She ran through the night, hoping against hope that Rainbow was alright. She had no time to turn and look; she was spurred on by the blue-white rays of Rarity's magic as they lanced past.
Rarity herself was only a few yards behind. “You won't escape this time, Twlight!” she cried victoriously.
Twilight juked around the well and sprinted into an alley to her left. South she ran, past Davenport's Quills and Sofas, around a statue of a joyful mare in an ornate saddlecloth, past the welcoming facade of Sugarcube Corner. As late as it was, the square was largely empty; Twilight only darted past two ponies on her way through, both of whom had the sense to run screaming from the path of the rampaging white unicorn.
She tried to turn east past the bakery but a bolt of light sent her scurrying away toward the outskirts of town. Rarity growled as she failed to follow her into the alley and ducked into the next.
A few intersections later Twilight turned east - a mistake on her part. Rarity popped out from between two buildings to her left, closer than ever. Twilight teleported toward the horizon in a panic and nearly tripped on a loose cobblestone as she reappeared.
“Give in, Twilight,” her hunter cried.
“Stop casting!” squealed the prey.
Rarity's eyes narrowed. “Only when you stop moving!” She fired off three more bolts, certain that one would find its mark. Two zipped past Twilight's right flank to chip away at the wooden walls beside her. One punched into the espresso-brown coat of a passerby.
Rarity stumbled to a halt, exuding horror and self-loathing from every pore.
The stallion's wings tightened around himself as he fell to his knees. The fur of his chest was lightly scorched and badly ruffled. He squeezed his emerald eyes tightly for a moment and wheezed.
Rarity took a dainty step forward. “No, no, no... I'm sorry!”
The stallion pulled himself to his hooves and stumbled past her down the lane. “Get away from me!” he choked.
“I'm sorry!” she called after him as he spread his wings and shakily took flight. “I didn't mean to!”
A white light flashed behind her. A foggy sphere of energy surrounded Twilight. “Enough!”
A crack like a glacier breaking shattered the tranquility of the night air. Twilight's bubble popped and a white ring of energy erupted from it and raced along the ground, chewing up the dirt and spitting it into the air. Equestria trembled violently; crates piled against the brick walls of the alley tumbled and splintered, spilling seeds and punch and shattered glass along the path. Rarity barely had half a second to shy away before it kicked at her hooves and threw her to the earth.
A blue blur sped down from the rooftops. “Miss Sparkle!” Rainbow shouted. “Are you alright?”
Twilight had gone supercritical. Her eyes glowed bright with a veil of white light, the same light that surrounded her in an aura of terrifying power. “No more violence!” she shouted; her voice echoed along the southern streets of Ponyville. Pink bands of light snapped into place around Rarity's pasterns and neck. Twilight approached, each hoofstep thundering with residual energy. “No more chasing. No more fighting!”
“Let me go!” Rarity wailed. “Don't you cast your spell on me!”
Twilight leaped further than a unicorn could leap, landing squarely atop her writhing captive, nose pressed to nose. “I am the victim here!” she raged. Fury and frustration fell from her eyes into Rarity's.
“Fluttershy is the victim!” Rarity gathered light into her horn. “You will pay dearl–”
Twilight lifted a hoof like a lead weight and smashed it across her friend's muzzle, dispersing the spell into the air with a whimper and a soft crackle. “Leave me alone!” she shrieked
“Are you going to hurt her some more?” Rainbow asked softly.
Twilight glared down at the other mare with confirmation on her tongue. A bubble of blood escaped from Rarity's left nostril; she snorted it back indelicately, leaving a pinkish stain on her lip. She deserved her bloody nose, Twilight knew. After everything Rarity had put her through over the last two days, she deserved much worse than that.
“But Miss Sparkle, you said not to fight,” Rainbow said nervously. “You said we're still friends.”
“Friends don't chase each other through town with the intent of hurting each other,” she spat. “Friends give each other second chances.”
But behind that white veil, a part of her recognized Rainbow's words to be true.
With great effort Twilight pushed until the violence left her. It left her drained and shaking and so angry. Twilight blinked away the magic in her eyes and the haze of lights that surrounded her, white and wine, dissipated into the atmosphere. “Friends give each other second chances, Rarity,” she said. “I'll give you one if you'll do the same for me.”
Rainbow smiled with relief. “See? Rarity's not a bad mare,” she assured Twilight. “She's just an idiot.”
Twilight lifted the saddlebag from her shoulder. “These are the results of the tests I ran on Rainbow Dash.” The bag slammed into Rarity's chest hard enough to elicit a grunt and a terrified moan. “I can't convince you it wasn't me, but maybe this–”
“Twilight, you get off of her right now!” She took her eyes off of Rarity to see Applejack charging toward her from the south.
Rarity's hindlegs curled up against her belly. “You might think me an idiot, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said quickly, “but I think I'm more intelligent than Miss Sparkle!” She thrust outward, catching Twilight at the waist and flipping the mare over her head. She rolled onto her hooves in time to fire a bolt at the incoming Rainbow Dash, who crashed into the grass with a cry of agony. “Stay where you are!” Rarity shouted. She twisted on her front hooves to find Twilight clambering upright.
“Rainbow!” Twilight screamed.
“We are not friends!” Rarity snarled.
She turned back to Rarity in time to see her back hooves flying toward her head. There was no time to react.
The pegasus smashed into Rarity's flank, knocking her sideways into the dirt, then flipped into a half figure-eight maneuver and rolled upright to sweep up the cringing Twilight Sparkle. With her love safe in her hooves Rainbow Dash soared upward into the southern sky.
“Dang it, Rainbow!” Applejack roared. “Get back here! We're trying to help you!”
Rainbow's eyes darted left and right as she looked down upon the homes and businesses of her neighbors. Candlelight burned brightly from every window. Panicking ponies everywhere ran screaming down the alleyways or huddled together under park benches. “There's nowhere to hide,” Rainbow whimpered.
Her cargo tightened her hooves around her neck. Rainbow felt a dampness against her neck. “East,” Twilight mumbled.
“Are you sure?” she asked hesitantly. “We should... I think we should keep heading south.”
The unicorn's horn ruffled her fur as she shook her head. “East.”
Applejack watched the dot on the horizon change its course. “Huh,” she muttered.
“She had me, Applejack,” Rarity insisted. “I was helpless. If you hadn't intervened, I would have ended up like Rainbow Dash, or worse!”
Applejack ignored her. The past was in the past. She turned her thoughts to the future.
Where were they going?
Well... east.
What lay east?
The unicorn pressed a white hoof delicately to her nose and gave a start at the redness left behind. “Those terrible white eyes... She lost herself, Applejack. I saw it. She was so... so angry!”
Most of Ponyville. The town hall? Fluttershy's place?
Applejack's mouth smiled but her eyes didn't share in the joy.
“Come on, Rarity,” she urged her trembling friend. “You're fine. Let's get you home and plug up that nose.” As the two friends southeast to Carousel Boutique, Applejack's eyes roved leftward, toward the treeline.
At a time like this, there was only one place a pony like Twilight Sparkle would go.
,',
The light of dawn rose for the second time since her world had begun to unravel. It crawled over the Everfree, casting dark streaks like a foal's first watercolor painting through the trees, and over the towers and spires of the castle therein. Just inside one of these towers Rainbow Dash lay nestled in the moldering remains of a wall hanging that once portrayed Luna, Princess of the Night, in her ancient glory. She stirred fitfully in her makeshift bed; she'd been stirring all night. Judging by her murmurs, the revelation that her beloved 'Miss Sparkle' was a false goddess was not sitting well with her.
Twilight left her to her slumber. With any luck Princess Luna would save Rainbow Dash from her nightmares. With any luck she'd save Twilight from her own as well.
She turned to the window and watched the sun take its place above Canterlot. Twilight had seen her mentor, the alicorn Princess Celestia, raise the sun so many times that she almost took the act for granted, but she'd been reminded of the Princess's might many times over the last decade. It was the other reminders – the ones that proved that even the Princess had her limits – that bothered her that morning.
Pinkie had left for Canterlot two days ago. The Princess must have wrapped up her trade negotiations; even if she hadn't, Princess Luna was very capable of handling them alone, though perhaps not quite as capable as her sister. Pinkie Pie had a force of presence that could not be hidden for long. Somepony must have noticed her. Then why had there been no reply?
Could the roots of this conspiracy reach all the way back to Canterlot?
“Dear Princess Celestia,” she whispered to the sun, her lower lip trembling. “I need your guidance. What do I do now?”
The sun beamed back at her, oblivious to her prayer.
“How can I uncover the villain who poisoned my friends?” she asked. “The only clue I have is the chemical mixture found in Rainbow's blood sample, and I can't conduct any research if I'm looking over my shoulder the whole time.”
Her head was throbbing again. At least the dizziness had passed in the night.
She stretched a hoof toward the sun. “Please, Princess. I need you now more than ever,” she begged. “Help me.”
“Don't you move, Twi,” a quiet voice ordered.
The unicorn froze in the window.
“I'm gonna take you back to your cell,” Applejack continued. “Don't fight me.”
“Wait,” she whispered, mindful of her sleeping companion nestled in the tapestry. “You know you don't have any proof.”
“Proof of what? You being guilty?” The mare shuffled closer. “If I can't trust my own head, what can I trust? Not you. You're the one who messed with it in the first place.”
“Did you at least look at the test results I gave Rarity?” she asked. “They don't prove that I'm innocent, but they prove that I'm not the only one who could have done this. It could have been anypony.”
“You talking to me, Miss Sparkle?” Rainbow muttered faintly as she crossed the border into the waking world. She dragged a hoof up her muzzle, peeling her lip back comically, and opened her bleary eyes to see Applejack standing behind her mare. “Oh,” she yawned. “Hey, Applejack.”
Applejack turned and gave her best buddy a condescending smile. “Morning, Rainbow,” she said as if nothing was the matter. “I'm taking Miss Sparkle back to prison. Ain't you gonna fight me for her?”
Rainbow was on her hooves before Twilight could turn toward the other mares. “No fighting!” Twilight shouted. “I don't want anypony else to get hurt.”
Rainbow Dash, torn by indecision, frowned and scraped her hoof across the floor.
“You coming quietly, then?” AJ asked.
“I want to talk to you,” Twilight said instead. “You have a knack for reading ponies, Applejack Can't you put your false memories aside and just talk to me? That way you can decide for yourself whether or not I'm to blame for this.”
“I don't have time for your head games, Twi,” she said angrily. “Are you coming or not?”
Twilight shook her head. “Not until you agree to hear me out.”
Applejack scowled. “Well... Honestly, I don't think I can force you to come if you don't want to,” she muttered as she made herself comfortable on the cold stone floor. “You'd just teleport out of my lasso unless I knocked you out, and I don't know about you but I don't feel up to tussling with you and Rainbow both just yet.” Rainbow's cocky grin resurfaced. “Well? What'd'you want to talk to me about, then?”
Twilight plopped down before her and spread her hooves. “Everything.”
“That's a whole lot,” she laughed mirthlessly.
“Look, Applejack, I know it looks bad but I swear I had nothing to do with any of this.”
“You're the only one who could've done that to Spike.”
“Spike was fine on the train!” she insisted. “He was arguing with me as we pulled up to the station. Does that sound like something he could do now?”
“I don't know,” Applejack shrugged. “Probably not. It don't matter if I don't know if it's true. Got anything better than that?”
Twilight's ears drooped a hair. “Well... I know that everything about Rainbow Dash's state looks bad for me,” she said as the pegasus in question sat beside her, close enough for their flanks to touch. “You found her in my basement, her eye was modified to match my own, she remembers... things that she says I did...”
Applejack nodded. “So do I,” she said blandly, “so don't go telling me her stories are unreliable again.”
“But what if the memories aren't real?” she insisted.
“I broke the spell, Twilight. Everything in my head is mine, not the spell's. Don't you think I'd have lost any fake memories?”
“It's not a spell, Applejack,” Twilight interrupted. “It's a potion. Didn't you read the test results I gave Rarity last night? There were traces of a strange chemical compound in her bloodstream, and that means that she most likely ingested a potion, a poison, or another magical substance.”
“Can't see what that has to do with anything.”
“It means it's no easy task to break free of its effects, and nearly impossible to do so by sheer force of will,” she explained. “Either they break down and wear off over time, like many poisons, or the effects are permanent unless countered with an antidote, like those of many love potions. Unless Rainbow has been dosing herself for the last two weeks, which doesn't seem likely since she hasn't been apart from me for more than a few minutes at a time since I came back to Ponyville, I'd say it's the latter. The fact that the potion stopped working in your case is simply another unexpected variable, just like the fact that your eyes only partially took on my colors. Though I can't begin to say what caused them, I'm certain that these two variables are likely connected and unique to your case.”
Her lecture whizzed right over Applejack's mane. “So?” she said uncertainly.
“And secondly, it means I'm not the only one in Ponyville that could have pulled this off. Anypony can brew a potion with the right ingredients and a bit of practice!”
The farmer shrugged again. “Look, Twi, that's all well and good, but I can't let you walk away from this just 'cause you asked real nice. The stakes are too darn high.” Her shoulders slumped. Twilight suddenly decided that she looked different without her hat... weaker, almost ephemeral. “Look, Twi. We found Fluttershy last night.”
“I know.”
“And we caught Pinkie Pie trying to sneak letters into your mailbox a few hours ago.”
Twilight gasped. “No. She was supposed to be safe in Canterlot...” She crossed her forehooves over her chest and held herself tightly. “I'm too late!”
Rainbow threw a wing around her. “We're not too late, Miss Sparkle,” she said confidently. “Whoever this pony is, we'll find them and we'll stop them. I know you can fix this.”
Applejack gave her friend a bland stare. “It's Twilight, Rainbow Dash. She messed with your head and now she's playing you for a foal.”
“She is not!” the pegasus cried defensively. “You wanna know why I broke her out?”
“Why, so she could do to them two what she did to us?” Applejack asked tiredly. “I heard about what you said to Rarity while Twi was passed out.”
Rainbow had the decency to blush. “No, because I found Fluttershy like that after Miss Sparkle had been in prison all day,” she countered. “I knew whoever's really doing this was gonna come for her, just like I know they'll be coming for you and Rarity too.” She glowered at her friend with the full force of her unsettling multicolored glare. “You'd better find Rarity and go someplace safe before it's too late.”
Applejack didn't even blink. “Rarity knows,” she said. “She and the Mayor are holed up in the town hall while the guards look for you. Hay, I should be in there too, but I wanted to be out here looking since I know how you think.” She shrugged. “Looks like I made the right choice. Guess I should let them know I found you, huh?”
“Please don't,” Twilight begged. “You have your proof now. It couldn't have been me if Fluttershy was attacked while I was still in my cell!”
“Well, I don't know if I should believe you girls,” she said bluntly. “You're the one who keeps calling Rainbow Dash's stories unreliable.”
“But if I'm the pony you think I am, then why haven't I bound you to my will?” Twilight pressed. “I've had all the time in the world to do it and I've spent it all trying to reason with you. Does that sound like psychopathic behavior to you?”
“I don't know, Twi. I ain't never studied psychopathic behavior.” She climbed to her hooves. “I broke free of it last time, so maybe I'm just too strong for you.” She stopped and grinned to herself. “Besides, you can't do it just like that if it's a potion.”
“Please, Applejack, don't tell Rarity yet.” She stretched a hoof toward her friend. “Help us.”
“AJ, I've been your best friend for forever,” Rainbow added. “You can trust me. I swear Twi– Miss Sparkle's telling the truth. She was locked up when Fluttershy got hit and I bet they got Pinkie while she was busy talking to you. It couldn't have been her.”
“Then who could it have been?” she asked. “You expect me to believe Zecora's the one doing all this?”
“That's it!” Twilight's smile lit up the room. “Zecora!”
“Wait a minute,” Rainbow said hastily. “You don't think...”
“No, of course not,” the unicorn laughed. “But we can ask her if she knows anything about the potion being used. She might recognize some of your symptoms!”
Applejack cursed under her breath.
Twilight's smile slid away as she turned back to the earth pony. “Don't you think it's worth a try?” she asked. “Can't you at least let us follow this one lead before you make your decision?”
Her friend grimaced. “Goldang it, why does this have to be so flipping hard?” she spat. “I feel like you're being straight with me, Twi, but I always thought you were.” She raised a hoof to her forehead. “I just don't know if I should trust my gut anymore.”
“Then let us prove it,” Rainbow said confidently. “We'll have this figured out in no time!”
“But it will be much easier with you on our side,” Twilight added. “Do you think you can put aside your preconceptions and help us find the real culprit?”
After a moment's thought Applejack put her hoof down. “I ain't helping you.”
“Figured,” Rainbow grumbled.
“But I ain't gonna stop you, neither.”
Twilight had to fight back sudden tears of joy. “You trust me?” she asked with a crooked smile.
“I sure as hay don't,” her friend said bluntly. “If I trusted you I'd be by your side every step of the way.”
“Then why?”
“'Cause you were one of us, Twi,” she explained. “You've saved everypony's neck so many times I think we all owe you one.” The corners of her muzzle drew slowly upward. “'Sides, you were my friend once. For that, I have to at least give you a chance.”
“A chance is all can I ask for,” Twilight said happily.
“Then where are you gonna go?”
“First we'll visit Zecora, We'll be sure to find answers there. Even if she doesn't know anything, I'm sure she'll have a book on the subject.”
Applejack nodded. “And if that doesn't pan out?”
“South,” Rainbow said suddenly.
Twilight looked at her uncertainly. “Why south?” she asked. “You said it last night too.”
“I'm not sure,” the pegasus replied. “I just... It feels right, like I can almost remember something important.”
“Another memory you don't trust?” Applejack groaned. “Aw, horseapples.”
Twilight frowned. “I'll think about it,” she said noncommitally.
“Well, whatever you do, you come right back when you're done, you hear?” Applejack said firmly. “Run around for too long and I might get antsy.”
Twilight nodded excitedly. “Thank you so much. Come on, Rainbow!”
Applejack watched the two of them canter toward the stairs. Her poker face was holding, but beneath the surface she wasn't so certain. “I'm warning you, Twi!” she called. “If you don't come back, or if I hear of anything like this happening somewhere else, then I'm going to hunt you down and drag you back to Ponyville by the neck.”
“You won't have to.” A determined smile split Twilight's cheeks. “Rainbow and I will be back with a clue or the culprit in no time!”
AJ's brow was still furrowed, and she stared up at Twilight with a force the unicorn had never seen. “I mean it, Twi,” she said firmly. “Dead or alive.”
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, but judging by that glare, that stance, Applejack was not joking. Twilight swallowed nervously. “I won't let you down, AJ,” she promised. The two mares turned and swiftly trotted down the stairwell.
Applejack watched them go with a twisted grimace. “By Celestia's mane, I hope I'm doing the right thing.” She sighed. “Consarn it, I think I'm gonna need another drink after this.”
,',
“And you just let them go?!” Rarity shrilled. “Why in Equestria would you let them go?”
Applejack wished desperately that she hadn't lost her hat in the Everfree, because she needed something to spin in her hooves. “It seemed like the right thing to do,” she mumbled.
Her jaw hit the floor. “The right thi– Applejack, you stupid, doddering, brainless...”
AJ let her wear herself out. Unlike Rarity, she hadn't gotten a wink of shuteye since she woke up in one of the town's few holding cells and she didn't have the energy to waste getting angry over a friend's hissy fit.
“...thick-skulled, backwoods, stupid bumpkin!” Rarity panted. She threw herself onto a bench and stared furiously at a faint brown stain in the carpet. “The right thing,” she scoffed.
“But she ran those tests on Rainbow.” She popped the saddlebag open with her teeth and pulled free the bundled printout. “I bet you somepony around here can figure out what they mean. Redheart, maybe.”
“Those results are next to useless,” Rarity declared. “They could be nothing but lies and fabrications! She could have fudged the results or misrepresented some of the information therein, and none of us would know the difference!”
“But–”
“Twilight will not escape her fate,” she muttered darkly. “She will stand trial before the Princesses. If they say that she is innocent, then fine! I'll accept that, but I will not accept the word of my prime suspect!”
“She ain't your suspect,” Applejack said angrily. “This ain't your investigation. You don't get to decide if she's guilty.”
“I've already made my decision,” Rarity barked. “I don't care if you disagree with me. I am going to bring Twilight back to Ponyville to stand trial.”
“But if you'll just look at the–”
“Let somepony else waste their time on those numbers!” Rarity yelled peevishly, her blue aura snagging the test results from Applejack's hoof and gesturing animatedly with them. “I will not have the blood of more innocent ponies on my hooves – Oh, will you just leave us alone, Angel!” The bunny hopped back to avoid her attempt to swat him with the bundle.
“Hey!” Applejack cried indignantly. “You be nice to Angel.” She knelt down in front of him. “What's wrong, buddy?” she asked. “Something wrong with Fluttershy?” The bunny shook his head, making his ears flop about cutely. “Problem at the cottage?” she tried just as successfully.
“Well, whatever it is, Angel, it doesn't matter,” Rarity said confidently. “I'm going to find Twilight Sparkle and put an end to this madness.”
Angel slapped a paw over his nose. It twitched irritably.
“Now look, Rare,” Applejack reasoned. “If she does something that stupid I'll be right there with you, but for all we know we could all be falling for some trick.”
“No, Applejack! I am done listening to your whining!”
“Whining?” the farmer cried.
“Yes, whining.”
“Now look, Rare, I ain't on her side either! I just want to make sure we're covering all our bases here.”
Rarity jumped to her hooves and advanced toward her with a snarl. “You... almost... died!” she exclaimed. “Fluttershy has been hiding under her bed since Twilight escaped! Rainbow is in love with her, the poor girl! How much longer do you expect me to wait?”
“'Til the Princesses get here.”
“That's right,” Rarity agreed. “And when they get here, I will make sure Twilight Sparkle is here to stand trial.” She lifted her hoof out of reach of the bunny tugging insistently on her fetlock. “Don't try to stop me.”
Applejack scowled. “Fine,” she snapped. “But you better watch your flank, missy. If you're right, you're hunting somepony you don't want to mess with, and if you're wrong, you might just come back to Ponyville to find things even worse than before you turned your back on us.”
Rarity huffed indignantly. “I'm doing this for Ponyville!”
“Go on, then. Get.” Applejack nodded toward the door. “Go save us from the monster under the bed. I'll stay here and make sure nopony gets us from behind.”
“I will,” Rarity seethed. She raised a hoof before Applejack's muzzle. “And when I come back, you will thank me.”
Angel saluted her as she passed with a roll of his eyes and a little bras d'honneur. He then scampered off in search of a pen.