Gleaner Chronicles

by sevenofeleven

Chapter Three: Tell me and preparation

Gleaner Chronicles

Somewhere underground.

Margot looked around. The whole area was full of ponies. Some were sleeping while others talked in small groups. She sat up and closed her eyes for a few minutes. Her sense of smell intensified. Margot could smell blood, anger, fear and other scents. All of the pony scents were making her head spin. She stopped sniffing and started thinking more about her situation. Margot wanted a mirror so she could see what her face looked like. From what she could tell, her senses seemed to be working fine.

She stood up, then almost fell down. Wait, I have been a four legged creature before, she thought. It took her a few minutes to remember. Margot just had to not think about what leg did what. Just pick a direction and go. The rest of her brain would figure it out. She took some steps toward the nearest wall.

It was just dirt with a bit of plaster over it. The ground was like that too but a bit smoother. Margot got the impression that these tunnels were made recently and not with a lot of skill. Most of the wooden support beams still had bits of bark on them. Margot wondered if she would be better off above ground. A soft female voice brought Margot from her musings.

“Yeah, it doesn’t look like much really. Dirt floors and slipshod wooden columns. It’s better than being aboveground with all of the monsters running around. I would be so glad when things get back to normal or whatever normal is around here,” A beige mare with pink and blue mane in large curls said sadly. Before Margot could say anything, the mare rushed off to deal with a crying foal.

There was also some commotion behind Margot. She turned to see what was going on. The orange filly with wings was back, with a white filly with pink and lavender mane and tail. She had a short tapered horn sticking out from her forehead. They stood over the yellow pony. Margot walked back to watch what happened.

Margot couldn’t see too much. There was some words being said and then there was a blue flash. The pegasus and unicorn fillies’ bodies blocked Margot’s view. She tried to sense the magic, but nothing happened. It wasn’t like there was nothing to sense, like her ability to sense magic was gone. The yellow pony got up. The white unicorn used some sort of telekinetic magic to gently remove the bandages from the yellow pony. Just by watching Margot could see that healing and telekinetic magic was being used. She wished that she could sense the magics involved to make sure.

Not being able to sense magic in a world filled with magic gave Margot a chill. The area around her seemed to fade away as Margot’s fears started moving in on her. How would she get home? What would she do for money without a magical talent? It took her a bit of time to push her fears back and return to reality. Margot watched the fillies again.

The orange filly said something about a funeral and the now healed yellow one nodded. They cantered down the tunnel in one direction while the white unicorn filly ran off in the opposite direction. Margot walked back to her blanket. She wondered when someone would come and brief her.

Again, Margot tried to sense the ambient magic in the area. Nothing happened. Being able to sense magic was a basic ability. That made Margot feel uneasy, not being able to sense magic was like being half blind. It was like a basic part of her had stopped working. There was one thing she could try to stave off the panic that was slowly rising. She could try a Ritual of Synchronization. This would allow her to access the magic native to this world. Margot started to concentrate…

A blow from a hoof broke her concentration. "What the hell?" Margot asked in surprise while she rubbed her cheek.

"I’m sorry about hitting you, but I am responsible for the health and safety of all the ponies here in Ponyville," a maroon pony with light and dark pink mane and tail said. "If you had done that Synchronization Ritual, you would have brought the Gleaners on top of us," the pony explained with anger in her green eyes.

"Yeah! Things are pretty bad now already!" the white unicorn filly with green eyes added. Margot recognized her, this was the same one that did some sort of healing magic on the yellow pony. She also had a blue horseshoe necklace.

"Did you have to smack me so hard?" Margot complained while her ears and tail drooped.

"Yes! Your horn was glowing so brightly, it was lighting up this area. I hope that the Gleaners didn’t sense you doing your magic," the maroon pony replied as she looked over the area.

“I need to do the ritual so I can access my powers on this world. I would be more useful with my powers,” Margot cajoled.

“No, you can’t do that here. The Gleaners will come and all of this will be at their mercy,” the maroon pony said as she looked back at Margot.

Margot looked around and saw ponies were looking at her with a range of emotions on their faces. None of them seemed friendly. At least the ponies stayed where they were. It was a surprise to Margot that she had a horn. She wished for a mirror.

"Cheerilee?" The white unicorn asked.

"Oh. Sorry about that. My name is Cheerilee," Cheerilee extended her left forehoof.

Margot got up on all fours. It felt normal and strange at the same time. She gingerly stuck out her hoof. For a few seconds Cheerilee and Margot just stood with extended hooves. Margot had no idea what she was supposed to do. The white unicorn filly laughed.

"Sweetie Belle!" Cheerilee admonished with narrowed eyes.

"Sorry," Sweetie Belle said with an impish grin as she walked up to Margot.
Sweetie Belle stuck out her left forehoof and this time Margot walked up and shook it.

"Please follow me to a more private area so we can discuss the situation in detail," Cheerilee said.

Margot followed Cheerilee while Sweetie Belle followed them.
"Why are some ponies wearing blue horseshoe necklaces?" Margot asked.

"Those who wear the necklace are the servants of Oonté, the Just and Merciful," Sweetie said with a serious tone in her voice. "Me and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are real crusaders now. We have put aside our quest to get cutie marks until the Gleaners have been defeated. We are now the Sky Hoof Crusaders, The SHC!" Sweetie Belle explained.

"Wait? What is a Cutie Mark? Where can I see one?" Margot asked as they walked past more ponies lying on blankets. It seemed like there were a lot of ponies down here. After walking a while she could see that they were inside a series of tunnels dug under ground. Sweetie Belle giggled.

"You are a pony but not from Equestria. I think the rules might be different where you come from," Cheerilee said.

"How can you tell?" Margot asked.

"Because you don’t smell like an Equestrian pony!" Sweetie Belle said with a laugh.

"Sweetie Belle!" Cheerilee said with a stamp of her left forehoof.
.

"Sorry," Sweetie said and looked back at Margot with a barely restrained grin on her face.

Margot followed the two ponies through the tunnels and wondered about her sanity.

---

Town Hall Basement
Meeting Room 3

Gray cracked plaster on the walls and scuffed floors gave a good clue that this room had seen better days. Other than that it was clean. The ponies hiding underground had different priorities than fixing floors. Three ponies sat at a beige wooden table. Two of the cracked white plates in front of the ponies were empty. The last plate had food on it. Margot eyed the small pile of hay and dried daisies on her plate. Cheerilee and Sweetie Belle watched Margot.

"I am sorry we have so little food," Cheerilee explained. “Our supplies are running low. The resupply caravan from Lower Canterlot is late.”

Sweetie Belle’s stomach growled loudly. Margot realized that she needed to eat before her food was snatched away. She stuck her muzzle into the plate and ate. It tasted OK but she was still a bit hungry afterward. Margot thought about cheeseburgers. The thought of eating the flesh of another animal made her stomach flip. She had to spend a few moments thinking of vegetarian dishes. The queasiness faded.

"Okay, lets begin," Cheerilee said, and looked into Margot's eyes with her green ones. "You must go to Lower Canterlot and meet the Prophetess. She will answer your questions in more detail."

"No, I want to go home," Margot replied. ”Please send me home.”

Cheerilee blinked in surprise. Margot had to get back home and finish the mission there. No going on trips with ponies.

"I can't send you home, I don’t do magic," Cheerilee replied firmly. “There is no pony here with the power and knowledge to do that. If you want to go home, you have to go to Lower Canterlot and talk to the Prophetess.”

Margot looked deep into Cheerilee's eyes to see if she was lying. Automatically, Margot started the ritual. Cheerilee moved closer and raised her right fore hoof. Margot stopped concentrating. There was a knock on the door. Sweetie Belle got off of her chair to answer it.

An orange pegasus filly waited outside. She peered into the room at Cheerilee and Margot and then walked up to Margot. "Do you know how you got here?" she asked pointedly.

Margot replied, "No."

"Scootaloo, this is not the right time for this!" Cheerilee said while watching Margot and Scootaloo carefully.

"Margot needs to know how she got here, and know that she owes us." Scootaloo walked up to Margot and stood up on her hind hooves. Her stubby orange wings unfurled. Scootaloo stuck her face so close to Margot's that she could smell her sweet pony breath. "We lost a friend and others got hurt getting your unconscious body from aboveground," Scootaloo whispered. “You owe us.”

Margot looked at Cheerilee and Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo went back to all fours. "Is that true?" Margot asked.

Cheerilee looked away and replied, "Yes, but I was going to mention that later. It is a bit much to tell somepony along with the other info." Cheerilee looked back at Margot.

"I am sorry for what happened to your friends, but I left a world where buglike ponies set off some sort of device," Margot said. “I think many people got hurt or killed. I have to go back and help my people. They expect me to do so.”

"Buglike ponies?” Sweetie Belle asked with surprise. “Did they have holes in their legs and wings?"

Now, it was Margot's turn to be surprised. "Yes, how did you know?"

"Those were changelings. Now do you see why you must go to Lower Canterlot?" Scootaloo asked with annoyance.

"Where are these changelings? How can I find out more about them?" Margot asked.

"Go to Lower Canterlot and ask the Prophetess," Cheerilee said. “She knows more about what's going on.”

"We need to cover some other topics, Margot," Cheerilee said firmly.

"How do you know my name?" Margot asked with more surprise in her voice.

"The Prophetess told me a lot about you. Please return to the table so I can finish the briefing," Cheerilee suggested. "I will send the Cutie Ma--um, excuse me, Sky Hoof Crusaders, to protect you. I think I can get one or two volunteers to come along. It is a dangerous trip.

The area between Ponyville and Lower Canterlot has turned into an area called the Shatterleg Wastes. Also, Gleaners, Remnants and worse wander there. In the past, you could just take a train but that has changed. When the Gleaners came to Equestria, a lot was lost and changed for the worse. I don't know how or why. You will have to ask the Prophetess if you want to know more," Cheerilee explained and looked down.

"What are Gleaners and Remnants?" Margot asked.

Cheerilee looked up. "Gleaners are ghost like creatures that feed on life and emotion. When you see the pale green glows heading toward you, gallop as fast as you can away. Remnants are ponies that were not killed by the Gleaners when they were drained. They live a horrible half life trying to chase down the living so they can replace what was torn from them. We stay safe from both groups by hiding underground." Cheerilee said sadly.

“Where did the Gleaners come from?” Margot asked while looking around the room.

Cheerilee just shrugged. ”No one knows. Then there are rumors of something called the Train. I do not believe such a thing is possible."

"Train?" Margot asked.

"If you want to waste your time with rumors, you can ask Apple Bloom or the others," Cheerilee said with a dismissive swing of a forehoof.

Cheerilee took a breath. "Lower Canterlot is a tent city some distance from Canterlot. Its straight north east from here. Far will give you better instructions."

"I noticed that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle have blue horseshoes? What do they mean?" Margot asked.

"There is a being called Oonté. She isn’t from Equestria. The horseshoes are given to her faithful. Some of them might be able to do miracles with her help but I am not sure. I don’t know too much about her. You will have to talk to the Sky Hoof Crusaders, SHC, for that," Cheerilee said.

"You did not answer my question about Cutie Marks earlier. Do I have one?" Margot asked.

Cheerilee turned sideways. “Cutie marks are marks on the flank of a pony that shows their special talent. You can see mine. You don’t have one yet. It is very rare for an adult pony to not have a Cutie Mark, but maybe that’s related to the loss of your magic." Cheerilee looked around the room. "I have to round up the volunteers and supplies for the trip. Please stay here," Cheerilee requested. She turned and left the room.

Margot sat in the empty room, and thought about her options. She wanted to go home and find out what happened at the mall, but then she could see that these people or ponies needed help. Not being able to do magic was also bothering her. If Margot ignored those issues, it felt like the type of work she did, helping locals fight strange things. Somewhere in the distance, a pony let out a fear filled scream. Margot stopped her musing, then she left the meeting room to investigate.

A few tunnels away, two stallions guarded a locked wooden door. The screams seemed to be coming from behind the door. "Hey! You can't go in there!" the light pink pony said and moved his hoof to block the door. Several more screams of fear burst out of the door.

"What is going on in there?" Margot asked while pointing at the door with her right fore hoof.

"This room is for the partially gleaned. Sometimes the Gleaners are interrupted before they totally drain a pony. Most of the higher emotions are gone except for fear," the green pegasus said.

"Nobody can cure or heal them?" Margot asked. She wished she could help but even if she had her powers working, they could do nothing for emotion based magics. All she could do is give them a quick and painless death.

Both guard ponies sadly shook their heads. The light pink pony said, "They will live in fear of everything until their poor hearts fail."

Margot could not imagine living a life of constant fear. She quickly thought about putting them out of their misery, but that seemed too cold.

"Thank you gentlestallions," Margot said and walked away.

The guard ponies nodded. She tried to get back to Meeting Room Three but she ran into Cheerilee. She gave Margot an annoyed look and a tired sigh.

"Please come with me, we are almost ready to leave for Lower Canterlot," Cheerilee said.

"What building is this?" Margot asked as they moved from the tunnels to stairs.

"This used to be the Town Hall. It had a small tunnel to help the Mayor escape, and we expanded it and added more tunnels," Cheerilee explained. "We had a Mayor and a support staff but they did not make it. Those terrible days were so chaotic,” Cheerilee said with sadness in her voice. Her ears and tail drooped.

"I gave some good advice and somehow I became the new mayor," Cheerilee said with a sorrow filled voice and drooping ears.

Margot could see that she was blinking rapidly like she was going to cry. They waited a bit so Cheerilee could regain her composure. The two ponies walked into a room filled with pictures from a happier Ponyville in the past. In a lot of the pictures, a light brown-coated, gray and white maned mare presided over different events.

Margot pointed her right fore hoof at the wall and asked, "Is that..."

Cheerilee replied with drooping ears and tail, "Yes. I have her job now but it is a heavy responsibility. Somepony has to make sure things are running smoothly. Twilight Sparkle, um, Princess Twilight Sparkle would have done a better job but for some reason I have heard little of what happened to her."

"Who is Princess Twilight Sparkle?" Margot asked.

"To be brief because we have a lot to go over, she is one of the Elements of Harmony and a close friend," Cheerilee said then sighed.

“What is an Element of Harmony?” Margot asked with more curiosity.

Cheerilee sighed. It was a lot to tell a foreign pony and she did not really want to get in a long conversation.

“Harmony is one of the most powerful magics in Equestria. It is wielded by six special ponies that embody Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, Kindness and Magic. They used the Elements to defeat many enemies but for some reason several of the ponies are missing. Only Rainbow Dash, the element of Loyalty and Applejack, the Element of Honesty are with us. In the past, all of the elements lived in Ponyville. If you want more details, please speak to someone in Lower Canterlot,” Cheerilee said.

“I guess if you had all of the elements, the Gleaners would be defeated?” Margot asked.

Cheerilee shook her head. A pony discreetly coughed. Margot turned her attention to the rest of the room and its occupants. Two ponies sat at a shiny black wooden table patiently waiting for Cheerilee. One was a brown male pegasus with a black mane and tail. The other pony was a female light blue unicorn with a red and white striped mane and tail. Something about the way the unicorn looked at Margot, gave her the impression that the blue unicorn would be snooty.

"So, that's it, Cheerilee?" the brown pegasus asked.

Cheerilee nodded.

"Are those annoying Cutie Mark Crusaders going to be joining us?" the light blue unicorn asked.

Eyes narrowed, Cheerilee replied, "Yes."

"I surely do not want to be rude but I think such power should not be in the hooves of those fillies. It is just not right," the light blue unicorn complained.

"When you meet Oonté, maybe you should share your concerns," Cheerilee said snidely.

Margot knew her first impressions about the light blue unicorn were right.

"I have to get the supplies ready. Please introduce yourselves," Cheerilee said. She turned and left the room.

The brown pegasus walked up to Margot and stuck out his left fore hoof. "My friends call me a pain in the plot, but the name I was given is Far Traveler. The few friends I have left call me ‘Far’," Far Traveler said with a wink and then a smile.

Margot shook his hoof. "My name is Margot Summerholt."

The light blue unicorn walked up to Margot and gingerly offered her left hoof to shake. "I am Skybreeze Cloud, Professor of Higher Magics at Hoofvard in Canterlot, sorry, Lower Canterlot," Skybreeze said.

Margot touched her hoof and there was no shaking. It was more like a hoof bump. A few seconds later, the door burst open and squabbling fillies could be heard.

"Gleaners don't eat apples!"

"Then they will leave the trees alone!"

"The gleaners buck up everything so your orchard will be changed!"

"Ladies?" Far said and walked up to the squabbling fillies.

Margot recognized some of the voices. She turned around to see. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and the yellow filly that Margot had seen earlier were chatting with Far. Far pointed to the table with his left fore hoof. The SHC headed to their seats.

The yellow filly with the pink bow walked up to Margot and introduced herself in a slight Western accent. "Mah name is Apple Bloom."

"Hello, Apple Bloom, my name is Margot Summerholt," Margot introduced herself.

She noticed that Apple Bloom was walking fine, the bandages that covered her fore hooves were gone. Margot wanted to scan her and see how the bones had mended but again she cursed that she could not do any magic.

"I see that the healing was a success," Far stated.

"Yes!" Scootaloo announced while her stubby wings flapped a little.

"Alright, my little ponies, I will brief you on the trip to Lower Canterlot. All of you should know how to get there in case we get separated," Far said. "We have to go straight north, too much to the west or east and things will get worse. It’s either the Rotten Lake and swamps or the Train. I have been with the supply caravans so I know the way," Far said with a serious look on his face.

"The Train is just a rumor," Skybreeze stated.

"Maybe so but I would rather not find out the truth," Far replied.

Cheerilee returned with a sad look on her face. "We don’t have enough food and water for you," she said and looked at the group.

"We could find the caravan--" Far started.

"No, it is taking too long. Something has happened to them," Cheerilee interrupted Far.

Apple Bloom waved her fore hoof at Cheerilee to get her attention. "We can ask Oonté for her help with the supplies!"

Cheerilee nodded.

Margot watched as the SHC exchanged glances. They touched their right fore hooves together and intoned some words. A blue glow covered their hooves and then a brown wooden barrel of water appeared in the corner of the room, afterward brown wafers appeared on the table and floor.

"Thank you, The Merciful," Sweetie Belle said with gratitude.

Cheerilee's green eyes seemed extra large as she took in the sight all of the food. "Well, um, thanks, girls," Cheerilee said.

"Praise Oonte!" Scootaloo said and bowed.

Margot noticed that the SHC seemed a bit less energetic, almost tired after conjuring the food.

"This looks like there is enough food for our trip and for the town," Far said while he sniffed the wafers in front of him.

Cheerilee left to get some help in moving the wafers to the food storeroom. Margot looked at the ones in front of her. The wafers were shiny brown with either fruit or hay in them. Several ponies returned with Cheerilee, they gawked with surprise at the sight of all that food. Sweetie Belle counted six wafers and put them into the bags. Margot thought the wafers were light but her saddlebag felt like she was carrying lead bars. A yellow unicorn filled up bottles of water and placed those in the bags too.

"These bars feel heavy. We just might need one a day. It takes four days to get to Lower Canterlot," Far said.

After a few minutes, all of the saddlebags were ready. Sweetie placed the bags on the traveler's backs. Then she placed a saddlebag on her own back.

"Lets see, Me, Margot, Skybreeze, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and AppleBloom, its like the six Elements of Harmony. This is a good omen," Far joked.

"Follow me and I will lead you to the exit," Cheerilee opened the door and pointed down the tunnel.

"Please be careful, all of you," Cheerilee warned the ponies waiting at the wooden doorway when they lined up to leave.

Margot could feel a familiar excitement fill her heart. Yes! She was going on an adventure. A more sober thought crossed her mind, would she survive the trip?