The walk toward Sweet Apple Acres felt more serene than Rarity could have imagined. The taste of fresh air alone was a blessing, but there was so much more than that. Birds chirped cheerfully through the trees, autumn leaves drifted lazily down and were caught by eddies of wind that made them dance, rays of setting sunlight painted the hills and pastures in golden strokes. After all that time trapped in a nightmare, it was like a dream.
Somewhere along the way, Sweetie Belle had woken as a beam of sunlight tickled her face. Upon realizing where she was, she’d leapt off Light’s back and proceeded to prance around in foalish delight at having her sister back. It was the sort of thing that normally annoyed Rarity as the filly inevitably bumped into things and got in the way, but now she could only laugh, grinning like a madmare at the sight of it.
When the three of them arrived at the front porch of the farmhouse, Light had only to knock once before the door flung open. In its wake stood a familiar orange farmpony with glistening emerald eyes and her Stetson slightly askew. Applejack.
Rarity thought she was going to be sick. Her breath quickened as she hung her head, staring at the green grass beneath her hooves. Yet she was helpless to stop the unbidden image drawn up from her darkest memories.
Before her sat a rotting carcass. It was of a vaguely orangish hue and would have been unidentifiable if not for the bloody, battered Stetson hanging from what remained of its head.
The last time she’d seen Applejack hadn’t been pretty. Her only consolation was that she’d never eaten any of that one. What meat remained was rancid already. Besides, the bite marks indicated the best parts had previously been claimed by other prisoners of the pocket dimension.
“Rares, y’okay?”
Rarity slowly forced her breathing under control, gulped, then looked up into the concerned eyes of her friend. An orange hoof rested gently against her shoulder, a frown marring that muzzle as her straw hair shifted gently with the wind. And just past her stood Light and Sweetie Belle. The sympathetic looks offered said they understood exactly what she was thinking.
“Of course, darling,” Rarity mustered up. “I’m quite alright. In fact, I don’t think I could be more ecstatic at finally seeing you again.”
Applejack slowly nodded, detecting the lie yet unwilling to call her out on it just yet. “Well, I'm mighty pleased to see you too. I'm just sorry y'all had to go through what you did. I wish there was somethin' I coulda done to help. It pains me to know I was living my best life while y'all were stuck in that place."
"And yet it warms my heart to hear you were doing just that." Rarity gave the farmpony a fond smile. "Besides, you had no way of knowing. And even if you did, there was nothing you could do. Now please, let us not speak of it further."
"'course," Applejack nodded conciliatorily, stepping away and toward the door. "I didn't mean to drag you back through nothin'. Here, why don't y'all come on in. Supper's waitin', and that apple pie ain't stayin' hot all night."
Rarity, Light, and Sweetie Belle followed their friend through the threshold, encouraged by the ambrosial scents wafting from the kitchen. Inside, they were warmly welcomed by the rest of the apple family: Granny Smith, Big McIntosh, and Apple Bloom. The last of which immediately went to Sweetie Belle, of course, so she could talk hurriedly in hushed tones about what the now four crusaders had in store next.
For her part, Granny Smith shakily made her way over to the group before saying, "Well, you fillies been through the ringer, that's for dang certain. Come, sit now. Ain't no ailment a home-cooked meal won't soothe. Ain't that right, Big Mac?"
"Eeyup."
And so the seven ponies seated themselves around the table with Granny Smith at one end and Big Mac at the other. For her part, Rarity took a seat next to Light and opposite from Applejack and the fillies. It was the best option for a view out the nearby window. Somehow, it was comforting to keep the setting sun filtered through the branches of apple trees visible. It was like she needed to remind herself where she was, and more importantly, where she wasn't.
Between the seven ponies was a spread like no other: cornbread with a choice of honey or apple jam, fresh-baked fritters, collard greens, baked beans, two varieties of casserole, mashed potatoes, and of course: that famous apple pie. There was even a choice of water, sun tea, or apple cider for drinks. The apple family had gone all out.
"This is a most generous display," Rarity breathed. "I don't think I've seen you prepare this much for twice as many ponies before."
"It ain't a display," Granny said, "and it ain't for 'seeing.' Now dig in! You look scrawny as all get out, and we don't let nopony starve in these walls."
She didn't have to tell them twice. What followed was an hour of the most pleasant meal Rarity could recall. Laughter and light conversation filled the air as the assembled ponies reminisced on old times, speaking about anything and everything but the pocket dimension. Light, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle took great pains to avoid that topic, lest they sour the evening with bad memories. They even had to abruptly steer the conversation away whenever Apple Bloom got curious.
On one such occasion, Apple Bloom blurted out, "So what'd y'all do for fun when you we're stuck in that place? Must've been mighty borin'."
Applejack shot her a scowl at this, but Rarity merely responded, "We read a book. Daring Do I believe. Ahem, speaking of," she nodded toward a bookcase at the far end of the visible section of the house, "is that a copy of Shadow Spade and the Murgese Falcon I see? A little hard to tell from this distance. My eyesight isn't that of a bright young filly anymore, I'm afraid."
"Y'know, Rarity? I think you're exactly right." Applejack nodded. "I believe Big Mac's been trying out the series. Isn't that right, Big Mac?"
"Eeyup."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Rarity cried out perhaps a bit too loudly. "It's one of my favorites, you know. Tell me, Mig McIntosh, have you figured out who killed Archer and Derby yet?"
"Eenope."
"Well, it is a bit of a shocker, let me tell you that. I won't spoil anything. Just trust me: you're going to love it."
"Ugh," Apple Bloom groaned, "mysteries take too long to get to the point! Tell me about the Daring Do! Which book was it? Was it the one about the terrifying towers? Or maybe the one about the high cholesterol test? Oh, oh, was it the one Rainbow Dash got recently but says Scoots and I are too young to read?"
"Sugarcube," Applejack said, "I don't think it matters. That does remind me o' somethin' though. Word is, there ain't been hide nor hair o' A. K. Yearling since that weird, limited book release 'round... where was that again?"
"Mmm," Light gulped down her bite of casserole, "Seaddle. Tackoma too. I'd had to search the whole area to find it. I wouldn't be too worried about her though. Probably just off on another adventure."
"But," Sweetie Belle began, "Isn't that, like, really soon after her last one? I thought you said she normally rests in between?"
"Well," Light conceded, "I'll admit, it is highly unusual for her. Maybe something urgent came up. When I get the chance, I'll have to ask Rainbow Dash. If she isn't panicking about Yearling's disappearance, then she's probably heard something."
"Speaking of," Applejack said, "Pinkie Pie wanted y'all to know you were invited to a party tomorrow at midday. You can ask Rainbow your question then. The whole darn town's invited, after all."
"Oh, dear," Rarity said. "I had hoped to avoid this very thing. I'm afraid it will just be half the ponies we know offering their condolences for what we went through. Not to say that I don't appreciate the thought, but I think Pinkie will agree that a pity party is the very worst kind."
"Then you'll be glad to hear it isn't for you," Applejack replied once she'd swallowed her mouthful of greens. "At least, not officially. Pinkie's calling it the 'First Annual Ponyville All Ponies Get-together and Coalminers Appreciation Celebration.' Bit of a mouthful if you ask me. 'ccording to her, it's pure coincidence you three absolutely have to be there."
"And," Light said, "I don't suppose she's the least bit concerned that Ponyville doesn't have any coal mines, right?"
"Yep. She was highly distraught when she learned she'd forgotten to give the coal miners even a single party over the years—on account of them not existing. Now, she intends to make it up to these not-ponies by giving them the biggest party they've ever not-seen. I reckon that won't be too hard."
"That reminds me," Rarity added. "Does Trixie happen to be in town?"
"Oh! Oh!" Apple Bloom piped up. "I know this one! Me, Scoots, 'n other Sweetie spotted her down near the Ponyville main stage earlier today. Looked like she was preparin' something!"
"Little tricks for the young foals, sounds like," Granny Smith said, signaling for Sweetie Belle to pass her a fritter. "I heard Pinkie Pie requested her for the party, though princesses knows what for. That filly's still nothin' but trouble, if'n you ask me. Why, what could you possibly need 'er for?"
"Actually," Light took a sip of water, clearing her throat, "we had some questions for her. There was an odd snake she had a version of me teleport, supposedly for a magic trick. We'd like to know exactly what she's doing with it."
"Snake? I ain't seen no snake." Granny said. "Be foals business anyhow, bringing a thing like that into town. Don't surprise me with her type."
"Eeyup," Big Mac nodded in agreement.
After that, Rarity steered the conversation back toward more pleasant topics—starting with news on the latest Apple family reunion and the hijinks that inevitably followed. The black serpent brought up dark memories, ones she'd rather confront when she had Trixie standing there in front of her. As a result, the rest of the meal passed as one might expect of a joyous reunion amongst friends.
As the night wound down and apple pie was served for dessert, ponies began clearing their plates. It wasn't long before the fillies were shooed off to bed, protesting all the way about how they weren't tired and could stay up with the grown-ups. It was agreed Sweetie Belle could stay with Apple Bloom in her room that night, so Rarity was quite sure they'd be staying up either way.
By the time the fillies were gone, Granny Smith had already fallen asleep in her rocking chair. Big Mac did her the favor of gently carrying her to bed, then he too retired for the night—or 'hit the hay' as Applejack described it.
Once it was only Rarity and her two friends, they relocated to the comfy chairs and sofa of the living room. There, they nursed mugs of hot cider as the fire in the hearth burned low.
Light set her mug down rather quickly, nearly letting it slip from between her two hooves as she awkwardly leaned toward the table just a bit too far from her chair. That was a difficulty she wouldn't have had with her horn. Rarity could see the frustration in Light's face.
Before Rarity could comment or offer to magic the table closer, Light fixed her with a stare. "Okay, Rarity, you said you had a matter of life or death to speak of. Let's hear it."
"What's this now?" Applejack turned toward her on the sofa. "Somethin' happen, Rares?"
Rarity stared down into the scarred reflection within her mug of apple cider. "I'm afraid so," she began at length. "It was earlier today, when I woke from my coma. The lights were out in my room, even those on the monitors, but I wasn't alone. I could hear it moving about."
"It?" Applejack frowned, her wide eyes showing her concern.
"Or maybe her," Rarity muttered, her breath catching at the memory. "It spoke with my own voice, mimicking even my turns of phrase. The thing was terrifyingly accurate, if a tad more in the 'I'm going to murder you' sort of way."
"An intimidation tactic, maybe," Light pondered aloud. "Masking its own voice while showing how much it knows you. Impressive, but entirely possible for a skilled sorcerer or anypony familiar with both yourself and vocal imitation. It didn't touch you, did it?"
Rarity fixed light with a flat stare. "When I didn't cooperate, it attacked me. Tried to suicide me with my own catheter tube wrapped around my neck."
"What!" Applejack shot up in alarm, almost knocking over her own cider in the process. "What kind of monster would do such a thing? We need to gather the others, contact the authorities! There oughta be a warrant out for whatever this pony or things is!"
"No," Light shook her head. "We can't do that. Or at least, we shouldn't."
"Well, why not?" Applejack cried out in disbelief. "I won't stand by while somethin's got it in for one of my friends!"
"And we won't," Light reassured as she gestured toward the couch, silently urging Applejack to take a seat. "But think about how this looks. Rarity just woke up from a coma after sustaining severe injury and malnourishment to find the power mysteriously out, was attacked by an entity with her own voice which was gone by the time hospital staff entered through the only door, and no physical evidence remains of the encounter."
"You're not saying..." Applejack began as she slowly lowered back into her seat.
"I hallucinated it," Rarity finished. "That's what they'll claim. Because of our status as element bearers, we may receive a token investigation, but it won't go anywhere. Not to mention that there are no leads to follow up on. And worse, bringing this to the authorities will alert my attacker that we're actively hunting for it. Though I fear that unless it comes for me again, the chance of us actually finding this thing is near hopeless as is."
"Not necessarily," Light said. "I'll speak to the other Twilight tonight, get her to do a scan of the room for any residual magic. If we move fast enough, we might uncover whatever spells it used to escape."
"You're going to bother her in the middle of the night for that?" Rarity asked. "I didn't hear a spell or see a horn glow. If it was magic, it might not even be in a form we recognize."
"I wouldn't worry about that," Light reassured. "She and I have studied all kinds. Besides, we both know she'll be burning the midnight oil anyway. Even if this turns up nothing, that alone will tell us something."
"Thank you." Rarity exhaled in relief. "That does make me feel a little better."
Applejack leaned over, setting a forehoof on her shoulder. "How are you feeling otherwise, Rares? That must of been mighty scary. I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"I'll be fine," she gave a weak smile, "but your concern is appreciated."
"There is one other thing that might help," Light added. "You said it spoke. I know you were highly stressed at the time, but can you remember any of the specific words it used?"
"Not necessarily verbatim," Rarity said, "but it claimed it wanted to help me. It said I could trust it. I knew better than to fall for that old trick though. I tried to fight back, assuming that any creature that sneaks into my hospital room without introductions and cuts the power probably isn't good. When it realized I wouldn't comply, it said my sister would be saddened to hear of my suicide. Then it attacked."
"That's awful, sugarcube." Applejack gave her a sympathetic look. "I just don't understand why anything would do that."
"There's more," Rarity continued. "It said something about me not taking part in some mistress's salvation, whatever that means. Then there was something about glory and oblivion, but I fear I was a bit preoccupied with dying at that moment."
"A mistress?" Light seemed taken aback. "So, it was ordered to do this? And as for the concepts of salvation, glory, and oblivion... that sounds almost religious. A cult perhaps? Or maybe something less organized, like an attacker with severe delusions caused by something akin to schizophrenia. Hard to say with so little to go on."
"Oh! I just remembered something else!" Rarity exclaimed. "It said something about Fluttershy."
"Fluttershy?" Light and Applejack echoed in joint confusion.
"Yes. It said she was... deciduous? No, wait, delicious. It said, 'she was delicious.'"
"But that don't make a lick of sense!" Applejack cried out. "I just seen Fluttershy earlier today and she didn't have no bites taken out of her."
"That one doesn't," Light muttered glumly, staring at the floor. "But she wasn't the only one."
"Are you saying this has something to do with the pocket dimension y'all were in?"
"Maybe." Light slowly nodded. "The timing seems highly convenient. I would think something was in there and followed us out, except that the place wasn't that big and we explored every inch. We would have noticed if something was there with us."
"Unless..." Rarity breathed in sudden terror, trembling at the very idea. "Unless it had some way to hide. When the hospital staff came in, the lights were back on and the thing was nowhere in sight. What if there was something in there with us the whole time and we could never see it? Maybe it was referring to the Fluttershy we... I... killed. It would have had time to eat some of her before following us through."
The very thought sent shivers down Rarity's spine. The idea that something was in there, watching her, watching Sweetie Belle—it was too horrible to bear. Rarity already felt sick at the reminder that she’d been forced to end her friend’s life, let alone at the idea that anything feasted on her corpse. Oh, how dearly she hoped she was wrong.
"Let's not jump to conclusions." Light raised a forehoof, making a sort of 'settle down' motion as Rarity realized she was on the verge of hyperventilating. "That theory requires a number of assumptions. I mean, why would it wait until now to attack if it could have at any time? If it wanted out, I could see it waiting until we got the message out, but then why not immediately after that? And if it ate some of Fluttershy, that would imply it needs sustenance, and yet our food stores were never tampered with and none of us noticed any bodies being eaten away at a frequency that disagreed with our own food usage.
"I think it far more likely that this entity was already in our world and was drawn to the hospital by the surge of magic used to get us out. It might even feed on magic—as several other well documented creatures do, such as Tirek—which could explain why it went after you. Residue from the intense magical weaves used to save your life still lays over you. And if it targeted Fluttershy, it may not have done so in a way we might recognize. When I see Twilight, I'll have to ask her to check Fluttershy out magically just in case.
"Either way, all we have now is theories, and it's possible none of the ones suggested are even close to an accurate conclusion. I'll admit that my own theory already has one issue with it: if it was after the magic, why bother speaking to you at all when it could have gone after you unconscious? As we gather evidence, I'll make sure to document our findings with the hopes of answering these questions and narrowing down the possibilities. With luck, my double and I may have something to add this very night."
"Hoo-whee!" Applejack chuckled. "I sure am glad you're on our side, Light. With that mind of yours, I'm sure we'll find this thing in no time!"
"Uh, thanks," Light blushed. "I suppose I still have my uses."
"Right, and when you find it, I'll be there to tie this steer up and hoof it to the princesses like a purty package." Applejack turned back to Rarity. "And Rares, why don't you stay here tonight. An experience like that, I know I'd want to stick close to my ponies. Circle the wagons, you know?"
Rarity was all too eager to agree to that one. She didn’t have a permanent residence set up yet and while she was sure the other Rarity would welcome her into Carousel Boutique, she wasn’t sure she was ready for that conversation just yet. Meeting anypony so fabulous could be nerve-wracking, let alone herself. Not to mention the headache-inducing conversation regarding the running of the business that would no doubt follow. Rarity really didn't have a mind to deal with that while something out there was trying to kill her.
With the details of their plan set, Light offered her best wishes goodnight before heading to the door, stopping only briefly when she opened it to see it had started raining at some point. Even from across the room Rarity could see the resigned look when Light realized she could no longer cast a spell to keep herself dry. Luckily, Applejack was all too happy to offer her an umbrella.
Once Light disappeared into the black, Rarity returned to her apple cider, making a none-too-pleased face after only a sip. It had gone cold.
"I think I shall retire for the night," Rarity said as she set the mug in the sink. "Today's events have me terribly exhausted. Should I sleep on the couch or did you have a guest bed?"
"Just take mine." Applejack downed the rest of her cider in a single gulp, not appearing to care if it was cold. "I'll take the couch."
Rarity hesitated. "Are you sure, darling? I'd hate to impose."
"I'm sure. Have a nice night, Rares."
"But—"
"Please take it," Applejack spoke from the window, staring transfixed into the darkness. "Tonight, I want the couch."
"Very well. Sleep well, Applejack." And with that, Rarity went to bed.
That night, Rarity would find 'sleeping well' had become a foreign concept to her. She tossed and turned, plagued by nightmares until the coming of the dawn.