Spike's Nameless Brother

by Cold Spike

Chapter 12: Strange Bedfellows

Shadow Mirror, Shyfrost and Spike sat around a campfire, trying to get each other up to speed on their stories. The changeling listened intently to both of theirs before deciding to give his out. If he had to be honest with himself, he found both stories quite fascinating, especially for one that has lived in the changeling kingdom his entire life. As an infiltrator species, they are often taught at quite the young age that ponies—and any race that associates with them—are, in fact, evil; something that never quite sat right with him. How can an entire race just be considered evil? To him, it sounded like something out of a bad story; and, judging by the adventures he was hearing, it was. He hung on their every word until they were both out of things to say.

"So you have always had your amulet with you, Shyfrost?" the changeling questioned, levitating his own possession in the air.

"Pretty much. How about you?"

"Oh, I found it in the Badlands one day."

"What are the Badlands?"

"That is where the Changeling Empire is located. Kind of a desolate place, if you ask me, but it's home.” He paused briefly. “Well not anymore..."

Shyfrost leaned forward. "You okay?" he asked. Both dragons had noticed the changeling mumbling and trailing off at the end of his sentence.

"Huh? Oh yeah fine, I guess I kind of just realized that I don't have a home now. That kind of blows."

"Ah, I'm sure you can find a home in Ponyville, you seem like a nice changeling, right Spike?"

"Um, I don't know dude. Not that I don't like you, Shadow Mirror, but... I've never seen a changeling in any pony settlement, ever."

Shadow Mirror smiled slyly. "Oh, I don't doubt that you have never seen one of us in our real forms, but for each pony city or town, there are at least a few infiltrators."

"What are those?"

"They, um, their job is to replace a pony in order to store up love." Noticing their shocked faces, he quickly explained, "but we don't keep the ponies, and I have never gone that far! I mean, our species needs emotions like love to survive, and ponies aren't exactly on speaking terms with changelings, so we have to improvise."

"Have you ever hurt a pony?" Spike stood up and glared at him, betraying his anger.

"No! I personally choose to try and earn my love. I still need to copy ponies and trick their friends and families, but I don't hurt ponies to do it. The way I do it is a lot riskier, and I have been caught on a few occasions, but I usually just get some love and move on before they know what happened."

Spike sat down, still distrustful but calmer now. "Well, okay, as long as you don't foalnap any ponies or anything."

"No, I don't need to. I mean, hell, the friendship I can feel from you two is more than enough to keep me going for now."

Both dragons looked at each other and then shrugged.

The changeling didn't seem to notice. "So, what do you think about these artifacts? I mean, when you touched them, it was like I had gotten all the love in the world. It felt amazing!"

"I felt like getting up and running straight to the migration without taking a break. I knew there had to be something to my amulet.” Shyfrost turned to Spike and smirked. “See, Spike? This proves that Twilight doesn't know everything.”

Spike rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Artifacts or no, we still need to get to the dragon migration.” He paused as a new thought occurred to him. “Do adult dragons like changelings?"

"Not particularly, no. But I can't just leave you two, I mean what happened back there was incredible! No, I'm going with you! That is, if you will have me?"

Both dragons felt confused. A fully grown changeling was asking their permission to tag along, when they had never had the intention of dumping him. They both shrugged and Spike spoke up.

"Sure, I guess. Oh, but I feel we should warn you..." Spike looked over at his friend, who finished speaking for him.

"Yeah, we may have some ponies looking for us. We're runaways. They are pretty speedy. Plus, Twilight can get very, very angry."

"Hey, no sweat,” Mirror scoffed. “We changelings are pros at hiding in plain sight. How many ponies are we talking here?"

"Well, we know that Twilight and Fluttershy will be going. Oh, and Princess Celestia said something about Rainbow Dash, so at least three that we know of."

The changeling did a double take. "You said princess? Is she after you two?!"

"Oh, no. Here, read the letter,” Spike said, giving it to him.

They waited for him to finish reading it, and when he did, he sighed in relief.

Shyfrost continued, “She won't be after us, but they will. I would say at least six will be after us, though.”

"You really think they will all come? Even Rarity?!" Spike asked, with a bit more excitement in his voice than he intended.

"I think so, yeah. Why do you care about Rarity that much?"

Spike blushed for a moment and then shook his head. "N-nothing, it's nothing. Look, how can we hide, anyway? We all kind of stick out, dude."

The changeling laughed. "Hiding isn't all about looks; it's about monitoring your surrounding environment, about always watching the skies, and listening for the smallest sounds. If you both want to hide from these ponies, then you need to do what I do and listen to what I say." Both dragons somberly nodded at this. It was not like they had any other plans. Plus Twilight's rage scared them into submission, just thinking about it put both of them on edge, especially Spike.

"Good. Now, who are we dealing with here? What can these ponies do, exactly?"

"Do?"

"What are they good at, their skills, abilities, magic? You know?"

"Oh," Spike said while trying to come up with a mental list,"let's see, Twilight is the student of the princess and knows an insane amount of magic."

"Does she know any violent magic?"

Spike looked disgusted, like he had just insulted her. "Of course not,” he said, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out in disgust. “Only the most despicable pony imaginable would ever learn that stuff."

"Um, yeah,” the changeling agreed. “I mean, I don't know any of those spells either, obviously. That'd be pretty ridiculous."

Spike gave him a questionable look, but then shrugged.

Trying not to show his relief, Shadow Mirror nodded. "Right, so Twilight is their caster, we need to watch out for her. What else we got?"

"Fluttershy. She takes care of me. She is a pegasus but can't fly as fast as Rainbow Dash from what I've heard," Shyfrost said. Spike nodded to confirm his statement.

"Two pegasus ponies, okay. Anyone else?"

"There's Pinkie, she has that party cannon of-"

"A cannon?!"

"Yeah, somehow she carries it around. Don't ask, but I'm sure it can do some damage. And finally there's AJ, she can kick pretty hard and lasso anything."

The changeling nodded as he digested this new information. "All right, then. Who is their leader?"

Both dragons looked at each other and answered in union.

"Twilight." "Fluttershy."

They both looked at each other. Shyfrost was the first to speak.

"Fluttershy is way more brave than the rest!" Shyfrost demanded.

"No, Twilight always goes headfirst with their gang. She's the leader!"

"Fluttershy!"

"Twilight!"

“Fluttershy!”

“Twilight!”

"HEY!" Both were outshouted by the changeling. "What I mean is, who is the more dominant one?"

They both gave each other another glance and Shyfrost sighed and answered. "Twilight," he said dryly.

"Thank you,” he said. “She is the one we need to watch out for, and maybe I can use her to our advantage..."

"Shadow Mirror?" Spike said hesitantly. Their new friend's menacing voice had sent a chill up his back.

"Listen in, guys, here's what we're gonna do!"

---

"Sweetie Belle, are you sure your sister is okay with this?" Scootaloo asked, looking around the definitely closed Carousel Boutique. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stood by the side as Sweetie Belle attempted to search for something.

"Yes, I'm sure,” Sweetie Belle reassured her friend. “We're just going to borrow some bits for our trip. We need to eat, don't we?"

"Well, duh, but isn't this, I dunno... stealing?"

"Nah, we're just borrowing them. I'll pay her back, somehow." She quickly turned back to rummaging around in a previously locked chest.

"Ah dunno, Sweetie Belle. Stealin' is wrong, and AJ told me never to steal!"

"Borrow!” Sweetie corrected from inside the chest. “We're borrowing. And besides, didn't she tell you that lying was wrong?"

"Course she did! She's the Element of Honesty, after all!"

"And what did she do just before she left on her trip?"

They both looked at each other and then back to Sweetie Belle and said the same thing in union. "She lied!"

"Exactly. I'm not saying that stealing is right, but we need it to go on the trip; and besides, my sister makes plenty of bits. She can make it all back. I think."

"Well, I guess since they did lie to us, it's okay to borrow the bits," Scootaloo exclaimed while helping her look.

"Exactly," she paused and then her face lit up when she found a jar being covered by some clothes. “Here we go! This should be enough, right?"

"That's plenty. Okay, we all ready for the trip?" The three of them nodded but then Scootaloo noticed a label on the jar.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle, what does 'a rainy day' mean?"

All three tilted their heads to the side to read the message: For a rainy day. Keep out, Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie Belle had a sudden image of her sister trying to use the coins as an umbrella. She shrugged. "I dunno. So, are we ready, girls?!"

"YEAH!"

They all took a deep breath.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER ADVENTURERS! YAY!"

---

"AH!"

All six mares gasped when they heard the cries of their friend. Everypony turned to Rarity, who was grasping her throat.

"Rarity, what's wrong?" Twilight asked, walking up to check on her friend.

"I don't know,” Rarity replied shakily. “I just felt a disturbance deep down. Almost as if a part of me went missing..."

"Rarity, stop being so dramatic. You're fine!" Rainbow Dash said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

She grunted but said nothing in return.

"We need to keep going, girls. It will be night fall soon," Twilight said dryly, then turned around to lead the group again.

Dash stopped flying and landed right next to Fluttershy, she then began to whisper in her ear. "Hey, have you noticed that Twi is kind of... distant?"

"Well, um, maybe a little. She is missing Spike, and I'm sure that's put her on edge."

"Yeah, but instead of acting angry or frantic or something, she just seems... I dunno, distant. Like she has no emotions at all."

"Oh, I could ask her, I guess."

"Sure, just be careful," Dash said sternly.

"Oh, alright then." She walked up to her friend and noticed she didn't even look over. "Um, Twilight, are you feeling okay?"

"Yes," she replied with no hint of emotion.

"It's just, you seem, um, distant."

"I'm just worried about him, aren't you?"

“If you mean Shyfrost, then yes; but I'm also worried about Spike. We're just trying to make sure that you are okay. You are, right?" Twilight stopped walking and then turned around to face her friends. They all had on sheepish smiles and looks of pure concern.

Twilight sighed. "I'm sorry girls, I just can't help but feel really worried. Spike has never been this far out, who knows what trouble he can get into?"

"C'mon, he has Shyfrost with him. He lived in the Everfree, what kind of trouble can they get into?" Dash offered with a grin.

"Plenty,” Twilight retorted. “I promise to try and keep a level head, but I still think we need to hurry." She turned around and continued her lead.

"That's fine, sugarcube, but frettin' 'bout it the entire time won't solve anything."

"I know. I'm sure we will find them."

"There ya go!” Dash said happily. She looked up at the setting sun and then back to her friends, some of whom were shivering. “We better make camp soon, though."

---

"This is your plan?!"

"Well, yeah. We need to throw them off the trail."

"And this was the best plan you came up with?! This is insane!"

"C'mon, Shyfrost,” Spike pleaded, “it's just a little food-"

"A little?! A LITTLE?! These are my pearls!"

"And they are also the perfect breadcrumb trail. We can't just use some of Spike's gems because gems are too natural, but pearls do not naturally occur out here in the forest. They will follow that path, we'll go this way, and presto, we got six ponies off our backs!" Shadow Mirror was grinning as he described his plan. Spike was giving Shyfrost a sheepish smile and rubbing the back of his head, while the young frost dragon was looking quite un-amused as he clenched his bag of pearls tightly in a death grip.

"NO!"

"Dude, it has to be done. Twi is smart, but she'll follow this easily. It makes perfect sense."

"Yeah, and then you two are free to go to your migration and I'm free to find out about our artifacts."

He turned around to give them both pleading looks, as if his watering eyes would will a brand new plan into existence. They simply shook their heads and stared down at his bag. With a heavy sigh he opened his fist and allowed their changeling ally to levitate the bag up.

"Great, I will just fly up and start dropping them one by one on the wrong path, Just wait here." With that, he unfolded his insect like wings and flew off in a random path and slowly dropped pearl after pearl. Each one that dropped was like a kick to Shyfrost's gut. He stared at the first pearl on the ground with his eyes watering.

Spike simply rolled his eyes, thinking that his friend was being too dramatic. "Dude, you'll get more, and you want to see dragons and find out about your amulet right?"

"Right," he replied with a heavy sigh.

"Then buck up! Besides, we still got plenty of pony food. We even have a few cupcakes." Shyfrost perked up at the mention of the sugary treats and he let out a small smile.

The changeling returned and landed swiftly next to them, giving each a new sense of success and fulfillment in their cleverness. They checked the map one last time, and picked the right most path, which lead them closer to the Drakenridge Mountains.

"What if Twi figures it all out?" Spike asked as they slowly crept along the new path.

"Oh, I'm sure she will, but by then we will be long gone," the changeling replied with a smirk.

They all cracked a smile except Shyfrost's only lasted a moment as he took one long look at the pearl encrusted path. He let out a small whimper and sighed in defeat.

---

The caped crusaders had gathered Scootaloo's scooter and wagon in tow. It was simple to get past Big Mac, but they had to 'borrow' a map from city hall. They admitted that they weren't exactly sure where to go, but they had decided that Drakenridge Mountain sounded 'dragon like enough' and had decided to head that way. The young pegasus filly's wings were buzzing like a mad mare as they sped through the forest, while her two companions hung on for dear life.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle, how long do you think it will take to get to the migration?"

"I don't know, but at the rate that Scoots is going, not that long. But the map says it's supposed to take a day or two on foot."

"But we are on scooter, does the map mention that?"

"No. And it's getting dark soon. Do you know how to make a campsite, Apple Bloom?"

"Ah don't think so. What about you, Scoots?" Apple Bloom yelled up, hoping that her voice would be heard past the wind. When she never answered she tried yelling again.

"Scootaloo?!"

Still no reply.

"Try tugging on the rope," Sweetie Belle said, pointing to the knot that held the scooter and the wagon together. She shrugged and gave one sharp tug. Scootaloo stopped immediately, skidding to a halt.

"What?!" she screamed in frustration.

"Hold your horses, Scoots. It's getting late and we just realized that none of us know how to make a camp site."

"Seriously? Neither of you know how to build a campfire?"

They both shook their heads.

"Or gather wood?"

Another shake.

"Did either of you even pack a sleeping bag?!" She turned to both of their friends who looked downcast while Sweetie Belle blushed.

"Oops," they both said in unison, and Scootaloo sighed in exaggerated frustration.

"We can just share mine, and I can teach ya how to set up a campsite. But we still got time, so let's go!"

They both nodded and allowed their lead 'Scooter Pony' to keep moving.

---

When night fell, they had arrived the same clearing that, unbeknownst to them, both dragons and the changeling had rested at earlier.

"Right. Apple Bloom, you go gather some sticks. Make sure they are thick enough, but nothing like fallen branches or anything," Scootaloo ordered. Apple Bloom saluted and ran off.

"Sweetie Belle, you help me find where we are on the map, 'cause I can't make heads or tails of this thing."

She saluted as well and began to study it.

"I'll get the sleeping bag ready, and then we can eat. What kind of food did you two pack anyway?"

"Oh, um, we brought two dozen apples, half a dozen cupcakes, half a cake, a bunch of cookies and some juice," Sweetie Belle said, smiling broadly.

Scootaloo slammed a hoof into her forehead. "Sweetie Belle!"

"What?!"

There were no words Scootaloo could find to adequately express her frustration at her companion's choice of foods. "Why didn't you two pack brownies?!"

"Oh,” Sweetie giggled. “Oops."

"It's fine, but next town we're buying some! By the way, are there any towns on this map?"

"I think I found one, but it sounds kinda weird..."

"I'm back!" Apple Bloom arrived, now carrying a bundle of sticks on her back. She dropped them in front of Scootaloo, who quickly began to build them into a little teepee shape for her fire.

"Hey,” Apple Bloom said, “Maybe we can get our Cutie Marks in-"

"Don't bother,” Scootaloo interrupted, her words slightly muffled from the stick she held in her mouth. “I tried getting that mark a long time ago.”

"Oh, so are there any towns or anythin'?"

Sweetie Belle pointed at the map. "Just one, it says its name is Stratosburg."

"That's a weird name, but it'll have to do."

"You think Shyfrost and Spike are okay?" Scootaloo asked as she poked the fire with a stick.

"I'm sure they're fine. Hey, what happens if we run into our sisters out here?" Sweetie Belle asked while turning to Apple Bloom, who then in turn craned her neck to Scootaloo.

"Um, I don't have a sister, but if you mean your sisters then I dunno. I guess we need to be really careful, huh?"

"Yeah, we better be careful. Y'all wanna get some sleep?" They all nodded and Scootaloo went to climb into her sleeping bag, while her two friends stood watching, waiting on the side. She snuggled in contentedly, but then noticed her friends giving her an odd look.

"What?"

"We didn't bring sleeping bags, remember?"

She looked down at herself and noticed she was now taking up most of the opening. Sighing, she rolled over, shifting her body to allow her two friends to climb in, which they happily did. Scootaloo slept on the right side, with Sweetie Belle snuggling into her and Apple Bloom on the left.

"Goodnight, girls," Sweetie Belle said with a loud yawn.

"Night," they both replied in unison.

"We'll make it to that town tomorrow..." Scootaloo trailed off as she drifted off to sleep.

---

"I found another one!" Dash yelled down, pointing at a pearl gently wedged in the ground. The six mares had been traveling for a while on a winding path that lead away from the mountains. Twilight had been the first to spot one of Shyfrost's pearls in the ground, and they had been rapidly following the trail ever since.

"It just doesn't make any sense. This means they went this way, but this doesn't lead to the migration at all!"

"Maybe they got lost?" Dash offered.

"Maybe..."

"We better make camp soon," Applejack said through a huff, the girls were growing tired. Twilight turned back, she was not the least bit tired but she agreed. They all made camp in a random clearing and started a fire.

"Finally! Those pearls that dragon ate were so spread out, we've been traveling for hours!" Rarity said, magically running a brush through her mane.

"It would have only taken about twenty minutes for me to follow with my wings, if it wasn't so dang cold!" Rainbow Dash remarked bitterly.

"I'm sorry, Dash, but we can't risk an injury out here. There isn't a town for miles!"

Rainbow crossed her forelegs and huffed. "Fine, but we better find those dragons soon!"

"We will. I'm sure of it," Fluttershy said with a hint of confidence.

"Me t- Wait a minute..." Twilight trailed off lost in thought. For a moment, nopony dared disturb her, she just sat there unblinking and not moving. Suddenly, she blinked and snapped back to attention. "Paw prints!"

"What?!" they all said in confusion.

"Remember we kept spotting Spike and Shyfrost's paw prints?" When her friends nodded, Twilight continued, "We haven't seen so much as one on this trail, and that can only mean one thing."

"What?"

"It means they carefully planted these pearls to trick us! They didn't go on this path!"

"Um, but Twilight, if they didn't, then how did we find those pearls?" Fluttershy hesitantly offered an explanation when she noticed Twilight's frantic behavior, whereupon she promptly retreated back inside her mane. Twilight turned to her and stared for a while with her eyes unfocused, until she finally snapped back to reality.

"They must have help! It means our dragons have teamed up with somepony, most likely a pegasus who can fly up and plant these pearls! Don't you get it, girls? We. Are on. The wrong. Path!"

"Well, that's just great!” Dash complained, throwing her hooves up in defeat. “Now we're hours behind them!"

"We need to turn back, now!" Twilight stood up and began magically levitating all of their equipment, until Applejack put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Twi, it's late, we're exhausted, and I think it's clear those dragons of yours are set on meeting more dragons."

"No, it is not too late, we are going to pack our things and-"

"Um, Twilight,” Fluttershy hesitantly offered her opinion, “we really should be getting some rest."

"Yeah! I mean, I usually can't sleep cause we're on an adventure and all. But we've been walking all day, so what do ya say?" Pinkie said, trying to stifle a yawn.

"I really must agree with Pinkie, I want my Spikey back just as much as you but I need my beauty sleep."

"Beauty sleep. BEAUTY SLEEP?! This is Spike we're talking about here! And all you can think of is your blasted beauty sleep?!" Twilight screamed, which caused everypony to instantly take notice. "And you!" She pointed an accusing hoof at Fluttershy, who froze. "How can you say we need to just be 'getting some rest'?! We need to go out there and FIND OUR DRAGONS!"

Everypony froze, unable and unwilling to deal with the raging unicorn. Out of all the ponies, Pinkie was the first to speak up.

"Twi, I think you might want to calm down. Remember what happened when you tried to find out my Pinkie Sense?" Pinkie said, doing her best to keep a smile on her face even as she stumbled over her words.

That was it, that was the one phrase that seemed to send Twilight over the edge. Pinkie Sense. With those two words, the five mares had sealed their fate. Slowly, Twilight closed her eyes and began to concentrate on something. All five ponies looked at each other hesitantly, unsure on what to do. Slowly but surely, Twilight's body began to shake as if she was concentrating as hard as she could.

"Um, girls? Maybe we better, leave?" Dash croaked out when she was what was about to happen.

"Yeah, maybe we should just..."

"RUN FOR OUR LIVES!" Pinkie blurted out and all of a sudden all fives ponies sprang into action. Each pony ran randomly in a separate direction, seeking shelter from the inevitable.

Twilight's rage built up and up until finally her eyes sprang open. Time slowed down for everypony and in a blinding rage, Twilight focused up a spell to vent out her frustrations. She pointed her horn at a rather large tree and began to cast.

---

"Are you guys sure this is the right way to the mountains? It's starting to feel, I dunno... warmer," Spike said while looking around. The forest had long since broken up, and they were now on an open path, but no mountains were visible off in the distance.

"Not as sure as I was an hour ago, but at least we gave Twi the slip, right?" Shyfrost said while looking over the map again.

"She should figure it all out when the dragon paw prints start disappearing. I mean, I flew up and took care of the bulk of your pearls, but it had to look like that you lost them," the changeling said while sighing.

"What's wrong? I thought we gave her the slip?"

"You can only fool ponies for so long,” the changeling lamented. “Sooner or later, they all figure out what us changelings are up to."

"Oh, have changelings always been the enemy to ponies?" Shyfrost asked.

"I believe so. I have tried to make friends with ponies in the past though."

"How'd that work out?"

The changeling bit his lower lip. "Not well, actually-"

"BOOM!"

"WHAT IN THE HAY WAS THAT?!"

All three of them shot to their feet or hooves and looked around, but saw nothing that would have caused the loud noise. They all stood on edge, hoping that the ponies wouldn't come bursting out of the woods. After a minute, they all sighed in relief.

"We should probably find a place to sleep for the night. Tomorrow we can make it for that town."

"I checked the map, there is no town over here!" Spike said.

"It's right here dude," the changeling said, levitating up the map to him. There was a tiny dot near several trails and roads. A tiny label read 'Stratosburg'.

"Oh, well, at least we can restock our food..." Spike trailed off and then smacked his head. "Shyfrost, did you bring any bits?"

"I was supposed to?"

"I have some in my pouch here, they were gathered by...” A smile that could have meant anything flickered across the changeling's face as he finished, “Well, let's just say they won't go missed.”

Spike asked the question. "How did you get the bits?"

"From fleeing ponies."

They both stopped walking and glared at him.

"What?!” the changeling asked. “I tried to return them, but they just kept running away!"

"Oh, were you in pony form?"

The changeling paused. "Oops."

Both dragons smacked their heads, but kept their comments to themselves.

"Hey, I'm new at this being a pony thing. I've only ever tried talking to ponies a few times when I'm not on the job. I guess I'll have to be in pony form in this town, though, huh?"

"No kidding, just make sure to have a cutie mark this time," Spike said while pointing to his flank.

"Sounds good. Let's make camp."

---

Twilight stood rooted to the spot. She didn't want to move, she didn't want to face the horrible reality of what she had just done. She was trembling slightly, chest heaving, recovering from the heavy fatigue of the massive spell that she had just unleashed on the unsuspecting tree. Wood debris littered the clearing that was once clean and open. Slowly, one of the ponies in hiding made her way over to Twilight.

Fluttershy placed a comforting hoof on Twilight's shoulder. Twilight flinched at first, but didn't shake the hoof off. Instinctively, Fluttershy grabbed Twilight and hugged her, trying to whisper soothing words in to her ear.

"I-I'm s-s-orry..." Twilight managed to say.

Her friends slowly walked up and surrounded her, pulling her into a hug.

"We'll find them, Twi. We know you're stressed. But we need to keep a level head, ya know?" Applejack paused and look at the destroyed remains of the massive tree, cleared her throat and continued. "You feelin' better?"

"Actually, yeah, I really am!" Twilight sprang back and cracked a smile, but then turned her attention back to the tree.

"Oops." Then she did something unexpected: she started laughing. Her friends looked at each other, unsure what this meant. Pinkie Pie was the first to join in, and pretty soon all six were laughing, melting away some of the stress. Finally, after a few moments, they calmed down and Twilight spoke up.

"I'm sorry girls, I know I have been acting stressed-"

"You can say that again!" Rainbow Dash said, earning her a sharp nudge to the chest from Applejack.

"Yeah, so, for that, I'm sorry, I can't really apologize to a tree, but if I could, I would. Let's just all get some sleep, okay?"

They all somberly nodded and gathered up their sleeping bags. As they were laying them out, Fluttershy sidled up to Twilight. "Are you sure you're okay, Twi?" she whispered, taking care that nopony else could hear..

"To be honest, no. But I think it's safe to say that I won't lose it like that again. I'm just so worried about him."

"I'm worried about Shyfrost, too; but if he can survive his whole life in the Everfree Forest, then he can survive a trip like this, don't you think?"

"You're right. Let's just get some sleep."

For a while no one said anything, unwilling to break the silence while they all tried to rest. Applejack finally spoke up, willing to speak her mind in hopes of breaking the tension.

"Twi?"

"Hmm?"

“Just so ya know, you're banned from th' farm during Applebuck season this year. No offense.”

Author's Note:

Seriously, best editor ever.

I was waiting to submit this for an art piece but I think I want this out now, art will come later.

Comments

[Tatsurou]

Very amusing and fun. So now we have three groups heading out for the dragon migration, and the only one with a chance of catching the baby dragons are the fillies. Hoo boy, that's going to be complicated if they do, especially since Spike and the others don't know those three are after them.

[Joy Stick]

Oh, this will not end well.

[Xaldon Ajide]

aww applejack no need to keep twi from your precious appletrees. I'm sure she won't destroy them impunitively for somepony's foolish actions.

[The Ohvist]

Considering a name like Stratosburg, one can only assume that Mirror would be necessary for them to reach it... Assuming that anyone reading this comment here paid some attention in science class.

[VBA]

3497102
Stratosphere?
Good to know i did