Death Note: Equestria

by Nonagon

Payoff

Only a God of Death that has passed on their Death Note to a pony is able to kill the owner of that Death Note. This does not apply to other ponies using Death Notes.

“You’re late,” L snapped as Colgate and Fluttershy entered the base. The detective had rearranged her stratoscreens into yet another workstation near the door, and was subtly pushing a board game box underneath the desk with her hoof. “Applejack is preparing to leave her home,” she continued. “Thankfully she too is running late, or we would have mere minutes until Rainbow Dash is set to make her appearance.”
 
“Sorry,” Colgate muttered as she shook the last drops of rainwater out of her mane. “We had some stuff to take care of after we got your message. Plus, Crew Cut was as uncooperative as ever. He’s expecting compensation.”
 
“I trust you told him that wouldn’t be an issue.”
 
“Once we told him who he was working for? Yeah, I think we got the message across.”
 
Sighing, Colgate took a look around the room. Everypony else seemed to be present. Jazz worked rapidly at the massive abacus, the array of crystals on top shining brighter than she’d ever seen them. Near the far side of the room, Bon Bon and Locket were brushing a sulking Rainbow Dash’s mane, and Twilight Sparkle was dictating something to Spike. “Twilight!” Fluttershy yelled, breaking into a smile larger than any she’d worn in the past few days.

Twilight looked up. “Fluttershy!” she yelled back. “Just a minute, Spike. Remind me to finish this before I leave.” She started to trot across the room, her melancholy expression morphing into a relieved grin.

Colgate looked at L. As the other pony nodded, the policemare leaned down and touched the tip of her horn to the chain wrapped around her ankle. Fluttershy shivered as the chain binding them slid away from her hoof, metamorphosing back into an ordinary rope. “Come right back to me as soon as your part’s over,” Colgate said quickly before Fluttershy could run off. “And always stay in sight of somepony from the team.”

“I’ll be good, I promise.” With a quick nod of thanks, Fluttershy scampered across the room and met Twilight halfway, practically throwing herself on top of her marefriend.

“I’m not worried about that,” Colgate continued needlessly, mindful of L’s position a few feet away. “But if it keeps a certain bossy, overly paranoid pony happy, clearly that’s all that matters.” She glanced towards L, half-expecting a response, but there was none. She sighed inwardly, then turned to face the detective completely. “Have you heard anything from Derpy?” she asked more quietly.

L levitated up a stratoscreen from the top of the nearest stack and passed it to Colgate. The image spiraled wildly and flickered every few seconds, giving only fleeting glimpses of blonde and grey hairs and what looked like passing clouds. “She began flight several hours ago,” L said flatly, looking back to a screen of Applejack and Apple Bloom braiding each other’s tails. “Her louse is still clinging on, but losing power. As far as I can discern, she is alone. Is this your doing?”

“No.” Colgate shook her head. “I never got to see her. And thanks to you, I haven’t had time to put out an alert for her. Let me know as soon as she lands somewhere, okay?”

L nodded vaguely, but didn’t seem to be really listening. She swiveled away and whistled for Jazz, who took several seconds to break from his concentration and look her way. “Jazz, Twilight,” L called, gesturing the pair towards her and giving Twilight an excuse to slip away from Fluttershy’s relentless embrace. “Come here. One more thing to take care of.”
 
Preparing Twilight took a little more work. L and Jazz stood a short distance away from her and whispered to one another, occasionally throwing glances in Twilight’s direction. After close to two uncomfortable minutes they turned and walked towards her, silencing her questions as their horns lit up in unison. She braced herself as the tip of L’s horn touched her forehead, but the expected rush of pain didn’t come. Instead, her head started to feel heavy, and her eyes glazed over as she was assaulted by magic from two directions; sickly green on her left, pale and translucent blue on her right. When the light faded she glanced up, immediately noticing a purple, conical shape just within her field of vision. Although it was in the right place, it didn’t feel connected, as though somepony had glued a flesh-coloured ice cream cone to her forehead. “This isn’t my horn,” she said.
 
“Correct.” L nodded. “I have made a small fracture in the Devouring Seal inside your head. Combined with the replica horn that Jazz has provided, this should allow you to perform a small amount of magic, a light spell or picking up a quill at most. This should be enough to disguise your condition for tonight. If you overexert your abilities, the hole will seal itself up again.”
 
Twilight glowered. “Or you could just give me my horn back and be done with it.”
 
L shrugged. “Perhaps, when this is over. We haven’t made it this far without taking every available precaution.”
 
Rolling her eyes, Twilight shook her head experimentally, then called the faintest glimmer of magic into her ‘horn’. Although she could still feel the walls of the bubble inside her head threatening to close around her, it glowed and pulsed just as her real horn would have. “This is... impressive,” she admitted, gently levitating a piece of paper on the desk beside her with only slightly more concentration than it would normally have taken. “You used... Mirror Darkly’s Spectral Memory?”
 
“Whitewash and Stone’s Celestial Copycat, actually,” Jazz answered, sounding mildly impressed. “A little less durable, but it should hold up better under magic.”
 
“Huh.” Gingerly, Twilight reached up and rubbed the length of her fake horn, then lowered her hoof and sniffed it. It smelled like coconut.

“And that should be everything,” L concluded. She glanced over to the far side of the room. "Assuming that Miss Dash is ready?"

"For the last time, yes!" Rainbow Dash yelled back, shrugging off the two earth ponies who were still running brushes through the exposed parts of her coat. Most of her was covered by a pale and somewhat bulky dress, which fell oddly across her but successfully hid the belt that she still adamantly refused to take off. “I wouldn't brush myself this much even if this was a real date,” she griped. “You wanted this to be natural, right?”

Locket made a pouty face. "You could at least put on some makeup," she whined, seeing her dreams of a novel-worthy romantic evening being slowly stripped away.

"No. If I turned up too dressed up, Applejack would know I was wearing it for her, not because I wanted to, and that would make her uncomfortable." Dash frowned at Locket's puzzled stare. "What? Just because I'm not in love with her doesn't mean I don't care about her feelings."

Bon Bon shrugged and started to put her brushes away, while Locket hung on a little longer. "Applejack's letting her sister make her up," she muttered, kicking at the ground. "It would be nice if you matched."

"Yeah, but I'm not supposed to know that." Dash started to walk away, but then paused. "Wait, really?"

"One more thing!" Twilight broke in loudly, striding into the middle of the room. "There's one last thing we need to take care of before we part ways." She raised herself up on her hind legs and spread her forelegs wide, gesturing everyone towards her.

Fluttershy caught the cue first, rushing forward and resuming her embrace. Rainbow Dash jumped in as well, followed by Spike, Bon Bon and, somewhat reluctantly, Locket. Colgate and L glanced at one another before making their way over as well, deliberately taking spots on opposite sides of the group hug. "Everypony," Twilight said, "no matter how tonight ends, I..." She glanced up. "You too, Jazz."

The older pony bristled, standing a short distance away. He frowned stiffly as Twilight stared at him, but when her look changed from insistent to pleading he sighed and stepped forward. "This is most unorthodox," he muttered, but Twilight thought she caught a hint of a grin as he threw a leg around L and rested his chin on Rainbow Dash's shoulder.

Twilight nodded. "No matter how this night ends," she continued, "I just want you to know that I wouldn't trade this time for anything. We've all had some pitfalls. We've all suffered losses. But it's thanks to you guys that I've been able to pull through it all." She squeezed her eyes shut. "And tonight, if at all possible, we're going to find a way to end it all for good."

"One way or another," L added quietly.

Twilight ignored her. "We all know what's at stake. We all know the risks. But we have justice on our side, and if we do this right, then nopony has to die. Not now, and not ever again. Are you ready?"

"Ready," her friends rumbled back.

"Then let's go."

Although the restaurant had been chosen more for its location than its aesthetics, Rainbow Dash felt that it suited the evening perfectly. Unlike its neighbors towards the middle of Ponyville, it was small and dimly-lit, little more than a cluster of tables across an area only slightly larger than her own front room. Dash had come here twice before, both times for a quiet, private celebration of Fluttershy’s birthday, and had found the calming atmosphere more memorable than the food. She felt her heart sink as she looked around the room for the third time. Although not dressed or billed as an overtly romantic location, three of the other five tables were filled with couples making cautious but optimistic conversation.

It’s... cozy, Dash admitted to herself. If I ever did want to try this whole dating scene for real... this is probably the place I’d end up going.

Worry started to gnaw on her as the minutes ticked by. From her seat by the window she glanced out at the street time and time again, twice almost jumping as she caught sight of a nearly-invisible shadow watching from the alley opposite. A pony passed by to light the candle next to the window, providing some illumination as the last reds of the sunset vanished. Ten minutes passed in silence, and Dash caught the waitress shooting sympathetic glances her way before Applejack finally bustled in through the door. “Sorry Ah’m late,” she said a little too loudly, quickly making her way to the seat opposite Dash.

Applejack was wearing, perhaps appropriately, the same grey dress she'd put on for the funeral, as well as a set of old white earrings. Her mane had been braided with all the grace and dexterity that Apple Bloom had been able to muster; the result was simple and functional, but difficult to find fault with. The same, partly to Dash’s surprise, could be said of her face. Without an abundance of beauty products available to go overboard with, the filly had made do with what she had on hoof, inexpertly washing and powdering Applejack’s face to give her a faint but noticeable blush.

“It’s okay,” Rainbow Dash responded, smiling. “To be honest, I was a little late too.” She shuffled and flicked her tail nervously as Applejack sat down. “You look... nice,” she added.

“Thanks.” Applejack glanced out the window, her rouged cheeks reddening further. “Apple Bloom helped. Ah wasn’t planning on getting too dressed up, but she insisted. Took her a few tries, but we got there in the end.”

“Apple Bloom did that?” Dash asked, still slightly incredulous.

“Yep. Ah was surprised, but it turns out she picked some things up second-hoof from Sweetie–”

She paused and coughed awkwardly, her smile fading, and Dash gulped. In the ensuing silence a visibly relieved waitress sauntered up to them. “Evening, folks,” she said, dropping off a pair of menus and adjusting some of the silverware. She spoke quickly, apparently used to trying to interrupt as little as possible. “Can I get y’all some drinks to start?”

“Two ciders,” Dash said quickly, barely looking up. “Something with a kick.”

With a quick nod, the mare moved away. Silence fell across the table, broken by crackling jazz playing from a stratoscreen at the far end of the room and hushed conversations around them. Applejack sighed. She picked up a spoon and checked her reflection across the back of it, starting to make a face before remembering where she was.

Dash rustled her wings. “So... what now?”

Applejack looked up. “Beg your pardon?”

“Well... this is a date, right? I mean, this is how these things are supposed to go? We got dressed up, we went out, I told you you look nice... not that I didn’t mean that,” she added quickly. “So... what happens next? I keep trying to think of what Rarity would say, but I’m drawing a blank here. Are we supposed to just talk, or...”

Dash trailed off as she realized Applejack was chuckling. “Dash,” the other mare laughed, “is that really why you asked me out here tonight?’

Rainbow gulped. “Kinda.”

“Well, shoot. Ah knew this wasn’t like you.” Applejack sighed, shaking her head. “Sugarcube, loving somepony ain’t like runnin’ down a checklist. Forget about what Rarity would say for a while. Just ‘cause something works for her, it don’t mean it’ll work for us. A date’s about making somepony feel special, and how that’s done depends on the pony.” She looked down at herself and laughed. “And Ah don’t mind brushing up from time to time, but right now Ah feel frillier than a princess in a house of ribbons. And you can’t tell me you’re all the way comfortable in that getup.”

Dash shuffled again, glancing down her side. It was certainly true that she didn’t cut the most aerodynamic figure at present. “Not really,” she admitted. “Then... why did you get dressed up?”

Applejack’s stare momentarily hardened. “You know why.”

It took a second for Dash to comprehend. Mer hates sappy stuff. “Well then... what should we do?”

“Well... let’s try this, and see how it goes. But if you like something that’s more our speed, next time you can ask me to the Flyers’ game next weekend.”

Dash blinked. “That counts as a date?”

“Sugar, anything’s a date so long as you say it is.”

They both laughed, Dash silently swearing vengeance on Locket, but Applejack’s lips kept moving for just a second after she was finished speaking. The gesture was so quick and so faint that Rainbow almost didn't catch it, but in a flash she pieced together a question from her friend's lips.

"Are they watching?"

Dash gulped, trying not to let her expression shift. "From a distance," she whispered, just loud enough to be heard over the noise around them. Additional camera bugs had been dismissed as both too risky and too much of a drain on Minty, whose processing powers were needed elsewhere; they were stretching themselves thin with the ones in the Apples’ house already. In the event of an emergency, her only safety net was Bon Bon.

"Right," Applejack returned, matching her volume. "This is a trap, right?" She shook her head as Dash's smile flickered. "No, don't tell me. Ah need to be surprised when it happens."

Inwardly, Dash winced. "When did you become such a good liar?" she asked, unable to keep sadness from creeping into her tone.

"When Ah found something that matters to me more than the truth, Dash. Namely, you." Applejack leaned forward, keeping the same faraway, carefree smile. "Now, let's get our story straight. What are we supposed to be talking about?"

"You know... lovey stuff. What we like about each other, what we're going to tell our friends, more of what we just did. I’m supposed to look at the ceiling if you start talking weird."

“Are you gonna do that?”

“No.”

"Right. How long do we have?"

"Until our drinks arrive. But the service here is pretty slow."

"Shoot. Ah thought we’d have more time. Okay, sugarcube, here's the deal. Don't–"

"Hang on." On cue, Dash turned around and shouted over her shoulder at a pair of mares who’d started hammering at the stratoscreen at the end of the room. "Hey, could you keep it down over there?"

One of the pair turned to Dash and smiled apologetically. It wasn't clear whether she was in on the scheme or whether L had just assumed somepony would be there to fill the role; knowing her, it was probably the latter. "I'm sorry, miss," the mare drawled, gesturing helplessly as the image of a musical note flickered and slanted across the stone surface. The sounds playing had started drifting into static every few seconds, instead of only once in a while. "It's been on the fritz all afternoon. We'll stop as soon as it's fixed, alright?"

"Fine," Dash grunted, then turned back to Applejack. "Anyway, go on."

Applejack paused, then shrugged and continued. "Don't worry about me for now. Whatever's coming, we've got it covered. What's important is what happened late last night." She leaned in, her mask fading slightly as her tone darkened. "Long after Ah'd gone to bed, Mer woke me up to give me the latest clue. The last clue. She said it'd be the last thing we needed to put this to rest once and for all." She paused for effect. "'A unicorn who's lost her horn.' Does that mean anything to you?"

Her eyes widened as Dash choked. She quickly reached across the table and grasped her friend’s hoof in her own, wincing as they both struggled to maintain their composure. “Keep smiling, Dash,” she muttered. Panic started to rise on her end as Rainbow twitched. “Please, Dash. Don’t make me do this again.”

Rainbow Dash swallowed hard. Visions of purple and snatches of conversation danced in the air around her, blocking out everything else. “It’s not possible,” she said, unaware of her voice rising. “It’s not–”

She was cut off as a pair of hooves dragged her almost across the table and a set of orange lips mashed against hers. The kiss was utterly lifeless, devoid of gentleness or even warmth, but the urgency behind it put a hole through Dash’s panic. She breathed in and forced herself to remain in that position, slowly closing her eyes, focusing only on the feeling of Applejack close to her until the jackknifing of her heart subsided.
 
"Ahem." A waitress coughed, causing the pair to jump apart, both blushing deeply. "Save it for tonight, alright gals?" the mare laughed, swishing her tail at their embarrassment. She put down a pair of full mugs and a couple of menus, giving Rainbow Dash a sly wink as she slipped away. "Anything you need, just give us a yell, 'kay?"

Applejack smiled sympathetically as the waitress left. "You feeling better, sugar?" she asked quietly.

"No." Dash picked up her mug and took a long gulp of the thick liquid, trying as hard as she could to control her breathing. "What... what are we supposed to..."

She paused as something caught her eye. Applejack's cider was moving. Circular ripples were spreading across the surface of the mug, settling and then jumping up again as though struck. The third time this happened, she felt her chair tremble beneath her. The fifth time, a low sound rumbled across the restraunt, growing louder as it happened again, then again. It was the sound of steps. Something big was getting close.

Other ponies in the room were starting to notice. All around Dash ears were pricking up, and ponies were looking around to locate the source of the sound. Applejack was starting to look nervous, glancing towards the nearest window and then at the door. She looked like she was about to say something when one of the mares near the stratoscreen shrieked. She jumped back as the device sparked, her partner diving away to cower against the wall. The stone surface flashed quickly through every colour of the rainbow before settling on a stormy black. A green-lidded eye faded into view, slowly opening to reveal a brown and slitted iris. It swiveled disconcertingly back and forth, as though looking for something, before fixing its gaze directly on Rainbow Dash.

A low voice rumbled across the restaurant, apparently coming from the screen but having no clear source. "I see you."

The heavy steps grew louder. Dash gulped. She twisted her gaze away from the dark screen and back towards Applejack, who was looking just as confused and frightened as she was.

For the sake of authenticity, Rainbow Dash had been excluded from much of the planning process for that night. Although she'd been given a rudimentary script to follow, all that had been covered about this part was that her evening with Applejack was going to be interrupted.

No one had specified by what.

Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom sat together on their sofa at home. Their stratoscreen was turned on, but neither was looking at it. While the uneventful nightly news played, Apple Bloom held a photo album open in her lap.

The photos were ancient, and so faded as to be almost invisible. This was the oldest book from the highest shelf of their home, the one that even Granny Smith would have been hesitant to open on even the most special of occasions. The binding creaked where it wasn't close to coming loose completely, and more than one exposed corner of a photograph had already disintegrated as Apple Bloom ran her hoof gently over them. She watched her grandparents and great-grandparents raise barns, plant apples, and play games, some no older in these printed time capsules than she was now. All the while, her face was completely blank. Big Macintosh kept his eyes fixed on the pages, never moving so much as a muscle.

Around halfway through the book, Apple Bloom stopped. She pressed her hoof against a picture of Granny Smith shortly after she’d gotten her cutie mark. The then filly had barely been able to sit still, proudly showing off a fresh apple pie while prancing around excitedly. She was frozen in the middle of the frame, her features blurred against a clear if sepia-toned background. Apple Bloom stroked the corners of the image for the better part of a minute, her brow furrowed in thought, and then spoke for the first time that evening.

"They're not really dead, are they?"

Big Macintosh shifted slightly. "Depends what you mean by dead," he answered, calm as ever.

"Like..." Apple Bloom frowned further, searching for the words. "They're still here, somehow. They died, and they got buried in the ground, but they didn't go away. They stayed with us, tellin’ us stories. And if the things a pony did can make us think things and feel things even after they’re gone, so long as there’s somepony to keep tellin’ those stories, then... how’s that any different from bein’ alive for real?”

Her brother said nothing. He tensed up slightly as Apple Bloom shuffled a little closer, brushing her drooping bow against his leg. She lifted her gaze away from the book, but couldn’t bring herself to look directly at him. “Big Mac?” she asked quietly. "When Ah die... am Ah gonna stay with you?"

"Sis..." Big Macintosh reached out. As though it were painful to him, he wrapped one foreleg around her and gently pulled her close to his side, leaning down to nuzzle the crest of her mane. "Ah promise, even if you were to die right now, you would live on in the hearts of all of Ponyville forever. You wouldn’t just make the papers. Ponies would name schools after you. You’d get a whole garden to yourself, and a statue right in the middle of Ponyville. And no matter what happens now or even in a hundred weeks, in a thousand years ponies will still be telling the stories of Apple Bloom and her two friends, and how everypony in Ponyville loved them so much more than they ever knew.

“But you don’t need to worry about any of that. Apple Bloom, look at me.” The filly started to lift her head hesitantly, but as his grip tightened she looked up and directly into his eyes. “Because you're not going to die.” He glared down at her, as though daring her to disagree. “Not tonight, and not for a long, long time. Ah promise.”

There was a knock at the door. A single tap grew in instants to a loud, frantic pounding, causing the large pony to lurch up and nearly knock his sister to the floor. The photo album slipped from Apple Bloom's grasp and landed with a sound like a thousand moths coming to rest, finally splitting down the spine and spilling feathery pages across the floor. Sparing only a quick glance backwards, Big Macintosh stormed from the room, leaving Apple Bloom staring blankly downwards as the frenzied knocking grew louder.

The elder Apple paused momentarily as he reached the front door, taking a deep breath to steel himself for whatever lay beyond. When he opened it, a light blue pony almost fell inside, trembling and panting for breath. "Miss Locket?" Mac said, hesitantly helping her to her hooves. "What's going on?"

"There's... something..." Locket faltered as Big Macintosh stared down at her. She started to stammer, her lines escaping her. “I was... walking... s-shaking... and, and your sister...”

In a flash, Big Macintosh’s stance changed from comforting to warlike. “Where?”

“F-follow me.”

Locket turned and bolted towards the treeline, not waiting for the larger pony to follow her. Big Macintosh paused, glancing over his shoulder to the room where Apple Bloom was still sitting, motionless. "Stay here," he shouted, then galloped out the door, letting it slam shut behind him.

Apple Bloom stayed. She was bent half off the sofa, as though preparing to stand up, but didn’t move in one direction or the other. As soon as her brother’s hoofsteps had faded out of earshot, the stratoscreen in front of her crackled and then went dark.

Straw Bolt didn’t hear the shaking at first. He was sprawled on the sofa that served as his bed on the top floor of a cheap apartment complex, staring listlessly at the night sky. His armour lay scattered across the floor, well-polished after his ordeal in the Everfree but still waiting to be organized. The room was filled with the creaking of pipes and rush of water though the paper-thin walls as Quicksilver used up the last of their hot water for a shower.

Bolt barely shifted as the flow came to a shaky halt and Quicksilver slipped into the main room in nothing but a towel, shaking out her damp and clinging tail. “Zecora and I are going out dancing again,” she said quickly, drying herself off. “I think I’m getting the hang of it now. You should come with us.”

Straw Bolt gave a noncommittal shrug.

“Oh, come on.” The lieutenant tossed her towel aside and flitted playfully around the sofa, though she still kept a respectful distance. “We both know your leg’s better, and you’ve been sitting around all day. Messages from Canterlot won’t get here any faster if you spend your time moping up here.”

The guard captain’s eyes briefly flicked towards her. “You’re going out like that?” he grunted.

“Well, yeah.” Quicksilver glanced down at herself. “Ponyville isn’t like the slums of Canterlot. Muggings are practically at zero, and ponies here have a tradition of being nice to guests. Nothing’s going to happen if I don’t wear my armour for a few hours.” She grinned slyly. “Besides, you can’t move while wearing that stuff.”

“You can’t,” Straw Bolt retorted. “If you’d kept up with your strength training like I’ve reminded you to–”

“Then maybe you need to come out with us and show me how it’s done?” She leaned a little closer, still grinning. “Come on, Captain. Ponyville’s not so bad. I think you could grow to like it here, if you’d just give it a chance.” Even though he wasn’t looking, she fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Please?”

Straw Bolt sighed. Some of what she’d said was true; thanks to a burst of magic and a couple of herbs at the hospital, his injured leg felt practically good as new. All the guards from the mission had been found and sent back to Canterlot, along with his lengthy report and even lengthier letter of complaint. No new orders had arrived yet, and although he made it his business to trust the capital in all its dealings, he was beginning to suspect that none would be arriving at all in the near future.

So it was that, despite his resolution to stay put until news arrived, Straw Bolt felt something inside of him begin to give way. And there was a chance, albeit a very small one, that he might have taken Quicksilver up on her offer if not for what happened next.

Beneath their hooves, the floor began to shake. What was no more than a tremor from the ground floor echoed up the flimsy building, causing the room to shudder back and forth in waves. By the second pulse, Straw Bolt was on his hooves. By the third, he was starting to slip his breastplate on and lurching in the direction of the window. “Secure Zecora,” he barked, expertly sliding buckles into place. “And get your armour. Don’t follow me.”

“Captain, wait!” Quicksilver said, then froze when she realized she had no words to follow up with. Without looking back, Straw Bolt opened the window and squeezed his massive frame out, instantly plummeting toward the streets below.

Two stories down, the captain snapped out his wings and swooped in what he judged to be the direction of the noise, scanning movement on the surrounding roads. The shaking was continuing, and the source seemed to be moving – ponies close to the disturbance were cowering under whatever shelter they could find, while those further away were fleeing in all directions. Lining the path up with his mental map of the town, he took a quick guess as to the shaking’s destination and soared down the nearest street in the direction of the town hall.

The ground’s rumbling got worse as Straw Bolt came to a halt at the edge of the main square. He was largely ignored as he landed; while some ponies were continuing to flee, most were simply standing around, wearing looks of frightened resignation. He snorted at the sight. More peaceful than Canterlot my hoof, he thought. This place has monsters crawling out of the woodwork.

The captain started to push his way forwards, but stopped as he caught sight of two familiar mares running into the square nearby. All high-ranking guards were required to know the names and faces of the Elements of Harmony, and even dressed up as they were, there was no mistaking the sight of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Although he’d been specifically instructed to treat the group as civilians with no special privileges, in times of danger the Guard was expected to stand down to Celestia’s favorite weapons of peace. While he allowed himself a small grumble, Straw Bolt eyed the pair and remained where he was. May as well see what these so-called ‘Elements’ are capable of.

Neither mare was giving him a great deal of confidence. They both seemed genuinely frightened, and not entirely focused on the task at hoof. “What do you think it is?” Rainbow Dash asked, though her mind appeared to be elsewhere.

Applejack bit her lip, looking at the ground. “Ah have a few ideas.”

“Girls!” A familiar voice broke through the rumbling and frightened chatter around them. They both turned to see Twilight Sparkle running towards them, puffing and panting as she skidded to a halt. She appeared much more collected than the other two, though by no means confident. “Thank Celestia you’re here,” she said, nodding quickly to them both. “I don’t know if I can do this on my own.”

“Do what, Twi?” Applejack asked. For an instant, her eyes flicked up to her friend’s horn. Rainbow Dash seemed to be trying to catch the earth pony’s eye, without success.

“There’s no time to explain.” The rumbling stopped. “He’s here.”

A hush fell. For a few seconds, there was silence. Then a new sound began. Ponies scattered as the road in front of the town hall darkened and began to sink, creating an earthy grinding noise and a familiar static crackle. Now the screaming started; close to half of the gathered crowd immediately turned tail and fled, only to be replaced by braver souls searching for the source of the commotion.

As the three Elements of Harmony stood their ground, a dark and rounded shape seemed to melt out of the damp earth in front of them. A thick mass of greyish clay was barely visible beneath wave after wave of shadowy magic, which sparked and cracked at the joints as two three-fingered hands grasped the edge of the expanding pit and further lifted the hulking form out. As it continued to rise, a head that was little more than a bulbous stump lifted up from the main body, revealing a colossal night-black gemstone that pulsed constantly as it took in its new surroundings.

Twilight took half a step forward as the golem continued to lift itself, but her confidence faltered when it didn’t level off at the height of the ones from the forest. It kept rising, taking fully ten seconds to lift the first of its treelike legs from the pit. Though little wider than the others, when finally upright it stood as tall as the surrounding houses, but quickly buckled forwards to rest on its knuckles.

Applejack gulped, which was audible even from where Straw Bolt stood. “T-Twilight?” she muttered. “Tell me you have some kind of plan.”

“Um...”

“PONYVILLE!” A deep voice echoed around the square, shocking the remaining spectators into polite silence. A scraggly shape had peeled away from the golem’s shoulder, though one could be forgiven for not having seen him at first; his mane and coat were so deeply encrusted with mud that his original colour was impossible to make out. The golem’s dark magic changed colour to match as it washed over his hooves, apparently anchoring him to the surface in a dull brown haze.

A few long seconds passed before the stallion spoke again. “Well?” he boomed, looking around at the expectant faces raised up at him. “Is this all the welcome I get? No gasps? No tears? No cries of remorse, now that your end has finally come?” He stomped, and his eyes flashed darkly. “Do you foals even know who I am?”

“I know who you are!” Twilight Sparkle shouted. She stepped forward again, some of her confidence returned. “You’re–”

“Judas Loam,” Applejack interrupted. She stepped forward as well, turning her face up fearlessly. “The lonely dollmaker of the mountains.”

A few gasps of recognition went up though the assembled crowd. Judas Loam looked around again, his face unreadable. He turned and whispered into the side of the dark golem’s head, where an ear might have been on a living creature. In response, the great shape shuffled and leaned down further, bringing him closer to the trio in front of him. “So,” he said darkly once the movement had ceased, “it seems not all legends have been forgotten.”

“Maybe not,” Applejack continued with a glare, “but they sure must’ve changed. Ah don’t recall any mention in mah granny’s stories of you riding golems and terrorizin’ towns. And for that matter, ain’t you supposed to be dead?”

“For a time, I was,” the Dollmaker answered. His expression darkened as he stroked at the clay flesh beneath him. “My only crime was the creation of life, true life, carved from the heart of the earth itself. My only desire was to share this life with the world above. But when this life was abused and corrupted by ponies with smaller minds and empty hearts, when my own dolls were turned from their righteous path, who was it who was made to pay the price?” His back arched, and his voice grew steadily louder. “Not they! T’was I who was bound in stone beneath the very mountain I had carved! T’was I who was made to sleep for a thousand years, helpless as my name was made the punchline of an old pony’s tale! But now, the shields decayed and my children released... my time has come again.”

Applejack pursed her lips. “Twilight,” she whispered, “is this what that business in Canterlot was about?”

“The smaller dolls heralded his return,” Twilight whispered back with a gulp. “By the time I figured it out, it was too late. There was nothing I could do.”

Straw Bolt tensed up his legs, gauging the distance between himself and the golem’s master. It was only Twilight’s continuing voice that kept him from springing into an attack right away. “We have no wish to fight you,” she said, loudly and clearly. “None of us want the old conflicts to return. I can’t make up for the mistakes of the past, but I can offer you the chance to live peacefully alongside us in the present. Tell us what it is that you want, and we will do our best to accommodate you.”

Judas bowed, his calm demeanor instantly returned. “I too have no wish for violence,” he said. “Which is why I will be expecting no resistance...” His eyes flashed again. “When I reclaim this land.”

“W-what?” Twilight’s gasp joined that of others from the crowd. “You can’t be serious. Ponies live here now, and–”

“And they have lived here long enough.” The mud-covered pony flung a hoof wide. “All that you see once belonged to me and my kin. In millenia gone by it has been stolen, sold, and defaced by ponies less worthy of carving the truth from its landscape. This town and its red-spotted hills are a blemish, one which the earth itself will rejoice in erasing.”

Straw Bolt expected the farmer in front of him to pipe up after those words, but Applejack seemed unfazed by the Dollmaker’s speech. Rainbow Dash, however, seemed ready to throw up, and Twilight was starting to stammer. “Y-you can’t,” the mage said, looking around for support. “We w-won’t let you. When the Princesses–”

“Your Princesses have been sent on a wild goose chase to the far north,” Judas Loam snarled back, cutting her off a second time. “By the time they return, your imposter Ponyville will be rubble, and I–”

Straw Bolt had heard enough. Dust billowed up around him as he took off, and the shocked faces of the Elements of Harmony became blurs as he passed overhead; he had no patience for half a team of fillies barely able to keep their cool in the face of unstoppable evil. The Dollmaker, too, seemed unprepared, and Straw Bolt permitted himself a grin as he angled a hoof towards the mud-covered pony’s open jaw. In the past, striking mid-monologue had given him a swift victory against Royal Sword, Canterlot’s Grand Traitor; had vanquished Lovecraft, the Conduit of Terrors; and now–

This train of thought was interrupted as, mere feet away from his target, Straw Bolt collided with... something. A near-invisible force field gently deflected him away, slowing his flight to a crawl. Half a second later, the golem moved. With lightning speed the titanic shape lurched back and a massive hand swung up, almost enveloping the pegasus. Before the guard captain could recover, a bolt of black fire leaped from the beast’s palm and struck him in the chest.

For the few seconds before all went dark, he was gripped by the searing glow of what was, unmistakably, unicorn magic.

By the time Straw Bolt’s senses had returned to him, he was upside-down. The golem had risen up and was dangling him tauntingly over the crowd, though he couldn’t feel its hand on his body; he’d gone completely numb and his body had seized up, to the extent that even blinking was an effort. “So, this is what has become of modern hospitality?” the Dollmaker was saying, though his voice seemed to be coming from much further away. “Pitiful. But if this is the path you have chosen, so be it. Instead of three hours to gather your possessions and leave this place, I will now give you one. This volent little specimen will be my hostage until then. If there is any resistance before your time is up, then he will be crushed.”

Amidst the surrounding fuzziness, Straw Bolt’s keen eyes picked out the Elements of Harmony in the crowd again, this time from above. Twilight Sparkle’s face was frozen in much the same way the Dollmaker’s had been, slack-jawed as though she’d forgotten her lines, and Rainbow Dash was turning a shade paler as she stared up at him. Applejack, however, wasn’t looking in his direction at all. Instead she was staring past the golem, up at the sky behind him, as though searching for something.

That was the last thing the captain saw before a mad cackle echoed across the square and the golem plunged back into the earth. Then everything went black once again.

Mere minutes had passed since the golem had vanished from the main square when Twilight and Bon Bon arrived back at the entrance to the base simultaneously. “Twilight?” Bon Bon asked, seemingly materializing out of the shadows as she threw back her hood and nearly startled the unicorn off of her hooves. “Why didn’t you stay with Applejack?”

“I tried,” Twilight panted in between deep breaths. She was both panicking and out of breath, and seemed about to cry on top of that. “As soon as it was over, Applejack just bolted. Rainbow Dash went after her, and I tried to follow, but I lost them, and then I couldn’t find Fluttershy, and now I don’t know where any of them are...”

“It’s fine, sweetheart,” Bon Bon reassured her, though she didn’t sound entirely certain of herself. In front of them, the trapdoor swung open. With breaths held, the pair descended.

Twilight’s hooves became heavy as she reached the iron doors. Seeming to sense this, Bon Bon steadied her with a hoof and quickly ushered her inside. As soon as they were past the doors, Twilight started to speak. “I–”

“Yes, I was listening.” L waved a hoof in vague greeting, but her eyes never left the wall of screens in front of her. Her hoof hovered back and forth over the switches of three different microphones, ready to relay new orders at a moment’s notice. Behind Twilight, Bon Bon shrugged off her cloak and started towards the kitchen. “Colgate has managed to contact Rainbow Dash,” L continued, “and Spike is tracking Applejack from the air. Our guard friend’s early arrival has offset the delay of disposing of him, so the next few phases should proceed as scheduled.” She pressed one of the buttons in front of her and leaned forward. “Spike, any change?”

“Not yet,” the dragon’s voice crackled back, muffled by the wind and the burner of a hot air balloon. “I don’t know where she’s going, but it’s not the farm. It’s kinda like she’s... running in circles?”

“The moment she halts, let us know. Colgate will contact you shortly for directions.” L shut the microphone off and swiveled towards Twilight for just long enough to make eye contact before turning back. “You should rest here, but be prepared to run if you’re needed. Jazz, is the report ready?”

Near Minty, Jazz was watching the readout from a spare stratoscreen propped up on the floor. The abacus was strangely still, though its internal crystals were glowing much more brightly than usual. Jazz tapped a hoof impatiently, counting down to himself. “Any... second... yes.”

“Hit it.”

In a glow of magic, a lever snapped downwards.

In the Apple homestead, the previously blank stratoscreen crackled back to life. Apple Bloom, who had roused herself enough to begin tentatively shuffling the pages of her grandmother’s photo album back together, immediately shrieked and bolted behind the sofa as a fierce grinding noise began to play. She peeked out when the image resolved itself into a news feed, set in front of what was now a deep indentation in front of the town hall.

“–ust minutes ago, a terrifying threat was made against Ponyville by a pony riding on an artificial beast of mass destruction,” a newsmare was saying, demonstrating commendable professionalism in light of the situation. “The pony was identified as Judas Loam, legendary creator of the golems now turned vengeful maniac. All of Ponyville has been granted a scant one hour to evacuate before its complete destruction, with an unidentified pony in Canterlot barding taken as collateral in the meantime. Local heroes and Elements of Harmony Twilight Sparkle, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were the first to speak to the transgressor. Their current whereabouts are currently unknown...”

Watching Apple Bloom’s reaction, Twilight found herself continually wincing as she pulled up a chair and sat down. The filly’s dull-eyed stare was unchanging, but every few seconds some part of her would twitch – her eye, her hoof, her tail, never the same part twice. The longer Twilight watched, the more details started to sink in – the frayed edges of her mane, the frailness of her normally active body, the still-visible bite mark on her leg – and the more the lump in Twilight’s throat began to grow. This is cruel, she realized. This part of the plan looked good on paper, but...

Just as Twilight was bracing herself to turn to L and suggest that they call this part off, the news report changed. A picture of a pony’s face filled the screen, muddied and leering, taken at some point during the initial speech. Right away, Apple Bloom moved. She scrambled forward and picked up the pencil that still lay in front of the stratoscreen, then immediately froze again. She hovered uncertainly above the name-filled page in front of her for several long seconds, indecision flickering across every part of her, before dropping the tool back to the ground and dashed towards the stairs. She didn’t stop until she’d reached her bedroom and flung the window open, sticking her head out into the damp night air. Though now outside the house, her voice could still be heard as she screamed out into the distance. “Big Mac! Big Maaaaaac!”

Big Macintosh was still running. The mare in front of him was starting to tire; every so often she would slow down to almost a walking pace, only to scramble forwards again whenever he got close enough that they might be able to speak. He wouldn’t have guessed it from her stature, but she could certainly move fast when she wanted to. Despite her claims about his sister, she seemed to be leading him on a wide, looping path through the orchard, heading around Ponyville instead of towards it.

Their destination began to come into view as the edge of the orchard approached. A dark shape loomed over the slowly thinning treeline, black even against the night sky. Digging into his reserves, Big Macintosh galloped ahead and overtook Locket, cutting her off and sliding them both to a halt before she could charge around him. “No lies,” he said as she paused for breath, his voice cold. “Why are we here?”

Locket gasped. “I...” She strained against herself, her legs clearly fighting a desire to flee. “I... you... I had to...”

“Yes,” another voice broke in, echoing between the trees. “What are you little ponies doing here?”

A shape slowly walked into view, seeming to rise up out of the ground as it did so. As it passed into the moonlight it resolved into an earth pony, taller than Big Macintosh but not nearly as broad, covered from head to hoof in mud. What could be seen of his face was set into a hard stare, challenging if not outright threatening.

Locket squeaked and ducked behind Big Macintosh. The farmer, to his credit, barely moved. “This is my family’s land,” he said calmly, finding himself standing taller as the apparition approached. “Ah’ll walk on it as Ah please. Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

“Your land?” the stallion shot back, ignoring Macintosh’s questions. He spat out a laugh, shaking his head. “My little, little pony, I’m afraid you’re sorely mistaken. I sculpted these fields with teeth of clay before your grandmother’s grandmother was but a twinkle in her grandmother’s eye. Time has forced me to tolerate your squatting until this night, but now that you have allowed yourself to be led straight into my waiting arms...”

Mac flicked his tail, though the front of his body remained stationary. “You’re working for him?” he asked, addressing Locket with the slightest turn of his head.

Locked paled. “I... no, I...”

“That pitiful creature?” the muddied pony snorted. “Do you think a king like myself has any need for such trickery?” He stomped, and a wave of mud pulsed over his body and down through his hooves. A second later, the ground erupted beneath Locket. She shrieked as a fist of clay wrapped around her torso, suspending her a foot above the ground.

Big Macintosh only allowed himself a glance in her direction before focusing his glare back on the other pony. “Let her go.”

“The Earthen King does not take orders. He gives them.” Another magical stomp shifted the ground again as Macintosh began to advance. “Ah, ah. Let’s not be hasty. One wrong move out of you, and your sister’s life is forfeit.”

Mac snorted suspiciously, but still halted. “Which one?”

“Whichever one you love the most.” The leering stallion stepped forward and began to circle around him, staying just out of striking range. “Do you not recognize my face? Does the name Judas Loam mean nothing to you? Did your mother not read you stories when you were a little root? This is the second town that has sprung from these hills, little pony. What do you think became of the first?”

Without realizing it, Macintosh had begun to scrape at the ground with his hoof. “Ah am trying to be patient with you,” he growled. “If you really are so great and powerful, then you shouldn’t need to show off. If you’ve got something to say, then say it, but leave my friend and my family out of it. If you can’t do that, then king or not, Ah will make you leave this place by any means necessary.”

The Earthen King paused. “A practical stallion,” he said quietly. “I like that.” He faced Macintosh directly. “After I have destroyed your hideous Ponyville, in less than one hour from now, I will turn my children to these hills. Every last one of these life-sapping trees will be torn down and fed to the hungry earth that you have spent your life abusing. But as I am a fair king, I will not bring my wrath down upon you as well. Since you have done this out of ignorance, not malice, I will leave you with what time you have left to flee this place, and build your life anew in further grounds.”

Big Macintosh took a moment to consider this. When he spoke, his voice was entirely without anger. “Ah’m sorry that you feel that way. But no matter how much you think you care for these hills, Ah can guarantee that Ah love them more. Mah family gave their bodies and their lives for this land and the ponies who live here. They’ve made it theirs more than it could ever have belonged to you.” He abandoned his defensive pose, lowering his head into a charging stance. “Ah’m prepared to follow their example.”

“...A pity. You would have made a good soldier.” The Earthen King tutted. “Sit tight. I’ll be watching.”

Suddenly, the clay hand holding Locket began to spark. The mare shrieked as black magic flowed into her body, sending flashes of dark lightning over her skin. Big Macintosh gasped and spun into a kick, striking the appendage at the wrist. It blew apart at his touch, scattering hoof-sized lumps of clay around and dumping Locket roughly onto the ground. By the time he looked up at the surrounding trees again, the Earthen King had vanished.

Locket whimpered, drawing Mac’s attention back to her. She was curled up into a tight ball with her face hidden beneath her tail, badly covering up the fact that she’d started crying. “Locket?” he whispered, urgency returning to his voice now that the immediate threat was gone. “We have to go.”

“Mac?” Locket peeked out from behind her tail, then raised her head and looked around wildly. Her watery eyes were blank and unfocused. “Mac, I can’t see.”

Big Macintosh grunted a word that would have earned him a smack across the cheek if he’d used it at home. “Stay here,” he ordered, starting to back away. “Ah’ll come back for you.”

“No... wait!” Locket reached out in nearly his direction, feeling around blindly. Her eyes remained wide and unfocused. She started to get up, only to immediately trip on a piece of clay and tumble over again.

“There’s something Ah have to do,” Mac said, turning away. He focused his gaze on the distant lights of the farmhouse. “You’re going to be safe, Ah promise.”

“No!” Locket raised herself up as high as she could, screaming in the wrong direction. “Don’t leave me!”

Against his will, Big Macintosh’s legs began to slow. He’d only trotted a short distance through the trees when he came to a halt, glancing back. Locket was still reaching around, searching for a hoofhold that wasn’t there. She eventually found the broken stump of the clay hand and used it to pull herself up, but seconds later she stumbled cheek-first into a tree and fell back onto her rump. She made no further attempts to move after that. Mac watched her in silence for close to a minute as she slowly curled up again, muffled, fearful whimpers sounding between the trees.

When Mac started to move again, his hoofstep caused Locket to leap back up in fright. “Who’s there?” she called, reaching around and steadying herself against the nearest tree trunk nervously.

“All right.”

“What?”

“All right. Ah won’t leave you.”

Locket squirmed as he walked up to her, helping to steady her against the bark. “Y-you shouldn’t,” she mumbled, pointlessly turning her face towards the ground.

“Can’t have you walkin’ around if you can’t see. You might get hurt. Come on, sit down.”

Initially, Locket backed away as he moved closer. “Y-you could carry me,” she stammered. “If you had to leave. I wouldn’t mind.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Reaching down, he grabbed her hoof and lowered them both until they were sitting at the base of the tree. He pulled her close as she started to tilt to the side, letting her rest her head against his shoulder. “Ah thought there was something Ah had to do... but there ain’t. If Ponyville’s in danger, my sister and her friends will be puttin’ a stop to it long before the trouble ever reaches here. The best thing we can do for them right now is stay out of their way.”

Locket closed her eyes. Her breathing was starting to become more regular. “What about Apple Bloom?” she asked.

“She can look after herself.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “That, and if that King pony is watching like he said, Ah don’t want to lead him anywhere near her.” He returned to his normal volume, brushing a curl of hair away from Locket’s blank eyes. “Ah’m no magic expert, but Ah wouldn’t expect a blinding spell would last too long. We’ll just stay here until your head’s better.”

Locket shifted. “She might miss you.”

“She’s a tough filly. She doesn’t need me watching over her to stay safe.”

“But I do?”

“For now.”

Mac looked up. A sliver of moonlight was starting to become visible above the trees, lighting up the space where they sat. High in the sky, pale even against the brightness of the moon, he could see a chillingly white shape staring down at them. He clenched his hoof more tightly around Locket’s; she pressed herself closer against his side in turn. A cloud passed in front of the moon, and by the time it was gone, so was the shape.

It was difficult to judge how much time had passed when something began to break into Straw Bolt’s vision. Unfamiliar shapes and colours floated across what had until recently been a haze of shadows. He'd long since lost track of the confused, distorted sensations crossing over him; all had been dark since the golem had dragged him into the earth. He wasn’t afraid. He didn’t have the energy. A powerful sleep seemed to be consuming him, like an iron blanket weighing him down from the inside.

But something was changing, slowly but surely. A face materialized over his, and he struggled for a name. Quicksilver? No, it wasn’t her; this one was too small. A blue glow covered him, and pinpricks of pain flashed across his limbs as sensation was abruptly returned to them. As his senses winked back to life, he caught the tail end of a sentence being spoken to somepony he couldn’t see. “...so much magic flying around, I can’t even count how many laws we’re breaking.”

Straw Bolt felt something. It was anger.

With a sensation like being flung backwards through a window, the world rippled and shattered back into focus. The guard captain was on his side in an absurdly oversized bed, laid out in the middle of a large, dome-shaped room he didn’t recognize. Only one of the candles on the walls was lit, and the curtains across the large windows were drawn. Standing over him with a concerned look was Romana, from the Ponyville police. He tried to swat her away and roar out a demand for an explanation, but his leg barely shifted across the sheets.

To his immense frustration, this tiny motion instead caused his captor to move even closer. "Captain, don't panic," she hissed to him in a tone of strained calmness. "You're in the Celestial Chambers. These are the rooms we prepare for Celestia on her royal visits. It's the safest place in Ponyville." She gestured demonstratively around her, but Bolt refused to break eye contact. At this, Romana’s expression instantly shifted to one of remorse. “I’m sorry,” she said, drawing back. “We never meant for anypony else to get dragged into this. Rainbow Dash was supposed to be our bait, not you. When you charged in, we had to rewrite the script.”

At a fraction of its normal speed, Straw Bolt’s face began to curl into a look of outrage. You staged a madpony’s attack in the middle of the town square, and you didn’t expect anypony to get involved!? Is this town completely full of cowards?

“Why are you apologizing to that jerk?” somepony behind him yelled. Bolt’s head refused to turn, but he vaguely recognized the voice of Rainbow Dash. “He completely messed us up! Fluttershy didn’t even get to say her line!”

“It wasn’t his fault!” Romana retorted. “But... at the same time...” She leaned closer, to the captain’s disgust. “You weren’t supposed to be here. You’re supposed to be in the Everfree. So why are you here?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Did you find Sunny Days or not?”

What?

Bolt tried to lift his leg again. He managed to drag it a little further this time, but could still barely move. An utterly numb tongue prevented a question from even passing through his lips.

“Please,” Romana continued, apparently oblivious to his struggle. “I need to know. I visit her parents every day for reassurance, and they’re starting to give up hope. If they find out that you’re here, empty-hooved...” She bit her lip. “Just tell me if you know where she is. Blink once for yes, twice for no?”

What is this? Bolt’s brow furrowed further at a crawl, but he didn’t blink yet. I delivered her to Ponyville myself. How has she not reached her family yet? A new source of anger welled up in him, threatening to overwhelm the first. What have those idiotic Royals done!?

As the captain considered whether he could accurately say if he knew where Sunny Days was at this point, Rainbow Dash spoke up again. “Colgate, come on! We don’t have time for this! You can talk later!”

Romana winced and stepped back, looking nervously over him. “We’ll talk later, okay?” she whispered. “Please.” She straightened up. “Okay, let’s go. Shy, you’re with me. Sorry Dash, no rescue for you. Stay here and watch him.” She shook her head firmly in response to a face Bolt couldn’t see. “Somepony needs to make sure he doesn’t leave. If Applejack spots him, it’ll ruin everything. The last thing we want is for L to call the whole thing off over one mistake.”

L!?

No, the first source of anger was definitely the larger.

“But... but look at him!” Rainbow protested as the captain began to twitch all four of his legs, trying to work some furious life back into them. “How am I supposed to keep somepony that big here on my own?”

“Judging by the strength of the spell, it should be about two hours before he gets enough strength back to even fly. Between that and the wards on the windows, you should be fine.” She leaned down again. “Sorry, Captain. You can report me for this later, but right now, I just don’t feel I can trust you to stay put on your own.” Putting his Guard’s Oath aside for a second, Straw Bolt indulged himself and tried to set her on fire with his mind.

“Then why can’t you stay here?” Dash continued to argue. “Or Fluttershy? Applejack’s my friend. She’ll listen to me. I need to be there–”

“Dash, she’s not herself any more!” Romana snapped back, her patience clearly beginning to run out. “Look, I know it’s hard, but whatever connection you two might have had before, it’s gone now. It’s going to hurt, but we can’t let that get in our way. Whoever she used to be, whatever she’s said to you, you can’t trust her now. Everypony else has accepted that. If you can’t, then maybe it’s for the best if you stay here.” A suspicious look crossed her face. “Has she said anything to you?”

There was a very long pause. “No.”

“Then it’s settled.” The policemare straightened herself up, and with a deep breath, passed out of view. There was a clopping of hooves as she and another pony walked to the edge of the room behind him, then the creak of a heavy door.

“Um... goodbye, Mister Guard,” a third voice meekly called, which Bolt could only assume belonged to Fluttershy. Then the door shut.

Time passed in silence, save for the occasional shuffling as Straw Bolt continued to furiously work at his unresponsive limbs. After what felt like minutes but could have been longer, Rainbow Dash slowly snuck into his field of view. She was still wearing the same too-large dress and frightened, distracted expression she’d had on when he’d seen her earlier, but seemed to be growing braver as she watched him. He glared back as hard as he could.

As he watched, still twitching periodically, the young mare reached back and started to tug at her dress. With much stretching and fumbling, twice getting lost within the mass of fabric, she managed to pull it over her head and dropped it carelessly onto the floor. Underneath she was wearing nothing but a belt, along which dangled three shapes that Bolt vaguely recognized from an experimental weapons file. She leaned over him in much the same way Romana had, though conspiratorially rather than controllingly. She examined the movement of his legs for a few seconds, then spoke.

“Hey, uh...” She flinched and looked around, as though expecting somepony to leap out of the shadows. When nothing happened, she continued. “Look, if... if anypony asks, just... just tell them you took me by surprise, all right?”

To Straw Bolt’s mounting horror and confusion, the smaller pegasus put her front hooves on the bed, leaned down, and gently undid the top clasp of his armour.

That done, Rainbow Dash hopped down from the bed and trotted towards the nearest window. She looked around again as she pulled the curtains open, letting moonlight shine down on her. “No one has to die,” she whispered, audible across the silent room, and a blue shield of magic flickered into view before fading from existence. Without so much as a glance at the guard behind her, she pushed the window open and flew out into the night.

Now alone, Straw Bolt continued his determined twitching. The loosening of his barding allowed for more freedom of movement (Quicksilver had been right, he admitted; it was hard to move in those things) which allowed him to stretch out his wings, then his back. With relentless effort, it was only fifteen minutes before Bolt was able to roll himself off the bed and land heavily on the floor. Eyes on the moon outside, he began to crawl in the direction of the window.

Twilight’s guilt hadn’t subsided as she continued to observe Apple Bloom, but she was becoming more adept at finding ways to distract herself from it. Currently, she was fixated on trying to puzzle out the filly’s actions. After several fruitless minutes of calling for her brother, she’d returned downstairs and finally written Judas Loam’s name down, immediately launching into her own killing ritual. “Kira, please kill Judas Loam the evil pony right now,” she mumbled, front hooves pressed tightly together. “Please kill Judas Loam the evil pony right now. Kira, please kill Judas Loam the evil pony right now...”

“Look at her eyes,” Twilight found herself saying, unable to tear her gaze away. “This isn’t an act. She really believes she’s a killer...”

“But is she?” L asked, apparently unmoved. She twirled a quill in midair and tapped it on the desk a few times, examining her hoof in thought. “Why did she write the name down?” she mulled. “If the killing ritual is aural, then the writing of the name should be superfluous. So why did she do it now?”

“You mean...” Twilight gasped. “You think that’s the real ritual?”

“Possibly.” L dropped her quill and began to chew on the edge of her hoof. “It would confirm my theory about the three rituals. None of the Tri-Kira’s methods are genuine; the killing ritual is completed at the kitchen table, when names and times of death are written down. Because all three of them make a copy, it’s impossible to tell whether one or any are aware of what they’re doing.”

“But if the writing is the real ritual, then wouldn’t that make the chanting superfluous?” Twilight added. “If she doesn’t know she’s being watched, then why would she do both? Do you think she doesn’t know which part is the real spell, so she’s just trying to follow the method as closely as possible?”

“That seems likely. That said, this theory does raise two significant questions. Firstly...” L picked up a piece of loose leaf from the table in front of her. “How could a simple piece of paper cause heart attacks in ponies hundreds of miles away? And secondly...”

This thought was cut off as one of the microphones in front of them buzzed. L leaned forward and tapped it. “Speak,” she said, starting to gnaw more insistently on her hoof.

“Colgate here,” the policemare’s voice crackled back. From her rushed breath, it sounded like she was speaking while running. “Fluttershy and I have caught up with Applejack, and we’ve touched base with Spike. Letting you know that Applejack’s changed course and is making a beeline for Sweet Apple Acres. Want us to intercept?”

“That won’t be necessary,” L answered. “Apple Bloom has played her part. I see no harm now in letting them reunite.” In quick motions, Bon Bon appeared by her side, gently pulled her wet hoof from her mouth, replaced it with a fruity sucker, and then darted away.

“All right. How’s Locket faring?”

L leaned over to check a far, shadowy screen. “She never reached the checkpoint, but the golem’s eye confirms that she and her target haven’t moved in some time. It would appear that Big Macintosh is currently out of the game.” She paused. “That is strange,” she muttered. “I had thought that he would be the most difficult to keep separate from the others, yet he’s willingly given up the chase...”

“That... makes things easier, I guess,” Colgate offered. “Talk to you soon?”

“Colgate, wait,” Twilight broke in. “We think we’ve figured out Kira’s real method of killing. It has something to do with writing names on paper.”

There was a pause, then Colgate spoke in surprise. “Oh! You think they’re using a copying spell?”

Twilight blinked. “A what?”

“You know, write something on one page, it gets copied onto another, no matter how far away it is. It’s how public records self-update. I use a simple version to keep track of my work between here and Canterlot.” Colgate paused thoughtfully. “The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. The paper doesn’t release much magic after the initial spell, so we wouldn’t be able to detect that magic was being used.”

“That... does make sense,” Twilight agreed, silently cursing herself for not putting it together earlier. “I studied those years ago, but I’ve always had Spike with me, so I’ve never had a reason to learn one. If I’d just been paying more attention last night...”

“Never focus on what might have been, Twilight,” L advised. “It never helps. I too, perhaps, have become too accustomed to crystal communication...”

“We’re coming up to the house now,” Colgate noted. “I should stay quiet. Call me if anything happens.”

Without bothering to answer, L reached over and switched the microphone off. “If the Apples are being used to transmit names to the real Kira, it would explain the Tri-Kira’s function as well as how they are being kept in the dark about their own actions. It may even give us some ground towards explaining how you, Twilight, were dragged into Kira’s schemes. However, this does leave us with a disturbing implication.” She rolled her sucker around in her mouth, seeming to sink further into her chair. “Up until this point, all data had indicated that Kira requires both a name and a face to kill. However, if data is being transmitted through paper alone, it may prove that in reality, she only requires a name...”

As L finished speaking, Applejack flashed across the monitors as she charged into the house. Her dress was ruffled and her braid was starting to come undone, but the mare herself seemed scarcely out of breath as she screeched to a halt in the living room. Apple Bloom immediately ceased her chanting and threw herself forward, curling up on top of her killing page as she looked up at her sister with frightened eyes. Applejack ignored her, looking around wildly. “Where’s yer brother?” she barked.

Half a syllable into Apple Bloom’s response, two of the camera bugs overlooking the room winked out.

“What?” L bolted upright, leaning forward until her face was inches from one of the now-blank screens. “Jazz, tell me that wasn’t a malfunction.”

“One camera down is a malfunction,” Jazz barked back, rapidly pulling levers. “Two is sabotage. No signal from either one. The earwig is detecting no magic.”

As he finished speaking, the third and final screen overlooking the living room winked to black. Twilight blinked; for a second, she thought she’d seen a flash of white. L’s hoof slammed down on the nearest microphone. “Colgate! What do you see?”

“Um... nothing. No activity from the house.”

With equal force, the second microphone was thrown on. “Spike! What do you see?”

“I can’t see anything. The wind blew me way out over the Everfree. I’m trying to get back.”

Twilight sat numbly, trying to keep up with the rapid exchanges. She was still cycling through her abandoned script in her head. “There isn’t supposed to be any wind after the storm stopped,” she muttered.

L looked over her shoulder. “Jazz, activate–”

“Quartz procedure, yes. Already on it.”

All at once, all of the remaining screens of the Apple house began to twist. Tiny bugs spread across the walls and ceilings rocked their little heads back and forth, scanning the rooms around them in a nausea-inducing display in hopes of catching anything that might be sneaking up on them. It didn’t help. As Applejack left the living room and entered the kitchen, all four of the screens watching the room flickered and died in quick succession. This continued as Applejack made her unhurried way to the stairs, cameras flashing out from room to room. Twice Twilight thought she saw snatches of paleness and movement before the screens turned to black, but L never reacted.

The pattern stopped as Applejack climbed upstairs, stomped to her bedroom and slammed her door behind her. The camera on her ceiling went out. As if in response, she looked straight up, flinching as a camera bug rained down on her in two pieces. “So there you are,” she said with a scowl, speaking to something that had vanished by the time the remaining cameras had swiveled upwards. “Where’ve you been all day? Ah’ve been looking for you!”

“I too have been searching...”

The voice rattled around the room, seeming to come from all directions at once. The still-shifting cameras didn’t help; whichever way Applejack looked, a bug would blink out. Although she couldn’t place the voice, something about the sound made Twilight gasp, feeling a shudder run through her. L gave her a strange look, but didn’t say anything.

Applejack held up a hoof, shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter. We don’t have time.” She looked towards her window. In the distance, the titanic golem glowed darkly over Sweet Apple Acres. “Ah’m ready. Give me the eye–”

The last of the cameras went out.

L crunched her sucker into shards. “We need eyes in there,” she said sharply. “Colgate, send... no, wait.” She frowned. “Keep Fluttershy with you.” In a third quick movement, she reached out and pounded the final microphone on. “Rainbow Dash, what is your status?”

Silence.

Twilight snapped to attention. “Rainbow?” she said, leaning forward and grasping the device. “Rainbow Dash, answer us.”

More silence. An abandoned headset crackled on the floor of the Celestial Chambers.

L’s frown deepened. “Colgate, did you remember to give miss Dash the third communicator before you parted ways?”

“Yes! I handed it right to her when we left her with Straw Bolt!” The policemare gasped. “You don’t think...”

“Why isn’t she answering?” Twilight cried, vainly shaking the microphone. Panic was rising in her, faster than she could squash it down. “Is she... oh my gosh.” She turned to L, eyes widening. “Do you think Kira’s controlling her?”

“Uh, guys?” Colgate broke in again. “Applejack’s leaving. It looks like she’s heading for the golem.”

“I think I’m lost,” Spike added.

“Quiet!” L ordered. The others fell silent. Closing her eyes tightly, the detective ground up the last of her sucker with her teeth, swallowed hard, and then spat the stick onto the ground. She sprang to her hooves, kicking her chair away. “Colgate. Meet Applejack at the golem and apprehend her. Once she is secure, protect Apple Bloom as best you can. If you come across Rainbow Dash, do not attempt to speak with her. Take her down immediately. Bon Bon, get your cloak. Be prepared to fight. Jazz, hold the fort. Help Spike get home. If we don’t return, you know what to do. Twilight...” A band of bright green light coiled out from her horn, binding the unicorns’ forehooves together. “Until this night is over, you do not leave my side for a second. Understood?”

“I... I think so,” Twilight stammered as she was pulled out of her chair. “But what are we doing? What’s the plan?”

L sighed. “What we’re dealing with is a creature that can pass through walls and crush our instruments, can kill with a name, and can make herself unseen and unheard at will. Thanks to our meddling, the true God of Death seems to have awoken, and we may have merely a matter of minutes to figure out how to stop her.”

The orchard was strangely quiet, considering the time of night. Normally after sundown the buzz of insects would last for a few hours, followed by the pitter-patter of night-time critters as they burrowed out to forage on the apple-spotted hills. Tonight, however, all was silent. Big Macintosh watched the sky as he sat in wait, his ears raised, listening. Clouds were beginning to roll in more thickly, covering the moon. He found himself trying not to breathe too loudly. It was as if the whole farm was waiting as he was, holding its breath for the first bolt of lightning to strike.

After a length of time that was difficult to measure, Locket lifted her head from his side. She’d barely moved since they’d last spoken, and he’d been starting to wonder if she’d fallen asleep. “I can see shapes,” she said, shattering the veil of silence that lay around them. “I think my eyesight’s starting to come back.”

Mac nodded, although Locket didn’t respond to this. “How much can you see?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

The blue mare began to look around. “Some starlight... a tree trunk...” None too subtly, she tried to get her eyes to focus on Mac’s face. “A little red.”

“That’s good.” Big Macintosh nodded again, exaggerating the motion so she could see. “How many hooves am Ah holding up?”

Locket squinted, then frowned. “You aren’t.”

“Good.” He nodded again. “Your head’s all right. You should be...”

He trailed off as a cool breeze blew between the trees, carrying a new sound with it. His sharp ears caught rapid hoofsteps coming their way. “We should move,” he said, standing up. “Can you walk?”

“I... think so,” Locket said hesitantly, letting him pull her up after him. “Where are we going?”

“Not far.” He kept his ankle locked tightly with hers. “Don’t let go.”

A stumbling, six-legged walk brought the pair to the far side of a nearby hill, where a pair of exposed roots from a slightly tilted tree formed the hint of an indentation. As he helped Locket sit back down again, Mac heard the runner pass by the spot where they had been just moments ago. He peered around the hill, catching a glimpse of Applejack’s grey dress before she vanished in the direction of the golem.

“Who was that?” Locket asked as he joined her on the ground again.

“Couldn’t see. Thought they might be trouble.”

“You’re lying.”

Mac gave her a searching look. She was staring at the ground, avoiding his gaze. “It was the way you said it,” she continued, slowly sinking under his stare. “Something in your voice. You’re a t-terrible liar...”

Mac leaned closer as, abruptly, Locket began to weep again. He offered her his shoulder to lean on but she pulled away, letting go of his hoof. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“That’s the first time you’ve lied to me.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Because it means that everything before now was the truth.” Locket wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry. That shouldn’t get to me. I’m just so... so tired of hearing ponies lie to each other. Ever since this all started, it’s like... nopony just says what they mean any more. We’re all too... afraid of being hurt.”

She looked up at the sky. Her eyes didn’t reflect the moonbeams falling onto them. “I shouldn’t even be here,” she whimpered. “I should have gone to Appleloosa a long time ago. Things aren’t better there, but they’re simpler. Even if somepony hates you, at least they’ll say it to your face. I would have left with Green Grapes, if he’d only asked me to. Instead I did the stupid thing. I stayed. Then I fell in with... a bad crowd. And whatever I did to try to fix things, I only got sucked in deeper and deeper. And now...” She sniffed, blinking back tears. “I’m running from monsters in an orchard, half blind, with...” Some colour came to her cheeks, and she quickly looked at the ground. “With a stallion I barely know,” she finished.

Mac considered this. He shifted away, thinking hard before speaking again. “This stallion of yours, the one in Appleloosa. Do you love him?”

“Yes.”

“What does his voice sound like?”

A few seconds passed. Locket breathed in sharply, but didn’t answer. Mac leaned to the side, watching her face. “You picked out a tickle in my voice after knowing me for a few days,” he said. “And from what Ah recall, Green Grapes used to be quite the chatterbox. So what did his voice sound like?”

Locket still refused to answer. Her head drooped lower and lower, almost touching the ground, and her tail started to wrap tightly around her side. Mac matched her, leaning down sympathetically. “He’s just a name on a page to you now, isn’t he?”

“Stop it.”

“A name and maybe an old photograph.”

“Stop it!” She whirled on him, coming within an inch of hissing. “He’s all I’ve got!”

Mac was unmoved. “Miss Locket, you’re a worse liar than Ah am. Why do you say things you know aren’t true?”

“I...” What little anger there had been deflated. Locket looked down again. “Don’t make me look at myself,” she muttered. “I don’t like what I see.” She snorted. “You must think–”

“Ah think,” Mac interrupted, “that you’re a mare who’s gotten caught up in something more complicated than her own part in it. Maybe something you don’t really want to be a part of, but something you’re afraid to leave. And...” He smiled. “Maybe Ah can understand how that feels.”

Locket looked at him. There was no judgement in his grin. “Ah thought about running away too,” he continued, “when things changed, and Ah felt like Ah didn’t belong any more. Leaving would have been painful, sure, but it seemed like the lesser of two hurts next to staying. But no matter how much Ah tried to get myself to go, Ah always found some reason to stay. Some... more convincing than others.”

A cold wind blew. Neither pony shivered. “Ah think we’re both carryin’ some things we don’t want looking at too closely. We can’t take those things away from each other, no more than we can stop a raging golem with our own four hooves. But if something’s been keeping you in Ponyville, even though it hurts, then Ah think that sooner or later you’ll find that you’ve been right where you needed to be all along.”

Close to a minute passed in silence. More clouds began to flow in overhead, darkening the moonlight. Finally, Locket tore her gaze away from his. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I never even thanked you.”

“For what?”

“For staying with me.” She gulped. “And... for taking me out. For noticing me. For...” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “For wanting to be my friend.”

His voice softened. “Do you want to be mine?”

“I’d like that,” she breathed. “But... there’s just one thing I need to know. One really important thing.”

She took a deep breath. “Are you K–”

He pressed a hoof against her lips, silencing her question as well as her gasp. His other foreleg wrapped around her, pressing her close until their chests touched and her nose was nearly resting under his. “Don’t say anything,” he whispered, pulling her deeper into the shadows under the tree.

Her ears pricked up. In the distance she could hear not one, but several sets of hoofsteps running their way. “And whatever happens,” Macintosh continued, “don’t move.”

Rainbow Dash held her breath as she peered over the edge of the cloud she was hiding on. She wasn’t certain why so much of the thunderstorm’s reserves had been gathered up on this side of town, but she didn’t feel the need to question it; the weather team got up to some strange things when she wasn’t around to lead them. As it was, a few wisps had drifted almost as far as the golem on Sweet Apple Acres’ edge, providing some ideal cover as she watched the clay structure from above.

The area around the golem’s legs had been flattened out, shifting trees and uneven ground aside to form a wide circle. A small hut had seemingly risen out of the ground behind one ankle, its interior blackened.

There were hoofsteps in the distance. Dash poised herself to jump. I just need to get her away, she thought, still trying to pull the pieces of her plan together. The moment Twilight has what she’s looking for... She couldn’t finish the thought. Swallowing the lump building in her throat, she tried again. The moment Kira has what she’s looking for, she’ll kill us all. If I can just get Applejack somewhere safe for an hour, just long enough to get Kira to show herself, then I can take her away as well. As long as those two are kept away from each other, then I can explain things to L, and we can figure this out. But until then...

The hoofsteps got louder. She lined herself up for takeoff, ready to leap at the first sign of movement.

She was so focused on her plan that she didn’t notice the shape streaking across the sky towards her until it collided with her side, sending her flying from the cloud.

The golem didn’t move as Applejack approached it. She paused for only a second as she ran up, looking in dismay at the damage caused before walking onto the flattened turf. Although she’d been half-expecting a magic barrier to spring up, nothing happened as she crossed the border.

Applejack stopped just before the golem’s legs, staring at the darkened hut. “Ah’m here,” she said loudly. “You know who Ah am, and you know why Ah’m here. So how about we get this over with?” She shifted her dress, pressing one hoof against her side, revealing a large, rectangular outline.

After a few seconds, the hut shifted. The walls and ceiling lifted away and sank into the ground, as if they’d never been there, and a dark shape unfolded from the center. The Earthen King rose from a sitting position and turned to face Applejack, frowning darkly. “My little pony,” he said in a voice that was not quite his own. “It is... good to see you again.”

Applejack’s jaw dropped. She wasn’t staring at the pony in front of her, but slightly above him, mouthing an extremely lengthy name to herself. “How...”

“It’s over, Applejack.” Colgate entered the circle to the mare’s right and began to circle behind her. “I’ve been given orders to take you in. If you resist, I will not be gentle.”

Fluttershy appeared to her left, completing the circle around her. “I’m sorry, Applejack,” she said, slowly spreading her wings. “I really am. But I’m also very, very angry.”

Applejack spun around slowly, following the two smaller ponies before turning back to the large one. She went pale. Before her eyes, the dark stallion was transforming. Mud sloughed off of him like water, barely brightening the hairs beneath. His mane and tail lengthened, becoming ethereal as they began to flow in the night air. A horn erupted from his forehead, shooting a blinding wave of light over his body that twisted and softened his features. In seconds, where before the Earthen King had stood, there was now the Princess of the Night.

“Applejack,” Princess Luna said, flicking the last crumbs of dirt from her legs. “We are very disappointed in you.”

Applejack glanced upward, at the colossal golem still towering over them. “How?” she repeated, at a loss for words.

“A simple puppet, built from a millenia-old illusion. We had thought... we had hoped that we would never have cause to call upon it again.” Her eyes narrowed in anger, carefully restrained. “But now, as thousands of years before, it has aided us in the capture of a murderer.”

“Allow us, Princess,” Colgate said. A dome of magic the colour of the night sky appeared overhead, trapping the four within the circle. “It’s okay, Applejack,” the policemare continued, starting to creep forward. “We know this isn’t your fault.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Applejack countered. “If you knew what was really goin’ on, you wouldn’t be tryin’ to set me up.” She spun slowly, her eyes darting from one pony to the next, trying to keep all three of them in her sights.

“We didn’t want it to end this way,” Colgate continued. She motioned for Fluttershy to begin advancing as well, forcing Applejack to slowly back towards Luna. “No one here wants to fight. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Tell us what’s happened to Rainbow Dash, and we may even let you stay conscious.”

Applejack’s head whipped towards her. “Dash is hurt?” she gasped. “What happened?”

“You tell me,” Colgate replied coolly.

Overhead, thunder rumbled. Fluttershy looked up in confusion, while the others ignored it. The smaller ponies continued to creep forward, tightening the circle and making Applejack step closer and closer to Luna. The Princess of the Night began to spread her wings. From behind herself, she began to slowly unfurl a head-sized black bag.

Applejack looked up. Just beyond the shield, a white shape hovered without moving its wings. Clearly and deliberately, it shook its head.

“Well,” Applejack said, sounding faintly relieved. “I guess y’all win. You’ve got me trapped here like a critter stuck in a kennel.” She faced between Colgate and Fluttershy and began to back up, switching her gaze between them both. “One thing, though,” she continued. “Y’all play too nice. You should have sent a farmer to catch a farmer. That way...” Her tail brushed against Luna’s forelegs. She tensed up. “You’d have known what to expect when a little animal gets trapped.”

Luna moved, too late. As the black bag descended, Applejack leaned forward, pulled up her hind legs, and bucked the Princess of the Night with all her might in the chest.

A sickening crack marked the blow. Luna reared up and screamed soundlessly, all composure gone as she kicked madly at the air. Applejack took off the moment her hooves hit the ground, clearing the circle in seconds; the Princess’ focus gone, she punched through the shield like an arrow through paper. “Princess!” Fluttershy yelled in fear, rushing over to her ruler just as the diarch toppled over, knocking them both to the ground.

Colgate broke out of her shock a second too late. She started to bolt after Applejack, only to halt as another crack sounded overhead. Dread rising, she looked up. Without Luna’s magic to support it, the fake golem was beginning to crumble. The lengthy arms snapped off at the shoulders and came crashing down to either side, sending up showers of earth and chunks of clay. The legs buckled and caved, the torso leaning first one way, then the other, before starting a slow collapse directly to the spot where Fluttershy and Luna lay.

Instinct took over. Colgate swore in every language she knew as her legs rocketed her to the middle of the circle. Luna was lying stiff as a board, wide-eyed and hyperventilating, while Fluttershy scrambled for purchase underneath her. A chain of light from the policemare’s horn wrapped around the Princess while Colgate tugged hard on her mane, but it was no use; Luna was much heavier than she appeared. Her strongest tug moved the Princess barely an inch, while the clay leg nearest to them began to split across the knee.

“Colgate, go!” Fluttershy yelled, uselessly trying to push Luna up from below.

“Buck that,” Colgate breathed to herself. A shield started to form around her, instantly abandoned as she realized it would never be enough. Her horn started to glow brighter, magic completely filling her vision. The clay leg beside her finally gave way. As the golem fell and several tons of clay plummeted towards her, Colgate threw back her head and screamed.

The three ponies vanished in a flash of light, reappearing a second later just outside the circle and landing heavily on the damp grass. Colgate screamed again, though for a different reason than before. “Ow, ow, ow!” she cried, stomping and shaking her head wildly, though most of this was drowned out by the deafening crash as the body of the golem hit the ground. Her horn glowed as though overheated, and burning lines of magic streaked down it and across her skull. “I will never, never understand how Twilight can do that like it’s nothing,” she griped to no one in particular.

A splash of dirt showered the three ponies, and with a few more rumbles and falling slabs, the destroyed golem came to rest. A gigantic gem lay on top of the pile, the last of the magic drained out of it, leaving a bright pink amethyst behind.

Fluttershy finally managed to right herself, focusing her panic on the pony at her hooves. “Princess, are you okay?”

Luna whimpered. The Princess’ powerful alicorn body was largely unharmed, already healing itself of what for anypony else would have been a severe injury, but her eyes were unfocused and numb with shock. “We have... never been struck before...” she mumbled.

Colgate shook her head once more, pressing a hoof against her forehead to stay off the dizziness that was creeping up on her. “Stay with her,” she ordered. “If the others arrive, tell them what happened. I’ll catch up with Applejack somehow. Don’t leave.” She turned in the direction Applejack had gone and began to run.

She made it ten steps before falling face-first in the dirt.

L and company had only made it halfway across the orchard when the golem collapsed. Twilight began to stop, only for L to yank her forward again. The pair had adapted in seconds to running while chained together, pounding out a symmetrical path down the dirt road. “That wasn’t supposed to happen,” the detective muttered, starting to charge energy in her horn.

Twilight bit her lip. “Do you think the Princess–”

“Let me worry about that,” L interrupted. “Save your strength for Applejack.”

As if on cue, a familiar set of hoofsteps could be heard barreling down the path towards them. Twilight carefully lit up her fake horn, generating a purplish spotlight that illuminated an orange pony running in the near distance. Applejack skidded to a stop, held up a hoof in front of her eyes, then took a sharp left and cut a new path across the orchard. “Applejack, wait!” Twilight yelled, to no avail.

Just as Applejack seemed about to disappear again between the trees, a living shadow appeared from behind a tree and seemed to launch itself at her. Having somehow outpaced Twilight and L despite the weight of her enchanted cloak, Bon Bon threw herself on top of Applejack, wrapping her forelegs around her neck. The powerful earth pony barely slowed, twisting and bucking as she ran but not stopping. However, this, combined with the slowly-building exhaustion of having been running virtually non-stop since the night began, weighed her down just enough that the two unicorns behind her began to gain ground. Twilight kept her beam of light focused on her fleeing friend, while L began to charge a swirling magical bolt.

Just as L prepared to fire, Applejack took another turn and darted into a rocky clearing. L and Twilight followed suit. “Applejack, stop!” Twilight tried again, but her words were echoed back at her as her world abruptly went dark. Strange green and brown lights shone overhead and the trunks of strange trees loomed up out of the shadows, forcing Twilight to twist and dodge among the rapidly thickening grove. She could no longer see L beside her, but the green light still continuously tugged at her ankle, nearly tripping her up. “What’s going on?” she cried.

“Willow wisps!” L yelled back. The mint unicorn reappeared, the light from her horn changing to match the leafy greens above. From ahead they heard screaming. “Bon Bon!” L cried out, charging forward with enough force to finally make Twilight trip over an exposed stone. She bounced twice before being dragged along, somehow no longer able to feel the ghostly trees around her. When she looked up again, L had stopped with her face inside of Bon Bon’s hood, her forelegs wrapped around the downed mare. “It’s okay, Bonnie,” Twilight heard, greatly muffled by the dark fabric. “It’s going to be okay.”

Twilight climbed back to her hooves, wincing as she rubbed a sore spot on her thigh. Bon Bon was cowering on the ground, making whimpering noises every time a spectral leaf passed near her. “Is she going to be okay?” Twilight asked.

“That’s what I just said.” L withdrew, giving Bon Bon a final pat before straightening up. “She doesn’t like ghosts. They... affect her.”

“Odd.” Twilight looked up, distractedly turning to a look of wonder. “I’ve read about supernatural flora, but I never expected that such a relatively small area would leave enough of a psychic footprint to–”

“Less talking, more catching Kira.” With Twilight’s help, L was able to get Bon Bon back to her hooves, and the pair managed to walk her the short distance to the edge of the clearing. The willow wisps vanished as they crossed the border, fading into the darkness as if they’d never been there at all.

Bon Bon managed to stand on their own once they were back in the orchard, shrugging the others off and starting to trot ahead. Twilight strained her ears, but could only catch the faint noise of Applejack’s hoofsteps fading into the distance. “Now what?” she groaned. “We’re never going to catch her–”

A deafening crack of thunder cut her off. She looked up, eyes widening. The cloud cover that had been slowly spreading over Sweet Apple Acres had turned into a storm. Rain was spreading outwards from a mountain of dark cloud centered over the distant farmhouse, crackling and churning angrily. All the rain that had been reserved for tomorrow and then some seemed to be coming down in one place, soaking the ground in seconds. “Yes, that should slow her down nicely,” L said with a strange smile. She cast her umbrella-shaped shield above them seconds before the storm hit their position, starting to drag Twilight into another run into the rain. “Could this be what Rainbow Dash has been up to since her disappearance?”

“No,” Twilight answered, gasping as she tried not to slip on the suddenly wet grass. “I’ve learned to recognize her work. This isn’t one of her storms, not by a long shot.”

“Well, it certainly wasn’t Fluttershy,” L snapped back. “Even if she had somehow escaped from Colgate, I doubt she even has the strength to pull this together so quickly.”

“But then who?” Twilight asked. “Who else knew we were going after Applejack?”

Applejack found herself coughing and spluttering as she fought through the storm. Rain was coming down in solid sheets, pounding against her skull and turning the dirt beneath her hooves to mud. Her half-braided mane lay like a seeping log against her neck and her dress was completely soaked through, almost tripping her up as she continued to run. From time to time she would lift up a leg and press it against her side, steadying and protecting the papery rectangle that still clung to her.

Slowly but surely, the lights of the farmhouse were getting closer. Any semblance of the original plan had been lost within a panicked haze. When Applejack had entered the circle, she’d been prepared to give up her freedom, if not her life. Now that she’d been granted a few more minutes of liberty, her only thoughts were of her family. Celestia, Mer, whoever’s listening, she prayed as she struggled on, just let me see Apple Bloom one more time.

A hole opened up in the clouds in front of her. Half-blinded by water, she staggered towards the beam of moonlight, turning her face up to the exposed sky. It was only when she saw the grey body hurtling towards her that she realized her mistake.

A force of pure fury hurled Applejack fully off her hooves, sliding her on her back through a river of mud. A frenzied scream mingled with thunder overhead, and she caught only a glimpse of a yellow mane before her attacker struck again. A grey hoof struck her in the cheek with enough force to knock her head to the side, followed by another that landed on her nose with an explosive crunch. Blows rained down with lightning speed across Applejack’s face and neck, often blindly missing their mark but never lessening in intensity.

After several painful seconds of this, Applejack managed to take a breath and throw her attacker off of her. She rolled to her hooves and tried to follow up with a kick, only to be met by a low sweep that knocked her back down again. There was no hesitation in the other mare’s movements, only an inequine intensity that Applejack’s tired defenses couldn’t hope to match.

“Killed Big Muffin!” the pegasus screeched as she threw herself into a charge, knocking Applejack into a tree as she tried to lift herself. The wooden structure groaned under the impact, its roots shifting beneath the soaking soil.

“Killed my friends!” As Applejack struggled vainly to find purchase on the ground, a two-hooved flying kick landed squarely on her side. She yelled and gasped for air, the wind completely knocked out of her.

The grey pony stood over her as she lay helplessly. She spread her wings and reared up. Lightning flashed behind her as she screamed once more, golden eyes focused, preparing to deliver the death blow. “Never kill again!”

The sky above her erupted in flame. Green and orange fire vaporized the falling rain back into vapour and blasted the thick clouds high and wide, sending a bright plume of steam skywards. In the middle of the new hole in the roaring storm, a hot air balloon slowly descended. Spike leaned from the basket and pointed an accusing finger, smoke still rolling from his nostrils. “Stop right there, Derpy!” he shouted.

Some of the impact of the arrival was lost as the descent continued, very slowly. Spike adjusted his pointing finger as the balloon drifted to the side, bumping into trees as it drifted leisurely downwards. Derpy remained where she was, obediently frozen in place as Applejack coughed and gasped for breath. It was only when Spike reached the new edge of the storm that the water dragged the balloon forcefully down, sending the basket crashing into the mud and nearly toppling it over. “I’m okay!” Spike yelled as he steadied himself, a second before a now-soaking balloon collapsed on top of him.

Slowly, Derpy’s right eye began to roll upwards.

More shapes entered the new clearing. “What’s happening?” Twilight yelled, coming to a stop. “We heard– oh my gosh!” She clasped a hoof over her mouth as she saw Derpy standing over Applejack. “Derpy, what have you done?”

Derpy blinked. “Huh?”

The pegasus put up no resistance as Twilight shoved her aside, kneeling down and reaching out toward her friend. “Applejack? What happened?”

Applejack was in bad shape. One of her eyes was rapidly swelling up, and the tip of her snout rested at an unpleasant angle. Even so, she still managed to crack a cold smile as she raised her head, looking sideways towards the unicorn. “That all you got?” she wheezed.

Spike rejoined the group, shaking rainwater off his arms. “Derpy happened,” he said, answering Twilight’s question. “I saw her flying around on my way back, and Jazz helped me track her. I guess I got here just in time.”

“Derpy!” Twilight snarled, casting a venomous look towards the stunned pegasus. “Why would you do this?”

Derpy sat with her head low, like a foal being scolded, but she perked up a little at Twilight’s voice. “You called me Derpy,” she stated.

Twilight felt like she was about to explode. “Well, yes? Obviously?”

Derpy blushed, and a small smile came to her face. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“Enough with the pleasantries,” L snapped. “There is no time.” She leaned down beside Twilight, directing Applejack’s attention towards her. “Applejack, tell us the truth,” she said sternly. “Where is the real Kira?”

Applejack’s gaze hovered around her face. “Ah’ll show you,” she said, her smile unwavering. With a faint wince, she reached up to her side. “All Ah gotta do is...” She scraped along the side of her dress, searching. “Is...”

Something white caught Spike’s eye. An exposed page fluttered in the wind, the book it was attached to flung open against a tree. The top pages looked wet and the lower corners were crusted with mud, but on the whole it seemed intact. His librarian instincts kicked in and he quickly picked it up, smoothing and closing it to prevent further damage. What he held was a black notebook, blank save for six white, blocky letters printed on the front.

“Hey, did you drop this?” he called, turning towards Applejack and freezing when he instead found himself face-to-face with a bone-white monstrosity.

“Yes, that’s mine,” Mer hissed.

“Yaaaaaaah!” Spike dropped the notebook and hurled himself backwards, scrambling away across the muddied ground. As the others looked towards him he clawed himself up and ran behind the nearest tree, pointing fearfully. “M-m-monster!”

“A monster?” L asked, standing up. She followed Spike’s finger, looking right through the god floating calmly in the middle of the clearing. “Where?”

Derpy tilted her head to the side. Still with a strangely calm face, she walked stiffly to the book that Spike had dropped and picked it up in her mouth, turning back towards the others. Bizarrely, the sight of the nightmarish creature in front of her caused her to finally appear aware of her surroundings. “Eeeeeeeyaaa!” she screamed, dropping the notebook as well. She spun and bumped her face on the tree behind her before orienting herself and joining Spike behind it.

“I mean you no harm,” Mer said, keeping her voice level. “I only wish to talk.”

“Curious,” L said, her words overlapping with some of the shinigami’s. “A creature that can only be seen once an object is touched...” She looked back to Applejack, ignoring the suddenly motionless Twilight. “Applejack! What is that notebook?”

Applejack began a laugh that turned into a cough, spitting out a trickle of muddied water. “Why don’t you write something down and find out?”

“I-it says it doesn’t mean any harm!” Spike yelled, though he refused to emerge from behind the tree. “It just wants to talk!”

L clicked her tongue. “Sideline?” Bon Bon, whom the others had not realized was in the clearing, pulled back her hood and delicately picked up the book with her teeth. She gave Mer a hard stare, which the shinigami returned in kind, before turning and slowly walking towards L.

Spike peeked out from behind the trunk. “Hey, Harpy?” he called. “You’re not gonna freak out again, are you?”

“Am I?” L accepted the notebook as Bon Bon dropped it into her hoof. She examined the cover and flipped the book open, rapidly going through the blank pages before closing it and looking up at the god. She blinked a few times at the skeletal figure. “No. That looks nothing like the creatures from my dreams.”

“A... pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Mer said dryly.

“Likewise.” L passed the notebook to the pony beside her. “Twilight, you will want to see this.”

A few seconds passed in silence. L looked to the side. “Twilight?”

Twilight hadn’t taken the note. She left it resting in L’s hoof as she stared, pale-faced and trembling, at the god in front of her. “I can already see her,” she breathed.

L’s eyes narrowed. “You can what?”

“She’s the creature from my dream.”

Mer leered. “And now, at last, our game is at an end,” she said, floating forward. “I’ve kept my end of the bargain. Time for you to keep yours.” She snatched the notebook from L’s hoof and dangled it before Twilight’s eyes. “I believe you’ve been looking for this.” She dropped it. Without thinking, Twilight caught it.

Her eyes widened.

Everything suddenly seemed very loud. The rain, which had already been a dull roar around them, now seemed to hammer against her eardrums. She could hear the individual breaths of all of her friends as they stared at her in silence. She could hear the creak of bone as Mer smiled.

Twilight looked around. Everything was still. Lighting up her fake horn, she cautiously reached down with her magic and tugged three times on the nub of her wristwatch.

She barely managed to get the secret compartment open before Bon Bon tackled her to the ground.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m writing you this letter for a number of reasons. But first and foremost, I want to tell you that you were right, and that I’m sorry.

I entered into this investigation knowing the chances that I would be hurt... or worse. I went ahead and joined anyway. I understood the risks, or told myself that I did, but until tonight they had never really mattered to me. I thought that as long as I was protecting my friends, no danger could ever be too great, and no risk too high. I thought that I would give everything I had for them, without a second thought. Maybe that’s how everypony else feels. Maybe that’s how wars begin.

That thought ended today. Because now, less than an hour before we put our plan into motion and face the God of Death head-on, the danger of what we’re about to do has finally sunk in. I believe in this team and what we’re doing, but I have to accept that if even one thing goes wrong tonight, I might not get to see any of my friends ever again. That’s when I realized how wrong-headed I’d been about this from the beginning. When I told myself I was protecting my friends, all I was thinking about was how much it would hurt if I lost one of them. I never stopped to consider how much it would hurt all of them if they were to lose me.

And that’s why I’m sorry, Princess. You realized this before I’d even gotten wrapped up in all this, but I didn’t listen. When you tried to take me away from Ponyville, it wasn’t because you were trying to keep me from protecting my friends. It was because you were trying to protect my friends from losing me. More than that, you were trying to protect me from myself. Every time I wrote you a letter, you must have known it might have been the last one you would ever get from me. I’m sorry for not realizing that. I’m sorry for not appreciating how much I meant to you.

I haven’t changed my mind about staying. I’ve come too far to back down now; my friends, old and new, really do need my help right now. But if I’m going to carry on in this quest, then I need to accept the reality of what this danger means. I hope and pray that this will not be my final letter to you. But if it is, and I have to accept that it might be, then I just want to finish this by saying... thank you. Thank you for the years of love, and magic, and teaching. Thank you for showing me the magic of friendship, and all the adventures that followed. Thank you for inspiring me for my whole life, for being my guiding star, and for turning me into the pony that I am today. No amount of thanking you could ever be enough. And I promise, if by some miracle I make it out of this alive, that I will never let my selfish feelings get in the way of your teachings ever again.

With all my heart,
your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.

Next episode: Season finale!