Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake finally released each other from their tight embrace.
Pinkie Pie was sniffling and bawling, blowing her nose into a tissue.
“A family reunion… it brings a tear to my eye,” she said.
Pound and Pumpkin Cake chuckled.
“I’m so glad that you escaped that barn, Pumpkin Cake!” exclaimed Pound Cake.
“Yeah,” said Pumpkin, “At first I was worried about what would happen, but as the months passed, I became more and more desperate until I finally just decided to go for it. I escaped through the force field using my intangibility spell. Remember that one?”
“I knew it!” Pound exclaimed, beaming. “I knew you escaped! And yes, of course I remember that spell. You always used to use it to hide in impossible spots during hide and seek. I still think hiding inside of a wall counts as cheating, by the way.”
Pumpkin rolled her eyes. “Only if you consider using natural-born talent to be cheating. If so, cancel the Equestria Games.”
“Ooh, ooh, a debate!” shouted Pinkie Pie, grabbing a tub of popcorn from nowhere as she started munching on it.
Pound and Pumpkin Cake glared at Pinkie Pie, and she blushed, shrinking back as she turned to walk into the other room. Then, the two twins laughed.
“Anyway,” Pumpkin continued, “I didn’t want those Second Kingdom soldiers to find me, and I worried that they were all searching for me. So I escaped into the Everfree Forest. That’s where I found Zecora, and I’ve been living with her ever since. She’s been giving me a lot of magic training. I can teleport now, and do a few other tricks. Magic is actually how I got my cutie mark.”
She showed off her mark.
“That’s cool. But you’ve been living the forest for three years?” asked Pound Cake.
Pumpkin nodded.
“You know, I think that I’d get cabin fever if I was all cooped up like that. And if I couldn’t see any of my friends, and was just living with one other pony, that would be terrible.”
“I agree,” shouted Pinkie from the other room. “Booooring!”
Pumpkin shrugged. “Zecora’s pretty cool. She’s let me live there and all I have to do is find some ingredients and patrol the forest.”
“That’s nice of her. I’ve been living with Spitfire, myself.”
“Spitfire, as in, the top general in the air force?” asked Pumpkin Cake, raising an eyebrow.
Pound nodded, grinning. “She’s been teaching me a lot of cool flight tricks and everything. I might very well be the best flyer in Equestria soon! And that’s how I got my mark.”
He showed off his jetwing mark.
“Wow,” exclaimed Pumpkin Cake, her eyes widening. “It’s a pair of jetwings, just like you always said it would be. That’s awesome!”
“I must be psychic,” said Pound, chuckling.
“So what brings you here to Ponyville?” asked Pumpkin. “I mean, I’m just here out of curiosity to see what became of Sugarcube Corner.”
“Well,” said Pound, “I was curious, too. I wanted to see if I would find anypony that I knew. See, after the Second Kingdom attacked Mareicopa, Spitfire had to get back to commanding the air force. So that left me without anypony to live with. I’ve kinda been sleeping on clouds and stuff for a few months.”
Pumpkin blinked. “Yikes, that sounds awful. How did you get into Ponyville without a pass?”
“A pass?” asked Pound Cake. “What pass? I flew straight to Sugarcube Corner without a problem.”
“Oh, well, all earth ponies and pegasi need a pass, or they’ll be arrested. A guard told me so. There’s checkpoints on all the roads, like the one to get into town.”
“Ah,” said Pound. He shrugged. “Oh well. I can fly right over, so I don’t need no stinkin’ pass!”
Pumpkin snickered.
“So what happened to Ponyville, anyway? It looks like a huge dump,” said Pound, glancing out the window and grimacing. “What, is Blueblood using it as his own personal toilet?”
Pumpkin answered, “Well, they segregated the town. The eastern half of town is unicorns-only, and it’s a lot nicer. I actually went over there earlier today, and caught up with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
“Oh, cool. Can I go see them, too?”
Pumpkin chuckled. “I wouldn’t, unless you like being shot at. If they see a pegasus flying over the unicorn section of town, they’ll track you down.”
“Eh, whatever," said Pound. "I’ve had my fair share of being shot at. I’ve run into a few Second Kingdom planes, you know. But yeah, I think if I were on the ground, I’d be an easier target.”
"I see," said Pumpkin. "Well, they haven’t come back into the Everfree yet, at least not since I used a little scare tactic on them.”
“Oh, do tell,” said Pound, raising his eyebrows.
The twins continued to talk for about half an hour, while Pinkie baked a cake to celebrate the twin’s reunion party, which she had just decided to throw. Though the party only consisted of the three of them, since Pinkie didn’t have any time to send out invitations.
“So, what do you want to do now?” asked Pound.
“Well,” said Pumpkin, “I should probably get back to Zecora’s before she starts to wonder where I am.”
“Then I’ll go with you,” said Pound. “I’m not losing you again.”
Pumpkin nodded.
“Aw, you two aren’t leaving, are you?” asked Pinkie.
“We’ll be back to visit soon,” said Pound.
“Yeah,” said Pumpkin. “Don’t worry.”
“Oh, alright,” said Pinkie, a sad look in her eye. “But hey, if you two are ever in Manehattan, say hi to Rarity and Twilight for me. And if you’re ever in Appleloosa, say hi to Applejack. And… well, I don’t know where Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash ran off to, but say hi to them, too.”
“Will do,” they both said.
“Great. Bye!” said Pinkie, giving them a goodbye hug.
And with that, they were out the door.
Pumpkin gazed down at the ground as Pound carried her in his hooves, flying over the Everfree forest. Pumpkin’s mane whipped at her face and ears as the wind whipped by.
“Woah, I’ve never been flying before! This is really fun!” exclaimed Pumpkin Cake. She gazed below her, her eyes widening at the height. “Terrifying, but fun!”
Pound chuckled. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. I ought to actually take you really fast.”
“Let’s do it,” said Pumpkin, grinning. “Some other time, though, because we’re almost at Zecora’s.”
Pound Cake slowly descended into the Everfree, past the canopy, as he reached the forest floor below.
“You sure you know where you’re going?” asked Pound Cake, glancing around the dim forest.
“Positive. I’ve been here for three years. Zecora’s is just over that hill,” said Pumpkin Cake, gesturing towards a hill.
“Okay,” said Pound Cake. They both continued to walk towards Zecora’s, making their way through the thick tree cover.
As they walked, they could faintly hear what sounded like voices and hoofbeats. They continued forward, and the noise grew louder.
“Who’s that?” asked Pound Cake.
“No idea,” said Pumpkin. “It sounds like it’s coming from near Zecora’s hut. We need to go investigate. Make sure you keep hidden behind the trees.”
Pound nodded. The two of them crept forward through the bushes and trees, each hoofstep on the ground deliberately quiet. They soon reached a point where they could just barely make out Zecora’s cottage off in the distance.
Pumpkin Cake peered above a bush, and her eyes widened. There were about a half dozen Second Kingdom soldiers walking right towards the cottage, levitating guns in their magic. They were a few hundred meters from the cottage, but would reach it soon.
“The Second Kingdom,” Pumpkin Cake whispered, ducking back down behind the bush. “They must be on the offensive again.”
“So? They wouldn’t mess with a zebra,” said Pound. “The Second Kingdom is allied with the Zebra Empire, remember?”
“If they recognized her, knew who she was, knew why she had to leave the Zebra Empire and come to Equestria…” Pumpkin paused. “Then, they would mess with her.”
“Oh,” said Pound Cake. “Why? What did she do?”
Pumpkin narrowed her eyebrows. “It doesn’t matter right now; we need to go warn her!”
“Okay,” said Pound Cake, as he stood up from behind the bush. “I’ll be there and back in no--”
Pumpkin grabbed Pound in her magic and pushed him back down. “No, they’ll see you headed there, and then they’ll know something’s up. We need to make a plan.”
“Fine,” said Pound.
“You make a distraction, and then I’ll sneak into the cottage and warn Zecora that she needs to leave.”
“Okay. What kind of distraction?” asked Pound.
“Just, I don’t know, rustle some leaves behind them or something. Make them go investigate.
“How about I do my manticore impression?”
Pumpkin sighed. “That works too, just hurry up! We’ll both meet back here, okay?”
“Okay, I’m on it,” said Pound Cake. He flapped his wings and hovered back over the canopy, careful not to make too much noise, while flying as fast as he could over towards the soldiers.
Good thing I made it here in a hurry, he thought. He gazed down through a clearing in the trees and saw seven unicorn soldiers slowly walking towards the cottage.
“Why does the boss have us in some dark old forest, anyway? Hardly any strategic value here,” one of the unicorns scoffed.
“We have our orders. We’re to comb the area for anything suspicious. And if you question these orders again, you’ll be doing double duty here,” a commanding officer warned.
“Hey, looks like that cottage is something suspicious,” said another, motioning towards Zecora’s hut.
Pound Cake’s heart skipped a beat.
I’d better act fast!
He flew over to a tree, grabbed a small branch, and ripped it off. He narrowed his eyes as he gazed towards the commanding officer. Then, with a swift motion of his hoof, he threw the branch right at the officer’s head.
“Ow!” the officer exclaimed, and then gazed up. But Pound had already hidden himself behind a thick tree canopy, out of view. His stallions all struggled to suppress a chuckle.
The officer’s face turned beet red. “Which one of you insubordinate maggots threw that at me!?”
‘“I think it was Jeroth,” said one of the stallions.
“I think it was Jeroth, too,” said another.
One of the stallions, apparently Jeroth, blushed as he shrunk back. “It wasn’t me!”
Meanwhile, Pumpkin Cake reached the edge of the cottage. She saw the soldiers standing dangerously close, but they were still arguing and had stopped in their tracks.
Looks like Pound’s diversion worked, she thought. She snuck over to the back of the cottage, out of sight of the soldiers, as she walked through the wall to Zecora’s bedroom.
She gazed around and looked for Zecora. Not seeing her there, she walked into the living room, but Zecora was gone.
Pumpkin’s heart skipped a beat. She ran through all the rooms of the house, looking for her mentor, but she wasn’t there. Frantically, she scurried over to the front door, where she saw a note taped to the door.
Dear Pumpkin Cake,
The soldiers are coming with haste, so I must make an escape.
In this note, I cannot reveal where it is that I go, or the soldiers may break in, see the note, and they will know.
You and I have discussed where we would meet, if ever we were separated. I hope that you see this note and make it.
Sincerely,
Zecora
Pumpkin Cake took the note from the door. She knew exactly where Zecora wanted to meet her.
“Alright boys, let’s search this cottage here. We’ve gotta be thorough.”
The soldiers’ hooves pounded at the door as Pumpkin Cake ran to the back of the cottage and hopped through the wall. She ran off back towards the bushes. Pound was already waiting for her, crouching behind a bush, preening his wings while he waited.
“Pound!” she exclaimed.
“Pumpkin, you’re back,” he said, giving her a hug. “The soldiers eventually figured out that the branch must have just fallen off the tree by itself. With a lack of cohesion like that, it’s a wonder the Second Kingdom has been able to win any battles at all. But anyway, sorry that I couldn’t buy you more time.”
“You did fine,” said Pumpkin. “Zecora wasn’t in her cottage, but I stilI know where she is. She and I discussed a place to meet if we ever were separated.”
“And where’s that?”
Pumpkin Cake turned to face south. “Appleloosa.”
In the Northern Flatlands, row upon row of freshly tilled soil stretched across the plains as far as the eye could see. The flat horizon line was only interrupted here and there by large mechanical devices. Adolescent unicorns sat atop the devices, pulling levers and pressing pedals as the tractors tilled the soil, and the harvesters planted seeds.
It was late May, so the planting for the year was about halfway done. After this, the young unicorns would spend time maintaining the crops, making sure that they were watered, pruned, and free of crows and other pests. Then, in late September and early October, they would mount the combine harvesters and reap what they had sown.
The orange glow on the western horizon signified a day’s work had almost come to an end. A unicorn farm crew leader walked around, relieving the young ponies of their work for the day.
Besides the magic in his horn, the farm crew leader carried no weapons. He didn’t need to. The young earth-born unicorns were taken good care of, as per Trixie’s word. They lived in nice rooms, they ate very well, and they commanded much admiration from their peers for their valuable contribution.
Despite this, many of them did indeed harbor desires to escape and return to their parents back in the towns that they had been taken from, but very few tried. It was a long journey of thousands of kilometers, and few of them would have known the way.
The young unicorns formed a single-file line and walked back to the farmhouse. By the time that they reached the houses, the sun had set, and the land was cloaked in darkness. Thousands of stars filled the sky, all visible without the light pollution of the city to block them out.
The farmers stepped inside the farm houses, wiped their hooves on the mat, and prepared for dinner.
At that time, a distant booming sound echoed across the plains. The floor rumbled, shaking pots and pans in the kitchen and rattling dishes on the dinner tables. The farm leader’s ears perked up as the sound repeated itself, louder this time.
“Everypony get down! It’s an air raid!” he shouted. The young unicorns obliged, ducking for cover under tables, couches, desks, beds, and any other pieces of furniture they could find.
The crew leader gazed out the window. Off in the distance, he saw an orange, fiery glow lighting up the night sky.
He puzzled for a moment. Nopony lived off in that direction. There weren’t any targets over there. But then he realized. The farming machines.
The next day, he and the other Second Kingdom farming staff went out to survey the damage. The Equestrian pegasi had destroyed dozens of tractors, seeders, and combine harvesters. Their charred, blackened steel and aluminum skeletons stood on the scorched earth.
“How many were destroyed?”
“Thirty-seven seeders and twenty-five tractors: nearly a tenth of our fleet. We were only lucky enough that this came after we got most of our planting done, and that there were no casualties.”
Blueblood rubbed his forehead with his hoof.
“This won’t be their only attack, I’d bet,” said General Top Brass. “They’ve gone on the offensive, and they’ve scored a blow against the area where we’re most vulnerable: our food supply.”
“This is right during planting season,” said Flam. “We need to protect our farm equipment or we won’t be able to plant or harvest any crops.”
“Is there a chance that we can magically-reinforce the machines so that they can’t attack more of them?” asked Blueblood.
Trixie sighed. “I suppose that we could throw a force-field over them during the evening when they’re not in use. Though then they could just attack them during the day, and kill the unicorns on them as well. But even if we could protect all of the machines, they could still go for our crops themselves. All it would take is a single pegasus with a flamethrower, and they could do massive damage.”
“Is there a chance that we could cast force-fields over the farmlands themselves?” asked Blueblood.
Trixie sighed. “No. It’s much too big of an area.”
“I’ll increase our air patrols in the area,” said General Top Brass. “I’ll also move some anti-air units and snipers in, so that hopefully we can down those pegasi before they get the chance to drop their bombs. But I can’t guarantee our farmlands will be completely safe.”
“More and more of the citizens are complaining about the lack of food,” said Fancy Pants. “Rationing has gotten worse. If we don’t have a good harvest this fall, not only will we be facing mass starvation, we could also be facing a revolt.”
Blueblood paused for a moment. “What about Ponyville? There’s plenty of food there.”
“Not nearly enough for our armies and for Canterlot,” said Fancy Pants.
“There doesn’t need to be enough food just from Ponyville to feed everyone completely,” said Blueblood. “There just needs to be enough to make up for whatever is destroyed in the air raids. Then we’ll supply the rest ourselves.”
Everypony at the table nodded.
“Ministers Flim and Flam. You will be responsible for food redistribution. You are to go into Ponyville and all other farming areas that we control, and confiscate all of their food. General Top Brass, begin drawing up war plans for an invasion of Appleloosa and Dodge Junction.”
“Wait, we’re taking all of their food?” asked Fancy Pants, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes. All of it.”
“Then what will they eat?” asked Fancy Pants, attempting to sound as nonchalant as possible, suppressing the concern in his voice for the ponies in Ponyville.
Blueblood shrugged. “They won’t.”