Previous Chapters Next
Close
I - The Moon8,979 words
II - The Sun2,931 words
III - The Hermit8,536 words
IV - The Traitor9,728 words
V - The Devil12,068 words
VI - The Stars10,957 words
VII - The Wheel of Fortune13,594 words
VIII - The Emperor10,721 words
IX - The Tower8,475 words
X - Strength8,380 words
XI - The Fool11,141 words

VI - The Stars

All is not lost

Twilight Sparkle made her way through the Everfree. Her steps were hasty and clumsy, tripping on the roots and running into branches, but she paid no attention to those annoyances. “They want me to take the major’s place!” she said to nopony in particular. “Why? I don’t know…I can’t…I wouldn’t be able to…do what she does. I am not a politician! Or a leader! I am just Celestia’s student!”

Her rant continued for several minutes. Even if her mind seemed to be somewhere else, Twilight was actually going in a very precise direction. She reached Zecora’s hut, a bit faster than she had expected, although that had come to be expected from the Everfree. The forest had decided to be kind this time, for whatever reason.

Twilight was reminded of her reason to visit Zecora the moment her home came into view. The zebra was outside, pushing away from her doorway two dead changelings with mild annoyance. “Zecora!” she called out, trotting to the other equine. “Are you hurt?”

“Ah, it is you,” said the zebra, smiling upon seeing Twilight. “Perhaps you can tell what are these two?”

“They are changelings,” said Twilight, walking in a circle around Zecora and seeing no injuries. “Long story short, they have attacked us, and they might be back at some point in the near future. You are not safe here, Zecora. You ought to go somewhere secure, like Trottingham or Manehattan.”

Zecora crooked an eyebrow, believing Twilight to be exaggerating. “How grave is it? It took me months to get established here, and I do not wish to move in a whim.”

“Well, they have basically killed an entire village, and about an hour ago they attacked the camp where the ponyvillains have hidden from Nightmare,” replied Twilight. A more delicate exposition could have led to more arguing, so she decided to be blunt. “There are four or five ponies dead, plus several injured.” Zecora’s jaw dropped, and Twilight waved her hoof to the two dead changelings. “You may have killed those, but they probably were stragglers.”

Zecora looked at the changelings, and for a moment the dregs of sickness crossed her face. She then took a deep breath, which she held for a few seconds. “I will pack up what I need the most,” said Zecora. “I will meet you when I am done.”

Twilight nodded, satisfied. “I am glad you are alright, Zecora,” she said, glancing at the corpses. Both of them seemed to be in perfect state, except for a single, blunt strike to the top of their heads. Their chitin armor was cracked and a small amount of blood flowed from the injury. When Twilight looked up, she noticed a long wooden staff leaning against Zecora’s hut.

The zebra gave Twilight a small, proud smile. “I might be a shaman, but I am not harmless. We have our own traditional fighting styles that let us protect ourselves.” Zecora’s expression turned grave. “Maybe it is just my feel, but it seems to me things keep going downhill.”

Twilight’s ears folded back. “Yes. I hate to admit it, but it seems like we are making a sizeable serie of unfortunate events.” She turned around, and tried to crack a small smile. “Let’s hope we get a strike of good luck, to compensate. I’ll be back in a few hours and help you to move your things.”

Zecora nodded and waved her hoof in a single, broad arc. “Farewell.”

Satisfied to see Zecora had not only survived, but was also unharmed, Twilight took the path back to the campsite, where hopefully things would have calmed down already. She wasn’t exactly proud of leaving the ponies in that state, but she was tired of dealing with angry, scared ponies. She just wasn’t suited for it. In her honest opinion, Maud would do a far better job. Being the former Captain of the Canterlot Ground Guard, she had experience keeping order.

When Twilight arrived to the campsite, after a walk that was just fairly longer than it should have, she discovered her suspicions were absolutely correct. She hadn’t been gone for very long, but the place was completely changed. The whole area had been cleared of shrubs and small trees. In the center, there was a large stack of barrel, boxes and burlap sacks. Around it, there were several camping tents already set up, and some being built. Off to the side, there was a large pile of sheets and pillows. Twilight consulted her newly acquired watch. No more than three hours had passed.

More surprising were the ponies. The camp was bursting with activity. Productive activity, in contrast with the chaotic hustle of before. Around the edge of the clearing there were ponies armed, on guarding duty. Over there, some others were chopping wood or bringing dry twigs from the forest itself. Tents were being set up, supplies distributed, weapons sharpened, and a ditch around the edge dug out.

Twilight was in the process of comprehending what was going on before her, when Rainbow Dash came flying and hovered in front of her. “Oh hey Twilight. Look what we’ve been up while you were gone. Pretty awesome, huh?” she asked, looking back.

“Where is everypony?” asked Twilight, noting the absence of about half of the ponies.

“Oh, that,” Rainbow landed next to Twilight. “Maud send them their way. She forced everypony to choose if they wanted to stay or leave. Many ponies weren’t happy about leaving friends behind, but…” Rainbow shrugged. “It’s not like they were gonna reach an agreement anyways. ‘s for the best, I think.”

Twilight realized her jaw was hanging open and put an end to the issue. “This is amazing! Did Maud organize all this?” She was honestly impressed.

“Oh yeah. She got some help from a retired Far Watch soldier, but it was mostly her.” replied Rainbow Dash.

Twilight observed the busy campsite, having a hard time picturing Maud Pie giving orders that consisted on more than two words. Then again, perhaps that was enough. “So all these ponies are determined to stay here?” she asked.

“Yup!” said Rainbow with an eager smile. “I know you’re gonna say it’s a bad idea, but I am not going anywhere for those bugs. They don’t scare me.”

“They have killed ponies, Rainbow Dash,” muttered Twilight, grim.

“They caught us off-guard,” said Rainbow Dash, shrugging her wings nonchalantly. “That’s not gonna happen next time. I am going to move my cloud house over the clearing. Maud said it would be useful to have a watchtower, and I own the only cloud house in town.” Rainbow Dash paused, before adding. “Speaking of which, Maud said she wanted to talk to you about stuff. Good luck! She’s probably a bit pissed you left.” the pegasus gave Twilight a bump on the shoulder, before taking off and gliding to the other edge of the clearing.

Twilight rubbed her shoulder, surprised at the sudden display of camaraderie. She stood at the edge of the treeline for a moment, before descending the gentle slope. She was slightly worried she would find the former captain angry…or as close to angry as she could muster. Maud Pie was quick enough to locate. She was splitting logs in smaller chunks with an axe. The mare had taken off both her cloak and armor, and now Twilight could see her actual body shape. Despite being shorter than Applejack, the captain could surely rival her in raw muscle power. The earth pony held the axe with her forelegs, raised it above her head, and brought it down, splitting the log with apparent ease. ‘No wonder she had no trouble dealing with the changelings.’ thought Twilight, her eyes fixed on how the muscles of the mare tensed and bulged with each movement.

Twilight coughed politely to catch Maud’s attention. She turned her head and gave Twilight an acknowledging nod. One piece of wood split later, Maud left the axe on the ground and motioned Twilight to follow her, picking up her cloak with a swift movement.

“Rainbow Dash said you wanted to talk to me,” began Twilight.

“You left when ponies were in need of your guidance,” said Maud as she put on her cloak. Her voice or expression were not accusing or displeased. She was merely stating a fact. Perhaps.

Twilight’s ears dropped. “I am sorry,” she whispered. “I-I just…I don’t know. I am not good at dealing with ponies. Magic is my special talent. Standing in front of a mob of ponies and telling them that everything is going to be alright…that is more my father’s thing.”

Maud nodded, understanding. Maybe. Twilight didn’t perceive any change on her expression, but the mare didn’t berate her, which was probably a good sign. “Next time, please refrain from doing that. The ponies are scared already. If you disappear without a trace, they may panic.” Maud observed Twilight for a second, before turning her head ahead. Twilight realized they were heading to a set of camping tents that were already set up and occupied.

However, Maud stopped short of a few meters and sat next to a tree stump. On it were a few papers and a small pebble, and next to it laid a set of shod hammers and armor. Confused, Twilight sat on the opposite side of the stump and watched Maud rummage through the papers. “I need you to send this to the barracks of the Manehattan Ground Guard,” said Maud, tapping a piece of paper that was filled with a tiny, dense mouthwriting. “It’s for your father. I explain the threat of the changelings, and give all the additional information you have offered us. He will take care of relying the warning to every other Ground Guard detachment and army garrison. The high command will take the matter on their hooves.”

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat when she realized she could have sent the warning far earlier, if she hadn’t left. Now, the letter would arrive a couple of hours later than intended. What if her inability to control her impulses cost the lives of innocent ponies? Mentally slapping herself, Twilight neatly folded the letter in three with her magic and stood up. “Right,” she said, trying to sound calm. “I will need a few minutes to perform the spell.”

Maud nodded.

Twilight waited, expecting some other reaction from the earth pony. When none came, she let out a sigh and prepared herself mentally to perform the spell under Maud’s piercing glare.

Six minutes later, the magic on Twilight’s horn faded and she opened her eyes. The letter was gone, as expected. If everything had gone right – and she had no reason to believe the opposite – it would have appeared on the planned target. Looking up, Twilight grimaced when she discovered that Maud was sitting in the same spot, exactly with the same dull expression.

‘Maybe it’s just me and everypony else can read her expression just fine?’ wondered Twilight. “I-it’s done,” she said, stating the obvious. Maud simply nodded. Twilight gulped, and decided to prod the captain a bit more. “S-so what exactly have I missed?”

“I sent away the ponies that wanted to leave,” replied Maud. “I assigned tasks to everypony else. Guarding, gathering resources, building a palisade, taking care of the wounded,” The earth pony paused and licked her lips. “I am trying to decide what you would be useful for.”

“Me? Uh, well…” Twilight fidgeted with her hooves. “How are we doing with resources?”

“There is a river nearby, so water is not an issue,” said Maud. “We have some food reserves, which we can supplement by picking berries and other edibles form the forest. Fishing, perhaps. We have taken enough sleeping bag, sheets and similar from the houses for everypony, but not tents. We are reserving those for the wounded. The biggest issue was weapons.”

“Are you planning to arm everypony?” asked Twilight, crooking an eyebrow.

“No. Just most. Even if you have no training, having a spear can increase your chances of survival.” replied Maud. “The armory of the Ponyville Ground Guard was small, but some civilians owned weapons. And the owner of Crossbows and Bowling Balls generously donated his stock.”

“Crossbows and Bowling Balls?” repeated Twilight, confused.

“It’s a store in Ponyville,” replied Maud. “So I have a lot of ponies with crossbows and no training. Can you train them?”

“W-what, me?” stammered Twilight. “N-no! I’ve never held a weapon! I am Princess Celestia’s student, I don’t need to fight.”

Maud cocked her head. “That is why you should know how to fight. What about combat magic?”

“Er…” Twilight bit her lip. “I can cast the basic offensive spells. Blaze, beam, and conjured flame. I have very large mana pool, so I can put a lot of power in my spells – even if I have never tried. Oh! And I can put up a rather decent magic shield.” Twilight blushed and smiled sheepishly. “I mean, I am not my big brother. He can cast a really mean shield. Or several. Simultaneously.”

Maud nodded. If she was approving or merely acknowledging her words, Twilight didn’t know. “Can you cast healing spells?”

Twilight bobbed her head side to side. “I can cast healing magic, but I have never attempted to actually heal anypony. But I could learn!” she quickly added.

Maud’s stare ran down her body, and then up again. “How well do you resist fatigue?”

Here, Twilight couldn’t help but giggle. “Sorry! I just…well, I have sometimes spent entire nights studying. So I can stay awake for very long, though later I still need to sleep.”

Maud regarded Twilight for a long minute, to the point that the unicorn started to feel awkward. When she was about to ask the captain if there was anything wrong, she spoke up. “You are useless as a worker, but you have potential,” Maud pointed to the tents. “The doctors are there, tending the wounded. Learn as much as you can from them. You could also do guarding duty. I will assign you somepony to teach you personally how to fight. You will figure out what weapon suits you better, but you shall learn how to shoot a crossbow too.”

Twilight nodded, taken aback by the unexpected flow of words. “O-okay,” she said, adding a salute for good measure. Maud got on all four, and motioned her to follow. Twilight obliged, and was led to the small area behind the tents. There, she found another surprise.

Around a dozen dead changelings, aligned in two rows and facing the same direction. It was grotesque, and Twilight had to fight both the urge to turn around and flee, and a strong nausea. Breathing heavily, the unicorn looked away and took a minute to regain control over her guts and steel herself.

“What are these doing here?” she asked weakly, looking back to the dead bodies. Each and every single one of them sported a distinct injury that had caused their death. A notable amount of them had bunt traumas on their heads, no doubt from Maud’s shod hammers. There were also two ponies kneeled next to the furthest body.

“Doctor Stable said he wanted to study them, as he believed he could get some useful information,” drawled Maud. “If you wish, you can use them too.”

Twilight nodded, a bit uncertain of what kind of knowledge she could extract from several dead bodies. She did have a very extensive education that covered many realms. Biology had always fascinated her more than anything (Except magic, of course), but she was aware that what she knew was still very basic. Looking over the ponies, she saw one was an orange stallion wearing a labcoat, and the second was no other than…Fluttershy?

Something downed upon Twilight. “Why are there so few changelings? I am fairly certain there were more when they attacked.” she asked, looking at Maud.

The gray mare gave a single nod. “I wonder the same. My best guess is that we were not a primary target, but something they passed on their way.”

A chill went down Twilight’s spine. “They weren’t even trying…” she whispered. What if they had? Could they have wiped out the entire campsite, just like they had done with Gravelpit? The unicorn stood there for a minute, watching the two ponies work undisturbed. She turned to the side and realized Maud had left. Steeling herself for the second time on that day, Twilight made her way to the ponies, and cleared her throat.

Both ponies turned their heads. “Oh, hello Twilight,” said Fluttershy with a small smile. Without their heads to obscure the view, Twilight had an excellent picture of the open underside of the changeling, with its entrails sprawled on a metal tray.

Twilight’s stomach twisted violently, and she wondered if she was making a huge mistake.

***

A burst of black flame burned the floor. Sunset took a step back and reformed her shield. That had been a warning shot, but the next one would be a direct hit. When it came, the fire licked the surface of her green barrier, but stopped there. The next charm collapsed her shield, forcing her to dodge. With the adrenaline running through her body, Sunset ducked, jumped and dodged, cleanly avoiding every attack.

The magic on Nightmare Moon’s horn faded, and Sunset allowed herself to relax. She took deep breaths and let her horn rest, but stood on all four. Even if her new master hadn’t tried to catch her off guard, she was far from trusting her. After all, Celestia probably had a good reason to banish her into the Moon.

“And you say you have not gone through any military training?” asked Nightmare Moon with her silky voice. Her tone was always neutral, almost impossible to read.

“Yeah,” said Sunset. “I have been in a few –huff– magic duels, but I never had any –huff– actual training.”

“Impressive,” said the Nightmare. Sunset looked up. Celestia was a mare that gave compliments with relative frequency, but Nightmare didn’t strike her as the kind of pony that would use that adjective loosely. “You have a huge potential. Your magic is strong and firm, and you are skilled and do not hesitate. Not only that, but you also move with agility and precision, and do not rely entirely on your magic. That is a rarity, and a trait of a great magus.”

Despite herself, Sunset couldn’t help but beam at the compliments. She had to remind herself that she wasn’t bound to this pony in any way, and could turn her back to her at any point. “Celestia always mentioned she expected a lot from me,” she replied, frowning. “Though it seems what she expected and what I did were completely different,” she added, remembering the night she almost broke all contact with Celestia.

Nightmare nodded, and turned around majestically. “You may return to your quarters. Eat and rest. We shall continue tomorrow. We wish to see what new magic arts have been composed during our absence.” And with that, the alicorn took the larger staircase that was at the end of the room and left Sunset alone.

Once she was gone, the young unicorn let out a sigh and slid apart her legs until she was lying on the floor. The wood was cool and eased her overheated body. She was quite fit for a magic student, but practicing with Nightmare was exhausting. She had been particularly harsh today, often shattering her shields and forcing her to make a new one every few seconds.

Sunset opened her eyes and looked around the room. The chamber was about ten meters in diameter, entirely made of wood and with no windows, though there was always light coming from an unknown source that the pony couldn’t locate. They had been using it for the past days to test her magic prowess, and Nightmare so far seemed satisfied with her performance.

But despite this strange harmony, Sunset was aware of the wide power difference. Nightmare Moon had no trouble taking down her shields, and the sorry state of the room was a testimony of a small fraction of her power. There were charred sports and large burned areas everywhere, which caused Sunset a twinge of fear when she thought she could have been hit by any of those. By the next day, the damage on the room would have healed, and so would her scratches and bruises, but Sunset doubt her new master could resurrect her from the dead.

Sunset let out a sigh and got on all four, slightly annoyed with herself for following that train of thought. There was little point of thinking of what ‘could have been’. The ‘is’ was far more important. The unicorn climbed the smaller staircase, and found herself in her room.

Like the training chamber, it was made on wood, excavated on the frame of a tree that had sprouted from Celestia-knew-where. It was about the same size as her room back in Canterlot, and similarly furnished too. A very comfortable bed, a night stand, a cupboard, a table and several shelves full of books. These included all sorts of topics: from novels and foal’s stories to arts and philosophy. There was, however, a notable absence of any book related to magic, science and history. Sunset had found this odd at first, but had quickly dismissed that observation.

Like every other night, there was a hot dinner already served on her table, completed with drink and cutely. This time, it has a steaming pot of spicy black beans, followed by some pasta with carrots and a small chocolate cake; plus a very nice apple juice and sesame bread. Surprisingly, there was also a small vase with water and a lovely red rose.

Sunset ate eagerly, devouring the entire meal in a few minutes. As usual, the quantity was greater than she was used to, but the training sessions with Nightmare always left her starving. Sunset leaned back o her chair, patting her belly with notable satisfaction, and looked through the window.

Of course, it was nighttime outside. The silver moonlight bathed a valley and a river that Sunset did not recognize. Nightmare had mentioned the eternal night business, but making changes so it wouldn’t drive Equestria into extinction. Sunset hadn’t been given permission to go outside –she didn’t even know if there was a proper exit out of the tree– but she didn’t feel the need to anyways. She was content with her current situation. She was certain that Nightmare would allow her to leave if she wished. And if she didn’t…well, trees were highly flammable.

Sunset’s eyes fell on the rose. It was a beautiful exemplar. Blood red, and with all its petals perfectly arranged. The unicorn eyed the flower for a long second, before licking her lips and levitating it into her mouth. The slightly bitter taste of the flower was a nice contrast with the meal she just had.

The door swung open. “Sunset Shimmer!” called out Nightmare Moon from the door. The unicorn turned with a jump, and the two ponies held each other’s gaze. A petal fell from Sunset’s mouth. “…are you eating the rose?” asked the alicorn, tilting her head in confusion. “It was not for eating. We intended to use it tomorrow.”

Sunset spat the rose, raining petals across a good part of the floor. Smiling sheepishly, she levitated the half-chewed flower back into the vase, and straightened it with a hoof.

Nightmare Moon shook her head in amusement, and crouched to get inside the room. “Sunset Shimmer, we must leave. We afraid something evil has come loose, and is free to ravage Equestria as it pleases. We shan’t be gone for very long, but you must protect this place in our absence.”

Sunset Shimmer was taken aback by the sudden turn of events, but nodded nonetheless. “What kind of threat are you talking about?”

“We are uncertain yet,” replied Nightmare with suppressed annoyance. “But we intent to put an end to it,” The alicorn seemed to consider something for a second, and added. “You are allowed to access our chamber after we leave. Hidden beneath a stealth spell, there is a small chest containing the shards of the Elements of Harmony. You are to protect them, no matter what.” Sunset’s eyes went wide, unable to believe she was placing that kind of trust on her. “We will weave protecting charms around the Heart of Shadows before we leave, but stay on guard. Is everything clear?”

Sunset stared for a second, quickly going through everything Nightmare had said. “I will not fail you!” she said with confidence, giving the alicorn a brisk salute.

‘Everything is going to go just fine!’

***

Twilight’s stomach just wouldn’t stay still.

As it turned out, dissecting a changeling had been a horrible experience. There were way too many squishy bits and fouls-smelling fluids for her. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t put effort on the dissection. In fact, it had only been after throwing up for the third time that’s he had decided it just wasn’t for her.

Much to her surprise –and slight shame– Fluttershy had handled everything far better than her. In the end, Twilight had decided to leave both for her own sake and for Fluttershy’s. One of the doctors had offered to teach her basic healing magic, and Twilight had eagerly accepted. Unfortunately, her focus was continuously broken by the memories of the dissection, until Twilight decided she needed some fresh air, and left the campsite in the direction of Zecora’s hut.

‘Urp!’ Twilight’s stomach gave another twist. ‘I think I prefer to learn anatomy from books. Much less sticky and smelly. Speaking of which…’ The unicorn sniffed hard, and grimaced at her own stench. She hadn’t taken a bath in days, and her body was starting to show the consequences. Twilight briefly wondered how her she looked like, and made a mental note to find a pool or water where she could see her reflection.

She carefully treaded over some twisted roots. She remembered that area. It was the exact spot where she had found Sweetie Belle wandering around through the Everfree, alone. She was angry at Spike for a reason she had, once again, forgotten to ask. When she had found her, she was staring intensely at…Twilight looked to her right…that bush over there.

Twilight stopped on her tracks and her heart gave a leap inside her chest when she detected a faint aura inside the bush.

She was being observed. By a changeling, no doubt.

Twilight lighted up her horn, carefully watching the bush for any sign of movement or alarm. There was a single aura. A lone changeling wouldn’t be an issue for her. ‘There could be more,’ she realized with a knot on her throat. She raised a dome-shaped shield around herself, and scouted her surroundings.

Several minutes passed, with no sign of movement or magical activity. Biting her lip, Twilight made an opening on her shield and sent out a diminutive probe, to be absolutely certain she was safe. It came back a bit later, sporting only two colors. She hesitated for a moment, and brought down the shield.

Still with her horn ready for casting, Twilight scampered closer to the bush, almost tripping on the forsaken roots. Trembling, she reached over with her foreleg, and pushed the branches aside. She stood there; eyes wide open at the equine wreck that lied inside.

“Celestia help me,” she uttered, horrified.

***

“Is she going to be alright?” asked Twilight, wiping off the sweat from her brow. It had been a long time since she had suffered from magic exertion. Her expertise on healing spells only covered small scrapes and bruises. For her, she had needed to improvise and overcharge her spellwork.

Zecora pulled the curtain shut, and sat opposite to Twilight. While the zebra had packed a good amount of her reagents, her furniture was completely untouched. She had had to hastily unpack a good amount of her supplies, and the ground was littered with wasted components. That was mostly Twilight’s fault, as she had flung about Zecora’s carefully enveloped reagents while looking for particular ones.

The zebra regarded Twilight for a long minute, resting her chin on her forehooves. The grave expression on her face boded no good news. “We have done all we could with our power and skills,” she replied, neutral. “If she survives or not, that is fate’s will.”

Twilight’s ears fell flat against her skull. “There is really nothing else we can do for her?”

Zecora shrugged helplessly. “I am very sorry to say this, my friend,” she said. “Her wounds are healed, so all we can do is nursing her back to health.”

Twilight nodded, bitter. A shudder went down her spine when an image of the mare flashed in front of her eyes. Her entire body was covered in burn scars, drawing a horrible pattern across her skin. The unicorn had seen that kind of scars before, but never to such extent. She was also missing her right hind leg, a stump right below her thigh was all that remained. And if that wasn’t bad enough, her horn was also grievously cracked, and she was so gaunt her skin was tightly stretched over her bones.

And yet, her fur was growing back. A fine layer of thin, almost invisible hair covered her whole body, including the scars. Twilight couldn’t wrap her head around the state of the injured unicorn. No matter how much she though, she couldn’t figure out what had happened to her, and how she had ended inside a bush on the middle of the Everfree Forest.

Twilight let out a long sigh and ran her hooves over her mane, annoyed at the unanswered questions. She cast an intense glare to the curtain that separated Zecora’s bed from the rest of the hut, as if she could somehow stare the secrets out of that pony. “I forgot to mention,” she said after her glaring proved to be unfruitful. “They are reinforcing the campsite. Building a palisade, assigning ponies to guard turns. They’re pretty much turning it into a military area. So you could stay there, instead of going all the way to Manehattan.”

Zecora gave her a small smile. “While I appreciate the proposition, I must stay here to take care of the ill.” Her furrow deepened. “I fear if we move her, her delicate health will worsen still.”

Twilight tried to object, but she couldn’t find any reasonable retort. She sat still for a long minute, chewing her lip as she watched the curtain yet again. “Fine,” she finally said. “But I am going to plant some charms around your hut, just in case.” Without waiting for an answer, Twilight got up and began weaving her spells.

***

The smell.

The wet, putrid smell of the dog’s tunnels was revolting. It twisted her stomach, and gave her nauseas, but the tunnels were too good of a chance to pass. She would have to endure it.

Besides, it would have been a waste to leave her new nest, after having so much trouble to exterminate its former owners. It wasn’t that the diamond dogs had proven to be a big challenge, oh no. But commanding the hive through the thick stone walls had been a bizarre and displeasing experience that she wouldn’t be looking forwards to repeat. Her conscience had resonated in strange ways inside the cramped corridors. Thankfully, her drones were already working to revamp the area, smearing the walls with the slime that would house both hosts and eggs.

The queen grinned and glanced over to the pile of unconscious diamond dogs that she had gathered. Less than ten, from a brood of perhaps fifty. Now, maybe even less, if any had died from their injuries since they had been carelessly piled up. Who knew? Who cared? She was doing all this out of habit. There was no need for more drones. Four hives was more than enough. Hers just happened to be the smallest.

Queen Lacera grimaced at that, running her tongue at the empty socket where her right fang once was. Yes, she was old. The most ancient queen, barring The Forgotten. She was weak and frail, at least for a queen’s standard. But she hadn’t outlived many rivals out of sheer luck. She was smart and crafty, and a more skilled sorceress than any other living queen. Lacera grinned. Yes, she would show those runts what meant to be a true changeling queen.

Something was approaching.

Lacera blinked with her healthy eye. The other bore a large scar, and had been clouded and blind for very long. The queen snarled quietly, annoyed at the strange insulation of the stone. She had always lived underground. What was so special about that particular cave that made it hard for her hard to keep contact with her drones? She could feel something was heading in her general direction, but couldn’t quite indentify what.

Thankfully, she was at no risk. She had made sure to perfectly camouflage all the entrances to the tunnels. There was no chance-

A changeling died.

Lacera got on all four with a jump. It had been so sudden, so quick that she hadn’t had the chance to see the attacker. Growling, the queen put all the drones in alert mode. She directed them to the entrance and, after a moment of hesitation, to the chamber she was in. She didn’t know what she was dealing with. Squinting her eye, Lacera dived deeper into the hive mind, seeing through the eyes of the changeling that was further on the tunnel.

The clattering of the chitinous hooves was deafening. Lacera reduced the pace to a quiet walk, and flicked her ears. Forwards, the tunnel went upwards in a spiral. The ground was polished and slippery, no doubt intended to be descended sliding. Lacera and the changeling grimaced. The situation was less than ideal. The tunnel was too narrow to fly, and the floor was too smooth to be safe. One of the changelings lost balance and the queen quickly took over it and corrected his stance, to prevent it from pushing the rest down the spiral. If only she could-

Lacera retracted from the changelings, wincing in pain. Checking the hive mind, she realized finding the intruder had cost her seven changelings. Eight. Nine. Ten, eleven-

The queen snapped her jaws in annoyance, giving the order to withdraw. An alicorn! She had been found by the Nightmare herself! Why? How? Had she made some mistake, or just a strike of bad luck? Deciding the answer was rather irrelevant at the current moment, Lacera dove once again into the hive mind. She had an approximate knowledge of the layout of the tunnels, and it didn’t take her long to find a good spot for an ambush. Grinning to herself, Lacera gathered a couple dozen changelings in a cave, and purposefully hid them behind the numerous rock formations and dead diamond dogs. Licking her lips in anticipation, Lacera waited. Any second now, the Nightmare would find herself in the middle of an onslaught of magic and fangs. She took control of a drone perched atop of the tunnel where the Nightmare would come from. She wanted to sink her teeth into her flesh, even if it wasn’t personally.

Five seconds later, the Nightmare reached the chamber. A barrage of magic darts shot against her, then the changelings charged. The alicorn screamed in pain and shot a wave of magic, scattering the drones. Most stood up a second later, and resumed the attack. Magic and shod hooves took a toll on the drones. Lacera felt a pang of pain with each changeling mind that fizzled out, but it didn’t matter. Thankfully, most of Nightmare’s attacks were instantly lethal, so she wasn’t being bombarded with pain signals. It let her focus in her personal changeling. With a howl of triumph on both her body and the drone’s, she took hold of one of the Nightmare’s hind legs, and chomped down hard, reaching the bone. The satisfaction only lasted a second, when the alicorn bucked and the drone went mute forever.

Lacera grimaced and shook her head. No matter how many times it happened, dying would always be displeasing. Most queens would need several minutes to recover from the shock, before being able to take over a drone again. But she wasn’t most queens. She chose a random drone, and rushed forwards, baring her fangs-

Only to find no alicorn. Just many mangled changelings, and a few injured.

“Where did she go?!” she screamed in both bodies. She inspected the memories of the changeling. She had left! Which tunnel was that one? She swapped bodies and saw the same exit from a different angle. “Come here and fight me, you whorse!” she howled, sending all the survivors into that tunnel, and funneling as many as she could in there. The drones galloped in the tunnel, trampling and pushing each other in their frenzy. Lacera wanted them to destroy the Nightmare.

“Oh, hello there,” said a smooth voice. Lacera sprung out of the hive mind and opened her eyes. There she was. Standing slightly taller than herself, and bearing a midnight blue armor, the black alicorn stood grinning menacingly, with her ethereal mane waving around her, and her bat-like wings fully opened.

Lacera held her gaze and snarled. Nightmare lighted up her horn, and a barrier covered the entrance of the tunnel. A second later, a stampede of changelings crashed into it with a dull ‘thudd’ which resounded in the hive mind. Lacera didn’t flinch. Doing so would imply weakness.

‘She is unharmed,” though Lacera, carefully studying the alicorn. ‘Why is she unharmed? I drove my teeth into her leg!’ The queen noticed the ornate greaves her opponent was wearing, and her lips quipped in annoyance. ‘Lucky crone. But luck won’t cut it against me.’

“It would seem manners have worsened since the last time we were in Equestria,” said the alicorn with obvious amusement, much to Lacera’s irritation. “Back in our days, it was considered polite to introduce oneself.”

Lacera grinned at the irony. “I bet it was also considered polite to not barge uninvited into other’s homes. But fine, I will humor you,” The changeling stood proudly, aided by the height advantage she had over the Nightmare. “I am Lacera, queen of this hive! Eldest of my kind! I have predated on your kin for longer than you can imagine. And I shall continue to do so, after I am done with you.”

The Nightmare rolled her eyes. “So much useless bravado,” she muttered, casually walking to Lacera’s left. The queen turned her head to follow her, glaring poisoned daggers. “We are Nightmare Moon, ruler of this land. And, as you probably guessed already, we are here to kill you.”

“HAH! That’s rich, coming from an overgrown hodgepodge of ponies. You think I haven’t fought before? I know your kin. I can take you on my own, without my hive. I know your tricks and your limits,” Lacera spat a bit of poison that had pooled on her mouth off to the side. “And I know how-”

In the blink of an eye, Nightmare covered the distance that separated them, and slammed her hoof against the queen’s head. Lacera recoiled, struggling to stay on her hooves. Then came another hit, like a sledgehammer, that threw her to the opposite side. An uppercut hit her on the jaw and launched her into the air, where Lacera buzzed her wings and managed to land upright.

Nightmare Moon didn’t go after her. She just stood there, grinning. So proud of herself. She had caught her off-guard. By walking to the queen’s left, she had gone into the area that was one covered by her blind eye. But Lacera wouldn’t be fooled twice by the same cheap trick. Lighting up her horn, she casted a gout of lavender flame, forcing the Nightmare to lift a barrier. Grinning to herself, Lacera pushed a large amount of energy into her horn, and from it flowed a portion of raw magic, which coalesced into a rapier made of pure light. With a cry of victory, Lacera charged forwards and thrusted her weapon.

The Nightmare’s eyes went wide. She ducked in time, but the blade cleanly cut a large portion of her mane. The piece of hair lost its ethereal quality and fluttered to the ground while the alicorn flew backwards and the queen chased her. “We are very impressed,” she said nonchalantly, dodging her opponent’s lunges with insulting ease. “Casting a vorpal blade is very taxing, both mentally and physically. We would not have expected a creature like you to be able to create one, lest after taking so many hits to the head.”

Lacera growled. “Stop moving you whorse!” she shrieked. “Stop moving so I can mount your head on a pike!”

“There is, however, a disadvantage of vorpal blades against physical weapons,” continued Nightmare, ignoring how the attacks were a bit closer to her each time. “You need perfect focus. Any distraction can shatter the spell. Like pain,” The alicorn spun on her front hooves and delivered a buck straight to the changeling’s chest. Lacera recoiled, gritting her teeth and the blade flickered out. Looking down, she could see two hoof-shaped dents on her armor, which had also sunk noticeably. She could tell the hit had broken her sternum and some ribs. Breathing was painful, but she wasn’t done. Lacera lunged forwards, fangs bared and aiming for the neck.

Nightmare Moon stepped sideways, slid a foreleg under the changeling’s neck and threw her into the ground. Before the queen could move, she jumped on her and pressed her forehoof against her throat, pushing with her whole weight. Lacera gasped for air, struggling to reduce the pressure on her windpipe.

“Shame. We would love to enjoy ourselves longer, but we are not willing to be actually hurt by that vorpal blade of yours.” Nightmare Moon grinned, leaning forwards until her muzzle has almost touching the changeling’s. “You are a plague, and should be treated as such.” The alicorn lifted her hindlegs, and stomped down on the changeling’s soft belly. Lacera shrieked in pain and convulsed violently, causing the alicorn to lose her balance. Lacera jumped to her hooves and backed up.

“What have you done?” croaked Lacera, touching her belly with a hoof. It was stained with a light purple goop. “What have YOU DONE?!” Hissing, the changeling smacked the Nightmare on the face with a hoof. She only recoiled slightly. Lacera’s blood boiled. “WHAT. HAVE. YOU. DONE! STERILE! YOU. HAVE. KILLED. ME!!” She screamed, punctuating every word with a new strike.

Nightmare Moon recoiled and gave her a toothy grin. “You are mistaken. We have not killed you. Yet,” She snapped her jaws on the changeling’s still-stretched foreleg. The thick chitin armor didn’t budge. Lacera let out a nervous, almost maniac, laugh.

“Hopeless! You can’t bite through my armo- aaAAAHHUGH!” Her words turned into a howl when the Nightmare bit harder and cracked the armor, taking a large chunk of flesh with her. Lacera stepped back wobbly, cradling her injured leg. “No, no, no, nOOoooo…” she wailed, gritting her teeth. “You are no pony! You are a monster!”

Nightmare Moon spat the piece of flesh and let out a chuckle. “Ah, you flatter us, changeling,” she cooed. The shadows of the chamber were growing darker. “But remember, you brought this onto yourself,” she said, casually taking a step forwards. Lacera backed up more, and her rump hit something. The queen gasped and looked behind her. She was cornered. There was an exit, a few meters away. Too far. Why was the chamber so dark? Had the light gems lost their magic?

“Go for it,” Lacera looked at the Nightmare. “Go for it,” she repeated. The shadows around her were darker, more defined. Longer. “What is the worst that could happen? You are already doomed.” The last word echoed in the deadly silence. You are already doomed. Lacera hesitated. She is playing with you. Yes, that was it. She would shoot her down the instant she took a step towards the corridor, just to mock her once more. The air was oppressive, damp with magic. She was hyperventilating, and breathing was hard and painful. No chance to escape. No hope. The shadows were sharp, almost solid. They stretched outwards from the alicorn, like black roots.

“Fear is a funny thing, isn’t it?” said the Nightmare. Her blue eyes gleamed like beacons on the solid darkness that surrounded her. “It is meant to keep you out of harm’s way, and yet here you are. Paralyzed. Helpless. Unable to do anything but tremble and quake.” The air quivered with her words.

At least give us the pleasure of a good chase.

Lacera gasped. The Nightmare grinned. Her eyes and fangs stood out in the solid black of the cave. The shadows were sharper, like dark razors. They slithered between the stone, reaching for Lacera’s hooves and retracting again. You thought that was your conscience speaking? “No, that was us. Sowing dread. How many minds have you invaded in your life?” How many souls have you torn apart? Lacera screamed and covered her ears with her hooves. Pointless. You can’t hush us away. “NOW HURRY! AMUSE US SOME MORE! TURN TAIL AND RUN!” TRY TO GIVE YOUR WORTHLESS LIFE A FEW MORE SECONDS! “Hurry!” HURRY! The shadows whipped violently, scraping on the stone and severing the few dogs that hadn’t been engulfed yet. HURRY! The darkness towered over the queen, cackling maniacally. The blackness trembled with her laughter, and threw itself towards the changeling.

Through her cluttered mind, Lacera found the will to dodge. She landed on her bitten leg. The burst of pain cleared her mind. Pushing away the dregs of Nightmare’s presence, the queen gave the hive mind one order, and it answered with a single howl. Seeing her intentions, the Nightmare shot a beam, which severed the queen’s leg before she slipped through the hole, limping.

Dozens of changelings flooded the chamber, snapping their jaws and stepping on each other. They attacked the shadows with fangs and magic while the queen escaped. The darkness tore them apart with exasperation, slowed down by the sheer number of attackers. Nightmare Moon chased Lacera upwards, flooding the tunnel with her magic and turning to ashes the changelings that came to face her. She was livid beyond measure. She couldn’t let that blight to equinity leave alive. Specially after not having killed her outright.

Nightmare Moon emerged into the night and dug her hooves into the soil. The crown of midnight blue fire receded back into her mane when it downed upon her what she had done. She had lost the queen. She had Lacera under her hooves, and she had missed the chance to end her. Nightmare Moon sat down, and let out a heavy sigh. Looking up, she could see her Moon, white and pristine. Perfect. Beautiful. A lone sky chariot crossed the sky, heading for the Everfree Forest. Nightmare Moon followed it with her eyes, curious. Ponies usually avoided flying above the Everfree, for good reasons.

As Nightmare Moon watched the chariot go into the distance, it crossed a faint trail of an aura. Cocking an eyebrow, the alicorn followed the trail all the way to the exit she was next to. A grin slowly spread on her face. That was the changeling’s aura, no doubt. It had her same rotten, tainted smell to it. The Nightmare jumped to her hooves. She could track the monster, and fix her mistake! The alicorn chuckled and spread her wings, but closed them again a second later.

There were more than one trail leaving the cave. Four, namely. And they all seemed to be an exact copy of one another. Nightmare Moon quipped her lip in annoyance. Decoys. Even in her desperation to escape, the changeling had enough time to play a last trick. The Nightmare didn’t have the time to carefully examine each track. The mare gave each trail a short glance, decided the one on the right seemed to be slightly stronger, and resumed her pursue.

***

Twilight Sparkle climbed the hill, panting. Right behind the slope was the campsite. It had been a very eventful day, and the unicorn was looking forwards to have some well-deserved rest. She was enormously thankful to Maud for taking care of everything while she was gone. She could see why Night Light had chosen her to be his replacement, even if she seemed a bit eccentric at first glance.

The unicorn reached the top of the hill and stopped to wipe the sweat off her brow. She blinked and her ears swiveled at the sudden noise to her left. There, pinned to the trunk of a tree, was a quarrel. Twilight stared at the projectile, puzzled. “Oh heavens, Twilight!” called out a voice below. Twilight turned her head and saw Cheerilee, Lyra, Bon Bon and a few other ponies; all of them displaying various degrees of surprise, relief and concern. “I almost made you a new nostril! Come here, you are on the shooting range.”

“Shooting range?” repeated Twilight, looking back at the quarrel. Indeed, there was a bullseye burned into the bark. “Oh…r-right,” she stammered, descending the slope and doing her best to ignore the fact that Cheerilee had almost accidentally killed her with a crossbow. The weapon itself was still on her mauve hooves. The other ponies all carried similar weapons. “You are target practicing? Why? And where did you get all those crossbows?”

“Oh, Maud suggested it and I offered,” she replied, shrugging. “It would be useful if we get attacked again, and it is a good skill to have overall.” Cheerilee turned to the other ponies. “I want you to take turns loosing at the target. Three shots per pony. And remember: hooves off the crossbow when somepony else is retrieving the bolts.” There were sounds of agreement and Cheerilee turned back to Twilight. “As for your next question, there is a shop in Ponyville called Crossbows and Bowling Balls-”

“Oh, right! Maud mentioned it.” interrupted Twilight. “Kind of strange, if you ask me.”

Cheerilee giggled. “You tell me! There are a bunch of shops like that all around Ponyville, like Sofas and Quills. You learn to not question it. Anyways, the owner gracefully donated what he had in stock. So now we have a lot of crossbows. And…bowling balls. I think somepony is trying to weaponize them.” Cheerilee looked to the side and chuckled. “Lyra, that is not going to work. Use your hooves.”

“Awww, come on!” Lyra sat on the dirt and pouted. Several of her mint-colored hands were grasping at her crossbow, unsuccessfully trying to pull the string. The hands just partially dissolved under the stress, reforming shortly after.

“Try making the magic denser,” suggested Twilight.

Lyra looked at her with a crooked smile. “This is as dense as I can cast anything,” she confessed. The unicorn rested the crossbow on the dirt and slid her hoof on the loop. “I can cast light and use my hands. That’s it.” She pulled the string and, with some effort, managed to latch the string. With one of her mint-colored hands, she grabbed a bolt, placed it on the slot and aimed. “But hey, at least I’m a pretty great shooter.” Lyra pulled the trigger. The bolt flew and hit the target exactly on the bullseye. The ponies cheered and thundered their hooves. Cheerilee’s eyebrows went so high they almost disappeared under her mane. Lyra stared at the target for several seconds, and then turned around, bewildered. “That was an accident!” she said with a tone of guilt. “I sweat that was pure luck, no skill involved whatsoever.” The ponies burst into laughter, with Lyra and Cheerilee following a second later.

Twilight wiped a tear off the edge of her eye. She hadn’t realized until then, but it had been a while since she had last laughed. The tension and worries of the last days didn’t seem all that important for a short moment as she shared a simple, carefree instant with a few ponies she barely knew.

“Heads up!”

A split second after the warning, something crashed into the tree, startling all the ponies. A large, marbled red sphere lazily rolled down the slope, gaining speed little by little as it went. The still on-edge ponies watched it roll past them, until it was caught by a set of blue hooves. “Aaaand, right on the bullseye! Toldja I could do it, kiddo.” Rainbow Dash was standing next to an orange filly, brushing her hoof against her chest. “That is called ‘dive-bombing’. Brought to you by Rainbow Dash.”

“That was awesome!” said the filly, with her eyes positively sparkling.

“Though next time, perhaps you could find a moment when we are not on the trajectory of the ball,” suggested a very annoyed Cheerilee. “Somepony could have been hurt.”

Rainbow Dash seemed taken aback by the teacher’s reaction. “Come on now, you weren’t on any danger. I just swooped and dropped the ball. Easy-peasy.”

“Right, but I would very much appreciate if you gave me a warning before throwing heavy objects on my general direction!”

“I did warm you!”

“Before, Rainbow Dash,” repeated Cheerilee. “I can hardly move out of the way in zero-point-one second!”

“She is right, Rainbow Dash. I don’t know why are you arguing with her,” interfered Twilight. “Somepony could have been hurt.”

Rainbow let out a huff. “Fine. I’ll be more careful next time.” The pegasus blinked, and her sourness seemed to fade just a bit. “Oh, right! I was supposed to tell you Rarity is looking for you, Twilight.”

“Rarity? What does she need?”

“No idea,” replied the mare, shrugging. “Something about her mane. She probably wants you to give her a manecut, I dunno.”

Twilight crooked an eyebrow and gave the orange filly a questioning look, but she replied with a hopeless shrug. Peaked by curiosity, Twilight left the shooting range. It took her a few minutes to find the white unicorn. She was sitting next to one of the tents, and seemed to be in the middle of a mild crisis, if the mane-pulling was any indication. Nevertheless, Twilight approached with caution. “Rarity? What is wrong?”

“Twilight!” The mare whipped around so fast Twilight took a step back. “It’s horrible! You have to help me!”

“S-sure thing, Rarity,” One quick glance determined that Rarity’s mane was fine. Frazzled, but fine. “What do you need?”

“It’s not what I need, darling. It’s what she needs!” she replied, pointing inside the tent.

“But I don’t need anything! This is fine!” squeaked a voice inside. Twilight didn’t need to see her to know that was Sweetie Belle. Curious beyond words, she peeked around the flap of the tent, and her jaw dropped.

Inside, was Sweetie Belle, lying on what seemed to be a pink and lavender carpet. It took Twilight a moment to realize it wasn’t a carpet at all, but her own overgrown mane, completed with tiny curls. Half of her face was obscured behind the waterfall of hair; and her tail was merged with her mane. “W…what happened?!” she asked, finally managing to close her mouth.

“I was hoping you could tell me, darling,” replied Rarity. “She told me about her unauthorized walk through the Everfree,” she gave the small unicorn a hard glare. “but she insists that she didn’t see or feel anything strange. But this is, clearly, rather extraordinary.”

“How long has she been like that?”

“No more than a couple of hours, and look how long it is already!” sighed Rarity. “And that’s not all! I already tried trimming it, but it’s no use. See?” She lighted up her horn, and a small turf of cut hair rose from the carpet. Rarity pouted and let it flutter down.

“Can’t you just let it grow?” squeaked Sweetie Belle. “I kinda like it like this.”

“Absolutely not, Sweetie! It’s far too long, and that’s the end of it,” replied Rarity, punctuating the sentence with her hoof.

“But-”

“The end of it!” repeated Rarity. Sweetie Belle scrunched her muzzle and sank her face in the sea of mane, with her ears folded back. Twilight couldn’t help but smile. She could be Sunset’s apprentice, but she was still, in the end, a child. She wondered how often had had Sunset to deal with similar situations. Next to her, Rarity let out a quiet sigh. “Listen, Sweetie. Your mane is simply too long. You’ll tangle your hooves with it and fall. Would you want that?” The only answer was a muffled grunt. “How about, after Twilight gets rid of the continuous growth, I trim it longer than you had it before?”

That got Sweetie’s attention, who lifted her head and glanced at her sister with disbelief. “You promise?”

“I promise,” replied Rarity, drawing a cross with her hoof over her chest. “But only if you stay still and let Twilight do her thing. Will you do that?” Sweetie Belle nodded and, with some effort, sat up straight. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, which she held for a few seconds, before letting go. Twilight recognized the relaxation technique that Sunset sometimes used before casting a particularly difficult spell.

Unfortunately, Twilight’s efforts to solve the problem were a failure. Twenty minutes later, Sweetie’s mane was still growing, and Twilight had accepted that she wasn’t going to succeed, much to her annoyance. Under Sweetie’s latent but solid aura, there was something foreign, but it felt so different from Twilight’s magic that she couldn’t remove it without harming Sweetie. It wasn’t unicorn magic. Or perhaps, it belonged to an unicorn so talented they could make their magic seem extremely alien.

Given that the most powerful and skilled unicorns in Equestria had all recently deceased, and that Sweetie Belle had been in the Everfree just a few hours ago, the first option seemed the most likely. And, whether she liked it or not, Twilight didn’t know much about the Everfree. Zecora was her best option.

“Alright, this is going to sound a bit strange,” said Twilight, turning her head towards Rarity. “But I can’t figure out what is wrong with her. I suspect something in the Everfree might have charmed her in some way, but I don’t know how to undo it. I do know somepony that might, though.”

“That’s wonderful, darling! Who is it? Doctor Stable?”

“Well, no. She is a zebra.”

“A zebra? I don’t believe I have seen any zebra on the campsite.”

“She…is not here.”

“Oh?”

“She lives on the Everfree Forest,” said Twilight with a sheepish smile.

“Oh…that’s...unusual. Shall we go fetch her?”

Twilight folded her ears back. “She can’t really…go anywhere. She is taking care of an injured pony.”

“Oh! You should have said that first, darling! I’ll ask for help to the doctors,” Rarity looked at her younger sister. “I’m afraid you’ll have to endure this a bit longer, Sweetie.”

“Yay!”

Both unicorn mares chuckled at Sweetie’s tiny squeak of joy.

“Twilight Sparkle!”

The lavender unicorn felt her blood freeze in her veins. She knew that voice. “It…seems somepony is looking for you, darling,” said Rarity, crooking an eyebrow.

“Yep! That’s my mom.” she replied with slight dread.

“Your mo- wait, didn’t you say she had recently, uh, deceased?”

“I was mistaken.”

Before Rarity could ask another question, a light gray unicorn mare with two-hued mane turned the corner at full gallop and dug her hooves on the dirt, barely stopping in time to avoid colliding with Rarity. “There you are! You’re in big trouble, young lady!” cried Twilight Velvet.

“Uh. Hi mom!” said Twilight with a tiny, sheepish smile.

“Don’t you ‘hi mom’ me now! You had us worried to death!”

“I’m… very sorry, mom. Really.”

“What were you thinking!? Leaving alone in the middle of an emergency! What if you got hurt! We wouldn’t have been able to help you!”

“I wasn’t thinking straight…”

“No, obviously you weren’t,” Twilight Velvet let out a heavy sigh and rubbed her eyes. “I was so worried. I am so glad you’re alright.” she muttered. Twilight Sparkle got on her hooves and walked around a very bewildered Rarity to give her mother a hug, which she gladly returned.

“Where is Spike?” asked Velvet, still embracing her daughter.

“I haven’t seen him in a while. He is probably doing something of use.”

“He is such a dutiful little dragon…”

“Yes, he is.”

The two ponies broke their embrace, and Twilight Velvet looked at Rarity for the first time. “And, who is your friend?”

“Oh, she is Rarity. She lives here in Ponyville, and is a reservist,” said Twilight, smiling at Rarity. “She is Sweetie Belle’s older sister.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, madam,” said Rarity, bowing her head.

Twilight Velvet scrutinized the alabaster unicorn for a long moment. “She seems very nice! If I were you, I wouldn’t miss this chance to get hitched!”

“M-mom!” stammered Twilight, her cheeks turning crimson.

***

Everything hurts

Only living creatures can feel pain

Therefore, I am alive

Alive?

…how strange. I thought I was done for.

Where am I, anyways? I hear hoofsteps. I should try to catch their attention.

“….h-hggk…”

That was pathetic. And painful. There is not an inch of my body that doesn’t hurt.

…except for my right hind leg, and my wings.

That…does not bode well.

I have been heard. They are getting closer. A single pony, if I am not mistaken. Am I on their bed?

…

Sugared water. I hadn’t noticed how much I needed to quench my thirst. She is speaking in zebrican. How did I end here? Does she even know? I should ask.

…

…oh, I am still in Equestria. Wonderful news! That means I can’t waste a second more. I have squandered enough time alrea-

The pony tried to get up, but she was held down by a gentle, but firm hoof. “Let me go,” said the mare with a slight hint of panic on her voice. Why did she feel so weak? “I must go, right now.”

“You are in no condition of going anywhere,” replied the zebra. “Now when your health is so feeble.”

The mare lighted up her horn to tear the wet cloth that covered her eyes, but instead got a very painful jolt. Blinking away the tears, she raised a shaky hoof and took the parchment away. In front of her was a zebra mare of teal eyes, with golden earrings hanging from her ears and a concerned expression on her face. “W-what has happened to me?” whimpered Celestia.

1,548 views