//------------------------------//
// Drifting Lights 
// Story: Nascent Harmony 
// by divinearcadia 
//------------------------------//


Drifting Lights


The train came to a stop at Canterlot station with a loud hiss and a thunderous whoosh as steam billowed from the engine, obscuring every car behind it, making for an intimidating sight as from one of the cars, an absolutely massive form emerged. It had to lean down and turn to the side so it could make its way outside. A cross breeze came by and cleared away the steam, revealing a man who stood over seven feet tall, with straw blonde hair and piercing light green eyes that made a few people flinch as they met his gaze. He wore a crimson tunic that billowed loosely around him, doing little to obscure his heavily-muscled physique, and dark blue leggings with incredibly thick leather chaps. His feet rang with dull metallic noises as his hobnailed boots struck the well worn cobblestones. He checked his pockets briefly to make sure his cargo was secured, nodding once to himself as he ensured that it was safe, and walked off in search of his destination.


***


Applejack had been put in a nice suite of rooms after being brought into the castle proper and promptly left alone after a fervent request by Pinkie to wait for her or one of her Timberwolves to come get her. She had agreed, but it still didn't make her fret or worry about the strange things going on any less. After the first hour or so, she found herself stretched out on a divan, pillow over her face and half asleep as she had found nothing better to do. She was muzzily entertaining the idea of simply letting go and completely falling asleep, but a polite knock on the door snapped her out of her haze, leaving her wide awake and eager to find out what was going on.
She quickly crossed the room and opened the door to find a darkly dressed Magi man with an embroidered Timberwolf patch on his left shoulder waiting for her on the other side of the door. “Miss Applejack? If you'd care to follow me, it appears as if you have some company.”
She kept her disappointment from her face and simply nodded in response. “Lead the way,” she said without any preamble. Her guide nodded and took her through the many twists and turns of the castle and finally to what seemed like a holding area. He knocked in a hard staccato that seemed to have a rhythm to it. When the door opened, he ushered her inside without preamble to a sight that she doubted she ever would have seen had the day not been any weirder: Her hulking brother sitting at a small table with several laughing castle guards, a mug of ale in hand and a small smile cracking his usually stoic expression. Completely caught off guard, she simply asked the most obvious question. “What're you doin' here, Big Mac?”
“Thought Ah'd bring somethin' you forgot back home,” he replied while still wearing that little smile of his. He reached into his pocket and brought out a folded sheet of paper which she took after he offered it to her. She opened it up and discovered that it was the draft of her proposed trade agreement with the other large scale producers in her reqion.
“Where'd you find this?” she asked with a slight flush of embarrassment at having forgotten such an important document.
“On the table beside the front door,” he answered with a rumbling chuckle.
She had to fight from breaking out into a full on blush, managing it by the skin of her teeth. “Thanks, Mac,” she said after a lengthy sigh. “Don't know how Ah could have forgotten this, though... Thought it was tucked up with my luggage...”
“Beats me, but here Ah am,” he replied with a half smirk. “The boys here were fillin' me in on what's been goin' on the past couple hours an' it seems like they could use a bit of extra help...”
Applejack was about to reply when the door behind her seemed to explode inward with a loud crack, accompanied by a thundering, gravelly voice. “McIntosh Apple! By the tits o' the Ancients, I almost didn't believe my ears when word came down the grapevine that you'd come back to Canterlot!”
“Hey, Quak,” Mac replied without batting an eye at the dynamic entry. He looked the newcomer over and gave a chuckle when he saw that nothing had changed about the man aside from a bit more gray in his hair. The man in question was an Earthlander wearing slabs of metal strapped to his body in a rough approximation of actual armor. He was shorter than Applejack by almost half a foot, but was easily half again as wide in the shoulders. He had a feral grin on his leathery face, and his slate gray eyes glinted with excitement. “Still alive, Ah see...”
“I may not be your commanding officer anymore, but it's still Quaking Avalanche to you, bean sprout,” he rumbled mock-threateningly as he closed the distance. “Since you're here, why don't you suit up? We could use the Mountain Mover in case something pops up...”
“You don't want me shakin' the ground in full armor, not with everyone on high alert,” Mac replied with a snort of amusement. “Besides, it's not like Ah can bring mah tool inside with me unless you want ta crack the floors...”
“What's he talking about, Mac?” Applejack cut in out of confusion. She knew Mac had gone off for his mandatory four year term in the Guard years ago, but this was the first time she actually heard anything relating to his time in it.
“Who's this? Your girl?” Quaking asked with a smirk as he looked her up and down.
“Sister,” they both replied in unison, making the older man splutter and flush slightly in embarrassment.
“Sorry 'bout that,” he amended with an awkward rub to the back of his head. “Well, to answer your question, this big lug is the strongest Earthlander to ever grace the legions of Terra Asunder. Had to make all his gear custom to compensate. Can't move his tool around the storage area with no less than six full guards and a Magi to steady the unwieldy thing...” Applejack's expression grew a bit slack, which made the older man chuckle at her. “This fellow actually brought down a small mountain with a few hacks of his sledge when we were dealing with a rabid clan of diamond dogs... Never seen anything like it before or since.”
“It weren't no mountain an' you know it... More like an overgrown foothill...” Mac demurred with a half scowl.
“That thing was solid granite and over three hundred feet high.”
“Still no mountain...” he groused. “If that's what you consider a mountain, then what do you consider what we're up on right now?”
“Details, details,” Quaking deflected with a wave of his hand. “Still a mountain, only bigger.”
Mac just snorted and downed the rest of his ale before standing up, slightly hunched over to avoid hitting his head on a rafter. “You don't need me, never have an' probably never will... Ah just came up ta give Applejack somethin' she forgot an' that's it. Ah'll be takin' mah leave now... Sorry ta disappoint...”
“Hold on a second, now,” Quaking said with a fairly serious air. “It's not like I wouldn't make it worth your while, McIntosh... I wasn't lying when I said we could use your help. I'd be willing to pay you double standard rate for on duty hours and standard rate on off duty hours if you hang 'round for a while.”
Mac froze. That was a lot of bits after all, but he knew his worth and they both knew that. “Triple for on duty and time and a half for off hours. Not a bit less,” he replied in a level tone.
Quaking barked a laugh and gave him a hearty slap on his shoulder. “Atta boy! Knew you'd pull through for me!”
“Mah stuff's where Ah left it, right?”
“Not like we could move it very far, you galoot,” he replied with a snort of amusement. “Everything's still in the same warehouse you left it in.”
“Pay starts now, right?”
“Of course, ain't like I'm gonna short change someone who could pound half my troops into the ground without breaking a sweat,” he replied with a scoff. “Now go get suited up and come find me for placement when you're ready.” Mac just nodded and moved to leave without looking at anyone in particular. After he'd left, Applejack just looked at the gruff commander with a suitably perplexed expression. She knew her brother had spent his time in the Guard, but she'd had absolutely no idea about how powerful he was. He didn't talk a whole lot about his time in the ranks, but it seemed as though his time with them had given him something he couldn't easily deny if they needed help. “Sorry 'bout pulling your brother back into the ranks an' all, Miss Applejack, but it's like I said. I could really use his help.”
“Ah understand,” she replied with an understanding smile after a few seconds to register that he was talking to her. “So he's really that strong?”
“Yep,” Quaking replied immediately without a moment's hesitation. “Found a fault in the mountain and dropped it in three blows with no casualties to our troops. A man like that shows up only once a generation and I'm real glad he's here when I need him most...”
“He's always been reliable like that,” Applejack said pridefully, feeling herself swell in behalf of her modest brother.
“That he has,” Quaking agreed. “Anyway, I've got a lot on my plate and need to get going. Pleasure meeting the Mountain Mover's sister. Take care and don't get caught in a patch of quicksand. Can't be too sure in situations like this. Makes people greedy and crazy when they think there's a bit to be earned in all the chaos...”
“Ah'll be careful,” she replied with a warm smile. “Thanks for lookin' after my brother, though.”
“He's done more lookin' after others than I've done lookin' after him... He's a good man.” He paused to give her a grateful smile. “Glad to call him one of mine...”
Applejack could only smile warmly and nod as she turned to leave, following her escort back to the room she had been put in by Pinkie.


***


“Why isn't there anything involving snow in the middle of summer in any of these books?!” Twilight half shouted out in exasperation nearly two hours after she had started her research with the others. She draped herself over her desk and let out a defeated sigh. “I know there was something like this in one of the books on ancient lore I'd read before...”
“Was it recent?” Star asked as she came closer to the frustrated woman.
“No...” she replied with a little sigh. “But it's so close to something I remember that it's infuriating how close I am to an answer yet can't find it...”
“Don't worry, Twilight,” she assured confidently. “I'm sure it will come to you. After all, you're one of the foremost researchers of the shattered Alicorn civilization alive today. Plus from what Star Swirl says, you've made more progress than any other five academics aside from him in the past five years...”
“What did you say?” she asked in a half whisper as she slowly sat back up.
“What? About being a notable researcher of the lost Alicorns-”
“Yes! That! Exactly that! That's where I remember snow in summer coming from!” She stood up quickly enough from her seat that her chair skidded back a couple feet as she ran off in search of the exact tome she was searching for. Star followed after her easily enough through the twists and turns of the stacks and finally came to a stop in front of a small shelf of books bound in snow white vellum and lettered in delicate gold leaf. Twilight almost fearfully reached up to the first volume in the series and gently took it from the shelf. “If this is what I think it is, then this may be the end...”
“The end of what?” Star asked with a sinking feeling of dread.
“The end of everything...” Twilight turned to look Star directly in the eye. “Because the Cataclysm has returned...”