Dear Faithful Student

by Muramasa

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
AJ
SUNSET SHIMMER

---

I tore the letter to shreds immediately.

I don't know how I didn't connect the dots. I guess I was just so tired of everything going wrong that I just wanted this one thing to go right, but of course, that wasn't the case. Starlight Glimmer had been acting strangely lately because she wasn't Starlight Glimmer: she was Melody Waltz, Celestia's changeling apprentice that we had kept in the back of our minds for the last few weeks.

She thought Trixie was going to Manehatten because she didn't actually know where Trixie was going. She shooed me away from her when she'd cut herself in the kitchen because the blood didn't come out red.

It took everything in my power not to start panicking. The Starlight that came back from Ponyville a few weeks ago was a changeling wearing her skin, and I had no idea where one of my best friends actually was. My mind came up with a slew of theories that went just short of fearing the very worst, but that wasn't healthy at the moment: as long as Melody Waltz was among us, I had to figure out what I was going to do about it.

Every step she took was the subtle tick of a timebomb, and sooner or later, it was gonna explode. I was gonna make sure that didn't happen.

I stepped out of the room and headed back to where the rest of the group was. As I walked, doing my best to knock the trepidation out of each step, I could practically feel my own mind racing as I repeated a question I'd asked many different times about many different individuals since I returned to Canterlot.

What does Melody Waltz want?

Again, I chastised myself. That was definitely a question that we should have been asking, but we were all so focused on what Zephyr's next move was that only held Waltz in the back of our minds. Regardless, it was still a pressing topic, and I attempted to wrap my mind around why Melody would be here in the first place.

Did she mean to kill Celestia? If that was the case, then there were far better ways of doing that. Celestia specifically mentioned that she'd found Melody out when she had attempted to impersonate somepony she knew: why would she do that again if it had failed her last time?

I had no idea, and I didn't have a lot of time to figure it out.

When I came back to the group, they were still making small talk. As I got closer, I could make out the conversation: Trixie was discussing her recent tour, and Twilight and Silver nodded along impressively as she recounted some of the stories from her time out in Appleoosa. The mare who was not Starlight did the same, nodding occasionally and laughing at wisecracks that weren't funny.

"Sorry about that, guys," I said, slipping back into the group. "Unfortunately, it was a bill." I was far from an actress, but I think pure necessity had improved my performance ten-fold. Trixie looked to me with a quick knowing glance, and I returned it the best I could: she had an ally now, and I wanted to make her feel as safe as she could next to the imposter that stood behind her.

"Have you found a place yet?" asked the mare who was not Starlight. I hadn't, of course, but I didn't need to completely lie about that one.

"No," I replied. "But I'm getting a few quotes from some moving companies. I was actually hoping to move to Ponyville, but while I was here, I figured I'd take a look around and see what the prices were like. Even the estimates are getting kind of ridiculous." The group nodded, and thankfully, nopony asked me how much my "estimate" was. Before they could get a chance, I quickly nodded further down the hall and spoke up.

"I'd like to talk more, but Cobalt wanted to see me about a project he's working on. We'll catch up soon!" With a mask of warmth over a glare of malice, I quickly waved to the mare who was not Starlight and shuffled away, watching their faces twist with slight confusion as I did so.

---

You better be around this time, Cobalt.

I'd been searching for him all day. I'd checked his and Violet's room thousands of times over, but I'd gotten nowhere, and I could only sit idle for a few minutes at a time before slipping back out of my room to try and find them again. I'd begun to re-memorize the entire layout of the castle in my search, and the day of wandering inside had begun to make my bones weary.

Cobalt and Violet had been rather... elusive as of late, and it didn't take too long while thinking back to their entrance at breakfast in the morning to figure out exactly why that was. I couldn't help but feel a dumb grin spread across my face as I jaunted down the hall, but I made sure to shake it off just as quickly: every second we had a changeling in our midst was a second far too long.

As I whipped around the corner, however, I felt an immediate collision, and after a blink, I found myself staring at the ceiling with a dull ache in my side. I was prepared to hop up for a fight, but the voice that called out afterward was enough to quell me.

"Sugarcube, you alright there?" with a sigh of relief, I hopped up and dusted myself off before looking up to a concerned pair of wide green eyes.

I didn't even knock her down, I mused, waving off her concern with a hoof and a smile.

"I'm okay, AJ," I told her. "I should be watching where I'm walking. I'm sorry about that." I expected a quick dismissal, but instead, Applejack rose her eyebrows and fired off a wry smile.

"'AJ', huh? Yer the sixth pony to call me that." It took me a second, but I could feel my eyes expand as I attempted to formulate an apology. She cut me off quickly with a short chuckle, though, and she laid a hoof on my shoulder with just a bit more force than I would have liked her to.

"I'm only teasin' ya, Sunset," she began. "Yer free to call me whatcha like. Now, where are you gettin' off to bowlin' down the hall like that?" It was my turn to chuckle this time, and I leaned to the side to get a better look down the corridor.

"I'm trying to find Cobalt," I said. "You wouldn't happen to know where he ran off to, would you?" She shook her head in the negative almost immediately.

"Can't say I do, but if ya see Violet, he probably ain't far behind. I tell ya, those two can't seem to get enough of each other." I could feel my eyes roll over, but before I could respond, Applejack cut me off once again.

"Tell ya what, how about we go find em'?" she asked. "I was just taken a stroll to nowhere in particular, and I'd love to seem some of Cobalt's fancy machines."

That was your strolling speed? I thought, masking my surprise with an eager grin. I gestured forward down the hall as I started off, and Applejack quickly kept pace.

"Sure! I was gonna check upstairs first." Applejack's hooves were heavy as they hit the floor, and after a short period of silence, I thought I would take the time to get to know the Equestrian counterpart to one of my best friends.

"Do you like Canterlot?" I asked her. "I know you've come here before, I'm sure, but I figured I'd ask. It's a bit different from the farmland." Applejack quickly nodded her head, and she gazed off into the distance as she gave her reply.

"I love Canterlot," she started. "I lived in Manehatten with my aunt and uncle for a few years when I was a little one, and I'd come 'round these parts quite a bit when they were on business trips. It really is a beauty. I should get up here more often when I have the time." If the Applejack across the mirror had gone to the Big Apple when she was little, she'd never told me, so the revelation came as quite a shock.

"Did you like it up there? Why did you come back?" Applejack seemed to be expecting the question, so she shrugged with a small grin before replying.

"I adored Manehatten, too, darling," Applejack said, putting on an absolutely flawless proper Manehatten accent. I could feel my jaw drop, and Applejack threw her head back in laughter before quickly recovering. "My aunt and uncle were mighty kind to me, if not a bit misguided. But I knew I belonged on the farm the whole time up I was up there, and one day, I got a sign that I was supposed to go back. I gotta say, though, I went to Manehatten with Rare a bit ago, and I felt a bit overwhelmed: must have been a little sprier when I was a youngin'."

"Could you imagine what Cobalt and Violet would think of it now?" I thought aloud. "I don't think they'd ever want to leave the place." I expected a laugh from Applejack, but instead, she shrugged her shoulders as we headed up the stairs to the second floor.

"Why don't you take 'em?" she said. "When this business is all done with, I mean. They'll love it."

I stopped walking about halfway up the steps. Applejack pressed on for a second, but once she realized I wasn't walking with her, she reeled back and looked to me with a tilted head.

"You alright, sugarcube?" she asked. I leaned back against the guardrail and drew a long sigh, prompting Applejack to shuffle a bit closer.

"I've gotten to know Violet so well over the past month," I told her. "I've been her roommate, I've taught her about modern music, sayings, customs, all of that. She's the sweetest mare I've ever met. She wants nothing more than to please everyone around her, and yet she has this sort of conviction about her that won me over the moment I met her. Cobalt is so brilliant, and I know that with the technology of this age, he can do incredible things. And Silver... I met Silver at a restaurant here, and in the short time I've known her, I've been so proud of what she's trying to do to make any sense of this situation."

"Well that's great, Sunset!" Applejack exclaimed. "They really are a nice bunch. Uh... some of 'em, anyhow." I forced myself to smile at the joke, but before I knew it, I was back to spilling my worries.

"But... we don't know how they got here. And if they randomly appeared... " I was going to finish, but the grim wave that washed over Applejack's face let me know she caught on quick enough.

"They could disappear, too."

I hated long silences. They hung in the air like a cloud of smoke, and I could only take so much of the suffocation before I had to break the tension on the stairs.

"I don't want that," I said softly. "I want them to see Manehatten. I want to invite them over to my place when I get it, and we can talk about nothing over wine. I want to see what Cobalt can build, what Violet can learn, what Silver can do." Applejack stayed silent, listening intently all the while: her human counterpart was very good at that, and I felt an encroaching feeling of warm familiarity wash over me.

Applejack removed her hat and held it to her chest, seemingly searching for the empty space for words. After a little bit, she spoke, fidgeting around with it as she began.

"I can't say I know why these folk started turnin' up," she said. "And I can't tell ya how long they're gonna be here. But I do know this. Violet has loved learnin' all 'bout the modern world, and I think it's safe to say she's been lovin' somethin' else, too." She took a break to let me laugh, and it worked -- I let a quick chuckle escape my lips, but she didn't allow it to go on for too long.

"And aside from that, Cobalt has been over the moon about all the fancy new machinery he gets to play with. I don't know much 'bout Silver, but from what I do know, you've been a big help in her trying to make a lick o' sense with all of these shenanigans. What I'm sayin, Shimmy -- " she walked over to me and rested a hoof around me, snuggling up tight to my side. I was never too excited about Applejack's southern affection, but I was willing to let it slide in this instance.

" -- is that maybe they'll be gone before we know it, or maybe we'll get to take 'em to Manehatten. But they're here now. And as long as they are, we'll be damn sure they're safe and happy."

Applejack was absolutely right, of course, but I found myself bringing a hoof to my mouth with a laugh. It was just a bit more than a dismissive chuckle, and so Applejack's warm beam quickly flipped with befuddlement.

"What? What'd I say?" she asked, only serving to increase the fit of giggles. After a while, I found a breath to speak, and I couldn't hide a devilish grin as I explained myself.

"'Shimmy'? You're the seventh friend to call me that," I told her.

Suddenly, her worried face melted into laughing hysteria, and she broke into a bellow that far surpassed my own. I was already afflicted with the giggles, so it took me all but half a second to join in, and we threw our heads back and hollered together. I don't know how long we stood there laughing in the middle of the stairs, but eventually, the riot died down just enough for Applejack to put an end to it.

"Feels good to laugh about somethin'," she said, catching her breath. "I like you, Sunset Shimmer. I'd love to have ya over at Sweet Apple Acres once this is all over."

"Yeah," I told her, beginning to finish walking up the stairs to completion. "When this is all over."

Without a word, I started my way up the stairs again, and Applejack followed unconditionally. I figured I could never escape the constant magic threats that plagued both the human world and Equestria, but after getting to experience one the very first day I moved back to my home dimension, "all over" couldn't come soon enough. Before I could get too lost in my thoughts, however, Applejack quickly spoke up again as we headed down yet another long stretch of hallway.

"I hear Cadance and Shinin' are gonna announce what Zephyr did to the public today," she said. I furrowed my brow, recalling back to the conversation we'd had just a few nights ago.

"Yeah, he said something about that," I muttered. "I'm surprised they've managed to keep it under wraps for this long. I've been looking at the papers and-- "

With a loud boom, I felt myself suddenly lurching backward, quickly bringing a hoof to my face in an effort to brace the shockwave. About a half a second afterward, something decently big hit me in the back of the neck, which was enough to send a dull pain flooding through the area. I looked up to see what it was, but I could feel my jaw drop as I did so.

I couldn't see.

Everything was absolutely pitch black, save for the speckles of moonlight flooding through the windows. I held a hoof to my face again, but I could only barely make out the outline of it as I waved it in front of me. It didn't take too long to realize that the thing that hit me was probably a piece from one of the castle's many chandeliers that fell from the shockwave, and it took even quicker to piece together what had happened and who was responsible for it.

He cut the lights.

"Uhhh, what was that?" asked Applejack, a hissing sense of urgency shooting through her cadence. Before I could answer, a lone scream rang out in the distance far too close for comfort, and a clang of metal pierced down the hallway like a rocket.

"We've spoken of the devil," I began, turning around carefully to avoid colliding with anything. "And he has appeared."

I couldn't see Applejack's face, but I could certainly hear the gasp that I drew from it with my words. I could hear her cautious footsteps as she, too, began to reorient herself, but I quickly gave her a shush as my voice quieted to a whisper.

"Don't make too much noise," I started. My horn lit up for just a brief second, and with a quick flash, a spell fired off at the two of us before fizzling out.

"That's a quieting spell," I began. "It'll mask our footsteps, but not our voice, so keep it down. We need to find Princess Twilight and meet up with the rest of the elements." Doing my best to keep it as quiet as possible, I hit a light spell on my horn, illuminating the area in front of us. We had only just reached the stairs we had walked up, and if either of us had taken one more step, we could have very well tumbled off of it. I hurriedly began to run down it, and as always, Applejack kept perfect pace as she managed to scream at me in a hushed tone.

"This don't make a lick of sense. Zephyr wouldn't attack the castle with Celestia here! And what about Violet and Cobalt? Didn't you need to talk to them about somethin'?" As I mentally thanked Applejack for reminding me that we also had a sociopathic changeling in the very same building, I shook my head for a millisecond before realizing it was also shaking the flashlight we had in front of us.

"I haven't been able to find those two all day, and I pray they aren't here," I told her, slowing my pace as we faced the long hallway we'd entered from. With a creep that could rival a master spy, I started to hug the wall to our right before darting my eyes towards Applejack.

"We need to find Twilight," I told her, quickly looking behind us to make sure the disturbance from earlier hadn't followed us. "Because she doesn't lose twice."

Comments

[badninja]

Shame on Twilight missing that Starlight got switched. Now I wonder how Sunset will help uncover the truth and find out just what is causing all of this.

[VcSaJen]

Exactly 11 dislikes, 222 likes, and almost 3333 views (2931).

[Muramasa]

9791007
media.tenor.com/images/1ba0a9ac5816796e52b2d6e56a94f512/tenor.png

[Jubilee Bloom]

I procrastinated on reading this for the past eight chapters and I am NOT GOING TO DO THAT AGAIN I NEED ANSWERS ASAP.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

I need more of this.

[Yutah123]

"I adored Manehatten, too, darling," Applejack said, putting on an absolutely flawless proper Manehatten accent. I could feel my jaw drop, and Applejack threw her head back in laughter before quickly recovering.

I just want to see Rarity react to this.

[Yutah123]

"I haven't been able to find those two all day, and I pray they aren't here," I told her, slowing my pace as we faced the long hallway we'd entered from. With a creep that could rival a master spy, I started to hug the wall to our right before darting my eyes towards Applejack.

"We need to find Twilight," I told her, quickly looking behind us to make sure the disturbance from earlier hadn't followed us. "Because she doesn't lose twice."

So, what should we call this?

The Siege of Canterlot?

That name is probably already taken, though.

[Super Trampoline]

9791276
Right? I forgot how fucking good this story is