//------------------------------// // The Manehatten Masquerade // Story: The Mystery of the Missing Mares // by Mr Snowpony //------------------------------// The Mystery of the Missing Mares An MLP epic by Mr. Snowpony Chapter I: The Manehatten Masquerade The chirping of blue jays and red swallows marked the beginning of a new day. Twilight Sparkle arose from the warmth of her cozy oak bed and stretched her legs out, yawning long and loud contentedly. Today was going to be a great day. As she stood up and laid her hooves on the ground, she noticed that the basket at the foot of her bedstead was empty and left unmade. Grinning and shaking her head, she wrapped the blankets and sheets up in the delicate glow of her horn’s magic and fixed up the mess of the miniature bed. “Oh, Spike… Everyday it’s always the same.” With the cluttered cloths taken care of, she proceeded on with the rest of her morning routine. -⊕- Exiting her room, Twilight sniffed the air and noticed the distinct smell of oatmeal and eggs. Reaching the main floor, she saw her number one assistant at the helm of the oven, pot in one hand and mixing spoon in the other. “Good morning, Spike! Breakfast sure smells extra delicious today!” The infant dragon tossed his head around and smiled, “Morning, Twilight! I was just making some oatmeal and eggs. You’ve got a big day today and I wanted you to have a really good breakfast to start it off with.” “Oh geez, Spike. You didn’t have to. It’s just another party.” “Just another party?! Twilight, all the royals are going to be there! This party is probably gonna be bigger than the Grand Galloping Gala! How can you say it’s just gonna be another party?!” “Alright! Alright! You don’t have to yell it. Besides, the only reason I get to go is because my brother is married to a princess, inadvertently turning our family into royalty. I mean, I love Cadance and all, but this is kind of a whole new level that I don’t think I’m really prepared for yet.” Spike stared in amazement at Twilight before pouring the oatmeal down into a bowl for her, setting the eggs he had cooked previously by its side. Reaching below the counter, he grabbed a fresh bowl of sapphires for his own enjoyment. Taking a bite out of one of the delectable crystals, Spike reassured the lavender pony saying, “Oh c’mon, Twilight! You’ve been to hundreds of high class parties and you’ve lived in a castle for most of your life. On top of all of that, you know both princesses personally. I think you’re more than prepared for this party already.” With a spoon grasped in her telekinetic abilities, Twilight smiled sheepishly, replying to her draconian assistant, “Heh, I guess you’re right. Too bad I couldn’t bring any of the girls, though. I would have preferred it if they came with me to calm my nerves. I’m pretty sure they would have all loved to be at this party too, don’t you think?” Just then, there was a small knock on the door. Twilight brightened up at the familiar sound and commented, “Oh, look! There’s one of them now! Come on in, Rarity!” At the invitation, the door opened, revealing the glamorous fashionista herself. Draped on her back was an intricately decorated bag, embellished with the dressmaker’s logo and as pearly white as her coat. A smile equally as pearly was painted on her face as she walked into the main area of the library, calling out to her studious friend. “Twilight! Where are you, darling? I’ve finished your dress!” Entering the room herself, Twilight happily greeted her new visitor, “Rarity! It’s so nice to see you again. I’m surprised you finished the dress so quickly this time.” “Oh tut-tut, darling! It was no problem at all. One week is more than enough time to make a simple but RAVISHINGLY ELEGANT costume.” “Thank you so much, Rarity! I’m sure they’re going to love it at the Manehatten Masquerade!” Rarity beamed at her friend for the compliment but she would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that she was envious of Twilight, “Ooh, you’re attending a masquerade, Twilight! How I wish I could be there with you! It’s the perfect kind of event for me to showcase my talents, you know? Oh, why couldn’t we girls be there with you?” “I’m really sorry, Rarity, but invitations were only sent to royalty. Not even the likes of Fancypants was invited to this party. The only reason I’m going is because my brother is begging me to and I’m pretty certain he’s not gonna survive without me.” Rarity could only groan at the fact, “I know, I know. You said the same thing a week ago. But it’s really unfair! We deserve to go! We saved Equestria! Thrice even!!” “I don’t think the changeling invasion counts, Rarity. That was Shining Armor and Cadance’s accomplishment.” “Nevertheless! We are still nationally recognized heroes! Why aren’t we invited?!” “I’m sorry, Rarity. But there’s really nothing I can do. It’s the mayor of Manehatten who’s hosting the party, not the princesses. I’m sure that if it were up to them, all of us would be there together.” Suddenly, from seemingly out of nowhere, Rarity pulled out an upholstered sofa with her magic and dramatically fell on top of it, “This is such an injustice! Why must life be so cruel to poor, innocent me?!” Twilight just looked confoundedly at her prima donna companion who was busy wailing on her fainting couch and uttered the only thing that came to her mind, “Do you just have méridiennes hidden everywhere in town?” Just then, Spike came out of the dining room bearing a tray of teacups and tea, “Don’t worry, Rarity, I can’t go either. That means that I’ll be free for the next two weeks to be your number one assistant! I’ll treat you like royalty all you want if it’ll make you happier.” This seemed to elate Rarity a bit and she gave the sweetest smile she could to the young dragon aide, squeezing his cheeks together right after he set down the platter, “Oh, you’re such a sweetie, Spikey-wikey. Alright then, if I’m going to take care of you for the next two weeks, you must call me ‘Your Ladyship’ and bow whenever I walk past you.” “No problem, Rari- er… I mean… Your Ladyship!” said Spike right before bowing low to his princess-for-a-fortnight. Twilight giggled amusedly at the events unfolding before her and joked around with her dressmaking friend, “Now, don’t go around abusing your power while I’m gone, Rarity. Spike may be a wonderful assistant, but even I don’t think he can carry you around on his back. Besides, I’d be forced to wage war on you if you planned on keeping him when I return from my trip.” Rarity laughed and played along with Twilight’s jesting, “Haha! Never, you vile sorceress! I’d rather fight to the death before I’d let you steal back my Spikey-wikey.” Spike just blushed and coyly responded to their teasing, “Oh geez, girls… Don’t do that! You’re embarrassing me!” Twilight dryly responded, “Can’t handle your women, eh Spike?” Spike just went beet red at the statement and yelled, “That’s not funny, Twilight!” but the impact was lessened by his voice cracking on his housemate’s first name. Both girls laughed heartedly and Twilight calmly patted the embarrassed dragon on his back, “Haha, we’re sorry, Spike. That was kind of mean. Just promise me you’ll be okay and that you’ll sleep at your proper bedtime. Oh, and do please fix your bed in the morning too. I’m fine with cleaning up your messes for you, but Rarity’s a much busier pony than I am. It wouldn't be fair for her to do your chores herself.” Spike smiled sweetly at his life-long friend and said, “Yeah, yeah, sure. Just be safe now, okay Twilight? I don’t want anything to happen to you while you’re out there in Manehatten.” Touched by his thoughtful words, Twilight grabbed the young dragon in a loving embrace and said, “Of course, my number one assistant. I promise I’ll be back safe and sound.” Rarity, though moved by the affection before her, suddenly gasped in realization, “Oh, I haven’t even shown you your costume yet, darling. Here let me take it out…” “Actually, I haven’t even started eating breakfast yet. Would you care to join me? Spike just cooked up some tasty-smelling oatmeal and some perfectly fried eggs. You could show me the dress afterward.” “I would love to! Everything that Spike cooks is always… très magnifique.” As they walked back into the dining room, Twilight made one final quip before beginning breakfast, “You know, Rarity. In the actual language, we wouldn’t use ‘très’ before ‘magnifique’ as the latter word already expresses an absolute. What you really mean to say is ‘vraiment magnifique’.” Rarity just smiled and responded, “Sometimes, you’re too smart for your own good, Twilight Sparkle.” -⊕- “It’s almost the end of the week! Twilight should be home next week by now!” Spike looked excitedly outside the window of the bakery, wishing that time would speed up so that he could be with his best friend again. “I wonder how the masquerade is going. I want to know if she found me any potential bon vivant customers!” “Oh, she’s probably bored out of her noggin. Nothing exciting must happen at those snobby galas without the Wonderbolts there to rock all those prissy ponies’ socks off.” “Oh, c’mon now, RD. Not every party’s gotta have them there Wonderbolts flutterin’ about at hundreds o’ miles an hour. Why, Ah reckon she must be havin’ a swell time hanging out with her family. It’s not often she gets to be with them, y’know?” “Well, I think she’s having a big ol’ SNOOOOOOZEFEST up there! I mean, C’MON! I wasn’t there to plan it and make it all super duper exuberfuntabularrific! Once you’ve had a Pinkie Pie Party, you never go back! Hah! A Pinkie Pie Party! They all start with a ‘P’!” “I don’t know, Pinkie… I don’t think that high society ponies, especially royalty, like your parties so much… that is… I mean… not to be rude or anything… I think your parties are… nice.” Five mares sat around a table while watching the young dragon stare out into Ponyville, each of them tossed off some light-hearted banter to one another while they sipped on some refreshing grass-flavored smoothies. Rainbow Dash, the daredevil aerial ace of the group, began a new conversation, “This thing happens tonight, right? I mean, Twilight just went there earlier to go around the city with her family to do some shopping or whatever, right?” Pinkie Pie, the bubbly party host of the group, responded, “Yeah! I think she was gonna do some shopping for us too! *GASP* Maybe she’s going to buy us some cupcakes or *LOUDER GASP* maybe she’s going to bring us some regular cakes or *LOUDEST GASP* maybe she’s going to get us some cupcake cakes! Twilight’s gonna get us some pastries that haven’t been invented yet! She’s the greatest friend EVER!” Applejack, the level-headed cowgirl of the group, spoke up for her friends, “Whoa, now hold on to yer ponies there, Pinkie Pie! Let’s not assume anythin’ here ‘bout her thinkin’ o’ gettin’ some stuff for us yet. The first thing Twi’s gonna do when she gets there is to have fun with her family. Best to assume nothin’ ‘til we see her returnin’ on the Pony Express next Saturday.” Rarity, the stunning seamstress of the group, was quick to add on, “Precisely. Dear Twilight will think about getting us all presents when she garners some free time after the celebration. Let’s just let her enjoy her vacation for now. Celestia knows that pony needs it.” Fluttershy, the gentle animal caretaker of the group, commented as well, “I hope nothing terrible happens while she’s there in the city. I heard it could be a scary place at night.” Pinkie Pie began shouting erratically at Fluttershy for that, “No! NO! Don’t jinx it! Now something terrible is going to happen and we’re gonna be sent out to have to save Twilight from some evil monster with four eyes, six necks, and three rows of ugly, gnashing teeth per head. It’s gonna have some crazy tentacle-legs, like a DOZEN of them or something, and… a-and… and a FLUFFY CAT’S TAIL with six dog heads around its waist barking and growling and going ‘Sassafrassarassum Rick Rastardly!’ and biting and teething and-“ “PINKIE!” The pink mare was suddenly silenced by everypony in the store shouting at her. It was only then that she realized she was atop the store’s counter making ‘jaw movements’ with her hooves like as if she were imitating a horrifying beast of some sort. She hid her hooves behind her back and smiled awkwardly, jumping off the counter whilst staring at a disgruntled Cup Cake, “Hehehe… Sorry, Mrs. Cake. I’ll be quiet now…” Walking back to the table with a crimson tint splayed on her face, she sat back down with her friends who were looking at her with varying emotions. They eventually agreed that they had overstayed their welcome and should head off back to their respective homes. As they said their goodbyes, Spike ran to Rarity’s side, ready to go back home with her. “Do you really think that something bad is going to happen to Twilight, Rarity?” “Nonsense, Spike! That was just Pinkie being Pinkie. I’m pretty sure that Twilight is going to be okay.” Spike looked at the alabaster white mare sceptically but finally agreed that he was just being paranoid, “If you say so…” -⊕- “AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!” “TWILIGHT!!” -⊕- Spike sat up from his bed screaming. He just had a terrible nightmare where Twilight was being attacked by the monster that Pinkie described earlier that afternoon. Sweat ran down his quivering body while his breathing was rapid and uneven. Rarity ran into the room, still clothed in her crimson night gown, and quickly turned the lights back on. She saw the panicked dragon and quickly rushed to his side, hugging him and shushing him back to calmness. After a minute or so, the young assistant came back to some form of normalcy and hugged his dear friend tightly, tears still watering down his already sodden face. When Rarity looked at the bed, she noticed that it was about as drenched as he was. “Oh, my poor Spikey-wikey. Did you have a nightmare?” To this, Spike only nodded while his face was still buried in Rarity’s wavy bed mane. “Come. Let’s get you cleaned up. If you want, you can sleep with me tonight and tell me all about it.” This lifted the young dragon’s spirit significantly as he stopped crying altogether and smiled at his beloved crush. As they began walking out, Rarity noticed that Spike was looking rather ill. Putting her hoof to his forehead, she asked him, “Oh, Spike… Are you getting a fever?” Suddenly, an emerald flame expelled from his mouth. A scroll apparating from the fires right before their very eyes. When the magical blaze ceased, Spike picked up the roll from off the ground and noticed something unusual about this particular message. “This scroll doesn’t have Princess Celestia’s emblem on it…” “Well, open it! What does it say?” Spike cleared his throat and unravelled the scroll only to find that the message was short and chaotically written. “There’s only a few words on this note… ‘Gala disaster. T-Twilight in t-t-trouble. M-m-m-meet me in p-p-p-palace.’ Oh no! Twilight’s in trouble! I knew it! I KNEW IT! PINKIE WAS RIGHT!!” Spike began sobbing loudly and uncontrollably, falling to the ground on his knees with his hands mashed up against his flooding eyes. Rarity once again leapt to his side and cradled him in a tender embrace. “Spike! Spike! Please calm down. This is an urgent matter and we must get the other girls and head off to Canterlot at once. Princess Celestia obviously sent that message and she’s probably there by now waiting for us.” As much as she comforted the dragon, it was to no avail. The youthful dragon continued to weep out in panic and frustration. “Spike, if I cannot make you run with me, then I’m going to have to carry you!” And in one fell swoop, Spike was on Rarity’s back as they galloped out of her boutique. -⊕- Rarity was quick to collect the other mares (However, Rainbow posed some difficulty as she slept like a rock. But even so, she was quickly attained all thanks to Applejack’s trusty lasso and her years of rodeo experience) and was just as quick to explain the direness of the situation. Without any further questions, the mares were flying on Pinkie’s hot air balloon, speeding off to Canterlot as fast as was ponily possible. “Curse those train stations for closing so early tonight! Don’t they know that we have an emergency on our hooves?!” With Rarity out of her wits and comforting the little dragon who was still wrapped in her shaking hooves, Applejack tried to stay focused to keep a sense of sanity amongst her terrified group of friends, “Calm down, Rarity. What’s important is we get to Canterlot Castle and figure out just what happened to Twilight and what all this dang ruckus is about.” Meanwhile, Fluttershy was giving off her own madness mantra on the other side of the basket, “Oh, I jinxed it! I jinxed it! I jinxed it! Why did I have to be such a worrywart?” Pinkie tried to reason with Fluttershy to calm her nerves, “It wasn’t your fault, Fluttershy! I was just kidding about that jinx thing. Like Twilight said, jinxes aren’t real.” “But Twilight is in trouble and it’s all my fault.” Rainbow Dash, now wide awake, tried to reassure her self-deprecating comrade, “Don’t worry about it, Flutters! Whosever fault this is, they’re getting a massive pounding from me for putting a hoof on Twilight!” An unladylike groan escaped Rarity’s mouth, “UGH! Can’t this thing go any faster?!” “Don’t worry your tail off, Rare. Ah’m sure we’ll get there lickety split with this crazy balloon contraption of Pinkie’s. Ah mean, it was surprisin’ly able to keep up with me and RD the previous year, durin’ the Runnin’ of the Leaves marathon. Ah’m positive it can manage the few hours travel.” Pinkie enthusiastically cheered, “Yup! This baby can go 87 miles per hour tops! We’ll be at that castle before you can say ‘Irish Wristwatch’ ten times fast!” Fluttershy looked confusedly at her younger pink friend, “Why 87?” “DUH! I don’t want to create a time paradox!” Fluttershy was left speechless. -⊕- In no time, and with minimum bickering, they finally arrived at the castle gate. As their balloon landed, they immediately recognized the white coat and blue mane of none other than Prince Shining Armor. “Oh, I’m so glad you girls are here! Quick, follow me to the Entrance Hall. The princesses are waiting for us there.” As the group rushed down the garden towards the castle’s humongous doors, it was Rainbow Dash who was first to bring up what was racing on everypony’s mind at the moment, “Shining Armor? What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be at the masquerade ball in Manehatten.” “Erm… that’s kind of the problem. Both princesses teleported all six of us back here, including my family, and even though they’re both really powerful, that sort of distance really takes a lot out of a pony. I don’t think they’d be able to make another jump back to Manehatten so you’ll probably have to get there on your own. As for when we got back here, we were… horrified… We realized that Twilight didn’t come back with us. She somehow rejected the princesses’ teleportation spell and stayed behind.” Applejack gasped at the news, “What? Why?!” Shining Armor yelled out in frustration, “That’s exactly the point! I don’t know! I think she thought that she could have still helped those ponies back there but there was no way to save the entire city.” Rarity was quick to ask the second more imposing question to the newly wed prince, “Just what is happening in Manehatten Island?” With a gust of powerful magic, Shining Armor blew the castle doors open. With a sigh, he told the girls, “The island city of Manehatten is sinking.” The girls were stunned; frozen from receiving such horrifying news. Spike, however, finally snapped out of his post traumatic coma and whispered so silently, even a mouse wouldn’t have heard him, “The island is sinking? Wait a minute… “ “My little ponies! You’ve finally arrived!” Everypony looked up to see the two benevolent princess sisters standing just beneath the massive staircase. Twilight’s family and Princess Cadance were just off to the side. At first glance, one thing was certain to the band of mares, these ponies had just gone through a lot over the past couple of hours. The more they thought about it, Shining Armor didn’t look too good himself. The two royal sisters and Twilight’s family all looked defeated and ready to collapse at any moment. Rarity was the first to reciprocate the princess’ welcome, “Good evening, Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. We just heard what happened. Oh, it just sounds so horrible!” “Truly, it was catastrophic. But time is of the essence. We must be swift or we may lose the island forever!” The five mares all began gasping and talking at the same time, trying to fire off questions of all sorts towards the two princesses who seemed like they couldn’t handle this sort of squabbling at their current condition. However, a younger masculine voice rose above the rest and captured the elder sister’s attention, “Just like you lost Atlantis all those years ago?” Everypony looked down at Spike whose eyes were red and hazy from all the tears he had shed that night. He was clutching his arm and was staring at the ground, guilty for mentioning something he thought he probably shouldn’t have. Princess Celestia looked sadly at the ground for a moment before replying to the dragon who deserved to be answered more so than anypony else in the room, “… Yes. Just like Atlantis all those years ago.” The two princesses continued to trot down the hall. The five mares and their dragon companion briskly followed suit, each one of them fearing what the princesses had to tell them. -⊕- As they entered the royal Throne Room, Princess Celestia immediately spoke to the five nervous mares. “As I’m sure you are aware of by now, Manehatten City is sinking into the ocean.” The five mares began murmuring amongst one another. “Please, girls. Let me explain before you jump to your own conclusions. “This is not the first time this has happened. Long ago, there was a grand, island city known as Atlantis, where a good friend of mine, Commander Chiton, resided and presided over the land. There was a gala held one midsummer night that was very similar to the one we just had tonight and just as it did this evening, Atlantis was swallowed into the sea… and there was nothing I could do about it.” The five mares felt horrible for the princess. With how they were feeling about the event right now, they couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to witness such a calamity a second time. “I searched for that island for hundreds of years but I never found it. Eventually, everyone I recruited to help me after five hundred years of searching had already either died or had given up on me at that point and most of them didn’t really care much for lost ponies they deemed were long deceased. The event turned into a legend and the legend into a myth. I was devastated but nopony else would listen, believing that the incident never really happened. Because of this, I was forced to give up the search.” Applejack couldn’t hold back her anger at that point, “That’s terrible! Those jackanapes back then seem like some mighty horrible ponies to just abandon lookin’ for their own families like that!” “Do not blame them, Applejack. Their era was filled with many troubles as it was, and they didn’t need to be burdened by the past anymore than they were already being burdened by famine, plagues, and impending war.” Spike continued the conversation, “But, what about the island, Princess? What happened to Atlantis? What’s going to happen to Manehatten?” “It just vanished when it entered the sea. I could not detect it nor its inhabitants at all as soon as the palace dipped below the waters. I fear that there is a powerful force blocking my abilities in the water and it is for this reason that I called you here, my little ponies. I want you to sail out into the ocean and help me find everypony that was lost.” Rainbow Dash was haste and confident as she reassured the princess, “No problem, Princess! You can count on us to save everypony out there!” Pinkie Pie continued for Rainbow, as she drew her party cannon out of non-existence, “Yeah! There’s no way we’re going to let some splashy-washy water ruin your costume party! I say we go FULL ARSENAL!” Rarity was just as keen to aid her princess for this next adventure, “Twilight is in trouble and there’s no way I’m abandoning her to drown out there in the cold, murky waters! Count me in as well!” Fluttershy, surprisingly, eagerly joined in on the excitement as well, “It might be a little scary, but Twilight and everypony else out there need our help. I’m going too.” Applejack however, “Well that’s dandy and all, girls, but Ah think Ah’m gonna step this one out.” … “WHAT?!!” Rainbow was the first to vocalize her disappointment, “Applejack, why?! What happened to your speech about ‘jackanapes’?! Don't you have family in Manehatten?! Why would you give that speech then just do the same thing those stupid ponies in the past did anyway?! And what about Twilight?! She's somepony you consider to be part of your HONORARY FAMILY and yet this disaster doesn't seem to bother you enough to want to go help her out!” “Ah know they're in danger, RD, but Ah’m not goin’, alright! The... th-th-the farm needs me more than ever right now. I-i-it’s been strugglin’ for the last coupla months and mah family can’t afford me adventurin’ out to the island areas, even to help out mah extended family. You just go on ahead without me.” “You’re a terrible liar, AJ! The farm’s doing fine and we all know it. In fact, you’re way ahead of schedule this year thanks to Twilight convincing you that you needed help on the farm! The same Twilight that, by the way, we were all just talking about for the past half hour who’s out there, cold, scared, and drowning! How can you be so insensitive?!” “Don’t ya DARE criticize me for ignorin’ the fact o' the matter, Rainbow Dash! Ah KNOW that mah Aunt and mah Uncle Orange are out there and AH KNOW that Twilight is with them and that they need our help. But I’m not gettin’ on some rottin’ boat just to have all o' us get lost at sea too! I ain’t goin’ and that’s FINAL!!” PUNCH! Applejack soared through the air for what seemed like forever before finally slamming hard on the freezing marble floor. Rubbing her cheek and dazed from the blow, she laid still on the ground, waiting for her ears to stop ringing. “You DESERVED that, you heartless scum! If you’re not coming with us, then FINE! Be that way! But when we get Twilight back and save Manehatten and your family, don’t expect us to explain to any of them why one of their best friends or their own stinking niece didn’t come to help us save them out there. You’re going to have to explain everything to each of them yourself.” Tears ran down Applejack’s bruised cheek. Rainbow Dash’s admonishment had hurt her much more than her hoof did when it landed on her face. She curled up into a ball as her cyan companion hovered back to the rest of the girls who were taken aback by the sudden brutality they just witnessed. The princesses were just as surprised. “C’mon, girls. Let’s get out of here and save that city. It’s not like that pony really cares for it anyway.” As Rainbow went up front to lead the flock, the girls slowly followed her one by one, giving one last final gaze each to their fallen friend who lay pathetically on the floor before departing the castle to rescue the lost city and Twilight. When Spike ran up to Rarity, she turned to halt the young dragon, “No, Spike. You cannot come with us. It’s going to be too dangerous for you out there.” “But I want to go too! I want to save Twilight as much as you do!” “No, Spike! If you get hurt along our journey, I don’t want to have to explain to Twilight why I couldn’t keep my promise to her; my promise to keep you safe and secure.” “That’s not fair! You’re going off with them too. Where am I going to stay if you’re going to leave me behind?” “Ah’ll take care o’ ya, Spike.” The two ponies looked to their side to see Applejack standing there waiting for a response. Spike snarled back at Applejack’s invitation, “No way! You don’t care for Twilight at all! You don't even care for your own family! Why should I stay with you?” Rarity answered first, “Don’t believe a word that that ruffian of a pegasus said, Spike! Even though I’m as confused as she was from Applejack’s insistence on staying behind, she still didn’t have the right to berate her like that! I’m sure Applejack has her reasons, and whatever they may be, I will respect them. You should too.” “Thank ya, Rarity. Ya best be off now. There ain’t no time to lose.” Spike could only growl at being treated like a baby but he knew that there’s was nothing he could do to change their minds. He folded his arms and waited for Applejack to drag him back to her farm. “Ah’m mighty sorry for upsetting ya like that, Spike… but Ah woulda been just another pain in the rear to the girls if Ah came with ‘em to save Twi. Let’s head on back to the farm.” “I’m not gong ‘til you tell me why.” Applejack bit her lip and looked at everything but Spike, “… Ah can’t.” “And why not?” “’Coz ya’d think Ah’m pathetic.” Spike sneered in anger at that statement, “I ALREADY think you’re pathetic! WHY DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT TWILIGHT?!” “Spike, enough!” The dragon calmed down, mostly out of fear, as he stared up at the Lunar Princess as she stared harder back at him. “This pony is a troubled pony and thou shalt not raise thine voice at her for doing what she is not able to do! Leave her at peace and go home. Thine work here is done.” The cowering dragon nodded his head and backed up behind Applejack in an attempt to hide from the intimidating princess. His body was quivering in terror from being scolded much more fiercely than Twilight had ever done to him before. Luna stopped glaring at the dragon but kept a stern facade, “Come, sister. There is much to do tonight.” “W-wait! Princess! Wait!” Luna looked behind herself to see that Applejack was calling out to her. Snapping back round, she urged the pony to be brief with whatever she had to say. “Speak.” “What did ya mean when ya said that Ah was a troubled pony? What do ya know about mah past?” Princess Luna’s stern face eased into sorrow - into pity. She responded in a much kinder tone to the farm pony as she answered her questions for her, “It is not thine past we see, but thine dreams. Thine nightmares. We are the Princess of the Night, and we hold dominance over the subconscious realm of all living creatures. We have viewed thine nightmares and we have not seen as much pain in one pony as we did with thee. Thou hast been hurting thine entire life and we are truly sorry for your pain. We know… I… I know just how you feel, dear Applejack, as does my sister. We understand why you choose not to go and we feel that until you conquer these buried emotions, it is for the best. “Run home, Applejack, and may the both of thee have a pleasant return.” And with that, both Celestial Sisters walked back to the Entrance Hall to bring Twilight’s family to their respective rooms for the night. Applejack and Spike both walked back to their balloon and returned to Ponyville. -⊕- Applejack finished puffing up the pillows for Spike’s temporary guest bed. “Ah guess that’ll have to do. Get a good night’s rest, Spike. Ah’ll be up…” Applejack looked up at the apple-shaped clock, “… later today to cook ya up a hearty breakfast. How’s that sound?” Spike just grumbled a response and plopped on top of the cozy mattress. He was too spent to do anything else by this point and just wanted to get some rest. It was also way past his bedtime. Applejack sighed and walked up to Spike, stroking his head scales to calm him to sleep, “Ah’m sure the girls will bring her back in no time, Spike. Just ya wait! The ocean couldn’t hold Twilight even if she were a heavy sack o’ apples anyhow!” Spike just made some guttural sounds in reply as he was slowly drifting into unconsciousness. Applejack got off the bed and clicked the lights to his room off. She looked back at the blanketed dragon and stood in place for a while, contemplating something in her head longer than she probably should have. “Are you just gonna stand there, or are you going to leave and let me sleep?” Applejack snapped back to reality and watched the young dragon as he laid up from the softness of his momentary bed, waiting for Applejack to make her move. Then she made it, “The reason Ah can’t go with them is because mah papa died out at sea while we were on a vacation together. Ah nearly drowned when Ah was only two years old and to this day, Ah still can’t get in a boat without screamin’ mah head off in fear.” Spike just stared at Applejack, barely noticing the tears pouring their way down her face. He slowly put together what Applejack was telling him before he saw her begin to exit the room. “G’night, Spike. Sleep tight.” Then Applejack closed the door.