Stranger Magics

by GMBlackjack

VI - To Grandmother's House We Go

Sunset Shimmer trotted up to one of her scientists. "Care to be part of an experiment?"

The blue unicorn looked up. "I am rather busy Miss Shimmer..."

"It'll only take a few seconds." She held up a sheet of paper.

"Why are you showing me your ID?"

"It's not my ID," Sunset said. "This is a piece of paper confiscated from that Doctor." She put it behind her head and pulled it out again. "Now?"

"...M.D. Shimmer... That is impressive."

Sunset nodded. "I believe it somehow sees my mental state and the mental state of those who see it, creating an image that best serves the desires of the user."

"It's not emitting any magic at all."

"That's perhaps the most curious part. What I would give to see more of the Doctor's gadgets..."

The scientist nodded before quickly returning to his work with the various magic-essence filled potions, the only difference from prior was that his expression was slightly more thoughtful.

An intern ran into the building. "Miss Shimmer!"

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"The com crystal just flashed - twice!"

Sunset's eyes widened. She ran out into the base proper, wasting no time. "I need a squad ready pronto! Agent Sweetie Drops has located both of them." She lit her horn, pinpointing her agent's precise location. Outside Ponyville, near the Forest. "They're at the Apple Farm! Move it! We don't know how much of a window we have!"

She herself didn't need to ready anything - she just stood, impatient, while a dozen ponies scrambled to equip armor, weapons, and saddlebags. They were all professional - each and every one had graduated the Academy - but the fact that they weren't already ready annoyed her. They could be solving two of their three problems right now, but as far as anypony knew this extra time spent preparing would ruin the mission. But Sunset also knew that heading out early would only make it worse...

She'd just have to suffer in silence while her subordinates scrambled around. If she wasn't so excited about the prospect of capturing the Doctor she would have been screaming at them to hurry up. They were thankful for her good mood.

~~~

Cheerilee slowly became aware of a rapid bumping motion happening beneath her and the wind whipping through her mane. Was she moving? She didn't feel like she was moving her legs... Was that fur under her stomach? Was she riding somepony?

She opened her eyes to see a blurry bunch of fields pass her by. She could see out of the corner of her eye red fur - was she on Big Mac? Why was she on Big Mac? Why were they running?

She groaned, rolling over - not stopping to think about the wisdom of her action. She hit the ground hard, waking her right up. She let out a pained cry.

"Oh no you don't!" Big Mac said, swiftly grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and tossing her back on him. She sat upright, not yet aware enough for the fear to kick in. She looked around - Berry and Derpy were alongside them, Berry's zigzagging wobble indicating she was far too tired for this. Derpy was flying in a haphazard manner as well - though Cheerilee couldn't tell if that was from her exhaustion or just the way she flew normally.

Slightly behind them was Vinyl - a mare who looked like she would be screaming curses if she was able. A groggy Tree Hugger was on her back, somehow managing to hold onto the blue name with a lazy hoof. Rarity was held in Vinyl's magic, a mixed look of displeasure and horror on the filly's features, the look of a mare who wasn't sure if she was traumatized or not.

Cheerilee quickly looked away, holding fast onto Big Mac's mane - she didn't need to stare into Rarity's eyes anymore. She felt it would be possible to get lost in them...

"Dudes..." Tree Hugger moaned. "What happened?"

"Geist! Lights!" Berry shouted. "It tried to find us! It didn't like us talking to Golden - not at all!"

Vinyl nodded rapidly, pulling Rarity in front of them. The white filly glared.

"Woah... Vinyl's right, it's doin' something to your head Rars," Tree Hugger said.

"I am perfectly fine Tree Hugger!" Rarity spat.

"You are not!" Berry yelled back. "You had to be dragged away from the monster! It wouldn't let you run!"

"Maybe I was just... thinking!"

Berry let out an annoyed yell. "Of course it had to be you!"

"What does that mean?"

"Enough!" Big Mac yelled. "We can argue later - right now let's just get to Granny and figure out what to do!"

Cheerilee turned this idea around in her head. Granny had already tried to do something and it had failed. They'd all tried something - search party, forest trekking, rituals... All of them had gotten only scant bits of information, not enough to make a solution. They knew painfully little about the Geist and they were no closer to finding Aloe than when they started. All they'd gotten was huge drama...

Was the universe trying to tell them something? Trying to show them that they should stop before the damage was too much? Or was it telling them something else, something about each other?

She didn't get to vocalize her thoughts - Big Mac arrived at his house, barreling over the front door. "GRANNY!"

Granny, Roseluck, and the Doctor were all sitting in the living room. Granny grunted. "Big Mac? What is-"

"Geist!" He said. "These girls were doin' some ritual that... uh..."

Vinyl nudged Tree Hugger. She cleared her throat. "We were contacting the minds of Aloe and Golden through a special ritual. The Geist really didn't like it when we found Golden... apparently." She yawned, prompting Vinyl to facehoof. "Hey, I've been awake for all of two minutes, give me a little slack, some chill..."

"So they're still alive!?" the Doctor asked.

"Definitely," Tree Hugger said.

"Golden didn't seem right," Rarity added. "The Geist has her."

Vinyl nudged Tree Hugger again. "Not Aloe though - Aloe's free, able to see us and interact with things like crystals. She's, like, out of phase with the waves of reality..."

The Doctor blinked. "...That's actually a rather apt description, great whickering stallions... It seems as if it's turning them into magic..."

"What does that mean?" Roseluck asked.

"I really don't know."

Derpy gasped. "But... Doctor! You always have an idea!"

"I just have an idea a lot more often than regular ponies, Derpy. I'm not perfect..."

"B-but we were supposed to find you and fix everything! You... You know about the base."

Cheerilee nodded. "Yeah. You did break into that base. Did it go well?"

"Depends on your definition of 'well'," Roseluck answered.

The Doctor sighed. "Look, I found that they were experimenting with pony magic on ponies. They made some... mistakes. I think they did something, I just don't know what... They would have needed to dip into magic itself somehow..."

"How do you know that?" Cheerilee demanded.

"Because swirls and circles have been described!"

Rarity rushed up to him. "What do you know about that!?"

The Doctor recoiled. "Wha...?"

"She was the one who saw it closest, Doc," Granny said.

"Great whickering stallions... it's really gotten to you."

"I'm fine you old coot!" Rarity snapped. "What do you know?"

"...Can you show me one of the circles so I can tell you what it is?"

Vinyl nodded - creating a circular pattern with her blue magic. Tree Hugger stared at it. "You know, that'd make some pretty sweet decor..."

Rarity muttered. "It's not the real thing."

"No..." the Doctor said. "It's not, it's just a rough approximation of what you saw..."

"Approximation of what? Get on with it!" Big Mac urged. "Ah don't happen to like bein' in the dark when the answer is right in front of me!"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, yes, of course. This is what magic itself looks like fundamentally, a series of circles within circles within circles spiraling off into infinity. Whenever we draw it or write spells in cyclic notation, we make nothing but an approximation. Precise magic cycles should be impossible for us to depict for centuries! But... Something's happened that's allowing pure magic into the world at large, which should be impossible. Magic needs anchors to exist, but it's here anyway, burrowing its pattern into our minds... our thoughts..." He frowned, looking closely at the cycle Vinyl had created. "This... oh my, my cyclic notation is a bit rusty, but this looks like part of a fusion spell."

Big Mac huffed. "And what in tarnation does that mean?"

"Well, it'd be the kind of spell the government was working with, for one."

Cheerilee let out a breath. "This... This is all crazy. Magic monsters? Government conspiracy? These - these kinds of things don't really happen!"

The Doctor shook his head and sighed. "They do - they just tend to happen to other ponies. Don't worry, I think I can handle this now... With this information, I can probably cook something up with Rose here."

"Now hold your horses!" Granny interjected. "Ah dunno what your idea is Doc, but Ah see a lot of ponies who have been through too much to just stop and let you take care of it now. We've got friends, family, and ponies with many unique skills standing here now. We've all been working towards one goal these last few days - let's stop working separately! Let's leave behind any grudges-" she stopped to look at Cheerilee in apology "-and git to work! None of this hogwash 'Ah work alone' business! We can be a team Doc, get that in your head!"

The Doctor stood speechless. "...Well, I..."

Roseluck smiled. "Looks like you don't know everything."

"It would appear not... All right, who's in?"

Rarity shrugged, Big Mac nodded, and Cheerilee paused. Was she really going for this? Was she really joining up? And yet, despite these thoughts, she nodded. She was in. She wondered how much she'd regret this later.

Berry raised a hoof. "We're going to have to throw conventional plans out the window. Any normal plans, we shouldn't even consider."

Big Mac laughed. "Ah'm already agreein' to work with little kids."

"Children are often more in tune with reality than adults," the Doctor said.

Tree Hugger laughed. "You. You're the wise one. Totally."

Roseluck snorted at this. Granny grinned. "Well, in the interests of sharing information, Ah want y'all to see so-" Her ears perked up suddenly. "Wait..."

A spear was pressed to the back of her head. "Don't. Move."

Granny didn't move, but she didn't freeze in fear either. "Bon Bon? You?"

"Yes," Bon Bon said, stepping out from behind Granny. "None of you move."

The Doctor reached into his collar and Big Mac readied himself.

"I have the place surrounded," Bon Bon said, voice eerily calm. She narrowed her eyes. "None of you have an escape route."

Cheerilee glanced out a window. She saw two heavily armed guards standing at attention. "...She's telling the truth... ...Hey wait- you kept us from Aloe!"

"You wouldn't have found her anyway," Bon Bon said. "Stand down."

Derpy glared at her. "We can take you!"

"Are you crazy!?" Rarity shouted.

"Yes," Roseluck said, reaching for a weapon of her own.

"Are you really going to try to fight with children present?" Bon Bon asked. "I don't want it to get ugly, but if it does I don't think I can keep them out of the way."

"Then just let 'em go!" Granny shouted.

"You misunderstand. Their being here is good for us. You won't fight with them around. We don't want a fight if we can help it."

Granny looked at Big Mac, frowning. "If we surrender, what are the terms?"

"We leave you be as long as you turn the Doctor and Surprise over to us. After that, we promise to forget this ever happened."

Granny furrowed her brow. "Ah'm pretty sure the Doc'll turn himself in at this point... But who's this Surprise?"

"Don't play dumb. I saw her talking to you and the Doctor under an hour ago. Where is she now?"

"No idea."

Cheerilee raised a hoof. "Uh... I've been here a while and I haven't seen anypony names Surprise."

"Same," Tree Hugger said. "Never been around such a cloud-like presence here."

"I believe you two," Bon Bon said. "Granny was just about to introduce her when she noticed me. So Granny knows where she is."

"Ah do not!"

"Who were you going to introduce then?"

"My granddaughter, Applejack. She's sick in the floor above. She was attacked by the Geist last night and it didn't take her."

"Okay!" A new voice declared - one much less calm and level-headed. "Talking is getting us nowhere!" In a flash of yellow and orange, Sunset Shimmer appeared in the middle of the room. She moved like fire - rapidly, aggressively, and yet graceful. Every part of her was held with intense power and determination, and despite being shorter than Big Mac everypony felt like she loomed over them. She shot the Doctor a glance, telling him it'd be his turn soon. But for now she grabbed Granny with her magic, pushing her into a wall. "Where is Surprise, Smith Apple!?"

"N-no idea..."

Sunset pushed harder. "You are an aging mare. This can't be good for your body."

Big Mac lost it. "You leave Granny alone!" He charged Sunset - only to be stopped by Bon Bon. She tapped him on the muzzle, stopping him in his tracks. Taking advantage of his instinctual hesitation, she tapped him in two places on his neck, two in the chest, one in the back, and one on the hind legs. He collapsed onto the floor, unable to move his limbs. "W...Wha?" He was unable to comprehend how the mare much smaller - and maybe even younger - than him had taken him down in just over a second.

Bon Bon didn't feel the need to explain anything. She just watched the horrified ponies while her boss continued her interrogation.

"Smith..." Sunset pushed harder, cracking a hip bone. Granny barely moved at the pain.

"Miss Shimmer, this is gonna get you nowhere," Granny spat.

Sunset twitched - but she was smart enough to know Granny was right. She healed the elder mare's bones with a quick spell and set her back down on her chair. "All right, let's try another method." She lit her horn, teleporting a certain sick filly in front of her. "If not for yourself, what about your granddaughter?"

Granny paled. "You wouldn't..."

"She would!" The cupboard door flew open, revealing Surprise with an expression Granny had never seen - unabated rage. She used her power to throw Sunset outside through a solid wall. She enveloped Applejack in her protective wings.

"...Surprise! You needed to hide!" Granny yelled.

"Done hiding!" Surprise yelled, grabbing Bon Bon in her magic and tossing her out after Sunset. "Can't happen again!"

Cheerilee gawked - had she just seen a pegasus use magic? What in Celestia's name was going on?

"Okay!" The Doctor said. "Guess we're fighting!" he drew his screwdriver. "Kids, in the kitchen, unless you're in the mood to face trained government soldiers!"

The Doctor's suggestion never got put into action - Sunset teleported back into the room and shot a beam of solar fire at Surprise. She blocked it with a magic shield, spreading the flames to the house.

"Give it up Surprise!" Sunset yelled, magical layers and sparks forming around her horn as she strained it. "Come back to us - you know it's best!"

"Never!" Surprise screamed, throwing multiple objects at Sunset from all sides - all of which were incinerated. Roseluck attempted to attack Sunset with an axe but was stopped short by Bon Bon, who was wielding much more professional weaponry. Using a latch at the hilt of her blade, Bon Bon tore the axe from Roseluck's grip. Distracted, Bon Bon was unable to stop the laser from Vinyl's horn. She fell backward into Sunset, exciting the magical sparks further. Sunset's fierce burst of magic was momentarily stopped. Surprise tossed the tearful Applejack to Granny. "Run!"

"Not leavin' you now!" Granny yelled, kicking a guard coming through the doorway. "Not like Ah can leave anyway!"

Berry ran up to Cheerilee, tossing her the end of a rope. "Hold this!"

"Huh...?"

"Just hold the peeving rope!" Berry swore as loud as she could.

The shouted expletive did the trick - Cheerilee held it in her mouth tighter than she'd ever held anything before. Berry ran the rope to the other side of the room, the fault line quickly tripping two incoming guards. "Yeah!"

Cheerilee blinked. That... That had worked.

Sunset roared, lighting the floor around her on fire, sending many more sparks flying. Tree Hugger grabbed a jar of paste from a nearby shelf and tossed it onto the ground, counteracting the blaze. Bon Bon went after the green leafy mare, taking her down with a swift motion, but she was bucked by Granny before she could get any further. Granny was next - receiving a fireball to the back that knocked the wind out of her.

Rarity and Derpy were hiding under a countertop, huddled and crying, fearful for their lives. Neither of them were fighters and neither of them were all that brave. All they could do was watch and hide while their friends fought. At first, they had put up a valiant effort, but it was becoming obvious that they were no match for trained swords, a special agent, and a master magician. Powerful though Surprise was, she wasn't able to overcome everything at once and protect everypony.

"Just give up!" Sunset yelled, the lights flying everywhere rapidly. "Somepony is going to get hurt and it'll be on your hooves! Turn yourself in and we can walk away!"

Surprise's lip quivered. She lowered her wings.

Granny stood up, groaning. "Surprise! No! Don't throw it-"

"I'm glad I came," Surprise said, glancing at Granny. "I can't hurt you all for just me." She walked towards Sunset, the magic lights dancing around them.

Wait... Lights...

"EVERFREE LIGHTS!" Rarity shouted before Cheerilee could formulate the thought. "GEIST!"

Never in the history of Equestria had an identical look of panic crossed the faces of so many ponies in a single instant.

But the warning came far too late.

The sound forced all ponies save Surprise to wince audibly. The shattering of fleshy organs spliced with the sound of somepony eating paper while crying. The ululation of cinderblocks dripping through the crack of a hoof. A horn playing a quick ditty to the tone of dominos falling into pudding. Before their eyes, a narrow crack of orange formed in the air, seemingly flat at all angles. Four orange protrusions jutted out from it, taking the shape of claw-things, cyclic magical energies pouring off every face. The flat - and yet not - points pulled out the rest of the body. A powerful, churning swirl of fractals appeared within the world of the living, sharp edges of the ever-appearing shape sometimes giving the illusion of teeth where there was none. Powerful, ever-shifting circles of all shapes and cycles dug into the eyes of all present, daring them to find the depths of the pattern.

Rarity took a step forward, eyes wide. She would have gone right to the Geist right then and there had Derpy not held her back.

"No! Don't Rarity!"

"Let go of me you heathen fool!"

"The 'fool' has the right idea!" Tree Hugger said, throwing green salt on the ground in front of Rarity. The Geist didn't care about the ritualistic protective mineral - its pointed limb shifted right over the sand towards the white mare. Despite the jerking motion, the limb moved slowly, almost casually. This was a creature with no fear.

Roseluck leaped in front of the claw, driving a blade into it - a blade that passed right through it, losing a few shreds of metal on the journey. "Oh..."

Surprise lifted her wings, pulling the Geist back from Rarity. The Geist threw a second claw-thing at Surprise, forcing her to the wall like a powerful wave. Sunset came to her rescue, disintegrating the Geist's glowing point with a beam of pure magic.

"Yeah!" Berry shouted.

The claw-thing came back in an instant, giving no indication it had ever been gone. Cyclic patterns sparked off of it, tearing parts of the wall, roof, and floor away.

"Run!" Surprise yelled.

"Fall back!" Bon Bon shouted. The guards didn't delay - scrambling through the exits as fast as they could. Roseluck swept up Derpy, Tree Hugger, and Rarity, herding them out a door as well.

The Geist was not happy with this turn of events - it lunged through the wall after them, tearing a few shreds of wallpaper as it passed through it. It jerked after the fleeing ponies with a strange mixture of alien motion and mathematical grace.

Sunset screamed. "Oh no you don't!" She latched onto the Geist with a deep red chain of flames. She tried to pull back - but was only dragged along with the creature's movement. She was forced to teleport out of the house to avoid being smashed through a wall.

The Geist flung itself at Rarity once more, all four impossible limbs pointed at her in every possible configuration. Rarity wrestled against Roseluck's embrace, trying to let the Geist take her.

Surprise wasn't having any of that. She drove the Geist back into the house with a gust of air, collapsing the eastern half of the structure.

Bon Bon threw some magic grenades and Sunset created a miniature sun around the Geist - but any damage they did to the being was simply undone without so much as a strain on the Geist - it simply moved faster and faster, becoming more and more annoyed with them.

Granny grabbed Big Mac and Applejack, moving them out of the crumbling structure of their home, the setting sun matching the color of the spreading flames. Big Mac was slowly getting feeling back in his legs. Vinyl pulled up alongside them, biting her lip before moving to help Big Mac move.

The Geist burst through the defenses again, going for Rarity once more. Berry cried out. "Rarity! Fight it!"

Cheerliee grabbed Berry. "Stop it! She's lost it! We have to go!"

"But-"

"We'll save her later!" the Doctor said. "When we get Aloe and Golden! But we need to get out to do that! Come on!" the three of them ran into the Everfree Forest, the Doctor in the lead.

Rarity finally leaped out of Roceluck's hooves, opening her eyes wide and grinning. "Take me! Take me already! Let me see the beauty!" She had no idea why she was crying.

The Geist was a second away from granting her request when a blue laser shot it from behind. Vinyl shot it a glance that said 'remember me?'

The Geist did, in fact, remember her. It folded through space, appearing before her in a single instant, reaching out to her. Vinyl shot the front of the claw-thing with a laser to minimal effect. Surprise, Sunset, and Bon Bon charged from behind - but the Geist elected to shift space in such a way that Surprise barreled into Granny while Sunset and Bon Bon were driven into a nearby field like some recently planted produce.

Roseluck took the opportunity - grabbing Rarity and running far away, Tree Hugger and Derpy in tow.

Vinyl stood before the Geist, shooting a laser nonstop at the approaching claw-thing, straining herself. She was going to burn through her magic soon, and it didn't even seem to be doing anything.. Nothing...

Granny tossed Surprise off her - the pegasus was out cold. She set Applejack down and went to hold Vinyl's hoof. "You can do it! Show this beast who's boss!" She stared the impossible creature right down its center. "Show it a taste of its own medicine!"

A lightbulb went off in Vinyl's head. She stopped trying to push the Geist itself away - instead, she pulled. Wafting blue cycles began to emanate from her horn, affixing themselves to the orange cycles, overtaking their color. The orange mass of the Geist began to fold into her own blue patterns, bestowing her with energy...

The Geist recoiled before she could take much. It let out a scraping, shrill, giggle sound. It shook in rage, folding itself into existence behind them.

It wasn't going to leave empty-handed.

Before anypony realized what was happening it grabbed little Applejack - and fell through existence, taking the filly with it. It appeared over the wreckage of the Apple house.

"Granny!" Applejack screamed.

Then they were gone.

Big Mac's jaw hung open. Vinyl stared in shock. Suprise let out a wail of agony despite being unconscious.

Granny did none of those things.

Granny stamped her hoof on the ground and ground her teeth together.

"Oh... This means war, Geist... You better prepare that bumblin' shape of yours because you just took my family. Ah will hunt you down, Ah will find you, Ah will save my granddaughter, and then you will wish you'd never been born! You hear me you impossible freak!? Ah am gonna remove your very desire to live! Ah'll beat it out of you!"

"G-granny..." Big Mac said, not sure what he was more scared of - the Geist or Granny.

"Big Mac, get up, we're going to regroup and save your sister." She huffed. "This will not stand." She glanced at the dazed forms of Sunset and Bon Bon in the distance, pulling themselves out of the field. "...You two better hope Ah'm done when this Geist's gone, cause you're next on my list..."

"Granny... Let's just leave now..." big Mac said, standing up.

"Oh, Ah'll leave. But Ah'll be back!"

~~~

Rarity was in despair upon Roseluck's back.

She had been so close. She had felt the reverberating echo of perfection before her - but it was not to be. How could Vinyl not have seen - the Geist was meant for her! Unless...

Unless she had wanted the Geist for herself.

"VINYL!" She cried through her tears. "VINYL YOU LITT-"

"Vinyl's not here right now," Derpy said, taking a moment to fly alongside Rarity and Roseluck. "You shouldn't yell about somepony unless they're right there."

"I am going to wring your sorry little neck with your own two wings!"

"Much better!"

"RRRRRANNNNGURRARAAAA!"

"Rars, dude, calm your vibes," Tree Hugger said.

"Calm my vibes!? You are asking me to calm my vibes!?"

"Yeah, just let it go..."

"How about I let you go off the edge of a ravine!?"

Derpy turned to Roseluck. "...What's wrong with Rarity?"

Rarity twitched. "Oh, sure! Act all concerned!"

Roseluck sighed. "I don't know. The Geist's patterns have affected her differently than the rest of us... I'm not sure why, or how, or what it means. I'd have to ask the Doctor." She bit her lip. "And I don't know where he is right now."

"He got away!" Derpy said. "I know it!"

"Or maybe the Geist got him!" Rarity spat. "Or he's being burnt to a crisp! Or impaled!"

Derpy, for the first time ever, looked angry. "He got away!"

Rarity sneered. "Oh, you know that's just wishful thinking, idiot! If you're certain he got away then you're more of a fool than I gave you credit for!"

Roseluck shook her head at Derpy. "Don't listen to her, she's not in her right mind."

"Oh, am I?" Rarity jumped off Roseluck's back and stopped the group in its tracks. "Am I? I've been forced - by the Doctor - to hang out with this filth before me! This gray, disgusting, mangy, feathery, idiotic numbskull of a pony who can barely fly straight! I hate her! I hate her more than I did before because the Doctor forced this on me! In a way, you could blame all this on him, thinking he could control me! I probably would have forgotten about her in a few months otherwise, but now that's definitely not happening!"

Roseluck didn't have a comeback to this. Derpy was just crying.

"Look, Rarity..." Tree Hugger began.

"You want me to go off on you too? Because believe me I like you only slightly better than the numbskull over there!"

Tree Hugger shrugged. "Yeah, well, I know that."

"...You do?"

"Yeah. I'm not stupid. I just don't care. I learned that caring about what other ponies thought of me only led to my own suffering, Rars. I just live my life the way I want and it seems to work out fine."

Rarity twitched. "How can you win a game you aren't even playing!?"

"I have no idea. I don't think it's a worthwhile game anyway."

Roseluck shook her head. "Okay, look, we don't have time for you all to whine and yell at each other. We need to move. They'll be after us, so we need to find a safe place."

"The Doctor's," Derpy offered, her usual positive demeanor still vacant from her features.

"...We'd be safe, but we wouldn't be able to leave safely once there... You know what, who cares, we can leave the problem-solving to the others, we have our own issues. Let's go!" She picked up Rarity again and ran to the Doctor's house. Rarity didn't try to stop her this time.

Rarity felt empty. But she had just said to Derpy and Tree Hugger's faces what she'd always wanted to - where was the gratification? Where was the satisfaction? She gave up a lot of her positive exterior to let that out! Would there be any reward for that?

Did Tree Hugger have a point? The best way to win was not to play?

She couldn't even comprehend that.

What did it even mean?

She knew that she'd be able to figure it out... If only she could be one with the pattern...

Rarity's mind drifted off. She was barely aware of Roseluck pulling a strange key out of the deepest part of her bags and opening the Doctor's front door...

~~~

Berry was sitting on Cheerilee's back, exhausted. She might as well have been asleep. Cheerilee herself was trotting through the Everfree Forest, the Doctor leading the way in front of her.

She wasn't sure how to process what had just happened - they had all met up, started talking about some kind of plan to find Aloe and stop the Geist, and then the government showed up. Then the Geist showed up and everypony ran...

The Geist.

It... it was terrifying to behold, and she wasn't sure why. Besides size, it wasn't all that assuming. The claw-things were simplistic and there was no face to speak of. The patterns were beautiful and the fractals in the center were true works of art. But every time she thought of them she was filled with a dread and pushed further pondering out of her mind.

Maybe that was a good thing, seeing what had happened with Rarity...

She found herself thinking of that Surprise pegasus - an experiment of the government gone horribly right, apparently. A pegasus with magic... Powerful spells... One of the only ponies who did anything to the Geist at all. Cheerilee knew Surprise was important, but she didn't know quite how yet.

She sighed. "Doctor, where are we going?"

"Into the Everfree," he said. "I have a hunch."

"Are you taking us to the base!?"

"Great whickering stallions, no! I don't think we could learn much from them even if we could get in. I have... a hunch about the Geist."

"We're going after the Geist?"

"No. Well, hopefully not, anyway..." He scratched his chin. "I just had an idea about where it might have come from... What Sunset might have done..."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Well, I could be terribly mistaken. I'd rather not confuse you with needless information."

Cheerilee pursed her lips, saying nothing further. She took a moment to check Berry - the filly really was sleeping peacefully now, snoring softly on her back. The last few days had just been too much for the poor pony. Cheerilee wished she could fall asleep as well - but she was in the Everfree Forest with the Doctor again. She had to keep a careful eye out - she wasn't sure what to think about the stallion. he was smart, eccentric, and definitely mad. He had put them in danger, but he had gotten them out of it...

He was the reason the Apple farm had been attacked - they were after him after all - but he had a lot of information as well that was essential to finding Aloe...

He was on their side, yes, but was that a good thing, overall?

Great. Night was falling. Night in the Everfree couldn't be good.

~~~

Sunset and Bon Bon watched the Apple home burn from the edges of the Everfree Forest. Soil was still stuck in their manes and both were rather bruised and battered. The two just observed as the townsponies put out the raging blaze with some effort, plunging the night into darkness. The moon shone down upon them, the mare in the moon seeming slightly more menacing than usual.

Sunset growled. "We had them. And then they escaped."

"We could not have predicted the 'Geist's' presence."

"Perhaps not..." She shook her head. "We need to initiate some more direct measures. This town seems rather effective at banding together. Let's make use of that."

"How so?"

"Make wanted posters for Surprise. Blame her for the burning of the farm. The ponies will want retribution for the slight against one of their founding members."

Bon Bon grimaced. "You... You sure you want to do this to her?"

"She made her choice, Agent. Now she'll have to pay for it." Sunset closed her eyes and sighed. "This was not how things were supposed to go."

"None of us expected this."

Sunset nodded slowly. "...We're going to fix this. This is our mess, and we're going to clean it up." A smirk slowly crept up her face. "And I have an idea that might help with that... Get on those posters, I'm going on a little outing."

With that, Sunset Shimmer stood up and walked towards town, anticipation on her features.

Bon Bon just stared at the wreckage, frown deepening.