Chapter 2: Is This a Deal, or Blackmail?
Celestia shook her head to clear it, or at least to try and make it stop ringing. After Sparrow had made his offer, one that had nearly made her faint, she had felt a spell surround her head.
And not a moment too soon, as Twilight screamed so loudly that Celestia was certain every window in Canterlot was now shattered.
Thankfully, the silencing spell had prevented her from going DEAF from the volume of The Royal Canterlot Voice. Unfortunately, it had not stopped the sheer FORCE of Twilight’s scream, which frankly felt like she had run face-first into a wall. Celestia, Luna, and all the guards on BOTH sides sprawled backwards like they’d been bowled over by a hurricane. The only one who stayed upright was Sparrow, but judging by the skid marks in front of his hooves, not even he was completely immune. At least the cart containing Twilight’s friends hadn’t been overturned…
Wait, TWILIGHT!
Ignoring the pain as best she could, Celestia frantically turned her attention back to Twilight. Said purple princess had collapsed where she stood, falling onto…a light blue pillow? Where had that come from?
Had Sparrow teleported it in? Were his reflexes so fast that he had been able to teleport it in, even as he weathered the force of Twilight’s shout? Or did he know Twilight was about to faint after he…
Sparrow…
Sparrow had PROPOSED!
He…he wanted Twilight AS HIS WIFE!
He invaded Equestria, took her and Luna down, captured and brought Twilight’s friends to Canterlot, all so he could PROPOSE TO TWILIGHT!?
That…This couldn’t be happening.
Please, someone, anyone tell me this was just a horrifying dream, she thought. Some prank by Discord, ANYTHING!
But no, she knew, she KNEW from the pain, both physical and mental, that this was real.
That just made it all the more horrifying.
Stumbling closer to her student, Celestia’s only source of relief was that Twilight was breathing evenly. The purple alicorn seemed to have merely fainted, and a quick scan with her horn confirmed that she was not suffering from magical exhaustion. She would be fine once she slept for a while, preferably in her room, in her bed…
Unless Sparrow intended to just take her!
No, no, that’s not true, she thought. It couldn’t be true. He had said he wanted her to make the choice, and if he was just going to take her, he would have grabbed her the moment she fell unconscious.
But that still did not ease the shock and pain Celestia felt in her chest.
He wanted her student, and she was powerless to stop him.
But maybe…
“I believe that is an understandable reaction,” Sparrow said, catching Celestia’s attention. He hadn’t moved— in fact, he was still standing in the ruts his hooves had made — but the sad, sad way he looked down at the youngest alicorn made him seem far too close for Celestia’s liking.
She had no words for him. There was nothing she could say to express the myriad of emotions swirling through her head. She settled for extending her wing over Twilight, blocking her from Sparrow's view. It felt like an empty, meaningless gesture.
Sparrow didn’t comment on her actions, instead turning towards the ring still levitating in his magic. Celestia found her gaze drawn to it as well, as though it was a magnet. The ring was beautiful, mesmerizing even, with the way it sparkled in the light…and yet she found it completely repulsive, if only for what it symbolized.
A way to bind Twilight to Sparrow.
A gilded shackle if ever there was one.
And yet…
There was something about looking at the ring that stirred some unknown emotion deep within Celestia’s chest. Something…warm? Safe?
But why?
The spell was broken as Sparrow took a deep breath and closed the ring case with an audible snap. With another quick flick of his horn, two clear glass orbs teleported next to his head. “Now, I realize that this is a very big decision for her to make, so I will give her seventy-two hours to give me an answer.” He sent one of the orbs over to Twilight’s friends. Celestia tensed as she watched it, wondering if it was about to burst when barely any of them were paying attention because Fluttershy and Rarity had fainted and Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were bending over them and—
The orb sailed into Applejack’s hoof and absolutely nothing happened.
Celestia was certain Sparrow was grinning at her when he pushed the other one towards her. “The orbs will allow her to communicate with her friends about this issue. Should she say yes, she must simply place the ring on her horn, then meet me here in three days.” He pushed the ring box towards her as well.
Celestia took the two objects, barely registering her action as she tried to think of a solution.
Three days.
Three days before Twilight…
No, no, that wasn’t…no, it would NEVER be enough time. Twilight shouldn’t be forced to make such a choice. She shouldn’t be the one to surrender herself.
Celestia had to do something, ANYTHING. Maybe…Maybe Sparrow might take her in Twilight’s place! Twilight would still be devastated, but at least then she would still have her family and friend to comfort her! And Luna! Luna would still be here to move the sun in her place, and to offer Twilight the comfort that she could not!
She opened her mouth as the stallion began to turn away, but he cut her off.
“I know what you are going to say, Celestia, and the answer is no,” he said. “Twilight is the only one who can accept my deal. Neither you nor Luna nor Cadence can take her place, nor can anypony else. I’m sorry.”
And with that, he and his recovered forces turned away completely, heading back down the mountain path.
Celestia stood there, watching them disappear from view as her hope crumbled into dust.
Even when trapped in Tartarus, even when bested by the Changelings, even when she had been unable to save her sister from Nightmare Moon, she had never felt this powerless.
She was here, with all her magic, all her knowledge an experience, and yet…there was nothing she could do. No way to stop this male alicorn and protect her student.
Celestia had never felt so numb.
She felt Luna come to her side, her dark feathers gently brushing against Celestia’s in a attempted gesture of comfort. But she didn’t say a word, and Celestia could feel her sister’s wing quivering with suppressed emotions and knew that Luna felt just as trapped and helpless as she did.
Somehow, that made Celestia feel worse.
But there was nothing else they could do here, so Celestia retracted her wing from Twilight and used her recovered magic to levitate both her and the pillow she slept on into the air. Sparrow’s gifts, if they could even be called that, floated behind her and she, Luna, and their guards made there way back into the city.
As they walked, Celestia mutely observed the city. As she had suspected, the windows of almost every building had been shattered by the force of Twilight’s scream, and already ponies were beginning to clean up. As they passed, the citizens of Canterlot looked up at the passing Princesses, looks of confusion on their faces and a faint sense of hope in their eyes. But Celestia had nothing to say that could ease their concerns or reinforce that hope. She could not give them her ever-present smile, or any sort of sign that things would be ok. For the first time in years, she had no plan, no way out, no strategy to help them escape, and no way to pretend she did.
She had failed them, and there was nothing she could do to hide that fact.
After a long and quiet march, they arrived at Canterlot Castle. The moment they walked through the doors, Celestia turned towards Twilight’s room. She heard the guards disperse behind her and Luna, but did not give any indication that she noticed. Relying purely on muscle memory, Celestia let her mind swirl in circles as she walked down the halls. She had to do something, think of something. But no matter how many times she let her mind rerun the facts, no new solution came to mind.
It was only a brush of Luna’s feathers that brought her back and made her realize that they had arrived at their destination. Nodding in thanks, Celestia opened the door and entered her student’s room.
It was exactly the same as it had been this morning, despite the fact that the world had now changed in a horrible, horrible way. The bed was unmade, a reminder that Twilight had just slept there the previous night. The desk was covered in books and papers, all relating to the budget rewrite that had meant everything a few days ago but were now entirely pointless. The door to the balcony was open, reminding Celestia of how much Twilight loved to watch her sunrises and sunsets.
Celestia felt her breathing hitch as a terrible realization crossed her mind. Would Twilight ever get to see a Canterlot sunrise or sunset again? Would the two of them ever be able to just sit out on the balcony and watch as the sun rose over the horizon, casting Canterlot in a golden glow?
Shaking her head and trying to stop her thoughts from spiraling out of control, Celestia levitated her sleeping student off the blue pillow and onto the bed, her magic wavering as the emotions swirled through her mind. As she gently pulled up the covers and tucked them around Twilight, making the purple alicorn as comfortable as possible, she couldn’t help but fight back a sob.
How many time had she done this? There had been so many nights when a young Twilight had fallen asleep in the library, and Celestia had carried her back to her room, not that she had minded. In fact, she had loved it. She loved the feeling of her young pupil nuzzling into her fur, sighing contently, as though simply being in Celestia’s hold meant everything would be fine.
So much had changed since then, and yet here she was, tucking her student into bed after a long, long day.
Only…would she ever get this chance again?
After three days, would she ever even get to SEE her again?
Celestia cried.
The Princess of the Sun, a pony who gave light to the life of so many others, who had waited a thousand years to see her sister again, who had taught and helped raise Twilight into the princess she had become and was practically her second mother, cried.
This situation, it was just too much. Even in the midst of all her defeats, there had always been hope of a solution, the blind trust that someone or something would come and give her the chance to make up for her mistakes or weakness.
But there was none of that now.
Even as she stared at her student, the one pony who had always filled her with hope, she could find none within herself.
She felt Luna hug her, felt Luna’s tears running down her cheeks and how they soaked into her white fur. Celestia grabbed her sister with her wings, wanting nothing more than to hold her close. Together, the two princesses sat and cried over the bed of the youngest alicorn, hoping that somehow, someway, things would turn out ok.
At Sparrow’s camp, one hour later…
“LET ME PUNCH YOU, YOU JERK!” Rainbow yelled, struggling in midair as the magic band around her leg held her immobile. She had tried — and failed — to sock Sparrow in the jaw at least fifteen times since the large alicorn had announced his ultimatum. And she gave no inclination that she would be stopping any time soon.
Applejack shook her head. She knew trying to hit the alicorn would not only be futile, but probably wouldn't do anything anyway considering how strong he was.
Granted, she ALSO wanted to buck him upside the head — multiple times, while wearing metal horse shoes — but she knew she wouldn't be able to get close enough to do so. And given how long Rainbow had spent tugging on her band, Applejack knew the darn thing wouldn't be coming off until their captor said so.
Heck, even PINKIE couldn’t worm her way out of it when Applejack had asked her to try, and it was PINKIE!
“I'll pass, if it’s all the same to you,” Sparrow said, his face warmly amused as he floated Rainbow back over to where the rest of the girls were sitting. They had been set up right in the center of camp with two guards posted at the entrance all day and night, just in case they didn’t know they were still prisoners…and yet they’d also been given a surprisingly large and comfortable tent.
This alicorn was downright weird.
Not even Pinkie weird, just…weird.
He had remained close to their wagon as they returned to the camp, and had just finished escorting them personally back to their tent when Rarity and Fluttershy had woken up. Rarity being Rarity, she’d been so shocked to hear that the whole proposal wasn’t some horrible dream that she had fainted AGAIN! But before any of them could react, Sparrow had teleported a bed right next to her so she could fall onto it. No surprise, no confusion, barely a change in expression. It was like dramatic fainting unicorns happened all the time around him.
Applejack was a little happy to see the jerk had at least some decency to help Rarity, but she could not figure out why he had a freaking BED of all things ready to go at a moment’s notice.
But what confused her the most of all about this alicorn was just his…behavior in general. His soldiers all slept in sleeping bags or on mats, but the tent allotted to her and her friends was big enough to hold full beds for all of them. And a bathroom. And a set of closets. And even a KITCHEN!
Why in the HAY would they need a KITCHEN!? Bonfires were perfectly fine, and it wasn’t like Pinkie would be baking a cake anytime soon.
Truth be told, she was actually a bit worried about Pinkie. The party pony had barely said a word the entire trip, and that was worrying given how Pinkie was usually the one to stay the most positive even in the most stressful of situations.
Then again, not many situations were as stressful as this one. Pinkie had been silent and her mane had remained deflated for the entire trip, Fluttershy had been a nervous wreck for a good portion of the trip given all the armed soldiers surrounding them, Rainbow had been anxious with being unable to fly, Rarity had been worried about Ponyville and her sister, and Applejack had just been plain homesick.
And all of this even BEFORE Sparrow’s stupid proposal.
THAT had just added more stress to the already stressful situation. Now Rarity had passed out twice, Rainbow was mad as Tartarus and refused to give up on attacking Sparrow, Fluttershy had become hysterical until Pinkie had pulled into a tight hug and refused to let go, and Applejack felt as though the world itself had gone MAD!
She had been certain that Twilight was safe in Canterlot before the proposal, but now Applejack was worried about her more than she had ever been before. Not only was she the target of this weird alicorn’s…affections or whatnot, but she only had three days to make a choice that would change her entire life. Not to mention the fact that she keeled over after trying to blow out the eardrums of every pony within fifty miles of Canterlot. Even Celestia had looked worried about her.
What’s worse was that Applejack and the others were never even given a chance to see if Twilight was ok before they were carted off once again. Heck, she was personally still recovering from Twilight’s shout even after they had lost sight of the her and the princesses. Even Rainbow had to take a good fifteen minutes to recover before she could begin trying to attack Sparrow in earnest.
Though at least Celestia would be able to get Twilight medical attention if she was in trouble. But Applejack and the girls wouldn’t be there to comfort her when she woke up which, while not the worst thing Sparrow could have done, was still pretty rage inducing.
Sure, they could talk through that orb-thing, but that wasn’t the same as being able to hug her and reassure her in person.
“YOU’LL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS!” Rainbow yelled, pulling Applejack out of her thoughts. The pegasus tried to fly again, but her band glowed and pinned her wings down. Undeterred, she charged for the alicorn, but froze entirely before she’d taken five steps.
An exhausted sigh escaping Sparrow's lips. “I’ve read that line in so many books that I know for a fact that it’s extremely cliche. In fact, I’m half temped to say ‘you’re right’ just to avoid another cliche. Unfortunately, you’re not.”
‘Unfortunately?’ Why would it be unfortunate that he WOULD get away with marrying Twi? Either he DID or he DIDN’T want her to marry him. It couldn’t be both.
“Twilight’ll never take your deal!”
“Yes, she will. You know that, I know that, and she knows that. She will stress and bargain with the universe, something I wish I could prevent, but my deal is the only path forward. If she says no, then we’ll be at an impasse.”
“So we’re just gonna be stuck here with y'all until she agrees ta marry you?” Applejack asked, glaring at the alicorn. It was bad enough that he was hurting Twilight, regardless of whether or not he sincerely wanted to prevent that, but the idea of being held here away from her family for only he knows how long was an infuriating prospect.
But to her surprise, he actually shook his head.
“No. I understand you all have lives to get back to, so no matter what, you’ll be on your way back to Ponyville once the three days are up. The only difference will be whether or not my soldiers and I will still be in Equestria by that point.”
“Um, Mister Sparrow, sir?” Fluttershy asked from within the tight hold of the still-silent Pinkie.
“Just Sparrow please,” he said, his face softening as he turned to look at the pegasus.
“Oh, um, all right, then…Sparrow?” Fluttershy corrected. “W-Why are you going through all of, well, this…” — she waved her hoof in at the busy camp — “j-just for Twilight? Y-You seem nice, when you’re not being scary…or mean,”
He does? Really, Fluttershy? Applejack thought, her face changing into a deadpan. He may not be abusing or mistreating them, but he DID still virtually ponynap them and drag them to Canterlot against their will. And that’s not even MENTIONING his proposal to Twilight! She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. Only Fluttershy could still see some good in him even after his proposal. Only Fluttershy…
“…and Twilight is very understanding. If you just talked to her…”
“I am doing this because I need to,” Sparrow answered quietly. “I need to take Twilight with me when I return home, and rather than force her to come against her will, I am giving her a choice.”
His voice seemed…off…to Applejack. She had spent years learning how to spot lies, and while he wasn’t lying per se, there was something he wasn’t saying.
Something very, very important.
“Some CHOICE!” Rainbow shouted. “You JUST said that she either goes with you, or she stays trapped in Canterlot with all of us stuck under your hooves!”
“And would you rather I kidnap her in the middle of the night, leaving all of you with no knowledge of her fate?” he asked, and his voice went as hard as steel until he was almost yelling. But there was something else there. Something else Applejack couldn’t quite put her hoof on. “Or drag her away kicking and screaming to my ‘evil island’?”
Sadness.
Of course. Now that she recognized it, Applejack could see it plain as day, threatening to burst into the open if his firm, in-control manner wavered.
She had used to talk in the exact same manner after she had lost her parents, using a hard or sometimes even enraged tone to try and cover her own pain. And that meant that Sparrow must still be in the middle of morning somepony he had lost. Is that why he went through such trouble to avoid casualties, and why he made sure to reassure all of Ponyville that no one had been killed? Because he knew the pain of losing someone close to him?
But what did that have to do with Twilight?
“Or would you rather have the ability to speak with her now and once she chooses to come with me?” the alicorn continued, causing Applejack’s thoughts to grind to a halt.
“Wait, y'all are gonna let us talk to her AFTER she accepts your…deal?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow. She knew he was going to let them talk while Twilight was still in Canterlot, but she was genuinely surprised that he would let them do so if Twilight left with this mad pony.
Something just didn’t make sense about all of this.
“Through the orb I gave you, but yes. Cutting off her communication with her friends and family would be both cruel and very unnecessary.”
Applejack’s eyebrow raised further. What the heck was this stallion playing at?
“You don’t want this, do you?” Pinkie asked, her voice soft.
All eyes immediately shot towards Pinkie. It had been the first time she’d spoken since they had left the camp earlier that morning. She still looked sad, maybe even on the verge of tears, but now she looked extremely tired as well. In fact, it almost looked as though she had…given up.
Was it possible to feel any more hopeless in this situation? Because Pinkie’s tone and look were doing a pretty good job of robbing Applejack of what little hope she had left…
“You don’t like this at all. You hate using your soldiers to do this, and you hate having to drag us into this. But you care for Twilight.”
Sparrow chuckled, but it was heavy and sad as he turned to face Pinkie. “What gave that away, my dear?”
“Your smile.” Pinkie said matter-of-factly. “Your smiles are fake around us, around your troops…so long as you’re near us, they’ve been fake all the time. They’re like masks, nice looking, but just a cover…but when Twilight told everypony to stand down, when you thanked her for stopping the conflict, you had a REAL smile. She’s the only pony to make you smile.”
Sparrow was silent for a time, breaking eye contact with the girls as his body seemed to slump. To Applejack, it looked as though Pinkie's words had brought back some very, VERY painful memories, so much so that it was perhaps overloading him to the point where he became…numb. She knew that feeling all too well, even after all these years.
So there’s a reasonably good chance that he’s lost somepony close to him, and now he’s come to Equestria to try and take Twilight as his wife. Could Twilight just be a replacement for whoever he lost? Applejack thought, before shaking her head. No. Something about that idea just seems…off. If Pinkie’s right, and he hates what he’s doing, why do it at all? And why go about it like this? Fluttershy was right in that it would make a whole heck of a lot more sense if he just talked to Twilight.
Something tells me I’m missing too many facts to try and understand this pony…
“I suppose you’re right,” Sparrow said at last, pulling Applejack from her thoughts.
He took a deep breath and forced his body into a more tense, upright posture, but Applejack could see him wavering. “You are free to wander the camp at your leisure, but you must not interfere with any activities of the soldiers, or attempt to procure any of our weapons for yourself. If you need anything brought to the tent, just ask the soldiers I have positioned here. Do not attempt to leave the camp, do not attempt to attack my ponies, and do not attempt to attack ME,” he added, looking at the still mostly frozen Rainbow Dash. “Have a good day.”
Uh…what?
Did he REALLY just say that?
Applejack shot a quick glance towards her friends and she wasn’t the only one who seemed to be thinking ‘Is he for real?’
As Sparrow turned and left, the band on Rainbow’s leg stopped glowing, granting her full movement once again. Her enraged expression said she wanted more than to go after the retreating alicorn again, but instead she just growled and went towards her own bed. Apparently, even she realized that it was pointless.
Applejack sighed and looked around at her friends again. Fluttershy was still with Pinkie on Pinkie’s bed, though she looked as though she wanted to try and comfort Rainbow but didn’t know how. Pinkie still looked sad and distant, while Rarity was still passed out on her own bed. All of them just looked so defeated.
It hurt. They were her friends, and at times like this she would normally say something that might cheer them up. Or at least something that could give them hope.
But she couldn’t think of anything. For once, she felt like there was no light at the end of this tunnel.
Later that day, in Canterlot Castle…
Twilight groaned and coughed as she woke up. Ugh, her throat felt like it had danced with sand paper, and her mouth was as dry as a desert. Opening one eye, she spotted a large glass of water on her bedside table. All for her. Lighting her horn took a few tries, especially given how her head was spinning, but eventually she managed to get the glass into grabbing distance. Taking it into her hooves, she greedily began to chug the water.
Oh, sweet relief… she thought as she gulped down the last of the water and belching loudly. She didn’t care if anyone heard it. She was just glad her throat felt better. Plus, it made her laugh a bit when she realized that it probably would have even impressed Applejack, five time champion of the Apple Family Burp Off. Yes, that was a THING. A very strange thing, but STILL A THING.
Still chuckling, Twilight levitated the water back to her nightstand before blinking in realization. That was her nightstand, in her room, and she was in her bed mostly covered in her sheets.
Why was Twilight in her room again?
She distinctly remembered leaving this morning, so why was she back in bed?
A sparkling rainbow suddenly caught her eye and she turned towards her window.
What she saw made her heart nearly stop as the memories came flooding back.
Sparrow’s ring, the one made of solid diamond, was sitting on her other bedside table.
Twilight felt herself beginning to hyperventilate. Sparrow, the conquerer of Equestria and first male alicorn in recorded history wanted her, HER, to MARRY HIM!
In exchange for ALL OF EQUESTRIA!
It, she, that, WAT!!!
No…NononononononoNONONONO! This can’t be real! PLEASE! PLEASE TELL ME THIS ISN’T REAL! I-I-IT’S JUST A B-BAD DREAM OROROROROR—
Twilight backed away from the ring like it was a snake poised to strike. I, I can’t, this couldn’t, how, why, whaAAAAA!
Thump!
She had backed up so much she had run out of bed, and her body apparently decided that if she was going down, she was taking the sheets with her.
Wrapped in a ball of cloth on the hard floor, Twilight slumped as her mind tried to make sense of it all. Sparrow wanted HER, and he had all of Equestria under his power as a bargaining chip to try and get her to comply.
She…She…She was helpless.
EQUESTRIA was helpless, and now she would either have to give up EVERYTHING to get things back to the way they were, or she would have to sacrifice ALL OF EQUESTRIA for her own freedom! Which meant that she wouldn't be around to help everything go back to normal, or that things would never go back to normal at all!
He had said he would leave in peace, and chances are…
She had to go with him.
Twilight burst into tears.
She didn’t try to untangle herself, or even try to stand. She didn’t race down the hall to try and find her mentor, or run to the library to try and build a book fort so she could hide from reality. She just curled up in her little fabric prison and cried. There were no solutions here, no ways out. Her friends were captured, she was stuck in this city, and no pony was coming to the rescue.
There was no way out, and no hope of escape, not this time.
And it HURT.
Twilight didn’t know how long she cried, only that at some point, the sheets began to move on their own, parting to reveal the sad face of her mentor. Twilight had seen Celestia sad in the past, but this was one of the very rare time when she could tell the older alicorn had been crying too.
The two ponies embraced one another, Celestia wrapping her young student in her wings and hooves, just like she always had when Twilight was young. But even the warmth and gentle squeezing of the wings was not enough to fight off the cold hard reality of what was happening.
This could be the last hug she ever got from Celestia.
Twilight felt a sharp pain in her heart.
She shuddered, and Celestia squeezed her tighter, tucking her head on top of Twilight’s as though she could hide her from Sparrow with her own body.
Twilight could feel the other alicorn shaking with suppressed sobs.
She hadn’t had a moment to think about this. What must her friends and mentor be going through?
Oh Luna, what would she tell her PARENTS? Or Shining and Cadence and Spike and Starlight and and and—
It…It was just too much. She pushed those thoughts to the side, trying to bury as far into the soft feathers as she could. It actually made her feel a little bit better.
“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Celestia whispered, her own tears falling onto her student’s back and tail. “I’m so sorry. I-I’ve failed you.”
“No, you didn’t,” Twilight said, sniffling. “You did everything you could. H-He’s just…just…”
“Stronger? Better? A more worthy leader?”
“No!” Twilight shouted, backing up enough to look her startled teacher in the eyes. “Don’t you ever say that! You and Luna led Equestria to peace for more than a thousand years! Even if he might have more powerful magic, or some trick up his sleeve he used to stun you, you’re still better than him! You taught me, helped me become an alicorn, helped me meet the most important ponies in my life…You give everypony in Equestria hope, and even if things are bad right now…they still trust you…and I do too.”
She buried her face into her mentor’s chest again. There was a silence, before Celestia let out a sad chuckle.
“You, my dear Twilight, have given me hope from the moment I first met you,” she said softly, hugging the younger alicorn tighter. “Hope for Luna, hope for the future…hope for so many things. Even listening to you now makes me hope things will turn out all right. No matter how hopeless I may feel right now.” She nuzzled the top of Twilight’s head while the smaller alicorn blushed at the praise.
They sat like that for a while, pushing the problems of the world off to the side for a little while longer. But alas, it was eventually time to start discussing what to do, even if Twilight didn’t like it.
“Celestia,” Twilight began, somewhat embarrassedly, not moving from her position in her mentor’s lap. “What happened, after I…passed out?”
Celestia sighed heavily, but spoke with a calm and even voice.
“Well, first you shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice so loudly that you ended up smashing all the windows in Canterlot,” she began, smiling ever so slightly at Twilight’s embarrassed laughter. “Then, Sparrow said he would give you three days to make a decision. He also gave us the…ring, and an orb he said would let you talk to your friends. I put the orb on your desk, and the ring…well, I couldn’t move it out of the room without you coming with me, so I assume it is enchanted to stay with you.”
“Of course it is,” Twilight sighed, closing her eyes. “Three days…That’s…not a lot of time.”
“No,” Celestia agreed. “But I promise my sister and I will be here should you need us. Or if you simply want to talk.”
“Thank you.” The two lapsed into silence for a time, this one not as pleasant as before, but still nice. However, Twilight quickly realized that she had to speak to her friends. If she had taken the news so badly, she could only imagine how worried all of them must be about her.
Plus, talking with them always helped her feel better, especially at times like this.
Lighting her horn, she felt around with her magic until she found the glass orb. She could tell the alicorn had made it. It had the same traces of magic she had felt when his soldiers weapons had started to glow. As she levitated it over, Celestia spoke again.
“Would you like to talk to them alone?” she asked. Twilight shook her head.
“I don’t mind you being here with me. They’re you’re friends too.”
“I suppose they are, all because of you, my dear,” Celestia smiled as Twilight blushed again. Shaking her head to try and clear it, she reached out with her magic and focused on the orb, and that was all it took before the glass started to light it and images started to swirl inside it.
The orb was apparently sitting just behind Rainbow Dash, because when the colors settled, there was a rainbow tail filling the orb. Before Twilight could speak, she heard Pinkie’s voice.
“Maybe we should try calling Twilight with the orb thingy?”
Rainbow snorted.
“Not to be mean or anything, but she probably pulled a Rarity and fainted again once she woke up.”
“HEY!” Twilight yelled, and she heard Rarity yell the same thing through the glass.
Rainbow jumped with a ‘YIPE’ and fell to the floor with a thump, showing Twilight an empty bed and a faint trace of purple along the edges.
“Oops, sorry, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight apologized, and then glared at the orb. “And for your information, I am NOT as bad as Rarity. No offense,” she added, tilting her head to see if Rarity would come into view.
“None taken, darling,” her friend’s voice said. The orb’s image was covered in the light blue of Rarity’s magic and blurred until it settled on the unicorn’s saddened but relieved face. Her mane was a bit messy, but there were no mascara stains, so it looked like she hadn’t been crying. Small victories, at least. “And I must say that I am glad to see you. Are you all right? The others filled me in on what happened, and…well…”
“I’ll…get back to you on that…” Twilight sighed in exhaustion. “I just woke up and am…still working through things. I’m still pretty concerned about all of you. Are you ok? Did Sparrow or anypony else hurt you? What’s—”
“Now, now, one question at a time,” Rarity soothed. “Despite the circumstances, all of us are perfectly fine. Well, aside from a slight bump on my head from when I fainted, but I think we can all agree that it was justified given the situation.”
“But what about THREE times?” Rainbow asked. The image in the orb zoomed out and showed a smirking Rainbow walking into view as Rarity glared at her. “Hey, YOU’RE the one that fainted. And that jerk didn’t even propose to you!”
“Rainbow…” Applejack said warningly, stepping into the view from the left side while Fluttershy and Pinkie entered from the right. She nodded towards Twilight, which made the rainbow pony redden.
“I, uh,” Rainbow said sheepishly, but Twilight shook her head.
“It’s ok, Rainbow. Trying to avoid his…deal…won’t do any good, but can we maybe talk about that later?”
“Sure, Twi,” she said. “Whatever you want.”
“Thank you,” Twilight sighed. She was about to speak again but Rainbow interrupted her.
“Oh, and uh, hey Princess Celestia.”
“Hello, Rainbow Dash, and everypony else,” Celestia said warmly, smiling at the ponies in the orb. The five mares nodded in greeting, grinning as well. “I am glad to see you are all unharmed. And I am sure Twilight is as well.”
“That’s a bit of an understatement, don’t you think, princess?” Twilight asked, smiling as Celestia stuck her tongue out. Something about her mentor being playful even at a time like this did wonders to calm her nerves.
“Now what I really want to know is how all of you are doing,” she said as she turned her attention back to Rarity and the others. “When I heard he had taken you prisoner, I nearly had a panic attack, even with the reports. I know Rarity said you were all ok, but…?”
“We’re all fine, sugercube. Well, as fine as we CAN be, given the situation,” Applejack said. “Despite Sparrow needing to be taught what a deal is, he’s, admittedly, been rather kind to us.”
“Yeah, it’s weird,” Rainbow said. “Besides the stupid bands—” She pulled on the offending piece of metal as though for emphasis — “he hasn’t actually done anything to us. He let us ride all the way up here in that wagon, gave us an, admittedly, cool tent—” She gestured to her surroundings, although Twilight couldn’t actually see any of it — “and gave us everything we need. He won’t let me go FLYING, but that’s about it.”
“Maybe because you keep tryin’ ta punch him?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow. “But she’s right. He’s done squat to us other than bring us with him after he took Ponyville.”
“How did he take Ponyville?” Celestia asked. “Our reports say most of his forces joined up with him on the way up the mountain. What happened before they arrived?”
“Well…” Applejack began.
Two days ago…
Applejack wasn’t sure if she should be worried or just annoyed. Applebucking season was just a week away, which meant she had plenty of chores she needed to do in order to prepare. She had woken up at the crack of dawn as usual and had looked out her window to gaze at her orchard.
The only problem was, said orchard was not cast in the light of the sun, but cast in the light of a huge orange barrier currently covering the sky.
Apparently it was gonna be one of THOSE days.
Though given how it WAS Tuesday, she didn’t feel as surprised as she probably should have been.
Seriously. Why is Equestria always in danger WHEN I AM SO GOSH DARN BUSY!? This would have been FINE three weeks ago, but ENOPE! It HAD to be TODAY!
Quickly dashing out of her bedroom, Applejack woke the rest of the apple family before making for the front door. However, she had barely stepped out of the house when a deep, echoing voice sounded across their orchard.
“Attention, Ponyville, attention.” Its tone was calm and collected, even pleasant. “As some of you have seen, or are currently seeing as I wake you up — sorry about that, by the way — Ponyville is currently being held under a shield of my creation. Fear not, this is only temporary and will disappear within the next day or two, should everything go according to plan. However, I must now ask that all Ponyville residents report to the town hall for a meeting. We have attendance sheets that we have taken from the town hall, so we will know if anyone does not attend.
“Along the way, you will notice my ponies in orange and blue armor. Please do not antagonize or attack them. They are simply here to keep order, and will not bother you should you leave them be. I will not lie that these next few days may be a bit stressful, but I promise you that everything will return to normal by this time next week…mostly. But for now, please make your way to the town hall. Yes, that includes you, Rainbow Dash. Don’t think I can’t see you hitting my shield. You leave a rainbow trail after every impact. Please don’t hurt yourself and come to the meeting. It will make things easier for everypony.”
Applejack blinked.
That was…weird. Normally, creatures that try to take over Ponyville don’t sound so polite. Or hold town meetings.
Then again, that politeness could just be a front. It was always harder for her to determine if somepony was lying if she couldn’t see their face, and judging their genuineness was even harder.
But that wasn't really important right now. Whoever that was clearly knew who Rainbow Dash was, which likely meant that they had done their research on both her and the rest of her friends. And if that was the case, she needed to go and find the girls in case that creep tried anything. She wasn't sure if she could do much — if his claim about the shield was true, they probably would need Twilight’s fancy magic to help — but that didn’t mean she couldn't go and support her friends.
“Looks like we’ve got a town meetin’ to attend,” Applejack said as her family emerged from the farm house. Big Mac looked wide awake and gave her a nod in confirmation, his face not betraying any emotions. Applebloom was riding on his back, practically asleep, while Granny Smith was trailing up the rear and was muttering something about pears.
Applejack smiled at her family before turning towards Ponyville.
Together, the Apple Family began the trek into Ponyville. Applejack wondered what they would see when they got to town. A mass panic? Everypony marching into the town square with their heads held low? Was anypony trying to flee?
She just hoped that everypony was still ok, especially the rest of the girls.
At least Twilight would be ok, given how she was in Canterlot. It was highly unlikely anything would try and attack there with three princesses defending it, especially now that the Changelings had been reformed.
Eventually, the thatched roofs of Ponyville came into view and they could see what the voice was talking about. Along the side of the road were mares and stallions in orange armor with light blue highlights. They stood tall and proud, but unlike the guards of Canterlot, they seemed far more relaxed. These soldiers didn't stare at them with stony, emotionless expressions, or follow them with their eyes. Their expressions looked calmer, warmer, and even perhaps a bit encouraging.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was that as they approached, Applebloom nervously made eye contact one of the soldiers and received a smile and wave in response. And this wasn’t patronizing as far as Applejack could tell. He genuinely looked concerned about Applebloom’s fear and looked as though he was trying to at least mitigate it. It was unexpected, to say the least.
They’re still dangerous though, Applejack thought, eyeing the sword the soldier was carrying on her back. Kinda hard to say ‘we come in peace’ when yer carrying weapons around. Though I don’t see any ponies with their weapons drawn, so that’s something…Let’s just hope it stays that way.
At the center of town, a large group of ponies had already crowded in front of the town hall, waiting nervously. The Apple Family gave their names to one of the soldiers holding a list and stopped near the back, where there was a little more room. Applejack took a quick moment to look around. Pegasi sat on clouds or hovered in the air above them, close enough that they’d be able to see and hear what happened next. There were more of the orange and blue soldiers here too, surrounding the crowd and circling the skies. As the last of the Ponyville citizens trickled in, the guards seemed to close ranks, creating a barrier of their own.
While that was definitely unsettling, Applejack noticed that they still stood a good distance away and kept their weapons in their holsters. So unnerving, but not yet threatening. At least she was in between them and the rest of the town’s ponies should things get outta hoof.
There was no sign of anyone who seemed to be the soldiers’ leader, and despite her best efforts, Applejack couldn’t see any of her friends due to the size of the crowd. Even Rainbow, who frankly stood out like a bruised apple, was nowhere to be found, assuming she was there at all. Applejack REALLY hoped she wasn’t still trying to break through the shield. Not only was she liable to royally piss off the one in charge of this whole mess, but she could really hurt herself too.
Applejack wasn’t a magic expert by any means, but if somepony or other creature was strong enough to create a shield around all of Ponyville, then chances are that said shield would probably be harder than rock. Rainbow might be hard-headed, given how often she crashed into Applejack’s apple trees, but even she had her limits.
Plus, Applejack was sure that Rainbow wouldn’t be able to break it, no matter how little she cared about her own safety. The pegasus was strong, but not THAT strong. However, before Applejack could think more on her friend, the doors to Ponyville town hall opened.
Out stepped what had to be the largest pony Applejack had ever seen. They was HUGE, even taller than Princess Celestia! Applejack gulp slightly in fear. She had never seen any creature, pony or otherwise, come close to Celestia’s height without having the power to match their size.
The leader was a unicorn with a long black horn, but the rest of their body was concealed under a large purple cloak with a hood that made them look almost regal yet no less intimidating. As they walked, all the soldiers around the town hall saluted. Their leader returned the gesture and gave them a short nod, at which point the soldiers fell back to their previous positions around the town’s paths.
The unicorn stopped at the top of the stairs and looked around at the surrounding ponies. As their eyes passed over Applejack and her family, she could see that they were a bright orange. But there was something about them that made her shiver as his gaze lingered on her for a second before moving on. Not from fear, exactly, but from…something she couldn’t identify.
But before she could try and figure it out, they started to speak in the same deep, calm voice that had carried across the town.
“I believe introductions are in order, seeing as everypony save for Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Pinkie have arrived.” the pony said. The deep voice told Applejack that the leader was a stallion.
Dang it, Dash! You had better not have gotten Scootaloo and Pinkie wrapped up in whatever crazy scheme you’ve thought up this time! Applejack thought. ESPECIALLY if you’ve gotten Scootaloo mixed up in all this. Celestia knows that filly looks for trouble enough without you encouraging her.
“My name is Credence Sparrow, and right now, my soldiers have taken control of every city and town in Equestria save for Canterlot and the Crystal Empire.”
Applejack couldn’t stop herself from gasping, and she wasn’t the only one. It sounded as though a sharp breeze suddenly blew through the crowd.
If this stallion was telling the truth, then he had taken control of almost all of Equestria in only a single night.
That…that couldn't be true, could it!?
Applejack didn’t know, because for once in her life, she had absolutely NO IDEA if this stallion was lying or not! There was just…something about the way he spoke. His words SOUNDED true, but Applejack had always felt this sensation when somepony spoke to her, some gut feeling that told her if what she was hearing was true or false. But for this pony, that instinct was just…absent.
That, somehow, was even more terrifying then the idea of Equestria may have been conquered.
Applejack felt Applebloom press up against her leg, shivering slightly. She must have slipped off of Big Mac’s back to be closer to her. Looking down, Applejack could see the utter terror in Applebloom's eyes. She clamped down on her own fear and buried it inside for the time being. She wrapped a leg around her little sister and squeezed her gently in comfort as the stallion continued to speak.
“However, you needn’t fear for your fellow ponies. I specifically ordered my ponies to avoid any casualties on either side, and I have received reports that they were successful in that front. I will not put anypony through the pain of losing somepony you love, not if I can help it. There were a few bumps and bruises, but nothing serious or permanent. I promise.”
While his words did cause Applejack to relax slightly, it also brought up a new worry in her mind. Even if he didn’t want anyone to be killed, what if that was just so he could use the ponies of Equestria for his own purposes? Queen Chrysalis didn’t want to kill anypony, but that was just so she could imprison them and steal their love.
Plus, he DID still conquer them. The murmuring of the crowd told her she wasn’t the only one feeling unsettled.
“Now I am sure you all have questions,” Sparrow continued. “First of which, how does this affect YOU?
“In truth, not much. I have no plans to take anything from you, or to demand anything from you in particular. The only major change will be that for the next few days, no pony is allowed to try and leave Ponyville. As much as I would prefer to avoid doing so, I am afraid that I do not have the numbers, nor the resources, to keep track of every pony in Equestria.
“The only exceptions will be for those who work in the weather services, those who work in transporting goods between towns and cities, such as mail ponies, and those that have a family emergency in another town. If you fall into these categories, you need only ask a guard for permission and provide proof of work, or for a one-pony escort should it be a family emergency, and you will be cleared to leave. Be warned, however — we will know if you don’t arrive at your destination.
Well, THAT doesn’t sound threatening at all, Applejack thought with an eye roll. It almost sounded like he didn’t want them to think that they were trapped here in town and that this was all just some mild inconvenience.
He was failing pretty badly on that front.
“You are also probably wondering what I intend to do next. I plan to go to Canterlot and make a deal with the Princesses regarding our current situation.”
You mean how you slipped in from out of nowhere with absolutely no warning or previous communication and took over Equestria in a single night? That situation? Applejack deadpanned.
“As I said in my announcement, should everything go to plan, your town will be back to normal in just a few days, so please just be patient, and things will work out.”
And what if things DIDN’T go according to his plan? How long would it take for things to go back to normal then? How long would they need to be imprisoned in their own town by solders in fancy armor? What if Rainbow tried something stupid like fighting the soldiers or flying away? What would happen to her? All these thoughts just made Applejack even more uncertain of the situation at hoof.
“And now…” It was subtle, but Applejack hear the slight shift in his voice. He still sounded strong and confident, but now his voice was tinged with…regret? “I must now ask that the bearers of the Elements of Harmony come forward. Be assured, I swear on my very life that you will not be harmed in any way, and that I will provide a means for you to communicate with your family through letters, but I must insist that you make the trip to Canterlot with me.”
“Aw HAY no!” came Rainbow’s voice as she appeared out of…well, Applejack didn’t actually SEE where she came from, but she had no time to try and stop the rainbow-maned mare as she charged Sparrow.
RAINBOW! DON’T! Applejack thought, trying to call out, but she was too late. Rainbow was past her faster than she could see, and she had to try and stay on her hooves just from the force of the gale the pegasus produced as she flew past. But almost as quickly as Rainbow had appeared, she stopped dead in her tracks, floating in an orange aura only a foot away from the cloaked figure. “What the!? Hey!”
“Glad to see you decided to join us, Miss Dash,” Sparrow said casually, seemingly unmoved by the fact that he had nearly been sucker-punched by the fastest mare alive. “I must admit, had you not screamed before attacking me, I may not have been able to stop you before you could hit me. You truly do live up to your reputation as the fastest mare in Equestria.” He laughed and shook his head.
He’s…not mad? Applejack thought, her eyes never leaving the stage as she watched Rainbow and Sparrow with rapt attention. She REALLY hopped he wasn’t mad.
“LET ME GO!” Rainbow yelled, struggling to move inside his magic hold.
“I will, I will,” he assured as levitated out a red band with a blue gem from under his cloak. “I just need to make sure we don't have any problems during our trip.”
He snapped the band around Rainbow’s outstretched right foreleg. Nodding to himself, he lowered her to the ground and released her. She immediately tried to fly up and punch him again, but the band immediately glowed, freezing her in place once again.
“This band will allow me to track your location, as well as protect you should your life be put in danger,” Sparrow said, looking at the shocked face of Rainbow Dash. “And should you try and attack me or my guards, they will automatically activate and freeze you in place.”
It was hard to see from this distance, but Applejack thought for sure that Rainbow Dash looked completely terrified being held in place like that.
“Uh-oh,” Applejack muttered, her eyes never leaving Sparrow. But before she, or any of the stunned ponies in the crowd could react, a buzzing sound filled the square and a new voice called out.
“I’LL SAVE YOU, RAINBOW!” Scootaloo yelled as she flew off a nearby roof on her scooter. The stallion was either so surprised, or so confused, that he couldn’t react before she crashed into his head. However, due to his sheer size, the scooter and filly did not even make him flinch. Instead, his horn speared the scooter, leaving it and its occupant dangling down in the large stallion’s face.
Given that his head was actually BIGGER than Scootaloo’s entire body, Applejack was sure that Scootaloo was utterly terrified right now. And she was too, but her body refused to move as she watched the scene unfold.
The square was perfectly silent for a good twenty seconds before the unicorn burst out laughing. Lighting his horn again, he gently levitated Scootaloo off her perch and placed her on the wooden deck next to the still frozen Rainbow Dash. He then pried the scooter from his horn and with a quick flash of magic, completely repaired it and returned it to the small pegasus filly.
“I give you points for style and courage, but I am afraid that I might be just a LITTLE too strong for you, my dear,” Sparrow chuckled. He gently patted Scootaloo on the head, but when she flinched, he retracted his hoof as though he’d been burned. Applejack swore she saw sadness flash onto Sparrow’s face, but he quickly replaced it with a warm smile. “You may make quite the guard one day, however. Keep training, and you’ll go very far.”
“A-A-Am I in trouble?” Scootaloo asked, looking up at the much taller unicorn and gulping slightly.
He chuckled again. “No, my dear, you’re just fine, though I would ask you NOT do that again. I really would rather not have a headache today. Now, please go with Rainbow and my friends. She will be coming with me to Canterlot for a few day, but I promise that she will be back once my business has concluded. For now, though, feel free to spend as much time with her as you can before we go.”
As he spoke, two of the flying pegasus soldiers came down and saluted. Sparrow returned the salute, and they led Rainbow and Scootaloo away.
Or, at least, they led a rather nervous looking Scootaloo away. Rainbow was still frozen and glaring at Sparrow, so she had to be carried away on the second soldier’s back.
What the hay? Applejack thought, her mouth hanging open at the scene she had just witnessed. Despite being rammed in the head with a scooter, Sparrow had actually PRAISED Scootaloo, and she could tell it was genuine. He wasn’t mad, and his apparent kindness didn’t disappear.
So did that mean that he WAS telling the truth? That this kind front he was putting up wasn’t actually a front, but actual kindness? Did he really intend for everything to be back to normal in a few days? And if he was such a kind pony, WHY THE HECK DID HE INVADE AT ALL!?
Ugh, so many questions. This makes my head hurt more than when Twilight tried explain how unicorn magic worked…Or that time Rainbow crashed into me at top speed while trying to perform a Sonic Rainboom…
“Now then,” Sparrow said, pulling attention away from the retreating forms of Rainbow and Scootaloo. “I know that Pinkie Pie is not here—“ Applejack caught a glimpse of the Cakes, both glancing worriedly at each other, and she felt another pang of fear —“But I know for certain that Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy are here. Yes, dear, I can see you over there,” he added, nodding towards a set of bushes.
A surprised ‘EEP!’ came out of the shrubs, and almost every pony in a ten foot radius of the plants jumped. Applejack bit her lip. This guy was good. Clearly, no pony else had noticed Fluttershy’s hiding place. But why wasn’t he concerned that Pinkie wasn’t here? Did he already know where she was hiding? If so, that was a feat in and of itself.
And then there was the idea that he now wanted all of them to just surrender themselves to him. She was actually half-tempted to just try and hightail it out of there. But where would she go if she did? He could probably find out where she lived, if he didn’t already know, and she couldn’t go anywhere outside of town with the barrier. Plus, he HAD seen her in the crowd, so any attempts to run would probably just end up with her being caught and frozen like Rainbow. He most certainly had the range and control to do so.
“Sis?” Applebloom asked, looking up. Applejack sighed and lowered her head to hug her sister tighter. Without any real options, Applejack lifted her sister onto her back and gave a look to her brother and granny. Both of them knew that look, and she knew their looks too.
I need to go.
Be careful.
Stay safe, dearie.
Applejack nodded and turned back towards the town hall, Applebloom hugging her neck tightly. Sparrow was looking at her, almost expectantly. She glared at him and started walking forward. Just because she was coming quietly didn’t mean she had to like it. Even if his kindness was genuine, even if he was going to release them in a few days, and even if he DID keep all his promises about returning their lives to normal, he was still a conquerer that was separating her from her family without any say from her or her friends. And she refused to cower before him. Ponies started parting for her, and in what seemed like almost no time at all, she had reached the stage. She raised an eyebrow as another band was levitated out and attached to her leg.
“This really necessary?” she asked, waving the band around to see how it fit. It was attached firmly, though not painfully, to her leg, and was clearly not going to be coming off anytime soon.
“Just a precaution,” Sparrow said. “One can never be too careful after all. And I promise that your sister will be escorted back to your family once we are ready to leave,” He nodded towards Applebloom, who ducked her head down. Without another word, Sparrow pointed the two apple sisters in the direction Rainbow had been carried off in, and Applejack turned and walked off without looking at him. With her head turned away, she could see a highly annoyed Rarity being led onto the stage by two soldiers, Sweetie Belle clinging to her back. Fluttershy had nervously stepped out of the bushes, but when a nearby soldier started slowly walking towards her, she jumped back in with a whimper.
Applejack halted at the edge of the town hall to look back at her two friends. She might not be able to do anything, but she would still feel much better knowing they were safe. Thankfully, despite Rarity’s annoyance and reluctance and Fluttershy’s terror, both of them were led to the stage without incident. Seeing them get fitted with their own leg bands was unnerving, but seeing them start to follow after her unharmed was relieving enough for Applejack to finally turn and round the town hall.
“Miss,” a soldier said, saluting to her as she came around the building. He, along with about thirty other soldiers, were standing near a large cart where a now mostly unfrozen (her wings were still stiff and held at an awkward angle) Rainbow was trying to comfort a panicked Scootaloo. The rainbow-maned mare was whispering kind words and telling Scootaloo just how awesome she had been, and it seemed to be working, if only a little. Applejack knew the little orange pegasus wouldn't be the only one needing comfort. Applebloom was squeezing her neck so tightly it was almost hard to breathe.
“Applebloom,” she began and her sister let out a small sniffle.
“Please tell me you’re gonna be ok,” Applebloom whimpered. “I know you fight monsters and stuff all the time, but, but…”
“Shhhh,” Applejack whispered, reaching around and pulling Applebloom off her back and into a tight hug. “I know this isn’t a normal ‘savin' Equestria’ thing, but you don’t need to worry about your big sis. I’ll be home as soon as I can, safe and sound. We all will.”
“Do y-you promise?”
“I promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Applejack said, performing the motion of a Pinkie Promise™ before wrapping her legs around her sister again.
The two of them lapsed into silence after that, enjoying their embrace as they waited for the inevitable separation. Rarity and Fluttershy arrived less than a minute later, with Rarity’s attention on a sobbing Sweetie Belle and Rainbow Dash pulling Fluttershy in for a group hug between her and Scootaloo. Poor Fluttershy was trembling like a leaf, and Applejack made sure to scoot over and offer her a few pats on the back to try and help calm her down.
After about fifteen minutes, Sparrow himself rounded the Town Hall as he gazed at the four mares and three fillies currently in the back of the wagon. He didn’t speak, but Applejack noticed that his posture was more…actually, it was rather hard to tell. It looked like he was trying to maintain his regal air of authority, but he was doing a pretty horrible job if that was the case.
In fact, he almost looked…well, Applejack wasn’t quite sure. Though she didn’t have much time to think on it as the soldiers around them began to move.
Three unicorn soldiers approached Sparrow and shared a few hushed words with the stallion before saluting once again. Applejack had a feeling it was time to say goodbye, and she was proven correct as the three soldiers moved towards the back of the cart.
“Applebloom. Promise me you’ll stay out of trouble, ya hear me?” Applejack said softly, giving Applebloom one last squeeze. Her sister gave a tearful nod before burying her face in Applejack’s chest one last time.
When the soldiers arrived, the three fillies gave their older sisters one final hug before reluctantly breaking contact with them and moving to the back of the cart. The soldiers said nothing, but each one helped one of the fillies down to the ground and gently led them back towards the town hall. As Applebloom cast one last glance back, one final thought crossed Applejack’s mind.
Be safe, sis. I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can…
Back in the present…
“We left about five minutes or so after that and began the trip up here,” Applejack finished. “As we left Ponyville, the shield vanished just long enough to let us out before popping back up, and Sparrow himself disappeared for about an hour before reappearing with Pinkie. Pinkie…well, she’s asked that we didn’t question her about where she was. And…that’s pretty much it.”
“Very strange,” Celestia said, her brow bending in thought. “I can see Ponyville every morning when I raise the sun, but I don’t remember seeing a shield around the town that day. Could he have managed to hide it with an illusion spell?”
“That might explain how he was able to get all his ponies into the cities without anypony noticing,” Twilight said. “That, or they actually managed to teleport here somehow, but I have the feeling they would need to have somepony here to act as a anchor first. Although, his cutie mark didn’t look like it was related to illusions or teleportation, so that’s all just speculation.”
“Not much we can do about it now,” Rainbow grunted. “Besides, I don’t think that’s gonna help us think of a way to kick Sparrow’s butt.”
“I don’t think we can, Rainbow,” Twilight said glumly, looking over at the ring still sitting on the small table. “I don’t even know if there is a way out of this at all. At this point, taking his deal might be our only option…”
“What! No way!” Rainbow yelled. “You can’t say yes to his stupid deal!”
“But what else can I do!?” Twilight cried, “He has all of Equestria, all of YOU! And he was able to beat Celestia and Luna without even trying!”
“That doesn’t mean you can just give into his demand!”
“I must agree with Rainbow on this one,” Rarity said. “You shouldn’t need to go and marry that BRUTE just for our sakes.”
“Now, just calm down, everypony,” Applejack said. “Let’s not start yellin’ at each other. Everypony’s more stressed than ma’ family during a vampire fruit bat infestation, but that ain’t an excuse to start shouting.”
“I agree,” Celestia said. “Despite how…severe the circumstances appear to be, we need to try and remain calm. Nothing was ever solved by ranting and raging.”
That seemed to be enough for the girls to calm down. Twilight could understand why tensions were high, but it was nice to see that Celestia’s soothing words were enough to stop what could have turned into a loud and unpleasant argument.
Twilight really didn’t need any more stress right now, and seeing her friends fight was the exact opposite of relaxing.
“Applejack?” Twilight asked. “What do you think I should do?”
The orange mare sighed and lowered her hat over her face. “I’m afraid I don’t rightly know, Twilight. As much as I don’t see any other options, I don’t like the idea of you giving up everything you have just for us. Heck, I was half tempted to try and offer myself until Sparrow said he would only take you. But whatever you decide, I’ll accept it.”
Twilight nodded.
“Fluttershy? What do you think?”
“I…” Fluttershy began, and hesitated. “I…think you should do it.”
“HUH!?” Rarity and Rainbow exclaimed. Fluttershy flinched, but Applejack shushed them and put a foreleg around the pegasus’s shoulders.
“I don’t LIKE the idea, but…but the only other option would be to fight him. And we can’t just use the elements or the rainbow power again, because he would still have his entire army even if it did work. S-Saying yes is the only way to make sure no pony gets hurt…”
“That’s…very reasonable,” Twilight agreed. “Thank you, Fluttershy. Pinkie?”
Pinkie stood there.
Just stood there.
Throughout the entirety of Applejack’s story and the later discussion, she hadn’t spoken. She had nodded and shaken her head, but had never spoken. It was very un-Pinkie-like. Twilight had noticed some of the girls giving Pinkie worried looks, but given how no pony had said anything, Twilight guessed that this funk of hers must have been going on for quite a while.
Even now, she looked very conflicted, but finally, she spoke up.
“You should do it.”
The response was so abrupt and straightforward it made Twilight to blink in surprise.
“Just like that?” Twilight asked.
“Yep.”
“But Pinkie,” Rainbow interjected, “if she says yes, we’ll never see her again!”
“Yes we will.”
Wait, what? Twilight thought, her mind grinding to a full halt. Pinkie didn’t sound like she was being hopeful. In fact, it sounded more like she was just blatantly stating a fact. How in Equestria would she know that? And why does she sound so sure of herself?
“HUH?!?!” The rest of the girls cried in pure shock, though Pinkie didn’t seem to notice.
“How do you know that?” Celestia asked.
“Sparrow told me…” Pinkie answered, her voice soft and distant. “When he came to get me…”
Two days ago…
Pinkie Pie felt as though the world was falling apart. Saying she was sad was possibly the biggest understatement of the last five years. Even her mane had completely deflated, which was quite a rare occurrence.
It was just supposed to be a normal day. Go to town, make ponies smile, prepare for Twilight’s ‘Welcome Back Party,’ so much to do. But then her Pinkie Sense had started going bananas. She had new combos, new twitches, and all of them led her to the spot where she had been sitting all night.
Right in front of the Tree of Harmony.
The tree had glowed brilliantly when she had arrived late last night, twinkling and sparkling enticingly until Pinkie followed her senses and touched the crystal trunk.
But when she did, her Pinkie Sense had stopped, and she had learned what all those twitches and itches had been trying to tell her. The message they had wanted to convey.
It was not a happy one.
Pinkie legs started shaking so badly that she plopped down right in front of the tree and just sat there, staring at the crystal. Hours passed, and still Pinkie sat, thinking of what she had learned, trying to make sense of it all. Wondering what she could do.
Hoping that her senses could have been wrong, just this once.
But then she heard the tell-tale sound of hooves clopping on stone, which told her all she needed to know. Eventually, the hooves stopped, and there was a slight thump as the pony sat down next to her. For a brief moment, she secretly hopped that it might just be one of her friends, or Cheese Sandwich, or some random pony who just decided to walk to the Tree of Harmony with her.
But when she caught a brief glimpse of purple and black on the very edge of her vision, she knew what she had seen was all true.
She didn't turn to look. She just kept staring at the tree.
“I had a feeling you would be here,” the stallion said.
“You did?” Pinkie replied sadly.
“Well, yes, but that’s because I was told you would be here. So it’s more like I knew you would be here, even before you did.”
“Ok…”
The two lapsed into silence for a time before he spoke again.
“It is beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is. But you already knew that.”
“So I did. Tell me, Pinkie, why are you here? Despite knowing you would be here, I was never told why.”
“Pinkie sense.”
“Ah…”
More silence.
“You’re going to take her, aren't you?”
The stallion sighed.
“Yes, I am.”
“Will we ever get to see her again?”
“If everything works out, then yes, I believe you will.”
“…Will you protect her?”
“To my dying breath…”
“I hope this works out.”
“As do I. Are you ready to come with me?”
Pinkie sighed, sniffed, and swallowed hard.
“Can we stay here a bit longer. I’m…still trying to process this…”
“Of course, Pinkie. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
Back in the present…
Twilight stared at Pinkie as she fell silent. She hadn't been sure what to expect, but to hear that Pinkie knew this was coming, and that Sparrow had plans to reunite her with her friends should things work out…was not what she expected. Not at all.
But what was there to work out? If she said yes, wouldn't that be the end of it? She goes with him, gets married, and…what? He just lets her come home to visit?
All of this was just so CONFUSING!
Ugh, what the heck is this stallion’s game!?
“Pinkie…is that all that happened?” Applejack asked, looking at her pink friend uncertainly.
“N-No,” Pinkie admitted, her head hanging. “T-There’s more, but…I can’t tell you what it was.”
“Pinkie Pie,” Celestia said with concern. “If this information can let us help Twilight…”
“I can’t,” Pinkie whispered, her eyes starting to water. “I-It’ll only complicate things, m-make them w-worse. P-Please, just trust me when I say she n-needs to go with him. I-It’s the only way.”
Fluttershy moved over so she could hug Pinkie, who leaned into it.
“I…ok, Pinkie, I trust you,” Twilight said, sighing. “But I still don’t know about this. Everything about this just seems off, and there’s still the fact that I could be gone for years, maybe even DECADES if I say yes. Ohhhhhhh, I just don't know what to DO! And the fact that I have three days just means that I’ll be freaking out for ALL THREE DAYS! UGH!” She facefloored in frustration and sat up immediately with a loud groan. “And NOW I have a headache!”
“Perhaps we should take a break,” Celestia suggested. “There will be more time to think on this later, but for now, we should probably get some food. It’s much easier to think on a full stomach.”
As if agreeing with her, Twilight’s stomach growled accordingly, prompting the mare to blush slightly.
“I…DID skip breakfast this morning.”
“So I noticed,” Celestia giggled.
“Girls, is it ok if we talk more later?” Twilight asked.
“Sure, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, “We should probably get something to eat too. I’m STARVING!”
“Sparrow just brought back some peach cider if you want it,” a solder called from out of the range of sight of the orb.
“CIDER?!” Rainbow yelled in excitement, her head shooting around to look at the guard. “WHERE!?”
“In the mess tent—”
And that was as far as he got before Rainbow was gone, the force of her takeoff knocking the orb out of Rarity’s magic. The orb in Twilight’s magic suddenly turned clear and quiet.
“Dang it, Rainbow,” Twilight groaned, rolling her eyes at Rainbow’s antics. Yet she couldn’t hide the smile that worked its way over her lips. Something about seeing so normal as Rainbow’s obsession with cider made her feel ever so slightly better about this whole situation. She and Celestia stood up, stretched, and moved towards the door. However, just as they stepped out into the hall, a small flash of blue caught their attention. Turning around, they saw that the ring box was now floating towards Twilight, the diamond sparkling innocently in the light blue glow.
Apparently, it wouldn't leaving her alone any time soon.
Stats
Page generated in 0.031 seconds
Total duration
1,065 users online
1,941,798 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
And the epicness continues! Love this story and I can't wait for the next chapter.
Hmm this reminds me kinda of A Court of Wings and Ruin , weird. I like how this is going I'm sad I blew through it though.
9022990
Glad you like it
9023010
Don’t worry, I have a few more chapters completed already. They just need to be edited and revised
IS TOO MUCH GOOD NEED MORE I AM WAITING FOR MORE GOOD LUCK NEXT
9023050
I will do my best to release more as soon as I can
Man, if my intuition is correct, based on how this story is being paced so far, I think I can make the educated guess that THIS will be a long one.
I like that.
Keep up the good work my good man
9023696
Yes, I believe this will be a long one. And thank you for the nice comment :)
+150 times click in page kkkkk
+400 times seing this page for uptades kkkkkkkkkk
9066758
Don't worry. The rough draft of the next chapter has just come out of editing, so expect it by the end of next week at the latest (if all goes according to plan)
Can't wait to see where this goes ~
Anyway good chapter and keep up the good work! ♥ ♡ ♥
9074181
Thank you
9075989
I had not even thought of that, to be honest. Not really
9087971
Only time will tell...
Seriously, I’m not spoiling ANYTHING for this story, which is very hard I will admit, but all will be revealed in time. Aka, more will be revealed Sunday, since I think I will be able to post the next chapter by then. Monday at the latest
9088750
I know, but it’s really hard to say anything without spoiling. Though I will say more clues will come with each chapter
Sparrow just lost all sympathy with me on this. I don't care for excuses. there are better ways to protect Twilight.
I bet the sisters are going to seriously revamp their defenses after this.
9117622
You may be right, but this is the path he has chosen.
Also, thank you. Your comment has helped me resolve an issue I had involving a future chapter I was planning out
It’s unfortunate it’s not orange and purple
9200784
I feel like thats a reference to something, but for the life of me I can't remember what
My counter-argumnet would be to remove herself from the board, but he could do ANYTHING he wants and noone can truly stop him cause hes so overpowered
9756446
Plus, given his power, he could likely just find her again if she tried to run.
Probably not for a while, but maybe the other way around with them coming to visit you
PEACH cider Rainbow, PEACH
This is nice
9785956
Thank you
typo. should be 'mourning'.
were
Is that supposed to be “and I assure that Twilight is as well” or something else?
Oh wait, I think it’s supposed to be “and I am sure that Twilight is as well.”
Pretty sure that’s supposed to be every
11431889
Fixed. Thank you
I beg to differ, I played God-Of-War and most of his problems was solved by raging and shouting.
11516222
True, but that also ended with the apocalypse, at least in the first three games. I'm sure there will be a time for mass destruction later down the line.
I have recently started to wonder what would have happened if Sparrow didn't need to resort to this invasion.
Would he have eventually made a debut appearance in Equestria as a foreign ruler, opening up trade and communication.
And then start courting Twilight properly.
Or was the original plan different?
11544314
I have thought about this a bit in the past, and I may make a chapter or story exploring that scenario eventually.
All I can say for certain is that if he didn’t need to resort to the invasion, he would have come to equestria a few years later than his original appearance and would have arrived on a ship when Twilight was visiting Manehattan. The rest would need to be worked out before I wrote the story, but I imagine he would open diplomatic ties and maybe invite Twilight and her friends to explore his island freely. It is an interesting question, and I do want to write such a story at one point.
11544451
honestly, i want a story going on from the scenario that Twilight said NO.