11 - Discharged
THOK
The grove reverberated with the familiar sound of hooves striking wood. Apples tumbled from the sky, falling into baskets below. Applejack wiped the sweat of a hard day’s work from her brow. From the placement of the sun in the sky, she knew that her morning’s work was nearly complete. Her cart was filled near to its tipping point anyway, so it was long past time to start heading back.
She hefted the first basket into an empty space in the cart’s corner. She stared into it for a moment, mesmerized by the colors and shapes of the precious fruit. The basket stared back, framed by a golden mane of hair. In its turquoise eyes, Applejack found an endless well of kindness and understanding. They made her feel safer than she’d ever been before.
Moving to the second basket, Applejack loaded it onto the cart beside the first. She looked into the second cart and it stared back at her with green eyes. The basket’s blonde mane seemed to glow under her father’s hat. The second cart had no comforting smile for her; instead, it seemed lost and confused, and it hurt Applejack’s heart to look at it. She moved on quickly.
The third basket felt lighter than the others, and she easily found a space for it between the other two. Its orange eyes shone brighter than the first two, blooming with hope and the optimism of a future that had yet to be defined. It made her heart melt to see so much possibility still to be discovered. Here was a basket yet to be defined, its contents overflowing with a million dreams yet to be realized.
Applejack closed up the cart. It was time to be heading back. She took its yoke and pulled, setting off for the long trip home. She marched for what felt like hours, accompanied only by the sound of her own hooves splashing in thick mud. When did it get so muddy?
A crack of lightning lit up the Everfree Forest, casting dark shadows across her path. Applejack knew that she had to keep going, lest she be caught out in the storm. The homestead was just over the next hill, she was certain of that. A million eyes burnt into her flesh and she could feel the hunger of the woods craving her precious cargo, but they wouldn’t have it. She steadied herself and kept on.
The sky split open, pouring down rain as she crossed the hill. Right, that’s where the mud came from. Of course, It made sense now. Still, she marched on. She could see the homestead resting up against the edge of the gorge. Across the gorge, the Castle of Two Sisters loomed, casting its shadow over Sweet Apple Acres just as it always had.
Applejack pulled her cart up to the front door, then pulled her neck out of the yoke. Pushing the front door open, she called out, “Sugar?” The living room was pitch black as she entered. She could barely see a hoof in front of her face. “What happened to the lights?” she asked.
“In here!” a voice called from the kitchen. A bright light shone at the end of a long corridor. Applejack broke into a full gallop, racing down the tunnel. She felt a strange presence encroaching on her neck, but she kept her speed and refused to look back. The truth couldn’t hurt her if she was careful not to see it.
Bolting through the doorway, Applejack skidded on the floorboards, nearly crashing into the kitchen table. “Twilight?” she asked eagerly.
Just inside the brightly lit kitchen, a lavender unicorn stood on her hind legs over the countertop. Her dark blue bangs hung down over her horn, which stood like a wizard’s tower amidst an ocean of hair. Beside the horn, a single purple stripe sat alongside a pink stripe, both of which ran the length of her mane. Splashes of batter stained into the dark blue apron she wore around her torso. She gripped a whisk with her foreleg, using it to stir the contents of the mixing bowl before her.
Beside her, a small yellow filly leaned against the counter, propping herself up with her forelegs. She had a bright red mane topped by a pretty pink bow. She hopped impatiently, trying to get a better look at the bowl, but she stopped when she heard Applejack’s approach. “Mornin’, Applejack!” she greeted cheerfully.
The sweet smell of freshly cooked apple dashed with a little bit of cinnamon was unmistakable. Her special somepony must have been working on Applejack’s favorite recipe, causing her mouth to water in anticipation. “What’s that you’re cookin’ up?” she asked coyly, knowing the answer in her heart.
“She’s teachin’ me to make an apple brown betty!” Apple Bloom replied.
The earth pony at the counter said nothing. She remained in her place, facing away from Applejack. Mindlessly, she continued to mix the bowl with a light blue hoof. Her pink mane fell around the sides of her face, obscuring her features from view.
“That right?” Applejack asked. Something wasn’t sitting right with her. “You feelin’ out of sorts, hon?” Again, the earth pony said nothing. Applejack took a few steps around her, trying to get a look at her face, but the pony seemed to rotate in place, remaining at the same angle with each step. Her black mane seemed to hover in place, curled just around the left side of her gray face.
“Sugarcube?” Applejack asked the teal pony. “Sugar, why ain’t you talkin’?”
“’Cause she knows what you did.”
Applejack whipped around, but Apple Bloom was nowhere to be seen. She stood alone in the Everfree Forest, surrounded by rustling trees whose ravenous faces snarled around her. The derelict cart lay upended beside her, one wheel having broken off from the musty old wood. The apples she’d picked had scattered upon the ground, rotting and molding in the dirt.
Applejack knew what this was. In her heart of hearts, she knew there would be no forgiveness. She broke into a gallop, moving as fast as her hooves could take her down the slope. She hurdled a fallen log and ducked under a thick tree branch, trying to flee from the truth she felt clawing at her sides and scratching its hooves into her skin.
Around the next bend, Applejack came upon a clearing. The moon shone down upon a single figure, standing alone. Her blue skin and pink mane were instantly recognizable. After all, nopony ever truly forgets her first love. “Crystal!” she shouted in warning. “You gotta run! She’s comin’ for us!”
Crystal gave one look to Applejack, then looked up to the moon. Wordlessly, voicelessly, she turned to dust and blew away in the wind. “CRYSTAL!!!” Applejack shrieked, but it was too late. Within seconds, she was gone.
She kept on galloping, coming into another clearing. “SUGAR BLOSSOM!!!” she shouted in alarm. “Y’gotta get on before she gets here!” The light red pony gave her a sad smile, and then she too turned to dust.
Applejack shut her eyes tight, galloping as fast as her legs could carry her. One after another, ponies turned to dust around her, but she refused to open her eyes. She wouldn’t see it again, not this time. She didn’t want to see it again.
Then she came to the final clearing. “TWILIGHT!!!” Applejack shrieked. Without waiting for a response, she lunged, tackling Twilight into the grass. She wrapped her forelegs around Twilight, holding tightly to her. “You can’t go,” she pleaded. “Not you too.”
Twilight looked her in the eyes, and then gave her a small kiss. It was a little thing, lasting only for a second. Then she gave a sad smile and turned to dust in Applejack’s hooves. “TWILIGHT!!!” Applejack screamed into the uncaring mud beneath her hooves.
“They ain’t comin’ back,” Apple Bloom said from behind, speaking in a flat monotone. Applejack’s heart seized. She couldn’t be here. Not here, not now, not her too.
“Not her,” she said quietly. Applejack leapt to her hooves, turning to face the darkness emerging from the woods. She dashed in front of Apple Bloom, tears streaming down her face as she screamed, “YOU CAN’T HAVE HER!!!”
“Time comes for us all,” Apple Bloom said with her lifeless voice. “Y’can’t stop the turnin’ of the clock.”
It was then that the beast erupted from the woods. Gray stormclouds flooded through the trees, rising up thirty feet above. They formed into the shape of a mare’s head, raised up tendrils made from black ink. Its turquoise eyes and golden curls shone against the gray darkness of its face, but Applejack didn’t need those details to know her; she’d never forget that face. It howled malevolently, a monstrous sound like trees breaking apart in a furious wind, but Applejack stood firm against its hideous voice.
“Take me!” Applejack called up to the creature. “Take my heart from my chest, I don’t need it anyhow, but not her!”
“It’s time,” Apple Bloom whispered. “Time for--” She froze midsentence as reality around her seemed to stop.
The creature froze as well. A crack appeared in the center of its face, just above its snout. Then another over its left eye. More and more, cracks made of pure light spread out until the creature’s structure was entirely compromised. A beam of holy radiance burst from the creature, spreading out to the surrounding forest, purifying its influence and restoring the apple farm.
“Once more, I find you here.” The voice boomed from the center of the golden radiance, which slowly faded to reveal a great alicorn twenty feet above Applejack. She hovered in the sky, making no effort to beat her wings to keep her aloft. She didn’t need to, of course, for this was her domain and she wielded the ultimate power here.
Applejack instantly felt foolish. The truth seemed so painfully obvious, it embarrassed her not to have noticed already. This was the dream again. A pony would think she’d be able to recognize it by now.
“I have seen loss play itself out in the dreams of many ponies across Equestria,” Princess Luna continued. “Indeed, I have found that it carries a different weight on the soul of each and every pony to suffer it.” Lowering herself to the ground, she held out a hoof, allowing the creature made from smoke and ink to coalesce upon it. “But rarely have I seen a pony so beloved be presented with such malevolence. What is it about her passing that torments you so, even after all these years?”
“Beg pardon, your highness,” Applejack said noncommittally. “I’m mighty sorry y’had come out here again on my account.”
“That does not answer my question,” Princess Luna replied. She squinted at Applejack for a few seconds, then asked a probing question. “Do you fear that your mother never loved you?”
“No!” Applejack said quickly. “That ain’t it at all. My Mama gave me all the love she had. She ain’t never done nothin’ but right by me.”
“Then why does her spirit haunt you so?”
“That ain’t ‘cause of her.” Applejack looked to the smoke creature, resting immobile upon the Princess’s hoof. These were the times when honesty became the hardest. So little good had ever come of letting ponies from outside the family get too close. She had her friends and she loved them dearly, but some secrets were meant to stay private. Weren’t they?
“Your family and mine are blending together. That’s exactly what’s supposed to happen, if you’d just quit being so stubborn and let it.”
Twilight was right, wasn’t she? She was usually right, after all. Applejack tried to think of what she would say to Granny Smith if it was her standing here in Princess Luna’s place. She looked to the Princess, still waiting for more of an answer, but the words struggled to come. Why was this so hard? It felt like her emotions were locked away behind an iron wall she didn’t remember ever putting up.
“I understand if the truth is too painful,” Princess Luna said, giving her a way out. Her first instinct was to seize it. She wanted to end this conversation as quickly as possible. But still, she hesitated. She knew in her heart that if she fled now, she’d be running for the rest of her life.
So she stood her ground and she forced the words that refused to come naturally. “My Mama wanted the world for me,” she said, eyes fixed on the creature in Princess Luna’s hoof. “I let her down. There’s just one thing she wanted from me, one thing that mattered to her, and I ruined it. I broke her dyin’ wish.”
Princess Luna lowered her hoof, dismissing the apparition into thin air. She took a seat just before Applejack, laying a hoof against her shoulder. “I understand,” she said softly. “Regret is a beast that I know better than most. It is never easy to speak of such hardship, but you are truly blessed to be surrounded by so many who love you. Have you shared your pain with anypony?”
“Rarity knows,” Applejack admitted. “I told Twilight, but we were fightin’,” Applejack answered. “That was my fault too. But that ain’t all. See, it was just past that, I started losin’ folk. Crystal was the first pony to get pulled out of my life. Then there was Sugar Blossom and after that, we lost m’Daddy.”
Princess Luna pulled her hoof away, raising an eyebrow. “I do not follow. You fear that you are cursed?”
“Nah, t’ain’t nothin’ like that,” Applejack said quickly. “My Mama had a dream for me, and I let her down. This is my punishment ‘cause I couldn’t be the pony she meant for me to be.”
Princess Luna stared at Applejack’s solemn face for a few seconds. When it became apparent that there was nothing more to say that would justify her correction, Luna stated, “Being supernaturally punished from beyond the grave is what we would typically call a curse.”
Applejack scrunched her nose. She didn’t like the sound of that word. “That makes it sound like she’s bein’ mean.”
Luna looked as if she wanted to say something. She opened her snout to argue the point, then took a few seconds to consider and waved it away with her hoof. “Regardless of the semantics, I’ve seen no evidence of any curse laid upon you. My sister and I have both had the fortune of having you in our presence many a time, and I certainly haven’t seen a trace of the dark magic required for such a thing.”
“That’s ‘cause it ain’t no curse,” Applejack argued. “Look, maybe I ain’t sayin’ it right. I learnt a long time ago that actions have consequences, and this is mine.” She took a deep breath, coming around to the hardest honesty of all. “Truth of it is, I was supposed to let Twilight go. I didn’t. That ain’t never failed to make it worse.”
“You believe that Twilight’s disappearance is your fault?” Luna asked.
“I got selfish,” she explained. “I knew I shouldn’t have. Twilight’s a Princess now. It’s time for her to leave Ponyville to go do whatever purpose Celestia--”
“Stop,” the Princess commanded, prompting Applejack to fall suddenly silent. With confusion in her voice, she stated, “My sister and I have no intention for Twilight to leave Ponyville. We never have.”
Applejack blinked a couple of times, absorbing Princess Luna’s words. “That can’t be right,” she argued. “Twi’s a Princess now. I mean, y’all sent Princess Cadance to the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia’s got to have somethin’ like that in mind for Twilight.”
“Cadance volunteered to lead the Crystal Empire,” the Princess explained. “She spent many years with my sister in Canterlot before then, deciding on what she wanted her princesshood to mean. We never ordered her to do anything.” Princess Luna shifted back on her hooves, visibly uncomfortable with the allegation. “Is that truly what you believed we did?”
Applejack’s mind swirled with this new information. “But that means Twilight….”
“Twilight faces the same expectation Cadance once did. She and she alone will determine the course of her future. We could no more ask her to leave Ponyville than ask the wind to cease its blowing or the Timberwolves to end their hunger. If this is where she feels that she belongs, then this is where she will remain. Upon her return, in any case.”
“You’re sayin’….”
“Twilight’s ascension never meant that she was to go anywhere. Only she may determine where she belongs, just like any other pony.”
This was new information. Applejack’s mind reeled with the knowledge. She’d hoped that she and Twilight could find a way to keep their relationship going even after Princess Celestia’s instructions came, but this changed everything. If Twilight was never meant to leave, then that meant…that meant she’d….
“When was the last time you visited your mother?” Princess Luna asked curiously.
“I….” So many truths were being laid out tonight. There was no sense hiding this one. “I ain’t been up to see her since we laid her in the ground,” Applejack confessed.
“Then perhaps that would be a place to start. Twilight’s predicament is beyond our grasp for the present, but you must not let her absence give you cause to stop trying to be the best version of yourself that you can.” Princess Luna placed a hoof under Applejack’s chin, lifting her head up. “If you wish for a life filled with love, then you must learn to love yourself as much as you would ask of another.”
“How can I face my Mama, knowin’ what I done?” Applejack asked.
“Allow me to answer that question with a question,” Luna replied. “Are you certain that she is truly the pony you are afraid to face? Love is a strange and powerful force, Applejack. It inspires us to reach farther than we might have on our own, but it can also expose pieces of us that we never even have knew were there.”
Princess Luna levitated back into the air, floating up towards the moon. “Our time has run short, I’m afraid, but remember this: only you can find your peace. Left to roam free, fear and regret will drive a pony to terrible action. If allowed, they will govern your life. Once that occurs, you may not be proud of the pony that you will become.” With those words, the farm was overtaken in a flash of white, and then everything was gone.
Applejack woke to the sound of birds chirping just outside her window. The sun cracked over the horizon, sending the first dim strands of daylight to wash over Equestria. She let out a long yawn, her conscious mind resurfacing and taking control of her awareness. Smarty Pants lay pressed against her chest, once more providing a stalwart companion in the lonely dark of night.
Another day in Equestria was about to begin. The sun would rise and ponies would begin going about their lives, just as they did on each day before. The family counted on her to rise and begin her work, just as she had on each day before. The weather Pegasi would bring the rain where it was needed and drive it away from where it wasn’t, just as they had on each day before.
And Twilight would still be missing. Applejack could only hope that wherever she had gone, it would be a place that welcomed and cherished her, just as Applejack had tried to.
“GOOOOD MORNING EQUESTRIA!!!” Pinkie Pie’s high-pitched voice echoed through the cafeteria over the morning’s breakfast oats. “I hope you all had a great night’s sleep and are ready to face another bright and sunny day in the Crystal Empire! I mean, it’s not actually going to be sunny ‘cause the Weather Pegasi have scheduled for a few spring showers throughout the day, but when we’re living under Twilight Sparkle’s amazing leadership, it’s always sunny in our hearts!”
An oatmeal bowl struck the broadcast crystal, splattering its goopy contents along the side facing Twilight. A nearby Guardpony shouted at an occupant of the table just behind and to the right of Twilight’s, prompting a brown stallion to try and flee into the hallway. Two more Guardponies came around and pincered the culprit at the door. Before long, he was being taken away.
“Just like we thought,” Sunset whispered, seated next to Twilight. “The Guard usually doesn’t give a flying feather about minor acts of aggression. They’re on edge today.”
“Are we sure we want to do this today? They seem pretty alert. That’s the opposite of what we’re looking for.”
Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe that she had to explain this. “In an hour’s time, they won’t even be thinking about us.” She glanced to the next table, where the rest of her herd sat apprehensively. She’d told them that she needed them to back off while she broke in the new changeling. It was important to keep them out of the way; the more ponies knew about the plan, the more liable it was to backfire.
The image projected in blue fire continued unimpeded. “…but it was a tuba the whole time!” Pinkie Pie broke into uproarious laughter, pounding her hoof on the table in front of her. Her anecdote got a chuckle or two from the ponies around the cafeteria, but most didn’t seem to find the humor.
Wiping a tear from her eye and trying to calm her chuckles, Pinkie repeated, “A tuba. What will Concerto think of next?!” She let out a couple more chuckles, then turned to the papers on the desk before her. “Anyways, let’s see what else we have here. In other news, Fort Saddlehorn is on fire! What a goof….” Pinkie Pie drifted off, the bright grin on her face slowly fading.
After a couple seconds, she started reading through her report again. “Wow, I probably should have led with this,” she stated. Clearing her throat, she explained, “Those mean old Frowny Faces are at it again, you guys! They hijacked a supply carriage and snuck into the fort, pretending to be good, honest ponies! Super cowardly. But don’t worry! The Guard has it all under control. Shining Armor’s flying out there today to take care of it, so don’t anypony worry your little heads!”
A sudden look of panic emerged on Twilight’s face. “Did you hear that?” she whispered to Sunset. “Shining Armor’s not coming.”
“Yes, he is,” she replied. “The Guard wouldn’t be on edge like this if he cancelled.”
“But she just said--”
“For the love of….” Sunset Shimmer groaned. “Obviously, they can’t say he’s going to be busy visiting Twilight Sparkle’s secret prison, so they made up a story.” Sunset glanced over to Twilight, noticing the sickly look emerging on her face. “Oh, don’t give me that look,” Sunset said defensively. “It’s the smart way to play this. It’s what I’d do.”
Twilight felt sick listening to this. Here in front of her was further proof that her counterpart in this reality was deliberately misleading her own people. All of the lies, the violence, the cruelty…what was it for? What did she think she was accomplishing with all of this? She wished once more that she could speak to the Acting Princess. She wanted to try and understand the logic fueling her decisions.
Pinkie Pie carried on, oblivious to Twilight’s concerns. “Do you know what you should worry about? BIRTHDAY PLAZA!!! Two fabulous fillies and one cool colt are having birthdays today!”
As Pinkie Pie ended her broadcast by rattling off the day’s birthday ponies, Twilight returned her attention to her bowl of oatmeal. She forced herself to gulp down its lukewarm contents. Her appetite had abandoned her, but she knew she’d need the strength for what was to come. She couldn’t let herself to become paralyzed by the hopelessness of this Equestria’s plight. She had to focus on what she could do now, and that meant getting out of Bridle Rock.
Despair later. Act now. The situation was bleak, but with the help of her friends….
She looked across the table to Trixie, then glanced to Sunset Shimmer beside her. Hmm.
With the help of her loosely-affiliated acquaintances, she had to believe that she could do this.
“Five minute warning!” A Guardpony’s voice called out through the cafeteria.
On every other day that Twilight had been here, the cafeteria’s northeast doors stood open, allowing ponies to access the social area once they were finished. Today, however, the Guard had sealed them shut. Two sentries were stationed in front of the doors, gripping their spears and scowling at anypony who walked too close.
“Finish your breakfast and return to your cells!” The Guardpony ordered.
“Now?” Twilight asked.
“Four minutes,” Sunset Shimmer replied in a hushed whisper. “We want this down to the wire. These oafs won’t be thinking straight if they’re worried about the time crunch.”
One minute. Twilight counted the seconds under her breath, bracing herself.
Two minutes. Ponies filtered out of the cafeteria as instructed. The exit doors overflowed with exiting ponies, overseen by the bulk of the facility’s Guardponies. Twilight had never seen so many in one place before, not since she used to watch the Royal Guard drilling as a facility.
Three minutes. The cafeteria now nearly empty, Twilight could feel the attention of the Guard turning in their direction. From the corner of her eye, she saw four Guardponies muttering to one another, and then begin approaching their table. She nodded to Trixie.
“You take that back!” Trixie shrieked, throwing herself to her hooves. “How dare you impugn the Great and PowerfulTRIXIE?!”
“HA!” Twilight barked, rearing back on her hind legs atop the bench. “You think your intellectually subpar monickers can match my SPOOKY CHANGELING POWERS?! You don’t even have magic!”
“I have all the magic I need right here!” Sunset retorted, shaking her hoof vigorously. “The magic of busting your cutie mark!”
“We don’t even have those!” Twilight taunted. “Your biological expertise is as incomprehensive as your vituperations!”
“I’LL SHOW YOU VITUPERATIONS!!!” Sunset Shimmer tackled Twilight, knocking her back off the bench. Twilight’s back landed hard on the floor beneath her. A sharp pain shot through her spine, but she gritted her teeth and fought through the pain. It had to look real.
“Do it!” Trixie shouted. “Defend my great and powerful love! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!” The four Guardponies broke into a gallop, arriving in less than a second. Sunset Shimmer was yanked up away from Twilight, who was in turn pulled to her hooves by another Guardpony.
“What in Equestria is going on here?!” A brown unicorn demanded. Twilight recognized the gold stripe on the front of his breastplate. It was the service insignia for a Lieutenant.
Frantically, Trixie explained, “This creature was trying to work her scary changeling voodoo on us!”
Twilight thrust a hoof at Sunset, asserting, “She called my wings--”
The stallion shouted over the cacophony of voices. “What makes anypony think I care which of you ponyfeathers started this? The only thing that matters is that I’m finishing it.” He looked to the others. “Take them to their cells.”
“You’re letting her go?!” Trixie demanded. “She tried to feed on my love!”
Twilight snarled dramatically. “You love yourself so much; I couldn’t help myself!” This prompted Trixie to lunge for her. Trixie whiffed her hoof three inches in front of Twilight’s face. Twilight fell back dramatically, forcing the two Guardponies near her to struggle to keep her upright.
The lieutenant’s horn glowed, prying Trixie back away from Twilight. “One more word out of any of you and it’s the solitary chambers!” he threatened. “Back to your cells, now.”
“Oh, please,” Sunset Shimmer scoffed. “Do you have any idea who I am?”
Twilight fired back, “Barely a morsel for the Hive!” In response, Sunset Shimmer broke from the Guardpony with her, rearing to her hind legs and kicking her forelegs at Twilight.
The lieutenant lunged, quickly getting between them and slamming Sunset backwards to the ground. “THAT’S IT!!!” he shouted. “It’s the solitary cells for all of you! Take them away!”
“But I didn’t do anything!” Trixie argued, to no avail. Each pony was flanked by a Guardpony who gripped her by the foreleg, half-leading and half-dragging them towards the northeast doors. “I am a victim!” she asserted. “A tragic soul caught up in this terrible plot of wickedness and, uh…and debauchery!”
“I can walk by myself,” Sunset asserted, jerking her hoof away from the Guardpony. “See?” she asked, taking a few steps. “I’m--”
The guard responded by shoving her forward. “Keep up,” he ordered.
The Guard led them through the recreational area, then opened a reinforced metal door. Twilight had been here once before, when the Captain ordered her into solitary confinement for talking back to him nearly a week ago. Sunset Shimmer had confirmed her suspicions the previous night; to keep them away from the other prisoners, the solitary chambers were kept in the secure quarter, the same place as the barracks, storage, and other staff facilities.
They took a right at an intersection. Twilight glanced to Sunset, who slightly jerked her head down the forward hall. Guardponies flooded down from the end. Some adjusted the helmets on their heads while others fidgeted with the clasps on their breastplates. When they reached the intersection, they disappeared down the hall to the left.
Thirty paces down the corridor. A left. Twenty paces. Right. Through another secure door. There they were: a row of sealed chambers. Twilight vividly remembered the chill of the last one she’d been in. The chambers were removed from the climate magic that permeated Bridle Rock, letting in some of the cold from the frozen wastes outside.
Even in her best estimations of Bridle Rock, there was no excusing these chambers. This was torture, plain and simple. Behavioral modification through cruel and unusual punishment had no place in Equestria. But at the same time, part of her did have to admire the twisted efficiency in their design; she’d come out of her own stay afraid to ever cross a line that would make her face these chambers again.
They were brutally effective, but at what cost to the dignity of ponykind? To the very heart of Equestria? She hated these chambers. Even more, she hated the fact that she could even consider their merits in the first place. It made her physically ill to imagine they had come from her own brilliant mind.
The first chamber creaked open. “Alright, who’s first?” The guard asked.
Twilight nodded to Sunset Shimmer, who returned the gesture in kind. Then she shoved back suddenly at the pony gripping her hoof, wrenching it free with her alicorn strength. Before the Guard could react, Twilight flared her wings, slamming both of her hidden smoke bombs against the floor. The effect was near-instantaneous: a thick smoke blanketed the chamber, choking lungs and blinding eyes.
Twilight lunged forward, slamming into the Guardpony who’d opened the chamber and forcing him off-balance. He stumbled and fell backwards into the chamber. The second Guardpony came stumbling backwards towards her on his hind legs. Twilight dropped to the floor as Sunset shoved him, prompting him to trip over her back and land on the first pony.
Before the first two could get up, Twilight pushed through the smoke to where she remembered Trixie standing. She found her target despite the stinging in her eyes, prying the third Guardpony off and shoving him into the solitary chamber. Sunset Shimmer slammed the door closed, sealing them off. Then the three mares raced for the exit door, coughing and hacking as they emerged in the corridor beyond.
Sunset Shimmer turned a large wheel on the front of the solitary wing’s metal door, sealing it off. Twilight hated using the chambers like this, but she’d accepted the compromise. The three ponies could huddle together for warmth until the Royal Guard found them. The chamber also had its own ventilation system, so what smoke had entered it should clear up in short order. These three Guardponies would be fine, which was more of a courtesy than they extended to their “residents”.
The sound of distant hooves kept everypony alert. Twilight led her companions to a side door they’d passed, slipping into a storage room.
Sunset Shimmer listened at a crack in the door while Twilight took in their surroundings. There wasn’t much to speak of; it was a supply closet just like the one Sunset had attacked her in. Cleaning supplies, mops, and plenty of shelving.
“What the hoof are ‘vituperations’?!” Trixie whispered urgently.
“What?” Twilight raised an eyebrow at her. “Is that really important right now?”
“It means ‘insult’,” Sunset answered. She whispered to Twilight, “You really need to work on your trash talk, ‘Princess’.”
Twilight glowered. She didn’t know why she should feel offended at Sunset’s insinuation, but it still stung all the same. In response, she hissed, “I’m sorry. I don’t have as much experience being pointlessly rude as you do. I actually have friends.”
“See? That’s better.” Sunset whispered, grinning to herself. Twilight felt a pang of remorse, seeing Sunset’s satisfaction at her answer. She couldn’t help but feel that she’d somehow lost the conversation. A few seconds later, Sunset gave the call. “Now.”
Twilight crept out the door after Sunset, followed quickly by Trixie. She did her best to silence the sound of her steps, but there was only so much that she could do about hard hooves clicking against concrete. Each sound made her wince.
“Ugh. This was much so easier with footpads,” Sunset grumbled. She led the way back to the original intersection. By now, the hall had emptied of Royal Guards; they’d be up ahead preparing for Shining Armor’s arrival if they weren’t already receiving him. “This way,” she whispered to Twilight and Trixie, rounding the corner to the right.
At the end of the hall, the three ponies found it. A great pair of double door stood open. Just beyond it was Bridle Rock’s treasure trove of armor and weapons; just the disguise that three ponies out for mischief would need to move unrestricted in the facility. “Perfect,” Sunset Shimmer said with a grin, echoing Twilight’s own thoughts.
Within minutes, the group was eagerly throwing armor over themselves. Trixie was the first to fit her head into a unicorn helm. Her head swam in the overlarge equipment. The tip came down over her nose and the sides nearly covered her eyes. “I think they’re going to notice,” she stated dryly.
“Of course, they’ll notice,” Sunset replied, rolling her eyes. “But that’s only going to be a problem if they get a close look at us. As long as we keep moving and stay away from Shining Armor, we’ll be fine. Now how do you....” She slid her neck through the open collar of a barding set. She wrestled against the weight of the metal, trying to shift the rest onto her back. After a few seconds, the armor ultimately won out, pulling her sideways off of her hooves.
Across the room, Trixie fared little better. She wrestled with the back end of the armor, trying to fit it over her tail to no avail. To Twilight’s eyes, the visible openings in the top of the set introduced an additional problem. “Trixie, you can’t wear that,” she corrected. “That’s pegasus barding.”
“Ugh!” Trixie grunted in frustration, prying her tail free from it. “Whoever made these suits clearly had a grudge against comfort. This is the most unpleasant thing I’ve been exposed to since I came to this awful place!”
“Including the saltpeter?” Twilight asked dryly.
“I know what I said.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. With her right hoof, she snapped the clasp shut on her own barding. As with the others, it was uncomfortably large on her, but that was as much a boon as a curse. Unicorn barding had no opening to let her wings through, but the extra size prevented them from being crushed against her sides. Her wings couldn’t breathe, but they didn’t hurt either. “This is armor,” she explained. “It’s meant for protection over comfort. Here, let me help you.”
Twilight walked Trixie through the process, selecting a suit of unicorn barding that was nearest to her size. Under Sunset Shimmer’s watchful yet silent eye, Twilight showed her where the hidden clasps were located. “This is going to be heavier than you might be used to. Brace yourself at the knees.”
“How do you know all of this?” Trixie asked.
“My brother always wanted to be in the Royal Guard,” Twilight answered truthfully. “I used to help him with his practice suit back when we were younger. That only had some leather buckles attached to a sheet of colt iron, but the principles are the same.”
Before Trixie could say anything more, Twilight released the barding, letting its weight drop onto Trixie’s back. Her front legs buckled instantly, pitching her front end towards the ground. She lay upended on her front, inhaling heavy gasps. A few seconds later, she grimaced and forced herself back up onto her front hooves.
“You’ll get used to it,” Twilight said. “It’s a different kind of weight than your wagon, but--”
Trixie’s eyes shot open in alarm. “How do you know about my wagon?!”
“Eh heh heh….” Twilight chuckled nervously. Diverting from the question, Twilight asked. “Do you need any help, Sunset Shimmer?”
“I’m fine!” Sunset snapped angrily. She stood across the armory from Twilight and Trixie, scowling at her two companions. Imitating the steps she’d seen Twilight take Trixie through, she’d managed to get the barding on her back with her tail and neck through the openings, but visibly struggled to find the clasps while wrestling with the heavy burden of its weight on her back.
“Sunset, your saddle is crooked,” Twilight said. “That’s going to chafe. If you’d just let me--”
“Did I say I need help?!” Sunset spat at her. “Look here. I can do anything you can, ‘Princess’. In fact, I’ll do it better.”
“This isn’t a competition,” Twilight replied. “It’s already impressive that you’ve gotten this far with--”
“I didn’t ask for validation!” Sunset interrupted.
“Sunset….”
One hour later, Twilight and her companions made their way towards the front gate. Crossing Bridle Rock without letting the Guard get too close of a look at them had been slow going, and there had been a few close calls. Additionally, there were the breaks, which Twilight had already accounted for. In his youth, Shining Armor had taken two months of strenuous training to get used to this weight; that Trixie required frequent stops was only to be expected.
She was sure that Sunset Shimmer needed the rests as well, though Sunset rarely said anything about it. As they grew closer to the gate, Sunset developed a crooked limp in her gait. With each fall of her left hind leg, she shuffled awkwardly to the side. Clearly, the saddle was chafing her hip just as Twilight knew it would. But of that, Sunset said even less.
Why do you have to be so stubborn? What kind of pony would let herself remain in pain just to protect her ego?
On their third rest, Trixie and Sunset sat with their backs against a wall while Twilight kept watch for any commotion that might indicate the Guard was coming their way. They’d already passed several roaming squads, but as anticipated, the Guard was moving too quickly to pay much attention to them so long as they walked straight and looked like they were supposed to be here.
Trying to raise her companions’ spirits, Twilight proposed, “On the plus side, even if this doesn’t work out, think of what a great learning experience it’s been!” She looked back to them with a smile. “We’re learning a little more about what it’s like to be a--”
“Oh, shut up,” Sunset replied disdainfully.
“You really are an alicorn,” Trixie said bluntly. At each rest stop, Twilight had caught her staring at the space on her sides where her wings would be if the armor wasn’t concealing them. Now, it seemed she was finally ready to speak her mind. “How is that possible?” she asked, her voice filled with mystery.
“It’s complicated,” Sunset Shimmer answered in Twilight’s stead. “Don’t hurt your thick head trying to worry about things that don’t concern you. Just stick to the plan.”
“Skitter hasn’t needed to rest since we started wearing these things,” Trixie pointed out. “I might not be the expert in pony biology, but she has the magic. She has the wings. She obviously has the natural strength. I might have bought into that changeling story as much as the next pony, but--”
“We can talk about this later,” Twilight whispered. “We’re almost to the gate, but we’ll need to pass another patrol. Everypony, act natural.”
Twilight lowered her gaze and stood straight up. Her oversized helmet came down just over the top of her eyes, concealing her distinctive mane. She marched as close to uniform as she could to Trixie and Sunset, trying to match her hoofsteps to theirs. Coming down the corridor, two pegasi and three unicorns approached with haste. Twilight saluted the patrol as they passed, receiving a salute in turn, and then kept walking.
Before long, Twilight and her companions found themselves before the front gate. Thick metal bars laid in a crisscross pattern, emerging from the walls and floor. Somewhere in this mess of steel, there had to be a door; Twilight had watched Shining Armor open it when she arrived.
She stood before the bars, opened her snout, and commanded, “Open!”
The bars said nothing.
“Acting Princess Twilight Sparkle commands you to open!” Twilight asserted.
The bars didn’t even salute.
“Well, that’s it for plan A,” Sunset Shimmer commented. “But that’s fine, because Plan A was dumb anyway.”
“There’s nothing dumb about being thorough,” Twilight said defensively. “Before you spend the time trying to find a new volume, you should always make sure that you don’t already own it first. There’s nothing to gain from making things harder than they need to be.”
“You really are a fountain of useless platitudes, aren’t you?” Sunset Shimmer asked contemptuously.
“They’re not useless.” Once more, Twilight found herself questioning the logistics of their bargain. Sunset Shimmer was as far from an alicorn as a pony could conceivably get. She was mean, unreasonable, and entirely self-absorbed; she was the complete antithesis of everything Twilight had learned from her time in Ponyville.
It would take years to teach Sunset Shimmer the lessons she’d needed to learn, and even that was a generous estimate; Sunset seemed very proud of her toxic worldview, and Twilight wasn’t sure that anything would pry it away from her. Just getting her to listen would take nothing short of a miracle.
Once more, she thought of the human world she’d left behind. Had it been a mistake to leave Sunset Shimmer with the humans? The longer she spent here, the more she found herself questioning whether the faith she’d previously placed in ponies like Sunset had been misplaced. Bridle Rock still felt wrong to her, but every moment in Sunset Shimmer’s presence provided a compelling argument for its existence.
Was it a mistake to forgive?
As much as Fluttershy usually found Bridle Rock to be constricting, she resented being confined to her cell even worse. These days were always the hardest; watching the Royal Guard bustle about in the dim green light of the facility, Fluttershy was left with nothing to do but think. She hated having time to let her mind wander. It always found its way back to Clinic Everfree.
“Even when times seem at their darkest, you can always find a little light.”
Skitter had said that to her, though she was only echoing something that Fluttershy had said herself. When Equestria became consumed by war, the Clinic had been her light. It was a place where ponies, wildlife, and even changelings could be safe and free from the troubles of the world outside. For the time it took them to recover, the Clinic allowed creatures of all kinds, friends and enemies alike, to coexist in harmony.
Until the day when the Clinic destroyed Equestria’s harmony.
She tried to remind herself of the importance in her presence here, but these were the times when all she could think of was a great grassy meadow lined with trees that rang with birdsong. She remembered the gratitude on the face of her patients. She still knew the words to the robins’ song of aid and when she closed her eyes, she could hear Harry’s noncommittal grumbling. It was a good life.
Until the day when her good life ruined everything that was great about Equestria.
Suddenly, a shrill voice filled the cell block. “The residents have been confined to their cells for the duration of your visit,” it said. At the end of the hall, a great white stallion emerged into the cell block. Everypony in Equestria knew the face of Shining Armor, clad in his distinctive purple barding. Behind him, Captain Silverpride followed in lockstep, flanked by half a dozen Guardponies.
Shining Armor stepped slowly through the cell block, stopping at each cell to inspect its resident in turn. When it became Fluttershy’s turn to be scrutinized, she kept her head low and tried to avoid making eye contact. She expected him to say something. She hoped that he might speak to her, acknowledging her terrible crime and explaining what she had to do to make it right. From the day she’d arrived here, he had never so much as spoken to her. But this time was no different; he said nothing and simply moved on to the next.
“This one’s missing,” Shining Armor observed.
“That’s Sunset Shimmer,” the Captain explained. “She and another pony decided that today would be a good time to have an altercation with our new changeling resident, who the ponies have taken to calling Skitter. They’ll be spending the remainder of the day in the solitary wing.”
“Is that right?” Shining Armor asked. “Do you have fights breaking out often?”
The Captain blanched. “No, sir.”
Shining Armor rounded on the Captain. “I gave you a lot of flexibility in Bridle Rock’s design. You said that you were committed to doing whatever it takes to keep order around here. If I find out that you can’t even keep the residents from fighting each other, then you and I are going to have problems. Is that clear, soldier?”
“Of course, sir,” the Captain responded, keeping his head held high. “It won’t be a problem, sir. This was a very unusual occurrence.”
“Unusual, is it?” Shining Armor thought for a second. “You said that the changeling was involved. I assume the three of them are being heavily supervised.”
“They were taken to the solitary wing,” the Captain asserted once more.
“Where they’re being watched extensively, I assume.”
“I hardly think that’s necessary,” the Captain scoffed. “The solitary cells only open from one--”
“Do you know what unusual means, Captain?” Shining Armor asked forcefully. “It means the changelings set a trap, and you’re about to walk blindly into it. If this behavior isn’t normal, then I expect a thorough response. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” the Captain replied quickly.
“Good. Take me to the solitary wing. I’ll decide just how secure this changeling actually is.”
“Yes, sir. Right away, sir.”
Fluttershy watched the Royal Guard disappear around a corner. Worry knotted in the pit of her stomach. Sunset and the others were undoubtedly trying to carry out that plan of theirs. If he caught them, then there was no way of telling what Shining Armor would do to them.
Setting aside her doubts, Fluttershy pulled a corner of her straw mat to the side, revealing a small hole in the corner of the wall. She gave a few quick squeaks into the hole, prompting a large rat to poke his nose out. “I’m sorry to bother you, my friend,” she said to The Big Cheese. “I’m afraid something very urgent has just come up. I need to have my cell opened.”
“We need to find that key,” Sunset Shimmer said quietly, leading Twilight and Trixie through another cell block. “You said Flash has a copy?”
“He’s not going to help us without Fluttershy,” Twilight replied.
“He doesn’t need to. We take it from him, get the gate open, and then we’re gone before he even knows what hit him.” Sunset Shimmer grinned. “It’s the perfect plan.”
“Oh, of course,” Trixie said mockingly. “If I’d just shown dangerous criminals that I had something they wanted, I’d be sure to wear it all the time. There’s nothing safer than an obvious target.”
Sunset Shimmer stopped suddenly, allowing Trixie to walk headfirst into her backside. Sunset turned on her, hissing, “Do you have something that you want to say?”
“Sunset, this isn’t….” Twilight droned off, eyes facing ahead. Was that? It couldn’t be, could it?
Trixie scowled. “All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t expect him to be wearing it. It could be in a closet. Somepony else might have it. There’s no reason to think he’d keep it with him.”
“Fine.” Sunset glowered. “Then we hunt him down and we make him tell us where it is. We know something that he doesn’t want anypony else knowing about, which means we have leverage. Skitter, you’re not going to have a heart attack if we….” It was then that Sunset noticed that Twilight was no longer among them.
Twilight slowly descended the hall leading to the cafeteria, eyes fixed on the reinforced door. Unlike each day before, the door now stood open. She could hear the hustle of ponies within.
“Hey! We’re trying to make a plan here,” Sunset hissed, coming up behind her. “What in the hay do you think you’re doing?!”
“It’s open,” Twilight replied simply. Through the door, she could see several branching corridors leading off from the main hall. Display racks of all shapes and sizes lined the corridors created by large filing cabinets, with thick glass revealing their contents.
Three Royal Guard unicorns hustled between the racks, each carrying a clipboard and a levitating quill. They scribbled furiously at their clipboards, checking the contents from rack to rack. They appeared to be taking inventory of the secure room’s contents.
“Twilight.” The voice came unbidden, directly touching her soul and mind.
“Skitter!” Sunset Shimmmer shook Twilight, breaking her from her trance. “Are you listening to me? We can’t stay here. Ponies are already starting to notice us.” She gestured to the cells, where several ponies had already taken a curious interest in the three unusually sized and strangely colored Guardponies.
“There’s something here,” Twilight said. Without even waiting for a response, she crossed the threshold into the secure room. She looked across the racks at the Guard unicorns, but they were too busy with their work to notice her.
It didn’t take long to work out that this place was meant to be some kind of vault. The cases she looked through were filled with a variety of objects, each tagged and marked. One section of the displays appeared to be for resident belongings. A barbell sat in one display, marked as “Bulk Biceps”. Across from it, Twilight saw a black suit jacket marked “Bracer Britches” next to some kind of strange contraption simply labeled “Flam”.
“Skitter, what are you doing?!” Sunset hissed from the doorway. “They’re going to see you!”
She skimmed over the contents of the cabinet beside her. A set of cherry bombs. Two pliers and a socket wrench. A pink ribbon tied in a bow. A rolling pin. A large camera with a flashbulb. A single wilted rose. Pamphlets for some kind of self-help program.
“Can you believe this?!” Trixie demanded, right next to Twilight. She pointed her hoof at one cabinet, which held her familiar purple cape and cap, both decorated with blue and yellow stars. “I’ve never been so insulted in my life!”
“It’s not just yours,” Twilight said simply. “It looks like everypony’s possessions are kept here.”
“Not that. Look at the label!”
“It says, ‘Trixie’.”
“Exactly! Just Trixie. What about, ‘The Great and Powerful’?! Ugh, I’ve never been so insulted.”
“What are you idiots doing in here?!” Sunset Shimmer demanded, joining them. “We don’t have all day.”
“There’s something here that might help us,” Twilight explained. She closed her eyes and listened to the connection that was tugging at her.
“Is it a key?” Sunset asked angrily. “Because unless it’s not, I don’t see what could possibly be worth wasting our time like this.”
“Twilight, this is your dignity speaking. Why don’t you love me anymore?”
“Discord,” Twilight whispered.
“Cool,” Sunset answered. “New question: what the hoof is a Discord and why should I care?”
Twilight took a deep breath. “If I’m right, this might be our ticket out of here. Or we might unleash an ancient force of evil across all of Equestria.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Great. And I’m sure you’ll be able to get a lot of use out of it without your magic. We don’t have time for this, Twilight. They could figure out we’re gone any--”
BWOMM
Suddenly, the lighting from the crystals turned bright red. A deep, repeating thrumming sound echoed through Bridle Rock, seeming to come from every direction at once.
BWOMM BWOMM BWOMM BWOMM
“What is that?!” Twilight demanded, looking up in alarm.
Sunset replied by shoving Twilight behind a large case. “Trixie!” she hissed.
“Give me a second,” Trixie replied. Standing on her hind legs, she felt her way around the cabinet housing her cape and hat. “There has to be a latch or--” Trixie suddenly felt herself yanked aside, pulled by Sunset Shimmer’s teeth on her ear. “Ow owowowow!”
Twilight peered around the corner, watching as four ponies entered and began conversing urgently with the inventory ponies. She made out the words “escape” and “changeling”, the latter of which prompted a horrified gasp. All seven ponies exited the vault with great haste, leaving Twilight and her companions briefly alone with the room.
“We need to get out of here,” Sunset insisted.
“I have to find Discord,” Twilight said sternly. “He could be the key to escaping Bridle Rock.”
“Twilight, this place has one way in and out. If they find us here, there’s nowhere to retreat, and you’ve already used both of your smoke bombs. I’m putting my hoof down. We need to—hey!” Without even waiting for Sunset’s response, Twilight had already bolted for the other side of the vault.
In the next room, Twilight found a treasure trove of arcane magic. The Alicorn Amulet lay in a glass case across from blanket made from solid gold ramskin that Twilight recognized as one of Mage Meadowbrook’s eight magical items. A large tank in the center of the room housed a dozen Parasprites, fluttering around and bumping into each other.
“Twilight, stop,” Sunset ordered.
“Twilight?” Trixie asked, stunned by Sunset’s repeated use of the name. “Skitter, why is she calling you--”
“That’s not important,” Twilight barked, refusing to even look at her companions. He had to be here somewhere. A familiar looking case sat along one wall with six empty slots. That must have been for the Elements of Harmony, but why wouldn’t they be there? Unless this reality had to deal with the Plunder Seeds too, in which case….
“He’s here,” Twilight said. “I can feel it. He has to be here. He’s going to get us out of here and then he’s going to take me home.”
“This is a dead end,” Sunset Shimmer reiterated. “You’re going to get us caught. We can’t. Be. Here.”
Trixie blinked. She took a look around the vault they were in, and a question came to her lips. “What are they going to do if they find us with all of this stuff? That could be even worse than just getting caught.”
Twilight continued to ignore them. She looked to the far corner. A large doorway led into a narrow hall that led deeper into the mountain. “I would have put him as far back in this place as possible,” she confirmed to herself. “He has to be this way.”
“Just a little farther, Twilight. Why, you could say I’m DYING to see you again!”
“Twilight, that is a hallway,” Sunset hissed. “Okay, I’m done with this.” Lunging at Twilight from behind, Sunset grappled the alicorn’s midsection with her hooves, pulling her back from the door.
“Let go of me!” Twilight shouted audibly, rearing back. She shoved back at Sunset Shimmer, forcing her off. Sunset’s side crashed into the case that once held the Elements of Harmony, sending it tumbling to the ground. The glass, amazingly, held out against the impact without so much as a crack. The loud crashing noise as steel struck wood and glass struck concrete, however, was unmistakable.
“They had to have heard that!” Sunset shouted. “We need to leave!”
“Then go!” Twilight shouted back at her. “But I’m doing this!” She broke into a gallop, racing down the hall. The small confines echoed with the sound of her hooves. Turning around would prove quite a challenge if this led to a dead end, but Twilight was filled with confidence. She was right. She had to be. Everything she’d experienced in Bridle Rock had led her to this moment, when she would--
No.
Twilight slowed to a stop as she entered a vast chamber, deep beneath the mountain.
“No.”
Her breathing hitched.
“This can’t right. This isn’t possible.”
She sat down hard, staring in horror at the center of the room. Minutes later, Sunset Shimmer entered, followed closely by Trixie. Their armor did not enter with them, having been discarded back in the vault. Sunset’s eyes burned with raw fury; Trixie merely looked concerned, casting a worried look back down the hall.
“How is this possible?” Twilight asked them, all of her previous bravado fading from her voice.
“You tell me,” Sunset Shimmer snarled. “I’ve never seen this stupid thing in my life. This is your big escape plan?” In the center of the room, a large pedestal held up the statue that Twilight knew to be Discord petrified by the Elements of Harmony. A great howling laugh remained frozen on his face, just as it had been when the Royal Sisters defeated him.
That face sat on the ground beside his outstretched talon. The broken pieces of his wings were piled on top of one another, just beside his right leg. His tail, snaked around the pedestal, lay atop the collection of rubble.
No salvation would be found here. There was nothing left but another reminder of a ruined world. Twilight’s mind raced with the ramifications. She picked up Discord’s petrified head with her hoof, and it felt like he was laughing directly at her, mocking her for her false hope. This would be her last indignity. Twilight broke, flinging the head across the room. “He was supposed to be here!” she screamed into the somber room.
Once more, Sunset Shimmer urged her, “We need to leave.”
“What’s the point?!” Twilight asked. “There’s nowhere to go. They’re going to find us and they’re going to take us back. That’s how it works here. There was supposed to be a way out. There was supposed to be hope, but all we did was make it worse. It only ever gets worse.” After a few seconds, she added, “I hate your reality. What’s the point of even trying if everything has to be so awful?”
“Oh, Twilight. Why does everything always have to have a point?”
Twilight’s eyes shot wide open. “You are here,” she whispered. “I didn’t imagine that.”
“Who’s here?” Trixie asked nervously. She looked to Sunset. “You’re not making a lot of sense right now.”
“Me? Here? You should know better than that! Why would I, the Master of Chaos, be hanging out with these losers? I’m where I’ve always been, Twilight. I must say, I’m hurt. Not angry just disappointed. I can’t imagine what would be so exciting about ‘Bridle Rock’ that you’d choose them over me. And here I thought we were becoming friends.”
“We don’t have time for this!” Twilight shouted to the empty room. “Can you get us out of here?!”
“What is she talking about?!” Trixie demanded.
Across the room, Twilight saw the eyes on the Discord head glow red. “Wow, this guy has seen some better days, hasn’t he? Wouldn’t want to be him, if you know what I mean.”
“Would you please focus?” Twilight asked. “They’re going to find us any minute!”
“Careful now. I wouldn’t want you FALLING TO PIECES on me! PUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
“That’s not funny!” Twilight shouted at the empty room.
“Twilight!” Sunset barked. “There’s nopony there!”
The sound of hooves could be heard through the passage, prompting Sunset and Trixie to glance back at it in terror. Twilight yelled, “They’re going to find us any minute! If you can help us, we need it now!”
“You know, you’re being terribly rude for somepony asking for help. You haven’t even laughed at one of my jokes!”
“What?!”
“Hmph.” In a downtrodden voice, Discord said, “And here I thought you might be different. I thought you of all ponies might actually understand me.”
Twilight’s heart seized. This was bad. If Discord abandoned her now, she might never understand his brand of magic. Worse, she might never find her way home.
My friends. Applejack. Apple Bloom. Spike.
“I’m trying,” she gasped out hastily. “Really, I want to understand, but I don’t know what I can learn from here!”
“Oh, Twilight. You’ve always had trouble seeing the truth, even when it stared you right in the face.” Twilight could practically hear the malevolent grin as he spoke.
“Stared me right in….” Twilight thought for a second. “Is this some kind of puzzle?” No answer came. “Okay. A broken Discord. Your statue must have been smashed during the Changeling War, obviously. That’s not much of a mystery.” Discord didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. The answer sounded wrong even to Twilight herself.
Stepping over to the head, Twilight continued. “Except that doesn’t explain your face. You’re laughing instead of panicking, which indicates it must have been broken before the time when you escaped in my world.”
Trixie stood in confused silence, absorbing everything. “Twilight” hates this reality, and now she’s talking about her world? This wasn’t changeling weird. This was a whole new layer of weird.
“Rarity had never even heard of you when I mentioned your name,” Twilight mused. “That corroborates the theory that you never escaped your imprisonment in this reality. So then this must be connected to events that are different from before then. It’s a product of the butterfly effect.”
“That’s it,” Sunset Shimmer said. “Trixie, we’re leaving. I’m not getting busted so that she can carry on arguing with a broken statue.”
Twilight’s eyes snapped open. “What did you say?” she asked, turning on Sunset.
“I said, I’m not getting busted so you can--”
“No, before that!” Twilight trotted over to Sunset, studying her face. “You said you’ve never seen this statue before. Not even once?”
“Is that really important right now?!”
“There is nothing more important right now.” Twilight grasped the sides of Sunset Shimmer’s face with her hooves. “Focus. Think hard. You were Princess Celestia’s student years before I ever was. You don’t remember this statue standing in the southwest courtyard?”
Sunset pushed Twilight off of her. “Twilight, I have never seen this hideous thing in my life. I would remember decorations this ugly.”
Twilight wandered back towards the podium where the pieces were held. “Then it must have been destroyed years before I even came along. There’s no telling what magic this statue might still hold, so the pieces would need to be locked away for safekeeping.”
“Come on, Trixie,” Sunset ordered. “We’re leaving with or without her.”
Oblivious to her companions’ departure, Twilight continued on. “That would have been in Canterlot. I must have moved it here after the war, just in case. But if that’s true, why is it broken here? The war, Nightmare Moon…how far back do these changes go? What caused all of this to change in the first place?”
“There we go. Now you’re asking the right questions. I knew you had it in you! Of course, I already gave you the answer, but I understand if you weren’t paying attention. You do have so much trouble following along when a pony other than you is talking.”
“What was that about?!” Trixie demanded, rounding a corner behind Sunset Shimmer. They’d spent only a few minutes reassembling their armor. With the Royal Guard now on alert, the disguises were needed more than ever.
“She’s either insane or stupid,” Sunset replied, adjusting the strap of her saddle around her waist. She peered down a corner, but the coast seemed clear. “I should have expected that,” she muttered.
“Why? Because she’s Twilight Sparkle?”
Sunset froze. “What makes you say that?”
“Only the fact that you’ve been saying her name for the last ten minutes! How is she Twilight Sparkle?! Why is she Twilight Sparkle?!”
“I told you not to worry about it,” Sunset said sternly.
“Well, too bad, because I’m worrying about it!”
Sunset turned on Trixie. “Trixie, I swear to Celestia. I have this under control. You just keep quiet and do what you’re told and we’ll get through this.”
“No! I’m sick of this! ‘Oh, Trixie, you’re too stupid to understand. Trixie, you don’t need to worry about that. Trixie, don’t strain your brain.’ I put up with you because you were going to teach me. Do you want to know what I’ve learned?!” Trixie reached up for Sunset’s face, but Sunset swatted her hoof away. She held up the hoof. “Look, I just pulled everything I’ve learned from you out from behind your ear. Do you see it? It’s nothing! It’s nothing, Sunset.”
“What do you think I’m going to teach you with my magic shut off?” Sunset demanded. “If you actually thought you could learn spells in this place, then you’re even stupider then I gave you credit for.”
“You could teach me the theory! The principles! The history! There is so much I never got to learn, because I wasn’t a super special gifted unicorn like you. I didn’t get to go to a fancy school for unicorns. I didn’t get to learn from Princess Celestia herself! Do you know what I got? A wagon and a few trinkets my dad forgot to take with him when he left.”
Sunset Shimmer glowered. “I’m still waiting for the part that concerns me. You got screwed? Well, guess what? Life sucks for everypony. What do you expect me to do about it?”
“We’ve had an alicorn princess who’s apparently actually named Twilight Sparkle right here in Bridle Rock for a week. You can start by explaining that.”
“Let me be clear,” Sunset said. “You are a dim-witted, overenthusiastic purveyor of parlor tricks with more excitement than sense who could barely cast a cantrip even before you were imprisoned here. There is nothing of value to me in what you do or do not know. You’re not a thinker, Trixie. You’re just a tool.”
“I have a better idea, then,” a deep, masculine voice spoke. Sunset and Trixie glanced to the side to see the bright white hide of Shining Armor looming over the both of them. “How about you both explain it to me?”
Flash Sentry raised his right foreleg over his eyes, saluting his commander. “Flash Sentry, reporting for duty, sir.”
“At ease, soldier,” Shining Armor replied. “Come inside. I’m hoping you can help me get to the bottom of this.”
It came as no surprise to Flash that Shining Armor would ask to meet with him. Standard protocol would have everypony interviewed before the inspection was complete, even ponies who worked the night shift and had no business being up at whatever hour of Bridle Rock’s dim, green day cycle this was supposed to be. Not that he was bitter, mind you.
He had, however, expected a more accommodating chamber. A break room, perhaps. If nothing was available, the Greenroom would do in a pinch, seeing as the residents were confined to their cells. This was neither of those, however. This was an interrogation room.
A dozen members of the Royal Guard stood at attention just outside the door, armed with polearms that would touch the ceiling if raised a couple feet. The room was cramped and stuffy, decorated only with a single wooden table at the center and no chairs. A steel collar lay in the center, attached to a chain that was bolted to the table. Flash Sentry had seen that collar latched around the necks of more ponies than he’d care to name. It always give him chills.
“Have a seat,” Shining Armor commanded. At that moment, Flash’s heart filled with dread. Behind the commander, another four Guardponies stood at attention, but their spears were pointed not at the ceiling. Their weapons were held diagonally, each pair crossing under the chin of a resident. Sunset Shimmer and Trixie must have been caught staging whatever foolish action they’d tried to undertake with Skitter.
“Permission to speak freely?” Flash asked.
“Denied,” Shining Armor barked at him. “Have a seat, soldier. We have a lot to talk about.”
Flash sat down at the end of the table, opposite from Shining Armor. He eyed the collar nervously. “Sir, with all due respect, I’ve been sleeping in the barracks all morning. I work the graveyard shift, so I’m--”
“I’m familiar with your schedule,” Shining Armor replied. Before him on the table lay several folders and reports, neatly organized into three stacks. “And I didn’t give you permission to speak freely, so stow it. Now, as you can clearly see, this inspection has not gone well.” He gestured to the captive residents.”
“Yeah?” Flash asked. “That sounds like a day shift problem, Sir.”
“You’re not wrong,” Shining Armor said plainly. “Too many factors had to go wrong to put these two in the secure wing dressed in Royal Guard armor while three loyal Guardponies were locked away in a solitary cell. I don’t expect you to know much about that.” The commander paused, studying Flash’s features carefully.
After a few seconds, Shining Armor continued. “I do have some questions about these, though.” He pushed a folder across the table. It slid across the wood, allowing Flash to catch it with his hoof. Flash opened the folder to a familiar sight; it was filled with overstocked supply requests going back several months. Each requisition bore his and Rarity’s signatures at the bottom.
Shining Armor gave Flash a few seconds for the requests to sink in, watching his features. Then he continued. “I’ve seen my share of requisitions, soldier. I’ve filled out more of these than I could ever hope to recall. I’ve never seen anything like this. Taken on their own, none of these is really out of place for a two month supply. But you send these every week. That seems like a lot of food for a base of this size. That’s not to mention that you have thirty ponies; I can’t imagine what you would need one hundred and twenty blankets over the span of six weeks for.”
“The Acting Princess signed off on these,” Flash said in his defense.
“That’s not an answer,” Shining Armor replied. “Her highness has a gentle heart. I know that. My sister knows it. It’s what makes her so great with the ponies in the Empire. But it keeps her from having the stomach for the kind of work we’re doing here.”
“And what work is that, Sir?” Flash asked. In the back of his mind, he knew he was getting insubordinate, but faced with the evidence already collected against him, it didn’t seem like he had much to lose. “This place is a junkyard for collecting banished ponies. That’s all it’s ever been.”
Shining Armor scowled. Flash could tell he’d touched on a sensitive subject. “Bridle Rock is the key to protecting Equestria,” he snarled. “This is where thieves and violent criminals are rehabilitated so that they can become functional members of our society.”
“Sunset Shimmer’s been here since we built the place,” Flash replied, gesturing to Sunset in the back of the room. “Why don’t you take off her disabling spell and see just how ‘rehabilitated’ she is.”
Shining Armor shot a look to Sunset, who replied with a smirk. “Try me, Whiteout,” she said with a sneer. “I promise not to stain that pretty coat of yours.”
“It sounds like you’re blaming us for your failure to carry out my sister’s vision,” Shining Armor replied, rising from his spot. He crossed the room, approaching the door as he spoke. “Bridle Rock was your job. All of yours,” he added, raising his voice to ensure the Guardponies in the room heard him. “Not only have you failed it, you’ve conspired to undermine our authority. And then there’s the pest problem I keep hearing about.”
Flash Sentry’s heart seized. He knew about that? “Sir, I don’t think--”
BANG BANG
Flash was interrupted by Shining Armor pounding on the interrogation room’s door. “Bring her in!” he called.
A few seconds later, the door opened and Flash’s throat fell into the pit of his stomach. Fluttershy was shoved roughly through the door. She doubled over and landed on her shoulder, but nopony moved to help her. After a couple seconds, she pushed herself to her hooves, only to see Shining Armor hovering over her. She looked up nervously and shrank down, trying to make herself smaller.
Shining Armor’s horn glowed, grasping Fluttershy’s forelegs with his magic. He yanked her roughly to the table, setting her beside Flash. “We caught this one skulking about the barracks. I saw her on my way in. I was certain on my way in that she was locked securely in her cell. But here she is. Can you explain that?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Flash said neutrally. His heart pounded rapidly. He could feel Fluttershy shivering with panic beside him, and it made it harder for him to resist the urge to lose it.
He had to think of something. He knew she was helpless. She was probably terrified out of her mind right now, paralyzed into inaction. She needed him to do something that would fix this. He could take whatever Shining Armor could throw at him, surely. He was a tough enough guy, right? But Fluttershy, she needed—
“I did it,” Fluttershy whispered meekly. Flash froze. What did she say? She couldn’t mean that, surely.
“Speak up,” Shining Armor ordered.
“You’re not going to get anything out of Flash,” she said quietly. She swallowed hard, took a deep breath, then continued. “He’s trying to protect me. It’s very sweet of him. But I did it. This was all because of me.”
“Explain.”
“I stole the requisition forms,” she explained. Flash’s jaw dropped. “I changed them so that I could steal supplies coming in.”
“She’s lying,” Flash stammered out. “She’s obviously lying.”
“He didn’t know anything about it,” Fluttershy insisted.
“Don’t listen to her! She’s--”
“Silence,” Shining Armor ordered, using his magic to shove Flash aside. “If that’s true, then what about these two? How do they fit in?” he asked, gesturing to Trixie and Sunset Shimmer.
“I made them steal the supplies,” Fluttershy said, putting her hoof to her heart. “That’s all they did, and they didn’t have a choice. It’s what they were trying to do now. They didn’t want to, but I made them do it. Please, it’s all my fault.”
“That’s right!” Trixie added. She swooned from side to side, raising a hoof over her eyes dramatically. “Oh, It feels soooo good to get that off of my chest. I’ve never wanted to be a criminal. I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, was brought low by a tragic twist of fate and then seduced into this tragic life of crime. It’s all sotragic!”
“Is this true?” Shining Armor asked Sunset.
Sunset Shimmer hesitated. She knew what she should say, but it didn’t feel right. Give her a chance, she’d throw Fluttershy to the wolves any day, but here was Fluttershy trying to make that trade for her. It didn’t make any sense. What was she expecting to gain from this? “I….” This wasn’t how it was supposed to work. This wasn’t a victory. All she had to do was say yes and she might get away scot free. It should have been an easy choice, but it felt wrong to have it handed to her like this.
Why would Fluttershy do this? What pony in her right mind would volunteer to take a fall? What game was she playing?
“I see,” Shining Armor said, returning his attention to Fluttershy. The opportunity had passed, and Sunset Shimmer had allowed it to slip through her fingers. Well, metaphorical fingers. The clunky hooves that passed for her fingers. And she still couldn’t fathom why.
“It looks like not everypony agrees with your story,” Shining Armor said. “So here’s your chance to convince me. If you really are the mastermind behind all this, then answer this question.” Shining Armor narrowed his eyes, his voice rippling with fury. “Where is the changeling that impersonated my sister?”
“You’re right,” Twilight said to the stone draconequus head. “There’s still so much here that I don’t understand. The choices I’ve made in this reality, the choices my friends have made, they only raise further questions. I’m trying to explore them, but there’s only so much I can do here. They took my magic.”
“And?” Twilight could hear the grin in his voice.
“I never thought in a million years that I’d be saying these words, but I need your help. Please, Discord.”
“Okay, let’s try that again, but with feeling this time.”
“What?!” Twilight was taken aback. Fuming, she demanded, “Is everything a joke to you?! This is serious! I need real help. You’re the last creature I’d ever consider asking it from, but--”
“And yet, here we are,” Discord interrupted.“Isn’t that fascinating?!Just you and me on a whirlwind tour to the very heart of reality itself! And it all starts with one question.”
“I’m working on that,” Twilight replied. “But there are a million different variables and--”
“I’m not talking about the statue.” Discord’s disembodied voice somehow managed to blow a raspberry in Twilight’s ear. She swore she could feel it. “I mean this: why are you here?”
“Because my counterpart thought I was a changeling,” Twilight answered.
“Not here in Bridle Rock. Here. Why are you here?”
“Here in this reality?” Twilight asked. “I fell through the fabric of the universe. I’m still not clear on what happened, but you suggested that I might have been drawn here because of some sort of kinship I felt with this place. I can’t imagine why, though.”
“No, Twilight. This moment, right here and now. Asking me for help. Why are you here? What made you have to be here and nowhere else right now? Oh, here, let me put on my pretentious, boring stick in the mud voice. Ahem!”
Suddenly, Twilight heard her own voice echoing back at her. “Of all the infinite variables that permeate the universe, why did they conspire to bring you to this exact moment? What is the great meaning behind your presence right here, right now? What purpose defines this meeting between us?”
“I….” Twilight hesitated. She had always believed in a well structured and regimented world. She’d lived her whole life trying to follow the purpose that was laid out before her. Every moment was a step along her path, the path of being Princess Celestia’s prized pupil. For much of her life, Twilight had aspired to do something great with her life, though she had quite underestimated the extent to which she would succeed.
There was meaning in every action. There was a purpose to everything that happened to her. This was unquestionable. Whether that purpose manifested through the Elements of Harmony or through the glorious plan that her mentor had conceived for her, every step on her journey served a purpose in bringing her towards her very reason for existing. Twilight Sparkle was an instrument of purpose, and Equestria was the map upon which her purpose played out.
It was a hard life filled with trouble and new lessons to be learned around every turn, but she had always risen to the occasion. She couldn’t imagine doing anything but. And yet, here was a world where her purpose had played out much differently. What stage of her great purpose was this? How did it connect to Celestia’s plan for her? Where was the lesson?
The words stuck on her tongue, just at the edge of her mind. She hated those words. She hated the very idea of them. They undermined the very concept of who she was, of everything she had lived her life for. Somehow, they were even harder to say than the request for help. She feared that if she spoke them, she might never come back from them.
“Go on,” Discord said malevolently, his voice coursing around her mind like a serpent, squeezing everything she stood for. “Give me those three little words I long for.”
“I don’t know,” Twilight whispered.
“Louder.”
“I DON’T KNOW!!!” she shouted in rage. Her entire body seethed with resentment. She felt defeated. She felt used. Only twice before had she ever felt so violated, as though her entire identity had been torn inside-out. Appropriately enough, that time was because of him as well.
“Did you hear that?” A voice echoed down the corridor. Twilight’s heart seized. The Royal Guard had heard her screaming at Discord. “There’s someone in the Deepvault!”
“There, I said it!” Twilight shouted. “Whatever you’re going to do, I need it now!”
“Me? I can’t even set foot in this reality. What do you expect me to do?” He let out that high-pitched laughter of his, churning Twilight’s stomach. She tried to look around the room for anything she could use, but it was nearly empty. The only objects present were the central dais and the rubble.
After a few seconds of panic, Discord’s voice returned. “Then again, there might just be some magic left in these old stones. If I could just….” At once, the pieces of Discord started to glow with a dark blue energy. Crackles of red and green lightning emanated from the magic, flashing and striking out at everything around them. The pieces let out a deep thrum. They made a chattering sound as they vibrated slowly upwards into the air.
“They’re coming this way!” Twilight urged him.
“Give me a second,” Discord said giddily. “Okay, three more seconds. I think he’s…yes, this is going to be hilarious. And….”
At that moment, a Royal Guardpony burst into the vault. “Freeze!” He ordered. Twilight backed up against the podium, just under the levitating stones. “What in Equestria?” The guard asked. He called down the hall behind him, “I think we have a problem here!”
“Now.” At that moment, the stones pulsed, sending a wave of energy outward. It hit the Guard, turning him instantly to crystal.
“Where is the changeling?!” Shining Armor repeated.
Trixie shared a glance with Sunset Shimmer. “Ugh, you know changelings,” Trixie said in disgust. “Who knows where she could have gotten off to?!”
“She’s not with us,” Sunset said quickly. “She attacked us in the solitary wing She made all of that smoke with her changelingmagic and then she vanished. She could be anywhere!”
Trixie gasped. “What if she is the smoke?!” she exclaimed.
Sunset Shimmer looked Shining Armor straight in the eyes. “The real question is, what were you thinking putting that monster in here with us?! We could have been seriously hurt! I think you owe us some answers.” In the back of her mind, Sunset silently pleaded with Fluttershy to just stay quiet and go along with this.
“Is that right?” Shining Armor asked. “It took you long enough to think of that.” He looked to one of his guards. “As soon as our stallions finish clearing out the solitary wing, I want all four of these criminals locked up. I’m going to find the changeling.”
“Yes, sir!”
“You don’t have to do that,” Fluttershy begged. “It was just me.”
“Do you think this is a game?” Shining Armor demanded of her. “There is a dangerous creature loose in this facility. Every one of you is an accomplice to that happening. This cannot happen! Bridle Rock is the single most secure military site in Equestria. You are in my camp, and I will have order!”
Seconds later, a strange wave pulsed through the air, rippling across the room from the left side. Instantly, the lighting blacked out. The stones that were supposed to provide the facility’s dim green glow instead cast rows of illuminated circles in a variety of colors, rotating rapidly in opposite directions from one another.
A shrill high-pitched voice sang out through the base in techno acapella, drowning Bridle Rock in its deafening, repeating tone. “DO DO DODODO DO DO DODODO DO DO DODODO DO DO DODODO!!!”
“SIR!!!” A Guardpony screamed as gravity ceased to function. The ponies holding Sunset Shimmer and Trixie cried out as their spears turned to serpents, whirling and biting at them.
Trixie froze up in panic while reality unhinged around her. Sunset Shimmer, thinking quickly, pushed away the struggling guards between them and then gave Trixie a forceful push through the air towards the door. She kicked off the wall, following Trixie. “Go!” she shouted to Fluttershy and Flash Sentry, shaking them out of their confusion.
Shining Armor flailed uselessly in the air as Sunset passed him. He turned, seeing Fluttershy and Flash orienting themselves in the air. His horn glowed with purple energy just as Sunset landed on the edge of the table, flipping it upwards. Shining Armor’s magic bolt struck the back of the table, blasting through it and propelling Sunset, Fluttershy, and Flash safely towards the exit door.
Trixie was the first to hit the door, passing through it and splashing it into pieces as though it were made from water. She coughed and sputtered as she passed. “Ugh, it got in my mouth!” she whined, spitting out liquid door particles. “Ick, it tastes like…like….” She smacked her lips a couple of times. “Huh….”
The others followed through behind her, wading through air now saturated with liquid wood particles. Fluttershy screamed as she passed through the door, shutting her eyes and covering them with her hooves while floating through the air.
Ahead of her, Sunset Shimmer barked over the noise of that horrid singing. “This is our chance!” She whirled in midair, turning on Flash. “Do you still have--OW” Sunset’s back struck the wall behind her, ceasing her momentum.
Flash opened his snout to answer, but the air filled with the sounds of screaming. Terrified voices echoed from the cell blocks. Down the hall, Sunset could see one of the soldiers who had stood guard outside the interrogation room; spear in teeth, he hovered in midair, desperately blocking strikes from what looked like a cell bar with arms and a menacing face, wielding two other cell bars as clubs.
“We have to leave,” Sunset reiterated.
“We can’t!” Fluttershy insisted. The screams had snapped her from her panicked funk. “Those ponies might need us. We have to do something to help them!” She flapped her wings helplessly in the air, inching her way down the hall, but Sunset took a few steps sideways against the wall and pushed off, pulling Fluttershy back towards the group.
“What is your problem?!” Sunset spat at Fluttershy. “We’re never going to get another chance like this and you want to waste it for them?! What have any of them ever done for you?”
What have I ever done for you?
Fluttershy looked Sunset in the eyes. “I can’t look away from a creature that needs help. I’m sorry that you can. I can’t imagine what must have happened to make you this way.”
Sunset didn’t even know how to respond to that. It cut deeper than any insult or barb she’d ever suffered. A flood of emotion passed through her. First, she felt old wounds and injuries beginning to stir within her, but those pains were quickly quashed with the flood of anger that filled her heart, glowing in her eyes.
Who was Fluttershy to say something like that to her? No, really, who did she think she was?! Did she think she was better than Sunset?! She was here for treason, the worst crime anypony in Bridle Rock had ever committed. Sunset might be scum in Equestria’s eyes, sure, but Fluttershy was the lowest scum, so where does she get off talking like that?!
“There you are!” Skitter flared her wings, slowing her approach. “Come on! We have to get out of here!”
“I’m not going,” Fluttershy insisted. “We need to--”
“They’ll be okay,” Skitter said quickly, anticipating Fluttershy’s response. “This is controlled chaos. I know it looks bad, but trust me, it’s all temporary. Once it’s over, Bridle Rock will revert to normal. We need to escape before that happens.”
Flash looked at the concern on Fluttershy’s face, then asked, “You’re certain that everything will be fine?”
“It always does,” Skitter answered. “Discord’s magic has a temporary warping influence on the fabric of reality, but as soon as the source fades away, the natural world should reassert itself.”
“Then we need to be gone before that happens,” Flash agreed. He turned Fluttershy around, hooves against her shoulders. “You’re not wrong, but please listen to me. I know you want to help, but you can’t help anypony if Shining Armor catches you, and after all of this, he’s going to be livid. I don’t even want to think about what the Acting Princess might come up with that’s worse than Bridle Rock.”
Fluttershy looked from Flash to Sunset, then to Skitter. Finally, her eyes settled on Trixie, who responded only with a shrug. “I just want to leave,” Trixie admitted. “I don’t really care who goes.”
Finally, Fluttershy nodded. “You win,” she said meekly. “I’ll go.”
The antigravity effect weakened as the group approached the front gate. Flash skidded to a stop, patting his armor. “The key!” he shouted. “It should be in the--”
Skitter galloped past him, diving through the gate and splashing it just like the door before. Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy followed after. Trixie opened her snout before leaping through catching a mouthful of liquid metal. Flash followed through, catching up to her.
“What was that about?!” he asked Trixie.
Trixie smirked at Flash Sentry. “What? You can’t tell me you weren’t curious.”
She had him there. “So what did this thing turn the doors into?” he asked.
“Applesauce,” Trixie answered, her voice indicating she was as perplexed by the answer as Flash was. For some reason, ahead of them, Skitter let out an annoyed groan.
Five ponies emerged into fresh air. For some, it had been years since the last time they’d seen the sky beyond the Greenroom. Yet there was no time to celebrate, for the biting wind and freezing cold bit at their flesh and howled at their ears.
“The carriage!” Flash ordered. “Skitter, can you help me pull?”
“Already on it!” Skitter replied, sliding into a guard harness. Fluttershy, Sunset Shimmer, and Trixie climbed into the back of the carriage, embracing each other for shared warmth. Flash and Twilight tugged at the carriage, breaking into a gallop and spreading their wings to take to the sky.
The endless blizzard outside pounded at their faces and the wind chilled their wings, but Flash knew exactly where he was going. “This way!” he shouted to Skitter, pulling to the right. She let him lead, following his course for half a mile east. The Crystal Empire would be in the opposite direction, he knew, but they would never make it without the unicorns’ magic to shield them from the elements. Instead, Flash Sentry guided the carriage down to the earth.
“Where are we going?” Skitter asked over the roar of the blizzard.
“Trust me!” The carriage descended towards an empty snowfield, and it was only when they were a few feet above the snow that the cave became visible. They set down the carriage just inside. The outcropping that shielded it from above also blocked much of the storm outside, allowing for shelter.
The temperature, however, was still painfully cold. “Why did we stop?” Sunset Shimmer demanded through chattering teeth. “My legs are going numb.”
Without answering, Flash leapt to work. In the center of the cave sat a fire pit, already stocked with dry wood. Flash pounced on it, striking his metal horseshoes against each other to create a spark. “Somepony watch the fire,” he asked. Next, he moved to the side of the cave, where two racks leaned against the wall on uneven ground, holding an assortment of canned goods.
Flash came back with blankets, throwing them over his companions while Trixie blew on the fire. “We can rest here,” he assured them. “In about twenty hours, the disabling spells should wear off. There’s food and fuel, so as long as we keep warm, we’ll be fine. They shouldn’t be able to find us, not in that storm.”
Fluttershy glanced about the cave, taking in her surroundings. “These things didn’t bring themselves here,” she observed. “You’ve been planning this.”
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about,” Flash confessed. “On and off, anyways.”
“For how long?”
Flash looked her in the eyes, then said, “Always.” After a few seconds, he looked to the ground and added, “You never deserved what we did to you.”
“If you two are about to have a love-in, I’m going outside,” Sunset Shimmer declared, glaring daggers at the both of them.
Flash blinked. “Outside is a roaring storm made of ice and death.”
“And that’s still preferable to you.”
“What was that?” Trixie asked. “I know just about every trick in the book. In fact, I wrote half of it. But I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Sunset looked across the fire at Skitter. “She’s right. I’ve memorized half of Princess Celestia’s library and I’ve never heard of a spell like that. That wasn’t alicorn magic, it wasn’t changeling magic, and it certainly wasn’t unicorn magic. So what in Equestria did you do?!”
“It’s a long story,” Skitter replied.
“Twenty hours?” Sunset asked Flash. He nodded. “Twenty hours. So look at that, we have time.”
“Please, Skitter,” Fluttershy said. “After everything that’s happened, I think we deserve the truth.”
Skitter pulled her blanket more tightly over her shoulders. She looked into the fire, weighing her options. She’d kept her cards tight to her chest since she arrived in this reality for fear of the fundamental impossibility of her presence. But given what her companions had just seen? She took a deep breath. Then she stood, fluffing her wings, and looked out at the ponies gathered with her.
“My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
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It only occurs to me now to wonder if Sugar Blossom was Applejack’s second girlfriend. I don’t recognize the name but you’d think we’d already fully plumbed AJ for tragic backstory.
Anyway, looks like things are kicking into high gear.
Neat seeing Trixie stick up for herself a bit, too.
Ooooh sweet irony... :D