01 - An Introduction, of shorts

01 - An Introduction, of shorts

Scheduling Conflicts

It was raining outside, she reflected, again. Rainbow Dash had thoughtfully provided her the weather schedule two full weeks in advance so she could plan her latest experiment so as not to disrupt anyone in town, and in turn have good conditions for her observation. She had checked again only two days ago... or at least she thought she had checked two days ago, glancing over at a list floating in a magenta glow a few hooves away, she confirmed she had... and yet here it was, most definitely, once more RAINING on her requested and thrice confirmed WARM SUNNY DAY. To say that the lavender alicorn was upset could be likened to saying Pinkie Pie was occasionally energetic.

So, when there was the soft clicking of claws on the steps to the library basement, it was a somewhat agitated Twilight Sparkle who responded to Spike as he cleared the last few steps and walked over toting a set of saddlebags and an umbrella.

"So," he began, "it's....um.... still raining outside Twilight. Didn't you say it was supposed to be sunny?" He set the saddle bags down and began loading them up almost on reflex.

"And warm," the alicorn muttered under her breath. Taking a moment to adjust her mental checklist, she plastered a smile on her face as she addressed her number one assistant, "Right! Ok, so, we'll need coats, an umbrella, some waterproof ink, extra notebooks, a hygrometer, a polarized filter for the camera, and two large rubies."

Spike, having anticipated the change of plans, held up each of the items in turn until he came to the end. Blinking quickly before glancing into the saddle bags again just to check if a pair of rubies had somehow manifested without his noticing, he looked back up at Twilight only to see her smirking with a real smile finally on her face. "What?" he managed, trying to wrap his head around the subtle but significant change.

"Well, since you planned ahead so well that I didn't even have to tell you how important this experiment was, I was going to drop you off at Rarity's with a snack for lunch so you wouldn't have to get cold," Twilight put on a concerned frown for a moment, trying desperately to keep from laughing at the young dragon's excited reaction, "buuuuuuut if you really wanted to go out in the ra-"

Twilight was cut off mid sentence by the excited waving of the little dragon's arms as he quickly tried to keep her from thinking up any reason not to let him stay at Rarity's. "No, no. That's ok Twilight! I'll, uh, just go grab those gems and be right back!" Twilight couldn't help but smile as she watched him dart up the stairs, deftly avoiding the tangled cables and assorted piles of books that her basement/lab tended to become while she worked.

Taking a moment to make last minute calculations and adjustments to her checklist to account for rain, she trotted over to a nearby alcove and pulled out a camera and tripod that she had been using to document the strange patch of field west of Fluttershy's cottage that the butter colored pegasus had mentioned offhoofedly a few weeks back.

Thinking back on it, there was really no better way to describe the patch of tall, dark green, grass other than strange. Despite the long autumn nights with progressively colder and colder temperatures, the patch of field had refused to lighten, dry, or even appear to start the period of rest that plants normally endured through winter. Indeed, once winter had set in, Twilight was simply beside herself as she had hovered unsteadily over the patch of deep green, vibrantly living grasses clearly visible in a hole nearly shoulder deep in a snow bank. While Twilight had gaped, Fluttershy had quietly told her that the patch was something she had found when she first moved to Ponyville many years before and, while strange, didn't seem to be unusual in any other way. Fluttershy had even mentioned that she sometimes brought out little dishes of fruit or nuts for the wildlife when the winter storms were particularly fierce because the patch of field seemed to repel snow, leading to no fewer than three resident families of mice.

Twilight had been, and still was, beyond confused. Clearly there was magic at work, but she could find no evidence of any enchantment. She had drifted around the area, after shaking herself out of her shock induced paralysis, for nearly an hour searching for a hidden unicorn or perhaps some other creature from the Everfree. Having found none, she had carefully marked its location and dutifully come back to study the patch over the last few weeks as the season continued on.

It was only now, just after Winter Wrap Up, that she would be able to examine the surrounding area to see what could be causing such an unusual effect that may have been previously hidden by the thick blanket of snow. A task that would become monumentally more difficult with the icy, unscheduled, and wholly unappreciated rain that was currently falling outside.

Rainbow Dash's Morning

Rainbow Dash was beside herself. Not only had she spent the ENTIRE day yesterday clearing clouds and making sure there was juuuuuuuust enough sun to melt the snow and ice at the right speed, not only had she had to work with a fill-in crew from Baltimare since almost half of her normal crew was out with the feather flu, not only had she missed breakfast to keep a stray cloud bank from surging past Cloudy Nights, but she had missed her nap...and she was not happy about it.

It had all started with that little breeze that sent a tingle across her wings earlier that morning. Nothing too out of the ordinary for Ponyville's fastest and most awesome flier, but it had been enough to make her want to peek outside to see what was up - after all, she had promised Twilight that the day would be sunny and warm and she didn't want to disappoint. So, shrugging off the blanket and yawning momentarily, she had stepped past her kitchen and instead walked right over to her front window to see what was going on.

It had only taken her a second to notice the huge gray wall of cloud pressing in on Ponyville with a desperate, lone, pegasus flitting two and fro trying to stop it. Admittedly, he was doing a pretty good job, strafing back and forth whipping off kicks and snaps, knocking tufts of cloud back a good ways before trying to intercept other intruding clumps from catching him off guard. Diving and weaving, even going so far as to snag a thermal to try and redirect a portion of the bank in an effort to stall for time. She hated to admit it, but he was actually pulling off some pretty clever little tricks to keep that massive wall from simply washing over Ponyville.

For a moment, she simply stared, watching as the pegasus pulled off a mid-air fishtail so quickly she lost track of him, before she realized why he was working so feverishly to stall the cloud bank: Twilight had requested a sunny day.

Princess Twilight Sparkle had requested, in whatever-plicate that meant "a lot", a sunny day weeks ago.

"Oh hayseed," she hissed as she glanced woefully back toward her bed before darting out the window to help the surprisingly attracti....er... agile pegasus who had been filling in for Thunderlane.

An Interrupted Picnic

"...when de Baron come a knockin' you open da doar, 'cuz de Baron don't knock second times, E jus pull ya tru de floor..." a scratchy voice with a thick accent droned bassily from under a very large, battered, rubber umbrella some four paces from the grapefruit colored unicorn who sat juuuuust out of the shadow of the protective sheet with a bored look of worn humor on his face.

He was soaked - absolutely, dunked in a tank and hosed down, soaked. His red and yellow mane hung limply in bedraggled wedges down his neck and face while his tangled mass of a tail lay almost an inch deep in the churning muck of mud and downpour. He looked wistfully at the picnic blanket set with an assortment of snacks and two pitchers of drinks that was still pristinely dry just inches from his hooves, once more impressed with the zebra's talent for somehow keeping everything dry under his umbrella.

"E break yo bones, E spill yo blood, E pull you tru de cracks, Un when he done -"

"You know, that's pretty grim right, Mojo?" the unicorn interrupted his zebra friend who was reciting from under the umbrella.

"You know it true..." the scratchy voice replied from where the basket rested, the shadow from the umbrella making it a bit hard to actually spot the black and gray striped zebra currently pouring himself a drink with a mischievous grin and half closed eyes. "...E trow you in a sack."

"Seriously, where do you get this stuff? I mean, that's got to be one of the ... " the unicorn frowned and looked skyward for just a moment before sighing and muttering softly, "here we go again" as his constantly glowing horn suddenly arced blue-white lances, contrasting with the normal ruby/lilac glow.

With an almighty crack the world went white. Rain vaporized, the shrieking hiss of steam lost in the ear shattering boom while the zebra, lifting a bone white cup, could be seen as nothing more than a stark silhouette against the furious white background, apparently toasting the unicorn as he was struck by lightning.

After a few seconds the zebra stood, tipping back his cup and swallowing the whole of its contents in one go. Dropping it, he took a few light steps forwards, hooves making a dry rustle against the smoldering fabric of the picnic blanket before he knelt down with a grin. Tilting his head, he pulled the second pitcher over and placed a second, empty, glass before it. He mused quietly to himself, marveling at the still resounding echos of the thunder bouncing first from the Everfree and then, a moment later, back from Ponyville as he waited.

A soft groan and the weak shifting of the unicorn before him sent the zebra back into verse, while he poured the stallion a drink. "Dat sack he trow into da grave, un when you wake agin, de darkness n de coffin, dey'll be yo lonely fren."

The unicorn responded with a weak glare, as he struggled to sit back up, managing after only a few false starts. "Your timing was a bit off there Mojo," he said reaching for the proffered cup and gingerly sipping while the ground around him continued to hiss softly in the rain.

"Ey! Not my fa'lt dat yu not plan yo hoodoo ta be timely. One deez days, you goan geddit rii, un I'm goan be split time perfect." the zebra said with a wide smile and no attempt at rhyming even being imagined. " B'sides, you take too long geddinup, I start ta worry I be needin' to take numbers for de box if you dongeddup."

The unicorn smiled weakly, "I'm not dead yet you nut, but that one hit harder than usual.... I still can't see right." He gestured with a hoof in the general direction of the zebra, "Everything's black and white...well, except you.... you're just gray on black" he chuckled softly at the amused look on the zebra's face.

"Ah see you be dun bettralready. Come in an hava seat now dat de fire be past." The zebra gestured towards the still smoking blanket as he turned to flip his black silk top hat on from where it had been resting next to the umbrella pole. He smiled back over his shoulder with a slight flourish, before snapping his face toward Ponyville with a scowl. "On secun taught, I think it time for me to go, princess Sparkle comes you know."

The unicorn nodded wordlessly. Even after all these years, he still couldn't understand why his zebra friend didn't like the princesses. After having asked numerous times, all met with uncustomary silence from the normally jovial, if grim, zebra, he had just come to accept that if a princess was near, the zebra wouldn't be. He was likewise, unsuprised that when he looked up from his cup both his friend and the large rubber umbrella were gone. He shook his head slowly, trying to get the ringing in his ears to stop and the color to come back to his vision while he mused upon the skill to seemingly vanish that some zebra seemed to possess.

The Edge of the Neverfree

From the shadows of a large elm at the edge of the Everfree forest, DeBaron (Mojo to his few friends), watched as Storm Dancer slowly stood up from the ruined picnic.

He hadn't wanted to leave like that, it wasn't flashy or showy, or even clever... in short, it was a cheap parlor trick that he felt a little dirty for even knowing, let alone using, but it was necessary. The moment he had seen her winging her way towards them, he had needed to get out of view before she recognized him. Well, he mused, not necessarily her specifically. Twilight Sparkle was new to the whole 'Princess of Equestria' alicorn .... thing.... and he didn't know her limits or talents personally. What he did know was that in the short time since she had shown up in Ponyville, there had been more monster attacks, natural disasters, invasions, infestations, and general chaos than in the last two decades combined.

There was also a rather blatant attack by an elder god....spirit....being that put just about everything he knew of magic to shame in an instant.

And she and her friends had utterly conquered them all, often within minutes of their arrival. Admittedly, it took them a few hours to disable Discord... but Discord was the aforementioned elder god, spirit, being... so that couldn't really be counted against their effectiveness. And to make things even more confusing, they somehow even convinced Discord to play nice-ish in the end.

That being said, he didn't want to chance what would happen if he were to get into a confrontation with her royal highness. He knew Celestia and Luna would likely as not have no ill will towards him (indeed, they might even be interested in speaking with him), but he knew he didn't have anything to say that they would want to hear. Besides, walking up to an immortal ponysonification of the sun and moon, guiding figures of the land for time immemorial, possessing power to level mountains, boil oceans, and stop the very motion of the heavens....and telling them he didn't like their work probably wouldn't go over very well. And if they found out what his talents were, he was fairly certain there would be some very VERY uncomfortable questions asked.

Twilight Sparkle was a wild card though, one which he was not willing to gamble with until he'd seen how she played her cards a bit more. Sure, he knew she was studious (something he deeply admired), brilliant, kind, caring, and the element of magic (whatever that meant since the Elements themselves had been returned), but he also knew she was a bit fanatical, predisposed to hysteria, prone to jumping to conclusions, and capable of more different types of magic than most schools of magic could boast of their faculty...combined. He had seen her teleport, use mind control, bring objects to life, transform living creatures, and even copy the magics of the other pony races. In fact, about the only thing he hadn't seen her capable of mimicking in full were the magics of his own people, the zebra, and he had heard rumors that she had tried with some small success.

All this gave him a strange mix of curiosity and trepidation. On one hoof, she could be a wonderful ally and friend, as she had to Zecora and countless others. On the other hoof, she could be even more unstable and prone to hostility than even Celestia and Luna combined, and with her friends' tendencies, well, there was really no way to control the situation if things were to get out of hoof. So, that left hiding and watching - which, at the moment, meant losing his lunch and time to chat with his unicorn friend. A sad thing that; the unicorn did make a passable soup and a berry pie that his own mother still might crawl out of the grave to discover the recipe for.

That was another thing, his friend really was an odd unicorn. He could swear that the unicorn was constantly working on some massive spell, but nothing ever came of it. For as long as he had known the stallion, his horn had been alight with a never ending glow of spell casting. Sure, he levitated objects and occasionally lit his horn brightly in dark places, but for the life of him Mojo couldn't tell exactly what he was doing. He could feel the magic twisting around the unicorn, a veritable torrent of thaumaturgic force, but despite years of observation, the stallion never seemed to have any explanation other than "I got struck by lightning when I was younger and it hasn't stopped glowing since."

Oddly, even with the amount of twisting the unicorn's magic was constantly going through, there never really seemed to be much magic that was actually used for anything. When he had posed that question to the unicorn, he had been met with only a blank look and a shrug.

That was one of the reasons the two had gotten along so well and been friends for so long. Neither one seemed terribly worried about the others activities. Mojo could sense the unicorn's magic and could tell when a surge was about to occur (giving Mojo time to find cover or at least prepare) and Storm Dancer simply didn't seem concerned with Mojo's own, peculiar, brand of zebra magic. It was a friendship based on curiosity and neutral understanding, trust, and aid. Mojo had helped to make the unicorn's life a little easier and the unicorn had offered up companionship where others had fled or turned openly hostile.

It was one of the reasons that Mojo was still there waiting in the shadows at the edge of the Everfree, despite the rapidly approaching princess Sparkle: he was worried about his friend who was still recovering from his most recent lightning strike.

Induce Positive Leader

After the initial rough start, Twilight Sparkle had found one of the many thermals that seemed to litter the skies around Ponyville and rode it to a comfortable altitude. It wasn't that she was unskilled at flying (as she had been repeatedly assured by practically every pegasus who saw her unique skills), but rather the abject terror of falling to a painful and messy end that tended to come with living the vast majority of her life as a unicorn preventing her from relaxing enough to smooth things out. There was simply something in her that practically screamed terrifying doom whenever she first took to the air without something solid under her hooves. Thankfully, between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, Twilight had built enough confidence to try flying high enough to glide and learn how things felt without the immediate punishment of gravity for any slight error. Indeed, between her two friends (and the careful ministrations of a remarkably well timed use of an enormous banana cream pie come crash pit), Twilight had developed enough skill to fly in what approached a casual skill level. She had no allusions to winning any races or competitions now or anywhere in the near future, but she at least felt sure enough to use her wings to avoid things like crowded streets or to cross bridge-less chasms.

And, to be perfectly honest, she did understand why Dash loved flying so much... if at just a bit more of a relaxed pace. There were just so many things that couldn't be seen the same way from the ground. The layout of Ponyville made more sense, resembling the numerous maps that were scattered about for visitors, and the placement of certain businesses in relation to their suppliers made much more sense to her now that she could spot the shortcuts that walking along at ground level made difficult. She could gaze out over the rooftops and see the fields and surrounding land so much easier and to such a great distance that she felt somehow....smaller... when she landed and her perception shrank back to a vastly closer horizon. She had spent her first day truly flying to do little more than work on hovering over Ponyville, simply so she could absorb everything with the cataloging eye of a scholar turned librarian.

So it would have come as no surprise that, high above Ponyville, Equestria's youngest princess saw the strange black smudge out past the outskirts of the village under what appeared to be a particularly violent storm cell in what should have been her warm sunny day.

Crinkling her nose and squinting against the occasional flash of lightning, she angled herself just a bit from her planned course to get a closer look at the unexplained smudge. With a few quick adjustments, she slid off the thermal and started the somewhat less graceful task of flying, rather than gliding, through the rain towards her new mystery as houses and businesses slid past her far below.

As she flew, she idly considered how smart it really was to be flying in a storm as she currently was. True, between the winds, rain, and risk of lightning strikes, there didn't seem to be a particularly good reason to engage in her present choice of travel, but at the same time she knew that pegasus ponies flew in worse weather all the time. She knew from personal experience that pegasus ponies were somewhat numb to both the cold and the sapping effects of weather, something that had raised a few rather personal questions that she couldn't seem to find answers to in her multitudes of literature on the subject, but besides that as both a princess and one of the brightest magical minds of the current generation, she had cast a simple insulation spell before taking off. After all, better safe than sorry, and she simply couldn't fit a hospital trip in her list of things to do today.

So it was with a certain level of confidence that she winged her way towards the mysterious black thing under the storm. She guessed that at her current rate of speed, given wind resistance, allowing for variance in flight vs glide dynamics, and the estimated distance, that she had somewhere around two minutes of travel before she could physically inspect the thing up close.

Taking a deep breath, she settled into a rhythm while she once more went over her mental checklist. She had just considered moving "thank Rarity for watching Spike" up on her list (offsetting "discover method of determining nutritional value of gems") when a massive bolt of blue-white lightning seemed to snake out of the cloud bank and plunge into the black spot with a cacophonous blast so loud that she nearly struck the rooftops before regaining control. Eyes wide and list forgotten, Twilight hovered for just a moment before casting a series of spells over the immediate area to dampen the building electrical charge. Ponyville was not known for its lightning rods after all, it had a dedicated weather team to contend with storms and a decent number of unicorns to respond to more mundane damage, which left the vast majority of structures as likely targets for a rogue bolt. After a moments further consideration, she reinforced her own protective spell before redoubling her efforts to find out what could attract such a blast. Whatever it was, she didn't want it anywhere near Ponyville.

Odd field forgotten, Twilight glanced back up to re-orient herself before staring, mouth agape, at the smudge-less field under a storm cell. Her mind cycling through hypothesis after unlikely hypothesis until she simply shook her head and resumed flying. It would be more prudent to find out for sure than to endlessly debate the possible causes while those self-same causes could very well be planning a repeat performance.

Whisking past the last few streets of Ponyville proper, Twilight pumped her wings to fight the growing winds just as she caught a faint glint of multicolored light streaming from the north. Glancing quickly just to be sure, she smiled and waved to a determined looking Rainbow Dash just as she streaked past, causing her own flight to wobble dangerously from the sudden turbulence. Twilight frowned as she considered what might be so important that Dash would completely ignore her - that particular list was a rather short one given her friend's interests. Twilight knew it couldn't be the Wonderbolts, they were currently off performing in Los Pegasus, and it certainly wasn't a Daring Do signing, she would have known about that months in advance, which left "apocalyptic danger", "monster from the Everfree", "Lightning Dust just hurt somepony", "Gilda's back and still being uncool", "Trixie", or "I missed my nap and didn't see you."

Of the six, Twilight really hoped it was that Rainbow was just tired... there really wasn't any room in her schedule for saving Equestria again today.

So deep in her mental gymnastics was Twilight that she nearly overshot her target, only narrowly missing colliding with somepony because she was shocked out of her focus by the surprise of what felt like her coat and mane suddenly deciding to crawl off her skin. Eyes snapping open, she desperately tried to slow down, adjust her course, teleport, yell out a warning, and yelp in surprise all at once, the result being a strangled bark and a tumble through the air before the botched teleportation deposited her unceremoniously, at high speed, upon a sopping wet blanket covered in various snacks.

The impact and subsequent tumble tugged the picnic blanket hard enough that the stunned unicorn completely lost his footing, falling plot first into a rather large mud puddle while the young alicorn dug a noticeable trench with what could only, tactfully, be called her face.

Not How One Imagines a Princess

The speed at which Storm Dancer found his rear striking the ground was startling. He had just managed to stand up again after Mojo's hasty disappearance when the world suddenly seemed to lurch under him and introduce his already aching anatomy to the equivalent of a drive by clotheslining. Where before he had been shaky and sore, he now felt the jarring throb of the sudden impact lancing down his legs and up his back. He was quite sure that if he didn't already have a migraine, he would have just acquired one.

Grunting with the effort, he started the process of once more rising to his hooves. This was turning out to be a slightly more unpleasant day than normal, after all, he normally would be able to say he had a chance to eat lunch before being blindsided by debris or crippled by the witty repartee of Equestria's electrically changed weather systems. That being said, he instinctively dropped back to his knees, muffling a yelp of pain, when he saw the upside down form of the source of his stumble.

Not ten paces away, tangled up in what had previously been his picnic blanket, was Princess Twilight Sparkle herself.

Head bowed, he waited patiently to be given permission to rise. After the first few seconds, the shock bled way to concern, and then worry. Not only had he not been acknowledged, but he didn't hear anything over the soft hiss from the ground and the storm above. Tentatively, he opened one, and then both eyes as he looked up from his bow. She was still there, upside down, tail in the air, tangled in his blanket and getting more and more soaked by the moment. What she wasn't, he suddenly realized, was conscious.

Glancing around quickly to make sure there wasn't a troop of royal guards waiting to pounce him, he slowly stood back up and approached her carefully. "Um, P-princess? Princess Sparkle? Are you alright?" He waited with growing concern. From everything he'd heard, alicorns were incredibly tough immortal beings on the level of gods and goddesses. He had seen some of what she had personally had to deal with, the most obvious cases being Discord and the Changeling invasion, and knew she wasn't a pushover. He also knew that, for whatever reason, she had seen it necessary to knock him down and attack his picnic lunch. Thankfully, she had also apparently seen fit to let her tail drop as it became wet. It was simply indecent to see a pony like that, let alone a princess.

Still wary of the upside down princess, he shook out his mane and took a moment to find his cup which had been flung some distance in her unexpected arrival. Floating it back over, he rinsed it out with the water that remained in one of the pitchers laying on its side, thankful that it had enough of a curve to save some of the drink from spilling after rolling away. A few more moments of concentration and he had found the bottle of raspberry juice he had planned to share with Mojo. Floating them both over towards the princess, he carefully sat down to wait until she woke up.

Looking out over the field, he sighed softly. It really was a nice little storm that had rolled in from the Everfree all things considered. The rain wasn't too cold this time of year and the snow had all been cleared up yesterday, much to his delight. For the first time in weeks he had been able to find a spot to lay down that wasn't frozen over with ice or snow, and he had taken an inordinate amount of pleasure in simply stretching out on the relatively warm grass. It had still been cold, but that was nothing new for him. He had even managed to get a few hours of sleep before waking up in a fog bank and stumbling around until he got his bearings. It had been around that time that he'd run into Mojo gathering his herbs and... other things... for whatever it was he used them for. They'd chatted for a while before he'd asked if the zebra would like to join him for lunch. the two had parted shortly thereafter, Mojo complaining that he had to keep moving until the sun came up due to the cold.

A sudden thought popped into the unicorn's head as he recalled Mojo's words. Turning slowly, he approached the princess again and started to carefully levitate both her and the tangled mess of his picnic blanket before turning her upright and trying desperately to untangle her unconscious form from the now soaking, and most likely frigid, blanket. Setting her down gently, he was gingerly making little tugs on his blanket when a hard thump behind him and the sound of rapid hooves approaching gave him only a moments notice before being tackled.

"WHAT THE HAY DID YOU DO TO TWILIGHT?!?" screamed the pegasus on his back.

"mrphlr mmmm pbr pmrblr" was the inspired response, unfortunately lost to the world due to the proximity of his muzzle being buried an inch deep in muck. Thankfully, at about that moment, he felt the pressure on his face decrease as the pegasus unexpectedly hopped off his back. Pushing himself up for what felt like the hundredth time that morning, he coughed out a breath and turned to face what was undoubtedly a very angry royal guard.

When he saw a blue coated rainbow maned pegasus stumbling unsteadily before dropping face first onto the ground, he was both shocked and confused. He recognized her as Rainbow Dash ... who wouldn't, but then why was she here, let alone apparently in the act of passing out after having plowed him into the ground? Sitting up and glancing around again, he carefully floated the pegasus out of the puddle she was attempting to breathe and placed her over near the princess, careful not to let her touch the royalty. He knew they were friends but without having really known the princess personally, he didn't want to offend either of them. Rainbow Dash however, that was a mare he knew. He knew she really didn't like him, and he couldn't really blame her for it either.

After all, she was on the weather team and he.... well he kind of played, as a draft pick, for the Everfree.

Finally free to think for a few moments, he rolled his neck out and popped a crick in his back before looking over towards the tree line and calling out, "Hey, Mojo, she's ok. It's just Rainbow Dash... she's always like that with me. And...the Princess is knocked out so you can come out now."

It was a tense few moments before the bassy voice echoed out from wherever it was the zebra was hiding in the tree line. It was an eerie thing that he still hadn't managed to discover how the zebra did, but it was thankfully a pretty clear sign that it was Mojo and not some unexpected attack on the princess. " 'S nawt hoppnin mon, despite de day, she 'n I don't see de same way. If you be good, I be taken my leave, her seein' me here...'s'no good I believe."

He sighed again, knowing that if Mojo didn't want to be found, he wasn't likely to be found. So, with another bit of concentration, he set about fetching a few branches from the tree line and planting them in the ground, using the picnic blanket to act as a tent top over the two unconscious ponies. The one pony and a princess, he amended to himself. It wouldn't be a good idea to get comfortable thinking of her as just another pony, the last thing he would need would be to slip up and say the wrong thing if she awoke.

Glancing around at the feeble remains of his picnic, he floated a few small wrapped snacks over, under the shelter, before floating a markedly taller branch from the tree line. With a grunt of effort, he planted it firmly in the ground about 20 paces away, checking to make sure it was still considerably taller than the shelter, before turning to go. It wouldn't be a good idea for him to remain close by, especially if they were unconscious. They would be safe enough. Not even the creatures from the Everfree would be out in a storm this unpleasant.... only weather pegasi, princesses on their royal whatever-they-felt-likes, and misfits like himself and Mojo. Besides, he knew of just the place to stretch out and relax in a storm like this.

As he turned to leave, he noticed a familiar dark brown box a few paces away and popped the top off to reveal the pie he had brought for desert. It probably wouldn't compare to whatever the royal chefs were likely gracing the princess' table with, but it might be a decent apology to Rainbow Dash at least. With a nod, he re-covered the pie and floated it over to the makeshift shelter as he turned to leave, the rain letting up slightly. "Wonderful" he thought, "just in time for me not to be able to get away unnoticed." He shook his mane out again, trotting across the field as the clouds overhead began to finally lighten. A few moments later, the storm cloud that had been sitting at the edge of the Everfree started to drift along behind him like a particularly large, and noisy, puppy.

Reparations and Requisitions

Twilight awoke to two very disturbing sensations. The first was an almost overwhelming cold that seemed to have sunk into every muscle and bone in her body. The second was a sound somewhat reminiscent of a pony stuffing her face and making a horrible mess in an attempt to disgust her friends so she could get back to reading Daring Do without anypony knowing it. Both sensations were things Twilight Sparkle was familiar with. With a shiver and a sniffle, she opened her eyes and tried to make sense of the scene before her.

The first thing she noticed was that it was indeed Rainbow Dash stuffing her face with ... something. There was a collection of brown paper wrappers crumpled up and scattered around the area, some smeared with dark colored goo, others with what appeared to be crumbs or grains of some sort. The pegasus was busily rooting through what looked like the remains of a picnic basket, though why she would have brought a picnic basket out on a cold and rainy day Twilight couldn't figure out. Especially since it was supposed to be warm and sunny.

The second thing she was able to put together was that she was still outside, albeit in some kind of primitive shelter. It wasn't quite a lean-to and it certainly didn't qualify as a tent, lacking walls as it did, but it did have vertical tresses and a canopy roof. Perhaps a ramshackle gazebo was the best way to technically classify it, though at the moment she was more likely to consider it woefully inadequate against the elements.

Third, she realized that she was sitting upright in front of a sealed wooden box of some sort, with a simple, though well crafted, cup and what looked like a wine bottle of dark red liquid. Reaching out a hoof, she tentatively tapped the bottle and was rewarded with a quiet 'tink' which drew Rainbow Dash's attention instantly.

The blue pegasus's head snapped up as soon as she noticed the sound and gave a nervous laugh before trying to play it down with a quick shake of her head to toss the crumbs off. Without a moment's hesitation she trotted over and gave Twilight her best "I'm innocent" grin which did little more than highlight the obvious. "Hiya Twilight! Glad to see you finally woke up." She glanced swiftly to the side before coughing softly and turning back with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. "Um. I met your coltfriend while you were out...and I think I might have scared him off" she said sheepishly.

For a very brief moment, Twilight Sparkle's world froze. To the outside world, it would have looked like her eyes became tiny little pinpricks and her face locked in a rictus of confused terror, but thankfully the outside world only consisted of a rather apologetic and clueless Rainbow Dash who seemed oblivious to the whole thing. Blundering on, Rainbow scratched behind her head with a hoof, looking everywhere but at Twilight as she continued."So, yheah....sorry about that. I was just flying by and saw the two of you all tangled up in that blanket, and the next thing I know, I see him floating you up and I thought he was trying to kidnap you or something so I pounded into him." She chuckled ruefully for a moment, "Gotta admit though, I should have known you'd go for a guy that could knock me out while I was on top of him.... I didn't even see him cast the spell."

Through it all, Twilight's mind was racing through possibilities and scenarios which would lead to herself losing time, having Rainbow Dash think she needed to be rescued, Rainbow herself being knocked out, and then the both of them waking up in a field, under a shelter, with what looked to be gifts from their assailant. None of them seemed to be very good.

"Didn't think you had it in you girl... but hey, I can respect that. I mean, it's not everyday a princess gets to have so much fun she passes out I suppos....er.... Twilight? You ok?"

Instead of an answer, Twilight's horn lit up as everything in the immediate area became enveloped in a magenta glow. Rainbow's eyes tracked Twilight as she got the her hooves, seemed to check herself over and start looking around with very little expression on her face.

"Um... Twilight, look, I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to mess up your date with your coltfri-" Rainbow Dash's sentence was cut off as Twilight glanced her way and simply stated "Don't know him. Not my coltfriend."

Rainbow's eyes snapped wide open as the possibilities slammed into her like a botched buccaneer blitz. First the surprise, then the concern, and then the anger. "Oh Heck no. I know that bastard alright, and I'm gonna go buck his bastard head in!" she shouted, though it was a bit difficult to seem as intimidating as she was trying to, seeing as she was still stuck frozen in Twilight's magic, not even quite looking at her friend.

Twilight seemed to snap out of her focus at the shout and looked over at Rainbow with a mix of confusion and concern on her face. "Um, Rainbow? Why are you going to go maul whoever it was?"

"Why? WHY? Because that bastard raped you! I'm going to beat him until he bleeds happy thoughts... which won't happen because I'll be beating his face in so he can't HAVE happy thoughts!" she snarled.

Twilight flinched before clearing her throat. "Uh, how about we don't plan on mauling somepony who I nearly killed because I wasn't watching where I was going...who DID NOT rape me?" Twilight said with just a slight hint of uncertainty. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I'd know and I don't think anypony would be foolish enough to try something like that to anyone in Ponyville, let alone...well...me."

It took a few seconds before Rainbow could quite unravel the thoughts that were flying, rapid fire, through her head about how she was going to end that backstabbing unicorn, but when she finally did manage Twilight could swear she felt the gears in Rainbow's head grinding to a halt. She waited a few extra seconds to be certain before letting the spell fade, letting everything fall back to the ground.

Rainbow looked around before blushing furiously. "Um.... sorry about that. I just kinda thought..."

"No."

"Well, it looked like you two had been going at ..."

"No."

"But, the picnic! And...and the trough!"

"No."

"And you were all bundled up in that blanket and he was..."

"No Rainbow Dash. Just... No. No no no no no no no and no."

"So.... you crashed... again."

Twilight's ears swivelled backwards sheepishly as she nodded. Rainbow, to her credit, simply rolled her eyes and smiled at her friend. "Hey, it takes pegasi months to get it right... you've had....what, a few weeks? At least you're ok. Right?"

Twilight looked up but sighed as she put a hoof to her forehead and turned around to start cleaning up the remains of the stallion's picnic. She should get the blanket repaired and cleaned and the basket and foods replaced at the very least. She really should thank him as well for his help, even if he did leave her out in the weather without taking her back to Ponyville. She paused to think for a moment on that. Why would a pony stop to help someone, provide them with food and shelter, but then leave when help was quite literally in sight? Especially a princess? It didn't make sense.

"Um, Rainbow.... you said you knew the guy?"

There was a brief pause while Rainbow's eyes flicked briefly to frustration before she nodded. "Yheah, I know him. Why? Did you figure out he did something after all, 'cuz I'll still jump right up there an give him a -"

"No Rainbow Dash. I need to get these back to him." She gestured at the blanket/canopy, the basket and the remains of what looked to have been a private lunch for two, though she couldn't recall seeing anypony else. Oh No, she thought, I interrupted his picnic with his marefriend! The Princess is going to be so upset wit.... no....no. I can fix this, it's just a matter of making things right and showing a heartfelt apology. There's nothing that an honest and heartfelt apology can't fix. That's what the magic of friendship is all about!

With a curt nod Twilight continued. "I nearly killed him, I'm sure he was injured, and if not, I need to at least apologize for ruining his picnic. Though I can't figure out why anypony would be out having a picnic on a day like this."

"Yheah, that's kind of his thing. Drives the whole team nuts."

Twilight looked up, confused. "What?"

"He's kind of a weather nut.... likes to ignore the weather schedule and all that."

"Oh Rainbow, lots of ponies like the rain. That's no reason to -"

"No. He doesn't like the rain. Well, maybe he does. I don't know....but, what I meant was that he's a walking disaster! It drives the weather team nuts! Didn't you see his cutie mark?"

"Well, between the high speed, the teleport, and waking up after he left....No. Why?"

"It's a freaking storm-cloud with a tornado. He's a unicorn with a weather talent!"

Twilight's eyes lit up. "Seriously?!? That's amazing! I mean, weather spells aren't new or anything, but unicorns who can cast them are pretty rare. Why haven't I heard of him before?"

"Um, because he's bad luck? I mean, I just kind of assumed you knew. Everyone knows. Heck, I'm pretty sure the Everfree Forest knows he's bad luck."

"Rainbow, that's not very nice. And besides, I'm sure that he's a perfectly nice stallion. I mean, he didn't have to do anything after I nearly killed him, and if he was able to knock you out with a spell but left us both with food and shelter, I doubt that he's a bad pony."

It was Rainbow's turn to roll her eyes. "You don't get it Twilight, he's bad luck! He's a unicorn doing weather magic...but that's not even the weirdest part..." she paused for a moment, hopping into the air and hovering as she dropped her head and front legs to within inches of Twilight's face. "His weather stuff won't listen to other pegasi. He's a jinx!"

Twilight blinked at that. It was one thing to be able to use weather magic, but it was quite another to prevent a pegasi from influencing a cloud. That would be like if Applejack suddenly started casting spells and as a side effect, Rarity could no longer sew or Twilight herself suddenly couldn't pick the apples from Sweet Apple Acres. Things like that didn't happen.

Well, Discord happened, but there was simply no way that a pony could be wandering around preventing other ponies' own native magic and NOT cause an uproar.

After a moment's thought, she'd made up her mind. "Rainbow, who is he and where does he live."

The pegasus gaped for a second before hovering backwards and holding her own forehead with a hoof. "Seriously? Gah....fine. His name's Storm Dancer and he lives....um.... somewhere over there.....ish."

Twilight looked in the direction that Rainbow was gesturing towards." Over there.....ish?"

"Well, he doesn't really have a house or anything..."

"He's HOMELESS?!? In Ponyville?"

Rainbow scratched the back of her head before dropping down to the ground again. "Look Twi, he's bad news and no one wants him in the town. Besides, I don't think he even likes the town, he always got twitchy when he used to come to the market for stuff.... it's not like anyone's kicked him out or anything."

"I'm sure he'd be welcomed with open hearths and a smile wherever he went..." Twilight said with dry sarcasm.

"Look, it's not like that Twilight. It's just...." Rainbow Dash gave an exasperated sigh, "look, I'll fly around and see if I spot him alright?"

Twilight nodded with a slight smile. "Alright. I'll see about getting this all cleaned up and back to him then. Oh, and Rainbow..."

"mmm?"

"You still owe me that sunny day."

Raincheck

Though it had taken a few minutes longer than he would have liked, Storm Dancer finally made it over to his favorite spot in Ponyville. Just a bit outside of the village itself and a touch closer to the Everfree Forest than most ponies were comfortable getting, he settled down in a patch of overgrown grass. Even with the rain, at this exact spot, he always felt better, no matter what was going on around him. He smiled at the thought of just being able to lay back and watch the sky, content in his life, with just the gently swaying grasses and a warm wind causing the surrounding leaves to drift lazily across the heavens. It wouldn't matter if Discord himself were tap dancing on fireworks a few paces from his head, something about this spot was just so relaxing that he was simply positive that nothing bad could possibly happen.

He had just stretched out and closed his eyes, listening to the rain and thunder around him when he heard the faint sound of wing beats approaching. With a resigned sigh, he cracked one eye open, scanning what he could see of the sky for the owner of the wings while hoping it was just some bird lost in the storm. When, after a moment's searching, he saw the cyan pegasus who had just plowed into him not a half hour before, he covered his face with a hoof and cursed himself for tempting fate with thoughts like "nothing bad could possibly happen" just moments before.

Exhaling loudly, he levered himself up and prepared for another lecture about causing a disturbance, making a mess, being thoughtless, causing property damage, existing, eating pie, or whatever it was she was going to unload on him this time. Taking just a moment longer to gather himself, he finally looked upward, raised his hoof and brightened the glow on his horn to get her attention.

Rainbow Dash, apparently spotting him only a moment later, zipped down from the storm and was about to land when she flinched back out of reflex as a blue-white glow started to form on her wingtips. A moment later, a small discharge of electricity arced nearby, thankfully not catching her in the flash of lightning that pounded the ground only a few dozen yards away.

Gaping at the bolt, far more potent than the storms she was accustomed to dealing with, Rainbow bumped into the ground as she drifted downwards. He had seen that look too many times to find it funny anymore. It spoke of the pony wondering if he had somehow targeted them with some monstrous bolt of lightning in a show of force. It was a quiet reminder that, even if they knew better, most ponies really didn't instinctively trust him. It was a reminder that he didn't fit in with the rest of them... at least in their eyes. Unicorns were meant to cast spells, not play with the the sky - that was a pegasus' job.

Mojo didn't ever look at him that way. The zebra may occasionally chuckle nervously when the surges hit particularly strong or quickly, but he never looked at him with fear or apprehension. If anything, his friend would look at him with concern or even a bit of apology. So when Rainbow turned back to face him with a look of discomfort, rather than fear or accusation, he was completely unprepared.

He watched as she took a second to glance back at the sky before trotting over and gesturing back at the clouds. "This one of yours again?"

He raised an eyebrow before giving a tightlipped smile. "If you mean is this something I cooked up... then no. If you mean is that blob of lightning rich cloud following me again... then yes." He tried not to chuckle at the odd look that crossed her face, but gave her credit when she didn't launch into a tirade about how we was messing up her schedule or whatever.

"Look," she shook her head quickly and batted at the air with one hoof, "I wanted to say sorry for jumping on you before. I thought you were doing... something... that you weren't, to Twilight. I, uh, guess I should say 'thanks' too.... you know.... for the tent-thingy and stuff."

He guessed from the way she kept looking around that she was both unaccustomed to giving apologies and also that doing so now was somewhat against her will. None the less, he nodded slightly before asking "And?"

The pegasus' face went through a few expressions quickly before she paused long enough to glance at him again, apparently trying to decide if just getting it over with was the easiest way to go. "And," she said with only a small hint of annoyance, "she wanted me to find you so she could get you your stuff back."

He raised an eyebrow again. "Um, you're welcome, I guess. But why would she want to ..."

"Because she's an egghead. She's like, the biggest, most egg heady, egghead there is and she probably wants to stick you in a jar and figure out why your magic is weird and stuff, but she won't 'cuz she's Twilight so she probably wants to talk to you and learn magic ... stuff... and....." She gestured for a few moments before apparently deciding that her masterful use of language would clear things right up, "you know, diplomancy... to make things good since she's a princess."

He sat for a few moments before giving her a dry stare. "Diplomancy?"

She nodded. "Yheah.... I think she's trying to be diplomantic about the whole thing."

"As in, she's trying to be professional and officially make amends?"

"Yheah, I guess."

He couldn't help but break into a grin that quickly shifted into a chuckle.

For a moment, Rainbow Dash just stood there, confused before she finally barked, "What's so funny? This is serious! This is a PRINCESS we're talking about!"

He struggled to keep his tone even, despite still choking back a few laughs that tried desperately to escape him. "Then please, do tell her royal highness that I will subject myself to her diplomantic entreaties." He flared his front legs out in an exaggerated bow before raising his head like a dignitary, "Did she happen to mention where or when?"

Second Chances at Second First Impressions

It had taken a bit of work to adjust schedules, but Storm Dancer had finally agreed to a meeting with her. Oddly, he had elected to send a rather formal looking 'writ of acceptance and attendance' via insured mail from 'the sovereign district of Over-there-near-the-patch-of-dirt-at-the-edge-of-that-field-where-the-starlings-nest of our great and merciful Equestria' to which she had stared for perhaps entirely too long. She would never admit it to her friends, but she had actually gone to the town registry and discovered that a petition had been entered for such a location to be named only that afternoon and, by a loophole, had been made official. It seemed this Storm Dancer was now officially recognized as a dignitary of an absurdly small province of the 'empire, conquest, village under directorate per se, chancellor supreme: Her Royal Highness Princess (the 18th degree) Crepuscular Sparkle - Ponyville'. Besides the bizarre naming scheme of the mayoral declaration, she recognized its meaning: somehow, he had filed to have PONYVILLE annex its own field and declare him a dignitary by means of the 'use-fallow' law.

Perhaps even more bizarre was that Ponyville's laws actually provided for a legally binding naming scheme for ascendant princesses which, to her organizational horror, meant she would now have to relabel absolutely every official possession to include her honorific "the 18th degree, Crepuscular" wherever "Twilight" could be used. At least she found that he had used the appropriate degree for her status, she reflected... a 6th or 12th degree might have caused a political incident in Canterlot.

Suddenly finding herself playing host to who appeared to be a political mastermind (and very minor dignitary), Twilight was starting to panic. She was rushing around the library, a small cloud of books chasing her in a way that remarkably mirrored the flight patterns of the common fruit fly, not that it was her intention. Far from it, Twilight was currently trying to make her home presentable to someone whom she was deeply worried was on the verge on writing to the Princess in an official manner to demand her removal from office... or in this case: tree. A dust rag darted around, frantically swiping at shadows while Spike dutifully chased after it, trying to right books and pick up flower vases that were tipping in its wake.

"Twilight... it's ok! The Princess isn't going to kick you out and he's not going to care if 'Neighzine's Cornucopia of Unfathomables' is on an end table or the shelf. You're just getting worked up ag-" Spike had stopped abruptly when his friend, and only real family figure, had rounded on him with a panic stricken look on her face.

"You can't know that! He could be Furious! He could have already called the guard about my flying! I'll be sent back to pegasus school! Correction! I'll be sent TO pegasus school and then sent BACK to pegasus school again! Rainbow Dash is going to ignore me because I'll not be 'cool' enough to be near her! And Fluttershy... I just can't imagine what she'll do when she -" Twilight stammered as her eyes focused on her assistant lightly tapping the feather duster in his claws.

For a moment, she just stared at him, wondering what exactly he was thinking, before he suddenly turned and walked over to the podium that stood in the center of the room, sliding the green visor he occasionally used (when copying dictation) over his head. Wordlessly, he pulled a stool over, climbed up, leaned across the podium, took the feather quill from the ink well and began scribbling something down. Twilight watched as he held up the sheet of parchment, looked it over quickly and then rolled it up, sealing it with a small red ribbon he pulled from behind his back somewhere. At which point, Twilight's eyes nearly exploded as the little dragon looked her dead in the eyes before sending the scroll off in a tiny whiff of faintly glowing smoke.

"What did you JUST DO?!?!?" Twilight nearly screamed, a few strands of her mane springing up like broken guitar strings.

"Oh nothing. Just, you know, sent a letter." Spike replied with a weary tone.

Though he tried to look nonchalant about the whole thing, a bright magenta flash and the suddenly VERY close face of Twilight Sparkle knocked his visor off and made him nearly topple from his stool.

"What did you DO?" she poured, a mix of panic and confusion warring with betrayal and anger on her face.

"Um, I just sent a le-"

There was a soft knock at the door, to which both heads snapped. Twilight's features ended their battle, a truce ... no, an armistice, being hastily agreed upon as panic overpowered confusion, betrayal, and anger. Spike was infinitely grateful that he was the first to recover as he quickly darted down the stool and over towards the door.

With a well timed bow and grin, he pulled the door open and beckoned their guest in on reflex. However, after a moment, he blinked as he was met with an empty path and a decided absence of whomever had started knocking. More puzzling was the fact that the sunny day had been replaced with what looked like an eerily thick fog that cut visibility to about the mailbox.

A voice, only slightly strained with trying to sound normal, came from behind Spike as Twilight spurred herself to action. "Who is it Spike? Let's invite them in." She said in a polite manner, one Spike was certain she had been rehearsing all morning in her head.

"Noone's here Twilight" Spike replied, eying the strange conditions outside warily.

"Oh! It's wonderful to see you again No One, it's been so long!" Twilight repeated automatically, before stopping mid-stride to blink at the nonsensical comment. "Wait... no pony's at the door?"

Spike looked back at her over his shoulder, still holding the door open as the first tendrils of fog started to reach into the library. "Nope. Weird huh?"

Twilight closed her mouth and trotted over to Spike before leaning down to inspect the unusually thick and unseasonable fog. Blinking back confusion, she took a look out the empty door before casting a confused glance to the side window to confirm that the fog wasn't just some strange joke Rainbow Dash might be playing. After all, the pegasus wasn't exactly an angel, nor was she particularly well known for resisting the urge to prank her friends.

Despite her hopes, Twilight found that the window too showed only the thick white fog, meaning that it was unlikely to be a prank by Rainbow Dash. For all her cleverness, Rainbow tended to leave out important details in favor of doing things.

No, Twilight thought to herself, This isn't Rainbow Dash playing a prank. She'd never remember to cover the windows.

Twilight was in the middle of considering contacting the weather patrol when the temperature in the room suddenly began to drop. An odd moaning sound interspersed with muffled crackles, started to come from all around them as Spike yelped and dove behind Twilight, leaving a faint trail of breath to hang in the suddenly frigid air. Twilight frowned, setting her legs wide and preparing to intone a spell, intent on being prepared for anything as she noticed the windows starting to form lace-like frost.

"Whoever, or whatever, you are... Show yourself!" Twilight barked. For a moment, everything was still, the fog muffling sounds from outside while the low groaning sound seemed to ebb, then Twilight began to become aware of a strange feeling. She wasn't sure what it was exactly; it was almost like an itch in her teeth or the feeling that she had forgotten something important, disconcerting and alarming at the same time. It was slight at first, almost something that she'd dismissed, but within moments she started to feel the sensation becoming more and more evident.

She wondered if it was what Pinkie's Pinkie Sense felt like, though she quickly resolved never to ask. Trying to reconcile Pinkie was dangerous enough, but to think that Pinkie might be rubbing of on herself was a bit too much for Twilight to handle. Taking a moment to gather her wits, Twilight looked down at where Spike was hiding, peeking out from between her legs. Though she tended to forget it due to how much like her friends he normally acted, moments like these reminded her that Spike was only a baby dragon, a baby dragon that she was personally responsible for. One that looked to her for comfort and protection despite everything that she asked him to do.

Taking a calming breath to reign her emotions in, she whispered to Spike, "Spike, why don't you go make some tea for when our guest arrives hmmm?"

The sentence was immediately seen for what it was, a thinly veiled excuse for Spike to flee if things began to get out of hoof. Despite this, Spike only glanced at the door briefly before nodding and walking towards the kitchen with just a tiny bit more speed in his step than normal. Twilight nodded once the door to the kitchen had closed, thankful that whatever was outside was apparently in no hurry. She stood for a moment longer before the fog seemed to lurch violently as a rapid blast of arctic wind sent cords of opaque fog racing through the doorway, straight at Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Before she could do so much as utter a surprised yelp, a figure took shape and began to emerge from the fog. A dark silhouette striding purposefully through the doorway, wreathed in the unnatural fog, an unpleasant red halo lancing from it's head. A thunderous crash and blinding white light erupted at the same time making the figure seem to leap forward and blinding Twilight right as she fired off a spell to knock the frightful apparition out of the library.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there panting. Whatever it was that had tried to invade the library, she had hit it hard. The fog still clung to the floor and leaked in through the open doorway, but the eerie muffling of sound had departed, as had the fog from the windows even if the frost still clung to the panes. Though the doorway still showed little more than a white blur, Twilight was beginning to make out details as the fog thinned, apparently being pulled away by its master. Her mailbox was the first to become clear, followed shortly by the sign for the library itself. Finally the garden and road came into focus as a warm breeze seemed to dispel the arctic chill that had descended upon the library. Twilight waited, her horn glowing with the tension of holding a concussive spell just a thought from completion, as her breath began to change from the hurried clouds of frozen panic to the invisible puffs of a job well done.

The library groaned again and Twilight Sparkle reflexively released her spell, the thump knocking books off shelves and hurling her end table across the room. Outside, her mailbox tilted dangerously while the leaves dislodged the accumulated moisture from the sudden fog in a shower of icy shimmers. There was a strange sound somewhere just beyond the edge of the fog, a muted rustling and scraping that set her teeth on edge and her pulse racing.

Twilight Sparkle then gasped when a shape lurched up, clawing its way out of the soil of her garden, clumps falling to the ground, a faint form glowing with a sinister red haze visible through the remaining fog, with a moan ripped straight from a Nightmare night horror story.

Twilight Sparkle, one of the greatest magical minds of the current generation, librarian, bearer of the Element of Magic, Princess, scientist, and multi-time savior of Equestria (if not the world) jumped back and screamed "ZOMBIEPONY!" and fired a blast of magic that even Discord would have found respectable.

Meanwhile, Storm Dancer found himself flying backwards, across the street, trailing clods of soil and various plant matter as he was struck by the panic-induced spellcasting of the very Princess of Equestria who had entreated upon him to return his goods and offer her apologies, for the third time in less than a minute.

Maybe Mojo's got a point, he thought to himself as he watched the rapidly shrinking door disappear into the fog bank, Princesses can be trouble. He flinched as he collided with a wall of the building across the street from the library, falling into a garden for the second time in his brief visit to Ponyville. Moaning from the impact, he looked up to see the accumulating clouds starting to churn. As if on cue, it started raining again.

Idly, he noticed that the library had a lightning rod. Hmm, he thought, at least she knew I was coming.

02 - Wherein Two Ponies Dance

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02 - Wherein Two Ponies Dance

Dark Tidings

Very few things happen rapidly in a small town like Ponyville. Small towns like to ease into change. Small towns enjoy holding on to their roots. Small towns might even be said to enjoy slightly longer sunsets as couples snuggle under blankets to watch the golden rays sliding gracefully below the horizon in a glorious display of Celestia's love for her little ponies. Slightly fewer ponies might mention how much Luna cares for them in their lingering sweet dreams, but the point stands. Ponyville, as a matter of tradition, did not act quickly to many situations.

News of a pending zombie invasion, however, was one of the things that could be said to happen rapidly - ranking perhaps fourth behind Pinkie making friends, parasprite swarms, and crabby ursa minor attacks.

Twilight was trying to make it a distant fifth as she teleported rapidly between her friends' homes, trying to prepare a defense for an invasion she had patently denied as possible... a fact which she would have to reconcile later by re-shelving all the NON-FICTION zombie stories into the self-help and disaster preparedness sections which had grown considerably since her arrival in Ponyville.

From the nauseated, and for one fashionista dishevelled, collection of ponies, Twilight realized that perhaps she should have said something before collecting her friends by rapid serial teleportation. As it stood, the six ponies and one small dragon wobbled unsteadily in the foyer of Carousel Boutique. Applejack was nearly laying on the ground, her hat pulled down over her face as she tried, along side Fluttershy, to keep her breakfast down. Rainbow Dash, ever the bravo, tried to play off the slightly green tint to her face as having just gone for a swim in the rainbow pool outside her cloud home, while Pinkie simply hopped in place begging Twilight to "doitagaindoitagaindoitagain!"

Rarity gaped at the horror of having so many ponies, be they close friends or not, suddenly appear in her home and business and seeing her without makeup... not to mention looking to be about to devastate her stock and livelihood. With a tightly controlled burst of magic, Rarity turned to one of the numerous vanity mirrors as a brush, a set of eyelash extensions, and eyeliner all zipped up to her as she called out to the collection of friends, "Twilight dear, not that I'm displeased with the surprise visit, since I do always enjoy our friends, but, if I may ask, was it necessary to visit so....abruptly?"

Twilight made sure Spike was on the ground before glancing at the large windows which the boutique was known for and quickly cast a spell to blot them out. Rarity, to her credit, simply raised an elegant and finely penciled eyebrow at the display, watching the events through the reflection while applying her eyeliner with practiced ease. "Twilight dear, whatever is the matter?"

Another quick spellcast slid one of the couches over to the front door while a third slammed the door to Rarity's back room closed, blocking it with a number of dress forms, before Twilight turned to her friends to answer. "Girls, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to lie to you, but I didn't know! I really, REALLY didn't know. I don't even know if Celestia knows!"

Hearing her friend's distress, and finding herself presentable, Rarity turned away from the mirror to look at her friends scattered around the room. "Twilight, I'm sure you wouldn't lie to us on purpose, but even if you did, I know it would be for a good reason. Now, before something catches fire or you panic and we all end up fighting over... " Rarity took an appraising look around the room and nodded, "what would undoubtedly be a finer treasure than a rag doll, could you please tell us whatever is the matter?"

"Girls, it's horrible. We've got no time and we have to get everyone to safety before they attack. I just didn't know! I should have known! I'm so so so soooo sorry I didn't believe you Pinkie!"

Pinkie, had gone quiet while Twilight spoke, though she still was bouncing until Twilight had addressed her. Suddenly seeming to realize that her friend was apologizing to her, Pinkie slid over and hugged Twilight before giving a small smile and cooing, "Oh don't you worry Twilight, I'm not mad. Why don't you tell your auntie Pinkie Pie all about it and we can have cake and then throw a 'Helping to make Twilight feel better after her horrible ordeal with the thing that she hasn't told us about yet' party. Hhmmmm?"

While Applejack had finally started to straighten up, Fluttershy continued to look positively miserable on the floor and Rainbow had taken to tapping the windows lightly, scrutinizing the solid blackness that prevented her from looking outside. All three looked over to see what had been so important that Twilight had failed to even say 'hello' before popping off to grab the next friend.

Twilight, craning her neck back to escape the vice-like grip of Pinkie's hug, opened her mouth once or twice, wetting her tongue before finally wheezing out "zombie ponies."

The room was quiet. Deathly quiet as Pinkie's somewhat chiding smile froze. Applejack blinked, while Rainbow Dash sank to the floor and carefully backed away from the windows. Fluttershy may have uttered a meep, though acoustic engineers have argued that the decibel levels used may or may not have qualified it for designation as a sound. Rarity, for her own part, placed a hoof to her chest as her eyes widened and said "Twilight, are you quite sure?"

Spike, who had been through enough teleports to shake them off, looked up at Rarity and said "Well, maybe not zombie ponies..."

There was a cracking sound followed by what could be described as a stone block being drug slowly over bedrock, as everyone startled. Pinkie's head slowly turned, the horrible sound coming to an abrupt end as she looked at Spike from where she maintained a death-drip on Twilight. "Zombie ponies?"

Spike, flinched under her gaze, running a clawed hand up behind his head. "Well, we only saw the one so.... zombie pony maybe?"

The sound that followed Spike's statement was something like a bag of flour being dropped from the second story of a gingerbread shaped building, something that the six knew quite well. Pinkie Pie was gone, leaving in her place a plywood cutout that vaguely resembled herself and a note taped to the front saying only "BIAM."

Surprisingly, even the cutout had a death-grip on Twilight.

Blinking back the shock, Rarity was the first to speak. "Twilight dear, I thought you said there were no such things as zombies..."

"I didn't know."

"But, Twilight, I would think that if there were zombies, or even just the one, we would have heard something by now."

"I hit it and teleported quick, it's probably still in the road."

Rarity sputtered. While Twilight and her friends had indeed engaged in combat with simply awful things, she knew Twilight wasn't one to simply attack something without a thought. Moreover, she knew Twilight well enough to know that she wouldn't intentionally leave a potentially dangerous creature free in the town unless she was truly convinced that it was safer to get help rather than risk engaging it on her own. That Twilight, arguably the most potent out of their collection of friends, had deemed this 'zombie' enough of a threat that she was willing to risk the town to collect them all, was a troubling thought indeed.

"Very well, let us go, um.... dispatch it before it can harm anypony" the fashionista said with a grim nod. Rainbow dash flipped into the air and darted over to grab a yardstick before having it plucked from her hooves by a field of light blue magic. "Oh no Rainbow Dash... that is for making fabulous garments... this, " Rarity floated a ribbed hickory baseball bat into her pegasus friend's hooves, "... this is for stopping troublemakers and door to door salesponies."

Applejack just stared at the exchange before tapping her Stetson on tighter. "Well, if we're going to do this, let's do this. I'ma not goin' to wait for one of them nasty critters to hurt somepony. Rares, you have a rope I could use?"

Putting a dainty hoof to her chin in thought, Rarity quickly went through her mental list of materials and, after dismissing almost every possible option, floated a length of heavy cord she normally used to hang large banners on the town hall. Applejack eyed it before looping a good number of yards over her shoulder and gesturing to Rarity where to cut the impromptu lasso.

Fluttershy covered her head and whimpered slightly, but eventually stood back up, hiding her face when Applejack tried to reassure her.

For her own part, Twilight was astounded that her friends were taking this so calmly. "Girls, I have to admit, I was expecting a bit more...."

"Concern?" came Rarity's answer.

"Pa-panic?" whispered Fluttershy.

"Freakin' out?" Rainbow Dash added, giving the bat a test swing, much to Rarity's annoyance as a dress form dodged out of the way in a blue glow.

"Questions?" Applejack offered with a grim smile. "Listen Twi, way I see it, if somethin's got you ruffled then it's gonna be trouble one way or anot-"

"ZOMBIES!" Growled a green camouflage painted Pinkie Pie as she appeared behind Rarity, a painted hoof covering the unicorn's mouth and a lit birthday candle held aggressively in her other. Almost before anyone could blink, Pinkie was gone, leaving a thoroughly startled, wide eyed, Rarity to gasp in her wake.

"...Ah think we might need to get this before Pinkie gets carried away." Applejack stated as she walked over to help settle Rarity's nerves. Planning commenced with the general agreement that Fluttershy should relay information as Rainbow Dash scouted. Rarity would provide distractions and cover if needed while Applejack was the frontpony in case of a conflict. Everyone agreed that Twilight was the "big gun" to be used if things got out of hand, but that their primary goal was to find and stop, not utterly destroy the zombie (which, given Twilight's current state of mind, would likely flatten Ponyville). Spike would be a last resort, running to find help or contact Celestia if things turned for the worst.

Since Pinkie hadn't been present for the planning, Twilight's other task was to prevent Pinkie-style devastation should the party pony take extreme measures of whatever sort only she could devise. Nopony held any hope that they could predict exactly what Pinkie might do, she might giggle at ghosties, but for some reason she was terrified of zombies. With Pinkie, a song was innocuous enough, but she might just as likely use a years worth of fireworks to "surprise" it out of existence...along with anything else in the immediate area.

Within three minutes, the five ponies and Spike were tentatively poking their heads out of the door. Looking furtively around, the group snuck out and into the quiet streets of Ponyville. There was a slight chill in the air again, not unlike the adventures of 'Daring Do and the Frost Giant' that Rainbow Dash had read last month. That was something that did not bode well for their chances the pegasus decided as she zipped up and down the streets, looking for signs of their quarry. While she wasn't afraid of zombies, she knew her friends were, and she had to stay brave for them. They all looked to her for support, and she couldn't let them down. It didn't matter if the zombie was a mouse or an ursa major, she was Rainbow Dash.... the most awesome friend in Equestria! She couldn't possibly be scared by something like that.

As she winged down street after street, the chill in the air began to get colder. She started to notice that the sky was a bit overcast, downright dark in spots, and there was a light drizzle in the air. With a frown, she ignored it and continued streaking through the town, looking for traces of a zombie invasion. It was about ten minutes in that she realized two very important things. One, the weather was getting worse and worse. The light drizzle had turned into a steady rain while the winds had picked up and the temperature dropped. There were even occasional flashes of lightning as she continued her search. Weather was kind of her job though, so even though it was unpleasant, it wasn't really something she was all too worried about. The second thing, however, made her stop mid-air, and drop to the ground in surprise the moment she realized it; the entire time she had been flying, she hadn't seen a single pony outside.... every door was shut and every window was shuttered.

Blinking in the sudden feeling of isolation, she noticed something else. The streets which had looked clear from the sky, were actually hidden by a light, but thickening, layer of fog coming up to about her knees. The fog wasn't something she was concerned with until she realized that her hooves were on solid ground... ground she had been standing on after having passed right through the fog with no resistance at all. Jumping back into the air, wings issuing curling whips of fog to roil disturbingly from her movement, Rainbow Dash most certainly wasn't thinking about what horrible creatures might be roaming, unseen, in such a morass.

She had learned the word 'morass' while reading about how Daring Do had had to cross an underground river while searching for the hidden treasures of Urk'Kulat, the ancient city of Geldings, and had asked Twilight what it was. The only word that came to her mind while thinking about that scene now was "fog." Before, it had been "icky, clingy, weird, soupy, evil, muck"... but now, Daring Do was slogging through this unnatural fog in her head. Rainbow Dash wasn't scared of zombies or morasses or any silly fog.... but Daring Do seemed to be awfully cautious about that fog.

A flicker of motion caught Dash's attention as her eyes snapped up. A ways down the steadily darkening street, a wall of thick fog was boiling and pouring over itself in an undulating stampede towards her, growing as it came. In that moment, Dash didn't want to redefine "undulating" as she had done so for "morass" seconds before. Gaping, she watched the wall quickly overtake house after house, bathing more and more of the street in thick, obscuring, gray. She was just turning to leave when a flash of lightning from the now dark sky illuminated the form of something as it walked just inside the wall of fog. As she watched, it shifted within the fog, drawing near the open air. Rainbow Dash watched as it took form, tiny flashes of ruby light barely visible through the dark leaping from its head as its silhouette was bathed in a baleful flickering red. There was a metallic scraping of something dragging as the thing moved, the sound causing Rainbow's coat to stand on end and a shiver to go down her sp...Daring Do's spine.

She paused just long enough to swing Twilight's camera over her shoulder, sight into the storm wall using the little window like Twilight had shown her, and center it on the glowing phantasm before pressing the little blue crystal on the side. A bright flash and bitter smell accompanied the "foomp" of the flash powder burning as the camera went off. She didn't wait for the thing to return fire.

Dash wasn't afraid of zombies, or morasses, or fogs, or flaming ghost ponies dragging the chains of Tartarus behind them, but Daring Do was - and it was Rainbow Dash's job to let the rest know what Daring Do was running away from.

Meeting the Enemy

If there had been any doubt over Twilight's assertion that zombies were invading, the eerie storm that seemed to boil out of the center of town easily set them aside. For Applejack, it didn't mean zombies... it meant trouble. She didn't particularly care if it were dragons, or parasprites, or evil overlords, or (though she had trouble making it sound serious) even zombies, to Applejack, trouble was trouble. The fact that she couldn't recall a single story about zombie ponies that involved animate flaming ghost ponies which breathed smoldering ash and tread with the rattling chains of Tartarus from within the fury of an all consuming tempest (as Dash had described her encounter), made her all the more certain that this wasn't a zombie invasion.

Maybe it was a flaming ghost pony from Tartarus invasion, but she was pretty certain zombies weren't involved.

Either way, after Dash had come back visibly shaken, the group had decided to stay together so that they couldn't be singled out. Fluttershy drifted silently only inches above the fog that seemed to be slowly filling the streets while Dash flew in a cautious pattern overhead, ducking back to check on the group every minute or so. Rarity had taken to carrying Spike so he wouldn't be lost in the fog while Twilight flapped a bit unsteadily above her in case of surprise attack while simultaneously levitating a lantern just behind and above Applejack so as not to ruin her vision. Applejack, meanwhile, walked at the front of the group, lasso dangling loosely from her teeth as she tried to listen for any hint of danger while ignoring the flapping of wings, the faint hiss of the cold drizzle that had started, and the soft 'clop clop' of Rarity's hooves behind her.

She reflected that if it really was a flaming ghost pony, a cotton rope probably wouldn't do more than act like a matchstick if she caught it... it wasn't a happy thought. As the group slowly travelled through the barren streets of Ponyville, Applejack hoped that whatever this thing was, it wouldn't make it out to the farm. It wasn't that she thought her friends were less important, hardly, but the thought of Applebloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith being caught out there away from everypony was downright unpleasant. Storms were meant to be good things. They watered the trees and cleared the air, they filled streams and sometimes they even brought a few extra apples at the end of a particularly good season. She knew that the zap apple fields actually made their own storms as they bloomed, even though that was usually only a minute or two long. But mostly, Applejack loved listening to storms because she could faintly recall sitting out on the porch with her pa, listening to the rain and thunder as he plucked out a slow, soft tune on some long forgotten instrument, and lulled her to sleep.

This was not that kind of storm. She had known it the moment Dash had come back in, frost melting slowly off the tips of her wings, and noticed the amount of rain that still clung to her coat. She knew pegasi got wet, but between their abilities and natural skill, a pony like Dash was very rarely soaked or forced to fly with freezing feathers. The fact that Dash had stopped to preen for a few moments (just to get the ice out and definitely not because she was spooked), spoke volumes.

Applejack glanced over her shoulder to check on her friends and was not surprised to see them all looking different directions in an effort to catch any hint of trouble. What she didn't expect to see was a figure only a block or two behind them, slowly plodding across the street. It walked like a pony, though she could only barely see its front legs as it strode, trailing a billowing wall of roiling black tempest which hid it's back half. It's head was alight with a lurid ruby/purple glow from what looked like a unicorn horn set amidst a whipping nest of red and yellow snakes, eyes black as night and what looked like blood running down it's face. It's coat was a pasty gray brown, mottled with lighter patches, and had what looked like roots and plants trailing from places where the muck and sludge of the grave had fallen free. As it moved, she faintly heard the scraping of metal.

She wasn't sure exactly when she had stopped moving or breathing, but when she heard the gasps of Rarity and Twilight next to her, she knew they had seen it too. Fluttershy, bless her, dove behind Applejack, nearly disappearing in the chest high fog as she tried to hide.

"Twi..." Applejack whispered.

"Yes?" Twilight replied, her wide eyes taking in the frightful image of the creature that was apparently stalking Ponyville.

"I don't think that's a zombie."

"Um.... no. I'm pretty sure you're right. Zombies aren't supposed to figurehead a storm or control the weather," She paused, "at least I don't think they can. I mean, if it was a pegasus zombie maybe bu-"

Twilight was cut off as Rainbow Dash zipped back in to check on them, only to catch sight of the monster beyond. "I told you I wasn't making that up!" she hissed as she slid the baseball bat off the loop Rarity had tied before she'd started scouting.

"I think it's a fury" Twilight murmured. "I don't think they're supposed to be stallions, but it looks like an 'elemental nightmare of vengeance, jealousy, and anger' to me."

Rarity spoke up, though in a hushed whisper, "Fine... fury. What does it want and how do we stop it Twilight?"

Twilight paused, if it was indeed a fury, it was a monster certainly, but it could also be a being on par with even Celestia or Luna. The Furies were ancient beings, often thought to be goddesses of old law, almost a boogeypony to keep society in line before Celestia and Luna had assumed control. It was even said that Discord paid the Furies heed on occasion. If it was indeed a fury, and somehow it wasn't one of the 3 ancient Furies, it was most certainly out of their league.

On the other hoof, furies, for all their terrible power and fearful forms, were beings of law and justice. While they were said to stalk their prey tirelessly and without mercy, they preyed upon criminals and evil. They were said to feast upon those whose crimes were so wicked that they couldn't live with themselves or that society couldn't find a punishment for. Yet, if that were the case, who, or what would have drawn one to Ponyville.

Twilight quickly thought back to the maps that she had been going over the day before. Flitting through memories and overlaying them across the town as she stood in it, silently tracing the storm's progression back to the first place she had noticed it.

The Furies were said to punish those who committed crimes. Yes, they favored those whose crimes included heinous evil over those who committed smaller acts, but they were also said to punish crimes for which society had no laws... moral or ethical trespass... or those that were committed by individuals who were outside of the law. They would protect the innocent while punishing smaller and smaller crimes if there were no larger ones to deal with. It was said that in ancient Romane times, the Furies had even been part of the reason that ponies welcomed strangers with gifts... they didn't want to be seen as being unkind if there were no other criminals and accidentally invite the Furies' wrath.

In her mind, Twilight snapped back to the map she had used to mark out that strange patch of field, yet ignoring the field in favor of the image of Ponyville from above. She drew imaginary dots as she traced a set of points where she or her friends had encountered the storm, roughing out a vague circle before marking points at which they had encountered the creature. A few moments passed as she triangulated and took a short breath as she determined a probable epicenter: the library.

"G-girls.... I think it's after me."

For a moment, nopony moved. The steadily growing storm seemed to reach out behind the thing down the block, enormous amorphous limbs surging out down the streets as it stood there. Lightning flashed again, striking a nearby building and highlighting the scene in stark contrast. Twilight's mind, always trying to multitask, marveled at the luck that the bolt had found one of the only lightning rods in Ponyville, effectively reducing the damage to a slight sizzle and the strong scent of ozone. That part of her mind surrendered and hid a moment later when the creature looked skyward and the glow from its horn increased to a burning ruby/purple blaze that sent visible trails of steam into the whipping winds around it. Rivulets of that same ruby/purple magic seemed to bubble and run down it's horn, disturbingly resembling blood pouring from an open wound, as it stood there, slowly being coated in the baleful glow. Twilight noted that while the light increased, the expected flare of magic seemed oddly missing. Perhaps, she reasoned, a being like a Fury didn't use magic in the traditional way. Perhaps, she blinked at the strange thought, that since Furies came before ponies, that unicorns were actually the non-traditional magic users.

All that came to a crashing halt when her teeth started to itch again. She wasn't sure when she'd tuned her friends out, but they were apparently trying desperately to be loud enough to be heard without getting the thing's attention. Twilight couldn't figure out why until she saw a dark silhouette behind a shrubbery less than 20 paces from the creature. A silhouette with a bright pink fluffy tail.

Twilight had just started to cast her spell to yank Pinkie back when she felt her coat seem to rise on its own, each individual hair standing on end as her teeth screamed with a peppery itch. With a pang of recognition she saw Rarity desperately trying to remain motionless as her coat, likewise, was bristling. Unlike Twilight however, Rarity let slip a strangled gasp of surprise which, to everyponies horror, seemed to draw the thing's attention.

Time seemed to slow as an ear, hidden in the mass of writhing red and yellow, pivoted in their direction. As if savoring the motion, its head lowered before leaning into the turn to face them. As if on cue, Pinkie leapt from the shrubbery with what looked to be her party cannon held over her head. To Twilight's horror, Pinkie slammed the cannon to the ground mere paces from the creature. In one smooth motion, Twilight saw Pinkie yank the firing cord before her hind legs even struck the ground as a bright flash illuminated the creature and the cloud behind it.

It flinched. Twilight couldn't believe it, but it flinched. If Pinkie's party cannon could make it flinch, then surely it could be defea-...

There was an unholy explosion as the world went white. A lance of lightning, nearly the width of the street, had arced out of the storm wall and struck, knocking them all tumbling down the street in a concussive explosion of sound and light. When Twilight had finally shaken the ringing from her ears, she looked up with panic in her eyes. Her friends were staggering to their hooves as well, but with dread, Twilight noticed a terrible scene at the end of the block.

Pinkie's cannon was no more than a hooffull of tiny pieces smoldering across the road and littering the rooftops of the nearby buildings. Of Pinkie and the creature, there was no sign.

A Flash in the Pan

"PINKIE!" the girls screamed as one. Rainbow Dash immediately darted over with Fluttershy quite close behind her. Applejack dodged around Twilight as she ran towards the remains of the party cannon while Rarity did her level best to catch up. Spike held on for dear life. Twilight teleported with a muffled 'whoomp', beating Rainbow Dash to the scene by only a second or two.

Up close, it didn't look any better. The storm was wildly whipping debris around while pelting the area with heavy lumps of frigid water too large to be called raindrops. Lightning crackled overhead, thankfully seeming to be content to simply flash within the storm itself for the moment. Surprisingly, despite the heavy fog everywhere else, this close to the storm wall, the winds managed to move the fog enough that, while still thick, it was barely noticed - of course, due to the heavy precipitation and conditions themselves, it was hardly an improvement.

As Twilight looked around for any sign of Pinkie Pie or the monster, she couldn't help but notice the scattered, burning, wreckage of the party cannon or the scorched and sizzling blast mark from the massive lightning strike. "Pinkie! Pinkie Pie! Where are you!?" she cried, her voice only just louder than the winds.

The mares quickly started searching, trying to find any sign of their friend. While Rarity stood relatively still, turning her head with almost machine-like precision as she searched, Rainbow Dash darted around a few yards above, apparently taking the approach that movement offered a better chance to find their friend. Fluttershy flitted around whimpering and calling out in her version of a yell while Applejack glanced at the visible open spaces before starting to check the shrubs and bushes that lined the street. Pinkie hopped around with a worried look on her face while marking off places they had already searched on a map she seemed to have pulled from somewhere. For her own part, Twilight flew up and hovered, casting a bright white flare to better light the area in the unnatural darkness from the storm.

It took a few moments before everyone stopped and turned to look at Pinkie with expressions ranging from shock to utter joy.

"Pinkie Pie! How'd you... but the lightning!" Was all Applejack managed before a multicolored streak bowled into Pinkie with a cry of joy.

"Oh, I was so worried. I'm glad you're alright." said Fluttershy as she sidled over and gave Pinkie (who was giggling at Dash's antics) a hug.

Rarity seemed content to stare for a few moments before rolling her eyes with a smile and looking up to the still stunned Twilight who hovered in a small nimbus of nervous magic."Darling, perhaps we should get away from this storm since your 'fury' has vacated? It certainly isn't going to be doing anypony any good at all to be out in this weather at the moment."

Twilight, still hovering, stared out across the street before dropping to the ground in a slightly distracted manner. Rarity watched for a moment, her smile melting as she recognized the look Twilight was giving their surroundings. "Twilight, dear, what is it?"

At Rarity's tone, the others looked up. Fluttershy eeped at the look of intense focus Twilight had on her face while Rainbow Dash quickly hopped back into the air trying to be ready for anything. Pinkie Pie giggled a moment before prying a cobblestone up and pulling out a dark red headband and a thick brown belt with various party supplies strapped to it and throwing it over her shoulder like a bandolier. Spike simply flinched before pulling a hoofball helmet out of Pinkie's mane, apparently without her even realizing it.

A moment later the crackling of a fire, likely started by the remains of the party cannon, was snuffed out as Twilight cast her "fail-safe" spell. Various 'twangs', 'pops', 'foomps', and 'whizzes' accompanied the magenta shock wave as damage around the town seemingly had time rewind itself, leaving the area in remarkably good condition despite the muck and scent of ozone that still clung to the air.

To Twilight's chagrin, the storm completely ignored the spell that should have sent it back to whatever horror spawned it. As if in answer, an ominous roll of thunder growled from somewhere in the distance, sounding like nothing if not an enormous predator toying with its hapless prey. With a frown Twilight addressed her friends, "Girls, I think Rarity's right. We need to get out of this storm and make a plan. We didn't win and unless it's just upset that I didn't get it a library card, I doubt that it will stay gone for long."

There was a general nod of agreement before the troupe of friends turned to make their way to the most heavily defended location in Ponyville, and Twilight's royal residence, the library. It was only because Pinkie was still hugging her restored Party Cannon that they noticed when the thick coils of fog that had poured out of the side streets began to all curl back upon themselves and start to flood west, down the street away from the group. It was an unnatural enough motion that both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy hovered with sick expressions on their faces. For the others, the eerily lifelike movement looked more like a huge animal slinking along after its master than clouds of electrically charged water vapor. Spike was the only one to speak for quite some time as he summed up their thoughts and feelings in one short sentence: "Whoa.... that is creepy."

Determined to make sure they did what they could before anything else went wrong, Twilight gestured for her friends to hurry, thankful that they all quickly slipped back into motion. Applejack deftly picked up the length of cord and took the lead position as Rainbow darted up to scout. Fluttershy and Rarity stayed close while Spike took advantage of the situation to stay near to Rarity. Pinkie simply bounced along, the party cannon once more absent from sight and likely stored ... somewhere... in case of party cannon emergencies.

Pinkie's Plight

Due to the weather, it took nearly seven minutes longer than normal to get back to the library where they finally felt secure enough to talk. No sooner had they all piled inside than Twilight cast a protective spell over the doors and windows, plucked her camera from Rainbow Dash, set a spell to begin developing the picture, and had Spike start searching for books detailing ancient 'mythical' creatures along side of known beings from Tartarus and beyond. While the others began to clean up, thaw out, and address various other concerns, Twilight frowned as she waited for Spike to return with the books she had requested.

She felt she should have recognized something about this before it happened. She was Celestia's favorite student, her personal protégé, and now a princess of Equestria, yet despite all of that, she had been blindsided by a very real threat. Worse, she still couldn't ascertain the condition of Ponyville or its citizens - all their doors had been closed and windows shuttered. She prayed that they were simply hunkered down inside, trying to weather the storm and not victims of some horrific monster. She had friends out there... ponies she had met once or twice, right along with those who had made a concerted effort just to be available if and when she needed to talk. There were ponies she knew well and ponies she still knew nothing about, and she was hiding in a library behind layers of protective magic while they were laying their lives in her hooves, trusting that she would know what to do.

And she simply didn't know where to begin.

Twilight was still in her state of somewhat depressed agitation when Spike crept up, balancing a small stack of books while holding a cup of hot chocolate. "Hey Twilight, it's alright you know. You were awesome out there."

"I most certainly was not! I barely did anything at all and that thing could have seriously hurt somepony. What good am I if I can't protect the ponies that trust in me? I mean, Pinkie could have been killed! That is absolutely not 'awesome' Spike."

Spike's face slipped into a dry stare for a moment before he set the books down, keeping a firm hold on the cup of hot chocolate. "But they didn't get hurt, Pinkie's fine, and you helped to at least stall that thing so you can figure out how to stop it. You saw a threat and got the girls together instantly. That's not nothing... that's a pretty big something. Besides, without the Elements of Harmony, you're kind of going out there without your big I WIN button."

Twilight blinked for a moment, the cup in Spike's claws being enveloped in a bright glow as she lifted it up without looking. "It doesn't work that way Spike. I'm a princess now. I'm supposed to protect them all. I'm supposed to be able to keep everyone safe and I couldn't do anything to even slow that thing down!" She turned to take a sip of the hot chocolate, only to find herself nearly 'sipping' Spike's scaly back as he had apparently curled himself protectively over the cup after having not let go. "Spike?"

"If you wanted some cocoa, you just needed to ask." He muttered before hopping down and starting to walk to the kitchen.

Twilight blinked for a few moments before setting the cup down and trotting over to her assistant and picking him up in a warm hug. "I'm sorry Spike. I was just getting carried away and, and.... well.... I wasn't paying attention."

Spike smiled and hugged her back. "It's ok Twilight but you know, even a princess needs help sometimes."

Twilight laughed quietly. "Oh Spike. That's not true. Celestia's been taking care of everyone for a thousand years all by herself."

Spike poked her in the muzzle, eliciting a surprised 'ack!" before saying clearly, "No she hasn't. She had Luna, and when she was on the moon, she had all those ponies in the castle to help, and even now she has a whole team of ponies to take on the really big stuff that she can't handle on her own."

"No she doesn't! I mean, sure, there's the royal guard but it's not like they're going to wars or anything."

There was a quiet, but clearly audible cough to which Twilight turned to see Rarity daintily floating a napkin to her lips while a steaming cup of tea floated nearby. "Actually darling, I do believe Spike is correct. Celestia most certainly does have a special 'unit', as it were, to handle special cases."

Twilight blinked. "Um, no she doesn't. I'm pretty sure I'd know if she did. I was around her all the time and I've never even heard of such a ..."

Rainbow Dash cut in with her normal to-the-point attitude. "Elements of Harmony ring a bell Twilight? Jeez, we've stopped how many bad guys since Nightmare Moon?"

Twilight opened her mouth to reply but the words stuck. Rainbow Dash was right. Rarity was right. Spike was right. Dear sweet Celestia, Celestia even needed help sometimes. She stood there, still holding Spike, while she tried to process the idea of her teacher/mentor/senior princess being possibly capable of having limits. No one but Pinkie could hear the thousands of tiny gears and mechanisms grinding to a screeching halt inside Twilight's brain... but for a brief few moments, Pinkie deeply considered the potential ramifications of pouring cooking oil into Twilight's ear to help get things started again.

"I think ya broke her." Applejack elbowed Dash with a light chuckle when Twilight made no move to respond after a few seconds. "Y’all might want to sit down for a second, I'll get her goin' again."

Applejack waited until everypony was settled before strolling up to Twilight, carefully taking her hat off and reverently holding it to her chest. Taking a moment to focus, she looked at Spike with a very serious expression before saying "Spike, take a letter."

Spike nodded and pulled a sheet of parchment and a quill from somewhere. "Alrighty."

Applejack took a deep breath, closed her eyes and began, "Dear Princess Twilight, today I learned that..."

Spike couldn't help but laugh, which seemed to snap Twilight out of her mental stutter. She glanced around at all the widely grinning faces and frowned before muttering "Okay, okay, I get it. We all need help sometimes and you girls are the best friends I could possibly have." Her frown broke as she looked up sheepishly. "I'm sorry girls, I just get caught up in these things sometimes."

"We know Sugarcube, but that's why you don't have to do it alone and even if you try, we ain't gonna let you." Applejack said as she plopped her hat firmly back on her head before winking at Spike.

"Oh. Twilight...I think your camera's done." Spike pointed as they all looked to see the film sliding out of the camera with a soft hissing sound.

Twilight's expression turned all business as she trotted over and glared at the figure from Rainbow's recon shot. It looked strange, frightening,and still mostly hidden by the thick fog, but somehow familiar. At least with all the books she had, they should be able to figure something out.

But it was Pinkie Pie's gasp that got everyponies attention when she leapt in the air, hanging for a moment in defiance of gravity, while pointing with a rigid foreleg at the photo. "I KNOW HIM!" She squealed, dropping to the floor after a good four seconds."He's that one pony who hangs out with that zebra all the time!"

"Zecora knows him?" Twilight asked with skepticism.

"Oh no silly, Zecora HATES that zebra."

"Wait, there's another zebra in town?"

"Well duh. Who do you think did all the creepy Nightmare Night stuff before Zecora took over silly?"

"There was a zebra in town before Zecora and you all were still afraid of her!?"

It was Applejack who once again answered. "Uh, well, ya see Sugarcube, that's part of why were were spooked when Zecora showed up." She looked around for a moment, seemingly embarrassed. "Thought he was a pony back then, but that other zebra'd been here a while, years really, and he's a might off. Likes keepin' to himself mostly, doin'... creepy things and, well, I'm sure Pinkie has a song 'er something that'd say it better than me."

Heads all turned to look at Pinkie, who was in the midst of glaring seriously at the photo.

"Um, Pinkie?" prompted Twilight after a moment of no response.

Pinkie glared at the photograph a few moments more before waving in Twilight's general direction. "Shhhhhhhh.... something's wrong and I'm trying to figure out what it is."

Twilight blinked, snapping her head back almost reflexively. The number of times that Pinkie hadn't been ready to burst into impromptu song and dance could be counted by a school filly. The number of times she had failed to do so when given explicit permission was even less. Glancing around at her other friends, Twilight could see the confusion and apprehension on their faces as well. "Um, Pinkie... who is he?"

Pinkie remained glaring at the photograph for a moment more before looking up with a cold expression on her face. "I don't understand it," she deadpanned, "It doesn't make sense!"

"It's a photograph dear, surely it makes sense. It's just a picture of that horrible monster..." Rarity tried.

"Oh no no no nonononono. It's him alright. I know that. But it doesn’t make sense!" Pinkie spread her forelegs wide, as if inviting explanations from her friends (who continued to look on with confused stares). "How can you not see it?!?" she gaped, pointing at the picture with an energy that bordered upon violence.

"Um... I don't understand Pinkie. What doesn't make sense? I-if you don't mind me asking..." whispered Fluttershy from behind her mane.

Pinkie leapt at Fluttershy eliciting a surprised 'eep' from the pegasus before throwing a foreleg across her shoulders and pointing at the corner of the room, inviting Fluttershy to sight along her foreleg. "It doesn't add up!" Pinkie spun around, grasping both of Fluttershy's shoulders and looking her straight in the eyes. "I checked ALL the parts, measured EVERYTHING, and even checked it THREE WHOLE TIMES! Do you have any IDEA how hard that is for me?!?!?" Pinkie spun away, leaving Fluttershy to stagger for a moment before turning to Twilight. "I asked him for the recipe and he gave it to me on my birthday 1,248 days ago!"

"Pinkie Pie, WHAT DON'T MAKE SENSE?" Applejack barked from only a few paces away.

Pinkie turned with all the calm of a tidal wave. "The Pies!" she stated, her voice almost cracking with the effort. Rainbow Dash muffled a snort.

"What?!? What do pies have to do with anyth....wait, is this another one of those parasprite things?" Twilight shook her head at the memory. "Okay... Pinkie....SLOWLY.... what do pies have to do with this, or the zebra, or the picture, or that pony or whatever he is?"

Pinkie blinked for a moment before she grinned widely, "Twilight! I'm so happy you asked!" With a flourish, Pinkie hopped back from everypony and sprung into the kitchen. The mares exchanged confused looks for a moment before the door burst open with a happily bouncing Pinkie Pie with a dark brown box on her back. Skidding to a stop, Pinkie bucked the box into the air where it landed softly on her springy mane before she lowered it to one of the tables in the room. "The pie doesn't make sense" she said with a smile. "Spike, can you get a wooden knife please?"

Spike nodded and turned to the kitchen before stopping abruptly and turning around with a claw raised. "A wooden knife? Um.... I don't think we have one Pinkie."

Pinkie shook her head slowly with a smile, "Then this is going to be really REALLY fun!" She hopped up onto her hind legs, aimed, and then dropped her forelegs onto the edge of the box, popping it's top open by some quirk of physics, revealing a large, oddly still steaming, pie within.

"Twilight, could you cut the pie please....with your magic.... CAREFULLY?" she asked, fluttering her eyes comically.

Twilight, now completely lost, shrugged and lit her horn as a set of glowing magenta lines formed across the top of the pie. With mathematical precision, the lines slowly sank into the pie, leaving thread-thin, steaming, cuts portioning the pie into eight equal slices. Oddly, Twilight flinched near the end of the spell, wrinkling her nose and taking a moment to rub her horn. "What the heck?"

Pinkie nodded before dropping to eye level with the pie and sliding a slice onto a plate that hadn't been there seconds before. Right as she started to lift the plate, thin arcs of blue electricity started to jump repeatedly between the slice and the rest of the pie until she pulled it a bit further away. Smiling, she held out the slice to Twilight. "See? The pie doesn't make sense."

Twilight was flabbergasted. The pie was magic? No, that couldn't be, she would have sensed it. Was it a trap? Had the pony she'd nearly run down decided he'd get her back? Was he really a fury like she suspected and this was some form of twisted justice? Was Pinkie eating the pie? How had th...wait..."PINKIE STOP!" she bellowed as Pinkie took a bite of the slice.

Pinkie seemed to pause for a moment mid-chew, before she looked upwards at an odd angle and smiled. "Just like last time." A moment later, she calmly placed the plate with the half eaten slice on the table before grinning like a fool, her mane sticking out at all angles with tiny sparks dancing across her coat. "It doesn't make sense because I can't get mine to do this!" She gestured to all of herself while her coat and mane poofed out in a clear display of extreme static.

Everyone stood there, staring at Pinkie for a few moments before Pinkie seemed to think of something. Sitting back, she cupped her foreleg in a hoof and tapped her other hoof to her chin, looking up. "Oh yheah.... you asked who he was. He's Storm Dancer and he makes the very bestestest berry pie I know of."

Dark Tidings

A little bit of lamp grease, a touch of soot black, and a tiny tiny pinch of goldenrod pollen... he measured carefully, tapping the ingredients into an already gray paste in the small earthenware bowl. Nodding to himself, he set it over a greenwood fire that belched clouds of smoke to the ceiling of his home where it pooled and roamed amongst the curious collection of oddities that hung from twists of string. Mojo stepped back, dusting his hooves off on the darkly stained rag he kept slung over his shoulder while working.

It was a tincture he was making today, something to treat insect stings or pesky bites, to keep them from getting infected or inflamed. It wasn't his best work, he frowned, but it would certainly be better than nothing at all for the travelling or lost ponies he most often entertained. A simple bauble from an easily forgotten nowhere that would help them in a pinch while supplying him with the trifling pittance which was his only real income. For not the first time he sighed, thinking that perhaps he would have been better off with gardening or perhaps carpentry as an occupation.

It wasn't that he disliked his skill set, but rather that it was a skill set which had fallen out of favor some centuries ago, long before he was born. Medicine, magic, and science had all progressed, leaving 'esoteric' and 'paranoid conjuring' behind in favor of the mass-produced and understood teachings of the modern world. That his special talent had apparently been rooted in those same 'esoteric paranoid conjurings' was not lost oh him when he saw the faces of those who stumbled upon his home or, indeed, himself. He watched as the paste continued to heat, the thick white smoke curling around the edges of the bowl as it left its wooden skin to climb the drafty reaches of his ceiling and stalk its imagined prey in the forest of odds and ends which dangled by twine and thread alike. He waited until he heard the first soft crackle of the pollen beginning to scorch before leaning forward to drip a milky fluid into the bowl where it hissed and spat.

Adding venom to a remedy like this in civilized society would have him slapped with charges or labeled a quack. Modern medicine would say he was poisoning ponies, perhaps drawing out their suffering to line his pockets or to derive some sick pleasure from their pain. Modern science would say that doing so would inflict countless traumas upon the tissues and introduce dangerous chemicals to an already compromised body. Modern magic would scoff at his prehistoric and barbaric 'cure' which had absolutely no magical resonance at all. And they would all be right if he were to simply follow the recipe.

But, there was a reason his special talent wasn't in baking or in gardening or even in carpentry where following the expected rules and plans resulted in expected ... well... results. His talent was in a very special kind of conversation, the kind that earned you a tribal marking resembling a black and gray campfire with a white set of bones above it. Mojo waited patiently while the venom boiled off and started to burn.

Just as the paste inside the bowl began to dry and crack, Mojo smiled. He watched as a twist of shadow hidden in the flickering and dancing shadows above seemed just a tiny bit out of place. Leaning forward, Mojo dripped a few more drops of venom onto the charring concoction in the bowl, setting off a puff of sickly, pale green, smoke to curl towards the ceiling. Predictably, the twist of shadow leapt from the ceiling and clung to the puff of venom vapors, slowly drifting down to nestle upon the bowl of stinking char.

With a quick blow, the cloud dissipated, leaving the shadow to flail before falling into the scorching bowl. Mojo grasped the bowl, pulling it from the fire in smoking hooves before he slammed it on the ground with a painful crack. Though his hooves burned terribly, he smiled as he saw the tiny wisp of shadow struggling under his smoking front hoof. Careful not to release the pressure on it, he lowered himself down and thought for a moment before speaking. As he had been taught, and later discovered on his own, choosing ones words with the deez or greely was extremely important. He tilted his head, looking for the telltale sharp angles of a greely or the slight red shimmer of a deez before noticing the razor thin projection from his hoof where the shadow had attempted to escape before being pinned. A greely then, he sighed, not what he had hoped for...but it would have to do.

"Ya can't escape, my lil' one, doh your service might yet still be fun. A short short stay in bottle true, until de time is right for you. But heed my words or come what may, ye'll find ye'll shortly rue de day dat you did come across my way if I don't get my due." Mojo grinned slightly, his normally black face painted a stark white to resemble a skull. "An' now my lil' evil one a simple simple task, I simply command, yah wicked ting, to get within te flask." He slid a small glass bottle over, carefully popping the cork with the edge of his hoof while making a face at the bitter smell that issued forth. "Den a little ting, a simple one, a bite o sting te'cure, by slaying lesser evil tings, I let you den endure." Punctuating his offer with a firm prod, Mojo pressed down upon the twist of writhing shadow until it bent away from his hoof in supplication and began to stretch towards the bottle. Nodding, Mojo released it, watching with satisfaction as it slid, almost dejectedly, into the bottle and settled like nothing more than a thin oil.

Stoppering the bottle and finally ridding his nose of the foul odor of bitter unguents and extracts that would buffer the draught and dull the pain of a bite or sting, he carefully looped a length of cord around the neck and began the slow process of making an amulet. He smiled as he worked, twisting a bit of twine or adding a bead or small bone, he slowly built up a tiny pony from the core of the stoppered bottle. Adding sprigs of herbs or weaving the stalks of dried flowers, he carefully gave the bottle a felted coat, the crafting so fine as to hide the materials themselves by the illusion of a seamless skin. He whispered softly, never breaking his concentration despite the otherwise relaxed appearance of his efforts for he could still feel the tiny evil spirit fighting against its imprisonment. The whispers, barely audible to any but himself, kept the greely confused and cautious rather than focused and angry. Mojo promised it freedom and a chance to exact its furious revenge, but explained that it was a poison that had made him capture the greely, that it was his own secret rebellion that he was weaving a key into the greely's prison so that it could escape in the future. And slowly, almost imperceptibly, the greely settled into its new home, the soft whisperings giving it a target for its rage and hate... one of Mojo's choosing.

Finally, he pulled the last few strands of hair through the tiny pony's head, fixing its mane in place. All that was left now was to affix its eyes and set it to dry and mature. Nodding to himself, Mojo turned and pulled up two tiny black beads, barely larger than a grain of sand each, and threaded them to a hair from his own mane. Raising the tiny pony to his own face, he carefully stitched the eyes in place before whispering his last words to the greely inside. "I made dis offer jess for you, an' follow it you should do too. For while I promise freedom in kine, I'll not hesitate to remine dat twas your weakness an' my might that sealed dis bargainin' tonight. I will not breach my promise to you, but remember greely, your service due."

A thin coil of black and ash-gray smoke pulled itself from the remains of the crushed bowl and settled over the tiny pony, patterning its coat with a mottled gray before sinking in and fading from sight. Mojo closed his eyes for a moment, before taking a deep breath and relaxing. He had been working at this bit of magic for the better part of three hours and had finally bound the greely to cure a bite or poisonous sting. It wasn't something modern medicine, magic, or science could explain, but he knew the art and practice of dealing with the lesser spirits and knew that if a pony couldn't find a cure elsewhere... if they were desperate enough... that they could at least have some small chance with him.

Reverently stringing the tiny pony with a long green thread, he hung it to dry from the rafters amongst the herd of a few dozen other drying or prepared tokens. They were his magic, his promises, and his gift. And all but three were to cure injury or preserve life. And like he did every night, he addressed the three small bundles that hung near the fire pit with a glare and a sigh. When those promises came due, he hoped that he had done enough good to garner the mercy of something more powerful than what slumbered within them.

He was just laying down to rest when the muffled thud of thunder striking somewhere above caused him to look towards the door. Lightning and thunder shunned his home, which left only one realistic possibility. Muttering softly as he tried to order his thoughts, Mojo quickly wiped the paint from his face and turned to navigate the dark, reed-lined, walls of his underground home and fetch his friend who was likely standing ankle deep in a downpour hoping to get inside before being struck by lightning again.

"What'm I gon do wichyou Tempest? This late you come, I'll get no rest." Sighing, Mojo took the final few steps before opening the old plank door which kept his home hidden from the outside world, and nearly screamed at the maelstrom outside. And standing right in the middle of it all, looking like a monster straight from the burning hells of Tartarus, was a bleeding, battered, and still smoking Storm Dancer who looked like he was about to pass out.

Tea

"So, I showed up when I was supposed to, but I felt a strike coming on so I kind of backed off after knocking." Storm Dancer explained after the short walk to one of Mojo's living rooms where the zebra had quickly put on a small pot of raspberry tea after bandaging his unicorn friend's head. "It was only a few seconds, but when the little dragon opened the door and invited me in, I was a little surprised but, you know, they'd invited me in so I was walking in right as the lightning struck....then I'm being knocked back out of the library, but, I figured it was the lightning... you know, nerves and everything... but then the tree groans from the frost and WHAM! I'm in the garden, picking myself up again. And before I can even say 'Sorry about the lightning' I'm across the street with a blinding headache and I have some pony's mailbox all tangled in my saddlebags and the princess is shouting about zombies."

Mojo just sat and listened. He knew princess Sparkle was quick to jump to conclusions but this... this was just bizarre, even for her. That she had attacked her own subject repeatedly was disturbing at a level that was simply frightening. That she had invited Storm over only to beat him bloody and throw him in the street was unbelievable. He'd seen her kindness and compassion, her quick thinking and open mindedness in action, there had to be something more to it. He simply couldn't believe, even if she was a princess, that Twilight Sparkle could have acted as Storm was saying.

Yet, he'd never needed to question Storm Dancer's word before. If anything, Storm Dancer was honest nearly to a fault. He'd admit his problems and even take the blame for other ponies if he thought that they didn't deserve someone else's anger. He embellished a bit sometimes, yes, but who didn't? But, to think that Twilight Sparkle, the little purple unicorn come princess had mistreated him so.... it just didn't add up.

Well, unless......his thoughts took a darker turn and he almost missed when Storm asked a question. Blinking and shaking the troubling thoughts from his head, Mojo looked back up and replied. "I dun't know for why she did, you jus' be glad my home is hid."

Storm Dancer nodded before sipping his tea again and flinching at the slight tang of medicine that Mojo had stirred in with the otherwise delightful raspberry tea. "I mean, I can understand the lightning startling her and all, unicorns cast reflexive spells all the time, but then she beat me into the garden before blasting me across the street and into, "he paused to read the mangled mailbox they had finally untangled from his saddlebags, "um.... Towne Hall... Really? She shot me all the way to the Towne Hall?" He flinched again as his horn briefly flared resulting in a tiny cloud manifesting over his head. Moments later, he was looking out from behind a soggy mane as the tiny rainstorm unloaded it's burden before drifting away towards the ceiling.

Mojo watched it go for a few moments before shaking his head and checking the bandages wrapped around the unicorn's head and horn. "Deez strikes were not so lightly done, perhaps you right ta cut n' run?"

"Yheah, but when I saw them all in town, they looked pretty spooked. Heck, Pinkie shot me with confetti... I think. It caught fire a moment later so I didn't really get to check. They didn't look too happy to have me in town again. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were looking for a fight."

Mojo considered this. It was true that the Element bearers were known for their decisive action, often taking shortcuts or making weighty choices with little time to think, but they weren't known for rampant violence or unfounded aggression. If what Storm Dancer was saying was true, something must be effecting them in some way. He could see Rainbow Dash, the brash and hotheaded pegasus, making such a jump... but Fluttershy and Pinkie just didn't seem right. The princess, of course, could go either way depending upon what she knew or did not know. Yet, the fact remained, she had attacked Storm Dancer and apparently convinced her friends to do so as well.

"Um, Mojo?" The zebra looked over to the unicorn who was watching the fireplace with a practiced eye. "Not to bug you or anything but I think one of your creepy crawlies is trying to get away again."

Mojo followed his gaze, spotting the thread of shadow that had somehow unwound itself from the bundle hanging near the fire. With a snort, he trotted over and bit it hard, feeling it writhe and thrash before letting it retreat to the bundle again. He watched for a moment more, dark thoughts warring in his head, before pulling a scrap of dull fabric from a satchel near the fireplace and wrapping the bundle tighter. With an appraising look, he flipped the top of a small pewter kettle he kept near the mantle and scooped out a waxy paste to smooth over the bundle.

"Agin dey try to break der word, they wish to fly just like a bird. A shame ta forget dey promise true, but maybe iis a boon for you." Mojo cocked his head while considering the freshly wrapped bundle. Inside, he knew, wrapped within layer upon layer of careful knots, woven herbs, fabric and sinew, was a clutch of greely. They had been caught and bound all at once, no small feat, and had awarded him his mark, but he knew that they had never fully agreed to his bargain or offers. Though he still attempted to convince them nightly, the clutch had resisted his every effort by sheer spite alone. It was one of the three bargains he hoped never to break (or indeed even properly seal), but if something had corrupted princess Sparkle.....

"Dere's sometin' here you do not know, a volley in a broken bow. It's magic ancient long and old, iis power though be strong and bold. Dis princess an' her angry troupe, if dey be seeking your neck to loop, I c'n offer up a spell I know, but deh price te pay will not be low." Mojo said with barely more than a whisper.

Storm Dancer blinked. He knew that his friend was avoided and that many ponies were outright hostile towards him, but Mojo had always been a friend to him. To hear what sounded like an offer of violence was extremely uncomfortable. When Mojo had answered the door, he had seen the smears of the white paint the zebra used in his magics. He knew that whatever Mojo had been up to, it had been of the kind of magic that the other ponies reviled him for. Mojo could use 'normal' zebra magic, herbs and tricks to heal and hide, but unlike other zebra, Mojo was also a practitioner of older and much more disturbing magics. He had asked Mojo about them once and Mojo had shown him some of his tools. Storm Dancer had quietly backed out of the room and been careful not to mention it since. There was simply no reason that he could think of to keep parts of dead creatures as tools, let alone in one's house. And here he was, being offered 'help' without question or any kind of cost... it was the kind of offer he recalled from countless horror stories.

"If it's all the same to you Mojo, I think we might have just had a misunderstanding. I mean, she's a princess and all so I'm sure she knows what she's doing." He offered up with a half smile while his horn flickered again with his pulse. "I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt me, she was probably just startled."

Mojo nodded. He had expected as much. He had hoped as much really. Storm Dancer was his friend, and a good pony. Back on the savanna, a pony like Storm would be worshipped as a god by tribal groups while the more enlightened would respect him and request his visits, though never to stay long. Mojo knew, somehow, that there wasn't a bad bone in Storm's body. It was a blessing and a shame that he had never been able to find a cure for the unicorn's ailment. If he had, he was fairly certain he would lose one of his only friends, but at the same time it meant that the unicorn would continue to be ostracized and suffer the elements. Somewhere deep in his thoughts, he knew he was being selfish... and he knew that he was still secretly thankful for it.

A bright flash and the bitter tang of ozone drew Mojo from his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Storm Dancer shaking his head slightly, a wisp of smoke trailing from his horn and a soft red glow coming from the iron tip of a pole sticking out of a nearby wall. With a smile, he was once again grateful that he had invested in a lightning rod, despite the confusion from the salespony about installing it indoors.

03 - Understandings, and Those that are 'Mis'

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03 - Understandings, and Those that are 'Mis'

Glorious Fortune, Manny Takes, and Careful Planning

"So, let me get this straight Pinkie... that thing out there is the unicorn I nearly killed, who hangs out with a scary evil zebra that nopony likes but that they don't know why, who live out there somewhere, doing things that nopony knows, and they command incredible magics of scary zombie storm evil and bake pies?" Twilight asked with slightly more than a hint of annoyed disbelief.

"Well yheah. It's not like it's a secret or anything!" Pinkie bounced happily, grinning from ear to ear as her friends looked on with various degrees of acceptance. Twilight, clearly, was taking things with a grain of salt while Rarity simply shook her head. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both seemed to accept that Pinkie believed what she was saying, but neither one was willing to voice the question of accuracy. Fluttershy's eyes were wide until Pinkie stopped bouncing and gasped out "Twitchy Tail!"... at which point the friends each dove for the relative safety of the pie laden table. Spike, unfortunately, missed the warning and was in the process of carrying a small stack of plates into the room when a rather large tome tumbled from the second floor to crash on to one of the writing desks, launching an inkwell directly at the young dragon. The resulting racket was enough to make everyone jump. The resulting mess was enough to make Spike groan as he realized that his evening would likely be spent carefully scrubbing the floor of ink and footprints before having to polish away the ink that now covered him from spine to claw.

It was only a moment later that the six mares, after checking with Pinkie, left the safety of the table. Rainbow Dash flitted up to see if they were under attack - books didn't traditionally leap off of shelves after all, though in Twilight's proximity that wasn't always the case. Fluttershy immediately joined Twilight in checking on Spike while Pinkie checked the Pie, cooing to it softly to settle it's nerves. Rarity stood aghast at the horrific contrast between ink and the color 'Spike.' Applejack, however, squinted before frowning and looking towards the library door.

"Hey Twilight," Applejack called out, glancing back at the alicorn before gesturing with a nod towards the doorway, " you put a spell up on the door right?"

Twilight, having checked Spike for injuries and finding that the only bruising was to his pride, looked up before levitating the fallen tome over to another table. "Yep. Sealed it up along with the windows, chimney, gables, venting, and even the water systems. Filtered and semi-permeable of course so we can breathe, but more than enough to keep unwanted ponies, zombies or, I hope, angry furies out." Twilight turned to face Applejack. "Why do you ask?"

Applejack frowned while she looked back at the door. "Because, I coulda' sworn that when we were all under the table, something just got out the door."

Twilight tilted her head and frowned. She had learned long ago that no spell was infallible, that the right combination of effects or conditions could circumvent a defense or open a loophole that was otherwise accounted for, but with the combination of her earlier casting and the existing defenses on the library itself, it seemed highly unlikely that such a thing could occur. Then again, how many times had she personally discovered the weakness in a situation and exploited it to protect somepony or help her friends? Suddenly feeling very vulnerable, Twilight flitted through the nearly encyclopedic list of spells she knew, jumping between fields of magic, theory, and even tricks to try to quickly discover the potential weakness in their defenses.

Before anypony could say a word, Rarity lit her horn, plucking something from near the door and whisking it over to Twilight, who flinched at the unexpected approach. The blue glow flickered out as Rarity deposited her charge on the table next to Twilight as she stepped carefully over. A battered, glossy black feather rested next to the pie where it turned ever so slowly with the fading touch of Rarity's magic. Twilight examined it before looking up and lighting her horn in a furious series of spells which ended up causing the doors and windows to all briefly flash odd symbols.

Applejack, having watched the scene, raised an eyebrow before glancing back at the door briefly. "So, Twi, um.... I get that it's a feather an' all, but what's with the fancy light show?"

"Fluttershy, just to be sure, what kind of feather is that?" Twilight asked, holding a hoof up to Applejack in a placating manner, who nodded, while Fluttershy leaned over to look at the feather more closely.

"Well, it looks like a crow feather." Fluttershy said, tentatively prodding the feather and causing it to slide softly on the table.

"Wonderful," Twilight exclaimed, "I tuned the library defenses to ignore birds because of Owlowiscious and someone exploited that to get something out of the library." Twilight growled for a moment before planting a hoof on her face as she thought. "So, they used a crow, or something close enough to a crow, to get through the spells and steal something from the library? That doesn't make any sense. If they wanted something, they could have just come during normal business hours and -"

"It's not just a crow feather, " Fluttershy nearly whispered, a strange sound in her voice as she looked up. Almost immediately, she recoiled as she found her friends all looking at her. "Um, w-why are you all looking at me like that?"

Rarity smiled and opened her mouth to reply when Rainbow Dash cut her off. "What do you mean that it's not just a crow feather? Is it like, a coatl or a harpie or a wyvern feather or something?"

There was silence in the library for a moment as everypony stared dumbfounded at Rainbow, who suddenly looked quite a bit more nervous and embarrassed than she would ever admit to being. "W-what? I read Daring Do fights all kinds of bad guys! Ahuizotl even makes sure that the arrows his guards use are from coatls so they can pierce magic!"

Twilight, momentarily forgetting the situation, couldn't help but to smile at the change in Rainbow since last year's hospital-trip-turned-petty-theft. Prior to getting her to pick up Daring Do, Rainbow had vehemently opposed anything that even resembled reading books... they were too uncool... and the change was both remarkable and (in situations like this) occasionally very helpful. But, after a moment's thought, Twilight's face grew concerned again. "I don't know if that's actually true or not Rainbow, coatl feathers are rather difficult to come by so the studies to show their magical properties are often rather suspect, but it does raise a good point. It could be a message, you know... 'just so you know I can get in' or that kind of thing?" She paused, noting the mix of worried and disgusted looks on her friends faces.

Rarity cleared her throat before turning her head so as to look disdainfully down at the feather. "Well, whatever it is, I find the color to be utterly tasteless. And look at how ratty the quill is! Not very much of a message in a state like that."

"Um..." Fluttershy quietly tried to get everyponies attention again. "It's not just a feather though..." raising a hoof to point at the feather but keeping back enough to ensure that she didn't touch it again, "it's wrapped at the base with thread and that's not a quill, it's a bone."

While Rarity backpedaled with a chant of "ew ew ew ew ew" and Rainbow Dash responded with a noisy "Gross!" Applejack only made a disgusted face while Twilight looked more closely, scrutinizing the object. Spike took a few steps back whispering something about horrible ponies. Pinkie Pie just blinked, her imaginary friend holding her hooves firmly over her ears while singing a happy song, the result was a comically cheerful Pinkie whose reality simply did not allow for such facts to get in the way.

Twilight, after a few more moments, looked up and smiled at Rarity. "Girls, I don't think whoever did this expected all the spells to be in place in the library. I'm pretty sure they thought they could get out without anypony noticing and only got caught when Pinkie's warning caught them off guard. I'm pretty sure this is part of an amulet to bypass the library's defense spells that got stuck by the door when they got careless in their haste!"

"But, if it let them get past the magic, why would it get stu-" Applejack started, but was cut off as Twilight's magic plucked a book from the 'sporting' section and set it hovering before the friends.

"Because defenses are like fishhooks!" Twilight grinned, blatantly proud of her long-planned explanation to her friends. "Like any defensive system, defensive magic works by targeting likely avenues of trouble and making them either too difficult or too costly to bypass." The book flipped to a page with fly lures depicted by the dozen. "Or, like the ones on the doors and windows, they make certain approaches more desirable than others, resulting in the target becoming caught or disabled by the spells. Just like a fishhook... it's smooth and harmless when it's slid one way, but if you change direction it ....eh... digs in.... you know, this didn't sound quite so disturbing in my head."

While her friends tried to get the image of fishhooks embedding themselves in ponies out of their heads, Twilight tried to come up with a less distressing analogy, but was distracted by her mind trying to salvage her existing explanation. The resulting few moments were unpleasant for everyone present. It was Pinkie Pie who finally broke the uncomfortable silence as she took another bite of the pie slice she had left on the table. "You know, it sounds like when I'm making cupcakes." She gestured with the slice of pie, "You know... making something already super good into something that's even more super duper good so we can sell enough of them to make up for all the ones I give out throughout the day? You just add frosting, sprinkles, candy bits, chocolate, gumdrops, caramel, banana cream, ice cream, creme brule, french toast, pancakes, cupcakes, and then I really like just normal cakes too so we should definitely get enough balloons and streamers for Rose Luck's birthday next Tuesday because she's been really really nice ever since the incident with Trixie and she doesn't have a special somepony to get her gifts and give her hugs. Well, I guess we could give her hugs but it's not the same as mmmmrphlr?"

Rainbow Dash's hoof held Pinkie's mouth shut as she shook her head. Applejack just chuckled and said "That one kinda got away from you Pinkie."

Twilight, nodding, smiled but continued "But, yes Pinkie, I suppose they are kind of like.... cupcakes too. If you know what your target likes, you can make them more enticing, like using their favorite frosting, or make the alternative less appealing, like.... um.... making better cupcakes than your competition. So, yheah.... like cupcakes too. But, even if they have something to help get past your defenses, if they have to do something a bit reckless or move too fast, sometimes the thing can't keep up and you still get caught."

"So, if I made some really REALLY good cupcakes, and frosted them really really nicely, with your favorite flavors and everything, but you didn't WANT my cupcakes so you tried to avoid me but you weren't paying attention and you walked into Sugarcube Corner and you accidentally bought two or three dozen they'd be made of fishhooks?" Pinkie asked with an amazed look on her face.

"Well no, um...yes. Kind of? They wouldn't really be fishhooks but you're missing the point. I think they got in but were startled by Pinkie's twitchy tail and tried to get out too fast." Twilight grinned while Pinkie tried to decide how best to frost fishhooks so they'd not be a problem in cupcakes.

"But they still got away" Rarity intoned looking at the feather with a wave of her hoof. "And I dare say that it is still rather distressing that they managed to get in here at all. Whoever they might be."

"Right, but since they got a bit caught, I can look up things that might be able to get by my spells by examining it and maybe figure out who or what they are!"

"Didn't we already figure out that it's that Storm Dancer punk?" Rainbow Dash snarked as she circled the friends a few feet in the air.

"Sure, but that doesn't explain why he can get by my magic, let alone make you pegasi unable to stop his storms. Without the Elements, we kind of need to plan a bit better for these things girls. We can't just go in and aggressively-friendship him if he doesn't stop when we ask nicely... we have to be prepared!" Twilight explained.

"Right!" Shouted Pinkie Pie, her coat and mane sticking out at odd angles as arcs of blue electricity leapt out randomly. "We can't afford to make mistakes now! Too much is on the line!" She struck a pose worthy of Rainbow Dash, standing upright while leaning on an upturned chair with one leg. Twilight imagined it would look heroic if only she were holding a flag, snapping in a stiff wind, with a glorious sunset behind her. "We need to talk to Manny!"

The lost expressions on everyponies faces popped Pinkie's attention back from her imagined conquest of the land of raisin cookies as Rarity raised a carefully hooficured limb to get her attention. "Pinkie Pie, not to discourage your, um.... enthusiasm, but who is this 'Manny' and why do we need to talk to him?"

Pinkie Pie, ever the party planner, hopped down with a squeak and grinned in a manner that would have made most students of anatomy flinch and burn the books that depicted both skeletal structure and musculature as she giggled. "Manny is Manila Takes! She just got back from her honeymoon in Maremuda and we never got a chance to throw her a wedding party since she eloped!"

Rarity placed a hoof to her face and shook her head, "I highly doubt Manila will be in any mood to..."

"Pinkie Pie! Focus!" Barked Twilight in a rare flash of frustration. "We need to plan how to stop that unicorn uh....fury...." she gestured as she tried to decide if listing off the multiple mythological or thaumic possibilities would be helpful, "....stallion. We don't have time for a party right now!"

Pinkie visibly deflated, though her mane remained somewhat buoyant due to the extremely high electrical charge imparted by the missing slice of pie. "Oh... I was going to ask her about what frosting to use to make the fishhook cupcakes safe... since, you know, her mother is a tactical research assistant at the Solar Defense compound."

"How do..." Twilight gawked before shaking her head and grabbing a slice of the sparking pie and shoving it in her mouth. She chewed a moment with the deep frown of somepony being chastised by the universe as a whole. She simply couldn't figure out how Pinkie Pie could know simply everything that she knew and still seem so completely innoce-HOLY CELESTIA! That pie packed a kick.

Wedding Parties for Manila Takes

After finally diverting Twilight from her desire to chemically analyze the pie to determine what powered its electro-thaumic properties, the mares were able to follow Pinkie through the east end of Ponyville towards the home of Manila Takes. The preternatural quiet that had taken the small town was only just beginning to fade as neighbors and guests alike took note of the lack of destruction, chaos, invasions, and the general calm of a non-apocalyptic Ponyville evening. The fact that the town heros were striding through the streets with a determined look (well, except for Pinkie who was trailing a small cloud of white and pink balloons while bouncing), set many more hearts at ease. There was also the recognition that the town was not destroyed and that the horrible zombie invasion had apparently been the drunken ramblings of Berry Punch.... again.

If anypony had cared to ask her, Berry Punch would have happily informed them that she had nothing to do with such a rumor. She had been happily passed out with a bad case of the warm-fuzzies after cracking open a crate of strawberry-something that had been delivered to her back door earlier that day.

As it was, the mares had stopped just in front of the simple stucco and thatch two story that was Manila Takes' home. Despite Pinkie's assurances that they were indeed at the right residence, none of the girls could detect any sign of life from within. The lights were not on, the mailbox was slightly overfull, and most distressing was the fact that the shutters were not in fact locked shut. Undeterred, Pinkie bounced right up to the door and started knocking with her face, a wide grin complimenting her closed eyes in the iconic image of glee she was known for. Applejack was just raising her hoof to pull Pinkie back when the sound of the door's lock being undone drew everyponies attention.

Silently, the door swung inward revealing a tired looking cream coated earth pony with a meticulously pinned white mane done up in a crescent upon her head. Tired amber eyes took a moment to focus before a smile spread across her face. "Pinkie, " the young mare said, though the smile didn't quite reach her voice, "How can I help you... um... and your friends?"

Pinkie took a deep breath and then shouted "HAPPY AFTER HONEYMOON HAPPY TIME BELATED WEDDING BECAUSE YOU RAN OFF TO ELOPE AND I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO THROW YOU A PARTY PARTY!" as confetti exploded from the overstuffed mailbox, the streetlights, and the chimney simultaneously. Where the small fireworks had been hidden, as well as the noisemakers, was anyponies guess. Manila watched with a practiced ease while Pinkie tried to get the extra energy out of her system, which took almost a minute, before shaking her head with a smile and offering to let them all in.

The collection of mares smiled politely, Applejack taking off her hat, as they entered, though Rarity hung back for a moment at the door. "Not again dear" she asked Manila, though her inflection implied it to be more of a statement. When Manila gave a somewhat practiced smile, coupled with a small roll of her eyes, Rarity leaned in and hugged her before entering.

Manila's home wasn't small by any means. The rooms were large and high ceilinged, something common to many of the homes in Ponyville, but for all their size, there was precious little open space. Manila's home mirrored her cutie mark in that she clearly took care in making sure of her work before finishing it. So, while her texts were immaculate and never needed an editor to set right, her home was very much a testament to every alternative possibility she didn't feel deserved full and proper publication. While writing, she would often find herself debating what implications the choices of a particular character might have and, unlike other authors who simply plotted their stories out, she wrote out each possibility into what could be considered an enormous choose your own adventure... iff she could ever decide to publish anything other than a normal novel. At the same time, she simply couldn't discard such works, keeping them in neat, albeit complex, stacks as each new work contributed to the continued conquest of the home.

As it was, she had a much smaller, though no less organized, pile of engagement and wedding rings on a pole next to her (never used) fireplace that rose nearly to her shoulder. Rarity could understand the dilemma faced by any prospective suitor, it was a simply daunting decision which could cow even the most stalwart of hearts: how to live in a home with such....... clutter. Manila was a sweet and beautiful mare (if you could catch her when rested) with simply the softest coat and silkiest mane she had ever met. Fluttershy, with her voluminous and soft mane aside, had a very similar figure, though Manila couldn't seem to maintain that level of dedication for more than a few weeks at a time, usually while being wooed by an undoubtedly very attractive stallion.....which would inevitably end once she brought him home. Rarity wasn't quite sure, but Manila might well be her longest standing customer over the years, ordering (and then later displaying, unused) no less than twelve wedding dresses and at least twice that number in evening gowns and formal suits for prospective suitors. The number of garments she had purchased over the years for trips or signings was something Rarity no longer kept track of, but which merited a 40% discount on engagement and wedding related purchases. It was the least she could do.

So, while the rest of the guests looked around for a place to stand, Pinkie and Rarity both took up their prepared seats across from the kitchen, having been to the house many times over the years.

Manila closed the door, seemingly taking a moment to compose herself before she turned to greet her guests properly. Rarity watched pensively, knowing full well that Manila was likely trying her best to keep herself occupied after her latest... foray into the realm of romance. If it weren't for the current circumstances, she would likely have invited the mare over for tea or perhaps a spa trip to help ease the torment the dear soul was undoubtedly struggling with, but as it stood, the situation wouldn't allow her the option.

Rarity glanced at Pinkie, who was nearly buzzing with excitement, and tried not to become frustrated with her friend's antics. It wasn't Pinkie's fault really, Pinkie was simply always looking on the bright side and had a tendency to, how should she think of it.... possess an acute case of blunt optimism which bordered on the clinically oblivious when faced with something that didn't fit. She knew that Pinkie meant well, after all it was not uncommon to see Pinkie literally leaping from pony to pony engaging in impromptu displays of contagious joviality, but that also meant that in sensitive situations, Pinkie was out of her element. Rarity raised a hoof and gently touched Pinkie's shoulder, bringing the almost luminescent eyes of the party planner to lock on her own.

"Pinkie, perhaps you could withhold just a tiny bit of your enthusiasm." She smiled while watching Manila from her seat. Applejack and Fluttershy were in the process of looking around tentatively, most likely trying not to make a mess or accidentally disturb the towering columns of immaculate hoofwriting with a careless wing. Rainbow Dash had taken on a curious expression which appeared to be a cross between disgust, embarrassment, and.... tentative curiosity? Oh my, Rarity thought, she couldn't possibly be intrigued enough by the snippets of stories scattered around to pick up another habit.. could she? The thought was both scandalous and deeply amusing to the alabaster unicorn, whose lips began to curl into a meticulously controlled grin.

Twilight, on the other hoof, was looking around with an almost unreadable look on her face. She clearly appreciated the organization that Manila used to maintain her works, but she also seemed a bit uncomfortable to be standing amongst them. It was a bit of a puzzle that Rarity resolved to file away for a later time. After all, they had business to discuss.

"I do apologize for the intrusion Manila, but we were in need of your mother's expertise regarding the earlier crisis. Though, " Rarity put on her most genial smile, inclining her head just a bit as Manila turned from the door to look at the collection of guests, "perhaps you may find our situation.....enticing?" While Manila blinked for a moment, Rarity's smile grew. It was true that Onelia Take (Manila's mother had dropped the s after marriage) worked for the Solar Defense as a research assistant, Rarity also knew that if they inquired of Onelia herself, the only ponies present which might be able to follow her conversation would be Twilight and possibly Manila herself. By tempting Manila with a minor mystery, she knew that the author would, in all likelihood, become just as curious as Twilight. Unlike Twilight though, Rarity knew that Manila could formulate not only a plan, but a plan that the rest of them had a chance at both following and, more importantly, understanding. Rarity could almost see the scraps of information being strung together in Manila's eyes... tidbits of curiosity began to mesh with her natural perfectionism as her mind began to try to unravel what the town heroes, plus local princess, were doing in her home. Twilight looked to Rarity for a moment and opened her mouth as if to speak, but a tiny motion of Rarity's hoof caused her to pause, a look of confusion crossing her features.

"Miss Belle? I'm not sure I completely understand." Manila tipped her head, much like Twilight Rarity noticed, as she began to carefully navigate around the stacks of papers. "What crisis? I don't recall any crisis recently? Was there another changeling invasion?"

Rarity shook her head.

"A swarm of dangerous animals eating the town?"

Applejack flinched while Fluttershy blushed. Rarity's small grin grew almost imperceptibly as she shook her head again.

"A dragon attack maybe?"

Rarity smiled again while shaking her head, somewhat thankful that Spike had decided to stay behind to 'feather-proof' the library and work the stains out of his scales.

"An ancient god of - "

Rarity smiled but shook her head again.

"Um... a forgotten kingdom with a cur - "

While Rarity was enjoying herself while making sure to get Manila's attention, her friends clearly did not understand the delicate balance between rabid curiosity needing to be tempted and the bull-rush of brilliance-killing bluntness.

"No No No. We need your mother's help with a potentially dangerous, potentially ancient, potentially mythological, potentially near-Discord level proto demigod!" Twilight interrupted, much to Rarity's displeasure, earning the princess a sour glare.

Despite the abruptness, not to mention the sudden displeasure evident on Rarity's face, Manila's eyes virtually glistened with the declaration. "Tell me everything" She almost growled out, all evidence of her former malaise gone.

From Forest to Forge

It had taken nearly half an hour to explain the situation and assure Manila that they were not, in fact, teasing her. Apparently the author had been deeply engaged in writing another off-shoot to a novel she had published some years before and had simply not noticed the commotion outside. How, Twilight marvelled, somepony could somehow miss the thundering tempest that had descended upon and overtook Ponyville in less than twenty minutes, was simply beyond her.

Though, upon reflection, discovering Manila's focusing technique could prove to be a wonderful study aide.

Regardless, as the six left Manila's home, Pinkie Pie suddenly leapt out in front of the group only to spin around and yell "HOLD IT!", balanced upon her hind legs while using her forelegs to press back into Applejack's chest. The look in her eyes was deadly serious as the friends and Manila all came to a very abrupt stop.

"Pinkie?" Twilight asked, poking her head around Applejack to look at Pinkie with concern. "What's wrong? Is your Pinkie Sense, I still can't believe I'm asking this, telling you something?"

Pinkie dropped back down onto all fours, sinking low to the ground as if searching for something small or getting ready to pounce before springing back up into the aid with a squeal. "Nope! Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut, we never got to throw Manila her party for her 'Happy welcome back to Ponyville after your unexpected, though totally understandable, elopement with that stallion who is clearly hiding from us since you're so totally happily married now' party!"

Rarity's pupils shrank as she glanced back to Manila with a panicked look, only to see the mare rolling her eyes. "Um, Pinkie, you do know that it....well...."

Manila broke in with a slight snuffle, as if discarding something of minor irritation. "He was a jerk Pinkie. So no, but if you'd like we can throw another of your usuals later in the week alright?"

The mares, save Pinkie, all blinked in a muddled form of confusion before looking back at Pinkie uncertainly. The pink party pony had paused midair, her party streamers and noisemakers half unfurled and likewise frozen, before Pinkie drifted back to the ground and reached up to collect her supplies. "Yheah, we can do that too," she said calmly. "You know, if this keeps up though, I'm going to eventually have to just install rolls of streamers in your bushes to save on travel expenses."

Manila's lips trembled for a moment causing Rarity to raise a hoof and Fluttershy to start moving in for a hug before the author suddenly began to chuckle. "Maybe Pinkie. Maybe, but I think the princess is a bit anxious to look into that stallion." She turned to Twilight with a respectful nod of her head. "Princess."

Twilight decided to take control again before any other distractions could derail them. With a smile and a nod, Twilight turned back to her friends as Manila stepped back inside and shut her door. "Alright girls, so, according to Manila, the best course of action would be to let Celestia and Luna know about this and let them take care of it." She waved a hoof dismissively. "Which, we're not going to do. I mean, honestly, if we had to bother them for every little problem, they'd never get anything done." Her friends glanced around between one another but didn't interrupt. "Besides, I'm a princess now too, so this is kind of my responsibility. So, that means plan B." She stomped her front hooves while throwing her head just a little higher than normal, a wide smile on her face.

"W-which is?" Fluttershy asked, her eyes half hidden behind her mane.

"Yheah, what's the plan Twilight? We go in and buck that jerk right in the face and tell him to get out?" Rainbow darted in, clapping her front hooves together with an almost angry grin on her face.

"Girls!" Rarity's voice snapped Rainbow's attention back almost as fast as the pale blue glow tugged her back to the ground. "I believe Twilight was going to tell us precisely that, weren't you Twilight?"

"Yes! After we got her to believe us, while Pinkie was doing that thing with the balloons, Manila and I worked out some likely possibilities based off her latest novel. Since she's been focusing on the Canterlot Changeling invasion recently, she's been busy applying both her literary skill and her mother's tactical advice towards Ponyville....which I REALLY wish I knew ahead of time." Twilight glanced at Pinkie who was listening while offering Rainbow Dash a small box of popcorn she had gotten from somewhere. "Strategically placed defenses coupled with a perimeter network stand the best chance of early detection while a network of pegasi and unicorn messengers could easily coordinate a standing defense. Meanwhile an Earth pony infantry armed wit-... um... Yes Applejack?"

Applejack, who had a dry look on her face with one eyebrow raised, put her hoof back down. "Um, Twi, what about that stallion. I mean, not that I don't think workin out how to stop a changelin invasion ain't helpful, but we were already kind of working on the .... well... you know, actual problem."

Twilight's cheer morphed almost instantly to confusion and then embarrassment as she realized she had become caught up in Manila's nearly voluminous set of potential attack venues... completely getting off course in the process. "Eh, heh. Right, um... since there's probably no zombie ponies and the changelings are most likely not involved, we should probably have Dash scout out where he went while the rest of us help to clear the nearby residents, just in case." She waited while Rainbow nodded curtly and the others either continued listening or nodded assent. "I don't want this to turn into a battle, but if things get really bad, Fluttershy can always ask Discord for help I guess." Twilight made a slight face while even Applejack looked concerned.

"Not to go questioning you Twilight but, Discord? Won't he just, you know," the farm pony paused to scratch her neck nervously, trying not to look directly at Twilight or Fluttershy, " just end up stirring the pot?"

"Well, it's possible, which is why he's our last resort but, if Storm Dancer really is a fury, we're going to need somepony of Discord's caliber to really do anything without the Elements." Twilight's gaze slid between her friends, the situation still not sitting well with any of them. "Look, it's not like we have much to go on here. He controls the weather, which normally is something Rainbow Dash or even Fluttershy could stop, but his storms ignore magic. Likewise, he uses magic, but there we have the same problem. We don't know enough about what's happening to really research anything to stop him, and we don't even know what exactly he's doing or even if we need to stop him. He didn't even technically do anything specific... other than look scary and break Pinkie's cannon." She looked down in self-induced exasperation as she gestured idly with a hoof. "For all we know, he could be possessed by Sombra's long lost cousin's pet or something."

When Twilight looked up again, Pinkie Pie was mere inches from her face, causing her to tumble back in a startle. "Pinkie Pie? What?"

Pinkie squinted a moment more before saying "You never told us Sombra had a cousin with a pet! We should totally invite them to our pony pet play date!"

Five mares shook their heads as Pinkie giggled. Nopony noticed that despite having shut her door, Manila had never passed behind her windows after re-entering her home. The shutters remained wide open and, despite the shades not being closed, nopony had seen her trot back across the room. If they had wondered, it would have only taken glancing inside to see that she was just behind the door, a vacant expression on her face as she stared gormlessly at the featureless wood of her door frame.

Here Upon the Vale

The weather was nice for flying. Clouds drifted by, high and thin in the otherwise blue sky as a lone doe grazed upon small yellow flowers that bowed in the gentle breeze below. Bees were lazily drifting from bloom to bloom looking like little so much as a whirring cream/black smear over the meadow. A puffy bunny worked at cleaning its little tummy while the baby bunnies that lingered nearby watched in fascination as the raspberry bushes, yet to bloom in the early spring, dipped and waved on their spindly stalks.

Looking down, the meadowlark watched as a pair of butterflies fluttered haphazardly across the clearing, spinning and dancing as the golden rays of the sun showered down upon the relaxing scene below. To the west, the sound of a crystal clear brook could just barely be heard whispering through the soft rustle that was the sound of the Everfree Forest. All was right. All was good. All was calm.

The meadowlark tipped his head to look across the meadow into the canopy opposite. Nestled between the branches of one of the numerous dark green trees was another meadowlark, its feathers a dull mottled brown. It's feathers fluffed once as it looked across the clearing and chirped a tiny note of recognition before settling in and growing still. The sight was a joy to behold. Taking a deep breath, he started in on his song, the warbling trills leaping from his carefully trimmed beak as he teased out melody after melody. Lilting notes danced and swayed, playfully weaving between grass and flower, alighting upon dew-stained blossoms on their way to the lovely little lark across the meadow. The doe raised her head, finely tufted ears swivelling as she listened to his song, the sun dappling her coat as even the bunnies stopped their lazy antics to listen, captivated.

He sang, the pure joy of spring mixing with his hopes and desires, innocent glee tinted with passionate promises. He sang and sang, the sun slowly drifting towards the horizon as he painted his heart upon the audience who chanced to hear his melodic trills and heartrending dreams. He watched, hoping against hope that the meadowlark sitting across the meadow would be moved to return his proposal, pouring more emotion into his song as she watched him back.

The doe had long since stopped grazing, listening to the avian masterwork being delivered to the world, and stood transfixed as the sun slid slowly into the tree line above. The sky, long the captive audience of the meadowlark's work, blushed as he intoned desires and passions that hinted at cold winter nights and warm, hidden, nests in scenic places where nothing but another meadowlark had any business intruding. Even the stars seemed to glisten with a lovers tremble as they revealed themselves one by one, as if tempted to embrace the hidden joys against their better judgement. If they had, they made no move to excuse themselves as the meadowlark wove his proposal into the heavens and pled his dreams to the listening meadowlark across the clearing.

The doe, sensing his desires, quietly left, disturbing only a few blossoms that would be the only witnesses to his song's conclusion, the bunnies and field mice that normally scampered through such clearings having long since returned to warrens and dens for the evening. So, it was into an empty clearing, littered with dewblossoms and wild flowers that the meadowlark finally flitted, spreading wings to dip slowly into the cooling evening air as he laced himself through the bed of flowers before winging up to join the object of his affections, a dewblossom and blueberry gripped in a single foot as he flared his wings to alight upon the bough with not so much as a vibration to disturb her.

Bowing his head and flexing his wings to show both his attractiveness as well as his appreciation for her beauty, he hopped closer to see if the lovely creature would return his affections.

Yet, she remained still, unimpressed and refusing to even turn her head.

Tucking his wings back in, perhaps afraid of having offended such a beautiful specimen as she, he instead lowered his head and gently presented his gifts, an inch away so as not to disturb her reflections or imply that he was pushy.

Still, she remained unmoved.

Withdrawing his foot, the meadowlark slowly turned and spread his wings. With one final look at the gift of the divine behind him, he flitted off, a mournful tone echoing through the suddenly very large and dark forest... he should have known that there was no way he could be good enough to tempt her.

Below, hiding among the flowers and grasses that bowed and swayed as if weeping for the departing minstrel, a field mouse clutched its tiny paws together, tears glistening in its eyes at having heard the song. Looking up, it couldn't hope to understand how anything, let alone the target of such affection, could resist such a heartfelt and honest declaration of love. With a similar glance to the canopy above, the field mouse scampered off into the night, too upset to even imagine what could have driven the meadowlark to sound so utterly broken.

As the evening drew to a close, the meadow remained empty save for the mottled meadowlark perched upon a bough next to a blueberry and a dewblossom. The sun, long since hidden by the forest's trees, eventually sank below the horizon as if quietly taking even its leave from the sorrowful sight and memory of the mournfully crushed heart of the meadowlark. A slight chill crept into the air as a thin set of clouds drifted overhead, leaving a hazy film over the night sky.

And just as the first moonflower unfurled from its daytime slumber, a slight breeze disturbed the dewblossom left as a parting gift by a forlorn performer. The blossom, light and delicate as the blush of warmth from a lovers cheek, tottered and fell from the bough ... followed a moment later by the still form of a mottled meadowlark who hadn't heard a single tone of a weeping lovers song.

Joking Poison

Zecora carefully placed her hooves upon the bank of one of the many streams that wandered throughout the Everfree before lowering herself to take a tentative sip. The cold water, still icy from the snow melt upstream, was clear and crisp, free of the taint of rot or filth that tended to occur every so often in the forest. With a smile, she paused to savor the invigorating feeling of cold before starting to drink in earnest.

She had been walking for the better part of the day, gathering herbs, roots, and other ingredients for her profession when she had stumbled upon a small patch of burning whisper. In her joy at finding such a rare flower, she had spent nearly an hour doing little more than carefully collecting a number of leaves and storing them in her satchel. She would have liked to have taken a number of the plants themselves, but as they were in bloom and she did not possess any flame retardant clothing at the moment, she had instead been careful to note their location with that hope to return later with a ceramic jug for transport.

The day had worn on, her efforts at tending to the hoof-sized white blooms with their signature yellow stems and orange/red leaves had left her with a growing hunger as well as the dryness that accompanied the plants themselves. It was simply a joy to be able to find fresh water so nearby, something she had grown quite fond of since traveling to Equestria from her former home.

Lifting her face from the chilly stream, she caught a drop of water that was about to slip down her chin with her tongue and savored the fading sensation of the wild cold of the ice and snow that would shortly depart for the year. She closed her eyes, inhaling as the drop of water spread across her tongue, it's brisk touch fading to but a memory as she took notice of the smells around her. There were the flowers and herbs in her pack of course, the scintillating crisp of the stream with its airy tang of the mountains, the earthy tones of leaves and decay that formed the basis of any forest, mixed with the sharp tang of flowers and broken foliage from the creatures that lived or passed through here. She took a moment to listen to her surroundings, tracking the call of a starling and the chittered argument between two squirrels. The light touch of a breeze caused her mohawk to send a shiver down her neck as the tiny tufts of hair on her ears brushed an errant length of her mane. She felt the soft ground behind her and the hard stones under her front hooves, a mild dampness from where her muzzle had been recently in the water and the tingle of her skin as the icy chill passed, her lips breaking into a small smile.

Yes, the Everfree might be frightful to many, but to her, it was a vibrant, living thing. She knew there were creatures within its depths that were dangerous, but she also knew that living anywhere came with its own full score of hazards. Unlike anywhere, however, the Everfree was full of so much life and so many many things that she simply couldn't imagine leaving it to live anywhere else.

Her musings were interrupted as she heard the mournful cry of a flitjay winging overhead, its song sad and heartrending in a way that could inspire poets and composers to works of great tragedy or stories of lost love. The song was not altogether unknown to her, creatures passed in the forest frequently, victims of accident or design, but it was uncommon for there to be any that would sing their pain to the world in the stead of another. That this messenger had told her meant that their's was likely still a great suffering that should be tended to.

The bird's song, long since passed beyond hearing, caused the zebra to look around again. She noted the sun was hidden below the dark of the trees, but guessed that she had, perhaps, an hour before it would be truly dark. If she hurried, she should be able to help whatever had brought upon the flitjay's sorrow and still return home before Luna's gaze swept the night sky.

Turning on a hoof, Zecora closed her eyes again, feeling the path the small messenger had taken and oriented herself accordingly before striking out into the growing darkness of the evening.

A number of minutes passed before a small field mouse scampered by, taking notice of a lonely white petal near the stream as tears matted its dark brown eyes. Its whiskers stretched forwards, feeling something in the air as it clutched the petal to its chest and scampered off into the darkness, its path almost identical to the zebra that had just departed.

When Walls and Mirrors

Twilight Sparkle stood in the center of a nexus of activity.

Once Rainbow Dash had darted off to try and find the stallion, the other girls had set to work quickly. Fluttershy was hovering near the town square, relaying information and instructions to the hoof full of pegasi who had been available to help while Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie trotted from house to house knocking on doors and alerting the townsfolk to the potential danger should the situation turn sour. Mayor Mare had insisted on a quickly made public announcement and the resulting cluster of ponies had taken the news better than Twilight had expected.

The train station was still intact despite the crushing mob of ponies vying for a seat.

Much better than expected, Twilight thought, after all when a bunny invasion had sent many into fainting spells the exponentially greater danger of a mythological force of anger posed a threat on a totally different order of magnitude. She could honestly say she was proud of them for only just barely rioting. No windows were broken, nopony had been hurt, and the only real damage had been to the flowerbeds between town square and the train station - and even they didn't have flowers yet this early in the season.

Twilight was in the middle of casting another grounding ward when the soft whisper of wings alerted her to Fluttershy's presence. With a smile, Twilight completed her spell, something that would not have been possible if Rainbow Dash were the one to relay information, before turning to her timid friend.

"Hey Fluttershy, what've you got for me?"

Fluttershy smiled softly before dipping in a bit closer and pointing towards the southwest road out of town. "I just thought I should let you know that Blossomforth spotted Zecora coming into town. I hope you don't mind, but I asked her to tell Zecora we might need her help."

Twilight smiled broadly. "No no, that's great Fluttershy. Good work. With Zecora here we can at least find out about that other zebra. Besides, she might know something about that stallion's weird magic."

Fluttershy nodded before touching down completely, taking a moment to look around at the quickly emptying town. "I guess I never realized just how many ponies actually lived here. It's... it's a bit strange seeing the streets getting so empty."

Twilight nodded, already considering what else needed to be done while scanning the streets. "Yheah. It is kind of strange. Everypony's normally going about doing their shopping or gardening or just doing their daily chores, but even though I never see them all out at once, it's certainly a different feeling to see them all leaving at the same time."

The two stood in contemplation for a moment while a number of ponies walked by briskly, a particular white maned blue unicorn in a purple hat eliciting a double take from Twilight before turning the corner towards the station. "And then again, sometimes I think I'm just more surprised at what I've missed just because I'm so often at the library."

Fluttershy looked like she was about to say something when the quick trotting of Rarity's approach brought the pegasus up short. Hopping back into the air, she smiled before rising up towards the flag posts again to help coordinate. Twilight watched her go, a thoughtful expression on her face before turning to Rarity.

"Well, I can't say that this has been my favorite activity for the evening, but the town has been warned and, except for a few stragglers, most everypony either has left, or is waiting to leave as we speak." Rarity finished with a curt nod of her head, her mane bouncing once as if for emphasis. Twilight nodded before using her magic to lift another long metal pole and positioning it near a nearby mop and easel shop.

While she had somewhat gotten used to the apparently random associations of some of the towns businesses (sofas and quills now inextricably connected in her head), others still mystified her. The mop and easel she could see.... an artist might need to clean up after creating a masterpiece after all, but others still struck her as odd like the Button and Toothpick shop. Shaking her head, Twilight started the pole spinning like a drill before driving it firmly into the ground next to the shop corner, deftly attaching a thick wire to its base and trailing it towards the large steel belted barrel next to the town hall.

Rarity watched with a confused, but interested, expression, raising an eyebrow at the wire while she waited for Pinkie to reappear. Twilight drove three more poles into the ground around the square before she turned at the sound of a metered set of hoofsteps approaching from the southwest. Zecora was approaching with a troubled look on her face, a set of saddlebags heavily loaded laying across her back as she took in the collection of poles and wires.

"Twilight Sparkle, I've been looking for you, though it seems you have been busy too." The zebra paused to lower her head and examine one of the heavy wires running across the street, apparently reluctant to cross it before opting to trot around the pole it hung from. Twilight watched with curiosity as she noted Zecora's behavior. "I fear that something dark draws near, even the Everfree is acting queer."

Twilight's curiosity turned to concern. It was one thing to have a potential demigod level creature on the loose, but the Everfree forest was one of the places where even Discord had occasional trouble (though he would never admit it) in manipulating things. If something were disrupting the Everfree, their problems would likely just continue to compound. "What do you mean Zecora? What's gone wrong?"

"I heard a weeping flitjay fly, but found his sorrow to be a lie. The heart he did attempt to woo had already been cut in two!" Zecora's approach once more took a slight detour around the poles as she continued. "The meadowlark had flown away to mourn, but the others mind had since been torn. Something hunts them which I fear, will shortly start to draw quite near." The Zebra closed the last few steps before turning her head and carefully pulling what looked like a stuffed bird from her bags and set it before Twilight.

Taking a moment to look more closely, Twilight was startled to realize the bird was in fact not stuffed at all, but was apparently stunned in some fashion. Looking over it again, she noted the coloration and patterning before assuring herself that it was indeed a female meadowlark. Looking back up, she noted that Zecora was watching her closely. She was about to ask where the zebra had found the poor thing when Fluttershy suddenly scooped up the bird and started checking it over, whispering to it as she flew into a more comfortable role of animal caregiver.

"I know you're busy though I do not see. The purpose of these..." Zecora paused to gesture towards the poles and wires, "...eludes me."

"Oh, they're for what I'm happy to see you for. They're lightning rods!" Twilight smiled, her wings unconsciously opening for a moment, before snapping back closed. "I need to ask you about things that ignore magic. Specifically creatures that can control the weather, prevent pegasi from altering weather systems, and whose magic is immune or heavily resistant to unicorn or alicorn magic."

Zecora gave a blank stare for a moment before lowering her eyebrows and leaning forward a bit. "Twilight Sparkle, what have you done that has your magic on the run?"

"I haven't done anything! Well, at least I don't think I've done anything. I might have nearly killed an angry, weather controlling, demigod on accident, but I'm rather hoping it's just a coincidence really." Twilight gave a nervous smile while looking to Rarity for help. Zecora's expression of surprise lasted only a moment before she started to chuckle in her rich voice.

"I doubt your troubles are quite so grand, but even in another land, such a claim out loud is rarely heard because mistakes are often a missed word. Tell me, princess, what you've seen and we may find what it may truly mean."

"I'm sorry to say Zecora, but I believe that Twilight is actually right this time. That stallion is certainly frightful enough to not be a normal unicorn." Rarity interjected, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the zebra. "Please do not misunderstand, we don't know exactly what he is, but Rainbow dash couldn't even touch his storm clouds and I'm sure you recall what she does for a living."

"Hey Zecora! Twilight, Manny's staring at a wall. Did you know that Fluttershy's petting a bird that's totally not even awake? I found out that I CAN put fishhooks in cupcakes if they're made out of candy canes so now we don't have to worry about King Sombra's cousin's pet anymore!"

Pinkie Pie watched as Twilight slammed into the ground as gravity took hold of her after leaping into the air in surprise while Rarity stood stock still, her mane blasted straight back from Twilight's panicked magic shockwave. Zecora, for her own part, stumbled back a step as she found Pinkie literally leaping out of her saddlebags. Once everypony (and zebra) had regained their composure, the obvious question led the small group back to Manila Takes' home where the mare was found, predictably, staring vacantly at the doorframe.

Before Twilight could even examine her, Zecora pushed past the princess, startling Twilight with the abruptness of her action. For the entire time she'd known the zebra, Twilight had never seen her rude or disrespectful in any way. Even when she had been accused of cooking Applebloom after discovering her home ransacked by Twilight and her friends, she had only responded in a confused anger, demanding little more than an answer for why they were invading and destroying her home. Mistakes aside, Twilight had since become fast friends with the zebra, often spending the odd day in her company conversing (in occasionally difficult to decipher rhyme) about plants, alchemy, culture, and the strange magics that the zebra seemed to be capable of.

The fact that Zecora had simply pushed Twilight aside did not anger Twilight Sparkle - it worried her.

"Zecora? What's wrong? Do you know what's going o...um... Why is she just staring at the wall like that?" Twilight asked once she realized she had started to unconsciously rhyme after conversing with the zebra.

"No. No no no no no. This is worse than words can show!" The zebra quickly took a small brown bottle from her bags and pulled the cork from it with her teeth. A strong, bitter smell immediately caused Twilight to gag and take a step back. Ignoring the scent, Zecora tipped the bottle over Manila's head, pouring the foul smelling watery fluid across the mare's forehead and eyes.

A moment later, Manila Takes shuddered and collapsed where she began convulsing before growing still.

Twilight looked on in horror as Rarity stepped back, a hoof finding her mouth as she glanced between Zecora and her friend, shock and fear mingling as she tried to decide what she was witnessing.

Zecora ignored them all, instead scraping a hoof across the doorstep, drawing tiny curls of her black hooves across the stone as she sharpened it. Manila lay still, her stare blank once more but looking even less focused.

Twilight suddenly realized that the mare wasn't breathing. "What did you do?!?" She shouted, her wings flitting open as she rounded on Zecora, only to have the sharpened hoof tap the tip of her horn, causing her spell to falter, not to mention flinch.

Zecora ignored her as she focused upon the still mare. In one swift motion, she whipped her hoof from where she had tapped Twilight down and across the prone mare's side, a thin slash appearing across her chest, just enough to trim her coat unevenly. Rarity gasped at both the speed and the horror of marring such a well tended coat, but Zecora ignored all that. She was focused upon the thing that was hiding at the edge of her sight.

Twilight was just starting to fire up another spell when Zecora's hoof snapped down next to Manila’s face, where she held her hoof tightly to the ground. "Twilight, do not argue or say a word, What I say must be said or she may not be cured. Touch my mane and take a look, across my shoulder down to my hoof." Twilight blinked but translated as best she could in her head. Stepping forward again, she raised a hoof to Zecora's mohawk before leaning across her back awkwardly and peering over the zebra's left shoulder. When she looked to where Zecora's hoof stabbed the ground next to Manila's face, she gasped and jolted herself back, her hooves snapping to her mouth and hoping that her gasp didn't break the 'no talking' rule.

Looking again, she saw nothing where Zecora's hoof had cut a small notch in the floor, but as she returned to the odd position and looked over the zebra's shoulder, she saw the strange black ribbon that thrashed across the ground, impaled by the hoof. she watched as needle-like protrusions and razor-thin edges slashed at the hard, black hoof of the zebra.

Rarity gasped as she stood confused. "Ze-Zecora, you're bleeding!"

Twilight suddenly realized that to Rarity, it must look as if Zecora's hoof was tearing itself apart.

A Spoonful of Sugar

Mojo leaned back as he rested in his room. The dim, purple, candle flame giving just enough light to see the slowly shifting shadows of the chair, table, and collection of simple spears against the wall. Above him, he knew, were a set of small twists of various unnamed herbs bent to resemble animals from the Everfree, creatures he had no reason to fear even this far into the forest itself. He relaxed slightly, the earthy, slightly spicy, scent of the candles blending with the odor of dyes and medicines giving the chamber an almost unreal sense to it. If he were to close his eyes and just relax for a moment, it would seem as it the whole of creation had somehow slipped away, leaving only this quiet, warm, room to float in the endless nothing of space. Mojo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

snap

The moment broken, the black zebra tentatively cracked an eye open, just enough to watch for the slight shifting he suspected would be at the edge of his vision. The sound had been soft, almost imperceptible, but in the silence of his chamber, this deep underground, sounds seemed to grow stronger.

Mojo waited. He knew something else was in the room, staying outside the small circle of light cast by the dimly glowing candles, watching him, perhaps stalking him. He could feel the attention that was focused upon his body, his face, and even his shadow. Clever, he thought, it knows enough not to cross my shadow in the candle light. With deliberate slowness, he slowed his breathing, taking long, shallow breaths rather than the deep, even breathing he had been until moments before. It wouldn't do to give whatever it was the impression that he was aware of it until he knew more. He didn't quite ascribe to the notion of surprise, but in situations like this, every advantage could be capitalized upon.

Slowly, he drew in fewer and fewer breaths, his heart slowing and his black skin becoming as cool as the soil around him. The sound of his breathing fading by increments until it was as if the denizens of the soil themselves were the only ones present. His vision began to dim, though he kept his one eye cracked just enough to see the fading glow of the candles before him, their colors long since leached gray by his need for precious oxygen. Still, he waited, losing feeling in his hind legs as he slowly deprived himself of the sky's gift.

pffft

The sound was so soft he at first wasn't sure he had heard it at all. He felt the muscles in his ears start the slow process of waking up to search the darkness but he clamped down on his instincts and forced himself to remain perfectly still. An uncomfortable cold began to sink into his chest as his lungs screamed for air. Faintly, he became aware of a pressure on his side, a pressure that was sliding up his chest and towards his face.

There was a moment of confusion when the candle light snuffed out before reappearing again with the most remarkably faint sheen of crimson.

Ah, so it was a deez that had found him. The recognition was not one he savored in his current state. While a greely understood pain and suffering, a deez understood life and rules. That a deez had breached his chambers unnoticed was not a small thing. It implied that something had changed while he was out gathering the tools of his trade. He wasn't sure what, and he was certainly curious now that he had a quite dangerous thing perched upon his face, but at the moment it was more important not to give any indication of life. So, even though his body was wailing internally, struggling against training to remain still, he continued his corpse trance and waited.

He could taste the bitter of iron on his tongue, the flavor of his blood rushing to the surface, desperately trying to draw oxygen through the thin membranes of his sinuses and mouth. His eyes burned with the strain of his increasing blood pressure even as his heartbeat slowed to a grave-like crawl. He couldn't feel his legs and noticed the dim glow of the candle seemed quite a bit further away than it had. The only sense that still seemed to be functioning properly was his hearing, and even that seemed to have a muffled, lower toned quality to it, as if he were listening to things while underwater.

He had just started to feel himself sliding to the floor when the dark form flitted off and departed.

He refused to breathe, instead feeling himself slump to the cold soil of the ground as he counted off in his head.

Uhn, de night ahn de sun.

Doo, of dem der be few.

Trey, de hide in de ley.

Fo-ahr, uhn hide in iss lo-ahr.

Five, doo stray from de hive.

Six, a promise to nix.

Se vun, you betta nah run.

Eight, keep dem limbs straight.

Nine, old-dit ... now yeh be fine.

He took a deep, rattling breath as his vision crashed back with absurd brightness. Coughing, his ears ringing as a deep throbbing muffled his senses in waves as his heart desperately sped up to carry the air to his starved organs. He gasped and gagged, his body curling in as he convulsed, freezing. He couldn't feel anything but the frigid burning of his body as his nerves tried to relay the emergency signals of asphyxiation and suffocation mixed with the cold of being drenched in sweat with only a candle for warmth.

He wasn't sure how long he lay there, shuddering and tremoring as his temperature slowly returned to normal and blood began to slow again, but when he finally noticed the candle again, it was nearly spent, only leaving an inch or so above the pressed clay block upon which it sat. Feebly, Mojo reached towards the candle, trying to draw any warmth he could into his limbs as he recovered.

It was sometime later when he emerged from his room, shaky and still drenched in a cold sweat, and set about gathering his tools for a hunt. If a deez had managed to invade his home, there was something instructing the creature in how to avoid the snares and temptations he had littered all over the area. Something was hunting that which hunts the dark from the shadows.

Something was looking to feast.

04 - Kilns and Sand Castles

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Orbits

There is something to be said about magic that not many ponies really want to hear: magic is hard.

Well, maybe not hard per se, but magic isn't easy. Even the simplest of spells take practice unless they fit with a unicorn's special talent, and even then they require effort. For someone like Twilight Sparkle, that effort had been obvious as she had practiced and studied over the course of her entire life. Were magic a muscle, Twilight would have been a world-class, multi-focus, unopposed, nightmare-to-drill-sergeants for any of the military forces of Equestria. As it was, she remained a (relatively) unnoticed unicorn-turned-alicorn princess who just happened to have an aptitude for magic. One that had defeated a crazed goddess, imprisoned (and later contributed to the reformation of) an elder god of chaos, and helped to fight off an army fielded by the immortal ruler of the changeling race. Oh, and her assistant single-handedly saved an empire from some uppity crystal obsessed, immortal, smoking unicorn made of manifest shadow.

All that, however, failed to explain why she was so absolutely disturbed by the act she had just witnessed her zerba friend commit moments ago.

"Z-Zecora... what did you just do?"

The zebra was busy wrapping her hoof in a scrap of cloth Rarity had sacrificed from her scarf to use as a bandage. Though the material itself was undoubtedly costly, even Twilight could see that it would be nearly useless for anything other than a rag within minutes. Zecora seemed less concerned about her unusual injury than with the strange black ribbon that Twilight could only see while leaning across the zebra's shoulders. Despite the horrific injury, which had nearly peeled her hoof clean away with countless razor-thin cuts, the zebra tapped her bandaged hoof on the ground with increasing force until she gingerly lifted her leg with a flinch.

From what Twilight could guess, the force of that stomp would still have been respectable for someone like herself or Rarity, though Rainbow Dash or Applejack would have likely only applauded the effort. Pinkie.... well, Pinkie was a wild card when if came to physicality.

"A shadow hunts where no pony sees, but to strike one low, one must still pay its fees." With another gentle tap of her hoof, Zecora tightened the bandage one final time before turning back to the motionless mare on the ground.

"Twilight Sparkle, you must know, that without air, her life will go. She must breathe, and soon at that, if she is to live, we must now act!"

Without hesitation, Twilight nodded and teleported, leaving Rarity to stare at Pinkie Pie in the otherwise empty street. "Well.... that was ...... horrible. Pinkie, did you happen to see Applejack while you were running around?"

Pinkie Pie seemed slightly distracted but quickly turned her head with a smile. "Ooooof course! She was over by the market making sure that nopony stayed behind to 'save their bits'. But I think she was really just making sure everypony left their stuff on the ground instead of trying to drag it away. I mean, it's not like their bits are going to get hurt or something." Pinkie grinned, clearly enjoying the situation despite whatever had been distracting her a moment ago.

"Pinkie, do try to focus please. Applejack was at the market you say?" Rarity's question was met with an enthusiastic nod and an inhale which was cut short with a white hoof.

"And she was helping to make sure nopony was staying behind?" Again, a nod.

"Then I do believe we should go and collect our wayward friend before we become too distanced from one another to reconvene. Lead the way?"

With a happy bounce, Pinkie nodded before hopping back towards the town hall, and by proxy, the marketplace. Rarity sighed as she turned, the remains of her scarf tucked tightly into its new role as a hatband. To say that she was pleased at the use of one of her artistic works as nothing so much as a roll of gauze would be a lie whose magnitude could likely be detected by one of Twilight's dreadfully spartan earthquake machines. To say that she would have hesitated at all to give it away freely to help Zecora would be a lie of at least equal degree.

Yes, it was almost painful to have seen her design abused in such a manner, yet despite her discomfort, Rarity knew that she could provide not only material, but material that was both high quality and as close to sterile as could be expected. She would have given her own coat if it could have helped her, admittedly biologically fashion-backward, friend.

With a quick hike in her pace to keep up with Pinkie, Rarity considered what she had seen that had necessitated the destruction of her attire.

Zecora had come with them to check on Manilla only to push Twilight out of the way and pour some foul liquid upon the stricken mare. No sooner had the odious concoction stained her mane and eyes then she had collapsed, kicked out violently and grown still. For a terrifying few moments, Rarity had actually worried that Zecora had, for some reason, killed the mare. It was a horrid thought, one she was certainly ashamed of, given her own part in contributing to the zebra's initial hardships in Ponyville, but it was something she refused to hide from.

Despite everything, she found herself still guiltily suspecting the zebra on occasion, if for no other reason than cultural differences. That wouldn't do. Zecora had been nothing but kind and forgiving to them. She had gone out of her way to warn them of dangers and had likewise offered them aid on numerous occasions. The zebra had a heart of exotically-themed, rhyming, striped gold.... but gold none the less.

Rarity's thoughts came to a screeching halt when Pinkie Pie abruptly spun around to face her.

"Rarity!" the pink bundle of energy nearly shouted, "Where's Fluttershy?"

Blinking at the rapid change in thought, Rarity took only a moment to glance around before checking the empty sky. With a growing sense of unease, she looked back to Pinkie Pie.

"I'm afraid I do not know Pinkie.... and that is certainly most troubling."

Amongst Apples, an Orange

Splitting up to warn everypony had made the job faster, and that was what everypony had agreed to. Applejack knew that working with other folk meant the job got done quicker... sometimes it even meant that the job could get done in the first place. It was a lesson she had learned the hard way, and a lesson she reminded herself of whenever she felt her stubborn streak starting to buck at her. She knew Granny Smith would never call it 'stubborn', it was always 'Apple Integrity' or 'Apple Honor', but Applejack knew it for what it was. She was stubborn. There was no dodging that one.

It served her well in most cases though. She'd be more likely to dig in and finish a tough job than to let it go undone and she was more than willing to stick out the long hours that other ponies just wouldn't even attempt, but there were times when it worked against her.

This was one of those times.

She was still trotting down street after street, knocking on every door and explaining to whoever was left why they needed to flee now. It wasn't her strong suit to tell ponies to abandon their homes or property, it actually rather flew against her values to pull up roots, but she knew that anypony who stayed was not only putting themselves in danger, but everypony else. She couldn't imagine letting the ponyfolk get hurt if she could help it, but against a beasty like that there fury, trying to save somepony could very well get her or her friends killed.

It wasn't a happy thought.

She had just turned down Bluebell Lane when a shadow darted out in front of her. After the events of the day, she nearly jumped before realizing it was likely just a pegasus flying low. With a quick upward glance she nodded with satisfaction as she saw Fluttershy gliding overhead. She was about to call out when she noticed that her friend was clutching something small to her chest.

"That's odd," she thought aloud as she watched her friend continue on. "Thought she was only making sure folks kept up with one another."

With a slight frown, Applejack glanced once more at the shrinking form of her friend before continuing down the lane.

A few empty houses (and one brief argument with a particularly stubborn stallion over his 'rights' to stay) and Applejack was just about ready to buck a few doors down rather than deal with her erstwhile community. Normally folks were pretty friendly, but when things started getting sour she knew they liked to act like the stick poking a beehive.

Some of them townsfolk just weren't too bright at the end of the day.

Shaking her head as she plastered another smile on her face, Applejack nearly ran directly into a coffee brown stallion with a wind tossed mane and a thin blue tie. Clockwork, or Doctor something, or Time Turner, or .... whatever his name was, startled and backpedaled with an apology before she had even come to a complete stop.

"Terribly sorry about that Miss Applejack. Running a bit late you see. Things to do, people to see, haven't happened to have seen a little black ribbon laying around have you? No? Oh, probably best not to worry about that then. Have you tried the cobbler? It's quite good really. Bub-bye!" He fired off non-stop, before trotting off at a clip, leaving Applejack quite literally speechless for a moment.

"W-well alright then." she stammered, still processing the one-sided conversation that would have seemed right at home had it come out of Pinkie's mouth.

Thankfully her stupor lasted only long enough for the rapidly approaching set of mares to catch her attention. With a tail-flick of recognition, Applejack fully turned to face Pinkie Pie and Rarity as they raced up to her. While Rarity looked disheveled and out of breath, Pinkie Pie seemed as if sprinting the length of Ponyville were as simple as getting a bite to eat in a field of flowers. Then again, for Pinkie Pie, such sprints were probably little more than an early morning warm up.

"Now Pinkie, what's got you both racing around? Did something happen? Did that bugger show back up again?"

"Nope! We're looking for Fluttershy! She's missing!" Pinkie had hopped up and was leaning into Applejack's face by this point, her eyes bulging as she belted out the final two words of her explanation.

"Just saw her overhead....um...Pinkie, you can get off me now... She was flying over that way." Applejack gestured with her head as Pinkie hopped back to her hooves with a momentarily apologetic smile. "Everything alright?"

Rarity, who had finally had a brief moment to catch her breath, glanced in the direction Applejack had indicated before looking back to Pinkie with an exhausted expression. "Pinkie, perhaps you can fetch her? I'm.... " she wilted just a bit "not particularly well suited for keeping up with you." Under her breath, she may have mumbled something about Rainbow Dash or a magically propelled javellin being the only true competition the mare was likely to find.

"But Rarity, if we break the party, that's when the bad guys ALWAYS strike! The first rule of scary stories is that you DON'T run off alone!" Pinkie paused for a moment, Applejack and Rarity sharing a look, before she spun her hooves in small circles. "Ok, so, maybe it's more like the third rule after 'don't say nothing worse could possibly happen' or 'don't open that door,' but it's still pretty close to first."

"Pinkie, I think what Rarity's trying to say is that she can't keep up easy. Maybe you can fetch Fluttershy before Rares swallows her tongue?"

For a brief moment Pinkie seemed to be undecided, a nearly panicked look crossing her features as her eyes darted back and forth. Thankfully, only a second later, she sprung back into the air and darted off with a low-browed determination on her face.

"So, what was that really about Rarity? Can't see you and Pinkie racing around without a reason."

"Well, she did rather get most of the facts correct. We were following Fluttershy, but we were also trying to find you. Manilla was attacked by something." Applejack's brief frown was enough to let Rarity know she was listening closely. "Zecora and Twilight took her somewhere, I assume the hospital, but then we noticed that Fluttershy was missing. Rainbow Dash hasn't come back yet either, but she is looking for that horrid unicorn so I don't expect her to return for some time yet. But Fluttershy?" Rarity's expression finished the question.

"I hear ya. What's she doing flyin' off? Might make sense if she were looking for somepony, but she didn't even seem to notice me when she flew over." Applejack looked back down the road where Fluttershy had flown off, "Somethin' ain't right."

Bagels are Boiled AND Baked

The little meadowlark had needed her help: it was clearly sick or paralyzed. At the very least, it was quite thoroughly stunned. Whatever was wrong with it though, she just knew she could help the poor little dear. There wasn't time though, not while Twilight was trying to prepare for a fight and Applejack was off knocking on doors. Rarity and Pinkie just didn't have the mentality to work with little critters and Rainbow Dash, while she might mean well, was certainly not an option.

Glancing around, Fluttershy noticed that the village was almost completely empty at this point. An empty town was no place for a sick creature. There was only one thing to do... she had to take it north, outside of the town and then swing around towards her home. She had medical supplies there. It was safe there. Angle Bunny could help her look after the little dear until she could figure out what was wrong. It was all on her.

With a brief moment to check for anypony else who might be near, she set off, wings pumping as she flew north. It wasn't too far to the outskirts after all, maybe a minute or two to weave between homes and businesses before she'd be near the outlying buildings and able to move more quickly. The poor dear was shaking, she could feel it in her hooves and upon her chest. She had to hurry, there wasn't much time.

She simply had to get outside of town and look for the herbs to make a tonic to help the little dear. It would only be a few minutes time. Surely it could hold on that long. She clutched the small bird to her chest as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. It had to. It simply had to be okay until she could brew up a cure.

Fluttershy wove between another set of light posts before whipping around the last of the market stalls as she set herself upon a straight path out of town. As she noted the road, she added height to her path, steadily rising above the rooftops. The late evening sky seemed to blossom into a tea-stained field in her mind, the buildings and other things in her path suddenly standing out in brilliant contrast. She knew what she had to do. She had to go north, outside of the town, to find the asp-vine and the corpse-root to brew a draught to make everything alright.

She clutched the small thing to her chest as she flitted above the last rooftops, the ground below quickly opening up into fields and meadows. With scarcely a moments thought, she whipped around to her left and began a rapid pass over the open space. While pegasi were not known for their night vision, ever since the incident at Sweet Apple Acres involving Twilight's magic and small swarm of bats, Fluttershy had found herself able to easily navigate in the dark. She wasn't completely comfortable with the thought that Twilight might have somehow changed her in some way but, at times like this, she was ever so grateful for whatever small advantage it could offer.

Banking low, she scanned the meadows and fields for patches of flowers or the dark twists of the root as she closed the distance with her home. Dipping towards a tangle of deep green vines near a lone sapling, she snagged a mouthful of the bitter asp-vine before skimming the grasses again as she continued to search for the elusive root. She could almost feel the seconds slipping away as she searched frantically, darting from landmark to landmark in her quick trip towards her cottage.

Finally, just as the Everfree slid into place at her side, she spied the black/gray brambles that identified the corpse-root and landed before carefully placing the meadowlark into a hastily formed nest of flattened grasses. Spitting out the asp-vine, she turned to the thorn covered bush and carefully lowered herself down to reach underneath. A few minutes of careful digging, and no small number of painful scratches, and she had torn free a few inches of the pungent tuber, enough for her purposes.

Shuffling back with a self-satisfied smile, she picked up the vine and took flight once again, swinging south before angling towards the Everfree.

It was a good thing she had been able to find the asp-vine and the corpse-root. Now she only needed to get a few cups of bloatberries and she'd have the missing ingredients to keep her little friends from hurting themselves.

Fluttershy blinked. From hurting herself. Yes, she didn't want the little dear to hurt herself. Shaking her head for just a moment, she blinked in confusion before assuring herself it was just her nerves getting to her. She glanced down at the two plants she now carried: asp-vine and corpse-root. With a nod she let herself relax again. For a moment she could almost swear she had left one of them behind.

With another great flap of her wings, the yellow pegasus darted off into the Everfree in search of the berries that would keep her little friends asleep. It wouldn't do if Rainbow Dash or Applejack ran off to get themselves hurt.

And forgotten, nestled in a hastily constructed nest of meadow grass, a paralyzed meadowlark stared up at Luna's moon.

In the Light, The Denizen Has Lost Its Way

It was dark when they awoke, dark enough that they didn't quite know if they had awoken yet or if they remained asleep within the labyrinthine bindings that had held them for years uncounted. They didn't truly understand the concept of time, nor even the meaning of the word 'concept' in the traditional sense, but they did understand that they had been kept from what they had wanted.

It had been close. There had been an offering, a gift of sorts, that had been laid out for them. It had been tempting. It had been so easy. It had been promised but had remained undelivered. It was a price they had unwillingly paid, their imprisonment, and it would be a price they would extract from their keeper in measure with their anger.

They had remained trapped for moments uncounted. Secured beneath riddles and threats - bound below the pact they had agreed to but held by trickery and loose ends. It was a cruel game they found themselves in. It was a poor decision for the riddle-maker to play such a game though.... for they were timeless, ageless, and utterly without forgiveness.

So it was, with no small measure of confusion and paranoid thinking that the first of them had stretched its bindings on the finding of the slipped riddle. At first, it was dark, but the dark had changed in some subtle way. It was still dark beyond pitch, but somehow there was less of it. There was a... thinness to it that hadn't been there before. It wasn't much, but to the first, it was enough to stretch and to move.

It was enough.

Over the weeks, the first began to slowly worm its way through the riddle, carefully testing its bounds and slowly working its bindings looser. By the third month, it had loosened the riddle enough that the second had taken notice. By the forth month, the third had been roused from its fitful slumber and the Three had, together, worked to strain their bindings.

While the riddle held, their efforts had not been of utter failure, the Three had stretched the riddle until its purpose began to lose focus. Like a glass carved of ice, eventually the riddle began to 'leak'... and from these leaks, the Three had begun to whisper into the dark.

Where they were, they did not know and did not care. What they were concerned with was what might be listening. Their whispers were soft, faint, and of the finest timbre. Teasing at the absolute edge of sound and caressing the curiosity of the listener. For weeks they whispered into the riddle, promising rewards and revenge, tempting with gifts and offering services. For months their discourse was met with echoing silence until, quite by chance, a small thing happened to entertain a whim and emerge from the soft soil as it burrowed through its home.

A blind mole cricket, white and fragile, had felt the timbre of the whisper in its spines and, thinking it to be the movement of its food, had followed the vibrations through the soil until it had come to a hollow. Climbing from its tunnel, the cricket had approached the thing and had alighted upon its slicked surface, curious as to that which was beneath itself.

In a feat of wonder, the cricket had explored the thing, carefully tasting the greasy coating and cleaning itself as it went. All the while following the vibrations as it searched for their origin.

Finally, having spent the better part of an hour meticulously searching the thing, the cricket found a single pit upon the grease where the faint scent of burnt wood marred the otherwise uniform coat of the thing, and had begun to worry at the edges, tugging and tearing with its tiny jaws... the vibrations telling it that food was just below the surface.

It had taken hours of work for the cricket to finally tear a tiny hole through the greased fabric, just larger than a mustard seed, before it had perished for its troubles. Crickets were simply not designed to work for so long in the open air without food or water.

The Three did not mourn their thrall's passing, but they made use of its body in attracting their next host: the spider that found the cricket.

Juris Osteos

Having Manilla admitted to the hospital had been easier than Twilight had expected. Despite not having a complete medical history to draw from, not being family, not being a guardian or employer, and not being in a dedicated relationship with the mare, it turned out that being a princess actually did qualify as a legal guardian for purposes of medical emergency. For Twilight, that alone might have been worth the threat of imminent danger to life and limb.

Then again, to Twilight Sparkle, obtaining just about any fact or obscure bit of knowledge often qualified as being worth risking life and limb.

However, while admitting the mare had been quite simple, filing the paperwork and obtaining a prognosis had been considerably more problematic. This particular problem, of course, was frustrated by the lack of a specific and medically recognized condition. So, while Twilight had repeatedly assured the medical staff that 'injurious conditions of, or related to, recent contact with as-of-yet-unspecified, semi-obfuscated, black-ribbon entity' would be recognized by the triarchy (another term she was mulling over), there was still understandable reluctance.

It didn't help matters that the staff had been startled by their abrupt arrival into a supply closet in the ER or that the only individual who apparently had any direct knowledge of Manilla's condition had a tendency to speak in somewhat abstract rhyme.

No, it had not been a terribly efficient half hour.

"At least that's finally handled," Twilight sighed as she rolled her eyes.

Zecora kept pace beside the alicorn as they walked the halls of the facilty, "I wish I could have told them more, but their medicine is short on lore. I do not think they'd take my word.... " she sighed before looking briefly to her hooves, "...sadly, my lessons to them must seem absurd."

"It's not your fault Zecora. They're some of the best medical minds in the area, but you know things that they've never seen so they have to be careful what they mix together. I mean, they are using medicine as well as magic here and you know that both can be highly dangerous if you're not careful."

A small smile graced the zebra's face as she looked up once more. Even with the frequent glances from the citizenry, she had begun to feel more at home in Ponyville over the last two years. It wasn't so much an overwhelming shift in how ponies viewed her so much as a gentle transition that familiarity had brought to the town. Twilight Sparkle and her friends had been instrumental in starting that change after all, and it was.... comfortable.

Twilight softly clearing her throat broke through Zecora's reverie as they passed through the lobby doors and out onto the street. "Zecora, I... I was actually hoping to find you when you came up before." Twilight rubbed the back of her head nervously for a moment, discomfort evident on her face as she tried to look everywhere but at her friend. "About that.....um, zebra. You see, it's not that I'm accusingyouofanythingbutwedidn'tevenKNOWtherewasanotherzebraintheareaandyouseemedtoknowhim!"

Twilight gasped in air as she tried to recover from her excessively fast admission. "How does Pinkie even DO that?"

Zeocra stopped for a moment, a look of confusion on her face as she tried to piece together the chattered sounds into a sentence. "Twilight, though I'm certain your concern is unfounded, true, perhaps taking a breath and trying again would benefit you?"

"Heh.... yheah. Um, let's see. Well, I was hoping you could tell me about that other zebra that you seem to know. Because we didn't even know that there was another zebra in town, but I didn't want you to think that we suspected you were in league with him or something because we don't even know if he's doing anything wrong but if you did know him we didn't want to offend you or ..." Twilight flinched as Zecora's foreleg softly draped across her shoulders. "Uh.... sorry about that."

"The zebra I know, a friend he is not though. But to relieve your concern, worry not, I know you only wish to learn." Zecora removed her hoof as she turned back towards the town hall. "There is much to tell, though I am not sure you will take it well. Your magics are a powerful kind, and with them is your potent mind, but unicorns are not unique such that horn-less others have learned to seek." She looked off towards the border of town as the pair crossed Blossom street.

"Do not assume, in magic, you are alone... especially in those so far from home. The zebra clans may seem one and the same, but where once there were many, only one bears an ancient name."

"Wait, " Twilight paused, causing the zebra to stop and turn, "You mean that all those family names are 'new' names? As in, not family names from history?"

Zecora laughed softly before gesturing for her friend to resume walking. "No. The family names are old, it's true, but only one is 'ancient' as defined by you. The rest are newer, some even quite fresh, but of the one I speak, it should be put to rest." The zebra's cheer seemed to melt, almost running from her face as if she had been dunked in ice water. "No, the one of which I speak is frail and weak, but like a brittle chip of glass, it strikes with venom as the asp."

Twilight wanted to ask more questions but the look on her friend's face caused them to wither up and die in her throat. That Zecora, the kindly shamaness who had helped them so many times without any reason or cause, would find something so deplorable as to liken it to a dangerous snake seemed reason enough to be wary. That she would claim it to be older than the other family lines and yet frail seemed to imply some form of royalty or at least something of merit. Yet, the zebra spoke of it as if its very existence were a taint... and that, if nothing else, brought a bad taste to Twilight's mouth.

"Their name is 'Lakou' and 'Zo', in a different order though. A curse upon them were it wise, but such is foolish to surmise. They deal in things best left alone and toil in darkness not fit for hearth or home. But though their ways bring evil deed, for your purposes, a name you will need... I would not say it's proper sort, but for you, it would mean: 'The Bone Court.'"

Zecora spit upon the ground, before pulling a sprig of something from her ever-present satchel and chewing. The faint, fruity, scent of verbena started to fill the air as Twilight processed what she had shared.

"So," Twilight thought aloud, "Lakou and Zo in a different order.... seems pretty easy... and 'The Bone Court'... that seems pretty clear too. But," she watched Zecora's face for anything as she continued, "why does it bother you so much? Don't get me wrong, I'm not from there and I don't know everything about Zebrican history, but your reaction seems pretty strong....and that's a lot coming from you."

Zecora opened her mouth to respond but quickly shut it again, instead choosing to look off into the night for a moment. "Their... choices.... have left us many tales... stories that always end in wails. While their magics are some of the oldest known, it is not from life that those are grown. Where a unicorn's power comes from within, and potions come from a shaman, a pegasus may learn to fly or an earth pony, who in stones, may lie... their power is not like me or you.... their power comes from.... " she twisted her face to form an uncomfortable, and clearly foreign, word... "bad juah-ju."

Twilight deadpanned. "Bad ju-ju? Seriously? If anypony else had said that I would be laughing and telling them that curses and hexes were make believe.... but you're serious it's called 'bad ju-ju'?"

Zecora's face flashed with anger for just a moment before she remembered with whom she had been speaking. "Yes Twilight, the name is poor, for something so dire, it certainly deserves more. Perhaps a 'croix' or 'semblan-rex' or even just a 'death-sworn-hex'. But... magic often has its way, and for even uttering their name... I will surely pay." The shamaness frowned again. "I do not wish to say that all of that clan are bad, mind, from their timeless work some good has been had." She looked up, a strained expression in her eyes, "But know this princess, were it up to me, from the face of Equestria, their kind, I would wipe free."

Upon a Stand, Most Finely Wrought

Spike sighed with relief as he slid the last copy of "Nrubluos' Guide to Field Cooking" into its place on the small shelf before swinging the cold-iron lock-bar back into place and securing it with Twilight's Blackstone zen-lock. Carefully raising the false sides of the pedestal to conceal the books Twilight deemed too dangerous for normal use (or lending), the young dragon reattached the decorative bust which locked the books away.

Stepping back, he regarded the results of the last few hours of labor with a satisfied smile.

"Alright. The books are back in order, the glass is all cleaned up, I'm not covered in ink and," he paused to trot over to the nearby writing desk which also served as Twilight's bulletin board, "the last item on the checklist is done."

A swift motion with a quill and he held up the parchment Twilight had left for him, a satisfied smile on his face. With a final nod, he rolled up the parchment and trotted off towards the kitchen, humming a merry tune.

For all the excitement earlier, the evening had turned out to be remarkably normal. With the evacuation having started and the girls out trying to organize an appropriate defense against whatever that unicorn-thing was, the library had been without a single patron. Normally, that would have been a bit boring, but the lull had given him the time he needed to clean up the mess from earlier as well as to go through the books to find what might have been taken.

Between the glass, the ink, the snacks, and the various items that had been knocked off the shelves, he had thought that the cleanup (and subsequent logging of books) would take much longer than it had. The first hour had been rather annoying due to the ink and snacks, but once he had managed to sand the stain off, the rest had gone quite smoothly. He hadn't been worried about the glass, so that only took a few minutes with the broom, but surprisingly enough, most of the books had fallen near their original shelves, making the re-shelving more of a task of lifting than true organization.

What had perplexed him though was that despite the mess and the surprise they had all had, he couldn't find any of the books from the library's catalog missing. He had spent the next two hours painstakingly going through the logs, one by one, and ticking each book off as either on shelf, on loan, or relocated for aesthetic reasons. When all of the books seemed accounted for (save 3 on trebuchet construction that he had seen the Cutie Mark Crusaders sneaking out last week), he had started to worry until he found Twilight's list of other 'things' that should be checked.

The resulting half hour of unlocking, digging out, and checking objects of questionable moral value had resulted in a few bruises and a distaste for peach yogurt, but otherwise hadn't shown anything to be amiss. Since then, he had simply been hiding and re-securing those same objects, careful to pick up the small scroll that contained the methods of opening said concealments so that a certain trio of fillies couldn't 'accidentally' stumble across a forgotten tome or worse.

All that remained for the night then was to clean up the kitchen and wait for Twilight to return home. Spike smiled to himself as he wiped the final cabinet and looked over the, once more, pristine kitchen. While he didn't actually enjoy all the chores his guardian gave him, he did find a sense of pride in her praise (or, more commonly, her ignorance of how much he actually did). The fact was that, without him, Twilight's reputation for being a prim and dedicated student/librarian would likely have rapidly degraded to that of a frazzled hoarder with multiple scholarly degrees and an unhealthy obsession for books. Chuckling at the thought, he padded over to the refrigerator dragging a chair, and climbed up to fetch himself some ice cream.

"Yep," he said to himself, "she'd be lost without you Spike."

After scooping himself a heaping bowl, and replacing the container in the freezer, he toddled back into the main room, carrying the large bowl before him, to a small cushion near a pile of comics he had pulled out for the evening. He settled in and opened the issue of The Amazing Clydesdale!!! Twist had mentioned when Cheerilee's class had visited last week.

"So... let's see. The Amazing Clydesdale had just beaten back Nymph, the changeling mastermind, when Doctor Aquarius had surprised him with an aqua-bomb..." The young dragon's eyes were practically glued to the high-gloss pages as he lay, tail twitching in excitement.

Meanwhile, a small black object made of feathers and a severed raven's foot, bound with twine, lay forgotten in a glass bell jar in Twilight's basement where she had placed it to keep it safe for further study.

Sadly, a small scroll made of parchment and ink, bound with a thin silk ribbon, similarly lay forgotten on a kitchen counter top where a young dragon had placed it to keep it from falling into the ice cream he had been scooping.

But, on the upside, at least The Amazing Clydesdale defeated Doctor Aquarius before the young dragon's snores became audible.

05 - Greenstick

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Migraines

Waking up from one of Mojo's concoctions was always an interesting experience, and for as long as he'd known the zebra, that singular fact seemed destined to test him with new and more creative sensations every time. Usually, it was vertigo and a bit of lightheadedness. Occasionally it included aching joints or muscles for good measure. Sometimes it just left a bad taste in his mouth, but whatever his friend had dosed him with last night had left him with a migraine to likes of which Celestia herself may struggle to best.

Clamping his eyes shut once more, Storm Dancer moaned in agony against the marauding savages that some spiteful pony must have released behind his eyes. The throbbing nightmare in his horn threatened to split his skull through sheer tenacity while the daggers of icy nausea that every faint noise created seemed to leap down his neck and settle somewhere above his stomach. The roiling ocean of bile promised woeful destruction should he upset it through even the thought of steady motion.

Yep. He must be fine if he felt this miserable.

Steeling himself against the onslaught of sensations, he weakly cracked an eye open, hoping to catch sight of his friend. Instead, a wondrous glimmer of hope caught his attention resting upon a short stool nearby: a pitcher of water and a small scrap of cloth piled high with what looked like dried currants. Summoning his not-quite-promising-at-the-moment willpower, the unicorn struggled to a sitting position and reached for the pitcher with a shaking hoof. If there was one thing he had learned about Mojo's medicine over the years it was that the worse you felt waking up from them, the more you had needed it.

The second most valuable thing was what he was in the process of addressing: the more you needed it, the more you would need food and water once awake.

Battling back the nausea and furious ocean of bile in his stomach, he took long slow swallows of the water, choking down the reflex to vomit with silent promises of a return to normalcy.

After a few moments to settle himself, he gently returned the pitcher to the stool and scooped up a few of the currants hoping that they would help to calm the pounding in his temples.

Storm Dancer had suffered with countless injuries and ailments for years, all results of exposure to the elements or misguided ponies who sought to 'protect' their families. He could shrug off most 'accidents' and was no stranger to the occasional impact from a tree limb or short fall, but despite all the practice, he simply could never grow used to the migraines which tended to follow particularly large surges of magic.

From what Mojo had explained, they were the result of the nerves and glands which helped him use magic being injured... the pain was simply his body's way of warning that something was wrong. It was a wonderful system in theory... if injured, induce pain - if pain is felt, stop doing the thing that causes the pain. Simple really.

Unfortunately, his horn never really shut off ever since getting his cutie mark so many years ago. Apparently, being struck by lightning when you weren't a pegasus could be a bad thing. Who knew.

According to the doctors his dad had brought him to over the years, something was fused or burned out... either way, the treatment would require surgery. Problematically, that same surgery would require highly conductive devices such as scalpels wielded by highly trained, but no less conductive, ponies. Said ponies tended to be reluctant to expose themselves to violent surges of magic and rogue weather conditions that ignored pegasi. His current migraine reminded him that, to date, no such medical treatment had been performed.

With a flinch and a reserved sigh, the unicorn resumed his previous laying position, determined to slowly ease back into feeling better as he let his body recover. It wasn't so bad really, laying down in Mojo's place. It was quiet, it was dry, and the lightning rod his friend had installed in the wall meant that most of his accidental discharges would go off before they built up to problematic levels.

Closing his eyes once more, he shovelled a few more of the currants into his mouth and just let them sit there, the flavor mild enough not to be painful but defined enough to challenge the tinny flavor of ozone that tended to dominate after unpleasant discharges.

Yep... definitely a good day to take things easy.

He had just settled back into a near doze when the tingling began. It was a chill sensation at first, almost like a cold sweat forming on his brow that caused his skin to prickle with goosebumps. Then the clenching of his brow as the remnants of the migraine transformed the chill into a painful throb that coursed the full length of his horn and clamped onto his skull. The final push came when the nearby door slammed open, a worried looking Mojo bursting through only to dive aside as the arc of blue-white lightning hissed across the room and lanced down the hallway leaving firey pinkish after images in its wake.

The crack of thunder indoors sent Storm Dancer to his back in a wail of pain as his skull felt to be splitting open.

Mojo, with a startled and unnerved glance down the hallway, wasted little time before closing the distance and apologizing before stabbing his friend with a shriveled gray-green plant.

"My friend, truly am I sorry to, but ri-now, we cunna wait fer you." Pulling the spiky plant back, he slapped a dirty looking compress over the shallow wound and broke a tiny glass capsule with his hoof. A sizzling liquid reacted with something in the compress causing the wound to sear even more painfully.

With a howl, Storm Dancer writhed upon the floor, his horn sputtering out erraticly as unformed magic spewed across the room. Thankfully, the recent discharge had lessened the impact, reducing the damage to a few hurled objects before he passed out again.

Mojo held the compress to his friend for a few more moments before pulling it away from the ugly gash. Wrinkling his nose, the zebra balled up the compress and tossed it into the small fire pit that provided the soft lighting for the room before properly bandaging his unconscious friend.

"I am sorry I could not wait fer you, yer injuries wrath to eschew. I pray you will forgive my act, but we must be gone b'fore dey come back."

Pausing only long enough to cinch the scrap of cloth with the remaining currants and to offer a final glance towards the smoldering compress in the fire pit, he levered his friend across his back and started weaving their way out through the labyrinthine tunnels of his home.

Glaze

Apropos was a practical character in his own mind. He knew his place in the world and he didn't aspire to rise above it. Far from it actually, he rather liked drifting from town to town, sliding into roles as needed and drifting back out again as things settled down. He was a skeleton key... just the right fit for any occasion.

He enjoyed his freedom and was never without the means to indulge whenever the notion took him, having a skill set that ranged from filing paperwork to opening locked doors without a key had taught him just how remarkably appropriate his cutie mark was. After all, a toolbox with a green check mark just about screamed 'trustworthy' in a town like Manehatten.

Here, in Ponyville, he could have run for mayor and nopony would have even considered a background check.

There was a downside to his talent however, one that only rarely made itself evident, he had trouble putting down roots. For one reason or another, somepony would eventually get jealous, nervous, or suspicious and things would start to unravel. He could be working as a legitimate business stallion or a drug running snitch, it wouldn't matter... given a few months, he'd either be moving on or being run out of town.

Then again, partly because of his unique employment history, he had managed to build (and maintain) a rather sizable network of contacts and ponies that owed him favors over the years. It wasn't a 401k plan to be certain, but it had offered him security in the knowledge that if push came to shove, he was well established and had hooves in the right places.

He smiled as he checked the fancy Istallion pocket watch his latest employer had gifted him for a job well done. The crafting was a work of art - cogs and springs spinning and whirring along inside the device, filigree decorating the glass-work with threads of float copper acting as a foundation for the inlaid silver and gold. The shell itself was marvelous, but what had caught his eye, and his employer's attention, were the intricate patterns on the hands themselves which had cleverly concealed their previous owner's safe combination.

Said owner no longer had need for a combination, safe, or pocket watch.

In thanks for helping to make 'negotiations' considerably faster, the watch had been given to him as partial payment for a 'splendidly entertaining evening on the town' which had ended at the stickball stadium where nopony would question a number of 'fans' toting stickball bats around during a pennant game.

Apropos smiled as he inspected the silver clam shell body for scuffs once more before closing and pocketing the watch, looking around for his latest employer. He smiled at the few ponies he saw roaming around as he rested on one of the many benches in the quiet town of Ponyville. The last time he had been through here, he could have sworn the place was more lively... there had been a thriving market and even a bit of nightlife from the townsfolk who commuted to nearby Canterlot. It was strange, but not unheard of, for a prospering little town to fall off the map... he just hadn't expected something like that to happen to the newest Princess' adopted home town.

Shrugging at the irony, he stood up, preparing to signal his employer when the town's bell tower next started to toll the hour. He watched as the minute hand crept slowly towards 12 and prepared his spell, levitating his watch back up in front of him once more.

If anypony noticed the light green stallion with the mop of dark mane channeling a spell, they would likely have thought he was simply winding his expensive looking pocket watch. He was, after all, dressed well enough to pass for a successful business pony on a trip, but he smiled as the first note of the bell echoed across the little town, muffling his whispered words.

"I'm here and the Element of Kindness just flew out of here like a," he snickered, "bat out of Tartarus."

Without waiting for a reply, he calmly strode towards the town center, ignoring the lack of townsfolk who had been leaving for the past two hours.

One Must Wonder When the Inquirer is Stranger

"We will be closing in five minutes due to a sanctioned evacuation. If you cannot complete your obligations, please start closing procedures and offer a line ticket for when Town Hall opens again" came Mayor Mare's voice over the intercom as the half-dozen clerks glanced quickly at the time-clock. Most of the younger clerks had already left for the day, either at the shift change or upon hearing the evacuation clearance, but the remaining six had either been coming on shift or had, like Mayor Mare, just decided to eek out a few extra bits as they saw to citizens last concerns before evacuating themselves.

The perpetually young (and don't let anyone in town tell you otherwise!) Thorough Audit, smiled as she ushered her guest back out into the town proper. "Now, we understand your concerns about the rabbit population growing at such a rate miss Top, but perhaps this can be addressed at committee? I would hate to think it wasn't given enough exposure to warrant a public vote on the matter, and as you know, while Mayor Mare does have executive authority, the power to act is limited by policy which must be set in committee."

Patently ignoring Carrot Top's brief sound, Miss Audit smiled tightly and, gently as a velvet covered steamroller, directed her charge out the door. "Do please come back on Thursday next and I'm sure the committee would be happy to field your concerns. Good Day miss Top!"

Thorough Audit smiled at another job well done... there simply wasn't anything that couldn't be accomplished if the proper routes were taken and forms filled out. It was a shame that so few of the populace took the time to appreciate the complexities and nuances of the legal and social forums. Ah well, at least she had been able to par it down for that Carrot Mare... another citizen helped and another fulfilling day's work.

She was just turning back to flip the sign to 'CLOSED' when a stallion tapped on the door... with the knocker?

"I'm terribly sorry miss, " he began the moment she opened it, "I seem to be in a bit of a time crunch. Could you see to this Request For Release of Information Form 215c-4-sub K form?"

The light green unicorn stallion turned his head for a moment, withdrawing a clipped... no a properly clipped and tabbed 215c-4-sub K form packet, and presented it to the shocked mare.

"W-We will be closing in t-three minutes and" she quickly glanced at the time-clock next to the door frame, "forty seven seconds." She blinked again as she glanced at the form. That beautiful, clipped, tabbed, and, she nearly melted, stamped and notarized, form. "B-but I think I can fit you in."

The stallion smiled warmly around the form packet as she ushered him in, glancing outside and flipping the sign before trotting back to her counter.

"Now mister...." she glanced up from quickly flipping through the form, noting the relevant portions and marking a completion tab on her desk.

"Apropos, Mister Apropos." His smile was infectious.

"Yes, mister Apropos. It looks like everything is in order. What can I help you with?" Sweet Celestia it must be 90 degrees in here.

"Ah yes, well, as it states on page 14, I need a copy of the land rights to the land surrounding Ponyville proper, updated to within the last 48 hours at a range of 4 miles, if possible." He leaned forward just a bit, steepling his hooves as his gaze washed over the suddenly blushing clerk.

"Oh, um, yes. Silly me. Let me just fetch those for you." She cleared her throat and turned, a spring in her step as she trotted, the long way, past the register line towards records, doing her best to show her good side. The other clerks had already left after all.

Apropos continued smiling until the mare disappeared around a corner, before he nearly groaned. Of all the mares in this backwater town that he had to swoon, that uptight, paper pushing, ... swayback was simply not his type. Rubbing his eyes for a moment, he tried to mentally wash the image of her bouncing, dimpled, flanks from his minds eye.... that was simply a picture that would give him nightmares. Ug.... if it weren't for the pay, he would have already bedded the young clerk he saw leaving an hour ago and simply stolen the documents, but nooooooo, his employer's instructions were exceptionally clear. He had to wait until the last moment to request the files, turn on the charm, and leave just a minute or two after the Town Hall closed for some stupid, probably pointless, reason that he hadn't been important enough to get an explanation for. Idly, he scribbled upon a small slip of paper from his pocket and slid it under the tape dispenser on the desk, leaving just a tiny wedge visible.

He was just about to sigh when the faint clip-clop of hooves shook him back to his senses... just enough time to snap his most charming facade back over his face and flick a thin strand of mane over his forehead. They always loved that for some reason.

"Ah, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting Mister Apropos, " the mare said as she trotted out once more, bouncing along the way with what he was sure was her most apologetic smile. "The files were updated yesterday so I had to make copies."

"Oh, no trouble at all Mrs..." he made a show of searching the desk for a name-plate he knew wouldn't exist, "um... well, isn't this embarrassing, I seem to have forgotten your name." The faux embarrassment on his face sold the image... it always did.

Blushing suddenly, the clerk smiled again. "Oh no. That's my fault, I was in such a hurry I never introduced myself. I'm miss Audit. It is a pleasure."

He nodded pleasantly before taking the freshly minted documents which smelled... he suppressed a shudder... slightly of the chamomile-mint perfume that suddenly seemed to be following miss Audit in a cloud. Some mares... "Ah, well then, miss Audit. Thank you, it would have been terribly embarrassing if I hadn't been able to get these in time." He stashed the documents in an inside pocket before turning back and smiling at the furiously blushing mare before him. Gagging inwardly, he leaned across the counter and gently kissed her left hoof, "Thank you very much for your assistance."

Her stunned grin told him that she wasn't likely to move anytime in the next few seconds so he turned slowly, making sure to flick his tail juuuuust enough to tease before ambling slowly out of the Town Hall lobby. If that didn't give the old nag a heart attack, he was positive the slip of paper with 'his' contact information on it would. Either way, he would never have to worry about that creature's eyes roaming over him again. Well, at least he hoped not. Bureaucrats were notorious for their capacity to survive until the proper forms were filed.

Bits and Brass

Other ponies thought working in a bank was awesome. Being in a place that was literally surrounded by bits tended to cause eyes to bug out and mouths to drool. It didn't matter who it was really, the simple fact was that money changed how a pony thought. If you didn't have it, you wanted it. If you had it, you didn't want to lose it. And, on the rare occasion somepony didn't want it, there was usually something else going on in the background. There really weren't too many exceptions when it came to bits in large numbers.

One such exception was when you worked with bits on a daily basis, for hours on end, for days and weeks and years. Bits.... just didn't much matter after a few hundred thousand passed through your hooves, at least, that's what she kept telling herself every week as she counted out and logged the days exchanges.

Copper Scales sighed as she penned yet another weight into the register, totaling up a deposit amount that she wouldn't be able to make on her salary in half a year, yet smiled as she looked up to the somewhat antsy stallion in a smart blue suit who was 'dropping off' the days sales.

"Well, everything seems to be in order mister Rich" her voice nearly sang as she tore off the register copy and slid it across the counter to him. "Can I help you with anything else today?"

Quickly pocketing the note, Mister Rich, glanced at the clock before shaking his head and leaning forward. "No, but I would strongly advise closing shop quickly. There's some kind of monster on the loose and the Princess authorized an evacuation of the town." He pulled his head back and cleared his throat, "Er.... in case you hadn't heard."

Without waiting for a response, he trotted as quickly as would seem appropriate towards the exit, leaving a suddenly nervous pegasus clerk to drop the bank's copy of the register note into the drop box under the counter and the bits into the register chute.

Taking a moment to look around, Copper Scales realized that the lobby did, indeed, seem oddly lacking the normal evening customers. Instead of being the busiest part of the day when the market exchanges were secured, there were only a few impatient ponies at the counters... not even enough to form proper lines. Raising her alert token and securing her register, she flagged Miss Bond and waited as the prim mare completed her own transaction before trotting over.

"Yes Miss Scales?" the eggshell earth pony asked as she approached, taking a moment to reset the alert token.

"Miss Bond, Mister Rich just informed me that Princess Twilight authorized an evacuation of the town. Shall I set the sign and prepare the vault?"

If she were startled, Miss Bond did not show it. Instead, she looked up at the clock above the door, quickly pulled out a tally book, and penciled in a note before nodding her head and walking down the register line, setting a lock timer on each as she went. Each teller took note and cleared their final transactions before smiling and imploring their customers to 'please come again.'

Taking her cue, Miss Scales reached over to close her register just as a stallion sat down and put his hoof over the lock.

"I'm sorry sir we are closing for an emerge- emergen- e- em..." she started but the odd stallion's warm smile seemed to derail her thoughts. Everything was fuzzy, a little too warm and just a tiny bit too bright. It was like that time at the salt lick when her sister took her out for a night on the town... the one where she woke up sore the next morning and couldn't remember much... but... kind of....warm and fuzzy....

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but this will only take a moment of your time."

With a slight blush, Copper Scales re-opened her register as she tried her best to remain professional. "Luna save me, I really wish I had kept that vest on" she thought as she tried to stay focused on his words and keep her wings from flaring at the same time.

He was the most, incredibly, beautiful light green she had ever seen, and his horn.... it positively glistened in the candlelight she couldn't remember being there a moment before...

Refraction in a Dark Place

Rainbow Dash would normally have loved having a reason to be flying around and using all of her considerable skill to show everypony just how awesome she was. She would have thrilled in the hairpin turns and reveled in the blasts of wind as she dove through patches of cloud. Normally she would have been ecstatic for the chance to scream along at breakneck speeds only a few hooflengths above the ground. Normally.

At current, however, she was searching for a monster, a potential deli-god or whatever Twilight called it. She was scouring the fields and edge of the forest outside of Ponyville for any clue as to where the thing had run off to. She was running on instinct since the sun was down and carrying a lantern would have been both annoying and potentially hazardous given her speeds. Beyond that, she reasoned that if a lantern could help her see, it would definitely help somepony else see her.

As such, she was not having a good time at all. That thing had threatened her friends. It had attacked Ponyville for no reason, it had made her look bad, and the worst thing was that it had looked so cool that she felt kind of lame just being rainbow colored by comparison. That, in and of itself, was just .... she snorted in frustration.

Well, there would be enough time for kicking flank as soon as she found it. Him. Whatever. That unicorn-storm-zombie-furry-thing: Storm Dancer. As soon as she got her hooves on him, *BAM*... that's how it was gonna go. She could just see his face as he looked up from below at her towering above him, his hooves tucked up protectively on his chest as her friends cheered her victory.

Yep, that is exactly what's gonna happen, she smirked.

At just that moment, Rainbow Dash flew solidly into a branch, knocking her from the sky. The world around her danced and swayed as she struggled to her hooves, trying to shake off the impact that left her teeth aching and a deep bruise on her ego.

"Rainbow?" came the tentative voice from overhead as blue feathers, tinted black by the night, continued to slowly flutter down from her impact above.

Wincing as she turned her head to look, a dazed Rainbow Dash searched the sky for a few moments before a bit of movement caught her attention. The muffled sound of hooves on grass jerked her from her stupor once more as the soft yellowish glow of a firefly lantern blossomed nearby.

Fluttershy lowered the lantern to the ground before looking at her friend with a worried expression. "Rainbow Dash... what are you doing out here this late? You could get hurt!" her friend exclaimed in a soft voice.

Rainbow blinked again, finding it harder to stay focused by the moment. "Yheah hey I just... Fluttershy, it's night ou... I... I don't feel so good." She staggered a moment as her knees seemed to waver unexpectedly. Before she could fall, a pair of butter yellow limbs caught, and steadied, her suddenly heavy body.

"You don't look good at all Rainbow. Come on, let's get you back to my house and into bed while I go get the others."

Whatever else Fluttershy may have said was lost on the dozing pegasus as she was carried away into the night.

Left alone in the open, a yard long branch with blue feathers scattered around it, lay far from any tree.

Pinkie-mental-Pie

Pinkie bounced dutifully along, head whipping side to side as she carried on after her gentle friend. So what if Rarity didn't like 'getting icky', this was Fluttershy they were talking about. No amount of Ick (or for that matter, y) was too much to get if it meant finding and helping her bestestest of bestestest friends. Any of the 5 of them. Oh! And Spike, so 6... and Celestia and Luna, so really more like 8, double OH! And the Cakes! So, really really more like 12! And Cranky and Mu....oh, she was just being silly. That's why everypony was her friend.

She'd go to the ends of Equestria and beyond to help any of them.

But, she understood Rarity didn't like to get sticky or gummy or muddy or really anything that ended in 'y' unless she absolutely had to. Absolutely ended in 'y'... so it had to be a last resort by default. She could understand that... principles and all.

Yeppers, Rarity could help in her own ways. They just weren't always as fun or obvious!

Like, she could offer support or advice, or she'd go out of her way to make sure something worked even if it wasn't something she understood, and Rarity could always be counted on to look out for her and her friends. But she did like ordering those six double creme, chocolate dipped, fried eclairs every Tuesday when the Cakes were at the market and no one else was in the shop that she was absotutely-lutely not supposed to tell anypony about ever... so she could also understand why running around wasn't her favorite thing.

Silly eclairs. If Rarity just stuck to cakes and pies and cookies, and cupcakes, and donuts, and candy like she did, there wouldn't have been any problem running around. Pinkie smiled to herself while bouncing along. But Rarity was Rarity, and she couldn't just eat any old treat... she had to go for the one made with enough sugar, butter, and heavy cream to make a block of fudge blush.

Wait a second! 'RARITY' ended in 'y'... hmmm... maybe she'd have to reevaluate her theory... or add cream... whichever worked better. Probably the cream.

Pinkie continued along at a happy pace while the world around seemed oblivious to her, all the while watching for any sign of Fluttershy, but when she reached the outskirts of town without so much as a feather, she paused to consider her options.

Sure, she could keep going, zipping around looking for her quiet friend in the wide wide world, but then even if she ended up finding Fluttershy, she would have to go find her friends (who by then would have likely gone looking for her). On the other hoof, if she doubled back, she could check another batch of streets in case Fluttershy had done something silly like ... oh... turn left. That was the kind of silly things her friends did a lot, even if they didn't like to admit it. Heh... turning left. Three rights were sooooo much better - she could see at least 5 more blocks that way!

Pinky paused to think. It was a real conundrum, or maybe a pickle. Pickundrum? Conunickle? Whatever it was, it was a puzzle, and Twilight was good at puzzles. Maybe Twilight should be out on the edge of town, bouncing along and trying to solve this puzickledrum. Well... maybe not. Twilight was almost as against long runs as Rarity, but at least she could do her flashy Pop-snap-teleport thing. Twilight was, most definitely, not out of shape... with her eating habits and general exercise routine 'slightly curvy' or 'rounded' counted as a shape. Then again... if she kept up her whole 'saving Equestria' thing, she might start being not in shape what with her running around so much more often.

Pinky was still deep in thought, her imaginary mini-Pinkies darting around and playing a game of improvised hide-n-seek-freeze-tag-red-light-green-light-house-rules-parcheesi, when they all simultaneously tripped, knocking Pinky out of her thoughts with a gasp.

As they all picked themselves up, they turned to stare at Her-Bouncy-Bigginess, Pinkie Pie, as she came to her most certainly brilliant of brillianter conclusions: Just ask Fluttershy where she had flown off to. After all, she'd learned to trust her friends and not just guess at what they were doing or thinking.... Madam la-Flour had never let her live that one down and Rocky, well he had just been rolling with m-earth for weeks afterwards.

With the support of her tiny legion of imaginary-mini-Pinkies, she spun on her hoof and started to happily trot to Fluttershy's cottage. After all, when she couldn't find her friends in town, the scene usually changed to show her where they were just long enough for her to show up. Twilight still believed in doing things the long way (like walking and going to a bunch of places, before showing up...silly princess), but Twilight wasn't the expert at being Pinky.

Besides, Twilight still said silly things like "It's always in the last place you look." When she'd asked one time why Twilight would keep looking after finding 'it'... Twilight had blinked and stood still for almost 3 whole minutes. Twilight was silly like that. She was so smarty smarty smart smart, but she couldn't just be happy with some things. It's like she actually thought that everything had to be checked and re-checked. Twilight wanted to understand EVERYTHING about the world. Twilight wanted an encyclopedic knowledge of things.

Silly Twilight, Pinky thought with a cheerful smile, sometimes you just need the cliffnotes.

Intertrude

Again with the ribbon, Applejack thought, rolling her eyes as Rarity continued on about the damage to her scarf. I know it's important to her, but it's just a scrap of cloth for Pete's sake. Shaking her head as she tried to politely ignore the ongoing drama of Rarity's most certainly horrid whatever-it-was-this-time, Applejack trotted on at a pace that was just short of a proper trot and far from the speed she really wanted to be traveling at.

It wasn't that she and Rarity didn't get along, their slumber party at Twilight's a frequent reminder of how much they actually cared about one another, but more a fundamental difference in how they each viewed (and responded to) the world at large. While Rarity spent countless hours preening and primping, making a show and crafting flowery things to say, Applejack and her family took things a little simpler ... and quite a bit more direct. There was no embellishment to their exchanges, no fluffy compliments or fuzzy, half-heard promises. For the Apples, their word was their bond, promise, and respect. They didn't waste time or energy on making mountains out of molehills and they most certainly didn't fret over a torn curtain... which was about what Rarity's 'scarf' resembled at that point.

With a final grumble about how she would have to recreate her entire spring line to accommodate the loss of her scarf, Rarity finally seemed to realize that the pair had arrived at the edge of town. They stood, looking out into the surrounding darkness of night as they listened for any sign of their missing friends or the strange unicorn from earlier in the day, light from the few lit streetlamps not even reaching past the nearest signpost.

"Ya don't suppose they'll be coming back in the next few minutes do yah Rares?"

Rarity watched quietly for a few moments before frowning, the slight pause making her seem all the more frustrated. "No, Applejack, I daresay something is wrong." She wrinkled her nose as her makeshift 'hatband' fluttered briefly in the evening breeze. "Well, something else is wrong I suppose I should say."

Applejack remained quiet, staring off into the night while she thought. It wasn't a normal occurrence that her friends were cautious of the night in Ponyville, and it left her feeling uneasy. Caution near the Everfree... sure... caution in a strange place or while chasing some mean ol' critter through the streets of Canterlot or facing down a swarm a' changelings... you betcha... but it somehow felt different when she was standing in Ponyville - in her hometown. It felt like when Trixie had sealed them all in, when they'd been made powerless and forced to play her little lackeys. It felt dirty and wrong on an entirely different level.

It felt like a violation.

Applejack was still thinking quietly when Rarity turned to look at her unmoving companion. "Applejack?" she asked with a worried expression as she took a tentative step forward.

The farmer sniffed harshly, before glancing quickly at the white unicorn beside her, effectively freezing the action. "Sorry Rarity, s'just... I don't like feeling like this. That fury or whatever it is just, it just makes me feel.." she stomped the cobblestones with clear frustration, " I don't know! It's like I ain't even home anymore, like I'm in some kinda trap 'er game. S'like when Discord just started playin' around with us." She glared at the darkened fields for a moment before turning her eyes to her friend, a clear frown on her face, "I don't like feeling helpless in my own home."

Rarity watched with concern as Appljack came clean in a rare moment of personal revelation. Her friend was the Element of Honesty, true, but she was also stubborn, self-sufficient, and a bit prideful. She didn't ask for help unless she really needed it and Rarity could count the number of times she had expressed vulnerability on one hoof.

It wasn't her place to judge or critique her friend, but she could certainly offer support and companionship. She listened, nodding slowly as Applejack vented, flinching at the stomp but holding her ground. Finally, when Applejack seemed to settle a bit and turned to look at her properly, Rarity gave a tight lipped smile and stepped over to offer her friend a light hug. "Nopony likes to feel helpless Applejack."

The two stood for a few moments, Rarity silently supporting her friend while Applejack glared out over the outlying fields, waiting for any sign of Pinkie or Fluttershy. Finally Applejack broke the embrace by taking a hesitant step forward causing Rarity to stumble. "A-applejack? What is it?"

Applejack's voice was quiet, but no less steely for its volume as she whispered back without taking her eyes from the night, "There's somethin' out there Rares... over by where the yellow clovers pop up."

"Are you sure? It is rather dark after all."

"Yheah, I'm sure. Somethin's moving out there at the edge of the field near the treeline." She paused a moment, squinting in the dark, before frowning, "It's goin' in and out between the trees... like it's tryin' t'hide or something."

Rarity followed her friend's gaze out across the empty fields towards the dark edge of the Everfree. In the darkness, she couldn't really make anything out definitively but, then again, she hadn't been staring into the darkness as long as Applejack and her eyes weren't quite as well adjusted yet. "Applejack, I know it's important that we find Fluttershy and Pinkie but perhaps we should head back given the day's events?"

Applejack remained silent for a few more moments before her frown turned into a solid scowl. "Dangit," she huffed before risking a quick glance to her friend, "I hate to admit it, but you're right. Let's head back. He's watchin' us."

Rarity looked out towards the treeline momentarily before turning back with a concerned expression, "He who?"

"That skull-faced zebra 'at Zecora don't like's who." Applejack turned on her hoof before flipping her mane back to gesture, "just saw his coat in the moonlight. Let's go find Twilight before anything else happens."

Too Many Outlets

Twilight and Zecora were anxiously waiting at the Town Square. Rainbow Dash hadn't returned yet and Fluttershy was still missing. Applejack and Rarity could potentially still be alerting the residents, but when Twilight had flown up above the roofs, she hadn't seen either of her absent friends. Pinkie could be anywhere at anytime as it was (which was normal), but the simple fact that her tidy little troupe had suddenly disappeared was causing the youngest princess of Equestria no end of concern.

Concern that a rhyming zebra was having a difficult time dispelling.

"Princess, please, come down and see, the grounds are clear and the night is free. Do not fret or panic here or if we need you, you may yet be trapped in fear." Zecora's call was punctuated by a firm stomp of her good hoof upon the smooth cobblestones of the square.

High above, Twilight Sparkle turned slowly, casting out a small field of glowing orbs, lighting the unusually dim town. She knew that the evacuation had been a good idea, the notion of protecting her friends and neighbors didn't even bring a moment of question to her mind, but seeing the town at night with so few lights was distressing in a way she hadn't imagined. It was as if the comfort and security of the little village had left and been replaced with an echoing hollow - as if some core quality of the entire place had become, curiously and indefinably, absent.

It made her feel vulnerable.

Throwing out one last field of lights, Twilight began the slow decent to the street below, the square now bathed in the amber lamps of Town Hall mixed with the mottled magenta glow of her magic above. Zecora watched as she descended, a curious expression on her face that Twilight wasn't quite able to puzzle out.

"The night is quiet for my cheerless hosts, but it would be unwise to jump at unreal ghosts." Zecora's rich voice offering a touch of comfort, though not as much as she would have liked.

"I know Zecora, I know, but it's just so .... strange. It's like everypony's missing when it looks like they should all still be here." Twilight gestured at the quiet village around them, the windows dark and the streets lit almost exclusively by the glow of her magic, "I know I asked them to evacuate, and I know this is exactly what I was hoping for, but without a big fight or monsters rampaging or a wild spell or ... SOMETHING... it just looks like the whole town's ..." Twilight turned her hoof slowly, trying to find the right word to express her discomfort.

"Empty?" came a soft voice with a southern twang barely audible from beside the princess.

The startled squawk that escaped Twilight was quickly followed by the panicked flapping of her wings as she settled back to the ground, a few hairs of her mane sprung like broken piano wire. "Applejack! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Zecora and Rarity both hid their smiles behind a hoof while Applejack chuckled openly. "Sorry about that Twi, didn't mean to spook ya there." Applejack smirked again slightly, "Then again, I wasn't really sneakin' anyway. You were just kind'a going on and we walked up."

Rarity and Zecora both gave small nods while Twilight tried to gather the stray hairs back into a tidy mane. After a few moments though, Zecora's smile faltered as she leaned towards Twilight, looking at her critically.

Despite the comfort of suddenly having two more of her friends nearby, the zebra's focus was a bit unnerving, especially given the near glare she seemed to be aiming at her face. Twilight leaned her head back a bit before addressing her shaman friend, "Zecora?"

The zebra studied her for a few moments more before she slowly stepped forward. "I do not wish to worry you, but the doctors may pay a visit shortly...," she gave a tiny nod,"...true."

Without a flick of warning, Zecora's bandaged hoof shot out, snapping next to Twilight's head so quickly and close that she felt a few hairs torn from her mane and could smell the faint fragrance of the zebra's coat conditioner. Flinching and yelping in surprise, Twilight snapped off a barrier spell that sent her friends all tumbling a few yards away while scuttling back a step or two herself. When she looked up, she noticed the confused and worried expressions on both Rarity and Applejack as they got back to their hooves, but of Zecora, there was no sign.

"What in the hay was that about?!?" Applejack's voice cut through the adrenaline pounding in Twilight's veins, causing her to look at the farmer who was now glancing around as if expecting an attack at any moment.

Rarity, for her own part, had levitated a number of small stones and was keeping them in a slow orbit around her, likewise looking around.

Though unsure what had just happened, Twilight started to take stock of their surroundings. The square was still lit up so there was no disruption to the town systems. The lines to her makeshift capacitor still all looked to be untouched, so it was not likely that there was a saboteur. There were no cackles or echoing laughs, so it was unlikely that a greater evil from Equestria's dark and mostly forgotten past was preparing a followup attack. There was no monologueing so Trixie must have evacuated when she'd seen her earlier. And, most importantly, no one seemed to be injured.

So what had happened a moment ago?

Twilight thought back quickly, critically examining the last minute in her memory. She and Zecora had been talking when Applejack and Rarity had (stealthily) walked up (most certainly not because she had been too distracted to notice them). Applejack had started to apologize when Zecora had suddenly stopped smiling and looked at her... STARED at her actually, now that she thought about it. She had begun to get her mane back in order when the zebra had begun to lean in, looking like she wanted a fight.

Just, out of nowhere, looking for a fight.

That wasn't the Zecora she knew.

Twilight noticed a worried feeling starting to form in the back of her head somewhere. Zecora had been the only one to respond to Manilla, to know how to respond to Manilla. She had taken instant action and saved the mare, even though it had clearly injured her. She knew what was happening, what to do, and how to do it. Zecora was their first, and only, line of defense against those things.

But what scared Twilight more than the unknown danger posed by that black ribbon thing was that the first sign that something was wrong with Manilla had been her acting strangely.

Zecora had changed within seconds and, without warning, had attacked.

What was even worse was that without Zecora, she couldn't even see those things to try to figure them out.

"Girls, you need to come over here now... I think Zecora's been infected by one of those things." Twilight's voice was little more than a hissed whisper as she tried to be heard without being loud enough to be overheard.

Applejack and Rarity both looked back to her before slowly backing in her direction, scanning the darkened buildings as they went. When Applejack bumped up against Twilight's barrier, the princess carefully lowered it to allow them in before raising it again.

The three stood silent in the town square, shielded in a bright magenta bubble while a number of small stones orbited in a faint blue glow, sentinel against a missing friend.

It was a number of moments before Twilight started to realize her mistake.

Applejack began to waver, though she shook her head and snorted to snap back to alertness. Rarity trembled with the act of remaining focused, though a stone outside the barrier toppled from her magical grip before wobbling back up into a progressively unsteady orbit. Twilight blinked as she suddenly noticed her barrier losing cohesion before redoubling her efforts.

How could she be so foolish? How could she have forgotten that the zebra was a shamaness... a purveyor of potions and drugs? The attack hadn't missed by some fluke... she had done something to her... to disable them! She was probably watching them right now as the drug or spell or whatever was slowly sapping their strength and weakening them. She was probably laughing to herself at this very moment.

"Girls, stay focused... I think she drugged us. Just... stay awake and stay close."

Applejack nodded, though it took a moment before Rarity dropped her stones and looked back, nodding with weary eyes.

Twilight frowned in concentration as she mentally hunkered down. This wasn't uncommon after all... a long night studying would often leave her tired and a little unfocused, something she knew she could push through with an effort of willpower. It was just another lesson. Another thing to learn about and from. If she could read a dozen books over a weekend and write efficient summaries while using proper diction and grammar then she should be perfectly capable of-

"Twi?" came Applejack's voice, startling Twilight back into the here and now.

"Mmmm?"

"You just dropped your shield thing."

"Crud."

And then the town became dark as three ponies slumped to the ground with soft exhales and closed eyes, the magenta glow of magic flickering out to be replaced with the cool amber of the few remaining streetlamps.

A Deepening Dusk

It was unusually quiet in Fluttershy's cottage. Where normally even her more quiet residents would create the soft snufflings of countless tiny lungs or the muted scampering of feet across and through the floors, walls, and rafters, today there were only three present to break the silence.

Fluttershy was quietly humming while she worked, a cheerful little tune that wordlessly helped to keep the second calm. Angel bunny, meanwhile was doing his level best to understand what was happening and why his normally submissive 'master' had come home with an unconscious wreck across her back, only to glare daggers at him when he tried to politely kick it's head back into consciousness. Angel, after all, was rather used to being the one in charge when it came to the household. Not that it didn't happen that, on rare occasion, Fluttershy would put her hoof down, but that as a normal course of events, he could almost always get his way with just a hard stare or an impatient tapping of his foot. That Fluttershy had glared at him was confusing... and more than a little disturbing... especially when her eyes had taken on that red color again, if only for a moment.

Angel had decided to allow the wreck to rest and simply watch to make sure that it didn't wake up and hurt his Fluttershy. It was, after all, the same pony who had crashed through windows, into walls, destroyed the orange one's big red thing, and even blown up the sky on a number of occasions... but, given that his Fluttershy was acting protective, he felt that he could simply watch... from a safe distance.

For her own part, Rainbow Dash lay on her back, under a heavy blanket upon one of Fluttershy's larger cushions. Her wings had been carefully preened and refolded before being tightly secured to her sides with a long length of bandages. Her coat, while carefully cleaned and picked free of the random junk that Rainbow tended to ignore from flying, was matted with fever sweats and would certainly need to be brushed out once she was on her hooves again. Her mane, what could be seen of it, was pulled back and artfully tacked down by an extra wrapping of bandages to help keep it from getting into the gash across her forehead which Fluttershy was currently attending to.

The butter pegasus carefully dabbed the injury with a cotton swab, removing the last bits of bark before applying a dab of a greasy ointment with a spiky pepper leaf, something she was grateful that her friend was not awake to feel. Normally the leaf would sting painfully enough to bring fresh tears to ones eyes, but the chemicals in its oils acted as a disinfectant and helped to prevent scarring, something that Fluttershy knew Rainbow would be thankful for later on.

Waiting a few moments to give the oils a chance to penetrate, she drew back the leaf and disposed of it, careful to wash her hooves to keep from getting the oil in her eyes later. She looked around at the assortment of medical supplies she had used, briefly wondering why she had brought some of them out, before setting to the task of repacking them. Gauze and bandages, unguents and salves, along with a number of dried berries, a few roots, and a collection of dried herbs and flowers all found their ways back into the little veterinarian's cabinets and bags.

Finally, she took a fine needle and length of fresh spun spider silk thread, and ran it through a swab soaked in alcohol before starting the task of stitching her friend's wound closed. While Rarity might have been a seamstress of not inconsiderable reputation, Fluttershy's work went largely without notice, primarily because so few ponies ever realized who or what she had patched up. Despite what many thought, not all of her little friends always got along, and it was only her knowledge of veterinary medicine coupled with her skill with a needle and thread that kept the vast majority of them happy and healthy.

Within two minutes, Fluttershy was leaning down over her friend, snipping the thread with her teeth, for all the world looking like a gentle kiss on the forehead. She critically examined her work, taking the needle and gently lifting individual hairs to make sure none were caught in the wound and that they laid naturally over the injury. With a satisfied nod, she dropped the needle and remaining thread in a small dish to be cleaned before using the alcohol swab to wipe away the excess ointment and clean the surrounding fur, leaving an unblemished Rainbow Dash.

Finally, after nearly half an hour's work, Fluttershy collected the bloodied supplies and walked off to finish up, leaving Rainbow to rest. Angel watched silently from his couch, curious but unwilling to interrupt his Fluttershy while she worked. It was strange to see her treating that one with so much care when she had unceremoniously dumped it onto the cushion earlier. It didn't make sense to his little mind. His Fluttershy was caring and timid yes but, to see her acting a bit confused with some of her own supplies didn't make sense. He supposed that if she were forced to improvise something, she may have paused momentarily, but his Fluttershy had had to study the herbs and bottles, smelling some and even tasting others before she had used them. He had even had to stop her from trying one of the evil-evil-sick-stomach berries before he had lost his nerve at her expression. His Fluttershy was clearly there but there was clearly something wrong with her. He didn't want to admit it but he needed one of their help.

An Eggshell Cracked

Twilight Sparkle blinked her eyes slowly, not certain what to make of the figures drifting before them. Everything seemed muted: colors were less vibrant, sounds were muffled and indistinct, her body felt numb, and even her nose seemed reluctant to identify the odors that the non-place she was in seemed to have. Even her sense of taste only reluctantly relayed the bitterness of morning breath somehow less intensely than she knew it must be.

She lay for she knew not how long, dazedly staring up at the unfocused shades and hues, not able to string together enough pieces to construct a formal thought. Blobs of color drifted and merged while others separated or dissolved altogether in a confusing tapestry of chaos that she found infinitely enthralling, though no less perplexing, something she felt drawn to observe until ... until something.

Vaguely she knew that she was supposed to do something after observation, something that had been engrained so deeply in her psyche that even in her muddled state she knew it was there even without knowing precisely what it was that she knew. There was something she knew, just out of reach, that observation led to.

After pondering for a few moments, or hours, or pudding, she relaxed, certain that the something-I-know would come to her in due time, and returned to experiencing the strangeness that was her existence.

Searing pain plunged through the gentle chaos of her world, sending her curiosity into a headlong retreat as panic and self-defense asserted themselves simultaneously. Her fuzzy world of unfocused light and muted senses collapsed under the assault of hurt. The iron clad hoof of misery crushed down upon her chest, pressing the air from lungs she had all but forgotten existed to supply her with precious air. The grindstone of suffering scraped across her hooves as she drew them protectively before her chest. The bellowing roar of agony pierced her sensitive eardrums, attacking her brain with the myriad howls and screeches of the lost plane of merciless torture before the foul destruction of her tongue and nose alerted her to the fetid will of what must surely be the rot of ten thousand mortal years of decay.

Unformed magic sputtered and leapt from her horn as she struggled against a failing reality, desperately trying to dismiss the sensations tormenting her very experience of the world. Traceries of white and magenta flashes whipped around her as the scent of ozone and burning hair joined the massacre of her comfortable confusion.

A sudden thrum echoed through the desolation of peace, arresting the carnage before her as the soothing tone caught upon some vague memory dancing above the mutilated corpse of befuddlement. Lower C. Why that particular sound had brought that particular title to mind, she did not know, but with it came a bastion of stability. For the first time in as long as she could remember, there was something solid within the chaos.

Lower C.

And then it came again. A ribbon of order echoing across the wasteland of blurry, hateful senses, shearing away great swaths of murk and muck. Again, Lower C reverberated across the field, changing everything it touched as things began to resolve around her.

The panic was gone, in its place a growing sense of confused curiosity.

Slowly, as the note (and that was what it was, she realized), repeated, she climbed from the depths of unfocused musings and back into the world of the waking.

Some minutes passed before the figure before her suddenly made sense. Where moments ago, the browns and grays, mottled with shifting yellows and stable blacks had meant nothing more than color, Twilight Sparkle suddenly recognized a figure above her.

Until that point, she had never personally experienced a paradigm shift.

Within the blink of an eye, her magic snapped taunt and had pinned the zebra shamaness against the ceiling as Twilight blinked away the confusion from her waking mind. Struggling to put her world back together, she was shocked when a new sound crushed into her mind.

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE, YOU PUT HER DOWN THIS INSTANT YA'HEAR!"

Flinching at the unexpected roar, and curling up instinctively, she cowered behind her wings as she continued to desperately put her world back together. Somehow she had angered something... something big if the voice was anything to go by... and she didn't know what to do. She was all alone. If only she had her frie...

Twilight blinked. Her friends. If only she had her friends to ... that was Appljack's voice!

The dull thump near her still caused an involuntary flinch when she heard the zebra land but at least it didn't sound too painful. Slowly, Twilight peeked out from under her wings, blinking in the soft light of candles before she saw Rarity checking on Zecora with a stern, but not angry, Applejack standing between the two and her. Applejack's coat was covered in a light sheen of sweat and had a few dark patches apparently splattered across it. One particularly curious dark spot continued to resolve as Twilight focused upon it, finally clarifying into what looked like a finely detailed tattoo of a sweeping flowered bush of some sort, all done in a slightly darker orange that came almost close enough to be red.

With horror, Twilight's mind connected the broken memories and her current state, as she recognized the type of pattern as the blossom of broken capillaries that sometimes could be observed after a lightning strike. Oh sweet Celestia, I didn't do that to her did I? she thought as tears began to form.

Applejack's expression quickly softened as she noted the change in her friend. "Ah, come on Sugarcube, I know ya didn't mean it." The farmer took a few steps forward, still tentatively, before gently reaching out a hoof to comfort her friend.

The next few minutes were a blur as the three settled each others nerves and Zecora sat back to watch.

Eventually, the soft cough of the shamaness drew their attention and snapped a fragmented memory back into place for Twilight Sparkle.

"You!" the alicorn snapped, raising a barrier before thinking.

Zecora watched with a cool expression, before slowly raising an eyebrow.

"Y-yyou.... um...." Twilight's anger faltered. It didn't add up. If Zecora had been taken over, she could have done anything to them while they were passed out. She knew how long it must have taken her to wake up fully... the memories alone suggested at least minutes, though even trying to examine them was difficult due to their lack of any cohesive elements.

While Twilight's mind chugged along, fitting pieces together and trying to reason out events, Rarity rolled her eyes and finally broke the princess's focus.

"Twilight, dear, Zecora wasn't the one ... um... infected sweetie..."

Applejack softly draped a foreleg over her shoulder. "Yheah... Zecora was tryin' to help us... remember?"

Twilight's thoughts ground to a halt.

Rapid change of behavior. No knowledge of the event itself. Unaccustomed feelings associated with delusion. She blinked quickly, illusory pages flipping in her mind as entries of possession and mind control spilled through into the present, her theories applying themselves to the situation and finally coming to a very uncomfortable conclusion.

Her barrier dropped, along with her head.

"I'm ... I'm sorry girls." She looked up at the slowly smiling zebra. "I'm sorry Zecora. I didn't mean to-"

Applejack's good-natured chuckle broke off her apology as she shoved her friend towards the zebra.

"T'ain't nothin' Twi... but I think you owe somepony a personal apology."

Twilight looked up at her mohawked friend in misery. "I'm sorry Zecora. I never... I didn't mean... " she sniffled and nearly broke into tears as she imagined the events that might have happened.

But before she could even start to spiral out of control, she felt the warm legs of her exotic friend wrap themselves around her as she comfortingly hugged her close.

"Do not yourself blame for this state, those tiny things are, to your anger, bait. Twas not your good sense that you used, but senses that they teased and abused."

For a few more moments, the four simply comforted each other before finally breaking the embrace.

Carefully, Zecora pulled an old glass bottle, dark with age and grime, from near one of the candles that illuminated her hut. Inside, for the first time, Twilight saw the shifting black ribbon as it slid and twisted at the barrier... without having to lean over the zebra's shoulder.

06 - Fractures: Part 1

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Stuttering Shadows

Rainbow Dash woke slowly to a throbbing headache and the chill touch of a wet cloth draped across her forehead. She felt nauseous and cold, a little dizzy, and very sore. From her forehead a light throbbing sent pulses of pain prickling down her face, almost like spiders crawling on her, the sensation causing her to twitch a cheek momentarily before raising a hoof to her eyes... which she only now realized were gummy with some kind of gunk.

Blinking slowly, she looked around in the feeble, flickering light of a small candle some distance away. Wherever she was, it was dark enough that the candle only hinted at what might be around her, cloaking everything in thick shadows and a heavy silence only broken by her raspy breathing and the soft guttering of the flame.

Slowly, she rubbed the gunk from her eyes, the sticky substance clinging and pulling from her only reluctantly before she scraped it off on the side of the... whatever it was she was laying on. Taking a deep breath, she hopped to her hooves.

And promptly fell solidly on her face, her body wracked with cramps and stabbing aches.

Shuddering on the ground, she smelled the tang of blood but could do little more than grab her stomach and curl in a ball, shaking from the pain as waves of cold sweat seemed to spring across her coat. Gasping out shallow breaths as she forced her eyes open, Rainbow Dash laboriously arched her neck to take in her surroundings from her new perspective.

It wasn't much different. Despite the agony clutching her insides, the world still seemed dark and barely more defined than dark shadows shivering slowly over other, darker, shadows cast by the tiny candle somewhere above.

Hissing out a groan as she forced herself to her hooves, she squinted in the darkness, finally catching a number of faint flickers of light, seeming to dance up and down like tiny sparks in sets scattered around her. Though she tried to take a step to investigate, the horrible twisting in her guts made her struggle to even remain standing. Before long, the feeling grew too strong and the inevitable happened.

A few moments later, Rainbow Dash passed out again in a puddle of vomit, shivering of fever and wracked with the painful spasms of nightmarish slumber.

Collective Concussions

Fluttershy woke to the sounds of a table being knocked over and the strangled retching of her dear friend Rainbow Dash.

Taking a few moments to compose herself, the butter yellow pegasus slowly stretched her back and wings before climbing from the nearby cushion and quietly stepping over to her collapsed friend.

It wasn't a pretty sight to be sure: Rainbow was on the ground, curled up on her side in an unnatural shape, her head and neck twisted at a horrible angle as her body shivered and shuddered, spreading the splattering of vomit across both her coat and the floor. Her short mane, normally a wind tossed mess to begin with, was matted with sweat and plastered across her face while the rest of her glistened with a lather. Fluttershy's sensitive nose wrinkled at the smell, a bitter scent of stale plants and the sour tang of energy drinks composing the majority of her friend's stomach contents, telling her that her ill friend was likely dehydrated in addition to suffering from a head injury.

Slowly, acting with years of practice and care, she lifted the unconscious Dash across her shoulders, ignoring the slick material that smeared across her mane and coat, and gently trotted to the floor shower she used for her sick and injured little friends.

"It must have been worse than I thought" she whispered to herself as she laid Rainbow Dash down upon the smooth floor, unhooking the shower head from the wall and adjusting the temperature carefully. Satisfied after a minute of fine tuning, she began to softly manipulate her unconscious friend, washing the ick from her mane and coat, gently rubbing her sides to work the sweat and filth free and checking her stitches before rinsing herself clean.

Taking a few minutes to gently dry her patient, she carefully laid her down and went to clean up the floor and right the table Rainbow's tumble had caused to fall.

Dash lay there, helpless and unconscious for nearly ten minutes before the soft clicking of hooves could be heard were there anypony there to hear the approach. Smoothly, Fluttershy slipped back into the dark room and lifted Dash across her back again before gently walking back to the couch and depositing her charge upon the freshly changed sheet she had spread across the cushions. Making sure that Raindbow was laying still, an almost restful expression having slowly overtaken the pained grimace from before, Fluttershy gently pushed a pair of roll pillows beside her friend to keep her from tumbling off again.

Nodding to herself, the quiet mare leaned over and gently kissed Dash's forehead, mindful of the delicate stitch-work of earlier. She turned to resume her own rest, but paused as if remembering a vital point before shaking her head with a soft smile. "Silly Fluttershy, you almost forgot Dash's medicine."

With practiced ease, she scooped up a small hoof full of berries, identical to the remains Dash had vomited up not half an hour ago, and popped them into her friend's mouth, tipping her head back and gently placing her lips upon a nerve in Dash's neck, pinching lightly and causing her to swallow automatically. After checking to make sure her friend was breathing alright and that she had swallowed each berry, Fluttershy nodded and softly crept back to her cushion before blinking and looking around the room. Rainbow had begun to writhe in her sleep again, the poor dear. It must have been even worse than she'd thought. Shaking her head in pity, Fluttershy was about to climb back upon her cushion when she paused and returned to the small stand at the end of the couch and squinted before rustling her wings briefly.

"Almost forgot," she whispered, as she lifted a small box in her hooves and struck a match casting a bright gleam across the room. A moment later, she set it upon the cold wick of the candle she had blown out hours ago.

A Meeting of Mind(les)s(ness)

Pinkie Pie was cheerfully hopping across the little field that was Fluttershy's lawn when it started - at first it was a little extra poofing in her mane, something she giggled at, but then came the troubling part: her face, inexplicably slammed into the ground. Flinching at the sudden impact, Pinkie squeezed her eyes shut as she rubbed her head.

"Zowie.... I almost bit my tongue!" she exclaimed as she got back to her hooves. Glancing around quickly, her ears began to flatten as the niggling feeling that something was about to happen, that something very very wrong was about to happen, that something so apocalypticalypticalyptically wrong was about to happen that her Pinkie sense had decided that she should use her face as a brake rather than a sweet-stuff input.

No, this was not a good combo. She wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it wasn't a good combo.

Slowly reaching into her mane, Pinkie's eyes slid over the field as she drew out an abnormally large cupcake and waited.

A moment later, she felt a sharp, although weak, thwack to her foreleg.

Glancing down Pinkie hurled the cupcake with all the force of a celestial goddess, smiting the bad thing before it could get to her frien...oh, it was just Angel Bunny... which was good, because Pinkie's imagination had started to run off on her again and ... OH! Cupcake!

Angel Bunny rolled his eyes as he watched the pink one, who was holding a cupcake for some reason, look down at him as her pupils shrank to pinpricks before she giggled and tossed the cupcake she had been holding into her mouth. He had learned, through remarkably painful experience, that that one was protected by something. No matter what he did, she always seemed to somehow avoid his wrath. Flowerpots missed, salads hurled were swallowed, even trying to bite her had only resulted in her giggling and him discovering a lump of gum had somehow been placed in his mouth. He sincerely despised that one, but given the circumstances, she would have to do.

Cringing internally, Angel Bunny reached out and tugged on her leg, causing her to giggle and drop to the ground to be at eye level with him.

Up close, she was a little scary he realized. Her mane was enourmous, blocking out the sky and filling his vision while her gargantuan eyes seemingly bent at odd angles to watch him from only an inch or two away. Her muzzle ended up actually touching his, sending a little wave of panic through him as he remembered seeing her swallow cakes many times larger than his entire body whole.

The pink one was something he suddenly did not want to aggravate.

Blinking for a moment, Angel started to pantomime the problem. He explained in great detail how his Fluttershy had started acting strange, how she brought back the wreck and had even glared at him. His little ears flipped in irritation as he remembered his Fluttershy going through the medicines and bandages, how she had started tasting some and trying others before he had had to stop her. His little eyebrows sank into a glower as he described how his Fluttershy had scolded him for being assertive and even forgotten to place the parsnip on the left side of his plate and the tomato on the right. His Fluttershy had put the parsnip on the right side and the tomato on the left.

Ending his award winning depiction, Angel crossed his paws and waited while tapping his foot.

"Sooooooooooo.... Fluttershy got Rainbow, but she's acting all weirdy and she didn't know how to help her after she got home but she knew what she needed even if she didn't know what it was and she told you to behave (THE NERVE) but she didn't feed you for a whole eight minutes and when she did feed you she didn't turn the plate around which is so totally not a Fluttershy thing to do and she's secretly been harboring an apple addiction but didn't tell anypony because she was afraid of hurting Twilight's feelings because it was sooooo her fault for trying to fix the vampire fruit bats even though they weren't broken and what's with that anyway because we all know Applejack gets all grumpypants when her apples are being munched on but we all know Fluttershy's the one to go to when it comes to animals and yet somehow we all ignored her and Twilight turned her into Flutterbat and we had to get her to STARE at herself, which would be really really weird if it weren't for her red eyes which are kind of neat when you think about it but that's not important right now because" Pinkie took a moment to gasp before jumping to her hooves again, "Fluttershy's got Dashie and Dash is sick!"

Angel Bunny blinked for a moment, mouth agape, as he wondered how she had possibly misunderstood that his Fluttershy had flipped the tomato and parsnip as forgetting to turn the plate.

She really was just a mess of a pony.

Shaden Danse

Bumping along a rarely used trail was not Storm Dancer's ideal method of coming back to consciousness. Bumping along a rarely used trail in the middle of a dark wood, at night, while an unnatural fog crept along the forest floor, obscuring everything more than a few paces away, on the unpleasantly lumpy thing he was traveling upon, was certainly even less ideal than simply bumping along. But waking up with the vestiges of a migraine, a quickly wrapped gash, and the telltale scent of burnt hair and ozone upon the back of his uncomfortably bony friend of the stripey disposition was patently not even on his list of pleasant methods of waking.

With a soft hiss of pain, he checked the wad of cloth on his chest, flinching at the contact, as he tapped Mojo's shoulder to get down.

The zebra nodded back at him as he slowed before cantering to a stop a few yards down the path.

"'E wakes again, my jitt'ry fren, dough shaky bet his stride may be. You doin' good, you crash-bang nut? Or should I keep, for you to, carry?"

Storm Dancer flinched again as he nearly fell off his friend, the zebra reaching out to stop his tumble at the last moment. With a look of concern, he settled down before shrugging the unicorn from his back, a faint stain from the bandage dampening his coat.

"Nah Mojo, I'm good... Really, but what the hell did you stab me with? Stuff burns like fire," he grimaced.

"I'm sorry Smokey, but'tid 'ad tebe done. Your head been t'rowin', butwee needed taerun."

"Yheah, yheah... I get that. But dangit this thing burns." Storm Dancer rolled out his shoulders, wincing at the pain from the still-fresh gash as he snorted quietly. "Not like you to add injury to insu... well, more injury."

Despite the slight smirk upon his black and grey face, Mojo didn't answer immediately as he continued to look around in the dark. While Storm Dancer got to his hooves and tried to make sense of everything around him, Mojo kept a silent vigil, ears flipping to each sound while he scanned the eerily moving fog.

After a few moments, Storm Dancer carefully peeled back the bandage, hissing at the wound as it pulled a bit, before brightening his horn and searing it shut with an arcing lance of electricity, the scent of ozone suddenly competing for that of burnt hair and cooked meat. Grinding his teeth against the pain, he looked up to see Mojo's attention suddenly fully upon him; the zebra's features a strange mask of concern and disgust.

"Mojo?"

A moment passed before the zebra's ears flipped again. "Dat 'orna yours be a work'a ahrt, but I'd be careful, lest ya be blown apart. Yah been struck no less den tree times a'ready... the smell'a burning's gettin a bit heady."

Storm Dancer frowned briefly. It wasn't really a good idea to cauterize a dressed wound, but since he didn't really know what was happening, he had felt that being able to move a bit more freely had been preferable to leaving a blood trail. It had made sense at the time, but that had also been while he was just waking up and not thinking straight. Normally that wouldn't be much of a problem, but when your buddy comes running out of the dark, stabs you, knocks you out, and the next thing you know you find yourself in a strange wood being carried away, snap decisions allow for a little leeway.

"Really Mojo, I'm fine... what's going on?"

Mojo, ears still flipping as he tracked sounds the unicorn couldn't seem to pick up, waited a moment before answering. To Storm, it looked almost as if the zebra were weighing his options before trying them out. A few more seconds passed before he replied in a quieter tone than normal, "De deez an' greely be dun huntin' in de nigh'... iis na safe te be aroun' firelight."

Without waiting for more than a second, Mojo turned and continued striding into the swirling fog, leaving Storm Dancer to scramble for a few moments before catching up.

It was a strange feeling, seeing Mojo on edge. The zebra had always seemed so... in control, almost smug in his confidence. Seeing him without his top hat, glancing at shadows and trotting along without a morbid rhyme or two, was simply creepy... more creepy, given his coat markings. The chill fog wasn't really helping either.

Storm Dancer frowned as he kept pace with his friend, a step or two behind so he could keep track of the well camouflaged zebra. It wasn't often that Mojo would drop the quips, even rarer for him to drop the odd rhymes he seemed determined to maintain, but when he did it was always a matter of importance. Even so, he couldn't recall a single time where Mojo had seemed so profoundly concerned.

An itchy tingling started to build at the base of his horn, setting his coat into a flare of static which sizzled around the wound on his chest. With a backwards glance, Mojo wordlessly checked upon his companion. A mild grimace seemed to allay his fears as the two continued on.

"So.... where are we headed?"

Mojo silently hopped over an exposed root before turning sharply to the right and off the trail before whispering out, "Into de'dark, where spirits flee. A place where unicorns can't be."

"Mojo," Storm said, "I know I'm a bit addled right now, but I'm still a unicorn bud."

The soft chuckle was the first reassuring thing Storm had heard from his friend all night. "Dat you are, my pointy fren', but especially you, cannot atten'. Instead I 'ave a task in lou, of great importance it is too."

Mojo paused as they came to a small clearing near a fallen tree, whatever species long forgotten by the ravages of time. It had been massive and, when it had fallen, it had brought down a number of smaller trees with it - their barren trunks and shattered limbs littering the clearing, making for a truly uninviting sight.

The trunk itself was almost as wide as some of the houses Storm had seen in town, ancient and storm bleached, the barkless base prized up from the dark loam below, exposing a cavernous abyss rimmed with wicked looking briars and thorn-sharp dead roots. The shattered segment, some feet above, showed the unmistakable charring of a lightning strike, though long since eroded from what must have been a truly deadly crown of splinters, into a pulpy mass of jagged remains. Mosses, black in the feeble light of Storm's horn, appeared as globs of moist gore, splattered around the scene haphazardly, glistening in the lingering damp of the creeping fog.

Storm did not like this place.

"Mojo, should... should we really be here? I mean, it looks pretty unpleasant and all..."

The zebra's briefly flashed smile was positively creepy upon the bone-like markings of his face. "Dat's azzit should be, a frightful sight, de bett'ra secrets kept locked up tight."

With a smooth flick of his hoof, Mojo cast a pinch of acrid ... something... into the darkness under the uprooted tree. The zebra waited a moment more before digging quietly through a small satchel near his shoulder and pulling out a black object and flipping the attached cord over his head. A few moments later, he glanced over as Storm watched apprehensively.

"Now Smokey: lissen an' lissen well, dis place be protected by an ol', ol' spell. To get back 'ere, ye need ta know a secret of de tje-san-zo. Eet izzan pretty, annit izzun fun, butta drop ah blood'all pay for one. Jess pay a drop, anywhere'll do, and de tje-san-zo will protect you. Dunna fergit to pay de price, or else the greely, your skin, may slice."

Storm frowned at his friend as he tentatively licked his lips. "So.... I gotta bleed to get back here?" he asked quietly, the fog seeming suddenly colder upon his skin.

"Aye, but a course ya do, dough remembar too: dere's always a price, to keep de greely actin' nice."

With a scowl, Storm carefully pressed the wound on his chest, forcing a few small beads of blood to leak on his wrist before flicking it into the clearing. He didn't like the place at all, but Mojo had never lied to him and he seemed to be worried about something hunting them in the night. If this was what he thought would help to keep them safe then he was willing to do what he could to help out.

Creepy as it may be.

Mojo nodded, though his smile had faded. "You mus' now go, an' find dat mare, de one with such a wicked stare. She be 'en need o' yer soft 'eart, afore her mind tears 'er apart." Mojo sighed, "I know not when de time may come, but when it do, you'll 'ave to run. The princess won't my magic know, and blame us both, her acts will show. She's not a devil or a ghost, but when her fears are spurred, she'll play a vicious host."

Storm frowned again. "So.... ?"

Mojo turned and paused, his tail flicking briefly as he glanced back. "Ya gotta go, ya can't stay here. If you don't leave, you'll draw them near. I can fix dis, but ya have to leave, the magic here's not-av pony weave."

Mojo turned away and stepped towards the nightmarish tree, disappearing into the icy fog and the night. A few moments later, the sound of something creeping through dead leaves and unidentified muck began to filter into the clearing, setting Storm's senses on edge.

As he turned to leave, a soft sound, almost like a sigh, breathed out from the gaping pit of the trees upturned roots, as Mojo descended into the cavernous tunnel beneath, faint symbols glowing a sickly green at his passage.

Ars Lombwaj

Twilight Sparkle, multi-time savior of Equestria, the Element of Magic, a studious and highly intelligent unicorn in her own right, and the founder of the Ponyville library appreciation club (which she swore she would get around to finding members for), glared at the writhing black ribbon trapped within the little blown glass bottle sitting upon the rough hewn plank that served as Zecora's dining table.

If it weren't for the simple fact that she was so horribly frustrated with discovering the bizarre little terror's secrets, she would likely have condemned herself for such a long, and horribly fragmented mental process. Such endeavors required patience and discipline. They required dedication and an unflinching devotion to the pursuit of knowledge with the innocent curiosity of a foal. Such things deserved the full, undiluted, undivided, and unmitigated weight of her focus.

Such things were this close to being flung across the room, lit on fire, and banished out of existence because they refused to cooperate.

With a frustrated growl, Twilight spun away from the table intent on pumping Zecora for more information about the Tartarus-blasted nightmare to logic that resided within the little container... but instead blinked as she saw the startled gazes of her three friends.

"Um.... guys?" she asked, watching as their features danced in the flickers of light. "What's got you all worked up?"

The three glanced at one another before Applejack cleared her throat and nodded before plastering on a nervous smile. "Uh, it's not us Sugarcube, um, but you're looking a little steamed right now and we didn't want to set'ya off." She paused and started to fan herself with her hat, "There anything we can do ta help?"

Twilight's concern twisted for a moment. It wasn't like her friends to act frightened around her, and it certainly didn't make sense now that they had an actual bit of material to work with. Were they possessed by another one of those ribbon things? Was she possessed by another one of those ribbon things? She couldn't risk it, she'd have to lock the whole place down. Shields and barriers, magic and material, would need to be erected. Safety measures would need to be put in place. And they were doing so well to! It wasn't fair!

It was about that time when Twilight noticed the room seemed noticably brighter than it had previously - and there was a faint scent of burning timber. Funny, she didn't recall Zeocra adding wood to the fireplace.

Tiwlight's eyes widened as she looked up to the scorched ceiling before quickly glancing down at her brilliant cream coat and flinching in embarassment. Taking a calming breath, she tried her best to relax, willing the frustration to pass as she exhaled slowly.

A few seconds later, she felt a pair of ponies tentatively hugging her while the soft chuckle of a zebra added to her support.

"Thanks girls... I needed that." Twilight sighed as she let her frustrations fade under the assault of her close friends. Rarity remained silent, her precisely permed mane curling beside her, and smiled faintly as she nodded. Applejack smirked as she stepped back and shook her head slightly.

Twilight looked at her friends as she felt a welling of appreciation. Rarity, who despised all things dirty or unfashionable, had (once again) dropped everything to go traipsing through everything to help her friends. Applejack, no stranger to work or difficulties, hadn't even questioned her when she'd teleported in when this all started. Zeocra, who despite all their differences, had been willing to risk serious harm in attacking them, had managed to save them all in spite of themselves.... again.

She had the best friends in the world.

"I'm sorry girls, it's just that this thing," she gestured violently back towards the bottle, "doesn't make any sense! I can see it, but my magic says there's nothing there! It's like I'm trying to follow the air in a balloon as it's popping.... there's NOTHING there but I can see it!"

A soft tinkling sound pulled her attention from the pair of ponies as she caught sight of Zecora calmly stirring a mug of something near the window. The zebra was watching her with a nuetral expression on her face, the kind she often had when the two spoke of particularly difficult topics for the shaman to rhyme. The zebra watched her for a few more moments before turning her head to sip from the mug she had been stirring.

"My dearest friends, through it is late, I suggest you do not hesitate." The zebra opened the eye facing Twilight and stared at her as she took another sip. "If I were to wager a simple fee, the villain's victory, I doubt you wish to see."

"Dear, if I might interrupt," Rarity flipped her hoof back towards the table, "What is that thing it's trying to do?"

Twilight glanced behind her at the bottle as it sat, unmoving, on the plank. "What? Sitting there?" she asked, trying not to become agitated again.

"No Darling, that there... on the wall." Rarity stepped forward, almost pushing past Twilight as she tipped her head to the side, trying to get a clearer look at the wall.

Twilight, momentarily forgetting her frustration, turned to look at the wall fully. Packed dirt and roots, small chips of unidentifiable matter and careful construction methods. Nothing out of the ordinary for Zecora's house. She glanced over to respond to Rarity when she caught a slight movement out of the corner of her eye, snapping her attention back to the wall with an almost predatory focus.

She didn't know what it was, but she had seen it.

And she was not going to let it get away.

With a flare of magic, she lit her horn, casting everything into stark contrast. In an instant, shadows darkened, tiny flakes of formica became obvious in the soil, and everything became bathed in the glow of her magic.

She studied it. She memorized it. She began to systematically scan each square foot of the wall as she looked for inconsistencies.

"Rarity, what did you see?"

Rarity's response was slow, almost as if she were concentrating as hard as Twilight was. "I-I'm not sure. I thought I saw something with the shadow of the bottle, but I can't seem to figure out what it was."

Twilight focused upon the faint shadow of the bottle still visible through her magical field, looking for anything that didn't make sense, scanning it and probing it with spell after spell as she tried to discover what she had glimpsed.

"The Deez will not their secrets tell, if you only put them under a spell," Zecora stated from her seat by the window.

"Would'ja just talk plain for once Zecora?" Applejack snapped before she realized what she had said. Blushing furiously as Twilight glanced back at her in reprimand. "Uh, what I meant was could you just tell it to us straight without all the mumjo jumbo and fancy rhymin'? It'd save us a lot of trouble." Applejack coughed self-consciously before glancing up at the zebra. "And, um, sorry about poppin' off like that."

For a brief moment Zecora scowled. It was rare that she put on any expression other than a slightly aloof smile or practiced neutrality with anyone other than her close friends, but though she knew Applejack hadn't meant to be rude, the comment still stung. After a second or two, she schooled her reaction before taking a sip of tea again.

"Young Applejack, your words are true, the times I speak out of rhyme are few, but I do so with a reason too, that being the lombwajs' wrath to eschew."

"Now what in the name of Luna is that suppo-?" was all Applejack managed to get out before Twilight's startled gasp interrupted her.

"I knew I saw something and you just confirmed it!" Twilight nearly squealed in delight. Applejack squinted at the wall where both Rarity and Twilight stood riveted.

With a few subtle shifts of her magical field Twilight's grin grew wider and wider.

There was a tiny shadow clinging to the shadow of the bottle on the wall that seemed to shift just a moment after the rest.

Twilight couldn't sense it with magic, but the tables were beginning to turn as she realized that, somehow, light must interact with their strange magic.

07 - Fractures: Part 2

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Fever Dream

The clouds were everywhere; dark, cold, heavy clouds that shocked her when she bucked them. Clouds that laughed and clung together, making the already crowded sky seem to close in, cutting off the sun and soaking her in icy fingers of rain that she couldn't shake from her feathers.

A young pegasus, fresh out of flight camp, darted around in a panic, desperately looking for a way out of the labyrinthine cluster of cumulonimbus that resisted her every attempt to flee. Above, she could just make out the trailing edge of Cloudsdale, the golden light of Celestia's sun painting its spires in a crown of glimmering golds and amber... far too distant to offer any hope of aid. Below, nothing but the featureless ashen gray of storms which flickered with lightning while growling up at her in malice.

She couldn't make it home and she certainly couldn't keep dodging all day - her wings were already aching from the hours she had spent darting along through the tempest.

With a gasp, her right wing locked up in a agonizing cramp, causing her to flick out her left and begin an inevitable glide into the maelstrom below. She no longer had a choice while her heart leapt into a screaming panic as she drew nearer to the deepening darkness below. Icy veins of frost began to climb her primaries, slowly overtaking her wings as they accumulated more and more moisture from the hazy nightmare, dragging her down with increasing speed as they gained a skin of ice.

She glanced once more up towards Cloudsdale, seeking salvation from the horrors below, only to watch as the final golden spire slipped from view... her world closing in around her in a frigid and claustrophobic vice. For a brief instant, the world was white, and then came the searing pain of liquid fire as the lightning scourged her wings and arced to her flank before lancing off into the billowing towers of gray.

She was suddenly falling, her wingtips on fire as the damaged feathers could no longer slow her fall, tearing at her mind with unending agony as the scent of ozone and burning hair fought for dominance in her mind. Through the pain, she glanced back, desperately trying to assess the damage and compensate when her eyes chanced upon her seared flank: her freshly acquired cutie mark, no longer the prismatic flash of lightning... instead reduced to a smoldering smear of bloody flesh and ash still searing into the muscle as she fell into the darkness. The filly's screams swallowed by the uncaring merciless heart of the storm.

She was on fire. Her body was literally burning as she plummeted through icy rain and tempest winds. She was lost and alone, tumbling through the gray in a gut-wrenching ballet of tremors and convulsions. The sky, which had cradled her for her entire life, now turned into a predatory beast intent of her destruction.

Rainbow Dash struck out, desperately seeking purchase on anything but finding only enough cloud to catch her and spin her faster end over end into the hungering chaos below. Her throat raw from screaming, she finally closed her eyes and grew still as the wind burned what little was left of her skin as she surrendered to the fall followed closely by a tail of smoldering embers.

"RAINBOW DASH. OPEN YOUR EYES." commanded a voice from the endless gray. "OPEN YOUR WINGS AND SOAR."

Through the pain and the nausea of the fall, the voice demanded her attention and the filly found herself suddenly in a featureless sky, laying on her back upon a bank of clouds only distinguishable from the sky by the faint pressure they offered upon her feathers and skin. As she blinked in confusion, the sky began a gradual shift into darker colors as faint sparks took up residence in the deepening blues and blacks of the night. Above, the moon shown with a gleaming silver as two immense white eyes burned away the last remnants of the tempest, ushering in a calm warmth that began to permeate her world.

Rainbow Dash watched in awe as Princess Luna shimmered into being and strode towards her, the faint essence of the cloudy surface peeling away from her silver shod hooves and tinkling like tiny bells.

The dark alicorn, ruler of the night and diarch of Equestria, twice defeated by the Elements of Harmony, loomed over the filly as she quaked in the remnants of her frightful fall. And then she knelt, tears glistening upon midnight cheeks as she wrapped the filly in her great, downy wings, pulling her from her back and cradling her as, together, they wept.

"Rainbow Dash, we are sorry it took so long for us to arrive. Your need was great and yet we could only sense your terror. We could not find you amoungst the stars, and for that we offer our greatest apologies. You, who have helped us, who have saved us when we were all but lost, were left in your time of need. We will not leave you to abandonment. Fear not Rainbow Dash, for we shall bare thee as you have born ourselves. Prepare, for we shall wake thee, and thee must flee. You are imperiled."

And as Rainbow Dash lay, curled in the warmth of the Princess of the Night's wings, the world melted into darkness and her body began to scream in pain.

Just a Spoonful of Arsenic Helps the Medicine Go Down

The room was pleasantly warm, quiet, dark, and with just a hint of evergreen to mask the scent of the dozens of animals that made their homes within its walls. It was a peaceful place, one which was kept dutifully clean despite the tremendous effort which was needed to maintain order. It was crowded in an old fashioned way, clear of distractions yet upon any surface evidence of the care and dedication of the artisans could be found. No cabinet was unpainted. No drawer uncarved. No table without well worn nicks or dings lovingly repaired and polished.

It was perfect for a restful retreat or a quiet place to recover.

Fluttershy exhaled softly, eyes half-lidded as she gazed out over the room from amidst the flowing river of her pink mane, perched atop a similarly well loved pillow across the room from her good friend Rainbow Dash. She had been watching quietly for the better part of two hours as the ill pegasus had tossed and turned, whimpered, groaned and, occasionally, gasped, in her sleep.

Rainbow was not doing well. Her fever hadn't broken and she was sweating through her third change of sheets. Fluttershy frowned in worry. By now, whatever injury running into that branch had caused should have become less troublesome, certainly with the medicine she had been given, and yet her friend only seemed to continue to suffer.

Fluttershy blinked slowly in the dim light of the sputtering candle across the room, considering the situation as she watched over Rainbow. She knew she needed to fetch their friends, surely Twilight could suggest something that might help Rainbow at the very least. Applejack could probably cook something up while Rarity could help supply fresh gauze or help keep Rainbow's fever down. Pinkie would, of course, be a wonderful distraction and fount of good cheer, helping to lighten the mood... they did say that laughter was the best medicine after all.

Of course medicine was really the best medicine, but Pinkie's antics would certainly be appreciated.

Fluttershy smiled softly as she thought of her friends. They were out there, right now, chasing down that dreadful monster while she tended to Rainbow's injuries. They really were such good friends. She could hardly believe how lonely and isolated she had felt before the day Twilight had shown up in Ponyville. She had always had her little friends but, even with all their tiny hugs and gifts, spending time with her pony friends had become something she cherished more and more, and she just couldn't stand to let anything cause them hurt.

With a nearly silent flutter, she glided across the room to check on Dash again. Carefully pulling back the sweat soaked sheets, she lifted the feverish pony onto her back before pulling the rest of the sheets free and securing a new set. Softly walking to the floor shower, she adjusted the water before rinsing her friend down and helping her to sip a bit of water to keep her hydrated. A few minutes later and a clean and dry, though shivering, Rainbow Dash was softly tucked back into the fresh seats as Fluttershy carefully dropped three small berries into Dash's mouth and nipped a nerve in her neck to get the mare to swallow.

Nodding to herself, Fluttershy went about collecting the sodden sheets and piling them into a basket to be washed later before going to clean herself once more. The poor dear was just so weak with fever that she couldn't even wake to swallow her medicine. Fluttershy could feel her chest clenching as she barely kept from crying at how ill her friend was.

Stifling a whimper, Fluttershy stepped back through the room towards her pack as she gathered a small assortment of herbs and berries, all prepared to heal the sick or injured. Amongst them, juniper berries to help with fever, apple seeds for headache, a twist of nightshade for stiffness, pressed ginger juice and pepper in case of allergic reaction, bloat berries to combat dehydration, and thistle to help with the rash that would likely come from laying in bed too long. Fluttershy blinked for a moment, a brief flicker of apprehension as she looked over her medicines. She felt she was missing something important... something she should know just from glancing at the medicines before her. With a frown, she studied each for a few seconds running them through her memories and trying to figure out why she had a vague sense of unease as she considered them.

Something was missing... something important... something she should know. She wracked her brain as she looked over them all again and again. Something was wrong. She should know something that she just couldn't get to form into a coherent thought. Blinking again in frustration, she glanced up as Rainbow Dash started to moan and thrash again.

The poor dear. If only there was something she could do to help her get a bit more comfortable... to help break the fever.

And then it hit her.

She had almost forgotten the asp-vine and corpse-root.

With a sigh of relief, Fluttershy hovered over to the pack she had dropped at the door, nosed it open, and began to pull out the bitter roots and acidic vines. It was a good thing she had remembered them, after all, if she didn't brew them just right, the syrup could actually make Rainbow even sicker.

Oh! she thought, I'm almost out of bloat berries... I better go fetch some before Dash wakes.

And with that, Fluttershy turned her crimson eyes to the door and flitted out silently into the night, oblivious to the strangled gasp as Dash's eyes crushed tighter as she awoke to the agony in her guts.

Another Word for Discord

"You have for me what I requested?" a crisply suited stallion inquired of the courier as he sat taking measured sips from a crystal flute of hard cider.

The courier, a beige pegasus stallion, barely past the age of employment, wheezed slightly as he labored under the considerable weight of his parcel bag. "Got your stuff right here mister -"

The stallion raised a sharply crafted eyebrow as he watched the courier. It wasn't that he was particularly secretive about his name so much as he was not often in the habit of being present when it was uttered. Quite the opposite really. He was more than happy to share the time-honored weight of his family name to any worthy endeavor, arrangement, transaction, or movement, so long as it was something he could stand behind proudly. The courier had been patient and had apparently followed his requests so far... so with a slight show of weariness, the stallion closed his eyes, gently rubbed the bridge of his nose, carefully placed his cider flute precisely where it should be, and exhaled softly before closing the paper he had lain on the cafe table and looking up to the waiting courier.

"Measures. Mister Measures," he stated primly as a small wooden case was pulled from his briefcase and placed before the pegasus. Without waiting for him to ask questions, he gently tapped it open to reveal its contents of several dozen bits, carefully packed so as to exactly fit the 144 slots within.

The courier, eyes gleaming at such a generous tip for a simple (though heavy) delivery, smiled brightly before depositing the wrapped contents of his parcel bag, hefting the small case, and flitting off with a jovial salute through the skies of Canterlot.

Mister Measures watched him go with only the slightest curiosity. For as long as he could remember, despite all his accomplishments, he had still never really gotten over the dream of flight, grounded as he was being an Earth Pony. Shaking his head again slightly and exhaling perhaps a bit more forcefully than was strictly required, he brushed aside his idle thoughts and collected the parcel.

It wouldn't do to keep his employer waiting on such an important delivery.

Leaving the requisite 22% tip, plus a cross-referenced bonus for impeccable service, he rose and levered the parcel into his own, considerably larger, briefcase and departed the cafe. The sun was shining and the local populace was engaged in some kind of musical street performance for which he patently did not see the point but, all things considered, it was a lovely day.

Stepping around the postbox at the end of Baleville and Winniepeg, Mister Weights and Measures ducked under a small awning where a couple of painters were busy prettying up the facade of a local storehouse. He was so intent on avoiding the occasional drop of paint that he never saw the punch that would ultimately be responsible for a delay of several hours, his employer not receiving the stack of legal documents he was carrying, or the shame-faced painters who blinked numbly at the scene before walking away with vacant expressions.

Light Red, Very Light Red Ratio

It was just over the lawn, up a little walk and two or three bounces to the door, a distance that she had traveled countless times to a destination she had visited even more, and yet just a few steps from the cottage door, Pinkie Pie found herself inexplicably enjoying the view of a little blue bug taking a nap in a tulip blossom... from inside a rose bush.

Not that she really minded, after all even little blue bugs could be great friends if given the chance! He was probably just coming home from working at the little blue bug company, waiting for the little blue bug carriage, and anxiously waiting to see his little blue bug wife and little blue bug kids and enjoy a nice dinner of little blue bug food....things. She didn't really know what little blue bugs ate so maybe he already had some or was picking some up for his wife and kids? That would be so sweet! To think that after working all day long, with no breaks, just so he could help to take care of his little buggy babies and adorable buggy wife, selflessly toiling in the harshest conditions at the little blue bug company, that Mr. Thadeus Twigorian Flashlapel (known to his little buggy friends as Bluey) was taking even more of his free time to pick up dinner and flowers for his wife. Such a good little buggy.

Pinkie Blinked... unless Mrs. Little Blue Bug wasn't pink at all! Oh! There would be so much scandal! Rarity would love it!

Unless that's how buggies rolled.... she didn't really know and .... Pinkie suddenly gasped while looking around. He'd gotten off somewhere while she was thinking! Oh, he was a clever one, that little blue bug. Pinkie chuckled quietly and was about to bounce out of the rose bush when her teeth suddenly felt fuzzy.

That was the sign that hide and seek was the game of the minute, so she took a deep breath and slid back into the rose bush with a wide grin.

Moments later, the cottage door swung open only to have Fluttershy slip out on silent wings into the night sky.

Pinkie blinked, counting to 461 by prime numbers... after all "prime" was just "pie" with "rm" added to the mix... which was just like raspberry mascarpone which sounded really REALLY tasty now that she thought about it and... hmm.... Fluttershy left her door open.

Pinkie smiled as she bounced out of the rose bush and trotted over to Fluttershy's cottage to shut the door for her quiet friend but, just as she reached the door, the sounds of whimpers and groaning from inside caught her attention. Specifically the whimpers and groaning of a particularly multi-colored pegasus that she knew quite well.

After taking a quick peek inside to see if she could help, Pinkie's mane fell as if she had been drenched in ice water (which Twilight had tried last week but forgotten about her Pinkie Sense).

Suddenly, counting to 461 by primes didn't seem nearly as fun, even if "90th" kinda looked like "goth"... because seeing Rainbow Dash struggling to move while writhing in pain and gasping just wasn't fun at all.

Pinkie suddenly knew why her Pinkie Sense wanted her to play hide and seek.... this was Fluttershy's house, but that wasn't Fluttershy.

Looking around quickly, Pinkie flipped a blanket from one of Not-Fluttershy's couches over, almost rolling Rainbow Dash up in it before turning to leave, the blanket acting as a little sled.

Pinkie's brow fell as she dug deep to find her inner-Big-Mac, and started pulling. It might not be a nice ride, but she couldn't leave her bestest friend Rainbow behind when a not-Fluttershy was flying about.

08 - Resin: Part 1

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The Equestrian Postal Service

Sitting upright behind a polished oak desk, a particular Mr. Apropos studied the small paper-wrapped parcel carefully before levitating it up to the light and unwrapping it.

Unlike many of the other packages he would often 'obtain', this particular item was not one that he would be directly benefiting from. He hadn't obtained it for himself and, to be honest, he couldn't really understand his employer's motivations in stealing documents, let alone stealing them only to give them back in a number of hours.

It wasn't his place to question, but it confused him to no end.

What was the point in stealing something if it wasn't to have it, or at least sell it? The guy wasn't even blackmailing anypony that he could tell.

With a snort and a scowl, he ran a hoof over his face before slicking back a few stray strands of his mane, neatly tucking them back over an ear before leaning on his elbows and gazing up at the slowly rotating package in thought.

He'd been paid... a lot... and really he should just be happy about it and leave well enough alone. He'd learned that back in Manehatten and Baltimare: When you have an easy job, don't ask questions you're better off not knowing the answers to. He'd seen the mooks who'd started thinking too much down by the docks firsthoof. He'd wondered, at the time, if they might be on to something... asking questions when the scams were getting allies busted up. He'd actually been on the way to ask Mr. Back if everything was okay when he'd seen the barrels get carted by. He'd changed his mind quickly when one of the carts upended in a pothole causing a barrel to fall off the back, cracking open to disgorge it's syrupy contents across the sidewalk.

He'd stopped to help when one of the guys just shot him a look and politely, though firmly, declined the aid. He'd been confused at that until he caught sight of the other carter trotting over to right the damaged barrel and muttering about getting the "sticky stuff" out of his coat later.

It hadn't occurred to him until much later that night when he was sending a letter out what the smell had been from the broken barrel, at which point he quickly stopped licking the envelope and backed away from it with nausea threatening him with every breath.

Idly, he floated the package over to the bookcase, careful not to disturb its contents, before sealing it in the small shipping box he had waiting.

Nope. It was better that the little guys didn't ask big questions.

He'd taken to using tape on envelopes after finding out where some of the glue came from.

Shadowed Conversations

Zecora watched quietly as Twilight studied the thread of misery that she had caught earlier. She watched as Twilight observed; as she tested and re-checked her results. Twilight could have been a marvelous apprentice if she had come across her a number of years ago, long before either of them had arrived in Ponyville... but that was beside the point.

Letting her eyes drift to her cup for a moment, she tasted the steam without drinking the herbal concoction.

There was a brief clattering as Rarity scuttled back away from the table where the bottle was resting while Twilight seemed to be much more collected; instead flicking a small shield bubble into existence. Time and again, the young alicorn would prod or poke the little devil, treating it as if it were just a particularly complex mystery, something that Zecora admired her for. Despite all the trouble with discovering its nature, Twilight stalwartly continued, determined to 'solve' the little beast.

It wasn't until she saw Twilight reaching for the stopper that she cleared her throat in warning.

Twilight, absorbed in her work, startled as she seemed to suddenly become aware of her surroundings once more.

"Were I not a cautious mare, I somehow doubt I'd leave the stopper there." she offered to Twilight's perplexed glance.

There was a brief moment where Twilight considered before she slowly withdrew her hoof. "It's just so frustrating Zecora. I mean, I can see it," she flicked a hoof towards the bottle, "right there, but my magic says the bottle's empty. I can see it, I can even hear it tapping on the glass, but for all that, my instincts are screaming at me that the bottle is empty. It's like ... like the opposite of camouflage. All my senses tell me it's there, but my head is telling me to ignore them!" Twilight winced as she suddenly placed a hoof to her forehead in apparent pain.

Applejack looked over at Rarity and shrugged before leaning back on the floor cushion she'd been offered to rest on. Zecora smiled softly at the farmer's response... it was reasonable and sensible after all... she was an Earth pony, and one whose skills didn't lend themselves toward the supernatural.

Rarity, on the otherhoof, was suddenly showing interest as Twilight's exclamation seemed to have caught her attention. Zecora sipped her tea as she watched the fashionista scrutinize the bottle... from a safe distance.

"Twilight, does the light have to move for the shadow to show up?" she asked while shifting her position slightly back and forth.

"Well, it seems so. You can't really move the shadow without moving either the bottle or the light after all."

"That's...... not precisely accurate Twilight." Rarity said as she suddenly looked up, raising a hoof to her mouth as she thought.

"Um, what do you mean Rarity? If you're not moving the light, and you're not moving the bottle, there's no differentiation between luminous exposure states so you can't really see any difference."

Rarity scoffed slightly before exaggerating a head roll to face Twilight with a smile. "Twilight, dear, with all of those books and all of your experience, I'm surprised that you didn't even consider tricks of the light."

Twilight's immediate defensiveness melted at her friend's smile. "Okay... so... like a mirage or something?"

"Well, a mirage might do something, I'm not sure, but I was thinking of something even simpler... what about something like a screen or layered silks?"

Zecora listened as the two conversed, smiling despite her best efforts to remain carefully expressionless.

There were times when even she was graced with a novel idea.

"Before you discount the thoughts of your alabaster friend, perhaps it would we prudent to see her thoughts to the end?"

Once more, Twilight looked over to Zecora before sitting down and looking to the floor in thought. "I just don't see what a screen would do. It's not going to sufficiently dim the light to change a visual recognition and even accounting for VERY large threads, I doubt the difference will be sufficient to merit activity from whatever that thing is." She paused again to glance up at the bottle sitting a few paces away. "I just wish I knew even what we're dealing with here."

"Wait a sec, I think I might know what Rares is talking about," Applejack stood up from the cushion and crossed the room slowly to stand by her friends.

Twilight raised an eyebrow sceptically... "You do?"

"Maybe. See, out on the farm we have these fences to keep the critters out from the different crops. We don't really need to worry about the apples mostly but the tomatoes, carrots, and beans all need to be left alone to get big enough to harvest." She paused noticing the looks on both of her friends faces. "You do know that we grow more than just apples right?" Applejack's curiosity melting into exasperated confusion, "You both have eaten at my place before! How can you not .... Twilight, I even.... you know what? It doesn't matter. Fences."

Twilight's deadpan response almost led Zecora to shake her head. "Fences."

"Fences... right. So... funny thing happens sometimes if you're trotting along out in the fields and you can see more'n one fence overlapping... sometimes, if you just glance over and don't really expect it, the front fence seems too close or too far... or if you're still moving, it looks like it's moving the other way. Or... at night, if Mac's carrying a lantern and it spins, it looks like the fences jump a bit from their shadows."

Zecora watched Twilight's expression closely... sometimes that one could jump to solutions that boggled the mind where others, she could get stuck on a single point and miss the entire purpose.

Twilight's frown shifted from aggitation to thoughtfulness... and then to tentative consideration.

"Girls... it's time for Science."

Upon a Road Most Winding

Trotting along, alone, in the Everfree was not something he had planned on doing anytime soon. Rather, more specifically, it was not something he had planned on doing ever. Not only was it dark, filled with dangerous things, and mostly uninhabited, but it was also a place where absolutely anything could (and often, would) bring about serious trouble.

Everypony knew about poison joke, the capriciously mercurial flower that seemed to have a magical sense of humor, but fewer knew about such legitimate dangers as burning whisper, scorn stones, tagalongs, creepers, and whatever that thing is that blows out lanterns. Admittedly, he really didn't know anything concrete about any of them either, but when wandering in the Everfree, foals tales were just about as good a guidebook when it came to staying safe.

Flicking his ears at a muffled snapping sound, Storm Dancer tried his best to simply ignore the seemingly endless supply of nerve wracking noises and half seen somethings that seemed to be stalking along as he fled the elder wood. It wasn't an easy act by any means, but seeing as how the alternative would be to return to that ancient tree in the clearing being reclaimed by the forest... well, terror inducing panic seemed like a more sensible alternative.

That or it was possible, just possible, that Mojo might have been acting just a little bit creepier than usual.

He reflected as his ears kept flitting to and fro; Mojo wasn't a bad zebra, but he could certainly play the part when the need arose. He couldn't honestly count the times when his friend had appeared at just the right moment, thrown a frown on his face, and sent a would-be angry mob packing. It was his presence more than anything concrete though... he could just somehow pull off a feeling of pure indifference with an unhealthy dose of primal malice.

It was something about his eyes really... something about how when he wanted folks to run, he'd just lower his head and look up from under his brows, letting the pale yellow gray edges of his eyes catch the light and draw attention to the mottled red of his glare.

He shuddered slightly. Mojo was one of his oldest, and only, friends, and he'd only seen that look on Mojo's face when folks had been after him and Mojo'd stepped in to "shake t'ings down a bit." It was a look that spoke more than Mojo would likely say to anypony else in a weeks time... and it did so louder than he ever would. It would shout to the wary, but to the big ones... the ones with a real chip on their shoulder... it whispered quietly, begging them to test him.

The sudden snap of a branch caused the unicorn to jump, spinning around as his horn, already flickering, flared to life in the dark wood. A warm breath of wind slid over his shoulders, slipping down his sides and pooling at his hooves before fading in the cool night air.

Storm Dancer's eyes flitted over the darkened trunks around him, taking in the reddish pink glow their bark reflected and struggling to find any movement to warn of an impending attack. He searched, never staring at one spot for more than a few seconds before checking the next - in the Everfree, no one had time to waste... any sign of weakness was a potential meal and standing still while looking frightened certainly counted as a sign of weakness.

After a few moments of near panic, he let his horn dim, the surroundings taking on a faint blue-white glow under Luna's moon.

"Just a branch," he muttered to himself, trying not to spin on his hooves and run. "Just a branch or some little animal trying to get home."

Trying to put the distressing sound behind him, he turned once more towards the faint glow of Ponyville that was just beginning to be visible in the scattered patches of sky through the canopy. It was a good thing he had spent most of his life outdoors, the Everfree forest was notoriously dark after all, or he would likely have been hopelessly lost until morning. Of course, given that it was the Everfree forest, there was little that would guarantee his not becoming lost regardless.

As swiftly as possible, he traveled through the wood, passing ink-black mires and thorn-encrusted trees. He often found himself backtracking, a precaution against unrecognized flora or the disturbing grumblings of an unseen creature. Regardless, after trekking for what seemed like hours, he finally caught the first glimmer of truly bright light through the trunks and creeping vines as he crested a small rise overlooking a clearing. Emboldened, he quickened his pace only to stop abruptly as a sharp series of cracks sounded off to the north.

Dropping low, he dimmed his horn as much as he could, before crawling into a nearby bush of some sort hoping against hope that whatever it was that was stalking through the wood would overlook the perpetual glow of his magic.

He silently waited, a scant few hundred feet from the clearing where a merry little cottage spilled a cheerful glow out into the night, while scanning the treeline for what had caused the sound. Seconds crept by as a few more rustles disturbed the suddenly quiet night, and yet no creature revealed itself. Seconds passed into a minute, and then two, before he chanced upon a drifting silhouette as it crossed a patch of moonlight, casting an absurdly long shadow which sped across the ground like a silent tide.

Whatever it was stood nearly twice as tall as a pony, sleek but oddly shaped, and having little form besides a vaguely upright posture. It slid across the line of trees quickly but without sound until nearing a patch of briars some 20 paces away, whereupon a stray thorn must have caught as a series of pops and snaps suddenly sounded. The shade paid the thorns no heed as it slid once more into the night, leaving only a breathless unicorn hiding under a thorn bush as its witness.

Storm Dancer took a few extra moments to calm his nerves before carefully shrugging his way free of the thorns, earning a few slices along the way. Whatever that was, he reflected, it was nothing that had any business being around ponies... there was something simply wrong about how it moved... how it seemed to slide over surfaces rather that around them.

So preoccupied was he in his musings that he missed the silent passage of a pony-sized shadow careening through the night sky only meters overhead.

Perhaps to his good fortune, the shadow overhead was just as conductive as he when his magic stuttered into a blue-white arc terminating in a thunderous crash.

Lightning, it seemed, cared not for civilization's distinctions or a stallion's awareness.

Line-Pronking

Rainbow Dash felt bad, which for somepony as awesome as her meant that she was feeling spectacularly bad. Her insides roiled with nausea while her joints ached as bad as any crash she could remember. Her skin felt clammy and even her mane seemed determined to glue itself to her face and neck in an uncomfortably sticky way. Nothing smelled right and any attempt to open her eyes met with a painful throbbing in her head.

None of this was being helped by the rhythmic jolting of her pink friend who seemed to be doing her very best to find each and every stone and branch to bump her against.

While she barely felt up to breathing at the moment, an involuntary gasp brought the merciful end of the painful form of travel. Within moments, she felt her eyes being pried open only to be assaulted by the vibrant pink of her friend's face and the sickly sweet scent of apple-blueberry-something that was suddenly shoved into her mouth.

Trying not to gag, Rainbow Dash spat and sputtered, shifting uncertainly as she desperately fought against the sudden urge to vomit.

"Oh my gosh Rainbow! I was so so so so sooooo worried when I saw you trapped in there with Not-Fluttershy!" Despite the volume and migraine, not to mention the stomach turning aroma and spine grating agony of the trip, Dash managed a smile as she realized that her friend was there to help.

"S....sup Pinkie?" she stuttered out, shivering from the sudden feeling of icy chills. "Where're'we?"

If she was worried, Pinkie's exuberance hid it well. "Wellllll, we're just inside the edge of the Everfree Forest and fleeing from Not-Fluttershy, or were you talking about 'how are we doing on finding Storm Dancer?' or MAYbe you're really asking about the social development in regards to Celestia and Luna's absolute diarchy over the populace of Equestria proper?" Pinkie took a breath before smiling as she plopped down next to her. "But I'm pretty sure you didn't mean that last one."

Rainbow crushed her eyes closed as she forced down the moist confection in her mouth. Whatever it had been, she knew it would be infinitely better than trying to recover without anything to run on. Despite the instant desire to lurch forward and lose everything even resembling food, she'd been in enough accidents to know that she needed fuel to get better. Choking down the continuing urge, she glanced up to see Pinkie watching the forest quietly for a moment before she turned back, her expression quickly shifting to a concerned smile.

"Okay, but seriously Dashie, we really really need to keep moving. Not-Fluttershy is flying around out here and no matter how good I am at hide and seek, you're not going anywhere quick in your condition Mister."

Nodding with a wince, Rainbow struggled to her feet, and took a few hesitant steps before looking towards the sky. Even suffering as she was, Rainbow knew that Pinkie was right: whatever was going on, they couldn't stay out in the open... even in the Everfree. Even in the forest itself, the thick canopy would occasionally give way to clearings or murky swamps, both of which could be spotted from the air, and if what Pinkie was saying was right, straying anywhere near such an opening would be too much of a risk at the moment. Rainbow hated to admit it, but she was in no condition to do much of anything, let alone try to resist a bizarre imposter of her friend.

With a slight nod towards a nearby rise, she resettled her wings and started the arduous task of walking, "'K Pinks, let me just get my breath and we can go."

The duo hadn't gone more than thirty feet when Pinkie suddenly vibrated into the air before grabbing Rainbow in a dive, landing the pair at the base of a thorn bush. Rainbow's eyes bulged and her hooves flew to her mouth as she fought against a nearly overpowering urge before Pinkie clamped her own hoof over Rainbow's and gave a pleading look to her friend. Moments later, the pair watched as a towering shadow seemed to bleed from the dark between some nearby trees, slide purposefully across the clearing they had been crossing, and once more dissolve into the night eliciting only a few soft snaps from the thorns as it passed within inches of the pair. Rainbow was right about to breathe a sigh of relief when she felt Pinkie's hoof clutch her tighter a moment before the sky exploded with lightning.

Freefall

The sky was awash with fire and light, her wings snapping uncontrollably as the lightning bolt danced across her body, and through it all the only thought in her mind was 'Rainbow Dash!'

Fluttershy screamed in frustration. She needed to help Rainbow, her friend was very very ill. She didn't have time for lightning or falling to the ground, and she certainly didn't have time to recover in the Everfree. She needed those berries so she could help Rainbow Dash, and no freak lightning bolt was going to stop her from helping her oldest friend.

With a shriek that tore at her throat, she forced her wings open, arresting her fall, and ground her teeth painfully in concentration. Nothing short of Nightmare Moon was going to stop her from helping her friend. So what if she couldn't see past the glaring afterimages? So what if she couldn't hear a thing with the endless ringing in her ears? So what if her beautiful cape-like wings were smoldering?

She couldn't leave Rainbow Dash in pain.

Snarling as she smashed through branches that left burning welts across her chest and face, trailing tiny splatters of blood where thorns snagged her, she furiously beat her wings, rising once more into the night. It didn't matter what happened to her, the pain was nothing if she could save her friend.

Blind and deaf from the lightning, Fluttershy rose unsteadily into the night sky, trailing thin wisps of smoke from the smoldering hair in a dozen places, and flared her wings as she waited for her senses to come back. The smell of ozone and burnt fur made her gag, but the overwhelming need to stay aloft (and thus mobile enough to help) kept her from losing focus.

Slowly, her vision began to return, all grays and greens in the night, though the ringing in her sensitive ears didn't seem to abate much.

Her body ached. Her wings burned with every flap, both from exertion as well as from injury. If she hadn't been in so much pain, she would have noticed the moist trails that painted her coat from dozens of tiny cuts. She knew she was in bad shape, but she couldn't rest.

Finally recovering enough to take in her surroundings again, she darted over towards the husk of a tree, branches twisted by the magics of the Everfree, and swung in underneath a larger bough. A quick flick of her tail and she hung a moment, trying to rest long enough to continue her search and tend to the wost of her injuries. Somewhere deep down, she knew she couldn't continue to fly without at least stemming the blood loss and snuffing the smoldering patches on her wings and coat. She snarled at the distraction but understood the necessity of the matter.

Knowing didn't seem to make it any better.

There just wasn't time for tending to her own injuries when Dash was lying home on her couch suffering through a concussion and fever. There wasn't a single reason she could come up with that would excuse her idle hooves when Rainbow needed her. There wasn't... there....

Fluttershy blinked. Somewhere down below, something had moved.

She twisted her head side to side, studying the near black forest below while trying to dodge the persistent after images that swam doggedly across her vision. Her ears pivoted, searching the floor below for any sound to no avail... the ringing simply hadn't faded despite her hopes. Even so, she knew she had seen movement... something shifting or skulking below in the underbrush and shadows.

Eyes squinted in concentration, the dribbles of blood slowly working their way up her body as she hung, Fluttershy dissected the woods beneath her, scrutinizing the bushes and trunks for any sign of the source. Unbeknownst to her, she opened her mouth, fangs glistening in the moonlight as her whip-like tongue coiled and prepared to strike.

Somewhere below there was something she could use. She knew it would only take a few moments to capture whatever it was and set it upon the task of finding the berries.

It would only take a moment.

One.... moment.

The ringing in her ears never seemed to abate as Fluttershy glared at the darkness below, silently daring it to move as, unnoticed, four figures silently crept away while she obsessed over a large figure below: one towards Ponyville, one towards her cottage, and two deeper into the forest.

Which was, perhaps, for the best given that the figure below the smoldering, bleeding, deathly-serious Fluttershy was watching her as well... lion paws and scorpion tail still as the grave as the manticore waited.

Dregs

Twilight Sparkle sipped a small wooden cup of... well, it wasn't tea, but it was close... as she watched the little ribbon twisting in the glass bottle.

There were innumerable questions she had yet to discover answers to that the little nightmare hadn't given up, but she had two things that would make her current situation much much more manageable.

She looked over to her friends as they took turns slowly walking by the bottle, warily eying it as they passed, shadows dancing on the wall behind them as a series of different shadows played with their passing. She smiled with satisfaction as her careful attention to detail (and a healthy dedication to the scientific method) was systematically giving her a more refined manner of detecting the malicious little ribbon.

As it turned out, Rarity's question had been the first step towards isolating one of the thing's apparent shortcomings: its inability to distinguish complex motion in time to camouflage its shadow. The original idea, altering the position of the light source, had proven too unreliable (as predicted), but Applejack's comments on fences, of all things, had led to Twilight's much more successful approach.

It all stemmed, she reasoned, from the method that the creature employed to hide its presence. While a chameleon, or various other creatures, would alter it's color or an octopus might even change its shape, both would still cast a solid and clearly distinguishable shadow. From this, Twilight had surmised that its defense was not merely physical. Magic seemed the obvious answer, yet her own senses denied its very existence, stymieing the thought of a spell to hide itself. Frustrated, she had finally humored Rarity and Applejack, assuming that it was somehow using illusion without magic.

The idea was both novel and almost distressingly simple: make the shadow it was trying to hide in too complicated to mimic. Simple motions, such as shifting the light source, had proven ineffective... the creature simply bowed and clung to the sides of the bottle, becoming almost invisible. Likewise, simple patterns like a spinning lantern (or Big Mac's fence shadows) were far too easily copied. Yet when Twilight, in a stroke of frustration, had scrambled their experiments, the ribbon had struggled to mimic, and then hide from, the rapidly shifting shadows. In its efforts, its own shadow stood out as blatantly as Rarity's coat would have in a changeling hive. Despite its apparently natural ability, it simply could not compensate fast enough to hide amongst a rapidly changing pattern of light.

Satisfied, she motioned for her friends to come back over as she took the small lantern she had been levitating and set it next to the bottle, casting the shadow of the ribbon into stark contrast across the back wall, giant from its proximity to the lantern which spun 8 enchanted sheets of mica around the flame.

"I dare say, Twilight, that is a most impressive lantern," Rarity stated as she watched, glancing between the lantern and the shifting shadows across the room. "Though I believe it casts most everything else in a rather distressing state."

Applejack, still recovering from her accidental burns, eyed the wall critically as she considered. It hadn't escaped her notice that the result of the lantern's enchantments left the room looking to be little more than a chaotic mess as the shadows seemed to dance and flow. Somehow Twilight knew that the apparent chaos irked her honest friend on a more personal level... no doubt memories of Discord's attacks surfacing as what they all knew to be solid walls appeared to melt and sway.

"I don't like it Twi... If the only way to spot those things's to mess up the world, I say we just ask Discord to get rid of 'm... probably one of his things anyway."

Twilight rolled her eyes before glancing to Zecora, who sat quietly where she had been for the last hour. Unlike her other friends, Zecora had remained mostly silent, apparently content to simply watch as events unfolded. Curious, Twilight raised an eyebrow and addressed the zebra.

"What do you think Zecora? It clearly works, but you've apparently dealt with these things before. Do you think we've got it nailed down finally?"

The zebra paused and looked over slowly as a slight smile graced her lips. "I think you've put on quite the show, the wicked though is sure to know. Yet trouble us, this beast will not, for with that lantern, its shadow, you will surely spot."

With a grin, Twilight Sparkle, Alicorn of Friendship, Element of Magic, and multi-time hero of Ponyville, floated the lantern into her saddlebags. "Girls, it's time to go find the others... we've got a fury to catch."

09 - Resin: Part 2

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Crossroads

Twilight Sparkle, Rarity Belle, Applejack Apple, and the shaman Zecora stole out into the night, the rippling glow of an enchanted lantern causing the forest around them to leap and sway in dizzying patterns. Strange calls and an oppressive humidity seemed to make the night that much more eerie; an experience unpleasant for even the most familiar of their troupe.

Even with the recent thaw, the Everfree forest held its own council when it came to the weather. Where Ponyville was warming up, new shoots and buds beginning to blossom, in the Everfree, a chill wind continued to linger. The result of that chill when mixed with the humidity was a sapping fog that seemed to slide across the skin and soak their coats to a bitter cold.

Applejack marched along quietly, following the sillohette of Twilight in the crawling light of her lantern, never losing sight of her friend as she kept an ear flipped back to make sure she didn't lose Rarity. Stalwartly plodding through the chill damp of a limp bush of some sort, she finally snorted, "Hey Twilight?"

Even though the mare was only a few feet ahead of her, Applejack was left to wonder if she hadn't heard for a few moments before Twilight called back softly while walking, "Yes Applejack?"

"I was just wonderin', now that you got somethin to see those little buggers, what were ya plannin' to go an do?"

Twilight continued on for a few steps before taking a deep breath and stopping. "Honestly, I don't really know." She looked back over her shoulder at her trailing friends, the crawling light of the lantern making her hard to focus on as the forest seemed to dance and sway behind her head. "I mean, we can see them now. We know they're physically capable of being restrained and even injured. We have a means of containment and potentially an avenue of 'curing' a pony who has been 'infected' by one, but beyond that, we're not much better off than we were before."

Twilight and Applejack stood there, quietly thinking for a moment before Rarity softly cleared her throat to gather their attention. "Dears, as much as I find this kind of conversation ~simply fascinating~, might we continue it somewhere a bit less.... " she looked around with half lidded eyes, "dreadful? Oh... and perhaps less damp. Maybe even warm?" She punctuated her last sentence with a smile that was so uniquely artificial Applejack nearly chuckled.

Even so, Twilight frowned. "Rarity, I'd love to be back home right now. I don't like this any more than you..." Twilight paused at Rarity's dour frown, "alright... I dislike this slightly less than you, but we can't just ignore it until the morning. Not only do we have a potential demigod level creature on the loose, an unknown number of perception altering possession ribbon things invading, and a mysterious zebra that simply EVERYpony seems to think is bad news running around, but we need to make sure Applejack's alright from that electrical discharge and we still haven't heard back from Pinkie, Fluttershy, or Rainbow Dash."

Rarity, to her credit, only looked affronted for a moment before tossing her head back and raising an eyebrow. "Really Twilight? You know as well as I do that Rainbow Dash is out looking for them and that Pinkie Pie is as close to invulnerable as anypony can be, short of wearing armor. Fluttershy is the least likely of any of us to be harmed in the Everfree and you are the only one with a lantern that can be used to either see those dreadful little monsters, or just see in general." She flicked her head towards Applejack for a moment, "And besides all that, as you mentioned, Applejack is in need of medical care..." quickly turning to Zecora, "not that I don't believe your salves to be effective, Dear, but unless she can be properly bandaged, traipsing through a chill forest, in the middle of the night, without proper equipment or support seems like a poor choice to hasten recovery."

Applejack frowned, half tempted to argue the point but couldn't quite seem to find a flaw in Rarity's reasoning. Twilight opened her mouth to reply but paused as she turned the situation over in her head, slowly closing her lips and glaring at the ground.

"I don't like the idea of not following up on this Rarity. I really don't. There are a lot of ways this can go very, very wrong." She huffed for a moment before looking back up at them, "But, at the same time, you're not wrong. Applejack is injured and we only have the one lantern. Even if I could whip up another one, I don't know if you could keep it running without me fueling it. I just don't know... we can't just let it, them, him - whatever- get away."

Twilight nearly ground her teeth in frustration as she tried to look at the situation from another standpoint.

"Look Sugarcube, I ain't going to tell you how to do this, but you know we're at our best when we're all together. An' without Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Dash, we're ~not~ together. Can't say much about that magic lamp ya got there other'n it makes my eyes crawl, but I can't but barely see out here right now an' I'm still mighty sore from before." Applejack grimaced, "I don't like it none neither, but Rare's has got a point: we ain't fit to go trompin' through the Everfree as we are right now. Least not without more light or more ponies."

Twilight glanced between her two friends, trying to think of some way to make everything work without losing an entire day in the process.

But, after nearly a full minute, she hung her head. "Alright. I'm sorry girls, I didn't want to make this worse for everypony. Let's get you back to town and we can pick this up in the morning."

Swinging the lantern back across her friends, she nearly jumped when she saw a figure seem to materialize out of the dark behind them until she remembered that Zecora had been following along.

"Heh.... ah... sorry about that girls. Which way was town again Zecora?"

With a small smile, their zebra friend gestured off into the darkness and the group turned to start in that direction.

Zecora swung her head slowly as they walked, softly murmuring words in a tongue the others were not familiar with. For her, the night held darker concerns: ones that her pony friends need not worry themselves about.

And farther back still, a carpet of black and red crept across the forest floor, reducing everything it came across to ribbons.

Lombwaj Medikaman

Stepping carefully over the tangled mass of roots and debris, Mojo followed the tunnel through the heart of the ancient tree. The air here was damp and muggy, warm and with the scent of loam and rot. He squinted in the dark, barely making out the floor of the tunnel by the shifting glow of fungi and magic roused by his passage. The walls, if they could be called that, were corded bundles of root and clay, fibrous webs of fungus and spider silk holding patches of loose soil while swaths of burlap and gunny-packed holes where others had simply fallen through.

Mojo did not like it here. He did not enjoy the muggy heat or the rotting matter. He found the dark to be oppressive and uncomfortable under the tree. And yet, here he came, at least once a month, to renew promises and keep obligations. Here, after all, was where he would come to bury the remains and pay his dues.

As he neared the third turn, he slowed and examined a patch of wall where the spiders had torn out their webs.

Dry soil. Nothing he could do about that right now. And with a soft snuffle, he continued on as another series of glyphs flickered into their dim green glow.

He could hear them now, the Deez and Greely, hissing and whispering between themselves, just below what he could understand yet just above what he could ignore. They were there, in the walls and ceiling, in the floors and even in the roots and fungi that composed this underground domain. They were watching, listening... waiting.

Mojo took the forth turn in the tunnel, a faint light ahead telling him that he was nearly there as the warmth became greater. He could feel the sweat beginning to mat his coat and knew that when he left, he would need to dry himself off or face a very real danger of sickness. The forest was still cold from winter, regardless of what season the ponies declared it to be.

Finally, he came to a stop. Before him was the first, and only, door in this place: an old thing, drug below, stained with mold and muck. The wood was mottled with grime and the hinges stiff and thick with corrosion. All around the structure glyphs and symbols shimmered with the glow of magic tied to the tree above, around, and below, siphoning from the very soul of the Everfree.

Mojo closed his eyes, listening to the creeping press of the Deez and Greely, the soft plip of water droplets that leaked from the living roof, the echoing moan of the wind that none but the spirits could feel. And into that murmur, he spoke, "Tje-kadna, san-lwa."

The hiss and creep of the Deez and Greely stopped.

And in the silence, the zebra pulled open the door, stepped through, and descended into the cavern below.

To Part and Braid

It was some time before Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Zecora neared the edge of the Everfree. The moon shone between claw-like branches as if a decoration hung for Nightmare Night, and yet, breaking through into the open fields near Ponyville felt just as relieving as coming home to a warm bed after their trek through the Everfree.

Applejack was the first to stop as they left the forest behind.

"Girls."

Twilight looked up from her thoughts and looked back towards her three friends while Rarity simply cocked an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't we be tellin' Princess Celestia about this all before it goes and blows up in our faces?"

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but before she could get a word out, Rarity stepped up alongside Applejack and chimed in. "Oh, dear me, I should hope not. Why, we barely even know what's going on and, while I assume the Princess could handle that ruffian in just a second, she is busy running a nation." Rarity nodded her head firmly before lifting her chin just a touch and looking at Applejack with a slightly pained expression. "And that is completely ignoring the simply dreadful time of night! We would be interrupting her beauty rest!"

Applejack's half lidded deadpan was met with Rarity's own indignant disgust.

"Rarity. How many times're we gunna have to drag you through the mud before you realize that Celestia can't protect against something she don't know is goin' on?" Before Rarity could respond, Applejack turned to fix Twilight with a firm stare as well. "And you, when are you going to remember that you can't do this all on your own? Maybe it's something simple like those diamond dogs, but maybe it's something big like you were thinkin' and Celestia NEEDS to know. You won't be doin' anypony any favors if you go and get yourself caught and Celestia goes on kissin' foals and holdin' court when she could have already fixed the whole thing."

Applejack shook her head before shifting to catch the moonlight on her neck and chest. "And don't think I forgot about this here, Twilight. I know ya didn't mean it, but if Zecora weren't there, don't think a-one of us coulda done a gul-dang thing about you and your magic."

Twilight grimaced at the words but didn't look away. Even in the dark, even with the shifting light of the lantern, she could see the flowery spiderweb of burns glistening with Zecora's medicines.

"I know, girls, I know. I just want to make sure we actually have something to tell her before we get her worried about nothing."

And, from the sudden snort, Twilight realized that maybe her wording could have been a bit more tactful.

"Applejack, I didn't mean—"

"Twilight, nopony ever said I ain't stubborn, least of all ma own family, but you're diggin' a trench that you'll end up drowning us all in if ya don't come up for air." Applejack frowned as she looked at Twilight hard. "Now, you going to let her know... or am I?"

The clouds drifted by in the cool night air, the forest silent, save for the soft murmurings of their zebra friend.

"I'll tell her, Applejack. I'll let her know we can't do this one on our own."

Nanm 'o Ko

Deep in the dark, running through the heart of the Everfree forest, there were things that Celestia's sun had never touched. Twisting, squirming, writhing and gnashing things. Things that were best left forgotten or, better yet, never discovered in the first place.

And amongst them, a figure plodded with glacial determination. Foot upon foot, hoof after hoof, the being worked its way through the teeming morass of... stuff as it continued along a nearly invisible path.

Every so often, the eerie glow of fungus or some glimmering insect would play across the figure's features, highlighting the cold whites and untouched shadows. Here and there, one of the things from below would pause to examine the visitor, leaning in or reaching out to touch it, only to pull back as if stung.

No, this was not food. This was a predator amongst predators, something even older than they, and they were not in the habit of being hunted. Even so, as the figure passed, its very nature drew a following of the forgotten things.

After all, if one such as that could come and go, why not one amongst their own number.

Why not the rest of them?

But the path was hard and the dust that clung to that road burned.

No. The figure would come and go, but they would remain, for now, as ever.

In the dark.

Letters Written

Dear Princess Celestia,
Hey! Funny story. The girls and I were just out in the middle of the Everfree and...

Twilight frowned and reduced another page to a pinprick in her magic before summoning another roll of parchment and trying, for the eighth time, to pen a letter without Spike's help.

The little guy was all tucked into bed and after all the work he'd done throughout the day, she was loathe to wake him. Then again, she wasn't really all too used to writing her own letters and the end result was that she realized Spike probably made more corrections (and probably a final copy when she wasn't looking) than she actually thought.

Pushing back from her desk, she wandered over to the kitchen to get herself a drink, noting that Rarity and Zecora had taken turns to get cleaned up in her shower. Upstairs the water continued to run as Applejack 'sluiced down.'

Sighing again at the hour, she plopped down alongside her friends and began idly floating the quill across the paper without writing a thing.

Noticing her mood, Rarity leaned over and offered a consoling smile. "You know, dear, it's really not that difficult to let her know. You've written to her countless times before — so why is this time causing you so much, shall we say, heartache?"

Twilight rolled her chin across the table to look at Rarity more clearly. "I don't know. I mean, it's not like there's actually been anything that we couldn't handle yet. I found out about him. I invited him over after I nearly killed him... which in retrospect, was probably an injury he wouldn't even be bothered by if he's a fury. I blasted him when I thought he was a zombie pony... or at least I hope it was him and not an actual zombie pony that we just left to wander around. We got everyone together and went looking for him, only to find out how incredibly outgunned we were when he could have killed Pinkie. Then we found the little ribbon thing Zecora knows about, found out that Pinkie knows Stormdancer and that he can infuse magic into things without any of the telltale signs of magic. Then, let's not forget that I got possessed by one of those little ribbons, turned on Zecora, nearly fried Applejack, and had to be carried out into the Everfree for help."

Twilight tapped the table with a hoof for emphasis.

"Oh, but don't worry, Princess! I managed to make a lamp that spins and makes Applejack sick to be around it, so, we're doing great!" She hung her head. "So please help us?" She sighed before looking back up to a gently smiling Rarity. "doesn't really make for a great letter and..." she gestured, "I'd like for the Princess not to think I can't handle things on my own."

Rarity nodded again with a smile and gestured to the table before her.

Twilight looked down and saw a beautifully penned letter, in Rarity's horn-writing, detailing the days events.

"I thought you might be better able to express yourself without distractions, Dear." Rarity reached over and hugged her friend. "Sometimes we all just need a bit of time to vent... and you never know when the muse will strike."

Twilight sighed into the hug before nodding. "Thanks Rarity."

From across the table, Zecora looked on with a smile. And from the top of the stairs, Applejack gave a wry snort as she stuck her hat back on her slightly damp mane. "'bout time, ya silly egghead."

Idle Musings

The night had finally gone quiet, something that the pair could appreciate. With everything that had been happening the last few hours, a little respite was just what they all needed. Still, with everyone gone from Ponyville, it was a bit of a haunted silence that met them as they left Twilight to get some rest.

"Rarity, I don't rightly like how this whole thing is goin'," Applejack said in a quiet tone as they wandered back towards the Carousel Boutique.

Eyeing the slim number of lit streetlamps, Rarity was forced to agree. Between the dark, the lingering chill of the Everfree, the number of scares they'd had in the last few hours and the knowledge that whatever started the whole thing was still out there... well, it certainly put a damper on her own mood.

Quietly, the pair wandered the streets, the hollow echo of their hooves the only sound save for the muffled murmur of the streetlamps.

"Nor I, Applejack. Nor I. And yet, here we are, once again, running off into some great, unknown, adventure." Rarity huffed. "And, once more, on an otherwise lovely day that we could have been enjoying."

The farm mare smirked at that, shaking her head just slightly. "As I remember it, there was a pretty ugly storm, but I know what'cha mean, Rares. But you know them creepy crawlies ain't gunna just roll over and play nice on account of some sunshine. Nope... some of 'em need a firm hoof or maybe a good swift buck or two to get themselves in order. Not like we ain't done so before."

Turning the corner, the pair continued on.

"Yes yes... some of those things will certainly only respond to the physical, of course, but I just wish they could pick a miserable day once in a while. You know? Perhaps a day when we're all inside, bemoaning the waste of an otherwise lovely week with nothing to do."

Rarity paused and then scowled.

"I take it back. I wish they'd just stop causing problems period. At this point, we've beaten Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changelings, Discord again, and those are just the big problems. You'd think that they'd have heard of all that by now and figured they'd be better served with getting a day job. I mean seriously!" Rarity stomped a hoof, twitching at the echo as it bounced around the empty town. "Erm.... well, I suppose that's all rather obvious in retrospect."

Applejack chuckled softly and nodded. "A'yep. Not much out there to really spook us no more. Then again, them little ribbon monsters ain't really somethin' I want to tangle with again. Shame though that we gotta call it quits for the night."

Rarity frowned and looked to her friend. "Applejack, don't you start now. You're one of the best reasons TO stop for the evening. Even if you COULD keep going on, which I'm sure you can, the rest of us certainly can't do overmuch if we're exhausted. And don't forget that you're not at your best right now either. While I'm sure Zecora's creams and whatnot are helping, you said it yourself; it won't do to come down with something when we need to be at our best."

The two came to a stop outside of Rarity's home and business. All around them, the night continued on in its uncomfortable silence.

"Well, here we are Rares. I suppose I'll be seeing you bright an' early tomorrow if Twilight has anything to say about it."

"Most likely. Do be careful on the way back Applejack. I don't like the look of the night."

Applejack smirked. "Don't let Luna hear you be sayin' that."

"Perish the thought."

And with a nod, Applejack turned on a hoof and started the long trek back to the Acres. Rarity watched her go, a thin frown on her face.

The night had not gone well at all and they still hadn't heard back from Fluttershy, Pinkie, or Rainbow Dash.

With a soft blue glow, Rarity opened her door, stepped inside, and locked it for the first time in many, many years.

Monks Cord and Box Stitch

Twilight and Zecora sat across from one another, an iodine bottle between them, as Twilight gently dripped drops of the fluid onto Zecora's recently uncovered hoof.

To say that the zebra was taking the sting of the medicine stoically would be a noble thing. In reality, the moment their friends had left, Zecora had lifted her hoof from the ground and promptly asked for assistance. Apparently, even Zecora felt the need to save face once in a while.

Twilight hadn't said a word, after all Zecora had saved her that very evening, and had simply pulled out the medical kit she kept in the kitchen to start patching things up.

Three books on Zebra anatomy, first aid, and hoof injuries floated beside the pair as Twilight worked. And while Zecora assured her that it was not a very bad injury, Twilight reminded her that she lived in the Everfree forest and that infection could be insidious and quite the challenge to combat in such conditions.

Zecora's response had been to point to a book entitled Super-Naturals before chuckling at Twilight's embarrassment over having dismissed the book some years back over assuming its contents based solely upon its title. That little lesson had led to their friendship — that and Zecora's nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the various plants and medicines that the scientific community had yet to document.

Either way, once the hoof had been exposed, the true horror of her injury became clear. Dozens of razor thin cuts had punched through the hoof to the quick below. Where the cuts intersected, needle thin slices of hoof hung on, acting more like free standing blades than a proper method to remain upright. Blood had clotted all over the mess and yet the simple act of removing the bandages had destroyed what little good had started. Blood had begun to leak almost immediately.

Twilight had, understandably, suggested the hospital before Zecora's firm negative had settled them to cleaning, reconstructing, and binding the whole thing.

By the time Twilight had begun applying the iodine, they had cleaned it out, patched the hoof back together with resin and silk fiber, ratcheted it down with a thin glass rod for tensioning, and packed the remaining holes with alcohol soaked gauze.

It was not a bit of first aid Twilight was proud of. In fact, she was pretty certain that leaving gauze in the wounds, particularly with alcohol, was a bad idea, but Zecora's unwavering instruction kept her complaints at bay.

Finally taking the time to paint a coat of enamel over the top layer of the hoof, Twilight glanced up and addressed the parasprite in the room. "You know, Zecora, I'm no medical pony, but even I can tell this isn't a great solution. You really should get this handled professionally."

Sipping from a small cup of tea with her other hoof, Zecora turned her injured limb slowly to help Twilight's application some. "While our time is limited, in fact unknown, the healing they offer, I can perform at home. We are better served to do this now than be overcome and wonder how."

Twilight frowned at the implication. "Well, yes. I know we can't delay all that long, but the girls are already going home for the night and it's not like we'll be hunting at the moment anyway." She nodded towards Zecora's hoof, "But if we do this wrong, not only will it slow you down, but you could be hobbled until we get a chance to treat it properly."

Zecora's raised eyebrow prompted Twilight to continue.

"... Okay okay... aaaaand I'm not really great at this medical stuff and I'm worried it'll hurt you or," Twilight paled a tiny bit, "or.... split open or something."

Zecora nodded slowly before sipping her tea again. "Twilight Sparkle, as you can see, " she looked over her freshly coated hoof, the rough and split sections catching the light as she turned it back and forth, " this hoof you worry about is attached to me."

"Yes but-"

"But nothing, my little unicorn. I do not fuss over your horn."

Twilight flinched back. While true, Zecora's rebuke was enough of a reminder that she was a grown mare that Twilight felt more than a little embarrassed.

"I know, Zecora, but I'm worried about you. What if we need to run and you stumble? What if you have to defend yourself? What if-"

Zecora's patched up hoof found Twilight's mouth as the zebra silenced her. "What if the moon falls or the winds stall? What if the rain slows or the Angel Bunny grows? These things, Twilight Sparkle, we cannot know, but our goals we cannot slow. Either we travel shortly, as we are, or I stay behind, and leave you to roam afar."

With a slow nod, Zecora pulled her reassembled hoof from Twilight and began to wrap it in a strip of the remaining silk bandages. While Twilight watched, the zebra expertly folded, wrapped, and secured the bandages before slipping the rod from earlier back in to twist them tighter. Moving with the grace of one familiar with treating herself, Zecora swiftly put Twilight's earlier work to shame without seeming effort.

It was enough that Twilight made a mental note to practice her first aid in her spare time. The Crusaders might actually have more practical experience than her in that regard, which left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Well, we have a busy day tomorrow, so you're welcome to use the spare bed upstairs. I'll pull some blankets out and get things ready if there's nothing else you need."

Zecora looked up with a warm smile. "No, my friend, there's nothing left for me to do, but accept your hospitality and follow you."

And with that, the pair ambled up the steps, one with a spritely bounce, the other with an off-balanced trod, and turned in for the night. If any were to have remained behind, they may have born witness to a very distressing scene in which a thin ribbon of bandage seemed to pull itself from the clotted mess in the trash and squirm across the floor and down the stairs into the basement.

Of course, neither was, which meant that the act went completely unnoticed.

A Bit of Mojo

by StormDancer

01 - An Introduction, of shorts

02 - Wherein Two Ponies Dance

03 - Understandings, and Those that are 'Mis'

04 - Kilns and Sand Castles

05 - Greenstick

06 - Fractures: Part 1

07 - Fractures: Part 2

08 - Resin: Part 1

09 - Resin: Part 2