The sun was quietly setting on the earth pony-centric Dodge City, the residents beginning to pack up and prepare for the night ahead. A full day had passed since the unremarked events occurred in the changeling hive, events which would soon affect the lives of every citizen in the city and would further snowball to shape the fate of the entire nation. But for now, no one was aware of the darkness that was poised to descend on them, going throughout their day in peaceful ignorance.
One pony, by the name of Snap Apple, slowly trundled through the rapidly emptying streets. The nearly empty wagon he hauled coupled with a mostly full bag of bits spoke a silent testament to how well business had been that day. Only a single bushel of apples remained, and he smiled in satisfaction as he thought about how his wife was going to take the news. She had been worried about him going to town by himself, what with all the rumours that had been flying around recently.
“Hey Snap!” Snap turned towards the voice calling his name, and his grin broadened when he saw who it was. A teal earth pony walked up, his alabaster mane and tail fluttering in the wind. The newcomer punched Snap hard in the shoulder by way of greeting, his hoof smacking hard against the other pony’s forest green coat.
“By yourself, huh?” the arrival asked while Snap rubbed at the offended shoulder. “Abby couldn’t make it?”
“Nah, she stayed at home. She’s got to be careful, ya know?”
The teal pony smiled broadly. “Hard to think of it. You, that little farm hick who was always the quietest in our class, a father.” He shook his head sorrowfully. “What is the world coming to?”
“What about you, Corville?” Snap asked, the wheels of the wagon groaning slightly as he pulled the wagon to the side of the road to allow the traffic to pass. “You thought about settling down yet?”
Corville stood up on his rear hooves, flexing his muscles and generally just showing off. “No way. I’m way too much stallion for any mare to handle.”
“Still haven’t found Ms. Right, huh?” Snap asked, rolling his eyes at his friend’s posturing.
Corville dropped down to his hooves, smiling bashfully. “Well, there was that one traveling mare a few weeks back…”
“Didn’t she turn you down flat?” Snap laughed, remembering the story he had heard about in the tavern a couple nights ago. “I think the words Leafy had used to describe it were: “and when he offered to bed her, her blue coat blushed so furiously, Ah thought she was gonna burst into flames” and then she tried to force-feed you that fancy hat she was wearing.”
“Yeah,” Corville sighed wistfully. “She has spunk. When I returned her hat, she told me she was heading to Los Pegasus next, and to come see her some time. But I heard from one of the pegasi that he saw her heading north, so I think she’s playing hard-to-get.”
Snap rolled his eyes at his friend’s obliviousness. Well, so long as he didn’t do anything stupid, there shouldn’t be a problem.
“What about you?” Corville asked, suddenly changing the topic. “I heard a pair of unicorns tried to take your farm a couple days ago.”
Snap waved the question off. “No biggie, ya know? Just a couple of boys with a fancy machine. We chased them off pretty quick once we realized what they wanted. Saw them vanishing off west to Appleoosa.” At Corville’s grimace, Snap gave him a strange look. “What?”
“You haven’t heard, have you?” Corville crept in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “There’s been bad rumours comin’ from Appleoosa. Ponies and buffalo have been vanishing, leaving nary a trace behind.”
“You don’t think it’s them changelings, do ya?” Snap asked, his voice lowering as well.
Corville shook his head. “I don’t think so. Our boys have been keepin’ an eye on those buggers, but they’ve been staying in the Badlands, neat and tidy.”
“So what do you think it is?”
“Word on the streets…” Corville paused while Snap leaned in even closer, “that ghoooosts are stealing naughty ponies away.”
Snap just gave Corville a flat look. “Uh huh. And what do you think?”
Corville shrugged. “I dunno. Some say that monsters are prowling the plains, snagging anything they see. Things with multiple heads and more legs then any good creatures should have. Others say the animals are actin’ up, like they know something big’s gonna happen. The wolves were spotted on the move, heading towards Canterlot. Still others say that Nightmare Moon, er, Princess Luna-” That was as far as he got before he got a hoof shoved into his mouth, one very angry earth pony glaring at him.
“Don’t let me hear you speak of the Princess like that again, ya hear?” Snap asked threateningly as he removed his hoof.
Corville spat a few times as he tried to get the taste out of his mouth. “Oh, ick, man. What did you step in?” Glancing down, he noticed something that he hadn’t spotted before. Snap had a black legband wrapped securely around one leg, a small crescent moon wrapped around a brightly shining sun proudly emblazoned on it. “Ah…” he said thoughtfully, “I didn’t know you joined the army.”
Snap lifted his leg, giving Corville a better look at the little legband. After the changeling invasion a few weeks ago, the country had pushed for a standing army to protect the nation’s borders. Princess Celestia had opposed the nobles, saying a full army would be too expensive to maintain for long and that removing the ponypower away from the cities would have a negative effect on the overall economy. It had been Princess Luna who had eventually proposed an alternative.
Volunteers to the army had been given these small bands, which were magically attuned to only be affected by alicorn magic. If either of the sisters wished to call the army, they could summon and teleport anypony wearing one of these legbands to their location. From what Snap had heard, the army was currently sitting at just under 15,000 recruits, though most of them knew almost nothing about actual combat.
“So, what’s it like?”
Snap shrugged at Corville’s query. “Not bad. Show up once or twice a week for training, toss a few apples at some dummies.” At Corville’s smirk, he clarified his point. “Training dummies, so don’t get any smart ideas.”
“Me?” the teal pony asked, radiating innocence. “Why do you think I would get any smart ideas?”
“Because I know you.”
“Harsh but fair,” Corville conceded. Looking up at the sun, he saw that the solar disk had almost reached the horizon. “Alright, I better let you go. Can’t be out after sunset in these dangerous days.”
Looking up at the sun, Snap had to agree. The wheels of the wagon squeaked and groaned as he began pulling the empty wagon toward the farmhouse he called home. “Alright. See you around.”
“Tell Abby I said hi!” Corville shouted as he trotted away. “And let me know when the foal’s born!”