Twilight groaned in relief as she finally reached Ponyville. She must have been walking for hours, though she had no idea how long it had actually been. The sun remained exactly where it had been when she started, low in the sky and casting long shadows over the entire land. Without Princess Celestia to lower it out of the sky, it would forever remain in place, casting the world in an eternal twilight.
Oh, Princess… Twilight thought sadly. Before she could follow this line of thought any further, the creature on her back shifted and groaned. She froze up, looking back to see if it was about to awaken. Thankfully, it soon settled down and she released a small sigh of relief. All of its wounds had already healed and she had no idea if it would be friend or foe when it woke up again. If it tried to attack her again, she would just have to run.
A part of her wanted to just dump the creature and run anyway, but after spending all that time trying to capture it, she just refused to let it escape so easily. She had wrapped vines around the creature’s wrists and ankles tightly enough to cut out the flow of blood, but she still jumped and shivered whenever it moved.
Her plodding hoof struck the dirt road, throwing up a small cloud of dust, and her thoughts began to wander down another path. Celestia’s final words had stuck with her. If the changelings had invaded again, at this time, there was no way it was a coincidence. A slight snarl escaped her throat as she thought about the one behind everything. It just felt like everypony was marching to the beat of Discord’s drum.
Another step, and another thought occurred to her. Nightmare Moon’s words rung true. She had claimed that Twilight lacked both strength and willpower. Try as she might, Twilight couldn’t disagree. When her friends were with her, she knew there was nothing she needed to fear. But what if they weren’t there for her? What would happen if they were separated again? Back in Ghastly Gorge, Twilight had been alone and she had been unable to do anything to stop Nightmare Moon at all. The creature had saved her and that meant, much as she was loath to admit it, that she now owed Discord her life.
She needed more power. She needed enough power to protect everypony important to her, so she would never have to lose anypony again. The feather Celestia had left her pressed heavily against the back of her head as she thought about the way her teacher had sealed herself away to protect Equestria. If I had been stronger, she thought, she wouldn’t have needed to do that. Maybe I could have stopped her, maybe I could have beaten this creature without needing to call for her in the first place.
There were just so many ‘maybe’s.
Regardless, she would think about that later. She made a mental note to look up ways to improve her strength after all this was sorted out, but for now she needed to focus. “Alright, what do I know?” she asked aloud. “Princess Celestia trusted me, so I’m not going to let her down! Where should I start?”
After blanking out for a few moments, Twilight shrugged ruefully and laughed. “Guess I’ll start by asking the others what they think.”
Several minutes later, Twilight walked through the streets of Ponyville, slowly making her way to the hospital. Ponies were running through the streets in a panic, no one taking charge or trying to calm the riots. Since ponies running around like crazy was a common occurrence in Ponyville, Twilight just ignored it. Living on the edge of the Everfree forest had made the inhabitants somewhat skittish.
Fortunately for Twilight, all the ponies running around in a wild panic meant nobody tried to stop her to ask any questions. They ignored the creature slung over her back, which was good, since she wasn’t sure what she could have told them. Eventually, her path led her to the hospital, which stood tall and dispassionate, heedless of the chaos surrounding it. Trotting up to the doorway, she nudged the door open and entered inside.
The door slid shut behind her and Twilight looked around the hospital lobby, struck by how normal it was. She could barely hear the noises coming from outside, and the lights flickered and buzzed comfortingly above her. The bored-looking pegasus sitting behind the receptionist’s desk glanced at her over the top of the magazine she was reading. “Hello, Miss Twilight,” she said, her nasally voice accentuating how disinterested she sounded. “Your friends are in wing 3, second floor, room 204. Same place as before. You know the way.”
“Thank you,” Twilight said, walking past the receptionist. Hesitating before she went down the hallway, she looked back at the mare. “Pardon me for asking, but aren’t you worried? About the sun remaining in the sky, I mean.”
The receptionist snorted rudely, not even bothering to look up. “Yeah, I’m worried my replacement’s not going to show up. That lazy mare’s always looking for an excuse to ditch work. If she thinks she can skip the night shift just because the sun’s not going down, I’m going to staple her ears to my wall.” The receptionist waved a stapler in Twilight’s general direction, and the unicorn decided it was best to carry on her way.
Making her through the clean and sterile hallways of the hospital, Twilight marvelled at how most of the staff seemed to be going through their work as if there was nothing out of the ordinary. One of the worst disasters in generations was going on outside, and these ponies simply refused to panic and abandon their charges. Seeing it shamed her, and Twilight knew she needed to learn from their example. Approaching the room where her friends rested, she heard them before she saw them.
“…so then Fancypants asked if I could design an entire row of dresses for Fleur. The idea was daunting, but I, naturally, agreed. After that we- Oh, hello, Twilight. I didn’t see you there.” Rarity waved to Twilight, the white unicorn lying back in her bed. Pinkie Pie sat perched on her bed, apparently listening with interest to every word the fashionista was saying along with Fluttershy. Spike, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were playing some sort of card game on a table by the corner. Applejack was deep in conversation with Big Macintosh, telling the stallion not to overwork himself while she recovered. As for Rainbow Dash…
“Twilight!” the pegasus exclaimed, reaching out to the purple unicorn with a pleading expression. From the expression on her face, she would have tried to hide behind Twilight if she could, but the cast on her wing prevented her from getting off the bed “Thank Celestia you showed up! You gotta save me! Rarity won’t stop talking about her clothes!”
The offended unicorn huffed indignantly. “I listened to you when you were nattering on about the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash. The least you could do is listen to my stories.”
“Yeah, but the Wonderbolts are interesting,” Dash said, as if that explained everything in the world. “But that’s not important now. How’d it go, Twi? When can we expect some… hah?” She noticed the creature lying slumped across Twilight’s back. “What’s that thing doing here?”
Twilight dumped the creature on the floor, looking around the room. All eyes were on her and she licked her lips as she tried to get her thoughts in order. “First, we can’t expect any help from the palace. You all remember the changelings?” She paused for a moment, while her friends nodded. “They invaded the palace again. Princess Celestia didn’t know what exactly happened, but it’s possible they now control the entire city.”
“What? No way,” Dash protested. “Spitfire would never allow something like that.”
Twilight shook her head. “Sorry Dash, but the Wonderbolts were probably all captured as well.”
“So then what’s the plan?” Applejack asked as the sporty pegasus fell back, her mouth agape in horror. “Sounds like we got bigger problems then just some creature of Discord’s loose in the forest.” She gestured at the creature sprawled out on the floor. It really didn’t look very threatening when it was unconscious like that. “’Xactly what happened out there, anyway?”
“Well, you see…” Twilight told them everything. She spilled it all, from the moment the first set hoof into the canyon to Celestia disappearing with Nightmare Moon. Silence fell on the room as she finished her tale, none of the group sure how to react to what they were hearing.
“Princess Celestia… goodness…” Rarity gasped, falling back on her bed.
Spike was the first to move, walking over to the creature and giving it a slight poke. “So this is the thing I’ve been hearing so much about. He doesn’t look like much.” The creature groaned at the contact and Spike quickly dove behind Twilight.
“Oh my,” Fluttershy said, cautiously walking up to the creature. “Is he alright?” She rolled him onto his back, leaning in close to his exposed face. “This is so amazing. Now that I see him up close, I’m sure I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Her eyes shimmered with excitement as she started to poke and prod at his skin while the others watched her in bemusement. Peeling back his lips, she carefully examined his teeth. “Molars for crushing, incisors for tearing, must be a omnivore. His species might normally be scavengers like Mr. Bear. I wonder what he’s been eating in the Everfree. Oh,” she leaned in closer, almost pressing her eyeball against his lips, “that’s interesting…”
Twilight stepped up beside Fluttershy, curious despite herself. “What is it?” she asked.
Fluttershy leaned back, exposing the creature’s gums. “Take a look at this.”
Twilight stared into the creature’s mouth for several seconds before she realized she had no idea what the animal lover was trying to show her. “What am I looking at?” she asked flatly.
“Don’t you see?” Fluttershy asked, gently tapping her fetlock against the white enamel. “His teeth have been carefully cared for. I’m sure now that his species are either smart enough to know the importance of basic hygiene, or at the very least he was somepony’s pet.”
“I’m sure he’s perfectly intelligentual,” Pinkie said, bouncing up beside the pair. The bandages on her flank shifted and slid every time she moved, but she moved as if they weren’t even there. “He helped Twilight, right? I’m sure that means he wants to be our friend now!”
Applejack snorted angrily at Pinkie’s words. “Ah don’t know what that varmint was thinkin’, and ta be honest, Ah don’t much care. What’s important is that that there scoundrel tried to take my baby sister away from me. Sorry Twi, but even if he did save you like you said, there’s no way Ah’m ever gonna forgive him. How about you, Dash?”
Dash’s ears twitched the unexpected address. “Huh? Well, I dunno. I mean, he did try to kill Pinkie and hurt nearly all of us, and my wing’s messed up pretty bad because of him. But it sounds like he was being controlled by that mean ol’ witch. And he did leap into harm’s way to protect Twilight. That counts for a lot, and I can respect that. I guess…” she flicked at her bedcovers thoughtfully, a low hum forming in her throat. With a sharp nod, she forcefully brought her hoof down on her bed. “Yeah. I say we should give him a chance.”
Scootaloo leapt up on Dash’s bed, looking at the pegasus in surprise. “Wha- Dash! How can you be so accepting?” Confusion was clear in the tiny pony’s eyes as she stared at her idol. “He hurt you! Hurt your friends! How can you possibly want to forgive him?”
Dash smiled, grabbing Scootaloo and pulling the orange pegasus against her. “C’mere, squirt. Sure, I’m not happy with that thing, and I’m certainly not saying we trust it, but I think it deserves a chance for saving Twilight.” She held up a single hoof and her gaze turned steely. “One. Chance. If he still can’t be trusted, believe me, I’m going to extract revenge for everything he’s done from his hide. If he keeps healing, then I’ll just keep beating him until he stops. What about you, Twi? You were there.”
“I…” Twilight said before trailing off with a shake of her head. “I don’t know. I know he saved me, but… After everything he’s done to us, I don’t think I have it in me to forgive him.”
An awkward silence filled the room for several short seconds before Rarity loudly cleared her throat. “In any case, what are we going to do now? We’ve finally captured this… thing, but it sounds as if Canterlot is more important.”
“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted. “I was hoping one of you might have an idea.” There was a great silence as everypony considered their next move, and Twilight felt her heart sink as no new ideas were suggested.
“Maybe y’all should think on it some tomorrow.” All heads turned to the speaker, eyes widening in surprise as they realized who had spoken. Big Macintosh shifted the sprig of wheat clenched between his teeth, his expression clearly stating he had no intention of saying any more.
“Big Mac’s got a point,” Applejack pointed out, her casts and bandages shifting as she tried to look at the others past her oversized brother. “We’ve all gone and had a rough day. Can’t think on an empty brain, just like ya can’t work on an empty stomach. Let’s have a night of sleep, then think about it some more in the mornin’. Well, you know what I mean,” she nodded at the unmoving sun outside.
“We’re going to have a sleepover?” Pinkie bounced in excitement. “Oh, I haven’t had a sleepover in such a long time! We can tell stories, and eat sweets, and play games, and-“
“I don’t think she really knows what’s going on,” Spike’s dry voice floated out of the corner he sat in. Twilight shot him a glare, which he just shrugged at.
“Can I stay here tonight, too?” The query came from Apple Bloom, the young filly looking like she was about to cry.
“Sis…” Applejack’s voice trailed off as she thought about the events earlier that day, when Apple Bloom had been foalnapped out of her own room. After several seconds of awkward silence, she looked over at Twilight. “Sorry Twi, but I doubt they’d be willin’ to let Apple Bloom stay the night here. Could ya let her crash at your place? It’s in town, and I would feel a lot better knowin’ she’s nearby.”
“Sure, Applejack, it’s no problem.” They’d need to clean out the guest room, but it shouldn’t take long. And one filly couldn’t be too much trouble, right?
“Actually, dear, could you take care of Sweetie Belle as well?” Rarity asked. “I need to stay here with Pinkie for the night so that the doctors can observe us, but my parents are out of town. I would feel a lot better knowing somepony was watching my dear sister.”
“We would love to.” Spike spoke up before Twilight could say anything. Twilight, on the other hand, had to hide her frown. One filly would be easy, but two was a little harder. It was too late to turn them back, though. Just so long as they weren’t too noisy.
“Could I-”
“Fine.” And Scootaloo made three. Twilight wouldn’t be getting any sleep this night.
As the three fillies and Spike filed past Twilight, making their way out the door, Rainbow Dash spoke up. “I don’t understand why we can’t just blast those changelings with the Elements of Harmony. Those bugs won’t know what hit ‘em.”
“The Elements of Harmony,” Twilight flatly noted.
“Yeah.”
“The ones stored in Canterlot.”
“Yeah.”
“Which the changelings have overrun.” Twilight cocked an eyebrow, waiting for the pegasus to put the pieces together.
“Oh.”
There we go. Twilight shook her head, her mane nearly hitting Spike. “We’d have to get past the changelings. Which we can’t do without the Elements.”
“Yeah, yeah, I gotcha.” Dash sighed as she leaned back against her pillow, her eyes staring despondently up at the ceiling. “The Wonderbolts, huh,” she murmured to herself.
“Ah’m gonna head back to the farm. Take care of my sis.” Big Mac nodded at Twilight as he left the hospital room, and she stepped aside and allowed him to pass. His hoofsteps echoed loudly, eventually disappearing down the hallway.
“By the way,” Twilight asked the other mares after Big Mac had vanished. “What should I do with this?” She gave the creature a little kick, which it flinched away from.
“Just leave him here,” Rarity said calmly. “I’ll feel a lot better knowing somepony’s watching him to make sure that beast doesn’t go anywhere near Sweetie Belle and the others. If that has to be me, I’ll just have to accept it.”
Applejack nodded her head. “Ah agree. There ain’t no way in Tartarus that varmint’s getting anywhere near my sister again. Besides,” she gestured with a flick of her tail, her limbs still restrained by the casts and splints, “it looks like Fluttershy’s already taken that part.”
Fluttershy looked up from where she had continually been poking and prodding the comatose creature. She had already started to peel its clothes away to see what was underneath, and blushed when she realised the others were staring at her. “Male… definitely male…” she muttered almost inaudibly.
“Riiight…” Dash said with an upraised eyebrow. “Well, whatever.” She shrugged and turned her head to look at Twilight. “Don’t worry about it. So long as I’m here, he won’t lay a… a finger? Is that what they’re called? So long as I’m here, he won’t touch any of the other girls with those greasy sausages of his.”
“I’m counting on you, then,” Twilight said, ignoring the increasing blush on Fluttershy’s face. The poor pegasus had turned so red that she looked like she was glowing. Chivvying the three fillies and one young dragon out, Twilight quietly closed the door behind her. As she walked down the hallway, she heard her friends’ voices filtering through the thin wooden door.
“So who knows a good story? Oh, I know a good one! A long long long long long time ago, there was an eeeeeeevil witch, and-”
“Good night, Pinkie,” three voices interrupted, firmly cutting her off.