The Legend of the Fillysprite
Late last night, before all this mess went down, the little yellow pony known as Apple Bloom was just drifting off to sleep when she heard a clatter downstairs. The intruder quickly revealed itself as just her sister Applejack all along, when Applejack’s voice started floating up from the floorboards. But then it wasn’t just Applejack. Apple Bloom heard Applejack downstairs yelling the name what sounded like Pinkie Pie.
Apple Bloom jumped down out of bed, landing on four sturdy yellow hooves. She cautiously walked out of her room, down the hall and over to the stairwell. She could hear Applejack’s words then, saying, “Why do you have to borrow the Hereditary Apple Family Banjo? You planning a shindig at three hours past sunset?”
Still out of earshot, Pinkie Pie whined out an unintelligible response, so Apple Bloom crept down a flight of stairs where she could peer out the stairwell slats at both of them downstairs. “... .. ...save Ponyville from disaster, again!” was what Apple Bloom caught. The two ponies were down in the kitchen, with the room lantern lit brightly, filling the lower floor with a soft warm glow.
“The parasprites aren’t back, are they?!” Applejack said to Pinkie in clear alarm. Apple Bloom herself didn’t know the terror of facing down a creeping devouring swarm of voracious pests, on account of the field trip, but she did know about the hardship it had been on her return. She had come back from the Baltimare Aquarium, finding the farm house she lived in nothing but ruins and rubble.
Worst part is that was the good news. Apparantly the local librarian who was Applejack’s friend had managed to magic up some kind of hex that kept the parasprites from eating the apples. So, even though they had to erect a new house, board by board, they didn’t go hungry that year. Apple Bloom didn’t know what she’d do if she couldn’t find any food to eat for a whole year , and as far as she knew that’s how long it would take to grow everything all over again.
Thus, she was markedly concerned when Pinkie Pie said, “No, it’s even worse !”
“Apple Bloom,” came Big Mac’s voice behind her.
“Oh, hey Big Mac,” Apple Bloom said, turning to look at the stout brother of hers.
“What’re you doin’?” he asked firmly.
“Pinkie Pie is downstairs!” Apple Bloom said worriedly, “And she says a terrible disaster is coming!”
“Ah’ll check,” he said neutrally, passing by the little filly on his way down the stairs.
“Worse?!” Applejack was exclaiming. “There won’t be any Ponyville left if it was worse!”
“No Ponyville worth living in,” Pinkie Pie agreed in a surprisingly glum tone.
“Listen,” Applejack said hurriedly, “Ah’m gonna listen to you and we’ll do whatever we have to this time to save our home, but it’s Granny you need to talk to. She’s the one who bears the keys to the banjo chamber.
“Applejack,” Big Mac greeted his sister.
“Oh, hey Big Mac,” Applejack said turning back to her brother giving him a wordless look.
“Ah’ll get Granny,” he said, turning an about face and going back up the stairs.
Apple Bloom knew better than to ask questions at a time like this, because the answer to a little filly was always, “It’s late get back to bed,” or “You don’t need to worry about it we’ll keep you safe,” so she just tip toed downstairs quietly without saying a word, peering around the doorjam at Pinkie and her sister Applejack, with silent seeking eyes. When Applejack didn’t send her away, Apple Bloom crept in, sitting off to the side inconspicuously. Big Mac came down next with a yawning Granny Smith and Pinkie Pie launched into quite a tale.
“In our very village, lurks the terrible Fillysprite!” Pinkie said spookily to the ponies gathered around, and also Apple Bloom. “Nopony knows if it was created or born, but one day a parasprite, who was once like any other parasprite, got itself a taste for foals . It wouldn’t eat normal food anymore, only foal flesh could satisfy its twisted hunger. And when it ate a foal’s ears, another parasprite was born just like it, but with foal’s ears . When that one ate a foal’s wings, another was born with the wings from that foal’s back. One was born after another, until every part of a foal had been eaten, and the fillysprite was complete. But it didn’t stop there.”
“Nopony knows how the fillysprite could have taken those foals. Perhaps they were fed to it piece by piece . But once the fillysprite was complete, it became unstoppable . Its hunger for foals never lessened, and now it could walk among them unseen and unsuspected. A filly just like any other, that only a careful eye can see. But even that is not the end of its spooky powers! You thought parasprites could sneak in under your noses, with their illusion of innocence and beauty, but the fillysprite can make you love it just like it was a filly. It can confuse your senses, and rob you of your will, until you think that the fillysprite is your very own filly. If you fall into its trance you will defend it with your life, even as your own foals are eaten, one after another.
“How could you not notice your own foals disappearing without a trace, you ask?” Pinkie said in a leading tone of voice.
“How could we—...yeah,” Applejack asked wide-eyed, then muttered disgruntledly.
“Because the fillysprite is a parasprite ,” Pinkie emphasized, leaning over the lantern, which cast shadows up from under her chin. “And parasprites who feed always create more of their own . Your foals will be there one day, loving and living, and then... they’ll start acting strange. Not telling you where they are going, forgetting who they are supposed to be, concealing their shoulders from you with clothing . When that happens, your foals have already been devoured. The fillysprite eats them whole. consumes them, and then... spits out another fillysprite who looks exactly like the foal who was consumed. The fillysprite can assume the appearance of any foal it consumes, even use their stolen memories to fool you into thinking it’s your own foal.
Pinkie Pie slammed her hoof on the dinner table. “Then, it leaves your family, and goes to the next, and the next, and for every foal consumed there is another fillysprite, hungry to consume more . A town that was full of happiness and hope becomes a town that is full of sadness and infection , with no foals left alive, only shallow puppets of them pretending to be foals merely to seek their next victim. And when there are no foals left to sate its hunger... the fillysprite swarms .
She looked unconcernedly at the back of her hoof saying, “Nopony has ever survived a fillysprite swarm. The only towns who survive are the ones who end it. The fillysprite can still be stopped. It takes every ounce of courage you have, but if we act now, we can save Ponyville and destroy the thing before it consumes any more! To defeat a fillysprite you have to know the ten signs, the wings, the tail, the creepy jeepers, and the special song of the parasprite, that they cannot not follow.
“First,” Pinkie held up a hoof, “A fillysprite is a parasprite. It always has wings, and they’re strange wings you’d never see on a real filly’s back. They can’t fly, only flutter around like the bugs they are.”
“Second,” Pinkie held up another hoof, “A fillysprite is a parasprite. The same song passed on through many generations of those who fight parasprites, can draw the fillysprite out of hiding and bend it to your will.”
“Third,” Pinkie held up another hoof, “A fillysprite is a parasprite. It is a creature of only hunger, never love, so only uses its mouth. Foals go in, fillysprites come out. You can always tell a fillysprite, or even one masquerading as a full grown pony by looking under their tail, because they have nothing besides their mouth .”
“Fourth,” Pinkie held up another hoof, “A fillysprite is a parasprite. They only love other fillysprites, and they always love other fillysprites. Two enemies will become friends, not for any reason, but only because the fillysprite who devoured them both will not fight with itself. If strange foals are starting to love each other and know each other without ever having met, then the fillysprite may have gotten them.”
Pinkie Pie fell down then, because the pony had uh... all ten hooves in the air. Apple Bloom was glad she didn’t have boots on, because she would be shaking in them right now if she did. Something like that was in Ponyville? Was it gonna get her? Was it coming after her even now ? The shadows seemed to leap at Apple Bloom in the lantern light.
Pinkie picked herself up, and Applejack said placatingly, “That’s uh... quite a ghost story you got there.”
“It’s not just a ghost story!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, “I saw them today! With my own eyes !”
“Where did ya even hear about this stuff?” Big Mac spoke up uncharacteristically.
Pinkie Pie didn’t answer at first. When she did, she was uncharacteristically quiet, saying “It came to my town when I was a filly, and it would have eaten us all but my Granny defeated it, and saved... the ones who were left. She taught me everything. I’m sure other towns weren’t so lucky to have somepony like her.”
“Gosh Pinkie, ah never knew...” Applejack said with a heavy heart in her voice.
“Well don’t jes’ stand there,” Granny snapped, clopping a front hoof on the ground, “Let’s get this banjo and get ridda this thing! You said yer saw it with your own eyes?”
“Mmm-hmm!” Pinkie nodded. “I saw it in the library yesterday. It already ate Scootaloo, and then enchanted Rainbow Dash into adopting it. And then it enchanted Twilight too!”
Granny made to rush off, but Applejack held up a hoof saying, “Hold on now, you’re saying it enchanted Twilight ?”
Pinkie nodded. “She was all lovey and stuff even though she isn’t supposed to be.”
“Then how did it not enchant you? You seem fine,” Applejack said insistently.
“I um,” Pinkie paused, “I got lucky and got out of there soon enough before it could... ensnare me.”
“Wait a sec, Scootaloo ?” Granny Smith uttered turning to face Pinkie. “Ain’t she always had strange wings? Ah know from dodgin’ her antics on a daily basis! How long ago did she get et?”
“I don’t know, but it couldn’t have been that long ago,” Pinkie said, “The fillysprite just got here a few days ago. I thought it was a changeling, but actually it was something far worse.”
“How would you know it was a fillysprite that did it to a town, if nopony survived?” Big Mac pointed out.
“You wouldn’t!” Pinkie announced triumphantly. Then she corrected herself and announced triumphantly, “I mean you would!”
“You mean to tell me you’re gonna take our banjo and go drown a bunch of parasprites,” Applejack said uncontendedly, “And they’re identical to fillies in every way, except that you think they’re parasprites?”
“Did ye actually see the things doin’ their parasprite thing?” Granny put in.
“How do ya know you’re not the one who’s enchanted?” Big Mac added.
Pinkie shrunk back at each of their statements, and then shouted hotly, “You’re just like—you don’t even realize how much danger you’re in!” She pointed at Apple Bloom angrily saying, “You want them to kill her? You want Apple Bloom to die?!”
Big Mac stepped in-between Pinkie and Apple Bloom, looking sternly down at the pink pony. “Ah think you need to leave,” he said dangerously.
“I’m trying to save you all!” Pinkie shouted hopping up to be seen on the other side of him.
“You’re trying to scare us all,” Applejack said turning her head resentfully, “Well it ain’t funny anymore. You always push things too far, Pinkie. Don’t you think somepony might actually believe you? Ah don’t think Apple Bloom will get any sleep after a scary story like that!”
“But–” Pinkie tried to cut in edgewise.
Applejack didn’t let her though, holding up a hoof and saying “Ah know it’s fun sometimes to be scared, but you’re taking things too far, and this is not a good time.”
“You’re making a huge mistake!” Pinkie protested, “All the foals will—”
“Nope,” Big Mac said gruffly, pushing Pinkie back out same the door in from which she burst earlier.
At least Pinkie Pie didn’t try to stay, and ran off then, but she still shouted as she galloped away, “I’ll be back! You’ll see! You’ll wish you had just listened to me! I’ll get you all on my side, and your little banjo too!” She was pretty far away by that point. Land sakes did that pink pony’s voice carry a long way.
In the silence, Applejack walked up to Apple Bloom who was standing there petrified, and said, “Ah’m sorry you had to hear that. You alright?”
“Y-yeah!” Apple Bloom said jerking her eyes to her sister, “Couldn’t be better! Nothing like a good ghost story!”
Applejack responded by hugging her tightly. It would have been embarassing enough if Apple Bloom wasn’t trembling so hard. She calmed down in her sister’s blessedly loving warm embrace though. “That’s right,” Applejack said rocking Apple Bloom against her slowly, “Just a big old ghost story, nothing real about it. Pinkie just thought you’d like to hear one, and didn’t know when it was too much.”
“You know how upset Pinkie Pie can be when she don’t get things goin’ just exactly as she expects,” Granny said to Apple Bloom, patting her on the shoulder and then joining in with the hug.
“Eyup,” agreed Big Macintosh, wrapping his broad forehooves almost around all of them. Apple Bloom felt like she could go to sleep just like this so surrounded by their love. “...eroonie,” he muttered under his breath almost too quietly to hear. Applejack snorted at that, and that made Granny snicker, and soon they were all just laughing down in the farm house in the lamp lit night. It made Apple Bloom feel so much better to let the tension out like that.
...didn’t mean she could sleep in her own bed, though. Wasn’t until Apple Bloom haunted her way over to Applejack’s room that she managed to get any sleep. She tried not to make a habit of this, because she was a big pony who could sleep in her own room now, but tonight had really shaken her. The frightening demons of the Fillysprite were still terrifying when you were all alone at night, even if they weren’t real. But cuddled in her sister’s loving embrace, Apple Bloom found she could pretty much sleep through just about anything without nightmares or fear.
Apple Bloom was totally over it in the morning. Certainly wasn’t thinking about it over her oatmeal. Nor was Apple Bloom noticing Pinkie Pie camped outside the farmhouse next to an “OCCUPY BANJO” protest sign. Well, her tent at least. Pinkie Pie was elsewhere, probably looking for more instruments, and just left the tent there as a statement of intent. And Apple Bloom certainly wasn’t observing Scootaloo coming to school late like she was trying to avoid Apple Bloom, and sitting there smiling all creepily like she had some secret knowledge that only a filly eating body snatcher would know. And it’s not like Scootaloo kept looking at Apple Bloom hungrily every time she thought Apple Bloom wasn’t watching.
Apple Bloom was so not spooked that she completely missed the lesson that day, and as soon as the bell went off she practically shoved Sweetie Belle out of the classroom, sparing a glance at Scootaloo who was busy talking with some other pony, and thankfully didn’t see them leave.
“What’s the deal , Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle said irritably once they were outside. “Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Ah just want to tell you somethin’ ah heard about,” Apple Bloom said uneasily, “It’s about Scootaloo so we gotta get away before she sees us.”
“What’s wrong with Scootaloo?” Sweetie asked in fright.
“Nothin’!” Apple Bloom said, shaking her head dismissively, “Probably nothin’ but ah wanna tell you just in case. Maybe you’ll know what to do about it.”
“What is it then?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking more confused than frightened now.
“Not here!” Apple Bloom hissed at her, putting a hoof on her chest, “Scootaloo will see us! Let’s go to the clubhouse where we can have some privacy.”
And so the morning proceeded as you may have known, with Scootaloo surprising the both of them out in the Apple Acres, all alone, far from help, and then the other filly, the not-Scootaloo standing right beside her and practically moving in sync, and then all that stuff about how great it is to get eaten and how she already got Archer and we were next and those stubby little wings and and—
And the morning proceeded as you may have known it did.
The sudden wind tore through Apple Bloom’s mane, as Twilight Sparkle vanished from where they stood behind the farm house at Sweet Apple Acres, with less of a pop and more of a bang . Apple Bloom looked at the empty space incredulously. What’d she done said just now? She looked up at Cheerilee, who looked as confused as she was. Twilight didn’t need to go save anypony. Scootaloo was right here, wasn’t she?
“What was that all about?” Cheerilee said abrasively. She was looking considerably more stressed out than healthy.
“Scootaloo’s right here, isn’t she?” Apple Bloom said confusedly, “Twilight was acting like she was still at the library!”
“Archer!” Scootaloo exclaimed, jumping up to her hooves. “Archer is at the library! And one other named Licky!”
“Archer is... like Scootaloo,” Cheerilee explained to Apple Bloom as uncertain of her understanding as the schoolteacher clearly was.
“Ohh,” Apple Bloom said in aghast realization, “So Scootaloo has like a clone, who looks just like her, and they’ll mistake them?”
Cheerilee frowned, shaking her head slightly saying, “No, Archer does look somewhat similar to Scootaloo, but she’s double blue and she has rounder eyes. You know, your new classmate?”
Apple Bloom remembered a blue filly alright. She gulped down her feelings of guilt and dread and said, “...oh?”
“You remember Archer, Apple Bloom.” Scootaloo asserted, “She was the pony I tried to... introduce you to.” The cheer drained out of her voice with that last part.
“I wish ah didn’t remember,” Apple Bloom moaned, burying her face in her hooves. “Ah am such an idiot!”
She really didn’t want to remember, but... she did.
Apple Bloom staggered to a halt as the Fillysprite fled on Scootaloo’s stolen scooter, too fast to be caught, even if she hadn’t just almost killed Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom spat out the tail hair disgustedly, and where it landed on the soil of the orchard she could see the base of the purple hairs were dotted with bright red. It hadn’t even flinched when it ripped its own tail out to escape. It really was a monster!
She screamed at it. Scootaloo couldn’t just be gone! She wanted her friend back! How could a monster like this win? How could it steal Scootaloo away like that?! Had Scootaloo fought it? Had Scootaloo been so scared when she couldn’t get away? Had she cried out for help and there was nopony there to hear her?
“Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle shouted, piling into Apple Bloom from behind, like a battering ram made out of cotton candy. “Stop, you’re hurting her!!” Sweetie continued to yell, doing what she probably thought was supposed to be a sleeper hold.
“It’s too late,” Apple Bloom said emptily sinking down to her haunches. “Scootaloo can’t be hurt no more. She’s... she’s gone.”
“Yes she is,” Sweetie Belle stated fiercely, “And I won’t let you hurt her again, if she ever comes back after what you did!”
“No y-you don’t understand Sweetie,” Apple Bloom said pulling the unicorn around to hold her by the shoulders. “That wasn’t Scootaloo. It was a monster pretending to be her, so it could eat us! We just,” she found herself breathing harder, “We almost died just now!”
“What...?” Sweetie Belle said in horror, “How do you know?”
“Pinkie Pie has been hunting it,” Apple Bloom explained. She blinked as the cut on her ear dripped across her eye. The adrenalin was fading and she was really starting to feel how beat up she’d got. “Pinkie t-tried to warn us and we didn’t listen, but it’s really true! There’s a monster in Ponyville and it’s going around and eating foals, and it took on Scootaloo’s appearance. Ah know because... y-you heard it didn’t you? It was talking about eating Archer an’ spitting her out an’ making her just another copy of itself. And we didn’t listen... and now another filly is... i-is... gone...”
Apple Bloom wanted to sag all the way to the ground but her beaten flesh and bleeding cuts hurt too much to rest against. Sweetie Belle just sat there limply, pristine and unblemished as the day she was born, but her eyes had a hollow look to them. “Then...” Sweetie said slowly in a tiny voice, “Where’s Scootaloo?”
“Ah’m sorry, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom said brokenly. The tears from her eyes were stinging the cut on her face, but it wouldn’t do no good to wipe them away. Nothing would do no good anymore.
“That’s...” Sweetie murmured. “That can’t be true!” Sweetie said. “You’re lying!!” Sweetie shrieked at her. Apple Bloom just didn’t know what to say to her, sniffling and prodding painfully at her bloodied nose.
“Scootaloo is... Scootaloo is fine! That can’t be true!” Sweetie continued to assert shrilly and desperately. “She was just playing with us! It was it was just a joke. She just attacked you because she... because... you’re lying...”
“Ah wish ah was, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom sighed spiritlessly. “Ah wish it was so.”
“What do we do ?” Sweetie said in a quavering voice.
Apple Bloom swallowed to gather her voice and keep herself steady. “Now, you’re gonna come with me,” she said as authoritatively as she can, “We’re gonna find mah folks and warn them, and they’ll be able to keep us safe then, an’ we’ll be able to stop the fillysprite from hurtin’ any more ponies.”
“What about Scootaloo ?” Sweetie insisted her voice thick with denial.
Apple Bloom closed her eyes briefly. One eye didn’t open right, felt sore and swollen. “Just follow me,” she said gruffly, and paced a few steps, looking back to make sure Sweetie was with her. “And stay close!” she added urgently.
“Granny!” Apple Bloom called out once she got into the farm house, Sweetie Belle practically riding her from behind. “Are ya here? Ah need you!”
“Eh, what is it?” Granny poked her head out from the kitchen. Her eyes widened when she saw Apple Bloom and she came running, saying, “Land sakes what happened to ye, child? You’re more torn up than a three year old sock!”
“It’s Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom said urgently. “She... well it started this morning! It was like what Pinkie Pie said! And she was acting all weird and she cornered us when we were alone. And she had another strange filly with her. It was like they were the same filly! It was the Fillysprite!”
“Now Apple Bloom, you’re letting your fears get ahead of you here,” Granny said gently, coming up with a bucket of steaming hot water and a wet washcloth. She administered to Apple Bloom’s scrapes as gently as she could, rinsing them of dirt and grit.
“But then Scootaloo let it slip ,” Apple Bloom said insistently, relaxing despite herself at Granny’s soothing minstrations. “She wasn’t a normal pony. There was something wrong with her. You know how funny her wings are. She was acting all happy when she s-said she spat the other filly out of her mouth, after devouring her. Ah swear it’s true! And the other filly was saying it happened, too! And she had wings just like Scootaloo! They were trying to get us to do it too, and sayin’ like it wasn’t any big deal and coming closer and...”
“And then it attacked!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed with a squeak. “And Apple Bloom had to fight it away!”
“Ah’m sorry Granny,” Apple Bloom said mournfully to her shocked grandmother. “But Pinkie was right all along. The fillysprite is real, and the fillysprite is here !”
“But Scootaloo...” Granny said in quiet dismay.
Sweetie Belle whimpered sinking down, and started to cry.
“Sc– Scoot–” Apple Bloom couldn’t talk because she was starting to cry too. “Ah’m sorry Granny,” she wept, pressing her face painfully into Granny’s bony shoulder.
Granny pretty much knew where Applejack and Big Mac were scheduled to be. And Pinkie Pie, she knew where everypony was scheduled to be. The Apples were all barricaded in the farm house, with Apple Bloom lying in bed with an ice pack on her swollen ribs, and Sweetie downstairs huddled against the wall with a cup of cocoa, when pink horse came charging down the road covered in instruments, shouting that she got an ear flop, belly rumble, tail jerk, hoof pinch, which meant that somepony in the Apple family household was hurt. Apparantly she had a specific Pinkie sense just for that. She may actually have just been trying to get the banjo again, but when she found out Apple Bloom was genuinely hurt she was immensely ...relieved.
“Oh I am so glad to hear that!” Pinkie had said to Applejack. “Your sister is so brave! She saved both their lives!”
“You’re glad ah’m beat up?” Apple Bloom had croaked at the ponies standing in the hall outside her room.
“Mmmhmm,” said Pinkie Pie to her in a cheery voice, “Because if you weren’t beaten up then you would be eaten up!”
Apple Bloom really couldn’t argue with that logic.
And so the banjo chamber was unsealed and the great power of the southern twang once again lay in Pinkie Pie’s hooves. But no seriously it was just a banjo Granny found at a yard sale and she kept it in her room under the bed. But Pinkie Pie took that holy relic and began her strange song, marching up and down the stairs, walking around the farm house. And at last Pinkie concluded that the area was fillysprite, and parasprite free.
Apple Bloom was in no state to march with them through town, so they battened up the hatches and securely locked the doors. Then they all headed out, but with her stuck in bed.
“Ah promise we’ll be back as soon as we can,” Big Macintosh told Apple Bloom earnestly. He’d lifted Sweetie and lay her delicate frame against his back where she clung there gazing at Apple Bloom vacantly.
“Ah don’t want the fillysprite to get me...” Apple Bloom whimpered miserably.
“Don’t you worry, filly,” Pinkie Pie said earnestly, “We’ll lure any fillysprites out of here and we’ll go around the whole town to make sure there aren’t any hiding away.”
“The hearth will keep you safe,” Applejack assured her. “Our home has strong roots.”
“That didn’t stop the parasprites the last time,” Apple Bloom grumbled.
“The last time it was the parasprites, plus the magic of Twilight Sparkle,” Applejack said with a disgusted sigh. “And she helped with the repairs! Trust me, there is no place safer than where you are right now.”
“Pff, yeah and she’s going to be after us not you,” Pinkie Pie said sassily, “If she really is in the fillysprite’s thrall.”
“If Twilight starts attacking us it’ll be a huge problem,” Applejack said worriedly.
“We’ll save her for last,” Pinkie Pie explained. The ten of them plus Sweetie walked down the stairs with Pinkie still explaining, “Between you and some friends of mine we should be able to...”
Pinkie’s perky voice continued through the floorboards even as the front door opened, closed and locked, and her music started up as the entourage started straight away towards the biggest danger right now, the schoolhouse. And then Apple Bloom was left in silence. Normal boring old terrifying silence.
Every whisper of wind or floorboard creak was a fillysprite clinging to the ceiling just waiting for her to let her guard down and leap onto her head from above. Which is silly because Apple Bloom’s bed had a poster bed, and the tester on top of it would stop any marauding monsters from jumping down on her. But that made it worse in a way, because as the saying goes, the scariest things are what you can’t see or hear, not the ones you can see that you aren’t protected from.
Apple Bloom was seriously questioning the validity of that saying, when the even more terrifying sound of Twilight Sparkle hollering for anypony drifted up from downstairs. The door rattled and–and it didn’t hold! The Apple family was no match for Twilight’s powers of arcane sorcery. She unlocked that door and let herself right in. Apple Bloom wanted to scream but she dared not make a sound. She had to get away somehow! Twilight was going to deliver her to the fillysprite! Apple Bloom could fight that thing, but not a unicorn who was controlled by it!
She threw the ice off her chest in a panic. Her muscles screamed in pain from knotting up where she lay there after having been injured but she barely even noticed in her urgency. Yanking the sheets off her bed Apple Bloom twisted them so they were long and thin and tied them together end-to-end, and to her bed. She almost made it too! She just had to get to the ground and, and hide in the bushes or, or something, and then Twilight Sparkle’s head had extended out from the window to Apple Bloom’s room, looking down straight at her .
And the morning proceeded as you may have known it did.
“Stupid! Stupid!” Apple Bloom said face down, punctuating each of her words with further injury to her head and hooves.
“Stop hitting yourself, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo shouted exasperatedly.
“Ah caint believe ah fell for it,” Apple Bloom exclaimed, “All ah had to do was listen for one second an’ we never woulda fought and none of this would have happened!”
“Apple Bloom, please!” Cheerilee said lifting Apple Bloom to her hooves and leaning her forcefully against the schoolteacher. “You need to calm down. You’re hurt!”
“Ah’m fine,” snapped Apple Bloom. “But what about the other ponies? Pinkie Pie is a menace! An’ it’s all mah fault!”
“No it’s my fault,” said Scootaloo standing apart from them with a look of angry desolation, “It’s my fault for getting caught, and it’s my fault for telling Twilight, and it’s my fault for telling you and it’s my fault for being born !”
“Scootaloo, you couldn’t help being born,” Apple Bloom said weakly.
“And you could help what you did?” Scootaloo countered, her tail clinging tightly to her hindquarters. “You were so scared! You had every right to—”
“It’s nopony’s fault, Scootaloo!” Cheerilee interjected in a hurt tone. Apple Bloom could feel Cheerilee quivering as she said it. Cheerilee firmed up though, and said in a controlled voice, “Scootaloo, come here.”
Scootaloo just looked away resentfully. “Scootaloo,” Cheerilee commanded more strongly, “Come. Here.”
Scootaloo sulked over the few paces to Cheerilee and Apple Bloom. She didn’t even look up or even frame it as a question when she said, “What.”
Cheerilee sat back on her haunches then and wrapped her arm around Apple Bloom... and Scootaloo. Scootaloo resisted even as Cheerilee pulled her into her embrace but there was no escape from the hug. “It’s going to be okay,” Cheerilee reassured them soothingly. “It’s not your fault.” Scootaloo tried to protest that, but Cheerilee just repeated herself and wouldn’t let the fillies get a word in edgewise. Apple Bloom broke down first, shoving her head underneath Scootaloo’s chin, ignoring the pain of her bandaged ear as she voiced her distress. It would be lying to say Scootaloo didn’t cry too.
And that’s why they were completely surprised when Cheerilee shoved Apple Bloom away, lifted Scootaloo up and bodily hurled her into the bushes down the hill.
“Alright so,” Twilight Sparkle said in a splay legged crouch facing Ponyville’s perimiter from where she and Applejack had just escaped from the Everfree forest, “The flower trio are gone, and that means they’ve gone to warn the entire town. Because that’s what they do. Warn the entire town making everypony panic . We’re all exhausted. My horn is enertheric. Nopony knows where Pinkie is. Scootaloo is off in the heart of Sweet Apple Acres. And between me and my library is a whole town of ponies who will likely arrest me on sight to say nothing of what they will do to Archer or Licky. Spike is with Rarity, and equally inaccessible. Suggestions?”
“Beggin’ your pardon, Twilight,” Applejack said hesitantly.
“Excellent suggestion, Applejack!” Twilight interrupted. “You can probably travel within Ponyville without attracting too much suspicion now, and unfortunately you lack the necessary magic to activate the library shield plus we lack a hay wagon for you to pull, that the fillies could hide in.”
“Ah’m not exhausted act’chly,” Granny Smith pointed out, having been helped to her feet by the literally more sensible of the two fillies who carried her out of the forest.
“Good idea, Ms. Smith!” Twilight said waving her hooves exaggeratedly, “So you can provide a distraction while Applejack smuggles the fillies in using the wagon she doesn’t have and activates the shield using her nonexistent horn!”
“Beggin your pardon , Twilight,” Applejack repeated more assertively to the anxious unicorn.
Twilight looked at her with a disoriented, “Huh?”
“Ain’t there anywhere you could hide besides the library?” Applejack said patiently.
Twilight brightened at that saying, “Of course! That abandoned house these fillies were hiding in is far on the edge of town. It’s right next to Fluttershy’s! We could probably reach it from here without too many river crossings.”
“Actually ah was thinkin’ the east orchard,” Applejack said, “There’s a barn out there you could use. We just store hay and pinkfluff in it anyway. It’s over by Goldie’s plot.”
“Alright, let’s just get there and see how secure it is,” Twilight grumbled agreeably. “Maybe I can figure out what to do in the meantime.”
The white barn, as it turns out, was about as secure as a barn would be. The security was limited to a big wooden cross beam that held the double doors in front closed. Archer and Licky darted right inside as the doors opened, Licky more because she was just parrotting anything Archer did at the moment. Archer turned her head back, as Twilight walked in looking around critically, followed by Applejack and Granny Smith. Licky wasn’t turning to look at them, but she was standing still for once, staring at a bound up bushel of pinkfluff with big eyes.
Twilight sighed, blinking tiredly and declared, “Well I suppose it will do, for a place to hide in at least.” She paced in a circle, looking critically at the sun filtering in through the cracks, and the rafters overhead loaded up with bales and bushels. “Now,” she started in a lecturing tone, “We can get two things done at once so I need you, Granny, to go and inform Rarity of the situation. Spike can at least be of some help protecting the library until we can reach it. And Applejack I need you to go directly to the library and get Rainbow Dash to the spa. We need her in full working order ASAP.”
“Cheerilee should still be at your farm house with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom,” Twilight continued as she marked down the issues in her head, “But she may have returned to the school as I didn’t exactly have time to explain to her, so if either of you see her please inform her of the situation and make sure she doesn’t expose Scootaloo to any inadvertant danger unknowingly.”
“Oh dear,” Granny said worriedly in response, rubbing her chin.
“Oh dear?” Twilight shouted to her shortly her interest piqued, “What’s oh dear?!”
“Well it’s jus’,” Granny paused formulating her words, and said, “After we got to the library, Big Mac went to drop off Sweetie Belle with her sister on account of the situation could’ve gotten ugly and she didn’t need to be there to see it.”
“And after that, he was going to head straight back to check on Apple Bloom.”
“Oh, hello Big Macintosh!” Cheerilee said with an overemphasized smile, “Fancy seeing you here!” She was standing beside the Apple Family farm house where Big Macintosh lived, addressing the big red pony. He had run up in terror at the sight of the front door to the farm house left swinging open, just when Cheerilee charged around the corner to greet him amiably.
“Where’s Apple Bloom?” he asked her, and he really really wasn’t asking. He was telling .
“J-j-ust around the back,” Cheerilee said torn between anxiety and embarassment. “She was trying to climb out her window the poor dear—” but he was already gone, charging around the corner. Cheerilee ran after him, where to her alarm he grabbed Apple Bloom’s tail and roughly hoisted her upside down into the air.
“Big Mac! Stop it!!” Apple Bloom squawked in fright and outrage. He didn’t answer her, but he did drop her to the ground. Then he started poking Apple Bloom in the small of her back.
“What are you doing, Big Macintosh!” Cheerilee shouted admonishingly, rushing up to him to stop him from... whatever he was doing. But then he turned on her with steely cold eyes that stopped her short. Keeping himself between Cheerilee and Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh strolled up to Cheerilee, looking into her eyes so intensely she felt like she was going to drop on the spot. And then he turned around behind her and hooked the base of her tail, and heaved.
“B-b-b-bi-bi-bi-bi-b-M-m-ma-ma-m-m” Cheerilee was really having trouble getting past the first syllable in what she wanted to say, what with him yanking up her tail like a schoolcolt and practically sort of metaphorically almost not really sticking his nose in between her legs. She tried to pull away frantically, and he almost immediately let her go, making her stumble in surprise at the sudden freedom. Her tail went straight down against her hindquarters. His response to that reaction was to ...start poking Cheerilee in the flank, up around her shoulder blades.
Finding her wits somehow, Cheerilee skittered away from him sideways saying, “Big Macintosh, w-w-what is the meaning of this?!” She spared a worried glance at Apple Bloom wondering if she could reach the filly before this crazy demented stallion does who knows what else to her. But that made him look at Apple Bloom too, and as soon as he did he lunged for her. It was no use; he was just too close to the filly. Cheerilee leaped for Apple Bloom, but Big Macintosh was quicker, sweeping up his sister in an iron grasp leaving Cheerilee face down in the dirt. She scrambled up as fast as she could but he... wasn’t doing anything more to Apple Bloom. He just... held her tightly, rocking back and forth as he did.
Cheerilee started to comprehend what she was looking at when Big Macintosh held his little sister out at arm’s length and said angrily, “What were you thinkin’ opening up and unlocking the door and scarin’ me half to death! Ah thought the fillysprite had got ya!”
Cheerilee felt her breathing evening out as Big Macintosh went to hug his incoherently babbling sister again. Cheerilee looked at the bushes but Scootaloo had not emerged from them. Good, the filly was smart enough to realize this was a ...delicate situation. Either that or Scootaloo was knocked unconscious. Cheerilee hoped it was the former. Either way, time was of the essence. She collected herself, and took a deep breath, then said,
“Big Macintosh, I’m ashamed of you!”
“This is terrible!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed pacing the barn floor agitatedly. “What if he sees Scootaloo with Apple Bloom? He could hurt them! He could hurt Cheerilee! What if she tries to defend them? What if everypony panics? Oh why didn’t I think to hide them!”
“Calm down, Twilight!” Applejack said forcing her to stop pacing by pushing up against her brusquely. “Big Mac is a good pony and a gentlecolt,” Applejack continued, “He won’t do anythin’ rash, not without a good reason for it.”
“Maybe I could just, maybe I could just,” Twilight said lighting up, or trying to light up her horn at any rate. She grimaced and clutched her head. “Thrice damned disaster zone they call a forest...” she swore angrily.
“Twilight, you need to rest ,” Applejack entreated her. “You been using more hocus foolery the past two days than you do in a week!”
“You’re right, Applejack,” Twilight admitted, “But still!”
“No buts, you relax here as best you can,” Applejack insisted. “Ah’ll go on to the farm to make sure everything’s okay with Big Macintosh. Granny can get Rainbow Dash to the spa instead, and then go fetch Spike from Rarity’s.”
“What’s so important about some fancy spa?” Granny said butting her head into their conversation irritably.
Applejack blushed at that and tapped her hooves together saying, “Ah may have gone and crimped a few of her nerve clusters.”
“Ye did what?!” Granny hollered at Applejack. Twilight shushed her desperately.
“We’re trying not to draw attention here,” Twilight urged the aged pony.
“Don’t ye know that ain’t healthy?” Granny accused Applejack in a quieter tone. “You coulda hurt the filly!”
“If you know of a safer way to keep Rainbow Dash from coming after us, I am all ears Granny,” Applejack hissed back at her. “It’s just her third vertebrae, and her hip joints... and the one behind the spleen, and the two in her altshoulders. She’ll be fine after a good rubdown.”
“Well,” Granny vacillated, “She’d better, for your sake! You fool filly an’ now ah gotta go clean up your mess.”
“Ah’m sorry, Granny,” Applejack said pausing in the doorway on her way out, “But Twilight’s right. Ah gotta find Big Mac and fast . Don’t want none of us to do anything we regret!”
“I’m as fast as ah ever was young’n!” Granny shouted running much more slowly after Applejack who charged out of there on the way to Sweet Apple Acres. “Ah didn’t get that new hip fer nothin’! You just wait you’ll see I ... ... .....” Granny’s voice continued to float through the air, diminishing in the distance as the two of them crested the hill and returned to the main road into town. Twilight watched them go, then looked at her surroundings nervously, and pulled the barn doors closed. She lifted the crossbeam, wincing at the flash of pain in her horn. Her magic array was just so very disarrayed right now. But the crossbeam went into place easily enough, and she sank on her hooves in relief, as they were now secure and hidden in the dim light of the barn.
Turning around, Twilight saw that Licky had discovered how much fun pinkfluff was to bounce on. It made her smile wistfully, wishing she had such simple pleasures to play with as a filly. Not too wistfully though, because Twilight would have had a terrible childhood if she hadn’t had the grand library of Canterlot to grow up in, and not living on a farm was a welcome sacrifice to pay for that. Archer was watching Licky too, somewhat wistfully, so Twilight leaned down to her and said,
“Could you watch over Licky for a while? I need to spend some time resting so I can work up a strong enough cosmo connection to teleport us to the library. She looks like she could use some help over there.”
“Okay, Twilight!” Archer said to her spryly, and ran over to where Licky was, her little wings buzzing as Archer jumped up the bushel to give Licky some assistance in climbing it. It would have been more adorable if the lighting wasn’t so dim and gloomy. But dim light was just what Twilight needed right now. She leaned against the barn door listening for any signs of movement out there, then closed her eyes and focused on her thoughts, letting the swirling miasma that was her second tier spell matrix crash upon her mind unconcernedly like the ocean upon the seashore. The storm would end in time, and she was at peace with that awareness.
Something many unicorns never have to deal with is meditation. A corroded spell matrix is not something that comes from simple acts of levitation. Twilight Sparkle never regretted her decisions in what life to lead, but her magical potency did come with its drawbacks. The completely overhyped predisposition for insanity aside, Twilight had to learn mental calming techniques for when she overexerted herself. Indeed her most powerful spells were only possible with those techniques. The gains one can achieve through raw power is multiplied by an order of magnitude if you remain focused and in harmony enough to use that power to its maximum utility. As the saying goes, the weak unicorn at peace can overcome the strong, conflicted.
It was also a good opportunity to catch up on sleep. Even after last night’s rest, the Licky debacle had once again robbed Twilight of the sleep she needed. So as she fiddled with her mental gears making sure everything was streamlined smooth and well oiled Twilight Sparkle found herself growing sleepy. And with Archer keeping Licky busy, and no books, customers, angry villagers, or impossible assignments to capture her attention, Twilight found she no trouble in drifting off on the spot.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was still having a really bad day.
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5640131
idgaf but it's probably because I don't use a spell checker. Please do point them out though!
5638543
More... ferrets?
great chapter as always.
keep up the good work
5647639 might i suggest something? when someone is having a flashback, like apple bloom did in this chapter, i would suggest using a paragraph separator (ranging from a few dots to some authors using pictures) to show when the scene is changing. i feel this would have helped this chapter flow better, since i had to pause for a second every time a flashback occurred.
is anything i'm saying making sense?
5647949
No, it makes sense. I just have a burning hatred for visual paragraph separators.
Seriously though, the unsettling nature of the scene transition was half intentional, since I like those surprise scene transitions myself, and half just the fact that I'm clueless about that stuff. I'll go try adding clearer transitions in sometime, though I really do prefer transitions as in actually writing the scene transitioning, and not just dropping in a horizontal rule and making the reader guess what I mean by it.
Also technically since the transitions jumped to the future and back, those would be flash forwards.
5647639
Needs more fillies acting like fillies, even if they're not quite pony fillies, because you can never have enough weaponized D'awww.
Er, until your heart explodes.
I'm pretty sure most of us (and any pony) won't survive finding Archer and Licky nestled against Twilight's sides.
5647985
I fully agree with BronyPonyMan - clear scene transitions are very important, so that the reader can keep clear which scenes go with which part of the timeline. You can maybe get away without a divider is you've got just one transition between two very different scenes, but in a case like this, where you keep transitioning back and forth, scene dividers are important.
5647985 How about extra spacing to separate them?
5648594
I thought about putting the part about after the fight together with the part before the fight, so there wouldn't be a jump to the present in between, but I thought the inconsistency between past and present fit well with Apple Bloom's unstable state of mind. The jumping back and forth between Twilight and Cheerilee was just kind of silly though, so maybe I could just put that stuff in order and take out all the holy shit takes. Sorry for all the jerky transitions though. I swear I have the attention span of a goldfish someti
I think Rainbow Dash is the most intelligent one out of all of them. Not panicking at all.
Alright, how's that?
5647985
With the amount of jumping around you do, you really need the visual scene change markers. They are standard in writing for a reason.
Apart from that, more more more.
5652257
If you didn't see the ones I added, then you need to get your eyes checked.
Or maybe the site is just blocking the images idk
5653045
I can confirm that I don't get any page breaks except for this most recent chapter, and I had to change my formatting from white on black to normal to see the "dun dun duuun". I went back and checked other chapters at spots that were jarring with the regular format and didn't see them anywhere, so I think those ones are not being displayed.
That said, excellent so far, never read anything like it here, so I have no idea where you're going, which I love!
Great story so far, I'm really enjoying it. I really like how you explained Twilight using meditation to focus her mind and improve her casting abilities. That's some great world building for the unicorns. Keep up the good work!
5666540
your mom
5666586 It was supossed to be a joke?
5666942
that's what SHE said
5667343 Best luck next time then
good story, cant wait for the next chapter
"“Fourth,” Pinkie held up another hoof,"
In keeping with your convention, should that be "tenth"?
GAHHHH! How did it take me so long to work out it's in base 4?!
-smashes face into desk-
This is very relatable I have done this when I was younger whenever I was upset and didn't want to talk xD
dun dun dunnnnnnn
\ah yes its a case of
Capgras Syndrome
only with pinkie putting it on overdrive
10041339
That's a fascinating mental condition! I think what's happening here is just plain old paranoia though. Apple Bloom was relieved to know Scootaloo hadn't been replaced, precisely because she didn't feel like Scootaloo was an impostor.
Actually I think Pinkie might be experiencing a Capgras delusion, if you meant her instead of Apple Bloom. Pinkie knows full well that fillysprites don't replace foals with impostors, even if the memory's... heavily repressed.