//------------------------------// // The Jagter Tribe (No. 61) // Story: The Hitlist // by TopWanted //------------------------------// The Jagter Tribe (No. 61) Haylee’s Traveling Circus was beloved by all Equestrians big and small. Running for close to eighty years, nearly everypony has heard of the circus and the delights it provides. From clowns to acrobats to jugglers to lion tamers. It is a wonderful world of magic. “That was a great show last week, guys!” The current proprietor, Baley Haylee, shouted to his troop as they marched down the long road to their next destination. They had just finished a gig in Hollow Shades and were on their way to a town called Ponyville. With the circus packed up the colorful costumes of the performers seemed off in comparison to the giant beige colored wagons that held the tent and other supplies. “I’m really proud of you! We brought a lot of smiles back there!” Everypony smiled. “But there are a couple of things I think we could improve upon.” The troop let out a resounding groan. Haylee’s “little notes” could be anything but and the stallion tended to drone on. “Now come on, guys, let’s all be professional here.” He stood on the back of a wagon as it was pulled along by the strongpony up front as he addressed the crowd walking behind him. He pulled out a small notepad. “Alright, fire throwers!” Two bright orange mares in decorative gloves raised their hooves. “Yes, you stood a little too close to center stage this time. I know you don’t want to accidentally burn the audience but how can they see if you don’t get close. Uh… Tough Hide!” A blue stallion near the back lifted his hoof. “I’m going to need you to go back to taking care of the lions. Whiplash nearly got his tail bitten off.” Another pony in a top hat rubbed his hind quarters at that mention. “And… our new acrobats!” In the far back, apart from anypony else, walked four ponies in sleek blue costumes that covered every inch of their bodies including their faces. All that showed through were a set of goggles on each of them died a reddish hue. “Great work out there! But you came in a little late. Remember it’s right after the jugglers but before the clowns.” The four didn’t seem to respond or even acknowledge him as they walked along. “You hear that?” One finally gave a small nod. “Good!” They continued to walk until nightfall when they camped down on the side of the road. Everypony seemed to take their place in some kind of social group as they huddled around the fires and ate merrily. Crickets chirped and the sound of wildlife gave the night a beautiful atmosphere. The four acrobats staying off to the side. A mare with a green mane and yellow coat leaned over to her companion as she watched them. “Hey, do those guys give anypony else the creeps?” “You too?” her companion replied. “I don’t know, it’s just kind of weird how they never talk.” “Has anypony seen them out of their costumes?” another asked. “I think Haylee said they were a group of travelling zebras.” “Zebras?” the yellow mare said surprised. “I’ve never seen a zebra before.” “Do you think they’re disfigured under there?” “Oh, be quiet. They’re probably just shy.” The yellow mare looked back to the acrobats but was surprised to find them gone. “Did anypony see where they went?” They all shrugged and went back to their dinners. The mare frowned as she too went back to her meal before realizing something. She looked up from her fire and noticed that the other fires were now empty too. Had everypony already turned in for the night? “Hey, is there a curfew or someth-” She paused as she looked back to her friends. Their seats were now gone as well. The mare put down her bowl slowly and looked around. The camp looked deserted. How was that possible? Then something else hit her. Where were the crickets? It was like all sound had faded from existence. Even the fire’s crackling seemed out of place. She looked at the fire and saw a flash of red just beyond it. Two circular orbs in the darkness accompanied by a dark blue. She opened her mouth to scream but before any sound left a hoof was pressed against her muzzle from behind and she was pulled from the fire and into the darkness. Silence fell over the camp as the fires sputtered and crackled in the moonlight. Without word or order four figures walked from the shadows and disrobed their blue uniforms, tossing them to the side. They proceeded to the closest wagon and rigged it to two of them while the other two went inside it. The four began to walk down the road in the darkness as the fires behind them, left uncontrolled, grew bigger. Within a few minutes the tents and attractions were an inferno and the four simply proceeded onwards toward their goal. Toward the town called Ponyville. --- She was having that dream again. Fire surrounding her. The feeling of helplessness. The bodies. Then the wall collapses and he’s there. The look in his eyes. Anger. Pure unadulterated hatred. Cloudy opened her eyes and shot up in bed breathing heavily. “Woah!” Spike shouted from beside her. He fell on his back in surprise trying to collect himself. “S-Sorry! Didn’t mean to disturb you! Just wanted to know if you wanted breakfast.” Cloudy caught her breath and looked at the dragon. He had been bugging her for a while now ever since she moved in. Sure he was Twilight’s assistant but he didn’t need to act that way around her. In fact, she preferred if he didn’t. “I’m fine, thanks. Don’t worry about me.” She grabbed the sheet and rolled over in bed again. “Okay, if that’s what you want,” Spike said as he slowly closed the door. Cloudy didn’t move or turn around. She heard the door click behind him and she turned her head to look at the ceiling. What was she doing here? It had been months, MONTHS, since Celestia sent her here. CRO was in total disarray still and Shining Armor had been with his wife for weeks. The thought of the Captain Armor from before, the one that turned out to be a changeling, giving her orders made her sick. Add to the fact that she was almost certain that Redwood was hiding somewhere in this town made her want to tear the place apart. She wanted to punch something. Hard. Really hard. The door opened a moment later nearly clipping Spike’s tail off. He jumped in place as Cloudy stomped past him toward the front door. “Wh-Where are you going?!” “Out!” she shouted back as she slammed the front door. “At least take a sweater!” Spike got out before he winced as he heard the sounds of a window shattering. He sighed and walked toward the noise. As he turned a corner he bumped into a familiar face that appeared to have been hiding there. “Twilight?” “Oh! Uh, hi Spike,” she greeted nervously. “Um, I see Cloudy left.” Spike gave her a deadpan expression. “Were you hiding from her?” “What? No!” Twilight waved her hooves dismissively, trying too hard. Spike wasn’t convinced. Twilight gave a sigh. “Okay, yes. But what can I say? I know Celestia wants her to make friends, but she’s not like anypony I’ve ever met. The others had a strong foundation because they wanted to make friends. This is like building something from a swamp! It collapses before you can even begin.” “Excuses, excuses,” Spike muttered. “What?” Spike straightened up. “Nothing! Look, even if you can’t build a friendship right away you still need to start somewhere. You’ve been thinking of so many ways to approach her but I don’t think you actually have once.” Twilight bit her lip. “You’re right. I just need to suck it up, don’t I?” “It would probably also work if you didn’t put it like that.” --- Rainbow rubbed her hoof in the dirt pensively as she stood in front of a normal brick building. The sign on the door said “Ponyville Psychiatry”. Rainbow stared up at the words with a sense of dread and nervousness. Every time she took a step toward it a pony would pass by and she would play it off by walking past it. Cold air turned to mist in front of her as she took deep breaths. “Come on, Dash!” she muttered to herself. “Just get in there and get it off your chest. Nopony is going to judge you or think less of you.” Words she’d heard from Pinkie multiple times, the mare strangely enough being the one to most forcibly push her to therapy. She also tried to think of Scootaloo. The filly thought the world of her and though she hadn’t spent much time with her since emerging from her house, she could tell Scootaloo was worried about her. “Just get it over with, you big dummy!” she shouted into the air. Everypony on the street stopped to stare at her and Rainbow blushed profusely and tried to bury herself in her scarf. “Well I see you’re up and about.” The voice made Rainbow pause and a heat began to grow in her gut. She turned to see a familiar purple Pegasus saunter toward her. “Hello, captain,” she greeted through gritted teeth. Cloudy seemed to show no awareness or interest in Dash’s animosity. “Just what are you doing here?” Cloudy rolled her eyes. “Can’t a pony take a walk without getting the third degree?” Her words were lined with a bitterness that she could relate to. But for some reason it made her hate the mare all the more. “Hey, you called out to me!” Rainbow grunted giving her a cold shoulder. “That’s because you didn’t seem too hot after the last time we met. I heard you’ve been in your house for the past couple weeks.” Rainbow gaped at her. “We saw each other at the whole Ursa Major thing!” Cloudy simply scratched her cheek nonchalantly. “Really? Guess I wasn’t paying attention.” Rainbow felt her eye twitch. Okay, forget therapy. “That’s it!” she shouted while jumping into the air. “I have had enough of you!” She forcefully pushed Cloudy in the chest and the mare stumbled back tripping into a puddle. Deep inside her there was a little Pinkie Pie screaming in her ear to stop what she was about to do but all the rage was boiling over and Rainbow couldn’t stop it now. Cloudy got up slowly and wiped the mud from her face. Her eyes narrowed like daggers. “Fine,” she hissed. “I was looking for something to pummel anyway!” They were about to go at it when a mumble off to the side stopped them both. A couple of ponies stood to the side of the road whispering to each other and giving nervous looks. “Not here,” Rainbow said in a much more quiet tone. “Field outside town. Ten minutes.” “I’ll be there,” Cloudy replied in an equally quiet manner. The two gave each other an indignant “humph” and walked off in separate directions. Somewhere in her head, Rainbow’s little Pinkie shook her head in dismay. --- Rarity had been having a rough week, or that is to say, a tired week. She had been spending every moment outside work scouring the town for Barrel. It was pretty obvious that it was him that saved her from the hydra a week ago. And if what Twilight said was true, that Rayleigh Redwood was in town, then maybe, just maybe he was too. Deciding to take a break from her search, and the fact that it was getting too cold to keep going, she trudged up the hill to Fluttershy’s cottage. Maybe some tea with her friend would cheer her up. Or maybe she just needed to get the thought of that big jerk out of her system. As she passed the tree line and the cottage came into sight an enormous crash made her jump. There was some kind of clatter coming from inside her house. “Oh no! That’s not for standing on!” Fluttershy’s voice came through the door. “Wait! Don’t scratch that! Angel, grab his tail! Oh no! Angel!” Rarity quickened her pace and slammed through the door. “Just what in Celestia’s name is going on here?!” Everypony seemed to freeze, including the tall pony hybrid with a bag of flour over his head. Angel Bunny was hanging on for dear life from his tail as it swished back and forth. Fluttershy meanwhile was directly beneath the hulking figure, seemingly pinned by him. She blushed profusely. “Um… I can explain.” After everything had been cleaned up and Dikiy had been released from his flour sack prison, the two friends sat down for some tea that had survived the skirmish. Fluttershy sat on the couch with Angel Bunny curled up next to her. On her other side on the floor was the curled up Dikiy Zver, the pony hybrid known as the Chimera. A billionaire/vigilante in Yakutian territories. Rarity sat in her chair a little straight as she watched him. “Fluttershy, I thought you said you would send him home days ago?” “I know,” she replied wearily. “And I’ve tried to convince him but Dikiy just likes it here in Ponyville so much.” She scratched him behind the ears and he lifted his scaly head to purr. It seemed like it wasn’t Ponyville he was interested in. Rarity wasn’t comfortable with the thought of somepony like him staying with her friend. She probably wouldn’t be comfortable with anypony that tried to kill them living with her. “I still don’t understand how an heir to a billion bit fortune turns out like… this?” she asked waving her hoof at the hybrid. Fluttershy’s expression became solemn as she petted him. “Dikiy told me he’s not the legitimate heir. Apparently Mr. Zver fell in love with a dragon but it was against Yakutian tradition. Dikiy was born in secret and abandoned by his mom. Mr. Zver tried to raise him in seclusion the best that he could but…” her voice became a little hoarse as if trying to hold back tears. “There could be long stretches between when they’d see each other. Dikiy pretty much had to raise himself.” Rarity lowered her head. She hadn’t thought about how bad some cultures may have it out there. In Equestria, all races were accepted so intermarriage was more common. Outside the country though there were pony countries slightly more dedicated to purist pony philosophies. Perhaps Dikiy could have had a normal life if only he was born here. It made her think, where had Barrel been born? Did he have to deal with injustices like that? Just how far removed were they? “If you’re sure that he’s safe then I’ll trust you on that,” Rarity sighed. Fluttershy smiled at her. “Thank you.” She noticed Rarity’s face fall slightly. “Is everything okay?” “Hm? Oh, it’s nothing. I just came over to get my mind off of something.” And it doesn’t seem to be working. “Oh? And what would that be?” Rarity smirked. She came to get Barrel off her mind not talk about him. Yet… “I may have met this… stallion back when I was in Baltimare.” Fluttershy spit out her tea making Angel Bunny jump. “You- Wha- Rarity did you actually-” “NONONO!” Rarity shouted before her friend could finish her thought. “I didn’t… we didn’t do anything. As I said, I MET a stallion. Just an interesting stallion who helped me when I needed help.” Fluttershy seemed to calm down. Honestly the yellow mare could go off at the slightest mention of anything embarrassing or unseemly. It made Rarity wonder how she dealt with living with a stallion almost twice her size. “Well, if he helped you then he sounds like a nice pony.” “Yes, he was.” She paused. “Well, he is. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I think he’s in town now.” “Oh, that’s wonderful.” “Only I think he’s avoiding me.” “Oh, that’s bad.” “But I think it’s for a good reason.” “Well, that’s good.” “But it could be just because he’s listening to his jerk of a boss.” “That’s… bad?” Fluttershy paused for a moment. “Rarity you seem to really care for this pony.” Rarity’s face flushed. “What!? No I don’t.” Fluttershy gave her a witty smile. “Well, maybe not like that. I mean, I’ve only seen him that one time and…” she sighed. “I guess I just want to help him.” Fluttershy reached over and patted her arm. “I can get that.” She pulled back and shrugged. “Don’t worry. I’m sure if that’s how you truly feel about him, then he must feel that way about you. Just give him time and he’ll come to you. And if that doesn’t work I can help you find him.” She gave her a wink. Rarity chuckled slightly. “Thank you, Fluttershy.” --- Twilight stood at in front of her door contemplating her next action. Spike was right, she was avoiding making friends with Cloudy. Like studying for a super hard test she just had to buckle down and do it. But how to go about it? She had been trying to remember how she made friends with the others but the more she thought about it the more a hard truth just kept hitting her. Everypony I know has come to me to be friends. “Have I ever made a single friend myself?” Twilight asked herself. Suddenly the door knocked making Twilight jump. “Coming!” She opened it to be greeted by a familiar and all too missed sight. “Shiney!” Shining Armor held his arms open as Twilight ran into them and the siblings embraced. “It’s good to see you too, Twiley.” Twilight pushed him away with a worried look. “I thought you were still resting up in the Crystal Empire? Are you sure you should be travelling right now?” Shining chuckled and waved a dismissive hoof. “It’s seriously alright, Twilight. It’s been close to a month and Cadence has been taking care of me.” Twilight smiled and breathed a sigh of relief at that, but Shining’s smile faded. “She’s also told me about all the things that have happened since I was replaced.” “Oh?” He took her by the shoulder. “Why don’t we go inside. There’s something I need to talk to you about.” They walked inside and to the library where Shining told her to sit down. “So, what’s this about?” Shining took a breath and had a hard time looking her in the eyes. “Twilight, I want you to come live with me and Cadence in the Crystal Empire.” “What?” she asked. “Believe me, if I had it my way you would stay here, but both Ponyville and Canterlot have proved to be dangerous places. The Crystal Empire is protected, at least more than Canterlot right now. You’ll be safe there until we can figure everything out.” Twilight looked at her brother like he was crazy and then began to chuckle. Shining raised an eyebrow. “I know how much you worry about me. But I’m not going.” Shining looked as if he was about to argue but Twilight stopped him. “I thought that things would die down if I left Ponyville too. But everyone convinced me otherwise. I want to stay here. Not just because it’s my home but because I want to protect it. I want to show whoever is after me that I won’t be intimidated. I want to become the princess that everypony believes me to be.” And that should start with helping Cloudy, she mentally added. Shining stayed silent for a moment as he contemplated her words. “Alright,” he finally said. “If that’s how you really feel. But that doesn’t mean I still can’t worry about you. I’m going to double the guard around town. Tell me where Captain Gust is so I can coordinate with her.” “Actually I was just going to go find her.” “You mean she leaves you alone?” Shining asked with a hint of worry. “It’s alright,” Twilight added hastily. She didn’t want to get Cloudy in trouble. “She usually just takes a walk around town to… uh… do reconnaissance.” “Oh.” Shining seemed satisfied. “Well, I guess we can wait for her then and catch up.” Twilight sighed inwardly as she sank back in her seat. She was happy to talk to her brother but she really needed to ride this high and go befriend Cloudy before she wussed out again. “Yeah, sure.” --- Rayleigh Redwood stood in front of a familiar place. It was only a few months ago that he first stood here in front of the Royal Academy to turn himself in to the Guard. Now the School and its secret headquarters beneath were in disrepair, most of the soldiers and teachers taken leave. Construction workers set up a perimeter with tape that he could not cross but stood just outside to watch. How? How had they known he was there? Not just Silk, but Inferno too. Both ponies knew of a secret series of tunnels beneath Equestria and used them for their schemes. Whoever knew about him also knew about that, something not even an immortal like Celestia knew about. All he had was a name. “Romane,” he muttered under his breath. Giving the school he had once called home and his jail one last look he turned and began a walk to the market. Normally he would try to keep an eye out for wherever his bodyguard, Agave, hid while following him, but this time he knew she wasn’t there. He had ordered her to stay behind in Ponyville, along with Barrel. This was something he needed to do on his own. The market was quite busy for early in the morning as ponies of high society were walking about in their late fall attire. He walked down to the park section of the market and sat on a bench in the middle of the wide area. Ponies passed paying him no mind as he had his hat down and pulled out a bag of popcorn and began to throw it on the ground for pigeons. After a few minutes a green stallion with a large wool hat and scarf quickly sat behind him on the opposite bench. Redwood looked up from feeding the pigeons and sighed. “This really is your first time, isn’t it? You know, it’s actually less inconspicuous to be on the same side of the bench, then our voices wont project outwards when we talk.” The stallion seemed to contemplate this for a moment then got up and walked around the bench with his head down. He sat next to him trembling with what appeared to be a mixture of cold and embarrassment. “See?” Redwood asked. “This makes it much easier to talk.” The stallion lifted his large wool hat slightly to glare at him. “Not that I wanted to talk to you.” Redwood chuckled. “Oh, come now, Sidq. You didn’t complain too much about the donation in your account.” “About that,” Seek grimaced angrily and pulled out a bag of bits, tossing it on the bench between them. “I don’t know how you weaseled your way into my bank and I don’t want to know. Here’s your dirty money, take it and leave me alone. That’s all I wanted to say.” He got up to leave when Redwood spoke. “I need your help.” Seek chuckled. “Yeah, I figured that.” “It’s not anything evil,” he specified. “Yeah, I figured that too,” Seek replied a little more sarcastically. “Look, I don’t know what you’ve been up to or what you want from me, but I want no part of it. Ever since CRO shut down I’ve been out of the loop. They have me working in the mailroom of the castle.” He said that last bit with more than a hint of aggravation. “What could you possibly need me for?” Redwood tipped his hat back to look at him. “Actually, it’s because you’re in the castle mailroom that I need you.” Seek bit his lip and narrowed his eyes but sat back down. “You swear this isn’t anything nefarious?” “Call the guards if you don’t believe me.” He pointed to a corner of the park where a royal soldier was patrolling. Seek really seemed to consider it before scratching his head roughly with his hooves and groaning. “Fine! What is it?” Redwood grinned. “I need you to get a message to somepony for me.” --- On the outskirts of town Rainbow waited on the hill where she and Cloudy would finally settle their score. By now she had had a few hours to think about it and doubts had begun to creep up, but every time she considered backing out, anger outweighed her. That mare had done nothing but disrespect her since she got here. Now Rainbow was really going to prove how much better she was. “Well, well, well,” Cloudy muttered as she walked up the hill from the opposite side. “I honestly didn’t think you had it in you.” Rainbow grit her teeth as she glared at her. “I’m surprised you showed up too. Not exactly royal guard material to get into a fight with somepony.” Cloudy seemed a little riled by this which pleased Rainbow to no end. “I’m only here to put SOMEPONY in her place. You brought the dragon, now you get the fire.” Rainbow chuckled. “Whatever. I’m going to prove to you what a Wonderbolt can do.” They squared off facing each other and splayed their legs in preparation to charge. “Fine by me.” A moment passed between the two as a leaf tumbled past them. When it fell over the edge of the hill they both took that as a moment to go. Rainbow yelled loudly as she flew at Cloudy, charging headfirst. Cloudy merely sidestepped her and jumped in the air taking the fight to the skies. Rainbow stopped her charge and turned around to fly up at her once more. Cloudy rolled her eyes as Rainbow approached. She grinned as she was mere inches away from the mare before Cloudy’s body twisted in midair around her and she kicked Rainbow in the back. Rainbow caught herself before falling and she spun on her. “Hey! What the heck was that?” Cloudy chuckled. “Obviously the Wonderbolts have lost a lot of credibility if they’re recruiting ponies like you.” Rainbow growled and charged blindly again. “Seriously?” Cloudy did the same maneuver as before bending her body around Rainbow and this time giving her a slightly stronger kick that did send her to the ground. “Have you only got one move?” Rainbow got up from the ground and wiped the dirt from her mouth. Any hints of doubt about this fight were washed away as she now had one goal. Hit. That. Mare. Rainbow let loose another yell and shot off at incredible speed making a small seismic wave on the ground. Cloudy’s dodge didn’t work this time as Rainbow was too fast and the two connected in midair. They struggled against each other falling and rising in the air as they struggled to keep aloft. Rainbow finally landed a punch on Cloudy’s cheek. The purple Pegasus responded equally viciously by kneeing her in the stomach. “Just… what is your… deal?!” Cloudy shouted through grunts as they continued to struggle. Rainbow threw her own kick into Cloudy’s side and she reciprocated. “You… OW! You’re just a jerk!” “I’m a jerk!?” “Yeah! You don’t… care about anypony but yourself! Ugh!” “You don’t even know me!!” “I know a jerk when I see one!” The two finally separated and floated in midair staring each other down. Rainbow had an enormous bruise on her arm and a cut under her eye. Her old injury to her wing was also acting up making her wings off sync slightly. Cloudy wasn’t all too better with a black eye and large bruise on her chest. Her right arm had a cut as well. She glowered ferociously at Rainbow. “You think everypony has to be like you? You think that all of Equestria is some kind of idyllic little Podunk town like this? I am what I am because that’s what I am! You don’t like it then just leave me alone!!” Cloudy suddenly convulsed in the air and slapped the back of her neck. “What… was…” She didn’t finish as the world around her began to grow blurry and her eyelids began to flutter. Suddenly she felt like she’d just completed a marathon and every muscle in her body wanted to collapse. Her wings stopped flapping and she fell. Rainbow’s eyes widened as she watched Cloudy begin to fall and she rushed to go save her. A quick pain in her neck made her grimace and she landed unceremoniously on the ground as Gust had. She struggled to her hooves but an overwhelming exhaustion took her. Two figures in combat boots and masks came from the forest side of the hill and began to drag Cloudy off. Rainbow tried to reach out and yell but her vocal chords were like jelly. The last thing she saw was another of the same masked figures standing over her and grabbed her legs. Then she blacked out. --- Barrel stood by the fountain of Ponyville Park and impatiently kicked a pebble. He had now been waiting for nearly an hour out in the open for his friend to come back with food. What if Rarity had walked by? He scanned the park around him with its low amount of trees and bushes to hide in. This place was a sniper’s paradise, but not so much for one off duty trying to hide from the mare he liked. A flush of red came to his cheeks as that thought crossed his mind and he let a little steam out with a sigh. “Damn it, Agave, you made me wait here on purpose.” It was cold, cold enough that not a lot of ponies were out at the park. So he pretty much had the place to himself. He wrapped his coat around him a little tighter and pushed his cap down more just in case though. After a few moments he turned around and jumped to see Agave standing behind him. “Whahuh!?” Agave placed a white bag with fast food on the edge of the fountain. Her scarf was pulled over her mouth but Barrel could tell she was grinning. “How long did you wait there for that?” he asked indignantly. Agave wore her standard black jacket with a blue scarf around her neck and the lower part of her face. She had also changed her manestyle for the weather, braiding it into coils and wrapping them up in a bun so she could fit a pair of blue ear muffs. Barrel had only known the mare officially for a few weeks but she didn’t quite seem the talkative type. Any cconversations he or Redwood having with her often being one-sided. Still she seemed to understand him for the most part. He pulled a veggie burger from the bag and took a bite of it. The warmth felt good in his stomach. “Ah~, remind me again why we’re out here anyway?” Agave didn’t respond simply chewing on a hay fry. “I mean, Redwood is out of town. Why don’t we just go back to the hotel?” Again the zebra didn’t respond merely checking her surroundings. Barrel sighed, knowing he was never going to get a response. “Fine. I guess we can finish eating here.” “Can we have some?” Barrel’s eyes widened and he looked down to see a familiar trio of fillies staring up at him with smiles. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were dressed in warm scarves and coats making them look even more adorable. Sweetie Belle was giving him the big sad eyes. Barrel sighed and turned to Agave with a lidded expression. “This is why you wanted to be out here.” Agave let out a small chortle, her icy façade cracking for a moment. Barrel turned back to the girls and grabbed the bag of hay fries. “If I give you some, will you leave me alone?” “Didn’t your boss say you had to play with us?” Scootaloo interjected. “So even if you do give us some of your fries you still have to hang with us.” Barrel sighed once more and hung his head. “Fine, just take it.” He handed the fries to Sweetie Belle. “Thank you!” she said and dug in with Scootaloo. Barrel noticed Apple Bloom staring and turned to see her staring at Agave. “Something wrong?” “Huh?” Apple Bloom shook her head. “No, it’s just your friend looked a lot like somepony we know.” “Well, she is a zebra,” Barrel said. “Hey, that’s not nice,” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “Not all zebras look alike.” “Yeah, but she was the one who…” Barrel threw up his hooves in defeat. “Never mind.” “Hi, ma’am,” Apple Bloom greeted Agave. “Mah name is Apple Bloom, what’s yours?” Agave stared at Apple Bloom in silence before looking to Barrel. “Oh, you want me to be the interpreter? You got me in this mess, get yourself out of yours.” Agave merely frowned at him. Barrel rolled his eyes. “Her name is Agave.” “How come she doesn’t talk?” Scootaloo asked. Barrel shrugged. He’d never heard why the mare didn’t talk, that’s just the way he knew her. He gave Agave a questioning look but the zebra merely turned her head. “I don’t know. That’s just the way she is, I guess.” “You really have some interesting friends, Mister Barrel,” Scootaloo chuckled. “She’s not your girlfriend, is she?” Sweetie Belle asked with a grin. Barrel nearly choked on his burger. “What? No!” He heard another snicker from Agave. “Good,” Sweetie said. “Because you haven’t even tried to meet Rarity yet. And it would be bad if you were a philanthroper.” Barrel had to go over that last bit in his head. “You mean a philanderer?” “So you have been with a lot of mares?!” Scootaloo asked. “No!” Barrel could feel himself aging with every moment he spent with these three. “Ugh, look what do you three want?” The CMC all looked at each other excitedly. “We wanted to see you do more stuff like last time!” “Fine,” Barrel sighed. “If it gets you off my back.” Agave snickered again and Barrel grinned. “Actually, Agave has a neat talent too. You should get her to show you hers.” The three gasped and crowded the mare asking her excited questions. Agave’s eyes widened and she looked as if she didn’t know what to do. She glared at Barrel who shrugged and started to finish his burger. --- Cloudy slowly opened her eyes only to be greeted by an intense pain through her body. She lifted her head only to feel the muscles in her neck strain with the effort. A quick look around told her where she was. “Everfree?” Beside her another figure got up wearily. “Oh, my head.” Cloudy saw it was Rainbow Dash. The multicolored Pegasus seeming just as confused and weary as her. “Where are we?” Cloudy got to her feet steadily and surveyed the area. “I’d guess were in the Everfree forest, though I can’t say for certain since I don’t know how long we’ve been…” she trailed off as she caught Rainbow’s look. The mare was looking around at the treetops, a wide eyed terror in her eyes and her legs wobbling like jelly. “No, no, no, NO! I can’t be here! Not again! Not yet!” Rainbow began to run away before a sudden tug pulled at her back leg and she tripped. At the same time Cloudy felt her leg slip under her and she toppled backward. They both looked between each other at the ground. A long white rope tethered both of their right back legs together, a gold cuff wrapping around each of their legs. “Oh, come on!” they shouted simultaneously. A few minutes later, Cloudy had managed to calm Rainbow down enough to keep her still while she studied the rope. Rainbow still kept a vigilant eye out and seemed to flinch at every rustle or sound. Her breath fogged in front of her with every panicked exhalation making it readily known when she hyperventilated. “Just stay calm, I’ll have this in a second,” Cloudy said. “Calm?” Rainbow tried to put on a brave face, failing. “I’m super calm. I’m the calmest! SEE HOW CALM I AM?!” Black birds shot out of a tree cawing at the volume of her words. Cloudy shot her a venomous glare and made a zipping motion with her hoof. “Just be quiet,” she hissed. “Are you trying to get us killed?” Rainbow froze at those words. “Wh-What do you mean?” Cloudy rubbed her hooves on the rope continuing to study it as she answered. “Obviously, somepony wouldn’t just foalnap us and then dump us in the forest without some kind of plan. No doubt this is one of Sparkle’s bounty hunters. And if that’s true then they have more plans for us then just having us tied up.” Rainbow wanted to scream out loud but she settled for just in her head. Then something about Cloudy’s words hit her. “Four.” “Huh?” “There were four,” she remembered. “Four ponies came and took us. They wore some kind of mask and…” She tried to remember whatever else she could. “Grah! I can’t remember.” Cloudy let the rope fall and crossed her arms. “This is bad. And if there’s a team then it’s worse than I thought.” Rainbow looked between her and the rope. “Why didn’t you cut it?” Cloudy bit her lip. “It’s made of Gordian string. Magical. Only a sword can cut it.” Rainbow rubbed her face forlornly. So this was how she went down? She couldn’t even say she’d reached her dream yet. Like hell she was going to just sit here and wait to be somepony’s meal ticket. She paused and looked around, something finally hitting her. “Hey? This rope connects us, but what’s keeping us tied to this spot?” “Well, it’s common knowledge that when lost you need to stay put,” Cloudy replied with a slight haughtiness that made Rainbow frown. But Cloudy also frowned in thought. “Actually, that’s a good point.” She looked around and scanned the forest for any signs of life. “Also we’re not even being watched. What is going on?” “Then why don’t we just go?” Rainbow asked indignantly. She spread her wings and impatiently began to fly into the air. “Hold on! Ow!” She shot up too fast and pulled Cloudy leg up behind her. The purple Pegasus managed to start flying and correct her posture in the air before glaring at Dash. She snickered under her breath. “Sorry.” “No, you’re not,” Cloudy muttered. “You’re right, I’m not.” Cloudy groaned and threw up her hooves. “Why do you care so much about me? I’m nothing to you! Just another pony in the background that will be out of your hair soon enough. Get over your pointless hatred, or rivalry, or… whatever this is and lets just get out of here.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “You know, this is why I hate you. You’ve got all this talent and you just keep calling yourself inconsequential or not important when you could be one of the best flyers in Equestria.” Cloudy flew into Rainbow’s face. “I do important work!” “So important the princess had you replaced,” Rainbow smirked. “Why you-” Something sharp and incredibly fast whizzed between their faces and landed with a “chunk” in the tree behind them. They both turned to see a long arrow protruding from the trunk. The sound of another arrow being knocked drifted through the forest. “Run!” Cloudy was the first to start flying and this time it was Rainbow’s turn to be pulled along. She struggled to carry her weight as arrows flew past them. They dipped and dodged through the trees, Rainbow taking abuse from the spare branches Cloudy managed to dodge. “OW! OUCH! WATCH IT!” Another arrow sailed right past her temple and Cloudy swerved left to avoid it. That was close. Then again, almost all of them were close. These guys were good, but she was better. A dark thought crept into her head. Was she better? Every time Cloudy wanted to go one way an arrow would shoot and impede her path forcing her to turn. Was it possible they were… “Look out!” She heard Rainbow shout from behind her and Cloudy turned to see an arrow coming from directly right of her and bearing down fast. Time seemed to slow. She could maybe fly fast enough to outrace it, but then Rainbow would be in the crossfire. Her eye strayed to the golden cuffs on her and Rainbow’s leg. It was a slim chance but the only one she had with the time she had. Time seemed to progress once more and Cloudy jerked her back leg forward grabbing it with her fore leg. The arrow slammed into the cuff and exploded into twigs, directly on target but the splinters ricocheted off in all directions. Cloudy screamed in pain as one tore right through her wing. She began to lose altitude and speed heading for the forest floor. Suddenly a pair of hooves caught her under the arms and lifted her up flying faster than even the arrows could follow. Cloudy looked up into Rainbow’s face as the mare grimaced with nervous energy and panic. “Damndamndamndamndamndamn!!” she repeated ad nauseam until they were sure they had sped away from the arrows. Nearly a hundred yards back three figures stepped from the bushes and tree tops to converge. They each wore tribal masks and combat boots, their black and white stripes on full display. On each of their flanks the stripes seemed to make various symbols like a spear, an arrow, and a sword. The spear one picked up the remnants of the broken arrow and nodded to the sword. The other two seemed to pat him on the back before gathering up their own arrows and proceeding the way the two mares went. --- Barrel kept his legs close as he walked so they would rub together and create some kind of warmth. Meanwhile, the three fillies and one silent zebra in front of him looked about as lively as they would be on any day in spring. Ah, to be young again. Even though he was only twenty six. Sweetie Belle fell behind as her two friends kept trying to engage Agave. “Hey, Mister Barrel?” “Yeah?” “Why’d you come to Ponyville?” He was slightly taken aback at the question. The answer was obvious. He was here to serve Redwood. Wasn’t he? “I’m kind of a bodyguard. I go wherever my boss goes.” He couldn’t believe he was telling this to child but Redwood seemed pretty flippant himself when talking to these girls so he might as well. “So that gray stallion is your boss?” “Yup.” Sweetie’s mouth turned into a crooked smile. “Then why were you outside my house watching Rarity?” Barrel froze. “Well, I… uh…” Sweetie giggled. “Your blushing, Mr. Barrel.” He lifted a hoof to his face. Was he really? It was so cold he couldn’t tell. “You may act all serious about your job but I know your secret.” Oh, he’d like to hear this. The filly draped her hoof over her head and recited her words like a drama queen. “You met my sister at some show out of town and were smitten. That’s why you watch her from afar.” She burst into giggles. Barrel let himself chuckle. She wasn’t entirely wrong. “You, um, you haven’t told your sister about me, have you?” he asked nonchalantly as he could. “Hm? Do you want me to?” She asked with obvious enthusiasm. “No! No! It’s fine. I just… need time to work up the courage myself.” She seemed to accept this. Really he had only said it to get her off his back but something inside him made him believe his own words. What was he doing? “We’re here!” Scootaloo proclaimed. The five of them walked out onto a nice hill outside town that overlooked the forest. Apple Bloom took Agave’s hoof and waved to the area. “This is where we Crusaders do a lot of our cruasadin’, Miss Agave.” “Pole jumping, sky diving, sheep herding. You name it and we’ve done it,” Scootaloo finished. Agave merely smiled at their happy faces. The two were obviously disappointed to not have gotten a response from her. Apple Bloom lit up as she pointed westward across Ponyville. “Over there is mah family farm and our clubhouse where we do the important crusader stuff.” “Like planning what to do next over here,” Scootaloo added with a sigh. “It gets a little tough going back and forth across town like that. Especially when I’m the chauffeur.” Apple Bloom let out a nervous laugh. She then pointed toward the Everfree forest. “And over there is Everfree, our friend Zecora lives in there. She’s another zebra we know.” Agave seemed to show a little interest in this as she took some steps toward the forest line. Apple Bloom became excited. “We can have you meet her if you want?” Agave didn’t seem to be listening to her as her eyes were glued to the ground. She peered toward the forest line, a broken branch swinging helplessly in the cold wind. Her eyes seemed to track a trail of pressed grass that led up to the hill. “Uh, Miss Agave?” Scootaloo asked, now getting worried at her silence. Agave shot off up the hill, the fillies following. Barrel saw them run up and looked to Agave who gave him a grave expression. “What is it?” he asked. The zebra pointed to the hill below them and then rolled her hooves around in front of herself before clacking them together. “A fight?” He had come to understand Agave’s interesting way of communicating. She nodded and pointed to the forest line. “You think it went in there?” “Hey!” Scootaloo rushed past the two and picked up a stray multicolored hair from the ground. She beamed at it. “Wow! Rainbow Dash must have been here! I should save this for my proj- I mean… never mind.” Agave and Barrel looked at each other worriedly. “I think it’s time you kids go home,” he told them. Sweetie Belle groaned. “Aw, but-” “No buts,” Barrel replied slightly harsher than he intended. “Just go home and stay indoors. We’ll meet tomorrow, okay?” They all seemed to comply and began to walk away. Barrel turned to Agave. “If Rainbow Dash is in the forest with something, it’s got to be bad news. Go tell the princess. I’ll start combing the forest.” She nodded and with an inpony speed disappeared leaving Barrel to run toward the forest line. Behind him three small sets of eyes watched. “I told you he was interesting,” Sweetie Belle whispered. “He said Dash is in there,” Scootaloo whispered back. “We’ve got to go rescue her.” They all put their hooves together and lifted them. “Right!” --- “Ow! Watch it,” Cloudy muttered as Rainbow trudged next to her, lifting her up and keeping her balanced. Her back leg had been sprained with the force of that arrow. Now she walked with a limp. Her wing was also bleeding which could be a more severe problem. “Sorry,” Rainbow muttered back. “Ugh, just where the hell are we?” “Maybe if you hadn’t flown in one direction at random, we would know?” Cloudy turned away to mutter this. “What was that?” Rainbow had obviously still heard it. “I don’t really mean it,” she sighed. “It was the best way we had to escape. You made a choice and by all accounts it worked. You did… good.” Rainbow frowned at her before straightening up and walking a little taller. “Th-Thanks.” They were silent as they walked. “Why did you save me?” Cloudy asked. “Huh?” “Why did you grab and carry me? You could have just towed me like I did you. I wouldn’t be surprised if you did, the way I’ve been.” Rainbow scoffed. “Okay, one. You were injured. I’m not going to rub salt in the wounds. Two… You kind of saved me back there too. And three. It’s a Wonderbolts duty to save ponies. I’m not gonna give up that oath, even for you.” Cloudy furrowed her brow. Rainbow had been able to see the arrow’s path like she had in that split second? She was obviously giving this mare too little credit. She chuckled. “I guess not all the Wonderbolts are useless.” Rainbow fumed a little but stopped when she heard Cloudy’s laugh become less spiteful and more genuine. Rainbow began to chuckle too, then they both shared a laugh. “I’ll make you a fan yet,” she said. Cloudy smiled and rolled her eyes. “We’ll see.” --- Rarity and Fluttershy walked along the edge of Everfree, the unicorn standing between Fluttershy and the large imposing dark forest as a buffer. They’d decided to go for a walk in the fall air but were quickly beginning to regret it as the cold nipped at them. Rarity pulled her scarf tighter and Fluttershy burrowed her head deeper into her scarf and wool hat combo so only her eyes peeked out. Dikiy didn’t seem to mind the temperature as he walked obediently behind her. Yes, he had followed them. It was kind of the reason they decided to take such a scenic path. Honestly, that stallion was more dog than dragon. “So have you given any thought about what to do with him?” Rarity whispered so she wouldn’t be overheard by Dikiy. Fluttershy looked down. “I really don’t want to upset him. He seems to like it here so much. And he doesn’t seem to be doing any harm.” Rarity knew she was going to say that. She lidded her eyes and smiled at her oblivious friend. “You know, maybe you could keep him here. Teach him to be a stallion and maybe even… be the mare he needs?” She punctuated her question with a giggle. Once again Fluttershy was oblivious. “Hmm. Maybe. I suppose he does enjoy the animals and…” Her eyes widened beneath her layers and her cheeks turned bright red. “RARITY!” “Only a little fun, darling,” Rarity retorted. She looked back at Dikiy who seemed to have become engrossed in sniffing his own flank. “At least I hope so.” Suddenly, the tall stallion shot up straight sniffing the air. His pause caused Fluttershy to turn. “Dikiy? Is everything okay?” Dikiy’s eyes narrowed and he surprisingly leapt over the two bounding off over the hills. “Dikiy, wait!” Fluttershy rushed after him. “Hold on!” Rarity shouted as she followed. It took all she could just to keep up with Fluttershy and Dikiy was almost out of sight. “What… is going on?” she huffed. Fluttershy frowned as she ran, never losing sight of the stallion in front of her. “I don’t know.” After a few minutes run for Dikiy and nearly ten minutes for the two mares. They collapsed as they finally found where he had been leading them. Dikiy stood patiently next to an old circus wagon sniffing at it and not seeming to like the vehicle’s over all feel. Fluttershy was the first back to her feet as she walked over to apologize to whoever pony must be stuck inside there scared of the tall monstrous-like stallion. “I’m sorry,” she pled with whoever was inside. “He’s really friendly. Honest. He’s just not very house bro-” She stopped as Dikiy stuck his head inside the back flaps of the wagon. “Dikiy, no!” She ran to grab him but instead got a look inside. Dikiy had pulled the curtains open revealing the interior and the fact that there were no ponies inside was the least of what scared her. She stood frozen in place as she looked into what may have been the biggest collection of weapons she had ever seen. Chests covered most of the floor area of the wagon and they were open revealing rows of daggers and swords she’d never seen before. Hanging from the roof were cross bows and arrow quivers. But the coup de grace had to be the masks hanging from the walls. They had tribal designs like the ones Zecora had yet these were ten times scarier. They were red and black faces with tusks and sharp teeth, and large round expressionless eyes. It all made Fluttershy feel faint. And then the smell hit her. Rarity got up and walked around to where Fluttershy stood. “What is going on with that sta- Oh my Faust.” She froze as she caught sight of the wagon’s inside as well. The smell followed soon after and she had to hold her nose. It was like something rotting, but that wasn’t all. Something metallic in there as well. Dikiy was fully in the wagon now burying his nose next to whatever chest lay unopened until he finally came to one by the very back. He stopped hesitantly at it before reaching out. “Don’t!” Fluttershy shouted with a hoof to her mouth. She was already on the verge of tears. But Dikiy barely paid attention. He opened the chest and was greeted to silence. Neither Fluttershy or Rarity could tell what he was looking at but they knew they didn’t want to know. With his back to them the stallion lowered his head as if in pain before closing and picking up the chest. He carried it out past the two and planted it on the ground, a look of deep sadness on his face. “Dikiy?” Suddenly his ears shot up and Dikiy turned to grab Fluttershy and Rarity. They both screamed and Rarity thought he was finally going to attack them, instead he held them close as the sound of two rapid thunks came from behind him. He let them go and spun to face the trees. Fluttershy and Rarity gasped as they saw two arrow shafts sticking out of his back. Rarity looked up at the trees Dikiy was looking at and saw blended into the foliage a figure with a similar mask as the ones they saw inside. His cat-like eyes narrowed and he crouched with a low growl. The figure in the trees knocked another arrow in their bow but Dikiy’s claws were already out and he jumped. The wings on his back were far too small for flight but that didn’t seem to matter since the stallion seemed to be able to jump as high as he wanted. He reached the treetop with little effort, surprising the shooter and making them lose their grip. While Dikiy landed in the tree, the shooter fell from its branches and landed on all fours by the forest edge. They turned and Rarity saw them look directly at them. Besides the mask it’s coat was striped like zebra and its mane was pitch black and short. “I think we’d better run, Fluttershy.” The shooter began to walk swiftly toward them, putting its bow back and pulling out a dagger it placed in its mouth below the mask. “Yes, I think that’d be wise.” They both turned to run just as the zebra lunged at them. It didn’t get far, however, as Dikiy jumped from the tree and landed square on its back. Fluttershy and Rarity ran behind the wagon, not wanting to watch as the sounds of fighting and scrambling came from the other side. The sound of a blade whooshing through the air could be heard and Fluttershy heard Dikiy roar in pain. She peeked around the corner to see if he was okay. Dikiy held his left arm as blood poured from it. The zebra used this moment to attack again but the stallion saw it coming and raised a backhoof to the jumping attacker. It hit it square in the jaw and the zebra dropped its weapon before flying back and landing against the wheel of the wagon. Dikiy’s eyes were still furious and wild. He stormed toward the prone zebra, claws out and ready to tear them apart. “Stop!” Fluttershy’s voice seemed to find him in his fury and his eyes returned to normal. She stood before him now with a hoof wrapped around the leg that was bleeding. “He’s down. He won’t get up again.” As if to answer her, Rarity peeked out the side of the wagon, wondering if it was over. At that moment the zebra shot up and grabbed her by the mane. “Aaah!” she shouted in fear before glaring at her captor. “Keep your hooves to yourself!!” Her horn glowed and she lifted the bow and quiver on the zebra’s back. With the strap around its waist the zebra went along for the ride it let go of her mane in surprise. She tossed the zebra toward Dikiy who let out one final roar and swatted the zebra again into the dirt. It slammed headfirst into the ground, cracking its mask, it’s head buried like an ostrich. All were silent before Rarity spoke up. “Um, Fluttershy, he’s not… is he?” Fluttershy put a hoof to the zebra’s unburied neck and gave a sigh of relief. “He’s still alive.” Rarity breathed a sigh of relief and walked toward them. “Good.” She kicked the zebra in an unmentionable place getting a muffled gasp as she walked by. “No one touches the mane.” Dikiy began to lick at his wounds prompting Fluttershy to swat his head away and tend to it herself. “So what do you suppose that was about?” Rarity asked as Fluttershy pulled off her scarf and wrapped it around Dikiy’s leg. “I’m not sure,” she replied. “But the answer is probably in that chest.” They looked to the chest that Dikiy had taken out of the wagon. The stallion gave a low sigh almost like a whimper. Rarity hesitantly took a step toward it, Fluttershy not following, not wanting to see. She opened the chest a crack and peered one eye in before opening it fully. At first she didn’t know what she was looking at. She thought it was dresses or some kind of trunk for clothes. But then she noticed that this was where that smell was coming from. And all that red, that wasn’t a choice of the designer. “They’re pelts,” she whispered. Fluttershy seemed to still be able to hear, putting her forehead on Dikiy’s shoulder for support as she held back tears. They had to be from all kinds of animals and beasts. There were even some horns and fangs she had only seen things like hydras. If this zebra was a hunter, then that meant they were here for the creatures that lived in Everfree, right? The sound of a blaring horn shook the air. Everypony turned to see the zebra, awake and standing bby the wagon with a twisted horn in their hooves. Their mask was cracking revealing half of their face which showed nothing but hatred. Dikiy moved to attack once more but before he could another horn blew from the forest. As they were distracted by the second horn, the zebra rushed past them and into the trees. Dikiy let out another roar and broke free from Fluttershy to follow them into Everfree. “Dikiy! Wait, it’s dangerous!” She ran behind him, following him into the deep dark forest. Rarity stood there stunned and alone. Did Fluttershy just rush head long into the Everfree without a second thought? She picked her jaw up off the floor and trotted nervously in place. She was quickly losing sight of them. “Oh, come on!” She finally gave up and ran into the trees after them. --- Rainbow and Cloudy stopped in their tracks as the sound of horns blaring through the trees caught them off guard. “What was that?” Rainbow asked. Cloudy frowned and leaned off of Dash trying to prop herself up. “I don’t know, but it’s probably not a good sign. We really need to find a way out of here.” Rainbow looked up at the tree tops. “Hey, why haven’t we just tried flying out?” Cloudy looked up as well and felt a shuddering realization hit her. She slapped her forehead and groaned. “That would have made more sense than trying to fly through a bunch of trees. Wish I had thought of that before I shredded my wing.” Rainbow chuckled. “Glad to know you’re not all-perfect.” Cloudy gave Rainbow a friendly smirk before it devolved into a serious frown. “No. I need to be perfect, or else the bad guys get away. That’s how its got to be. I can’t make dumb decisions.” Rainbow furrowed her brow and tried to touch her shoulder. “Hey, nopony says you need to be perfect. Celestia know, I’m not-” Cloudy slapped her hoof away and glared at her. “The only reason I didn’t think about something that stupidly obvious was because I had to haul your flank around.” She emphasized her words with a push to the chest. Rainbow narrowed her eyes at her. “Yeah, well, you’d be sunk if it weren’t for me! I saved your flank back there!” “You wouldn’t have moved an inch if I hadn’t started flying! You were too scared!” Rainbow’s eyes widened. She was scared before. She was still scared, what had been impeding that? “Sh-Shut up! You seem to always try to throw something back at me. Well, this is your fault! Why can’t you just admit that?” “Because it’s not!” Cloudy took a step forward and glared at her. “But it is!” Rainbow pressed her forehead against Cloudy’s, staring her down. “It isn’t!” Cloudy pushed a little harder, her voice growing harsher. “Why do you always have to be right?!” “Because when I’m wrong ponies I care about die!” The two separated and Rainbow’s face softened to a surprise. Cloudy backed away as far as the rope allowed her and looked at the ground. “We… We need to get going. No doubt they heard us.” She began to walk in a random direction pulling Dash along. “Yeah…” --- Barrel walked carefully through the forest, making sure not to make too much noise, as he followed the trail best as he could. He had a little bit of survivalist training in tracking from his time with Crimson Rush, but that wasn’t enough to keep him on this trail. He stopped and leaned down to pick up a broken stick. To his left another path unfolded with a broken tree branch. One of them was fake. Whoever these were they knew how to hide their tracks. He stood silently to examine both paths but froze when he heard the sound of hooffalls behind him. How many were there? Three? Most likely. They were hiding just behind the trees a few yards away. With one swift movement he spun and threw some darts he kept hidden in his coat. They imbedded themselves in the three trees he assumed each one to be hiding in. A trio of soft young girlish screams came from them. Barrel deadpanned before rolling his eyes. “What did I say about going home?” Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo trudged out from behind the trees. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom kept their heads down in apology but Scootaloo was bright eyed. “Would it help if I said that that made you like 20% cooler?” He raised a menacing eyebrow giving them a punishing expression. “Guess not.” “You girls are going to get hurt here,” he said. Sweetie Belle tried to speak. “Yeah, but we-” “YOU ARE GOING TO GET HURT!” he repeated. All three shrunk back. “Whatever’s happening out here you can be sure that it involves some nasty characters. Ponies that wouldn’t hesitate to harm you.” “We just wanna help Rainbow Dash,” Apple Bloom spoke up. Barrel sighed and rubbed his temples. So they had overheard. “Look, Agave is already on her way to get Miss Sparkle and the others. They can handle this.” “Then why are you here?” Sweetie Belle asked. Barrel opened his mouth to answer but the sound of a horn stopped him. It echoed through the forest before dissipating. They all stood still for a moment as if in wait. “What was-” Another horn blew and cut her off. Barrel’s ears worked over time twitching around and trying to find where the source came from. As a sharp shooter he had trained both his eyesight and hearing. Both needed to be at peak efficiency. His ears locked in place and he smiled. Got it. He turned to the girls. “I’m giving you all one last warning. Go home. You’ll only be in the way.” With another threatening look he ran toward the sound he’d heard. The CMC stood silently in the cold forest as they watched him go. “Well, now what?” Apple Bloom asked. “He’s kind of right. Can we really do anythin’?” “Of course we can!” Scootaloo shouted before jumping on top of a small boulder. “Rainbow Dash is in trouble. Sure everypony else can save her without a doubt, but the minute we think we can’t help, that we can’t do anything about it, that’s when we fail to be Crusaders!” Sweetie shrugged to Apple Bloom. “Something could go wrong and they might need us. If we just stay out of sight I don’t think we’ll be in trouble.” Scootaloo reached her hoof down for a cheer. “Cutie Mark Crusader Rescue Team?” Sweetie Belle reached in her hoof followed reluctantly by Apple Bloom. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER RESCUE TEAM!!” With that they all followed Barrel’s trail into the forest. --- Rainbow and Cloudy met another barrage of arrows and were forced to find sanctuary in a small abandoned fox den. They slid in just as the arrows went flying and held their breath. Above them was a small gap through the tree roots to see through. When the arrows stopped three figures walked out into the open and collected their arrows. They wore tribal masks and appeared to be zebras judging from their stripes. The one whose stripes were shaped like a spear stepped right above them causing some dirt to shake loose and fall on them. By now Rainbow was having trouble holding her breath. Finally, they left both mares could breathe normally again. The space was still pretty cramped so Rainbow was backed into the corner with Cloudy in her lap. “Maybe we should just stay here,” she suggested. “Few minutes,” Cloudy agreed. They were silent for a moment. “So do you wanna talk about it?” Cloudy raised an eyebrow and scowled. “About what?” “About what you said. About ponies dying…” She stopped cold as Cloudy fought to glare into her eyes but the way they were positioned made that impossible. “If you don’t shut up in the next five seconds I will bust out of here myself and bury you here,” she hissed. They were quiet once more. “Why do you care anyway?” “Huh?” “I asked you before. Whether it was caring enough to challenge me or fight me and now this. Why do you care about some mare you’ll probably never see again?” Rainbow bit her lip. Why was she so angry? Right now in this situation it was hard to remember. “I guess right now I just want to keep my mind off the fact that I seriously don’t want to be here.” Cloudy shifted her eyes and nodded. “Not like I want to be here either.” Rainbow shook her head and her brow furrowed. “No, I mean, I really don’t want to be HERE. In Everfree, not after… what happened.” Cloudy opened her mouth about to ask what happened but then it hit her. “The Mailmare thing?” Rainbow moved in a way that knocked Cloudy’s head against the roof. “OW!” “…Sorry.” Cloudy rubbed her head but nodded thoughtfully. “No, no, I get it. Sorry for bringing it up.” Rainbow scoffed. “What do you mean, you get it? Somepony like you? Bet you could have gotten out of a situation like that easily.” Cloudy was silent for a moment. “It’s not always about how strong you are.” Rainbow could hear the trembling in her voice. “There will always be somepony stronger. Somepony that can plow right through you, take everything you love and then leave as if you weren’t worth ending as well.” Rainbow wanted to reply but even she knew how hard it must have been for the captain to say those words. She let her have her silence. “I’ve seen power,” Cloudy continued, a new something in her voice. Fear? No, anger. “I’ve seen what it can do to ponies. I don’t want that. I don’t want to be known as strong or powerful. I want to bring the powerful, those that go unanswered for their crimes, to justice.” She began to move until she finally managed to turn around and face Dash. “You want to never be as helpless as that again? Fight until you can’t anymore. Fight everything that stallion stood for and let him know you aren’t damaged by him.” Rainbow gazed at her, eyes wide. This was the first time she’d ever been truly moved. Their faces were inches apart but the look in her eyes was one Rainbow had expected from the captain all along. The look of somepony she expected to be able to beat her. The look of somepony with drive. “Alright,” was all she could muster. They sat uncomfortable and awkwardly staring at each other. Cloudy tried to turn around but found she couldn’t and had to back out of the den this way. “Huh. Sorry about this.” Rainbow laughed and shook her head as Cloudy backed out. “Don’t be.” Cloudy got free of the small hole but tripped backward as the rope connecting the two snapped tight. “Damn rope,” she muttered. Rainbow crawled out after her and held the rope in her hoof before a lightbulb popped over her head. “Hey, you said this thing is pretty strong right?” Cloudy looked at her quizzically. “It’s made of enchanted fibers called Gordian string. Only specific objects like a sword can cut it.” Rainbow let a wicked grin play across her face. “So these guys wouldn’t mind if we gave it back to them.” Cloudy was about to ask her what she meant when a lightbulb popped over her head. “Oh~” She smiled too. --- Twilight and Shining Armor dashed through the streets barely keeping up with the incredibly slick and stealthy zebra. “You know *huff* Twily *puff* we’re going to have *huff* to discuss how you came to know Redwood’s personal body guard!” Shining talked as he ran, both angry at his sister for keeping secrets but also worried about Dash and whoever else was in trouble. She didn’t answer, horrible thoughts going through her head. Please, Rainbow, please be okay! They left the town borders and ran up the hill stopping only briefly at the top for Twilight and Shining to catch their breath. “Agave,” she asked while breathing heavily. The zebra turned to her, seemingly unfazed by the run. “How deep… do you think they are?” Agave looked out on the forest and narrowed her eyes before turning to her with a worried expression. Deep enough, she guessed. The sound of a horn blew in the distance and they all looked up. “What was that?” Agave narrowed her eyes again and ran into the forest. “Hey wait!” Twilight followed after her, followed by Shining. --- Apple Bloom was now beginning to regret not voicing her protests louder. They had now lost sight of Barrel and Celestia knows none of them had any survival gear on hand. At least when they went monster hunting they had a compass. “We are so lost,” she moaned. Scootaloo shifted her head left and right frantically trying to take everything in. “Well, we can’t just turn back. Rainbow Dash is counting on us.” A howl from an unknown animal cut through the trees. “Uh, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle voiced as she began to back up toward Apple Bloom. “Maybe we should just go back. I think I remember the way.” Scootaloo looked at both of them with a hurt expression. “Seriously? Guys, this isn’t about us. After everything Rainbow’s been through, you seriously want to leave her here with whatever dragged her off?” Sweetie and Apple Bloom looked at each other. “Scootaloo, Ah know you think of Rainbow like a sister but sometimes it may just be best to leave it to the grown-ups.” Scootaloo’s expression turned to anger. “You wouldn’t say that if it were Applejack! Or Rarity!” The two were silent. Scootaloo became silent as well and hung her head. “I’m… sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I just wish I could help her.” Sweetie Belle gave her a small smile and went in to pat her back. “We understand. Maybe Mister Barrel’s just up ahead.” A sound came from behind them and they turned to see a figure running unbelievably fast toward them. They didn’t even have enough time to scream before the figure pounced and grabbed Scootaloo by her chest and held her close. It looked like a zebra, somepony like Zecora and Agave, only he wore half a mask and sweat and dirt was covering his body. “Hey! Let go!” “Let her go!” Apple Bloom shouted as she charged at him. The zebra simply swatted her away knocking her into a tree. “Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle shouted and ran to her. She had a bump on her head but beside that seemed fine. She reeled on the zebra. “I don’t know who you are or what you want, but leave my friends alone!” At her last shouted syllable another figure jumped over her, this one much taller and bigger. It slammed its massive hooves down between them and glared at the zebra. It had fur matted with scales and tiny wings on its sides. On its hooves were claws and on one was wrapped a red scarf. The three were too stunned to talk before a shout broke the moment. “Dikiy!” Sweetie turned around to see Fluttershy running through the forest. She caught sight of the scene and gasped with a hoof to her mouth. “What are you girls doing here?” Thee zebra slammed his hoof against a tree to get the attention back on him. “Oh, Dikiy, be careful!” “You know this pony?” Apple Bloom asked as she rubbed her head. “Well…” “Can somepony help me before we get into introductions!?” Scootaloo shouted. “Ugh! I’ll do it myself!” She immediately sank her teeth into the zebra’s arm. He screamed in pain and his grip loosened for a moment. Scootaloo pushed her way off and ran over to her friends. Dikiy spared no moment and lunged forward slamming his hoof into the zebra’s chest and pinning him against the tree. He slumped against it and fell to the ground, unconscious. Fluttershy ran over to check if Dikiy was okay while the CMC stood in amazed silence. “That.” “Was.” Amazing!” “Sweetie Belle!” the young unicorn froze, the voice coming from directly behind her. She slowly turned and grinned sheepishly. “Hi, Rarity.” Rarity shoved her face in her sister’s, a look of pure anger on it. “You are in so much trouble!” “Can we still admit that I was pretty cool back there?” Scootaloo interjected, trying to ease the tension. Rarity shot her an equally angry glance. That didn’t work. “Oh, you can rest assured that your mother will be hearing about this Scootaloo. And Applejack too, Apple Bloom.” “But Rarity we just wanted to help Rainbow,” Sweetie pled. Rarity’s anger faded for a moment. “Wait, what are you talking about?” “Mister Barrel said that Rainbow had been taken into the forest and-” Rarity grabbed her by the shoulders cutting her off. “Who said what?!” --- Barrel knew he was on the right track. The trail had led deeper into the Everfree than he thought possible but as long as he could find Rainbow there was still a way out. This place was big but not maze. The survivalist training in him reminded him to mark his path. He walked out into a small open area with hoof wide stream passing through a moderate sized ravine. This was the kind of place you’d expect to see animals drinking or something, but now that he thought of it he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of anything living since entering. Did that speak to the time of the season and everything was getting ready for winter, or was that because of whatever had dragged Rainbow Dash in here. Regardless, he had to find her fast. He took a step down into the shallow ravine that had the stream and stopped. Rustling. Behind him? He turned and reached into his jacket for some darts but there were none. He’d forgotten to get them back after scaring the CMC. Some survivalist, yeah, right. Two figures caked in dirt and leaves exploded from the bushes behind him and ran straight at him screaming. Between them was something like a long white cord. He didn’t know what was happening but his jumprope instincts took hold and he jumped in the air as the rope passed under his legs. However, to his surprise the two figures stopped their charge when their rope was under him and jumped over him crossing above and landing on opposite sides. As Barrel landed on the ground the white rope twisted around him and both figures pulled to tighten it. He tried to move but the muddy ground made him slip and the force of their pull and the rope sun him around. He twirled on the ground like a top for a couple seconds before stopping, his head dizzy and unable to keep his balance. One of the figure trudged over to him, or was it two? His vision was getting doubled but he swore he could see the matted wisp of a rainbow mane. “Miss Dash?” he asked blearily. Rainbow pulled back her arm and thwacked him across the jaw, knocking him out. Cloudy walked up to her pouting as she wiped the dirt from her face. “Hey! I wanted to be the one to do that.” Rainbow shrugged. “Eh, there’s more where he came from.” They both laughed before Cloudy looked down at him. She frowned in concentration. “Something wrong?” Cloudy lifted his face and opened both eyes checking him. He was definitely unconscious but there was something else. “I think I know him,” she said before getting up to cross her arms. “I just don’t know from where.” Rainbow grabbed his arms and began pulling. “Well, we can figure that out when we interrogate him.” Cloudy chuckled again. “You’re getting more and more vicious the more we’re here, aren’t you?” “I’m cold, hurt, and there are ponies trying to hunt me. I think I deserve to be a little bit vicious.” “No complaints here.” A few minutes later they had dragged him downstream a little to a secluded area under a small moss covered cliff in the ravine. Rainbow splattered water on him and he began to sputter before becoming conscious again. “Wh-What? Where am I?” he asked. “I’m asking the questions,” Cloudy said threateningly as she pushed his chest. “Where are your companions? Are they close?” “Why did you take us out here?” Rainbow insisted. Barrel shook his head to clear it. Two mares. One was Rainbow Dash and the other Captain Gust. This just got a whole lot more complicated. “Take… No! I’m here to rescue you!” “Sure,” Cloudy chuckled. “And I only have dirt in my mane.” “You should really take a shower when we get out of here,” Rainbow leaned in to whisper to her. “You too,” Cloudy whispered back. Barrel tried to rub his temples but he found his hooves tied behind his back with vines. Instead he opted to moan. “Look, you need to trust me. Whoever did foalnap you two and take you here are way more skilled than I am. I know you’ve been constantly moving and that’s good, but if you stay here with me too long they will find you. Find us. And with my hooves behind my back-” “Like we’re gonna fall for something like that,” Rainbow sneered. Barrel struggled to find something that might convince her he was there to help. “Um… Oh! Scootaloo! Scootaloo came with me! If you just come with me I can take you back and she-” Rainbow’s eyes widened and Barrel saw a horrible anger arise from them. She flew at him and pinned him the wall. “You took Scootlaloo!? Where? Where did you take her!?” Barrel sighed as well as he could with a crushed chest. “I didn’t take her! We’re friends! Sweetie Belle! Apple Bloom! All of them!” “You expect me to believe that!?” Barrel gritted his teeth. He knew the only way to convince her of his fellowship with the three fillies. He let out an aggravated sigh and rolled his head back and forth before accepting his fate. “Check my flank.” “Pardon?” Rainbow and Cloudy uttered at the same time. Barrel really didn’t want to say it again. “Check. My. Flank.” Rainbow looked at Cloudy curiously and Cloudy walked over to his side. She lifted his jacket and her eyes went wide for a second before a truth hit her. “Oh, that’s rich.” Rainbow finally let him go and put her head next to Cloudy. “What are you…” she stopped. Indeed, Barrel had no cutie mark. Rainbow was silent for a moment before the truth hit her as well and she let out a chuckle, which turned into a laugh, which turned into a fit. She was rolling on her back laughing. “So… So you’re a… a…” “I am not a Cutie Mark Crusader!” Barrel insisted but Rainbow simply laughed more. Even Cloudy let out a snort. “Can I have these off now?” he asked raising his hooves behind his back. Cloudy’s smile dropped and she stood up again. “Not just yet. This doesn’t verify your story.” “BARREL!” a loud shrill voice echoed from atop the ravine and they all looked up to see a very mad white unicorn whose coat was now red with anger. “Rarity?” Rainbow asked. Behind the white mare three fillies popped up and smiled broadly to see him. “Mister Barrel! We found you!” Scootaloo shouted. “Does that?” Barrel asked with a smirk. An arrow whizzed past the three and embedded itself in the wall where he had previously been pinned. “Or maybe that?” --- Rarity hadn’t known where to start. Both Rainbow and Barrel were down there. At least she thought that was Rainbow, the poor dear was caked with dirt. Behind her, the CMC and Fluttershy and Dikiy walked up. Dikiy still having his nose up and ears twitching alert. She was about to call out to Rainbow too when the sound of something whizzed by and almost hit Barrel. She shot her head up and looked around before jumping over the girls. “Get down!” she shouted. Dikiy’s head turned he growled before lunging at a tree. It shook and above in the branches a figure started to lose its balance. It was another one of those zebras with the masks. They seemed to glare down at the dragon-pony before jumping to another tree and branch. Suddenly, above them, three separate figures began to jump from branch to branch. Dikiy struggled to keep up with where each one was going but it was clear that they were trying to confuse him. Below, Barrel turned his back to Cloudy. “Get these off me right now or they’re gonna get hurt!” Cloudy gave him one last suspicious glance before untying the vines. “Okay, but what do you expect to-” She was cut off as Barrel grabbed as many rocks as he could hold and planted his feet. He then narrowed his eyes and watched as each hunter above hopped from branch to branch. Then with a rear back and a throw that was so fast even Cloudy didn’t see it, he hurled a rock like a ball and pegged one of the zebras in the forehead. The hunter yelled and then toppled over their branch crashing to the ground. He followed suit and began hurling rocks at the other two but they were now aware of his meddling. Up on the banks of the ravine Dikiy stopped following the two on the branches and dedicated his efforts to the one that had fallen. He growled even deeper when he saw they had landed near Fluttershy. Fluttershy jumped slightly when the zebra fell next to her but held out a hoof. “Oh, are you alright?” The zebra spun on the ground and tried to grab her as it got back up but Dikiy pulled her back in time and opened his fanged mouth just as the zebra swiped at her. He caught it’s hoof and bit down only hard enough to hold him as he swung his head and launched the zebra into the small stream below. Dikiy gave Fluttershy a scolding look and her head sunk. “Sorry, force of habit.” Above, one of the hunters jumped from their branch and fell toward Rarity and the kids. Barrel dropped his rocks in shock as he watched. “No!” Suddenly Cloudy slipped and hit her head as she was dragged away. In a blur of blue, the pouncing zebra was slammed and launched into the air. Rainbow landed on the forest floor atop the ravine and struck a victory pose. “Oh yeah! Don’t even try to touch my friends, you freak!” “Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo shouted in cheer and jumped on her. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” “Me too, Scoots,” Rainbow smiled. The zebra landed on the ground and spun to right himself like the first. He turned and glared at Rainbow before drawing a dagger from their pack and placing it in their mouth. Scootaloo hugged Rainbow a little tighter as she saw him. Rainbow looked between the zebra and Scootaloo, the filly’s trembling reigniting memories that she had forced back in a moment of crisis but now came back full force. Her legs seized up. No, no, not now. A tap on her shoulder. Rainbow turned to see Cloudy dusting herself off and rubbing her head. She had been pulled up the ravine’s side by her leg and didn’t look all too happy about it. “That was for earlier, wasn’t it?” she asked with a smirk. Rainbow chuckled. “I guess.” Cloudy looked at Scootaloo and the others, noticing Rainbow’s shaking legs. The zebra was just about ready to pounce. Cloudy patted Rainbow reassuringly on the shoulder. “Let me take care of this.” Her attacker lunged with the dagger and sliced it through the air. Cloudy moved her head back to dodge and then reared up. The zebra saw this as a chance to continue the assault and swiped again at her stomach. But Cloudy raised her unshackled back leg in a kick and managed to connect with his jaw. The zebra stumbled but still refused to give up his weapon. “Tenacious, I’ll give you that,” she muttered. “But so am I. Now!” She pointed behind her causing the zebra to spin around. However, all that awaited him was Barrel half way up the ravine side. He looked up at the masked assailant and then around, unsure of what to do. “Uh…” A kick from behind catapulted the zebra into the stream like the last one. He landed on his back, moaning like his predecessor. Barrel struggled to the top of the wall and raised an eyebrow at Cloudy. “Thanks for the distraction,” she smirked. “No problem,” he muttered. Rarity finally let go of the girls and ran to hug her friend. “Oh, Rainbow! I’m so sorry! I didn’t even know you went missing.” “It has only been a day,” Cloudy said. “What?!” Rainbow shouted, her legs finally able to move. “It feels like two weeks!” Fluttershy ran over and hugged Rainbow as well. “Oh, I’m so glad to know you’re okay!” Dikiy ran up behind her startling the CMC, Barrel and Cloudy. He simply smiled and let his tongue waggle out of his mouth. “Just what is that?” Cloudy asked with a hint of irritation. “You have some catching up to do,” Rainbow said to her. “As do you,” Rarity stated bluntly as Barrel tried to sneak off. He froze and turned awkwardly to her. “Barrel.” Sweetie’s face brightened up. “Rarity! You know Barrel?” “You could say that,” Rarity muttered through a slight sneer. She walked over to the stallion and poked him in the stomach. “You are going to explain how you know my sister and how you introduced yourself to her before even coming to me.” Barrel rubbed the back of his head. “Ahem…” he was about to argue but Rarity’s look stopped him. “Yes, ma’am.” Cloudy looked over the ravine. “Uh, hate to spoil the party, but weren’t there three zebras?” Everypony froze as a realization hit them. Barrel looked above and saw to his horror the last of the hunters jumping from the trees, knife in mouth and holding an arrow. He reached out and grabbed Rarity, pulling her into a tight protective embrace. He expected to be stabbed through the back but after a moment, nothing came. Then he raised his head and saw everypony’s eyes glued above him. The hunter was suspended in air by a purple bubble. “Is everypony alright?” Came a strong authoritative voice. Shining Armor ran out of the trees followed closely by Twilight. His horn was aglow, creating the bubble that held the zebra in place. Cloudy immediately straightened up in surprise. “A-All fine, sir!” she shouted before blushing. Shining nodded to her. “Good to see you alive and well, captain.” “You as well, sir.” He turned his attention to the others and saw the two ponies he didn’t recognize. Barrel and Dikiy gave him blank looks. Shining merely sighed and turned to Twilight. “I guess this is just more you’ll have to explain…” he trailed off as he saw her collapse in front of her friends and begin bawling as they held her close. “Though, I suppose that can wait.” “Rainbow!” Twilight cried as she threw her arms around her. “I was so worried. I didn’t know if… I’m so sorry that…” Rainbow pushed her back and held her shoulders. “Twilight, I’m fine.” She let out a sneeze. “Maybe a cold and a few scrapes. But it would have been much worse if it hadn’t been for Gust.” Twilight turned to the captain who had stopped talking to Shining. She walked over to her, her face set in an unreadable emotion. “I’m still not sure if these guys were after you,” Cloudy said as Twilight walked closer. “But they were pretty well prepared so it’s probably best if we-” She was cut off as Twilight wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close. Cloudy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For protecting her.” Cloudy pushed her away lightly and rubbed the back of her neck. “Um, it was nothing.” Rainbow sauntered up to the two and wrapped a friendly hoof around Cloudy’s shoulder. “You’re darn right! She wouldn’t have made it out without me either.” Cloudy smirked and took Rainbow’s hoof off her. “Let’s not get carried away.” “Hold it,” Rarity said as she stepped on Barrel’s tail when he was trying to flee. “Where do you think you’re going?” Barrel chuckled nervously but then his eyes went wide. “Look out!” Above them the zebra in Shining’s bubble pulled out a new dagger, this one glowing with red energy. He sliced into the magic binding him and the bubble popped. Shining’s horn exploded with light as the force of his spell being forcefully cancelled out rebounded on him. “Gaaah!” he shouted as he fell to the ground. The zebra spun in the air once more, this time aiming Twilight, Rainbow and Cloudy. He was mere hooves away, it felt too late to move. Twilight saw the blade come just inches away from her nose. Then in a blur of black and white the zebra was gone. Disappeared in midair. “What was that?” Rainbow asked. Cloudy ran over to Shining to help him up. He sat up and wearily rubbed his horn. “The zebras. Where did they go?” Cloudy cursed herself and ran to the edge of the ravine. The two at the bottom were gone as well. “Damn it!” “Did they get away?” Sweetie Belle asked. Dikiy sniffed the air and turned to Fluttershy, shaking his head. “It doesn’t look like their around anymore,” Fluttershy translated. “Well, that’s good, right?” Rarity interjected. “No!” Cloudy spat. “They could be regrouping for all we know!” Twilight merely stayed still staring in front of her where the dagger nearly cut her. As the others argued around her only one thing flashed through her mind. It wasn’t the near death experience or even the fear of losing her friends. It was the cold feeling she got when she looked into the red aura on that dagger. Like some part of her was calling out to it. A magnetic feeling. She shook her head to clear it and the feeling faded. Her friends were safe, that was all that mattered. She went back to join her friends as they bickered and a realization hit her. Where did Agave go? --- Deep in the Everfree in a familiar hut, six zebras sat in silence. Four of them were unmasked and bound together back to back and unconscious while the other two sipped tea on a couch. Zecora looked her guest over. “I appreciate the visitation. But next time please meet my expectation.” She nodded to the tied up hunters. “You bring home stallions after so long. Yet, still I sense that something’s wrong.” Agave put down her tea cup and pulled a dagger glowing with red energy from her jacket. She set it on the table and Zecora narrowed her eyes. Even without touching it she could feel the power emanating. Still she reached a hoof out and touched it. Immediately, images both cruel and ancient appeared in her head and she let go. “These hunters had a weapon so fierce. Created for magic, specifically to pierce. The blade is new but the magic old. It chills my heart to see a charm so cold.” Agave looked at her and Zecora immediately knew what she wanted. “It’s origins I cannot say. But surely it is from far away. Across the sea and past the griffin home. An ancient place where ponies roam.” Agave waved her hoof as if asking more. Zecora shook her head and smiled mournfully. “I’m afraid that is all I can give.” Agave nodded and got up to leave, but Zecora grabbed her arm. “Please, let this go if you wish to live.” The two mares stared at each other for a long time before Agave pulled away. She gave her one last look as, with a burst of speed she was gone and so were the four others. Zecora got up and walked slowly to her window. “Please be wary of those you let in. Protect yourself above all, my friend.” --- Applejack had pulled all the family photos from the trunk and dumped them in her room. She had kept the door locked for most of the day now. Something Apple Bloom had said about recognizing Redwood made her uneasy and it had been itching at her. She opened the family album, her first sort of clue and examined that picture again. It was her parents laughing together, though the picture was cropped oddly. It looked as though somepony cut it right down the middle with the slightest hint of a hoof peeking through. She just couldn’t get it out of her head now. She had been through the chest ten times now. Almost at it all day. She had time now since harvest was over and the cold was setting in, but she still had nothing to show for her efforts. She threw down the last of the pictures and leaned back on the floor gazing up at the ceiling. “Maybe Ah’m just thinkin’ too much. Ah mean, it’s impossible right?” That was when out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something. The chest sat open so the bottom of the lid faced her. Wedged beneath one of the planks on the lid of the chest was what looked like a scrap of paper. No, there was color. A photo. She couldn’t see what it was of but something told her it was what she was looking for. Applejack reached for the small slip and pulled it slowly from the wedge. As it came loose she stopped midway when she saw that it was a cropped picture. This was it. She took a deep breath, afraid of what she might find out, then pulled. Granny Smith walked steadily up the stairs to her granddaughters room, rubbing her back as she did. “Honestly, that girl making me come all the way up those stairs.” She knocked on the door to Applejack’s room. “Applejack! Ah been callin’ ya! Dinner’s on!” The door swung a little open and Granny Smith peered in to see Applejack sitting on her floor with pictures scattered about. In front of her was a newly reconstructed photo of her parents and… Granny Smith’s heart went cold for a moment. Applejack looked up at her grandmother with a confused expression. “Hey, Granny. Sorry, Ah was lost in thought.” She lifted up the newly found half of the photo. “Who is this?” Granny saw the photo and felt a wave of relief rush over her. The mare in the photo was a pure white unicorn with a long sea foam green mane. Her cutie mark was simple musical note with a conductor’s wand next to it. She had her eyes closed in an expression of laughter and enjoyment while standing next to Applejack’s parents. “Hmm. That’s your aunt. On your father’s sister-in-law, Ah believe.” Applejack looked at the picture scrutinizingly. “Well, how come Ah’ve never seen her?” “She was around a little when you were young.” She walked over and sat next to AJ. “Though she died a little before your parents so Ah wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t remember her.” Applejack stared at the photo, a look of confusion and something else on her face. “Everythin’ alright, sugarcube?” Applejack put the photo down and sighed. “Yeah, Ah just…” she let out a small laugh, “Ah guess Ah don’t know what Ah was expectin’.” Granny smiled and wrapped a hoof around her shoulder. “Come on, it’s time for supper and Big Mac is getting’ antsy.” Applejack smiled and hugged her grandmother. “Alright. Need any help down the stairs?” “Nah, these old bones are still good for somethin’,” Granny chuckled. Applejack still helped her up and they walked to the door. She stopped in the doorway. “Hey, what was her name?” Granny looked at Applejack with a smile. “Symphonia.” --- Redwood walked to the gates of Canterlot Castle, the only light coming from the lanterns hanging on the streets. The square was deserted of both onlookers and guards, something he went quite out of his way to accomplish. Nothing would get in the way of this meeting. Below one of the street lanterns he saw a sealed envelope stuck to the pole. For a moment he thought he had been stood up but when he went to open it he let out a laugh. “This is the last favor! Stop harassing me! Signed Seek.” the letter read. He let out another chuckle as he pocketed the letter. “You seem cheery,” a voice all too unhappy to be here said from behind. Redwood turned and saw a figure emerge from the shadows. He was a slightly younger unicorn with a dark blue coat and well groomed blue mane. His cutie mark was that of two moons nestled in each other. “Sorry for the subterfuge, but I knew you wouldn’t see me unless I tricked you, Night Light.” Twilight’s father pulled out the letter addressed to him and shook it. “Royal seal and everything. How’d you pull that off?” Redwood was about to answer but Night Light held up a hoof. “You know what, I don’t want to know.” There was a pause. “What do want, Rayleigh?” “Can’t two old colleagues get together to talk?” Night Light walked up and got in his face. “No! Do not play that card with me! Don’t beat around the bush and act all high and untouchable. You and I both know you aren’t.” Redwood’s expression fell and he stared blankly at him. “Fine. I came to give you a warning.” Night Light laughed. “A warning?! Are you seriously threatening me?” “Of course not! The threat is from me.” Night Light glowered at him. “I know about my daughter’s situation. Believe me, Celestia hasn’t stopped sending soldiers to my house every day because of it.” “Do you want her back?” Redwood asked. “What kind of a question is that?” Night Light replied with disdain. “Of course I want her back home. It tears me up every time I hear what horrible thing happened to her in Ponyville. But she doesn’t want to leave.” Redwood looked away for a moment. Night Light’s eyes widened with realization. “This isn’t about Twilight or me, is it? This is about her.” Redwood looked up at the sky, trying to look everywhere but his old friend’s eyes. “I saw her. In Ponyville. She’s… She’s doing well.” Night Light sighed. “Yes, she is.” “And… you still fund her endeavors?” “Yes.” “Just ask if you need more money.” “I don’t use your money,” Night Light said through gritted teeth. “What?” Redwood was shocked. “Those payments you send by courier every month? I give it to the orphanage.” Redwood’s face seemed to contort in anger. “That money is for my daughter!” “And if she knew where it came from, she wouldn’t want it either!” He poked him in the chest. “You didn’t just ruin her life, Rayleigh. Because of you I always knew something like this would happen to Twilight. You want to take responsibility? Repay me for taking care of your mistakes? Protect her. Make sure that not even a scratch comes to my daughter because if so I will reveal her. I’ll tell the world just who the daughter of one of the most wanted stallions in the world is.” “Is that a threat?” Redwood said, malice leaking through. Night Light backed off, his body trembling but still standing tall. Redwood finally let his anger subside and he walked past Night Light, stopping to put a hoof on his shoulder. “You wouldn’t do that. I know you, old friend.” Night Light batted away his arm. “Just keep her safe.” “I intend to,” Redwood replied as he walked away. “Both of them.” --- The next day, in the cold morning. Two mares stood before the building titled “Ponyville Psychiatry”. “Are you ready?” Cloudy asked Rainbow. Rainbow nodded. “Yeah. I think so.” She took a step forward but stopped. “Something wrong?” Rainbow turned back and smiled at Cloudy. “Thanks for everything. And for what it’s worth, I don’t want you to be a mare I just meet and say goodbye to.” She held out a hoof. “I want you to be my friend.” Cloudy looked at the outstretched hoof and slowly smiled. She took it and shook. “Yeah, I kind of do to.” Rainbow turned back and walked into the building. Cloudy let out a sigh as she turned to walk away. “Wait!” came a shout from down the street. She turned and saw Scootaloo skidding her scooter to a halt in front of her. “Aw dang! Am I too late?” Cloudy chuckled. “You just missed her.” “I wanted to wish Rainbow Dash luck.” She kicked at the dirt mournfully. Cloudy looked at the filly and smiled as a thought occurred to her. “Hey, come with me.” “Where are we going?” Cloudy shrugged. “Well, Rainbow is gonna need a celebration for her first day of therapy. Where else are we going to find a party planner?” “Ooh! Sugarcube Corner!” Scootaloo cheered and scooted alongside the mare. “Come on, I’ll get you a milk shake.”