Daylight peeked into the cave from around the wooden door at the entrance. Rarity shifted uncomfortably. She had finally gotten some sleep in the wee hours of the morning, but it had been far from rejuvenating. Nightmares haunted her – horrible nightmares involving miniature limbs sprouting from the hooves on her forelegs and then being forced to feel up Rainbow Dash with them. It made absolutely no sense; she should probably see a psychologist as soon as she got home.
Soft sounds echoed from the back of the cave as Agister got up and awoke the other two girls. Fluttershy’s eyes slowly fluttered open from a deep sleep, while Pinkie Pie just jumped out of bed with unnatural morning enthusiasm. Her sheets somehow landed perfectly back on the cot to look much like it had before anypony got into it. As Agister offered Fluttershy a drink from his canteen, Pinkie Pie immediately set out to bug Dartmoor.
“Hey, there, Mr. Bronc! So what’re we doing today? We fighting more cats? I think I can help as long as they stop map-hacking. I mean, how did it know Rarity…”
“Unnnhh…” Dartmoor groaned from the couch as he pushed a ratty cushion over his face.
“Excuse me, darling,” called Rarity from her spot next to the fireplace, “But this stallion is hungover, possibly drunk, and extremely violent. Why don’t you come over here and help me up?”
“Okie, dokie, lokie!”
Pinkie Pie hopped over to where Rarity laid and quickly brought her to her hooves with unpleasant enthusiasm. Rarity winced as her blood flow began to return to her legs and the punctures in her chest let out a dull ache. She stumbled to the couch and laid back down, albeit as lady-like as she could muster in her present condition. Fluttershy came over and sat next to her friend and provided an affectionate nuzzle.
“So what are we doing today, Mr. Bronc?” Pinkie asked yet again, either forgetting or not caring about Rarity’s advice. Dartmoor let out another groan as he sat up on the couch a little more.
“Look, kid, just call me Dartmoor, okay? And we’re not doing anything. I will be scouting the area, and you will be sitting here very quietly. Comprende?”
Pinkie saluted, “Quiet, got it! But how quiet do I have to be? By quiet do you mean I can’t SHOUT AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS? Or does it mean I have to use my inside voice?”
“Just…”
“But what kind of inside voice should I use? Should I use the inside voice that I use in Twilight’s house? Because that’s a library, and it has a totally different inside voice than Sugarcube Corner, which…”
Dartmoor groaned and threw himself back down onto the couch, hooves pressed to his face in exasperation. Agister, who by this point had sensed the possible outburst from the violent earth pony stallion, decided to intervene.
“Pinkie, dear,” he called, “I heard you’re a baker…”
“I totally am!”
“Then why don’t you come help me make breakfast?”
“That sounds super fun!”
Pinkie hopped away from Dartmoor and over to the makeshift fireplace, where crates of foodstuffs rested. Agister then turned his attention to Fluttershy and Rarity.
“Fluttershy, dear, you know how to take care of wounds, correct?”
“Oh,” Fluttershy responded, slightly shocked at being addressed directly, “Uhm, yes. I mean, I’ve done it for a lot of animals, but I’ve never treated a pony before.”
“I'm sure you'd be just fine at it. Why don’t you go help Rarity change her dressing and get a shower?” he pointed over toward an area at the back of the cave, “That rope opens a valve to an underground spring. You won’t find fresher water in all of Equestria.”
Rarity’s eyes lit up, “I’ve heard of the springs in Maneitoba. Some of the most luxurious spas in Canterlot use it exclusively…” Despite her pain, Rarity made it over to the shower area before Fluttershy and looked back impatiently at her.
Agister smiled at her enthusiasm. He trotted over to Dartmoor, who was still shielding himself from the annoyance with his hooves.
“Hey, Dart,” he said softly as he levitated something over from his cot, “Normally I’d say you deserve this headache, but you got to be in top shape with the elements here. Take what you need and go scout.”
Dartmoor chanced looking up at the object levitating in the yellow aura before him. It was a half pint of Pride of Canterlot vodka. He took it in his hooves and drank it like a starving child.
“I’ve got to go make sure Pinkie doesn’t destroy our rations,” Dartmoor noted, “You need to get up, go get Ayden, and make sure there’s no one watching us.”
Dartmoor nodded as he finished off the vodka. He lazily got up from the couch and steadied himself on his hooves as Agister went to help Pinkie Pie. He gingerly rubbed his temples, and reached over to grab his hat…
The door rattled.
He stopped and listened. Somepony was trying to open the door. He looked around briefly. Nopony else in the cave seemed to notice. He crept up to the door. Quietly, he undid the lock. The door started to open…
Dartmoor jumped on pony on the other side. He was directly on top, forelegs around the pony’s neck, back legs around the barrel of his body. Shoving his rear legs backward, he pushed the other pony’s hind legs out from under. The pair of them fell to the ground. He had the other pony’s trachea in his arms. He pulled tighter, as the other pony fought desperately to loosen the grip…
“Dartmoor! Stop killing for a minute!”
Dartmoor looked up. Agister and the three mares were staring at him with wide eyes. He maintained his grip on the intruding pony in his grasp and looked down. It was a forest-green pegasus stallion, and was vaguely familiar. He resumed choking out the pony.
“I don’t want ponies thinking I’m incompetent, so I’m going to kill him just to make sure.”
“Damn it, Dartmoor! This is Sly Hoof! He’s in the resistance; remember you met him a few months ago?”
Dartmoor released his grip slightly, “You sure?”
“For Celestia’s sake, yes!”
He let the poor pony go. Sly immediately gasped for breath and massaged his throat.
“Damn it, Bronc!” he choked out, “Do you have to do this every time I come here?!”
Dartmoor shrugged listlessly, “I’m usually drunk. I guess you’re just not that memorable.”
Agister levitated Sly up and set him gingerly on the couch. The three mares watched the whole scene play out, all the while eyeing Dartmoor nervously.
“I’m alright, I’m alright,” Sly Hoof said as Agister bustled about with medical supplies, “I daresay I’m used to it,” he gave an ugly look at Dartmoor, who looked back impassively, “Anyway, I just came to bring a message, then I gotta get out of here.”
“A message?” Agister asked as he put down a bottle of aspirin, “From whom?”
“From our contact in the castle,” Sly sighed, “The Disciples have made their move.”
Everypony present looked on in shock as their eyes widened.
“Yeah, they’ve taken the castle, as well as the prince and princess. They did it real quiet-like. I don’t think anypony outside the castle knows yet, but if they don’t they’re going to find out eventually.”
“Princess Celestia must be notified at once!” Agister exclaimed.
“Yeah, I’m flying there as soon as I’m done. There’s another issue, however. Two, in fact.”
“Yes?”
“First off, I visited the houses of a few of our members. All empty.”
“Maybe they saw what was happening and went into hiding?” Dartmoor suggested.
“I don’t think so. Their houses were ransacked. I’ve really got a bad feeling about this…”
Agister sighed, “Alright, we’ll deal with that as we come across it. You said there was something else?”
“Yeah, there is. I was able to establish one thing from the castle before I made a run for it. The Disciples don’t know where the Element of Magic is.”
The three mares gasped, holding a hoof to their mouth. Rarity sat down in shock. Agister’s brow furrowed.
“She wasn’t in the castle?”
“No. She was one of the first things they went after, but she wasn’t in her room when they got there. Celestia knows she couldn’t have run off by herself.”
“Do you think…?”
Sly shrugged, “You got me on this, boss. Obviously, Grimm didn’t say much about it to me. He’s already suspicious enough.”
Agister sighed heavily, “Alright then. We were about to have breakfast. You should join us; I know how long it takes to get to Canterlot from here.”
Sly nodded. Agister turned to Pinkie Pie, who had been uncharacteristically quiet through the whole conversation, “We better get to cooking, Pinkie. I have a feeling we’re going to have a long day ahead of us.”
Agister and Pinkie Pie quickly got to making breakfast as the others sat on the couch in silence. Sly rubbed his throat and threw irritated glances towards Dartmoor, but they weren’t noticed. After ten minutes, the air became so heavy with uncertainty that Rarity felt uncomfortable. She turned toward the newcomer.
“So, Mr. Hoof…”
“Just call me Sly.”
“Okay then. Sly, what part do you play in this… organization?”
Sly didn’t respond immediately. He looked over toward Dartmoor, who in turn looked toward Agister. Agister did not notice, as he was finishing up breakfast. Dartmoor shrugged.
“She’s fine,” he said gruffly.
“On your head, then,” Sly shrugged back, “I’m a guard at the castle, and a member of the Disciples.”
Rarity and Fluttershy both gasped and held their hooves up to their mouths.
“Oh, come on,” he rolled his eyes, “Do you really think I would say that in front of Dartmoor of all ponies if it was something to be worried about? The guy’s a single-minded death machine.”
“We… are aware,” Rarity responded.
“Anyway, yeah, I’m a double agent, but I think that role’s come to an end. I wasn’t on the watch bill today, and the Disciples kindly didn’t tell me about the coup. It was really only a matter of luck that I heard about it. I have a feeling they were planning to off me as soon as they seized power.”
“I’m so sorry,” Fluttershy said softly.
“Ah, buck it. I’m glad to be rid of those guys. Grimm was starting to be a real pain in the ass anyway.”
“Grimm?”
“Yeah, Grimm Shado. You don’t know of him?”
The two mares shook their heads.
“He’s a mean son of a bitch,” Dartmoor took over, “He was Sombra’s head cabinet minister during his reign. This guy was a bad-ass unicorn, never seen another one like him. And before you say it, yes, he’s way stronger than Twilight Sparkle. Not only does he have about thirty years on her, but he’s evil as sin. He never limited himself based on if other ponies got hurt, so he’s well practiced with a dark side of magic no decent pony would ever dream of touching. Not to mention the fact that he was mentored by the king himself, who was more than a match for any Equestrian princess.”
“But…”
“Elements of Harmony, toots. And we don’t have those right now, remember?
Rarity had one more question she was burning to ask.
“And Spike? Did you hear anything about any dragons? He would be young, of course, not much more…”
Sly shook his head, “Sorry. I don’t know anything about Spike.”
Rarity nodded grimly as Pinkie Pie brought over plates of food. For rations obtained from a wooden crate stored in a cave, it wasn’t that bad – corn muffins, cream of wheat and rehydrated apple juice. The six ponies ate in silence. In what Rarity was fairly certain was record time, all plates were empty.
“Well, I better get going,” Sly Hoof said abruptly as he unfurled his wings.
“Are you sure you have to leave so soon?” asked Rarity as she batted her eyelashes, “We really don’t have any sophisticated stallions around her; Agister excluded of course. Wouldn’t you…”
Sly smiled apologetically, “Sorry, lady. I’m a coltcuddler. You understand.”
With that, Sly proceeded out the door and took flight toward Canterlot. After they watched him leave, Dartmoor leaned over with a sneer and whispered in Rarity’s ear –
“He’s not really gay.”
***
“So let me get this straight. If Ah fall outta an apple tree an’ break mah leg, I’m gonna end up owin’ the hospital all this money?”
“Eeyup. Unless y’all got insurance, then you can go ta the hospital or the doctor whenever ya want and all your medicine is paid for an’ everything.”
“Well that sounds more convenient than an’ apple tree buckin’ machine. What’s the issue?”
“It costs abou’ four hundred a month.”
“Holy moly! Well what if ya just want ta go ta the hospital when Ah’m in deep trouble? Ah mean, if Ah gotta go ta the doctor, then Ah’ll just pay the doctor.”
“That costs about a hundred a month.”
“Well that’s not so bad. Why…”
“President Obamare made that illegal.”
“Dammit! Ah tell ya what, we gotta figure out how ta get outta here lickity-split; Ah’m startin’ ta agree with Rainbow. You’re world’s an apple pie without any sugar. It looks nice an’ everything, but as soon as ya gotta eat it, it don’t taste like it’s supposed ta.”
“Eeyup. We’re here, sugarcube.”
The truck pulled up to the Sugarcube Corner. It was bustling with activity during the lunchtime hour, with people lined up almost out the door.
“Ah shoulda figured we’d get here too late,” Human-AJ groaned as she stepped out of the truck, “Dang nab it, Rarity. Why does it take so damn long to get a set of clothes from that woman?”
Applejack slammed the passenger door shut just as Rainbow Dash jumped down from the truck bed. They had seen this version of the store once before – when Pinkie had let them out of jail. It had been very early in the morning then, and they never really appreciated the amount of activity this establishment garnered in this world. Everyone from businessmen wearing three piece suits to high-schoolers on a lunch break apparently went to Sugarcube Corner. This might take awhile.
Human-AJ held the door open as the two pony-girls entered. The voice of the bubbly pink-haired girl was immediately noticeable above the din. Craning her neck, AJ could see Pinkie at the front of the long line manning the cash register. She sighed.
“How the hay are we supposed ta have a word with her?”
“Looks like we gotta get in line here, sugarcube. Ah suppose it is about dinner time anyhow.”
“You mean lunch?” asked Rainbow Dash as she joined the other two girls in line.
“Naw, sugar. Ah don’ know how y’all do it in Ponyland, but here in ‘Murca, the country folk call lunch ‘dinner’ and they call dinner ‘supper’. That’s cause when you’re workin’ the farm, ya want the big meal in the middle of the day and the small meal at the end.”
“Huh,” Rainbow responded without interest, “What kind of grub do they have in this place, anyway.”
Human-AJ laughed, “Ah doubt they have any steaks or bacon,” Dash’s face fell, “But they might have some deli sandwiches and they have a whole bunch a coffee…”
“Coffee?” Dash’s eyes lit up, “Come on, line, get a move on!”
The line, however did not listen to her. All they got were annoyed stares. Applejack grinned back sheepishly.
“Sorry, y’all. She’s, uh, new ta… all this…”
After a few minutes, the girls moved up to the front of the line. Luckily, they appeared to have arrived at the end of the lunch rush, and there were only a few people behind them. When Pinkie Pie caught sight of the trio, her eyes lit up.
“Hey there, Rainbow Dash! And Applejack! And Applejack! What brings you guys here?”
“Actually, Pinkie, we’re just here ta get some lunch and ask you a question.”
“Okie, dokie, lokie! What can I get you? A cake? A cupcake? A rainbow cupcake?”
Rainbow Dash pushed past the other girls and slammed her hands down on the counter.
“I want a coffee, like, a big coffee. And whatever is the steakiest, baconiest thing you have on the menu.”
“Okay, a quart of espresso and a super-duper quintuple decker burger with a side of heart attack.”
“And Ah’ll have a daisy and daffodil sandwich.”
Pinkie furrowed her brow, “We don’t have any of those. If you want to wait, I can go out to the florist and get an arrangement and put it on some bread for you…”
“Oh, uh, nevermind. Ah’ll just have a cupcake.”
“Alrighty!” Pinkie smiled. After Human-AJ made her order, the three sat at an unoccupied table and awaited their food. Looking around, Applejack noticed the casual and friendly décor of the place. The entire store was covered in vibrant shades of pastel colors befitting an ice cream shop, and the walls were covered with personal pictures of the Cakes and their employees. There was a picture of the Cakes getting married, a picture of them holding their twins in the park, a picture of Pinkie and…
“Hey y’all,” Applejack said quietly, “Take a look at that…”
Hanging on the wall of Sugarcube Corner was a picture of all five human girls with a sixth – a girl with radiant yellow and red hair, sporting a smile even wider than Pinkie.
“Is that…”
“Yup, that’s Sunset Shimmer,” Human-AJ remarked, “She really was a sweetheart after she got her priorities straight. The six of us were thick as thieves for the rest of high school.”
“What happened to her?”
“She went off ta college, wanted ta be a scientist of some sort. Ah think she wanted ta study how that magic portal thingy affects our world. It's all over mah head, really.”
Rainbow’s eyes lit up, “Then she probably knows how to get back! Where is she? Let’s go find her.”
Applejack shook her head sadly, “Ah don’ rightly know which college she went to. She could be on the other sideah the country by now. Y’all probably be best ta ask Fluttershy; Sunset and her were the closest. Ah wouldn’t be surprised if they still talked.”
“Here you go!”
The three girls looked up to see Pinkie’s smiling face as she held a tray of food. They greedily dug into their dishes, oblivious to how hungry they were until they saw the delicious looking meals on their plates. Pinkie took a seat next to them and stared at them with a grin as they ate. This did not take too long.
“Dear Celestia, this espresso stuff,” Rainbow elated, “This is… this is even better than coffee!”
Pinkie giggled, “That’s because it’s super coffee, silly. Normally I wouldn’t give anyone this much, but I know how tolerant you are of caffeine.”
“What?”
“Anyway,” Pinkie continued, ignoring her, “I have a super big favor to ask of you guys. Today’s been really, really busy, and we’re all out of cupcakes. Would you mind giving me a hand? I’ll let you taste the batter…”
“Uhm… Pinkie?” Human-AJ started, “Aren’t you curious as ta why there’s two of me?”
Pinkie shrugged, “Nope, and I’m not curious why Dashie’s up this early, either.”
“Well, she’s not sugarcube. This is a different Rainbow Dash. We were actually gonna head over ta Dash’s place in a few.”
“Cool!” Pinkie cried, “So you have time to help me make cupcakes then!”
“Actually…”
“Come on, silly-willies!”
“Pinkie grabbed Rainbow and one of the Applejacks and pulled them to the kitchen as the other customers looked on in confusion. The other Applejack sighed and reluctantly followed her.
Pinkie Pie immediately began bustling around the kitchen, grabbing ingredients and comparing them to her recipe list.
“Dashie, could you get me a two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, and half a cup of cocoa? They’re over there on that shelf…”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and went to get the desired ingredients. The two Applejacks glanced at each other. Now might be the only time they would be able to speak to the hyperactive girl.
“So, uh, Pinkie? Y’all been doing well since graduation?”
“Only super-duper! The Cakes are going to let me be assistant manager after the current one leaves for college this winter.”
“That’s good. You remember that one girl, Twilight Sparkle, that went to our school for a little while?”
“Of course! I remember all my friends.”
“Ah’m sure ya do. Y’all haven’t happened to see another Twilight around, have ya?” Applejack winced slightly. That question came out a little crazier than she’d wanted.
“Oh, you mean Human-Twi? Of course I have. Well, I did once. She was at a party.”
“A party?”
“Oh, yeah, it was super fun! There were so many kinds of cupcakes! Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting, blueberry cupcakes, mega-cupcakes, cupcake vodka…”
“Pinkie! We’re talkin’ about Twilight, remember?”
“Oh yeah! Twilight’s favorite cupcake was the…”
Applejack facepalmed. This was going to take longer than she thought.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was trying to find the ingredients Pinkie had asked for. This wasn’t particularly easy, considering massive doses of caffeine were currently pumping through her bloodstream, making her hands shake and her head spin. Three cups of flour. What was the difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour? Gluten-free flour? She didn’t know what gluten was, but it didn’t sound very cool. Gluten-free will do. Sugar. There was brown sugar, powdered sugar and white sugar. How many cups was she supposed to add again? Remembering made her brain hurt. She’ll just add one of each. Lastly there was chocolate, right? Hmm… there weren’t any containers marked “chocolate”, just cocoa. Were they the same thing? She didn’t think so. Here’s a metal container full of little grey granules. That should do.
“Alright, Pinkie. All your stuff’s in the mixy thing.”
“Super! Thanks, Dashie!”
Pinkie took a little red bottle of food coloring out of a cabinet and poured a generous amount into the bowl.
“We’re making red velvet cupcakes today, so we need lots of red flavor.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Uhm, Pinkie, Ah don’ think…”
“Yep, lots of red. That’s not my secret ingredient, though. But that’s a SECRET,” she shouted the last word, making all three girls jump.
Human-AJ coughed uncomfortably, “Pinkie, remember we were talkin’ about Twilight?”
“Oh, yeah. So I told her, ‘Vanilla icing is good, but cream cheese icing is really what…’”
“Darn it, Pinkie! We want to know where she is!”
“Oh, why didn’t you just say so?” Pinkie said as she put the batter in the oven, “I only talked to her once – that was at a party about six months ago. Come to think of it, she wasn’t really talkative, almost like she didn’t like making friends. Or parties. Hmph.”
“Do you know anything else about her?”
“No, not really,” Pinkie said, rubbing her chin, “But Rainbow Dash was also at that party. She talked to her for a while. She might know something.”
“Then Ah guess Ah know what we’re doin’ next. Mind ya, we were fixin’ ta do that anyway.”
“Tell Dashie I said hi,” Pinkie said sadly, “I don’t get off until six. But here, I promised you that you could taste the batter…”
Pinkie held up a spatula with a wide grin on her face. Hesitantly, Applejack took it and gave it a lick.
“Hmm… tastes funny.”
“That’s weird,” Pinkie frowned, “I thought I did everything perfect. You put the right ingredients in, right Rainbow?”
“Yeah, the flour and the sugar and that chocolate stuff,” she responded pointing at the metal can.
Pinkie’s eyes went wide. Applejack gulped. Slowly, Pinkie turned the can around to reveal the label Rainbow had missed –
“Party Cannon Gunpowder.”
In slow motion, all four girls looked at each other in panic, then at the oven…
BOOOOM!
The force of the blast threw everyone to the floor. The oven door shivered half off its hinges. The cupcake pan was nowhere to be seen, and the entire kitchen and all its occupants were covered in deep red cupcake batter.
“God damn it, Pinkie!” Human-AJ screamed, throwing her hat to the floor, “If brains were dynamite, you couldn’t blow your own damn nose. But you sure as hell can blow up a kitchen. Why on God’s green earth would you store gunpowder next to the baking supplies!?”
“Where else would I put it?” Pinkie replied with a batter-covered smile.
At that moment, Mrs. Cake ran into the kitchen. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open at the sight before her. The first sight to catch her eye was a panicked, caffeinated Rainbow Dash covered in a sticky red substance.
“Oh, Pinkie. Not again!”
***
“That is absolutely unacceptable. This is our friend we’re talking about, and we are going to help, whether you approve or not!”
Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy stomped their hooves on either side of Rarity. All three of them were glaring daggers at Agister and Dartmoor. The two stallions glanced at each other.
“You know babe, if I wanted to keep you here, I could…” Dartmoor started.
“Don’t you pull that with me!” Rarity shouted, eyes glittering dangerously, “You know just as much as I do that you can’t. What are you going to do, tie us up and let us die of starvation? We are not staying here.”
“That’s right!” Pinkie interjected.
“Ladies, please listen to reason…” Agister said.
“Uhm… I don’t mean to be rude, but if you think we’re not going to help our friends when they're in trouble, you can just go… go and… go and clop yourselves,” Fluttershy finished with a whisper.
All ponies present were taken aback at Fluttershy’s sudden assertiveness. Rarity’s jaw hung open, while Agister stuttered inanely. It was a good minute before anypony could come up with words again.
“Well, I’m glad we settled that!” Rarity smiled, “So what’s the plan, gentlecolts?”
Agister sighed, “We’re going to board the next train going to the Crystal Empire. It’s going to take a few hours to get to the tracks, so if we hurry, we can stowaway on the two o’clock.”
“And it’s going to be a royal pain in the ass getting on that thing,” Dartmoor added, “So if any of you don’t think you’re up to it, you better stay here. I’m not coming back for you if you miss the train, and it’s a long, puma-filled walk back here.”
Fluttershy shuddered slightly, but the look of resolve on her face didn’t waver.
“Come on, then, if you’re going to come. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
***
Spike looked around. They were in some kind of warehouse made of purple crystal. Carmine was laying down on the floor next to him, panting from the exertion of running all this distance from the palace. Twilight was still tied to her back with a sheet, and was still unconscious.
“Where are we?” Spike asked quietly.
“This was a granary from the time of Sombra. The food in here has already been used or is spoiled, and the princess never reopened the place, so nopony ever comes in here.”
“Why not?”
“She thought it would bring back… unpleasant memories. It was scheduled to be demolished, but apparently in the managing of a lost empire, that’s pretty low on the priority list.”
Carmine pulled herself up on her hooves and walked over to a stack of burlap sacks. She laid a few down on the hard crystal floor. Spike understood what she was trying to do and untied Twilight, letting her settle down on the makeshift bedding.
“What are we going to do now?” he asked.
“We’re going to have to wait for Princess Celestia to show up with reinforcements. I don’t know how far the news of the attack have spread, but I’m sure somepony loyal to the princess found out. Until then, we’ll just have to hunker down and wait."
“Just wait until Celestia gets ahold of these guys,” Spike laughed to himself, “I hope they like cheese, because they’re going to be spending quite a while on the moon.”
“Yeah, that’s what’s bothering me.”
Spike looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “What do you mean?”
“These guys know they’re not going to be a match for Celestia and the Equestrian army, even without the Elements of Harmony. I mean, when you look at the strategic aspect of it, I don’t know what Grimm was thinking?”
“Grimm? Who’s that? How do you know so much?”
Carmine sighed, “Spike, there’s something you should probably know about me…”
***
Rainbow and the Applejacks had to stop at the farm to wash their clothes and get a shower to cleanse themselves of the day's previous mishap. Only two hours behind schedule, Applejack’s pickup truck pulled up in front of the high rise building that was the human Rainbow’s home. Rainbow Dash jumped out of the truck bed and looked up in awe at the gargantuan building.
It was about time she paid herself a visit.