CRISIS: Equestria

by GanonFLCL

CRISIS: Equestria - Chapter Thirty-one

CRISIS: Equestria

Chapter Thirty-one: Infiltration

The Sea of Endless Sorrow was unforgiving to anypony that attempted to traverse it. Applejack thought Tick Tock and Lockwood were kidding when they’d told everypony the name.

She was running out of air, and the waters were chilling her down to her core. Darkness loomed in all directions, shrouding the surface from view. She wasn’t even sure which way was up. The currents about her thrashed to and fro without rhyme or reason, making swimming next to impossible, and it did not take long for her to give up trying to fight them. She focused on attempting to swim in the direction she hoped was upwards - away from her broken escape pod. Assuming it was sinking towards the ocean bottom and not floating towards the surface, she knew this was her best chance at survival.

A moment later, she saw a light no bigger than a tiny dot off in the distance. As she looked towards it, the waters around her calmed and became warmer. A tingly feeling in the back of her head told her to go into the light, that with it would come sanctuary and peace. For a fleeting second she felt uneasy; wasn’t “going into the light” usually associated with a different kind of sanctuary and peace? The burning in her lungs, the need for air, convinced her to take the chance. As she swam closer, the light grew larger, and before long she could see the glimmer of water against the light.

She burst through the ocean surface and immediately took a big gulp of air, then another, then another. Air never tasted so good. The water under the light didn’t feel like it was moving at all, and it was surprisingly warm, almost pleasant. She took this moment to catch her breath, and took advantage of the calmer waters to float on the surface and rest her aching muscles.

Around her, there was no indication that her pod had even crashed into the ocean. There was nothing to be seen. The waters churned about in a wild frenzy, and purple lightning flashed in the skies above. There was no trace of the light she’d seen above her, but the water directly around her somehow shimmered with its reflection.

Applejack tilted out of her floating position and treaded water. “Flathoof! Flathoof!” she called. “Where are ya, sugar?! Flathoof!”

Nothing but sloshing water and distant thunder.

Louder this time. She hollered: “Flathoof! Briarthorn! Somepony! Anypony! Is anypony out there?!”

Still nothing.

Applejack sighed. Then, she swore loudly—in rapid bursts—and slammed her hooves against the water, again and again. Her breathing was labored when she was finished, and fresh tears mingled with seawater across her face.

Everything had happened so fast, she couldn’t really believe any of it had actually happened. One minute she’s admitting being wrong and confessing her feelings for Flathoof, the next minute some maniac breaks into the room and tries to kill her. The last she saw of Flathoof was him pushing her into the escape pod before the shadowy pegasus could get to her, then the pod deployed. Did he manage to take care of the pegasus? Did Briarthorn fix the engine? Was everypony okay?

She looked around her, hoping to find some indication of where to go. The only thing she knew was that her destination was Utopia, to the south. But which way was south? The sky had no stars, sun, or moon to go by, and even if it did, she didn’t know if she could navigate by them the same way in this world as her own. Everything around her looked exactly the same, just a murky expanse of blacks and purples. So what—

The light beneath her shifted in one direction, moving until Applejack was just at the edge of the circle. When Applejack didn’t move, the light kept going until she was out of its reach. Applejack immediately felt the bitter cold of the surrounding waters and the tug of the fierce currents, and rushed back into the light and towards the center. The light moved again in the same direction, keeping her in its reach but not letting her reach the middle.

Applejack followed the light through the darkness, and after several minutes of swimming, the sky began to shift colors. The endless black slowly crumbled into dark blues, then lighter blues, until at last the sky looked like the kind of sky she remembered back home: bright blue, with fluffy white clouds and a shining sun overhead. Was this it? Was this really the southern sky? It looked so natural and pleasant, nothing at all like the foreboding orange of the skies up north.

The light beneath her was gone, but Applejack continued on in the direction it had been moving. She could see land ahead, so she swam towards it as quickly as she was able. Her entire being ached, and she was running out of steam with every stroke. But she pressed on, because she needed to see her friends again. As she moved further south, she could make out what she was swimming towards: a cliff. From the water’s surface to its top, it was almost as tall as the cliff outside Hope’s Point. Hopefully, from that height she’d be able to see where she was, where she was going, and if there were any signs of her friends.

“Dagnabit, why can’t it ever be somethin’ easy, huh? I’m startin’ ta hate cliffs,” she muttered as she set a hoof on the cliff face.

With a pained groan, she began to climb, planning to take her time and conserve her energy. There would be time to rest once she got to the top, but for now she needed to keep moving, even if it wasn’t very fast. The earth here felt different than that up north. The only way she could describe it was that it felt healthy. The rock cooperated with her unhesitantly, until it seemed like it was carrying her up the cliff without much effort on her part. The struggle to the top did not take long, and after climbing over the cliff edge, she crumbled to the ground, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

Her eyes snapped open when she realized her hooves were touching grass. After weeks of walking on cold metal and cement, through arid desert and cooled magma, this patch of grass was the most welcoming thing she could hope for. She gazed out into the distance, seeing more and more grass as far as her eyes could see, all of it a healthy green. It was almost like being home again. The only thing breaking it up at all was the large forest to the southeast.

She turned her back to the fields of green to the sea of blue, casting her gaze out in hopes of seeing something that would let her know her friends were okay. Still no sign of any wreckage from the Thunder. Maybe the ship had made it the rest of the way okay? The cliff stretched off to the west in a gradual downward slope, though not enough that she saw it reach sea level. To the north, nothing but an expanse of blue that collided with a strip of black just over the horizon. To the east, a storm cloud was brewing on the other side of the cliff that jutted out a great distance into the ocean. The cliff she was on had enough altitude that the storm clouds were nearly at eye level.

Applejack slumped back to the ground with a groan. She was exhausted, mentally and physically, so she closed her eyes and attempted to get some rest. As she slept, one thought repeated itself over and over:

They’re okay. O’ course they’re okay. We’ve survived an explodin’ buildin’, a volcano, a giant mutant bug, zombies, ‘n’ scuffles with six superpowered mares out for blood. Ain’t no little thing like this gonna be th’ end o’ nopony.

Hours later, she woke. She took a deep breath and rose to her hooves, then made her way southeast for the forest. She couldn’t explain it, but something inside told her that was the way to go. A tingly feeling in the back of her head.

***

Newhaven sat on the tip of the northwest peninsula of the Utopian continent. The port town wasn’t particularly big, and the majority of space was taken up by the large airship dock. The dock was built to hold several airships, but at present it held just one: the Asteroid, a recent arrival from Hope’s Point, and a much smaller airship than the port typically handled. A crew of dock workers serviced the ship, carrying large tubes, boxes, and canisters to and fro. The ship’s port hatch slid open with a hiss, and a ramp deployed from the opening, stretching down to the floor below.

Curaçao stepped out of the opening, taking in a breath of fresh air as she walked out on the ramp. “Ah, c’est magnifique! Zis is much better zan zat stuffy dirigeable.” She turned and gestured for the others to follow. “Come along, mes sœurs. Ve still ‘ave much to do.”

She reached the ground floor and was shortly joined by her sisters. Starlight Shadow took up the rear, prodding along a seventh pony in the group. He was a lithe, aqua blue pegasus wearing a green flight suit with gold accents.

“Okay, I’ve taken you to the southern continent as asked,” he said. “May I please leave?”

Starlight snorted and lit her horn up with a subtle silver glow. “I assure you, Captain, that it would be in your best interests to cooperate until I see fit. Until we have ascertained our heading and departed for Utopia, we may still require your services.”

The pegasus glanced at her horn, then shook his head and held up a hoof to dissuade her. “Okay okay, I said I’d cooperate, no need for threats. You promised you wouldn’t hurt anypony anymore—"

“I am merely providing additional motivation to cease any activities that may raise suspicion. Anypony that delays us further will be dealt with accordingly, understood?”

A lanky unicorn stallion wearing a dull gray suit, a tie, and glasses approached them. His nose was practically pressed against the small datapad he was carrying. “The Asteroid... Asteroid... hmm...” He lifted his nose from the datapad to glance at the Asteroid’s passengers. “Funny, I don’t see yer ship on our schedule, Captain Auroran. Where’s the rest o’ yer crew?”

Starlight pressed the pegasus stallion forward with a tap of her hoof.

Auroran cleared his throat. “It was an unscheduled departure, and my crew is aboard the Asteroid making preparations to return to Hope’s Point. We had an emergency, so we don’t plan on staying long.”

“Emergency?” The unicorn raised an eyebrow, then his eyes widened. “By Harmonia, there was an attack today? Did everythin’ hol’ up okay?”

Auroran shook his head. “There were a few... hiccups, but everypony was properly evacuated well ahead of schedule. You didn’t hear about it already?”

“No, why would I have?”

“Her Majesty also had an unscheduled departure. She left a few hours before I did.” At the unicorn’s blank expression, Auroran quirked an eyebrow. “You mean... she’s not here?”

“No, she ain’t,” the unicorn said. “I’d think if Queen Blackburn herself were ta fly in, I’d be the first ta know.”

Auroran paled. “Oh dear... if she didn’t land here, then—"

Starlight cleared her throat, and her horn subtly glowed silver again. “I believe we have business matters to attend to, Captain. If you would please assist in ushering us along? I would abhor reporting this delay to your superiors.”

Auroran cleared his throat. “Right, of course ma’am...” He gave the other stallion a terse smile. “These are some important clients from the city on time-sensitive business. They insisted on leaving as soon as the air was clear, but without Her Highness we couldn’t make an official documentation.”

“That so? They must be important if y’all were willin’ ta break protocol.” The unicorn adjusted his tie. “Well then, ladies, may I have yer names?”

Curaçao stepped forward first and curtseyed. “Je m’appelle Curaçao,” she said. She gestured behind her. “And zese are mes sœurs: Starlight Shadow—"

“Greetings.”

“‘avocving—"

“Hey.”

“Red Velvet—"

“Hiya!”

“Grayscale Force—"

“...”

“And Insipid.”

“For sure?”

“Do we always have to introduce ourselves the same way? Same order and everything?” Havocwing asked.

“Typically, I would have been presented as the premier introduction,” Starlight said. She shrugged. “However, circumstances have been altered.”

Curaçao dismissed the conversation with a wave, then turned back to the suited unicorn. “Comment allez-vous?”

The unicorn’s eyes widened, and he gave a professional salute. “Oh, forgive me ma’am!” With a flurry of motions, he marked his datapad then saluted again. “I’m so sorry for the delay, ma’am. I didn’t know any o’ the Harmony Guard were even in Hope’s Point. I would’ve liked ta be informed ‘bout somethin’ like that. We would’ve prepared a proper welcome,” he added, shooting Auroran a dirty look.

Curaçao paused for a moment, then laughed it off. “It is no trouble, my dear. Ve ‘ad to proceed avec hâte and could not spare zee time to inform anypony. Now zen, ve must be on our vay to Utopia. As said, ve ‘ave time-sensitive business to attend to.”

“Oh, that’s quite alright ma’am, we won’t keep y’all here any longer,” the unicorn said with a bow. “Carry on, an’ may Harmonia watch over you ‘n’ yer sisters.”

“Oui, ‘armonia vous bénisse...” Curaçao rubbed her temple, her mouth curling in an embarrassed smile. “Euh, zis may sound embarrassing, but I ‘ave lost my sense of direction over zee last veek or so; zee continent du nord is a confusing place. Zis is my first time traveling to Utopia from New’aven in quite a vhile, voyez-vous? Could you direct me to zee chemin zat ve should be taking for zee quickest travel time?”

“Oh, sure, there’re plenty o’ markers throughout the dock that lead straight ta the route out o’ the city,” the unicorn said. He pointed at the far southeast wall. “The closest exit is right over there, ma’am.”

Curaçao smiled. “Ah, merci.” She turned to her sisters and gestured for them to follow. “Zis way, mes sœurs, we will be in Utopia in no time. Oh, ‘ow I ‘ave missed zee city.”

“Excellent, I have anticipated this event for quite some time,” Starlight said. She turned to Auroran and pat him on the cheek. “Thank you for your services, Captain Auroran. I do hope that any subsequent visits will not be quite so momentous.”

Auroran flinched away from her hoof. “S-subsequent visits?”

Velvet sidled up beside and wrapped him in a big hug. “You can come with us if you want, Captain. I so wouldn’t mind if you wanted to spend more time with me. Y’know, quality time?” she added, with a wink.

“I’ll... pass, thanks.”

Velvet shrugged. “Your loss, stud.”

The suit-wearing unicorn bowed and stepped aside. “Have a pleasant trip, ma’am. Ladies.”

Curaçao smiled, nodded, then led her sisters away from the docking platform towards where they’d been directed. As they walked amongst the crowds of other ponies rushing to and fro, they passed by several signs that assured them they were headed the right direction.

Starlight trotted up alongside Curaçao. “I despise being in the proximity of all these plebeian ponies. We should have forced our transport to land elsewhere, whether that fool pilot believed it appropriate or not.”

Curaçao chuckled. “Ve vill not be ‘ere long, Starlight. You can tolerate zem a vhile longer until ve get zee information ve need.”

“Hmph.” Starlight tilted her head back towards the docking platform. “I assume that you will enlighten me as to what the ‘Harmony Guard’ is, eventually. That was most perplexing.”

“Does it matter? It made zee transition simpler. Ve vill find out more in Utopia itself. It may be un avantage, non?”

“Yeah, well, it better make up for the fact that we’re way behind those losers,” Havocwing said as she swooped up alongside them.

“Veren’t you listening, ‘avocving? Zee ozer ship zat left zee city did not arrive ‘ere.”

“For some reason, that fact fills me with dread,” Starlight said, hanging her head low. “If they failed to arrive in Newhaven, then where did they land? Did they successfully traverse the Belt of Tranquility?”

“Worrying about it isn’t gonna get us anywhere,” Havocwing said. “We need to stay positive. Think about what you’re gonna do to those wimps when we find them. Keep your spirits up!”

“I suppose you have a point, Havoc. Yes... think positive.” Starlight took a deep breath. “I have already devised my combat strategy for my inevitable battle against Twilight Sparkle. Every outcome I have foreseen concludes with my victory. I must remain confident that my plans will come to fruition.”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit!” Havocwing snorted. “I’m still pissed I didn’t get to fly the ship, and I really need to punch something. All I can think about right now is shoving my flaming hoof into Fluttershy’s cutesy little face.”

As the party walked out the gate, they came across a path that led out into the rest of Newhaven. The city outside the airship dock was noticeably different than they expected from what they’d seen inside.

A simple cobblestone road stretched out ahead towards the rest of the town. The road was lined with buildings of many different sizes. Most of them were made of logs of wood and blocks of stone, with thatched roofs made of straw. Trees dotted the path ahead and birds flew about the sky.

Then, there were the ponies. Not a one of the ponies outside the airship dock was wearing much clothing at all, save for the occasional hat, hood, or minor accessory such as a bow.

“Oh my stars!” Insipid shrieked, shielding her eyes. “Everypony’s naked! This is totally not cool! Not! Cool!”

Velvet licked her lips as a trio of earth pony stallions cantered by. “Holy moley, girls, check the buffet of stud muffins at five o’clock! Rrrawr! I don’t think we survived that flight, because this is heaven. See, I knew killing was okay if you just killed the right ponies.”

“Heaven, right,” Grayscale muttered. “Can we just get going? This is gross.”

Velvet tilted her head to her side and gave Grayscale a coy grin. “Your mouth says, ‘gross’ but those big ol’ wings of yours say, ‘swag’. I felt that little hurricane back there. Damn sis, you nearly blew me away!” She threw a leg around Grayscale’s neck and gestured out into the crowd. “With wings like yours, you could snag anypony here! You got it goin’ on!” she added, flicking one of Grayscale’s wings with a hoof.

Grayscale’s eyebrow twitched. She snorted, shoved Velvet away with a burst of gravitational force, then rolled her eyes. “Shut up. I’m not... whatever. Interested. In that. Not everypony here is a homicidal nymphomaniac like you.”

Velvet was back on her hooves instantly. “Hey girls, we should go find Grayscale a stallion! C’mon, if there’s any one of us that totally needs to get laid, it’s G-Force here.” She snorted into her hoof. “Ooh ooh, and when you’re ridin’ the colt, you can shout like, ‘strap in and feel the G’s’!”

“Shut. Up.”

Velvet shifted her gaze over to Havocwing, who was busy trying to keep her own wings from splaying outwards. “Aww, is Havocwing getting all hot and bothered too? That’s adorable! Don’t worry Havoc, I’m sure somepony around here is into scrawny—"

“Can it, Red,” Havocwing muttered, her face a brighter red than usual, like a golden fire shining through her cheeks. “I’ve just got... I dunno, allergies or something. Must be all this clean air.”

“Aww, c’mon Havoc, I know you’re into the prettycolt type.” She smirked and ruffled Havocwing’s mane. “That’s why you started having dreams about—"

Havocwing slapped her hoof into Velvet’s mouth. “One word about that, and I swear, I’ll blow your brains out.”

“Velvet, we lack the time to seek out a mate for Grayscale or Havocwing,” Starlight said as she started moving along the path, seemingly unperturbed by all the interesting sights. “Come along, sisters, we must not tarry. Our quarry awaits us.”

Velvet popped her face away from Havocwing’s hoof and giggled. “Okay, wow, we really need to get Starlight laid too.”

Starlight’s eyebrow twitched. “Excuse me? Just what are you insinuating, sister?”

Velvet shrugged. “Uh, I’m insinuating that you need to get laid? You’re stiff as hell, Star, and the best solution is a stiff—"

Havocwing snorted smoke. “Geez, Red, can it.”

Curaçao cleared her throat. “Velvet, per’aps it vould be best to drop all zis before you say somezing... unfortunate. If Starlight vere to ‘ave zee sudden urge to, say, tear out anozer bone or two, I don’t zink I would stop ‘er, vois-tu?”

Velvet hesitated, her eyes darting back and forth between Starlight and Curaçao. Then, she slumped back on the ground and crossed her legs over her chest. “Spoilsports...”

“Thank you Curaçao, Havocwing,” Starlight said before continuing on her way.

Curaçao shook her head, then stuck her nose in the air as she trotted off after Starlight. “C’est une tragédie. Zese ponies ‘ave no sense of decency. Starlight a raison: come along, everypony, ve ‘ave more important zings to vorry about.”

Havocwing chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck. “Uh... well, nudist colony aside, did we walk into some sort of time warp there or something? This place looks... dated.”

Starlight nodded. “True enough. Excepting the airship dock, there is a striking lack of modern architecture and techno-magic. All these buildings appear to be made of wood and stone. A curious choice of buildings materials; they are quite primitive.”

“We should’ve done some research or something on the place.”

“If only there were anything to perform research with.” Starlight huffed. “In all of father’s tower, the only information I uncovered on the matter was that the ponies in these parts worship a deity known as ‘Harmonia’, which I believe we just confirmed.”

The group trotted along, and after passing by a block of houses, they arrived at a square with a directory sign in the center. The wooden planks were cut to point towards roads that split off from the square, and each was decorated with elaborate writing that labeled the name of the location it led to. At the top, the largest sign was pointing left—southeast—and labeled with brilliant gold writing that read Utopia and was decorated with white, silver, and blue stars. Below it, pointing in the same direction, was a sign that read Crownwood and had a small picture of a tree.

“Okay then, now we know where we’re going,” Havocwing said, floating up to take a better look at the sign. “Problem is, how far is it?”

“It would be illogical for the closest port to be located too far away from a major capital,” Starlight said. “Judging from the expanse of land I witnessed as we passed over the port, I theorize no more than three days... hopefully. It is no more than an estimate.”

“Well then, we can’t waste time here, gawking at dudes,” Havocwing added as she shot a glare towards Velvet, who had slinked away from the group to chat up a stallion working at a nearby fruit cart. She zipped over and snagged Velvet up in her hooves, then dragged her, kicking and screaming, back towards the others.

Curaçao put a hoof to her face. “I ‘ope zat zey at least vear vêtements in Utopia...” She took a breath and pointed off towards a nearby group of ponies that were chatting. “Before ve go, I believe I need to do some research if ve are to blend in, voyez-vous? Ve shall rendezvous ‘ere in une heure.”

As Curaçao pranced off, Havocwing turned to the others. “Okay, you heard her, we get one hour to ourselves. Let’s see if we can round up some grub or something, I’m starving.”

Velvet raised her hoof. “Uh, I already ate like a few hours ago. I’m not that hungry. Can I—"

Havocwing put a hoof to her face. “No.”

“You’re no fun...”

Starlight pointed towards a quaint building with tables outside being used by several ponies. “That seems an appropriate place to acquire nourishment. Shall we?”

Havocwing read the sign above the awning out loud: “Legume’s Legumes, huh? Hmm... sounds legit.” She waved for everypony to follow her, and the five mares trotted over to and entered the building.

They were greeted by an energetic earth pony stallion with a big, bushy mustache. He wore an apron with the establishment’s name on it. “Howdy, ladies, an’ welcome ta Legume’s Legumes! Table for five?”

“Make it six,” Havocwing said. “You never know if Curaçao might join us later,” she added, turning to her sisters.

“Right this way!”

The stallion led them through a crowd of ponies to the patio, then to an empty table where they all took seats and were given menus to glance over.

“Y’all’s waiter’ll be with ya in just a sec, ladies. You enjoy yer meal now, y’hear?”

Havocwing nodded and flipped the menu up to look at it. “Yeah, uh... thanks,” she muttered as the stallion trotted away. She leaned to her side to address Starlight. “Anypony else think it’s weird that all the ponies around here talk like Applejack?”

“I had always found her accent particularly bizarre, until we learned the truth about who she is and where she comes from,” Starlight said without taking her eyes off her menu. “That the ponies here share her accent is... perplexing. The southern continent is certainly an odd place.”

Velvet hummed. “Hey... when you think about it, didn’t that one colt back at the dock act weird once Curaçao started talking? He didn’t seem bothered by your accent, Star.”

“I noticed it as well. An intriguing coincidence, as she, like Applejack, possesses an accent unlike any in her company.”

“Well, maybe she’ll have an answer for us when we get back,” Havocwing said. “Let’s just worry about getting some grub for now though, yeah?”

Havocwing took her time glancing through the selection of items. True to the name, there were legumes of every type here, separated into individual categories that contained dozens of dishes each. Beans and peas were the largest lists, followed by lentils, alfalfa, and clover. Most of the dessert items were made out of peanuts. Only the beverages seemed to be an exception, and for that Havocwing was thankful; the thought of a green bean smoothie didn’t exactly whet her appetite.

The mares were taking a moment to glance over their menus and talk amongst themselves in an attempt to decide what to order when their waitress, a short unicorn mare, approached their table. “Howdy ladies, I’m Lima an’ I’ll be your server for this afternoon. Y’all get yer orders picked out, or didja need more time?”

Havocwing glanced about the table and received a short nod from everypony. “Yeah, we’re ready to go.”

Lima pulled out a pad of paper and a small pencil out of her apron. “Okay then, what’ll it be?”

Havocwing closed her menu and pushed it forward and placed her order: “Black bean soup, extra spicy.”

“Y’all sure ‘bout that? Newhaven spicy ain’t like Pandemonium spicy.”

“Extra. Spicy. Lay it on me.”

“Your funeral, hun. An’ ta drink?”

“Dragonpepper cocktail, extra spicy.”

Lima paused, shook her head, jotted down Havocwing’s order, then pointed to the next mare in line: Starlight. Starlight placed her own order, and everypony else at the table followed suit, and finally it came around to Velvet.

“An’ how ‘bout you, hun?” Lima asked.

Velvet pushed her menu forward and leered at Lima, a tiny smile on her face. “Side order of fava beans.”

“Eatin’ light, huh? Good fer you, hun. An’ ta drink?”

“A nice Chianti... ffeffeffeff...”

Lima raised an eyebrow and slowly jotted the order down. “Uh... okay hun, I’ll... see what we’ve got.” She blinked then turned back to the others. “We’ll have everythin’ out fer ya’ll in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”

Lima left, but was back in less than a minute with their beverages before leaving again. Havocwing and her sisters each leaned back in their chairs with their beverage of choice, took a drink, then let out a collective sigh of content—even Grayscale.

“This is nice...” Havocwing said. “After all that action in Hope’s Point, this really hits the spot, y’know?”

“Please, don’t talk about action and hitting spots right now,” Velvet murmured, her head tilted to the side to stare at a stallion sitting at the table opposite.

It wasn’t long before Havocwing’s attention was drawn to her right, out into the town square. The square was bustling with activity, as there was apparently some sort of fair or something going on; a large banner on one end of the square read, Farmers’ Market Today! The crowd was nothing compared to even the slowest streets of New Pandemonium City.

Something in particular caught her eye, though. She leaned forward in her chair and squinted, certain that she was looking at Curaçao on the opposite end of the square, chatting up a tall unicorn stallion working at a fruit stand amidst a row of similar stands.

Apparently, Velvet had noticed it too. “That bimbo!” she blurted, slamming her hoof on the table. “She’s totally trying to mack on that stallion! Why does she get to have fun but I gotta stick around with you guys?”

“She is clearly attempting to garner information,” Starlight said as she took a sip of her tea. “I, for one, would enjoy observing her methods. It may prove an enlightening experience.”

Insipid snorted, loudly enough that some of the ponies at nearby tables looked in her direction. “Pfh, what-ever. I totally don’t wanna watch Curaçao, like, mack on somepony or whatever? Talk about boring.” She tilted her head and turned to Velvet. “Uh, what’s ‘mack’ mean, anyway?”

Grayscale leaned over and in a not-at-all-subtle, too-loud whisper, said: “It means flirting. After that comes making out.”

“Yeah! Smooches!” Velvet cheered. “Sloppy kisses, with lots of tongue!”

Insipid paled, her eyes darting back to where Curaçao was still conversing with the fruit stand operator. “W-what? Y-you mean, Curie’s gonna—" She shook her head and cleared her throat. “I mean, like, eww, gross? Gag me with a spoon. Ugh, like anypony’d want to mack with Curaçao anyway. Nopony wants to, like, watch that? Totally. Major. Grody.”

“Actually, I kinda do.” Velvet rubbed her hooves together. “You know what they say: ‘If you can’t join ‘em, voyeurism’. Now that I think about it, Curaçao is fluent in Romantique, right? They practically invented the sloppy make out, called it Romantique Kiss and everything.”

“Shut up,” Insipid hissed.

“That’s not what she’s doing, guys, geez,” Havocwing said. “Star’s right, she’s probably digging for info. You’ll see, no sloppy make outs here.”

The five mares continued to watch Curaçao talk to the stallion for another moment before she waved goodbye and headed off along the road. She followed the road behind the nearby row of buildings and disappeared around the corner; seconds later, another pony came walking from the same direction. She approached a different fruit stand and began chatting up the pony stationed there. Another moment passed, and the pony waved farewell, walked along the road around another row of buildings, and rounded the corner.

Their food arrived, and the mares continued to watch this display repeat itself over and over again as they ate. Each time, a different mare, sometimes a stallion, would round the corner, approach a stand, talk to the pony there, then leave. By the time Havocwing and her sisters finished their meals, they’d watched the process repeat several dozen times.

At last, Curaçao herself returned from around the corner, and made a beeline for Legume’s Legumes. Within moments, she joined her sisters at their table, taking a seat next to Havocwing. She immediately took a big gulp of the glass of water that Grayscale had ordered.

“Ah, I needed zat,” she breathed. “All zat talking ‘as made me assoiffée.”

“Did you find out anything interesting?” Havocwing asked.

“Specifically, the estimated travel time to Utopia,” added Starlight.

Curaçao shook her head. “I received many different accounts of zat. Zee most common answer était trois jours, en moyenne—three days, on average.”

Starlight grinned and brushed her mane out of her face. “So it is as I theorized.”

Havocwing groaned. “Three days, huh? Geez...”

Velvet leaned over. “Did you make out with any—"

Starlight pushed Velvet back to her side of the table.

“But, zat vill not be un problème. Ve are used to zese long ‘ikes, non?”

Insipid snorted. “Psh, what a total waste of time all this was.” She reached up and stroked the brim of her stetson. “I mean, like, in case anypony forgot, I totally have the farmer look going on and junk? I bet I could, like, ‘blend in’ or whatever so much better than Curaçao.”

“I... do not envision this being a prudent decision,” Starlight said, casting a nervous glance to Havocwing.

Havocwing chuckled and folded her legs over her chest. “No no, let her give it a try. I gotta see this.”

Insipid cleared her throat and leaned over in her chair towards the next nearest table, where a couple was seated enjoying their lunch. “Hey, like, howdy yawl! I totally need ta, like, git mahself ‘n’ mah gals here ta a... a shindig in... Utopia! D’ya think yawl could, like, point me in th’ right die-rection ‘n’ junk?”

The two ponies at the table stared at Insipid, and slowly scooted their chairs away. Insipid shrugged and turned back to her sisters, each of them staring at her with wide eyes. Then, Grayscale lifted her forehooves up and began clapping slowly. Havocwing and Velvet burst into laughter immediately afterwards. Starlight’s lip began to quiver, and she started rapidly breathing out her nose.

Havocwing snorted smoke through laughs, holding up a hoof to try and stop herself. “Oh wow... ‘Howdy yawl! I’m, like, totally a farmer and junk?’”

Insipid huffed and stuck her nose in the air. “Like, geez you guys, it wasn’t that bad.”

“You didn’t even change your voice!” Velvet, also laughing, took a sharp breath. She giggled and sighed, lifting a hoof to her eye to wipe away tears of blood. “That was the worst accent. Ever. Of all time.”

Starlight took a breath and put her hooves on the table. “Sisters... r-really. This is... most,” she stopped talking to take another breath, her lips quivering, “most inappropriate. We should not be expressing amusement at Insipid’s... unique”—she paused, closed her eyes, and turned her head so she wasn’t looking at Insipid—“impression of the local dialect.”

Havocwing snorted and elbowed Starlight in the side. “You okay there, Star? Yawl look like yur totally ‘bout ta lose it. Hyuck.”

“Golly,” Velvet said, putting her hooves on her hips, “we shore, like, wouldn’t want yawl ta blow a gasket. Let it out, sis!”

Starlight made a noise that sounded like a duck being strangled. She closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hoof. “I... I am q-quite alright,” she said. She took a sharp breath through her nostrils. “I am certainly not attempting to stymie any hypothetical jocularity, if that is what you are implying.”

Insipid grumbled and plopped her chin down on the table. “You guys are mean...”

Curaçao, the only one not laughing, cleared her throat. “Mes sœurs, please. Insipid tried ‘er best—"

“I, like, don’t need you sticking up for me, Curaçao.”

Curaçao closed her eyes, let out a long, low sigh, then glanced around the table. “If ve can get back to matters at ‘oof, I zee you all ‘ave finished déjeuner. C’est bien. Shall ve go?”

Havocwing frowned. “What about you, sis, aren’t you gonna eat?”

Starlight nodded. “I agree, you have not partaken in any nutritional intake in quite some time, at least since prior to your entering Hope’s Point as far as I am aware.”

Curaçao laughed and waved off their concerns. “Ça ira, I can eat later. More important is zat ve maintain a steady pace, non? Come, let us make good our pursuit of zose cretins!”

“What about the check?” Havocwing asked.

Everypony at the table, even Insipid, quirked an eyebrow and looked over at Havocwing as though she were from another planet.

Havocwing snorted smoke and got out of her seat. “Geez, it was a joke you guys. Lighten up.”

***

Seven. Starlight had counted seven times that this same discussion had arisen since they’d left Newhaven. She would have never tolerated the constant pleading and whining were she in charge, but Curaçao was more lax. She couldn’t decide if she wanted Havocwing back in the lead, since at least Havocwing seemed to have learned proper leadership values somewhere. Still, she did admit one thing the two of them possessed as leaders that she felt she herself lacked: patience.

She always knew Curaçao had more patience than anypony, excepting their father of course. Havocwing though, that came as a surprise. The hot-headed, barbaric, reckless Havocwing developing patience? Preposterous, yet here it was. Perhaps being the target of so much abuse and ridicule had strengthened her elder sister’s resolve, made her capable of dealing with it to an astounding degree.

Starlight regretted being a primary cause of that same abuse and ridicule. Were she in Havocwing’s position, she wasn’t sure if she wouldn’t take out anger at past transgressions on her now. Havocwing did no such thing, and in fact had done the opposite: she’d shown her love and devotion that she did not feel she’d earned, and directed all of her anger—past, present, and future—at somepony more deserving.

Starlight’s internal thoughts were shattered when Velvet raised her voice for the eighth time.

“Plea-hea-hease can we go back?” Velvet pleaded, her hooves around Curaçao’s leg. “I promise I won’t take long. I just need a sample, really! You can’t seriously expect me to pass up all that gorgeous meat! Once in a lifetime opportunity here!”

“Relax, ma sœur, Utopia is not long ahead of us,” Curaçao said as she pulled herself out of Velvet’s grip. “You vill be able to dîner vhen ve get zere, non? Just ‘ave patience.”

“Geez, we just ate a few hours ago. I know we’re gonna be roughing it, but you need to get that stomach of yours under control, Red,” Havocwing said. She swooped up behind Velvet and pushed her back upright. “You’ll get your fill soon enough, okay? Pinkie Pie’s gotta be at least a three-course dinner, right?”

Velvet tilted her head. “Stomach? Havoc, have you been listening at all? I don’t want my stomach filled, I want my—"

Insipid groaned and pulled her stetson over her ears, falling over in the process. “La la la la! Not listening! La la la!”

Havocwing snorted. “What is it with you, anyway Red? I’ve never seen you so desperate for anything before.”

“You just don’t get it at all.” Velvet sighed. “Well, imagine how you’d feel if every good-looking stallion you propositioned turned you down.” She stopped walking and held out her hooves, and began to list off names: “Flathoof, rejected. Shadowstep, rejected. Auroran, rejected. I am in dire need of some smoked stallion-meat! Like you said: desperate.”

“Well, you did try to kill one of those three,” Havocwing explained. “And you killed the friends and comrades of another. The other one is... well, undead or something. Do zombies even have a sex drive?”

“Not for Red, obviously,” Grayscale said from the rear of the group. “Maybe Shadowstep just isn’t a chubby chaser?”

Velvet snorted. “You’re just jealous, Gray. I know it ain’t my body, I’ve got the flanks of a schoolfilly. So I mean, what is it then? Am I ugly or something?”

Havocwing coughed into her hoof. “Schoolfilly. Riiight.”

“Red, you’ve still got a hole in your gut the size of my hoof,” Grayscale pointed out.

Velvet glanced down at her stomach, where the hole from the sniper’s anti-material bullet had punctured her. The wound had started to close, but still maintained a visceral, freshly-inflicted look. “Oh, that? Huh... this explains so much. Bucking lame...”

“Aren’t you ever gonna fix that up?” Havocwing asked, cringing away when Velvet started poking it.

“I am, it’s just taking a while,” Velvet said. “Clottles is helping me out like a good boy. He’s been working nonstop to close it up!”

“Oh... is that why we haven’t seen him—" Havocwing paused, then sighed.

Starlight loudly cleared her throat. “If we can focus on the path ahead,” she said with a sweeping gesture to the front of the party, “we can arrive well under Curaçao’s theorized itinerary. This bickering solves nothing and only further delays us.”

Havocwing clapped Starlight on the shoulder. “Exactly. How far are we through this forest anyway? Can’t you use your tracking spell or something, Star?”

Starlight shook her head. “As I have no bearing with which to judge by, I cannot utilize any manner of locator spells to determine our location or progress. Even were I to observe our destination from the air, my estimates would be sorely inaccurate. Curaçao’s information will have to suffice.”

“What a gyp.” Havocwing sighed. “So much for that idea.”

“Not that it matters, but there’s more of the forest ahead of us than behind us,” Grayscale said, flexing her wings.

“How have you arrived at that conclusion?” Starlight asked.

“Eh, there’s more mass in front than behind. Could be Red throwing off my sense of scale though.”

“Again with the fat jokes,” Velvet grumbled.

Insipid groaned. “This is boring. I’m, like, having flashbacks to the desert and junk, from like, before we first met those idiots? Totally. Lame.”

“I much prefer the surrounding foliage to that of a vast expanse of dead sand,” Starlight said.

Havocwing tilted her head over towards Curaçao. “Y’know, you and Curaçao had a better relationship back then,” she said to Insipid. “Maybe having flashbacks ain’t such a bad thing?”

“Pfh, like, what-ever.” Insipid flipped her mane and stuck her nose in the air, then pushed her way past Havocwing and Curaçao to take the lead next to Starlight. “That was, like, me being a major idiot? I’m totally smarter now and junk, so like, cha.”

“Smarter... yeah, okay.” Havocwing frowned, and patted Curaçao’s shoulder. “I am trying, y’know?”

“Merci, ‘avocving,” Curaçao sighed. “Je te remercie for your ‘elp.”

Starlight didn’t quite understand why Curaçao’s spirit fell at such consistent intervals. It pained her to see any of her sisters in a sad state, and after the way Curaçao and Havocwing helped to bring her out of a dark, dark place, she wanted to repay them. She glanced over at Insipid, then back to Curaçao, and that’s when she made the connection. Something Insipid was doing or saying was making Curaçao upset.

That simply would not do.

“Insipid, it would seem as though you are upsetting Curaçao,” she said. “It is ill-advised to antagonize the pony that is keeping us all together.”

Insipid snorted. “Pshaw, like, what-ever? Maybe if she weren’t, like, a super major liar and junk, I’d care. Just like, stay outta my business?”

Starlight’s eyebrow twitched. “Excuse me?” she asked.

Insipid flinched. “I mean... like... uh, please stay out of my business?”

Havocwing darted over and put a hoof on Starlight’s shoulder. “Hey, Star, relax yeah?” she said. She turned back to Curaçao. “Yo, Curaçao, is okay if I take Starlight back here for a talk?”

Curaçao shrugged and dismissed the question with a wave of her hoof. “D’accord. Don’t take too long, zough.”

“No prob, be right back.” Havocwing grabbed Starlight’s hoof and led her towards the rear of the group until they were out of earshot just off the side of the trail. “Look Star, uh... I know Curaçao and I gave you the job of making sure Insipid doesn’t go nuts or anything—and you’re doing a great job, by the way—but this might be something you should let me handle.”

Starlight shrugged out of Havocwing’s hold. “While I appreciate the accolade, Havocwing, surely you do not intend to let Insipid’s constant besmirching of Curaçao’s authority continue. It reflects poorly on the both of you.”

“Well... it’s kinda complicated.”

“How complicated could it possibly be? Curaçao is clearly upset that her authority is being slandered, so—"

She paused, and thought back to how Curaçao looked before Havocwing dragged her aside. Curaçao was performing an almost perfect impression of Grayscale’s constant slouch, her mouth curled in a despondent frown, all without actually looking at all like Grayscale. Insipid wasn’t making Curaçao angry, she was making her sad. Why would she be sad that her authority was being undermined?

“Look, Star,” Havocwing said, drawing Starlight out of her analysis, “Insipid’s... dumb.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Well yes, I am quite aware of that. What does that have to do with—"

Starlight paused again when Havocwing gave her an awkward smile, as if she was hoping that would all that needed to be said. “I see...” Starlight sighed and shook her head. “I suppose that I am partly to blame in that regard. As leader, I did nothing to dissuade you all from insulting and abusing one another. Insipid does not realize just how different things are now.”

Havocwing rubbed the back of her neck. “That’s a part of it. I’d go into more, but... well, that’s Curaçao’s private business. If you really want to know, ask her.”

“I may. Come,” Starlight said, gesturing back to the trail, “Curaçao requested we not tarry.”

Starlight and Havocwing returned to the path and increased their pace until they caught up with the other four, who were still arguing about turning around. Assuming that there hadn’t been another one in-between their brief separation, this made count number nine.

Curaçao had returned to her former stride, and turned to Starlight and Havocwing as they cantered to catch up to her. “Ah, you’re back. C’est bien, ve ‘ave too much to vorry about vizout getting separated. I do vish ve ‘ad some sort of méthode to tell ‘ow much furzer Ve ‘ave to go. I should ‘ave kept zee Chronomancer’s map. Ah, c’est la vie...”

“It’s alright, guys, we’ll catch up to ‘em, I just know it,” Havocwing said. “We can’t be far—"

A snapping twig drew their attention to the west, somewhere off the trail.

“The hell was that?” Havocwing asked.

She was about to ignite her hoof when Starlight slapped her hoof away. “Flames would be ill-advised, Havoc,” Starlight whispered. “We are in a forest, if you recall?”

“Oh. Right. Yeah, sorry.”

Curaçao gestured for the others to follow her, and they carefully made their way towards the source of the noise, stopping just at the edge of a row of trees alongside another road that was coming from someplace further north. They crouched low behind the bushes near the trees, and waited.

Curaçao held up a hoof to signal the others to use their telepathy. <Silence, zere is somepony coming.>

***

Applejack stopped to rest against a particularly large tree that stood alongside the trail. She was glad there was even a trail to begin with; it made this forest easier to traverse than Everfree. She couldn’t get past how lush and green everything was. There hadn’t been any pegasi in the air tending to the weather, nor any earth ponies tending to the fauna. This forest felt just as untamed and untouched by ponies as Everfree, minus the trails leading through. Was this really all natural?

Her rest complete, Applejack stretched her legs, cracked her neck, rolled her shoulders, then continued on along the trail, taking a left at the fork without a moment’s hesitation. She didn’t know what, exactly, was helping her move forward. She knew what was motivating her, sure: seeing her friends alive and well, then finally going home. But, she didn’t know what exactly was telling her to follow the paths she was. This had been the fifth fork she’d arrived at since entering the forest, and each time, she’d picked her path instantly, not giving a moment’s thought to it. The paths she took just felt right. It wasn’t the earth below her, she knew that much. Just a strange tingly feeling in the back of her head.

As she approached a clearing, her ears perked up. She could hear something off in the distance. A voice.

“Anypony! Hello?!”

Applejack wheeled around towards the source. It was somewhere off the beaten path. “Hello! Who’s there?!”

“Hey, is somepony there?! Helllp!”

Applejack wasn’t one to refuse a call like that, and bounded off the trail towards the voice. She snaked her way through trees and bushes as quickly as she could. The voice sounded urgent. She was going so fast, in fact, that she almost fell right into a small gorge, just barely screeching to a stop. Instinctively, she went to hold her hat onto her head.

“Oh thank Harmonia,” said the voice. “Lil’ help? I’m in a right mess here.”

Applejack tilted her neck up to see a red unicorn mare barely hanging from a vine just above the gorge. The vine itself didn’t look particularly sturdy, either.

“Hang on, I gotcha,” she said. She settled her hooves into the dirt, and called the earth beneath her to assist her without hearing so much as a complaint. Rock and dirt stretched out over the chasm beneath the endangered mare, forming a wide bridge complete with railings. “Go on, y’all can come on down now.”

The mare stared wide-eyed at the rocky outcropping. “I’ll be, if that ain’t the neatest thang I’ve ever seen.” She gulped, and her eyes darted between Applejack and the rock bridge. “Uh... is it safe?”

“Sure as shootin’,” Applejack said, stomping a hoof on the bridge to demonstrate. “Solid as a rock... uh, no pun intended.”

The mare let out a breath and dropped down onto the bridge. She paused a moment after landing, casting nervous glances about as if expecting the bridge to collapse at any second. When she seemed assured nothing was going to happen, she cantered across the rocks over to Applejack and slumped down on the ground, as though she were giving the earth a hug.

“Y’all okay there, pardner?” Applejack asked through a laugh.

“Yeah, thanks.” The mare rose to her hooves and let out a breath of relief and dusted herself off. “I thought I was a goner for sure. I sure am glad somepony came along - I’ve been up there almost an hour now! Thank you so much!”

Applejack chuckled. “Shucks, ain’t no trouble at all. What were y’all doin’ out here off the trail, anyhow? Sure is quite a distance ta wander.”

The mare sighed and shrugged. “I got a lil’ ol’ bad habit o’ goin’ off ‘n’ explorin’ new places. Ain’t the first time I got in a sticky situation ‘cause o’ that, but heck if I’m gonna pass up new opportunities. Figured I might find some sort o’ buried treasure!”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Buried treasure?”

“Well yeah, this place ain’t called Crownwood for nothin’, right? Figured maybe I’d find some sort o’ fancy gem I ain’t never seen before.”

“I got a friend that could relate.”

The unicorn pointed down into the gorge. Applejack followed along and saw a broken log down there that had snapped in half and fallen all the way to the bottom. Now that she looked into the chasm, she could see it was a pretty long fall, easily enough to be fatal. This mare sure had lucked out.

“I was walkin’ ‘cross when that bridge down there broke, just leapt up in time ta grab that vine ya found me on,” the unicorn said. “Sure looked sturdy ‘fore I crossed it. Guess I learned I ain’t much on judgin’ trees. Thank y’all ever so much for gettin’ me down, Miss... uh, what’s yer name?”

“Name’s Applejack.” Applejack offered her hoof. “You?”

“Fireburst,” the unicorn said, taking Applejack’s hoof and giving it a firm shake.

Applejack gave the mare a quick once-over. Fireburst had little white freckles on her face, almost just like Applejack’s own, that matched the color of the mare’s curly mane and braided tail. She wore a black padded vest with over a dozen pockets. Her cutie mark looked like a cannonball with a lit fuse in it. Most striking, though, was that her horn was chipped; Applejack tried her best not to let her eyes linger on that.

“So, what brings y’all out here in the first place?” Applejack asked, more to distract herself from looking at the other mare’s horn than anything. “Don’t tell me y’all came ta this here forest just ta explore.”

Fireburst chuckled and shook her head. “No ma’am, I was just on my way ta Utopia, ta be frank with ya. Got business matters ta attend to, figured I’d walk.”

“Shucks, I was on my way there myself. Maybe y’all could tell me where exactly it is? I ain’t exactly got the best directions, see, just kind been followin’... instinct.”

Fireburst raised an eyebrow. “Ya don’t know? Well, y’all sound like you’re from Newhaven yerself. I was just passin’ through there on my way here; we must’ve just missed each other.”

Applejack paused. Queen Blackburn had mentioned Newhaven as a place in these parts where the ponies had the same dialect Applejack did. True enough, this other mare had the familiar drawl she was used to, but it certainly wasn’t the same as her own. She must be from one o’ the other towns. Shoot, what were their names again?

“Well, this is my first trip out there, see,” Applejack said. “I kinda got sidetracked on my way, same as you... only I guess I didn’t quite end up in the same kinda trouble.”

Fireburst laughed. “Hey now, take it easy, it ain’t like I meant ta do that. Well, anyway, all I know is Utopia’s southeast o’ here, ‘bout a three day walk from Newhaven.” Fireburst gestured behind Applejack in the direction Applejack had come from. “The trail y’all were on over there leads that way, so I guess ya figured it out yerself. Then again, ya know what they say: all roads lead ta Utopia.”

“Thank ya kindly, Miss Fireburst.” Applejack paused, then gave Fireburst a bright smile. “Say, y’all don’t happen ta need a travelin’ partner, do ya? I sure could use somepony ta talk to...”

“That sounds great. Sure, y’all got a deal!” Fireburst cheered, offering her hoof for Applejack to shake. “Hey, maybe ya could tell me how y’all were able ta make that rock bridge thing.”

Applejack smiled and gave Fireburst’s hoof the best shake she could muster, practically lifting the unicorn off the ground in the process. It’s always nice ta make a new friend.

Comments

[-Pinkamena_Pie-]

I don't like Fireburst. It sounds too suspicious.

[Pseudonym1]

9718377
Is there really any doubt about who it really is?

[Duchess Groverina]

“strap in and feel the G’s!”

This one phrase right here had me dying

[Zauber Junge]

One could say Applejacks meeting with Fireburst is most Curious.

[Teraunce]

10657110
Agreed.

[My name is R]

I think Applejack’s tingly is a good tingly, but you never can tell with tinglies.

Aww, can little Star not read ponies? Havoc sees it, Ah think Gray and Velvet see it, and Insipid was too dumb to ever doubt it, but Star can’t concive of such a thing.

9718377, 9747466, 10657110, 11044044
I mean, it don't haf ta be her. It ain't outside a tha possabilaties that she could be, say, Crossfire’s kin, is it? Ah can’t say y'all ain't right ta be suspicious, but Ah don't think tha sisters would go through that much trouble if they already had Applejack alone.

“Golly,” Velvet said, putting her hooves on her hips, “we shore, like, wouldn’t want yawl ta blow a gasket. Let it out, sis!”

Sure and shore are homophones.
Except in many a Southern pronunciation. My bad, carry on.