Captain Applejack Harkness

by Inthretis

Lots of Setup

After the intense hugging session, the three mares released themselves from each other’s tight grip. The sun had fully risen above the horizon, shining brightly and completely lighting Cheerilee’s living room.

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak, “So even though I’m probably gonna be fine with all of this craziness, doesn’t mean I’m not gonna ask questions. Something tells me the two of you have been up to some pretty insane stuff.”

Cheerilee shrugged, “I guess it depends on your perspective. Technically we have, but certain members of the guard deal with similar situations. Not only that, but ever since Nightmare Moon, most of the extraterrestrials in the region have stayed,” she brought up her two front hooves to make air quotes, “‘On The Down Low’.”

Squinting her eyes, Rainbow Dash brought up her front hooves and mimicked Cheerilee’s motions. She cocked her head with confusion until Cheerilee explained, “It’s an expression foals use.”

“... Okay. Next question, how and why is Gilda involved in this mess?” the pegasus asked.

Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash before answering, “Basically, Gilda’s a terrorist from GILDA, the Germaneian Incognito Liberty or Die Alliance.”

“Wait, so she’s Gilda from GILDA?” Rainbow Dash blinked, “That’s… redundant.”

“I actually thought it was a codename. Like somepony using ‘Agent Smith’ or something similar,” Cheerilee remarked.

“So is it her name?” Rainbow Dash began pondering. It was a clear sign that the entire situation was becoming deeply convoluted.

“Ah don’t rightly know, the file on her only goes back twelve years, from when she first moved to Equestria. All it says is that she’s the one hundred and seventeenth member of the group,” Applejack thought before finishing, “You should just ask her yerself when ya get the chance.”

“And when can I meet her?” Rainbow crossed her front her hooves together.

Applejack’s eyes shifted slightly, “Um, whenever she stops fightin’ aliens in Canterlot and can avoid the guard long enough to hold a conversation without being tackled to the ground.”

“She wasn’t worrying about being arrested back when she visited Ponyville,” Rainbow replied.

“Her identity may have gotten leaked to the guard a while back.”

“Can’t I just meet her in secret?”

“Like ah said, when she stops fightin’ aliens in Canterlot.”

Rainbow Dash sighed before replying, “Let’s move on to a different topic.”

Cheerilee cleared her throat and spoke up, “Actually, now is probably the best time to talk about that ‘employer’ Strongheart is working for.”

“Ah got nothin’. She could be in league with any number of enemies ah’ve made over the past… ” Applejack thought back while rubbing her chin, “Three hundred years. More than a dozen.”

“What kind of enemies? Like pirates?” Rainbow Dash leaned in closer.

“Lessee: Celestia, the Equestrian military in general, the South Zebrican Nationalist Party, Filly Manger, every flutterpony ever, the Sabre, vampires, vamponies, werewolves, wereponies, Cyberponies, Daleks, Sycorax, some Time Agents, and the Ponynesian government,” Applejack continued to rub her chin, “There aren’t that many pirates anymore. Do assassins count?”

“Why would you be an enemy of assassins?” Cheerilee asked incredulously.

“They find it really irritatin’ when their enemy can’t die. Ah also may have messed around with a few of their jobs,” Applejack shook her head, “Assassins and most aliens wouldn’t be involved in this. It don’t fit their motivation. Somethin’ ta do with destiny and history.”

“Actually, I’d like to know what the hay you’re even doing with history,” Rainbow Dash spoke, “I mean, what exactly does ‘fighting destiny’ even mean?”

Applejack looked directly Rainbow Dash and answered, “Ta put it simply: ah’m changin’ the course of history.”

“Change the course of… Wait, are you saying you are gonna wipe out what’s gonna happen?!” Rainbow Dash blurted.

“How in Tartarus did ya get that?” Applejack responded.

“This is just like those movies! You’re gonna wipe off everything that’s already gonna happen and replace it with something else!”

“Movies?” Applejack groaned before putting her hoof to her eyebrows, “Okay, what reason would make you think that movies would make good info on temporal mechanics?”

Rainbow Dash huffed, “Well I don’t know, how about the place that makes them is called Applewood? I bet you’ve got roots all over the place, am I right? And you’re gonna kill all the ponies who haven’t even existed yet!”

“Why you-” Applejack stopped and thought carefully about the best way to explain, “Listen. In mah time, the name ‘Celestia’ refers to the tyrant who’s conquered entire nations in the span of months. She went from the kind and loving pony she is now to a ruthless monster sometime in the next century.

“Ah grew up there. And as the years dragged on, things got worse and worse. Minotaurs were extinct, every zebra and griffon was either in chains or workin’ in suicide missions. Entire cities were ravaged in the war. Princess Luna launched super dragons to burn Equestria. By the time the nukes started dropping, there weren’t much left to destroy.

“You thought eternal night was bad? Ya’ll haven’t seen nothin’. Ya think this is insane? Tell that to the dead. Are ya sayin’ that ya know millions are gonna die if ya do nothin’, and then yer still gonna do nothin’?”

“This is different! How do you know the change will be better? You don’t! Not even counting that, you’re still preventing millions of ponies from ever being born! Haven’t you ever seen A Flash of Lightning? One small difference is going to change everything!” Rainbow Dash flailed her hooves into the air.

“Heh heh,” Applejack smirked, holding back laughter before breaking out in guffaws, “Hah! Hah!” Applejack gasped for air, snorting as she began to clutch her chest.

“Um, I’m confused,” Rainbow admitted, “What’s going on? This is a serious topic.”

Applejack blinked back tears while gasping for air, “Heh. Hah! I-it’s. Pfft! Hah!”

Cheerilee grinned, biting back the urge to laugh as well, “Rainbow Dash, that was a terrible movie.”

“Guys? Can’t we y’know, take this seriously?” Rainbow started, before Applejack stopped her.

“Don’t y’all worry. Ah’m pretty well versed in temporal mechanics and the like. If mah calculations are correct, and ah did check ’em, everything'll be fine. Nobody’s gettin’ erased, ah’ll avoid most of the deaths, and lives will stay where they always were,” Applejack explain assuredly.

“So… You do math?” Rainbow Dash blinked.

“In the future, everyone does math. Ya can’t pilot a spaceship or anything else cool if ya don’t.”

“What a world that would be,” Cheerilee grinned, “A world where foals are excited to learn math because it can be used to do anything! It must have been a good time to be a teacher.”

“If yer fine with pro-Empire propaganda and brainwashin’ foals,” Applejack retorted.

“Teachers never catch a break, do they?” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings slightly while raising an eyebrow.

Cheerilee sighed while Applejack snorted.

“So how are you gonna deal with this employer anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Same thing we always do. Stop minor alien invasions, monitor the rift, and poke monsters with a really big stick,” Cheerilee replied.

Applejack pondered for a moment before adding, “You know, ah think we should do something about Strongheart. Send a message. Something exciting.”

Cheerilee started to ask, “Is it going to be normal or extraterrestrial-”

“It’s gonna have aliens and us savin’ the day!” Applejack pumped her hoof into the air, “And maybe some life-savin’ ta boot, it’s a win-win!”

Cheerilee groaned before telling Rainbow, “It’s either going to be a disaster, or I will never hear the end of it.”

“Is it going to be fun?” Rainbow Dash replied with a smirk.

Cheerilee facehoofed, “Probably.”

“... That’s when this here appeared,” Applejack motioned towards her cutie mark, “Ah’ve been workin’ on the farm ever since.”

As she finished telling her story to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, several bunnies holding apples appeared. Applejack noticed them and began chasing, “There they are! Get back here ya thievin’ varmints!”

“Aw, that was such a sweet story!” Sweetie Belle said to Apple Bloom.

“Sweet? Try sappy,” Scootaloo made a fake gagging sound. Besides, that story’s obviously a lie. Element of Honesty, lying to our faces. “Come on! We’ve got to find Rainbow Dash and hear the cool way to get a cutie mark.” And hear something truthful.

After seeing multiple “cool-but-not-as-cool-as-Rainbow-Dash” ponies, several group hugs, and a horribly sappy song, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were finally alone again in Sugarcube Corner. Rainbow Dash had just finished helping Pinkie Pie put away some of her party supplies and was now able to see the little orange filly.

Rainbow Dash awkwardly stumbled in, several pieces of confetti stuck to her body. At least one long spiral-shaped streamer was tangled in her mane. She smiled at Scootaloo before the filly asked, “So, what happened with Applejack?”

Rainbow Dash’s face became neutral as she spoke, “Listen Scoots,” Rainbow began rubbing the back of her head, “I talked to AJ about it- ”

“You did what!?” Scootaloo shrieked before covering her mouth, “You did what?” she repeated in a hushed whisper.

“”It’s okay. She told me everything,” Rainbow tried to reassure her, “I don’t completely understand, but I know you can trust her. She’s still the same Applejack she always was. Y’know, stubborn, likes apples, cares about Apple Bloom.”

“But she’s dangerous! Every time I see her, this feeling in the back of my head gets worse! It’s like looking at a creepy ponnequin, except knowing it could turn alive and attack you!”

“Scootaloo, AJ is a pony, and I am not letting you say otherwise!” Rainbow Dash rose into the air and crossed her front hooves together.

“No, I’m saying she’s dangerous, like she’s messing with something really, really important. Not only that, but she’s lying. She’s lying about her past, yet she’s the Element of Honesty. How can you trust somepony like that?”

The elder pegasus sighed before returning to the ground, “She told me everything, Scoots. Her past, her plans, everything. I trust her. And if you trust me, then at least try to give her the benefit of the doubt.”

Give her a chance. She’s dangerous. Rainbow Dash trusts her. She’s dangerous. But Rainbow- “Okay. I’ll try,” Scootaloo hesitated before turning around to leave through the door.

As the filly exited, Rainbow Dash yelled, “Don’t worry! I’ll keep an eye on her for you!”

Applejack, Cheerilee, and Rainbow Dash were standing at the edge of Tartarus. Or, more accurately, at an area where the realm of Tartarus leaked into their current space-time location. It differed from the Gate of Tartarus, as the place they were at was an empty field. There was also no giant three-headed dog.

Near the field was a large crater, dug up several years ago in search of an ancient alien artifact before it was declared to be a complete hoax. Obviously, since the location was above a rift in the space-time continuum leading to Tartarus, it wasn’t completely false. The diggers just got the time wrong.

The three mares, each decked out in camouflage colors, pith helmets, a cooler full of snacks, and binoculars, were quietly waiting for something cool to happen.

“How much longer?” Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack.

“The note doesn’t say, it’s only got the date,” Applejack whispered back.

“Can you at least pass over some chips?” Rainbow asked.

Applejack reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a bag of dried apple chips, then opened the bag very slowly so as to minimize the noise. She then handed it over, “Here, but eat it real quiet-like.”

Rainbow Dash took the bag and slowly crunched down on a single apple wafer, “Sweet.”

“Applejack.”

“Yeah Cheers?”

“What was the date the note said?”

“Ah got it right here, it says… the 15th.”

“... ”

“Eh heh. Oops.”

“You’re absolutely sure this is the right day?” Cheerilee asked as the three mares walked to their stakeout point.

“Yes! For the last time, ah checked it twice this mornin’!” Applejack responded.

“Are you sure? Because waiting to fight monsters is about as uncool as waiting in line to renew a weather license,” Rainbow Dash added.

Applejack grumbled, “Fine, take the note and read it for yerselves,” she stopped and reached into her bag for the piece of paper with incredibly sensitive information written on it. Eventually, after two minutes of blindly feeling for the paper, she pulled it out and showed both of her compatriots.

“AJ, it says ‘18’ on it,” Rainbow responded.

“No it doesn’t.”

“Applejack, I’m a schoolteacher. It may be messy, but I am absolutely sure it says ‘April 18’ there,” Cheerilee asserted.

“Well shoot, what are we gonna do now?”

“I swear, if we don’t fight a monster today, I’m gonna kick something,” Rainbow Dash huffed as the three mares hid behind a bush. In front of them was the same crater as last time, still completely inert.

“Don’t worry, today is definitely the day. Ah even used a microscope to be sure,” Applejack replied.

“Did you focus it correctly?” Cheerilee piped up.

“Yes Cheers, I remembered. Ah even asked Big Mac about it, so it’s absolutely, positively, corn-shuckingly right.”

“Okay, but we are fighting monsters, right?” Rainbow Dash pestered again.

“Eeyup, complete monsters. They rip apart their hapless victim and sell his body as food. Definitely monsters.”

Cheerilee the spoke up, “Unfortunately, we can’t actually stop it today, but at the very least we can beat up one of the perpetrators and get some information out of them.”

“Well that sounds kinda lame,” Rainbow Dash replied, “That’s it? No robot ponies, flying salt shakers, or spaceships? We’re fighting at least one alien right?”

Applejack took out her binoculars and peered in, hoping to find the telltale signs of a rip in the space-time continuum. She eventually replied, “Fighting? No. We’re saving one.”

“Are we saving it from an even bigger alien?”

Right before Applejack was able to reply, a crackling noise manifested. At the same time, a bright light revealed a dark circle fifteen feet in diameter. Soon, a black iron carriage came out, being pulled an ordinary looking yellow earth pony stallion.

The three mares immediately ducked out of his line of sight. Applejack and Cheerilee began making complicated hoof gestures at each other. To Rainbow Dash, it appeared to be the most complicated hoofshake ever devised.

After thirty seconds, during which a silent argument over battle strategy occurred, the two earth ponies nodded in agreement. Cheerilee pulled out a very large dart gun out of her saddlebags, while Applejack jumped into the air.

She immediately charged at the stallion, screaming at the top of her lungs. Rainbow Dash could only gape at her, as the stallion pulled out a large weapon filled with arrows.

Thwip!

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

“AJ! AJ! Applejack! Wake up!” Applejack opened her eyes to see a familiar pegasus over her body.

Rainbow Dash saw Applejack’s opened eyes and immediately got off her. The pegasus looked a bit rough, her mane messier than usual, with dirt and grass stuck inside. She breathing heavily, still coming to terms with what had happened.

Cheerilee was next to Rainbow, moving a pile of broken arrows into her bag. Her hooves were caked with dried blood.

Squinting her eyes, Applejack groaned as she sat up onto her haunches, her head dizzy with the rapid loss of blood and regeneration of multiple internal organs. She finally croaked out, “Ah’m fine, Dash. Just a little woozy, s’all. I do want to know where he got a crossbow with that many arrows.”

Applejack got up and immediately stumbled. She then grumbled, “And how did he not miss even once?

Rainbow Dash smiled before replying, “I’m surprised Cheerilee got him in one shot.”

“The darts are filled with a lot of anesthesia. One hit, and yer down.”

Rainbow Dash awkwardly turned to Cheerilee, who was still cleaning up the mess around them. She then looked at the unconscious perpetrator, who had since collected a small pool of his drool. The black carriage stood where it was left, behind the stallion.

Applejack got onto her legs and walked to the carriage. She opened the back door after picking the lock. Which took at least ten minutes because it was several smaller locks attached to each other.

When she finally pulled the iron door back to see inside, Rainbow Dash rushed to look as well. What she saw was utterly mundane.

Several large barrels, filled to the brim with normal-looking grain.

Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes a little bit before sticking her hoof into one of the barrels, “Are they empty? Huh, my hoof feels weird.”

She looked down to see that her hoof had shrunken down to a tenth of its size the very moment it crossed the rim of the barrel.

“Uh, um, uh, Applejack?!” she frantically pulled her limb out of the barrel, breathing a sigh of relief when it returned to normal.

Applejack looked at the barrels before she spoke, “A compression field of some kind. Probably early model,” she looked to the side of the barrel and poked at a small control panel.

“Eeyup, early thirty-seventh century, although it could be refurbished. Only works on live organisms,” she began fiddling with the buttons on the panel.

“Live? But this is dry grain,” Rainbow Dash looked into a barrel.

“Ah told you Rainbow, today we’re rescuing an alien from monsters. Yer lookin’ at the alien.”

“This?! Alien?!” Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at the grain.

“Think about it. The stuff looks normal size, but you know it’s shrunken down. So it’s actually much bigger than ya think. At least ten times bigger,” Applejack put her ear close to the barrel and whispered, “Listen.”

Rainbow Dash frowned before doing so, placing her ear at the edge of the barrel. It was faint, but she heard it. It sounded like a soft beating sound.

“That’s its heart beating. It’s still alive.”

“But, it’s in pieces.”

“Yeah. And there’s still more of it being taken apart right now, but we can’t stop it. Not yet. We can’t find them.”

“So what now?” Rainbow Dash asked as the two got out of the carriage.

“We call in the Royal Guard. I’ve got a contact in there who’ll probably send this monster ta prison fer smugglin’,” she gestured at the unconscious stallion.

“And then what?”

“We wait, hoping the next one has more clues on him.”

Cheerilee trotted up to the duo and said, “Nothing on him. Might as well send him up to Canterlot. The carriage puller goes to the guard, while the carriage goes to our friends downtown.”

“Friends?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Gilda, among others, up in Canterlot. We’ve got a whole group up there workin’ on this case,” Applejack laid back next to the carriage.

“Maybe I can help you guys next time?”

“If we need ya. Ah sincerely hope we don’t,” Applejack thought back to her plan. Stopping one small shipment isn’t a huge enough message to whoever is employing Strongheart, but maybe I can do something bigger.

It was shortly after watching a once-in-a-century meteor shower, and all of the ponies began leaving to return to their homes. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were walking together, as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo ran in front of them.

“You gotta admit, that meteor show was awesome!” Rainbow Dash jumped up and began hovering in the air.

“Yeah, but ah can’t help but feel the last one was better,” Applejack replied.

“Yeah, don’t know about that, but this one looked really good,” Rainbow Dash was still getting used to the fact that one of her best friends was secretly immortal. Even after what happened a few days ago, it was still hard to believe.

After a few moments of random conversation, the two parted. Applejack took Apple Bloom and they both headed back towards the farm. That left Rainbow Dash alone with Scootaloo, who was staring up at the sky.

“Scoots, where’s your mom?”

Scootaloo turned back and looked at Rainbow Dash, “Huh? Oh, she’s either up there,” she pointed her hoof towards the moon, “or she’s at home sleeping off work.”

Scootaloo shrugged, “I could be wrong about both.”

Rainbow Dash was also not used to her number one fan saying increasingly odd statements. She really should ask somepony about that.

“Anyways, Scoots. You know how I said I was going to keep an eye on Applejack? Yeah, there’s no need.”

Scootaloo cocked her head in confusion, “But- ”

“No seriously, trust me when I say there is basically no need to worry. Seriously, she’s trying to do the right thing,” Rainbow reassured her.

“Are you absolutely sure about that?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah,” she tried to explain to her number one fan, “I trust her. She’s saving lives and stuff. It’s all good. Yeah, there might be some incredibly dangerous side effects of whatever she’s doing, but I think it’s going to be alright in the end.”

Scootaloo hesitantly nodded, “Okay. Bye Rainbow Dash.”

The filly turned around and started the trek back home. The thoughts running through her mind were quiet. For the first time, an adult was completely straight with her.

But that nagging feeling she got just thinking about Applejack didn’t go away. Scootaloo knew that just because somepony had good intentions and did good things, it doesn’t always mean they’re a good pony.

April 24, 1619

Dear diary,

An alarm was tripped last night. Someone entered a dragon’s cave somewhere in the Everfree and got chased.

I asked around this morning, and apparently Spike ran away last night because he was jealous of Twilight’s new pet owl. So he wandered into an adult dragon’s cave because he was hungry, which allowed Twi and Owlowiscious to save his flank.

And it happened exactly on schedule. Shortly after a meteor shower (which did not contain alien hardware, so no excitement there), Twilight gets an owl and some stuff happens with Spike that ends up culminating in them all running from a dragon. Somehow.

-Captain AJH

April 29, 1619

Dear diary,

Pinkie Pie scares me. I know she’s a 003, but still. Rainbow told me about what happened right before her surprise party, and I think she’s downplaying it. Luckily, nothing major happened, and her Pinkie Sense didn’t fire off during her birthday party, so another day hidden… in the shadows, wooh.

That creative writing class wasn’t worth horseapples.

Anyways, near the end of Pinkie’s party, we all got together and began discussing our plans for the Gala. Apparently Twilight’s working on a transfiguration spell. Involving mice. As long as she obeys Blueblood’s Law of Conservation of Magic, she’ll be fine.

Speaking of Blue, I wonder what he’s up to. Something about ravens? I reckon I’ll see him at the shindig, and then I’ll laugh while watching Rarity try to seduce him. He’s about as thick as cast iron skillet, so I know the Gala is going to be interesting.

-Captain AJH

The Golden Oak Library was quiet for once. Despite Twilight’s propensity to pull all-nighters, tonight she was sleeping soundly after the tiring birthday party. The entire house-in-a-tree was still, as Owlowiscious had left to scavenge for a meal. Spike was snoozing away in his bed basket, and all was good in the physical world.

In the field of dreams however…

The dream world is an ephemeral realm of magic and dancing blue hues. It is a place where sleeping minds are found, each one creating their own unique world. For the most part, each mind is separate, and the dreams never mix. But a few ponies have the ability to trasverse across this landscape and contact others in a way not even the most powerful psychic can reach without hard effort.

One such pony was Princess Luna. However, due to various reasons, was unable to fully enter the realm of dreams, so Princess Celestia was moving through it instead.

She was slowly gliding through dream world, taking in its deep blue ocean and strange white orbs. She passed by many doors floating in space, each one bearing either a cutie mark or a name. The doors were each unique, with different styles and compositions.

Eventually, Celestia found the two doors she was looking for, a purple one with three diamonds imprinted on it, and a red one with a six-point star. Opening the purple door revealed Canterlot Castle. Inside it was what appeared to be a fantasy version of the Grand Galloping Gala, complete with imaginary guests and Prince Blueblood courting a wonderfully dressed Rarity.

Now this is definitely a dream. Celestia thought. Blue would rather spend his night looking at the remains of the Crystal Star.

As the faux Blueblood gave Rarity a rose of the rarest quality, followed by him doing a 360° twirl and asking for Rarity’s hoof in dance. The dream couple then proceeded to perform a waltz. On the wall. The other guests transformed into alicorns with sharp horns and began playing instruments out of crystals and raspberries. Celestia decided it was best to end the dream before things got weirder.

As everything in the room faded to black, including the dream prince, Rarity looked around in surprise.

Celestia bit her lip slightly before speaking, “Everything is alright, Rarity. It is only me.”

Rarity turned her head at the princess before dream bowing, “Oh! Your highness!”

“I am here to deliver urgent news to both you and Twilight, and it was determined that the dream realm was the most secure place,” Celestia said calmly, “After we exit your dream, we shall enter Twilight’s so that we may talk.”

Rarity nodded, “Okay.”

With a flick her horn, Celestia motioned the door to Rarity’s dreams open. The two white ponies dream walked out and into the hallway of imagination and blueish colors. Before Rarity could react to the majesty before her, Princess Celestia opened Twilight’s door and entered.

Inside was an enormous oak tree, hundreds of feet tall with strange twisting marble spires protruding from its branches. The oak tree itself was housed inside an even larger hall, thousands of feet high, and able to encompass all of Ponyville. The large building was of incredible bookshelves, each one holding tomes bigger than Celestia herself.

And at the very center of it all, sitting down on a balcony of the great tree, was Twilight Sparkle. Even in her dreams, she would rather spend time curled up reading a good book. The only difference here was the pair of feathered wings growing out of her back.

Celestia smiled as she floated up to the balcony. Her magic began to dissolve the dream surroundings, as gigantic books blew away into dust. But Twilight didn’t notice; she was too absorbed in the dream book she was dream reading.

The alicorn princess landed in front of the dream alicorn and crouched over her to see the book being read. Celestia waited a few moments for Twilight to notice, but eventually decided to speak up, “Oh Princess Twilight, alicorn of books, I need to speak with you.”

“Uh huh,” Twilight absently said before looking up. Upon doing so, she yelped out. She stared at Celestia before registering what her mentor had said. Twilight blushed as a faint poofing sound resulted in disappearing wings.

“P-princess! Um, hello! Er, the wings were only for convenience! Having wings and a horn were really good for reading! Not that that’s all being an alicorn is convenient for!”

Twilight kept blustering before Princess Celestia chuckled and took Twilight into her magical aura and pulled her up, “Oh Twilight, it’s alright. If you can’t indulge yourself in your dreams, where can you?”

Celestia’s somewhat cheeky grin made Twilight fluster even more, her face a bright red with steam leaking out of her head.

“Come, Twilight. We must make haste, I do not have much time,” Celestia motioned for Twilight’s door to open, revealing the dream world and Rarity, who had materialized dream paper to dream write on.

Rarity quickly noticed the two other ponies return, and put away her dream notes sheepishly.

The two unicorns sat down next to each other, with the princess in front of them. Celestia began speaking, “As you know, you and the other elements of harmony are attending the Grand Galloping Gala next week, along with many other high profile attendees. You and the other guests might be in trouble.”

“Pardon me, Princess, but what kind of trouble?” Rarity inquired.

Princess Celestia bit her lip before explaining further, “Two days ago, we received an intelligence report. It detailed partially destroyed plans to assassinate somepony attending the Gala,” looking at the horrified faces in front of her, she pressed on, “We have no idea who is being assassinated, by who, or how. All we know is that it is one pony targeted, and that poison will not be used.”

“W-why are you us this? Why not just cancel the Gala?” Rarity quaked.

“Canceling the Gala would probably cause the perpetrator to catch on, and the Guard fears retaliation. We believe that if the Gala is cancelled, dozens would die. I am sorry, but I cannot risk the lives of many for the life of one. I can, however, increase security to its maximum. I am planning on having plainclothes officers in attendance, as well as hidden guards posted throughout the area. Lastly, several of you are going to be paired up with others to minimize attempts.”

Celestia looked at Rarity, “You are going to be accompanying be dear nephew, Prince Blueblood. You seem very fond of him, and I assure you he is an interesting pony.” Beggars can’t be choosers, so I will have to make do with Rarity’s broken heart.

The princess then turned to Twilight, “My faithful student, you shall have to be by my side for the duration of the evening. Is that alright?”

Twilight quickly nodded and smiled sheepishly, “Yes it is.”

“Rainbow Dash will naturally seek out the Wonderbolts, Fluttershy will be with one of my captains, Applejack will be having several professional patrons to her apple cart, and Pinkie Pie will probably just dodge any attempts in a humorous fashion,” Celestia listed off all of the elements, “Oh, and Spike will be followed by one of my special agents, just in case.”

Celestia lowered her head to Twilight’s level, “I am afraid I am out of time, but I will follow up with a letter sent by dragonflame. For now, just act natural. Also, make sure Applejack gets more sleep. I have yet to actually witness any of her dreams, she seems to sleep so little.”

“Uh, yes your highness!” Rarity replied, internally screaming and squeeing at the same time.

“Oh, um goodbye, Princess!” Twilight waved.

“See you soon,” Celestia smiled. Luna! I am finished! We now need to speak with Captain Armor and Mi Amore Cadenza!

A bright light flashed, returning the unicorns to their dreams, while Celestia moved on to other pressing matters.

“Great, an assassination plot. Just great.”

“Applejack, this is serious. I am absolutely sure Strongheart’s employer is up to this. We have to figure out who’s being assassinated.”

“Don’t worry Cheers, ah’ve already gotten some help. A couple o’ friends of mine just happen to be attending the Gala too. If we keep a look out, we might be able to stop it in time.”

“That sounds very hooves off to me.”

“Ah can’t really do much in this case. Way too close to Celestia. Way too close to the Wonderbolts. Guards around every corner. At the most, ah can send messages and communicate in the restroom.”

“I don’t like it. I’m going to be up all night worrying.”

“Nothing to worry about! Immortality is a great boon against assassins, and ah’m gonna exploit every last bit of it.”