"All aboard!" shouted the conductor of the Friendship Express.
It was a formality, more than anything. The princess neglected to mention that she had temporarily suspended all train access to Ponyville since the incident at the farmhouse. The lack of trust bothered Pinkie - especially in light of their recent conversation - but she was beyond anger, and Celestia's caution was understandable.
However, she had made an exception for six ponies in particular: Pinkie, Twilight, and Fluttershy boarded the train, each accompanied by one of Canterlot's royal guard as per Princess Celestia's mandate. As was her usual routine for meeting new ponies, Pinkie made it a point to learn each of their names, and at least one thing about them.
Fluttershy was trusted into the care of Stormy - a tall and muscular unicorn from Trottingham who, despite his intimidating outward appearance, spoke gently and walked softly.
Twilight's guardian was Sentinel Spark - another pegasus who liked to go by Sparky or Sentinel. His normal duties were to tend to the ancient artifacts held in Canterlot Keep, and ensure they remained locked away at all times. Pinkie learned that he had requested this assignment to escape the boredom of his normal job.
Finally, Pinkie herself was to be escorted by Night Rider - another pegasus. Although slight of frame, Night Rider was responsible for manning the palace gate from time to time - a job which required significant brute strength. He was a deathly serious pony, and not much fun at all to be around.
Why did I get the boring one? Pinkie wondered impatiently. "Psst. Twilight," she whispered. "Why can't you just teleport us?"
"There's too many of us to teleport so far, Pinkie. And I'm going to need to save my strength for... whatever we find there."
Pinkie nodded reluctantly. Shrugging, she resolved to make her guardian smile at least once before they reached Ponyville.
They traveled in a luxurious passenger car, lined on both sides with down feather cushions built into laquered wooden frames. Small chandeliers hung from the roof, spreading ample light when all of the ornate privacy curtains had been drawn. Pinkie was glad for the accomodations, because there were no other cars attached to the train. They had all been left behind to increase the speed with which they could reach Ponyville.
For the first several minutes of their journey, no pony dared to speak. There was an unspoken sense that they were not only heading into the unknown - they were heading into battle. Well, Pinkie wasn't going to have it! She'd grown tired of fear. If she was heading to her doom, she would live her last moments like she'd always had.
"Come on, everypony! Why don't we sing a song or something? I know a few good-"
"-Pinkie..." Twilight cautioned. "Not now."
"Okay..." she sighed before laying back down on her cushion.
Her commitment to silence lasted all of five minutes.
"So, Nighty. Where are you from?"
Her guardian spoke up. "Don't call me 'Nighty.' They called me that all through flight academy. I hated it."
Pinkie cocked her head. "Why?"
"Because 'Nighty Wighty, the Wittle Fwighty' is not a dignified chant for a pegasus of Cloudsdale."
Pinkie chuckled instinctively. "'Nighty Wighty'!? What kind of silly name is that!?"
Night Rider sighed. "They were making fun of my stature. I was a little smaller than most of my classmates. It was not appreciated."
"Oh, okay..." she snickered. "'Nighty Wighty'"
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me that."
Pinkie saluted him in a mock fashion. "Sir, yes sir, sir!" she teased, adopting his gruff timbre.
"Pinkie! Stop teasing him," Twilight tossed playfully from across the carriage. "He's gonna be looking out for you when we get to Ponyville. Don't want to make him mad!"
"Aw, she's never gonna make him mad!" laughed Sentinel. "I've never seen a cooler head in all of my days on the Guard."
Stormy cleared his throat. "And what does that mean about me, Sparky?"
"It means I've seen you in training. I know you think you never get angry, but the way you tackle those straw dummies on the O-course doesn't have me fooled."
Pinkie watched Stormy blush as Fluttershy patted him gently on the shoulders. "I promise I won't get in so much trouble that you have to tackle anyone, mister."
That made everypony in the car smile a little - even serious Night Rider. Pinkie may not have been the one to make him do it, but it was close enough for her.
After sharing a lighthearted chuckle, Sentinel cleared his throat. "Well, little lady. If the time for action comes, he won't need to tackle. You are traveling in the company of one of the most accomplished casters of immobilization and pacification spells in the Canterlot Royal Guard."
"You don't need to build me up like that," countered Stormy. "I'm decent!"
"Don't be so modest! I've seen him stop a raging centaur before - dead in his tracks. Didn't even break a sweat!"
Twilight tapped Stormy on the shoulder. "Do we even know if that will work on Malice? I tried to cast a similar spell when he brought that Ursa Major to Ponyville, and it didn't seem to have any effect."
Stormy nodded. "That's why we have these," he explained, extending his wing out slowly and flexing it upward to show the layer of sharp, metal ridges hugging the feathers from underneath. "Wing blades: very sharp, and very precise. They're light weight, don't interfere with your flying, and they've got a better reach than anything you don't have to shoot or cast.
"Oh, um... Do you really think that will be necessary?" Fluttershy asked. "I really hope we don't need to, um... hurt anypony."
"Yeah," agreed Night Rider, "but we don't exactly know what we're gonna run up against out there. It's better to be safe than sorry. Even Princess Celestia understood as much when she told us to protect you at all costs."
Pinkie nodded silently in agreement, though the prospect of violence still sat poorly in the pit of her stomach. With that, she resolved to push it from her mind and relax for the remainder of the journey. For all she knew, it might be the last moment of peace she'd ever have.
***
The last hour or so of transit to Ponyville passed quickly, as the three mares got to know their stallion companions and vice versa. Sentinel Spark was definitely the talkative one, which made Pinkie wish she could switch guards.
He regaled them with stories of working for Princess Celestia, dwelling particularly on her occasionally forgetful nature. Other times he spoke of the artifacts which he tended: An empty book which wrote back to any pony who tried to write in it; a mirror portal to another world; a crystal chalice that turned water into flame. Pinkie wondered what any of them could actually be useful for.
Eventually, the buildup of rapport had to end. A hush fell over the car as the train pulled into Ponyville station. Pinkie wondered what would happen next: Would an angry mob burst down the door and drag them away? Would Rarity greet them and reveal that her entire letter to the princess was a sham?
It turned out that the conductor would open the doors to absolutely no fanfare whatsoever. The cool autumn air blew into the car, carrying with it little bits of crumpled up paper, but other than that nothing seemed amiss.
"Last stop! Welcome to Ponyville!"
The ponies didn't have any things to collect. Everything they needed was waiting for them back at Canterlot. However, as Pinkie stepped out of the car she found herself wishing she'd brought something warm to wear. An unnatural chill nipped at her hooves and muzzle, and her eyes watered against the dry wind.
Looking around, she could see that the platform was abandoned but for more crumpled up leaflets. She reasoned that perhaps that was just a consequence of the train being down for so long, but it still sent a chill down her spine which had nothing to do with the temperature.
"Let's go, girls," Twilight urged.
"Do... Do you see anyone?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
"No... It's strange."
Pinkie had been tucking her chin down for warmth, but she braved the cold for a moment to sneak a peek at the town she'd been missing for months. The buildings were all but husks: some half built, others barely extending upward from the ground. Very few structures seemed complete.
But what struck Pinkie the most was how empty the streets were. From the platform, extending all the way to the nearest bend in the road two blocks away. Perhaps the activity would be thicker near the town square, but Pinkie could never recall a time when even the outskirts were this lifeless.
Slowly trotting down the road, Pinkie could not shake the feeling that she was being watched. Their guards trailing behind them had likewise grown dead silent in the strange atmosphere, though looking back Pinkie could see that they studied their surroundings closely.
Tents set up within the footprints of each abandoned building swayed silently. Looking at them, Pinkie wondered if anyone was home. When they crossed one with a light faintly glowing inside, they stopped to take note.
Pinkie wanted to know what they'd do next, but Twilight seemed to already have an idea in mind. "Hello!?" she called. "Um... We see your light on. It's okay to come out!"
A violet mare crawled out through the tent flaps. Her mane was disheveled and her eyes bloodshot, as though she had not had a proper night's sleep for days. Pinkie barely recognized her, but for her cutie mark: three smiling flowers. "Ch-Cheerilee?"
"What do you want?" She asked nervously.
"We heard some disturbing news about Ponyville," Twilight explained. "We were hoping you could maybe tell us what's going on here?"
"I... I'm not sure what you mean," Cheerilee stammered. "Everything's fine. Could you please... please leave me alone?"
Before anypony could respond, she retreated back into her tent and siwftly zipped the flaps shut.
"Well. That was... weird," Twilight noted.
"Yeah..." agreed Night Rider. "Let's keep moving. See if we can find somepony a little more helpful."
The encounter with Cheerilee left a lump in Pinkie's throat. Why didn't she recognize me? she wondered. Cheerilee had sounded so distressed, as though danger would be coming for her at any moment. It isn't as though Pinkie and her friends looked overly intimidating either. Perhaps their armored entourage had spooked her.
Checking around nervously as she walked with the group, Pinkie saw that many of the tents occupying the unfinished buildings looked as though they were still lived in. That raised the question of why more ponies weren't out and about.
It wasn't until they were a few blocks from the town square that they encountered a free-roaming resident. It was Caramel, who Pinkie remembered from that night she had gone to the Grand Galloping Gala - him and his friend Lucky Clover had pulled the carriage for them. Back then he had seemed to happy and eager to please, but now he wandered aimlessly, stopping only to kick at a wadded up ball of paper on the ground.
His ears propped up when he saw the party approaching, but the unchanging expression on his face betrayed a complete indifference towards them. "Yes?" he asked glumly. "What do you want?"
Twlight opened her mouth to speak, but Fluttershy gave her a gentle nudge as though to suggest that it would be better if she tried this time. "Um... We were hoping that you could, uh... Tell us where everypony's gone to?"
"You're very funny, miss," he grumbled. "Only, I'm not laughing."
"No, honestly." Fluttershy implored. "We don't know. We've been, um... away."
"Eh," Caramel shrugged. "Ponies have been leaving town, or so they've been saying. A week ago these streets were packed, but now-" He stopped speaking so abruptly, that Pinkie had to look back to make sure nothing had happened to him. Caramel had slumped, his eyes scanning every which way as though he were expecting trouble to come from any direction.
Fluttershy seemed unaware of this drastic shift. "So... You don't know where?"
"No!" he cried, his voice cracking with fear. "I don't know, now please... Don't follow me!"
Caramel ran off down the street in the direction they'd just come from. When he was gone, Twilight said, "okay, that's the second time we've been brushed off like that. Malice is definitely here, so we'd better not let our guard down."
"We won't let you down either," Sentinel joked.
"Really?" commented Night Rider.
"What? I'm just trying to lighten the mood."
"I don't think that's possible," noted Stormy.
More wayward pieces of paper blew past on a gust of wind that emanated from the town center. "Let's move on to City Hall," Twilight suggested. "Surely we can find some answers from the mayor."
As they pressed onward, more residents came out of the woodwork. They all seemed to shamble about without a destination or a purpose, but none addressed the group as they passed.
Things didn't improve at the town square either. City Hall stood half-finished - its bottom levels looking almost as Pinkie had remembered it. The upper half, however, was an exposed mess of wooden trusses, leftover construction equipment, and dangling plastic sheets.
Four or five ponies were gathered at the base of the steps leading to the boarded-up doorway. Before them stood a bulletin board which must have been recently constructed in a hurry, judging by its skew and the loosely packed dirt around its base keeping it upright.
A low murmer rose from the second party, though it ceased as Twilight and her company approached. All at once, the ponies turned to face them. It was odd, but Pinkie didn't recognize them - they must have been new to town. Normally that would excite her, but not today; now she wasn't sure there was anyone left in ponyville who could be trusted.
"Hi there," she said nervously. "D-Do you know where we can find the mayor?"
The ponies all looked at each other warily, conversing inaudibly for a few moments. Without a word to Pinkie or her friends, they dispersed casually.
"Hey! Wait! We just wanted to-"
"-It's no use, Pinkie," Twilight sighed. "Nopony here is gonna tell us anything about what's going on."
"Uh, girls?" Fluttershy asked quietly.
"It doesn't look like City Hall is open, so we have to find out where the town's being run from."
Fluttershy offered her own idea. "Perhaps we should check the board for-"
"-But where could that be?" Pinkie asked. "It doesn't look like anything is still standing!"
"Not true, Pinkie. Somehow, the library survived the Ursa Major attack - at least mostly," Twilight noted. "The mayor could be there, since I never actually owned it. I only rented out a room on the second floor, actually."
Fluttershy let out something that sounded like a cross between a gulp and a squeak. "Oh, no... It says here that the mayor-"
"-Um, Twilight. Couldn't we check that board over there? It'd probably say."
"Oh... Yeah," Twilight agreed as she wandered over to stand next to Fluttershy. "I should have thought of that, first. Good idea, Pinkie!"
Fluttershy's posture sunk a little bit. "Um. Actually, I... Oh, nevermind."
"Let's see... It says- Wait..." Twilight scratched her head. "These are all the same thing."
Pinkie didn't quite understand. "What?" She joined her friends at the board, every square inch of which was hidden by one or more sheets. Pinkie singled out one to read aloud:
"'Missing! Please notify if found. Green Jewel.' I... I know who this is..." Pinkie fought to surpress a frightened whimper before continuing heavily. "'Height: 43 inches. Coat: Green. Mane: Blue. Mark: Two Cut Diamond Gems, Blue. Last seen'-" Pinkie choked before she could finish. Her legs were trembling, and her throat suddenly felt so dry that it pained her just to draw breath.
Green Jewel wasn't the only pony with a flyer, either. There were others - countless others: Sunset Bliss, Sassaflash, Goldengrape, Granny Smith, Comet Tail, Nurse Redheart, and many, many more. Twilight gasped. "It... It say here that the mayor is missing, too!"
"Oh no... What are we going to do now?" Pinkie wondered.
Before anyone could answer, a gust of wind blew by, rustling all of the papers where they hung. Its chill pierced through Pinkie's coat, and down to her very core. A few of the pages ripped from their staples and trekked across the breeze to join the rest of them strewn across Ponyville.
"By Celestia..." Sentinel gasped. "The situation here is worse than I thought it'd be."
"We have to find Rarity," commanded Twilight. "She said she didn't feel safe here, and now I see why."
Fluttershy interjected. "But... Where will we find her? Didn't her house get destroyed?"
Twilight nodded. "But I think I know where she would have gone to..."
***
Although the Golden Oak Library still stood, it had not been completely spared in the attack. The hollowed out trunk that contained the library itself was intact, but several of the upper branches, including the one that contained Twilight's observatory, had been forcibly removed leaving behind jagged protrusions. At the tree's base sat large piles of splintery rubble, peppered with dead leaves that had fallen with the changing seasons.
Despite the bright sun glowing overhead, the curtains inside were drawn. Whoever was inside - be it Rarity or somepony else - they did not want to be discovered. In truth, none of them knew what would be waiting inside, and for that reason Pinkie and Fluttershy stood behind the poised Canterlot guardsponies as Twilight rapped her hoof against the door.
There was no response.
"Hello!?" Twilight called. "Rarity!?"
"Who is it!?" shouted back a muffled voice from the other side of the door. It clearly wasn't Rarity's - It sounded as though it belonged to a stallion.
"Hey. That sounds a little like Day Break," Sentinel noted. "She may be in there."
"Day Break?" Twilight asked pleasantly. "Is that you?"
"Who wants to know!?"
"We're friends of Rarity's! Can you let us in?"
"I don't know you!"
"I know that... But she'll know us. Can you please unlock the door and let us in?"
Silence. For several seconds, Pinkie wondered if their time in Ponyville was about to be cut short by a dead end. What if it wasn't Day Break? What if Rarity wasn't in there? Would they find her? Would her flyer appear on the bulletin board as well?
Her worries were put to rest when a stratching sound indicated the door being unlocked. There were hoofsteps on the other side of the door that faded into the distance. After a few more seconds, Twilight decided to try the door handle.
The library was dark on the inside. In addition to the drawn curtains, all of the lights inside had been extinguished. Pinkie could see a thin layer of dust forming on the oaken floor, the tops of the books, the tables, and any other flat surface.
The room was so dim that she had taken several steps into the central chamber before she witnessed the light from the open doorway glinting off an exposed blade. It was held by a mid-sized earth pony of golden complexion. He wore the same armor as the pegasi that came with them from Canterlot, but for some reason he did not lower his guard as they approached.
"Don't come any closer!" he hissed.
"Take it easy, Day Break," urged Stormy. "You know who we are."
"Trust no one..." Day Break warned. "That's what the princess herself said! How can I be sure it's really you?"
Sentinel Spark raised his forelegs as a gesture of good will. "Dude! Would we be calmly walking in here like this if we wanted to hurt you?"
"My life is unimportant here! My mission is to protect Rarity. I will do that by any means, if I have to." Day Break wore gauntlets with prongs at the end; Pinkie could see that they worked to pin the handle of his shortsword against the bottom of his hoof.
The sword had been pointed directly at them, but in one fluid motion he brought its blade over to his other side, sheathing it in a holster that hung against his flank. "If you try to hurt her, I will be forced to take this out again."
"I promise you, that's not going to happen," insisted Twilight. "So where is Rarity, anyway?"
"I'm up here!" rang out her voice from somewhere upstairs.
"Would you like for me to accompany them up?" Day Break offered.
"Oh, um... No... That's okay! You can, um... keep guarding the front door or something!" Day Break did not think twice, but to Pinkie's ear it sounded as though Rarity were worried about something dire.
"As you wish!" He turned his attention to Twilight and her company. "Remember. I won't be far," he growled.