(Boris and Victoria)
Victoria didn’t really know just how long she chased her brother. She only barely managed to keep up with him as he ran through the trees, but the moment he was in a clearing she took the opportunity to lunge and tackle him to the ground. Boris let out a surprised grunt as he hit the ground. He shook his head some to clear the dizziness as his sister got up off of him and glared fury onto him. “Boris you dolt! Just what do you think you’re doing!?”
Boris shook his head one last time and looked up at his sister with a smile. “What’s it look like? I’m finding Alex! This strategy has worked before when we couldn’t find him, so I’m positive it’ll work again!”
Victoria flinched slightly at Alex’s name, before groaning in annoyance. “Boris, that only worked because we were in a cave! Where there wasn’t as much space to go! We’re not going to find Alex by running around in the woods where he isn’t!” It wouldn’t matter anyways if we looked for him.
"Oh. Right," he said sheepishly. "Well then, how are we going to find him? He definitely needs to be caught up with everything. I mean, can you imagine how much he'll freak when he sees you can do magic!" He said excitedly.
Victoria pointed back to the trees they’d gotten out of and scowled. “We’re not going to find Alex. We are going to go back to the ship, and wait for Dad. Like we promised we would!”
"Aw, come on! He's been acting all weird right now. Besides, we should find Alex anyway, I haven't seen him in forever! He should be here with us!"
“We can’t find him you dolt! There’s no way we can get Alex and there won’t be anytime soon! It doesn’t matter of Dad’s acting weird, we need to head back to the ship!” A white glow began to creep into her eyes as she shouted at her brother.
Taking notice of this, Boris’ face fell slightly as he took a step back. “Um... Vicky? Maybe you should calm down.”
The light in Victoria’s eyes only intensified as her emotions peaked. “‘Calm down’!? How can I calm down when you’re always running off to do something stupid!? You’re so dense that you haven’t even realised that looking is pointless because Alex is dead!”
Deafening silence followed throughout the clearing.
“Wh-what?” Boris stammered, his eyes wide in shock and disbelief.
Victoria was trembling in place as thin streams of pure light dripped from her eyes. “Do you have any idea... just how long you and Dad were gone? Or even what happened in the first place that turned Dad into a statue!?”
Boris took a nervous step back. "Wh-What are you talking about? It's only been a few weeks, right?"
Victoria’s eyes burned with light as all her anger burst. "Are you serious!? It's been over one thousand years, you dolt!"
Boris could only stare at his sister as the words sank in. “Over... a thousand..?” He put his hands on his head and looked away. “But... But I remember waking up as... W-we were standing there for a while... but not that long. How could it...?”
Victoria was about to yell more, but stopped when she saw just how hard Boris was taking this revelation. Her magical display died down as she tried to think of what to say next, only to jump slightly when something snapped in the trees.
Both children slowly turned towards the sound, and froze at what they saw. “V-Vicky... That’s not what I think it is... is it?” The pair began to back away as the black figure of the changeling came into view, followed shortly by two more. Boris turned to run, but was cut off as another three came out from behind the trees. “Vicky, use your magic! Zap them, turn them into frogs, something!”
Vicky nervously backed away from a changeling as it nipped at her, nearly putting her back to back with Boris. “How!? I have no idea how to do that! I don’t even know how I did any of that!”
Boris looked at the changelings surrounding them for a brief moment before nodding. “In that case,” he began as he grabbed his sister by the wrist, “RUN!” he shouted as they both dashed further into the forest, the six changelings hot on their heels as more seemed to appear from nowhere to join in the pursuit.
Victoria ducked as a changeling lunged at her head, taking a few strands of hair with it. “Do you even know where we’re going!?”
Boris sung his arm out and managed to smack a changeling that had jumped out ahead of them into a tree. These gauntlets sure are coming in handy. “Anywhere’s better than here!” The two of them kept running through the trees until Boris started to see the treeline and glimpses of buildings beyond. “Look! I see something! We can get help!”
Vicky saw a small village over the horizon, but much closer to them was a cottage. Though she didn’t want to just shove their problems onto someone else, they needed help. Just as she was about to call out to whoever was inside she saw a blue creature flying towards their direction, a pegasus with multi-colored hair and tail.
“Help! Help us, please!”
Boris was about to join his sister in calling for aid, when their luck ran out. A changeling shot from under one of the trees and bit into his leg, causing the boy to trip and fall just out of the tree line, taking his sister with him, as he was still holding onto her wrist.
He looked up at the pony that was now hovering in place a few yards in the air, staring in shock as another changeling clamped onto Boris’s shoulder and began to drag him back into the dark woods. “HELP!”
He heard a hiss from another changeling as it landed on his back and began to cover his head in green goo, followed by his arms and legs. He barely caught a glimpse of the same happening to Victoria as she was dragged away.
The last thing Boris saw before his vision was filled with green, was a prismatic blur heading off towards the town.
(Invention)
I stumbled slightly as I reached the mouth of the cave. I was far from calm, and I needed to get back to the ship. Immediately. But there was no way I was going to be able to drive straight if I didn’t calm down, so I rested against the side of my motorcycle.
It was happening again. I was sure of it. For the second time in my life, I was losing my memories. That, and the enchantments that had been placed on my equipment were beginning to fail. The entirety of the situation was starting to look bleak. For any of this to get fixed, I’d need to not only finish repairing my ship, but find out exactly who had my C.P.U.O. and what they’d done with it.
I’d fixed my consciousness once with it, I could do it again.
Grunting I sat down next to my bike on the ground and reached into my coat. “It’s best that I calm myself. Perhaps reading what Boris and Victoria had mentioned earlier will do me some good.” Pulling out the book the two had given me, I opened to the page Victoria had marked.
Strange, it seems to be about the Elves. I think I remember meeting a lovely Elven maiden during one of my trips. I never got her name, but her behavior was exceptionally refined. Skimming through the paragraphs, I immediately took notice of the designs they had displayed, and in some cases, tried to explain. “So that’s what happened. It must have been during my imprisonment that this Steel Mind found my computer and got lucky enough to be able to turn it on.”
I stood and put the book back into my coat before turning to my motorcycle. “It’s best to get back to the ship.” I paused for a moment and sighed. “It’s also best for me to stop talking to myself....” I hopped onto my bike and started back towards home, thinking of just how much information this elven man could have gotten from the computer.
It couldn’t have been much, seeing as I had placed several different layers of protection over sensitive files, but the fact he managed to access my old world’s database and the internet... I’ll have to do some investigation. I wanted no trace of my creations to be found in the event of my death, or in this case imprisonment.
Of course... that had been before Alex...
I snapped myself from the thoughts with a firm shake of my head. “NO. Keep focused. I can’t risk forgetting more.”
An hour passed before I saw my ship again, and what befuddled me the most, was that Steve and Ed were running around the exterior of the ship. The moment they noticed me, Steve was rushing towards me, before I had even stopped anywhere near the-.
The panic I saw on his face stopped my thoughts dead. “INVENTION! SIR! WE HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM!”
I skid to a halt, throwing grass through the air as it was torn from the ground before getting off at meeting up with Steve halfway to the ship. “Steve. What is going-”
“THEY’RE GONE!”
I felt a cold weight drop into my stomach. “What’s gone? Steve, tell me what happened.”
Steve took several deep ‘breaths’ before he was calm enough to tell me. “Sir, when I went to check on Boris and Victoria, their room was empty. We can’t find them anywhere on or near the ship!” I ran past Steve without a second thought. “Captain, wait!”
I ignored Steve and ran inside. “BORIS!?” I turned down the hall and reached their bedroom door. “VICTORIA!?”
Nothing. Their room was empty. I could feel my heart rate increase as blood pounded in my ears. I turned away from the door and went back outside. There, I found Steve and Ed both looking ashamed.
Steve sighed as he slumped forward. “I... I’m sorry sir.”
Ed was looking off to the side when his eyes widened before he grabbed my arm and pulled me down. “Captain! Look out!”
A black figure shot through the air above us and impacted the ground with enough force to blow the grass away. As I pulled myself up from the ground and looked over, it slowly rose and flickered as if made from obsidian flame. Which it by all means was, and it held no more size than a watermelon.
“The hell is that?” I pondered for a brief moment. I quickly grabbed my blade and held it at the ready. Twin orbs of red formed in the top section of flames, before it rose off the ground and started to float. Whatever these flames were, it had to be magically based. A fire construct, perhaps?
“I don’t know sir, but it’s coming closer!” Steve shouted as he ducked under a flash of flame shooting out of the mass. The black flames condensed briefly before sending out a shockwave as it grew twice its original size, knocking Steve and Ed back, and burning me as it passed.
I winced in pain before having to jump back to dodge a sudden charge, as it plowed itself into the ground. I flipped over as I landed a few feet away before scowling. “Enough of this.” I drew back my blade and slashed at the mass, attempting to drain whatever magic fueled the creature.
My sword however, only fazed through and absorbed nothing.
“What!?” I was knocked back away from the mass as it lashed some of its flames toward me, and the air echoed with a childish laugh. I groaned some as I got back up to my feet and saw the twin orbs from earlier had turned into arcs briefly as it laughed. The orbs quickly narrowed down and a scream of rage filled the air as fire began to erupt from around the center mass. It lunged forward and started trying to incinerate me as I rolled out of the way.
Just what the hell is this thing!? I pulled out a small, brass pocket watch with a snowflake engraved on it and clicked the top as the flame shot forwards yet again. As I rolled out of the way, I dropped the watch, causing it to erupt into a blast of liquid nitrogen. I landed in a crouch as the flames shrieked in pain and died down some before erupting again to return to its original size. Turning to the ship, It floated over and fazed through the hull before coming out the other side and vanishing into the woods.
For a moment, no one moved, spoke, or even dared to breathe. The ground had been scorched in several locations around the field, yet there was not a fire aside from the one that had fled. The three of us only stared at the burns and towards the trees.
Steve was the first to snap out of the daze, and said what I had no doubt was also on Ed’s and my own mind. “What the heck was that!?”
I stood up from the crouch I had landed in and put my sword away. “I don’t know Steve, but let’s hope we can find Boris and Victoria before it comes back. It’s just an assumption, but I think it might be involved with the two of them going missing somehow.”
Ed nodded and looked over at the woods. “Fan out and search the forest?”
I reached into my coat and pulled out the last two Freeze bombs I had and gave them to the two. “Yes. If you see that flame again, set this off as close as possible and run.”
“Aye Captain!”
“Yes Sir!”
I sighed as they ran off into the woods before I started to follow. As I passed the ship, however, I noticed something on the side the flames had left from. Burned into the wood, was a message. I was disturbed by it so much, I didn't realize I had read it out loud.
“The world will burn.”
(Highwind)
Shut up. Shut up. For the love of Celestia, please shut up. After over four hours of walking, Highwind was almost at the guard station for the western half of Manehatten. The entire time, the two fellow guards he was told to go with, were driving him to the point where he was about to break, stick both of the idiots on the end of his spear, and throw them as far away as possible. He wasn’t even concerned anymore that he’d lose his spear. He just wanted them to SHUT UP.
“I hope we get stationed to check around here. Just open up your nostrils and smell all those sweet aromas!”
“Oh, I’m smelling, but it’s not the food I’m focused on. No where’s that perfume coming from?”
“You know, any one of these ponies could be changeling, right?”
“T-Then I’ll just go for the ones that have no clothes!”
“Wow, you really are that desperate.”
“Will you two lunkheads please pick up the pace so we can get to the damn headquarters and get stationed already?” Highwind interrupted. “I swear, if either of you end up getting me eaten alive, I will haunt you for the rest of your days.”
Not waiting for a response, Highwind turned the corner and spotted the Guard outpost for the western half of the city. “Finally. Hurry it up you two.”
“Yes, sir!” the both replied and marched in step behind him.
Well what do you know, looks like they can act professional every once in a blue moon.
Upon entering the guard station, Highwind walked over to the main desk. “Lieutenant Highwind, reporting in.”
The guard at the desk smirked. “So you’re the one they sent. Can’t say we got a bad bunch.” He pointed to one of the back halls. “Captain Gear Twist is in the back waiting for you.”
Highwind nodded and gave him a brief salute before walking down the hall. As Whirlwind and Ironsides passed by, they could hear the receptionist chuckle. “Sweet Celestia Gear Twist is going to have fun with that guy.”
Don’t think I didn’t hear that.
The three continued down the hall before finding a old beat up metal door with a name plate reading “Cpt. Gear Twist” welded to the outside. Knocking on the door, the trio waited for a moment before hearing a older voice. “Come in!”
“Hey, have you heard the rumors about this guy?” Whirlwind whispered.
“You mean his ‘escapades’ when his wife’s not looking? Yeah, I have. I bet he’s your hero, huh?” Ironsides whispered back.
“Oh shut up.”
“Please do,” Highwind hissed back before he opened the door. The three of them filed in and saluted the elderly mud brown pony sitting behind the desk. “Lieutenants Highwind, Whirlwind, and Ironsides. Reporting for stationing.”
Captain Gear Twist laughed as he pulled his grey beard into place. “Well it’s about time you three showed up. I was starting to get worried that all the ladies out there were getting eaten.”
Highwind suppressed a groan as his ear twitched. “With all respect Captain, I-”
“Yes, yes, I heard you the first time. I’m a mite busy at the moment, so I’m going to skip formalities.” The captain reached under his desk and pulled out a stack of vanilla folders. Each one marked with a different pony. “Now we’ve already got you three rooms for your stay here in Manehatten. Rooms 56, and 57 of The Epipony Hotel. Once you three settle in, I want you to go over these files. They’re of ponies we believe might be changelings in disguise.”
Highwind, though slightly frustrated at the lack of professionalism from his temporary Captain, took the folders in his magic and put them in his satchel. “Thank you sir. Are there any other orders?”
The Captain nodded once. “I have a few actually. First, if any of you see a possible changeling,” Gear Twist leaned in and looked them over seriously, “do not engage. Either report the pony and wait for backup, or tail them if you can. I don’t want to lose any guards.”
The next moment, he was leaning back with a smile that was almost completely hidden by his beard. “Secondly, if you see any prostitutes or have to arrest any fine ladies, let me know.”
Highwind’s eye twitched, Ironsides mouth opened slightly in surprise, and Whirlwind couldn’t help but smirk.
“Y-You’re not serious with that, are you?” Highwind asked.
Gear Twist only laughed in response. “Now why wouldn’t I be? My wife’s been giving me the stink eye for the past week.”
And here I thought for a moment he might be a decent leader when he was concerned about losing his subordinates.
“But in all seriousness, do not engage any hostiles if you can. Either tail them till you find a hive, or report their location. That’s all soldiers.”
“Y-Yes sir,” Highwind replied before he and his two companions saluted and turned to walk outside.
“Oh he is going to be fun,” Whirlwind said with a chuckle.
“Hey, maybe he can introduce us to some spots where he takes his ‘interests.’ He doesn’t look cheap, so I’m guessing they’ll probably have some high class food and wine,” Ironsides added.
How in Tartarus did this become my life?
(Jenny)
Jenny sighed as she tightened the bathrobe before she began drying the last bit of water in her hair.
‘Gotta admit, at the very least the shower was refreshing. And boy does Rarity have a ton of different shampoos and conditioners. Hell, I don’t even think I know what half the things in that shower were. It was like being in Walmart.’
The sound of hooves on tile brought her attention to one of the doorways as Rarity came with neatly bundled, pale blue and grey fabrics in her magic. “Here you are darling. Fresh attire, for a simple day.” She placed them behind a blind and trotted over to Twilight and Pinkie. “You can go ahead and get changed dear. I needed to talk to Twilight about something anyways.”
Jenny raised a hand and drew the seamstress’s attention before any real conversation could happen. “Hey Rarity, can I ask you something?”
“By all means, darling.”
“Why are you a seamstress in the first place? I mean, you ponies don’t seem to have such a big problem with nudity like we humans do. Isn’t it sort of a… niche market?”
Rarity blinked a few times before she started to chuckle. “Oh it’s not that silly of a question really. You’d be surprised at just how many kinds of clients I receive. While I normally have to make something for nobles or the like up in Canterlot, the occasional Minotaur or Griffon come in looking for something as well.” She smiled as she giggled. “And now is probably the first time I’ve used that specific mannequin that I had purchased in event of an Elven client.”
“Huh,” Jenny replied simply, looking back to the bundle of clothes she’d been given. “Well, I guess it’s best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.”
“A gift what?”
“Um… never mind.”
‘I guess I’ll have to watch my expressions from now on. Thank goodness I haven’t used beating a dead horse.’
Pinkie scrunched up her face for a moment. “I never got just why that’s a saying. I mean, why would a Saddle Arabian give themselves as a gift?” Pinkie contemplated this for a moment before shrugging. “Oh well.”
“A… ‘Saddle Arabian?’” Oh god, the puns. They burn. “Never mind. I’m just gonna go get changed.”
As Jenny went behind the blind to get dressed, she overheard some of what Rarity and Twilight were talking about. “Twilight, I rather we’d talk later about this, but I have a bad feeling that something is going on.”
“What do you mean? The problem with Invention solved itself rather quickly.”
“That’s not what I meant darling. It’s just that with how Sweetie described her... new friends, I’m a little worried. She kept going on about how ‘Boris’ was able to lift something they had made easily, when she couldn’t. And there’s that bit about how his ‘sister’ was practically glowing with mana.”
What are they going on about?
“I know it’s a bit distressing to hear that, but like I said the problem should solve itself quickly. Besides, if nothing else those… things they mentioned seemed friendly enough.”
It was about then Jenny decided to stop listening in and actually take a look at the clothes Rarity had made. She was immediately thankful that she had taken the time to make some undergarments as well. As she put on the clothes, Jenny was amazed at how well everything fit, and how comfortable it was.
Stepping from behind the blind, Jenny was immediately assaulted by the collective attention of the three mares. “Rarity, these feel amazing. Just how did you make this all so fast?”
Pinkie giggled at bit as she looked over Jenny’s clothes. “Oooooh, pretty!”
"Oh it wasn't anything, darling, this is my livelihood after all.” Rarity’s horn glowed as she brought over a full body mirror. “Do you like it?"
Jenny looked over her reflection and was amazed. She knew what the clothes looked like from putting them on, but seeing the grey slacks that fit nicely on her legs, and the pale blue t-shirt with the red swirls going up her left side made her appreciate the clothes more. “I already was amazed, but now... just wow.”
Rarity nodded some before her ears perked up. “Oh, I almost forgot.” A dark blue pair of slip-on shoes floated over and landed next to Jenny, shortly followed by some socks. “I assumed that you would like something other than armored boots to walk around in, so I took the liberty of making these as well.”
“Heh, no kidding. I’m really not used to the idea of hearing ‘clank’ every time I take a step,” she joked as she slipped them on. “Wow, these are really comfy.”
“Oh, I’m glad you think so. Honestly, I don’t have much practice with making garments for feet. They’re so uncommon around here, unlike hooves or even paws.”
Jenny laughed a little as she waved dismissively. “It’s alright, Rarity.” Standing up, she walked over to the armor she had taken off and picked up her sword. Jenny hummed as she thought of where she could put all of it before shrugging and putting the sword on her hip. She then looked over to Twilight with a smile. “So, do I get to meet anyone else, or is this it for today?”
Twilight thought for a moment before smiling. “Well, we could go to the market and see if we can catch Applejack. Oh, and before we go,” Twilight’s horn lit up and the bits of armor vanished. “There, Now if we need it, we just have to head to the library.”
Jenny gave Twilight a quick nod. “Alright, that sounds good.” She took a moment to scratch her cheek as they headed for the door. “Um, could I ask something?”
Twilight and the others stopped and looked over. “Sure. What is it?”
“Can you tell me more about the elves? Like, their society and how they work and all that? I mean, we have myths about elves where I’m from but we don’t actually have them, so I was kind of hoping you could fill me in.”
Twilight, and oddly enough Rarity, beamed at the girl as the lavender librarian opened the door. “Of course! Do you mind if we talk on the way?”
“Not at all.”
Twilight’s eyes got this... glint, and Jenny couldn’t help but feel she had opened a can of worms. “Elves are really interesting and all. If fact, you’re actually taller than the average Elven. They’re about five foot five, weigh anywhere from a hundred and thirty pounds to a hundred and sixty...” Yep, can of worms. “Their ears normally reach an approximate 3 inches long. They have small almond shaped eyes. They have flat faces with slightly smaller noses, and they have an astounding bone structure that has-” Twilight’s ramblings were cut off by Rarity clearing her throat.
“That’s all well and good darling, but I think you were getting carried away.” Twilight blushed with a sheepish smile. “And as for what Twilight has said, I think their culture would be more of my expertise.”
“Really?” Jenny tilted her head slightly.
Rarity smirked some as she held her head just a little higher. “I didn’t learn how to sew elven clothing without learning some of their society’s norms.” As they trotted further into town, Rarity picked up where Twilight left off. “Most elves are from a nation called Luonto that resides to the west of Equestria. Due to their lack of fur, they developed more practical designs for clothes, and then became some of the greatest inventors. If fact, building new devices or discovering new things tends to be a mark of status over there.”
“Wait, so their status is based on inventions? Not like money, or heritage, or even elections?”
Rarity shook her head. “Oh no, heritage does play a part. Normally the more well known a family becomes from an ancestor’s inventions, the closer they can get to the royal family. It’s all a strange affair, but I’m not one to question the traditions of the ones who made my oven and over half of my equipment.”
“I was wondering about that. So pretty much anything that isn’t powered by cranks or something like that comes from them?”
Twilight nodded with a sigh. “That’s pretty much how it is. To be honest, I wish some more pony inventors would make an impact on the world, but with how trade between us and the Elves has been getting stricter, not as many ponies go over there to learn anymore. It’s just too expensive.”
They reached the market after turning a corner and Pinkie smiled. “Oh hey, I see Applejack!” After a moment of squinting, the party pony’s smile faded. “She doesn’t look all that happy.”
Concerned, Twilight and Rarity shared a glance before picking up their pace. When they all got close enough, they noticed that Fluttershy was also there. Both mares were looking over at another stall that had a small crowd around it. “Ah’m tellin’ ya Fluttershy. That ‘powder’ they’re sellin can’t be good for anything. Even Granny won’t go near the stuff.”
“But... aren’t medicines supposed to help ponies?”
“Applejack, Fluttershy, what’s wrong darlings?” Rarity asked as the group approached.
Fluttershy turned to look over at Rarity. “Oh, hello Rarity. Applejack and I were just talking about- EEP!” Fluttershy jumped as she noticed Jenny and hid behind Applejack.
Jenny just blinked a few times before looking at Pinkie and pointing. “Uh...”
“She does that around new ponies.”
“People. I’m not a pony.”
Twilight rolled her eyes and looked over at Applejack. “So anyways, what's going on?”
Applejack glared over at the stall where a dark blue stallion was selling small bags of powder. “Just that powder salespony again. He keeps goin’ on and on about how his medicine can cure anything.” She snorted as yet another pony left holding a bag in their teeth. “It’s like none of em learned a thing since Flim and Flam last showed up.”
Pinkie winced a bit and turned to the crowd. “Wow, that bad?”
Flim and Flam? Really? What is with this naming system? Jenny thought to herself.
“Eeyup.” Applejack nodded. “Ah’m actually surprised it’s lasted this long. It’s only been a week, and ponies claimin’ his power helps seem worse than before!” The farm mare sighed as she took off her hat and rubbed her head. “What ah don’t get is why nopony else seems ta see that.”
“Maybe it’s actually working?” Jenny suggested. “How’s it supposed to work anyway?”
Applejack frowned. “That’s the thing. Ah’ve asked myself just what it does, and he keeps saying that ‘the minerals cure all your ailments’.”
“Hm. That is suspicious. It’s one thing if it really does work, but it’s another if it only works short term. Or worse, has some side-effects that make it not worth it in the long run.”
Applejack threw her hooves above her head. “Finally! Somepony gets it!” She paused and looked over at Twilight. “Now ah know how you feel most of the time.”
Twilight deadpanned. “Gee thanks.”
“To be honest, this ‘miracle cure’ is starting to remind me of opium,” Jenny continued.
Twilight perked up at that and turned to the young woman. “Opium?”
Pinkie frowned. “I’m not going to have to break out a reverse blade sword am I?”
Jenny just stared. “How… How could you possibly-?”
Pinkie saw a balloon pass by and glared. “I’M ON TO YOU! YOU CAN’T ESCAPE ME FOREVER!” In that moment, she vanished in pursuit of the red balloon.
The human just stared before turning to the other mares for answers. They just shrugged in response. “It’s best not to think about it too hard. Pinkie is... Pinkie.”
“I’m… not going to ask.”
“It’s best you don’t,” Twilight agreed. “So you were talking about this ‘opium’?”
“Right. Well, it’s a plant that can be smoked if its ground into a fine powder. It was used for a while hundreds of years ago because it worked great as a painkiller and a stress reliever, so it was given to people who suffered chronic pains. Unfortunately, it turned out that constant use made you addicted to the stuff, and it’s benefits would stop being so effective. It also had a number of ill effects after prolonged use: reduced appetite, loss of bodily functions, and in some cases even death. It was eventually outlawed when people realized just how bad it was.”
The ponies blanched as they looked over at the stall. Fluttershy whimpered as the thoughts of what might happen to all the ponies over there crossed her mind. “Oh my...”
Applejack gulped slightly as she adjusted her hat. “Well.... it’s a good thing than that nopony at Sweet Apple Acres is taking any of that.”
A moment later, Jenny’s hair rushed to her face as a gust of wind rushed up from behind. “Twilight!” Pft... hair in mouth tastes like shampoo.
The ponies and Jenny turned around to see Rainbow hovering behind them. Rarity took notice of the look their friend was giving them. “Rainbow? What’s gotten into you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost darling.”
“I-I was heading to Fluttershy’s place. I d-didn’t know she wasn’t there, but then I saw these two… things come out of the forest. They looked like… well, kinda like her,” she said as she pointed at Jenny.
Jenny blinked a few times before pointing at herself. “Like me?”
“Y-Yeah, but that’s not what you need to know. They both were being attacked! By changelings! Tons of them!”
Twilight visibly paled the moment Rainbow mentioned changelings. “They were attacked by WHAT!?”
“They were swarming them like crazy, covering them in goop and-!” Rainbow cut herself off before she began smacking herself in the head. “AND I JUST RAN AND LET THEM GET CAUGHT! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID! I COULD’VE SAVED AT LEAST ONE OF THEM!”
Twilight grabbed Rainbow’s head, effectively cutting her off and stared her in the eyes. “How long ago was this!? Quickly Rainbow! We need to know!”
Jenny looked over the ponies and noticed the amount of attention the two were drawing. “Um... girls?”
“I don’t know! Maybe, like, five or ten minutes ago?”
Twilight dropped Rainbow onto the ground and looked at the rest of the group. “We need to find Spike, now!”
(CMC)
“So.... what are you three doing?” Spike said as he sat in the spare chair the three fillies had brought up to Sweetie’s room.
Applebloom spit out a crayon and looked over at him. “Not much. Just drawin’ some pictures of Boris and Victoria so that we can show our sisters that they ain’t mean.”
Sweetie nodded. “Yeah, I was a little worried that my sister was going to faint when I told her. Then she just ran off.” She looked at a green crayon and started pulling it into the air with her magic. “I still don’t know how he was able to pick that up.”
“Maybe we can go find out?” Scootaloo suggested. “I mean, the more we learn about them more we can show everypony they’re not bad, right? And then we can go hang out with them more!”
Spike scratched his chin. “I don’t know... the last time Twilight did something like that, she caught fire. Literally.”
Applebloom rolled her eyes. “Spike, that was with Pinkie. Ya don’t try that on Pinkie. It just plain ain’t safe for all parties involved.”
Spike nodded a few times in acceptance. “Alright you got a point there.”
“Besides, it’s not technically ‘meeting them’ if we just watch, right?” Scootaloo added, trying to justify her scheme more and more.
Sweetie then perked up and said the one thing that would seal Spike’s fate. “We might even get spy cutie marks!”
Spike groaned as he covered his fins. “Oh no...”
“CUTIE MARK CRU-”
The door opened and Sweetie’s mom could be seen in the doorway. “Don’t even think about it young lady! After the scare you gave your father and I, you’re still grounded for another week!” The three of them deflated at that and Spike let out a sigh of relief.
“It’s probably for the best. I still remember what happened the last time you did one of these crusades. How did you manage to get covered in tree sap trying to get a synchronized swimming cutie mark?”
“We don’t know. Stop asking.” Scootaloo deadpanned at him.
Applebloom looked over to Sweetie’s mom and pouted. “Can’t we at least go over to Scootaloo’s house?”
The older mare thought for a moment before sighing. “Oh alright. But if I hear word of any crusading, you’re going to be grounded a lot longer than a week Sweetie Belle.” The little unicorn nodded and her mother looked at the other two. “That goes for you as well. I hear about any crusading, and I’ll be telling your parents and your sister.”
“We understand,” they all replied.
Sweetie’s mom nodded with a motherly smile. “Alright then. You can go.” She nuzzled her daughter. “Have fun Sweetie, and stay out of trouble.”
“I will!” The trio rushed over to Spike and picked him up. “Bye mom!”
As they ran out of the building, Sweetie’s mom could hear Spike cry from below. “Don’t let them take me!”
(Celestia)
Celestia looked out at Ponyville from her balcony and sighed. She could barely stand that Invention was so close to her beloved pupil and her friends.
‘Just calm yourself, Celestia. He said he’d leave. He gave you his word. He even agreed to the time limit. Just calm yourself.
Knocking from her bedroom’s door made Celestia jump ever so slightly. “Sister?” Looking over her shoulder, Celestia took notice of Luna. “May we come in?”
The solar alicorn sighed before smiling. “Of course Luna, I’m always available for my own sister.”
Luna returned the smile in kind before trotting into the room and sitting next to Celestia. They both looked out over the hills and towns for a moment before Luna spoke. “It still bothers you, doesn’t it?”
“How could it not?” Celestia turned to look at her sister. “He caused so much death. I... The feeling of all those spirits passing on, not only in the initial blast but in the many years that followed… I still haven’t forgotten it. My only solace is that he’s promised to leave with little fuss.”
Luna nuzzled her sister gently before pulling away briefly. “I understand that you still feel that pain. What I don’t understand is why you are reacting so violently. It is not like you to lash out in anger and rage.”
"Any creature, no matter how docile, can turn ferocious when it feels it's children are in danger," she replied firmly.
Luna frowned for a moment before she responded. “I know, but this is reminding me more of...” Luna turned towards the balcony as her ears pressed against her head, “a rather shameful moment of mine.”
Celestia looked to Luna in shock at the mere idea of making such a comparison and was about to retort before taking more consideration of those words and sighing. “I suppose I do seem a bit… obsessed at the moment.”
Once more the lunar princess nuzzled her sister. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright.” She continued the nuzzle for a moment, before pressing into her sister’s neck just a little more. “Tia...”
They pulled away from each other and smiled. However, Celestia caught a flicker of emotion in her sister’s eyes.
“Something’s troubling you,” she said in a matter of fact tone.
Luna nodded as her smile fell. “I can feel it sister. That... dark foreboding that lingered in the back of my mind... I felt it earlier, but not from within.” She looked out towards the city again and frowned. “Somewhere out there, the Nightmare has awakened.”
Celestia’s eyes widened as she looked back to Ponyville. “Is it… him?”
“No sister, Invention is not the host. Nor do I believe he is responsible for its return. In fact, I’m not even sure if he is aware of it, or that the Nightmare has even found one to possess.”
Celestia calmed herself before turning back to Luna. “Do you have any suggestions? As much as I hate to bring it up, you were its host. Perhaps you have some idea on precautions we could take?”
Luna sighed as she shook her head. “The Nightmare is a spirit sister. Until it possesses a host, there is nothing short of an exorcism that can do it harm, and even those have failed us in the past.” The lunar diarch gazed over the kingdom she and her sister ruled and frowned. “The only thing we can do, is wait.”
The two sat in the following silence, until Luna spoke again. “Celestia, would you like to know what the Nightmare focused on most? When it had hold of me?”
Celestia paused a moment before answering. “Only if you are willing to speak of it, sister. I do not wish to force such a thing on you.”
Luna turned to look at the Sun. “The sun, but more specifically, you.”
“M-Me?”
“That is right.” Luna moved her gaze to Ponyville. “Whoever the Nightmare was before they passed. They had a great and deeply seated hatred for you, and behind that, Ponies in general. It was what made them such a vicious spirit to begin with. One of such darkness that they were able to pull my darkest thoughts to the front of my mind and take over.” She frowned as her gaze moved from calculating, to pity. “It makes me wonder... just what happened to them, to cause such a terrible feeling to fester and grow within them.”
Celestia sighed. “I wish I knew. As much as my subjects would like to think otherwise, I’m just a mare. I’ve made plenty of mistakes. Maybe some I don’t even know about.”
Luna sighed as she turned to look at the clock in Celestia’s room. “Day Court starts again in five minutes.” She and her sister stood before sharing one last nuzzle. “Thank you for listening sister. It is good to know that you are alright.”
“You too, Luna. I know I’ve probably said this before, but its so good to have you back. I’d be more than willing to let even him roam free if that’s what it took to return you to me.”
Luna smiled as a small laugh rose from her. “I’m just glad to be back. Even the Nightmare was getting tired of kicking moon rocks into orbit.”
The two shared another chuckle and a nuzzle before Celestia trotted out the door to attend to her subjects.