//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: Rainbow Connection // by ahilty //------------------------------// Chapter Two Dream Valley There was not a single cloud in the sky over Flutter Valley. Not a cumulus, not a stratus, not a single little fluffy bit of cover to interrupt the celebration of the Sun Stone. For most of the partygoers this was wonderful. Ponies of all three types played in the grass, singing happily the song of the Sun Stone. It was a song that celebrated the power of the light and of the day, and for most of them ponies, Flutter Ponies, and Sea Ponies, this was one of their favorite days of the year. Unfortunately to witches it was…irritating. It didn’t help that the Flutter Ponies, for the most part, had not forgotten or totally forgiven Draggle’s part in the theft of their precious stone years ago. They tolerated her as a resident of Paradise Estate, but did not embrace her as they had Spike and the bushwoolies. To be fair she didn’t really want to join in with the joyous singing or dancing either. In the three years she had been around the ponies, Draggle had adapted a bit to the lifestyle. She had changed a bit, though not enough to be unrecognizable. At some point Buttons had made a pair of boots for her, as the unicorn had noted that she didn’t really have much in the way of shoes. Feeling that might have contributed to Draggle’s general clumsiness, Buttons had modeled a pair after Megan’s own work boots. Draggle had to admit they were a bit better then what she had before, so taking them made sense. Buttons also made a wide brimmed hat for the witch, again knowing she had intolerance for sunlight. This had also been accepted, though Draggle had resisted any more changes. She was still a witch. She still preferred shabbiness. She preferred the dark still, and still wasn’t to fond of sweets or songs, but sunlight was just a bit more…tolerable now. Not pleasant, but tolerable, though she did do her best to avoid it. She never got used to excessive amounts of sugar, though she could tolerate things like muffins or bagels, though again they were not her preference. So, instead of joining the ponies in the sunlight, for now she was resting under a tree. That is not to say she was totally alone, or that all of the Flutter Ponies avoided her. Morning Glory was still the forgiving, kindhearted mare she had always been. She was the first, and so far only, Flutter Pony who not only forgave Draggle, but had easily accepted her. The Flutter Pony made sure to at least come up and say hello to the witch, just to make sure she was all right. “How you are doing? You sure you don’t’ want to join in?” Morning Glory asked as she landed near Draggle’s tree. “Bit to sunny out there. I’m fine.” Draggle pointed to where Gusty, Wind Whistler, Fizzy and Surprise were gathered, Gusty standing her hind legs and apparently kickboxing with an invisible foe. “Besides, this is a bit interesting.” “What are they doing?” Morning Glory asked. “Gusty got in her head to start practicing battle moves.” Draggle snorted. “She thinks she’s a pony knight or something.” “What? Is she going roaming?” “No, she just thinks that they depend to much on the Rainbow of Light.” Draggle shrugged. The ponies pauses a bit and approached. Apparently Gusty had heard them. “Hey, Morning Glory.” Gusty grinned. “Hi, Draggle tells me you’re learning to fight? Why?” “Why? Well we can’t all live in Flutter Valley! And we keep getting attacked, over and over! I thought, why should we just sit around and hope the Big Brothers show up, or keep having to depend on the Rainbow of Light? I mean, yeah they’re useful, but what if the Big Brothers are to far away, or we can’t get the Rainbow to work, like…well the Smooze thing.” Gusty shrugged at Draggle, who didn’t react. Gusty didn’t really mean any harm. “We need to stand on our own four hooves at times, and I thought that instead of just waiting for trouble to come we should be a more…what did you say, Wind Whistler?” “Proactive.” Wind Whistler said. “It’s a good idea. While I do not suggest we go questing for dangerous situations, we should have a formalized emergency plan. And having the more…loose ponies practice defense is a good way to do this, and fill our time.” “Loose ponies?” Morning Glory asked. “Ponies like myself or Gusty here, who have no real job that can occupy their time. Cupcake and Gingerbread are cooks. Cherries Jubilee and Posey care for the gardens and orchards, and so on.” Wind Whistler said. “So that’s all you do now? It sounds exhausting!” Morning Glory said. “Oh no. As I was telling Gusty, we cannot simply do this and nothing else. We ponies are not accustomed to such a strenuous schedule. Play is natural for our kind. So, we practice as often as we can, but with frequent breaks. In fact we were taking a break right now. Gusty and I were going to join the rest of the celebration.” Surprise bounded over. “Hey Draggle, now that we’re done, wanna play ball? I got one over in that bush, and we can duck into the woods to play!” Draggle paused. She usually did. Play was…not natural for her, at least not as natural as it was for pony. Play just wasn’t encouraged in the Gloom Clan, and it taken a bit for Draggle to feel comfortable enough to join in with what her kin had always seen as silly and a waste of time. Wind Whistler had even explained to her once that the purpose of play was, for a pony, a combination of exercise and a way to bond. Eventually she had tried it. It wasn’t that bad. Draggle got to her feet. She had been resting since they arrived, and her knee wasn’t bothering her that much. Especially since she had kept Magic Star’s staff. “Why not?” She finally responded. “I wanna come to!” Fizzy grinned at Wind Whistler. “I’ll come to the celebration later!” Wind Whistler nodded. “I will meet you three later…unless you are staying as well, Morning Glory?” Morning Glory grinned. “Ball sounds fun! I’ll stay for a bit. Have fun at the party.” Wind Whistler nodded and trotted over to where the Flutter Ponies and the rest of the Estate ponies were singing. Gusty followed her, giving a nod to Draggle as she went. Draggle and Gusty where not exactly the best of friends, but after a few incidents Gusty had mostly accepted Draggle’s presence, and treated her like any other Estate pony, for the most part. Gusty had grown more and more protective over the years, and the end result was a pony who had found a calling in defending the Estate and the creatures that lived there. Gusty had always been bold and hotheaded, but the constant attacks on the ponies, ever since Tirac had been defeated, had proved to Gusty time and time again that sometimes fighting was the only way to solve an issue before pony lives were put at stake. She hadn’t quite descended into a ‘kill them all’ attitude, more of an attitude of hitting first, then asking questions later. In her mind it was better to apologize to a creature later for hitting them, rather then letting them attack and hurt someone if they turned out hostile. Still, despite this Gusty had come to the conclusion that Wind Whistler had been right about Draggle. She was no pony, and probably would never completely be like a pony, but she wasn’t hostile, and that was enough for Gusty. As the two ponies galloped over to the celebration, Surprise darted for the bushes, leading the other three to the ball she had hidden. Nudging a bit with her nose the excitable Pegasus nudged the ball out into the open. “Alright so. No magic or flying. Right?” Surprise grinned as she balanced the ball on her nose. “Sticks allowed though.” “Be gentle, I’ve never played this before.” Morning Glory said. “Don’t worry, here, catch!” Surprise bounced the ball upwards with her nose, then smacked it with her forehead.…gently, towards Morning Glory. As a Flutter Pony, Morning Glory was smaller and physically weaker then your average pony, but was much more magical. However, due to Surprises’ gentle bounce, Morning Glory was able to raise up on her slender back legs and kick the ball towards Draggle. The witch leaned a bit to the side, putting her weight on her good leg, and smacked the ball to Fizzy with her staff. Fizzy leaped into the air and bounced the ball back to Surprise with her hip. The Pegasus knocked it back to Draggle, who smacked it back Morning Glory. This went on for about ten minutes, when Fizzy got in a pretty good shot that sailed over Surprises head. The cheery Pegasus laughed and chased after the ball, which landed on a hole. Something grunted within. Surprise stopped in front of the hole, and the ball reemerged, sitting atop a Stoneback’s head. The Stoneback snarled and grunted at her, the ball rolling off his head. “Oh!” Surprise smiled. “Hello Mr. Stoneback!” She noticed that the Stoneback’s nose was a bit puffy. “Are you okay?” The Stoneback reached out of the hole and grabbed her leg. He tugged gently, still grunting and trying to communicate. Surprise blinked. “Something’s wrong? You want us to follow you?” She asked as the other three ran up behind her. The Stoneback nodded. “Down the hole? Are you sure, Stoneback?” Morning Glory asked, her wings fluttering slightly. Fizzy cringed, blinking her crystal eyes. “Umm…maybe we should get the others.” The Stoneback snorted and flashed his fangs. “…you’re really upset, aren’t you Mr. Stoneback…” “Let’s just see what’s going on.” Surprise said. “If it gets to dangerous we can always run back. Lead the way, Mr. Stoneback.” The Stoneback nodded and dove back into the hole. He knew those fillies were in trouble, and surely between a Flutter Pony, a Pegasus and a unicorn the group would be able to herd their young back. All the Stoneback had to do was lead them to the strange mirror they had found and follow the filly tracks. Fizzy shivered a bit as she followed Surprise and Draggle into the tunnel. She didn’t really like tunnels. It reminded her of how she got her eyes…the crystals…all the crystals…she shuddered. Morning Glory trotted up beside her and nudged her cheek with her nose. “Are you alright?” “I just…kinda don’t like being underground…” “Ah…” Morning Glory nodded. “We’re with you.” “Yeah, I know.” Fizzy took a deep breath. Wind Whistler wouldn’t be scared. So neither would Fizzy! Besides, not every tunnel led to evil crystals. Still, there was something about this tunnel. Some odd magic in the air that, for some reason, was putting Fizzy back in the mind of that long ago day when Applejack had rescued her and the other Twinkle – eyed ponies from the Jewel Wizard. She blinked her jeweled eyes and put it out of her mind. There were no jewels here, just her friends and an upset Stoneback. She could be a tough pony! She could! The tunnel opened up into a cavern, and Fizzy gasped. The room was dominated by a huge, shimmering mirror. Light from various gems glistened on its frame, and the surface shimmered like water. Fizzy trotted past the others and approached. “What is this?” She wondered. She hardly noticed the Stoneback walking over to a set of filly hoofprints and pointing at them. She was to busy being entranced by the mirror’s surface. Draggle snorted and turned her head away from the brilliance, muttering something about it being tacky. She suddenly looked up from where the Stoneback was pointing and limped closer to Fizzy. “Wait, don’t touch-“ Fizzy cried out as her hoof went through the mirror and seemed to catch. Something was pulling her inside, and she planted her hooves to the ground, struggling. “Aieee! Help!” “Idiot! Why did you do that!” Draggle, though cursing Fizzy for touching the mirror, still lunged for the young mare and grabbed her back legs, attempting to yank her back. The mirror, as if sensing the resistance, seemed to pull on them harder, as if determined to fulfill its duty and take them to…well they didn’t know where. Surprise gasped and bit down on Draggle’s arm sleeve and attempted to help her, while Morning Glory did the same with Draggle’s other side. The Stoneback, realizing what was happening, ambled forwards and grabbed the witch’s ankles, attempting to push her down and anchor her. The pull of the mirror increased, as if reacting to them. Fizzy’s hoof was tingling like mad, and the pull from her friends was being to hurt her spine. She eeped again as the mirror yanked one last time, sweeping them inside and over the rainbow. Fizzy’s eyes closed as the rainbow colors swept over her. She tumbled, end over end, screaming, but with no sound coming out. Her mind whirled in panic. What in the world was this? It was like the rainbow path that connected their land to Megan’s, but only Pegasi could use that path! She was a unicorn! What was going on! Fizzy landed finally, and she grunted in pain as the others piled on top of her. The Stoneback slide from the top of the pile and stood on his hind legs. He tipped over to one side, then the other, and then rolled on his back, legs in the air. Fizzy was pretty sure that his eyes were rolling as he tried to get a handle on the fact that the world was no longer spinning. Draggle rolled off Fizzy and scrambled to a corner. Fizzy winched as she heard the poor witch heaving. Fizzy got up and gave her a few gentle pats on the back. Morning Glory winched, fluttering her wings to make sure they were not damaged. “That was…odd. Not at all like the normal rainbow path…” Surprise leaped up and grinned. “That was fun! Hey, where are we?” She looked around. She trotted over to Morning Glory and looked the Flutter Pony over. “Everyone good?” “So…much…rainbow….” Draggle moaned as Fizzy gave her a little nuzzle. “Just give me a minute.” “Aww.” Surprise ducked her head, then looked at the Stoneback. “Poor Mr. Stoneback is sick too…give me a second. I’ll check out where we are, and come back. We’ll have to go back the other way, I think, but lets give you two a second to recover.” Surprise trotted outside, pausing a bit as she exited the odd room they were in. She sniffed. Ruins. It looked like it was once some sort of tower. Surprise looked up and then pulled the rest of herself through the door. She looked up at the statues flanking the door. The one on the right, Surprise gasped. “Queen Majesty!” “What? Queen who?” Morning Glory slipped through the doorway and looked at Surprise. “Queen Majesty! There have been three of them before, the first dating back almost a thousand years ago. Paradise told us the story once! A thousand years ago the fair queen Majesty once ruled the great Pony Empire. But then one day a dark force came from her magical mirror and swept across the land. Queen Majesty destroyed her own castle to bury the mirror, and fled with her people to the far corners of the world. Her line would always dream of returning, and about ten years ago the last of her line, Majesty the Third, led us ponies back here and reestablished Dream Castle. That’s why we call it Dream Valley, because the line of Majesty always wished to return to our ancient homeland. I remember the move when I was a filly!” “What happened to Majesty the Third, I never met her.” Surprise ducked her head. “No one knows…” She stepped near the mirror. “But this statue looks so much like Majesty…” “Wait, a mirror…could this mirror be the origins of the dark force that took over the Valley a thousand years ago?” Morning Glory asked, startled. “This must be a terrible land!” “Yeah…lets take a look further ahead. I wanna be able to tell the others about it.” Surprise dashed down the hall, her mind starting to fill up with memories of her fillyhood. The last Majesty had been a kind and just mare. She had shed most of the trappings of royalty, as the last few thousand years of pony history were fraught with danger. She had considered herself more the pony’s protector rather then just their queen. If this place held the answers to what happened to Majesty’s proud line, then Surprise was determined to find it. It was the least she could do. Surprise barely paused when she got to the large room with the stone table. Only pausing to note that someone had been here before. She looked down at the ground. Hoofprints in the dust. Odd. Someone was around, and they were of the hooved variety. That didn’t mean they were friends though. She heard a strange insectiod buzz above her head, and she looked up just in time to see something dart away. “…I think something is trying to get the drop on us…” Surprise turned her head as she heard footsteps. She sighed as Draggle and Fizzy emerged from the hall, followed by an irritated looking Stoneback. “We need to be careful, we aren’t alone.” Surprise said. “No you aren’t, ponies!” Surprise turned and instantly stamped her foreleg. She felt Draggle and Fizzy come up next to her, Draggle holding her staff in a defensive manner. “Reeka! How did you get here?!” Draggle demanded, glaring at her sister. The other witch had almost not changed at in the past few years, unlike her sister’s slight changes; physically she was basically the same, right down the weight. However, there was a bit of a difference. In the past she had been mean, sure, and took pleasure in hurting ponies, but it was more of a passive, occasional dislike that was only prodded when their mother shouted at them. However, the incident three years ago had left Reeka with the distinct impression that the ponies had somehow brainwashed and stolen her sister from her. Like Hydia she was now much more active in her attempts to hurt the ponies. Reeka cackled, making Fizzy’s hair stand on end a bit. “I brought some ponies to meet you all!” She bellowed out a strange word in a language none of them could understand, and a pair of wings suddenly overshadowed the sun. Fizzy looked up and pressed her back against Surprise’s, as the two things descended to block their path back. She gasped in horror. They were monsters! Strange, pony like beings with huge round heads, tiny malformed snouts, wide big eyes and compact goatlike bodies. They had horns similar to a unicorn, and the wings of a Pegasus. One was hot pink and the other was a deep purple. The two winged unicorns spread their wings and smirked at the group of Ponylanders. From the opposite entrance two Earth Ponies and a unicorn emerged. The unicorn was white with a blue mane, almost like Majesty, but her symbol was different. It almost reminded Surprise of Sparkler’s. One of the Earth Ponies was hot pink, with a symbol that resembled Surprise’s own, but the second one, the orange one, made Surprise gasp. “Applejack! No! What have they done to you?” It was horrible! Applejack had already been transformed by Tirec! Now Reeka has somehow…warped her! Two more figures, a yellow Pegasus that reminded Surprise of Posey and a blue one with a rainbow colored mane, leaped in as well, their wings spread in aggressively. Surprise lowered her head and snorted. “I don’t know what you did to these ponies, Reeka. But it won’t work. You know it won’t.” Draggle looked at her sister. “…just…stop it Reeka. Please.” Reeka cackled again, then spoke another strange word at the warped alien ponies. The aliens reared and charged. Surprise snorted and reared as well, her hooves slamming against the warped Applejack’s. The force of it, as well as the angry glare from her former friend shocked, Surprise. She remembered Applejack from when they were foals back in Dream Castle, before Applejack went roaming with Sparkler and Ember! Now the poor mare had been transformed into this rail thin, bug eyed thing! “I’m sorry to do this, Applejack.” Surprise jutted her head forwards and slammed her skull against Applejack, who reeled back. “But I got to stop you!” Surprise lunged forwards, and Applejack reared to meet her, but Surprise suddenly ducked down and headbutted her gut, sending the twisted mare on her back. “Surprise!” She bellowed, it was almost her battle cry by now, as Surprise twisted and kicked Applejack in the jaw. She was a close to celebrating when the pink Earth Pony leaped her back, biting at her ears with a crazed grin on her face. Surprise bucked and flapped into the air, turning midair and dropping down. Before she could splat the pink one in the ground the other bounced off and to the side. Surprise thunked to the ground, and the blue Pegasus and the purple winged unicorn jumped on her and stamped on her ribs. Surprise bucked and struggled, attempted to get to her feet and regained her momentum. The blue one raised a hoof to smash Surprises’ head, but then looked up and dodged to the side as a bolt of lightning almost hit the blue one in the wing. Draggle’s staff lashed out and bonked the purple winged unicorn in the side, making it back up. Another small bolt of lighting erupted from the witch’s eyes, hitting the ground near the purple one’s hooves. Surprise grinned and flipped over. “Ha! Surprise on you, buggy eyes!” She grinned. She didn’t know much about magic, but she did know that it had taken almost two years for Draggle to learn the two real combat spells that Catrina had retained. The lighting eyes spell had a much shorter range for Draggle; indeed it was the same for Catrina now that she didn’t have the Witchweed. The other big disadvantage was that it temporarily blinded the user. The wind breath spell also suffered from short range. Still, it was something, and more then Draggle had previously. “Ah! Surprise! Help!” Surprise looked up as the pink pegicorn thing grabbed Fizzy and lifted her into the air, heading for the hole in the roof. Surprise whinnied and shot into the air after the pink freak, but was blocked by the yellow one, who smirked at her. Surprise snorted and attempted to ram the yellow freak, using her greater size and weight to overpower the skinny thing. She whinnied again as the blue Pegasus shot into the air as well, the Stoneback clutched in its forelegs. “No no no!” She screamed, and looking down she could see the other purple pegicorn attempting to herd Morning Glory into the sky. The poor Flutter Pony’s wings had been damaged, and she couldn’t get a good angle to unleash the Utter Flutter on the pegicorn. Surprise kicked the yellow one in the chest and dropped down. “SURPISE, BOBBLE BRAIN!” She yelled as she landed on the purple one. “Get off!” The purple one screeched and backed off, clearly not expecting this much resistance. Surprise stepped in front of Morning Glory, who pressed near the other Ponylander. Surprise snorted and watched as Draggle also came closer to her, warding off aliens with her staff, and occasional lighting bolts. “They got Fizzy, we need to make a break for it!” Surprise said as Draggle finally joined them. “I’m not letting what happened to Applejack happen to Fizzy!” Surprise wasn’t a serious pony by nature, but the sight of her old foal friend in such a state…that was too horrible! No way was she going to let poor sweet Fizzy suffer the same way! “Get on, Draggle, Morning Glory, can you run?” “I can make it. I have to.” Morning Glory panted. Surprise nodded as Draggle got on her back. “Never leave a pony behind. Come on! CHARGE!” She reared and charged for the doorway to the outside. Draggle clung to her mane, letting out more bursts of lighting as they ran, keeping the alien ponies at bay. Morning Glory rushed on Surprise’s heels, panting and wheezing as her much weaker Flutter Pony legs struggled to keep up with the sturdier Surprise’s. Surprise slowed a bit to make sure Morning Glory stayed with them. As one they charged into the Everfree forest, the alien ponies right on their heels. As Surprise darted to and fro into the woods, dodging vines and branches, she could hear their pursuers hoof beats getting further and further away. After a few more twists and turns in case the aliens still pursued them, Surprise found a river. An expert at hiding and losing hunters, Surprise led them into the river. “This should hide our tracks. Follow me!” She let the stream take her away, gripping Morning Glory’s mane so the Flutter Pony wouldn’t drown. Surprise kicked her hooves and spread her wings from the normal upright ‘ready’ position to a more horizontal one, using them to help her float. After a few moments of floating she saw a collection of rocks. She gripped Morning Glory harder and paddled, latching a hoof onto the rock. Draggle got off Surprise and scrambled onto the rock. Dropper her staff just long enough to grip Surprise by the mane and yank her and Morning Glory onto the rocks. Morning Glory whinnied tiredly, collapsing to the ground. Her eyes were closed in exhaustion, and her delicate wings fluttered weakly. “Surprise, you got to find Fizzy and the Stoneback.” Draggle glared up the river, probably mentally cursing the aliens. “I’ll look after Morning Glory. Can you fly?” “I need…a few minutes…” Surprise said. “But I’ll find them. Count on it. Draggle, what was Reeka saying?” “I have no idea.” “You don’t remember that…spell?” “Not even sure it was a spell. Didn’t sound like spell language at all.” “Alright.” Surprise lowered her head, still panting. Just a few minutes. Then she could fly. And she would find Fizzy. Fizzy stopped screaming as soon as they were over a lake. The flight had been horrible as the alien leaned down, speaking strange words to her in a cruel tongue. She had no idea what the thing was saying, but from the way it was licking its lips Fizzy had the horrible feeling that this thing saw her as dinner. But then they were flying over the lake, and Fizzy got an idea. Concentrating hard she reached into the water. She strained, her horn feeling as if she was trying to pull molasses out of it. However, after a few seconds the magic began to respond. Bubbles lifted from the lake, and floated towards them. Fizzy was not, by Ponylander standards, a particularly heavy young mare, but to the creature carrying her…well she was easily double the skinny thing’s weight. To that end the creature had dipped close to the lake, unable to fly too high with the heavier Ponylander in its grasp. The bubbles shot at the creature’s face, popping harshly in its eyes. The creature shrieked and waved a hoof at the bubbles, and Fizzy smiled. “Take that!” She concentrated harder, and a swarm of bubbles surrounded them, each one popping harshly in the creature’s eyes. Fizzy twisted in the things grasp and kicked it in the belly. The creature shrieked and lost its grip, dropping Fizzy into the lake. Fizzy looked around underwater. Surely there was a friendly Sea Pony…but she saw none, and the creature was circling over her. She concentrated one last time, and formed a bubble cushion of bubbles between her and the creature. She swam, clumsily, but she swam. Coming to the shore she shot one last string of bubbles at the creature, which by now was screaming at her rage. She giggled. “Hate to bubble and run! Bye!” She reared and charged into the nearby forest, laughing. The Changeling disguised as Princess Cadence bore its fangs as the retreating Fizzy. He turned his head and snarled. Damn it, all the shouting was starting to draw some Pegasi! He turned his head and made the horn disappear, altered the face, and changed the Cutie Mark to a single crystal stone. “Hey! I heard some shouting over here! What’s up?” Rainbow Dash, the real Rainbow Dash, air skidded to a halt. “Hey! You look like you’re hurt!” “I…I was attacked!” The Changeling began to cry, playing the part of an innocent Pegasus. “What?” Rainbow Dash snorted. “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before!” “I’m…” He gasped, using his ‘injuries’ to cover for him while he searched for a name. “Crystal Shine. I was just passing by when this strange unicorn jumped me! I don’t know why! He…or she…kept shouting in some odd gibberish! I think he’s gone mad!” Rainbow Dash snorted. “Say no more! Hey, Thunderlane!” Rainbow Dash waved a dark male Pegasus over, who had obviously been helping her clear out the clouds for the evening. “Help her over to the clinic. I’ll go look for this rogue unicorn!” “Right!” Thunderlane flapped over and supported the Changeling. “Don’t worry miss, I got you.” The Changeling sighed. Well, he wasn’t going to be able to take the Ponylander back to the hive, but at least he could turn the Equestrians against Fizzy. “Be careful, she looks…strange. She’s really big, almost like a stallion, and her head is shaped funny. There’s something wrong with her eyes. They’re like pink crystals.” “Shouldn’t be to hard to spot then. Don’t worry! Rainbow Dash is on the case!” Rainbow puffed out her chest and grinned. “You just worry about getting better! Be back before you know it!” Rainbow flapped her wings and speed off in the direction that the Changeling pointed. The Changeling grinned a bit as Thunderlane carried him off. He could slip away later, but right now, an Element of Harmony was about to do his job for him. The Stoneback had found himself in a similar situation to Fizzy, being dragged through the air by a blue Pegasus. He was irritated. How in the world was he going to help those strange fillies if he was being dragged through some strange dark world by freakish looking ponies who were nothing like the fun, happy ponies of his world! Snarling he bit down harshly on the Pegasus’ hooves. Strange…were his fangs going through…holes? The Stoneback grunted and slapped the Pegasus upside the head with his tail. The blue one glared, and the Stoneback slapped her again…then something odd happened. The blue Pegasus shimmered, and green light tore down her body. No longer was the Stoneback being carried away by a strange blue Pegasus, but an awful looking black…thing. The Stoneback roared and bite, kicked, clawed and struggled. The Changeling hissed at him, and eventually his grip started to slip on the Stoneback. With one last kicked the Stoneback connected with the Changeling’s jaw, and he was let loose. Unfortunately he will still in the air. The Stoneback fell, curling into a ball as his rocklike form ping ponged through tree branches, until he finally landed upside down in a bush. The Changeling circled, then looked up. Seeming to spot something the creature darted into the trees and out of sight. The Stoneback snarled and struggled, his back legs kicking aggressively. The bushes stirred and something stepped it. It was the yellow freak! The Stoneback hisses and struggled some more. They were everywhere! “Oh, you poor strange creature!” Fluttershy, for this was the real Fluttershy, approached the creature. She had heard some commotion from her cottage, which was not far. She didn’t expect to find such an odd looking creature trapped in a bush though. And from the way it was holding itself it was clearly hurt. “Don’t you worry little friend, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.” She gently removed some of the bush branches from the Stoneback, who immediately kicked her in the snout and rolled out of the bush. He retreated a few yards back, snorting and stamping weakly at her. Fluttershy, who would have folded if she knew that this was something far more intelligent then an animal, merely rubbed her nose and approached again, gentle voice calling out to the injured Stoneback. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you. Just let me grab you and I’ll make it feel all better. I promise little guy.” The Stoneback, though a tough beast, had been battered pretty badly by the Changeling, and the drop hadn’t helped. He snorted, but allowed the yellow one to gently pet him with a hoof. This was…odd. A minute ago this yellow not pony was attacking him and his friends, now it was petting him and acting like it wanted to help. Clearly the not pony didn’t think he was intelligent… Perhaps he should let it take care of him? Maybe it would give him a hint of what was really going on? Relaxing the Stoneback allowed himself to be picked up and carried back to Fluttershy’s cottage. He snorted. This was…different. He only hoped the ponies were safe. Fizzy’s first instinct was to hide in the Everfree forest. Unaware that the Equestrians shunned the place, and only seeing a forest with cover, the Twinkle-eyed unicorn had hid in the brush. Occasionally she would see glimpses of a blue Pegasus, a small, warped one that was clearly not Wind Whistler. She didn’t know what to do! She was so lost in a strange dark world full of horrible, alien, big-headed ponies with wide staring eyes that wanted to hurt her and her friends! They had already done something terrible to Applejack! Now…oh it was just so horrible! Not willing to fight anymore, and to scared to do much else, Fizzy simple ran from one bush to the other, growing more and more tired. It didn’t help that she was very sore from the aliens beating on her! So she ran at the sight of the rainbow maned Pegasus whenever she caught a glimpse of her, and eventually she stopped seeing Rainbow Dash at all. The Element of Loyalty, though determined to find this poor mad pony and get her help, knew that it would be hard to find her after the sun fell, especially in the Everfree. Knowing that Twilight Sparkle would be able to help with the search, Rainbow eventually flapped back to Ponyville, unaware that Applejack, the real Equestrian Applejack, and Rarity had just galloped into the forest in search of their missing sisters. Fizzy kept moving, coming to a break in the trees. Still lost, and unaware of her exact location, Fizzy stumbled out of the trees and gasped. “A Big Brother!” She smiled. “Oh there are real ponies here after all! She ran towards the fence before here, a Big Brother Pony was standing on the other side of it, looking around as if searching for something. She could even see the feathered fetlocks! Then the Big Brother looked over and picked up a lamp, turning his head towards her, letting the light shine over his body, and Fizzy skidded to a halt in horror. To late she tumbled over the fence and landed in front of the stallion. From a distance, in the dark, he had looked like a Big Brother, but his eyes! The same horrible, wide eyes of the aliens! Fizzy trembled before him, feeling she was about to faint at the sight of his freakish eyes. He looked down at her, his brow furrowed in…worry? Was that worry? He set down the lantern and spoke, a single word that Fizzy couldn’t understand, but it was so gentle. So unlike the screeching of the alien’s before. It was almost calming. “Don’t hurt me! I haven’t done a thing to you! None of us have!” Fizzy felt like she was about to burst into tears. The alien blinked and spoke a single word again. She blinked back. She tilted her head. “You…don’t seem mean.” She stood up. “I’m Fizzy…can’t you speak Common?” The stallion seemed to think, then spoke again. A different word this time, though still slow and gentle. She tilted her head to the other side and parroted him. “Nn…nnope?” The stallion blinked, then spoke the other word. She parroted him again. “E..yup?” The big stallion blinked again, clearly puzzled. Fizzy sighed and sat down. “This isn’t getting us anyway at all, is it?” The big stallion shrugged, and then looked up as something howled from the forest. Fizzy tiredly got to her feet and aimed her horn at the darkness. Who knows what would slither out! The stallion spoke again. She looked at him and repeated. “Tim…bar…wolves?” The stallion nodded. “Eyup.” Fizzy thought then stamped her hooves and tossed her head at the forest, as if indicated that they should fight. The stallion widened his eyes and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Nnope! Nnope!” He shook his head vigorously. Fizzy snorted. “Then what do you want to do!?” The stallion, hoof still on her shoulder, picked up his lantern and waved his head towards the little farmhouse in the distance. He pulled on her shoulder, as if urging her to come with him. Fizzy was uncertain, but it was either go with this stallion, who at least seemed willing to try and talk instead of following Reeka, or stay out here with the howling Timberthings. Maybe if she could communicate with these alien ponies she could find out why they were on the witches’ side! Maybe she could lure them, or a few of them, to the Ponylander side! Wind Whistler…she’d try! So Fizzy nodded and trotted alongside the strange red stallion, already starting to brighten up. She jabbered at the stallion, knowing that he couldn’t understand, but just wanting to be able to talk to someone about the day! The stallion smiled gently at her and nodded as if he was actually listening to her. He was a very nice Big Brother…for a Big Brother Alien… Big Mac had been waiting for Applejack to return. He was worried about her. She always took up so much on her shoulders, unwilling to let others share her burden if she could help it. Big Mac always felt that she did too much, but she didn’t really listen to him. So he paced around the farm well into the night, looking for any sign of his two missing sisters. He tried not to think too much about what poor little Apple Bloom might be going through. That filly was such a handful, but…if anything happened to either of his sisters… He couldn’t think of it. He was getting really worried when he heard something shout at him and run from the Everfree forest. For a second he thought it was another stallion, but when the strange heavy pony tumbled over the fence before him… He…she…was so strange looking! She was big and tough looking like a stallion, but with a lilting, airy mare voice. The voice of a mare barely out of her fillyhood. She was a unicorn, with a five pack of fizzy sodas for a Cutie Mark. But the oddest thing about her was her shimmering, alien, crystal eyes. Big Mac wasn’t one to judge other ponies by how they looked, but this mare was just so…off. The eyes might have scared off another pony, but again…it probably wasn’t her fault, so it wouldn’t be neighborly to turn her away just for her eyes. It was getting dark, and the Timberwolves were out. It was not fit for a poor, beaten up, lost pony to be outside, and Big Mac wasn’t going to turn her away. So the big stallion brought her to the farmhouse. He knew that Applejack and Apple Bloom wouldn’t mind a guest. Even one that babbled in an odd tongue that Big Mac didn’t understand. She chatted at him soon as they got in, and Big Mac only nodded and ‘eyuped’ at her. He looked around. There was Granny Smith, fast asleep on her chair. He didn’t want to disturb her, though his houseguest cringed at the sight of the elder pony. Big Mac looked at her and gave her a gentle nudge. She was just so strange! Poor thing acted like she had been terrorized by somepony. Big Mac gently edged the mare to the kitchen. She looked around with wide glimmering eyes, as if taken aback by everything she was seeing. It was as if she had never been in a farm before. Maybe she was a city pony of some kind? Big Mac took her to the table, and indicated that she should sit down. She smiled and sat, still babbling at him gently. He ‘eyuped’ and went over the cupboards. Big Mac brought her some oats in case she was hungry. She grinned at him as soon as he brought the oats over and dug in, though she gave them a strange look, as if not used to just plain oats. He smiled and got her some apple cider as well, which seemed to be received with more gusto. He watched her, guessing that for some reason she didn’t know Equestrian. He blinked, and nodded to himself. He patted the table in front of them. She looked up and watched him. He tapped his chest with a hoof. “Big Mac.” He said. He pointed to a family picture on the wall, tapping Applejack’s face. “Applejack.” He then moved to the one with Pinkie Pie and tapped her face. “Pinkie Pie.” He then tapped Apple Bloom. “Apple Bloom.” Then Granny Smith. She looked at him, then to the pictures, then to him. She stared at Pinkie Pie and breathed heavily, as if scared. Big Mac frowned, and tapped her. “You?” She stared at him, and then breathed deep. He tapped his chest again. “Big Mac.” Then he pointed his hoof at her. She blinked, and then pointed at him. “Big…mac.” He nodded. She then tapped herself. “Fizzy.” Big Mac grinned and nodded. “Eyup. Big Mac.” He tapped her again. “An’ yer…Fizzy.” He tripped a bit over the strange syllables. She stared at him, and grinned wide. She tapped herself. “Eyup! Fizzy!” Big Mac chuckled. They would get this down.