And Then There Were Ponies

by YetAnotherBrony

Fallout

Twilight had not seen her library in over a year, but little about it had changed. There was a thin coating of dust, but everything else was exactly as she had left it. Twilight had thought for sure, that if Princess Celestia hadn't given this residence to some other pony, that things would at least be displaced by Spike's presence. Just as spike came to mind, the door swung open, and he came into view.

“Spike, how have you been?” asked Twilight.

“We'll I'm glad to know that even though you didn't notice when I was at Dragon Con you at least noticed when I was gone for over a year. So a friend called me up asking if I wanted to go on a three hour tour. Naturally I agreed, but then the ship sinks, and I find myself trapped on a deserted island with six ponies. We managed to get off eventually but for some reason they decided to call me Gilligan,” said Spike.

“You have friends?” said Twilight, not realizing until after she said it how it sounded. What she had meant to ask was that friends Spike had that weren't also Twilight's friends.

For a second Spike looked offended, but then he muttered, “Nevermind. I'm just very tired.”

As he made his way to bed, Twilight's thoughts picked up where they had left off. She couldn't believe she was actually here. She shouldn't be here, but she couldn't help but be happy about it. Her absence was endangering them all, as the longer she stayed gone, the more likely her cover was to be blown, but she just couldn't go through one more Birthday with just Walter as company. This year she decided to give herself the gift of coming home, and she just hoped a birthday miracle would happen and somehow they wouldn't notice.

On the bright side, she had already gotten through the most risky part, leaving. If she hadn't been caught by that, maybe she really could do this. On the other hoof, if she had, she may as well spend time with her friends, before they all meet their demise. The biggest risk was behind her, so there was no sense in turning back now. What was done was done. But no matter how many times she reminded herself of this, her mind remained riddled with worry that now would be the moment she would be found out.

But that worry quickly, vanished when she stepped outside and saw the very first pony she had seen in a long time. This pony was nopony she recognized nor that seemed to recognize her, but that didn't matter. This was a land of ponies. She was home.

This sensation was far stronger than anything she had felt standing in that lava pit surrounded tower. Her worry was gone, as she was simply too tired for it, and for once she had found a place to rest. No doubt after she’d gotten some sleep, it would return, but for now she was simply home, and nothing could ruin that.

Ponyville looked as it always had, except for a slight increase in hustle and bustle, and some unfamiliar faces. As she walked around, she was amazed to see how little things had changed. It was a strange thought, but part of her expected things to fall apart without her. No it wasn't even her absence that she thought would make the difference, so much as the world no longer seemed like it could allow a place as naive and friendly as Equestria to exist.

It didn't take Twilight long to decide that it was no good just walking around her home town aimlessly, when she could be visiting her friends. Twilight was overwhelmed. She didn't know where to start. She supposed she didn't technically know if Fluttershy got back okay fourteen months ago, and that seemed as good a place to begin as any, so she trotted over to Fluttershy's cottage. She knew it would happen, yet still Twilight's heart leapt for joy, when she heard Fluttershy's voice answer her knock.

“Who is it?” asked Fluttershy.

“Twilight Sparkle.” said Twilight.

“This isn't some kind of joke is it” asked Fluttershy, as the door began to slowly swing open. “It really is you! Oh thank goodness!” said Fluttershy in an excited yet still quiet tone. Fluttershy then hugged Twilight.

“I'm glad to see I was missed,” said Twilight.

“You don't know the half of it,” said Fluttershy shaking her head solemnly.

“At least you all still had each other,” said Twilight.

Fluttershy, then released her grip on Twilight and began digging at the ground nervously.

“Is something the matter Fluttershy?” asked Twilight.

“I don't think this is something we should discuss in a doorway. We should sit down, unless of course, you don't like sitting,” said Fluttershy.

Twilight couldn't imagine what Fluttershy could possibly have to say, as her friends were the best friends a pony could have. She couldn't think of anything that could come between them, but she had never seen Fluttershy look so glum. The two ponies took their seats, and Fluttershy began.

After several seconds, towards the end of which Twilight considered prompting Fluttershy to explain, she mumbled, “The first thing you should know, is Rainbow Dash never came back.”

“What do you mean, never came back?” said Twilight.

“We haven't seen her since you left. Nopony has.” said Fluttershy.

“Well... at least that's still four friends whose bond can never be broken,” said Twilight weakly.

“You are the element of magic, not simply because you are good at magic, but because you are the magical spark of friendship ignited, that served as the glue that kept us together. Without you, Applejack and Rarity began fighting again. Then Applejack and Rarity began to find Pinkie Pie annoying, so it was up to me to hold our friendship together. I just wasn't assertive enough. I failed. I couldn't do what you and Dash could,” said Fluttershy lowering her head.

“I don't see chocolate rain, so it can't be as bad as you make it sound,” said Twilight with a forced grin.

“Even though I'm not assertive enough to be very effective at it, I still fight for our friendship. I am the last thread of harmony, that prevents discord's release. Honestly Twilight, I don't know how much longer I can make it. Please tell me you are back for good,” pleaded Fluttershy.

“I wish I could, but I am still needed there,” said Twilight.

“But we need you here. Discord is already strong enough that he can project his voice, and create minor illusions,” said Fluttershy.

“Discord isn't as big of a threat as Logos, and as I said a year ago, he could probably be useful in defeating Logos,” said Twilight.

“Don't you understand Twilight. Discord is a symptom of a much larger problem. We are lost without you Twilight; the holes left in our hearts, not only ache, but have darkened them as well,” said Fluttershy.

“But Fluttershy, somepony needs to keep these people from getting through,” said Twilight.

Fluttershy shot into the air, and put her eyes up against Twilight's. “Then send somepony who isn't an element of harmony!” shouted Fluttershy.

“I've never seen you like this Fluttershy,” a dumbfounded Twilight managed to eek out.

“Yes you have! You just aren't used to being the big dumb mean dragon!” said Fluttershy.

“I'm sorry Fluttershy...” began Twilight.

“No you aren't! You keep saying how you wish you were here, but you never are! Do you know what we've been through because you weren't here! And you do not, I repeat, you do not, hurt my friends!” said Fluttershy.

Twilight didn’t know what to say, but if she made Fluttershy so upset, maybe it would be better if she came back later. Twilight began walked toward the door. She had started to open it when Fluttershy interjected, “Wait, please don't go! I'm sorry! I'm just not used to situations where the dragon and the friends of mine they are hurting, are the same person. I'm so confused, but I know the last thing I want to do is scare you away.”

Suddenly Twilight had a crazy idea. She had already considered the possibility that Discord could be useful, but only just now did the idea of intentionally setting him free occur to her. “If you miss me so much, why not just let Discord through. If he takes care of Logos for me, we won't have to be apart anymore,” said Twilight.

“I would but letting go of harmony, will do irreparable damage to our friendship,” said Fluttershy.

“It sounds like that has already happened,” sighed Twilight.

“Our friendship can be healed. It has just been neglected for so long, that it needs a lot of care to get better. But if I give up, I fear we may all lose our elements, without which our friendship will never survive,” said Fluttershy.

“Why would you suspect that?” asked Twilight.

“I may have confided in Princess Luna, about my concerns. I don't know why I choose her. She just seemed the most like you, and I couldn't tell my other friends, as my problem was about them, and how I was failing to keep them together,” said Fluttershy.

“I'm guessing she encouraged you to not give up?” asked Twilight.

“She told me that if everypony gives up on the friendship of harmony, they will all turn against their nature and become gray, and then it would take something drastic to get one of them to return to normal. Worse still, if nothing drastic happens within twenty four hours, they all lose their elements for good,” said Fluttershy.

“I haven't given up on our friendship,” said Twilight.

“I used to believe that too, but if leaving your friends without ever intending on coming back isn't giving up on a friendship, what is? You may have had good reasons, but what you did still counts.” said Fluttershy.

“I'm so confused Fluttershy. The whole reason, I left was for you guys, but what I'm doing, that I was so sure was right, doesn't seem right at all. Should I really just stay here and hope that someday soon the humans don't start killing us?” said Twilight.

Fluttershy finally had Twilight, right where she had wanted her for a year. She could tell by Twilight's expression and tone, if she simply said “stay” Twilight would have stayed, for better or for worse. Fluttershy couldn't believe that she finally had this golden opportunity.

Yet as she opened her mouth to say it, she couldn't make a sound. Fluttershy had seen their friendship grow so much weaker without Twilight their, and had been so desperate for her return, that she had never thought for a moment, despite her nature, that she would have hesitated like this. But she couldn’t take advantage of Twilight's confused state. Twilight was hurting. She needed of real advice. She did not need more manipulation. She did not need what Fluttershy had thought for several months Fluttershy needed. “I don't know,” said Fluttershy hugging the purple unicorn.

“I want so much to tell you to stay, but that's just me being selfish. Why has all of this happened? Why can't Equestria be the way it was?” continued Fluttershy, as the two proceeded to weep silently into each other's backs.

There was silence for a while, as they wept, hugged, and looked into each other's eyes for a while. They were both as confused as ever, but at least for the first time in a long long time, they were able to be confused together. Neither was sure what that meant, but they were both sure that it meant something important.

“I can't bare the thought of you living in that place,” said Fluttershy.

“I didn't think that had even occurred to you. I just thought that you were so overwhelmed by your own difficulties, you had forgotten what I'm going through,” said Twilight.

“I won't say that never happens, but I think of what you are going through often, and on rare occasions I would wonder if you were... were still...” Fluttershy's eyes began to well up again, with each attempt at trying to finish her sentence. However after several attempts she just couldn't say it and gave up.

“Still alive?” asked Twilight.

Fluttershy's throat was sore from crying and holding back tears, so she simply nodded.

“I won't say its always been easy. There have been some close calls where I really wasn't sure what would happen to me, but with Walter's help and some last minute ideas, I have been alright. Honestly, most of those times were within the first few months, and it is getting easier now. I will survive,” said Twilight.

“Well at least that's something. Something that means a lot.” said Fluttershy, looking down as her mind was again weighed down by remembering that Twilight would leave again soon.

Twilight took note of this responded, “So what should I do?”

Fluttershy was surprised to hear Twilight still hadn't made up her mind. So Fluttershy said a solution she had nearly forgotten about, but seemed like the best to her, “We could take this on together.”

“I already told you that harmony isn't the right solution to this problem,” said Twilight flatly.

“Then we won't use harmony. We'll do something else. When you got me back here safely, we didn't have a plan, but that still worked. Imagine how much more we could do with all six of us,” said Fluttershy.

Twilight had been open to ideas in her vulnerable state, but not that. If there was one thing her time at The Old Earth had taught her, it was that it was no place for her friends. A part of her couldn't help but feel like she was being stubborn, when she was refusing help, but danger was involved.

“Don’t you remember what it’s like there?” said Twilight.

“It isn’t worse than the pain, of having two friends gone, and our friendship as a whole withering and decaying,” said Fluttershy.

Twilight had completely forgot that Fluttershy had mentioned earlier that Rainbow Dash never came back. With everything else that had happened, Twilight had brushed the most depressing and ludicrous statement to the back of her mind. Rainbow Dash was a good friend, but why would pouting about one friend cause her not to come back. Had something happened to her? Twilight dared not think on it further. Rainbow Dash was a strong pony.

Then an idea occurred to Twilight. She couldn’t stay and repair her friendships the way she would have liked, but maybe if she got Rainbow Dash to come back, she could help hold the group together with her loyalty, determination, and assertiveness. Maybe the issue wasn’t that they were missing magic at all. What was friendship without loyalty?

“What happened to Rainbow Dash?” asked Twilight completely forgetting this wasn’t even remotely on topic.

After a brief pause Fluttershy responded, “I don’t know. Pinky Pie was the last to see her, when she went to invite her to your farewell party.”

“I guess I’m off to Sugarcube Corner then,” said Twilight opening Fluttershy’s front door.

“Please don’t go. Can we talk for just a little while longer. Please, it has been so long since I’ve seen you, and neither of us know when or if I’ll see you again,” pleaded Fluttershy.

“I’m sorry Fluttershy. I don’t have much time, and I must find Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight.

“Can you please come back later then? I often feel angry, which is something I almost never felt before. Can I just see you for a few more minutes,” pleaded Fluttershy.

Twilight hadn’t planned on it, but she already felt bad enough for being away from her friends constantly, she convinced herself that a few more minutes couldn’t hurt. “I promise,” said Twilight.

Twilight slowly walked off, but couldn’t help but wonder about poor Fluttershy. She had never seen her seem so desperate. Could Fluttershy even feel anger? If this had been any other pony, this would have been a stupid question, but with Fluttershy it seemed impossible. This thought quickly faded away as she remembered not only how Fluttershy reacted at the gala, but more importantly how she had reacted just minutes ago.

This too had shocked Twilight so greatly, she had already nearly let herself forget about it. Was it really possible she was like that often? Fluttershy wouldn’t lie, but maybe she didn’t have a good understanding of what anger was. But this notion too was immediately debunked by that same flashback of that same outburst that had occurred all too recently.

Twilight had let herself get so lost in thought, she had mindlessly walked to Rarity’s boutique. Rarity was somepony she wanted to see at some point anyway, and she might know something about Rainbow Dash’s disappearance as well. Besides that, Twilight’s visit with Fluttershy wasn’t exactly uplifting, and while Pinky Pie’s humorous antics were amusing, she was more in the mood for Rarity’s more serious demeanor. She knocked, and waited patiently for fifteen seconds but still nothing happened.

She knocked again, only louder this time, increasingly desperate to see her friend. She was considering knocking a third time, when the door slowly creaked open. The main room Twilight saw before her, seemed far darker then the curtains, that were tattered to the point of uselessness, and the wide open door, should have allowed for.

The place looked strangely empty. Further it was all in a far greater state of disrepair then Rarity would have allowed for. It looked almost like the place had been ransacked except it looked as though it had been that way for a while. There was a coating of dust that was considerably thicker than the one in her library.

Twilight’s curiosity got the better of her, and she slowly wandered around. As she entered and went from room to room, she mostly saw more of the same. However one thing that did stand out, was what had been Rarity’s room. In it was a bed that was distinctly hers, and was even made. As Twilight then took her leave of the boutique, she could have sworn she bumped into something, but there was nothing there. Twilight brushed this aside and resumed wondering about the boutique. Could Rarity have moved? Was she perhaps pursuing Rainbow Dash as well? Why hadn’t Rarity’s best friend, Fluttershy, mentioned this?

She had wanted to talk to Pinky Pie initially anyway, and maybe she would know something about this too, so Twilight proceeded to walk over to Sugarcube Corner the right way this time. Upon entering she saw the pink rump of somepony who was putting something in the oven. As Twilight drew closer to the counter, despite her mane not being nearly as inflated-looking as it usually was, it became clear that the pink pony was Pinky Pie; Twilight suspected this was the case the whole time as she didn’t know many pink ponies.

“Hello Pinky Pie,” said Twilight.

Pinky Pie slowly turned around slowly, then her pupils quickly grew to twice there normal size, and her mane reinflated. She proceeded to bounce off the walls literally, and even the ceiling. She hugged Twilight briefly in between each bounce, but even this didn’t slow her down enough, for Twilight’s eyes to keep up with her. “Twilight! Twilight! Twilight!” she shouted repeatedly and jubilantly.

After Pinky Pie settled down she said, “I always knew you’d find a way back! I told you that friendship always finds a way and it did!”

“I’m not back for good,” said Twilight.

At this Pinky Pie frowned slightly but was still cheery. She said, “But you are here now, and you will be again! That’s what counts!”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back. I probably shouldn’t be here now,” said Twilight.

“That’s what you said last time, yet here you are! Friendship always finds a way! The fact that you found a way despite the circumstances means you are the true friend I always knew you were!” said Pinky Pie who was not only no longer frowning, but who was again beaming and bouncing in place.

Twilight was glad to see her friend, even if just watching her made Twilight tired, but the lack of other topics to talk about brought the two missing ponies back to Twilight’s mind. “By any chance, did Rarity move?” asked Twilight.

Twilight instantly knew she had asked the wrong thing, as Pinky Pie instantly ceased all movement and her hair fell straight; Her pupils returned to even smaller than their normal size, and she half closed her eyes. “If she did, I would be the last pony to know,” said Pinky Pie.

“I guess I’ll ask some other pony about that then,” mumbled Twilight, but Pinky Pie apparently heard her.

“About what?” asked Pinky Pie.

“Perhaps we should talk about something else,” suggested Twilight.

“We may not hang out anymore, but she is still my friend, even if I may not be hers. If something is going on with her I still want to help. I still want to make her smile,” said Pinky Pie. She then weakly appended to the end, “if possible.”

Twilight was confident that telling her would do nothing to brighten Pinky’s mood, but the last thing she wanted to do on what little time she got to spend with her friends, was lie to them, and she knew Pinky Pie wasn’t going to let this go. “I dropped by her boutique right before coming here. Not only was nopony there, but the place looked completely beat up. Further it looks like nopony has lived there in a long time,” said Twilight.

“What are you talking about? I know everypony, including neighbors of Rarity, and I saw Rarity leave her home this morning,” said Pinky Pie.

“Then somepony ransacked her place,” said Twilight.

“But she is having a huge sale this afternoon, that should have started not long ago. She wouldn’t not be there,” said Pinky.

Ponyville was not the harsh environment she was used to, and surely somepony would have told her if something was wrong with Rarity. There had to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for what was going on, and Twilight was confident she would find out what it is from Rarity later. However that still left one missing pony. “What about Rainbow Dash?” asked Twilight.

“When I last saw her, she had said something about being tired of Equestria, but I never thought she was serious. We had a good talk, so even if she was, I thought maybe I had talked her out of it. The only part of our conversation that wasn’t good, was when I brought up your party. She didn’t shout or anything, but I could tell she was upset,” said Pinky with a frown becoming increasingly more pronounced.

“Don’t you worry Pinky Pie, I’ll bring Dash back,” said Twilight.

“How are you going to do that, if you don’t even know where to start lookin’?” asked Pinky.

“Honestly, I was hoping you had some more clues for me,” frowned Twilight.

“I have heard that Applejack said something to Princess Celestia about Rainbow Dash, but I wouldn’t know what. We don’t hang out much anymore either,” said Pinky Pie, who sighed for the first time Twilight had been there to hear.

Twilight felt a strong urge to immediately run off to talk to Applejack, as she was determined to get to the bottom of this, but she resisted the urge, as she realized she hadn’t said one thing to Pinky that hadn’t been business.

“How are you doing?” asked Twilight.

“Things have been… not good. But you are here now and we should be happy. Can’t we talk about you instead?” said Pinky,who was still frowning and motionless.

“Trust me, if we talk about my life, things won’t exactly be uplifting,” said Twilight.

“I’m getting tired of talking to a bucket of turnips,” said Pinky.

“Turnips?” inquired Twilight.

“Well I lost Sir Lint-a-lot, and I accidently baked Madame Le Flour. Friends sure do taste good though,” said Pinky Pie.

Twilight tried not to think too hard about that last statement, and so couldn’t think of any way to respond to what Pinky had just said. Consequently she stared at Pinky Pie awkwardly as Pinky licked her lips for a while, hoping that Pinky Pie would continue talking soon.

“Rocky decided he didn’t like me anymore. That seems to be a trend lately,” said Pinky Pie. Pinky Pie continued, “So that just left Mr. Turnip.”

“Mr Turnip? That’s an odd name?” said Twilight, who had thought she remembered Dash once briefly mentioning something about being replaced by turnips, but Twilight refused to acknowledge that Pinky Pie could possibly be talking about inanimate objects.

“I’ll introduce you to him,” said Pinky Pie who then trotted off into the next room. She then reentered the room seconds later, with a bucket of turnips dangling from her mouth, which she then sat down. “Mr. Turnip meet Twilight. Twilight meet Mr. turnip,” said Pinky.

“You do realize that is just a bucket of turnips right Pinky Pie?” said Twilight.

“I know,” she sighed again. “But who else am I supposed to talk to in the middle of the night?”

“Well you could go to sleep,” recommended Twilight.

“I could before you left,” said Pinky Pie.

“You haven’t been able to sleep since I left?” said Twilight.

“It’s not that. It’s just, as the friendships around me began to fall apart, it became increasingly difficult to sleep, until one day, I just couldn’t. Thankfully I still have Fluttershy, but though she’s too kind to say it, I can even sense her getting annoyed with me sometimes,” said Pinky.

“But everypony in ponyville is your friend. How can you possibly get lonely?” asked Twilight.

“You aren’t just plain ole regular friends. You are super duper extra best friends!” said Pinky Pie. “Sometimes you need one of those. I need one a lot,” continued Pinky.

“So you talk to turnips?” said Twilight.

“They are better listeners than peaches,” said Pinky Pie.

“But turnips can’t listen,” said Twilight.

“I know right. You figure it would be harder to do worse than that,” said Pinky.

“Anyway it hasn’t been all turnips. I have taken up greater responsibilities here to pass the time. It’s a good thing too, as its hard enough to pass the night with those stupid things.,” said Pinky Pie.

It was probably just because Twilight was already determined to find Rainbow Dash, but Rainbow Dash seemed like the perfect fix for Pinky Pie’s issue as well. Pinky Pie and Rainbow Dash had always been good friends, so getting her back would probably allow Pinky to sleep again. Her friends didn’t need her; they just needed Rainbow Dash. Twilight hated to admit it but this did hit a short depressing note in Twilight’s mind, but it didn’t last long, as her desire to not be needed outweighed her desire to be.

Pinky began to sweat and took a quick glance at her watch.“ Sadly these greater responsibilities mean, I have an order due soon. Could you please come back later,” said Pinky Pie.

“I promise,” said Twilight, reiterating the promise she wasn’t sure she should keep.

Twilight left. As Sweet Apple Acres came into view, she could have sworn Applejack saw her but Applejack immediately darted off and started bucking apples. Twilight couldn’t be more glad, with Applejack out bucking apples, it didn’t look like anything had changed. Twilight wasn’t sure what change could have occurred that would have been that obvious, but she was still delighted that none were apparent.Twilight was slightly bothered when she noticed the apples didn’t look ripe enough for harvest, but she figured Applejack must have had some good reason for picking them.

Twilight was only a few trees away when she called out, “Hey Applejack!”

“Hey,” said Appleajack while kicking a tree. She then went on to the next tree.

“Can we talk?” asked Twilight, who had caught up to Applejack.

“Fine. But make yourself useful. There are some buckets in the shed if you forgot,” said Applejack again mid-kick. She then moved on to the next tree.

“Did I offend you in some way?” said Twilight afraid she knew the answer already.

“Nah. Why should ah even notice when one of mah best friends is gone?!” said Applejack who volume was rising and who had given up any pretense that she was busy.

“I thought you understood. It sounded like you did before I left,” said Twilight.

“Yeah well, a might bit has happened since then. You made it sound like you were abandoning us for our own good, but then why aren’t we better off?!” asked Applejack.

“It’s not that simple Applejack. If there is a better solution to the problem at hoof I would love to hear it,” said Twilight.

“Yeah, its never simple enough for us simple country folk to understand,” spat Applejack.

“When did I ever imply that anypony isn’t intelligent enough to understand?” said Twilight.

“Maybe the fact that you said you’re open to suggestions, yet anything that isn’t your plan you immediately shot down. For a while ah foolishly assumed that’s because you really do know best, but if you can’t even think of a way for us to be together, then clearly you are dumber than a box of rocks,” said Applejack.

“Okay, and how might we do that?” said Twilight, hoping that if she walked Applejack through the flaw in her reasoning, and remained calm the whole time Applejack would come to her senses.

“By fighting Logos together ah course,” said Applejack.

“And what would we do when we got there?” insisted Twilight.

“Did we known that our Friendship was going to takedown Nightmare Moon? No, but because we stuck together an’ helped each other it worked out. When has doing things apart ever been a good idea?” said Applejack.

“But this is different…” started Twilight.

“Don’t even get me started on that, ‘this is different crap.’ Just because the circumstances are different like they always are, doesn’t mean friendship is. Friendship is the same there as it is here. You should have known that best of all after befriended that Walten fellow,” said Applejack.

“Walter,” instinctively corrected Twilight.

“Whatever. I could barely hear Fluttershy when she told me about it. The point is, you should have set your stubborn pride aside. Ah had to when ah was going to harvest the apple orchard all by myself.” said Applejack.

Twilight probably shouldn’t have been surprised, but she couldn’t believe how often this notion kept coming up today. How hard could it be to understand, she was doing this for there own good? Even now she was looking out for her friends, by searching for Rainbow Dash. She hadn’t abandoned them. She wasn’t wrong. But she was tired of arguing this point.

“We will have to agree to disagree then,” said Twilight.

“Look, Ah’m glad you’re back sugar cube, but I may take me awhile ta get over this,” said Applejack.

“I’m not going to stay for ‘awhile,’” said Twilight.

“You mean you aren’t done! You said you couldn’t visit until you were finished!” said Applejack.

“I missed you, okay! I shouldn’t be here, but I don’t have the restraint to stay away. This hasn’t exactly been easy for me either!” who was getting very tired of being yelled at. It’s as if her friends thought she wanted this.

“Oh horseapples! I’m still upset at ya for what ya done, but I don’t want to spend what little time we have together arguing,” said Applejack.

“Me either. Truce?” said Twilight.

“Truce,” said Applejack.

Twilight wasn’t sure when she would find the time, but she wanted to hang out with all of her friends more, and she was confident the only way that would be possible, would be to hang out with all of them at once. But Twilight hadn’t forgotten that Applejack wasn’t talking to Pinky Pie, so it seemed like it would take some work to make that possible. Now was as good a time as any to get to work.

“Applejack, do you still consider Pinky Pie a friend?” asked Twilight.

“I thought we declared a truce,” said Applejack.

“I’m not blaming you. I want to bring my friends closer together, as much as possible, while I’m still here,” said Twilight.

Applejack sighed. “Yes she is still mah friend. After Rarity decided to stop hanging out with Pinky Pie, she only had Fluttershy and me. So she was around a lot, even at the wee hours of the night and mornin’. Finally ah couldn’t take it anymore, so ah told Pinky to back off. Maybe if our friendship wasn’t already so badly damaged by missin’ ponies and such, ah wouldn’t have, but ah did.”

Twilight began to open her mouth but Applejack interrupted, “Ah know what you're gonna say. It was wrong of me to distance mahself from Pinky over something so stupid, but its hard enough to be friends with any of y’all without being friends with all of ya, as it brings up all them hurtful memories. It was bad enough without Pinky Pie making it harder. Ah know that still doesn’t make it right but ah I don’t know what else to do.”

“Actually I was just going to ask, if you wouldn’t mind hanging out with her, as long as Fluttershy and I were there,” said Twilight.

“Ah don’t mind at all. That sounds great actually. Ah just wish Dash were coming too,” said Applejack.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that actually. What do you know about Rainbow Dash’s disappearance?” asked Twilight.

“Not much, other then she’s lost her mind. Ah was the first to ask Celestia about Rainbow Dash, so she told me when about a month later when Rainbow Dash came to her spouting of all kinds of nonsense. She wasn’t even making whole sentences. She was really sweaty, didn’t look all there, and kept shouting things like, ‘Tanks!’ and ‘They’re here!’ Celestia tried to get her to slow down and speak coherently, but she would just say, ‘No time!’ and continue speaking nonsense. After a couple minutes of this she flew off, and nopony has seen her since,” said Applejack.

“Fluttershy said that nopony had seen her since Pinky Pie invited her to my party,” said Twilight.

“Well you see, Ah kinda never mentioned this to Fluttershy. Ah accidentally let something about it slip to Pinky Pie, but ah haven’t exactly told her either. Ah thought it was kinder to let em think she was just gone instead of crazy. Ah wish ah didn’t know.”

“Not that I’m complaining, but why did you tell me?” asked Twilight.

“Cause I’m too mad atcha to lie to ya,” said Applejack.

At this they both laughed for several seconds. Twilight couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed. She was positive she had since leaving, but she couldn’t think of when. It felt odd. In that brief moment, it occurred to Twilight for the first time, what if the whole thing was some sort of strange illusion? What if there was no threat, and she could stay here with her friends?

“It really is nice to be able to see you for a change,” said Applejack.

“Does that mean your anger has subsided?” asked Twilight.

“It’s not gone. The fact that this isn’t over yet is making me angrier, but I’ll set it aside for now,” said Applejack.

“Maybe if I find Rainbow Dash you’ll forgive me entirely,” said Twilight.

“It couldn’t hurt your chances,” said Applejack with a faint smile.

“If I find her, I’m sure we can help her reclaim her sanity,” said Twilight feeling strangely optimistic.

“Ah sure hope so. Even if we can’t, it would be nice to have her back.” said Applejack.

Twilight then felt a compelling urge to ask Applejack to come with her, but then remembered this might start up a debate about why she was willing to do this with help, but she couldn’t accept any when it came to the fate of Equestria. So she thought better of it, and trotted off.

Twilight didn’t have much to go on, but it sounded like Rainbow Dash wasn’t in Equestria anymore, and that she was likely not too far from Canterlot. Rainbow Dash would need to stay near society to get food, as there certainly wasn’t any in that wintery wasteland. Further Dash had been in a hurry to leave society again for some reason, so she likely wouldn’t have ventured somewhere too far from where she was last seen without good reason.

After a couple of hours, Twilight arrived in Canterlot, and then she proceeded north for a couple more hours until she hit snow. As she traveled she couldn’t help but doubt all the assumptions she had made that lead her to travel the way she did to begin with, but she knew she would never find Rainbow Dash, if she wasn’t at least consistent. She was low on ideas, and doubts would come no matter what she decided on, so she pressed forward.

Snow was not an unheard of phenomena in Equestria, but Everfree Forest aside, it always happened in winter. It was currently summer, and she wasn’t near Everfree Forest, so she knew by the snow, she wasn’t in Equestria anymore. Hopefully this meant that she was close enough to Dash for her spell to work.

Twilight pulled out a single cyan feather from one of her bags. She took a moment to remember the spell, and it occurred to her as she did so how out of practice she was. There had been a time where any spell she knew would have come to her mind instantly, but it had been so long since she had used any spells that weren’t for stealth or illusions. She was out of practice.

Even still, she remembered after about fifteen seconds. She proceeded to levitate the feather with her horn, and imbue it with some magical energy. The feather proceeded to move in seemingly random directions. Twilight watched it for minutes, studying its every move, until she determined it did seem very faintly attracted to one direction in particular.

Twilight galloped in that direction for several minutes, hoping her observations were correct and that the feather really did favor that way slightly. Twilight wasn’t sure exactly how far away her spell could be in order to pick up on Rainbow Dash’s trail, but she wouldn’t have been remotely surprised if it hadn’t actually picked up on anything.

Twilight then pulled out the feather and again imbued it with energy. She couldn’t believe it. Despite having so little to go on, her guesses had been right. She wasn’t sure how close she was, but the attraction to a particular direction was strong enough now, that there was no mistaking it. For about an hour she ran then stopped to use her feather again, until she could no longer run.

It wasn’t exhaustion that stopped her, though she was exhausted. What had been a blanket of snow, along with some coming down from the sky, had become a downright blizzard. The snow was falling in such thick sheets, that she couldn’t see more than ten feet in front of her. To make matters worse, if she brought out her feather, all of her magic wouldn’t be able to keep it from blowing away. In her time away from Equestria, Twilight had thought she had been through everything imaginable, but she had to admit; she had never before felt as if her hooves were going to fall off, the way they were surely going to now.

No matter how much lighter her hooves felt, or how much friendlier the air, none of that helped her against the ridiculous winter conditions. She could barely walk, as the wind was blowing against her. She considered changing directions, but this was the last clue the feather gave her, and her best shot at finding Rainbow Dash. She continued pressing forward, thrusting one hoof in front of her at a time.

After several minutes Twilight could step forward no longer, and so she laid down. Twilight was so close. When she used the feather for the final time, it vibrated rapidly and swirled only that one direction. Rainbow Dash was probably a stone’s throw away, but Twilight couldn’t see her.

“DASH! DASH! DASH!” yelled Twilight. She heard no response and her eyelids beckoned her to close them. A couple of seconds later she heard a plop and her eyes shot wide open.

A cyan pegasus landed directly in front of her. “TWILIGHT!” cried Dash.

“Please come back Dash,” said Twilight.

“I’m sorry Twilight. I can’t,” frowned Dash.

“I’m the one who left. Be angry at me, not them,” insisted Twilight.

“This isn’t about that anymore. It hasn’t been for a while,” said Dash.

“What is it about then?” asked Twilight.

“You’ll never believe me if I just tell you. So why don’t I show you?” said Dash. Twilight was about to tell Dash she couldn’t move, when Dash single-hoofedly threw Twilight onto her back, and then darted off into the sky.

Twilight had no idea how Rainbow Dash could stand to fly so fast. It was cold enough without Dash’s speed creating even more wind. However Dash didn’t even flinch, so Twilight figured the least she could do was not complain about it. After several minutes Dash landed.

“Discretely look over this pile of snow,” whispered Dash.

Dash had seemed pretty sane to Twilight, but Twilight began to suspect that she wasn’t as sound mentally as she seemed. Twilight had been warned this would likely be the case, and what could possibly be over that pile of snow other than another pile of snow. That was all that was out here. Further why was Dash whispering? Who was going to hear them? Twilight thought it best just to humor her though.

Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes. Twilight absorbed what she was seeing for about a minute. There were tanks, robots, and humans. After that minute, Twilight quickly jerked her head back down, as they were entirely too close for Twilight’s liking, but she likely wouldn’t have been able to see them otherwise.

Without a word, Rainbow Dash again pulled Twilight onto her pack, and they took off. They didn’t fly for nearly as long this time, but they didn’t exactly have to travel very far to not be seen or heard.

However Twilight barely noticed this. For the flight back and several minutes thereafter Twilight was consumed by thought. She had fought tirelessly for over a year to prevent exactly this. She had devoted her life, to stopping this from happening, and yet they were here. How? How could this have happened? Twilight had been so vigilant, and yet somehow she had failed them. Was it that one time, she had slipped up, and the teleportation to Equestria technology was operational for a full thirty seconds? But she had been at the lab, and hadn’t seen anyone use it.

Her headache, that had waxed and waned ever since she left, surfaced again. This time it threatened to split her head open right down the middle. Her head was throbbing and her thoughts became muddled, until a single voice whispered quietly into the confusing mass of colors and noise, her thoughts and perception had been reduced to. The voice said, “This is what you have been waiting for. This is perfect.”

She did not recognize the voice, and under different circumstances she would have classified the tone as ominous, but she found it strangely soothing. Her headache subsided and her brain resumed functioning normally. She was left with a comforting thought. If somehow the humans had found a way through, she didn’t have to keep up her post anymore. She could finally be with her friends again. She knew she should have been filled with despair, but she could not help but smile.

Twilight then noticed that Rainbow Dash was waving a hoof up in down in front of Twilight’s eyes and was screaming, “Twilight! Twilight! Earth to Twilight!”

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash. I spaced out for a bit,” said Twilight.

Rainbow Dash said, “A bit? Well whatever. Let me start over. So as you can see I’ve been a bit busy defending Equestria as well.”

“You fight them?” asked Twilight.

“Mostly I just steal their supplies when they’re not looking. I’ve got to do anything I can do to slow them down, since nopony else will listen to me,” said Rainbow Dash.

“To be fair, you were kind of babbling like a crazy pony,” said Twilight.

“That was back when I first discovered them. Can you blame me for being a little frantic?” said Rainbow Dash.

“No offense Dash, but I have a hard time imagining that stealing some supplies is doing that much to hinder an army. I don’t think the reason you are staying here is really to save Equestria. You know as well as I do, you could come back to Ponyville and be with your friends, and it wouldn’t make a difference.” said Twilight.

“What are you trying to say?” said Rainbow Dash.

“That the real reason you are here, is because you are ashamed,” said Twilight.

“Of What?!” demanded Dash.

“Of leaving. You see your disloyal behavior as so shameful, you can’t face them. Slowing down and speaking coherently would only have taken a few seconds, but you couldn’t. You wanted them to think you are crazy. You wanted them to think you didn’t abandon them,” said Twilight.

“Are you suggesting that I would put my own personal interest above that of Equestria!!?” shouted Dash.

“I’m suggesting you knew it wouldn’t do much good, and you didn’t want to create a panic. We haven’t had an army in thousands of years. We have long since forgotten how to fight,” said Twilight.

“Like I was being that logical after seeing what I had seen. How could I be?” said Rainbow Dash.

“I’m not saying you consciously made these decisions. I am only saying that this is the real reason you are here,” said Twilight.

Rainbow Dash brushed the snow around with the bottom of her front right hoof, before sinking her wings back down onto her sides and declaring, “I can’t face them after what I did. How can you?”

“I just keep in mind that I did it for their own…” began Twilight who let her sentence trail off as she realized this would be of no comfort to Rainbow Dash.

“I used to believe that I did it for their own good. I thought if I left them, you wouldn’t. I thought if somepony had to leave the group, it should have been me,” said Dash.

“Why you?”

“Because I’m the least awesome.”

“When did you start believing that?”

“I’ve always known that. Remember when I told you that I haven’t always been this confident? Let’s just say things haven’t changed as much as I’d thought.”

“I never thought I’d see the day where I’d have to tell you how cool you are Dash.”

“You don’t even know what cool means.”

“I know there is nopony I would rather be around.”

“Yeah yeah, talk is cheap.”

“Rainbow Dash, why do you think I am here?” said Twilight motioning with a hoof toward the nearest mound of snow.

“How did you find me anyway?” asked Dash.

“Oh well…” stuttered Twilight blushing, “I may have cast a spell on this.” She proceeded to quickly remove the feather from her bag and then throw it back in.

“You keep one of my feather’s with you?” said Dash.

“I know it’s a little creepy, but sometimes I need your strength, or Fluttershy’s restraint, or Appejack’s honestly…” said Twilight trailing off.

“What do you have of Applejack’s?” asked Rainbow Dash, a small grin appearing on her face.

“Oh well…” said Twilight who continued to blush as she pulled out a vile of clear liquid that hadn’t frozen yet.

“Is that…” began Dash.

“Sweat,” interjected Twilight.

At this Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Well at least I know you care. I still can’t face them though,” she said.

“They’re your friends. They’ll understand. Applejack wanted me to bring you back even if you had lost your mind. Pinky Pie was still distraught that you were upset when she last saw you. Our friends need us. Can’t we just forget this ever happened?” said Twilight

“You really think they need me?” asked Dash.

“I have never seen them more desperate. The other ponies are drifting apart without us. Fluttershy is trying to keep friendship alive, but I don’t know how much longer she can hold on. They need you Dash,” said Twilight.

“Yeah, let’s go home. Just promise me, you’ll never go back to that human world, and we’ll be on our way.” said Dash.

These words stunned Twilight. After seeing what she had, she had no intention of going back there, but discarding the possibility didn’t seem right.

“You haven’t seen how much they need you. So let’s hurry up and get back to them,” said Twilight.

“It doesn’t matter if they don’t have both of us. So just promise me you won’t leave us again. I’m not asking for much,” said Dash.

Twilight opened and closed her mouth several times. She wanted to make this promise but something inside of her just couldn’t. Despite what she had seen, she just couldn’t make a promise like that until Logos was defeated. What if something unforeseen happened, and they somehow stood a chance of winning? What if they needed the help of someone on the other side? Twilight couldn’t do it. She couldn’t say the words she couldn’t guarantee wouldn’t doom them all.

“I’m sorry Dash. I don’t have any intent on leaving, but I just can’t,” said Twilight.

“Fine. We’ll start small then. Just promise me, that if ever you leave again, I will see you again,” said Dash.

Whew. Dash was kind enough to give her a much easier promise. But right as Twilight was about to promise this, this sudden pang of panic overtook her. What if somehow her role as a spy wasn’t really over. If she broke a promise as simple as this, Dash probably wouldn’t even be able to remember her fondly. Twilight knew this was an irrational fear, as the enemy was already here, but still she had difficulty forming the words.

“Seriously!! Not this crap again! Thanks for nothing Twilight! I never wanted to see you again anyway!” shouted Dash before shooting through the air.

In an instant she was gone. Twilight didn’t even manage to choke out “Wait Dash! I promise!” until Dash was long gone.

Twilight pulled up a floating screen, and ran the program that warped her back into her library. The books that surrounded her looked as if they were drawing nearer every time she turned her back on them. Twilight retreated to her old bed, where she saw Spike already sleeping. Twilight had no idea what else to do, so she curled up with him, and went to sleep.

~~~

“I something the matter my prized pupil?” said Celestia.

Twilight Sparkle wasn’t sure why she bothered, for as she had expressed to Rainbow Dash, there wasn’t much Celestia could do about it anyway. Still Twilight found that she couldn’t, in good conscious, not tell her mentor and the ruler of all of Equestria, something of this magnitude.

“Logos is on this planet, and is making its way toward Equestria,” announced Twilight.

“Do tell. I am curious to hear everything you have learned about this event, being a spy among the leaders of the organization,” said Celestia.

“Actually, I never heard anything about it while I was on The Old Earth. I saw the army with my own eyes outside Equestria’s borders..”

“I find it very strange that they would do something like this, without their leaders knowing about this. How did they get through?”

“I don’t know. I have been vigilant in making sure that technology stays broken. I’ve been pondering it all morning, and I still can’t think of any conceivable way they could have made it here.”

“Under what circumstances did you see this?”

“The blizzard was so intense, and it was so cold, I thought I was going to die. But Rainbow Dash saved me and showed me their army.”

“Perhaps If I might speak with Rainbow Dash as well, about what she saw.”

“She refused to come back with me.”

“That is unfortunate. How long ago did they arrive.”

“About a year ago.”

“Did they seem abnormally slow to you?”

“Well no.”

“It seems odd it should take them so long to arrive then. Did you at least see them more than once?”

“No.”

“Then I am forced to conclude, that you were just seeing things. You were stressed, and were enduring extremely harsh conditions. It could happen to anypony. I once mistook a trash can for Discord.”

“Rainbow Dash, saw it too though.”

“Tell me something. Why did you leave Equestria’s borders?”

“I left to find Rainbow Dash.”

“A priori, what would you have said your odds of finding her were?”

“Not very good.”

“Don’t you find it a little odd you found in that giant abominable wasteland exactly what you were looking for. You found Rainbow Dash, and a reason to not go back to that terrible place. I’m sorry that such a terrible fate has befallen you, but I think the two of us are more aware than anypony of the necessity of your role.”

“I don’t know…”

“I have come up with a possible explanation for what you saw given what we know. If you believe that what you saw is actually the truth, and what we know is false, then please offer an explanation for what we know. Why are they here? Why didn’t you know about it? What are they waiting for?”

Twilight had to admit, what Celestia was saying made a lot of sense. She was so sure, everything she had seen was real, but in truth anypony’s senses are susceptible to being deceived. What she had seen out there once, wasn’t consistent with what they knew. Logos had not actually found a way through. Twilight needed to go back.

“I’m sorry I wasted your time Princess,” muttered Twilight to the floor.

“Twilight Sparkle, no one said you have to be the gatekeeper your whole life. You have done far more than I can ever repay you for. Maybe its somepony else’s turn,” said Celestia.

This time Twilight’s mind didn’t even afford her the brief delusion that this was a good idea. As appealing as the idea was, switching out ponies every year meant that periodically, someone new would be defending Equestria. Being a spy wasn’t exactly easy, and had a severe learning curve. Switching ponies out that often, almost guaranteed they would get caught. It was too much of a risk, and after a quick glance of Twilight’s frown, Celestia realized this too.

~~~

Twilight was in Rarity’s house, looking one last time for her. Twilight had nearly forgotten that she still hadn’t seen Rarity yet, but she remembered on her trip back from Canterlot. She had looked for Rarity everywhere but couldn’t find her. When she asked Fluttershy, Twilight learned this was apparently the first time Rarity had ever missed their spa date.

A noise among all the lifelessness immediately drew Twilight’s attention. The source of the noise wasn’t Rarity. It was Discord.

“How did you break free?” asked Twilight.

“I know we’re all eager for my return, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m not free yet.”

“Then why aren’t you a statue?” asked Twilight.

“Tut tut. Trusting your eyes when you shouldn’t, and not trusting them when you should. Two strikes already and it’s not even noon. Of course, if I had any say, maybe it would be,” said Discord.

“You still didn’t answer my question,” said Twilight.

“And neither did you. Why should it be my responsibility to answer questions. You’re supposed to be the smart one,” said Discord. Discord then pulled out the apostrophe in “you’re” and started picking his teeth with it.

“Could you at least tell me what you are doing here.”

“Poor ponies. They always have to be told things. They can’t just decide that it should start raining bunnies.”

“I thought chocolate rain was more your style.”

“Honestly, did no one look at it under a microscope? Some people just don’t appreciate the beauty of chaos. Certain rumors have lead me to believe that the worst offender is still alive.”

“You mean Logos? Indeed it is.”

“You let me free, and I’ll take care of it for you.”

“Why should I believe you’ll keep your promise?”

“Promise? This isn’t a promise. I always break those on principle.”

“Sounds very predictable to me.”

“Oh, not at all. Finding out how exactly I will break the promise is what makes it fun. I’m sure that mare must have known I wasn’t really going to get her kitten out of a tree, but she was surprised when I pulled out a lawnmower.”

“Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to convince Fluttershy or Celestia to set you free.”

“Do you always need permission for everything you do? All of the elements of harmony were needed to lock me away; any of them can set me free,” said Discord. He then took the semicolon and pushed the dot nearer to the rest of it, and proceeded to lick it like an ice cream cone.

“So you want to see Logos destroyed?” asked Twilight.

“Just because I’m a being of chaos, doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate revenge. Besides, there is hope for you ponies yet. Logos spurns the very idea of chaos.”

“By defeating Logos you would effectively be getting the elements of harmony back together. Aren’t you concerned if you do this, you’ll just be setting yourself up to be imprisoned again?”

“You caught me by surprise last time. This time I’ll be ready,” said Discord with a smile.

“So instead of Logos being the threat, you would be?”

“You said so yourself, I’m not as big a threat as Logos.”

“Yet after hearing you repeat it, I’m beginning to doubt that.”

“You’d get to be with your friends again. Isn’t that what counts?”

This was exactly the sort of opportunity she had been hoping for. Having visited her friends, had only made it all the more tempting. Logos and Discord were complete opposites after all. Who else could defeat Logos? Yet now that Discord was agreeing with her plan, suddenly it didn’t seem so brilliant anymore. They had defeated Discord before, but something seemed different about him this time. Further, last time their friendship had been at its peak, yet they had nearly lost. But wasn’t a chaotic Equestria, better than no Equestria? At least Discord was a villain they knew the solution to, regardless of whether or not they would be able to implement it. Then Twilight noticed, that miniature flames had flared up in Discord’s pupils.

“You really hate Logos don’t you?” said Twilight.

“I’m not in the mood to give a history lesson, but the sooner this world is rid of humans the better.”

“By rid, you mean driven mad by chocolate rain right?”

“I really hate getting directly to the point, but you seem to be being denser than usual, so let me make this clear. I will kill them all.”

Twilight had been so close to taking Discord’s deal, but this she could not allow. She wanted Logos gone, but humanity as a whole she couldn’t allow to be exterminated. Ponies had caused them so much suffering already. Yet a faint whispered echoed within her mind, “Take the deal. Screw the humans, who have caused you such much pain. Your friends need you.”

Twilight could taste the warm glass of apple cider, that her friends would reminisce over. She could hear the laughter in the air, at how silly it would seem to them that they were ever worried that their friendship could be destroyed. She could feel the impact of a pillow, as they “fought,” without a care in the world. All she had to do was make one mistake. It wouldn’t even be her fault. It would be Discord’s fault. If Discord actually was true to his word, how was Twilight supposed to know he would be. He was a being of complete chaos after all. Her desire to be with her friends was selfless. It would be for their own good.

“Discord, I’ve made my decision,” said Twilight.

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