Heart and Mind

by Quick Fix

Present Six - The Other Side of the Wall

Author's Note:

Yes I uploaded this chapter a day ahead of schedule, yes it was partly to avoid the inevitable rush from the S6 premiere, but mostly it was because I'm actually really happy with how this turned out. Hope you all enjoy it too!

Starlight's Compound
March 31st

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Even in the middle of the day, the impression given off by Starlight Glimmer's base of operations made it clear that it was not a welcoming place, let alone how it looked in the night right now. Three rows of identical two-story stone houses, providing enough housing space for approximately a hundred ponies, capped off at one end by another pair of the same houses and a small oasis surrounded by several fields producing durable crops at the other. The long north edge was walled off by a rock cliff that trailed off to the northwest, the rest of the perimeter was covered by a twenty foot tall wooden fence broken up only by a gatehouse on the southwest corner. Overall, the whole place looked impenetrable for any regular pony.

Fortunately, the pony taking the area in right now was anything but regular.

Pinkie Pie stood motionless on a nearby sand dune, eyes narrowed, unusually focused, staring at the final objective of an Equestria-wide search she'd been engaged in for the last six months. A search that had intensified after the encounter with Lucky Roll and only become more critical after Apple Bloom had been snatched away from under her nose. If succeeding had been important before, it was imperative now. All she had to go was break in, find a way to free everpony and get them all back out, on her own, with two incredibly powerful unicorns in there that would do anything to protect their secret commune...She was an Element of Harmony, she'd faced worse.

Pinkie took a breath to ready herself and set off, the desert around her silent except for the wind and a gentle clinking from her saddlebags. Most of what she'd been carrying at the start of the month was still there, along with a few other belongings that needed to be brought along. Her heart felt a little lighter with each step, knowing that one way or another, the end of the journey lay beyond that wall. A big, cliche villain's bastion in the middle of a lifeless wasteland, styled in the same way as the previous one, how could it not be? Pinkie made a mental note to tell Starlight to be more original if she ever tried to hatch another plot once this was over and put that note aside on her mental notice board before reaching the wall and sizing it up.

Thanks to getting a tiny bit lost on the way, she'd ended up making her approach from the east and wasn't anywhere near an entrance, either by going through the gate or down the cliff. Not that she'd planned to use those either way. Pinkie put her bags down and looked through one of them, packed to the brim with a variety of bracelets, each one fitted with a charm or rune that she'd gathered from all over Equestria. From the ones bought from explorers of the Undiscovered West to those borrowed from the Canterlot Tower Vaults, each had been tested and proven authentic, capable of negating magic of various strengths. Pinkie pulled out a jet black rune with unreadable carvings fitted to a grey bracelet and attached it to her front right leg. Satisfied it was set in place, she pressed the rune against the wall and waited.

Several seconds passed as she eyed the wood carefully for any change at all, anticipating some kind of magical trap cast in case somepony tried to scale the wall. After a few more seconds she slowly brought her other hoof up and carefully pressed it against the wall for a moment, retracting it quickly and glancing round quickly. Still nothing happened. Pinkie gave a soft smirk at such an oversight and moved the rune away before opening up her other bag and rummaging through it, finally pulling out a rope and four pronged grappling hook.

"Operation: Bringing down Starlight again, uncover the missing pony plot and rescue Bloomie, is go." Pinkie whispered to herself, moving back from the wall and checking the rope was properly tied this time, not wanting to repeat her various mistakes when practicing. Judging her angle, she started spinning the grapple round, timing each full rotation before hurling it with as much strength as she could muster. For several moments, the grapple seemed to defy gravity before starting it's downward arch, just about managing to clear the wall. Pinkie was so focused on watching it that she almost forgot to keep a grip on the rope as it dragged her forward a few inches. Her hooves dug into the sand and she pulled back, clinging on until she felt the grappling hook dig into the far side of the wall.

With her entry point secured, Pinkie refitting her saddlebags and wrapped her forelegs round the rope, planting her hind legs on the wall before starting to pull herself up. A small part of her always wondered why she found it so easy to do things like this when they were normally impossible for most ponies, yet she didn't question it when it was so darn useful. Several times during the climb she paused to listen for a few moments, waiting until she was sure nopony had caught on to her yet. Two minutes later, her head finally reached the top of the wall and she peeked over to try and get the lay of the land. Most of the town was dark, aside from a few torches lit outside several houses, giving just enough light to indicate how many ponies were about. Unsurprisingly it was mostly deserted, aside from a few silhouettes visible at the other end of town.

With nopony visible around the closest houses, or at the pair at the end of the rows, Pinkie pulled herself up and rested herself on the top of the wall before pulling the rope up and draping it down the other side. A quick double check satisfied her that the grappling hook would stay in place long enough and she gripped the rope with all four hooves, rappelling down quickly. As her back hooves hit the ground she yanked the rope, dislodging the hook and letting it fall next to her, hitting the sand with a thud. She grabbed it and ducked into the nearest shadow, nerves flaring up for the first time as she waiting to see if anypony would come to investigate. This was the moment everything hinged on in her mind, if she got through this cleanly then she could easily find a way to make everything else work. Much as she loved setting up plans, it was much easier to avoid them failing if they weren't too detailed.

Several tense minutes passed before Pinkie couldn't bring herself to keep still any longer and poked her head out to look round, still seeing nopony whatsoever. She stuffed the rope and hook back in her saddlebag and moved off quickly, pressing against the nearest house and leaning out slightly. The next nearest building was one of the pair sitting alone at the east end, all the lights off and looking uninhabited. She darted over to it and waited for several moments before slowly shuffling her body along the back wall, doing her best to stay silent. If the building didn't have anypony it, she might be able to bunker down there and keep an eye out for new leads on her friends before making a move. She checked the corner and moved round it, hoping to get to the front and reach the door before anypony noticed.

"Hello? Anypony?"

Pinkie froze in her tracks, recognising that voice instantly. It had come from inside the house, practically next to her. She glanced further down the wall and noticed a small window just a few inches away. She rushed over, poked her head up to look in and was greeted by the sight of Apple Bloom staring right back at her. She looked paler than usual and her nose had a worryingly dark patch under it, but she was still there and the dawning recognition in her eyes set a small fire off in Pinkie's heart.

"Bloomie! Are you okay?" Pinkie said in a hushed shout, that was normally more of Fluttershy's thing but she managed it none the less. Apple Bloom fiddled with the window for a moment before pushing it open, still too small to climb through but enough to fit her head and a leg out, which she did to pull Pinkie into a hug.

"Pinkie Pie...It's really you," She whispered, holding the moment as Pinkie hugged her as best she could. "You're the first good news I've seen in however long I've been here...How did you find this place?"

"Long story involving an animal migration leading to me and Fluttershy fighting a trio of manipulative water beasts for the coordinates," Pinkie grinned as she let the hug go.

"...Seriously?"

"No, but it sounded better. I heard a scuffle from the top of the rocks and jumped down as quick as I could. By the time I got there, all I found was your neck cloth and some hoof tracks. I scooped everything up and went after them, finally tracking the dastardly ponynapper here...You're gonna hate me for this next bit."

"Pinkie, you managed to find a way to stand in front of me again, how could I hate you after that?"

"Because it took me two days to find this place, then three weeks to get back to Canterlot, alert, get an audience with, then show the Defence Force commander everything before coming back here. I ended up rushing in ahead of any plans they might of had because I'd wasted too much time...Left you here alone for longer than I could stand."

"You did what you thought was right and wanted to make sure somepony you really cared for was safe, I respect that. Though, I wouldn't really say I'm safe, Starlight...Starlight took my cutie mark, punched me in the face and it only gets worse from there."

Pinkie tensed slightly at those words, feeling something she rarely felt rising up inside her, anger. A pure, sudden fury at the idea that anypony had hurt Apple Bloom, a desire to show Starlight Glimmer what happened when you got an Element of Harmony riled up. She managed to keep any outward sign of it suppressed for now and simply nodded.

"Are we closer to they don't have any cupcakes worse, or possible end of Equestria worse?" She finally said, her voice coming out a little sharper than she'd intended.

"It's...Planning to starve Equestria out and overthrow the princesses in the chaos worse. It's an insane plan and I'd have written it off if not for the fact she has far more competent help. Sunset Shimmer, the pony who attacked me out in the desert, she's definitely more powerful and has the advantage of not being insane. She was the one behind Lucky attacking us and implied she had far more ponies under her spell like that."

"...The ponies reported missing that had since been found." Pinkie put a hoof to her forehead and looked down, mind blown at how much sense this all made.

"The worst part is that Starlight's not using the same methods as when you first encountered her. She's got Sunset brainwashing everypony to think they always belonged here, even I've been subjected to it. I'm doing okay so far but I've seen what happens..."

Apple Bloom moved her head aside and looked back into the room, letting Pinkie get a good look at it's other occupant. Peace Walker was sitting back in her corner, staring at the ceiling and running through what sounded like a list of everypony she needed to talk to about newcomers, lost in her own little world for now. In that moment, Pinkie understood just how serious this was and just how important it was that they find a way to save everypony here. She stepped back and delved into her saddlebag for a moment, bringing out the neckerchief, still a little dusty but otherwise none the worse for wear. Apple Bloom blushed slightly and carefully took it, feeling a sudden sense of calm as soon as she put it on and looked back at Pinkie.

"It's not going to happen to you, Bloomie. We're gonna give these ponies a reason to smile as themselves again, Pinkie promise."

"I know, I kept believing that you would manage to help us and you're doing it. I knew there was another good reason I loved you." Now it was Pinkie's turn to blush at those words, looking back at Apple Bloom and staring into her determined orange eyes. A familiar feeling stirred deep inside her, rapidly building up until her entire being wanted to show just how much she cared for the mare. She had to keep a lid on it for now, first they had to reach a point where they weren't communicating via a small window.

"Dawww, thanks. Hopefully this counts as another one." She managed to reply, reaching into the other bag and bringing out a dark green bracelet with a stone anti-magic charm fitted to it before handing it over. Apple Bloom fitted it round her right leg and held her head in a hoof for a moment, Sunset's magic within her reacting to the charm by giving her a major headache. She shook her head quickly and trotted over to the door, both Pinkie and Peace watching with curiosity as she pressed the charm against the door. The shock spell imbued in it flared up again, only for the door to flash for a moment before it faded back to normal, neutralized through the charm.

"Great, that's our exit fixed. Come on Peace, we need to go."

"Why? Somepony will come get us when they're ready." Peace snapped out of her isolated state and looked down at Apple Bloom with the same look of confusion she'd had every time they talked recently.

"Because I, want to talk to Starlight Glimmer and see if she can help me with those different thoughts. She probably won't talk to me unless somepony she trusts can verify it though, somepony like you."

"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" Peace got up quickly and followed Apple Bloom out, who was too surprised that her bluff had worked to comment further. The rest of the house was empty but lacking further traps, clearly Starlight had assumed that just one line of defence was enough since it came from her. Pinkie was waiting for them as they opened the front door and stepped out, any other pony outside still too far away to notice.

"When I woke up, learned what had happened, I didn't think I would be getting out of there as myself. I owe you big for this, Pinkie." Apple Bloom said with an air of relief, nuzzling Pinkie happily.

"Only doing what feels right. Just like this." Pinkie Pie managed to reply before her desire finally won out and she leaned forward, her lips pressing against Apple Bloom's and holding there, a first kiss she wanted to be as memorable as it was badly timed. Apple Bloom barely hesitated or recoiled before relaxing and gently kissing her in return. The two of them held it for a long moment, each feeling a small flood of emotion rush through them, a sense that despite months of disbelieving, hesitation and repression, this was right. This was heartfelt love, and it was for each other.

As long as they wanted it to last, the moment was shattered far too soon for either of their liking by Peace's sound of disgust. Pinkie broke the kiss to shoot her a glare, only to be met with one in return. Apple Bloom looked back at her and put a hoof on Pinkie's chest, silently motioning to let the issue be for now. With how much Peace had been through, it was almost surprising that she was still capable of functioning on her own.

"We can make the most of this once our duty is done. Where to from here?"

"About twenty feet that way." Peace replied flatly, nodding toward the other house standing alone. Apple Bloom looked over at it and had to keep herself from showing any worry. Starlight and Sunset's house, most likely the place her cutie mark had been ripped away and now, the only place that held any clues on where to find it, along with those of everypony else here.

It was time to get them back.