taking a nap in his satchel. He seemed to be a little cross with her moving around so much, but he didn’t cause any further fuss. A good thing too, because she wasn’t pushing at the moment. While the others were trying to find a way to get the wagons out with the smallest amount of effort, she was fixated on the empty cages themselves. She moved slowly between each one of them, looking them over and studying what was left of their contents, before moving on to the next.
“This is where they kept the animals…” she muttered aloud after a time.
Rarity glanced over the collection. “Quite a few of them too, I would say.” She moved over to one overturned pen on the side, in particular to the bars on one part of it. She looked over at where the door was. It lay ajar, with the heavy padlock still rusting on the ground where it had been undone years ago. She walked in a bit closer before turning and looking to the surrounding pens. Most of them were the same.
“It seems their handlers thought to free them before they ran for it themselves,” she mentioned aloud. She winced soon after as she looked around. “I hope if any of them became Nighttouched that they’re not still in the environs…”
Fluttershy stepped a bit further, continuing to look around, before her head turned forward and stopped. Soon after, she let out a small gasp and held her hands to her mouth.
The area was quiet enough for Rarity to catch the gasp. She spotted Fluttershy rooted on the spot, looking in horror up ahead at one of the pens that had overturned. Seeing her reaction, she began to walk over to her. On reaching her side, she nearly spoke before looking ahead to see what had caught her eye.
The pen was a bit larger and more elaborate than the others. It had signs on the side with what had once been brightly painted lettering and designs of a fierce lion, although most of it had worn away and faded by now. Yet through the grime and age Rarity could still make out what was on the side.
The Amazing Melvin, King of the Ring.
She looked down at the cage and soon saw what Fluttershy had spotted.
The door to that pen was still securely padlocked. The barred pen was overlain with a mesh metal cage for additional reinforcement. Around somewhat twisted bars and a section of the mesh that had been fully pried loose through tremendous strength was wedged the skeleton of a lion with an iron collar still about his neck. One leg was still extended reaching out, clawing at the ground and trying to get freedom. Based on the way the skeleton was situated, it looked as if the creature had been so reduced to skin and bones that he just might have been able to push himself free. The iron collar, however, was firmly stuck in the bars. There was no chance of getting away.
Rarity immediately understood. As Fluttershy slowly walked forward, her own face fell. “I…don’t suppose they could have risked letting him out when they fled…” she spoke quietly. She didn’t bother stating the obvious after that: the fact that they had left the lion to die, either from being torn apart by Nighttouched or starvation or dehydration. She also didn’t point out the fact that the mesh ironically probably saved the lion from the first wave of Nighttouched, only to leave him to die slowly later.
All of these things Fluttershy had to have known. As she reached the edge of the cage and looked inside over the bones, the sadness on her face and the look in her eyes, almost tearing up at the sight of the poor animal, made it clear that she knew. She stared at the bones for several moments, before she reached out and put her hand on the animal’s skull. She let it rest there as if she could somehow reassure it even now, or at least give some measure of peace to its ghost.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, almost too quiet for Rarity to hear. “You must have been so scared…so desperate…so confused as to why they left you. You shouldn’t have died here. Not like this… I’m so sorry…”
Rarity said nothing. However, the gravity of the way Fluttershy said that, combined with the look on her face, made her look more regretfully at her. Fluttershy kept standing there for several moments of silence. The designer caught one tear coming out of her eye. Eventually, her hand moved over to where the collar was. Although the bones of the spine had long since fallen apart around it, it was still about where the lion’s neck had been and stuck in the bars.
She gripped the collar and, with some effort, pried it loose and let the bones be free. She moved to set it to one side, perhaps intending to do something about the rest of the skeleton before the wagon would have to be moved.
Instead, however, she let out a small gasp and dropped the collar right on the ground. Rarity herself gave a start and reared back.
Fluttershy had only been touching the collar for a second or two when a ripple of light went through it. The shock had been what had caused her to drop it as well as to cause Rarity’s reaction. Both of them were left staring silently at the object for a few moments.
“What…what was that?” Fluttershy remarked.
“I-I-I’m not sure…” Rarity half-muttered in response. “Is it just me, or…or did I see that collar glow?”
Fluttershy didn’t answer. She only began to look a bit fearfully at the collar. Both stared at it for several moments. However, it didn’t change. Finally, Rarity drew herself up a little and walked over to it. A bit hesitantly, she bent down to Fluttershy’s side, reached out her hand, paused for several moments (both due to anxiety as well as rust), and finally reached out and touched it. Nothing happened. It remained a simple collar.
After a moment, she shrugged and withdrew her hand. “Seems fine now…”
Fluttershy herself paused, looking uncertain, but then reached out and touched it. For a moment, nothing happened, and she nearly became at ease as well.
Then the ripple happened again. This time, Fluttershy let out a yelp and recoiled, while Rarity let out a cry of exclamation. “Good gracious!”
“Is something wrong?”
Both women looked up, rather startled. However, their own cries and exclamations had gained the attention of most of the others in the area, including Shining Armor and Starlight Glimmer. The former of the two was rushing over while the latter was bringing up the rear a bit slower.
The two were taken aback for a moment, before Rarity stammered. “It…it… That is…” She paused, then turned and pointed. “This collar. It…it was just…just…”
Fluttershy swallowed. She looked down at the collar, which had again become dull once she had leaned away from it. However, after a moment, she spoke up quietly. “Well…”
She slowly reached out toward it again, only very slowly extending her hand toward it. It did nothing the entire way that she brought it close, but the moment she reluctantly touched it with the tips of her fingers it let out a ripple of light. Once again, she yelped and recoiled, although she seemed to be growing more accustomed to it by now.
This time, however, everyone who had been alerted by the cry gave a bit of a start on spotting it. Shining Armor stopped in his tracks, and Starlight nearly exclaimed herself. For a moment, everyone in the area was still. They stared at her and the collar, forgetting about the work on the area.
Starlight finally broke the silence, about the same moment a look of realization came over her.
“Fluttershy?”
The woman meekly looked upward.
“Could you bring that back to the steam car for a moment?”
About two minutes later, most of the refugees were gathered around the open side of the steam vehicle while Starlight Glimmer rummaged around inside. Almost everyone was either staring or trying not to stare at Fluttershy, especially since she was very nervously standing there holding the collar in both hands. Since she had picked it up, it had not stopped rippling light periodically. On the plus side, the few children who were around thought it was some sort of new toy and looked amazed. Everyone else simply stood there uneasily, including Rarity and Shining Armor.
“Are you…feeling alright, Fluttershy?” Rarity asked after a while, still eying the object. “Your hands aren’t…I don’t know…tingling or anything, are they dear?”
“Um…no…” she exhaled quietly. “…They shouldn’t be, should they? I mean, if I was holding onto something like this…?”
“I’m sure it’s fine,” Shining Armor interjected, not sounding entirely sure of himself. “I mean…if it was harmful, it would have done something by now, wouldn’t it have?”
That only made Fluttershy tremble again.
“I got it!”
Everyone turned back to the side hatch of the steam engine. Shortly afterward, Starlight Glimmer came running out clutching a fistful of handwritten notes eagerly. She was still reading over them as she began to speak. “I knew it! This is exactly the same situation that I got out of Twilight Sparkle about what happened with her and Applejack back in Fort Chestnut!”
“You mean when Applejack got her Anima Viri?” Rarity asked. “But I don’t understand. I don’t remember her mentioning anything glowing…”
“She didn’t, but I pressed her for more details while you all were training one day,” Starlight answered as she flipped a page. “That’s when I got the full story.”
“So what does that mean?” Shining Armor asked.
“Alright…Fluttershy,” she spoke up, finally looking up from her notes to gaze straight at her. “Do exactly what I say. This should work…”
Now in addition to being frightened, the woman began to look confused. “Ex…excuse me…?”
“Hold that collar in the air, and say in a loud, commanding voice: ‘Valiant spirit, my household opens its doors to you’.”
This resulted in numerous puzzled looks all around. Not the least of which from Fluttershy. “Um…come again?”
Starlight sighed. “Just do it. Hold it up and say: ‘Valiant spirit, my household opens its doors to you’.”
Fluttershy blinked. Finally, she held up the collar slightly. “Um…valiant spirit, my household opens its doors to you.”
Rarity was closest to Fluttershy, and even she barely heard her say that. Starlight immediately frowned, but recovered from it quickly. “Could you say that a bit more forcefully?”
Fluttershy swallowed, then tried again. “Valiant spirit, my household opens its doors to you.” If one listened extremely closely, they could just make out her sounding louder.
Starlight’s eyebrows lowered. “Seriously? That’s how you sound forceful?”
She cringed slightly. “I’m, um…not a very forceful person.”
Starlight sighed. “Well, this doesn’t work unless you speak up.”
Fluttershy looked uncertain again for a moment, before speaking just a modicum louder. “Valiant spirit, my household opens its doors to you.”
Still nothing. Starlight’s jaw began to clench while everyone else began to look a little uneasy. Angel poked his head out of her satchel, only to give the closest expression the rabbit could muster to looking annoyed. Rarity cleared her throat and quickly stepped forward.
“Fluttershy, darling…” she spoke up with a bit of a forced smile. “Could you do me a favor? Try closing your eyes for a moment.”
The woman hesitated for a second or two, but then nodded. She closed her eyes soon after.
“Now then…” she spoke more softly. “Do you remember when you came up to that cage just a little while ago? When you saw the remains of that lion inside?”
Fluttershy stiffened a little. Her face began to look hurt again just at the memory.
“Now keep your eyes closed. I want you to visualize something. I want you to imagine you’re back here on that night when the circus abandoned these carts and ran. Imagine that you’re right there, right next to the cage with the lion.”
Fluttershy’s face eased a little, but her brows creased, showing she was concentrating.
“Imagine that lion is right there. He’s locked inside. He has no food and no water, and he can’t get out through the bars. Everyone else is leaving him behind. All the rest of the animals are being let out but he’s still there, all alone, left to die.”
Her face creased more at this. Her hands began to clench along the collar. Her lip started to quiver.
“Now…” Rarity’s voice began to rise. “I want you to see something. Far up the road, running away, is the animal handler. He has the keys still in his hands and you can see them, but he’s fleeing. All around him are people full of panic and fright. They’re yelling one thing and another, crashing into one another, and creating a huge commotion. You need to get that handler’s attention, but he’s too far off and it’s too loud. He’ll be out of earshot in moments. Your only chance of rescuing that lion is if you can shout to him. You need to make him hear you. You need to call out as loud as you can or the lion will die. Do you understand?”
As she kept talking, Fluttershy’s hands clenched more. Her anxiety gradually ebbed. Very slowly but surely, it became replaced with a look of determination. Perhaps even just a hint of force.
“Alright, now…open your eyes, hold up that collar, and shout to him!”
Fluttershy’s eyes opened. She held the collar high.
“Valiant spirit, my household opens its doors to you!”
It wasn’t the loudest in the world, but for Fluttershy is was definitely more forceful and direct. And it had the intended effect. Everyone gasped as the collar instantly lit up completely and began to shimmer radiantly. Fluttershy’s boldness evaporated as she looked down and nearly gasped at what was gleaming in her hands, but now she was too nervous to release it. Everyone else was transfixed in open-mouthed awe.
A moment later, everyone got a second surprise as, to their astonishment, a powerful, radiant, and resounding lion’s roar came from the collar. It was as if the beast that had worn it was right there in front of them, only invisible. The nearest people even shrank back. Shining Armor actually extended his arms as if the collar would attack them, and Rarity yelped and stepped back. Angel slipped back into the satchel and hid. Even Starlight Glimmer was momentarily stunned before composing herself. Fluttershy alone was left staring at the collar, unable to move but quivering all over.
Starlight finally blinked. She looked back down to the paper and read it over, then looked back up. “I…I think that was the spirit responding… Obviously, a lion can’t use words…but maybe that title on the side of the wagon means something…”
Rarity, still astonished, snapped out of it long enough to look at her in confusion. “Excuse me?”
She read a bit longer, then looked up. “Alright, now say this. ‘The binding is done; may our souls be as one.’”
Fluttershy didn’t answer. She stammered and stared at the collar.
“Fluttershy!”
She blinked once…twice…then half-mumbled it out. “Th-th-the b-b-binding is d-d-done…may our s-s-souls b-b-be as one…”
She cried out in alarm a second later as the light from the collar immediately swept over her. Now everyone staggered back in alarm and surprise, most of them shielding themselves as the light momentarily became blinding. Even Angel hopped out of the satchel and ran for cover. As all of them watched in amazement, beams of light pink in shade streaked through the air, etching out a figure. In moments, they saw that it was the lion: completely in his prime and looking regal and fierce. He bared his teeth, opened his jaw, and let out another bellowing roar that sounded even louder than the previous one. All before he burst into fragments of light. A wind picked up and immediately swept the particles over Fluttershy.
The wind took up Fluttershy’s hair, tied it in a long tail, and swept it behind her before fabric appeared out of nowhere and tied the top of her head back in a bandanna. Her clothing immediately shifted as well, with her longer dress splitting and becoming a pair of loose fitting pants over worn boots. Her shirt lost its sleeves and separated to become a second scarf-like bandanna around her neck. Her satchel turned into a belt and pouch while parts of it broke off to form fingerless gloves around her hands.
Soon it was over, and most of the light vanished. Fluttershy was left standing there still cringing and emanating a soft glow. After a moment, she slowly straightened up and began to look herself over. She eased slightly, but only to grow more confused.
“Oh dear…”
Starlight, on the other hand, put her notes aside and smiled. “It worked! I knew it!”
Shining Armor turned to her. “Knew what? What worked?”
Rarity, on the other hand, began to blink in amazement. “Fluttershy…” she spoke softly.
The woman looked over herself a bit longer, only growing more confused. “That…that was like putting on an Anima Viri, but…” She glanced around a bit more, twisting her head and shoulders to look behind her. “But…I’m not dressed like a Healer… This looks more like what Pinkie Pie wears…”
“Fluttershy…”
The second time Rarity spoke, the woman heard her. She looked up curiously, and saw Rarity staring at her still looking amazed. Angel Bunny was nearby, also looking up and astonished. Slowly, the former of the two raised her finger and pointed.
“Rarity? What’s wrong?”
“Your hand…”
Fluttershy paused, but then held up her hand bearing the Promethian Sigil. She let out a little gasp of her own.
There were two symbols on it now, with only one of them glowing.
“Honestly, I wasn’t really sure if it would work, but I thought it was worth a shot. I’m just amazed it was that simple. Just speak that incantation and…I don’t know…you form a ‘contract’ or something.”
Rarity grimaced a little bit at the way that Starlight referred to the incident, as it sounded and awful lot like an experiment when she put it on that footing. Fluttershy, on the other hand, was still reacting much the same way she had when she first gained the new Anima Viri. By now it had long since worn off and Angel had resumed his place in her satchel, leaving her to stare at her hand with the two symbols on it. Though at this point most of the refugees had gotten at least somewhat accustomed to seeing Anima Viris, they still were left staring at her from the confined space in the vehicle. It had been some time since they cleared the road and were able to move on again, but what they had witnessed was still on everyone’s mind.
“That was a lion though, not a human,” Rarity finally responded. She held up her own hand, staring at her own symbol for a moment and remembering how she had obtained it. “I thought that these were spirits from people…”
“Um…actually…” Fluttershy spoke up quietly, finally lowering her hand. “My first symbol came from a bird named Philomena…”
Starlight shrugged. “Apparently, there are some pets or at least somewhat domesticated animals that form such a bond with their owners that they’re capable of being passed on too. At least when they’re in contact with the right person. You said that it didn’t react when you touched it, right Rarity?”
“Well…no, but I’m still surprised at all of this. I’ve never actually seen that sort of thing happen before. My symbol just appeared after…” She trailed off, growing uneasy. “After…well…Ms. Cheerilee passed.”
“The same thing with me,” Shining Armor spoke up from nearby, rather grim in his tone. “I wish I had asked Twily about these more when she was still here… We could really use her help right now.”
“I mean, I know that there are six points on this symbol,” Rarity spoke up, holding her hand up and gesturing to it. “But I didn’t really think it was possible to get more than one.”
“Why not?” Starlight shrugged. “That fire witch from Trottingham… Sunset Shimmer? She had five. I don’t see why the rest of you wouldn’t be able to get that many. I’m guessing you all have enough room for six.”
“But…I didn’t become a Healer when I put it on…” Fluttershy spoke up quietly. “I couldn’t even think of any healing magic…”
“To be honest, you resembled Pinkie Pie’s ‘Rogue’ outfit, dear,” Rarity threw in. “It seemed to have your own spin on the style. Softer colors and fabric. It was unmistakably the same pattern though.”
Starlight thought about that for a moment, before she raised an eyebrow. “Maybe it was the Rogue role.”
All three turned and looked at her. “Excuse me?”
She shrugged. “This is just a theory, but if these spirits have to interact with whoever has them, there’s no reason to believe that each one is going to give you the same role. A different spirit might give a different one. In fact…”
Her face began to look intrigued, before she turned to Rarity.
“Didn’t you tell me that when you all were fighting Sunset Shimmer that she was able to combine spirits to make new roles? First she combined two to get an Archer role? Then three to get a Gambler role and so on?”
Rarity nodded back. “Well, yes, that’s true. But…” She trailed off as well, her own eyes widening when she made the realization. “Goodness me… Fluttershy, do you know what that means?”
She began to shrink a little anxiously. “Um…no?”
Starlight smiled at her. “That means you might be able to do the same thing! If you combine your Anima Viris, you might be able to make a new role even stronger than any of the six that we know about!”
“Oh…ok…” she quietly answered, shrinking in a bit more.
Starlight paused. “I don’t suppose you could try it out right now, could you? I’m kind of interested in seeing what kind of role comes out…”
“Oh…oh please no, darling. Not in the steam carriage,” Rarity immediately interjected, holding her hand up.
“It’s a bit cramped in here already,” Shining Armor added. “Not to mention everyone is already pretty startled.”
Starlight’s face fell, looking a bit disappointed, but she resigned to it. “Alright, I guess you have a point there. You probably want to try it out as soon as you can, though. You could start using the practice with it the way things are going.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened on hearing that. “Um…”
Rarity looked likewise uncomfortable. “Er…no offense, darling, but I believe I speak for both Fluttershy and myself when I say that we were both hoping that our, shall we say, more ‘physically active’ roles in these sorts of things were coming to a close. I mean, after all, we already faced off against a dark lunar goddess and a grotesque demon of fire. I think that’s enough to merit something of an early retirement.”
Starlight grimaced. “Well, I wish I could say it was, but things really don’t look that way right now. Even if everyone wasn’t bracing for war and Trottingham wasn’t getting more aggressive, there’s still that new surge of Nighttouched coming out in broad daylight that we ran into.”
“She’s right,” Shining Armor ruefully added. “There’s whatever that shadow was up north too. If it keeps working its way to the south, then we’ve got much bigger problems than just the Nighttouched. We might even have a bigger problem than that shadow that was over Equestria.”
Fluttershy cringed, but Rarity slumped and let out a tired sigh. “I suppose you’re right… You can’t blame me for wishful thinking, however…”
“Everyone! Look, look! We’re here!”
The four looked up at that, turning to Double Diamond in the cockpit. His shouting had alerted the others crammed in there, and they looked up as well and saw him pointing through the windshield. Starlight immediately went up to him, but the others drew close enough to see through the window as well.
They were just in time to see the road curve up ahead. As it did, the trees broke and fell away. Beyond it stretched open grasslands just now coming into view. What more, the road itself was much more traveled and maintained, and the sun finally began to come down at last.
“We made it!” Diamond went on. “We’re in Appleloosa at last!”
This immediately caused a number of sighs of relief along with cheering from everyone else. The refugees broke into smiles at finally being out of Equestria and back into sunny skies and surroundings, and Rarity had to dab her brow with her sleeve as she sighed in relief at finally being clear of the Nightouched-infested parts of the world. Starlight herself smiled and clapped the back of the driver’s seat.
“Your dad’s car really got us this far. Great work. How much farther to you think we can get?”
Diamond’s own enthused look faded at that. “Well…hard to say. If I want to get technical, I’ve already pushed it way past the breaking point. I’ve never taken it this far on one trip. The engine’s been making some weird noises and they’re only getting louder… Even if we somehow get to Fort Appleloosa, I don’t think it’s going to make it back.”
Starlight sighed on hearing the news, before she shrugged. “Well…we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we get there, I guess.”
After saying this, however, she blinked. Her eyes narrowed.
“What’s that?”
Diamond looked up, and soon others began to as well. They were still coming around the bend, but as they did and saw the fields spreading out in front of them they spotted a plume of smoke rising up from only about a half a mile away. It wasn’t enough to be a roaring inferno or blaze, but it was definitely sizeable enough to catch their attention.
Shining Armor leaned in a bit closer and looked out. “Did the fighting spread all the way up here?”
Starlight shook her head. “I doubt it. There’s nothing around out here to fight or take over… Look right there.”
She pointed, and Rarity and Fluttershy both leaned in as she indicated the source of the smoke. There was an object partially ground into the dirt not far from the road they were on. Driving a bit closer, they began to make out that it was some sort of vehicle, but they were still too far to make out much more than that.
Starlight twisted her lips and then looked down, beginning to fish around for the binoculars. Rarity, meanwhile, grew a bit uncomfortable. “Perhaps we should go around…”
“I don’t think we can. That’s the only road out of here,” Diamond answered. “And I’m not sure the axle will hold together if we go off it again…”
Starlight leaned up a moment later, having found the binoculars, and immediately put them to use as they continued forward. “Looks like a steam wing…” she said after a moment. “That’s funny… I didn’t think that Trottingham or Appleloosa had any of those. And if they did why aren’t they in the middle of a battlefield?”
“Steam wing?” Fluttershy asked meekly.
“It’s a form of combat aircraft,” Shining Armor quickly explained while keeping his own eyes forward. “Can you make out the model?”
“Not really, but…wait. People are coming out of it. They must have crash landed. They don’t look like normal pilots, though. They look like…”
She trailed off. Her expression turned to one of amazement.
Rarity turned to her. “What is it, Starlight?”
“I don’t believe it… Huh… I guess if so much bad luck hits you, you’re bound to run into good luck eventually…”
The others turned to her as well. “What is it?”
Beginning to smile, she removed her binoculars and passed them to Rarity. “Look for yourself!”
The designer was a bit confused, but she accepted them and looked out. She stared for a moment. “I see a woman with lavender hair looking like she’s arguing with a woman with rainbow hair and…” Her own eyes widened. “Oh my goodness! It’s Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash!”
“What?” Shining Armor exclaimed. “Let me see!”
She passed the binoculars over, and he barely restrained himself from snatching them from her. He looked up and out as well, and his own face lit up. “It is Twily! She’s here!”
Fluttershy began to perk. “Really? It’s really them?” She paused a moment. “What in the world are they doing out here…?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth,” Starlight answered, leaning down to Diamond. “Let’s get over there!”
He nodded and accelerated the engine a bit more. The road was fairly straight and, aside from a few small hills in the landscape, was a clean shot to the wreckage. It soon became clear they hadn’t landed more than ten yards from the road, so it wouldn’t be any problem reaching them. Naturally, it wasn’t long after they had started on their way that they were noticed by the two. The engine was far too loud, bulky, and the only piece of machinery for miles in any direction. Even while still a long way off, the group in the cockpit noticed that both of them had stopped arguing and were now staring at them as they came in. Both of them looked rather tense, and Rainbow Dash looked ready for a fight as their car slowly lumbered up to them. However, neither made a move or tried to run when the steam engine finally pulled to a halt on the road alongside of them.
Moments later, Starlight opened the hatch wide and immediately ran out with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Shining Armor in tow straight behind. The apprehension of Twilight and Dash lasted only long enough for them to recognize them, and then they instantly lit up.
“Starlight!” Twilight exclaimed. “Rarity! Fluttershy!” A pause, followed by a rather bewildered look. “…Shining Armor? You’re all here?”
He grinned back at her. “I could say the same thing about you, little sis!”
“Oh, I’m so glad to see you!” Fluttershy called as she began to step out to them. Rarity and the others quickly followed suit. “We were all so worried about what happened to everyone else after what happened in Equestria!”
“Thank heavens you’re alright!” Rarity added. “Between what happened in that castle and everything else that’s gone on since then, we were starting to fear the worst…”
Dash, getting over her own initial surprise, took the moment to flash a grin and plant her hands on her hips. “Heh, think a little thing like that was going to do us in? Not a chance. Sure, we ran into a few hiccups along the way, but nothing we couldn’t handle.”
Fluttershy looked over the wreckage, seeming to only really drr it for the first time. When she did, her eyes widened a bit and she cupped a hand to her mouth. Starlight looked at it as well, and also slowed in her step. This close, they noticed it was a lot worse than before. One wing was snapped loose and the main body was almost bent in half and on fire. “Um…just out of curiosity, did you just crash land this thing?”
Dash blanched, rubbing the back of her head. “Uh…heh…it wasn’t my nicest landing, but no problem. Nothing to worry about. We’re all fine.”
Twilight’s own smile ebbed and her eyes lowered before she shot a sideways glare to her. “I’m not so sure about the ‘all fine’ part… This could have gone a lot smoother if you had waited until after we landed to do that binding incantation…”
She frowned and looked back at her. “Hey, you’re the one who told me to do it.”
“I meant once you landed!”
“That glow was distracting me!”
“Y’know…” a tired third voice came up from the wreckage. “Just…just go ahead and settle your argument… I’ll get myself out of this… No need to worry about me burning to death or anything…”
The four stopped, looking back to the wreckage. A moment later, they heard a popping of a cable, before a body fell down to the ground nearby. After a small groan, she began to sorely pick herself up, crawled a few feet, and then started to push up.
However, she only made it to all fours before she turned her head up, revealing her face to everyone and, in turn, seeing everyone else’s faces. At once, she became fully aware and turned pale.
Rarity, Fluttershy, and Shining Armor’s eyes widened.
“You!” Rarity cried, exclaiming in shock.
“You!” Shining Armor shouted, far more angrily as his fists began to tighten.
Fluttershy said nothing, just cringed and pulled back behind Rarity.
A moment later, both Rarity and Shining Armor raised their hands, clearly intending to release their Anima Viris. Twilight noticed this, however, and quickly held up her hands.
“Wait, wait! It’s not what you think!” she turned her head slightly while still watching them. “Rainbow Dash, back me up!”
She crossed her arms dully with a half-smirk. “Sure you don’t want to wait for this to play out first?”
“Rainbow Dash!”
She sighed. “Fine, fine…” She reluctantly held up her own hands. “Everyone cool it for a moment.”
Rarity and Shining Armor still looked on the brink of calling out, and Fluttershy let out a panicked whine. Starlight Glimmer herself took a closer look at the woman’s face, and realization painted her own expression. “Uh…Twilight? Forgive me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that…uh…Sunset Shimmer?”
Sunset merely stayed frozen in one spot, not daring to move on seeing the look in the eyes of those across from her. As for Twilight, she let out a sigh before taking in a deep breath.
“There’s a lot to explain…”