Chapter 14: Shadows in the Trees
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Azure Courage felt relieved to see things had fallen back into their normal rhythm now that the town realized there was nothing to fear from the zebra, Zecora. He'd enjoyed a day off while he took some time to think, but now he was intent on going back to work to see what he had to do next. He lazily lifted his hard hat off his head before setting it back down, rubbing at his neck just a little.
"Don't know why, but I'm feeling restless again..." the cyan colt thought aloud to himself. "I haven't really had too much to do other than the usual working and training, but for some reason, that just isn't enough."
He cast a look up to the sky.
"I know Rainbow would probably help me out if I asked, but do I really want to deal with that?" he whispered to himself, remembering all too well the last time he'd asked her for help. "Really don't want it to be thirty percent teasing and five percent hoping the others don't get the wrong idea...like last time."
Eventually, the unicorn managed to reach the job board where he would find his next assignment. The last assignment had just been done, and Azure was ready to find out what his next job was going to be. After some waiting, the teal pony managed to check the list, and lined up his name with the duty he was expected to fulfill.
He blinked once, then twice, trying to see if he read it right.
"Help repair damages at Sweet Apple Acres..." Azure mumbled to himself. "Wait, that's...Applejack's farm..."
"Did you hear about what happened over at that apple farm last night, Steel?" asked one of Azure's co-workers, Archie Tact. He was one of the other few unicorns on the job, but when it came to it, he was the one that always laid out the blue prints for some of the newer buildings in town.
"Yeah, sure did, Archie," said the dark gray earth pony in response. "Lot of wild animals came and really wrecked up the place..."
The cyan colt could hear his heart beginning to beat as his mind called him into the past. He remembered the time Fluttershy had been losing sleep over what Rainbow had assumed were wild creatures. They were creatures, all right, but not anything from this world. The Shadow Ghouls had been vicious little creatures, and had Fluttershy not known they weren't animals...and had they been organic...it made Azure Courage shiver to his core thinking about the possibilities.
"Hey, A.C., you alright?" Steel asked, tipping the colt off that he was probably shivering a little too much.
"Oh, it's nothing, Steel," Azure responded, adjusting his hard hat and hiding his eyes with his mane as he turned to them. "Well, I've got to get going on my job. So yeah, I'll just be doing that..."
"Hey, aren't you friends with the Apples?" Archie asked. "More specifically, the older daughter?"
"That's right," Azure replied, slowing down just enough to answer that question.
"Oh, then we shouldn't keep you," said the short burgundy unicorn with a positively mischievious grin on his face. He gave the taller earth pony a nudge, and Steel matched the grin.
The cyan colt scoffed. Of course they were going to reference that fact.
"Nah, go on..." Steel said. "Sure this job's...important...to you."
"You have no idea..." The spiky-maned unicorn responded, galloping straight out before his co-workers could question it further, which was good for them.
Archie and Steel both took a few moments to gape at each other. The shorter one snorted, while the taller one chortled a little, quipping:
"You owe me ten bits, Arch..."
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Truth be told, Applejack hadn't ever seen animals like that before. That, however, was the least of her worries. What worried her was the fact they'd attacked her home, attacked her livelihood. There was hay to pay for that, but there was something about the attack that had to be sorted out first. Some parts of the farm had suffered quite a bit of damage during the attack, certainly nothing her nor her brother could handle.
While he seemed hesitant to go through with it himself, ultimately, Big had decided to allow some extra hooves on the farm to help fix the damages so the less able (Apple Bloom and Granny Smith) wouldn't worry so much. Yet, the orange mare felt herself feel just a little ill on the inside knowing complete strangers would be helping. At least she could handle asking her friends for help.
The farmer mare quickly planted her forehooves and bucked one of the apple trees hard. She was still a little sore from the attack of those strange wolves last night. It was dark, so she couldn't really discern other features other than glowing yellow eyes. Yet, she still had a job to do, and even if she would soon be needed to help the extra ponies on the job, she'd do some harvesting in the meantime.
Her mind drifted to her friends. All of them would have unquestionably helped her, and the damages weren't that extensive. Then again, there was going to be rain tomorrow, and if the harvest just continued as planned, there would be some leaking that'd make sleeping uncomfortable, to say the least. With a sigh, Applejack lifted the saddlebags and began making her way back to the farmhouse.
She got closer to the farm house until she could hear something...
"Az, that you?" Apple Bloom's voice was loud and clear, from the front of the house. "You part of the team that's supposed to be helpin' out?"
"Well, yeah, I am," Azure's voice came through, very clear. The earth pony female immediately did a double take and realized she had forgotten that the cyan unicorn was in fact a member of that construction crew. She'd seen him working a few times just passing by, and of course, sometimes he'd pass by in the square when he was on break with a hard hat on. The hard hat almost always made him look...out of place.
The orange farmer mare didn't remember picking up the pace directly, but before she knew it, she was inside the house, and crossing into where she could see Azure, looking slightly winded, conversing with Apple Bloom about what happened.
Applejack grit her teeth. Of course she wouldn't know. She had to dodge the question when Apple Bloom asked, since she didn't want to worry her little sister too much about the wild animals. Still, if those reinforcements hadn't shown up after hearing the commotion...
"Oh, Applejack," Azure said, looking up at her. His horn became alight with that light blue glow, and a few moments later, his hard hat off his head. "Good to see you're alright..."
"What," The orange mare felt only a little slighted at his comment. Normally she'd have been a little more livid about the notion she couldn't take care of herself, but-- "Ya'll think I can't handle a little trouble?"
"Not at all," The cyan colt responded. "but I couldn't forgive myself if I found out something bad happened to you."
If there was a pin dropping at Rarity's shop, Applejack could have sworn she heard it over the sounds of her heart skipping beats again. This was the second time he'd done that now, and, being honest with herself, it felt--
"Applejack, you're lookin' a little red there," Apple Bloom cut in. The mare adjusted her hat, fighting to remain composed in light of the fact she had started to blush again.
"A-Apple Bloom, would you mind runnin' along?" the orange mare said.
"But why?" the small filly asked, not appearing to get the reason. But Applejack could tell her little sister knew a little more than she let on, and didn't want to take the chance. So far she'd been lucky enough to...
"I need to show Az the damages so he knows what exactly he needs to do," The older sister continued, regaining her former composure. "Ya'll can't be around while the place is bein' fixed."
Apple Bloom seemed reluctant to go, and she sure voiced it, "I'm not a baby anymore, Applejack! I can help!"
"Not with heavy lifting," Azure spoke up, shaking off an apparent mental lag on his part; he looked to be thinking about something up until this point. "Maybe when you grow up a little more, but right now...well, I don't think you'll be able to move as much as I need to."
The yellow pony sighed, and walked off, grumbling about something under her breath the whole time, and something about wishing she had popcorn a few seconds before. Applejack felt herself start to get nervous that her kid sister noticed all that had happened a few moments ago, but she knew she had something to do.
"So, guess I'd better take a look and see what needs fixed, then," Azure said, replacing the hard hat on his head.
"'Course," Applejack responded. "Let's go, then..."
It took about ten minutes to go over the various damages the wild animals had caused. The cyan colt seemed particularly alarmed at the moderate-sized hole on the roof, and did seem just as shocked when she showed him some of the damage on the orchard. It wasn't until Applejack finished going down the list of damages did Azure finally say something a little more than "What happened here?"
"Applejack," he started. "What exactly happened here? I heard wild animals attacked, but...how'd that hole on the roof get there?"
The orange farmer felt herself blush only a little as she recalled exactly how that happened.
"Well, I kinda threw one of 'em a little too hard into the roof. Wasn't until other ponies came in, though, that they finally went back," she said. The cyan colt looked slightly relieved at this.
"Still, what exactly happened? The damages would be a bit too extensive for some wild animals I'm picturing, and the other ones would be able to do that kind of damage on their own..." Azure responded, his brown eyes showing genuine concern. "Mind telling me?"
"Well, ya see, Az..."
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It was after midnight when Applejack awoke to the sounds of distant howls. Normally, she'd have passed them off as timberwolves, but the howls sounded...a little different, and off. For one thing, it wasn't anywhere close to Zap Apple season yet--
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"'Zap Apples'?" asked Azure, interrupting.
"Oh, you'll find out what those are later, sugarcube," Applejack responded, continuing to tell her story...
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It wasn't Zap Apple season yet, and the wolf's cry was off. It sounded distorted. Being curious, the farmer mare woke up and began to investigate the noise, and found herself looking at about a dozen animals of some sort. They were strange, but due to how dark it was, Applejack couldn't make out any discernible features other than glowing yellow eyes and vaguely wolfish shapes.
The strange creatures had been on the orchard, but as soon as they noticed her there, they started coming at her! Applejack wasn't completely out, though. Though she was rudely awakened, she was far from being too sleepy to simply stand there in shock while animals attacked her. The ornery pony quickly began to fight them off. Though their numbers were big, they seemed to be surprisingly...fragile. Every hit Applejack landed seemed to knock them stupid for a moment and she could, for the most part, avoid their attacking her, though one of them struck her bluntly in the side at one point, a hit she was starting to feel by the time the morning arrived.
Even so, Applejack felt she'd soon be overwhelmed had ponies not been woken up by the commotion. Not only did her older brother come to her aid, but some nocturnal ponies had overheard the attack and come to investigate.
As soon as this happened, the strange creatures turned tail and ran into the night. The awakened Apple family members had reluctantly decided to ask for a little help with repairs so they could stay on their apple harvesting schedule...
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Azure Courage listened to Applejack's brief account with both ears tuned in full tilt. As soon as he heard about the distorted cry and the glowing eyes, he couldn't deny he was starting to get really worried. He remembered the details from the Shadow Ghouls...the distorted cricket's cry, the sea of glowing eyes...
"Az, you alright?" Applejack's voice broke him from his thoughts on the matter. "Ya really look worried...I'm fine..."
The way her voice sounded as she relayed the second part sounded slightly off. He looked up to her.
"N-nothing," Azure instantly regretted saying that, knowing she'd have seen right through him.
"It sure don't look like nothin'!" the earth pony said, taking another step closer to him. "I know ya good enough to know when somethin's not right with you, Az."
The cyan colt felt only slightly off-put now that she was looking directly into his eyes, maybe only one step from him now, and she was definitely scowling, a kind of look that told him he wasn't going anywhere until he was honest.
"I was just wondering if there was any other damage you hadn't shown me yet..." Azure tried to play it off, even though he knew it was futile. He wasn't dealing with Fluttershy or Rarity, where, if you brought up something completely different, they'd be more willing to talk about that instead. No, he was dealing with an earth pony mare that was just as stubborn as he was when it came right down to it. Yet, he didn't want to tell her, not if he could help it...he knew she'd likely get incredibly aggressive against it and might complicate matters.
"Ya'll are hidin' something from me, aren't ya?" Applejack took a step forward again, so that she was so close Azure began to feel claustrophobic and he took an instinctive step back.
"What would I have to hide?" asked the cyan colt, only knowing he was delaying the inevitable.
"Ya seemed real worried when I mentioned the glowing eyes," The orange mare repeated, closing the distance between them. "You're not easy to scare, Az, but when you do scare, even Pinkie could probably tell at a glance."
Do I really look that nervous? Azure thought to himself, taking another step back against his conscious will. I know that if my hunch is right, she'll find out anyway, but I really don't want to worry her if it can be helped...
When the male pony failed to respond, Applejack took another step forward.
"What is it, Az?" she asked again. "What's got you so worried?"
I'm not getting out of this either... the male pony thought. He inhaled, ready to continue his wave of denial.
"Hey, A.C.!"
The familiar voice of his co-worker immediately broke the cyan colt's statement, and the conversation, completely off. Azure whirled around to witness four of his co-workers, two of which were Archie Tact and Steel, who had been asking him if this job was important to him in that snarky way they had.
"Were we interrupting something?" Steel asked.
"No," Azure responded, feeling a sense of deja vu creeping up on him. The last time somepony asked him that when he was alone with Applejack... "I just got all the damage stuff. If we work together, we should be able to get this sorted out before the day ends."
He cast a look to a momentarily stupefied Applejack, who seemed utterly peeved that he'd dodged her question entirely. He sighed just a little. As the other workers immediately set out to gather what other supplies hadn't already been moved into place to begin the repairs, the orange farmer mare lightly tapped him on the nape of his back.
She was shooting him a glare, not one quite as nasty as the ones Twilight gave him on occasion, but it was still enough to let him know exactly what she was feeling.
"You ain't gettin' off that easy, Az..." she warned, walking past him in a huff. Azure sighed and hung his head, staring more at the ground than anything else as she passed.
Well, I can't just leave her like this anyway if it is what I think it might be... he thought to himself. The unicorn then turned, preparing to do his job.
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It took from morning to late afternoon, but the group of ponies on Sweet Apple Acres had managed to patch up the damages caused on the farm. Azure was grateful for the early release, and his fellow co-workers had decided to leave him to his own devices when the job was done. The cyan colt was unspeakably thankful that they left. It meant he could investigate the cause for the damages.
Well, he had some things he had to take care of beforehand, but he had to be sure before he told Applejack of--
"Alright, Az, time's up," Applejack said, catching him as he passed back through the house, preparing to take off to make the trips he needed to. "What had you so worried earlier?"
If the cyan colt hadn't had some time to himself during the repairs, he probably still would have been caught without a word to say for himself. However, while he was more or less busy with the job of the day, he had time to think of what to do about the problem he perceived. He'd effectively remove two obstacles, if he played it off just right.
"Well, to be honest, Applejack," Azure responded, making an effort to stay calm as he relayed his "reason", "I'm just a little concerned it might happen again tonight..."
"Why would it happen again, partner?" The orange mare asked. "Critters don't usually try again if ya run 'em off once..."
"I just want to make sure it doesn't..." The unicorn continued, holding out a forehoof as he lifted his hard hat from his head and let it float off to one side. "So, I'll be back later tonight to do a stakeout."
Azure Courage began to trot away, seeing as how Applejack hadn't yet said anything in response. He had just reached the door and began to open it when the farmer finally managed to find words again.
"Ya don't have to trouble yourself like that!" she finally said, trotting quickly up to him. "I can take care of myself, Az!"
With only sincerity in his heart and eyes, he turned back to her, meeting her green eyes.
"It's really no trouble, and I know you're capable," he said, just as simply as he could, "but I know I'd never forgive myself if something bad happened to you."
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Applejack instinctively took a step back and went up on her hind legs, leaning on a nearby wall for support. Azure didn't even see how her eyes glowed or the effect his words were having on her. She could tell he was being honest with his sentiment, but her heart started skipping beats again, even worse than earlier on the same day. She raised a forehoof to her chest in an effort to quell her racing heart.
Her face was just as red as the apples she harvested.
She tried to tell herself that he was just trying to be friendly, that there wasn't anything deeper behind his words, but as far as she knew, he hadn't really said anything of the sort to the other girls. That was what made it so hard for Applejack to just simply play it off as Azure being himself, especially since he seemed to keep doing it.
Eventually, the earth pony mare managed to stabilize herself as she lowered herself back onto her four legs.
If that city pony was trying to sweep her off her hooves...it was starting to work.
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Twilight had spent the better part of the day studying and reading like she usually did. Sure, she had friends now, but she also still had her studies to attend to, and after that mess with Zecora, she was taking it easy.
Well, "taking it easy" for Twilight Sparkle meant studying only half as much as normal and spending the rest of the day reading actual books. She had just finished the second chapter of the book that she was on when there was a loud slam downstairs, startling her.
"Ever hear...of knocking...?!" This was Spike, groaning in pain. He was obviously hit by the door.
"Sorry, Spike," This was a winded, excited-sounding Azure, the latter of which was not really normal. "Where's Twilight?"
"Oh, is that why you were in such a rush?" The baby dragon asked in that usual teasing tone of his that seemed to spring up more and more whenever Azure was involved. "She's upstairs again, nose-deep in books."
"Come on up," The studious mare called out, loud enough to be heard, "I'm not actually studying right now."
Truth be told, the purple unicorn wanted to know what had Azure so...flustered. He usually didn't get overly excited without a good reason to be. Well, for the most part anyway. He was still the most aggressive pony she knew, and Celestia help her, sometimes she wondered what he was up to.
"Twilight, I've got some bad news..." Azure said, entering the doorway and stepping inside. He looked just as out of breath as he sounded before, but his brown eyes were alight with worry, something definitely not normal.
"What is it?" She immediately closed the book, not caring if she lost her page or not - a worried Azure Courage was a rare sight, and most of the time, it meant there was something really wrong. Something that she had, for the most part, repressed into the back of her mind, resurfaced, along with the fact Pinkie and Rainbow had been along earlier to tell her what had happened last night. "Don't tell me..."
"I think whoever sent the Shadow Ghouls is back again." Azure responded. "I was over at Sweet Apple Acres today because my construction company got a request from them..."
"Pinkie and Rainbow were here earlier," she recalled. "They told me the place had been badly damaged for a simple wild animal encounter."
"She described a distorted wolf's cry," The cyan colt continued, sounding completely serious. "And the glowing yellow eyes. All signs point to something related to it, but the Shadow Ghouls, I remember, had distorted cricket cries."
"I'll look it up in that book you got earlier and see if there's anything else we missed." Twilight said. "After what you just said, maybe we'd better find out what we're dealing with."
"Sounds good," Azure responded. "I have to ask, did you find that counter spell yet?"
"No," The studious mare felt as though she'd only just remembered it, but being pacifist at heart, she never really got around to it, what with her friendship studies taking precedence. "I...really haven't found time for it."
"I see," the pony observed, nodding a little. "Well, you are Princess Celestia's student. I'd imagine you have a lot more to do than just that one thing, and after that whole thing with Trixie, well..."
"Please, it's nothing to brag about," Twilight said, repeating what she'd said to Spike after that whole thing ended. Only now did something occur to her, and she turned to face Azure, getting off her bed so that she could more directly address him. "Wait."
"What?" Azure asked.
"I want to know," the purple unicorn continued. "What exactly do you plan to do?"
"I'm going to go back over there as soon as I take care of some other stuff and do a stakeout, like when Dash and me went over to Fluttershy's that night." The cyan colt explained. "If it shows up..."
"You're going to fight it, right?" Twilight asked with a neutral tone in her voice.
"Of course I am!" Azure responded with a little more force and volume than was necessary. "I know you don't exactly like it when I fight, but..."
"No, no," The purple mare said, trying to diffuse the upcoming argument. She really didn't want to turn this situation into an argument. Even if he did just concede... "I don't like it when you fight, but when it's like this...well, it's obvious whoever's behind this isn't looking for a friend. And neither are the creatures they're sending after us."
To say that Azure looked surprised was an understatement. Perhaps it was the fact she wasn't trying to argue with him over it.
"Azure, do what you have to do," She continued, "Just be careful..."
"Okay then," The unicorn finally shook off the fact she had basically condoned his use of force in the face of danger, and gave a small smile. "I will, at least, as much as I can be. If this turns out to be what we think it is...you'll have to write the princess about this."
With that, he turned and left at a quick pace. The studious pony felt a smile creep onto her face as she listened to him leave.
"'Do what you have to do'...I can't believe I'm encouraging him!"
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As soon as the sun began to fully set, Azure Courage began making his way back to Sweet Apple Acres for the stakeout he said he would do. The pony didn't take anything with him. He was going to be all business from dusk 'til dawn, or until the Shadow Ghouls were repelled, whichever came first. He adjusted his headband, probably the only thing that never left his person.
Given he'd walked the same path many times in the past, even in the dark, it was hard to forget. As he walked, Azure found himself recalling the times he'd taken this path.
Applejack herself had told him the way home when he'd got hopelessly lost on his move-in day and wound up, by some force of luck, in her family's orchard of all places. That day, he had thought she was making a pass at him, but she clearly wasn't, nor did she seem to bring it up again. He took the path later on to see if he could talk her out of trying to harvest all the land her farm covered on her own.
He found himself recalling an incident he'd rather have forgotten.
That fall again... thought the colt to himself. Funny how sometimes I wind up thinking about it whenever Applejack's involved...
Paying that little fact no mind, his mind soon returned to his friend's words. He then recalled one of Applejack's reactions to what he was saying earlier today.
I wonder now...am I really sounding like that? The pony thought to himself. Applejack's a really good friend, but...I...I don't know if she really sees it that way or if it just makes her feel awkward...
Despite being old enough to live on his own in a new city, Azure Courage never fully understood mares. Part of it might have been the fact he never really made a conscious attempt to approach them in anything other than a friendly manner. Far as he knew, males and females were essentially the same with some exceptions. By the time he'd moved to Ponyville, he'd figured out more exceptions, but even after being friends with six girls at once, the colt still hadn't figured out enough.
In short, most of the time, he treated the girls as he would any other of his friends. So far, it seemed to work for him.
"Alright, I'm back," Azure mumbled to himself as he got closer, once more thinking aloud. "Lights are still on. Don't think I'll be disturbing anypony..."
The pony finally reached the porch, and, with one eye tuned in to his surroundings, began to knock on the door. As he lowered his forehoof, he began to look around.
Nothing's moving...good, so nothing's followed me here, the pony thought. Wouldn't want to lead more trouble over here...
Thankfully, Applejack was the one who answered the door, not looking any different from before. Azure breathed a small internal sigh of relief at not seeing her acting any different, either.
"So you're really gonna do it?" she asked, not at all sounding surprised.
"Just like I said," Azure replied, stepping inside. "I had to check on some things before I could come back. Didn't see anything when I went in the front door." Something occurred to him now, and he had to voice it. "What about the rest of your family? Do any of them know why I'm back?"
"They do, though they don't see the reason why you're so worried 'bout it..." the orange farmer responded.
After what happened with Fluttershy, of all the ponies to attack, Fluttershy, I can't be too sure... The colt thought to himself.
"Well, can't hurt to humor me," said Azure, smiling, hiding any evidence he was thinking of anything else with what he believed to be a good enough mask.
"I guess not, but where're you gonna be all night?"
That was a question he hadn't really answered, but he didn't need long to figure out his answer. Sweet Apple Acres covered a lot of land, that much was certain, but it also had multiple buildings and floors.
"Think I can stake out up there?" The unicorn asked at last, making a motion to where he needed to go, straight up. Applejack followed. "If I can get up there, I should be able to see everything on the farm before it gets to us."
"Well, ya can, but it's more of an attic," Applejack responded. "Storage place."
"I'll have to make do..."
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As the hours passed, Azure carefully moved about in the attic. Most of the Apples' storage boxes weren't too in the way, but it was still tough to reach the west window and the south window due to the sheer volume of stuff that was there. Each time he checked, he was met with a negative reading. Though the average pony might have simply abandoned the stakeout and went to sleep, the colt was having none of that.
No matter how sleepy he got, he was going to wait until the sun's rays broke the horizon before he got some sort of shut-eye. Each negative search did not make his spirit falter; as a matter of fact, he was secretly grateful for the lack of action. However, he knew that if he saw something coming, he would need to alert the others before he went to investigate.
The colt rubbed at one of his eyes as it passed one in the morning, and he shook his head to clear the sleepiness.
"I know you're out there..." he grumbled. "Just like you were back when this was at Fluttershy's..."
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At a safe distance away, a hooded unicorn watched Sweet Apple Acres. Though his eyes were obscured by the shade of the hood, one could just make out the discomforted grimace on his face.
It was the same pony from before.
"Master, are you sure that you want me to attack the Honesty Element again? ... I know, sir, we meant to test their ability, but now the Non-Bearer is there as well. ... Are you sure this testing is a good idea? I almost got discovered."
There was some silence, and the dark magic wielding pony sighed.
"Alright, if this is your new plan, then I will follow through with it..." His horn lit up, the blue-black color it took when he cast the summoning spells he was so good at. "Doesn't mean I'm not gonna treat this as 'just a test'..."
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It was getting harder and harder for Azure to remain awake as the one o'clock hour dragged on and on with no sign of movement or other indicators that something bad was about to happen. He'd worked here all day, then run himself to Twilight's, then to his house. Without resting too much, he then moved back to the farm and started the stakeout.
As the pony turned away from the window, he felt his consciousness start to wane, and he almost fell flat on his stomach trying not to fall completely asleep. He knew that if he so much as laid down in the state he was in, he was going to doze off, and sometimes he tended to sleep like a train.
A refreshing scent began to drift up the stairwell, and Azure immediately snapped up, alert.
"Coffee?" As much as he knew thinking aloud in the presence of other ponies was never any good, it was the only thing keeping him awake presently.
"Knew ya'll needed a pick-me-up, Az," The familiar, accented voice of Applejack entered his ears. A few moments, she appeared, delicately balancing a mug on one of her hooves as she entered the attic with him. He took it in his magic, trying his hardest to maintain his grip until he could bring the hot drink closer to him. All he could see in his mind's eye was the mug slowly being brought to him, cradled in the cyan glow of his magic.
He brought the mug to his mouth, and took hold of it in one hoof so he wouldn't fumble it now. As he sipped at the liquid, he already began to feel energized from the warmth of the beverage as well as the caffeine within it.
Something warm and soft wrapping around him disrupted the pony from his thoughts as he lowered the mug. It was a blanket, large enough to fit around him when he was sitting down without sliding off, decorated with apples in various phases of ripeness and/or being devoured.
"Sure is chilly up here, ain't it?" The orange earth pony asked with a smile. It had been, remembered the unicorn, but he'd been too distracted with the more important issues at hand.
"Guess I really wasn't thinking about it," Azure shifted just a little, not really upsetting the blanket. After taking another sip of the coffee, he realized he could still feel his body warming up. Realizing he needed a distraction from this lest he let slip a stupid question, he decided to bring up a much more important issue. "How's everypony else doing?"
"Granny Smith and Apple Bloom are sawin' logs," said Applejack. "Big Mac's still up, though."
The cyan colt nodded. Big Mac was easily taller than he was, and probably had even more muscle than he did underneath the crimson fur. Not to say the orange mare next to him wasn't strong herself. Even so, he couldn't let anything happen to her, not as long as he could breathe.
He'd made a promise to the princess, after all.
"Say, maybe you should try to get some sleep too," Azure began to feel himself waking up, despite the blanket on top of him. He was still warming up, but the coffee had definitely been the right pick-me-up.
"Thanks for the concern, sugarcube," Something was just a little off in that last word, but for the life of him the colt couldn't place it, "but I think I'll keep ya company." She sat down next to him, probably within leg's length, give or take a few centimeters. "If somethin' does happen, then I'd better be awake to lend a hoof, right, Az?"
"I appreciate the gesture, Applejack, but I don't want to keep you up all night," Azure replied, sitting up a little more. He took another sip of the coffee before continuing on, "For all we know, we could be up all night without anything happening..."
Applejack scooted just a little closer, definitely within Azure's reach now. She had a rather odd smile on her face as she turned to him.
"Can't hurt to humor me, can it?"
She just used my words against me, didn't she? The cyan colt once more found himself at a loss for what to do about one of his friends' actions. It wasn't as bad as the time with Rainbow Dash during the storm, but still, she'd disarmed him.
Not that Courage could have thought of a retort fast enough...
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Applejack knew the instant Azure deflated after she used his words against him that she had won that argument. She watched him take a long sip, and adjust again under the blanket.
Just as the farmer realized exactly how close she was to the colt, a distant howl began to fill the air. It sounded just like the ones from last night: distorted. What started off as one turned into many. The cyan colt stood up, setting the mug down on a nearby box. He moved quickly to one of the windows, throwing the blanket right off of him as he went. The colt grit his teeth.
"They're here!" he snarled, using that tone of voice he'd only ever used when he was completely serious. He broke from the window, immediately rushing downstairs. Applejack, knowing that her friend may have been right all along to do this stakeout, followed him. The two ponies rushed straight down to the bottom floor, where Big, who had also seen the incoming crisis, was beginning to barricade the door and windows.
Az, how did you know this would happen...?
"Kill the lights!" Azure called out. Big broke from the barricading for a few minutes to do just that. The interior of the house became dark, making it harder to see inside, but also outside. After Big finished doing the blockading, all three merely stood there and waited. The only sound that could be heard was the two earth ponies and the unicorn breathing as the tension built up around them, strong and sturdy like an apple tree.
'Kay girl, just keep calm. You're workin' with your own brother and with the most reckless pony you've ever met, the kind of pony that'd tussle with a chimera if he had to. He ain't afraid to throw down with anythin', not even his own kin if it means he's stickin' up for what is right. You can do this, A.J. You...can...do...this...
SLAM!
Something rammed into the door hard. If it hadn't been barricaded, the structure would have likely given way and whatever was out there would have gotten in. Now that was over, the farmer could hear growling, sounding just as distorted as the wolf's cry, and she could spot movement through the windows, something she could tell didn't escape Azure's notice either.
"Quick, both of you get upstairs and make sure your family's safe...I'll stay down here and take care of things here!"
He spoke with such confidence it was hard to believe that Twilight would scold him for going it alone. Then again, the farmer mare recalled that all of them had when he'd single-hoofedly fought a chimera...and won.
Big Mac gave little more than an affirmative huff as he began to go upstairs to protect the frailer members of the household. However, Applejack felt herself torn. Of course she cared about her family, but she just couldn't leave him to fight the waves of those strange animals...not this time.
"Az, ya ain't gettin' rid of me that easy," she retorted, immediately taking a position at his side. He looked over, and once again he had that look of frustration on his face, but it immediately dissolved.
"Applejack!" This was Big Mac, sounding urgent, and not like himself. Understandable, given what was happening.
"Don't worry," assured Azure, immediately turning back to him. "I promise, I'll keep her safe!"
Again, the sincerity of his sentiment...the way he said it...Applejack refused to let herself be distracted by those thoughts now, when there was something much bigger than that. Big Mac huffed an affirmative again, though he clearly seemed reluctant to leave the younger ponies to their devices.
The walls began to get cracked. Now, Applejack could see them more clearly than before. And what she saw vindicated Azure's concern completely.
"These ain't no timberwolves, for sure!" she cried out, getting a good look at them. They had furry pelts like a pony would, only much thinner. In addition, while they had wolfish bodies, they also had some bug in them, namely, the glowing eyes and what appeared to be attennae above them. They were about Big's size individually.
Azure's horn sparked to life, a cyan glow piercing through the darkness. A hole in the wall opened up, and Azure immediately shot off a laser at it, and Applejack withheld a gasp, knowing Fluttershy wouldn't like this sort of animal abuse. Yet the colt seemed to know precisely what he was doing. Immediately, the orange mare remembered how he'd skirted around her questions, and once again caught herself wondering.
There wasn't any time for that, for the creature immediately got up, as though the attack was nothing. It reached in again, just as more holes opened, the wolves starting to slowly make waypoints in.
She turned back to Azure's problem once again, just in time to witness him shoot a slightly bigger blast of magic at the same beast that had tried invading before. This time, rather than fall back in pain, the thing burst into smoke. At first, the orange mare was shocked.
"Tougher than before..." It was barely a whisper; had Applejack not been fueled by adrenaline, she probably wouldn't have caught it. "Applejack, I'm not going to ask you to leave. I'll need your help."
At least ya admit it right away, Az...
Deciding to seek the truth later on, when lives weren't at stake, the farmer mare immediately rushed forth to one of the holes, and much like with an apple tree, bucked it hard in the face, causing it to growl in pain and shrink away from the opening in the wall it had created.
"I'd help ya even if ya hadn't asked, Az," said Applejack with a smirk, readying herself for whatever came next.
---------------------------------------------
The earth pony mare and unicorn colt began to rush all about the lower floor, going from room to room, striking the strange, encroaching creatures wherever they went. Azure would sight the nearest monster, and kick it hard in the teeth if he had too little time or didn't feel like using magic up on them. Otherwise, he would use a laser spell, charged enough to where it would at least seriously damage them.
Applejack, on the other hand, took to fighting, using her hind legs primarily, treating the wolves like an ill-behaved tree. Sometimes, she'd hit it so hard that it would bump into one of its comrades trying to get in. Distorted wolves' howls and growls filled the night, but so did their agonizing groans. They all burst into smoke when they'd sustained enough damage.
However, even though they were obviously stronger summons than before to Azure, they still kept coming, wave after wave. The fighting seemed to drag on and on, mostly because the ponies were cutting the summons off before they could make the holes too big to break through. Neither pony seemed to truly become disheartened by the ongoing attack, something Azure Courage could really be thankful for. If there was one thing he liked about his friends, they could all be as unyielding as he can get if lives are at risk.
Even so, the fighting was dragging on, and it was showing. From having to run all over the lower level to head off the encroaching wolves, the cyan colt found himself slightly out of breath, and a small magic headache was starting to set in given he had been using quite a few charged shots. Of course, the orange mare looked like she was starting to get sore.
At this rate, nothing good was going to come of it. One of them was going to get hurt, and Azure didn't want to see a friend get hurt if he could help it. After blasting back another one of the summons, causing it to dissolve into smoke, he rushed up to Applejack, who in her own way was sending one of the creatures back to the alternate dimension it came from, and began to plead his case once more.
"Applejack, please, go upstairs with Big Mac to get your strength back!" The colt panted to himself, trying not to show too much fatigue in front of her.
"No can do, Az," she rushed past him, slamming her forehoof inelegantly into one of the weakened wolves' faces, causing it to go away. "I've got kin to protect!"
"I know, but they're upstairs right now," said Azure, "I promised you that I wouldn't let you get hurt, and I don't intend on breaking that promise!"
One of the holes in the walls suddenly expanded, and a set of glowing yellow eyes could be seen. It was one of those beasts, looking quite angry and vengeful.
"Darn it!" growled Azure. "How many more are there?!" It was a frustrated question, one that he immediately regretting asking when he noticed the eyes weren't even looking at him. The colt immediately realized it was fixing those paralyzing eyes on her, but Applejack was obviously unmoved.
"Ain't nothin' gonna happen to me!" She was perfectly cool, confident, and assured of this. The colt had seen her in action, and she had managed to fend off a good deal of these things before, too...with a little help, anyway. The farmer pony immediately rushed to the bigger hole, aiming to cut off the encroachment before the other ghouls could take notice.
Something very strange happened at this instant. The eyes of the ghoul briefly altered color, and then began to move erratically. The head's shape began to change as well. Azure briefly turned to one side to address a different encroachment, but when he turned back, he heard a noise that could only be described as nightmarish.
The encroaching wolf had distorted its head in such a way that couldn't be described. It was a horrifying sight, one that nopony should ever have to behold, no matter how bad they may have lived their lives. Applejack had apparently taken sight of this distortion, and she was frozen stiff. She was shivering. Azure realized immediately he was looking at a sight he never had to see. The ear-splitting scream he heard next...it came from the wolf's mouth, more specifically, that...that...thing that was in its mouth!
Whatever that thing was doing was scaring Applejack, and scaring her badly!
"Applejack, get down!" Azure shouted, shaking off his own internal fear factor as his horn lit up again with a charged shot. However, the farmer mare was too scared to move. With a frustrated growl, the colt immediately got a better angle on the attack, and could see clearly Applejack's reaction to it. He fired off his charged laser, nailing the Shadow Wolf--that was the name the unicorn assigned to it in his mind, dead in the mouth, causing it to vanish with a loud squeal.
Azure quickly moved in front of Applejack, covering the hole with the nearest large object he could seize with his levitation. A fridge? Perfect for the job.
"Applejack, we have to get out of here!" Azure called out. "That fridge definitely won't hold 'em..."
No response. Not even a negative from the ornery pony. The unicorn blinked.
"A-Az...I-I...I can't..." It was barely a whisper, something he could only hear because adrenaline was fueling him right now. He turned quickly, and saw Applejack, her head hung, shivering violently in place. Azure grit his teeth. That Shadow Wolf's...mouth distortion had left him with a case of the chills too, but it wasn't that bad for him...
"C'mon, Applejack, what are you saying?!" The cyan pony stepped forward, trying to snap her out of it. Whoever this earth pony was before him, wasn't her...it wasn't her at all, and it frightened him to see her this shaken up. "You can do this! We'll fight them off together!"
Applejack looked up, and now he could see quite plainly how scared she was. The tears were already spilling over, her green eyes wider than dinner plates, and her lip quivering. If she was trying to glare at him angrily, all she managed to communicate was terror and hopelessness, something that was not like her at all...
"And then what?!" She was frightened to her core, and her voice wavered, showing it quite plainly. "They're just gonna keep comin' and comin' until they finally get us! We've been fightin' them for a long time, Az!"
Azure felt himself start to shake. It wasn't fear he was feeling, aside from the fact that a frightened Applejack was something he never wanted to see. It was anger. He wasn't aware of it, but his eyes were starting to glow, much like they had with Virid.
Whoever did this...will pay...
---------------------------------------------
If ever there was a moment Applejack felt like it was all over, it was right then when she stared straight into that monster's mouth. She saw the most beastly, terrifying thing she had ever witnessed. Deep down, she swore nothing was ever going to top the terror she saw, nor the ear-splitting scream that came out of her mouth. The orange mare wanted to scream, but the best she could do was yell at Azure. He never yielded, a trait she could always admire, but...but in light of what she'd witnessed the past couple of nights...it was overwhelming. The fear had come, and it was cracking through, destroying any sense of security she'd ever felt--in her own home, no less.
"They won't stop, Az!" she cried out, full of despair. "They--"
A pair of forehooves reached out around her and pulled her close, up on her hind legs. It was a warm, inviting embrace. Applejack opened her eyes--at no point did she ever recall closing them, and saw, even in the darkness, an all-too familiar patch of cyan fur.
A-Az...? she thought to herself, and only here did she start to realize the density of the muscles underneath the city pony's fur. He'd definitely done his fair share of workouts...and she could feel it in his forelegs too, which were wound around her so tight they almost threatened to cut off her breathing...not that she was breathing when he first swept her into the hug.
"I won't let anything hurt you, Applejack," Azure said. It was a soft tone, yet intertwined with perhaps the most anger she'd ever heard in his voice. "I swear it."
Her breath hitched, and she adjusted to the embrace unconsciously. She felt...safe...reassured, like nothing bad was going to happen. Her worries dissolved almost instantly, and she felt that will, the strength to fight, restore as Azure continued to hold her. He continued to hold her for a few seconds, when a crash brought them spiraling back to reality. The forelegs disappeared, but the comfort had left her feeling rejuvenated, like it was still possible to make it through this.
"Now, come on, we need to get the others and get to higher ground. I don't think it's gonna hold much longer," The cyan colt said, no evidence to indicate he regretted saying or doing what he did. If there wasn't a much clearer danger present, Applejack would have confronted him right then and there, but there were these strange creatures to worry about first.
"Ya seem to know what you're doin'..." said the orange mare. The words sounded so foreign to her that she wondered briefly if the scare had changed her brains up too. Even Azure did a double take. "B-besides, we can't stay down here, like you said!"
The earth pony and unicorn quickly trudged up the stairs, hearing the sounds of more crashing downstairs as more holes were opened, and the holes became larger still...
---------------------------------------------
Azure Courage lead Applejack up the stairs, confused as to why she'd abandon the fight downstairs given what was at stake, but grateful that he wouldn't need to physically drag her up the stairs, as he was prepared to do that. However, when he got a look at her eyes, he could see the spark, that will to fight back, return, and that was what the unicorn really wanted to see more.
The two ponies quickly made a pit stop. The commotion downstairs had woken both the geriatric earth pony and school-age filly. The colt wasn't sure if he was imagining things, but it didn't look like this room had been touched at all during the past time of fighting. However, he had no time to confirm this, for another crash resounded downstairs, along with more distorted howls.
"There's too many of 'em down there!" Azure called out. "Everypony, up to the attic, quick!"
The two non-able-bodied ponies were still dazed from the rude awakening, and even if they wanted to argue, they couldn't, not with all the chaos that was going on. Big Mac moved quick, understanding the problem, lifting his grandmother onto his back and making a beeline for the ladder. The sounds of movement resounded behind Azure, but Apple Bloom wasn't quite out of the room yet.
He couldn't see what was coming, but it definitely sounded like one of the monsters was following them upstairs. Applejack was leading her little sister to the stairs, but at the rate they were moving, the wolf would definitely reach them before they could make it into the attic. The unicorn tensed up as the creature of darkness leapt into full view.
"What's that thing suppost' to be?!" This was a very awake-sounding and very scared Apple Bloom, apparently catching full sight of it.
"Don't you worry about it, Apple Bloom," Applejack sounded more worried about getting her little sister out of harm's way, and it showed as he heard the faint sounds of hooves dragging across a wooden floor. "Az here is gonna keep it away..."
The wolf rushed straight for the remaining ponies. The cyan colt knew he wouldn't have the time to manage a strong enough shot to defeat the demented monster, so he quickly spun around and kicked with both hind legs, catching the animal under the chin and sending it away.
"W-what about Winona?!"
The little filly's sentiment echoed in Azure's ears. He stood straight up, deeply alarmed.
"Winona?" The pony parroted, hoping he didn't forget a family member.
"She's talkin' about...!" Applejack started, her eyes reflecting genuine concern.
"Our dog!" The small yellow pony squealed, clearly upset. "Az, you gotta save her! You just gotta!"
This was followed by the saddest looking face Azure had ever seen. It was the look of a foal who had sincerely believed she was about to lose her beloved pet. The colt couldn't really understand such a pain, having never been there himself, but sweet Celestia, those sad eyes...
What am I supposed to do about that?! thought Azure to himself. I don't even know where the dog is!
"Az, look out!" The older sister warned, just as a feral growl sounded behind him. Azure whirled around to see the Shadow Wolf, clearly injured but not defeated, lunging at him for another attack. The unicorn's horn lit up, but he knew he didn't have the time to shoot off an adequate shot before--
The wolf suddenly gave a surprised growl of pain and got diverted into the wall. At first, the unicorn couldn't see why. Suddenly, he caught sight of it.
It was a tiny dog, brown and white in color, growling and snarling as it bit down into the monster. Azure could only guess that was the family pet Apple Bloom was so worried about. Realizing the dog was in danger, the pony quickly lifted the dog off with his telekinetic magic, and passed her to the small filly, who held the dog tightly, scared to let it go again.
With this over, Azure began backing slowly away, his horn lighting up. The earth ponies and family pet finally reached the attic, and the colt heard his friend call out to him:
"Az! Hurry on up!"
The pony blasted at the ghoul quickly before it could completely recover, destroying the summon. He made his way up into the cellar and, hearing the sounds of more of the summons approaching, quickly shut off the door and ladder so they'd be delayed. The Apples quickly moved to block the door with anything they could find, just in case.
The colt went up to the window, seeing the sea of glowing eyes. It was less than when they'd first appeared, but even so, there was still a great deal left.
"Over here, everypony!" Applejack called out, opening one of the windows, the one that had a good view of the orchard. "We should have more room to move about!"
Applejack lead the others out onto the roof. Big stayed with his grandmother and littler sister close by, while the orange farmer mare stuck closer to Azure. The colt surveyed the scene.
Don't panic, Azure, you still have a few dozen more tough enemies to go... The brown eyes darted about the orchards and fields below. Distorted cries sounded as the wolves continued to advance, and the colt swallowed nervously.
"Well, Az, what do we do now?" Applejack asked, clearly once more at a loss. Her confidence was starting to fade, even after what he'd had to do to give it back to her. Azure turned to her, then advanced slowly to the edge of the roof.
What do I do now? What can I do...? The colt remained silent, trying to conceal how nervous he was. He felt as though his instincts were starting to fail him, as he saw the sea of enemies and didn't quite see a way to defeat all of them. The others are probably counting on you too...c'mon, think! There's got to be somepony nearby controlling all of them...!
"I...I--" Azure started, fumbling for his words at first, when he broke off midsentence, spotting something. Though it was hard to make out at first due to the ocean of summons, he could see it, a dark blue inkspot of a glow against the darkness...? "What the--?"
He squinted, trying to get a closer look at the figure that was glowing. It was hooded, much like Zecora, but there was a huge, glaring problem with that assumption: the horn poking forth from the head of the pony. It was glowing vividly, and the unicorn below was casually sauntering up to the barn, probably believing he'd won.
Well, who was Azure to give him the benefit of believing such a lie like that?
"A unicorn...?" The cyan colt fed off the anger he'd felt earlier; hard to do considering he'd almost forgotten about the fact Applejack was frightened to her core in the rush of adrenaline that was ongoing; and he snarled, his eyes glowing cyan as his horn lit up. "Take this, you jerk!!"
The unicorn looked up, and whatever his vocal response was to the call to attention was, Azure couldn't tell. He shot off a charged shot, aimed directly for the head of the pony. The pony's horn immediately stopped glowing, and a split-second later, plumes of blue-black steam exploded outward, and at first, the male unicorn didn't get what happened, nor did he care what happened.
The shady pony gave a snarl, and audibly yelled, "You think you've won!?"
"Who are you?!" The cyan colt yelled, rearing back. Before the orange earth pony could stop him, Azure had leapt off the roof, making use of the gravity spell to slow his descent down as he beared down on the pony. He could make out some facial features, and a jet-black, distended tail. The pony appeared to have a dark blue pelt, but there was only one way to know for sure. "Show yourself!"
The unicorn shot off another blast. The enemy tried to dodge the attack, but was not quick enough. The suspiscious individual's hood burned away from the close pass of the reckless pony's laser, and Azure could just make out additional features in the darkness.
The pony's fur was definitely dark blue, a contrast to his cyan fur color. His mane, like his tail, was black, and styled into a pointed mohawk. Azure couldn't make out much else other than one scarlet-colored eye, glaring back at him.
"You haven't won yet!" He hissed, his horn taking on a blue-black glow and sparking violently.
"Get over here, you dirty--" Azure growled in response, preparing to rush forth at the unicorn that dared to attack his friends in the dead of night, when the body of the unicorn appeared to vanish, a result of the teleport spell. The colt found himself charging straight through empty air. He landed on the ground, his hooves scraping along as he tried to get traction back. Thankfully, the ground was dry, so it didn't take long for him to skid to a halt.
"Darn it..." The unicorn snarled. "He got away..."
Breathing heavily, the male pony stared at the spot where his foe had occupied not too long ago, as though expecting him to pop up somewhere else. Only after two full minutes passed did Azure finally realize that the assault was over. He breathed a sigh, and slowly began to trudge back to the farmhouse. The adrenaline that had kept him up since the battle started was starting to thin out, and soon, he'd collapse from exhaustion. He knew that much-his hooves already felt as though they were made of lead as he dragged his feet to the barn.
The sound of a door slamming open brought the unicorn to attention.
"Az!"
The voice sounded distant, but the back of his mind told him who it was. A moment later, he found himself in a very strong embrace, along with a faceful of blond mane and orange fur. The courageous colt felt himself stop short and lose just a little ground due to the force of the farmer's hug.
She was holding onto him so tight for a moment he wasn't sure he could breathe, but that was just his imagination-he just stopped for a moment. After a few seconds' hesitation, he finally moved to return it, too tired to have the same force he'd had earlier. No longer focused on battle, his mind wandered to the surprisingly soft texture of Applejack's fur, along with how toned she--
The thoughts broke off when she backed away, apparently realizing how long she was dragging the hug on. The orange farmer mare suddenly looked incredibly awkward, but Azure was too tired to point anything out.
"I-I'm glad ya made it out alright, sugarcube," Again, she placed a weird inflection on her usual petname, but again, Azure couldn't figure out why.
"I told you," The cyan colt said, closing his eyes. "I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you..."
Immediately afterward, Azure Courage collapsed into sleep, utterly exhausted from the skirmish that had taken place.
---------------------------------------------
It wasn't until late the next morning that Azure finally awoke. To him, only seconds had passed between when he closed his eyes and when he reopened them, but the first thing that hit his open eyes was a bright, white light-Celestia's sun. He immediately shut his eyes as his body came to terms with the fact he was awake again. His head started to hurt, especially at the base of his horn, due to all the magic he'd used up the preceding night.
Dear, sweet Celestia, what happened last night...? The cyan colt thought to himself, not taking full notice of his surroundings as he forced himself into a sitting position. At first, he didn't quite get it, until he opened his eyes and saw the holes in the walls surrounding him, through which light was entering.
"Those wolves...that colt...!" growled the pony as he sat straight up.
"Easy, Az, easy..." Applejack almost seemed to materialize at his side, but if Azure had paid more attention, he'd have noticed she was there since a little bit before he awoke. She was strangely calm given that last night she'd been shaken to her core by the attack. "They're gone..."
He turned to look at her completely. The holes in his memory patched up slowly, and soon the full story of the night before returned to his conscious mind, ready to be recalled when he'd inevitably have to tell Twilight of what happened so she knew what to say. Of course, that didn't quite explain why he was now sitting down on a sofa...
"How'd I get here...?" he asked, more to himself than anything. "I don't remember falling asleep..."
"After ya'll made sure we were safe, you passed out right there on the spot..." She hoisted herself onto the sofa right next to him before the colt could even realize what she had done. "I couldn't just leave ya outside, so I brought ya inside to put you here..."
Even with this explanation, Azure honestly couldn't remember passing out, but another hole in his memory became patched as soon as she finished.
The sensation of being hugged by a strong mare returned. That particular one, the cyan colt believed, was the longest hug he'd ever been in with a female. And he wasn't sure why, but his stomach felt uneasy...
The way it growled, however, tipped him off that it was just him being hungry. He blushed a little even as the pains of being impoverished ripped through his digestive tract, but was able to laugh it off alongside Applejack.
"That's right," Azure winced, running a forehoof down his stomach, "Didn't eat anything since lunch yesterday..."
"Can't blame ya for bein' hungry after everythin' that happened last night," The hat-wearing pony said, getting back off the sofa. "C'mon, how 'bout I treat ya to some apple pie?"
Had Azure ever eaten the Apples' pies before? No. Had he ever eaten desert for breakfast? Only once, but that was because Pinkie had nopony else to beg to try a new confection she'd cooked up in her spare time. The rest of that morning was spent trying to brush his teeth to prevent them from melting, the treat was so sugary.
The light came in through one of the open windows. Applejack took a few steps ahead, and something strange happened. Sunbeams caught the pony's body in an almost picture-perfect state, her mane partialy obscuring her face from view and...and...
The cyan colt found himself unable to stop staring straight at the mare as she passed into the light. His heart rate started to rise, and he felt his face start to burn like a fire.
---------------
Applejack cast a glance back to Azure, mostly to see if the city pony was following. However, what she saw was a sight she hadn't quite seen. It was a distant-eyed unicorn colt, with cheeks redder than Big Mac's coat. No...not distant-eyed.
Those brown eyes of his were trained directly on her...
"Az? You okay?" she asked, turning directly to him. "You're lookin' a little red there..."
The memory of his hug during the fight last night returned, but try as she might, she couldn't put it off to the side like she usually could. The cyan pony finally realized that he was staring, and quickly snapped out of it, though now he appeared troubled by what he'd done. Applejack abandoned her current route and instead began to slowly walk back to the sitting pony.
"Az...?" She asked again. The farmer mare found that suddenly, she was at a complete loss for words. It wasn't that the earth pony didn't know what she was going to say, but she wasn't sure how exactly to say it.
"You were right..." Azure's response was unexpected.
All Applejack could manage to this was a head tilt, not getting what he was referring to.
"There was something I was keeping from you, but I didn't want you to worry, so I didn't tell you..."
The response that validated her earlier suspicions kindled just a little anger in the orange pony's chest. She took another step forward, but found the anger at having something concealed from her fade away, partially because she wasn't sure what it was he was referring to.
"Well, what is it?" she asked.
"No...I still can't say it yet," The weight in his voice added to the gravity of his words, and instantly, the earth pony realized what he could have been referring to: the concern in his eyes when he first saw the damages. "We have to get Rarity and Pinkie first..."
"But...what about the others?" she asked, noticing he'd left out Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy from the equation.
Azure gave a reluctant sigh, as if knowing what he'd say next would just make things worse for him.
"Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy already know..." Azure said. "They already know of the secret because they were pulled into it at the same time. It'd been a secret ever since Virid got me hospitalized."
The farmer mare blinked, and felt herself start to get angry. That long? The anger made its way to her eyes, and instantly, Azure met her eyes with sad ones.
"I'm sorry, Applejack, I really didn't want you to worry yourself, since I wasn't completely sure when I first saw the damages..." The cyan colt said. "But now, after that whole mess happened, I promise I'm not going to keep it a secret anymore, but I want the seven of us to be together before it's told."
Applejack wanted to at least ream him out a little. He'd kept a secret, which she just knew was related to those strange wolves and their attack, seemingly lead by that pony from last night. He'd been keeping it for a while now, and she'd been caught mostly unprepared it--two nights in a row, no less! But...even though she felt angry with him for keeping it a secret, she kept looking at him, how sorry he truly was for having to keep it that long without telling any of the others.
No. She couldn't keep herself mad enough at him for withholding that information. It wasn't like he'd expected it to happen again...
She couldn't keep up her glare, and it eased into a more lighthearted smile.
"I'll hold ya to that promise, Az," she said, turning back around. The sound of four hooves colliding with the ground sounded behind her. "But I'd better feed ya first."
-------------
It was high noon, and Twilight Sparkle hadn't seen all her friends assembled at the library since...actually, they had all assembled at the library just a couple of days before, when that whole mess with Zecora happened. However, this time, the purple mare already knew why they were there, and it was more serious than any silly curse that the ponies, save for Azure, were going on about at the time.
Certainly more serious than a poison joke affliction, too. Though Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Azure and herself already knew what they were here for, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack, the farmer pony still looking sort of tired, did not.
"Sorry for calling you all here on such short notice," The male unicorn said, any evidence of joking or lightheartedness...or stubborness, for that matter, completely absent from his demeanor. Twilight didn't yet know what happened during the stakeout, but she had a feeling that was going to come out soon. "But this is the kind of secret that shouldn't be heard by just anypony..."
"What is it, Azie?" Pinkie asked, cutting in to the seriousness of the situation with her usual hyperactivity. "Ooh! Do you have a crush on somepony?"
If Twilight had paid a little more attention to Azure and Applejack, she might have noticed they both shifted just a little in place at about the same time. However, her full attention was on the interruptive mare.
"Pinkie, please," the studious pony responded. After the library once again fell silent, the colt in the room, the one that had insisted that it be kept a secret until it happened again, finally spoke up.
"There's something important you should know..."
The gag order on the Shadow Ghoul attack...was lifted.