The Chimera (No. 47)
Previously on The Hitlist...
“I can tell when somepony is acting out of kindness."
---
"Everypony coming after her and you are irredeemable, plain and simple. For them, it’s kill or be killed.”
---
“Because this is the best party I could ever throw, and you will never be on the guest list!”
---
"These were your father’s photos before I put ‘em in the album. Maybe he just cut something out of it.”
The Chimera
Fluttershy sat in front of her cottage. A warm scarf wrapped around her neck as she finished knitting an extremely large sweater for her bear friend who waited patiently beside her. “There! Finished!” She lifted the extra large green knit sweater to show it to him. The bear nodded and smiled in approval. “This ought to get you through the winter, Harry.” She leaned in close to his ear. “And don’t worry. I won’t mention your premature shedding to anypony.” The bear gave her a small hug before taking the sweater and stomping back into the woods. Fluttershy smiled after him and then sighed as she turned back to the path. She looked on with a slightly anxious expression.
“Howdy, Fluttershy!” The yellow mare jumped a few feet in the air and let out a small “eep”. She looked behind her to find Pinkie Pie sitting with a huge grin.
“Oh, it’s just you, Pinkie,” she sighed. She was truly happy that her friend’s mood had picked up lately. For a while it seemed like all of Fluttershy’s friends were going to fall into despair. But these past few weeks things had become a little bit more peaceful. Pinkie was back in Pinkie form and even Rainbow Dash had come out to visit every now and then. Yup, all her friends were better. Except for…
“Waiting for Discord again?” Pinkie asked.
Fluttershy floated to the ground and gave her a frail smile. “Oh, I guess I’ve gotten a little bit predictable. It’s just… he’s never gone this long without at least sending a note.”
Pinkie waved a hoof. “I wouldn’t be too worried. I mean, he is a god. I’m pretty sure he can take care of himself.”
Fluttershy smiled reluctantly. “You’re right.”
“Besides, there’s a bit of a bigger problem to deal with right now,” Pinkie explained as her face fell and she handed a flyer to Fluttershy.
She took it and glanced over the contents before bringing a hoof to her mouth. “Oh my!”
---
Twilight sat in a catatonic state on her throne with a look of confusion and surprise glued to her face. Every now and then her left eye would twitch as she continued to stutter out a word that didn’t seem to want to come out.
“And how long had this been going on?” Applejack asked Cloudy as the two sat next to the comatose princess.
Cloudy shrugged. “Ever since she got that letter from the princess.” She lifted one of the flyers that had been nailed to the castle door and spread around town. “So I’m guessing it didn’t have any good news.”
-------------
Twilight opened her letter from the princess with a positive attitude. Surely if anypony could solve this mess it would be her. However when she opened it she was surprised to find a not so helpful response.
Dear Twilight,
I’m sorry that you are going through this. However, this is a problem that we cannot help you with. Like our niece Cadence with the Crystal Empire, Ponyville became an autonomous city state when you ascended. Thus it is your realm to deal with.
As a princess you must learn to appreciate the will of your ponies. Maybe if you gave them a little room, they would come around.
Again, I apologize for my inability to help in this matter. Things in Canterlot have been a tad strained since the attack and with Shining Armor back in the Crystal Empire, I and my sister have been putting out the remaining fires. I hope you will look at this as an opportunity to learn and not just as a punishment. I have faith in you, my most prized pupil.
Sincerely Princess Celestia
“B-B-B-B-B-”
--------------------
“B-B-B-B-B-” Twilight finally gave up her stammering and slammed her forehead into the table.
“Finally!” Cloudy sighed. “That was driving me crazy.”
Applejack put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “You’re letter to the princesses didn’t go too well?”
“I’m not surprised,” Cloudy said. “After learning about Chrysalis even I’m feeling a little pissed about the princess right now.”
Twilight’s head moved morosely as she dug her head further into the table. Applejack frowned. “Well, don’t worry, Twi. Ah don’t know what all those ponies are thinking trying to throw you out but I’ll talk to the mayor and try to-”
“A awreby hid.”
“Pardon?”
Twilight lifted her head slightly so she could be heard clearly. “I already did.”
----------------
“Are you serious, Mayor!?” Twilight shouted at the government official. Twilight had cornered Mayor Mare in her office just as the first flyer was posted to her door. She shoved it in her face across the large oak desk. “’Evict Twilight Sparkle’?!”
Mayor Mare dug her hooves into the sides of her chair uncomfortably as she bit her lip. “I-I’m sorry, princess. The motion was carried by a majority of the town a couple weeks back after that changeling debacle. I tried to keep the ruling turning in the bureaucratic machine for as long as I can but even that is so slow.”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Twilight shouted hysterically. “Why would the whole town want me gone?”
The mayor rolled her eyes playfully. “Maybe because attacks and incidents have quadrupled since you first moved here.” Twilight shot her a glare. “Which I argued against!” She assured her with raised hooves. The mayor took a breath. “Look, with the amount of time I had I was able to find something to help you out.”
Twilight perked up. “Yeah?”
Mayor Mare rubbed the back of her head tentatively. “It would get you out of this mess but…”
Twilight put both hooves on the bureaucrat’s desk and leaned in. “I don’t care what it is! I’m not leaving!”
The mayor sighed. “Your castle was never part of any original city planning, so I don’t think it falls under the jurisdiction of the Ponyville Department of Housing Authority. The good news is that means that you can fight this eviction.” Twilight smiled. “The bad news is that it means you’ll have to renounce your citizenship of the town.” Twilight’s face sunk again.
“What?”
Mayor pushed her chair back and circled the desk to her. “Right now as a citizen your liable to the laws of government. No doubt you could just change them as a princess, but I’d advise against that. The ponies already have a bad view of you, you don’t want to go stirring the pot by changing laws around to suit you. If you revoke your citizenship then the laws wouldn’t apply to you. I guess the closest approximation to this would be your friend, Zecora in the Everfree. She still comes around and deals with several vendors or talks around town, but she doesn’t have an official status.” She put a comforting hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Do you get what I’m saying?”
Twilight looked dumbfounded. She had never even thought about her relationship to the town that she loved. In order to stay in it that meant she had to deny it? “I… I don’t know about this.”
Mayor ushered her forward with her hoof around her shoulder. “Twilight, it’s just a name on paper. It’s not like anything is going to change. You’ll still live in your home. See the same ponies you do and engage in the same activities. Ponyville is very welcoming to outsiders…” She paused before correcting herself. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean that.”
Twilight frowned and pushed the mayor away. “No! I know what to do. There’s only one pony in the world that can help me now!”
-------------------
“But the princess wasn’t much help, huh?” Cloudy asked from across the room. She had grown bored and begun to do some wingups by the window. “Figures.”
Applejack shot a glance at the mare before returning to Twilight. “Twilight… Ah hate to admit it but… maybe you should give the mayor’s idea a chance.” Twilight looked up with wide eyes. “Don’t get me wrong! Ah know how hard it must be to say you don’t belong but… Ah know a lot more ponies would be sad if you left.”
Twilight lifted one of the flyers and lazily threw it into the middle of the table. “Not a lot of ponies here would agree with you.”
There was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it!” Spike called from outside the throne room.
“Twi, you gotta look at this from one of your friend’s perspectives,” Applejack argued. “We’re not abandonin’ you. So don’t even think about abandonin’ us.” Twilight turned to Applejack with a small smile.
Spike walked into the throne room with a small sealed envelope in his claw. “Hey, Twilight. Somepony left this in front of the door.”
Twilight’s face fell again. “Spike, I really don’t want to deal with more angry letters or flyers.”
Spike handed the letter to her. “I don’t think it’s one of those,” he chuckled. Twilight looked down to the envelope to see it was labelled “Your Secret Admirer”.
“So you have one pony that likes ya,” Applejack chuckled nervously. Twilight shot her a glare and she buttoned up.
Twilight sighed and opened the letter, careful just in case it was a trick and exploded ink or something on her. She removed the letter without fuss and read it to herself. Her eyes narrowed as she audibly groaned. “Problem?” Spike asked.
Twilight crumpled up the letter before throwing it in the garbage. “No,” she looked to Applejack. “We’ve got a lunch date.”
---
With the cold seeping in and Fall’s colors conquering the trees. It is a time for most creatures to sleep. The bears in their caves. The snakes in their den. And the parasprites in their nests. Deep in the Everfree there is a tree. An ancient tree that stands out amongst the rest for inside is the nest of the parasprites. As one of the oldest trees in the forest, it’s wood is so hard and petrified that none of the hungry creatures can even make a dent in it. It is thought that thousands of years ago the ancestors of these parasprites carved out a home inside this tree. This seems the most appropriate theory since such a strong tree is riddled with holes. Pocks and honeycombs dot the sides and branches, the insides of which lead into an array of tunnels and dens. Inside each of these dens rests a hundred or so parasprites as they sleep, waiting for spring so they can eat again.
A figure in shadowy robes approached from the trees. The ancient tree within its sights. It stood before the tree defiantly as it raised its front legs and brought them down on the tree. A loud echo rang throughout the burrow as the sleeping parasprites all began to open their eyes.
The figure watched as several flew out and zoomed in on it, obviously curious. Yet the figure remained hidden by its hood. A small blue parasprite alighted on its nose, its features slightly ruffled as it was angry for having been woken up. It preened and tweeted at the figure, but was surprised when the figure answered. It let out a small tweet much like the parasprite’s. The parasprite looked quizzically at the figure and chirped again. The figure responded in kind.
Soon more and more parasprites began to join the conversation. Many with questions but the figure did not answer. Instead it chirped a question to them. A request of sorts. The parasprites debated among each other before finally nodding their heads. The figure smiled showing a full set of sharp teeth before it turned and pointed in the direction it wanted them to go. The swarm parted from their home and buzzed in the direction of a town they had been to before. A town called Ponyville.
---
Barrel leaned on the wall of the building facing a round colorful themed establishment. He looked on through the windows as a white mare he knew all too well hummed to herself as she cut and sewed fabric onto a new dress fitted on a mannequin. Barrel couldn’t help but smile slightly at her own smile. He had seen her work plenty of times in the weeks preceding before coming here but never once thought to reveal himself. I’m nothing but trouble anyway, he thought, she wouldn’t want to see me.
“Can I help you?” a small sweet voice came from next to him. Barrel’s eyes widened as he noticed a small white filly had approached him. Sloppy. The filly was familiar as well since he had seen her before in the Carousel as well as in all the files Redwood had him study. Sweetie Belle wore a stylish beret and red scarf as she cocked her head and frowned toward the stallion.
“Uh, sorry, just moving along,” he said quickly before trying to leave.
“You know I’ve seen you a couple of times around here,” Sweetie said with a small grin. “Stalking somepony is considered a felony, you know?”
Barrel rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and chuckled nervously. “I-I-I wasn’t… Well, the reason for that is…” Congrtulations. Nearly ten years of indoctrination and training in an off the grid mega-criminal network amounted to a stuttering fool in front of a filly.
Sweetie’s grin widened a little bit and she gave him a saucy look. “Your one of Rarity’s fans, aren’t you?”
Barrel bit his lip. It was a better excuse than nothing. “Y-Yeah, that’s it.”
Sweetie nodded her head. “Yeah, I can tell. Though it’s kind of weird. My sister hasn’t had a suitor in quite awhile. My friends and I assume it’s because she’s one of the Elements and that just kind of turns some ponies off. What with all the prestige.” She eyed Barrel a little bit more and began to circle him. “Hmm, your almost as big as Big Macintosh. You’re pretty handsome. And your…” She stopped as she went to lift up his coat to see his flank. Barrel narrowly moved away.
“Hey, didn’t anypony tell you that was impolite?” he asked her.
Sweetie Belle looked at him skeptically. Barrel bit his lip once more. Had she seen it? Finally Sweetie just shrugged. “Well, I’m sure my sister would give you a chance if you asked her out. She’s pretty nice.” She began to walk toward the town.
Barrel raised an eyebrow, slightly forgetting himself. “You really think so?”
Sweetie turned back to him. “Oh yeah. And don’t worry about it too much.” She winked at him and then ran off into the town. Barrel stared at her until she was out of sight and then went back to the window. Rarity was gone but mannequin was still in the window. He sighed as he turned away from the Carousel, though a slight smile was now on his face.
Sweetie Belle raced through the town until she came to a familiar tree house. She dashed up the stairs and kicked the door open. Her two best friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, were right in the middle of trying to get their cutie marks in trust by doing trust falls. Luckily Pinkie hadn’t ratted them out about their “camping trip” but the girls were still under strict rules not to do anything too dangerous since they failed to tell their parents or Applejack that they would be gone for that night. Scootaloo was about to fall backward into AB’s hooves when Sweetie burst the door down. “Sweetie Belle, where have you been?” Apple Bloom asked. Scootaloo immediately fell backward and past AB as her head collided with the floor. “Oops, sorry.”
“Girls, I just found something amazing!” Sweetie shouted ecstatically. Scootaloo rubbed her head before both fillies approached Sweetie and she began to whisper to them.
“Really?!” Scootaloo shouted.
---
Twilight and AJ walked down the street towards Sugarcube Corner. Twilight grit her teeth as she thought of the gall this pony had to call her out here.
“Are ya sure it’s him, Twi?” Applejack asked.
Twilight’s frown deepened. “Yes. And I’m glad you’re here since I don’t know what I’d do if it were just me meeting him. Part of me just wants to call the royal guard right now.”
“Ah could always go back and get Captain Gust,” Applejack said.
Twilight shook her head. “No. Knowing her she’d just make a mess and probably get somepony hurt in the crossfire.”
AJ looked off to the side. “You know, you are going to have to make friends with her eventually.”
Twilight shot her a look. “In case you haven’t noticed I’m kind of dealing with a crisis here!” The two walked up to the door of Sugarcube. “And this isn’t making it any better!” She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Applejack. I just… I never expected to have to deal with stuff like this, even after becoming a princess.”
Applejack nodded understandingly. “Hey, Ah get what your sayin’, Twi. I know the burden of responsibility as well as the hardships that come from those around tryin’ to get the best of you. Ah ever tell you about the time this fertilizer salesman tried to sell me one hundred bags of manure for two hundred bits? That was just highway robbery! So ah just started usin’-”
Twilight held up a hoof, not wanting to know the rest of the story. Her face was already turning green just thinking about it. “I appreciate the sentiment, Applejack.”
Applejack nodded appreciatively and the two entered the café. Twilight immediately knew where her “date” was since everypony was gathered around him. “…and so I say ‘better call podiatrist’!” The crowd immediately starting laughing hysterically. Twilight cleared her throat at the edge of the crowd and they parted slightly, one pony in particular still laughing hard and saying through rasping breaths “what’s a podiatrist?”
The crowd parted fully to reveal a gray pony with a white mane and red eyes. He wore a nice looking green vest with red tie and a smaller brown fedora as opposed to the black hat she had seen him in before. “Ah, princess! So nice to see you again.” The crowd parted enough for him to get a look at the other pony and he smiled warmly. “And Miss Applejack. Really it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” He didn’t hold out a hoof.
“The feelin’ is not mutual,” Applejack grumbled at him with narrowed eyes. Both mares took a seat at Redwood’s table as the rest of the shop patrons returned to their own seats. “Ah been hearin’ a lot about you, Mr. Redwood. Stuff Ah don’t particularly like.”
Redwood gave her a smirk. “Well, I do tend to rub some ponies the wrong way.”
“Like that changeling queen that attacked Canterlot and killed two ponies?” Twilight said with a slight bit of venom in her voice.
Redwood’s smug expression dropped for a moment and he lowered his hat to the table revealing a short white mane. “I am regretful for that. Truly I am. In fact, I’ve made several large and anonymous donations to the families of Rising Star and Moon Drop.” The two looked at him puzzled. “The two deceased.” He leaned forward and looked directly into Twilight’s eyes. “Do not think me a callous stallion, Miss Sparkle. I make sure to honor those that have fallen needlessly in my pursuits.”
“But that’s just it!” Twilight said as she slammed a hoof into the table. “They didn’t need to die. Silk was only after you. You brought her here!”
“Just like you brought the Mailmare here and your friend’s doppelganger,” Redwood shot back.
“But I…”
“There will always be enemies, Twilight,” he interrupted. “For those that speak of peace just as much as those that speak of war.”
Applejack listened to the conversation between the two but could take no more. “Now hold on a minute here! That’s not fair. Twi never did anythin’ to make anypony angry. The only reason she’s in trouble is because of somepony else!”
“Somepony who found it necessary to destroy both you and your life,” Redwood finished.
The three were silent for a moment before Twilight spoke up. “So you said you had something to tell me?”
Redwood’s smirk returned. “Actually, it just so happens that this is the topic of today’s little get together.” Cup Cake came by and deposited a small glass of greenish soda in front of him before waving at the two mares and walking off. “How much do you know about the Yakut Union?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Yakut Union?”
“It’s a large empire that borders the Romane Empire and Neighpon as well as a few other smaller countries. The ponies there are used to extreme weather like snow since the Pegasus population is down. It’s two major cities are Stalliongrad and Trottersky.” Twilight summarized. “Why?”
Redwood reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a small picture. It depicted a blurry quadrupedal figure racing through a forested area. It looked like a pony but it was a little hard to be sure with the blur. “After the fall of the Romane Wall separating both major empires most of the Yakutian ponies defected to Romane. The loss of so many citizens sent the empire into a spiral that they haven’t recovered from. It’s currently a hotbed for most of the world’s most villainous. This is where this guy comes in.” He tapped the photo. “This is the only known photograph of a vigilante called the Chimera. He’s been active for close to four years now, taking out drugrunners and slavers in the Yakutian badlands. I have it on good authority that he just made his way here to Equestria.”
Applejack looked at the photo. “This is ridiculous. Why would a vigilante want to hurt Twilight?”
“Money is the source of all evil,” Redwood smirked and shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he’s just here for something else. This is a threat and I’m bringing it to your attention. That’s it.” He looked at Twilight. “We don’t have to be any closer than that.”
Twilight stared at the picture long and hard before looking back up. “Where do you even get this information?”
Redwood smiled. “You know, I don’t suppose it’s dangerous to introduce you.” He gestured next to him and AJ and Twilight jumped slightly at the sight of a zebra mare with a red jacket around her torso. Her ears were pierced and her stripes made the image of a leaf on her flank. She had just finished drinking the green soda that Redwood had ordered while she sat there with her eyes closed listening in.
“How did…?!” Twilight began.
Redwood chuckled. “Twilight Sparkle and Miss Applejack, meet Agave, my personal liaison.” The zebra turned to them, her expression unmoved as she gave them both a slight bow.
“Hold on,” Applejack threw her hooves up. “Has this mare been watching us this whole time?”
Redwood shrugged. “Pretty much. She’s trained in over seventy martial arts from around the world as well as the art of stealth. So don’t worry, you probably won’t see her again unless she wants to be seen.” The two mares looked back to the zebra only to find that she was indeed gone again.
Twilight let out a sigh. “Just talking with you is giving me a headache.” She grabbed the picture from the table. “Let’s go, Applejack.”
“The offer still stands,” Redwood said before Twilight could leave. “That thing you asked me of before. I couldn’t really help from CRO but out here… Just call out for Agave and she’ll let me know you want to talk.”
Applejack looked to Twilight with concern before the princess turned back with a steeled gaze. “Thank you for the information, Rayleigh. But I would leave town now if I were you. Me and my friends can handle anything.” She smiled at Applejack as the two began to leave. Applejack turned back one last time to shoot Redwood a glare but instead saw his eyes soften at her. For a brief moment all the bravado and smugness was gone and all she saw was a tired old stallion. The two left through the door.
Redwood didn’t even turn to his side as he steepled his hooves and began to talk to the zebra mare now next to him again. “Do you think you can keep up with her?”
Agave chuckled under her breath at the question. She then opened her eyes and pulled out a small piece of paper from her jacket. She slid it onto the table and Redwood read it with no emotion on his face giving anything away. ‘Who is Vinyl Scratch?’
Redwood narrowed his eyes at the zebra who in turn merely mirrored his expression. “That’s none of your concern right now.”
She smirked and pulled out another piece of paper. Redwood read it silently. ‘That’s none of your concern right now’.
Redwood chuckled to himself. “Show off.” Agave laughed as well but she still waited like she wanted an answer. He finally sighed. “Keep a close eye on her as well if you want. But it won’t do you much good.” Agave nodded at this and in the next moment she was gone. Redwood raised a hoof to get the check and looked down at the piece of paper. ‘Who is Vinyl Scratch?’ “Things are only going to get more complicated, aren’t they, Sym.”
---
Just outside the Ponyville city limits a blue Pegasus flew around and bucked the few spare clouds that threatened to consolidate into bad weather. Winter was fighting the pegasi pretty hard to come early and most of them had been working for days to prevent anymore random showers or early snowstorms. When Rainbow Dash had finally returned to her post the first thing that happened was she got a hug from her supervisor and then a punishment of having buck a quota of three hundred clouds. Rainbow didn’t mind the work though, it helped to get her mind off of everything that had happened.
As she finished up bucking the last of the clouds in her area she sat on a cloud to wait for more to appear. “Rainbow Dash!” She peered over the cloud to see Pinkie and Fluttershy begin to run towards her. They stopped in front of her cloud as she descended to meet them.
“Hey, guys. What’s up?” she asked.
Fluttershy looked panicky as she handed a flyer to Rainbow. The blue mare took the flyer and her eyes widened. “What!? What the heck is this?”
“Seems some ponies got pretty mad after that last attack by changelings,” Pinkie explained. “The word around town is that Twilight is too dangerous to have around.”
Rainbow gritted her teeth. Twilight may have been the reason behind her problems but she knew it wasn’t her fault. Especially after Pinkie shared the truth with her. These past few days all she could think about was decking two ponies. One the jerk that wanted Twilight dead and the other being that Redwood guy. If she saw him she would punch him straight in the-
“What should we do, Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Huh? How should I know?”
Pinkie rubbed her chin in thought. “Well, you are pretty popular. Maybe you could endorse Twilight as good for the town?”
Rainbow frowned. Yes, she was popular but she technically hadn’t shown her face around town in over a month. She was fine with going back to work and seeing her friends again, but the thought of getting back in front of other ponies and boasting or performing again made her limbs shake. As of right now she had called in a few favors at the Wonderbolts in order to get a few more weeks off, but time was running out before she would be expected to get back out there again. “M-Maybe we can think of something else.”
“Well, there’s always plan B,” Pinkie said.
“I don’t think a party is going to help,” Rainbow said in a deadpan.
“No! Fluttershy!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“M-Me?” Fluttershy stuttered.
“Yeah! I mean, everypony knows that you’re the kindest and most caring pony in town. If anypony else can convince the townsfolk that Twilight should stay it would be you.”
Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at each other with raised eyebrows before looking at Pinkie. “Uh, Pinkie, no offense to you or Fluttershy but she can’t even make a speech in front of a mirror.”
Fluttershy brushed her mane in front of her face bashfully. “Yeah…”
Pinkie smiled warmly at her two friends and wrapped her hooves around each of them. “You guys just have to look a little bit deeper. I know we’re the Elements of Harmony but there are things about each of us that go beyond that. Trust me. Don’t be so afraid to look inside yourself and find the inner princess!” She finished her speech with loud yell of empowerment that shook the trees and made a few birds fly off.
Fluttershy and Rainbow both held their ears. “Yeah, sure, Pinkie,” Rainbow muttered.
Fluttershy smiled a little at her friend’s words before she turned to see a small colorful cloud coming out of the Everfree. “Um, Rainbow, Pinkie?” The two looked with her and their eyes widened.
“Somepony get me my instruments!” Pinkie shouted as they all began to run back to town.
---
Fluttershy panicked a little before calming down enough to think straight. It was just a swarm of parasprites. She and her friends had dealt with those tiny creatures before. But it looked pretty big this time. She needed to grab some instruments for Pinkie and she could think of no better place than here.
Fluttershy knocked on the door to a small house on Ponyville’s eastern hill. She waited a moment before the door opened, glancing back the way she came to make sure that the cloud hadn’t gotten any closer. Finally the door opened and a bandaged Vinyl Scratch appeared. She wasn’t wearing her sunglasses at the moment so she had to cover her eyes a little at the sun. Her face was a mix of emotions but she still managed to smile at her. “Oh, hello Vinyl,” Fluttershy greeted. “I’m glad to see your doing well.” Vinyl nodded and the two stood awkwardly for a moment. “Um, is Octavia here?”
Vinyl nodded again and ushered Fluttershy in. The two mares’ house was small and laid out quite strangely with one side having sensible furniture and wood flooring while the other side looked like it was ready for a rave. These two were certainly an odd couple, Fluttershy had to admit.
Octavia was sitting on her couch reading a book when Fluttershy entered. She set the book down and smiled at her. “Fluttershy, it’s good to see you.” The two mares shared a hug and Octavia went to the kitchen. She ushered Fluttershy to join her while Vinyl stayed in her side of the living room. She seemed to be looking through an assortment of LP’s.
Fluttershy was just about to ask Octavia for her instruments when the gray mare spoke. “I wanted to thank you in pony for keeping that night a secret,” she said in a whisper for Vinyl not to hear. “I don’t know just what Vinyl would do if she learned somepony saw her like that.”
“Oh, no, I understand,” Fluttershy replied. “You can count on me to keep a secret. I don’t get out that much anyway. B-But that’s not what I’m here for. There’s a swarm of parasprites on their way here and we need as many instruments as we can find.”
Octavia’s eyes widened. “Oh, sure let me get them!” She left the kitchen and headed for a room upstairs. Fluttershy followed in hopes of helping her. As she entered Octavia’s room she slightly caught sight of Vinyl’s room next door. Once again the two ponies couldn’t seem more different. Octavia’s room was nice and clean and orderly while Vinyl’s was a mess with socks and shirts strewn across the floor as well as an obscene amount of glowsticks and even some empty bottles of what, from the smell, she could only assume was hard cider.
Octavia opened a trunk and fished through it. “Let’s see. I’ve got an old flute. A trombone I practiced with in fillyschool.” She placed each instrument she found on the floor next to her. Fluttershy peered past her at the bed and saw a small xylophone sticking out in the area between the bed and the chest.
“Here’s one,” she said as she lifted the xylophone out. Octavia saw it and snatched it away.
“No! Not that one!” she shouted.
“Oh, okay,” Fluttershy replied with a little trepidation. Octavia saw her back away and chuckled.
“Sorry, sorry. It’s just this one is special to me.” She fondled the xylophone lovingly. “It’s one of the first gifts I got from Vinyl.”
Fluttershy cocked her head, the curiosity now filled to the brim. “Um, I’ve actually been wondering.” Octavia looked at her. “You two seem very different. How exactly do you two live together?” She blushed as she asked. “Um, sorry if I’m being too forward.”
Octavia smiled slightly and chuckled again. “No, it’s fine. I know we look kind of mismatched from the outside looking in. But Vinyl and I actually have a lot more in common than one might think. We met each other during a hard time in our lives and we’ve just kind of stuck together since then.”
Fluttershy smiled at the story and nodded appreciatively. “I understand how nice it can be to find somepony special in your life. Well, maybe not a special somepony in my case. B-But that is I’m not saying anything about your relationship!”
Octavia looked at Fluttershy with a confused expression before her cheeks turned red with realization. “Wait, I… What?! We’re not…” She puffed her cheeks out and growled to herself. “Is that what Vinyl is telling everypony? Ugh! I’m almost never in town due to my job and that mare goes around the place spreading wild rumors about us!” Her face remained red as she turned away from Fluttershy. “A-Anyway, here’s the instruments. Go save the town or something!” She threw the instruments into Fluttershy’s hooves and eagerly pushed the mare to her bedroom door before slamming it shut. Fluttershy could hear her moan from the other side, but it didn’t seem like a sad moan. More like an annoyed one.
Fluttershy chuckled a bit to herself as she walked down the stairs and entered the living room. Vinyl was still looking through her records as she looked up at Fluttershy. She waved to her before leaving but stopped and cleared her throat. “I… think she might need a hug.” Both mares heard the sound of Octavia begin to bonk her head against the door. Vinyl laughed under her breath and gave Fluttershy a salute before the yellow mare left.
---
Twilight and Applejack left the Sugarcube both with dour expressions. They were both silent for a few minutes on their way back to the castle. “So what do you think?” Twilight finally asked.
AJ raised an eyebrow. “About the threat? We might as well take it seriously considerin’…”
Twilight shook her head. “No… Well, yes, but not what I meant. What do you think of Redwood?”
Applejack had to think about that. On the one hoof he seemed like a normal stallion, despite the fact that he clearly looked loaded and had some kind of super spy working for him. On the other hoof, from all the stories she had heard he seemed like a ruthless villain. After Twilight had finally confided in her the cowpony actually did some digging. Redwood had been a captain of the guard in Canterlot a little over twenty years ago but betrayed the kingdom and fled. A pony like that had no honor. But still, something about the way he looked at her. Like a tired old stallion. It made her want to feel sorry for him. But then again maybe that was all his trick. “Ah don’t like him,” she finally stated.
Twilight frowned. “I don’t either. But until we figure out what to do he’s the best source we’ll have.”
Applejack stopped walking and turned to Twilight. “Despite all this we still need you here. So have you given any more thought to it, Twi?”
Twilight bit her lip. She took a look around and began to notice the many stares she got as she passed through town. Some ponies even held the flyers and flashed her angry glares. For the first time in her life of living in Ponyville, Twilight truly felt like an outsider. “I…” A rainbow blur whizzed past them and the two looked up. “Was that Rainbow Dash?”
“Emergency!!” Both mares jumped and spun around as Pinkie suddenly appeared. “We’ve got a ten by ten bogey on the south side coming up our flank!”
“Huh?”
Pinkie looked between the two. “A thousand little problems are adding up fast!”
“Huh?”
“Parasprite Invasion!!!!” Pinkie shouted loud enough for the town to hear. Suddenly every pony on the street began to scream and panic while many more locked their doors.
“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted. “Why would you shout that out?”
“I was trying to be subtle with you guys but you wouldn’t get the clue!” Rainbow Dash appeared a moment later with an assortment of instruments including drums and an accordion. She threw it all at the pink mare’s hooves.
“I… I think that’s all the stuff… you had in your room, Pinkie,” Rainbow huffed as she slumped over from carrying the instruments. “Ugh, I am really out of shape.”
“Thanks, Dashie,” Pinkie said as she grabbed a drum set and threw it to Applejack. The orange mare caught it clumsily before wrapping the straps around her shoulders. “I would go get them myself but…” She trailed off with a sad frown threatening to erupt.
Twilight patted her shoulder reassuringly. “Hey, it’s okay, Pinkie. I know the Cakes appreciate you following their wishes.”
Pinkie smiled at her. “Thanks, Twi.” She then dumped a large tuba into her hooves. “But there’s no time for being a sorry sally!” She grabbed the accordion.
Rainbow looked at the pile. “Guess I’ll take these,” she said as she grabbed a tambourine.
“Girls!” Fluttershy called out as she charged up the road carrying a trombone and a flute. She skidded to a halt in front of them. “I’m ready Pinkie!”
“Great!” Pinkie shouted. “Then it’s time to rock on!” In the distance the colorful swarm had reached the edge of town and was beginning to fly towards the center of the city. All five ponies stood in a heroic pose as they waited for their quarry to come closer. Applejack was the first to speak.
“So… how do you play the drums?” she asked.
Twilight cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah, I’m not sure I know how to play the tuba either.”
Rainbow shook her tambourine getting a seemingly impossible harsh thunking noise out of it.
“Um, I don’t know how to play either,” Fluttershy muttered.
Pinkie sighed and in a deadpan held out her hoof as the others handed back their instruments. She quickly made strap for it all and wrapped it around her until she was a one pony band. “I guess it doesn’t matter. After all, this is how we got rid of them last time.”
The swarm was now almost on top of them. Pinkie readied herself. The first of the parasprites buzzed into the street as she began to blow into her tuba. However, she didn’t have a chance to finish as the parasprites flew over the mares completely ignoring them, as well as anything else around them. “Huh?”
Twilight looked up and narrowed her eyes at the receding swarm as they flew past. Suddenly it split into two groups which both went their separate ways. “What are they doing?” Rainbow muttered.
Twilight’s eyes widened as she realized what two places were in each direction. “Applejack! Rainbow! You’re with me! You guys go find Rarity!” She began to sprint in the direction one of the swarms went.
Applejack and Rainbow stared confusedly for a minute before the cowpony’s eyes widened with realization as well. “Oh, not on my watch!!”
Rainbow and Applejack flew off. Pinkie and Fluttershy were left alone to watch the other swarm flying off. “Um, so where do you think Rarity is?” Fluttershy asked.
Pinkie scratched her chin. “Hmm, I guess she’d still be at home…” She pointed in the direction of the Carousel and her smile dropped. “Oh.”
---
Twilight and Applejack skidded to a halt in front of Sweet Apple Acres while Rainbow slammed her brakes in midair above them. “Woah,” she whispered.
The parasprite swarm had already begun to buzz through the picked trees searching for sustenance but came up short. Now they had their eyes set on the barn. “That’s my family’s entire last season harvest in there!” AJ shouted. “Twi, can’t you teleport them away?”
Twilight frowned and put her all into her horn. It began to glow brighter and brighter until a cascade of magic burst from it and washed over the parasprites. To everypony’s relief the swarm disappeared. AJ let out a sigh. “Thanks, Twilight.”
Twilight took a few huge breaths. “I’m… just glad it… worked.”
At the house Big Macintosh and Granny Smith dashed out the door with flyswatters and shovels. Granny spied Applejack and company and called to them. “Git your flanks over here! We’ve got an infestation!”
AJ waved a hoof and laughed. “It’s alright, Granny. Twilight took care of it. There aren’t any more parasprites in the orchard.”
Granny shook her head. “Not out here there aint!” Suddenly the door they both stood in front of buckled outward as if a large force were slamming against it.
AJ gave Twilight a deadpan look. She chuckled to herself. “What? It was a lot! I didn’t know where they would end up!”
---
Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy ran to Rarity’s boutique as quickly as they could. They got there just as the parasprites began to eat the carousel like building. Fluttershy bounced on her hooves nervously as she watched the parasprites eat. “Oh, this is bad!” She tentatively approached a parasprite that was eating a window sill. “Um, excuse me Mr. parasprite,” the bug turned away from its meal and faced her. “I would greatly appreciate it if you didn’t eat my friend’s house. Also why are you here? I thought you all were supposed to be in hibernation?” In order to get the bug’s full attention she had to use a little bit of her stare. The parasprite gulped down its mouth full and began to buzz at her. She listened to every sound.
“What is going on!?” Rarity shouted as she burst through her half eaten door. “One moment I’m measuring the next these wretched things fly in through the window and are eating my clothes!”
Pinkie finally caught her breath and began to play the one pony band attached to her. The swarm’s buzzing finally stopped and they all looked up to notice Pinkie’s playing before beginning to bob to the music themselves. Fluttershy watched as the parasprite she was talking to joined the others and Pinkie began to lead them back through town. She gave the two a passing nod before continuing her march.
Rarity glanced over her hole ridden house and felt like sobbing. “Just what is going on, Fluttershy?!” she cried out.
Fluttershy walked up and wrapped a hoof around her friend’s shoulder. “I don’t know. But somepony wanted to hurt us.”
---
Unbeknownst to the townsfolk and even the mane six. A small hoofful of parasprites split up into a third swarm. They made their way to the edge of town where they spied their quarry sweeping the front steps of a large crystal castle.
Spike looked up just in time to see a swarm of parasprites raining down on him. “Huh? Hey, wait!” He didn’t have time to argue as they scooped him up and began to carry him off. He tried to thrash and get them to let go but they wouldn’t budge. “Let me go!”
Cloudy happened to be peering out the window as she spied the little dragon being flown off. She thought it was funny until she saw the dragon’s face and the clear concern plastered across it. She flew out the window and quickly caught up with the parasprites. “And where do you think you’re going?” she asked them defiantly.
“Oh, thank Celestia,” Spike muttered. “Get them to let go of me!”
The parasprites merely buzzed angrily at her and tried to pass. Cloudy folded her wings back and twisted into a small dive below the swarm before flipping back up and delivering a small gust of wind to the swarm. It was small but enough to make the bugs lose their grip and Spike dropped into Cloudy’s hooves. “You want him?” she asked with a grin. “Try and get him.” She then flew back toward the castle.
The parasprites narrowed their eyes at the purple Pegasus and zipped toward her. Cloudy narrowly flew around one of the castle’s turrets and came back toward the swarm. The bugs stopped in surprise and Cloudy burst right past them sending them scattering. She landed sideways on a castle wall and opened her wings to their full height trying to look as big as possible. She glared her teeth and growled at them. To Spike’s surprise the bugs began to back off before they decided to fly away.
She floated back to the ground and Spike looked up at her in awe. “W-what was that?” he asked in disbelief.
Cloudy shrugged and smirked. “Eh, animal kingdom. The largest is usually the alpha predator that most try to stay away from. Those bugs were just getting too big for their horse shoes and needed to be reminded who the boss is.” She narrowed her eyes at the fleeing swarm. “The question is why did they try to take you in the first place?”
Spike shrugged. “Maybe it’s my inherent charm and wit?” Cloudy gave him a look. “What?”
---
Deep in the Everfree the hooded figure sat by the ancient tree waiting for the parasprites to return. A small group arrived first that told it that they weren’t able to retrieve the dragon. The hooded figure scowled at this but nodded wearily. It reached into its cloak and handed a large cantaloupe to the hungry bugs that devoured it without a word.
The figure could already hear music in the distance so it began to move. It was shorter than expected but at least most of the parasprites had done their job properly. Now would come the second phase.
---
A few hours passed since the parasprites attacked and Twilight was helping Applejack and family clean up their house. Pinkie had returned from leading the swarm at Rarity’s away about an hour ago and led the ones trapped in AJ’s house away as well. The Apple family abode had seen better days but Granny and Big Macintosh didn’t seem to mind.
“I really am sorry, Granny,” Twilight muttered. “I didn’t know where those things would reappear but I certainly didn’t expect it to be inside your house.”
Granny picked up a plate with bite marks out of it before tossing it into a trash can. She grinned at Twilight. “Aw, don’t worry yerself. A house is just a bunch of pieces of wood and plaster.” She walked over to a large untouched chest and patted it. “Can’t be a home without one of these.”
Twilight walked over to it. “What’s that?”
Applejack noticed the two ponies talking and walked over to join them leaving Rainbow Dash and Big Mac to wade through the trashed cupboards themselves. “That’s our family treasure chest.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”
Granny giggled and lifted the chest to reveal a stockpile of albums and pictures. Twilight looked through them and saw foal pictures of Applejack as well as Applebloom. It took her a while to find Big Mac but she soon realized he was a baby in some pictures… just a very big baby.
“This here is what makes this place home,” Granny said. “It aint the farm and it aint the apples. It’s the memories we all share.”
Twilight smiled at the two ponies. Memories are what makes a home, huh?
“So sorry, we’re late everypony!” Rarity called from the open doorway. “Oh my! It seems you were hit even harder than I was.”
“Yeah,” Applejack muttered “Ah’m actually wonderin’ about that. How come the parasprites only went for our homes?”
“It’s a little bit deeper than that.” Everypony turned to see Cloudy fly in through the busted window. “Spike just nearly got foalnapped by parasprites.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “What!? Is he okay?”
Cloudy waved a hoof. “He’s fine. I would be more worried about what or who did this.”
“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked. “It was just parasprites, right?” She blushed slightly as she realized that was the first time she’d spoken to the royal captain in close to a month. Her face felt hot as she went back to cleaning and tried to look away.
“A-Actually,” Fluttershy stammered. “They said they were asked to do this.”
Everypony turned to her. “Come again?” Applejack asked.
“I talked to one of the parasprites and they said they were asked to do this.”
AJ gave Twilight a slightly concerned look and Twilight returned it. “Sounds like we may be dealing with another situation,” Cloudy said. “Should we get the townsfolk involved?”
Twilight moaned. The last thing she wanted was to get blamed for another attack. “Let’s… hold off for now.”
Just then a small yellow filly walked through the door behind Fluttershy and Rarity. He eyes widened. “Woah! Um… Ah’m not in any way responsible for this, right?”
Applejack narrowed her eyes at her sister. “Not to my knowledge.”
AB let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. School’s out. Mind if Ah go hang out with Sweetie and Scootaloo?”
---
The hooded figure walked through the dark forest. Shadows from the trees and beasts watched over it as it made its way into the Everfree’s depths. A loud roar ripped through the trees and the figure turned its head in that direction. It followed the sound into a large open area. On the far side was a large mountainous cliff while beneath it lay a pile of rubble and boulders. A large manticore paced around the remains of the rockslide with a low worrisome growl.
The figure stepped into the open area for the manticore to see. It bared its fangs at the figure and crouched low preparing to strike but the figure held up a hoof. A low but familiar growl echoed from the figure’s hood and the manticore stepped back in surprise. The red beast growled back at it and the figure responded.
Suddenly from the pile of rubble there came a small but weak growl. The manticore ran back to the pile and began to paw at it furiously trying to dislodge some of the boulders. The figure walked up to the digging manticore and examined the pile further. The manticore looked to the figure with angry eyes before they softened and lowered in desperation.
The figure nodded and stepped forward throwing back it’s cloak and revealing itself. The manticore stepped back as the figure tall shadow was cast upon her. It cracked its neck and placed two enormous hooves on either side of the largest boulder in the pile. With a mighty roar it pushed the enormous rock until it rolled to the side. Beneath it in a small trapped air bubble was a little baby manticore. It’s fiery red mane covered in dust. The larger manticore rushed to the little one’s side and began to lick it clean as the little one cried out.
The figure put it’s cloak back on and turned to ask the manticore its favor. But something about the sight of the parent and child made it stop. It turned away from them and headed deeper into the forest. There were always more monsters to recruit.
---
Barrel walked the streets of Ponyville with his head held low. He had been avoiding Rarity for weeks now and suddenly he gets spotted by her sister. He felt like such a klutz right now.
He was on his way to meet up with Redwood once more. Apparently he had intel that something was coming. Barrel wasn’t surprised concerning that parasprite “invasion”. Way too coordinated for a simple feeding frenzy. Due to the fear of the parasprite swarm the streets were mostly deserted right now so it kind of felt good to Barrel. It gave him time to think to himself.
A slight whisper echoed out of an alleyway. Barrel didn’t turn his head but focused his eyes and ears on that place as he walked by it. “You sure he is?” “Positive!” “What makes you think he’ll want to anyway?”
Barrel was trained well enough to know when he was being followed. He walked casually past the alley where the whispers were coming from before quickly dashing into the next alley. The tailers soon came out and looked around in confusion. “Hey, where’d he go?” a young voice asked.
“Well, he didn’t just disappear,” a small accented voice replied. “Maybe he went inside somewhere?”
“I don’t think he lives around here,” said another familiar voice. Barrel grinned and rolled his eyes. The Cutie Mark Crusaders all walked past his alley searching for any signs of him. He took a step behind them as they passed and subtly walked in the opposite direction as quietly as possible. He was probably going to be a little bit late meeting Redwood but at least he wouldn’t have to deal with-
“Hey, you!” Barrel felt a small set of hooves land on his broad shoulders and he turned around. A small orange Pegasus with a purple mane looked down at him. She wore a small green parka around her neck and head. “How’d you do that?”
“That was some ninja stuff right there!” The other filly, this one he recognized as Apple Bloom, Applejack’s sister, said. She wore a knit hat like his but hers was a bright red like her own mane. “You think you can teach us how to do that?”
Sweetie Belle grinned broadly at Barrel and her friends. “What’d I tell you, girls? For a blank flank like us, he’s super interesting!”
“So what’s your name?” Scootaloo asked.
He sighed. “Barrel, now will you please…” Suddenly he realized what Sweetie had said.
Barrel rolled his eyes and sagged his shoulders. So she had noticed. He had kind of been neglecting to paint over his flank ever since his little adventure with Rarity. He reached behind him and picked up Scootaloo, setting her down on the ground. “Look, Sweetie Belle, right?” he pretended to not know the other two’s names. “I’d love to help you in… whatever this is but I’m a very busy stallion so if you don’t mind…”
“So how come you don’t have your cutie mark?” Scootaloo asked abruptly.
Barrel bit his lip and sighed inwardly. “None of your beeswax. Is that a good answer?”
“So do you not have a special talent?” Apple Bloom asked.
“They don’t all have to do with talents,” Barrel muttered.
“Has it been hard being a blank flank at your age?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Barrel glared down at the girls who merely looked up at him innocently. He gritted his teeth and groaned as he threw his head back. No getting out of this situation without a smoke bomb. “Fine, you really want to know?” They all nodded eagerly. “I thought I had a talent when I was young, but it never got me my cutie mark. There, you happy?”
The girls all gave each other confused looks. “You mean you were talented at somethin’ but that thing never was your real talent?” Apple Bloom asked.
Barrel rolled his eyes, there was no point in hiding something like that anyway. Not like it gave away any pertinent information. “Yeah.”
Sweetie stepped forward. “What was it?”
Barrel stopped and looked at her. He could see the curiosity in her eyes and he grinned. Maybe if he demonstrated it would get them off his back or maybe even scare them off. “Any of you have a hair pin?”
Apple Bloom reach inside her hat and pulled out a small black pin. “Ah usually use it to hold mah bow in place so ah’m gonna need that back.”
Barrel chuckled as he took it. “Don’t worry.” He looked around the area until he spied a crate with an open lid about fifteen meters away. “Bet you I can hit that lid and snap the crate shut from over here.”
The crusaders turned to the crate and gawked at him. “Yeah, right. You’re not a unicorn,” Scootaloo chuckled.
“Don’t have to be,” Barrel chuckled back and prepared the pin in his arm. “Now if I make this you leave me alone.”
Sweetie smiled. “And if you don’t make this you join our club.”
Barrel rolled his eyes. “Deal.” He brought the pin back and sent it flying forward through the air like a dart. The pin landed in the lid of the crate with a thunk pushing it over and sending it slamming onto the crate shut.
The crusaders all watched in amazement with their mouths agape. Barrel turned away from them and began to walk away. “See you girls later.”
“Wait!” Sweetie shouted. She and Scootaloo rushed to his side while Apple Bloom went to pry her pin from the crate. “How come that’s not your special talent?”
“It is,” Barrel replied. “And I thought you were going to leave me alone?”
“It’s pretty impressive, sure, but if it’s not on your flank then it must not be what you were born to do,” Scootaloo added. Barrel stopped in the street and turned to chastise the filly but a voice caught him off guard.
“Well, looks like somepony made a friend.” Barrell winced and turned back slowly to face his employer. Redwood wore a monumental smirk. He could tell he was loving this.
“Hello, sir,” Barrel muttered.
Redwood grinned down at the fillies and held out his hoof. “Hello, girls. Call me, Ray.”
Sweetie was the first to take his hoof. “So are you like his dad or something?”
Redwood chuckled and shook his head. “No, Barrel and I are just business associates. Unfortunately, he and I are quite busy today so I’m afraid he can’t play. However, as his boss I can promise that he’ll talk to you again tomorrow.”
Barrel glared at Redwood who merely smirked. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked super excited. “Alright!” they shouted.
“Ah finally got it, girls!” Apple Bloom shouted as she ran back up to the group. “It was pretty dug in there but ah…” she looked up to see the new pony and stopped short. She narrowed her eyes for a moment before smiling. “Ah’m sorry… it’s just… do ah know you?”
Redwood didn’t show any emotion but merely smiled down at her. “No, I’m afraid we’ve never met.”
Apple Bloom nodded wearily. “Yeah, ah guess… it’s just… maybe you have one of those faces is all.”
Redwood chuckled. “I get that a lot.” He held out his hoof to her. “Call me Ray.”
Apple Bloom took his hoof with a smile. “Pleasure to meet you, Ray.”
A loud thump echoed into town and made the ground shake slightly. The crusaders, Redwood and Barrel all looked toward the Everfree as hundreds of birds began to fly off from the trees, cawing and tweeting in fear. A second thump shook the town again.
“You’d better get home fast, girls,” Redwood said. “I don’t like the sound of this.”
The girls looked toward the forest with slight trepidation as the tree tops began to rustle and the thumps got closer. “Y-Yeah,” Sweetie muttered as she and her friends began to leave. “Remember what your boss said, Barrel!”
Barrel rolled his eyes. “I’m not! I’m not, right?” he turned to Redwood.
Redwood still had his eyes focused on the shaking trees in the distance. “Let’s deal with this crisis first before we deal with your playdate.”
Barrel groaned and rolled his eyes as he followed his boss into town.
---
Granny Smith and Big Mac insisted on cleaning up the rest of the mess themselves as the girls headed back to Twilight’s castle to discuss the problem.
“I just don’t understand why they would try to take Spikey wikey,” Rarity muttered. Spike chuckled a little as she pet him on the head.
“Maybe they wanted use him as leverage?” Applejack suggested.
Twilight sat on her throne with her head in her hooves. “Whatever the reason we can assume that this isn’t the end of the attacks we’ll be seeing.”
“So what do you suggest, princess?” Cloudy spoke up from the window. “All the Canterlot guards were called away for something by Celestia. Even if we call them now whose to say they won’t be here in time for another even more violent attack?”
“We’ve dealt with threats like this before,” Pinkie spoke up. “And besides, if all they’ve got to throw at us is parasprites, then I’m pretty confident we can take them on.”
A loud thump sounded from outside and the castle shook briefly. Cloudy looked out the window and grimaced. “Uh, we may be more strapped for time than I thought.”
Everypony rushed over to the window and gaped as they saw the trees of the Everfree in the distance begin to sway and part. An enormous purple beast began to rise from the trees, standing from its walking position. The light of the sun passed through it and they could all see stars and constellations trapped within its massive frame. It easily dwarfed the entire town three times over.
“Is that what I think it is?” Rainbow’s pupils shrunk as she looked at the giant bear. Fluttershy threw her arm across her forehead and fainted.
“An Ursa Major!” Twilight exclaimed in horror.
Applejack grabbed both sides of her hat and pulled nervously. “That thing could step on the town without even noticin’!”
The bear lowered its haunches and sat at the edge of the Everfree with an earth shaking thump. It stayed there unmoving as if waiting for something. Twilight felt her left eye twitch as she began to pace the throne room. “Okay! Let’s all calm down! It seems to have stopped moving so it’s not going to crush us just yet! We just need to find some way to turn it around or put it to sleep! Then everything should be fine!”
The other ponies around her began to shake at the sight of such a monstrous creature looming over the town. Rainbow was the first to have her knees bend and her flank slipped to the floor. Her body shook uncontrollably. “W-What do we do, Twilight?”
Twilight glanced around at her friends who all now were looking toward her. Even Cloudy seemed to have turned to her leadership.
“Well, Twilight,” Rarity began. “You have dealt with one of these before.”
“That was an Ursa Minor!” Twilight exclaimed. “Majors are a whole other league entirely! They can kill fully grown dragons!”
Spike let out a small audible gulp. Pinkie grabbed Twilight by the shoulders. “Well we need to think of something before-” the sound of chaotic screams and running cut her off, “there’s a panic.”
Everypony rushed to the opposite window and looked out at the town. Ponies were now running in random directions while yelling for help. At first the group assumed it was because of the Ursa but their hopes were lost as they saw what peeked over the houses. A hydra stormed through a house and let out a concerted four part shriek. Timberwolves ran through the streets nipping at ponies hooves. And far off crawling across Town Hall was what looked to be a giant spider!
The hydra barreled through the town and headed east. “My shop!” Rarity shouted. The others turned to her. “…Oh, and Sweetie Belle.” She darted out of the castle before anypony could tell her no.
The timberwolves split off from the townponies and began to head west. “Mah farm!” Applejack shouted. “Doggonit! Not again!” She took off running before Twilight could stop her.
“Applejack!” she shouted, but the pony was already gone. She turned to Cloudy. “Follow her and help her!”
Cloudy glared at her for a moment but sighed and leapt out the window. The next thing the ponies noticed was the spider spinning its web building to building, getting dangerously close to a tall gingerbread house. Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Sorry, Twilight! Gotta go!” She jumped out the window in a manner much like Cloudy but the pink pony merely fell head first to the ground. Twilight stuck her head out to ask if she was okay but the mare was already up and hoofing it to Sugarcube Corner.
“Great!” Twilight shouted. “Just great! What could possibly go worse?”
A small cry echoed out among the many and it hit a certain unconscious mare’s ears. Fluttershy snapped her eyes open and ran to the window. “Angel?! Hold on, Angel! I’m coming!” She then jumped out of the window like the ponies before. Twilight looked on in disbelief. Her mouth agape before she closed it with a deadpan expression and turned to Rainbow Dash.
She sighed. “Just go.”
Rainbow saluted her and gave a small smile. “Sorry!” She then took off after Fluttershy.
Twilight and Spike were left alone now with the sounds of chaos echoing through the halls. Spike stood next to her as he tried to keep his knees from shaking. “So what do we do, Twilight?”
She sighed and hung her head with closed eyes as she thought long and hard then opened her eyes with the fire of a decision made. “Agave.”
Spike tilted his head slightly at the random word but then jumped as he heard the sound of hooves on tile behind him. A zebra mare with earrings and a black jacket walked past him as if appearing from nowhere and approached Twilight. Twilight gave the mare a steadfast look as the mare nodded in greeting. “Take me to Redwood.”
---
Rarity dashed through the crowds. The flow of the frightened mob seemed to be coming from the direction of her home. Not again, Rarity thought. She slid into the turn on the next corner and her eyes widened. The yellow hydra was now thrashing its heads side to side and tearing up the roofs of the houses. At the end of the street Rarity could see her own previously hole ridden disheveled house. She grit her teeth as fire flashed in her eyes. “Not one more step, you ruffian!” she shouted as loud as she could.
The hydra stopped moving at this. Everypony that was running away now fled past her, none deciding to stick around as the hydra turned its four heads slowly toward her. It narrowed its eyes at the small white mare and started to turn around.
Rarity immediately felt the adrenaline of trying to protect her home leave her. She shrank back slightly. “Um, did I say ruffian? What I meant was… dazzling! Yes, you look simply dazzling, dear!” She smiled weakly at the monster. It stomped up to her, nowhere to run and lowered a head. It bared its teeth to her in a bestial growl. Rarity chuckled nervously. “Ahem, since you’re probably going to do what you’re going to do, I might as well say that… you have the worst breath I have ever smelled.”
The hydra’s eyes widened and it let out a fearsome roar right in her face. Rarity shrank back and covered her eyes as the heads all lunged at her. She waited but no pain came. Instead she heard another roar from the four headed beast and she opened her eyes. One of the heads was reeled back trying to clutch its eye in pain as an arrow stuck out of it. The other heads were darting their eyes around looking for the shooter. Even Rarity began to swivel her head around trying to find her savior.
Another arrow whizzed from seemingly nowhere and another head screamed out in agony. The two screaming heads flailed about before conking each other and throwing themselves back. Each one bashed into the noses of the other two and the hydra tripped over its own feet. It fell backward and slammed its heads against a wall, collapsing it and the house.
Rarity coughed slightly as the dust settled and she saw the hydra lying beaten and unconscious in the pile of mortar and brick. She quickly glanced back up at the rooftops to see if she could get a look at whoever saved her, but there was nopony to be found. Still, something about this made her feel happy. She smiled and glared at the rooftops. “You jerk!” she shouted with a smile before running back ot her house.
Barrel sat behind a chimney on the opposite side of the street, his crossbow slung over his shoulder. He had to slap his forehead at the fact that that meant she probably knew it was him. He chuckled slightly and stood up to leave.
---
Fluttershy flew to a skid in front of her cottage. Rainbow Dash was right behind her. “Woah, Fluttershy! Calm down! What’s going on?”
Fluttershy looked around nervously. None of her beloved animals were anywhere near, but she was certain that she’d heard Angel Bunny’s voice. “Angel’s in trouble,” she replied. “I heard him screaming.”
Rainbow looked off to the side in thought. “Rabbits can scream?”
Fluttershy burst her own door open. “Angel?” She gasped and took a step back as a large dark figure jumped over her out the door. It landed with a thud between Dash and Fluttershy and lifted its hoof to reveal a small white bunny rabbit struggling within it. Around it’s hoof were three protruding claws that made Fluttershy narrow her eyes in curiosity. Then she saw Angel struggling once more and tried to take a step closer.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow shouted for her to stop. The figure turned her way and glowing yellow eyes glared down at her. Rainbow felt her knees buckle once more but she struggled to stay standing. Gritting her teeth with all she had. Damn it, not now, she thought.
Angel struggled again and tried to hit the figure with his tiny paws. The cloaked pony returned his attention to the bunny and raised its other hoof. Fluttershy saw another set of claws on this hoof as they made a small “ok” sign next to Angel’s head. The figure made a flicking motion and the rabbit’s head snapped back as he fell over.
“Angel!!” Fluttershy shouted with tears.
The figure returned its attention to her, it’s yellow eyes losing a little of its ferocity before it lifted Angel and put him into its hood. Fluttershy and Rainbow saw a greenish gray muzzle with sharp wolf-like teeth stick out and clamp around the lifleless looking bunny. Fluttershy felt like fainting again but she held it together. Her friend needed help.
“Stop!” Rainbow shouted. The figure wasn’t paying attention as the cyan mare slammed into its side. It opened it mouth in shock and let the bunny drop. Fluttershy was fast enough to catch him before he hit the ground. To her relief he seemed to be alive with no bite marks. But that just made her more curious. Wasn’t he going to eat Angel? “Hey, Fluttershy!” She looked up at Dash who was now being bucked like a bullrider as the cloaked figure tried to get her off its back. “A l-l-little he-help!”
Fluttershy set Angel aside and reared up on the figure tentatively. Rainbow had it distracted but she could still barely sneak up on it. The figure turned her way and raised its hooves with a roar like a lion. Fluttershy let out a frightened “eep!” and slashed her hooves forward. She felt herself catch onto something and pull. She heard Rainbow let out a short gasp. Fluttershy then opened her own eyes and looked at her hoof holding the cloak before she looked on disbelief.
---
Agave led Twilight outside her home and down to the tree line of the White Tail Woods. She stopped as she held out a hoof to a lone figure sitting at the bottom of a hill in quiet meditation. He was wearing the same green vest that she had seen him in before today.
“You know, I don’t have time for this!” Twilight shouted angrily at him. “Why’d you lead me so far from Ponyville? Who knows what those monsters will do? Have done!” Redwood kept his eyes closed as she approached him. She growled and threw up her hooves. “Don’t you care about somepony besides yourself!?”
Redwood opened his eyes at this and turned to her. His face was shockingly serious. “We haven’t talked like this in a while, Miss Sparkle. Just you and me. It’s rare but it’s needed.”
Twilight sighed and rubbed her temples. “Just tell me how to get rid of these.”
Redwood smirked again. “You’re so quick to forget everything you can do.” He got up from the grass and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I know you care about your friends and the power all of you possess. But you have your own power now.” He took both shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. “Stop wasting it.”
Twilight bit her lip and looked down slightly ashamed. “I… I haven’t been able to do anything like the Summit in months. The last time I accessed those powers I nearly killed somepony.” She dug her hooves into the ground. “I… I don’t want to hurt anypony.”
Redwood nodded and turned away from her. “Then believe you won’t.” Twilight gave him a raised eyebrow. “Everything I’ve told you before? It all stems from self confidence. You are the master of your power. If you believe you’ll hurt somepony then you’ll hurt somepony. But if you believe you can move mountains,” he turned to her with a grin as he donned his fedora, “then I pity the Ursa that gets in your way.”
Twilight was about to argue before Agave was next to Redwood in a nearly impossible flash of speed and then with a blur of motion the two were gone. Twilight gaped at the astounding abilities of the zebra but buttoned her mouth as she thought on his words. “Believe in myself?” She mulled over it for a moment. “How the hay is that supposed to help?!”
---
Pinkie ran as fast as she could through the streets. She stopped just short of the street to Sugarcube Corner, her body freezing up. In front of the small confectionary stood two ponies and their twin foals as they panicked about the sudden appearance of a giant spider. The eight legged creature had wrapped itself around the giant cupcake on top of the building and was beginning to spin a web across it.
“Get it down!” Cup shouted to her husband.
Carrot looked at her skeptically. “Seriously?! What do you expect me to do? Squash it with a giant newspaper?”
Pinkie could hear the foals beginning to cry as the parents fought. She so wanted to step out and help. To save the place she called home. But her promise to the Cakes still stood. She didn’t want to lose their trust. She had to stay away.
The Cakes’ fighting ceased as the spider stopped weaving and began to descend towards the family, it’s fanged maw clacking open and shut. Carrot and Cup tried to run but the creature spat two streams of webbing at them and they tripped. The foals in their saddlebags began to wail harder as the parents struggled against the string only to get more of themselves stuck. As the spider closed in the two began to see their fates and hugged each other close with closed eyes.
Suddenly a blur of pink shot past them and toward the spider. Time seemed to slow down as Carrot opened one eye and looked up to see Pinkie jumping over them. In her hooves was a giant mallet with and explosion painted on the side. She brought it over her head and sent it down in an arc toward the spider’s head. Even the spider saw this weapon coming closer and let go of the web holding the Cakes. It began to back off but it wasn’t fast enough. Carrot closed his eyes again now expecting a sick crunching sound or splatter of guts. Instead he got something else.
Pinkie’s hammer slammed down on the spider’s head and exploded. Instantly the area was covered in confetti and pink paint. The spider and the Cakes looked around in confusion. Only Pinkie stood clean with a triumphant smile on her face. “Well, you look silly!” she shouted to the spider. “But at least you look ready for the surprise!”
She pulled out a remote control with a large cartoonish red button and pressed it. Smoke began to disperse from the bottom of the cupcake at the top of the café. The spider looked up at it just as twin fireworks popped out of the sides and began to fire. The cupcake began to break away from the roof and lift into the air at an increasing speed. The spider gave Pinkie a confused look before she pointed to its back. The spider glanced behind and saw that it was still attached by its web to the cupcake. It’s multiple eyes widened in fear as the cupcake rose higher and faster making the long web begin to fly away with it. The spider reached back to cut it’s own web but it was too late as the silky string pulled the giant arachnid into the air. It flew higher and higher until the cupcake exploded high above it, shooting the spider off into the distance of the Everfree.
The Cakes both looked up in astonishment and confusion as the cupcake’s explosion created a cascade of colors and lights that rained down against the sunsetting backdrop of the sky. The foals began to laugh and giggle at the sight. Carrot began to mutter to himself. “Y-Y-Y-Y-You…”
“You converted your room into a firework!?” Cup Cake shouted finishing her husband’s thought.
Pinkie stiffened and turned to the Cakes, keeping her head down. “Yes…”
Cup Cake’s eye twitched as she tried to comprehend this. “Pinkie, what were you thinking?”
“I wanted to surprise you guys for your anniversary,” Pinkie mumbled.
It was Carrot Cake’s turn to twitch. “So you turn your own room into a firework?!”
Pinkie lifted her head slightly and gave the parents a small chuckle and shrug. “Kinda?” They looked on at her from the ground with still baffled expressions. Pinkie let out a sigh and reached into her mane to pull out a small container. “Look, I know that I’m not the most mentally reliable mare out there. I can be impulsive, erratic and even I know that I can get scary sometimes.” She poured it on the webs keeping them and they began to dissolve. She helped the couple up and smiled down at the foals. “I want you to know that I understand your decision. But I also want you to know that whatever crazy things I do, I do for everypony else. I would never hurt anypony.” The Cakes both gave each other tentative glances. Pinkie lowered her head again and began to turn around. “That’s… That’s all I wanted to say. I’ll leave you alone now.”
She was a few hooves away when Cup Cake called out. “Wait!” Pinkie stopped. “What was that stuff you used to get us out?”
Pinkie looked back to them and fished inside her mane again. She pulled it out. “You mean this? It’s hoof polisher. I’ve used so much glue before that I keep a big bottle with me wherever I go. Gets the sticky goo off lickety split.”
Cup looked to Carrot who in turn smiled. “That’s a nice tip, Pinkie,” he said. “And quite resourceful too.” He pulled Pound out of his saddle bag and held him as he walked over to her. “You know we haven’t been able to find a proper babysitter since before. And the kitchen has been pretty lonely.” He held out Pound who waved his hooves toward Pinkie with a cute smile. “Maybe we kind of reacted the wrong way to what happened. No, I’m actually pretty sure I reacted the wrong way. Anypony would be lucky to have you. Do you think you could maybe give us a second chance?”
Pinkie looked on with wide eyes and then glanced to Cup. The blue mare nodded her head with a smile. Pinkie looked between Carrot and Pound before tentatively reaching out and taking him. Pound blew a raspberry at her and giggled getting a light chuckle out of her. Pinkie could feel tears beginning to well up as she nuzzled Pound’s cheek.
“It’s good to have you back, Pinkie,” Cup said. “But I’m not sure what we’re going to do about living arrangements considering…” She glanced to the missing cupcaked at the top of the café.
Pinkie waved a hoof at her. “Oh, don’t worry. I got that covered.” She pulled out another remote with a green button this time and pressed it. The Cakes’ jaws dropped as another full sized cupcake popped out from the hole where the previous had been.
“B-B-B-B-B-B-But…” Cup began.
“But how!?” Carrot finished.
“Well, I had to do prepare for something after I shot my room into the sky,” Pinkie replied and headed back inside.
Cup walked up beside Carrot and bit her lip. “Do you… Do you think she has the whole house wired? What if we step on a plank and the oven turns into a flamethrower?”
Carrot looked at the pink mare as she played with Pound and simply sighed. “I really think you’re thinking about this too much.”
Cup saw the two playing and smiled as well. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” They continued staring for a couple more seconds. “We’re still going to get a contractor to scour this place right?”
“Oh yeah,” Carrot muttered as they went inside to join them.
---
Applejack and Cloudy backed into each other as they both huffed in exhaustion. The timberwolves had proven a little harder to take care of then expected. Granny Smith and Big Mac were outside as well catching their breath and trying to figure out what to do with all the loose twigs and branches scattered across the farm. Applejack lifted her hat and wiped her brow. “Hoo! That was some workout!”
“I’m just glad nopony got hurt,” Cloudy rasped out.
Applejack tilted her head back to the mare and let out a single chuckle. “Y’know, I never really did thank you.”
Cloudy raised an eyebrow. “For what?”
“In the beginning,” she replied, “you saved Dash from that psycho in the Everfree.” Cloudy turned back with a look Applejack could only surmise was hiding some guilt. She decided to let it go considering the help the mare had been. “And you didn’t have to help me, but you did. So I owe you for that too.”
It was Cloudy’s turn to chuckle. “I only came because Sparkle ordered me to.”
Applejack leaned her head against the back of the mare’s neck. “Ah know this isn’t the most ideal situation for you. And Ah know you’d rather be back in Canterlot. But you’ve proven time and again, with Dash, with the changelings, with me, that Ponyville could use some of your expertise.” She became slightly grim for a moment. “Ah understand the seriousness of the situation, even though Twilight may not see it. Ah know what it’s like to lose somepony you love and Ah’ll be dead as a doornail before Ah see mah friends hurt.” She glanced back to Cloudy who had her head pointed to the ground. “Just try to understand that you can be a part of that.” Her hoof lifted toward the pegasus’ hoof. “Ah want you to be a part of that.”
Cloudy shifted her gaze to the hoof and for a moment her face showed consideration. She lifted her hoof too but the sound of the screen door slamming open startled them.
“Applejack! Ah got more shovels!” Apple Bloom shouted as she ran through the door. She stopped as she noticed the wartorn sticks littered across the ground. “Aw! You said Ah could get in on the fight if Ah found some more weapons!”
Applejack chuckled at her sister. “Yup, and that’s what a good sister does. Now you don’t have a scratch on you.”
Apple Bloom pouted and went over to join Big Mac and Granny Smith. Applejack turned back to Cloudy but the Pegasus was already up and walking away, stretching her hooves and wings. Applejack sulked a bit and got up as well.
“It’s the strangest thing,” Granny proclaimed. “Two attacks in one day.” Big Mac agreed monosyllabically.
Applejack trotted over to join them. “We’re thinkin’ it’s another pony after Twilight. Ah tell you, Ah wish Ah could just pop one of those villains right in the jaw! But they’re pretty sneaky. Ah’ll bet they’re hidin’ in plain sight too.”
Apple Bloom stopped at her sister’s words and bit her lip. Applejack noticed this and raised an eyebrow. “Sugarcube, you got somethin’ to say?”
Apple Bloom shrunk a bit as her whole family crowded around her. “Well… Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Ah met this new pony in town this morning’. Plus he was with this kinda suspicious pony.”
Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Suspicious how?”
Apple Bloom thought hard for a moment. “Ah… Ah don’t know. And Ah know it’s bad to judge somepony you just met. But somethin’ about him just made me not feel right.”
“What’d he look like?” Cloudy had now joined the conversation as she squeezed herself next to Applejack.
Apple Bloom struggled to remember. “Uh… he had a green vest and a hat. Plus his coat was gray and his mane was white. He told us to call him Ray.”
Applejack didn’t react in time as she saw Cloudy’s eyes widen with anger and she shot into the sky. “Wait!” she shouted but it was too late. Applejack was about to chase after her when she heard the sound of familiar screams echoing from close by. “Fluttershy? Dash?”
---
Fluttershy stood shakily in front of the uncloaked figure before her. It stood easily a head above her and had a grayish green coat of fur covered in patches of scales. Its legs ended in powerful flat hooves that had dexterous claws trailing off. On its back were a small useless pair of vestigial wings that looked more like a filly’s craft project simile than real ones. Its tail swished back and forth covered sporadically with tufts of hair but ending in a bald sharp point like a lizard. But what made Fluttershy draw back most of all was its eyes. Behind a large muzzle full of sharp teeth were unblinking yellow eyes, slitted like a cat. It froze as the cloak left and glared angrily at her. “I...” Fluttershy began.
The beast snarled and let out another inpony roar as it lifted its hind legs and through Rainbow off its back. Rainbow stopped in midair before turning to gape at the creature again. “What is that!?” she shouted.
The pony creature got low into a defensive crouch and gurgled out a low primal growl at the two. Fluttershy stood still as she listened to its animal voice. “Please,” she whispered in a frightened tone. “We don’t want any trouble.”
The beast looked at her with anger and began to approach dangerously. Fluttershy began to back away.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow shouted and began to fly to protect her.
“Wait!” The Fluttershy shouted as she held up a hoof. “Not yet!”
Rainbow stopped short and cocked her head. “Huh?”
The creature took this moment of confusion to jump over her and land in the branches of a nearby tree. It looked for a brief minute between Fluttershy and Angel before snarling at her again and letting loose a deep howl that seemed impossible to have come from such a beast.
Rainbow and Fluttershy covered their ears as the howl echoed through the forest and town. “Just what the heck is this thing?!” Rainbow shouted over the buzzing in her ears.
Fluttershy held her head in pain but could not tear her eyes away from the creature. Something didn’t feel right about all this. Something didn’t feel right about it. Then the ground shook.
---
Twilight stopped at the edge of town as she felt the earth shake beneath her. With a shaky turn she looked up at the previously stationary Ursa Major that towered above the town. It was lazily lifting a massive paw over its shoulders, a movement that could only mean a reciprocation of gravity bringing it back down. She had to do something fast or that paw alone would flatten half the town.
---
A safe distance away from the besieged town, Redwood stood on the road out and looked on impatiently. With stealth that defied reason, Agave appeared next to him. “Have you found him?” he asked. Agave shook her head. Redwood clucked his tongue and looked back at the tableau. The Ursa Major had finished its arc and was preparing to flatten the town now. He tapped a hoof worriedly.
Agave gave Redwood an inquisitive eyebrow raise. Redwood chuckled in response. “No, I’m not worried about him. Everything will turn out fine.” Agave gave a smirk. “I know that because the kid’s a survivor. And so is Sparkle for that matter. No matter what she thinks of herself right now, she has the capability to protect those she cares about.” He paused as his gaze seemed to drift past the scene of the town. “Something I wish I had acquired long before. But she might not be the most important part of this.” He gave Agave a knowing smile.
Agave closed her eyes in recognition of his words but opened them again when her senses warned her. She spun batted away a projectile from the sky headed toward Redwood. The suited pony only seemed slightly perturbed as he looked up to see a familiar purple Pegasus carrying an array of knives. “Hello, Captain,” he greeted cheerfully.
Cloudy gritted her teeth and landed before the two. “You are going back to your cell, Redwood!” she shouted with an alarming amount of hatred, but smiled fiendishly after. “However, I’d love for you to fight back! It would give me such a good excuse to run you through!”
Redwood’s smile faded and he shrugged. “I’m afraid this isn’t quite the time for us to engage in battle. Since as you can see there’s a town in need of saving.”
Cloudy took a step forward which made Agave deepen her defensive stance. “And I suppose you think you’re going to save it?”
“No,” Redwood said. “I’ve already played my part. Now we have to see if the young miss can finish it.”
“You’re talking about Sparkle?” Cloudy asked. “She’s powerful, sure, but even she can’t fight an Ursa Major.”
Redwood smiled. “I never said I was talking about Twilight.”
---
Fluttershy ran over to Rainbow to help her out after the howl knocked her down. She held a hoof around her friend’s shoulder and looked back and forth between her and the thing in the tree. It looked like a pony in the barest resemblance of the word but she could still sense an intelligence in it. A purpose. And something inside of her was telling her that that purpose was…
“Fluttershy!” Applejack and Rarity rushed to their side from the road. Rarity was about to speak when she caught sight of the thing in the tree. “What in Celestia’s name is that hideous thing!?” she shouted.
The creature bared its fangs at her and gave her a guttural growl. Fluttershy placed her hooves on Rarity’s mouth before she could get out more.
Applejack squinted her eyes at the thing and then widened them in realization. “The Chimera,” she whispered. She pointed a hoof at the thing. “So you’re the pony behind all this?” The creature growled at her now and wrapped its claws around the tree like a cat preparing to pounce down on prey.
Fluttershy bit her lip. She wanted to stop Applejack from angering it further. Something still felt wrong here and she needed to find out what. But the creature seemed to be having none of the cowpony’s guff as it pounced down and tried to intimidate her with its height. Applejack was not frightened, her gaze steely. She pushed her face up at the creature until they were almost nose to nose. “Ah’ve had about enough of all you dirty ponies comin’ here and tryin’ to hurt mah friends!” The creature growled at her and narrowed its eyes menacingly. “You want me, tough guy? Ah’m right here!”
“Stop!” Fluttershy shouted but it was to no avail as the creature shot out a clawed hoof at lightning fast speeds. Applejack was quick enough to dodge it but the resulting blow carved out a hole in the ground. The creature lifted its hoof from the hole it made and turned back to Applejack. The cowpony grinned at it.
“Come on, tough guy! Let’s get to wrasslin’!”
Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow all seemed herded to the side as they watched the two battle. Applejack would dodge primarily as the creature swiped its claws and tail at her. But every now and then AJ would scoop up a bit of dirt and throw it in its eyes. When it was distracted, Applejack turned to about face it and bucked her back legs into its sides. The creature didn’t seem very fazed by these attacks though Fluttershy could notice a slight bit of perspiration and bruising on its tough exterior.
She needed to get them to stop. She needed Applejack to stop. Something was wrong. She could feel it inside. She could fix this. She knew she could. She just needed to speak up. “St-”
“Look out!” Rainbow shouted. Everypony stopped as they looked above, even the creature. Not far in town the Ursa Major’s paw was coming down.
---
Twilight ran through the town as she watched the paw slowly lower. Ponies all around her ran and bumped their way through in a vain attempt to flee the city limits. She was running out of time.
Finally, she came to a familiar open area. In the center was a familiar gingerbread house café with a certain pink pony trotting nervously in place. “Pinkie!”
Pinkie Pie looked up and rushed over to Twilight in an almost instantaneous dash. “Twilight! You’ve got to do something! It’s almost here!”
Twilight nodded and wracked her brain for any idea but nothing came to mind. She frazzled her mane in an attempt to get her magic working but there was nothing. Tears began to fill her eyes as she choked back sobs. “I… I can’t think of anything. I can’t even concentrate enough to do a spell.” Redwood’s words echoed in her ears. “Every other time he led me through it,” she mumbled. “I… don’t believe I can do this.”
Despite the panicked screaming and running around them, Pinkie heard her mumbled words. She set her face in a serious expression and grabbed Twilight by her cheeks so they were eye level. “Now listen here, Twilight. I don’t know what kind of ideas you’ve gotten into your head if you think that somepony else determines how strong you are. I’ve seen what you can do! Even when you were only Celestia’s student, everything you did you did independent of her. You may have started as a protégé, but you’ve become so much more. So stop doubting yourself. Forget about everything else going on. Be the princess we need right now!”
Twilight’s eyes widened at her usually incoherent friend’s words. When had Pinkie become so mature? She blinked away her tears and nodded. “Right. I’ll try.” Pinkie let her go and Twilight took a deep breath as she looked up at the giant paw. It was now just above the top of town hall.
Twilight closed her eyes and emptied her thoughts. No more thinking about where to live. No more worrying about the bounty. No more fussing over her own insecurities. Just focus on the problem. She felt a warm glow inside and opened her eyes once more.
Pinkie took a step back as Twilight’s body began to glow with ethereal power once more and lifted into the air. Her calm face looked up at the paw and her horn let loose a beam of purple magic. The beam hit the paw and spread out until it became a giant dome that encompassed the whole town. Pinkie gave a silent hoof pump in the air as she saw the paw stop in its tracks. Above the paw the head of the Ursa looked down in confusion. Then it leaned forward, putting more weight on its paw and the dome. Pinkie stopped silently cheering as she noticed a crack snake its way across the dome.
---
The ponies at Fluttershy’s cottage stared in disbelief at the scene that unfolded. Applejack knew inherently that this dome surrounding them must have been Twilight’s she was trying her hardest so she should too. She turned back to her fight. “Ah’m endin’ this now!” she shouted. The creature gave a growl of agreement.
The two began to gallop at one another, each one letting out their own howls of anger. Moments before they could collide a sound shook the area. “STOP!!!!!!!!”
Both ponies slid to a halt as they turned to Fluttershy who panted slightly and held up her hooves for the two. “Fluttershy?” Applejack asked.
“This doesn’t have to happen!” she shouted uncharacteristically. She then turned to the creature and walked over to it. Rainbow tried to stop her but missed her chance. As she got closer Applejack got between the two.
“Sugarcube, what the hay are you doing?” she hissed.
“Do you trust me?” Fluttershy asked resolutely.
Applejack was about to answer but stopped as she pondered the question. She didn’t want Fluttershy hurt but of course she trusted her. She sighed and stepped aside. “Ah hope you know what you’re doin’.”
The creature seemed confused at these new actions and stood still. It looked between Fluttershy and Applejack but settled on Fluttershy. It bared its teeth at her, but the Pegasus only broke her stride slightly.
She stopped a few hooves away from it and gulped nervously. “W-Why didn’t you hurt Angel?” The creature looked taken aback by this question. It closed its mouth and narrowed its eyes at her. Fluttershy tried to continue on. “Um, you also took the other animals somewhere safe didn’t you?” Everypony looked confused. “Th-That’s what you were doing with Angel, right? I know how stubborn he can be sometimes.”
The creature opened its mouth as if to answer but then turned away with a growl. It didn’t seem to know what to make of this pony.
“W-Was that also what you were doing with Spike?” she asked. The creature’s ears perked up. “Our dragon friend. The one the parasprites tried to take back.” Fluttershy took its silence as a cue to continue. “You don’t like ponies, do you?” She rubbed her leg pitiably as she said this. The creature lifted its head slightly at this and stared at her. Now that it was still for the most part she could see years of stress and pain behind its eyes and in its fur. Scars adorned its body like freckles.
Above them Applejack and the others noticed the dome above beginning to have spider web cracks. “Uh, sugarcube,” she muttered. “No pressure, but if you could speed this along, that’d be great.”
The creature growled at Applejack but Fluttershy held up a hoof to silence it. “You don’t like ponies. But you know, you and I are very similar in that regard.” The creature raised an eyebrow. “I may not dislike ponies, but I’m not all that good with them. Really the only ones easy enough to talk to are my friends. That’s why I love my animals so much.” She smiled at it. “You love animals too, don’t you? After all, those parasprites weren’t under a spell or anything. They told me you just asked them to do it. You even tried to protect my animals and Spike from the monsters that would be coming.”
Everypony was silent now as she talked Fluttershy had gotten very close to the creature. It didn’t seem to move as she even drew up a hoof and placed it on its shoulder. “I… I wanted to thank you for that consideration.” She smiled up at it and the creature’s cheeks began to blush. “I don’t think you’re like the others. You’ve got a kind heart. I know because I can see it.”
The creature stood there dumbfounded as it scanned the Pegasus looking for some sign of a trick. But her words rang true to all its senses. With a great reluctance and very shakily the creature lowered its head towards her. Applejack was about to step in as it looked as if it would bite her head off but the creature merely lowered its head until it seemed to be bowing to her. Fluttershy looked at the creature in confusion before she smiled with realization and scratched its head. The creature let out a small mew of appreciation.
Rainbow had had enough. “Can somepony please tell me what the hay is going on!?” she shouted.
Her outburst was interrupted as the dome above them finally failed and shattered.
---
Twilight could feel the overwhelming power of the Ursa force itself down. It wasn’t like any other magic she had ever fought against. It wasn’t magic at all. This was the sheer strength of nature and it was beating her. She grit her teeth and tried to hold her construct together but it finally failed. She felt something in her mind snap as she was torn out of her meditative state. She screamed as she fell to the ground but Pinkie caught her in midair. The pink pony looked up in despair. “Oh no.”
---
Fluttershy looked to the creature desperately. “Please! I know you don’t like ponies but this is my home. And those ponies out there have done nothing wrong. I’m begging you to stop this!”
The creature looked into her eyes and saw the pleading despair. It seemed to deeply consider her words for a moment and then nodded sadly. In a blink of an eye it was gone and tearing down the hill. “Hey!” Applejack shouted and began to run after it. Fluttershy stopped her and shook her head.
“Just give him a chance,” she whispered. Applejack bit her lip but nodded reluctantly. The others followed it as it came to the highest place it could find. It looked up at the Ursa as its paw finally started to graze and crush the rooftops and chimneys. The creature took a long deep breath and let out a similar howl to the one before. Everypony had to hold their ears as the sound echoed and vibrated through the town.
Immediately the devastation stopped. For the longest moment silence hung over the town as the titanic paw hovered above. Then the paw lifted slowly. Fluttershy watched as the Ursa turned its head toward the creature and let out a low growl that shook the earth. The creature let out a similar growl and bowed its head to the giant beast.
Rarity and Rainbow watched in rapt attention expecting there to be some kind of big disagreement or calamity. Applejack couldn’t keep her eyes off the creature as it seemed to have legitimately saved them. Fluttershy merely smiled.
Finally the Ursa Major lifted itself from its seat as the top of its head scraped the clouds. It gave the creature one last grunt before turning and stomping off to its cave. A collective breath of relief echoed through the town.
---
Outside the town, Cloudy looked between Redwood and the scene of the Ursa lifting its paw and leaving. She frowned. “That wasn’t magic. Did you have anything to do with that?”
“Not at all,” he replied smugly.
Cloudy had had enough of his smile. “It doesn’t matter! You’re still coming with me!”
Redwood looked her in the eye and for a moment she thought she could see pity in his eyes. She felt her rage begin to boil over. “It seems you’ll never let this go, captain.”
“Not until your behind bars,” she hissed.
“Very well.” He looked to Agave who gave a slight nod of understanding and grabbed something from her jacket.
“NO!” Cloudy reached out but was too slow to respond. The zebra threw down a small pellet that exploded into a giant dense cloud of smoke. Cloudy beat her wings as strongly as she could and the cloud dissipated, but the two criminals were nowhere in sight. “Damn it!!”
---
“Ugh.” Twilight slowly came to as the world around her came into focus. She tried to lift herself up but her head was killing her and there was something wet on it. “What?”
An orange hoof pushed her back down and shushed her. “It’s alright, Twi. Just lie back down.”
Twilight almost felt herself drift off but a realization hit her. She shot up sending a wet towel on her forehead flying. “The Ursa!”
The towel landed on the ground where Rarity scooped it up and put it in a small bowl on the couchside table. Couch? She finally got a look around. She was in Fluttershy’s cottage. It looked like all her friends were there as well. Everypony except Fluttershy. “Now what did Ah just say about lyin’ back down?” Applejack grunted from beside her.
Twilight blinked a few times. “So… the Ursa’s gone?”
“All the monsters are gone!” Pinkie piped in from the kitchen, carrying a tray of cookies. “Well, thanks to our new friend.”
“New friend?” Twilight asked. Applejack stuffed a cookie in her mouth before she could continue.
“We’ll get to that, Twi,” she chuckled nervously. “In the meantime, we’re just glad you’re alright.”
“Yeah!” Rainbow added. “You put that shield over the whole town for like an hour!”
“Actually it was more like ten minutes, dear,” Rarity corrected.
“Whatever. It was amazing!”
Twilight frowned. “Yeah, but it still wasn’t enough.” Redwood had told her that she could accomplish any feat with the power she had if she just believed she could do it. Was the Ursa really powerful enough to stop her, or was it herself. Did she not really believe in herself?
While she was lost in thought, Rarity walked over to the window and squinted. “Uh oh.”
“What is it?”
“We may have more than one problem to deal with today.”
Outside a large mob had begun to form on the road to Fluttershy’s cottage. It seemed like everypony in Ponyville was grumbling about something or other and one name kept popping up. Twilight’s. “Those ungrateful varmints!” Applejack cursed. “After everythin’ that happened they’re still on about this?”
“It’s quite possible that that’s why they’re here,” Rarity interjected.
“But how did they know to come here?” Rainbow asked.
Pinkie rubbed her hooves together shamefully. “Um, they may have seen me drag Twilight here.”
“Drag?”
“I mean, carry!” she corrected. “Yeah!”
“Ah still can’t believe they want you out of here,” Applejack growled and stomped to the door. “Ah’m gonna go out there and give them a piece of mah mind.”
“Wait, Applejack!” Twilight shouted to her getting her to stop. “I… I know what to say to them.”
The mob had conglomerated in front of the cottage, angry words coming out of their mouths and hooves shaking in the air. The door slowly opened and Twilight limped out with Applejack and Rarity at her sides. Immediately the shouting got louder.
“Everypony please!” Twilight tried to shout over but it faded.
“This is your fault isn’t it!?” “I’ve had enough of being scared!” “Won’t somepony please think of the children!”
Twilight tried to shout over them but nopony seemed to want to listen. Applejack and Rarity glared at the crowd but Twilight simply hung her head in despair.
“ENOOOUUGH!!!!” Everypony stopped as they turned to a window above and the enormous shout that came from it. Fluttershy flew out of the window and slammed down between Twilight and the mob. “I am ashamed of you! All of you! A little something bad happens and you immediately start to blame Twilight.”
“Yeah, but she-”
“She what?” Fluttershy shouted back. “She tried to protect everypony at the cost of her health? She acted quickly to find a nonlethal way of getting rid of those monsters or the changelings?” There was a silence in the crowd as Fluttershy continued on. “Things are going to happen. We can’t just blame Twilight for everything bad that happens. Carrot Top!” She pointed to a yellow mare with an orange mane. “Was it Twilight’s fault when your garden got eaten?”
The mare kicked the dirt. “No, I left the gate open and some mice got in.”
“And Crafty Crate!” she pointed to a strongly built brown Pegasus stallion near the front. “Was it Twilight’s fault that you lost some of the merchandise you were moving?”
“No, it was her fault,” he said gruffly as he pointed behind him to a familiar wall eyed gray Pegasus. Ditzy chuckled slightly and walked back into the background of ponies.
“We can’t control what will happen,” Fluttershy continued. “Twilight is our friend! We can’t just place blame on her for everything that happens! Especially when it’s not her fault.” She looked back to Twilight and gave her a smile. Everypony else in the crowd seemed to now be collectively interested in their hooves.
Twilight smiled back at her friend and gave her a hug. “Thank you, Fluttershy. But I know what I have to do.” She looked out at the crowd. “Mayor?”
Mayor Mare pushed her way through and cleared her throat. “Ahem, yes?”
“I’ll do it.”
Rarity walked up beside her. “You’ll do what, Twilight?”
Applejack frowned. “Twi, you don’t need to do this.”
“It’s the only way I can think to keep this place safe,” she whispered to her. “Mayor. I denounce my citizenship of Ponyville.”
A collective gasp echoed out of the crowd, including Fluttershy and Rarity.
“Twilight! No!” Rarity pleaded as she grabbed her shoulders. “You can’t do something like that.”
Twilight pushed her away and looked at the crowd. “The truth is I HAVE been responsible for the recent attacks. I can’t explain why, but just know that if I could have it any other way I would. It’s for the good of everypony that I break my ties with this town completely. Then you won’t be a target.”
The crowd was silent for a moment. “Oh, that’s a load of hay!!” somepony shouted.
Twilight looked up confused. “Excuse me?”
“You really think something like that is going to make a difference?” somepony else shouted.
Mayor Mare chuckled to herself, drawing the attention. “Princess, do you know how often Ponyville was attacked and damaged before you arrived?” She shook her head. “Used to be ten times a year. And back then we didn’t have a princess to protect us.”
Twilight looked even more confused as the crowd began to nod their heads. “I… don’t understand. Then why did you all want me gone?” Once again everypony was extremely interested in their hooves.
“I think…” the mayor began, “that it comes down to a little bit of overworked enthusiasm. A regular amount of danger is alright, but too much in such a short period of time can fray one’s nerves.” They all nodded their heads regretfully. “I think we were all won over by your friend’s speech anyway.”
Twilight stood awestruck as a hoof slapped her on the back. “You hear that, Twi? You don’t have to leave!”
“You’re still a Ponyvillian,” Rarity smiled. “Well, if you want to be.”
“But... the danger?”
Fluttershy stepped forward. “Twilight, I may be a scaredy cat at times but I’ll try hard if it means you get to stay.”
“Dang it! The quills you buy at my store consist of half my income!” “I’d get bored without your library.” “I want to learn more spells from you!” Everypony seemed to chime in in agreement.
“I think we all want to be there for you, Twilight,” Pinkie said as she and Dash exited the cottage.
Twilight looked around and felt tears begin to sting her eyes. “You guys…” The five crowded her and gave her a hug, the crowd giving a cheer.
After that Pinkie declared that this moment deserved a party. She went back inside and emerged less than a minute later with decorations, snacks and chairs. “So that’s what you two were doin’ in there,” Applejack said to Rainbow.
Rainbow shrugged. “Pinkie said her party sense was tingling and insisted I help prepare.”
The party lasted long into the night as everypony in town danced and played in front of Fluttershy’s cottage. Her petting zoo greatly adored by the fillies and colts.
Throughout the night Twilight noticed Fluttershy sneaking off into her house every now and then and coming back out, usually taking a slice of cake inside and coming out empty. When the party finally seemed to end and everypony went home she confronted her.
“Alright, Fluttershy. What are you hiding?”
Everypony in the cottage froze, especially Fluttershy who bit her lip. “Well, um…”
Applejack cleared her throat. “Yeah, remember that ‘friend’ we mentioned before?”
They all looked to Fluttershy who smied weakly and looked up at her bedroom upstairs. “It’s okay! You can come out now!”
A moment passed and then a tall mass of pony shot out the door and jumped over the bannister to the living room. Twilight stepped back in surprise as the thing lifted its glowing eyes to her but then showed a toothy smile and panting tongue. “What is it?” she asked nervously.
“‘It’ is a pony named Dikiy,” Fluttershy replied as she scratched behind its ear. “Dikiy Zver.”
Rarity’s eyes went wide. “D-D-Dikiy Zver? As in Zver the reclusive Yakutian billionaire?”
Everypony turned to her. “What are you talkin’ about Rarity?”
She brought her hoof to her chest and smiled proudly. “I make it my business to know the names of every pony of wealth in case they ever become clients. The Zver Foundation is worth billions of bits and owns as well as operates hundreds of animal preserves. The inheritor of the estate has never been seen. You’re saying this is him?!”
Fluttershy looked into Dikiy’s eyes and he nodded. “I guess so?”
Rarity put her hoof to her head and fainted.
---
Hundreds of miles away on a mountain top, a spirit of chaos watched the six laugh at Rarity’s reaction through a glowing portal. “I’m glad to know there will be somepony around to protect her,” he mused. The portal closed and he sighed. “I’m not glad to know that its already time.” Behind him stood an armored figure in a black battle suit. A visor and face mask hid his eyes mane.
“Discord,” he said through a magically filtered voice. “You disrupt the plans of Romane. You must be dealt with.”
Discord lifted his arms to his side and smiled. “Oh, I know. I’m a deity, fortune telling comes with the schtick so I know I won’t be able to win against you.” The armored pony did not respond but pulled an orb from his pocket and stepped forward. “Of course that doesn’t mean I’ll make it easy on you.”
Suddenly the ground beneath the pony’s feet gave way and he was floating in midair. Discord snapped his fingers and appeared before him. “You look like you need to lighten up.” He snapped again and the sun appeared above. Only this was a much more cartoonish sun that shot its rays of light like laser cannon. The armored pony unfolded his wings and dodged the beams with deft accuracy before landing. He turned on the spirit of chaos and charged.
“Too slow!” Discord shouted as he flung up a magical wall between them. The armored pony reached for his belt and snapped a small talisman in half. A red aura surrounded him and he easily crashed through the wall. Discord was taken aback as he looked at the red magic surrounding the pony. “Ah, so that’s the game is it? Boy, Celestia is not going to be happy about this.”
The pony moved too fast for him to react and threw the orb at him. The draconequus lifted his hands to defend himself but they were already being sucked into the orb. He struggled against it but it was no use. He sighed as he resigned himself to his fate. “Oh, well.” He looked to the armored pony. “You know I can see a lot of things but your boss winning this fight isn’t one of them. Then again I can’t see anything past two years from now so who knows.” His words lingered in the air as his body was swallowed up by the orb.
The armored pony walked over to it and picked it up, the orb now aglow. He put it in his belt and then pulled out a round shell. “Mission accomplished.”
“Good,” came a reply. “Report back to Thrush and see to it that he delivers the spirit.”
“Yes, Romane.”
---
Applejack returned to the farm late at night. Surprisingly enough Twilight accepted the strange pony faster than she thought she would. Well, she kind of didn’t have a choice when Fluttershy insisted. She still couldn’t believe that her skittish friend wanted him to stay over. Applejack wanted to stay over as well in case anything happened but Fluttershy told her not to worry. They settled with Dikiy sleeping outside with the animals, which he seemed entirely up for. Rarity left muttering something about how she couldn’t believe a billionaire was sleeping in a chicken coop.
She reached the gates to Sweet Apple Acres and saw the lights still on inside. Odd, Apple Bloom should have gone to bed by now and Celestia knows Granny should have. She opened the rickety door and saw Apple Bloom sorting through a bunch of pictures she had dumped from the family chest. “Now what in tarnation are you still doin’ up?” she asked.
Apple Bloom jumped. “Applejack? Ah’m sorry. It’s just that somethin’s been buggin’ me all day.”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “And what would that be?”
Apple Bloom frowned in thought. “That stallion Ah met today. There was somethin’ about him. Somethin’ like I’d seen his face before. Ah just can’t remember. So Ah thought Ah’d look through these.”
Applejack looked concerned. She recognized Redwood? How? From where? Then again, Applejack herself had felt this odd nostalgia ever since she saw him as well. But she kept telling herself it was probably just anger.
She knelt down beside her sister. “Did… Did you find anythin’?”
Apple Bloom shook her head. “No. And Ah’ve been through every picture here. Maybe he’s just not in the memories.”
Applejack felt a little relieved to hear that. She put a hoof around her little sister and pulled her close. “Come on, sugarcube. Ah think you’ve done enough sleuthin’ for today.” Apple Bloom yawned and nodded. The two scooped up the last of the pictures and dumped them into the chest before heading upstairs, Applejack blowing out the last candle as they went to bed.
A moment passed and another candle was lit. Granny Smith peeked her head out of her room to make sure her granddaughters were asleep. She gave a silent sigh of relief and shut her door. The drawer by her bed was open and she walked right to it. Inside were many pictures two colts playing as children. Some were even of the two older with both smiling absent mindedly at the camera. She picked up the photos and brought her candle close to them as if to set them on fire, but the look in one of the colt’s eyes caught her and she stopped. She let out a long painful sigh and put them back in the drawer before shutting it. “We ain’t family without memories. Even the painful ones.” She blew the candle out and all went black.
---
Luna stared out at the night sky, her head in the clouds and her anger simmering in her stomach. “Are you alright, Luna?” Celestia asked as she entered the balcony.
Luna pursed her lips. “That is all, correct?” she asked. “Everything you’ve told me. That is every secret you know?” Celestia nodded. She turned to her with a frown. “And that’s why you’ve never let me go on-”
“Luna,” Celestia cut her off. “Don’t lose sight of what’s important. You know everything I know now, which means we are both responsible for whatever happens next.”
Luna turned her head again back to the horizon as Celestia walked up next to her. “You were right to keep this from me,” she finally said.
“Don’t say that.”
Luna turned to her sister with confused and worried eyes. “I… don’t know what to do.”
Celestia wrapped a wing around her and pulled her close. “That is why I will be here every step of the way.”
A small boom sounded and the palace shook slightly. “They’ve already begun?”
Celestia nodded again. “That infernal tunnel needs to be destroyed. We can’t have any more surprises.”
“You never told me about the tunnel.”
Celestia frowned. It was the first time Luna had seen her worried in a long time. “That is because I didn’t know about it.”
They stood there and listened to the muted sounds collapsing dirt and rock beneath their hooves, a dark shadow over their thoughts.
Stats
Page generated in 0.052 seconds
Total duration
632 users online
1,297,623 hits today, 2,139,894 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
In all honesty, I haven't seen The Hitlist nor am I too interested with those crime/mystery series aside from Sherlock Holmes in all its instances (SH movies, Elementary). What got me interested is the fact that this story hay 100k words and yet only 10 total up-/downvotes.
7167823
You sir are a man after my own heart! That bugs me all the time