//------------------------------// // In Which Chickens Fly // Story: Filly Fantasy VI - The Return of Magic // by The Wyld Stallynz //------------------------------// The gentle crash of waves against a sandy beach was the first thing Applejack heard upon waking up. “I should keep count of all the times I woke up next to water,” Applejack muttered, spitting out sand and sea water. “Gotta be a record by now.” Applejack lifted herself up and felt every muscle in her body give protest to the action. A loud groan gave voice to her pain. She moved each of her limbs gingerly and was relieved to feel that everything was in place and moving properly. Satisfied that all her physical parts were in order, Applejack’s next order of business was to pat her head. She let out the world’s most grateful sigh at the feel of her hat on her head. “Thank the powers that be.” Satisfied that things were in order, Applejack moved on to check to see if anypony else was alive. The lasso she had tied to herself was still intact. Her luck held out as she followed its length to find Shining Armor, Spotter, Rarity, and Derpy Hooves lying on the sand in various states of consciousness. Shining Armor and Derpy lay prone, coughing up heapfulls of water from their mouths. Rarity fussed with her Mare Do Well outfit, shaking it with her magic to get as much sand and water out of it as possible. Spotter was busy making a sandcastle with Opalescence as his supervisor. “Y’all okay?” Applejack said. “Nothin’ broken, is there?” “There will be something broken if I ever see that vile snake ever again,” Rarity said. With one final snap of fabric, she laid out her costume on a boulder and let it drip dry. “Specifically every spine on his hide for getting my ensemble so filthy.” Shining Armor rose to his hooves and shook himself like a dog. Droplets of water and bits of sand flew off of him in every direction, some coming close to landing on Rarity’s outfit. For his continued survival, it was fortunate that nothing did. “I’m fine,” he said once he’d stopped. He reached down and helped Derpy to her hooves, a concerned look on his face upon seeing her eyes swirling in their sockets. “Uh… you okay, Miss Hooves?” Derpy shook her head, creating a rattling sound, and pumped a hoof into the air. “Let’s do that again!” Shining Armor nodded. “She’s fine.” A chuckle escaped Applejack’s mouth. “Good to hear. If y’all will excuse me, there’s somethin’ I need to do.” Without another word, she turned and walked towards a tree growing at the edge of the beach. She stopped in front of it and inspected it, giving the tree a long look of appraisal. The others watching on the beach could only stare in confusion as Applejack faced away from the tree, pulled back her hind legs, and kicked. “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why can’t anything go right?! Why can’t I ever get a break? I’ll never get back to the others at this rate. Aaaarrrggghh!” Applejack let loose her fury upon the hapless tree, bucking it with greater and more powerful strikes with every scream. Her horseshoe-covered hooves gored out huge chunks of bark and wood from the tree, spraying the pieces all over the ground. With one final thunderous kick, Applejack struck the tree dead center. The tree creaked, wood splintered, and with a loud cascade of rustling leaves and branches, the tree toppled over and crashed to the ground. Her fury spent, Applejack huffed and wheezed where she stood. Sweat trickled down her coat to pool on the ground below. Finally, she let out one shuddering sigh and trotted back to the beach. “Sorry, y’all,” she said, her voice devoid of its usual pep. “I… I’m sorry.” She flopped down on the sand without any grace and remained there. Shining Armor and Rarity looked upon the distraught mare. They opened their mouths, but no words came from them. Derpy gave a quizzical look and scratching her head. One pony found the will to move and slowly walked up to Applejack’s form. “Why are you sorry, Miss Applejack?” Spotter asked. He laid down next her and peaked under her hat to find her eyes. “Why are you so mad?” Applejack looked away from the colt and wiped away the wetness building in her eyes. “Nothin’, bucko. Just forget what you saw.” “But I don’t get it. You’ve been so strong. You got us all the way here and we’re all okay.” “Yeah, I guess there’s that. But I’ve got friends that need me and I’m letting them down.” “Oh. Well… is there anything I can do?” A small smile appeared on Applejack’s muzzle. She reached up and ruffled Spotter’s mane. “Naw. You just keep being you. Alright?” Spotter giggled and batted away Applejack’s hoof. “Okay. I think I can do that. I am me.” He gave one more smile up at the mare and scampered off to his abandoned sand castle. Applejack watched him go, her smile growing as she watched him redouble his efforts to build his castle to even greater heights. With a grunt, she stood up and shook off the sand clinging to her coat. “Alright. I think I’m okay. Just had to get that out.” “Perfectly understandable,” Rarity said, her own smile gracing her features. “It has been rather hectic for us, hasn’t it?” “Yeah. Anyway…” She swept her gaze around and took in her surroundings. “Guess we ought to figure out where the hay we are.” Derpy shot a hoof into the air and waved it around. “Oh! Oh!” “Yes, Derpy?” “I can fly around and check. If this place is anything like the Veldt, then it’ll be easy as peasy.” “And if this place isn’t like the Veldt?” “Then I guess we’re goners. Be back in a bit!” With that, she took off. A second later she crashed headfirst into the sand. “Oops,” came her muffled voice. “I forgot to untie myself from your rope.” Applejack sighed, undid the rope around Derpy, and watched as the pegasus once again flew off. “I’m beginning to wonder if bringing her along was the right idea.” “Now, let’s not be so hasty,” Rarity said. She was laid out on a light blue blanket she produced from her bags and was currently laying back and absorbing the sun’s rays. “I’m sure she will surprise you when you least expect it.” “Yeah, and I’m hoping it ain’t when we have a whole army of Imperials on our tails.” Conversation lapsed after that, with each pony content to rest after their ordeals. It was some minutes later that Derpy returned and chose her landing spot on top of Spotter’s sand castle. “Hey! I was just about to build the moat!” Spotter yelled. “Sorry,” Derpy said and stepped off of the now flattened castle. “But I found something! There’s a bunch of mountains that way and I heard lots of weird noises coming from them.” She pointed towards the horizon where the very tips of mountain tops could be seen. “What kind of noises?” Shining Armor asked. “Not sure. I’ve never heard anything like it before.” Shining Armor looked towards Applejack and shrugged. “I guess it’s a start. It could mean a town or something.” “I guess,” Applejack said. “Alright, then. We’ll head that way but we gotta be extra careful until we know where we are. No tellin’ what’s out there.” The group all agreed and got their gear together to start traveling. Soon, the ponies were on their way with Derpy leading them. The going was easy and the weather was bright and sunny, making the journey a pleasant one. The mountains drew closer, and if the group listened carefully, they could just make out some sounds being carried by the wind. The noises were too faint to make out, but all agreed that they didn’t seem natural. It was hours later, with night slowly setting in, that they finally reached their destination. Now that they were closer, the noises became more identifiable. Machinery and voices echoed through the mountain passes to reach their ears. Applejack brought the group to a stop and frowned. “I don’t like this,” she said. “There aren’t too many places that have machines that sound like that. I think it best if we head another way.” Rarity stepped forward and gave Applejack a dazzling smile. “Darling, we can’t just walk away after coming this far. Here, let me check it out. It’s what I’m good at.” With a flick of her horn, Rarity’s donned her Mare Do Well costume. Even as close as she was to the others, her outfit neatly blended her in with the growing dark of the night. With hardly a sound, she ran off and was out of sight within moments. Minutes passed. The sounds just over the rocky mountains continued. Every now and then, a pegasus could be seen flying in the distance, silhouetted against the night sky. The wait grew longer. “Let me go take a look,” Derpy said and spread her wings wide. “No!” Applejack pivoted and tackled Derpy to the ground and pinned her down. “No. Stay here. Mare Do Well is the expert here.” “But I know how to sneak around.” Derpy tried lifting herself up but Applejack’s greater strength and weight kept her from moving. “I studied how mice move and hardly anypony notices them.” “Derpy, I’m sure that you’re good at plenty of stuff, but you’re not going to do this. Just stay put—” “Am I interrupting something?” Like a phantom, Rarity suddenly appeared, giving Derpy and Spotter a fright. A hint of teasing entered her voice as she said, “I could always come back later.” “Nothin’ happening here,” Applejack said. She climbed off of Derpy and helped the pegasus to her hooves. Satisfied that there was no harm done, she turned to Rarity. “Whadja find?”  Rarity lifted her hood and, even in the darkness, the others could see her worried expression. “Applejack’s right. We need to leave. Now.” Applejack didn’t waste her breath asking what she saw. She nodded, turned away from the mountains, and gestured for all of them to start moving. Nopony said a word until they had traveled a mile in the direction they had come from. “What did ya see?” Applejack asked, keeping her voice low. “The Empire,” Rarity said. “They have some type of base there. I couldn’t get too close with all the guards. Whatever it is they are guarding, they are taking every precaution to keep it safe.” “Gotcha. We don’t wanna be there, then. Let’s find a spot to sleep and then we’ll figure out what to do in the morning.” The ponies continued on into the night, away from the mysterious base until they found a grove of trees to hide in. Rarity set up her tent and even allowed everypony in without having to wipe their hooves. Shining Armor volunteered to remain on watch despite a stubborn protest from Applejack. He simply said she needed the rest more than he did and it was a knight’s job anyway. She relented, but only on the stipulation that she got watch next time. With that settled, it wasn’t long before the group was sound asleep in this unknown land. .o.O.o. The air was crisp and cool on this cloudless autumn night, enveloping the countryside in a quiet tranquility. Shining Armor pulled his hood a little closer to his body, trying to keep as much warmth in as he could. This coming winter looked to be a particularly cold one if this type of weather continued. The castle’s food supply would have to be managed carefully this year, that was for sure. Shining Armor cleared his head of such thoughts. That would be dealt with later. Right now he had a job to do. With precise steps, he paced the eastern wall of Domare castle, his gaze sweeping over the battlefronts on each pass. Minute after minute he continued this routine, not once missing a step or losing focus on keeping watch. The sound of hooves on stone reached his ears, completely at odds with the silence of the night. In one fluid motion, he whirled around and brandished a spear at the invader intruding on his territory. “Yikes! Watch where you’re pointing that thing.” “Cadence?” Shining Armor lit his horn, bathing the area with a soft pink light. Standing before him was none other than the king’s daughter, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. He wasted no time dropping to his knees and bowed his head as low as it could. “Forgive me, princess. I didn’t know it was you.” Laughter like bell chimes filled the air. “No, no. I should apologize. I didn’t mean to startle you like that.” “Nonsense. I should have been more alert. What can I do for you, princess?” Shining Armor said, still keeping his head low to the floor. “Hey, stop that,” Cadence said and lifted Shining Armor chin. “I get enough grovelling all day. Come on, get up.” Shining Armor raised himself back to his hooves, but kept his head averted. “I’m sorry, prin—” “And stop apologizing! I get enough of that too.” “Yes, princess.” Cadence smiled. She trotted over to the battlement and looked out over the countryside. “Nice night, isn’t it? I wanted to have a nice stroll before going to bed. Must be an easy night for you, huh?” Shining Armor shook his head. “A knight never thinks any time of the day is easy. We have to be vigilant all the time. Especially with all the rumors going around of Vectorlot messing with those machine things.” “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about,” Cadence said, waving his concerns aside. “From what my father tells me, anything they build falls apart the next day.” “Maybe, but I still don’t like it.” A light giggle escaped Cadence’s lips. “You only say that because the engine Fillygaro sent here blew up in your face.” “T-t-that wasn't my fault!” Shining Armor cried out. He would have continued explaining how there looked to be a part out of alignment and that he couldn't have known that it was the switch to set the engine into overdrive, but Cadence’s airy laughter cut him off. “Oh, Shinie,” Cadence said once she had her chuckling under control, “It’s okay if you’re hopeless with machines. You’re still my knight in shining armor.” Without warning, she reached forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for the company. Good night.” She sauntered off, throwing a wink over her shoulder, and walked out of sight. How long he stood there, Shining Armor didn’t know. The only thing going through his head for the rest of the night was that he was never washing his cheek again. .o.O.o. The morning came with the cry of a distant rooster. Gradually, the ponies began to wake and shake off their drowsiness and stepped out into the growing daylight. Taking in a deep breath, Applejack exhaled slowly. Today would be a better day, she told herself. So help her, she’d find a way to help her friends. An odd sound to her side caught her attention. Several hooves away, sitting upright in a rigid stance, was Shining Armor. His posture would indicate that he was alert and ready were it not for his closed eyes and slight winney whenever he breathed in and out. Applejack smirked, trotted up to the stallion, and tapped him on the nose. Shining Armor snapped awake. “Huh? Wha? Who?” “A knight’s duty, huh?” Applejack said with a chuckle. “Is sleepin’ on the job part of yer training?” Shining Armor forced back a yawn but couldn’t stop the blush to his cheeks. “Sorry. Guess I was tired too.” “I reckon. But nothing happened so I’ll let you off the hook this time.” Applejack smirked and sat down next to him. “Have any nice dreams?” “Yeah, actually.” He didn’t follow up, just sat and stared off into the distance. Moments passed into minutes and Applejack had the distinct feeling that trying to regain his attention would not be appreciated. So the two sat there and enjoyed the heat of the sun and the wind rustling through the trees. However, another pony didn’t have the same level of restraint. “Daddy!” Spotter came running out of the tent and tackled Shining Armor to the ground. “Did you watch us all night?” “Pretty much,” Shining Armor said with a laugh to the colt laying on his stomach. “Nothing got by me!” “Except for me. I got ya!” “You sure did.” Shining Armor lifted his son into the air and balanced him on the tips of his hooves. “You’re going to make a great soldier!” “Yay!” Applejack smiled and let father and son to their play. She walked over to the  tent where Rarity and Derpy were seen emerging and blinking away their sleep. “How are ya? Sleep okay?” “Decent,” Rarity said. She politely covered a yawn with a hoof before speaking again. “So what’s the plan?” “Got any ideas? I’m plum running low on ‘em right now.” “Well, I was thinking, and I say we go back to the coast and follow it east. Towns tend to be built on the shoreline.” “Sounds good. Maybe we can even find a ship to take us to Neighshe. Let’s get some breakfast in us and head on out.” .o.O.o. Like the day before, the going was good and the ponies traveled a decent pace without having to rest. None of them knew just where they were going to but they figured there was no sense in being late. Unlike the base from yesterday, there were virtually no ponies. Applejack couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing. She pondered this while pushing through a thick clump of bushes, not paying attention to her surroundings. Even the deep pit behind the bushes escaped her attention. Until she fell into it, that is. “Applejack!” the others cried out as the farmpony suddenly vanished. They rushed to the edge of a steep drop-off hidden by the bushes. Twelve hooves down, at the bottom of the pit, was Applejack, struggling to her hooves. “I’m alright!” she called back to them. “Just took a little tumble, is all. If I throw my rope up there, can y’all pull me up?” “Sure thing!” Shining Armor said and prepared to catch the rope in his telekinesis. That moment never came. The ground beneath the ponies shifted and rumbled. Shining Armor yelped when he lost his footing and fell into the pit alongside Applejack. Rarity kept her footing and yanked Spotter away from the edge with her magic. The ground beneath her gave way and a small avalanche carried both screaming ponies tumbling into the pit. Only Derpy Hooves managed to keep from falling in with a little wing action. Seconds later, the ground stopped shaking. “Hey, you guys okay?” Derpy asked. “Want me to pull you out?” “That would be lovely, dearieEEEEEEEEEEE!” Rarity’s shrill scream came from seeing the earth beside her crumble away and a rooster’s head pop out. The creature clucked once and pulled the rest of its body from the soil. A cross between a dragon and a rooster stood before them, with the rooster as the head and the rest as a scaly green, six legged lizard. It clucked again then lunged with its beak. Rarity unsheathed her knife and grazed the chickenlip’s neck with a shallow cut. It reeled back with a hiss. “Stay away!” All around the pit, chunks of dirt burst out and pelted the ponies, a flock of chickenlips sprouting from the holes. They crawled forward on their six legs, clucking and crowing more and more as they drew closer. The ponies huddled with their backs to each other and faced off against the approaching monsters. One rushed in and lashed out with its beak, but a single slice from Shining Armor’s sword severed its head clean off. The body slumped to the ground in a bloody mess and gave a few convulsions before remaining still. The remaining chickenlips attacked all at once, crawling over their dead and snapping at their prey. “We need to cut a path through them if we want to get out of here!” Shining Armor said. “I hear ya!” Applejack called back. “Just give me a moment to setup.” She took a deep breath, raised herself to her hind legs, and cupped her forehooves together at her hip. “Aurabolt!” Applejack thrust her hooves forward and a beam of pure white energy shot forward and slammed into a chickenlip bearing down on her. The squawking monster flew backwards and crashed into its brethren. “Okay, move!” Applejack led the charge through the small gap that her attack had made, the others close behind her. She kicked away any chickenlip that tried to get in her path and was soon at the base of the pit. Just as she was reaching for her lasso, the earth around them began shaking apart, and she tumbled to the ground. The intense earthquake continued, and none of the ponies managed to regain their footing. “They’re burrowing through the ground. Darn roosters are making it impossible to get up with all this loose soil!” The rumbling stopped, only for chickenlips to appear from their holes and close in on their prone forms. One chickenlip erupted from the earth in a shower of dirt and rocks and speared its beak towards Spotter’s head. The colt screamed in terror and shoved against the ground with all his might, but the soil bunched up against his hooves, giving little traction. That’s when a form descended from above and snatched away the chickenlip before it could strike. The monster was hurled completely out of the pit and landed on the harder soil with a thud. The airborne attacker came in again, this time picking up two chickenlips and flinging them high into the air. They flailed and scrambled as though it would stop their fall into the cold, unforgiving soil. It didn’t. More and more of the creatures were picked off in a similar manner, until the rest squawked in fear and burrowed themselves deep within the earth. With the chickenlips gone and the pit no longer shaking all over the place, Applejack finally managed to stand up. What greeted her was a smiling pegasus hovering in the air. “You guys alright?” Derpy Hooves asked. “Those things were really nasty.” “Yeah, I’m fine,” Applejack said. “How about y’all?” “I’m okay,” Shining Armor responded back. He checked over his son and nodded when he couldn’t find any wounds. “Same here,” Rarity said. She brushed off as much dirt as she could from her costume and snorted. “Though it looks like I’ll need to replace this soon. I’ve gone through more action than normal lately.” “What did you do, Miss Hooves?” Spotter spoke up, his eyes wide in wonder. “Oh, uh, nothing special,” Derpy said. She smiled sheepishly and placed her hooves behind her back in a nervous manner. “Just ah, something I once saw a pterodon do. Those things can dive bomb a leafer from way up high!” “Impressive, sweetie,” Rarity said and reached up to pat Derpy on the shoulder. “And quick thinking too, I must say. Right, Applejack?” Applejack rolled her eyes even as a smile crept on her face. “Yes, it was a might impressive bit of ranglin’ there. I guess I was a little quick to judge you.” “Uh oh, I was being judged?” Derpy said, her ears flattening against her head. “I’m not guilty, am I?” “Naw. If anything, I’m the one that’s guilty. I, uh… wasn’t sure bringing you along was a good idea. Sorry.” “Oh.” Derpy’s face lit up with a smile and patted Applejack on the head. “It’s a good thing you did bring me along. Otherwise you’d all be dead!” Applejack blinked. “Uh… good point. You can stop patting me now.” “Whoops!” Derpy snatched her hoof away but her happy grin still remained. A white hoof poked into Applejack’s side, gaining her attention. “It’s nice that we cleared that all up,” Rarity said, “but I think we should be on our way before those things come back.” A set of nods from Shining Armor and Spotter reinforced that sentiment. Applejack nodded herself and slipped off her lasso. “Good thinkin’. Derpy, could you take one end of this and tie it off to something?” “You got it!” Derpy saluted and took off. A few seconds later, Derpy came back and grinned sheepishly. “I, uh, probably should take my end with me, shouldn’t I?” .o.O.o. Once the group was safely out of the chickenlip pit, they wasted no time putting as much distance between them and the pit as they could. Extra care was taken to watch out for any more monsters or their dens, a job Derpy was happy to take on. Her experience with animals and her ability to fly ahead to check for dangers made her the perfect choice. No more monsters held them up, allowing the ponies to travel without hassle. It was on their third day since washing up on shore that they reached a town. Looking down from a hill, the town looked unassuming. Thatched roofed cottages made up the majority of the buildings while gardens and fields of hay dotted the landscape. A forest grew on the north side and disappeared into the distance towards some mountains. The town wasn’t very big, with perhaps four-hundred ponies living there at most. The ponies themselves were seen walking through the streets or working the fields. However, the thing that caught everypony’s eyes were the suits of magitek armor stationed at each of the town’s entrances. Looking closer, ponies wearing Imperial armor and a few griffon’s patrolling the skies were seen as well. The town was occupied though this was definitely not South Fillygaro. Shining Armor peered down at the town, his gaze scanning over every detail of troop movements and positions. “I can’t tell how long the Empire’s been there,” he said to the group. “All I know is that it’s been a while. They move as though they are familiar with the place. We gonna go down there?” “We gotta,” Applejack replied. “We’re runnin’ low on the supplies the zebras gave us. If we don’t stock up, we’ll have to live off the land and we haven’t found much since then.” “But if we get found out and captured, we’ll be living on what they give us.” “Yeah…” “Tut, tut, you two.” Shining Armor and Applejack blinked and looked up to see Rarity striding forward, an easy look of confidence on her face. “You two worry too much. Really, if we just go down there and don’t draw any unnecessary attention to ourselves, we’ll just come across as ordinary travelers. The first part of being inconspicuous is to not act inconspicuous. Here, follow my lead.” With that she trotted down the hill at a brisk pace and headed towards the town. Shining Armor looked to Applejack and shrugged. “After you, my lady.” The short walk to the town became one of the tensest moments Shining Armor and Applejack could remember having. They were heading towards an unfamiliar place across a wide open terrain, plainly visible to any Imperial soldiers that may be in the area. Within moments, a screech from one of the griffons alerted the soldiers of their approach. There was no hiding their presence now and a contingent of soldiers were waiting for them. “Papers, please,” the lead soldier, a unicorn, said. Rarity cocked her head to the side and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. “Papers? I don’t know what you mean.” “All citizens of the Empire are required to present their papers when asked.” “Oh. Well, I’m afraid we don’t have any. This is the first I’ve heard of it. You see, we just came from a settlement that was attacked by monsters. We fled here for safety. How do we sign up for papers?” The soldier grumbled something unsavory under his breath, then lit up his horn and levitated a stack of papers towards Rarity. “Fill these out and give them to the main office. It’s the large stone building down the street. Don’t leave until you’ve turned them in.” “Wonderful! Thank you so much.” Rarity took hold of the offered papers with her own levitation and graced the soldier with a brilliant smile. “Out of curiosity, what town is this?” “Trotzen.” Applejack’s eyes went wide and Shining Armor nearly swallowed his tongue. Rarity on the other hoof simply nodded, cantered past the soldier and into town. The others followed after her, keeping their heads low and looking the part of weary, worried travelers. Given the past few days, they didn’t have to fake it. Once Applejack felt they had walked out of range of the Imperials, she ran up to Rarity and hissed, “What are you doing? Don’t you know where we are? We’re on the Empire’s continent!” “I know that,” Rarity replied. “And a wonderful opportunity has been presented to us.” “How do ya figure?” “With these,” Rarity said as she lifted up the set of papers, “we can move around freely. All we have to do is come up with some phony names and none here will be the wiser.” A frown marred Applejack’s muzzle and her eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. Doesn’t feel right to lie like this.” “Would you rather tell them exactly who you are?” “Point taken.” Rarity stopped at a bench set up next to a pedestal used for showing off a statue. The statue was a pile of rubble, with a pony’s head laying off to the side and the hooves the only things still attached to the pedestal. From the looks of the grass growing wild and unchecked next to the display, nopony had been around to clean up for some time. Rarity sat down on the bench and pulled out a quill from her bag. “Here, let me get these filled out. You all busy yourselves with getting the things we need. Sound good?” Applejack let out a sigh, but nodded. “Sure. I’ll get the supplies we need.” She turned to Shining Armor and Spotter. “You fellers want to help?” “Yep!” Spotter chimed in. “I guess that settles that,” Shining Armor said with a chuckle. “I’ll stay with Rarity and keep her company,” Derpy offered and sat down next to the unicorn on the bench. “Then we’re off,” Applejack said. She headed towards the most crowded looking part of town, Shining Armor and Spotter trailing close by. Behind her, Rarity put quill to parchment and began writing. .o.O.o. The market area of Trotzen did not fill Applejack with much confidence. No stalls filled with vegetables or fruits could be seen and very few of the buildings had any form of markings to identify as stores. Only a few ponies walked by and all of them watched Applejack, Shining Armor, and Spotter with suspicious eyes. Any time Applejack called out to one of them, they would immediately turn away and head into the nearest building. “Not very hospitable, are they?” Applejack stated. “These ponies probably don’t have much of a choice with the Empire here and all,” Shining Armor said. “I guess not.” Applejack swiveled her head around and caught sight of a sign that had a loaf of bread hanging above an opened door. “Let’s try there.” The two older ponies headed for the door, Spotter trailing dutifully behind. Movement out of the corner of the young colt’s eye made him stop. There, running towards the woods, was a tan colored stallion holding a brown sack in his mouth. The stallion stopped at the corner of a house, looked around briefly, then continued his sprint to the forest. Spotter was just about to turn away and forget what he saw, when the sack being carried gave off a faint green glow. The stallion seemed to notice this as well and quickened his pace. Three more strides and he entered the woods and was lost from sight. Spotter ran towards the forest without a second thought. He had nearly reached the treeline when the stallion burst out of the trees further down and ran off in a panic. “Hey, kid!” Spotter yelped in surprise and whirled around to see a soldier run towards him. A second later, a griffon touched down from above and joined his comrade. The two Imperials quickly surrounded the frightened colt, blocking any means of escape. “Kid, what are you doing out here?” the pony asked. “You helping that thief?” “T-Thief?” Spotter stuttered. “I… I don’t…” “I lost sight of him when he went in the trees,” the griffon said. “He could still be in there.” “Oh, no.” Spotter pointed a hoof towards where the stallion had run off. “I saw him. He went that way.” “You sure,” the pony said, glaring down at the colt from underneath his helmet. “You’re not pulling our legs, are ya?” “No, no! Honest!” “C’mon,” the griffon said and motioned with his claw for the pony to follow him. “If it’s true I can spot him out easily enough.” With that, the griffon leapt into the air and quickly gained altitude. “Wait up!” the pony called after the griffon and ran after him, leaving Spotter alone once again. The colt remained where he was, his breath coming out in short bursts and his entire body shaking. It was a whole minute before he dared uncurl himself from the ground. He stood up but the wobbling in his knees threatened to topple him over at any moment. Spotter focused on recalling what had happened, but the events had come and gone so fast that he was having trouble remembering anything. However, one thing did stand out in his mind. The stallion wasn’t carrying the sack when he left the forest. Spotter looked towards the woods. The stallion hadn’t been in there long before he ran out, so he couldn’t have made it in all that far. Curiosity overcoming his fear, he slowly picked his way through the brush covering the forest floor. He hadn’t walked more than a few hoof lengths in when he caught sight of a faint green glow coming from a patch of tall grass. Spotter reached forward and parted the grass, revealing the sack laying on the ground, the strange green light seeping out of it. “Wow.” That pretty much summed up Spotter’s thoughts on the matter. He bent down and picked up the sack with his mouth. A quick yank and a pull undid the tie keeping the sack closed, giving Spotter room to reach his hoof in and pull out the glowing thing inside. What he held was nothing he had ever seen before. It was some type of clear crystal, colored green on the outside but holding a pulsing red core in its center. The core didn’t appear to be made of crystal, only a solid red sphere, like a marble. Spotter couldn’t decide if it was the most awesome thing he had ever seen, or the weirdest. “I gotta show you to dad. He’ll know what this is.” You… good… soul... “Whaaa?!” Spotter jerked and released the crystal from his hoof. However, the crystal did not drop to the ground as he expected, but hovered in front of him. A low thrumming began to emanate from the crystal, growing louder by the second. Just as Spotter thought that it would be a good idea to run, the crystal flew forwards and collided with his chest. Spotter let out a strangled gasp even as the crystal plunged into his body like a stone falling into a river. It was over in seconds. The colt fell to his knees, his pupils constricted and his breath coming in short bursts. Several moments passed as Spotter fought back the urge to flop to the ground and pass out. His vision blurred, causing him to shut his eyes tight and let the dizzy spell pass. Slowly, Spotter managed to get to his hooves even with a slight wobble coming from his knees. “Wha… what happened?” He looked around but there was no sign of the strange crystal. He gingerly placed a hoof to his chest and poked it a few times. He felt nothing and his coat was as pristine as it was before. A sudden urge to see his dad overcame him and he whirled around to run as far away from this place as possible. The only thing left that showed that he had been there was the discarded empty sack. .o.O.o. Shining Armor was in a state of panic. Not that a passerby would be able to tell. The stallion walked from one end of the small market plaza to the other, inspecting every bush, cart, and tree for any sign of his son. Shining Armor’s expression was one of serene calm, bordering on boredom. He wanted nothing more than to run around and shout out his son’s name as loud as he could, but the ever present Imperials walking the streets and flying above reminded him that doing so would draw unwanted attention. It would also sabotage Rarity’s plan to hide their identities and place them at the top of the Empire’s wanted list should they learn of who they were. So, with discipline born from years of servitude to Domare, he reigned in his emotions and carefully searched as inconspicuously as he could. “Daddy!” “Son!” All of which was thrown to the wind as Spotter came running from behind a house, saw his father, and made a beeline for him as fast as he could. Shining Armor did the same and scooped up Spotter in his hooves and cradled him to his chest. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” Shining Armor said, stroking a hoof up and down Spotter’s back. “Sorry,” Spotter replied. “I… I didn’t mean to. I just saw a funny looking guy and-and—” “How many times have I told you not to wander off?” Shining Armor interrupted. He held Spotter before him and made sure that he made eye contact. “This isn’t a game, Spot. You can’t be doing this. Applejack, Rarity, and Derpy could be put in danger if you get caught. You want that to happen?” Spotter quickly shook his head, his eyes widening at the realization. “No!” “Then promise me you stay by my side. Soldiers need to do what they’re told, right? I’m telling you that we need to stick together. Okay?” “Yeah. Okay.” “Good. Now, it’s a good thing we are in a hurry or I’d think of tanning… your hide…” Spotter had grown uneasy in his father’s grip at the threat of a spanking, but blinked as Shining Armor stared at his rump. “Dad?” When no response game, he followed his father’s gaze and gasped at what he saw. .o.O.o. Applejack was all smiles as she left the general store. She had managed to purchase everything she wanted, and at a fair price considering that the town was currently occupied. Not only that, but the shopkeeper had been willing to send a carrier pigeon under the cover of darkness for Neighshe that very night. The sun be willing, her message would arrive in a few days and hopefully reach her friends. It would do a lot to ease her mind to let them know that she was okay. Even with her good fortune, she had to admit that finances were tight. Monsters weren’t made of gil and she’d have to budget things carefully in order to keep everypony fed. Applejack wondered if Rarity would have any ideas in making some money, seeing how the unicorn made her living seeking odd jobs from others. It would have to be looked into, and soon. “Now where did those two get off to?” Applejack said allowed. Shining Armor must have slipped away when she was dealing with the shopkeeper since the stallion hadn’t been next to her when she finished her business. Didn’t he know that they needed to keep a low profile? Wandering off like that was sure to cause trouble. It was as she reached the main market plaza that she caught sight of Shining Armor and Spotter sitting together out in the open. Applejack headed over to them and said, “There y’all are. Watcha thinkin’ leaving me behind?” She received no response. “Hey! I’m talkin’ to you.” After several silent seconds, Shining Armor turned to look up at Applejack. He made no attempt to hide the worry etched on his face. “A-Applejack. What is this?” “What is what?” Shining Armor looked down at Spotter, who looked like he had seen his mother’s ghost. The colt’s white coat was paler than usual and his pupils were mere pinpricks within the whites of his eyes. Gently, Shining Armor said, “Show her, Spotter.” The colt started a little at being addressed. He glanced up and gulped at the looks of attention he was getting. Slowly, he stood up and turned his body so that Applejack got a clear view of his behind. There, adorning his flank like a tattoo, was an image of an eye overlaid with a magnifying glass.