Chapter 11: Louder Than Words
“Ugh, this town is boring…”
Rainbow Dash glowered down over the edge of a thatched roof at the ground below. The material itched and poked uncomfortably against her underside, furthering her irritation.
The rainbow-maned filly rustled her wings uncomfortably. What she wouldn’t give for a good race right then. But Ponyville was filled with a bunch of slowpokes, including some who’d never even been to Cloudsdale before. How was that even possible?
Everything was so boring in an earth pony town. Why’d her dad have to take that stupid job in that stupid weather management opening in this stupid town?
Now Cloudsdale – there was a city. You know a town is awesome when free falling was just another part of an everyday commute.
But this place… This place, ponies were walking. That’s it. Just walking. On a scale of one to ten, Rainbow rated Ponyville as a negative-three, and that was being generous.
This place is so lame…
“Uh… What’er ya doin’?”
Rainbow blinked, momentarily snapped out of her grumpy spat. She glanced around, looking up and around out of habit – you never could tell where a pegasus was going to pop up at.
But to her surprise, it wasn’t a winged pony that was talking to her.
Down on the road running in front of the house, there was a little, orange earth pony filly. She was roughly Rainbow’s age, give or take a year or two, and currently she was looking up at the cyan pegasus with a rather perplexed look on her face.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Rainbow snapped, glaring.
The earth pony blinked. “Ah don’t know. That’s why Ah was askin’.”
She paused, glancing up and down the building with an uncertain look in her eye. “Ya aren’t supposed to be up there. Ya know that, right?”
Rainbow just blew her off. “Pfft, who cares? And why do you talk like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like that,” Rainbow said, cocking an eyebrow. “It’s sounds kinda weird.”
The little filly frowned indignantly. “It does not!”
“Yes it does,” Rainbow shot back.
The little filly below her glared up at her. “Why don’t ya come down here and say that to my face like a real pony would!”
Rainbow’s temper flared. All of the irritation she’d been feeling, all of her pent up frustration at being stuck in such a stupid, lame excuse for a town, and now she was getting talked down to by a filly!
“That’s it, you asked for it!”
~~***~~
“And what do ya have ta say for yerself, little missy?”
The orange filly hung her head low, her little ears flopped down against her head. “Ah’m real sorry fer buckin’ ya through that wall.”
From her spot on the hospital bed, Rainbow grumbled, frowning deeply. Well, trying to anyway; the bandages around her head were making it hard to show what her face was expressing. “You didn’t buck me through it. I got stu—ow!”
Rainbow winced when a hoof came down on her tender head, bonking her noggin lightly – and yet still hard enough to make her see stars.
“And what do you say, Rainbow?” asked her dad meaningfully.
Rainbow glared at him, which he returned evenly. “But Da-ad…”
He just gave her a hard look.
Rainbow sighed loudly, slumping her shoulders. “Fine… I’m… sorry for making fun of the way you talk.”
To her surprise, the orange earth pony gave her a bright smile. “Ah forgive ya, Rainbow! Friends?”
Rainbow grumbled again, leaning back against her pillow. Already she could tell that she was not going to be getting along with this filly.
~~***~~
Rainbow Dash stood uncharacteristically still in an open field, facing the horizon.
Even from so far away, she could clearly see the emerald flickering light coming from the general direction of the Apple family barn. From where she stood, she just thought she could make out the sounds of ponies shouting, but the howling wind at her back kept deafening her to much of anything.
But to her, none of that mattered.
She fidgeted restlessly on the spot, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. Her eyes flicked this way and that, searching for something known only to her, and yet not quite seeing it, either. She bit her lip absently – the only true sign of her anxiety.
Rainbow’s wings were held open horizontally, the wind playing with her beaten and burned feathers as she tested the air currents flowing past her.
She said nothing. She did nothing. She merely stood there, oblivious to everything around her.
Big Macintosh watched her pensively. He was seated a few feet away, his yoke once more around his shoulders, the wind tugging at his scruffy mane.
Even though the cuts and bruises all across his body groaned and complained, he ignored it.
He said nothing. He did nothing. He merely sat there, oblivious to everything around him.
Including the changeling he was currently sitting on.
“You… think you’ve beaten... me? I’m just… just catching my breath… and once I do… you’ll both pay.”
Big Mac ignored Carapace’s growling. He just kept his eyes on Rainbow, both out of curiosity and concern.
It’d taken her a long time to finally settle down. Only a few minutes ago, she’d been pacing back and forth at a blistering pace, her panic in total control.
But as the minutes had dragged on by, she’d started to slow down. She stopped talking herself in circles, and eventually ground to a halt entirely. The last thing she said was a muttered “I need to think”, and then she lapsed into the silence she was currently maintaining.
At first, Big Mac had taken that to be a very bad sign. For a while, he was visited by the terrible possibility that Rainbow was losing heart – that she was giving up entirely on ever seeing Applejack again.
But the more he watched, the more he became convinced that something else was going on.
“Good… you’re quite adept at pinning techniques, I see. You are a worthy foe, pony.”
After all, that was not the stance of a pony falling into despair. Her ears were up, her wings almost absently batting at the air every now and then as if begging for flight. Once in a while, her tail would flick almost irritably, as if batting away a bothersome fly.
Maybe Macintosh was seeing things, but it almost looked like Rainbow Dash was…
“But… you’re first mistake was to… let me… catch my breath!”
The air was filled with the sounds of grunting and barely restrained curses. Big Mac felt the strange sensation of something shifting wildly beneath him.
It wasn’t a new sensation – he’d been feeling the same thing for the past ten or so minutes – so he moved it to the back of his mind and focused on more important things.
“… Stop ignoring me.”
Big Mac took a second to consider his next action. He raised one hoof, repositioned it, and brought it down again with perhaps a little more force than one would generally require, producing quite the loud crack indeed.
Of course, the bothersome voice ceased immediately, so it was an effort well spent.
In front of Mac, Rainbow jumped slightly at the heavy thud, snapping back to reality.
“What was that?” she asked, turning to give Macintosh a questioning look.
Big Mac just shrugged.
Rainbow continued to give him a confused look for a moment longer. She opened her mouth, intent on saying something. But before she could, an ominous rumbling reached them first.
Both ponies turned around, looking back into the interior of the farm.
A howling wind blew in from the Everfree, sending small blizzards of red and yellow leaves flurrying every which way.
A rogue storm was forming; one that growled and bellowed with barely contained, escalating fury. Dark, ominous purple clouds rolled over the sky, swallowing the horizon as it went.
Sitting directly in its path sat a sprawling, iconic apple orchard and the chaos consuming it.
Rainbow blinked in surprise. Rogue storms weren’t an unusual phenomenon, especially this close to the Everfree. But it’d been a while since she’d seen one that big.
As if we don’t have enough to deal with…
But as she stared at the billowing thunderhead rushing towards them, she caught sight of something – something small that was flying fast enough to swirl the edge of the storm cloud as it passed.
Something that looked rather familiar…
Rainbow blinked. The proverbial light bulb had just buzzed on in her head.
Something had just occurred to her; something that, on any other day, might’ve been pretty dangerous for anypony in the same general area as her.
“Big Mac. I just got an idea.”
Macintosh tore his eyes away from the storm to look back towards the cyan pegasus. To his surprise, however, he found her looking back at him, and she was once more biting her lip.
“But… I don’t know how much time we have left,” she said slowly, “and, well…”
“Go.”
Rainbow raised her head in surprise – something her expression mirrored perfectly.
Macintosh just gave her an understanding nod. “Ya gotta move quick, right?”
Rainbow nodded, but she continued to look unsure. “Yeah, but…”
She gave him a look of concern, but said nothing. The big red stallion, however, didn’t need a verbal response. “Ah can take care of myself, Rainbow. You go do what ya gotta do… and bring Applejack home.”
The uncertainty instantly fell away from Dash’s features. A look of determination took its place, bending her expression into a focused scowl.
“Don’t worry, Big Mac. I will. I promise.”
And with that, she threw her wings down and kicked off, rocketing up into the sky with a loud boom. She left nothing but a prismatic streak and a blast of air in her wake, and in little more than a split second, she disappeared into the twilit sky entirely.
Big Mac watched her go for a moment, his expression unreadable. And then, with a grunt, he heaved himself up onto all fours.
He had an idea of his own…
~~***~~
Cloudkicker was not having a good day.
First a fire that literally refused to go out, and now one of the biggest rogue storms she’d ever seen. And on top of it all, the one who was supposed to be running the weather team was missing.
A part of her couldn’t help but feel worried about that. After all, Rainbow Dash had never ditched work before. But mostly, she was in too bad of a mood to really think about that.
“Get some ponies to disassemble this storm,” she ordered a nearby pegasus, pointing to the oncoming wall of cloud. “I don’t care if it’s wild; if we can use it to put out the fire, we’re going to use it.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Cloudkicker huffed, rubbing her face with one hoof. Where are you, Rainbow Dash?
Without any forewarning of any kind, she suddenly felt two hooves grab her by the shoulders, and before she could do more than squeak in alarm, she was yanked into the storm cloud in front of her.
As quick as it started, it stopped again. The hooves yanking her off balance suddenly let her go again, and the moment Cloudkicker was free, she immediately reared back into a fighter’s stance.
“Stay back! I know Krav Pega!”
“Chill out, Cloudkicker,” chided a familiar, raspy voice. “It’s just me.”
Cloudkicker’s eyes got wide as her eyes adjusted to the gloom. “Rainbow? Holy Celestia, where have you been?”
A moment later, however, she took in the state of her friend, and her eyes got huge. “And… what the hay happened to you?”
The cyan pegasus grimaced. “Oh, you know… a lot.”
“I’ll say,” Cloudkicker remarked, looking her friend up and down.
‘A lot’ didn’t begin to describe what it looked like Rainbow had gone through. She was covered in burnt patches all over her body, including her wings, and the knees on her forelegs were scraped pretty bad.
Cloudkicker had about a million and one questions to ask, but before she could do more than open her mouth a little, Rainbow was speaking over her.
“Look, I know you probably have a lot to ask me, but I really don’t have time right now. The only reason I’m here is because I need to ask you to do me a favor.”
Cloudkicker turned her head slightly, raising an incredulous eyebrow. “What, now? If you hadn’t noticed, we kind of are in the middle of a crisis here, and I could really use your help fixing it.”
“I told you, I don’t have time,” Rainbow snapped. “If I waste any more time, Applejack will be—”
Cloudkicker hesitated, a peculiar look crossing her face. “Wait… does this have something to do with the guards combing through the town?”
Now it was Rainbow’s turn to miss a step, blinking in confusion. “What?”
“Yeah,” Cloudkicker said, suddenly reaching back for her saddlebags. “Shortly after all Tartaurus broke out at the Apple place, all these guards started sweeping through Ponyville.”
Now Rainbow was really confused. “Why would they be doing that? They already caught –”
Again, she clamped her mouth shut, but Cloudkicker didn’t miss it. “They what?”
Rainbow just shook her head. “Never mind. Anyway, what were they looking for?”
“Applejack,” Cloudkicker said, still eying Rainbow suspiciously.
She finally seemed to discover whatever it was she’d been digging around for in her saddlebags and whipped out a single sheet of parchment.
“Her and some other pony I’ve never seen before,” Cloudkicker finished, offering the paper.
And to Rainbow’s astonishment, she found herself staring at a wanted poster; one with Applejack’s face on it, complete with quite the hefty bounty and everything.
But… the other picture sitting next to her friend’s was completely unfamiliar.
“Hyacinth? Who’s that?”
“I was hoping you could tell me,” Cloudkicker said. “According to the Guard, she and Applejack are fugitives or something. There was something about a changeling being involved – I wasn’t really paying attention. Can you believe that?”
Rainbow just laughed nervously. “Heh, heh… weird.”
Cloudkicker gave her another weird look. “Rainbow, is something going on?”
“You have no idea,” Rainbow sighed. “But I can’t sit around and talk about it. Do you know where all the Guard has searched already?”
“Everywhere in town, at least,” Cloudkicker answered. “It’s weird… I’ve never seen so many guards before.”
Rainbow thought for a second, her heart pounding, her head reeling. Applejack had escaped… she’d actually escaped! Atta girl, AJ! I knew you wouldn’t make it that easy!
But Rainbow still had one major problem; finding her in the first place, and Vigil already had quite the head start on her. With most of Ponyville searched, Applejack couldn’t be there.
So, that left only one place left.
“Alright, thanks, Cloudkicker!” Rainbow said, grinning to herself as she turned, already winding up to bolt.
“Wait a second, Rainbow!” Cloudkicker snapped, catching her friend by the shoulder just in the nick of time. “Just what the hay is going on around here? First the Guard say Sweet Apple Acres is under attack by changelings, and now you turn up looking like you went ten rounds with a Timber Wolf! Am I missing something?”
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. “Look, Cloudkicker, I don’t have time to explain. Applejack could be in a lot of trouble.”
“Just answer one question, then,” Cloudkicker pressed.
“Ugh, fine,” Rainbow grumbled, her expression souring.
Cloudkicker narrowed her eyes at the cyan pegasus, as if trying to scrutinize her expression. “Why are the guards after Applejack?”
Rainbow pursed her lips for a second, thinking how to answer that question. “The Guard isn’t.”
Cloudkicker hadn’t been expecting that kind of response. “What?”
Rainbow just looked at her with an odd look. “Cloudkicker… do me a favor, will you? If you see Twilight out there, tell her to remember what that creep Vigil told me yesterday.”
“Who?”
Rainbow groaned in exasperation, her patience ending. “Okay, that’s it. I’m outa here.”
“Wait, Rainbow—”
This time, she wasn’t quite quick enough to react. The cyan pegasus twisted free of Cloudkicker’s grip, and before the weather pony could react, Rainbow shot off into the thick cloud cover, blowing a hole straight through it as she gained altitude.
Cloudkicker could only look on in stunned – and totally, utterly confused – disbelief, her mind reeling far more than ever before.
~~***~~
Rainbow Dash burst through the cloud cover, streaking as fast as she could possibly force her weary, stiff muscles to go.
Lightning flashed through the clouds beneath her, lighting up the dwindling night with strident flashes and grumpy rumblings. Rainbow kept her mind focused, however, bearing in mind her surroundings only enough to avoid the swollen thunderheads all around her. She'd lost enough time already without a bazillion gigawatts lighting her up like a light bulb.
Hang on, AJ… I’m coming.
She grit her teeth even tighter and pounded her wings, producing a thunderous boom of her own as she broke the sound barrier.
Just hang on…
~~***~~
Applejack walked slowly behind Hyacinth, her eyes watching the wooden floor passing by beneath her. The sounds of their hoof-falls echoed back at her off the corridor walls, making it sound like a small platoon was keeping step with her.
They’d left the grand vista of the old, dilapidated changeling hive behind them, and now their only source of light was a small, guttering emerald spark on the end of Hyacinth’s weary horn.
Neither spoke, their silence remaining unbroken since they’d left that sad bedchamber behind. In a way, Applejack was glad for the quiet; she didn’t feel like talking much. But in another way, she couldn’t stand it. The silence was starting to make her think.
Everything she’d been shown kept berating her. Hyacinth’s memories kept playing through her head, again and again.
But it was the images of Carnation that had unsettled her the most. Again and again she was visited by the memories of herself and Carnation, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t force the images back.
They just kept beating her down, like they existed only to make her question a great many things in her heart.
Applejack was so absorbed in her own internal conflict that she didn’t notice Hyacinth slowing, not even as she pulled level with her. She did, however, jump when the changeling spoke.
“Applejack,” she said softly. “Are you alright?”
For a moment, Applejack didn’t answer. She just kept walking. “Ah’m… still pretty confused,” she muttered truthfully. “Ah just… got a lot ta think over, that’s all.”
Hyacinth didn’t say anything. She just watched her niece carefully with those big, featureless changeling eyes.
She could tell that Applejack was still pretty rattled. The fact that she hadn’t changed back into a pony yet was proof enough of that.
“We’re not going far, dear,” Hyacinth said, “but you can take all the time you need.”
Finally, Applejack raised her head again, her twin-ringed amber eyes turning towards Hyacinth. The aging drone smiled kindly back at her in that way that Applejack was still getting used to.
“What about you, sugarcube?” Applejack said, eying Hyacinth with concern.
The changeling looked exhausted, and even though she seemed to be trying to pretend otherwise, Applejack could tell that the tiny spark on the end of Hyacinth’s horn was all she could muster anymore.
“Don’t worry about me,” Hyacinth repeated, giving Applejack a reassuring smile. “I’ve got more than enough strength left in these old bones of mine.”
Applejack was hardly convinced, however.
“You could barely hold that memory spell together,” she pointed out.
Hyacinth pursed her lips, looking forward once more. “That was very advanced changeling magic,” she said. “It was never meant to be used for as long as I had to use it. Some… difficulties were expected.”
Once more she gave her niece a reassuring smile. “But now that that’s over with, I’ll recover before you know it.”
Still, it didn’t sit right with Applejack; forcing Hyacinth to keep working felt… wrong.
“Well, what if Ah pitched in, too?” she offered.
Hyacinth gave her a surprised look – clearly not expecting that kind of question. “That’s… very sweet of you to offer, dear, but you don’t have to…”
“Oh nonsense,” Applejack said, brightening up a little. “Ah’m sure there’s nothin’ to it. How hard could it be, makin’ a little light?”
As she spoke, she lit her horn. The very alien sensation of hot static ran across her forehead for just a moment when –
Crack!
A wild bolt of emerald light exploded off the tip of her horn like a cannon firing, blowing a fiery hole straight through the tunnel roof, cutting all the way through the wood like a knife through warm butter.
Both changelings stared wide-eyed at the smoldering hole, even as Applejack’s horn extinguished itself. Neither said anything for a few moments, their jaws still dropped.
“Let’s… not do that again, dear,” Hyacinth finally spoke up carefully.
“My thoughts exactly,” muttered Applejack, still wide-eyed.
It took her a moment longer, but she managed to recover, and when she did, Applejack sighed. “Sorry ‘bout that, Hyacinth. Ah don’t know why Ah keep messin’ with magic, seein’ how lousy Ah am at it…”
“It’s perfectly fine, Applejack,” Hyacinth reassured. “You were just trying to help.”
Applejack flashed an appreciative smile, but her mood didn’t seem to elevate much. She ignored the look Hyacinth was giving her and continued on, once more secluding herself in her thoughts.
Hyacinth just kept watching her out of the corner of her eye, her expression composed and unreadable.
But in her head, intrigue was starting to rear its head.
Did Applejack honestly just try to use magic on her own?
~~***~~
It took Applejack completely by surprise when they emerged in the open air.
Without any warning signs of any kind, the end of the corridor opened up, looking gnarled and rotted like a fallen log. The moment her hooves touched cold, loamy dirt and a verdant breeze blew past her nose, she realized that she was no longer in Freedom.
Surprised, she glanced back, but all she saw was a huge, hollowed out log sticking out of dense, impenetrable brush, perfectly at home in the overgrowth of the Everfree Forest.
But now she was faced with a whole new predicament – one that she probably should’ve considered.
She was in the Everfree at night.
Shadows ruled the forest, giving an infinite number of possible hiding places for fanged, hungry beasts. The thick tree canopy completely swallowed the sky, and yet Applejack could easily hear the sounds of high winds rattling the branches overhead. Even worse, she could hear an ominous rumbling in the sky far overhead…
Applejack could smell the ozone in the cold, moist air. She may be no pegasus, but it didn’t take one to piece together the warning signs.
“Sounds like quite the storm’s comin’ our way,” she muttered, eying the shadowy mass overhead. “Maybe we should wait it out.”
“We’ll be fine,” Hyacinth reassured. “It’s not far.”
Applejack, however, wasn’t quite so convinced. She hesitated on the spot, even as Hyacinth continued forward, completely indifferent to the darkness around her.
Only when Applejack was in danger of being left behind by the pool of light around Hyacinth’s horn did she hurry after her.
Together they walked through the dark forest, the only light source for miles around. Every little sound made Applejack jump and spin around, expecting to find some beast bearing down on her.
Hyacinth just kept walking, eyes forward and intent on the path she was taking as it materialized through the darkness.
Trees and bushes formed from the nebulous darkness, seemingly popping into existence only as they drew near. The light from Hyacinth’s horn cast disquieting shapes in the foliage, some of which Applejack could’ve sworn moved of their own accord.
But despite Applejack’s building misgivings, she continued right on trotting after Hyacinth. No matter how much she wanted to turn around and find someplace safe – at least until dawn broke – there was something more powerful driving her forward.
There was something she had to see for herself, and her heart would not accept any measure of cowardice in the matter. No matter how much she knew it was going to hurt when she found it.
~~***~~
For nearly ten minutes, Hyacinth led Applejack along a winding trail through the deadly forest, sometimes following paths so faded they practically didn’t exist anymore.
To Applejack, it was one of the longest ten minutes of her life. With every passing minute, the claustrophobia of the dark forest seemed to strangle the bravery from her heart just a touch more.
But as she continued following behind Hyacinth, Applejack started to notice something changing about her surroundings. Something rather ominous.
Old, splintered tree trunks and fallen logs were starting to appear with alarming frequency.
Every couple of yards, the number of standing trees decreased. Pools of open sky were appearing here and there overhead, allowing precious – if not very diffused – light to drift to the ground below. It wasn't much - hardly more than a slightly lighter darkness contrasting weakly against the pitch black - but it was light, and its mere presence made Applejack feel ever so slightly less penned in.
Soon, Applejack found herself walking through a deadfall of snapped, bleached logs devoid of even the smallest trace of life.
By that point, the forest no longer existed on either side of Applejack. For the first time in what felt like hours, she found herself standing under a grumpy, overcast sky, a strong wind at her back.
But Applejack found herself in no field. No, what she saw all around her was more akin to a disaster zone.
Trees were laid down all around her, as if bowled over by an unspeakably powerful gale. Ragged stumps stuck up all around her like headstones. Logs lay in the grass like wind-blown stalks of wheat. It was like some kind of floral graveyard, and the sight was unnerving Applejack all over again.
“Hyacinth, where –”, she started to say, glancing around, but never finished. Her breath caught in her throat before she could.
They were not alone.
There was a light in the darkness; a single, small mote of emerald light. It floated through the air like a lethargic firefly for just a moment before fading away once more.
“Hyacinth,” Applejack hissed sharply, “Ah don’t think we’re alone out here.”
Hyacinth paused, looking around. And yet, she hardly seemed nearly on edge enough, at least for Applejack’s liking. “Why do you say that?”
“Ah saw a light out there,” she said, pointing to the exact spot she’d seen the anomaly.
“Oh.”
Only Hyacinth’s tone of total disinterest could’ve torn Applejack’s eyes away from what she’d seen. Instead, she turned to give Hyacinth a very incredulous stare.
Hyacinth only smiled benignly back at her. “Pay them no mind, dear. It’s only residue.”
Confusion rose in Applejack at that. “Residue? Of what?”
“Magic,” Hyacinth answered as she started walking again. “Very, very powerful magic.”
Applejack’s heart thudded in her chest. Suddenly, she found it very hard indeed to put one hoof in front of the other in order to follow her aunt.
Once more, however, the threat of falling out of the reassuring circle of light Hyacinth was casting won out, pushing her forward despite her ever nerve telling her to do the opposite.
As they moved through the deadfall, Applejack noticed more and more motes of emerald light twinkling in the darkness, fading in and out of existence without rhyme or reason.
Once, one floated right past Hyacinth, missing her by inches before passing into the side of a log and disappearing. Another time, a mote of light passed right over Applejack’s nose, making her skid to a halt so hastily she fell on her rump.
The little spark of magic passed so close to her muzzle that she could feel a faint warmth radiating back at her, tingling her skin with a sensation like static.
As unexpectedly as it came, the mote faded out of existence, leaving only darkness once more.
But it was from that close encounter that Applejack started to realize something – something she should’ve concluded a long time ago.
“Hyacinth… this is changeling magic… ain't it?”
Hyacinth slowed, turning to give Applejack a careful look over her shoulder.
“…Yes,” she said quietly. “This is the aftermath wrought by your mother’s final spell.”
Applejack’s eyes shot open wider, her heart thudding almost painfully in her chest. Of all the places she expected to find herself, this was not one of them.
While astonishment coursed through her, Hyacinth turned her head, a sad look in her eyes as she surveyed the devastated forest.
“Magic never truly fades, not entirely,” she said quietly. “It diffuses and sinks into the land… but it never fades.”
As she spoke, Applejack watched a few of the residual motes of magic as they bloomed into being, floated around mindlessly, then faded once more.
“I believe,” Hyacinth added unexpectedly, “that our presence here is causing the last of her magic to manifest itself.”
Seeing that her words were doing very little to alleviate Applejack’s worries, Hyacinth once more gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s alright, dear. They’re totally harmless.”
To illustrate her point, Hyacinth raised a hoof just as another mote of latent magic drifted by her.
As Applejack watched, she poked the small orb with the tip of her hoof. Or at least tried to, anyway. The moment she touched it, the mote winked out of existence as quick as a bubble popping.
Hyacinth simple replaced her hoof on the ground and gave Applejack another bracing look. “See? We’ll be fine.”
Applejack bit her lip, but nodded.
No matter how much she was reassured, however, there was something about the place that just didn’t sit right with her. No matter how harmless Hyacinth professed it to be, Applejack wanted nothing more than to be gone from there. It just… wasn’t comfortable in the slightest.
There was an eeriness to the deadfall – a haunted quality that disturbed her… and yet simultaneously urged her on.
There was something here… something she needed to see…
“We’re nearly there now,” Hyacinth said suddenly, making Applejack jump back to reality.
“A-alright,” AJ muttered before hastening to follow Hyacinth deeper into the haunted wood. “Though, Ah have ta ask… how much further is it?”
Hyacinth only smiled knowingly. She took a few steps further, then abruptly ground to a halt. Without saying a word, she turned to the side and pointed with one holey foreleg off towards Applejack’s left.
And there, standing like a memorial, stood the sole remaining tree for several hundred yards in every direction.
For a moment, Applejack didn’t even think it was a tree. Its black, gnarled bark looked more like jagged volcanic stone than anything.
Its twisted trunk was nearly twice as wide around as she was, making the thing look squat and terribly deformed. It stood like a lifeless sentinel, its branches stripped of any traces of leaves. Its bare twigs rattled together in the breeze like a wooden wind chime, producing an unsettling sound.
The fact that motes of ghostly light kept manifesting around its base like spectral fireflies did nothing to help its image.
Applejack could only stare at the sad, ugly thing as she approached, walking slightly ahead of Hyacinth now. “What is this?” she asked in a hushed tone. “Ah thought ya said you were takin’ me ta see her restin’ place.”
“I am,” Hyacinth responded.
When Applejack threw an uncomprehending look over her shoulder towards the changeling, Hyacinth merely smiled slightly.
“Ah get the feelin’ that Ah’m missin’ something,” Applejack said, nonplussed. “Is there something yer not tellin’ me?”
Hyacinth glanced away from her niece, instead looking up into the skeletal canopy of the dead tree before her. In the darkness, her icy blue eyes shown like two downcast lanterns under a single spark of green light. “Applejack, When we first met, I told you that there were some things that needed to be shown, rather than told.”
She turned to face a rather confused Applejack, flashing another small, supportive smile. “All you need to do is open your heart, dear. The rest will become clear.”
For the umpteenth time that night, Applejack’s chest thumped hard, her eyes growing big.
“And… how am Ah supposed to do that?”
Hyacinth just continued to smile at her. “Just remember who you came to see.”
With that cryptic remark, Hyacinth planted her hooves and motioned with one black limb, bidding Applejack keep going.
Applejack herself frowned even deeper, then turned back to the twisted tree in front of her. In no way did it even remotely resemble a fitting resting place for anypony, let alone Carnation…
Applejack stepped forward, inching one step at a time.
Her heart was in her throat. At any moment, she expected something to happen. The very air felt tense for reasons unknown to her.
A few steps further, and she came to stand in the shadow of the tree itself.
No sooner had she come to a stop, however, than she witnessed yet another mote of green light wink into existence only a few feet in front of her.
Instinctively she froze in place, legs locking up in surprise.
The orb of light wobbled through the air, drifting mindlessly this way and that… straight towards Applejack.
Despite the overwhelming desire to do otherwise, Applejack remained still. Whether from the last of her bravery making a comeback or simple terror, however, she didn’t know.
She watched as the mote drifted closer on its collision course. Applejack leaned back, bracing…
But when the mote finally touched her black chest, something happened that she would’ve never expected – not in a million years.
She felt the little spark of magic connect with her, sending an odd, warm sensation coursing over her body like a wave of hot static.
And right before her eyes, she watched the mote change from vivid, striking green, to brilliant, rich violet.
That was when the air all around her started to hum. It seemed to quiver with a barely repressed energy, causing the hairs on the back of Applejack’s neck to stand on end.
And then, quite suddenly, the now-violet orb of light heating her chest sank straight into her body.
It came without warning.
Heat shot up from within her, exploding out of her chest and straight into her head like a molten tidal wave. All Applejack could do was gasp as a surge of magic ripped from her, unbidden, erupting out of her little black horn in a blast of emerald light.
And she could do nothing to stop it.
“H-Hyacinth!” she cried out, panicked as she squinted against the blinding emerald magic erupting from her horn in an uncontrollable maelstrom. “A-Ah can’t…!”
It’s alright, Applejack…
Applejack’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes shooting open wide. That hadn’t been Hyacinth…
That was when she noticed the magic swirling all around her wasn’t as out of control as she’d thought.
Right before her eyes, she saw hundreds upon hundreds of glowing green orbs rising out of the ground all around her. They embedded themselves within Applejack’s uncontrolled magical discharge, entwined around it.
As she watched, many of the residual orbs turned from green to brilliant violet, too. Warm purple and vivid green lights swirled in equal measure all around her, lighting up the darkness.
Applejack found herself standing in a nebula of lights, engulfing her and the old, dead tree.
Only… it wasn’t as dead as Applejack had thought.
To her astonishment, she watched as arcs of magical energy raced through the blackened bark. The green light of changeling magic lingered with the strange second pairing, racing up the tree’s twisted trunk like an electrical jolt.
And as Applejack looked on in amazement, the tree came back to life.
Leaves burst into being – pink, spade-shaped leaves that glowed with a radiant, otherworldly light brighter than even the magical cloud surrounding it.
Within moments, a massive canopy hung over Applejack’s head – one bigger than she’d ever thought to imagine.
Motes of emerald and violet light swirled through the air, crackling with renewed vigor, passing over Applejack with a sensation like a reassuring touch.
Applejack could only stare in shock. Her heart thundered painfully in her chest, throbbing like an aching wound.
Her magic continued to flow from her horn, but… it wasn’t out of control. Something was keeping it in check, like a helping hoof taking her weight.
Something… that made her raw heart ache worse than ever.
For just a moment – just the barest, almost imperceptible moment – Applejack felt what she thought was a breeze blow against her front; one that wrapped around her like a comforting embrace…
It’s alright, Applejack…
Something tickled Applejack’s nose – a strange scent, one that tugged at that barely remembered, instinctual familiarity in the deepest recesses of her heart.
You don’t have to be afraid anymore…
~~***~~
Twilight was at the end of her rope. That rarely happened, and when it did, something usually exploded.
She glared her displeasure at the source of her frustrations, her horn alight and sparking indignantly. Before her, a towering inferno of emerald flames lashed viciously at the barrier she’d erected around it, fighting for some way out of its imprisonment.
By now, the Apple family barn was nothing but a heaping pile of ash and coals, and yet the fire still burned.
Trees all around the barn were blackened and stricken of life, leaving them looking like spent match sticks. Smoke still hung thick in the air, creating a black stain across the sky that was visible for miles around.
Fireponies still rushed to and fro, fighting to contain the renegade blazes that had sprouted up throughout the nearby trees.
And worse, the wind was picking up. And all Twilight could think to do was contain the main blaze and hope that starving it of air would finally do the trick.
Burying it under a mound of dirt hadn’t worked. Soaking it in water hadn’t worked. Not even Pinkie Pie’s idea of hosing it down with cake icing had worked.
Nothing was working, and that was frustrating Twilight to no end.
All she knew was that it was magical in nature, but that nature was defying her. It wasn’t unicorn magic, that was for sure. She didn’t have to guess as to what kind of magic it was, but therein laid the problem.
Just how was a unicorn supposed to undo a changeling spell?
The barrier let out yet another ominous groan that was audible to every nearby pony. Twilight grunted, cramming her concentration into casting her spell. She couldn’t afford distractions, no matter how many thoughts of two lost friends tried to bash their way into her head.
But just as she started to wind up for yet another dispel attempt, voices started to make it past her concentration.
Voices that seemed rather alarmed.
“Look at that!” “Holy mother of Celestia, what is that?”
Twilight cracked open an eye, expecting to see something else going wrong with the aberrant fire she was trying so hard to contain.
But to her surprise, the ponies all around her weren’t even looking in the same direction as her.
No, they were all turned towards something far to her right, their eyes on the horizon, their jaws dropped quite spectacularly.
“What,” Twilight grunted, rather irritated, “is everypony looking a—”
Before she could finish, she felt a pair of familiar pink hooves grab her by the chin and snap her head around rather forcefully – hard enough to crick her neck.
“Ow! Pinkie, what are you… doing?”
Her anger fell away when she saw what everypony else was seeing.
After all, a gigantic plume of emerald and violet light was certainly eye-catching.
It radiated out from some point far in the interior of the Everfree, glowing like the brightest city block against the underbelly of the fast-approaching storm.
Despite the considerable distance, Twilight could make out the countless shimmering orbs of light dancing like colorful powdered glass in the sky, filling it with warm light.
The light was so bright that it was starting to cast shadows in the trees, outlining the smoldering orchard and the clouds of smoke overhead.
Every eye was trained on the spectacle, tasks temporarily forgotten. They all just stopped and stared in wonder as the dazzling light lit up the sky.
All… except a select few ponies standing amid the crowd, who each exchanged nervous glances before slinking away into the shadows.
~~***~~
Halfway across Ponyville, another pair of eyes was watching the amazing spectacle.
Vigil stood by the window in his inn room, eyes fixed on the radiant light glowing like an earthbound sun just out of line of sight from him.
He watched it thoughtfully, unblinking, unmoving.
Hyacinth… what are you up to now?
~~***~~
A lone pegasus hovered over the endless expanse of the Everfree, her magenta eyes focused on the radiant display in the distance.
“Applejack…”, Rainbow Dash muttered, and for the first time in quite some time, she felt a surge of hope rush through her weary body.
~~***~~
Hyacinth sat upon the end of a fallen log, keeping her eyes shielded from the blinding magical light.
But even as she sat there, the sounds of arcane howling filling her ears, she noticed the light starting to fade once more.
Slowly, the swirling storm of unified lights started to coalesce, retracting in on itself.
From her place underneath the glowing tree, Applejack watched as her magic was pulled together, reined in by that same gently guiding force from before.
Every mote of violet and emerald, every arc of magical lightning; every single spark of magic started colliding together, producing a light brighter than anything Applejack had ever seen before.
And then, quite abruptly, the entire nova of emeralds and violets imploded like a bomb detonating in reverse.
As quick as a flash, the lights of two different magics crashed together, crushing itself into a single, small point.
A point that fell to the ground like a rain drop, hitting the cold earth and bouncing towards Applejack’s hooves with a light thunk.
And there, lying mere inches away, sat a crown.
It was tiny, almost comically so, making it look like a quintuplet of jet-black stalks tipped with perfectly round topazes.
A thin veil of emerald light still enveloped it; the very last vestige of Carnation’s remaining magic in this world.
Applejack stared down at the thing, motionless, uncomprehending. As she stared at it, the little crown was enveloped in a gout of emerald flames, making her jitter back a step.
And in its place sat an unblemished, pristine Stetson.
Never… be afraid… my dear… sweet… Applejack…
And with that last, barely perceptible whisper in Applejack’s ears, the light of a long-dead queen’s magic went out completely, and all was dark and quiet once more.
A cold, uncaring breeze blew through the deadfall, rustling Applejack’s mane and producing a sigh from the extinguished canopy over her head.
Not a single mote of light flickered in the darkness. Nothing stirred around her in the slightest.
For nearly ten seconds, Applejack just sat there, unable to move.
And then, moving almost automatically, she raised one of her hooves. As if in a trance, she reached down and touched the hat sitting before her.
The tough material was still warm, like it’d just been sitting out in the sun.
A soft warmth spread up her foreleg – a fading energy coming to meet her one final time.
The energy of her mother.
Carefully, and with a trembling hoof, she lifted the hat up, and without a word, set it upon her head.
The moment it touched her head, she smelled that nostalgic scent again; the scent of flowers. Of carnations.
Her hooves started to shake. Then her shoulders. Applejack pressed the brim of her mother’s last gift to her against her face, hiding behind it.
But nothing could hide the glistening drops as they fell from her cheeks.
She didn’t sob. She didn’t wail or bawl. She just let out ragged, shaking breaths through tightly clenched teeth as her heart fell open at last.
Applejack never knew when Hyacinth came up to her. All she remembered was the feel of comforting hooves around her shoulders and the soft, comforting voice in her ear.
“It’s okay, Applejack. It’s okay…”
“Ah… Ah felt her,” she heard herself blubbering in a barely audible hiss. “A-Ah could feel her.”
“I know, dear,” Hyacinth whispered.
But what Applejack said next too Hyacinth off guard.
“A-Ah’m sorry, Hyacinth… Ah’m s-so sorry…”
“Sorry?” she repeated. “Whatever for?”
“Fer hatin’ myself,” Applejack whimpered. “Fer hatin’ bein’ what Ah am… Fer… fer hatin’…”
“Applejack, honey,” Hyacinth muttered softly, rocking her niece gently. “You had every reason to hate being a changeling – every reason. You hear me? All our kind has brought you and your friends is nothing but pain and suffering.”
“B-but Ma… She…”
“Your mother would be nothing but proud of you if she was here,” Hyacinth said kindly.
She pulled her head back, and with one hoof, she lifted the brim of Applejack’s new hat to peer at the soggy, miserable amber eyes beneath.
“Your mother was devoted to Equestria,” Hyacinth continued, “the same Equestria you’ve risked your life on more than one occasion to help save.”
Hyacinth gave her niece a weak smile. The corners of her eyes were starting to sting, too.
“That is why the changelings need somepony like you, Applejack. You are the only one who can save us from self-destruction.”
Upon hearing her words, however, Applejack’s eyes became guarded.
“Hyacinth… Ah ain't no ruler, nor will Ah ever be. You know that.”
She pushed Hyacinth away with one hoof and stood up. Applejack was still shaky and raw with emotion, but she still somehow managed to compose herself, even if only a little.
She swept her new hat from her head, hugging it instead to her chest. “Ah’m real sorry, Hyacinth… but that just ain't something Ah can do.”
But Hyacinth remained oddly unfazed, her expression unchanging.
“Applejack… I’m not asking you to be a ruler. I’m asking you to be an example.”
The breath caught in Applejack’s chest, her eyes widening in surprise. “What?”
Hyacinth smiled. “You are the shining example of everything Carnation stood for. You, Applejack, are everything she ever hoped the changeling people could be! You show that we changelings don’t need to resort to trickery and deception; that we can live in the light! You show that Chrysalis’s and Phantasma’s way is not our only option for survival!”
Hyacinth took a step closer to her stunned niece. “I am not asking you to assume any throne; how could I? All that I’m asking, Applejack, is that you don’t run in fear anymore.”
She then paused, glancing up for a moment into the revitalized tree. “Everything I’ve shown you tonight, I’ve shown you so that you can see; changelings like Vigil are not all we are capable of. Your mother saw the potential in all of us – the same potential that you exemplify.”
Hyacinth looked back at Applejack, her smile warmer and brighter than any yet. “’Our kind does not need another changeling ruler’,” she said. “Your mother told me that so many years ago. It took me a while, but… I understand now. What we need is not a ruler. What we need, Applejack, is a champion.”
Applejack’s eyes shot open wide, her heart thudding in her chest. “Me? But… Ah ain't nopony special, Hyacinth. Ah can’t –”
“It’s not about what you’re not, Applejack,” Hyacinth interrupted. “It’s about what you are.”
Again, Applejack found herself too shocked to answer immediately. “What… Ah am?”
Hyacinth nodded, smiling as bright as ever. “That, dear, is the one thing I want to impress upon you most of all. You are a changeling, yes… but you are also a pony. And no one – not Vigil, not Chrysalis, not even the whole of Equestria – can take that from you.”
Applejack couldn’t respond to that. What could she say?
She just stood there, her mind reeling, her heart pounding ferociously against her rib cage.
But even as she stood there, struggling to comprehend everything that was being shoved into her head, the memory of her mother’s final message ran through Applejack’s mind like a breeze.
Don’t be afraid…
After a moment, Applejack’s eyes drifted off Hyacinth and up into the tree beside her. Pink leaves still hung from the branches, despite losing their otherworldly glow.
But as she watched, a bright splash of light cut across the top-most branches. Overhead, the lumpy underbelly of the overcast sky suddenly developed splashes of pink.
Applejack blinked in surprise, then turned around.
The horizon shined with the golden glow of dawn’s first light, dispelling the ominous shadows all around her. The sun was finally making its appearance, at long last.
Applejack felt the warmth of sun’s first rays touch her chitin, and for the first time in her life… it felt nice.
Maybe it was just her imagination, but in that moment, Applejack could’ve sworn she felt her new hat radiate warmth back at her, too.
After pausing for a moment, she raised the hat to once more rest it upon her head.
Applejack smiled to herself.
“Don’t be afraid, huh…”
And with that, an emerald fireball swallowed her whole, concealing her black chitin behind an orange fur coat once more.
The enchanted hat stayed firmly upon her head, completely unfazed by the fire.
Applejack sniffled and breathed a deep, relieving breath. “Ah think Ah can manage that.”
A warm, comforting wind blew through her mane and coat, and for a moment her chest warmed.
“Thank you, Mama… For everything.”
Applejack touched her new hat, holding it firmly to her head just a moment before turning around to face the one behind her.
“Hyacinth, Ah –”
But the sight of a fast approaching shape in the sky cut her off. That very same shape was blowing donut holes straight through stray clouds as it screamed through the sky.
And it was leaving a prismatic comet tail in its wake.
“Applejack!”
How Rainbow Dash picked out her friend from so far away was anypony’s guess. All Applejack saw, however, was the cyan-colored missile streaking full-speed straight at her. And it wasn’t slowing down.
“Oh horseapples!”
“Applejack! Stop running!”
The mare in question – now running as fast as she possibly could in the opposite direction, threw an incredulous look over her shoulder. “Then stop chasin’ me, ya big – oof!”
Too late. The last thing Applejack saw was a pair of huge, excited magenta eyes and a pair of reaching cyan hooves heading straight for her.
For just a moment, she felt those same hooves grab her around the neck before the rest of Rainbow body-slammed into her, sending the two of them tumbling in a cloud of dust and kicked-up grass.
It took Applejack several seconds after coming to a stop again for the world to stop spinning.
By the time her eyes managed to focus, she realized that she was lying on her back with a beaming, out of breath pegasus standing over her.
“I… have looked… absolutely… everywhere… for… you!” she wheezed.
“R-Rainbow?!” Applejack gasped. “Where in tarnation did you come from?!”
“Nice… to see you… too,” Rainbow panted, still grinning.
“How did ya know where ta find me,” Applejack said, still too stunned to think straight.
“Pfft, I’m… awesome – that’s… how.”
Applejack rolled her eyes. But at the same time, she felt a faint smile trying its hardest to tug up the corners of her mouth.
“It’s good ta see ya, RD.”
Rainbow just beamed wider still, the golden light of dawn just barely touching the top of her head. “Miss me?”
“Ahem.”
Both mares froze, realizing – or in Applejack’s case, remembering – that they weren’t alone.
Rainbow looked around, confused, only to have her eyes fall upon a single changeling, who stared right back at her with a quirked eyebrow.
“You’re late,” Hyacinth stated.
Rainbow’s eyes shot open wide, her nostrils flaring in alarm. In a thrice, she’d whipped around, putting herself between Applejack and the aging drone.
“Who’re you? What do you want with Applejack,” she shot, crouching defensively in front of her friend.
If changeling drones had definable eyes, Rainbow might’ve seen the eye-roll Hyacinth gave her.
But instead of the changeling answering, Applejack grabbed Rainbow’s tail in her mouth and tugged, pulling just hard enough to get her friend’s attention.
“It’s alright, Rainbow,” she said, smiling reassuringly. “She ain't with Vigil.”
Rainbow turned to look at her friend, giving her both a surprised and confused look. “How do you know?”
And then she froze, her eyes going wide as she stared straight into Applejack’s. “Wait… were you crying?”
Applejack cursed internally, rubbing at her eyes furiously to banish the wet streaks from her cheeks.
“It’s been… a long night. And Ah know she ain't with Vigil cuz she rescued me right out from under his nose.”
Applejack then turned her eyes towards Hyacinth, who was watching the two mares very carefully from her perch.
“And… she’s my aunt.”
Rainbow’s eyes shot open wider than ever before as she whipped around, doing one of the quickest double-takes Applejack had ever seen. “Wait, what?”
“Applejack…,” Hyacinth nearly groaned.
“No,” Applejack suddenly shot, catching the older drone by complete surprise. “If yer family, ya ain't gonna hide it no more.”
Rainbow, meanwhile, just kept looking between the two changelings, struggling for all she was worth to make sense of the situation.
“Can somepony please explain what the hay is going on?!”
~~***~~
The sun had risen completely off the horizon by the time Hyacinth and Applejack finally concluded their story, and all the while Rainbow Dash sat in place, eyes wide with shock and amazement.
As the story continued on, however, her eyes started shifting more and more to Applejack, as if searching for some kind of confirmation to what she was hearing.
By the time AJ concluded with a weak “and that’s when you turned up”, she was more than a little aware of Rainbow’s eyes trying to bore into hers.
All three fell into silence for a time; Applejack shifted in the spot, looking anywhere but at her friend, Hyacinth sat still and calm, scrutinizing the pegasus’ reactions while Rainbow herself stared at Applejack with a complicated, stunned expression.
“So,” she muttered after nearly a minute of simply listening to the wind in silence, “it’s true? You’re, you know… a queen?”
Applejack grimaced. “Yes.”
Rainbow frowned for a moment, tapping a hoof against her chin as she contemplated her thoughts. “Huh…”
“Look, RD,” Applejack went on hastily, suddenly feeling on edge, “Ah’m still the same Applejack, Ah just –”
“Geez, Applejack, I know that.”
Applejack fell short midsentence, surprised.
Rainbow Dash simply gave her an exasperated look – like she was the one acting weird. “Why would I think you weren’t? And even if I did, I told you already; I’ll always have your back.”
She then cocked a smirk at AJ. “You’re my friend, Applejack. It’s gonna take a lot more than that to change that.”
Despite herself, Applejack felt a smile tugging at her lips. For the first time in what felt like ages, the ache in her chest receded, leaving in its place only warm contentedness.
She didn’t notice Hyacinth watching her carefully, gauging her reactions.
Whatever she saw in the young mare’s smiling face, it elicited a barely discernible smile of her own.
As she watched her niece, Hyacinth noticed when Rainbow suddenly stood up, catching both changelings by surprise.
“We should probably get going,” Dash said quietly, “before Vigil picks up the trail again.”
The smile slipped from Applejack’s face, leaving her looking oddly unreadable.
Rainbow turned then, looking out over the vistas of the Everfree forest, her own smile fading. “You’ve got relatives in Manehatten, right? Maybe we should –”
“No.”
Rainbow hesitated, pulled up short. “You don’t? But I thought you said –”
“Ah ain't talkin’ about that, Rainbow,” Applejack said, standing up in turn.
She gave Rainbow a look that caught the pegasus’ attention, silencing her.
Applejack was scowling, a fierce look that almost burned in her eyes.
“Ah ain't runnin’ away no more. Ah’m through with it,” she stated.
Rainbow stared at her, eyes wide with astonishment. “Applejack?”
The farm pony turned her head, looking towards the enchanted tree not far away. Its bright pink leaves shown brilliantly against the coming day, sighing and rustling as the wind blew through it.
“Ah ain't gonna let Vigil win. Not now, not ever!”
Rainbow blinked, eyes shooting still wider. “Applejack, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Applejack nodded to her friend, a fierce grin starting to creep over her lips. “Ah reckon Vigil’s overstayed his welcome in Ponyville.”
Rainbow grinned just as savagely back at her friend. “Now you’re speaking my language, cowgirl!”
Applejack nodded to her friend, determination burning in every muscle as she extended one hoof forward. “Let’s go get my farm back.”
Rainbow punched her friend’s hoof with her own, already trembling with anticipation. “Aw yeah! This is gonna be so awesome!”
Both mares were distracted by a flash of green light, and suddenly they found a third, lime-green hoof pressing to theirs.
“Count me in,” Hyacinth said, scowling fiercely.
Applejack and Rainbow hardly missed a step. They nodded, fires in their hearts.
“Time to end this,” growled Applejack.
~~***~~
Twilight Sparkle continued to watch the horizon, still staring in the same direction as the long-faded light show.
“What do you suppose that was,” she asked, curious.
“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Rarity replied, quirking an elegant eyebrow in confusion.
“It was so… bright,” Fluttershy murmured next to her, hiding slightly behind her mane.
One particular pink mare, however, stood oddly silent, her expression decidedly less bubbly than usual.
When Twilight witnessed that, she felt something uncomfortable squirm in her stomach, an equally unsettling memory flashing passing through her mind.
After all, not everypony is who they appear to be…
“Uh… Pinkie?”
Pinkie Pie just blinked, her big eyes reflecting the rising sun. “I think I know exactly what’s going on,” she stated knowingly.
“You do?” asked Twilight, totally baffled.
“Yes,” Pinkie said, her voice suddenly rising with inexplicable indignation. “Mr. Bear is throwing a party out in the woods and he didn’t invite me!”
Twilight could only respond with a hoof to her own face. “Pinkie, I really don’t think –”
“Twilight! Hey, Twilight!”
The unicorn in question blinked, distracted as she looked around inquisitively.
But of all the things she’d been expecting to see, a pegasus floating in for a landing in front of her was not very high on the list.
“Uh… can I help you?”
“Yeah,” wheezed Cloudkicker, struggling for breath, “I need… to talk to you.”
~~***~~
Vigil sat quietly by the window, watching the sunrise as it was slowly consumed by the advancing storm.
But mostly, he just kept his eyes in the same direction as the inexplicable explosion of changeling magic.
And yet, something had been so very odd about it.
That was unlike any magic I’ve ever encountered before. It couldn’t have been just changeling magic. No; there was something else to it… but what?
Vigil tapped his hoof against the ground thoughtfully. Applejack… just what are you?
As he stood there in contemplative silence, Vigil’s eyes finally drifted down from the vanishing horizon – down towards the street below.
There, a battalion of golden-clad stallions was forming ranks. They filled the street from one end to the other; well over four dozen fully armed and armored soldiers, most already standing at attention.
“Sir.”
Vigil glanced over his shoulder as a familiar vermillion stallion poked his head into his room. “The troops are ready.”
Vigil glanced back towards the horizon, eyes searching for the one he knew would be coming very shortly.
“Good. Then I believe it’s time we taught Applejack a lesson in humility.”
With that, he turned around and swept from the room, an icy scowl on his face.
He had some errands to run.
~~***~~
Far, far away, upon a gilded tower's balcony that seemed high enough to scrape the sky, a single, tall mare watched the darkening horizon, her magenta eyes unwavering and unknowable.
But her gaze stayed upon one spot in particular– on a spot that, until recently, had been shining like an emerald, earthbound star.
"Hmm..."