Equestria's Peril

by KJay

Chapter 13: In the Aftermath

The bright morning sun had come sooner than expected; the intense light groggily waking everyone. Kelly rolled and stretched realizing that Fluttershy was no longer beside him. Daniel cautiously stood, forgetting most of the basics of being a stallion. Almost at the same time, a ravaging headache echoed in the boy's heads followed by a wave of pain that pulsated through their bodies.

"AAGH!" Kelly put intense preasure on his skull, and slumped down. Daniel clutched his ribs, and did the same. Rarity trotted to Daniel, while Fluttershy attended to Kelly.

"What! What's the matter!" Rarity asked, helping Daniel to stand.

"God. I must've slept wrong. Damn morning cramps." He responded indirectly.

"I sincerely doubt that's the problem." Twilight stated, examining Daniel, and then Kelly. "Think about it. You two have undergone a very major and sudden tranformation, something I thought to be physically impossible. The drastic change in your molecular structure accompanied by such raw magic and energy is bound to have it's nasty side effects. I can't say how long they'll be around, but you might have to anticipate more of them." Twilight looked at the clouds overhead. Rainbow Dash was the only one asleep now. "Rainbow! It's time to get up, we're going to figure out what our next plan of action is!" No response. "...Rainbow?"

"I'll go get her." Fluttershy offered as she ascended. Kelly walked over to Twilight.

"I think the first thing we need to tackle is food." His stomach growled in agreement.

"Well that's not a problem. There's more than enough grass and-"

"She's not there!" Fluttershy unintentionally interrupted. Everyone gasped.

"What! She's not there?!" Twilight echoed.

"No. She's gone!" Pinkie Pie then proceeded to pull a magnifying glass from behind her back.

"Dashie's missing! We've gotta find her!" Her blue eyes were enlarged by the augmented lens. She stopped, and everyone froze as some nearby shrubs began to rustle. Kelly and Daniel summoned their weapons, but could only hold them awkwardly in their mouths, and literally made it a pain in the neck to swing them. The bush shifted even more, and everyone expected the worst. Anything could be living where they were at.

"You guys talkin' about me?" A familiar tone put them all at ease as Rainbow appeared from the vegetation.

"Rainbow Dash, you're okay!" Pinkie squeaked.

"Well yeah. I got up early so I could go round up a nice breakfast. I'd seen alot of apple, orange and banana trees, plus some berry bushes when I scouted the area last night. Now we can have some variety besides grass." She smiled proudly as she lowered the fruity banquet from her wings. The boys dispelled their swords.

"Thanks Dash! This looks great!" Kelly commented.

"Yeah, now we don't have to revert to cud-chewers." Daniel added.

"Aw, c'mon, grass ain't that bad." Applejack had already begun chowing down to get an early start. "Besides, I'm no biologist, but now that y'all are stallions, ah reckon you might warm up to...whatever it is humans can't eat." Daniel looked at her unconvinced.

"See these apples?" He pointed his red hoof. AJ looked at him funny.

"Uh...yeah."

"See this grass?" She frowned, waiting for him to make his point. Daniel then used his hoof to draw a ">" in the dirt with the apples on the left side. The orange pony rolled her eyes as Daniel picked up one with his mouth. Kelly scanned the various fruit.

"Banana's? How would I get the peel off?" Rarity looked over the yellow snacks.

"Whatever do you mean? If the banana is just ripe enough, sometimes the peel is the best part." Kelly cringed as she consumed the source of potassium along with it's casing.

"I think I'll just have some berries." He opened his maw to scoop up a few, but stopped. "Wait. Are these even safe to eat?" Twilight popped one in her mouth using magic.

"It's fine. They're just wild cherries." Kelly thought it was strange how Twilight nor Applejack seemed to linger on last nights news, but kept his inquiry to himself. Each of them morseled something different, and saved some for lunch.

"Kelly, Daniel. Could I borrow your attire for a tick?" Rarity smiled, and the boys just shrugged.

"Sure." The fashionista then used her magic to weave their shirts into a makeshift basket, able to hold the fruits Dash had gathered. She used one shirt to hold the fruit, and the other to house the boy's shoes, socks, pants, and...unmentionables.

"Wow. Resourceful." Daniel complimented. Fluttershy gulped as thirst began to set in.

"I...if I might make a suggestion, um, I think we should look for water next." Kelly nodded his head in agreement as Rainbow chimed in.

"I think I had seen a small lake somewhere last night. I'll head out again, and come back once I've figured out the direction."

"And what are the rest of us to do?" Rarity asked.

"What else is there to do other than plan ahead." Twilight stated matter-of-factly. "Once we've rehydrated ourselves, the very next thing to worry about is getting home." The group seemed unsure of Twilight's outlook.

"But, what about the others who were with us, the princess'...your brother?" Pinkie asked.

"Still, we'll need to find an immediate way back to Equestria. We would only be getting ourselves more lost if we aimlessly searched for them. Besides, the shard could've dropped them off anywhere. We won't need to worry too much as long as the princess' are there with them."

"But what if they're not? The shard might have been generous enough to keep us together, but can we really be for sure, concerning the others?" Kelly asked. Twilight paused for a moment to think.

"...I suppose that's true. Okay, at the possibility that the others are not grouped together, once we at least know the route back to Equestria, then we'll make the time to see if they're somewhere out here." Everyone seemed contempt with that aspect covered. Fluttershy was the next to speak.

"But...how will we know which way is home if we have no clue where we are?" She began to scare herself.

"Don't worry Fluttershy, we'll see about that once were watered, and once we've found a better place to shelter." Daniel wore a surprised look.

"Y'know, you all are unusally calm about being totally lost in a forest with limited food, and water. If I was by myself, I would probably have a melt down."

"Well, the most important thing right now is ta keep our heads. If we started panickin', then we'd be gettin' nowhere, fast." Applejack reassured. Daniel shrugged and nodded in agreement.

"Okay then, Rainbow, we'll wait here while you scope out that water source." Rainbow Dash bolted straight up.

"Alright, back in a flash!" She zoomed off without another word. The rest of the group glanced around at each other, waiting for someone to speak.

"Ah guess I'll go find some more fruits to take with us once Rainbow gets back." AJ stated as she chose a direction at random.

"Okay, but make sure you take note of certain landmarks, or pay attention to the sun so you know the way back." Twilight patronized.

"Ah know what ah'm doin' Twi." She said as she disappeared in the trees. Kelly and Daniel sat and looked around. Pinkie was now looking as joyful as ever talking to Rarity, while Fluttershy had hovered to a distinct tree to mingle with various birds. Twilight locked eyes with Kelly as he turned his head to her. He was expecting a sour look, but instead made her out to be saddened. He could no longer tell if it was from what she had found out, or if everything happening so fast was just getting to her. She broke the stare, and began to pace. He knew he had to talk to her.

"Can you believe this is happening?" Daniel interrupted his thoughts.

"Huh?" His friend looked at him, then to the ground.

"Can you believe this is happening?" He repeated.

"Well...as much as I don't want to..." Kelly shrugged.

"Things have gotten so out of hand. How did it get like this?" Kelly thought Daniel was acting strange.

"What do you mean?"

"This is a kid's show. How could we be here, and have something like this happen." Daniel kept his voice to a whisper. "I mean, this shit is dark. They've just lost pretty much everything. I don't get how..." Daniel didn't how to continue, so Kelly did for him.

"I get where you're coming from, and honestly I don't know how or why this is happening either." Neither was sure why this was just now being brought up. It seemed kind of delayed, but surfaced now that they were faced with such a daunting obstacle

"If we're here, then can anyone who watches the show see us?! Is this just...another episode?!" Kelly took note of his friend's worries, but didn't want to think about that.

"Look, I can't say for sure what our presence here will affect on a larger scale, but what I can say is that we ARE here, and we've grown to know these ponies personally, as they have to us. Whether our being here is by fate, or coincidence, or what it affects is not significant to me. Were here. And we are here for them." Kelly nodded in the element's direction. "I don't want to think about how this could ever relate to the show. It hurts my brain." Kelly joked.

"Yeah, maybe this isn't the show at all. Maybe...maybe we're in a demension where cartoons are reality, a...and what we know as 'reality' is actually fantasy. Or maybe were still in the same universe, only we're lightyears away from our own...galaxy! Maybe somewhere in vast space, there are places where things like this exist." Kelly nudged his friend to stop his brainstorm.

"I wouldn't try so hard to make sense of it. I don't think you're getting anywhere." Kelly smiled. Daniel smiled back, and stood.

"I'm uh...gonna go see if AJ needs help gathering food." Kelly stood as well.

"Alright, I guess I'll go see how Twilight's doing." Daniel smirked at Kelly.

"Careful dude, women are unpredictable." Kelly rolled his eyes playfully as Daniel trotted in the direction Applejack had gone moments ago.

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Everyone remained silent for the majority of the dawn. Once they were ready to head out, Luna approached her sister.

"Sister, have you thought about where we are to go?" Celestia looked at her younger sibling, unsure if she would approve of the answer.

"...We're bound for griffon territory." Luna went wide-eyed.

"The Griffon Kingdom?!" Celestia hushed her to talk low. "But why?"

"To ask for help." She replied bluntly. Luna made a disgusted face.

"And what makes you so sure that they'll oblige? We're not exactly on the best terms with them."

Celestia frowned. "I know. But we don't have much of a choice. There is no way we can defeat Ferindher on our own, now that he has his full power back. The dragons of this land aren't exactly an organized government, or a cooperative race for that matter, and asking for their help would probably create more problems than it would solve. I stayed up late thinking about this, and I believe the griffons are our best bet to creating a formidable force against Ferindher." Luna took a moment to consider her sister's judgement.

"...Okay, I'm with you, but what about everypony else?" Celestia was reluctant, but knew she would have to inform everyone eventually.

"The families, guards, and other ponies were still shaken up from having to leave everything behind. I wanted to wait until they had calmed to tell them where we are heading."

"When will that be?" Celestia took a moment to think.

"It will be a day or two until we reach the borders, so I think the best time will be tonight, or tomorrow morning. I may have to tell them sooner if they become uneasy about our direction." Luna looked behind her.

"Should we inform Captain Armor?" Celestia glanced back at Twilight's brother talking with one of the guards.

"You may, but tell him to wait for me to announce it to everypony else." Luna nodded. As she made her way to the captain of the royal guard, she silently dismissed the guards around him.

"The Captain and I just need a moment." Once the other guards had gone, Shining came to attention.

"What is it, your highness?"

"Your Princess, my sister has informed me that we are..." Luna was cut short by frightened gasped rising from the back of the crowd. Soon all of them spotted the creature that had caused the stir.

"Dragon!"

"There's a dragon overhead!"

"Everypony stay calm!" Guards tried their best to keep everyone contained, but panic was taking over, as most assumed the beast had already spotted them. Celestia boomed over the commotion.

"HALT!" As she commanded, the ponies stilled themselves, as the sun goddess used an ancient spell to bend the light around them to a frequency that cloaked them from the high-flying predator. Celestia knew that is was uncommon for dragons to hunt ponies as prey, but wasn't too keen on taking her chances. They waited quietly as the massive creature continued on it's way.

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Daniel had been walking for about a minute or so, and had expected to find Applejack sooner. He was ready to start calling her name until he thought he could hear faint sobbing. He slowed his pace, and treaded quietly, trying to pinpoint the noise. The crying became slightly more audible as he rounded a large boulder. He spotted AJ's tail, and soon found her weeping with her hat in her lap. His heart sank.

"Applejack?" His voice startled her, and she jolted upright, hastily wiping away a running tear. Daniel felt embarassed for seeing her like this, and the feeling was mutual for the farmpony. They stared each other down a while longer until AJ spoke.

"Wh...what are y'all doin' here?" Daniel shifted uncomfortably.

"I just came to help you gather some food. Are...you okay?"

"Ahm fine!" She snapped. Daniel felt a pang of anger by her harsh remark.

"Well...fine. I'll just...go back the way I came." He turned around with a scowl. He made it a few steps when he heard her speak again.

"...No! Wait." AJ didn't usually rely on others for emotional support, then again she wasn't usually this distraught either. "I uh...ah'm not...okay." Daniel's mood softened, and he turned back around. "Ah...ah miss my family. And I can't stop worryin' about 'em." She sniffled, and continued as Daniel walked towards her. "Ah know ah should be hopin' for the best, but ah just can't help but expect the worst. Now ah'm makin' a complete mess of myself doin' so." Daniel sat down in front of her, only a couple of feet away. Applejack wiped away another tear, but didn't make eye contact.

"What if somethin' happened to'em? What if Big Mac wasn't able to protect'em? It's just tearin' me up inside, ah just don't know what to do, Daniel!" More tears were beginning to form. "Ah just don't know what to..." She was cut short as the former human wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. AJ was startled yet again, but didn't pull away. Daniel closed his eyes tight, and hugged her even tighter. His embrace steadily calmed her down, and she soon returned it. Neither said a word. They just traded warmth for the longest time, and both were afraid to break the hug. Eventually, Daniel spoke.

"They have to be okay, Applejack. They have to be." She moved back to look him in the eye. "Your family needs you to stay strong. We will find our way back to them. They will be okay." AJ was fully aware that Daniel couldn't be for sure, but his reassurance was something she needed. She thanked him by embracing him a second time.

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Kelly inched toward Twilight who was fully aware of his presence.

"Something you need?" He stopped in his tracks.

"I...just wanted to make sure you were holding up okay." His words were uneasy.

"Well I'm fine. Just coping." Kelly thought getting closer was a bad move, but he went for it. He walked up beside her, and sat next to her, but kept his distance. Twilight took notice of his behaviour. "What? Are you scared of me?" She didn't add much emotion to the question, she just seemed to want to know. Kelly fumbled.

"I um...just thought...you'de be mad...or something." Twilight looked at him, confused.

"I'm not mad. I'm just..." Instead of finishing, all she did was sigh. Kelly was having trouble handling the tension.

"Twilight, please, please don't be upset because of me. I know I betrayed your trust, but I'm not about to let any of you do this alone. Daniel either." Twilight was a little happier to hear him try to mend their friendship. "I don't want things to be this way. I don't want you to think that I don't care. I just...don't..." She stopped him by shushing him with her hoof. She looked at him, watching him closely. After a moment of silence, she gave a gentle smile.

"I don't want things to be this way either, Kelly." She looked away, then back to him. "I saw you two last night. You and Fluttershy." Kelly instantly cringed, and blushed. "I know you care a lot for her, and that gives me peace of mind on what kind of person you are, and more importantly, what kind of friend that you are." Kelly's crimson cheeks faded. "I know you're a good guy, so I forgive you...and Daniel." Kelly smiled widely, and felt as if a boulder had been lifted off of his back. He was going in for a hug, but stopped himself. Twilight giggled, and put her hoof on his shoulder. "No more secrets?" Kelly chuckled back.

"No more." Twilight then did the honour of hugging him, and Kelly was more than happy to return the gesture. After they parted, Kelly's joy quickly faded.

"What's wrong?" Kelly shook his head, and sighed.

"Rainbow, Pinkie, and...Fluttershy still don't know." Twilight tried to think of something to ease his mind.

"Well, Applejack, Rarity, and I can tell them." Kelly quickly dismissed the thought.

"No, no...It has to come from us; Daniel and I." Twilight understood his choice.

"Then at least let us be there when you do tell them. I don't want them to think less of you guys for this. You've been great friends ever since I met you, and just like you, I don't want this to change any of that." Kelly greatly appreciated her support.

"Thank you, Twilight.......thank you." They both glanced around, unsure of what to do next. "Um, I think I'll go check on everyone else. Y'know, make sure they're doing okay." Twilight nodded hastily.

"Oh, okay." Kelly stood, and wandered towards Pinkie, and Rarity. Twilight bit her lip.

"Hey, um...Kelly?" He stopped, and turned.

"...Yeah?" She looked away from him, and bit her lip again. She froze up for a moment. "...I-its nothing. Nevermind." Kelly cocked his head.

"Oh, um...alright then. Take care, okay." Twilight frowned and nodded. She hated herself for not being able to tell him how she felt, even now that he was a stallion. The only reason she had held her toungue was because of his liking of her friend, and the way she saw it; if she did tell him, she didn't want to make him feel like he had to choose, or put him in any kind of awkward disposition, assuming the fealing could be mutual. Regardless, it was gnawing at her to keep this to herself, even if she did it for his sake.

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No matter how bright the early morning sun had been, it wasn't enough to peirce the harsh clouds that blanketed most of Equestria. Overnight, almost every settlement had fallen due to the unrelentlessness of the shadows. Cadance had awoken just outside of the Canterlot walls when the shard had been used. She knew there wasn't much time before the shadows descended upon her. She took whatever leniant time that was given to her to round up the ponies who hadn't been captured...or worse. She had made it out of Canterlot with one family, and a few other ponies. Afterwards, they made their way to Ponyville hoping to round up more citizens, but they weren't quick enough.

Upon arrival, Cadance noticed two school aged fillies being shackled by the shadows, she recognized them as two of the three flower girls from her wedding. She did her best to follow them without being seen, and took note of where they were being held. After her and the ponies with her got a nights rest far away from town. She told the group that she was determined to help the young ponies escape.

"I'm heading into town to see how I can help them."

"But what about everypony else being held there?" Cadance felt her eyes water.

"I won't be able to pull off a stunt like that, there are soldiers everywhere. Besides, they're only children, and I would rather take a shot at helping them instead of doing nothing, and just moving on. The princess' are out there somewhere probably worrying about us. Once we rally with them, then we might have a better chance at helping everypony else. Until then..." No one spoke against her. "I might be a while, I'm going to have to wait until the right time to free them, and make it back here. If anything is to happen, and I don't return, I want you all to stay here, and hold out. There is plenty of vegetation, and it will be best if your close by once we conquer this demon." Cadance was confident in her words to defeat Ferindher. "Be vigilant, and keep each other safe."

Cadance cautiously made her way to a now sinister, and ominous Ponyville. The sight of a once vibrant and lively town turned to morbid, and evil made the skin under her fur crawl. After a grueling time of scouting, and patience, she finally spotted the fillies from last night. They appeared to be hauling dark stones used for forging or fortifying, simply being used as pack mules against their will. Cadance's blood boiled. She could not believe that anything so vile could exist to cause this. It almost made her miss the changeling queen, and her schemes. A long while went by before the fillies were allowed a water break. Cadance saw this as the opportune moment to strike. Two shadow soldiers accompanied the girls to make sure they didn't attempt to escape, not that they would get far with shackles on. While the young ponies lapped water from the stream. A faint pop could be heard in the distance. One of the shadows drew his sword.

"What was that?" A split second later, a fast traveling, and violent amount of magic energy sent the soldier sprawling across the stream, and tumbling yards away. The other drew his weapon as a colorful alicorn bolted towards him. She waited until she was close enough to teleport behind him. However, although she possessed potentially great magic, her practice in the art wasn't well enough to pop up where she had planned. Cadance had reappeared right next to the soldier, who responded quickly with a horizontal slash, cutting her foreleg. Cadance flinched, but was still able to kick at the assailant. To her dismay, the shadow shuffled back, and retaliated with a second swipe.

Cadance gave another go at her transportation spell, and this time, she hit her mark. She caught the soldier off guard with a painful jab of her horn, followed by a swift blast of magic. She turned to the frightened fillies, and corroded the shackles with another spell. She then noticed that the first shadow had regained himself, and was making his way back to them at an alarming rate.

"Quick! Get on!" Cadance ordered.

"Okay!" Applebloom, and Scootaloo wasted no time in hopping aboard the alicorn. Once they were secured, Cadance thrusted into the air, but stayed low as not to alert other shadows in the town. The two soldiers cursed, and shouted incoherintly, as Cadance snickered at her successful rescue mission. Once they were half way back to the safe haven, Scootaloo spoke up.

"Hey, you're Princess Cadance!" She said with excitement.

"Yep, and you are two brave little fillies."

"Thanks so much for saving us!" Scootaloo felt ecsatic at the feeling of flight, even though it wasn't on her own.

"Um...princess. Where are we going?" Cadance slowed her pace, noticing that no one was following them.

"Someplace safe. There are a few others there as well." Applebloom beamed.

"Is mah sister there? Is Applejack there?!" Cadance remembered the farm pony from her wedding, and recognized the name as one of the elements.

"I didn't know Applejack had a sister." Cadance's face was grim. "I'm so sorry, but...no. I haven't seen your sister since yesterday. I'm sorry." Applebloom's heart sank. She didn't bother to ask about Big Mac or Granny Smith since she had seen them captured alongside her, but were seperated soon after. "So you know my name, what are your names?"

"Applebloom."

"I'm Scootaloo." Cadance smiled to comfort them.

"Well it's very nice to meet you both, and don't worry, we'll get you settled in once we make it back to the others." Cadance also knew that they would need to move quickly now that the soldiers would be aware of a vigilante close to town. They would also need to be quick if they wanted any hope of finding the princess'...and possibly her husband.

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Daniel, and Applejack had returned with a generous amount of food to take with them. Kelly had been joking around with Pinkie, and Rarity to lighten the mood. Fluttershy had mostly kept to herself, and the animals. A short while later, Rainbow had returned at last.

"I'm back!" She announced alongside a backflip. Everyone got up to ask her about the water situation.

"So what's the story?"

"Yeah, did you find that water?" Dash scratched her foreleg nervously.

"Well, here's the thing." The others were already hesitant to hear the news. "I did find it, buuuut...it's on the opposite end of a wide gorge, so..." The group traded glances.

"How wide are we talking, exactly?" Rarity chimed. Rainbow smiled sheepishly.

"Oh...not too bad...just a few hundred feet or so..." The others gave an exhasperated sigh. "It's not all bad, I mean, it is crossable."

"How so?" Kelly asked.

"Theres a path big enough for you guys to descend. If we find a sturdy bridge, or maybe another trail from the bottom of the ravine, you should be able to make it to the other side, no problem." Dash shrugged it off as a cakewalk.

"Pfft...easy for you to say miss 'I-can-just-fly-over-it." Daniel muttered to himself, not fond of the idea.

"Well, if it's our only shot at water, then ah say we give it a go. Besides, ah'm startin' to feel a little tickle in mah throat." AJ rubbed her neck.

"Then it's settled, is everyone ready?" Twilight looked to see nodding heads. "Alright, Rainbow, lead the way." And with that, the group set off to begin their long trek home.

Comments

[Slip Kid]

Why did you re-post it? Good chapter, by the way; and I don't mind people being turned into ponies, as long as it's well done.

[KJay]

1550679 There are two possibilities as to why I re-posted it. One would be last night when the website was screwing with me. I went to hit the publish button, and it wouldn't do anything. I waited for a while, and tried clicking it again, but right before I clicked, I kid you not, it switched to "unpublish." So when I hit publish for the second time, it worked, and I left it at that.

Then this morning, I checked the site, and noticed that there was no feedback yet. (Although, it was probably because it was fairly early in the morning.) Anyway, I checked the story updates, and didn't see mine from last night. I figured maybe it was because the site was acting up when I tried to publish it. Eventually, I tried one last time to publish it, which I thought was risky since the moderators don't like people to do that, but I did it to make sure it WAS updated for sure. All in all...a fun experience.

[dan789]

i eat dogs

[KJay]

1551497
no you don't, Daniel...you OWN a dog

[dan789]

i do?

[KJay]

1957913 Rookie mistake... But it's a bit late to fix it now...