Today had been an interesting day for Big Mac. A few short hours ago, the royal guards from Canterlot had arrived asking him what he wanted them to do. The large stallion showed them what to do and which fields he needed bucked. Once the guards had begun their work, both he and Granny Smith went down to the market with a load of fresh apples to sell. Once they got there, Big Mac had left the selling of the apples in the capable hooves of Granny Smith who was filling in for Applejack.
While he was in town, the red stallion had found out that news that Zecora had not foalnapped anypony had spread like wildfire. Not only did they now know that Zecora was innocent, but also that several of the citizens had tried to kill her the previous night. Some of them, like Silly String, seemed to act ashamed of what they had almost done.
Others, however, felt that they did nothing wrong, even if Zecora hadn’t actually foalnapped anypony. After all, they said, she was the evil enchantress that lived in the Everfree Forest. Just because she didn’t do anything wrong, this time, didn’t prove that she wasn’t evil.
To say the town of Ponyville was split on the issue was an understatement. Some ponies, mostly the younger ones, were asking why they were even afraid of Zecora in the first place. If it was because of how she looked, well, what did that prove? Weren’t there ponies of all shapes, colors, sizes, and types?
So, did living in the Everfree Forest mean she was evil? These ponies stated that at one point in time, Princess Celestia lived in the Everfree Forest. Also that there were several ponies that lived near its edges, but no pony ever accused them of being evil.
Then, there were the ponies that remained stubborn to the bitter end. It was just the way things were. She acted different and lived differently. She was not a normal pony, so she had to be evil.
‘At least Zecora is safe to go outside,’ thought Big Mac as he reached the farm. He had decided to tell her the news, and then she could begin planning her next move. He knew that telling her might cause her to leave, but she deserved to know.
He only hoped that she would wait before leaving Ponyville. In the short time he had known her, he had grown fond of her company. While her manner of speaking did confuse him at times, he saw that she was a wise mare with a good heart.
When he had gotten halfway from the road to the farm, he saw Zecora open the door and rushed towards him. For a moment, the stallion panicked. Looking around for signs that other ponies were after her, he began to ready himself for a fight. Yet, it was just Zecora who stopped a few feet in front of him.
“I have searched and searched every room,” she said quickly. “But, I fear that I have not found little Apple Bloom. It is almost lunch time and I’d hoped she’d be back, but it is now that I fear that danger in on her track.”
Big Mac placed a reassuring hoof on the zebra’s shoulder. “Ah’m sure she’s fine,” he replied. “She goes off like this all the time. If she’s not back by dark, then we’ll worry.”
Zecora opened her mouth to respond, but a sudden whistling noise silenced her. The two ponies looked around for the source of the noise, before something hit the ground only three feet away from them.
Once the shock and confusion faded, the two ponies walked over to a hole that had appeared before them. Inside, they both heard a weird clicking noise and the sound of scraping dirt. Before they knew it, ten thin metallic spider-like limbs were coming out of the hole. Big Mac moved in front of Zecora just as the thing, that the legs were attached to, crawled out. Oddly, it looked like a smooth metal cylinder with the legs starting from the middle.
Once the device was out of the ground, the top began to glow blue. After a second or two, an image of Applejack appeared above it, causing Big Mac’s jaw to drop. It was like this little thing, whatever it was, was doing magic!
“Are ya sure this’ll work?” said Applejack as she stared right at Big Mac.
“AJ, what happened to ya?” asked the red stallion.
“Of course it will work,” said another voice that sounded a lot like that purple mare that was with the bat pony. He looked from side to side, but couldn’t see her. “Just stand there, look into the device, and talk as if your brother was standing right in front of you.”
“Uh, if ya say so,” said Applejack with a look of uncertainty. She then smiled and waved. “Howdy, Big Mac. Ah know ah’ve only been gone a bit, but ah miss ya something fierce. Ah’m here in the Lunar Republic right now, and boy, is it different from Equestria!
“Anyways, ah got something ah need ta tell ya. See, Apple Bloom snuck in one of Rarity’s bags. Both she and Sweetie Belle are both up here.”
Big Mac couldn’t hide his shock. How could he have not seen something like this happening? He was supposed to watch after Apple Bloom. It was his duty as an older brother.
Suddenly, he felt a hoof on his shoulder. Turning his head, he found himself looking into the gentle eyes of Zecora, calming him down.
“Now, before ya freak out, she’s ok. Going ta be gettin’ a talkin’ ta, but other than that, she’s fine. She’ll be stayin’ with us, so she can see her friend Scootaloo for a bit. Maybe in a day or two, we’ll send her back. So, ah hope ya don’t get all worried about her. She’ll be in good hooves.”
Applejack then stared off-screen and asked, “Now what?”
“Nothing,” said the voice of Twilight. “I’ll just put this in the cannon and have it set to fire at Sweet Apple Acres.”
“Say what?!” yelled Applejack before her image cut off.
Once the transmission ended, the device pulled in its legs before shooting up into the air. As the two pony watched it zone into the air, they failed to notice that another device was making its way to Sweetie Belle parents’ home.
-x-
Deep within the desert, the buffalo were preparing for battle. Each one was putting on traditional battle paint and making sure their horns were as sharp as possible. The younger ones, who were not going into battle, help by preparing food medicine.
But, it wasn’t just the tribe/herd of Chief Thunderhooves. Ten of the eleven buffalo tribes had arrived earlier that morning. Each chief had brought with them no less than a hundred of their biggest and strongest buffalo to help. The only tribe not to come was the one belonging to Chief Rumbling Ground, who was simply too far away to be of any help.
Once they had all arrived, Chief Thunderhooves met with his fellow chieftain to discuss their battle plans, as well as what would happen after words. In the end, they had all agreed that they would destroy the town and the apple orchard, while doing their best to keep casualties as low as possible. Once that was done, the ponies from Appleloosa would be given enough food and water to make it out of the desert, along with a message to their sun princess that her ponies were not welcome.
Sitting by herself, Weeping Willow watched all of this with sadness in her heart. ‘So, this is what happens when we try to live peacefully,’ she thought. ‘All we wanted was to live here in peace, in a place we thought they would not want. But now, all we have brought is danger to our friends.’
“You seem deep in thought, my old friend,” said the voice of Chief Thunderhooves as he approached Willow from behind.
“I hardly feel like a friend right now,” replied Willow. “Because of us bat ponies, the buffalo are going into war.”
Thunderhooves let out a sigh, sitting down next to Willow as he too looked out on the preparation. Like her, he felt a pain in his heart. This was not the path that he wanted for his tribe, but there was no other option.
“Do not blame yourself, for I do not,” he stated after a moment. “The land we have stampeded upon for generations is now full of trees that keep us here. This battle was bound to happen sooner or later.”
“Perhaps there is a way we can stop it,” said Willow, looking at her larger friend. “I will turn myself in, while the rest of the bat ponies leave this area. You can say you had a change of heart, and when you went to turn us in, all you could get was me. Maybe then, you’ll have your sacred path back.”
Thuderhooves could not hide the shock in his eyes. “But, what of you?”
Weeping Willow let out a sad laugh. “I am old,” she replied. “Each day I grow weaker, less fit to be Flight Master of my colony. I will die in the prison, or by their hooves, as they try to find out where the rest of my ponies went. But, I will die happily knowing that I have given you and the rest of the buffalo a chance.”
“Wh-what?” shouted Thunderhooves.
“I second that,” said another voice. The two elders looked up and saw a dark blue bat pony stallion with dark green mane. On his face was similar paint as the buffalo. He landed on the ground and walked up to his leader. “We must fight.”
Weeping let out a sigh. “It is pointless Darkwing,” she said. “Even if we win this battle, more will come. And, if we defeat them, even more will show up. We will spend the rest of our lives fighting, until we can fight no more.”
“Then, let us fight,” said Darkwing. “I would rather go down fighting to defend my home, than just running away. I have lived here my entire life! And, even if we do, what you suggest there is no real guarantee that they will honor their word.”
“I agree with Darkwing,” said Thunderhooves. “Sometimes, in order to protect what is important, you must fight. And, fighting for your home and family is very important.”
Weeping opened her mouth, but Thunderhooves gently place a hoof on top of it to silence her. “Yes, my friend, you and those of your colony are a part of our family. You have shared with us the good times and the bad. You have sat beside us many times around the campfire to share a meal. You have respected our traditions. And, when we needed you the most, you stood beside us to fight the Diamond Dogs.”
“The bat ponies have done more than that,” said Chief Desert Wind as he and the other chieftains walked over to stand beside Thunderhooves. “When one of my tribe was bitten by a rattlesnake, it was one from your colony who flew to gather the herbs needed to make an antidote.”
“And it was the bat ponies, who warned us of that horrible desert wind several years ago,” said another chief. “Without that information, we would not have been able to seek shelter in time, and many buffalo would have died.”
“You have always said that you owe us a great debt,” said Thunderhooves. “But, there has never been a need, nor will there ever be one. You are one of us, and we will fight to defend you as we will this land.”
Weeping Willow sighed. “There is no stopping this, is there?” she asked in a sad tone. “Then, do what you feel is right.” And, with that, the old mare walked away.
-x-
“Is it safe to open my eyes yet?” asked Fluttershy as she sat on the platform. The yellow pegasus’ hooves were covering her eyes, trembling in fright.
“I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but I have my eyes covered too,” noted Rarity.
After making recordings for both Rarity and Applejack, Twilight and her guests got onboard a platform heading towards Dome One. While Twilight had brought a lot of lunar bits to pay for everypony’s tickets for the show, as well as their shopping trip, it still wasn’t enough. She hadn’t expected the additions of Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom. So, she needed to stop at her home first.
When the ponies from Equestria first saw the platform, they scratched their heads, wondering how it was going to help take them anywhere. It didn’t even have any wheels! But, when it lifted off the ground without any help of magic, they were speechless. The youngest of them looked around with curious wonder, while some of the older members of the group were not afraid to show how scared they were.
Rainbow Dash was one of the few ponies who weren’t covering her eyes. While she was impressed by the speed of the platform, she was a bit more concerned by what Scootaloo was doing, which was one of the most uncool things a pony could be doing. The little filly was reading a book! And, it wasn’t a comic book or something like that, but a large text book. Rainbow couldn’t help, but wonder what had happened to the filly to make her an egghead.
Another pony who didn’t have her eyes closed was Applejack. The farmer pony was looking outside of the tube system with a sad look on her face. Outside were miles upon miles of white wasteland. There were no trees, no grass, and no rivers. There was nothing out there, but white rocks. As she looked out, Applejack couldn’t help, but wonder how any pony could live like this. It all seemed so…depressing.
As she continued to look around, Applejack noticed the starry sky above them as well as the planet. She began to wonder if it was day or night. When she left, it had been daytime back in Equestria, but here she wasn’t so sure. Was this a land of eternal night? If so, how could they survive?
The last two ponies who didn’t have their eyes covered were Trixie and Pinkie Pie. The bright pink pony was bouncing around the platform, which worried some of the ponies from Equestria, in the fear that she might break the device they were on. Trixie, on the other hoof, was doing her best to look as dignified as possible. She had already failed her princess once before, at the Summer Sun Celebration, and she was not going to do so again. That was why she had left all of her cherry wine back at home.
When the platform finally stopped at Dome One, Twilight calmly walked off, while some of those from Equestria rushed off and began to kiss the ground for some strange reason. Rolling her eyes, Twilight turned to see Bronze Shield and Boarding Time were watching a TV screen that was apparently just put up.
Before Scootaloo got off the platform, she put away the book she had been reading. Once off the transportation device, she too noticed the brightly lit screen. She walked over to it as did Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Spike. Once there, the three fillies and one colt looked up to see what looked like ponies dressed in spandex, while wearing helmets on their heads, as they did a series of back flips, spinning kicks, and other various fighting moves against what looked like pony monsters.
“What is this?” asked Apple Bloom, to which Scootaloo simply shrugged. Ever since she had moved in with Twilight, she hadn’t watched anything on this device. She had inquired about it earlier, and was told it was like going to the movies, but in your own home. This had made Scootaloo curious, but she had never had the time to watch anything on it.
“It’s ‘Mighty Morphing Pony Rangers’,” exclaim an excited Bronze Shield, pulling himself away from the television set in order to check on all the ponies who had just arrived.
“There’s a whole channel dedicated to the show,” added Boarding with a grin. “I remember when this show first began. That was back when I was a colt.”
“What’s so awesome about—DID THAT THING JUST BLOW UP A BUILDING!” shouted Rainbow Dash in midsentence as she walked up just in time to see a monster destroy a building with an energy attack.
While this was going on, nopony seemed to notice that Pinkie Pie had gotten very still. Her nose was high in the air as she sniffed it. A moment later, her tongue began to hang outside of her mouth, dripping with saliva.
“Alright, everypony,” said Twilight, trying to get everypony’s attention. “We didn’t come here to watch an old, violent foals show.” Both Bronze Shield and Boarding Time looked at her in shock. How could she call a show, that had been loyal for over twenty years, an ‘old, violent foals show’.
“Trixie agrees with Twilight,” said Trixie. “Let us do what we came here to do and move on.”
“Right, right,” said Rainbow absentmindedly as she watched the zoids combined into one machine of pure metal awesomeness. She was so into what she was seeing that she didn’t even feel it when Applejack bit her tail and pull her away.
“Now, let’s get moving and…where is Pinkie Pie?” asked Twilight, looking around. Sure enough, the bouncing pink mare was nowhere to be found. Sighing, Twilight began to cast a location spell and hoped that she found Pinkie Pie before something bad happened to her.
-x-
“Here you are, Senator,” said Strawberry Turnover as she handed Senator Scorpio a large box. “Three dozen cookies for your niece’s cute-ceanera. I do hope the dear likes them.”
“Oh, I’m sure she will,” replied Scorpio, handing over a large amount of bits to the strawberry-colored mare. But, before she could touch them with her hoof, the door burst open.
Pinkie Pie looked around the strangest bakery she had ever seen. The place looked completely bare, except for a counter that seemed to block guests from going into the back room. Sure, she could smell delicious goodies, but they were nowhere in sight, and there were no sugary goodies on display. No tables for ponies to sit, eat, and enjoy themselves. It was very different from Sugarcube Corner. In fact, if the sign on the door hadn’t said bakery, then she would have thought she was somewhere else.
“May I help you?” asked the mare behind the counter slowly as Pinkie Pie sniffed the air. Instead of answering, Pinkie made a mad dash towards the bat pony holding the box of cookies.
“Hey, can I have some?” she asked quickly. Without waiting for an answer, the pink mare quickly grabbed the box and opened it. But, before she could go any further, she was smacked on the head by a thin, metal pole held by Strawberry.
“The nerve!” she shrieked as she began to whack Pinkie, over and over again, until she finally released the box. “Have you no shame? These cookies are for a little filly’s cute-ceanera, and they are the last batch I can make this week, until more supplies come in. Don’t you know how tight certain foods are right now until they finish building the new Domes? And, here you are, trying to steal another pony’s food, when he has waited two weeks for his order. By the void, what’s the matter with you?”
“But, they smell so good,” said Pinkie as she took another whiff of the box. Scorpio, however, sealed the box up again before the pink mare could do anything. As he did, Strawberry whacked Pinkie once more. “But, I just wanted to try one to see how they compared to the ones at Sugarcube Corner!”
“Well, I don’t care,” replied Strawberry, putting the rod away.
“Sugarcube Corner,” said Scorpio softly. “Never heard of it. Tell me, my dear mare, which Dome has this ‘Sugarcube Corner’?”
“It’s not in a dome, silly,” replied Pinkie with a grin. “It’s in Ponyville, back in Equestria!”
The two pony’s eyes widened when they heard this. Strawberry then glared at Pinkie Pie as she walked back into her kitchen, where the sounds of cabinets began to slam shut before they were locked. Scorpio also looked angry, but did his best to compose himself.
“I see,” he said slowly. “Then, you must be one of representatives. Well then, I guess it is safe to assume that you have strayed from Twilight, seeing that she wasn’t here to stop you. Now, I have heard many things about how ponies conduct themselves, planet side, so let me warn you that your behavior here is not welcome.
“For now, I will let it slide, since I am in a hurry and that you are new here. But, if I find out that you are doing something like this again, then I will go to Princess Luna myself, and have you and your greedy mouth removed from the Republic!”
And, with that, he left the bakery, just in time to see Twilight get to the door.