Sigil of Souls, Stream of Memories

by Piccolo Sky

Daybreak: Filling the Cup

Another pause before Twilight guffawed. “That’s ridiculous! We…I mean…we’re hardly the worst of humanity. Maybe not perfect, but far from the worst of the worst.”

“Really now. And what exactly do you know about your ‘friends’ that you’ve met less than a year ago, Twilight Sparkle?”

The challenge on the voice was so sharp that it made Twilight hesitate, but only a moment. “Well…I mean…I’m just a magic student and I’ve certainly never done anything really horrible and terrible. Rarity just runs a clothing business in Manehattan, Rainbow Dash is a veteran working as a Huntsman, Fluttershy just lived a hermit’s life tending to animals, Pinkie Pie is…is from a family of miners, and Applejack is just an honest rancher and farmer. We’re just a bunch of normal people, more or less. Not anything horrible. Right everyone?”

The ladies all nodded back or gave their assent. Sunset, on her part, noticing her omission, winced. However, she also noticed something odd.

All of the ladies except Pinkie had a shadow fall over their eyes. They expressed a moment of hesitation. It was small…but it was there.

A hint of fear.

“‘An honest rancher and farmer’, you say?” the peddler asked, before turning his grin to the woman in question. “I see. In that case, I don’t suppose you’d like to inform everyone what you told the Flim-Flam Brothers when they came to call that one day in Manehattan, would you Applejack? I believe you informed your friends that you drove them off. But maybe you’d like a look at what’s going on in little-ol’ Canterlot as we speak?”

At once, one of the frames lit up again and gave up a new image. This one was set high, affording a wide view, and it took the group a moment to realize that it was showing the rail station all the way in Canterlot.

However, it showed something rather surprising. There was a new train there. This one was a freighter, brand new with shiny paint showing off a pair of men with great big lettering of ‘Flim-Flam Brothers Supply and Seed’. Not only that, but the two men themselves were on the side in the flesh, looking like they were making a grand pitch to the refugees there for their goods. Luna herself stood nearby, arms crossed and looking annoyed at the whole thing, but putting up with it. Her appearance confirmed the locale and the people beyond any doubt.

“Aren’t…aren’t those the men Applejack threw out?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“What the devil are they doing in Canterlot?” Rarity questioned. “How in the world did they know how to get there?”

“Yes, Applejack,” the peddler grinned, “how did they know how to get there?”

Twilight turned to Applejack with the others and got another surprise. Applejack’s former bold look had faded. Even her grief over Big Mac seemed to have retreated. Now she looked uneasy. Her eyes were staring at the ground and she seemed to sink beneath her hat.

“I…uh…”

“Oh…still hiding the truth? Not very ‘honest’ of our rancher and farmer, is it? Well don’t worry. We’ve got that part here too.”

For a moment, the ladies saw Applejack raise her head in alarm and nearly protest, but it was too late. The frame lit up again, and this time showed the outside of Carousel Couture. It took Rarity and Fluttershy a moment to recognize when it was exactly, but it soon became clear when the doors opened wide and they heard a familiar sound.

“I’m gonna see these two bits of bull dung out of here personally. Be right back.”

Moments later, they saw the same pair of men who were on the train, the ones Rarity and Fluttershy recognized as the Flim-Flam Brothers, being tossed onto the portico. An angry-looking Applejack followed them out and slammed the door shut behind her. She marched right up to them even as they began to pick themselves up and dust themselves off, but the moment she was close enough her face turned from anger to anxiety and her voice grew quiet.

“How in the hell did you know about that?”

They both proceeded to smugly smile at her. “Oh, come now, Applejack. A small town like that?”

“Impossible to keep a rumor from going around. Although we didn’t know how right it was until we saw the look on your face.”

“Now we have to wonder if there’s any truth to the rumor you-know-what happened to the Redwood family-”

“Alright, alright!” Applejack practically spat, shutting them both up. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure that no one was at the closed door, then turned back with an angry sigh. “Fine. You keep your traps shut and I’ll let you in on where to bring your stuff. But it better be the real McCoy this time.”

“Oh, of course!”

“With exclusive customers, there’s no reason to cut any corners!”

“And I’m only lettin’ ya’ in on where ta’ bring it to sell it. It’s up to the folks there if they wanna trust you two varmints. And you ever let anyone else in on where we’re holed up-”

“Not to worry! Mum’s the word! Believe me, we’re not about to let any competition in on our territory!”

“And we also know full well what you’re capable of if we get on your bad side!”

Applejack’s face flushed in fresh anger and tension at that. “Just…get lost. I’ll get you the spot later tonight.”

“We’ll hold you to that, Ms. Applejack! Thank you very much!”

“May this venture be profitable for all of us!”

Still fuming, she ignored the two men tipping their hats to her before turning and walking off. She spun around to the door, taking only a moment to compose herself, before opening it up and walking in again.

The image faded and the ladies were left silent and stunned. Applejack’s jaw clenched as she bent her head a little lower. One by one, they turned to her.

“Applejack, dear,” Rarity spoke up, “what was that all about?”

She pursed her lips. Her head raised and she looked to one side, quivering, but she said nothing.

“Oh-ho…not such an honest one after all, are we?” the peddler grinned.

“It seems you do not know your friend as well as you thought,” Grogar added. “Fortunately, as I have demonstrated, destiny makes one’s life as easy to view as the pages in a book. So here is the Applejack you thought you knew.”

The rancher’s head snapped up, her eyes wide with alarm and fear. “Don-”

She cut herself off but it was too late. Another frame lit up and showed a new image. This one was of an older, more rural and rustic, farmhouse foyer. Simple and opening up into a main dining area and sitting room as one would expect from someone lower income. It centered on a door, and soon there was a knocking on it.

Not long after, a new individual materialized into the scene and walked toward the door. A much older man with an underbite exacerbated by the loss of teeth and a bandanna around his neck. He had a bit of a slow time, but he reached it and opened it up.

There was Applejack…only noticeably younger by a few years. She smiled as the door opened but it was weak. Her expression was joyful but that too was likewise being forced. She stood there awkwardly a moment before speaking.

“Uh…hey there, Grand Pear.”

“Applejack?” the old man exclaimed. Then he smiled and stepped forward to give her a hug. “Applejack, darlin’! You finally came to visit! It’s great to see you!”

After the two embraced for a short while, he stepped back and turned around. He began to lead her to the nearest table. “Don’t be a stranger! Come in, come in!”

“Sorry for droppin’ in like this… I know it’s harvest season and all…”

“No, no…it’s just fine. Always time for family. Too old to be out there pickin’ anyway…”

She began to follow him inside, although she did so slowly, and not just because he had a harder time getting around. She was clearly nervous.

“How’s that old crabapple doin’?”

“Oh, granny? She’s…she’s, ya’ know, granny, heh.”

“I do know, heh-heh… What about Big Macintosh?”

“Same as always. Just sticks to his chores and can’t get more’n two words outta him most days.”

Grand Pear smiled and nodded, but paused as his face fell. “I, um…heard ‘bout Apple Bloom. I…don’t suppose you’ve heard anything yet?”

Applejack’s own face fell. “…No, we ain’t heard nothin’ yet.”

“I see. Well…it’s only been two weeks. You know how things are up that close to Equestria. Wouldn’t be surprised if them damn night varmints uprooted the train tracks again…got the mail in a tizzy…”

“Yeah…yer probably right.”

The two were silent until they both sat down; now both looking uncomfortable. The older man took a moment to adjust himself before he cleared his throat and tried smiling.

“Say now, care to try our new crop? Normally I’d offer you some pear jam, but we’re still gettin’ the raw fruit so you’d have to wait a little while for that yet.”

“Actually, Grand Pear…I was wonderin’…” She looked more nervous than ever now. “Er…um…remember when we first met up? How you…you said…um…if I wanted, there’d always be a spot for me on the pear farm?”

The older man went quiet. The room’s mood dropped immediately. Applejack’s eyes became more anxious and pleading.

“Some slicker from city hall came by yesterday mornin’ to mark out Sweet Apple Acres for auction next month. Granny chased him off with the shotgun but he’ll be back with the sheriff ‘fore long.”

“Oh…Applejack…I had no idea it had gotten that bad…”

“We’re in big trouble, Grand Pear. We need money and we need it fast. Most of the Apples are livin’ on the homestead now. We could barely put food in everyone’s mouths before, but this year’s bad crop…it might break us. Granny would never admit it…to you least of all…but we’re in a real pickle.”

“Applejack…”

“Now we don’t want no charity. We know you ain’t got any to give even if we did. You’re livin’ hand to mouth just like us. That’s why I’ll work for every nibble of it.”

“Applejack…darlin’… If you’re sellin’ yourself as a farm hand, why are you comin’ all the way out here? It’s damn near 20 miles. You can’t walk both ways every day for that. Ain’t there any orchards you can work closer to Sweet Apple Acres?”

She looked dejected at that, but there was also a twist on her lips. A hint of resentment.

“They’re all hired up out there, Grand Pear. Them…out-of-towners…”

Grand Pear’s face sank. His head bowed; a hint of tension on his face. “Oh… I see.”

“…I noticed you got quite a few workin’ your harvest too. Guess they…work nice and cheap?”

He looked up at once. “No!” A pause. “Well…yes, but that’s not why I got so many. There’s a lot of farms out here that don’t want ‘em…I reckon for the same reason as what’s happenin’ in your neck of the woods.”

She hesitated, but then looked up hopefully. “Anyway…that’s where I’m at. Can ya’…find me a spot?”

“Of course, of course, darlin’. There’s plenty to do ‘round here. And if you got anyone else at the homestead wantin’ to work, tell ‘em to come on down too. I’d feel safer if they were with ya’.”

A smile. “Thanks, Grand Pear. This means a lot.”

“Sure, sure…” He paused; his mouth twisting a little. “There’s, uh…just one catch.”

“What?”

“I told ya’ times were tough. I ain’t got any more money to give out right now. But don’t you worry ‘bout that none. We start sellin’ the jams and pastries and butter and all that next month, and then I’ll pay ya’ all at once for the last month. How’s that sound?”

Applejack’s smile slowly faded. “Grand Pear…we need that money right now.”

“I’m…I’m sorry, Applejack, but I ain’t got any ta’ spare. I’m already givin’ out produce in place of it. Just give me one month…”

“We ain’t got a month, Grand Pear. Sweet Apple Acres ain’t got a month.”

“I’m real sorry, Applejack… I’d just give ya’ the money right now if I had it…”

By now, Applejack’s look grew angry. “Well, why don’t ya’ let some of ‘em out-of-towners go? I can work harder’n four of ‘em anyway.”

“I can’t do that, darlin’!”

“Why not?”

“Some of these folks’ve got six youngin’s they can’t feed! And I promised ‘em when they came to work for me I’d keep ‘em on ‘til the end of the month!”

“Well who asked ‘em or their youngin’s to settle down here?!” the farmer snapped angrily, shooting up from the chair.

“Applejack, wait!”

“Forget it! I never should’ve come here! You’re as bad as those ranchers back home! Everything’s goin’ ta’ hell in a handbasket ‘cause of them damn Nighttouched things and all you can do is think about how ta’ make a dollar offa them freeloadin’ foreigners! Even if it means stabbin’ yer own in the back!”

She started storming off for the door. Grand Pear forced himself to his feet and vainly tried to struggle after her.

“Applejack, stop! Wait a second! I’ll pay ya’ twice as much at the end of the month! Just…just hang on…”

She reached the door and flung it open, but stopped in the threshold to spin back to him.

“First ya’ don’t try ta’ crawl back into our lives until after ma is gone, and now you kick us when we’re down on our luck! Boy, you must really hate yer own family! And I don’t care if I don’t speak ta’ ya’ for another eighteen years!”

Snapping around, she slammed the door behind her…leaving the old man vainly grasping at air for a few seconds before he bowed his head and began to cry.

The image faded, but immediately another frame lit up. This one looked like the inside of a barn, only it was shut up and bolted so that none could see or get inside without the will of the people already in it. And there were quite a few of them already inside. Dirty, shabby, and most of all angry. Just about all of them were wearing crude black masks made out of cheap cloth such that only their eyes could be seen, but it was clear that they were all rural folk. Men, women, and whatever young people were nearly fully grown. They were murmuring and upset. Based on the fact that only a single hanging kerosene lamp illuminated them, it had to be at night…and secret.

One in the lead, standing on an old crate, held his fist in the air and addressed the crowd. After each point he made, they all murmured their assents—growing more angry and riled up each time.

“This has gone too damn far and we all know it! Now it’s a dirty shame what’s goin’ on up north, but I don’t see why a bunch of people who ain’t even from Appleloosa got ta’ make us suffer for their problems! Them city slickers up in that cozy county seat let them waltz in here and treat our farms and homesteads like they got squatters rights! They’re takin’ the rugs right out from under us undercuttin’ us in every last ranch, farm, or orchard out there! They’re workin’ for peanuts that no decent person can live under and not one of those politicians will do a thing about it! And why? ‘Cause it just means more business for them! It means they get to move in and scoop up our land as soon as they foreclose on it, linin’ their pockets and sending us to the ditches!”

“There just ain’t enough ta’ go around! And there sure as hell ain’t enough for a bunch of Gaitians who’ll work for nothin’!” a voice from the crowd shouted, causing even more angry cheers. “Why should they take food from our mouths to feed them? Why should they be takin’ care of and not us when we built up Appleloosa in the first place?!”

“If those government fellas won’t do anything, then it’s up to us!” another chimed in. “We’ve got to drive ‘em out ourselves!”

More angry assertions, with the one in the lead nodding eagerly in agreement to every one. When they had finally quieted down a little he shouted again. “Now I am pleased to announce we’ve got a new member tonight who’s going to be a big help. She’s young, she’s sharp, and she can get around the country real easy-like without being spotted. And she’s got more’n a few good ideas about what we can do next. Now let me stand down and let y’all get a good look at her.”

The bigger man stepped back, fading into the crowd. A new figure stepped out in his place and stood on the box—the same young Applejack, only looking much angrier and determined.

“Howdy, y’all. I know what we’re all here to do so I won’t beat ‘round the bush.”

As she spoke, another frame lit up to the side of her. The ladies turned and looked to it even as Applejack in the first image kept speaking.

“There’s this one old goat whose family cut out the Sassafrass’ family of milkmaids, but I know he always wheels his cart in after dark on the back road behind the Old Oak place…”

The second image came to life, showing an old dirt path in the middle of a dark night. An old wagon pulled by a pair of horses was coming down the road, with a much older man in a beard and spectacles helming it. The back of his wagon was filled with large milk canisters, obviously from some form of dairy.

Suddenly, men and women in black hoods leapt out from all around him. The old man scarcely had time to look alarmed before he was seized by two of them and thrown out onto the ground. The others first loosed his horses, but then quickly hamstrung either one. After that they climbed into the back of the wagon and began to dump out all of his cargo. As soon as the canisters were empty, they were flung on the ground. Once all were poured to waste, they began to tear up the wagon with axes and hammers.

The old man tried to protest, but all he got was a few people punching or kicking him until he lay flat again. Eventually he was in too much pain to protest.

As they finished up, a third image came up. This one showed the same old man, a hasty dressing on his head and looking still rather bruised and sore, standing with his wife and assorted children in front of a rather angry rancher. On their part, they could only stand dejected and anxious.

“I don’t give a damn if you got jumped! It’s your fault for riding so late out of the ways! That was my wagon and my horses, and you’re gonna pay for all of it plus the milk one way or another!”

The second and third images faded as the Applejack in the first frame changed, putting on different clothes and having slightly different hair. The crowd itself had shifted with new faces.

“Then there’s that one Blossom kid who’s been neckin’ Black Eyed Susie when her folks ain’t lookin’…”

Another image lit up, this time showing a pair of younger people out in a clearing in the woods by a creek. It was again late at night, and the two were clearly in a state of “puppy love” as they made out with one another. At least, they did for a few seconds before more people in black hoods leapt out of the forest. Two of them seized the girl and, much to her shock and confusion, yanked her back. Five, however, seized the boy, ripped him back, threw him to the ground, and proceeded to start to violently beat him.

The girl soon screamed for them to stop and reached for him, but it was all in vain. The two held her back as they kept beating the boy—even when he stopped moving and struggling.

Another image lit up, but this one only showed the exterior of a house with a few shadows moving in the curtained windows. After a few seconds, a loud smacking sound was heard. It was followed up with two more, including a girl’s crying, before an angry man’s voice joined in.

“You damned whore! What the hell were you doin’ in the woods with that Kirin boy?! You spread your legs for him, didn’t ya’? Didn’t ya’?! You dirty little slut! He better have taken advantage of you or I’ll kill you!”

Again the two images faded and returned to Applejack, a little older with an even larger crowd.

“I’ve been fit to be tied ever since they turned that old barn into one of their Gaitian temples…but I know a way in and out of there at night where no one’ll see anyone come or go…”

Still another image lit up, this time of a crowd of people in black masks surrounding an older building that had been renovated with symbols of the Gaitian religion. Again it was at night, and this time each one was holding mason jars filled with kerosene and rags. On lighting each one up in turn, they flung it at the handcrafted temple—soon covering it with fire and flames.

While they were still burning it and hooping and hollering over their victory, and image lit up nearby. This one was in daylight, and showed Applejack with several of her relatives working their ranch. She herself was hauling a bundle of hay toward some waiting steers. As she slung it along on her back, however, one of her relatives ran up to another who was fixing a fence behind her.

“Hey, did ya’ hear what happened last night?”

“Nope, but there was one helluva commotion. What was it?”

“That shack the Gaitians fixed up for their service got burned to the ground last night.”

“No kiddin’?”

“That weren’t all, though. Seems the minister or priest or whatever was livin’ there and was asleep when whoever it was set it on fire.”

Applejack paused in midstep, but her face showed nothing.

“He got out, but…he got burned real bad. No one found him ‘til this mornin’ and it don’t look good for him.”

“Well, he was nuts for sleepin’ in there in the first place. What with all them folks in black hoods runnin’ ‘round at night…”

Applejack stayed still only a moment longer, then moved on with her hay—showing no other reaction.

Again the images faded, and turned back to Applejack again. This time she looked even older, bolder, and seemed to command as much authority as the man in the first image had.

“Now I’m mighty pleased with all the gains we made, but we got ourselves a problem. Looks like they’re figurin’ out they’re not wanted ‘round these parts, but rather than wisin’ up and gettin’ gone they’re tryin’ ta’ fight back. I hear big Coast Redwood’s fixin’ to start up a town watch. Now I’m sure the local sheriff’ll be on our side if it comes to a fight and any one of us ends up busted up…but I ain’t ‘bout to give ‘em the courtesy. I say we pay a visit to the Redwood homestead tonight and give him a message so loud that all the rest of his ilk knows not to try’n cross us ever again!”

Roars and cheers greeted her in response. As they did, she reached behind her own head, picked up the edge of a black hood, and pulled it over her face.

This image faded soon after, and for a brief moment there was no other image to accompany it. When a frame did light up again, it showed another scene in daylight. This time out on a small garden. Applejack was there again, hoeing and occasionally letting out a small swear at a particularly troublesome weed or root.

As she worked, a new unknown person stepped into image. It appeared to be another farmer, but this one looked rather uncomfortable and uneasy looking. She took a moment to glance around a bit, but then walked up to her—drawing close and speaking quietly.

“Applejack…”

“Hey there, Cherry. Make it quick. Granny got a cold so I’m tryin’ to pull double-duty for her today…”

The other one swallowed uncomfortably. “’Bout the visit to the Redwoods last night…”

Applejack stopped her hoeing, immediately snapping to her and giving her a cold look and a loud whisper. “Damnit all, Cherry! I told y’all you don’t talk ‘bout that ‘round here! None of my family knows ‘bout what I do at night!”

“I know, I know…but I’m guessin’ you don’t know how it went down…”

“I was one of the ones on watch but I heard it got done.”

“It…it went a bit wrong.”

“What’dya mean it went wrong?”

“I mean some of the folks got jittery and they decided they wanted to make sure there were no witnesses, so they went after everyone in the house. Includin’ his wife and kids.”

A shade fell over her face, but only for a moment before she turned back to hoeing.

“…It happens. Ain’t the first time we had to do a dirty job.”

“That weren’t all, Applejack. He was friends with one of the local farmers so he was there last night standin’ watch for folks like us with a shotgun. He didn’t get off a shot, but on seein’ him they did worse ta’ him than they did to the Redwoods… And the sheriff just got back and made it official. He’s dead, Applejack.”

“Well, he shouldn’tve been out there. He had no business tryin’ ta’ stick up for one of them out-of-towners, especially bringin’ out a gun to shoot his own-”

“It was Grand Pear, Applejack.”

The hoe dropped from her hands. All sternness and crossness vanished from her face and she looked at Cherry as if she had just stuck her with a knife. The woman could only uncomfortably look back, then stood away to walk on.

“Just…thought someone should tell ya’ ‘fore the sheriff brought the news.”

She turned to walk off, but the rancher couldn’t move again. She just stood there with mouth open—staring at the ground with a hollow look in her eyes as the image faded.

The chamber was totally silent—save for some muted snickering from the peddler. Applejack’s head remained bowed to the ground while the rest of the ladies, even Pinkie, were mortified. They remained gaping at the faded frames for several moments.

Fluttershy swallowed, fearfully turning to Applejack. “You…you didn’t really do any of those things…did you, Applejack?”

“Of…of course not!” Rarity spoke up. “It’s all nonsense. Just some sort of smoke-and-mirrors routine, yes?”

“Uh…yeah!” Pinkie chirped up, but forced this time. “I mean, heh, there’s no way Applejack would ever have…helped set a fire to a Gaitian temple…while someone was in it…”

Twilight forced a nervous smile of her own as she turned to her. “It…it has to be… We all know Applejack, and…and there’s no way she…she would have done anything that would have… I mean…”

She slowed down, noticing Applejack still wasn’t looking up or reacting.

“Applejack…you weren’t really behind anything that…that got your own…your own grandfather kil-”

“He never should’ve been there! He has no business tryin’ ta’…ta’ protect them, of all things! And what right did have ta’ show up for them when he weren’t there for us all them years?!”

The other ladies went silent. They stared at Applejack with shrunken pupils and hanging mouths—not just at what they heard but the look on Applejack’s face. The sudden rage, fury, and hate that painted it when she looked up and glared at them all with clenched jaw.

“None of you know what it was like! Not one of ya’! Seein’ yer own family starvin’! Havin’ more mouths to feed every damn day and less ways ta’ get food! No one cared about us! Not when they could get nice, cheap labor from all them refugees who kept pourin’ in every day like a bunch o’ rats! We should’ve all hung together, but instead they let them eat us outta house and home and had the balls ta’ let them remake the town the way they liked when we were here first! World was goin’ ta’ hell inna handbasket and all the big farms and ranches cared about was makin’ money off our misery!”

Fluttershy, realizing the truth, turned away and cringed and began to whimper.

“Applejack…” Twilight spoke quietly.

“I did what I had to do to save the town and my family! What else was I s’posed to do?! No one ever gave me or mine any handouts! I was forced to let my sister and a dozen of my family run off to the big cities for work ‘cause we couldn’t take care o’ them no more, and you know what happened?! They worked ‘em like dogs! Didn’t give ‘em enough ta’ eat! Didn’t give ‘em enough ta’ sleep! Let two of ‘em get ripped ta’ pieces by one of them damn engines they have in those factories! But they just let all these new folks come in and help themselves to our land?! I hate ‘em! I hate ‘em all!”

Again, the ladies were shocked off of the sheer amount of venom Applejack radiated. Enough to be silent for a moment. However, Rarity, cupping a hand to her mouth, eventually shook her head at her.

“That was…vile…ghastly…despicable…” she uttered in indignation. “That was the act of a barbarian. I had no idea country folk were capable of something so horrid…”

Twilight turned to Rarity and nearly opened her mouth to say something, while Applejack snapped to her and nearly yelled again. Neither got the chance.

“Oh…let’s not judge so harshly, Rarity,” the peddler spoke up with a grin. “We don’t all have the means to be vile, ghastly, and despicable in the ‘proper and dignified’ way.”

Twilight nearly questioned what this meant, before Rarity clasped that same hand over her own mouth and looked fearful all over again. She turned back to her, noticing her reaction, but Grogar was already speaking.

“Perhaps you should inform your friends of just what sort of kind and generous soul you are before you treat others with such moral indignation… Where did you say you were from again, Ms. Rarity?”

Another image showed up. This one was of Rarity sitting at what looked like her personal office/workspace back at Carousel Couture. Based on her look, it was also a few years ago. She was well-dressed and composed—obviously conducting business. A younger woman with Trottingham fashion and what looked like a case holding her official papers and work-related items was sitting across from her. Rarity herself was looking over a resume.

“Well, Ms. Saddles…you do seem to be highly qualified. And as I’m currently expanding into the main market in Manehattan, I could certainly use your expertise.”

“Thank you, Ms. Rarity.”

“I’m almost a little surprised to see one of your background and repertoire applying for Carousel Couture. And emigrating across Greater Everfree to do so…”

“I’ll just say I’ve grown…disconcerted with the political climate in Trottingham. However, I was eager to sign on with a new, up-and-coming clothing producer. I’ve enjoyed my past positions and the amount of connections and networking that they offered, but this is my chance to really be in on the ground floor, so to speak.”

“Ah, I see. I…regret to inform you, however, that I’m not sure I can afford this…starting salary. You see…” She sighed as she set the resume down. “Funding is rather tight at this moment and there’s not much that’s ‘liquid’, shall we say. Most of the other businesses in my home town of Ponyville have shut down due to the awful business with the shadow over Equestria and they’re the suppliers. The situation is rather fragile and I’m already in the red having them doing advance work.”

She looked up a little. “I see, Ms. Rarity… Out of…curiosity, how much of a cut from that figure would you say I would start at?”

“I’m…afraid 25 percent.”

“T-Twenty-fi…?” she began to say. For a moment, she looked like she would reflexively rise and walk out right there. However, she hesitated, looked to one side, bit her lip, and then sat still. “Well…that is quite the cut, but…I’ve seen more than my share of towns go under back in Trottingham and I know how desperate an impoverished neighbor can be.” She paused a moment before smiling. “Ms. Rarity, I would be honored to be able to work for you.”

“Oh, thank you, Ms. Saddles! A thousand times thank you! And Ponyville thanks you too! I’ll get you started right away!”

The image changed. It was the same room, but it looked a bit busier and more well-utilized. Rarity’s clothing had changed but there was a new person at the desk being interviewed. This one was Coco Pommel, who had a variety of designs spread across her desk. She was looking rather pleased with herself on seeing Rarity’s positive reaction.

“Ms. Pommel, I have seen a lot of new designers in Manehattan, but I think you are one of the more avant garde ones I have had the fortune of encountering. This portfolio is wonderful.”

“R-R-Really? You really think so?”

“You’ve come up with such patterns and color palettes that, frankly, I would never have dreamed of myself. I think you are just perfect to head up the new department.”

“Oh, thank you, Ms. Rarity! I…I really don’t know what else to say! This is my first job after leaving Polomare’s and…and I just never expected to connect with a new business so quickly!”

“Now as a new designer, I’ll start you off at 480 a week…”

The smile and enthusiasm faded a little. “I’m…I’m sorry, Ms. Rarity. Did…did you say 480 a week?”

“Why yes, dear. I thought with such a keen eye for the cutting edge you deserved a bonus.”

Coco didn’t seem nearly as happy as that phrase was intended to make her. She began to sink in her chair.

“I’m sorry, darling. Is something wrong?”

“It’s just…I…I really can’t afford my apartment at that salary…”

“Oh, it won’t be forever. Certainly not with this portfolio. Carousel Couture will go straight to the top. Within two years you’ll be making twice that.”

“I…I just wasn’t expecting such a pay cut. That’s less than what I made at Polomare’s…”

Rarity paused, but then her own face fell.

“I’m very sorry, Ms. Pommel. I wish I could offer you more than a great future, but I’m afraid my money is tight. Most of my profits are going to help keep Rockville’s citizenry in business, and after that Light Eater attack last week I’m really having to give them whatever I can spare for some time. I just can’t let my hometown dry up.” She brightened up. “I tell you what. I’ll let you move into the spare apartment right here in the home factory rent-free. I just really don’t want to lose a great designer like you.”

Coco hesitated a little longer, but finally exhaled. “Well…I know what it’s like to have a town go under. That’s why I moved to Manehattan to begin with. So…” She smiled. “You’ve got a deal, Ms. Rarity.”

“Splendid! I’m looking forward to our bright future!”

The image faded again. Rarity, by now, was beginning to turn red. The rest of the ladies looked perplexed, and turned to her.

“Hmm…” Pinkie thought aloud. “Didn’t Rarity say she was from Ponyville before? So…why is she from Rockville now?”

Before anyone could say anything, several images popped up. Each one with Rarity talking to someone else, whether it be a new employee, a landlord, a government official, or a potential client. A bombardment of words began to ring out from all angles.

“I know our contract is a little high, but this would really save the people of Dodge Junction…”

“Please go a little easy on the rent this month. I had to send that money to my family in Tall Tale…”

“I’m sure everyone in Seaward Sholes appreciates your generosity!”

“Hayseed Swamp truly needs this in this trying time!”

Many more town names were thrown out, before all of the images went dead. The ladies again stood silently looking back at Rarity, who continued to hide herself behind her hand.

All save Rainbow Dash, who now looked rather annoyed. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave her a glare.

“…And you told me it was ‘Hope Hollow’.”

Rarity finally lowered her hand and looked at her. “Let…let me explain…”

“I think I already know what you’re gonna ‘explain’,” Dash snapped back, “You needed a Huntsman for cheap to get you that damn contract at any cost, and so you made up some sob story to guilt trip me into thinking that a whole town was on the line instead of some weaselly designer from Manehattan!”

“‘Weaselly’?! That is uncalled for!” Rarity shouted back, before calming a little. “I mean…I… Yes, I stretched the truth from time to time! But it’s not like that contract wasn’t still important to all my workers! And everyone in the business tells little white lies from time to time! Compared to some of the more horrendous ‘business’ practices of Manehattan, that was nothing!”

“And just what would those ‘practices’ be, Rarity?” The peddler asked with a grin.

Rarity immediately paled again, covering her mouth once more. However, she didn’t have to say anything as the images came on again, soon directing the attention of the ladies once more.

Again it was in her office, although it looked a bit more disheveled. Rarity was looking a little stressed as she was sipping her tea while Ms. Saddles was going over a clipboard nearby.

“I’m truly sorry, Ms. Rarity, but I’m afraid at this rate the new textile factory simply won’t have the workers to fill it.”

“This is inconceivable, Ms. Saddles… How in the world can we not find enough entry level laborers in Manehattan of all places?”

“I’m afraid it’s the very military we’re trying to land as a client. With all of that horrid business happening on the northern border and the militarization of the east, the male workforce has been totally depleted. More and more of the female workforce is stepping up to fill the ranks; everywhere from chimneysweeps to ironworkers.”

“But there must be some ladies with experience in the textile industry available! We can’t possibly compete trying to teach bootblacks the first thing about fabric design!”

“All of them are already employed in our future competitors. There’s no way we can hire them unless we offer a substantial pay upgrade…”

Rarity let out a sigh, before getting a pitiful look and ungracefully cramming a cucumber sandwich in her mouth. As she munched on it unhappily, she looked down at the morning paper on her desk. She stared for a moment before looking intrigued. “Hello…what’s this?”

Ms. Saddles looked up from her clipboard as Rarity looked it over, her look gradually brightening.

“It says here that the Manehattan government elected to open up the borders to families and refugees from its allies closer to the shadow over Equestria… The first train loads will be coming in next week.”

“Yes, I heard the news this morning. Mostly women and children.”

Rarity grew thoughtful. “Those people will need jobs after coming to Manehattan…and the only ones they’ll get at first will be selling fruit on street corners or sweeping floors for oily factories… I can imagine they’d prefer our new clothing company better…”

“Buttons and bobbins, Ms. Rarity…we wouldn’t be able to pay much better than the fruit or factories.”

“Pish-posh, Ms. Saddles. Our new factory is a far better environment than those places. And in a much better part of town.” She quickly finished her tea and rose. “Let’s pick out something to wear tomorrow. We’re going to be the first to greet those new arrivals from the trains.”

That image faded, but a new one started right next to it. Rarity, looking rather pleased and much more upbeat, walked through one of the corridors and looked out to a factory floor. Coco Pommel, looking bright enough but also sweaty, exhaled as she walked up to her with a sheet of paper.

“So how is our new workforce doing, Ms. Pommel?”

She wiped her forehead. “Very…very good, Ms. Rarity…”

“They’ve learned the new machinery and all that?”

“Yes, yes…production is starting off well… We’re on schedule to start making quota by the end of the month. Just…one detail…”

“What is it?”

“The…the ventilation in Houses #2 and #3 doesn’t seem to be working all that well…”

“Now that you mention it, it is a trifle warm in here… Now I see why that architect tried to sell me that expensive ‘air flow’ option when I commissioned the renovations… I suppose we’ll just have to crack the windows…”

“Um…Ms. Rarity…you had the windows sealed when you realized the soot from the surrounding factories was staining the fabric.”

“Oh…oh, right. Well, it’s only two hours between breaks. I’m sure they’ll be fine. Keep up the good work, Ms. Pommel.”

“Yes ma’am…”

The image faded, and was replaced by another one back in the office. Rarity, looking a little more stressed but still fashionable, was talking with a plumber across from her. She sighed as she bowed her head in her hands.

“Can you please explain to me how a brand new factory has three of its four washrooms break down only two months after opening?”

“If I had to guess, ma’am, it’s because whoever did your plumbing was a real cheapskate on your piping materials.”

“He said it would cost twenty thousand to be top-of-the-line! I don’t have that much money lying around!”

“Well, now it’s going to be thirty thousand to replace it.”

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Fine, fine… Please pencil me in for two months from now.”

“…Uh, two months?”

“Well I certainly don’t have thirty thousand in my pocket this instant. You’ll have to wait until I’ve filled some of our orders.”

“You’re going to run a factory on one working bathroom…that could go out at any minute, mind you…for two months?”

“Sir, if I can put up with the stench 24/7, the least my employees can do is wait in a line or two.”

The image faded and another came up. Rarity, looking even more tired, was walking down a hall talking with Ms. Saddles once again. The latter looked regretful while the former looked increasingly stressed.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Rarity, but I did warn you that we didn’t have the manpower…”

“Oh, for the love of Harmonium, Sassy…did you really expect me to just throw my hands in the air on that order? It was the biggest one we’ve received so far! It was our chance to ingratiate ourselves with the higher echelons of Manehattan! Everyone who’s anyone goes to that hotel and they’d be looking at our fashions on the entire staff!”

“Stitches and snips, Ms. Rarity…that quote we offered was practically make-believe!”

“We have to stay competitive somehow!”

“But what now?”

Rarity was quiet a moment, before she drew in a deep breath and exhaled.

“A new policy. If a worker is unable to fill their quotas, then they work mandatory unpaid overtime to fill them.”

“M…Mandatory? With this backlog, everyone will be working at least three hours extra per day!”

“It’s not as if we all won’t be doing the same! Would they rather work extra or be unemployed when my business shuts down?”

The image faded again, replaced by yet another one. This one was again in Rarity’s office, but standing across from her was a worker in one of her business’ uniforms. She looked rather haggard, and very dirty and tired. She also looked severely unhappy.

“I’m afraid I can’t ignore this any longer, Ms. Rarity, and there’s little I can do to help the situation. We’ve had three workers pass out on the line last week from the heat. Two of the ladies are pregnant and they can’t stay on their feet all day. Everyone else can’t stand the hours anymore. They say they barely have time for anything other than sleep.”

Rarity sighed. “Everyone is having to make sacrifices in this day and age.”

The supervisor paused, looking at Rarity’s tea set, her furnishings, and her attire. “…Everyone, ma’am?”

Rarity frowned back. “Yes, everyone. And if they think they can get any better at any other factory in this town, tell them they’re welcome to leave and go there. There are more people in need of jobs arriving in Manehattan every day so perhaps they need to be reminded of just how replaceable they all are.”

The supervisor was taken aback at this, but Rarity’s look remained. “Now if that is all, please go back to the floor. I need to worry about getting these newest orders signed so I can keep paying your salary.”

“…Very well, ma’am.”

The image changed again, this time to just outside the factory, with Rarity talking to a group of what looked like watchmen. She was stern but they looked rather stunned.

“From now on, the doors stay locked during business hours. All of them. I’m not going to allow any more shrinkage in my factory.”

“Ma’am…even the fire escapes?”

“Oh, what in the world could possibly cause a fire on the factory floor?”

“But the fire door is the only way to get a breeze going…”

“Oh, so that’s why the last order came out with forty of the shirts stained with oily filth? Keep the door shut and locked! And do try and keep a better watch for thieves from now on!”

Again the image changed. It went to Rarity’s office, but this time it was late at night. Rarity herself, in her style of always dressing for the occasion, was attired in something more concealing and mysterious. The only light was her small kerosene lamp on her desk; which was why it was impossible to make out the rather large and imposing shadows she was facing. She looked at them grimly.

“Now keep in mind that this business transaction of ours is to be kept highly discrete…just between you and myself.”

“Heh…that’s not a problem. You aren’t the first client we’ve had that wanted to make sure no one knew we were ever there.”

“I don’t need you for much. It’s simply that…some of my employees are causing some trouble. In the past I could simply replace them as necessary, but now they’re talking about unifying. Creating a team of laborers to collectively bring complaint and act as one. If I want Carousel Couture to succeed, it is imperative that this does not happen. I can’t stay competitive if my workers start being the ones who dictate where all of my profits go.”

“Yeah, I imagine that’d be pretty bad for your pocketbook.”

“…And theirs. So long as I employ them, my welfare is their welfare.”

“Sure, sure…whatever helps you sleep at night. We’ll explain this to them. Just one detail…you want whoever gets the explanation of the ‘situation’ to pass on the message to the others, eh…verbally or non-verbally, if you get my drift?”

Rarity’s face looked uncomfortable, and she gave a grimace and a shudder.

“…Which way would you charge less for?”

The man in the shadows barked out a laugh. “You are shrewd, ain’t ya’? Verbally, actually.”

“Then by all means, verbally.”

The image faded, leaving the chamber in silence again. Twilight gaped at what she had just seen, and slowly turned to Rarity. The woman was cringing now and still covering her mouth.

“Rarity…you didn’t…”

“All those ‘sacrifices’ you made for your employees…but I noticed you always wore a nice new outfit, though,” Dash sourly spat. “You still had your little teas on a Kirin set every day. You still had all that nice furniture and got plenty of money to eat out at all the fancy places too. And I’m guessing that Coco’s room wasn’t half as nice as yours.”

“You…you don’t understand!” she protested. “How rough it is to maintain a business in Manehattan! How hard it is to stay competitive! I didn’t want to cut corners everywhere or resort to hiring those…those brutes! I would have failed otherwise and so would they!”

“Now Rarity…” the peddler chided. “Why would you say such awful things about your more secretive business partners? And after that nice favor they did for you a few months ago?”

Now she truly did look horrified. “You wouldn’t-”

Before she could finish, the image lit up again. This time it was daylight and once again in Rarity’s office. However, she looked more familiar this time and was sporting some dressings from a scuffle that had been made against the Nighttouched. However, those dark figures were in the room now too. Only this time, they were in the light—and looked rather familiar to some of the other ladies.

“Isn’t…that those men who came by that one day looking for Rarity?” Fluttershy stated uneasily.

Before she could say more, the scene began. It started with Rarity turning around to the men with a bag. She didn’t look scared of them in spite of their intimidating appearance, but rather sternly and curtly dropped the bag on the desk in front of them.

“There you are. 80,000 as we agreed. And I believe I’ve told you time and again not to come here during business hours. Never do it again.”

One of the men on the side stepped up, opened the bag, and peered inside. He paused, then ruffled around it for a moment. Eventually, he pulled out a thick stack of wrapped bills, which he rifled through. He turned to the man in the center and nodded before replacing it.

The man grinned back. “Pleasure doing business with you. Although I thought the memo was wrong when you first left it for me. Why have Cotton Gin whacked instead of Suri Polomare?”

Rarity closed her eyes and sighed. “That’s not really any concern of yours, but if you must know… I managed to take back my deal right from under her nose this time, but she clearly means to ruin me. I’m too much competition for her and she’ll keep stealing my contracts until I’m bankrupt.”

“This I see, but that’s why I wonder-”

“Oh, do use your heads. If Suri Polomare was to wind up dead after all this, then I’d be the first one the police would come snooping around. If, on the other hand, the colonel ended up dead, then they’d believe I only stood to lose and Suri only stood to gain. I don’t know if you read the papers, but already the government is thinking about cancelling all contracts with her and offering them up to the next bidder, which would be Carousel Couture. And all of her suppliers will be the same way, so I no longer need Fabrichique. I hate to say it…but the colonel is far more use to me now dead than alive.”

A pause from the men, who were genuinely stunned. The center man let out a chuckle, with a hint of nervousness on it. “Did I say you were shrewd before? I was wrong. You’re practically good enough to be a mob boss yourself.”

“In the Manehattan business world, dear, you’ll find that people need to be just as ruthless and even more cutthroat.”

When the image faded, the ladies again turned back to Rarity. But she was no longer facing them. Her back was to them and her head was shrunken down.

“Th-those men…didn’t come…looking for you…” Fluttershy spoke in a near breathless panic. “They…wanted you to pay them for…for…k-k-killing…”

“Um, Rarity?” Pinkie spoke up nervously. “I don’t know if anyone ever told you this, but…um…Gaia Everfree really doesn’t like it when people kill other people…”

“And here I thought you were someone decent from Manehattan…” Dash snorted. “Silly me.”

“I knew you were a crook, just like everyone else in that damn country!” Applejack spat angrily. “Folks like you are the reason my family got sick and my sister died! Slavin’ away in your factories so you could go to operas and fancy-pants galas! Meanwhile they can’t even get enough to eat and are livin’ in trash so-”

“Oh, shut up! ALL of you!”

Rarity suddenly snapping around and barking at them silenced, and shocked, everyone. Even Applejack. She glared at them hatefully and angrily.

“Manehattan is a crueler place than any of you have ever dreamed! My family thought they could make it there running fairly and justly and it drove them into bankruptcy! It sent my mother and father into an early grave while it harbored cads like the Horned Trip which took my Sweetie Belle from me and let the police find her cut into pieces after someone had her way with her! Do you think I care in the slightest if those people suffer to help me succeed? That they don’t deserve to be bled of every proverbial drop they took from me? Stop being so naïve with this moral indignation! I’d be in a gutter if I was half as generous as you expect me to be!”

Most of the ladies were stunned, although Applejack kept looking at her angrily. Fluttershy gave another whimper and cringed back.

“It’s rather fitting that you would mention the Horned Trip at this moment,” Grogar spoke up from his place. “It just so happens they figure quite a bit into this next revelation.”

Fluttershy went rigid as the next frame lit up once again.

It showed an image of a very different looking Fluttershy. While she was still her quiet and timid self, she was considerably younger and dressed as a rather meek waitress. While the image was still filling up, however, an amount of water splashed in her face—making her cringe and withdraw even more. The image continued to fill until it revealed the interior of a small café; obviously in a larger, more bustling town. A rather large and horrid-looking woman, turning nearly beet red and glaring at Fluttershy, was in her face. Based on her surroundings it seemed she had been seated at a table with a smaller child. The girl in question was young but was as obese as the woman and had a sour frown with her arms crossed, refusing to touch her meal in front of her.

“You horrible, stupid, little idiot! How can you be such a moron that you can’t follow a single, simple instruction?!”

“I’m…I’m sorry, ma’am, but…”

“Where is your manager?! I’m going to have you fired for this, you worthless little tramp! I ought to call the magistrate on you!”

“But…but ma’am…”

Fluttershy’s meek protests were so quiet it was likely the hostile woman didn’t even hear her—especially since she spent most of the time casting more insults, threats, and obscenities. She made such a scene that a middle-aged woman finally walked up, looking in more professional dress and attitude. She called out to her as soon as she paused for breath.

“Ma’am! Ma’am! I’m the manager. What seems to be the problem here?”

The furious woman spun to her, pointing an accusing finger in Fluttershy’s face—sharply enough to make her recoil. “Your mongoloid of a waitress here tried to poison my baby on purpose! I told her expressly that she can’t have radishes because she’s allergic, and she covered her salad with them! She tried to kill him!”

“M-M-Ma’am…t-t-those are red cabb-”

“And then she insulted me to my face before she tried to shove it down her throat! She’s a criminal and a menace! What kind of fool are you hiring her in the first place?!”

“M-M-Ma’am…I never-”

The red-faced woman spun to her, making her pull back to shield herself. “How dare you talk back to me, you little bitch! What kind of deranged trollop are you?! Having nothing better to do but try to murder little children?!”

The manager turned to her. “Fluttershy, is that true? What happened?”

The terrified woman, quite shaken up at this point, struggled to find her voice and composure to respond. “She…um…that is…I…I…”

“Speak up, already! What did you do to get her so worked up?”

“I…I just…I t-t-took her order and I…t-t-told the chef to leave off radishes, but…but those aren’t radishes… They’re just strips of red cabba-”

“She’s lying!” the red-faced woman cut off. “You hired a criminal and a liar! You’re the most worthless, despicable establishment I’ve ever eaten at! I want her fired or I’m going to get this entire café shut down!”

“Ma’am! Please, calm down! You’re making a sc-”

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down! And don’t you dare touch me!”

“Ma’am, if you will just listen for a moment, we want to see what we can do to make this-”

“Ouch!”

Both the red-faced woman and the manager turned to Fluttershy as she yelped. The child at the table had suddenly decided to throw in her “two cents” by leaning over to Fluttershy while she was standing there and biting one of her trembling hands while she wasn’t looking.

Obviously, this had caused her to yelp and yank her hand up and away. As she did, her fingers went out and lightly tapped the girl across the cheek, causing him to snap her head back and away.

The woman went from red to violet. An instant later, a smack echoed across the restaurant as Fluttershy was slapped hard enough to knock her to the floor. “How DARE you touch my baby, you disgusting little bitch!”

The image faded, only for a new frame to light up nearby. Fluttershy was now standing in a back room with the manager, holding a cloth to a split lip and looking more meek and downcast than ever.

“You…you’re…firing me?”

“You insulted a customer and you slapped their child, Fluttershy. What else am I supposed to do? You should have just fixed their order.”

“But…but…there weren’t any radishes-”

“I don’t give a damn if the plate had nothing but lettuce on it! ‘The customer is always right’! End of issue! You apologize, you get what they want, and you don’t cause a scene!”

“But…but I didn’t…”

“I don’t want to hear it! I said you’re fired! Get out!”

“What…what about my work for today…?”

“You used it buying that napkin.”

Fluttershy blinked in surprise, leaning up and looking at the cloth she was using to nurse herself. “Wh…what?”

“You don’t think I can use a napkin with your blood on it, do you? Now get out before I have you thrown out!”

Fluttershy could only whimper and recoil as the frame faded out.

When the next image came on, it was in a dirty, blighted street. Clearly in a bad part of town littered with garbage and all sorts of filth. The people walking around were angry-looking, surly, dirty, and/or shabby. A group of street urchins up the street were roughhousing over what looked like a bottle of liquor they had stolen, laughing and taunting and pushing each other.

Fluttershy herself, still looking sore from being fired, was seated on a stoop. An alley cat was nearby but had warmed up to her nicely. It was purring and pressing against her as she leaned down and pet it. After a few moments, she reached into her pocket and came out with the remains of a bit of bread and put it down next to her.

“Sorry, little friend… I can’t afford any fish right now… I can’t even afford any more bread for myself…” She sighed and looked out to the street. “Zephyr always said places like Manehattan were the land of opportunity…but I guess that was before Cloudsdale fell. I didn’t really have much to offer even before the war destroyed home, but now that I’m from the ‘old enemy’ I’ve got even less… It doesn’t help that people can be…well…rather unfriendly.”

The cat simply kept purring as she kept petting it.

“Oh…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to talk your ear off about all my problems. I’m sure you have plenty of your own. If it’s bad for me, I can only imagine how much all of you homeless cats are doing. Oh…I hope your owner didn’t die because of those dreadful Light Eaters up north. I’d take you in if I could, but…um…I think I need a home to take myself in first…”

At that moment, the image showed a rather angry-looking person with a broom step out from the building behind her. Frowning at Fluttershy all the way, she shoved the staff end of her broom into her back roughly, causing her to cry out and spill forward. Reflexively, the cat jumped into her lap for protection before she stumbled into the street on her knees.

“Get lost! I don’t need some Cloudsdale hobo chasing away customers!”

“Oh…I’m…I’m sorry… I was just stopping to catch my-”

She didn’t get out another word, as a girl stepped out from behind the adult and proceeded to fling a piece of food trash right in her face. She was cut off as she was pelted, and she shrank her head to the ground.

The girl, on her part, grinned and snickered at how she had made a mess on her, while the adult continued to glare at her threateningly. Not bothering with any more apologies, she nervously picked herself up while cradling the cat with one arm. Soon after she began to walk down the road while using her other hand to wipe her face off.

When she was done, she sighed. “I wish the people in Manehattan were a bit nicer…especially the children… But it’s not all bad. I still get to make friends like you.”

The cat meowed back, as if in acknowledgement.

“I’m glad you think so. I still need to find another job, though… I don’t think I can get any other jobs as a waitress. Even if I hadn’t been to them all, they won’t hire me looking like this… I’m no good at working in factories… No one needs any help running stalls.” She swallowed uneasily. “There is…well…that…but am I really to the point where that’s all I can get? Oh…maybe I should head to the park to clear my head. There’s lots of nice pigeons there I can introduce you t-”

An empty liquor bottle suddenly struck Fluttershy in the head. While it was only a glancing blow, it gave out a thud and soon she fell to the ground in a limp heap. The cat, startled again, immediately jumped out of her arms and fled for it…right toward the same street urchins as before. However, they were laughing at her now, and one of them quickly darted down and snatched up the cat right out of the road. He was rough, and it immediately began to hiss and claw, but he managed to keep it from tagging him.

“Ha-ha! Bullseye!”

“You got her right in the head!”

“She’s crazy! Talking to alley cats like that!”

Fluttershy let out a moan, slowly lifting her now-bleeding forehead from the ground and looked ahead. Her eyes only looked at the children a moment before turning to the struggling cat. Trembling, her hand reached out to them.

“Do…don’t…hurt the…”

“Oh? Heh, you want the cat?”

“P-P-Please…”

“You really want the cat, huh crazy?”

“Let…let her…”

“Hey guys? Let’s take the cat down to the river! You ever see what happens when you tie a brick to their tails and throw them in?”

Fluttershy gasped in horror as the other boys began to chuckle cruelly. Carrying the animal with them, they turned around and began to run off. She weakly tried to pursue them, but could barely push herself up before getting dizzy again.

“S-S-Stop! Please…!”

“Heh, what’re you gonna do about it? Call a cop, you little Cloudsdale hobo?”

“Maybe they can throw you in the nuthouse!”

“Go home, hobo! We don’t want you!”

She cried out again, vainly trying to get to her feet, but it was no use. She couldn’t chase them, and no one even looked at her let alone offered to help her. In the end, all she could do was burst into tears as the howling sound of the panicked cat slowly faded into the distance and oblivion.

The image faded and came in again. Based on how Fluttershy looked in this one…dirty, stained, bloody, and very sad and unhappy, it was the same day. Only it was night now, and she was timidly and nervously standing on a new street. She was quivering all over, still undecisive about whether or not to go forward. She couldn’t even summon enough bravery to look up.

Eventually she was able to, but she didn’t like what she saw. Pictures of women in feathers and lingerie. Big signs saying things like “Burlesque” and “Girls, Girls, Girls”. Sounds of men hooting and hollering from within. She gulped, hesitating a bit more, before she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to take a step forward.

“Pardon me, little ma’am.”

She stopped and looked outside the image at who had spoken to her.

The image faded and was replaced by a dirty yet functional pub, where Fluttershy was fighting hard not to avoid cleaning a plate of food in front of her. A very tall and imposing figure was seated across from her with his back to the watching ladies.

When she was finally done, she quickly covered her mouth to stifle the tiniest burp ever. “Excuse me…”

“Hmm…seems Manehattan life isn’t treating you that well, Ms. Fluttershy.”

“Well…um…I wouldn’t say that… It’s just, um…it’s hard to find work…or a home…or food…and a lot of people get angry at me…and most people look at me frowning when they realize I’m from Cloudsdale…and…just about everyone is cruel to the animals…”

“Iron Will knows that all too well. Iron Will had to grow a thick skin when he got to Manehattan. Iron Will focused a lot on his muscles and making himself heard. But even that wasn’t enough to save Iron Will’s old consulting business. The world is a cruel place, Fluttershy. And it’s gotten a lot crueler ever since that shadow fell over Equestria. So…you’re having a hard time finding work?”

“Um…yes, I’m afraid… I’m down to thinking about being one of those…dancing girls…”

“Well then, Iron Will may have just the right job for you! With your cute looks and alluring figure, you’re just perfect!”

Fluttershy went wide-eyed at that, before turning red and shrinking. “Oh my…”

“Huh? Oh! Sorry about that! Iron Will phrased that all wrong! It’s nothing like that. Well…mostly. Ms. Fluttershy…have you ever thought about being a Piper?”

As they kept talking, another image lit up nearby. This one showed Fluttershy much more cleaned up and wearing a cute, new dress. It was a different day now, and she was walking up to a rather dirty-looking and shabby-clothed child playing with a can in the street.

She came to a stop and beamed a cute smile. “Oh…hello there, little boy!”

The boy looked up at her and nervously began to rise. “Oh…I’m sorry, ma’am… I didn’t mean to-”

“Oh no! It’s no problem! I just thought you looked hungry! Do you know my rotary club is hosting a free lunch right now?”

“Wha…it is?”

“Sure! Just come with me!”

She extended her hand to the child, who, apparently quite hungry, gratefully took it and let her lead him down the street.

The image cut back to the pub, where Fluttershy blinked. “I…I don’t think I ever heard of that before…”

“Well, a Piper is someone just like you…cute, attractive, motherly…who goes out on the street and finds little boys and girls who don’t have any…shall we say…adult supervision…and then she leads them to…special places that me and my boys set up.”

Another image lit up. This time it was two more shabbily dressed children in a different alley who looked like they were teasing a stray dog. At least, they had been. Now they were focused on Fluttershy, who was in a different dress and beaming at both of them. Both were grinning from ear to ear with delight now.

“Did you say a circus?”

She nodded. “And it’s free just for one day only!”

“Gee! Where is it?”

“Follow me and I’ll show you!”

Again, back to the first image.

“And…what…what happens when they get there?”

“Well…me and the boys load them up. Sometimes on wagons, sometimes on boats, sometimes both…”

Fluttershy began to grow nervous-looking. “And…then…?”

“And then they go for a nice long ride…and a Piper doesn’t bother asking where. It’s not like she’ll be seeing them anymore. No one will.”

Another image. Another new day, another new dress, another child. This one was a little less shabby, however, and with schoolbooks in her hand.

“Could you please show me to the train station, dear? I can’t find my way.”

“I…I don’t know, ma’am. I need to get to school…”

“Just really quickly. I’ll pay you 5 bits for your trouble.”

“Wow…5 bits? I…I guess I can help real quick…”

Back to the first. Fluttershy was now looking rather nervous and trembling. However, the unseen man kept pressing.

“Now, now…don’t you worry. Iron Will runs a very cool operation. You don’t have to worry about the law. Iron Will keeps things under the table and greases the palms of all the ones who find out. As for you, you’ll be able to afford a nice apartment, three meals a day, and plenty of extra bits. Enough to save up and build a whole animal refuge if you want. Believe me, no one will miss these kids. Not in this town where there’s more orphans every day. Deep down, people will be happy they’re off the streets instead of vandalizing, stealing, or torturing pets.”

Fluttershy’s cringing stopped at that. Her eyes widened.

Another image. This time there were three girls eagerly following behind Fluttershy as she led them along down into one of the darker parts of the city.

“You mean each of us gets our own free toy?”

“Two free toys if get there in half an hour!”

“Yay! It’s just like Hearth’s Warming!”

Again, back to the pub.

“Like Iron Will said, the world is a cruel place. And it’s full of cruel people. A lot of them are in respectable positions and everyone thinks they’re saints, but they come to Iron Will just the same. A lot of these people have an ‘itch’ and Iron Will scratches it. If Iron Will doesn’t, someone else will. That’s not about to change, and nowadays the world is just getting worse. People will deride Iron Will and his work all day long, but they don’t want to lift a finger to help these kids and they won’t because they know they’re nothing but future thieves and drunks. Most of them would rather look the other way so long as it’s someone else’s problem. So why not have them do someone some good?”

One more scene. This time, it was in front of a nicer-looking house. Practically a manor. A rather portly child was standing in the garden nearby. A bit closer look revealed it was the exact same child that had bitten Fluttershy earlier. Only now she didn’t seem to recognize her, because she was talking to her across the fence.

“And you’re saying there’s a big new chocolate shop opening just a few blocks away?”

“Mmm-hmm!”

“And it’s free to the first 100 customers?”

“Mmm-hmm!”

“…Are you sure we haven’t me before?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Definitely not! I’m brand new to Manehattan! So…what do you say?”

“Hmm…mom might get mad. She says I’ve been eating too many sweets lately.”

“What mom doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?”

The fat kid smiled. “Yeah…you’re right!”

The final image faded, leaving only the one at the pub.

“So…what do you say?”

Fluttershy was quiet for a long time. Her eyes went to the ground, thinking over everything. She was quiet for several seconds, before she took a deep breath and showed more conviction than the ladies had seen from her in the images so far. She turned back to the man and nodded.

“Mr. Iron Will…I accept.”

“Great to hear! Just, uh…one small detail. Iron Will doesn’t like using his real name when doing business. Best not to flash that around too much. When on the job, just remember…he’s Big Tom.”

His big hand went out, took Fluttershy’s, and shook.

Again, the chamber was silent—but the ladies were more horrified than ever. Even Sunset was showing how aghast she was now. Fluttershy continued to cringe, letting her hair cover her face and hiding beneath it.

Dash blinked. “Now…now that one…that can’t have been real… Not Fluttershy…”

“I don’t know…” Rarity spoke rather accusingly, glaring at her. “That would explain why the Horned Trip got away that night. They were your old ‘associates’ all along…”

Fluttershy only quivered more.

Twilight swallowed. She took a nervous step closer. “Fluttershy…please…tell me you didn’t actually…to all of those children…”

A loud sniffle came from Fluttershy, before she cried out as loud as her tiny voice could manage.

“That’s why I told you to leave me but you wouldn’t listen! Nobody ever listens to me! No one ever sees me or hears me! I’m just Wimpy Fluttershy! Doormat Fluttershy! Nuisance Fluttershy! And that’s why I was able to get away with it for…for years!”

Twilight was left speechless. Sunset anxiously looked at her for something, but Rarity, her own face filling with anger, stepped closer to Fluttershy as her jaw tightened.

“You…you…you inhuman monster! I’ve had nightmares about the horrors my sister went through before she died, and miserable wretches like you are the reason it happened to her! You heartless devil! You wicked witch of a woman!”

Fluttershy finally snapped up at that; her own face tightening in anger as she glared right back at Rarity.

“And what about my brother, Rarity? Or my parents? Or me? Did we deserve the way people like you treated us? Made us work to death? Barely gave us enough money to even eat let alone not sleep in a gutter? You never cared about people like me one bit until we made you unhappy! No one ever cared about us! You’d all prefer if we would have died back when Cloudsdale was destroyed! All of those children treated people like me like trash! They’d hurt little helpless animals for fun! They deserved what happened to them! All of them!”

Both women glared at each other, looking ready to dive on each other and get into a fist fight at any moment. The ladies were speechless as they looked between the two, although Applejack looked ready to take them both on. Rainbow Dash, however, regarded the whole scene with a look that was both stern and indifferent. Finally, she frowned and turned to Grogar.

“Alright…I see where this is going… So why don’t you get it over with for me?”

The peddler let out a small chuckle. “Why Rainbow Dash, whatever are you talking about?”

That only made her grit her teeth and fume. “Come on! Get it over with already!”

“I don’t know what you mean. You’ve always been such a good, consummate soldier, haven’t you?”

On cue, another frame lit up. When the ladies looked to it, they saw the farthest back in time yet. It was some sort of military drill field. It was bright and the sun was out, and soldiers and recruits were doing exercises everywhere with commanding officers barking at them. However, the scene was focused in on the central field. A squad of recruits, the youngest by far, were running demanding exercises as several high-ranking Cloudsdale officers looked on and took notes on each one.

By this point, many were sweating and tired, and beginning to collapse. However, one was continuing to push herself harder and onward. A teenager with rainbow-colored hair and a ferocity and determination none of the ladies had ever seen. It was clearly Rainbow Dash.

That image soon began to be accompanied with others, all at the same camp. Each one showed different exercises or trials, whether it was obstacle course racing, wrestling, climbing, or any other activity. In each one, Dash had the strength and drive to excel above all of her competitors.

“Just look at you! How eagerly you wanted to join the Cloudsdale Wonderbolts! How much you excelled at every part of the elite training! How you were the best recruit in years!”

In spite of all of the pleased looks and nods of approval from the officers, the present-day Rainbow Dash only looked more and more agitated. Each scene only seemed to make her angrier.

Another image came on, this one with a somewhat older Dash, now in uniform, facing an older Cloudsdale officer with swept-back, fiery hair. She formally finished affixing a badge to her outfit before standing back and giving her a smile.

“Congratulations, private. You’re now the newest member of the Cloudsdale Wonderbolts. Welcome aboard.” She ended with a salute.

Dash immediately saluted back. “Thank you, ma’am.”

The image disappeared, making way for a different image. This one was in a row of Steam Wings—ones far more impressive and maintained than the ones that the ladies had seen at the Fillydelphian fort. There were several Cloudsdale Wonderbolts heading up to them—decked out in their blue and yellow attire that contained elements both of a flight suit as well as armor. Rainbow Dash, looking a little nervous, was going up to one somewhat hesitantly along with an older, blue-haired Wonderbolt. As he fastened his own helmet and goggles, he looked to her and seemed to pick up on her emotions.

“Nervous?”

“Huh…what?” she snapped to attention. Immediately, she tried to cover it up. “I mean…no way! Heh, what makes you think that?”

“Well, you’re the new kid, aren’t you? And this is your first time out?”

“Er…well…yeah, technically. But this’ll be a piece of cake.”

He smiled regardless. “Heh…I heard you were the youngest recruit to the full Wonderbolts we ever had. I was two years older than you on my first time out and I think I…uh…hmm…well, on second thought, I won’t say what I did to my uniform. Just relax. Once you’re in the air, you’ll feel just like a bird and everything will click.”

“Really? I-I-I mean…well, duh, yeah… But not like I need it or anything, heh…”

“By the way, the name’s Soarin. Looking forward to seeing you in the sky.”

This got her to finally smile genuinely. “Rainbow Dash. I’ll make sure to show you something to make the name stick.”

“That’s more like it.”

The scene faded, turning to another one the same day. The Wonderbolts were returning to the same launch platform where their Steam Wings had taken off earlier. Many of their machines were smoking or steaming with signs of grease and oil damage, but other than that it looked like everyone had made it. One Steam Wing in particular came in for a landing. As soon as it did, it revealed that one of the gun arms on it had a somewhat battered pilot straddling it. As engineers ran out to service the machine, the actual pilot of the Steam Wing quickly dismounted and pulled off her helmet; revealing herself to be the same fiery-headed pilot from earlier.

She went to the straddling pilot and pulled off her own helmet, revealing her to be Rainbow Dash and looking mostly out of it. However, her wits seemed to come back to her as she was pulled off the wing.

“C…Captain Spitfire…?”

“Guess you’re back with us, rookie?”

“What…happened?”

“Overclocked a bit back there. Better take it easy next time or you might end up losing more than your sky armor. All the fancy tricks in the world don’t matter if you blackout while pulling them off.”

As Dash came too, she winced and instantly looked embarrassed. “Um…oh…sorry…I-I-I mean, I’m sorry ma’am.”

She frowned back, crossing her arms. “Not as sorry as I’m going to be when I need to explain to higher command why I need the budget for another new Steam Wing.”

Dash bowed her head, looking about two feet tall. However, the captain soon smiled again.

“Still…that was pretty impressive for a first time. I’m glad to see you can pull it off on the field just as well as on the course. You should fit right in.”

She looked up hopefully at that.

“Which is why I’m only going to make you clear the barracks for a month. Next time, remember, it’s the enemy units we’re supposed to be taking out, not our own, alright ‘Rainbow Crash’?”

While she winced a little at the new nickname, as well as the punishment, in the end she saluted back. “Yes ma’am!”

The captain smirked a little afterward. “And this is one you owe me, rookie. Make sure you pay me back.”

Another image lit up, this one showing some time later. There was another crowd of Wonderbolts coming out from their launching grounds. Based on the looks of them, they had just gotten back from a battle, but were rather enthused and indicating they had been the victors. In particular, many of them were crowding around the youngest in their midst—a slightly older Rainbow Dash.

“You were amazing back there, Crash!”

“I thought you’d have to be in the air five years before you could pull that off, but four down in one sortee?”

Soarin grinned as he leaned in to her. “Looks like you’re not just the youngest Wonderbolt ever, but you’re going to be the youngest one to reach Ace too.”

Dash smirked back cockily. “Ah, don’t think too much about it. It was only a bunch of Griffonstone junkers this time. They could barely even shoot back, let alone shoot straight.”

Again the image was replaced. This time it was in a small office, but from the looks of it one with a distinct military vibe and the colors of Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash was again standing before Spitfire and both were in more formal uniforms, but Dash was looking stunned while Spitfire smiled slightly at her.

“Why so surprised, Crash? I thought you were bragging that you’d be the head of this outfit before the end of the decade. You’d think a little thing like this wouldn’t be enough to knock your socks off.”

“Heh…it’s just…well…gosh…I mean…I figured that’d only happen once you retired. But you really want me to be your new wingman?”

“You’re not saying you refuse, are you?”

“N-N-No! Of course not! It’s just…uh… Ugh, I can’t believe I’m actually saying this rather than jumping for joy…but you’re sure you don’t want someone with more experience?”

Spitfire’s smile faded. “I’m thinking it’s about time Soarin and Fleetfoot head up their own squadrons…give the younger generation a chance to move into the limelight. And I feel better with you watching my back than most of the newer members.” She cracked a smile. “Especially since you still owe me for saving your ass.”

“Oh yeah…heh…”

Spitfire’s smile went away, becoming more grim and serious. “I’m a soldier, Rainbow Dash. I just do what I’m told to do. But even I can see what’s coming down the pipe and so can everyone else. Cloudsdale got the stink-eye for years, but the Lunar Fall made everything worse. Everyone wants land as far away from the Equestrian border as possible and Cloudsdale is it. We didn’t even have to start fighting Nighttouched until last year when they found that underground channel. And now…now they got the perfect excuse with that Temperance Honeydew shooting her mouth off.”

She frowned and looked to one side.

“A couple years ago she would have just been another Gaitian zealot asking people to smash their liquor cabinets. But once she started saying the Lunar Fall was a sign of the apocalypse, a lot of scared people started to listen. Now we got religious nuts popping up all over. Fillydelphia just needs her to give a good excuse to invade. We’re going to be back to shooting at people instead of monsters a lot sooner than we want.”

Rainbow Dash’s own smile had faded by now as Spitfire looked at her seriously.

“Whatever attack comes, it’ll come for the Wonderbolts first. We’re going to have to be ready. And I know I can only be at my own best when I have wingmen I can trust to be at their best. Now can I assume one of those women is you?”

She hesitated for a few moments, but then stood at attention—looking her right back in the eye. “Yes ma’am.”

That made Spitfire smile again. “I knew I could. Enjoy your promotion by buying yourself and me another round with that fancy new salary of yours tonight, Crash.”

As this image found, Dash was bristling more than ever. Meanwhile, the peddler was beaming. “Honor after honor…record after record smashed…the best ladder-climbing rookie…all for you, Rainbow Dash! Our glorious patriot!”

She practically scowled. “Just show what happened, already!”

“Oh, not just yet! Aren’t you forgetting something? Your illustrious ‘fan club’?”

That made Dash wince. She paled a little before looking away completely. However, the rest of the ladies were able to clearly see as a new image showed up.

This one was a bit different from the others. It had gone back to when Rainbow Dash was back in the drills, and was hopping off of her first flyabout on one of the older models. She was heading over to get water from a tank, but it seemed she had drawn a crowd. The local civilians and field workers were beaming at her in astonishment. One, in particular, stood out from all the others—a girl with short hair stacked up and a homemade scooter cobbled together from spare industrial parts and driftwood.

She went straight up to the water tank as Dash arrived and gaped at her with open-mouthed adoration. “Wow…that…that was…amazing! You’re amazing!”

Hearing her, Dash looked over to her for a moment before looking away again and getting some water.

“That was unbelievable! I’ve never seen anyone fly like that before! It’s like you were born with wings!”

At first, it looked as if Dash was trying to ignore her. But as she kept laying on the praise, she finally gave a small smirk as she began to take a drink.

“I bet you’ll get into the reserve for sure! They’d be crazy not to let you in!”

After drinking, she smiled a little more. “Thanks, kid.”

“I mean it! I mean…I’ve dreamed about being able to fly in a Steam Wing one day. I keep imagining all of the things I could do with it, but…but you’re the first person I’ve ever seen who pulled them off! I bet you could take down all of Fillydelphia by yourself!”

Dash chuckled a little, growing more enthusiastic. “I don’t know about all that, but…heh…I do feel pretty awesome being in the air. So I guess you see a lot of fliers out here?”

“Yeah! I live just down the road! Whenever I’m done delivering papers I always come by to watch the tryouts. I love seeing the Steam Wings in action. You’re the best I’ve seen so far, though!”

“Heh…well…I’m just getting started, so hopefully I’ll get to show you some real cool stuff as I get better.”

“Oh, really? That’d be so amazing! What’s your name?”

“Rainbow Dash.”

“I’ll keep reading the papers, Rainbow Dash! I know you’re going to be the best Wonderbolt in Cloudsdale!”

“Heh…I already got a fan, huh? What’s your name, kid?”

“Scootaloo!”

“I guess I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for you during the victory parades then, huh? See you around.”

The image faded. It gave rise to a different one on a different day. Rainbow Dash, still a bit dirty but more cleaned up and hydrated, was heading out from a large hanger building. She looked a bit tired but still enthused as she walked a short distance, only to come to a halt in surprise.

Scootaloo was there, but she wasn’t alone. She had gotten a few other of the local kids with her to unfurl a hand-painted banner with ‘Welcome Back, Rainbow Dash’ on it. They also gave a chorus of applause and some general fanfare for her as she emerged.

After a moment she grinned. As soon as they died down in the applause, she chuckled. “You were serious about that fan club thing, weren’t you?”

“Uh, duh! Who wouldn’t want to join a club for the best ace in the Wonderbolts?”

“Oh-ho…you found out about that? Heh, you get your news almost as fast as I do.”

“Four anti-aircraft batteries in one sortee? You’re unbelievable! I knew you’d be the best flier in the Wonderbolts!”

“Ms. Dash? Can I get you to sign this piece of paper? My little brother really wants one!”

“Me too! Me too!”

“Heh…sure. I can’t really let down my own fan club, can I?”

The image faded and gave rise to another one. This one was again further in the future, and showed a rather surprised Rainbow Dash looking down at a somewhat older Scootaloo. Except this time, she was wearing a set of coveralls with the same colors as Cloudsdale.

“You’re a mechanic, Scootaloo?”

“Well…junior mechanic. I admit I don’t really know that much yet, but…Cloudsdale was looking for more volunteers and when I saw they were going to teach more greasemonkeys for the Steam Wings, I had to sign up. This is my best chance to be around you! And now I get to make sure your Steam Wings are always up and running!”

“Uh…”

Seeing her hesitation made the girl’s own enthusiasm fade. “What’s the matter? I…I kind of thought you’d be happy about this…”

“No, no, it’s not that… It’s just…um…you know the reason they asked for more volunteers, right kid?”

“Yeah! ‘Cause we’re gonna head to war with Fillydelphia and you’re totally going to kick their butts!”

“Right, right… Um, that’s true, but…you know this is a base right on the border, Scootaloo. It’s going to be the first place they’ll hit if it comes to a war. A lot of people might get killed who can’t use weapons…”

“I know, but I’m not worried. Not when you’re here defending the place! And besides…if they do invade…I want to do something to help you. If I can’t fly, then I’ll make sure your Steam Wing is running at its best!”

Dash hesitated, looking more tense about this than anything else the ladies had seen so far, before she seemed to realize Scootaloo wouldn’t be dissuaded and gave in. “Alright. I can’t very well say no to that, can I? Let’s just cross our fingers that it doesn’t happen until you can fly a wing of your own, alright?”

“Awesome! Thanks, Rainbow Dash!”

Again the image faded and reappeared a bit later. At first, it showed nothing except an empty launching field, similar to the one the drills were on. A second later, however, a Steam Wing came in for a landing. Not one of the professional ones but rather a beat-up model used for testing and practice. Nevertheless, Rainbow Dash, in more casual attire, was piloting it…but she wasn’t alone. Riding in front of her and standing on her feet with her hands out where the controls would go, effectively using Dash as a “booster seat”, was Scootaloo. She was a mixture of shocked and ecstatic as they landed and Dash began to power it down.

“So kid…how was your first flight?”

She was speechless for a moment longer before the shock was finally fully overridden by joy. “That…that was amazing…! I…I can’t believe I actually flew!”

“Heh…just wait until you go up solo. Just got to get a few more inches on you. And, uh…don’t tell anyone I did this. Or I’ll be the one being the greasemonkey for the next six months.”

“Heh-heh…you got it! When can we go again?”

“Let’s say when you make apprentice mechanic, eh? Give you something to work toward.”

“Ugh…seriously? That’s so boring…”

“Alright then. Let’s make it when you get your first five meter jump on that scooter of yours. Deal?”

“That’s more like it! Deal!”

The last image faded, but no more came up to replace it. This actually gave the ladies pause, especially since Dash had closed her eyes and seemed to be trying to block it out all together.

Twilight turned to Grogar. “But there was nothing there that was ‘evil’. Rainbow Dash was loyal to those who depended on her.”

“She was indeed. She was loyal to a fault,” Grogar flatly responded. “And her greatest loyalty was always to the first ones who demanded it of her.”

Another frame started to light up. The ladies looked and saw something quite different. It wasn’t the fields or the hanger or anywhere in Cloudsdale for that matter. It was something else entirely. It was an inner room without windows and only a few lights. Nevertheless, it was still set with a military. There were a squad of people lined up with feet planted and arms behind their backs—all at attention. They were young, though. Barely even old enough to be cadets. Even so, the officers that faced them treated them sternly and coldly.

Only they weren’t from Cloudsdale. They wore the uniforms of Fillydelphia.

“Cloudsdale represents the single greatest threat to Fillydelphian sovereignty if not to the peace and stability of the entire continent of Greater Everfree,” the commanding officer addressed the crowd. “With the invention of what they call the ‘Steam Wing’ and the large population of radical Gaitians they have allowed to infiltrate their society, war is inevitable and, at this juncture, will go very badly for our country. As they continue to develop and proliferate their war machines, it is only a matter of time before they become the uncontested force in our modern world. We cannot allow the chance that they will let an extremist into power. Our own military would be helpless in a conflict, if not for our own secret weapon. And that is what you are—our country’s greatest military asset.”

Pinkie turned her head a little at the scene. “Hmm… Isn’t that Rainbow Dash in the front over there?”

Twilight and Sunset looked and, sure enough, among the children in the front row and standing alongside another girl with hair styled like lightning was a girl with rainbow-tinted hair. She faced the front as boldly and readily as all the others, however.

“You are here for two reasons. One…out of all of the members of the Fillydelphian military youth league, you have shown the most promise. You’re the most highly skilled, the most intelligent, and, foremost of all, the ones with the greatest loyalty, nationalism, and patriotism you have in our democratically elected government. Each one of you has the spirit and drive of a hundred of our soldiers. You are our nation’s truly best and brightest—the ones we look to in order to secure our future.

“Two…and more prominently…because of the first reason, you are being selected on the greatest covert operation our country has ever anticipated. Starting tomorrow, you will all be seeded into Cloudsdale. Your existing records, birth certificates, and identification shall all be summarily destroyed as you are imported as migrants on trains, orphans from conflict, or undocumented workers. Starting tomorrow, you are all citizens of Cloudsdale with no ties to Fillydelphia except the greatest and most important ones—the ones you keep buried deep in your loyal, patriotic hearts.

“Like seeds of ivy, you will be sown among enemy ground. You will grow, blossom, and flourish within them like a vine that grows interwoven with a wall being erected. To all but yourselves and us, you will be Cloudsdale citizens. Some of you will be their citizens. Some will be their soldiers. Some will be their leaders. Yet always your hearts will remain Fillydelphian.

“They will remain that way until the day finally comes in which Cloudsdale turns its ambitions to the north. When that wall they are erecting becomes a blockhouse or rampart against Fillydelphia. At that time, you will finally seize your moment to tear that rampart apart from within. To bring it all crashing down. To clip their wings and silence their fanaticism. To enable the salvation of your true homes and heartlands. Your loyalty will be known only to a few. History will not chart your deeds or memory. Yet ever will you have the pride of knowing how many Fillydelphians will never have to see war and death because of what you have done.”

He made a salute.

“Love and pride for the heartland…Fillydelphia.”

Dash, along with the others, returned the salute and responded. “Love and pride for the heartland…Fillydelphia.”

The scene faded, giving rise to another one many years later. It was back at the fort where the Wonderbolts were stationed, and seemed to be in one of the various officer rooms. In particular, Rainbow Dash’s. It was at night now, and from the fact she was taking off her jacket and shirt and looking weary, she seemed to be getting ready for bed.

As she threw her shirt aside, she lazily looked to the window, only to pause. From her perspective, she was looking out over a long river stretching all the way east and west…a natural border between Cloudsdale and FIllydelphia. Most of the area was long and flat, although it grew more hilly and rocky to the east. However, the landscape wasn’t what had caught her eye—it was a warning light, which was soon accompanied by a distant siren.

She groaned. “Man…those Nighttouched things are attacking now? I was just getting ready to hit the-”

She cut herself off; her eyes widening and the color draining from her face.

She spotted something else. Very small, very innocuous. A tiny light on the far side of the river directly across from her fort. It was so small most probably would have thought little of it. Except it was blinking in a pattern. It seemed random at first but after a few moments it was clear it was showing off a very specific sequence. What more, unlike any normal candlelight or oil lamp, this one had a distinct purple hue.

Dash stood there motionless. She began to breathe a little hard. Sweat formed on her brow.

Finally, though, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and was calm again. When her eyes opened they were full of conviction. She only stopped long enough to put her shirt and jacket on again before turning and heading out.

A new image came on nearby. This one was outside the hanger area, and the landscape had changed. Alarms were now going off everywhere. From a distance, the sounds of artillery shells and explosions going off were thundering. A battle had definitely broken out.

After a few moments a chorus of footsteps became audible. Teams of Wonderbolts were revealed running to the hangers. They were struggling to put on their uniforms as they went. Soarin was one of them as a Wonderbolt with white, breezed-back hair and a grumpy look ran alongside him for the nearest one.

“I don’t believe this! Of all the rotten luck! Fillydelphia finally decides to invade on the day we get a Nighttouched attack! We already got most of the ground units trying to hold those things back!”

“We’re just going to have to work twice as hard! Come on! This is what we’ve been drilling for the past couple months!”

He ran forward a bit more, but suddenly slowed. He looked past the hanger as if spotting something or someone nearby. The white-haired one ran a little farther before stopping and turning back. “Hey! What’re you doing?”

“I…I thought I just saw-”

“Just move it! We need to get the Steam Wings in the air before any of their shells can hit them!”

“Y…yeah…alright!”

He took off for a run again, following her to and into the hanger.

That image continued to play as a different image lit up. This one was within the next nearest hanger. It showed an open door for a moment; before a form ran through it, quickly slipping into the shadows to avoid being seen. However, with the way the contrast was lit up on the image, it was soon clear who it was—Rainbow Dash.

She held momentarily, making sure no one had spotted her, before she ducked inside. She moved through the darkened area and through the variously-staged Steam Wings for several moments before she made her way back to the mechanic’s area. She looked around before she spotted what she was looking for—one of the large boiler tanks being used to “refuel” the Steam Wings before launch.

She moved over to it and quickly began to adjust a few of the controls. After she had done so, she took up one of the wrenches and did something to one of the valves. Once she had it turned in a certain way…a way that immediately caused a sound of pressure building to begin to emit…she began to push and tug on the wrench to start bending the end of it, trying to wedge it into some of the pipes.

“Rainbow Dash…?”

In an instant she stopped what she was doing and spun around. Standing in the dark, looking at her a bit tiredly and curiously, was Scootaloo still in her coveralls.

“Scoot…aloo… What are you doing out here this late?”

“I was changing the gaskets… What are you doing out here?”

“Me? Uh…nothing. Just…just didn’t seem to load my wing fast enough last time, so I was checking out the old boiler.”

“But…your wing is over in Hanger B. And…why were you adjusting the shutoff and pressure valves?”

Dash didn’t answer. She moistened her lips. A second later she took a step forward. “Listen…it’s pretty late. Why don’t I walk you home?”

Scootaloo, however, gave her an uncertain look. “But the attack alarm’s going off… I need to be here… And…and for that matter, why are you in here instead of suiting up?”

Dash halted. She stared at the girl. Behind her, the pressure whine got louder. Loud enough to start sounding like a kettle beginning to boil.

Finally, the woman sighed and bowed her head.

“Who am I kidding? I knew it was going to come to this one day from the start.”

“Rainbow Dash…? What are you…”

She said no more. Her voice aborted as Dash pulled out a small revolver from her pocket and proceeded to shoot the girl twice—once in either knee.

Filled with shock and agony, Scootaloo fell to the ground and began to scream. Yet her voice was rapidly being overcome by the sound of the rising whistle as well as the distant explosions. Putting her gun back in her pocket, Dash clamped her jaw shut and looked firm as she walked up to the girl’s body and drag her back—away from where anyone could see her and right next to the boiler system that was starting to quiver. By now, the pain had driven her into tears, and she gazed at Dash in a mixture of horror and disbelief.

Yet she wouldn’t look back at her. She took only a moment to tether her belt to the machine before rising and walking away.

“Why?! Why?!” Scootaloo finally managed to yell through her pain. Dash didn’t stop, however. She kept walking until she was out of the hanger.

The scene with Scootaloo feebly reaching out in vain for Dash with bloody hands, still crying out to her, kept playing for several moments along with those loading up into the hangers. By the time the crew arrived in her own hanger, the whining of the machine and the explosions were too loud to hear her cries. A third scene began to light up as it did. This one was of Spitfire in her own officer’s barracks. She was fully getting into her own flight suit the whole while as fast as she could.

Yet when she finally left the barracks and ran out into the field, the same thing happened in all three images—the hangers exploded. Soarin and all of his companions were instantly engulfed in fireballs. Scootaloo’s face yelled out for Dash one last time before she was consumed along with everyone else in her own hanger. And Spitfire halted in mid-run before gazing at the fiery pillars that were once her hangers and her units in total horror.

She continued to stand there, letting her helmet fall out of her grip and staring silently as the fires rapidly started to spread across the area—being exacerbated by the oncoming Fillydelphia forces as well as the sounds of combat with Nighttouched. The officer’s barracks was located at something of an elevation over the rest of the fort, but from here all that meant was it afforded a great view of the total devastation.

She didn’t break until a voice finally called to her. “Captain!”

Spitfire turned and saw an equally-horrified-looking Rainbow Dash running up the hill to the escarpment overlooking the base.

“D-Dash…?”

“Captain, it’s over! The Fillydelphians sabotaged the hangers! They took out the Steam Wings and everyone who was there! We’re being overrun!”

“Wha…what? That’s…that’s impossible! We’re the Wonderbolts! We’re the elites of Cloudsdale! We can’t-”

Rainbow Dash came to a halt in front of her, panting and gasping but also shaking her head hopelessly. “I’m sorry, captain…it’s all over. They’re gone… They went into the hangers to take off and…and they just…went up…”

“But…but there’s got to be some who aren’t out yet. Soarin…Fleetfoot…”

“They were in Hanger B when it lit up. The Fillydelphians are coming in full force… Those Nighttouched monsters are flooding the channel… There’s…there’s no one left. No one except us. They had to be planning this…”

Spitfire couldn’t answer. She could only stand there dumbfounded as the realization of everything that happened hit her. And that left her as silent and still as a statue, looking out at the flaming remains of her base and hearing the sounds of death coming ever closer.

“Captain, we’ve got to run. It’s the only thing we can do now.”

Spitfire was quiet a moment longer, before she took in a deep breath. “Maintenance Building Charlie.”

“Huh…?”

“Maintenance Building Charlie. It’s on the far side of the fort. There’s five Steam Wings undergoing maintenance. They’re old, but two of them are still good. Between the two of us, we can get them armed quick too.”

“Captain? You’re not…serious are you? It’s all over! Look what they did!”

“The only thing I see, Crash, is that our fort is the only thing standing between that Nighttouched flood, the Fillydelphians, and the capitol. Which means it has to stay standing.”

“But…but we can’t! The Wonderbolts are done!”

“No they’re not, Crash! They’ve still got us!”

Dash went silent as Spitfire turned to her; looking at her with more intensity, ferocity, and devotion than she had ever seen.

“Those cowards couldn’t take us! They had to make Soarin, Fleetfoot, Thunderlane, High Winds and all the others die like that! If we run off now, that’s going to be the end of the Wonderbolts! But even if there’s only two of us, we can make that count for something! We can make them count for something! Every second we’re in the air is a second someone uses to get away!”

“Captain… Spitfire…we can’t win…”

“That doesn’t sound like the Rainbow Dash I know!” she barked back sharply. “Come on, already! I want to hear the real you! The one who boasts that they’re going to take out the Fillydelphians single-handedly! The one who says she’s going to beat my record at every turn! I made you my wingman because it’s times like these when I need you more than ever!”

She held out her hand to Dash, putting it practically in her face from where she stood. Dash stared back silently, mouth hanging open, as the sounds of explosions and fire continued to rage. The flames drew nearer below them and lit up Spitfire with a passion and light she had never seen before. One that passed even her own greatest moments.

After a few moments, Dash’s hand began to raise to take hers. She hesitated before grasping it. “For Cloudsdale…?”

Spitfire extended the rest of the way and clasped her hand.

“For the Wonderbolts.”

Dash hesitated, before getting enough strength to clasp the hand back.

“For the Wonderbolts.”

The captain smiled as she pulled her up and forward, and Dash smiled back at her. “Let’s go. You’re not in your flight suit, but forget that now. Not like we care whether or not we can still hear at the end of this.”

She nearly turned away, but Dash held on. “Hey, Captain?”

Spitfire turned back. “Yeah?”

“Thanks…for everything.”

“Hey…don’t get emotional on me yet, Crash. Save that for when I’ve been shot down.”

Dash let out a single chuckle. She released Spitfire’s hand, letting the captain go so she could turn back around.

And as soon as her back was to Dash, the younger Wonderbolt pulled up the revolver again and put a bullet in the back of her head.

She never saw Spitfire’s final look of shock as her body went limp. The momentum didn’t take her to the ground but rather off the escarpment, dragging her down into the spreading fires below. Dash forced herself to watch that at least—all the way down before she vanished into the flames.

Once that happened, and all three images were now filled with the sight of the fires burning, she tossed her revolver down the hill afterward, turned, and walked away.

All three images faded, leaving the ladies aghast once again.

“It’s just that those who she was only secondarily loyal to never realized that until it was too late,” Grogar finished.

“So…” Sunset spoke up. “That explains everything. Why you were the only Wonderbolt who survived… Why Fillydelphia immediately made you an ‘honorary citizen’… They weren’t respecting your service. They were congratulating you on a ‘job well done’. That battle…that event that meant the end of Cloudsdale… Trottingham always suspected there was espionage involved. But…but it was you. You all along…”

A bitter chuckle came from Dash’s bowed head. She slowly raised it, taking a deep breath, and giving a weak grin to no one. “Funny, isn’t it? I was loyal to Fillydelphia ever since I could join the cadet corp. And somehow that made me end up being the biggest traitor, huh?”

“Rainbow Dash…” Twilight began to say.

This, however, only triggered her to grit her teeth and spin around. “I don’t want to hear it, Twilight! I don’t want to hear it from you or any other civilians! War brings out what life is really all about! All these ideas you’ve got of ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’? It’s a bunch of crap! The only thing that matters is who wins and who loses! Then all the suits who haven’t even picked up a gun in twenty years can write history books however they want it! I did what a soldier was supposed to do! If I have to kill a million people from Cloudsdale to save one person from Fillydelphia, then I do it! Cloudsdale needed to fall!”

“And what about all those people who just happened to be in the way?” Fluttershy angrily retorted. “Did they have to die too? People just trying to stay alive and get by in a world that was already cheating them and kicking them when they were down?”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from a devious siren like you!” Rarity snapped back. “You haven’t the slightest right to judge anyone around here! Not after how many lives you destroyed! How many parents you robbed of their children!”

“Well you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, Rarity?!” Applejack shouted. “I bet ya’ didn’t give one red cent to your employees when they got sick or hurt slavin’ in your factory! Or maybe ya’ just got them bumped off by your thugs so you could get someone else to fill in for ‘em!”

“And you’d know all about ‘bumping people off’, Applejack!” Fluttershy shot back in accusation. “You talk and talk about wanting to help your family, but you don’t even care about everyone in your own family or anyone else! You just want to make sure that you keep your farm and your ranch! As if thousands of people haven’t already lost a lot more than that!”

“Oh, can it, Fluttershy!” Dash snapped. “Don’t act like you care so much about other people! You’re only mad about some dumb animals! You probably cared more about some alley rat’s babies than girls you sent off to be some fat bastard’s bedroom toy!”

“I’d say you got her trumped, Rainbow Dash!” Applejack sneered. “At least those kids had been onery to her and beatin’ up on dogs and cats! But you? You shot out the legs of a kid who looked up to you and you left her to burn! You couldn’t even look her in the eye when ya’ did it!”

“Oh-ho-ho, let’s not be so judgmental, Applejack,” Rarity spat. “After all, you kept a black hood on when you were off leading hooligans to beat your own grandfather to death! I wonder how much your poor granny’s heart would do to learn about half of the things you’ve been doing!”

“She’s ain’t gotta know ‘cause it’s none of her business! All the family’s got to know is that I kept the farm up, runnin’, and ours! And I ain’t sorry ‘bout that!”

“Well I’m not sorry for having kept my family’s business afloat and making it more successful than it’s ever been! Everyone has a right to take care of themselves!”

“Which is why those parents should have taken better care of their children, or taught them not to be so mean and cruel! No one wanted them around! I did everyone a favor!”

“And if it wasn’t for me, you’d all be dealing with a military run by some fundamentalist whacko, so I did you all a favor! I kept Fillydelphia safe so there’s nothing for me to be sorry for!”

By now, Twilight and Sunset alike were both aghast. Partially at the revelations…but more at how the ladies were reacting. They were growing louder and angrier by the moment. Never before had they seen them all so hateful-looking, and it only seemed to grow the more infuriated it got.

While they were still standing there trying to think of what to say or do next, however, Pinkie ended up taking the initiative. Abruptly, she seemed to pop up right in the center of them where their vision met and held up her hands in a stopping gesture.

“O-kay everyone… Clearly we all haven’t been totally, absolutely, completely honest with each other…but the important thing is that we’re all friends and Gaia Everfree loves and forgives everyone. So…can we maybe try calming down just a teeny bit?”

Aside from going quiet, the four didn’t appear to acknowledge Pinkie at all. They kept glaring at each other even given her position. However, the peddler reacted with another bout of snickering.

“Oh, you’re the funniest one of all, Pinkie Pie. After all, you’ve been ignoring who you really are from the start. I can’t believe it’s come this far.”

“Hey! I know just who I am!” Pinkie indignant protested. “I’m Pinkamena Diane Pie of the Pie family, and a child of Gaia Everfree!”

Grogar let out a single dismissive snort, again summoning the room’s attention. “Childish…in more ways than one. Yet I suppose it is typical. A wretched, purposeless shell of a creature like you would cling to whatever infantile fairy tale the lesser people of this world would invent to give you any sort of meaning.”

Both Twilight and Sunset began to grow nervous at this, in spite of Pinkie’s childish obliviousness. She, on the other hand, only looked a bit puzzled. “I’m not exactly sure what all of those mean, but I do like fairy tales!”

“You are no child of ‘Gaia Everfree’ or any other mother,” Grogar flatly continued. “In fact, you are nothing. Nothing but trash from flesh and souls pieced together into a wretched creature.”

His eyes burned into her like a cosmic judge.

“You are a demon, Pinkamena Diane Pie. One of my own experimental theories brought to life in an attempt to make a singular vessel capable of housing the Angra Mainyu. You were yet another one of the monsters that gave me my namesake. And just like all the others, you have no purpose but to kill and destroy. No other meaning. No other reason to exist.”

Twilight and Sunset both stood alike open-mouthed at all of that; realizing what it meant in the context of what they had been shown by Maud’s spirit. They both looked at Pinkie—growing increasingly nervous on doing so. She stood there silently and expressionlessly. For a few moments, she didn’t betray the slightest emotion. It wasn’t even clear she had heard him.

Then she reacted. She erupted into a guffaw followed by a peel of laughter.

While the chamber stayed silent and Grogar continued to look at her grimly, the laughter was encouraging to the two ladies. Sunset let out an exhale of relief on hearing it herself.

“Hehe…that’s a good one! I know Maud found me in a box and everything, but a monster? You may look like an angry goat man, but you’re still funny!”

“So…you don’t believe me.”

“Nope! Gaia Everfree said that killing people is bad, so I don’t do that!”

“Really now…”

“Twilight…”

Sunset and Twilight alike looked up at the voice that suddenly came from their left, in spite of only the latter being addressed. What they saw made them gasp.

Maud had appeared out of nowhere. Only something was very different this time. She wasn’t her normal composed self. Her clothing was torn and tattered, her “body” was covered with sweat, and she looked like she was struggling with all of her might to hold something back. Like she was standing in front of an invisible dam that was about to burst. And in spite of her normally morose composure, she had a vibrancy in her eyes as she stared at them.

“I…can’t hold him back…and talk to her at the same time…”

“M…Maud?” Twilight asked aloud.

“Then I suppose you wouldn’t mind telling me what happened the night you and your sister traveled to Cloudsdale for new tools six years ago,” Grogar asked, apparently not focusing on them.

Pinkie hesitated, getting one of her thoughtful expressions for several moments. “You know…that’s actually really funny. I usually got a pretty good memory, but it’s weird. I can’t really remember what happened before I got put in that box, and I really can’t remember what happened that night. Just that me and Maud went home without the tools afterward and everyone looked sad and mopey for a while even after I threw them a party to cheer them up.”

“Don’t let her…remember…what happened that night…”

“Huh? Why? What happened…?”

Before Maud could say anything else, though, she vanished. As if she had never been there at all. Twilight was left dumbfounded. Sunset winced and turned back to Pinkie.

“Ah…selective memory loss. Yet another attribute you would naturally possess given your polymorphic body. Who would have thought such a failure would have the ability to feel emotional pain…?” Grogar mused. “No matter, though. You still serve as a key for the Angra Mainyu, which means your true self is waiting to be restored. And it will be now.”

With that, a frame lit up again—this one right in front of Pinkie and the others.

“Uh…P-Pinkie?” Sunset said hesitantly. “Maybe…maybe we should-”

But it was too late. “Hey! There’s Maud!”

The image did indeed open up on Maud. Specifically, both Maud and Pinkie in a scene the ladies had never seen before. They were kneeling before a roadside shrine to Gaia Everfree…one that had been vandalized and covered with paint. The two had done their best to restore it and now they were praying before it. It was either late evening or night alongside a fairly well-traveled road.

As they knelt and prayed, however, shadows gradually loomed over them from behind. The shadows of five or six individuals. Their footsteps clicked against the road, and so the two were aware of them long before they halted behind them. Pinkie turned first, looking curious, while Maud, still reserved as always, turned only slowly afterward.

“Oh, hi there!” Pinkie chirped. “Are you the town welcoming committee? I should probably tell you someone ruined your Gaitian road shrine…”

“Hey there,” one of the individuals asked—not friendly or warm in the least. “What do you two think you’re doing?”

Pinkie blinked. “Well, I’m thinking of going to a great big party with a three-layered cake and lots of games like Blind Man’s Bluff and croquet…”

Maud’s hand extended to her—a signal to be quiet and let her handle this. Pinkie immediately pinched her lip in a childish way while Maud faced the group. “We’re just passing through. We stopped to pray before looking for a place to stay for the night. We don’t want any trouble.”

She began to rise, only for the one in the lead to take a step forward and make her halt. “Well, you see, you say you don’t want any trouble…but there’s a problem with that. One…you can clearly see from the look of that crap you call an idol over there that we don’t want any more of you heathen religious nuts spreading your apocalyptic crap in Cloudsdale. Two…what in the hell made you think any of us want you staying in this town for the night or any other night?”

Maud hesitated, but then finished standing up the rest of the way. Pinkie, seemingly oblivious to the danger, quickly hopped up alongside her. The mob began to move in closer and surround them.

“What do we need to do for you to let us be on our way?”

“That depends. How much you got?”

“We only brought food and clothes with us. We don’t have any money.”

“Yeah?”

The one in the lead pulled out a pistol, cocked the hammer, and pointed it right in Maud’s gut.

“How about you let us check and make sure?”

Pinkie paused. Her face immediately looked uneasy. “Um…Maud?”

“It’s alright, Pinkie. I already told you that me and my sister don’t have anything. You’ll be wasting your time.”

“Well,” he spoke with a sneer as he stepped forward and reached for her shirt, “maybe you and your sister’ll have something else besides money…”

Two of the mob moved in on either side, grabbing either of Pinkie’s arms. Surprised, she looked up and at both of them…

At that moment, Maud moved—suddenly driving her forehead forward and smashing it into the head of the one with the gun. A resounding crack went off, and he let out a cry and a swear as he spilled backward—blood running from his head. As soon as he hit the ground the pistol tumbled from his grip, and Maud rushed forward and kicked it aside.

Two of the other mob members rushed in on her, but she hoisted her rucksack and swung it around. It had to have something solid and metal in it, because the first man let out a cry from a sharp clang against his head before spilling back. The second managed to seize her, but his grip wasn’t good enough and she quickly drove her elbow into his midsection. It was only enough to stun him a moment, but that was long enough for her to reach into her sack and pull out a hammer from her cutting tools.

Immediately, the man grabbed her before she could use it, but she furiously began to wiggle her arm free. Seeing how much trouble she was causing, the two men holding Pinkie hesitated momentarily before they finally let her go to move in on Maud from behind.

“Run, Pinkie! Get out of-”

BLAM

Maud cut herself off. Her face went blank. A moment later, the man wrestling with her suddenly released as she fell to the ground limply. When she did, she revealed to those watching the reason. The last of the mob had taken up the gun and, in a panic, aimed and fired into Maud’s abdomen. Now she lay on the ground with a growing, bleeding wound soaking into her clothes and not moving.

Pinkie saw all of this. At once, every trace of youthful innocence and cheer drained from her face. “Maud…?”

No response.

She took a step closer to her, but that only made her see the injury more closely. It froze her to the spot as she covered her face in horror.

“Maud?!”

Still no answer. Pinkie’s knees buckled. Her hands covered her eyes entirely as she cringed—looking like she was going into silent sobbing.

As for the one holding the gun, he looked a little stunned that he had actually done it. Soon after, one of the others snapped to him. “What the hell, man? You didn’t have to shoot her! We were just trying to scare her!”

“Hey! Screw you! She had a weapon! She was going to split his head open!”

“Well someone had to have heard that!”

“Is she still breathing?”

“Who cares…?” the one whose forehead was bleeding grunted as he started to get up. “Let’s just get the hell out of here before someone sees us!”

“Well what about the other one? She saw the whole thing!”

As they continued to talk and argue, Pinkie didn’t move another muscle. That wasn’t, however, to say that no change at all was happening. On the contrary.

As she stood there, her hair, previously always curly and poofy, was beginning to unwind and smooth. Before their very eyes, it was losing all volume and becoming flat and straight. Except none of the mob noticed due to their arguing.

“Just take her with us! We’ll think of something to do with her!”

None of the mob seemed to like that, but finally they looked to the one with the gun. He grumbled as he raised to his feet, still holding the weapon uneasily, but forcing it in front of him as he walked up to Pinkie Pie.

“Alright…”

At this point, the ladies realized that Pinkie was still holding her position, but wasn’t crying at all. Her hair was now perfectly flat and straight. The moment the man talked to her, she slowly pulled her hands down enough to reveal her eyes.

Twilight and Sunset nearly gasped again. They had somehow gotten bigger. Only slightly so, but definitely larger. Yet far worse was her pupils. They had noticeably shrunk along with the irises. They no longer looked human. And as they watched…they slowly began to drift in independent directions.

The man clamped a hand on her shoulder. “Come on you, let’s go.”

Within the very next moment, a wet ripping sound went out followed by cloth—the sound of a long, disjointed, claw-like, and thin limb ripping out of Pinkie’s back along with her clothing. Without a word or another movement from her, it shot out and seized the man by the face.

He began to scream, but the noise he made next was far more horrible as the digits on the hand sank into his skin and flesh and gripped him by his own skull. With a sound just as horrid as those made by Sombra’s gruesome work, Twilight and Sunset nearly gagged on seeing the limb “debone” the man with one mighty yank like he was no more than a dead fish.

That was merely the beginning of the most horrific, grotesque, and nightmarish scene the two women had ever seen. It defied description…or perhaps merely the act of trying to describe what happened was so scarring and horrifying that they didn’t want to even try. What they did see was Pinkie proceed to grow more limbs and body parts as she killed the remaining five men in the most horrible ways imaginable. She was so fast and brutal that they each had time to realize how they had been mutilated or maimed before they actually died.

Unfortunately for them, they weren’t enough for her.

Whether they were drawn to the gunshot or the inhuman noises, people began to arrive and she set on them just as ravenously and brutally. Those who were fortunate enough to use weapons found them totally worthless before their lives were cut short. Yet still that wasn’t enough for her. By that point, she had worked her way toward the town, and now she was proceeding to break into each building one by one looking for more victims.

By the time the whole town was filled with screams and carnage, and Pinkie had reached her third house, Maud finally gave a pained grunt and grasped her middle. She was still bleeding, but she forced herself to sit up. The moment she did, she saw the remains of her assailants and saw the trail leading into the nearby town.

“Pinkie…”

In spite of her pain, she forced herself back up her feet.

“Pinkie…stop…”

She started to limp toward the town. She looked to be in agony, but she forced it back to call out louder.

“Pinkie…! Stop! I’m…I’m alright!”

Yet over the screams, cries, and carnage, even Maud’s attempt to yell went unheard. Suddenly, the side door of the third house burst open. Terrified and mumbling prayers, a woman in a nightgown desperately clutching a baby to her chest with one hand while pulling along a girl stained with blood with her other hand charged out into the street.

A second later, the entire side of the house burst—allowing a twenty-foot tall, multi-limbed, multi-eyed, multi-faced, and multi-mouthed abomination to lurch out to the sound of squelching flesh. It let out a horrible noise from three of its mouths as its independently gyrating eyes thrashed everywhere, but four of them focused on the fleeing woman and her children. It extended long, ropelike tongues as it started to slouch and hobble over to her with frightening speed.

Maud hesitated at the sight of the monster, but only a moment. She ran after it and kept yelling. “Stop, Pinkie! Stop!”

She began to catch up to it as it got close enough to reach out a long limb with hooked nails that slashed at the woman and her child. It caught both of their arms, ripping gashes into them and causing them to involuntarily release. The girl, crying out in pain, fell to the ground. The mother got two more steps before gasping, realizing what happened and turning back.

“Mommy!”

As the monster loomed over the girl from behind, Maud desperately pushed herself to run right up behind her. “I’m alright, Pinkie! I’m al-”

Hearing another victim behind it, the monster extended its clawed arm and spun around to rend it apart.

Maud’s voice was cut off yet again as her severed head flew from her neck and tumbled down the street.

The thing, about to roar again, cut itself off instantly. Its horrible body froze right where it was, and the independently moving eyes all snapped around and looked right in front of it. It had happened so fast that Maud’s body was still there with one arm extended out toward the monster. Yet it fell as well, and her body soon collapsed to the ground again for the second and final time.

The monster’s horrid mouths hung open loosely. Its pupils in each of its eyes shrank to pinpricks. Noises came from its throat, but they were stuttered and slow. Each of its horrid limbs began to quiver as its claws and fingers lowered. Finally, water started to form in each of its multiple eyes…tears.

A noise began to come from it, but it was no longer horrible or bloodthirsty. It was a whine…a slow, small, lowly whine. Yet it got louder, becoming more of a cry. It started to heave, sounding almost like sobbing. Finally, the eyes bulged and looked to the heavens as tears came from it, and its limbs fell like dead weight as it turned its head up and let out a long, wretched, miserable note.

Still bellowing that note, it turned away from the death and blood it had spilled and charged into the nearest stand of trees. It vanished inside them, still crying as it ran off into the night.

The image cut off, and the room was deathly silent. Sunset and Twilight both looked at Pinkie, but her back was to them…and she was staring where the picture had been. Her arms hung at her sides limply.

Finally, she broke the silence.

“I…I killed Maud.”

Her knees began to buckle. Her hands stiffly raised and grasped the sides of her head. As they did, her hair began to smooth and flatten…just as it had before in the image. Sunset instantly began to sweat. Twilight uneasily held her hand out.

“Pinkie…”

She couldn’t say more, because Pinkie began to produce a sound. Something that sounded like a weak, hysterical laugh. Yet it only lasted for a few seconds before turning into soft sobs, and then back to laughing again, and then crying again. Soon, she was emitting a strange, twisted amalgamation of both.

“I…I killed Maud…!” she said louder as her hair flattened completely. “I killed Maud! I killed Maud!”

Her voice began to grow unhinged as she said that, and her laughter and crying began to grow louder and more disjointed. Both Sunset and Twilight were pale at this point. In desperation, the latter turned to the ladies. “Rainbow Dash, could-”

“So she’s the reason we had to invade!”

Both ladies were taken aback. Dash didn’t sound the least bit impacted by what she had just witnessed. She was still full of anger…of hate…and now directing it at Pinkie as she continued to laugh and cry louder.

“She caused that massacre! Fillydelphia thought it was the Gaitian extremists and they decided we had to invade! The whole reason Cloudsdale fell was because of her! She really is a demon!”

Sunset and Twilight were aghast, but it only got worse.

“Don’t try an’ blame your rottenness on her, ya’ snake in the grass! You backstabbed ‘em all! You’re the rat in here!”

“Keep your filthy mouth shut, you backwoods little hatemonger! You’re nothing more than a redneck thug playing at being salt of the earth!”

“And you’re a liar, a cheat, a thief, and a murderer! You should be thrown into the gutter with the rest of the Manehattan garbage!”

“And you, you soulless little waif, aught to be dragged into a back alley and shot!”

“I killed Maud!” Pinkie shrieked in a horrible voice. “I…killEd…MAuD…!”

Sunset began to shrink back in fear. Twilight was gaping at everyone. They all looked ready to tear each other apart, and Pinkie seemed on the verge of another act of monstrosity…

When, suddenly, they all froze.

The two ladies blinked, as if they were seeing things, but it was true. Each of them had become as a statue. Even Pinkie. The only motion now was from Spike, who was entirely too close to them and whining now.

“I think it best they hold their tongues for this final part,” Grogar remarked. “They’re growing entirely too violent.”

Twilight looked over them, from one face to another in shock. But each one of their faces was twisted in hate. It was hard to even recognize them. Finally, she turned back to Grogar. “What have you two done to them? Why are they acting like this?”

“I’ve done nothing other than remind them of their true selves.”

“You’re lying! This isn’t them! They’re not this…this hateful!”

“You are in no position to lecture me on what they are, Twilight Sparkle. I know everything about them: past, present, and future. You only saw the same masks they wore that they used to hide from everyone…including themselves. Their true natures were always to be creatures of hate, misery, and sin. What you saw in their pasts was their true selves; what you aligned yourself with was merely illusions. They surrounded themselves with falsehoods and denials to try and forget what they were, but all creatures are ultimately defined by their actions. And to one who knows all actions one will commit, that one knows destiny. This moment was always destined to happen. They’ve realized what they really are and have abandoned any attempt to call it false. They’ve stopped lying to themselves and accepted their destiny.”

He leveled his gaze hard on both ladies.

“So…that just leaves you two.”

Both tensed up; looking considerably nervous now. Sunset herself swallowed, but finally squared herself against him. “Well, you’re not going to turn me crazy by just taking me on a trip down memory lane. They already know all of the crap I did.”

The peddler let out another snicker. “At least, everything you can recall…”

Sunset felt a cold chill on hearing that, but again Grogar seemed to ignore it. “You two…so much alike and yet so different…both the prize students of Celestia…both the recipients of arcane and secret knowledge…and yet one went on to become the golden child and the other the black sheep. So strange, considering how much of the same paths you trod…”

Again, the frames lit up around them. As anticipated, it showed them signs from their time at school. Classes they attended. Teas and talks with Celestia. Late night studies and trips to the library. Even their secretive moments sneaking around.

However, there was one key difference. All of them were done from the “first person” perspective.

“You both attended the same courses… You both heard all of Celestia’s lectures…her words of wisdom…her times of comfort and care… You even both broke the same rules and looked in the same dark, forbidden spot… And yet—only one of you clung to her teachings. The other sought her own will.”

Sunset grimaced, but Twilight paused. She looked to the images, but she also looked to Sunset. She saw her reacting to them much the same as her. However, that, in turn, began to make her puzzled.

“Do you not see how similar your pasts were? Are all of the details exactly as you remember them? The position of your books…the order in which you had your cucumber sandwiches…even the friends you had classes with… Are they not perfect reproductions? And yet…is there but one image you see before you that either of you are not familiar with? That you can say belongs to the other and not to you?”

Both women felt a chill. They looked around, but each image they saw was exactly the same as the one in their memory. Everything they recalled about it. And yet, on Grogar’s words, they looked to one another…and saw that the realization was the same was for the other woman.

As impossible as it was, they both had the same memories.

The images vanished and were replaced by a single one. One of Celestia herself in all her youth, beauty, and glory.

“Celestia knew about the coming of the Angra Mainyu. Her command was to prepare the chosen for their final battle with it, but she rejected that. Instead she made it her mission to save this world by destroying it. This was, of course, a hopeless endeavor. Simply killing the Angra Mainyu would cause it to reform in a new body. So instead…she decided to do something far more hopeless and futile. She wanted to actually ‘change’ the Angra Mainyu. She wanted to bring it up to reject the world’s devastation and the death of its sinners. In other words…she thought she could defy destiny. Not just anyone’s destiny, but this world’s destroyer’s.”

The image changed, showing Celestia out riding in her steam carriage. Yet it was soon joined by other images of her walking down streets, to piers, across fields, riding on boats, and many other such endeavors.

“It took some time, but given her foreknowledge of its emergence, and after sufficient searching, she eventually found the incarnation of the Angra Mainyu. She then approached it as if it were any other normal child and outright offered it the possibility of defying its own unknown fate.”

The images all changed to a first-person perspective of Celestia herself, looking down and out at the audience and smiling at them.

“You’re special. You have an amazing gift. One that could even save the world someday.”

Both Twilight and Sunset widened their eyes. Their mouths hung open slightly on hearing that phrase.

“Afterward, Celestia brought it into the school. At first, as was expected for the Angra Mainyu at that stage of development, it was nothing more than another child. Aside from having some aptitudes at magical abilities, there was little to set it apart from its peers. That, of course, changed as it grew and Celestia’s folly became apparent. Everything proceeded exactly according to destiny and design. The Angra Mainyu began to lust for more power. It began to treat its classmates cruelly and even sadistically. It developed thoughts of becoming a god.

“At this point, the logical course of action would have been to abandon the futile effort and simply destroy the Angra Mainyu while still weak. However, Celestia’s foolishness persisted in determination, much to the chagrin of her fellow celestial.”

The image changed in front of them, but what lit up in it was surprising. It was a room none of them had ever seen before—one styled with technology and décor they couldn’t even believe. It took a few moments before they realized it had to be similar to the ones Starlight Glimmer had found.

Celestia was facing what looked like a large class cylinder filled with semi-opaque liquid. A shadow was inside it. One that they could make out was humanoid and the size of a young person. Her arms were crossed and she looked at it in determination. Meanwhile, Luna stood behind her. She looked far better dressed now, but also furious.

“This is a waste of time, sister! If you haven’t the spine, I’ll destroy that brat myself!”

“We both know that won’t do anything to stop the Angra Mainyu, Luna.”

“And who says that I want it stopped? I am perfectly content to let this planet die for its sins! I offered only as a courtesy to you to have you give up this foolish rebellion!”

“Harmonium believes they never should have been created in the first place. And the Crystal Emperor agrees with her.”

“She also agrees nothing can be done for the ones who are already created. This was preordained, sister. There is nothing even you can do to change it.”

“You’re wrong, Luna. I refuse to believe a soul can be created for the sole purpose of wanting evil and death. This isn’t just the fate of one world’s destroyer we’re talking about. It’s all of us. Even you and me.”

Luna frowned at that, bowing her head to one side. Celestia exhaled and turned around.

“The homunculus is fully grown. We can do this tonight, but I cannot do it without you. This is the most important thing we have ever done for this world and ever will do for it. Please.”

Luna closed her eyes and exhaled. “…Very well. It is not as if I could refuse you anyway.”

The image began to fade as Grogar continued.

“All celestials have a special ability. Luna’s was key to allow Celestia’s plan to work. As you have experienced, she has a unique ability to draw out an individual’s darkness. That was paramount to what she had planned. This next chamber…I’m sure you recall.”

The image faded in again, and this time it was of a place that both ladies knew well and they found even more unsettling now. The underground chamber beneath the keep. It was cleaner now. Definitely not as heavily used. The chains that were there were brand new, as was the symbol on the floor.

Both Celestia and Luna were there. The former was laying someone down on the ground. They couldn’t make out who exactly—only that they looked like a child of some sort. Luna also laid a body nearby, but this one was covered with a sheet. Like it was some sort of corpse. One both were laid side by side, the two stepped back.

“Is the chamber prepared according to your needs?”

Luna sighed. “It is…adequate. What of your ‘precious student’?”

“I put a very powerful spell on her. At this stage of her development, she cannot awaken until I bid her.”

“This is your final chance to turn back, sister.”

“I have not come this far to renege now, Luna.”

“Very well…but be prepared to move. You are about to unleash an Angra Mainyu at its most pure and hateful. Even in a child’s body, you’ll have only moments to chain it up.”

She raised her arms. Her Promethean Sigil was barred, and all six emblems began to light up. “I am ready.”

Luna took a deep breath and raised her own hands. The sigil on the floor responded, immediately blazing to life. Soon, a cloud of powerful energy began to coalesce around the first body. Not long after, however, as Luna began to strain and stretch her power out to its limit, part of the cloud began to stream out to the other body.

“And so she had Luna draw out from the child the very essence of the Angra Mainyu. The very spirit it was destined to one day be consumed by to destroy the world—leaving only the child with her ‘larval’ personality intact. And so one became two…one little more than another magical student…the other pure hate and malevolence wrapped in flesh.”

The body beneath the sheet twitched once. Twice. A face beneath it contorted and let out a scream. A horrible, heaven-rendering scream that chilled the ladies to the bone and seemed to shatter the image before them and make it fall into oblivion.

“And yet again, Celestia magnified her failure. Stripping the Angra Mainyu of its dark destiny did not change the outlook of the child, who continued down the dark path. And now she had its true nature trapped in a body locked underneath her own school—thinking of nothing but blood, death, and how it might escape to wage both. Attempts at reason and conciliation were, of course, useless. There was no changing what that entity was. It mocked her attempts to try.”

The image came on again, causing the blood of the ladies to run cold again as it showed the same stone stairway from their nightmares. They began to quiver as they heard the same horrendous voice call out again.

“You made a mistake with her, didn’t you?! Now you wish you’d never brought her here to begin with!”

Both let out a mutual gasp at the memory.

“Celestia didn’t stop the Angra Mainyu—she created the means to ravage this world with two of them. Her student grew more unstable and beyond her control; mostly because she again foolishly failed to use her own celestial ability against her.”

Twilight swallowed. “What Luna said…was the ability to shape the world…”

“Very close,” Grogar corrected. “Properly applied, it could indeed perform such a feat, and she was privileged to have such an ability as it was indeed her duty to shape the world if need be. She never used it, however. Far too loathe to do so in spite of its utility. Celestia’s ability was over the mind itself. A person’s past, memories, and inner thoughts were an open book to her. Free for her to search as she so wished.”

Sunset blinked at that, rather astonished…but also confused. She opened her mouth.

“I don’t need to read your mind to know your question, Sunset Shimmer,” Grogar cut off. “If such a power was hers to command, why did she not see your betrayal? As I said, she was loathe to use it. She was determined to be seen as matronly and trustworthy by her students. As such, she never used it on them once they were established in her school. Not even when it would have helped her. She felt she would be ‘violating’ them doing so. So you see now…much of your success against your former instructor was not due to your cunning but her lenience and soft-heartedness.”

Sunset’s face fell at that, her eyes filling with realization. After a moment her head bowed slightly.

“However, Celestia elected to use that now. In particular in pursuit of her foolish quest. She had failed the original student, but the homunculus that she had built to contain the Angra Mainyu was based off of her. And so she performed her most reckless and dangerous move yet. She attempted to turn the raw Angra Mainyu into her ‘star pupil’.”

The image remained of the stairs, but it was later now. Soon, they heard the same horrible voice again.

“What’re you…you…you whore! Slut! BITCH! Stop it! S-S-STOP IT!!” The voice turned into a deranged scream that peeled out as light and power radiated from the doorway.

“You see…Celestia’s power didn’t just make her a ‘reader’ of minds…but a ‘writer’. That is where her true power lay. The ability to edit and sculp memories. Until now, she had used the ability only to help parents and student forget inconvenient things they had seen or to make the more agreeable or to skirt the authorities of Greater Everfree. But for the Angra Mainyu, she gave it a novel.

“She started with the same memories of her former student. All the lessons, the classmates, the talks…everything. But then she improved on history. She changed her background and gave her one where she was surrounded by love and support. Where her family had embraced and encouraged her powers. Where she had cultivated kindness and charity and learned to love it. No mere mask for an identity…but an entire life. One to completely cut off the conscious brain from its true nature—an identity to so utterly consume it that it could not unite with its raw hate and malevolence again.

“And what was left? Nothing but a simple, pleasant, obedient student.”

The screaming faded and the light died down. Some short gasping, as if catching breath, echoed from the chamber for a few seconds. Finally, an innocent girl’s voice spoke up.

“What…happened? Head…headmistress? What are we doing-”

“Ssh…go to sleep now.”

The girl’s voice let out a deep exhale as she was immediately put to sleep by Celestia’s spell.

The image faded, but the chamber was silent once again save for Spike whining. Neither Sunset nor Twilight moved a millimeter. Their gazes were frozen looking at where the final image had vanished. The truth was beginning to come clear now.

“Two students…one rebellious…one obedient…who share the same memories of their time at school. Two students…who find all the Promethean Sigil bearers of the world drawn to them and turning to savages, because they too are obeying their true natures—their destiny to fight to the death against the Angra Mainyu. Two students…both driven to rid the world of those same bearers, either through sealing their sigils or outright killing them. And at long last, Twilight Sparkle, we come to the answer to your first and most important question. You wanted to know where the Angra Mainyu was. The answer is right here in this room.”

Neither woman moved. They slowly turned to each other, but that only made them look more shaken up and disturbed. Their minds raced with a mixture of refusal to believe but also the grim realization that it could not be otherwise. It felt like ice sinking into their very cores. Their lives…their background…their families…all quivering to the foundation.

“And…one final detail. This one was the most important.”

Though both ladies were practically apoplectic at this point, they turned back to Grogar.

“You may want to know why it was so important to Celestia that she keep you from talking or thinking about the Angra Mainyu. The reason is quite simple. For all the work Celestia had done attempting to make both of her failures into normal people, destiny and purpose continued to persist. Using her power, she determined that, for all of her efforts, even going so far as to split the Angra Mainyu in two, one of them still retained the potential to become this world’s destroyer. So she used her power to determine which one still had the potential to manifest as this world’s destroyer, and then she put a block on that one that would persist even after her death. However…”

He gave just a hint of a smile.

“Without her alive, that block can be removed simply by speaking the true name of the Angra Mainyu where it can hear it.”

Both ladies turned white as ghosts as they gasped.

“It doesn’t matter who says it either. That was why it was important that everyone believe it was too taboo to mention. However, this discordant spirit who found his way to this world happens to know what it is.”

“I prefer the name ‘Discord’, thank you very much,” the peddler smirked in response as he sprung up. “And it’s about time you stopped blathering, old man… I’ve been waiting for this for ages. So!”

He clapped his hands.

“Ladies! Which one of you is ready to turn into a malevolent monster, hmm? Which one of you wants your entire existence, past, and personality to be swallowed up by evil and madness in a heartbeat?”

The two ladies, quaking with terror, looked to each other.

“Twilight…”

“Sunset…”

“I can’t tell which is going to be more fun! Seeing one of you turn into the nightmare you’ve been dreading for so many years…or seeing the other one suddenly come face-to-face with it!”

“Get out of here!” Twilight shouted. “Now!”

“Me? You need to get out of here too!”

“Just go!”

“But what if it’s you?”

Twilight hesitated, tensing up more. The thought creasing her face made her look even more anxious.

“On three! Three!”

“Twilight, it could be you just as easily as me!”

“That…that…”

“Two!”

Sunset was visibly sweating now. “There’s no time! We can’t get out of range! Just cover your ears and don’t listen!”

It was a foolish gesture, but in her panic all she could think of. Not arguing anymore, she shut her own eyes, covered her own ears, and hummed to herself. Twilight, strained, anxious, and panicking, turned away and did the same.

Through their minds went everything they had been through. Their time with the ladies… Their encounters and battles in Equestria… Her farewells and prior friendships with Celestia… Even the time with their respective families…

Was all of it a lie? And even if it was, would it be gone in moments?

“One!”

---

To be continued...

Author's Note:

In one week...the Angra Mainyu revealed at last. Who do you all think it's going to be? Sunset or Twilight?

"Temperance Honeydew" is another instance of me bringing a comic-exclusive character into the mix, and one of the more unlikeable ones.

Comments

[Jackman]

Wild chapter, sad about Pinkie's backstory and Fluttershy.

[sepulka666]

Twilight of course. No doubt.

[Piccolo Sky]

11672537
As I mentioned before, this chapter was one of the first I envisioned. In many ways, I wrote all preceding chapters with the intent of building to this one.

I was afraid about the route I took Fluttershy, because human trafficking is a pretty heavy deal. I also wasn't sure I wanted to trash Iron Will by dragging him into it, which is why I created an "inspired" character called Big Tom. But, in the end, I decided to go with it. However, as Fluttershy said, she was thinking precisely of the moments way back in "A Kindly Host".

I actually kind of ripped off of something for Pinkie Pie's story. There's a character named Choko in the long-forgotten JRPG "Arc the Lad II" whose backstory mirrors hers in a lot of ways.

[red-sun]

11672998
I also think so

[Jackman]

11672537
Nice. I should reread at some point and spot the foreshadowing.