Game of Fate

by ZekeDraco

Chapter 02 - Apples

Twilight and Pinkie returned to their homes. Pinkie slept peacefully through the night as Twilight could barely stop fidgeting in her own bed. A peaceful and quiet night in the library turns to something else.

-------------------
----[ Library
-----

A few hours passed and Twilight couldn't sleep, she was pacing around the main room of the library, pondering so many questions about Elise. Spike was in his basket trying his hardest to cover his ears with his pillow, but Twilight's pacing hooves on the hardwood library floor were just too loud for the down pillow to muffle. Her mind was jumping between questions at such a fast pace that she was starting to jump to conclusions from even the littlest of details that had the tiniest associations with other details, and even then she couldn't believe them.

The purple scaled, Spike finally gave up on trying to sleep and looked at Twilight with weary green eyes, "Twilight, did you get visited by your future self again?"

Twilight kept pacing, "No Spike. I've been doing a lot of reading on the possibilities of there being a half-breed between, well, anything overly common and high-grade mythical."

"A wha?"

"A Half-breed! A half-and-half creature, there should be no way for it to be possible."

"Oh, you mean...uhm..."

"Elise. Yes, I mean her. She said a lot of things tonight, things that have me worried. She said them as me, Pinkie, and Applejack carted her to Sweet Apple Acres after she fell asleep at the big party."

"Did she have some of Berry Punch's special punch?"

"No, she started talking with me about combined Magic and Machine before she laid down and fell asleep. I think she knows something in that field that nopony else in Equestria knows."

"What makes you say that?"

"There were a number of different references in the notes I've read on it, and she hinted at them. She even called it Etherwork, which was the name the last pony who studied it gave it before she disappeared."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

Twilight paused for a moment then resumed her pacing, "Then there's all of that mumbling she did, she kept mentioning she wasn't a weapon."

"Huh? Is she a weapon?"

"That's one of the things that has me worried about her, she kept saying that she wasn't a weapon..."

"So, what did she say?"

Twilight thought for a moment, "You can stab me and slash me all you like. I'll stop you Arla. I'm not a weapon, I'm more than just something that attacks on orders."

Spike stared for a moment, "That doesn't sound too good."

"Then her mumblings drifted off into another scenario, with somepony or something called Fate. That's when her threats became more vicious, and she formed those crystal claws."

"Crystal claws?"

"Yes."

The thought of the half-breed forming delicious crystals and gemstones entered his head, "Neat. Did she fight this Fate guy?"

"Probably."

Spike yawned, "Did she say anything else?"

Twilight paused and recalled the soft tone of the voice, "Follow, I'm not your mother but I will protect you as though I were. There's no need to cry..."

"Huh, Twilight..."

"Yes, Spike?"

"It's five in the morning. We both need rest."

"Five in the morning?! You're right, there's too much to do tomorrow for me to be exhausted."

Spike rolled over and covered himself in his blanket, Just you?

Twilight trotted past him and up to her bed, she climbed in and used her magic to turn off the lamp. She looked up at the ceiling for a moment, Applejack did say no meddling, but this isn't something that can be left to chance.

-------------------
----[ Sweet Apple Acres
-----

The morning sun rose slowly, its arrival given fanfare by the crow of a rooster at Sweet Apple Acres, the sound woke Elise from her peaceful slumber with a grumble. Most of last night seemed like a series of blurs, but she could remember groggily eating some cake and starting to talk to Twilight, nothing more. She couldn't figure out where that sudden wave of exhaustion came from, and on reflex reached for her ear. Her mouth opened wide as she let out a yawn that gave off a small vapor of energy before she got onto her paws, and with a wide and deep stretch she wrenched several snaps out of her body all in one movement. The morning grog was on her mind as her dream from last night faded away, except for the voice of the being she fought against as he faded into nothingness with a laugh. She shook her body and her mane regained it's smooth flow, she even took a moment to pick pieces of hay out of it with precise brushes of her claws. Reaching up to her ear once more, she made a dreadful realization, the only device she had to communicate with Fyren and Hirana was gone. She ran through her memories of yesterday and heaved a heavy sigh as she remembered her Comlink flying off her ear with fragments of her armor right before she first crashed into equestrian soil.

There was more than enough time to do what needed to be done, she could find her Comlink as she wandered around, but there was no real hurry. Panic really wasn't an option for her, the Expander trait needs a level mind to be kept in check, so she made a mental note to check where she landed for anything of hers as she wandered to the barn door. The barn door swung open with just a nudge from her foreleg revealing the full light of the rising sun, it blinded her for just a moment, making her want to stare it down for just a few more minutes of sleep.

Big Macintosh and Applejack were both in the clearing in front of the farmhouse, getting ready for their morning routine, stretching their legs and hopping between hooves to warm up. Applejack looked over at Elise as she wandered over, "Mornin' Elise, y'all sleep well?"

She nodded, "I think so."

"Good ta hear, I guess, you were out like a filly after a hoe-down las' night."

Elise tilted her head slightly, "Oh. Did you bring me here?"

"Sure did, couldn' jus' leave ya in the middle a Ponyville."

Elise bowed, "Thank you. I don't have anyplace to go just yet."

"Well, we're gettin' ready to harvest some apples so feel free to make yerself at home."

"Actually, could I help? It wouldn't feel right to sleep in your barn and not offer anything in return."

"I dunno, we've got a pretty tight schedule."

Big Macintosh cleared his throat.

"I mean, I suppose.", She looked around for a moment and pointed at a flatbed two wheel cart, "If y'all could pull that cart along we can load up apples quicker than Pinkie at a Cupcake Buffet."

Big Mac nodded, "Eeeeeyup! Yer bigger'n me, so that cart oughtta be no problem."

Elise looked at the cart, "Of course."

Once strapped into the cart, she followed the Apple siblings to the path overlooking hundreds of apple trees. She tried to count all the trees and lost count four times, with that she understood that there was a reason this farm was called Sweet Apple Acres. During her stays in the other Equestria, she had never really seen how apple bucking was done. The only real time she spent on the farm was when she would help clean tree sap off of Abigaile, Follow, Samantha, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. It was interesting to watch the process the farmponies went through to harvest apples, they would place buckets underneath the apple trees, then they would plant their hind hooves into the trunk of the tree, and the apples would fall mostly into the buckets. She even noted that there was a difference in their strength, Applejack used both hooves, while Big Mac used only one.

As the buckets filled up, the cart did too. Elise had no difficulty pulling the cart to keep up with the siblings, though she was worried about some of the sounds that came from it as more apples were loaded on. Once they couldn't load on anymore apples they would all take the load back to a storehouse and unload them. Elise reared up onto her hind legs and use her forelegs to pick up baskets and dump them into the bins they belonged in. Her paws were also large and flexible enough that she would pick out some lower quality apples and ask about them, they usually ended up in the compost bin outside of the store room.

-------------------
----[ Sweet Apple Acres | Western Field | Two Hours Later
-----

Throughout the morning the Apples kept up a strenuous pace, but now their pace had slowed down so that there was enough time to leisurely set the buckets down. There was no indication that they had exhausted themselves, so Elise assumed that they might be getting ahead of schedule. As they made their seventh trip to the west orchard the path got too rough, Big Mac turned to Elise, "Hold up there, Ms Elise, don' need to take the cart any further."

Elise stopped, "Alright, should I wait here?"

"Eeeeeyup."

Applejack looked at her, "Don' worry, we oughtn't be too long."

Elise nodded, "Take your time."

The two farmponies grabbed empty buckets off of the cart and went down the path. Elise stood there smiling as thoughts of Hirana fixing the new transmod and getting her to her true home formed. A wider smile formed as she thought about being to take Follow back to his true mother, Myri. She closed her eyes and imagined herself back at home with the others, and in the warm red scaled arms of Fyren. Wrapped in her own thoughts, she barely noticed that a fog was rapidly forming around the area.

Big Mac called out, "Applejack, this fog's gettin' awful thick, don't double-buck any of th' trees!"

Applejack replied, "Don't you worry 'bout that Big Mac, I'll climb ev'ry one of 'em if I gotta."

Visibility dropped sharply, "We might want ta get back to the cart, I can barely see higher than halfway up th' trunk."

"Then we'll hafta go to another section."

An insidious voice near Elise began to talk, "How delightful... You made it to this existence... Little Weapon."

Applejack looked in the direction of the cart, "In the..."

Elise opened her eyes and growled deeply, "Fate? I thought we killed you."

The outline of a human-like entity appeared in front of her, "You cannot kill something with an intangible name... You merely defeated me."

"There's a difference?..."

The outline took a more equine shape, "Of course, you broke my hold over one existence, none of the others. I can still take over this one and form omnes ruinam."

"Your dream, All Ruin. Why did you approach me?"

He looked at her with green eyes, "To inform you that, once more, you are part of my game."

Elise slumped down to release herself from the cart, "Game?", she moved forward, "You collapse dimensions! How can you call that a game?!"

Lines similar to circuits took form all over the body as a metallic band formed on his forehead, "To something with my potential, everything, even dimensions and all the little pawns contained within, are nothing more than litte toys that can be placed and given orders."

She entered a defensive stance, "Only mindless pawns can't think freely....There are living beings in these dimensions, beings that think for themselves or others, beings that have families..."

Fate shook his head and let out a sarcastic laugh, "Like what you think you have?"

Elise snarled, "A family is a family!"

Most of the circuits became hidden by a deep blue coat, "Is it? Last I saw, your happy little family, all those 'former' weapons... Led a spectacular assault against my tower that lasted days. All of them under orders from your human higher command."

"Even Draconic royalty was part of the assault on your tower. They weren't weapons, and I doubt they are now."

Fate began to walk around Elise, "The Draconic scourge Dres repurposed Dracire into one, simply by giving him one forbidden ability. Even your huntress friend, Lynnia, was retooled into a weapon the second her father first tore the eyes from her skull as a child."

"Then how can they feel? Even Dracire was devastated when his cursed son was nearly killed, and he's threatened me on more than one occasion."

"False feelings, nothing more."

"Then how have I learned to feel emotions? Was it programmed into me when Fyren made my body? No. Was it meant to help me blend in with crowds? No. A mind develops these things naturally."

Fate laughed, "The only reason you learned how to feel for others and yourself is because your adopted father didn't want you to kill every living thing that touched you. You should remember the Gaudis Draconian by the name of 'Lost' and the number of times you wrenched his arms from their sockets before slamming him into any available surface. It was an entertaining sight to behold, to say the least."

Elise glared at Fate, her eyes turning from blue to purple.

"It seems that we're wasting time now. I think you know what exactly you're in for."

"Victory."

"Hardly, you are going to fail. I will watch as you struggle, as you suffer, as you become so desperate for any shred of hope, that you celebrate over the most insignificant of 'victories'. I will be waiting for you to lose every shred of your strength, and when you do so, I will appear to offer you sanction. Where you become an Agent of Fate and I purge your mind of that emotional pollution."

She slumped down and locked her now red eyes on where Fate stood, "I look forward to the moment when I draw your blood and crystallize it into a spear, that I will drive down your throat."

"That's the spirit."

Elise leapt forward with a viscous gleam in her eyes. Fate vanished, leaving her to plow through the fog. She landed and looked around, "Fate! I will have that victory!"

Applejack looked up at her as the fog cleared, "Elise...sugarcube? What all just happened? Yer all riled up!"

Elise looked down at her with blue eyes, "I'm sorry, I'd rather not say."

Applejack gave her a worried look, "If ya say so. Th' fog's all clear, so we can get back to buckin'."

Elise backed away some, "Yeah...I'll just... get the cart."

She wandered back to the cart as Applejack and Big Macintosh both watched with worried looks.

-------------------
----[ An hour later
-----

Once Elise was focused on the task she was helping with she proved herself a worthwhile assistant. At least until the cart gave off a pretty loud creak, followed by a snap and sudden stop. It wasn't as strong as it used to be and these heavier loads were too much for it. Fortunately, Big Mac was able to make a temporary repair that would let him take it back to the barn and try to repair it completely. As the stallion and the cart pulled out of sight Applejack sat down and wiped her forehead, "Hoooowheee, haven't been able to move apples that fast since Big Mac tried some of that coffee Twi has. Ah' reckon that bein' half-dragon comes with some serious strength."

Elise nodded, "Dragons are stronger than they look."

"Yeah, we found that out when Spike had some growin' pains."

She laid down, "The little purple dragonling?"

"That's him alright. Got a little too greedy and started growin' in leaps an' bounds."

"Oh, at least he's back to normal."

"It's nice ta have him back to normal, an' we hope he stays that way."

"We, as in, you and your friends?"

"Sugarcube, if ah was sayin' 'We' for just mahself, I'd have a few loose gears up top."

Elise grinned, "I don't know, you could be practicing an old language."

Applejack stifled a laugh, "Not ta be rude or anythin', the only pony 'round these parts that does that is Princess Luna. Bless her heart, she's tryin' to learn the more modern way a speakin', but she just keeps revertin' back to old equestrian."

"Mmmm, I suppose it's a little funny."

Applejack looked up at the noon sun from under the edge of her hat, "It's gettin' close ta lunch time, you hungry?"

"A little bit."

"Good enough, we're far enough ahead of harvestin' we could git ta Canterlot n back before we're on-schedule agin' an' still have time ta spare. Elise, thank ya."

"I'm glad I could help, Applejack."

She got onto her hooves, "Well, come on now, lunch ain't comin' out here ta meet us."

Elise got up, "Of course."

The two started towards the farmhouse, after a few steps Elise paused and listened as something in the distance roared. Applejack looked at her, "Don't worry 'bout that, it can't hurt us."

"What is it?"

"Ah'll tell ya some other time."

-------------------
----[ Apple Family House
-----

Elise followed Applejack inside the farmhouse, she had to keep her head low to get under doorways but she didn't have to worry about the ceilings. She had gotten used to being in cramped spaces after months of convoy naps through the ruinous realm she knew as the Roads Between. She didn't miss those trips, going from her home portal all the way to the portal to some other dimension where a mission waited for her was always the longest and most uncomfortable part. The kitchen was just a little cramped for her size, and she was tempted to put her Expander trait to use just so she could shrink down and fit. The temptation got a little stronger as she nearly bumped into the older green mare that was working at the stove. The table was definitely too low for her to just sit, and Applejack noticed, "If you can lay down ya might be level with the table."

Elise looked behind herself and noticed that she had very little space to lay down, "I don't think I can."

Apple Bloom jumped up into a chair across from her, "Ah know! You can lay sideways!"

A quick measurement and she laid down on her side, once she was certain she wouldn't knock anything over she looked at Apple Bloom, "This should work."

Applejack grinned, "Good thinkin', Bloom."

The older mare turned and looked at Elise, "My, ain'tcha a biggun, been eatin' all ya veggies?"

Elise nodded, "You could say that. They've always had a good flavor to me."

"Well, ah certainly hope so, 'cause all we got is veggie's an' fruit."

Apple Bloom frowned, "Awwww, we don't got no more pasghetti?"

"Sorry Apple Bloom, but we used th' last of that to make dinnah for you and yer crusaders the otha' night."

"Oh...yeah."

Applejack turned to Apple Bloom, "Now don't ya worry now, jus' keep up th' good grades an we'll get another batch of it."

Apple Bloom smiled widely, "Really? Ah'll do mah best! Right, Granny Smith?"

Granny Smith set a tray of cooked vegetables on the table using her teeth then smiled at Apple Bloom, "Of course ya will, ya always do."

Big Mac wandered in and noticed the setup, "Looks mighty fine, Granny."

Once everypony was seated, they began eating. Some conversation was tossed about, but Apple Bloom seemed unable to get her eyes off of the half-breed. Applejack and Big Mac both kept asking the filly questions to try and redirect her gaze anywhere but Elise, with very little success.

Halfway through her plate of food she swallowed a bite and asked Elise, "So yer some kinda fox, right?"

Elise smiled, "Well, half."

Applejack looked at her little sister, "Apple Bloom."

The filly didn't hear her sister, "Half? What's the otha half?"

Elise paused, "Dragon."

"Really? You don't look like yer half dragon."

Applejack looked at Elise, who just grinned, "That's because under all this fur is a layer of scales.", she spread the fur on one of her forelegs enough that some Aqua-Blue scales could be seen, "See?"

Apple Bloom leaned forward, "Wow, what type a dragon are ya half of?"

"The Guardians that ward off threats. Usually they protect the Draconic Royalty, but the Warlord and the Edge Queen are more than capable of handling themselves. So, they just watch the castle instead."

"So can ya breathe fire?"

Applejack looked at Big Macintosh, "Say, Big Mac. What all happened with th' cart?"

Big Macintosh looked away from Elise, "Wha? Oh! Erm... I'll tell ya after lunch."

Applejack fought the urge to facehoof as Apple Bloom asked again, "So ya breathe fire?"

Elise shook her head, "Not fire. I'm not sure if I even have a breath attack."

Granny Smith looked over at Apple Bloom, "Whateva the case, you look like yer the type who would be a protecta. So ah've got no reason ta distrust you."

Applejack looked over at her and smiled.

Once lunch was over with, Granny Smith started cleaning up the table with Apple Blooms help, while Elise followed Applejack and Big Mac to the living room.

"So, how's th' ol' cart holdin' up? Will it be a quick fix?", Applejack asked.

Big Mac shook his head, "Nnnnope, th' main axle went. Gonna have ta carve out a new one."

Elise frowned, "I didn't mean to break it."

Big Mac smiled at her, "Twern't you who broke it, th' ol' thing's been creakin' somethin' fierce even with one of my half-loads. Honestly been waitin' a good while for it ta give. I jus' fergot to tell you, sorry 'bout that."

Elise grinned as an image of Letty appeared in her mind, he was talking with someone over an intercom as he tried to apoligize for forgetting to warn them about a faulty gear. Her grin widened a little, "It's alright, I know someone who tends to do that too."

"Th' good news is, that thanks to yer help, we've got enough apples to last us three whole days worth of orders. That's plenty o time to carve out a new axle. 'Til then why don't th' two of you head to town."

Applejack nodded, "Alrighty then, I need ta see what Twi is up ta anyways."

Elise looked at Applejack, "I have nowhere to be, so, can I follow you?"

"Of course. Let's get goin'."

-------------------
----[ Pathway to Ponyville
-----

Applejack and Elise walked along the path towards Ponyville, Elise was admiring the fact that this family really had some far stretching lands. Applejack looked at her, "So, you just passin' through Ponyville?"

Elise looked at her, "I'm not sure, it's peaceful here and I kind of like it. But I have obligations I'm bound to, some that I might be able to ignore, others ... I can't."

"Really, what do ya do for a livin'?"

"I go and do jobs for Lusce."

"Loose? Loose what?"

"That's his name, L-u-s-c-e."

"Oh, somethin' like that sounds like a fox name ta me."

"He's a Lynx."

"Never woulda thoughta that, guess Equestria's full of surprises."

"Yeah.", Elise heard a buzzing noise, "Hm? What's that?"

Applejack listened, "Sounds like Apple Bloom's friends are comin' up."

A scooter came into view and Elise noticed the two fillies riding it, "Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle."

"Bumped inta them before?"

Elise's mind quickly put a lie together, "I overheard them talking before my accident."

"That was an accident alright, nopony would hurt themselves like that on purpose."

The scooter came to a stop and so did the travelers, the fillies looked at Elise with looks of wonderment. Scootaloo was first to comment, "That's a big fox."

Sweetie Belle tilted her head, "That's the second biggest one I've ever seen."

Elise looked at her and raised a brow, Second biggest?

Sweetie Belle looked at Applejack, "Is Apple Bloom free to play today?"

Applejack nodded, "Sure is, she oughta be at the farm."

She smiled, "Thank you, AJ.", she looked forward to find that Scootaloo was missing, "Scootaloo? Where'd you go?"

Elise looked at the Pegasus filly standing on her back, "Comfortable?"

Scootaloo was looking at Elise's mane, "Wow, this mane goes all around you."

Applejack looked at the filly, "Scootaloo, get down offa her, that's rude and ya know it."

Scootaloo felt something on Elise's back, "Hey, did ya used to have wings?"

Elise shook her head, "No. Why?"

Applejack sighed, "Scootaloo, Bloom's prolly waitin' fer ya. Don't keep her waitin'."

"Oh, Right!", Scootaloo jumped off of Elise and landed near her scooter. Quickly she donned her helmet and with Sweetie Bell in tow, used her wings to propel the wooden scooter towards the farmhouse.

Elise and Applejack looked at each other, the farmer shook her head, "Fillies."

Elise laughed, "She's got as much energy as Follow."

"Who's Follow?"

"A very young Dragon, you'd be amazed at how cute he can be."

"I'll take ya word on him, but right now we're burnin' daylight."

-------------------
----[ Ponyville
-----

The town was less busy today, Elise reasoned that everypony must have done their shopping yesterday. Everypony was just sauntering along, no where to be, nothing to do. Elise was surprised by this sight, she saw it before but it was still a surprise compared to yesterday, "It's quiet today."

Applejack nodded, "Usually is on th' weekends. Nopony's got much to do, so there's always those lazy afternoons."

There were some fillies bouncing a ball between each other, a couple of Pegasi racing around, and even Ditzy playing hide-n-seek with her unicorn filly.

Elise grinned, "They all look happy."

"Not much 'round here to be down about. Ya might say that things've almost been so quiet 'round these parts that havin' a half-breed fall outta the sky was the most excitement we've had in a while."

"Applejack...", Pinkie said behind them.

"Aside from your parties Pinkie."

"Yay!"

Applejack turned to face her, "Say, Pinkie Pie, I was wonderin' if everythin's all set for Bloom's birthday party in a week."

Pinkie bounced around Applejack, "Oh, absolutely, I've got all the party supplies all set to be put together in a jiffy!"

"Great! We'll set up the supplies in the barn the night before ev'rypony shows up. Now remember, we've got up ta thirty comin' to this, includin' ma n pa."

Pinkie paused, "Really?!"

Applejack nodded, "Pinkie, don't go so overboard it scares 'em off, we haven't seen 'em in two years.

Pinkie smiled, "I won't. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Thank you."

Pinkie looked at Elise, "What about Elise? Isn't she staying in the barn?"

She looked at the two, "Within the next week I might be off exploring the world again."

Applejack thought for a moment, "Elise, I'd like ta invite ya but only if you can make it."

"I can try but I can't guarantee it."

Pinkie just smiled, "I can bring an extra set of Elise sized party favors just in case."

Applejack looked at the party pony with a grin, "Go on ahead, just in case."

Elise looked puzzled, "Thank you?"

The pink one smiled, "I'll go and add that to the supplies now, and I'll see you two later.", she bounced away while singing cupcakes.

Applejack watched as Pinkie bounced out of sight, "Elise, I know yer nervous 'bout somethin'."

Elise hid a twitch, "What do you mean?"

"You mumble in yer sleep."

She hesitated, "Just nightmares."

"Let's jus' say that I can understand why ya travel so much, you don't want to deal with some part'a yer past."

"Huh?"

"Even if Granny Smith didn' trust you there's still this feelin' about ya that says you can be trusted . It's almost like ya been ta Ponyville more than once."

"N-not for too long."

"Jus' tell me, what does Lusce have ya doin'?"

"He has me fix problems, he's been on the recieving end of so much that he needed help to get out of the corner he was in. So, in exchange for him helping me and Follow, I help him tip the scales to an equal level again."

"Anythin' in particular?"

"I've taken on a dragon, a lion, even an airship on my own."

"Good golly, an airship?!"

"Crawling with armed merceneries, I sent it on a trip to the ground."

"Was anypony hurt?"

"I made sure the vessel landed flat on it's bottom, only two of the merceneries took their own lives."

"Golly, you must be a force a nature."

"I...didn't mean to brag."

"You saved one cat from a lot, that takes some guts. I'd ask how ya did it, but I don't wanna impose."

"That's alright, I get the feeling it'll all slip out sooner or later. Though later would be better."

Applejack tilted her hat, "I understand, ah've got my own things that need to be kept quiet."

"I won't bother you over them, I promise."

"Thank you, Elise. I'm gonna head to Twi's, if you don't wanna get pestered so soon, I'd recommend that ya wander around Ponyville. After last night's party everpony oughta be trustin' of you."

"I hope so. I'll see you later, Applejack."

"Elise, call me AJ.", Applejack turned and started walking towards the library.

-------------------
----[ Library
-----

Twilight was buried in books doing all sorts of research, like she almost always is. While she read Spike was on the ladder reshelving books that she said she didn't need anymore. A knock came to the library door and Twilight didn't look away from her book. Spike looked in the direction of the door, climbed down the ladder, and walked over to it. He opened the door and Applejack greeted him, "Afternoon, Spike. Twi livin' in reality today?"

Spike laughed a little, "Almost, she's been lost in books all morning, she didn't even touch the coffee machine."

"Well, don't that beat all. Not even touchin' what she called Ambrosia more'n once."

Twilight looked over at the two, "Very funny.", she trotted over to the door, "So, Applejack what brings you to the library today?"

"Jus' passin' by and was wonderin' if you were plannin' on followin' Elise around."

"As much as I'd like to, after everything that happened to me from following Pinkie Pie, I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"Good, she's been a nice half-breed durin' her visit ta Ponyville and ain't done anythin' to hurt anypony."

"Well, that's good to hear. Say, have you seen Rainbow Dash today?"

"No, why?"

"I've been meaning to ask her about the upcoming storm. That way I know just how much I need to barricade the windows, you know how books don't like moisture."

Rainbow Dash landed behind Twilight, "Pretty sure they don't like open windows with a draft, either."

Twilight turned around, "I forgot to lock that window again, didn't I."

Dash nodded, "Yeah, might wanna not do that during the storm."

"Noted, so the storm is expected to start in eight days?"

Dash shook her head, "It got pushed back, we're way too understaffed to keep it from going out of control. So we're aiming for two weeks from now."

Twilight grinned, "Perfect! That will give me time to properly catalogue the new arrivals and write my next report to Princess Celestia."

Applejack tapped Twilight on her shoulder, "Ya didn't mention anythin' about our guest, didya?"

Twilight shook her head, "No, I want to find out more about her before I report anything to the Princess."

"Good, I'd like ta know more too, but I don't want to make a bad impression."

Dash looked at Applejack, "AJ, if you won't ask, and Twilight isn't gonna stalk her, then it looks like I'm gonna have to get the answers out of her."

"Now hold on one cotton pickin' moment, ya don't need to scare 'er off."

"She's really that weak?"

"She pulls cartloads that Big Mac'd have trouble haulin' without breakin' a sweat. She's got some strength and..."

Twilight interrupted, "...if she's mumbling about not being a weapon in her sleep, I'm willing to bet she can handle herself."

"'Specially if she's been wanderin' all Equestria."

Dash crossed her forelegs, "Fine, then I'll watch her from a distance, are you happy now?"

Applejack facehoofed, "RD..."

Twilight interrupted again, "...That'd be great! Just be sure to tell me everything you see!"

Spike had worked his way back to the ladder and was re-shelving more books when he looked at Twilight and noticed the familiar glimmer in her eyes, Uh oh.

Dash thought for a moment, "Alright, I'll do it. But I'm not afraid to try and stop her if she does anything wrong."

-------------------
----[ Ponyville
-----

It had been about ten minutes since AJ went to the library and left Elise to wander. She was wandering around town, admiring any sights to be seen. Eventually her wandering led her to an open park where mares and stallions were watching their young play with each other or some toys. She sat down and watched some kites flying through the air as a warm summer breeze flowed through the area, she remembered the last time Follow tried to fly a kite, she and Abigaile both had to chase after him as the little dragonling was carried along. It was a good thing that they caught up with him when they did, the winds carried him all the way to the castle in Canterlot and apparently he was fond of navigating Celestia's ethereal mane.

A kite made a fly for it and Elise noticed it, she motioned a paw and a crystal formed around the string near where it was tied to it, weighing it down enough to pull the fleeing kite to the ground. It slowly drifted down and landed softly on the ground with its owner not too far behind. By the time the filly got to it, the crystal had degraded into grains of sand, letting her toy fly once more.

A soft voice came from behind her, "Did you make that kite come down?"

Elise turned her head and looked at Fluttershy, "Yes."

"That was very kind."

"Thank you."

Fluttershy moved a little closer, "You're still healthy."

"Thanks to you and your friends I was able to recover somewhere peaceful."

"We couldn'tve just left you there, you were hurt. Uhm...What did you mean by somewhere peaceful?"

"The last few times I was hurt that badly, I had to force myself to stay standing and ward off attackers."

"You...fight?"

"Yeah... There are times I wish I didn't need to."

"It must get tough for you to be...hurt so badly.", Fluttershy looked down at the ground.

"I hate to admit it, but I'm used to it."

She looked up at her surprised, "Oh..."

"...It's peaceful here, I like it."

"It's usually...peaceful."

Another warm breeze blew through the area and Elise closed her eyes. She started listening, "Can you hear it?"

Fluttershy looked at her, "Hear...what?"

"The magic, it's curious."

Fluttershy closed her eyes and she could hear whispers as all the sounds around her faded away. She couldn't understand them but they were almost like their own melody. A different series of whispers started and she looked in the direction of them, opening her eyes she saw Elise surrounded by small crystals. She closed her eyes again and the whispers began to speak in unison, forming a harmony.

As she watched from inside the leaves of a tree Dash was curious about what exactly was going on, Why're those gems forming?

The crystals closed in around Elise, taking positions and forming solid pieces, Now what?

Elise stood up and the crystals solidified around her legs, her torso, and even her head. Dash spread her wings ready to leap forward, Armor...

Fluttershy looked at Elise, "What's that?"

Elise opened her eyes, "The sign that the magic here is willing to help me."

She looked at Elise questioningly, "Why wouldn't it help you before?"

She dismissed her crystaline armor, "I crashed here and my focus broke. Because of that I couldn't fullly use my magic."

"Oh. I didn't know you could use magic. Is that how you made that kite come down?"

"I use magic energy to form my crystals, I weighed down that kite with some that were heavy enough to bring it down, yet unstable enough that it would degrade into sand by the time the kite's owner caught up to it."

Fluttershy shuffled a hoof, "... I've never heard of that kind of magic."

Elise looked at her as Dash flew over to them, "It's not too common."

Dash landed near Fluttershy, "Hey, Shy. Could you help me polish up Tank's shell?"

Fluttershy looked at Dash questioningly, "So soon?"

Dash started pushing Fluttershy along, "Yeah, he gets scuffed up pretty quick."

"Oh, ok. Uhm...bye Elise."

Elise noticed Dash look back at her suspiciously as she pushed her friend along. As they disappeared in the distance, Elise felt her mana fully recover and stood up. In a proud flourish she spread wings made of crystal and let the light shine through them. The refracted light along the ground showed her that she regained a gift from another Equestria. Taking note of this, she grinned, folded her wings and they disappeared.

-------------------
----[ ???
-----

"It isn't like you to dismiss them so abruptly, why do so?"

"Something is trying to influence what protects our borders."

"One of the protective crystals?"

"Yes, one of mine has lost its energy and has been altered."

"Is the prophecy coming true?"

"Dear sister, I pray to the spirits of our ancestors that it isn't."

"Tia..."