> The Ballad of Dusk and Dawn
>  by Shatterpath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Artist: Ilthit

Beta: Ariestess

Warnings: This gets a little dark in chapter 8. It was a dream image I could not shake and had to write. Oh, and the events of season 2 are not canon to my little AU, particularly what we know of the Elements of Harmony.

Author’s Disclaimer: "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", the characters and situations depicted are the property of Lauren Faust, Hasbro Studios, Studio B Productions, and The Hub.  This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes.  Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author.  Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  This site is in no way affiliated with "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", The Hub, or any representatives of the actors.

Dedication: To the fans in Ariestess' circle of friends who got us to watch in the first place! 

Word Count: 24,221

Date Written: August 2011 through … March 2012. Good grief! 

Notes: The origins of this tale were so much fun to write that this sequel can along quite naturally. Well, the ideas did anyway! The words themselves took some more work. Also, this was begun before season 2 and my version of the Elements of Harmony and Princess Luna are based on what little we knew of them in season 1. Okay, there's a little bit of season 2 Luna in there, I confess.

Oh, and this is written in 1st person and every chapter changes point of view, so keep an eye out.


Chapter 1

++ Twilight ++

Winter may now be my favorite time of year.

While snow and cold has Equestria in its grip, I have long hours to while away with my lover in indolent solitude. Yes, perhaps I spend not quite so many endless hours reading, but I believe the exchange of my priorities is worth it. 

Things were awkward there for a while. I'm so very new to this circle of friends, to this community, to this way of life. Finding out the courageous, beautiful and valiant Applejack wanted to be more than friends had been profoundly shocking. So shocking that I reacted without thinking, jumping in without analyzing my feelings or the possibility of consequences or anything!

I'm still shocked.

However, I wouldn't trade a moment of the ride I've been on since I shyly took Applejack up on her stammering, awkward proposition. Through her I've learned to live more in the moment, not always with my head in my books or deep in my thoughts. The physicality of her existence has been thrilling and I've learned so very much. And I've gotten to be included in her amazing family, even if I had to work hard to find a place to fit in with them. I swear, I have never flirted and cajoled so hard in my young life! I still regret my first meeting with the intriguing parents of my lover, Pink Lady and Apple Cider, being so regrettably short. In them, I wanted so much to see how Applejack became who she is. Not to mention I would have really, really liked to have had a shot at warming up Pa! Applejack's Mama seems as though she could grow to like me, seeing more than just an undersized violet-horned bookworm from the big city. Frankly, I don’t think Apple Cider was impressed.

Sigh.

At least Big Mac has warmed up after watching me suspiciously for weeks. Granny Smith couldn't care less who or what I am, as long as I’m respectful of her and hers. No problem there! Young Apple Bloom peppered me with questions, some of them uncomfortable, but with Applejack's help, we got through them and now the filly is at ease with me. Our mutual friends have shifted our group dynamics around to accommodate this new relationship, even if there are still a few awkward moments. Rainbow Dash is still oddly standoffish and ever so often Fluttershy still seems completely puzzled as to the why of Applejack and me. Not to mention the gossip circles in town! Dear Equestria can ponies talk! And stare and whisper… Being under such judgmental scrutiny has been wearing, but as the winter passes, it happens less and less frequently. There are some that will never stop being idiots, but I ignore those few.

The awkward moments are jarring and exhausting, but I do my best to cope. This love, warm and uplifting, has made all of it and more worthwhile. Just seeing Applejack's frisky stride makes my heart race; her smiles can make an entire day's research fly from my mind, at least temporarily. We have made careful effort not to isolate ourselves from friends and family, even at the cost of alone time. The nights spent out at the farm see me just as likely to sleep curled on the couch, often with Apple Bloom tucked under my chin, as in the questionable privacy of Applejack's room. At the library, Spike is usually there, of course, and we are respectful of that.

But there have been enough moments of privacy that the memories make me blush furiously and tuck my face into that favored hollow behind Applejack's jaw. It's been some time since Winter Solstice, an event that will be burned into my memories for all time. After several weeks of Applejack's sly, secretive smiles that left me squirming with anticipation, I was at last treated to a romantic night that would make a terrific ballad. That's my cowpony, sweet and loving in at least equal measure to her trustworthiness and hardworking ethics. My gift of a tailor-made set of carry baskets and the saddle they match seemed so utilitarian by comparison, but she had been delighted with them.

We'd had plans to go to Canterlot after the solstice, but a series of freak storms have kept the pegasi busy and too much snow on the ground for ease of travel. So, I'd sent my small gifts to my folks and the princesses via courier. New to the process of such extensive gift giving, I had despaired what to do for my new friends until, of all ponies, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had come to my rescue. Those had been fun afternoons, full of noise and fun and chaos, where we created many lovely trinkets for our friends. Who knew that arts and crafts could be so fun? In turn, I had received some marvelous little things from my loved ones. Not the least of which is some new and fashionable warm clothes that I've been delighted with over this long, cold winter.

The latest of the seemingly endless Winter Wrap Up meetings has once again dissolved into chaos and most of us are taking a breather. I’m only here out of curiosity, as I have no established role here yet. Applejack has noted how nervous I am about where I fit in for this important holiday and has been trying to be helpful. As captain of the plant team though, she’s usually so very busy. My only strong skill is magic and this town was settled by earth ponies. To my continuing astonishment, they use no active magic to help the seasons turn. It’s mind-boggling. My friends and my lover keep reassuring me that the festival will give me a chance to find a place to fit in, but still I worry. The constant chaos of the preparations is not reassuring either. 

"What’s wrong, Sugar?"

I love the endearment and it never fails to make me smile. "Can't these ponies agree on anything?"

Applejack's voice is mildly startled when she answers me.  "Ah guess we are arguin'. Never really noticed before, since that’s what we always do. Huh."

I love that I can make her see things with fresh eyes, too. It’s not only me learning and adapting and growing.

"If you have better ideas," Dash's voice comes from above us. "Go stick your nose in the mayor's face and volunteer." We look up to see our pal effortlessly sprawled out on a tree limb as though she weighs little more than a cloud. "Pinkie Pie is done with that new celery cake she's subjecting us to," she adds with a shrug.

"Is that why yer bein' a peepin' pony?" Applejack mocks and Dash blows a raspberry before streaking off with her trademark jet wash of rainbow color. Things have been better with our resident jock, but there's something there I can't quite put my hoof on. It makes a pony wonder if she really isn't jealous.

Not that I can blame her. I know for a fact that I'm annoyingly happy and that might make others wish for some of this magic. That aside, Dash has a point and I make a mental note to talk to the mayor later. Once this latest contentious 'meeting' is finished and tempers cool, of course. 

In the meantime, I'm perfectly content to sit in the snow and snuggle with my lover. 

It will be amusing at some later point, how disastrously my first Winter Wrap Up has gone. Thankfully, the Mayor remembered my organizational skills and takes my offer to help. With Spike manning my clipboard, I quickly whipped the Ponyville denizens into some semblance of order and we managed to get winter cleared and spring begun. It was exhausting but completely worth it. Particularly when the town gave me my own vest, resplendent with the colors of all three teams, and told me that organization was now my official job. Yay!

My pleasure in the day is still marred from being dressed down by my lover in public over my breaking the rules, even if it was my own fault for using magic and destroying hours of hard work by the plant team. Still, it smarts. In fact, I'm off in the darkness, away from the rollicking festivities in the town square, sprawled out in the tender new grass raised by the ceremony. For a town unwilling to rely on magic, they sure can raise plenty of the stuff to get the job done! The chill of winter lingers in the air, a reminder of how we ponies manipulate the seasons for the good of the animals and the growth of plants. As wonderful as the winter has been, I'm happy for the new life of spring.

"Twilight?"

If I stay silent, she'll find me in a few moments anyway, but I'd rather get to the making-up part of the day. "Over here, Applejack."

Her familiar body is a deeper shadow in the night, melting from the trees of my favorite grove behind the library. With only a moment's hesitation, she steps over and burrows her face into my mane, sighing heavily. "I'm a really sorry, Twilight. Ah shouldn't a yelled like that."

"I'm sorry for breaking the rules. I just got so caught up in wanting to fit in that I over reached myself. Apology accepted."

"Me too, Sugar." With the exchange of words, Applejack lays to rest beside me, tucking up her strong body as close to mine as possible. We've become expert cuddlers with practice and shift around to accommodate the other. "We Apples are an obstinate bunch a ponies," she muses, resting her chin on my withers. I twist my head around to touch noses with her and smile.

"I know, but I still find it charming. It took some work and experimentation, but in the long run, I found a useful place in the Wrap Up. So, none of it was for naught. Even the snakes." My shudder is not feigned, remembering the creepy-crawlies that I woke when trying to help Fluttershy rouse the hibernators. It's been a very long day. Nudging my lover where she's growing heavy with exhaustion, I squirm away and stand to stretch. "I love you," I murmur, nosing at Applejack until she rolls onto her back and smiles up at me.

"Ah love you too, Twi. Happy Spring Equinox, by the way."

"Mmmm, you too, lover."

And there in the dewy spring grass, hidden from prying eyes by the deep darkness, we usher in the new season in the loveliest way possible.
> 2
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Chapter 2

++ Applejack ++

Oh, I get such a kick out of my sweet girl gettin' all aggressive on me. She's my equal in every way and I love that. Yawning, I stretch my legs and raise my muzzle to kiss her nose and cheeks, whatever I can reach. This time our lovemaking feels different, something like wildfire under the skin. Perhaps the daring location? Out here kinda in the open and all. Not that I'm worried, because no sound will carry over the noise of the festival across town in the square. In fact, I'm in the mood to rejoin the festivities!

"Stop it, AJ," Twilight giggles as I nose her ear, lightly chewing at it to get a reaction. Expertly avoiding a wild swipe from one purple hoof, I snort playfully and jump up to teasingly nip at my girl. With a mocking gasp of outrage, she's scrambling to her feet and we're off, wildly racing across town, laughing and kicking and prancing.

"There you are!"

Startled by the cry, we look up to see Rainbow Dash hovering over us. Twilight speaks before I can. "Hi, Dash. What can we do for you?"

"Something weird just happened a couple minutes ago. Me and the others got magic jolted by something we've never felt before. And look what reappeared!"

Around Dash's neck is the heavy gold necklace that is her mark of the Element of Loyalty. It disappeared by magic, as did all of ours, shortly after the encounter with Nightmare Moon. That makes me reach up, and sure enough, mine has mysteriously reappeared as well. Now that we're in better light, I see that Twilight's tiara, too, is back. Yep, something strange indeed happened while we were fooling around in the forest. Hot on Dash's hooves, the others arrive at a gallop, each resplendent in the intricate necklace from that long-ago battle in the Everfree Forest. 

"Guys, guys!" Twilight finally yells over the babble of urgent voices. "I don't know why they're back. We'll just have to stay alert for whatever might have triggered the magic that gave us these in the first place."

"What, no research?" Rarity comments with an arched brow, though her calm tone belies any censure to her words. Twilight sighs anyway and shrugs.

"There's so little information on the Elements of Harmony that I doubt I'll find anything. Still, I'll look."

I'm still feeling a little wired and hyper-alert. Now, I just thought it was from the fun of fooling around with my girl, but could there be more to it? And why in Equestria would the other Elements get a jolt from that? It's not like we can casually discuss this with the others, it's just too embarrassing...

"Well, come on!" Pinkie Pie breaks in to the oddly awkward silence that surrounds us. "There's a party going on! We can't miss that!"

Honestly, what choice do we have but to follow our bouncy pal? The weight of the necklace feels heavier than it should and draws every pony eye that wanders our way. It's gonna be a long night...

There have been plenty of odd looks over the weeks that have followed and the necklaces stubbornly remain. It turns out that there's no way to remove them, as there's no break in the intricate gold. Only Twilight can remove her jewelry and she tells us that it feels weird not to have it on her head where it should be. So she keeps it in a saddlebag that is never out of reach. With time, I don't even notice the thing unless my attention is somehow drawn to it. All of us are too busy with spring to dwell on the mystery and nothing odd has happened, so we have pushed it to the back of our minds.

Mystery aside, the necklace is a gorgeous piece of jewelry. It is finely wrought and seemingly immune to dirt; the orange gemstone in the shape of one of the three apples on my flank gleaming in the center. It blends nicely with my coat, not as startling a contrast as the rest of my friends.

"I don't mind the thing, exactly," Rarity whines nearby. "It just doesn't match all of my wardrobe! And always wearing the same piece of jewelry? Really..."

Even Dash doesn't have the energy to spar with her. Really, how many times can we go over the same thing? The gang has come to the farm to help me and Big Mac out before the scheduled downpour this evening. Much as Dash can annoy the daylights out of me, it comes in handy to have the best flier in Ponyville keeping me apprised of the weather. The golden necklace stands in stark contrast to her blue hide, the crimson lightning bolt even more so. Like me, Dash's necklace has displaced her fur somewhat sloppily in proof it can't be removed. Poor Rarity must be in fits over our appearance. 

Nearby, Fluttershy and Pinkie help the Cutie Mark Crusaders carefully holds the slim stakes that hold the thin fabric covers over the tenderest shoots. With glowing horns, Rarity and Twilight adjust the long sheets and Mac uses strong hooves to pound pins through the edges once Dash lines them up in the right spot. Her reflexes are good enough not to accidentally get stomped on, unlike the fillies. It hadn’t been my girl who asked me permission to use magic, but a petulant Rarity basically telling me to get over my stubborn earth pony self. She's not wrong, exactly, but I have made some massive concessions now that I'm involved with a unicorn. After all, it would hardly be fair to completely keep Twilight from helping with her magic. It is just as much a part of her as hide and hoof. Rarity hadn't needed to harangue me much to concede. 

The storm has gathered darkly overhead, grumbling with thunder and pulsing with lightning before we finish up and I'm not completely convinced the last row covers over the tiny celery sprouts will hold. No time for that now, though. "Git back to the house, now!" I bellow over the gathering violence, and grab Scootaloo by the base of her mane to toss her onto my back. Mac has collected Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, also grabbing a cowering Fluttershy to toss her up with the girls as though she weighs little more than a feather. Dash hovers worriedly, finally touching down and running with the rest of us in mad flight through the fields.

"Whoo hoo!" The blue pegasus marvels through the glass once we're safely indoors. "I think this one got out of our control. Is it just me or is this happening an awful lot recently?"

The big mudroom is crowded so I hold off on shaking out my damp hide while the others get as dry as they can and move further into the old house. "Ya alright there, Scoot?"

"S-sure," the filly tries to bluster bravely, but doesn't loosen her grip on my neck just yet. Dash just chuckles and moves to pluck her warm little body off me and returns to the window, cradling the little pegasus.

"Check this out, Squirt, 'cause someday you'll have to help out with a mess like this."

A towel tossed over blue shoulders and rainbow mane gets a grin from my pal and I can turn my attention to my brother. The girls are ready to jump down and I stand up to place a hoof on Mac's ribs and offer a foreleg. "Come're, Sweetie Belle; you first."

"Wee!" She squeals as she leaps fearlessly into my offered arm and I easily swing her to the floor. Apple Bloom doesn't need any direction and I barely manage to catch her eager free fall.

"Thank ya, Big Macintosh," she gushes and touches noses with him. "That was tons a fun!" 

The girls race off and that leaves me to eye the huddled Fluttershy. She looks unexpectedly small on my brother's strong back, curled up in an impossibly tiny bundle. So I reach up and touch her shoulder gently, speaking softly, "Ya'll ready to come down, Sugar Cube?"

The pink mane shudders in a distinct 'no' gesture and I force myself not to sigh in exasperation. Still a 'fraidy pony even after all she's accomplished! Mac has snaked his head around and smiles lopsidedly. "That's a'right, purdy lady," he says softly, a faint blush on his apple red hide. "Y'all can stay there long as ya like."

Nearly nose to nose with him, I can only wear a flummoxed look. Is my big lug of a brother actually flirting with Fluttershy? One turquoise eye peers out from a concealing yellow wing, accompanied by Flutter's soft voice. "You Apples are so nice."

Both of us puff up with pride at that, though we refrain from snorting and pawing the ground like hot-blooded colts. "Sure we are," I agree vehemently and poke my shy pal in the ribs, glad to hear a giggle. "Our Mama wouldn't have it any other way."

Chuckling, I shake out my damp hide as best I can and leave them alone. 
> 3
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Chapter 3

++ Twilight ++

The moment I step hoof in the kitchen, Granny Smith drafts me into helping with warm soup and cider. I love that she so naturally treats me as one of family now, bossing me about. By the smell, there is pie in the oven, making my mouth water. Oh how I love it here, the chaos of the big family and an endless array of tasks that need to be done. Granny doesn't object to my using magic to carefully float over the mass of mugs to the massive farmhouse table for the damp, chilled masses. The soup I take in jaw and walk it carefully over. The Apples have taught me the value in doing things without magic unless my arcane gifts can truly make a task easier or safer. 

Applejack steps into the kitchen with a bemused smile on her face, shaking her head at my questioning look. Quickly, she gathers bowls and carries them over in a tray tightly gripped in strong teeth. Spike will be disappointed that he's missing all of this, but he'd been adamant about staying in the library to keep it open for the public. He's so responsible, my number one assistant! 

A familiar nuzzle behind my ear makes me giggle and turn away from my thoughts. That almost arrogant smirk on AJ's face would be faintly annoying were it not completely justified. After all, she can turn me to goo with a caress, and I couldn't hide the reaction even if I wanted to. Aware of our audience, I press a quick kiss to her forehead and squeeze in between the Crusader's bench and Rarity's body. Pinkie is spastically gesturing along to some insane story she's telling, somehow not knocking over a single cup, bowl, or lighting fixture. Sometimes I still can't help but wonder how a supposedly mundane earth pony manages the feats that she does. For the most part, I've just learned to accept it or lose my sanity to the inexplicable nature of it all. 

It's not just the hovering Fluttershy that freezes in shock when the front door suddenly bashes open, sending a gust of cold wind blasting through the kitchen. "Tarnation! I ain't missed this blasted weather," bellows a familiar voice. "Dang it, foals, get yer rumps out here and lend a hoof!"

The Apple children only gawk for a moment before scrambling for the door. "Pa?" Apple Bloom yells joyously as a very bedraggled Apple Cider clomps into the kitchen. "Pa! Yer home!"

Smiling sweetly at his youngest, the old stallion sweeps her up in a foreleg and cuddles her close. Plucking a towel off of Rarity, I approach and toss it over the green back and withers, noting the saddle sores. What in Equestria has he been up to?

"Mama!" Apple Bloom squeals deafening as an equally wet and bedraggled Pink Lady steps in. She looks as tired as, if not more so, than her husband. Instantly, Granny is fussing over them both and my friends approach with their towels to get the Apple parents dried off. Pink Lady seems a bit taken aback by the attention, but is clearly too tired to do more than stand there wearily. Though she neck-hugs Apple Bloom, kissing the filly warmly. "You grow so fast, Sugar."

"Are you home?"

This should be a private conversation between mother and child and we all discretely fade back, but I still hear Pink Lady's reply. "Yes, my sweet girl. Ah'm afraid that your grandsire passed on a few days ago and your father and I just had to get home. That storm caught us by surprise."

Well, that certainly is a mix of good and bad news. I head for the open front door where I can see and hear that the older Apple siblings are struggling with crates and bulky objects. This seems like a good opportunity for magic and I concentrating on stabilizing their efforts in the whipping wind. Not to mention doing my best to hold down the laden wagon at the door. "Thanks, Love." Applejack grins at me briefly before she returns to her task. Soon, the mud room is so full of things that Mac has difficulty picking his way back to the kitchen. Now the family reunion can truly warm up. I note the rest of the gang has discretely vanished, off to the living room no doubt, and I follow them.

In the living room, the gang has found a board game and are setting up for a game. Dash and Scoot are setting up logs in the fireplace and the former grins at me. "Too bad Spike isn't here!"

"I've been thinking the same thing. Let me pop over to the library and see if he'd like to join us." It's a spell that I need to keep honed anyway. Concentrating, I feel the magic flood through me, filling me like water in a vessel. With a pop, I've gone from here to there in a flash of energy. The dark quiet of the library is a shock after the chaos of the Apple house and I blink to adjust my eyes. "Spike?"

A bright shaft of light from the kitchen door opening makes me shy away as my eyes have begun adjusting to the dark. "Twilight? What are you doing here?"

"Hi there. The gang is having so much fun that I wanted to know if you'd like to join us."

For a moment, Spike eyes his snack before shrugging. "Sure! Let me put this away and I'll come along."

In a few moments his familiar weight is on my back and I can concentrate to teleport back the way I just came. "Now it's a party!" Dash crows and plucks Spike from my back where she hovers overhead. "Come help with the fire, buddy."

I find myself squished in beside Pinkie and Sweetie Belle to play the game. I haven't played 'Pony Life' in years, so this should be fun. At some point, I feel a warm nose nudging my rear and glance back to see Applejack there, looking melancholy and yet happy. Since Sweetie Belle is mostly asleep against my shoulder anyway, I nudge the filly. "Sweetie Belle, honey, would you please climb up on my back to snooze so that Applejack can squeeze in?" Nodding drunkenly, she does as asked, clumsily rasping little hooves into my sensitive hide until AJ gives her a gentle nudge. That sends Belle rolling into the warm valley where Pinkie and I are pressed together, snoozing away in uncaring abandon that her hooves are pointing at the ceiling. Scoot has sprawled atop Dash and the larger pegasus looks a little squished when Apple Bloom joins her. So cute.

"You okay, AJ?" Rainbow Dash asks quietly and instantly the game is forgotten.

"Yeah, I guess. Been a long time a comin', grandsire passin' on. Ah'm sure glad to have my folks home, though."

"Ah-yep," Big Mac agrees quietly where he's made himself comfortable on one of the big couches. We play quietly for a bit longer, but even Pinkie's normally inexhaustible energy winds down and we're all ready for sleep.

"Hey, bro," Dash calls out pointedly at Mac, who raises his big head. "Give a pony a hand? I'm too bird-boned to be a mattress."

Chuckling, Mac nods, but before he can move, I concentrate and his little sister rises up in a purple cloud of unicorn magic. She weighs even less than Spike and is easy to maneuver over to curl up between her brother's big body and the back of the couch. Scootaloo is even lighter and soon joins her, followed by Sweetie Belle's little body. The thick, soft rug and a few pillows provided by Applejack will suffice the rest of us. With the promise of sleep, I find myself drooping with exhaustion suddenly. That must be how I find myself unaccountably curled up against Rarity's ribs, her head tucked up around my front hooves. Pinkie and Fluttershy mimic the pose, Pinkie's rump warm against my hind feet. I smile sleepily when I feel Spike's familiar weight settle onto my ribs, the book he'd been looking at still half open where it falls against his hip. After perching on the back of the couch to check on the fillies, Dash flutters over to settle with a pegasi's weightless effort against Spike and the book, hooves in the air and Pinkie's poofy tail warming her belly. I share a smile with my lover where she stands for a moment, watching the mass of us, before shrugging and imperiously wedging her strong body under Dash's rear end.

There was a time, not so long ago, that this sort of easy familiarity with ponies, even considered friends, would have unnerved me at best. Now, even with my lover out of my reach in the pony pile, I'm completely comfortable. Nestling down into Rarity's soft, lightly perfumed coat, I sigh deeply and relax. Sleep comes easily, despite the angry storm outside. 

Small sounds chase back the darkness and I blink awake with a yawn. After a bleary moment I note that I'm wrapped around Spike's scaly body and Pinkie's mane is seriously tickling my nose. When I shift my right foreleg to stand, Rarity mumbles a protest from behind me and I move more carefully. When I shift my rump to stand, I manage to wake Dash, who blinks sleepy fuchsia eyes at me. "Sorry, Dash, go back to sleep." Nodding, the party-colored pegasus wiggles over Spike's little body and takes my place as I step away. Good, now everypony will stay warm. Applejack isn't in the pile anymore, though Mac hasn't moved, one green eye tracking my movement across the room. 

"Well, good mornin' there, Sugar," Pink Lady greets me as I step into the dimly lit kitchen. To my embarrassment, I yawn at her, though she only chuckles lightly. "Would you care for some tea?"

"Oh, that sounds lovely, thank you. Are you feeling rested today?"

With the same effortless dexterity she passed on to her children, the elegant pink pony has prepared a steaming mug and delivers it under my nose. "Oh, I'll be needin' a nap once we can take stock of the storm damage, but ah'm fine for now. Thank you for helpin' out yesterday, you and the others."

"Our pleasure. This farm gets in your blood." It sounds so pretentious when I say it like that and my loose tongue makes me cringe. "If you know what I mean."

Pink Lady only smiles gently and her eyes flicker over my head. "Yes, Twilight, ah know exactly what you mean."

The deep-voiced 'hurumph' from behind me makes me jump up and whirl around in surprise, only to find myself snout to snout with Apple Cider. "Can't love an Apple without lovin' Sweet Apple Acres," he grumbles, but I swear I can see a glint of what seems like humor in his eye. Wait, what did he just say? Could the old stallion finally be giving me some slack?

"Yes, sir, that is so very true."

Apple Cider nuzzles his wife's cheek before heading over to the tea pot. The moment of acceptance feels surreal, but I'm determined not to freak out and say or do something stupid. With that in mind, I decide that my hooves may not be steady and take a chance at magically raising my mug to drink. It's just so yummy that my nerves settle and I can't fight a smile. "You like that?" Pink Lady teases affectionately and my smile deepens blissfully. Whatever spices she added in make the tea and honey positively intoxicating. Then her elegant ears peak up and I instinctively do the same. "Sounds like Applejack is comin' back, Pa."

Sure enough, there is rhythmic, muffled clopping for a moment before the door opens. With a quick smile at the Apple parents, I gallop to my lover, who is a soaking wet mess. "Mornin', Sugar." She grins brightly from beneath a dripping hat and forelock. "Sleep well?"

"I slept fine. What a mess you are!" Chuckling evilly, she crouches a bit and I instinct tells me to back up. Sure enough, she braces all of those fine muscles and shakes out her sodden coat, flinging water droplets everywhere. I can't help my girlish squeak of outrage at the sprinkling and duck back into the kitchen for a moment until the indoor rain ends and I can affectionately pseudo-tackle her with a hug and kiss. I'm quite certain that I hear chuckling from the kitchen. "What in Equestria were you doing out in this?"

"Checkin' things out best ah'm able, a course! The damage is minimal, thank goodness," AJ happily explains as she rinses muddy hooves in the low sink in the mud room. When did all the boxes and crates get moved? "Sorry ta get ya wet."

The faint leer in her comment makes me blush girlishly and give her flank a playful nip. "Not in front of your parents, you beast."

Getting dry turns into a playful giggle fest, finally stopped with sweet kisses and a brief cuddle.

"I missed you last night," I whisper into one ear and kiss behind the stiff peak. "Having you so close and yet so far away."

"Me too, Love. Let's not let that happen again, huh?" Good smells coax us away from the questionable privacy of the mudroom and we join the Apple parents and a bleary-eyed Pinkie Pie and Sweetie Belle for leftovers from last night. There is also the usual assortment of delicious apple recipes, all of which I love. "Y'know," AJ muses, tapping her chin with a hoof. "This storm's gonna hang up our trip to Canterlot."

Rubbing my eyes, I sigh deeply. "That does keep happening. At this rate, I'm never going to get to tell my folks, much less Princess Celestia, about us. It feels so dishonest."

"Twilight," Apple Cider says gently and I look at him in surprise. This may very well be the very first time that he's used my name. "This relationship with mah daughter took some gettin' used to. Would it help if yer folks came ta visit and stayed with us? Neutral territory and all that. 'Sides, we kin talk to 'em as peers."

Yes, I'm gawking, but I can't help it. This is the recalcitrant pony I never thought would accept me. The tears aren't feigned and I can't help myself from rushing over to hug him, hard. After a stiff moment, he hugs me back. "Thank you, sir," is all I can get past the lump in my throat. When I do lean away, he shocks me further with a paternal hoof smoothing over my forelock, briefly touching my horn.

"Well, you sure ain't what ah ever expected fer my eldest girl, but yer family now. Come're, Applejack and giver yer stubborn old pa a hug."

We girls happily oblige him.

Once I've calmed down and finish my breakfast, I wake the rest of the pony pile to get some food in them before I recruit Spike's magical message sending abilities. I'm hoping that Princess Celestia will take the chariot here and can bring along my parents. Then they can visit after the storm. At least now the weather has subsided to mere rain and not the mess it was last night. As though reading my thoughts, Dash stretches mightily and flashes a grin. "Thanks for breakfast, Apple clan, but I gotta run and help out breakin' up this storm. Later, guys."

She's gone with a slammed door and Pink Lady eyes Fluttershy curiously. "Not you, Sugar?" Our shy pal cringes away and looks to a smiling Big Mac for support.

"I... I'm not a very good flier," she whispers, though her voice is heard because we've all habitually quieted. 

"Like yer hooves on the ground, huh?" Apple Cider chuckles, looking between the shy pegasus and myself, shaking his head. So he sees it, too, the soppy way Mac looks at our demure pal and the way she shyly returns the gaze. The Apple family charm strikes again!

Only I can stay at the farm for clean up, as the other all have their own responsibilities to tend to. Luckily for me, Spike is more than capable of running the library without me. So, once the rain has reduced itself to slightly less than a downpour, we're out in it to check on the damage. Darkness falls both too quickly and not quickly enough. I'm so tired! I miss dinner completely, as a quick shower and AJ's warm bed do me in. Luckily, my early night and empty belly have me awake the moment Granny makes her small noises in the wee hours before dawn and I get an actual breakfast before the others wake, ready for more work. 

While I start out relatively strong, it's backbreaking work and I have real trouble keeping up. I'm just not as sturdy as this stock! Nothing will ever change that. I can't be an earth pony any more than the Apples could be unicorns. After lunch, Pink Lady takes me in hoof to work as her partner and finds more appropriate tasks to my strengths. With a snort and a chuckle, Cider assures me that no one thinks any less of me for it. 

Pleased by that reassurance, I do as I'm told and shadow Pink Lady. The cows are happy for our attention as we ensure their cozy barn is fine after the storm, fix what we can, and make a note of what we cannot. There isn't a lot of chatter with my pony companion, but that's okay with me. The quiet isn't awkward and that's all that matters. With practice, I've gotten adept enough with a broom that I can use one normally and a second one with magic, a skill I’m justifiably proud of, so I take that need on a lot while I'm here at the farm. Yes, it's busywork, but it's busywork that somepony else doesn't have to do if I make the effort. I've just about finished in the barn, slowly backing my way down the aisle between stalls, stepping once more into the seemingly endless mud, when I hear strange whinnying. 

When I look around, both brooms fall to the ground in my shock.

Rearing and whinnying with frisky energy are two pegasi of the royal guard... harnessed to the royal chariot... with Princess Celestia... and Princess Luna... and a stranger who seems vaguely familiar... and my parents!

Apple Cider and his children are just straightening up from a bow to meet Celestia's gentle smile, before they pounce on the strange young stallion with noisy enthusiasm. Even as all of this registers to my mind, I find myself glancing at my filthy hide and cringing. I am a walking mud spatter literally from nose to tail, an extra layer of the sticky stuff splattered all the way up to my belly. Oh, this is not fair! Then I have to sigh and set vanity aside. My filth is legitimately earned and I refuse to be ashamed of that.

"Pink Lady?" I call out and her head pops out of a storage room at the far end of the barn. "The Princesses and my parents are here. I'll let them know that you'll be along in a moment." Turning away from her understandable shock, I shake out mane and tail as best I'm able and canter over. "Mom! Dad! Princesses! What a delightful surprise!" After sketching a quick bow to the royals, I rub noses with my folks and grin at them. "Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres! Have introductions been made yet?"

When Princess Celestia shakes her head, I quickly remedy the problem, including Apple Bloom who stares in awe from behind her brother's leg. It's Applejack that verifies the strange colt's identity as the missing brother, Jazz Apple, home from his fancy music school in Manehattan. He's a handsome devil with a deep orange coat and closely worn green mane and tail. When we're introduced I can't help but note his speculative appraisal. "Well hello, pretty lady. I am indeed pleased to meet you." His farm accent has faded quite a lot compared to his family, and his gaze is frank enough to make me a bit uncomfortable.

Even as a little, guilty part of me can't even help being warmed by the attention paid.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Jazz. Your sister has talked about you."

Refusing to look at Applejack to see if my unexpected draw to her brother was noticed, I turn to the Princesses. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle," Celestia smiles and I get a small hug from her, which I relish. "How has my favorite student been?"

"Busy," I tell her truthfully. "There's always something to learn, especially here at Sweet Apple Acres. I'm very glad that you could come see it in person."

"As am I. Ah, this must be your mother then, Jazz Apple. Won't you excuse us, Twilight?"

Demurring with something polite and inane, I turn my attention to the younger princess. Once my enemy, almost destroying the wonderful ponies who would become my friends, freed from a madness I have never really been able to comprehend, this is the pony who was once Nightmare Moon. There are changes in her, she has grown taller and slightly darker in coloring and her mane and tail have begun to look like a starscape, fluttering with magical movement like her sister's. The changes are striking, reflecting how she has been changed, freed from the evil that consumed her and reunited with her sister. Moonlit blue eyes watch me warily, tinged with respect and... fear?

Well, the Elements of Harmony did defeat her handily.

The blue eyes flicker over even as I become aware of my lover's presence at my shoulder. I watch the mysterious gaze move from Applejack's face, down to where I know the golden necklace of the Element of Honesty lies around her throat.

"Princess Luna," I find myself saying quietly and her eyes return to me. "We started off on the wrong hoof. Could we perhaps start again?" Surprise and humor lighten the dark face.

"Yes, I think I would like that."

And with the traditional touching of hooves, we have sealed the deal. Applejack is a bit warier, but also offers peace to the younger princess and I can at last turn my attention to my bemused parents. Not every pony in Equestria looks so like a mix of dam and sire as I do. The spitting image of mother, that's me, excepting that I'm darker more like my father. They both chuckle and hug back when I throw both forelegs around them to squeeze as hard as I can. "I've missed you both so much! Thank you for coming. It really did seem like every time I tried to come see you, a storm would blow in and stop me! Even my pegasus friend, Rainbow Dash, commented on it."

"Oh, Kitten, we've missed you too. Ponyville is just so far away," Mom tells me, leaning away to fuss with my dirty forelock. "You are in quite a state, dear."

"The storm made a real mess; though it's much harder to tell now."

Dad hugs me tight, much less concerned about my dirty hide, and smiles affectionately. "Now didn't I always say that you could do anything? Now you've gone and become a farm pony! What brought this on?"

And here it is, my opening for the truth. 

It shames me to admit that I freeze up in a blind panic. Strangely, I barely note my parent's puzzled expressions, but instead, I am caught up in the odd, thoughtful way that Luna regards me, head cocked off to one side. I cannot decipher her expression or whatever thoughts lie behind it. Because of that, I cannot look away. She seems both baffled and pleased by my panic for a long moment before shaking it off and resolutely stepping forward. Whatever she was going to do or say will forever remain a mystery as Apple Cider's voice suddenly comes from beside me.

"Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres, folks. Ah think y'all best come inside and take a sit down fer this. Ah know ah needed ta."

His heavy foreleg over my shoulders gives me the strength to nod weakly. With that somehow settled, I'm given a push in the direction of Applejack where she stands with her mother and Princess Celestia. Oh curses! I have to tell her, too! My hangdog face brings my lover to me, her head coiling under mine to give me a throttling neck hug. "That time, huh?"

Oh, those indescribably beautiful green eyes are so tender and full of adoration that I can't help choking up. Before Applejack can get concerned at my tears, I throw both forelegs around her shoulders and squeeze until she chuckles and calls uncle. "Princess," I try to say and my voice cracks like a teenage colt's. "If you'd join us inside, I'd really rather only go through this once."

Pink Lady's sympathy makes me want to cry again as she steps over to Princess Luna to extend the invitation. As we step into the mudroom, the scents of Granny's cooking is an intoxicating cloud that makes Princess Celestia inhale so deeply I'm almost surprised my mane doesn't flutter. "Oh," she breathes out with wonder. "That smells so heavenly. I can't remember the last time I had fresh baked apple pie."

"Then yer in the right place, yer highness," Applejack chuckles and leads the way in, me meekly at her tail. "Come have some tea and pie."

Much later, I will realize how deliberately calm and relaxed our hosts are. Unlike the Cakes, who were in fits over Celestia's visit last year, the Apples are deferential but not fawning. The princesses seem pleased by the relaxed treatment. Pink Lady's tea appears under my nose and Applejack urges me to drink. As it has before, the sweet and savory brew instantly calms me and I stare into the steaming liquid for a long moment.

"I've fallen in love."

Yes, that was my voice blurting that out like some barely articulate filly over the quiet murmur of conversations. And yes, every eye is now on me.

"Why, Kitten, that's wonderful," mother gushes. "Who's the lucky stallion?"

Big Mac freezes as mom's eyes slide slyly to him, though I admire his not choking on his pie. Applejack is making great effort not to facehoof in exasperation, but when she opens her mouth to speak, I find the courage to finish what I've started.

"Not a stallion, mom, but Applejack here."

Shocked silence descends; no surprise there. In a show of solidarity, AJ drapes a foreleg over my withers and straightens up her posture proudly.

"I've wanted to tell you for months, but I couldn't bear writing it down in a letter. It seemed so… impersonal. And I've been agonizing this whole time what I would say and worrying that you'd disown me or something horrible like that, or you wouldn't like AJ here or something equally as awful or…"

"You can do that?"

Luna's curious comment is so like Pinkie's all those months ago that I cannot stop bursting into slightly hysterical laughter.

Celestia smiles warmly at her sister before turning back to me and Applejack. "Ah, I think this explains why I have been feeling as though you have been holding something back in your letters. As you did not appear to be in any sort of jeopardy, I did not press. This is an unexpected twist in friendship, is it not?"

Looking deeply into my beloved's gaze, I nod. "Very." A quirk of the finely shaped mouth makes me fight a shiver of sensual reaction and force my attention back to my mentor and parents. "Unexpected and truly the most amazing feeling that I have ever had. I hope that you can be happy for me."

And, at least for now, that seems to be that.
> 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4

++ Applejack ++

It's been a weird evening.

Understatement.

I'm still smarting from Jazz's making that snooty, jackass comment about me bein' some kind of pervert. The sting in my heart is far worse than the split lip. How could he say that? What has happened to my sweet little brother? Shouting at me that I would ruin his reputation at his fancy school, he'd stormed off in a huff, leaving all parties stunned. His reputation? I should have done worse than jump on him and clop his fool ears. And that hoof across my mouth was no playful hit either. It had meant to hurt.

The tears have dried but I'm still so hurt and angry that my belly is as sour as pig swill.

"Applejack? AJ?"

Part of me petulantly wants to ignore Twilight's calling and remain wallowing in my hurt. But that is beyond my capacity to be selfish and I know my brother's abominable behavior has to have hurt her, too. "Comin', Twi."

She looks startled as I clop down the steep ramp nearly hidden by the shadows of the barn, and immediately rushes over to wrap both forelegs around me and cling tight. Seems I was wrong and I do have a few more tears that leak out into her mane as I squeeze her back. I'm not the only one sniffling.

"Ah love you, Twilight," I murmur fiercely and squeeze until she squeaks. "Ah don't care what that jerk says."

"I love you, too, Applejack. Just give him some time." Sighing heavily, she leans away only far enough to look me in the eye. "The only good part of that incident is that it ensured no one else will do anything hurtful. My folks are still confused, but that's to be expected. Will you come and have some dinner?"

"Ah'm not feelin' so hungry right now."

"Me either, Love, but we have parents and mentors and maybe a new friend who need to see us."

Of course she's right and I nod slowly. "Lead the way, Sugar."

Neither of us cleans up the salty tracks of tears, the physical proof of the pain my insensitive brother has caused; though I do shake the hay out of my mane and tail. Twilight actually earns a watery smile when she nibbles away a few stubborn strays. 

The subdued murmur of conversation ceases as we step in to the mudroom and my wry, vulnerable expression is echoed by my lover. We each quickly rinse off the clinging mud and take a deep breath, share a quick nuzzle and step into the house proper. Our elders make a fascinating collection of ponies, my country folks, Twi's city slicker parents, and the exotic princesses of the sun and moon.

"I am so very sorry to have inadvertently been party to hurting you," Princess Celestia says mournfully and I'm struck that she really does look like she feels awful. Sighing heavily, I give Twilight a gentle nudge to the table and we squeeze in amidst our parents. 

"It ain't yer fault, Princess. That fancy school has been changin' mah little brother for years now. Ah don't hate him, ah'm just hurt that he'd say those awful things. Thank you for the apology, though. It's nice ta know that you don't feel that same way."

Twilight noses that spot at the curve of my jaw that will forever be hers alone and it relaxes me further. 

"Of course not, Applejack," Celestia says almost vehemently. "Love is never to be criticized, no matter what form it may manifest." 

Sounds like there's a story behind that and the loaded look the sisters share pretty well confirms my thought. Well, at least they have each other to confide in again.

After an uncomfortable silence, Star Sparkle clears her throat and deliberately turns her attention to me. It's disorienting how much her daughter looks like her, even as their color and stripes are so very different. "Is that one of the Elements of Harmony?"

Her question completely takes me by surprise. It's easy to forget about the necklace, I've grown so accustomed to it. Every eye drops below my chin, except for the glance I share with my lover. "It appeared at the Winter Wrap Up. None of us know why."

Twilight fires a questioning glance to Celestia, who shakes her head. "I'm afraid I don't understand either. We can only assume there must be a reason, but it has yet to manifest."

"Yeah, that's pretty much what we were figurin', too."

Again, we all trail into uncertain quiet. Truthfully, I’m intimidated by this, these powerful royals and Twi's parents. I’m gonna end up saying or doing something stupid.

"It's dark now," Twilight muses, her expression thoughtful for a moment before it brightens. Uh oh. "Since it could be inconvenient to travel in darkness, we should have a slumber party. I had a wonderful time last year when Applejack and Rarity got trapped by bad weather at the library. Even with the tree through the window."

I'm still embarrassed by that and I'm certain that my expression says that. Amusingly, Princess Celestia grins at me in quiet amusement and I smile back. She's far more approachable than I would have thought. 

"A slumber party?" Princess Luna asks skeptically, the question echoed on Star Sparkle's face. 

"Why certainly," Mama chimes in enthusiastically. "We have a large living room with a nice warm fire and plenty ta eat. Ah know travel can be difficult by night."

There's an odd look on Luna's face and I remember Nightmare Moon ranting about how ponies never appreciated her beautiful night. "Princess Luna?" My voice immediately gets her attention. "Would ya like some company raisin' the moon t'night?"

The expression on her dark face is priceless. "I... uh..." Honestly, you'd think a pony'd never been nice to her before. Then again... After a long, puzzled moment, her expression goes shy and pleased. "Yes, some company would be... nice. Thank you, Applejack."

"Lead the way."

Touching foreheads with my girl, I give her a grin and follow the Princess of the Moon outdoors. The rain has returned, an annoying drizzle that chills the fur and annoys the eyes. Except... I'm not getting wet. "Nice trick," I grin at my unexpected companion, who merely smiles but does not look away from the darkened sky. The loneliness of this unique individual is as inherent to her as the night tones of her coloring and the white crescent moon on her hip, forever trapped against its black, cloud-like background.

"Y'know, ya ain't ever really alone at night."

The awakening glow of the alicorn's horn falters a moment as Luna looks at me, once again taken aback.

"No, ah mean it. Yeah, sure, most of us are sleepin', but there's all sorts of critters and even ponies that rely on yer night. And none of us would survive without it. Ah'm sorry if our ancestors never told ya that."

If it's possible to look both grateful and faintly annoyed, then that's exactly how the younger princess feels. After long moments, she clears her throat and turns her nose towards the sky, her horn once again glowing. I don't take her silence as rejection, because, as the keeper of the night, it makes sense that she is quiet and introspective. Just like those that rely on her darkness. I'm a creature of the land, of the natural rhythms of days and seasons. I understand.

"Element of Honesty indeed."

The warmth in her voice makes me smile.
> 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5

++ Twilight ++

How I adore my sensitive farmpony for her gesture to Princess Luna. I cannot even begin to guess what it must be like for her, returned to society after being evil and ostracized, isolated for a millennium. Of course, that means that I'm now alone with my elders. No pressure...

"She's nice," Dad suddenly comments thoughtfully and I see Apple Cider swallow a smile.

"She's the best," I add vehemently with a grin that I bet is bordering on dopey. "This whole family is."

Drat! I've gone and inadvertently brought up the ugliness with Jazz Apple again. As though conjured up with magic, Granny Smith bustles over with a tray of steaming bowls that she deposits at the crowded table. "Pumpkin apple soup. My daughter-in-law's specialty from Bridleham. Eat up!"

It's sweet to see how delighted my beloved teacher is with being here, eating these wonderful foods with her subjects. There's a ruckus at the door, Granny's voice haranguing someone outside, and to my amusement, the pegasus guards are bullied in to crowd in at the table. They are clearly uncomfortable, looking pleadingly at our liege, but she only smiles and shakes her head. When the Apple matriarch sets bowls in front of the matched pair and orders them to eat, they fidget, but do as they are told. Some wild sense of perversity urges me to bother them once again about their identical looks and if there are cutie marks hidden beneath their elaborate armor. It was an endless game when I was a filly. Honestly, for all I know, these are the same stallions! Rather than embarrass myself, I sip my soup before looking at my mother. She seems distracted and is unusually quiet.

"Are you okay, Mom?"

Startled from her thoughts, she blinks and smiles weakly. "Still processing, Kitten. But your dad is right, she does seem nice."

"She is nice," Apple Bloom suddenly pipes up indignantly and I smile warmly at the youngster. It's good to hear her reverting back to her normal, chatty self. Her brother's abominable behavior had left her too quiet and too sad. "She's the best."

Granny Smith nods briskly and mutters something none of us hear, but it makes Celestia smile again. Right on cue, Applejack's voice can be heard as the front door opens and a moment later she returns with Princess Luna. "That smells mighty good, Granny."

"Get yer tail in here, foal, and eat up before it gets cold," the oldster grumbles good-naturedly at her granddaughter. The younger princess looks bemused but warmed by my lover's presence. I know exactly how she feels! There's something so warm and likable about this pony and her straightforward steadfastness. Good on my AJ for warming up the aloof and scarred former Nightmare Moon. 

Astonishingly, dinner turns into a jovial affair as everyone relaxes and gets to know each other. All of the food is as wonderful as I've come to expect from this talented family, culminating in the perfectly flaky apple pie that Celestia had smelled so avidly before. The Apples insist that the visitors eat the treat and they are happy with the flaky tarts Granny whipped up to cover the extra mouths to feed. After hesitating politely, my mentor indulges in the fat slice of pie, her blissful expression making me laugh. Both Luna and guards are just as happy with it, followed by my folks. "Told you they grow the best apples in Equestria," I boast and make the Apples smile.

With a collection of apple cider in mugs as colorful as all of our various coats, we retreat to the big living room to rest and talk. It warms me again that Luna accepts Applejack's invitation to settle beside her. Celestia takes the spot beside me, leaving my lover and I wedged in warmly between our leaders. This sort of intimacy doesn't faze me, after all I've been Celestia's personal student for years now, but I have to say I'm glad to see my mate adapting so well. The guards hang inconspicuously by the kitchen, one curling up to sleep while the other keeps watch. Mac takes the couch as is his custom and cuddles his little sister, who is clearly ready to fall asleep while Granny relaxes in her rocking chair to knit. The two sets of parents complete the two half-circles on the luxurious rug.

"Thank you for having us," Celestia breaks the quiet that settles and Pink Lady beams, despite the lingering hurt in her eyes from the earlier drama with her younger son.

"Not at all, highness. It's our pleasure. A full house makes for a warm house."

I'm comforted by the singular sensation of Celestia's magical mane and tail whispering over my hide, a familiarity that I hadn't realized that I missed. For a long moment, I curl my head around, resting on my forelegs, so that I can breathe in the completely unique and otherworldly scent of my teacher. Unlike anypony else, she smells of summer skies and warm sun, rather than flesh and fur. It comforts me as it always has. For so very many years, she was my rock as I have spent more time with her than my parents. 

"Ya can ask, y'know," Applejack pipes up suddenly and I smile to myself for a moment before raising my head. "Ah don't mean ta make you uncomfortable, but avoidin' the subject don't make things any easier."

"How did you know?"

Unexpectedly, the question comes from Princess Luna, her head cocked curiously. Does her mane and tail feel the same as her sister's? Stay on track, Twilight!

"Well, the crush was right off," Applejack answers readily, turning her attention to Luna. "But it grew and grew over time until I was right sick with it. Not a bad sick, just weighed down by how strong it was and I really thought it was just me. I hid it best I could for a long time, but our friend Rarity figured me out and called me out on it. So I 'fessed up to Twilight here and she shocked me by sayin' yes. Coulda knocked me over with a feather. And then we got to know each other better and love came a callin'." Luna looks confused, almost skeptical and Applejack's voice gentles to something almost maternal. "Mah mama always told me that it's important to like somepony before you can love 'em. Darned if she wasn't bang on." There's still confusion on the dark face, but I force myself to hold my tongue and see what my mate will say. "She also told me that ah'd know it when ah felt it. And she was right again."

Swiveling her head around, Applejack nuzzles my ear, delighting me with the affection, before she returns her attention to Luna. "I will do my best to remember." The sentiment is awkward from the immortal one, but I think she has much to think about. My loving smile must say volumes, because I see my folks share a loaded look before looking at me like they just might get it for the first time.

There are more questions for us as the night grows deeper, but I'm happy to answer all of them. As a scholar, I understand questions and the curiosity that drives them. So I explain and hold back no secrets. Luckily, nopony asks me anything that I can't answer easily. Eventually, Mom even laughs as I tell tales of my lover and my friends, and she shares some of her own. Dad is characteristically quiet, adding in his two bits here and there while watching both myself and Applejack. Luna monopolizes my lover to my amusement and I'm glad to see the burgeoning friendship. All is going well, our combined energies winding down towards sleep, when a near violent outburst from Applejack nearly scares everypony half to death.

"What!?!?! What in tarnation are you talkin' about?"

She's on her feet, jostling me roughly, practically snorting in alarmed defiance at the flummoxed Princess of the Moon. "I... I thought you must know."

"Yer out of yer dang mind! It's impossible!"

I'm on my feet now, moving into her space, shocked to see tears in her eyes. "Applejack, what's wrong?"

A violent shake of the straw-colored mane is her only response, her expression absolutely stricken and I feel something like terror. "It ain't true, it can't be true. How? How?!?!"

Despite myself, I cannot resist looking over to Princess Luna for some sort of explanation to what she said that has upset my lover so. She looks at least as upset and confused. "How could you not know? The time must be months past."

Wrapping my mate in my forearms, I want to scream at Luna in frustration, but temper my voice into quiet, shaken fury. "What time?"

"She is pregnant."

For a moment, the world goes white in shock. My ears buzz and the surroundings seem to vanish in the haze. But after a moment, all clears in my mind. There has been no transgression on the behalf of my Applejack. I trust her implicitly and she would not betray me. I know what happened as certainly as I know anything. Clutching my shaking earth pony love, I murmur for her ears only. "The jolt we felt on the Spring Equinox. That's what it was. It all makes sense now, Applejack."

Teary, shocked green eyes, the pupils constricted to mere points, stare incredulously at me. Tenderly, I stroke her messy forelock, filled with so much adoration for her that my heart actually hurts. Now that I know the truth of it, my own senses and magic and intuition tell me the entire tale.

"And better, my dearest love, so am I."
> 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6

++ Applejack ++

Honestly, I'm getting mighty sick of these sorta shocks. Really, how much can a pony take? There is a babble of shocked voices that hush quickly, while I ignore them and cling desperately to the unicorn who stole my heart. "Y'all never cease shockin' the daylights outta me," I murmur hoarsely and dimly note Celestia smothering a small sound of amusement. 

"It's all right, Luna dear," the elder sister says quietly. "They simply did not know. Give them some time to recover from the shock."

"Yes..." Luna hesitates and I glance up to take in her baffled and traumatized expression. "Yes, of course, sister."

"It's a'right, princess," I sigh and loosen my grip on Twilight into less of a clutch and more of a cuddle. "You'd think ah'd be used to shocks bein' around this one." Twilight smiles luminously at my affectionate squeeze. "And bein' an Element of Harmony. Now, no offense to anypony, but ah think it's time for me and my love here to go have a long, quiet talk. If y'all will excuse us."

There are murmurs of acknowledgment even as I imperiously herd my giggling lover towards my room. My mind is still whirling like Dash at her most hyper at the shocking revelation. Me? With foal? The idea isn't unpleasant, but as I've never been with a stallion, I sure hadn't expected it. Twilight is humming to herself, practically dancing on the tips of her hooves.

"Happy?"

Laughing giddily, Twilight grabs me into a tumble embrace through the old wooden door to my room that turns into a cuddle on the battered old rag rug. "Happy? Oh, Applejack, I'm thrilled. Not only is this the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me, but now I have an explanation as to why I've felt so odd since the equinox! It's been driving me crazy like a stone in my hoof and I couldn't figure it out. I never brought it up to anypony because I didn't have a clue what questions to ask and that was as maddening as feeling odd in the first place!"

Really, I can't help it. From a place so deep down inside my body and soul I don't know that it's ever been touched before, hearty, cleansing laughter erupts. It's exhilarating and exhausting, a great wave of energy that Twilight joins in on, her sweet, girlish laughter delighting me even further.

By the time we wind down to a comfortable quiet, both of us are panting like we just did the Running of the Leaves. "Whoo wee, that's the best laugh ah've had in years. Maybe ever. Ah love you, Twilight Sparkle, ah sure do."

Still chuckling quietly to herself, Twilight snuggles in beside me, legs draped over my chest and belly. "And I love you right back, Applejack. So, you're okay with this?"

Just like that, she sounds worried! It takes some effort to squash down more laughter and I roll to my side so that we can cuddle properly. "Of course ah am, Sugar. Ah was just shocked, that's all. Just because ah'm mostly used to the chaos of bein' around you, doesn't mean that it don't catch me off guard sometimes."

"That's fair," she agrees happily and quiet falls again for a moment. "Babies."

The awe in her tone reflects my own feelings and I can't help but glance down where our legs are intertwined. Neither of our bodies has changed yet, no obvious indication of the magical pregnancies. Only magic could have made this happen. 

"D'ya think they'll look like us?"

Yes, that was my voice that calmly asked that in a conversationally curious tone. No indication of the obvious stress and shock that this day has been to us. Certainly not all of it bad!

Rolling to her customary kittenish pose, Twilight nuzzles me, still wildly grinning. "Guess we'll find out around the next Winter Wrap Up, eh?"

Chuckling at her delight, I nuzzle her flirtatiously. "So, you've been thinkin' that somethin' more than the jewelry happened at equinox?" Even as she tilts her head to allow me better access to her sensitive neck, Twilight goes into lecture mode and rambles on and on about magical unicorn things I have no hope of understanding. Not that I mind listening to her. Even when I don't understand the details, some of the information always seems to sink in. And who knows? With this new revelation, I might need to understand!

In the wee hours of morning, the darkness only just giving way to dawn, a peculiar sensation wakes me. Astonishingly, Twilight is gone, and has been for some time as the sheets are cool with lack of her body heat. Yawning, I roll to my feet and quietly trot through the house, noting that the princesses and one guard are missing as well. Bet my girl is being social with her teacher. It's too rare an occurrence for her and the visit has come at a perfect time. Those two smarties will have a far better chance at figuring this out than earth pony me, but that doesn't mean I can't add in my two bits!

In the cool stillness, I trot about on light hooves, euphoric with happiness and lingering shock. To think that there's a new life growing inside me, echoed in my beloved. Everything seems new, the air and the light, the scents of my adored home. New babies!

"You look happy, Applejack."

The gentle voice doesn't startle me, merely makes me stop and look up to see the Princess of the Sun hovering above me, smiling benignly. "G'mornin' yer highness. Is Twilight with you?" Silent as a feather, she lands beside me and shakes her head with a smile.

"She fell asleep some time ago and my sister is watching over her. How are you feeling?"

"Happy. And b'wildered."

"That's completely understandable. May I have a magical look at you?" It's an odd request and my expression must say that because Celestia smiles wider. "With this being such an unprecedented event, you can't blame an alicorn for being curious. I merely want to learn what I can and to ensure that you and the foal are healthy and coming along nicely. I suspect you are, for Twilight checked out fine to me."

"Sure, go ahead."

With a glowing horn, Celesia peers at me intently, her expression one of concentration. "They're both shy. I could learn nothing of Twilight's child either." The puzzlement in the immortal's tone is actually pretty funny. Bet she doesn't get baffled very often! "You all seem healthy and there is no indication of alarm. Congratulations, by the way."

"Why thank ya, Princess," I laugh in delight and only later will be taken aback by the friendly nuzzle I get on the forehead. Seems I've gone from one family to three!

Well, four really, because the girls are like family to me. To say they're excited by the news is an understatement, the whole gang of them practically suffocating Twilight and I in the ensuing happy pony pile. Everyone we care about has doted on us, even if we both had to kick some tails to be allowed to continue our lives like normal. The days are growing long and hot now and the farm needs me. The slowly growing weight of the foal is not going to slow me down for a long while yet. Though, I already know that I'll have to concede the coming apple buckin' season. Oh, I fully intend on grumbling about it, but I'll allow myself to be taken away from that much loved task. No pony will stop me from helping to haul in the fallen crop though! Even Twilight will be out there, she's looking forward to it as much as I. But for now, I concentrate on the heartbeat of Sweet Apple Acres, tending the trees and fruits and vegetables that are our lifeblood and livelihood. Some nights I go to town to sleep at the library and some nights Twilight comes to me, but neither of us likes to be apart for very long. It's love for sure, growing deeper with time.

We have plans to spend the week around summer solstice in Canterlot with the princesses and Twilight's folks. It promises to be an interesting trip, a chance for her folks to get to know me better and for me to hang out with Luna some more. The mysterious Princess of the Moon has dropped by the farm a couple of times, just to chat and observe the night time activities. When I asked, she told me that the bright day makes her faintly uncomfortable, particularly when the days are so long. I hope she will accept my offer to come hang out during harvest as the weather cools and the nights grow longer. 

"Spike! Have you seen the A Magical Almanac of Wacky Weather?"

Rolling his eyes expressively and making me swallow a laugh, Spike calls back into the depths of the library. "It's packed already! I've checked twice."

My girl is getting worked up and I hook a foreleg around her neck as she trots by and yank her tense body into a hug. "Sugar, please relax. There ain't nothin' in this library that ain't gonna be in Canterlot."

"The Elements of Harmony weren't," she sulks and I chuckle softly.

"Okay, ya got me there. But ah'm still mostly right."

With a gusty sigh that ruffles my mane, Twilight finally relaxes. "Yes you are. I think we had better get going before I drive Spike out of his mind."

"Please!" The little dragon agrees vehemently as he drags over the laden wagon. There's a bit more fussing over what is to be brought along to reduce the weight and we're ready to get going. Twilight gets to pull the wagon first, due to her hyperactivity, and I'll save my strength for the steeper parts of the journey. Spike's dozing weight is a comfort on my back as he was up far too early this morning.

"Have a safe journey!" Rarity calls out as we pass through the town square and we happily call our thank yous. Pinkie pops out of a tree to drop a pair of cupcakes on our noses and she tells us to enjoy and vanishes just as quickly. The hearty laugh raises our already high spirits and makes for an excellent start to our long walk. Through the leafy wonderland that is our homeland, Twilight and I good-naturedly discuss and even argue esoteric points of magic and history. I've learned an impossible lot about both since handing my heart to this smart filly and she's always delighted when she can verbally spar with me like this. It bores Spike to tears, but he brought his comics so he's fine.

We bed down in a well marked rest area just off of the road, joined by a cute family of unicorns on vacation and a couple of tired delivery ponies. It's a pleasant evening and a quiet night among strangers.

But I cannot shake the faint, niggling feeling that something big and ominous is headed our way.
> 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7

++ Twilight ++

No matter how much we talk it out or avoid the strange feeling of impending… something hovering over us, Applejack and I are baffled. There really isn't a thing we can do until we reach Canterlot and most likely we won't be able to get any attention from the princesses until after the solstice and the attendant celebrations. All in all, it's a bit unnerving and I stick close to my strong lover for reassurance. She is so much more down to earth than I, even tempered and calm in the face of the discordant magics that feel as though they are tightening around us like a net.

Day two of our leisurely walk is clouded by the feelings and we make far better time to the central city of Equestria than we normally would have. Applejack is baffled by how busy and noisy it is, but I remember how it gets during midsummer. So many strangers in for the festivities and every business packed to overflowing with all manner of goods and entertainment. 

"It's crazy, huh?"

She only nods at my question, those lovely green eyes casting about to take it all in. Spike drags us over to a gem vendor to indulge his sweet tooth and I follow my nose to a fillyhood favorite of a slightly salty nut treat all the way from Manehattan. They're rare and pricy, but that's what makes them treats!

As the long day begins to cool towards evening, the crowds become too much, even for me. Poor AJ looks a downright unnerved by the chaos and I take mercy on the whole trio of us and lead the way away from the thickening crowds.

"Whoo wee, but that's a whole lot ah ponies," my lover marvels as we come to a slightly quieter district of homes built close together. "We gettin' close?"

It's a small concession that she's getting tired, having pulled my overloaded wagon most of the day. In mute apology, I give her a quick kiss and a pointed look at Spike has him scrambling from her back to mine. "Yes. Just a few more blocks to the northwest and we'll be on my old street."

"Beautiful neighborhood."

Quiet falls between us, a relief from the chaos of the festivities and our unsettled feelings. Having left home to study with Princess Celestia at such a young age, my childhood home has never felt like home to me. It's a place where I stay with my folks and little more. Not that I have any complaints! Luckily, when we come to the building that my parents share with several other tenants, their parlor lights are thankfully ablaze. Since we're a day early, I've had no idea if they would be in or not.

The look on Dad's face is classic as he answers my clop on the heavy door. "Twilight! How good to see you and early no less! Come in, all of you. Applejack, you can just leave that cart off to the side of the entry hall."

"Thank you, sir."

The respectful title pleases Dad, even if he tries to hide it. Mom is surprised to see us early, but greets me with a hug and inquiries how our trip went. Part of my wants to confide my unease, but like the flash of magic at the Spring Equinox, I cannot figure out what questions to ask. 

So, I wait.

My folks have a party to go to and AJ and I gratefully shoo them off to have fun while we get settled in what was once my childhood room. At least the bed is larger, though we'll still have cuddle. No problem there! Spike is perfectly happy with the collection of Dad's magical recordings of plays and music, so we girls can retire early.

Brushed out and with clean teeth, I trot over to imperiously wedge my smaller body against Applejack's warm chest and belly. This is my favorite place in the world I think, wrapped in her strong limbs, her heart a steady tattoo against my sensitive spine. It will get even better later, when the faint bulge of her growing foal presses against me. 

"You feel it, doncha?"

Really, I shouldn't be surprised. She's impossibly sensitive for an earth pony. Twisting to lie on my back, I search the gorgeous green eyes. "There does appear to be something… odd growing more powerful, yes."

"It's like anticipation," she muses, her gaze distant for a moment. "Like when ya see storm clouds brewin'. It don't have to be a bad thing, but it's powerful fer sure. What?"

Doubtlessly, I'm looking at her like a lovesick sap, which is certainly commonplace enough. "Do you know how much it delights me that you appreciate my nerdiness?"

Applejack looks at me like I've gone mad, making me giggle and eagerly accept her kiss. "I like you, smart girl, and I like that you've expanded mah bound'ries. Ah don't get it all, but ah git enough." Her contemplative tone eases into something warmer and more intimate as those strong legs draw me closer. "Now, lemme show you how much ah 'preciate all ah you."

There is no more need for words.

In the morning, Mom is surprised to find us both awake and breakfast made. I laughingly explain that we've been up for some time and push over the plate of fritters and muffins that have the entire house smelling amazing. Any reticence that she might have had melts away in the delicious earthiness of the breakfast treats.

"Oh, Applejack, these are amazing," Mom gushes and my lover shrugs demurely.

"Thank you. Ah don't work much with strawberries, but I reckon they came out pretty nice."

The food gets my folks downright friendly, not to mention coaxes in a bleary Spike, and we five make plans for the day. Those plans become a pleasant day, despite the ever-present niggle of faint alarm in the back of my mind.

I really must get some of Princess Celestia's time once the solstice is over.

As the shortest night of the year falls, we give in to the city alive with music and revelry, dancing our hooves off and laughing until we're breathless. I notice how stallions and mares alike watch my charismatic lover, so different from their snooty city existence. Applejack moves unselfconsciously, dances like tomorrow will never come, eats and drinks with a deep appreciation for the care and ingredients. Even if I were hooked into the odd society rules these city ponies contort themselves into, I would be hard pressed to care in this mare's amazing presence. Let Rarity play that game, I want no part of it!

Wobbly-legged with our strenuous day, we make our winding way back to my childhood neighborhood.

"Ah always did tell Jazz that you kin have a darn good time without lickin' too much salt or alcohol," AJ laughs. It almost covers the shadow of hurt still raw from her brother's abominable attitude and I give her a friendly hip bump.

"I had an amazing night, Love."

"Me too, Sugar."

We sleep like exhausted foals, bleary when my parent's knock wakes us in the dark before this magical dawn. It isn't easy to drag my weary body towards the center of Canterlot, but I feel drawn like iron to a magnet. Whatever has been building magically is coming to some sort of a head. AJ feels it, too, we don't need to discuss it, I can see it in her eyes, in the lines of her body, unconsciously prepared for fight or flight.

We should have stayed with the others, kept the Elements of Harmony a cohesive whole. My token of the Element of Magic, feels unfathomably heavy against my ribs, pressing against the new life in my body.

"Something's not right," I hear myself say, halting in my tracks as surely as if I'd stepped in a hole. "Applejack, we shouldn't be here."

The panic rises quickly, my horn starting to glow, the streams of pedestrians parting like water around a stone. It's growing, a wild outside force pressing its will strong on mine, demanding something that scares me half to death.

"Applejack!"

Both of us are terrified now, wrapped in a foreign magic that has stalked us for so very long. Alarmed, the crowd surges away as we glow brighter and brighter. Like the day I met Spike, the magics overwhelm me, drowning out even the touch and sound of the pony I love more than life.

It is too sudden, too overwhelming, and I am torn away to a blackness that consumes me.

I never even get to see the sunrise.
> 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8

I am exhausted.

This is nothing new, but today has been particularly rough.

That spindly, insect-like creature had been a tough one, quick and lithe with a piercing shriek that still has my ears ringing. Killing it had been a relief. The faceless guards are the same as always, silent automatons that do little more than herd us from one point to the next. Even killing a half dozen of them had garnered no more reaction than jabs from the pain sticks to get me to comply.

That is what we must all do. Comply. For the entertainment of the endlessly hungry crowd, we take to the ring and fight until only one of us lives. I've become a favorite of the screaming, salivating masses because of my very differentness. There are few quadrupeds here, fewer that understand the sorcery that is the subtle heartbeat of this otherworldly place and none that bear my royal color. Some of the fans in the stands have even taken to wearing replicas of my proud horn, its single jutting length another testament to my uniqueness.

They call me Starflash. 

It's not my name, some deep, confused part of me knows this, but it's as good a nomer as any. It describes the strange stamp on my flanks, the incongruously pink starburst like a firework against my purple fur. Though not so odd considering the stripe of that same pink in both mane and tail, highlighted by a deep blue in contrast to the purple. No, I don't know what I am, but I am very different even in a collection of the unusual.

"Nice job, mule," mocks the burly male that is my trainer where he is suddenly leaning negligently against the bars of my cell. "Made quick work of that one."

My glare is halfhearted as I've grown used to his quirks over time. As much as I may hate him, this place and the madness that makes up my life now, his teachings have kept me alive. Long gone is that fearful, confused creature that I was when I came to this place with no memory of what came before. He's seen it all before, though I seem to hold a particular fascination for him.

The freshly slaughtered smell of my neighbor's dinner makes me a bit ill. No surprise as I am quite obviously an herbivore. Many an opponent, derived from predator stock, has underestimated me because of that.

That is the last thing they ever do.

With one ear cocked at my trainer should he speak again, I nose into the lukewarm mash of my own dinner, pleased at the crunchy, hard vegetables there. It gives me something to work at, despite my weariness, something to burn off some of my anger and frustration at what has become of me.

What was I before this? Memories crowd close every moment, a heat mirage of an existence that was once mine. The sorceries of this place that I feel so acutely keep me separated from my memories like a frosted window keeps out weather. No matter how I strain for that knowledge, only vague images come to me.

Grunting with the effort, I use my magics to loosen the intricate straps and buckles that hold my armor close to my hide. Barely thinking about what I'm doing, the golden plate and helmet are levitated to the rack by the door for one of the apprentices to deal with. I was one of the best at the task when new here, the endless repetitive task soothing my nerves and prepping me for what is my sole purpose now. 

"You aren't like the ones that came before."

It is another trainer, obvious by the golden cord tied around his bicep. Licking away the crumbs of my dinner, I raise my head and watch him warily. I can never be certain what sort of personality I'm dealing with. This biped is striking, with a head full of bristling horns, a long face not unlike my own and jet black eyes like polished river stones.

"Sir?"

"When I heard the whisperings, I had to come see. You are indeed as striking as the rumors say."

My itching need to question is tempered by lessons hard won in this hellish place. While I understand that I am a curious creature by nature, it is an indulgence rarely allowed. The bull-headed man stands with arms crossed over his burly chest for long moments before turning his attention to my trainer. To my surprise, they begin conversing in the language they use among themselves and is a mystery to those of us in gladiatorial slavery.

Even more surprising is the ring of crystal tags the newcomer pulls from his belt. Is he trying to buy me? Others have tried, but the smelly behemoth that is in charge of me has laughed at all of them. Until now. Something on the ring of a mere double hooffull of slave tags quiets the mocking laughter. He's actually considering it! In fact, astonishingly, he is taking the three glassy tags offered, reaching to his own ring to reluctantly remove a tag from the metal.

My tag.

Astonished, I can only eye this newcomer as he steps into my cell, the door opening effortlessly at the magical prodding of my slave tag. Stooped under the too-low ceiling, he eyes me for a long moment before speaking. "I know your kind and you are like nothing that has ever come here before. Not the least is that you are a female." Females are rare here, I've noticed that, and nod warily in acknowledgment of the words. With something that might be a faint smile, he speaks again. "You may call me Ahmet. Come now."

Some perverse part of me wants to dig my hooves in and stay in this hellish, but familiar place. Change doesn't bode well to my battered body and soul. But I know as well as any fighter in this place that too much distance between me and the magical tag will result in agonizing pain. At best.

We all know the whispered stories of the violent, messy deaths of those who try to escape.

With a thick arm, Ahmet gathers up my dirty armor where the gold metal looks like little more than a bracer and the helmet, a child's toy. With a glance around the small cell that has been my home since becoming a gladiator, I reluctantly follow.

"In all the time your kind has come to pay tribute to the games, they have all been males and identical in shape and color. So much so, that I was astonished to find that there are those among you that bear neither horn nor wing."

"Wing?"

Startled, I blurt the word out, reassured by that half-smile.

"Indeed. They are called pegasus. You are a unicorn. The two without I have taken to calling elementals because of their personalities and the marks on their flanks. Yes, each of you bears them."

More and more people crowd closer and my alarm grows. There is little random foot traffic near my quarters, well, my old quarters now, and all of these people are unnerving. 

"Come, Starflash."

I have to obey, wanting nothing to do with the pain that will award disobedience. Thankfully, we pass through the pressing throng into more slave quarters, though these are on a much larger scale than where I have just come from. Dust flies from opened cells, accompanied by the sounds of industrious cleaning. This aisle is clearly in far better shape than I've been accustomed to. That's something. While I live, my existence may be slightly better now.

A negligent gesture has me following Ahmet into a workshop where he prods at my armor, murmuring to himself. Still tired and with only half my dinner in me, I park my rear on the hard packed earth and wait patiently.

"You are not marked with a collar as the others are."

Yes, damn him, I'm curious, but hold my own council, only my cocked head betraying my need to know.

"I have seen you fight and you are as different from them as night to day, despite the commonality of the dimension you hail from. There is magic in you that you have not yet tapped into."

My former trainer is not a talker and this casual conversation is disorienting. "It has kept me alive."

That odd smile says more than I can understand. "Indeed. Come meet the others."

Following Ahmet, we round a corner and I cannot help but freeze in shock. They are indeed shaped like me, oh a bit different in shape and size, but the kinship is unmistakable. The closest one is vivid pink, brighter than raw, torn flesh, the cheerfulness of the shade incongruous in this place. Her mane and tail have been shorn brutally short and her coat is dusty as though she's rolled in the dirt. Around her neck is an intricate gold collar set with a brilliant blue stone shaped like perhaps some sort of exotic fruit?

"Filthy again, Crazy-Eyes?" Ahmet sighs with something like exasperated fondness in the deep voice. "Really, you cannot stay clean, can you?"

The pink quadruped makes a rude noise and butts her head against the bars as though seeking affection. Ahmet does not respond to the silent plea, nor can I blame him. There is something feral and completely insane lurking in the glassy blue eyes. This is a warrior who an opponent would have to hack to pieces simply because she isn't sane enough to know she is dead. 

Next door to Crazy-Eyes is a bony pile of fur that barely looks to be alive. She too is strangely cheery colors, a close-cropped ridge of pale pink fur running down her neck and a flowing banner of tail in the same shade. Her hide is a soft, sunny yellow, and when she raises her head and begins to climb to her feet, I see wings wearily flick back into place along her ribs. Like the first, there is a necklace, only the stone is pink and in a shape I don't recognize. Some sort of insect? What really stands out about this one is the stark, bleak depression in her watery eyes. She has not adapted well to this new life, it has broken her spirit and left her little more than a shell. How has she survived the fights? But survive she has, the tales of those battles written in scars on her sunny hide, in the shadows in her hollow gaze.

The two creatures that share my shape are disconcerting at best.

The magics imprisoning me are pressing hard against my soul, burning like acid, and I have to turn away from the two strange ponies. Ponies? Where did that word come from? Is that what we are? Shaking off the curiosity, a survival technique to avoid the pain, I put the two pathetic creatures out of my mind.

A snort captures my attention and I look over into the most striking green eyes. The blast of familiarity makes me cry out, my vision going white. Even as darkness closes in, I hear my bleat of pain echoed.

In time, my consciousness and sense of self returns. Sorcery buzzes faintly nearby and the omnipresent sounds of this life are muted in the cool air. It is night then. Blinking slowly, I allow all my senses to come alive, the haziness receding. Astonishingly, there is a thick, luxurious bed of prickly grass stalks cushioning my limp body instead of the hard dirt pack I've grown accustomed to. Apparently my impressions of Ahmet may indeed be true; that he is a far better overseer than the oaf I was trained by.

The cell is also enormous compared to what I've had. Four of my old cells would fit in here! The space makes me feel indulgent and I stretch every muscle group, enjoying the pleasant strain and ending in a luxurious yawn. There is activity across the way where a squat being with six limbs and no discernible features scrubs diligently at my armor.

Except… it's not my armor.

Well, that clinches it. The other quadrupeds who share my shape are certainly from whatever dimension I came from. The armor is proof of that. The set the apprentice is working on is far more battered than mine, proof that my kinsmare has a far different style than myself.

"Ain't got no magic," comes an unexpected voice, rich with aloof disdain. The electric tingle of connection makes me wince and I jerk my gaze away from those bright green eyes. I hadn't even seen her in the shadows behind the apprentice.

"Well, you've obviously held your own without it," I concede reluctantly, not wanting to alienate her. It's difficult to discern details in the flickering torchlight, but the mane is a pale blur, long like mine and her hide a ruddy, fiery orange. There are what looks like deliberate scarifications mixed in with the lines of battlescars on the familiar round skull and short muzzle, tracing down to the deep chest and strong forelegs. One ear is mostly gone, the ragged stump almost lost in the pale mane. 

"Yer the one Ahmet's been lookin' for. Seein's as we're obviously kin and all."

The style of speech is so very different, the words accented oddly, shortened up in strange places. It, too, seems so very familiar. Shaking off the pain of remembering, I focus on the stranger and shrug. "I suppose we must be. It seems a perverse gift to bring us together only to watch the others die."

She flinches at that and I'll bet my horn that she has already watched some of our kin die. Frankly, the idea is already starting to bother me. It seems so much worse that I should care about these strangers that surely must not be strangers at all.

A flurry of activity draws away our attention and I see the pegasus appear at the bars of her cell beside the orange one. Snorting with high emotion, Ahmet stomps into the courtyard and violently hurls a crushed and bloodied pile of clanking golden metal to the rubbish pile. 

The armor looks empty and pathetic without the pony who wore it.

I didn't know the crazed pink kinsmare who has obviously died this night. She was nothing more than a passing encounter only made distinct by the broken bond between us. 

I will never know who she was.

Scrubbing his face with big hands, Ahmet struggles for calm, breathing deeply. When he addresses the trio of us, the deep voice is deliberately steady. "Starflash, meet Kicker and Berserker. Get some more rest. We'll all need it."

The apprentice's six big paws are shaking.

Come morning, I begin learning my new routines. A hearty, warm mash full of grain and vegetables tastes immeasurably better than the slop I've been eating and it makes me feel strong and sound. Ahmet opens the cells and Kicker is immediately in the courtyard, stretching and prancing about to warm up. She is a magnificent figure, ropy with muscle and light on her hooves. I can't help but admire her physicality that stands in such contrast to my smaller, lighter frame. Berserker slinks into the sunlight, close to the ground and looking ready to bolt. As Ahmet and Kicker pay the behavior no mind, I file my observations away and once more wonder how she has survived this long.

Sans armor and the razor-edged golden shoes, Kicker and I dance about one another in the courtyard. It's exhilarating, sparring with this stranger who feels so familiar. It's as though I dreamed her, vivid and almost real, only to find something impossibly near to that dream. We speak little, none of us wanting the pain of magically repressed memories, but the electric tingle of connection is unavoidable.

Over the next two days, Kicker and I learn that we are an amazing team. Ahmet watches us quietly, only interjecting his opinion when he has something pertinent to say. It's a far more efficient technique than the haranguing of the last idiot that I am already putting out of my mind.

Forgetting is very easy here.

Berserker does not spar. She hangs in the shadows and watches us with those hollow, stricken eyes. Something about her calls to me and one afternoon I perversely try to coax her out in the filmy sunlight by dancing around playfully and… smiling. Blowing air through flared nostrils, my chin on the ground, sends eddies of dust towards the timid pegasus. When she giggles thinly, I think she's more surprised than I am. Suffused with a feeling of happiness as foreign as breathing water, I leap away, to prance playfully about Kicker, who eyes me as though I've gone mad.

Perhaps I have.

Seeing Berserker perk up, Kicker shrugs and joins me in the cavorting and, miracle of miracles, the trio of us find ourselves dancing about in a fog of dust. Laughter rings through our hell for an endless moment, before the shock of the confining magics sends us all to our knees.

After that, we soberly go our separate ways for the rest of the day.

It's so obvious that we were close once; but I do my best to put it out of my mind. Their faces haunt me, even when we are not together, together with others like us, hazy in my mind's eye. 

On the fifth day, Berserker is dragged away, whimpering in fear, hooves digging furrows in the dirt where we had played. 

She does not return.

"Only us now," Kicker whispers mournfully. "D'ya think death is a way out?"

"Maybe the only way out," I reply without thinking. Neither of us will sleep well for many days.

On a whim, Ahmet arranges a tag team match for Kicker and me. He doesn't bother to even look in our training sessions anymore, as we work so well together. There's no reason to not exploit that. Our first match is a near disaster, but my slip is covered by Kicker, the one who would have killed me falling in a spray of orange blood. There's a reason Ahmed started calling her by that name! It's the first time I've seen how deadly she really is and I vow to step up my game.

Six matches pass and we are undefeated. Our personal relationship is bizarre, an intimacy that is completely hands off. Oh, how I want to be closer to her, my fascination like a living thing inside me, but we are not allowed that.

The pain does not stop our eyes from straying to one another all too often.

My internal compass is off now, the weeks and weeks of being close to this extraordinary soul changing the rules. Before, I feared only for my own life, and time had made me numb to even that. Now, I fear for her life.

It will ruin me.

The arena is a massive structure of seemingly endless ripples of stands reaching to the sky. They are always full and they are always loud. And they are always bloodthirsty.

There are no details, only a blur of shapes and colors. No gladiator pays attention to the stands anyway. That is a sure way to get oneself killed. No, all that matters in that vast circle of hard packed dirt and whatever is sent in to destroy you. Large and small, armored and soft, quick and slow, I have seen all manner of opponent. None of them really make an impression on me, as they are merely an obstacle to overcome. All of them are whisked away by magic once I kill them.

One day, fighting side by side with Kicker, I spot something that shocks me. A presence makes itself known amidst the chaos of the crowd. A hole of darkness, an evil presence that I instinctively know is the force behind this hell.

Shaken by the unexpected realization, my life is only spared by Kicker's diligence.

She saves me frequently as the bouts get harder and harder. I save her nearly as often, our teamwork thrilling the voracious crowd. But they will tire of us, it is inevitable, and that scares me far more than the fellow slaves I face in the ring.

It's been several weeks since we've been in the ring, both of us still recovering from a battle that was nearly the end. Honestly, I don’t know how we survived. Kicker has begun working out again, but I can see that she is not sound. She may never be sound again. We can both feel it, the damage that we have sustained so often that we barely feel the pain anymore.

Ahmed told me the day we met that I have depths of magic that I have not tapped. Frankly, that thought scares me more than any other threat here, including my own death. I have done terrible things, torn other intelligent beings limb from limb with the sorcerous power I wield. I have impaled them on my seemingly insignificant horn, slashed them with the razors on my feet, stomped and kicked them to death. So much blood has soaked my hide I wonder sometimes it has not dyed me the color of death.

Yes, the fact that I may be capable of so much worse frightens me.

When Ahmet comes for us, Kicker and I see the truth in his dark gaze. For a long moment I cannot look away. How many beings see their own death sentence in another's eyes? Then I look to Kicker and she too sees it. In that meeting of our gazes, we say our silent goodbyes.

One last time, I focus my magic and don the battered golden armor that is the symbol of a home I am not allowed to remember.

One last time, I follow the guards through the maze of slave quarters.

One last time I hear my razor-shod hooves ring against the stone of the long, dark tunnel where countless others have gone to meet their deaths.

Eyes closed, I stride proudly into the ring, head held high, and let the discordant energy of the crowd wash over me. 

"Prove 'em wrong?"

Kicker's voice is for my ears only, and I find myself smiling at her. In that moment I know deep in my heart that I love her. I may have always loved her.

"Prove them wrong, indeed."

She smiles almost shyly as I lean in to touch foreheads with her, our helmets clinking. It is a brief goodbye, a desperate, silent plea for a miracle.

But the pair of creatures that enter the ring from the opposite side are chilling, suffocating the faint tendrils of hope. One is not much larger than we, only spindly and bearing a foursome of colorful, translucent wings. An insectoid of some sort, iridescent green and purple as though its ancestors had little need of camouflage. Then again, look at me. Besides, as it darts high above, it's fast enough that camouflage would be a waste. The second creature is some unfathomable conglomeration of stones that lumber in comparison to the insect, but impossibly quick for something that should not even be animate.

Something whizzes sharply and Kicker and I leap apart to avoid the spray of deadly little darts that kick up little clouds of dust. Even as I blur into motion, I call up my arcane energies, priming all my skills and knowledge to once more fight for my life.

Fearful and exhilarated, I match wits and skills with the flashy insect. It is faster, but I wield better weapons. One of its wings shatters like glass and I smile grimly as I dodge more of the darts. The damn thing seems to have an inexhaustible supply of them! Kicker snorts and the stone monster grinds menacingly. When my opportunity comes, I almost miss it, tired and sore and worn down by this insane life. Gathering my strength, I launch myself like a comet away from the earth, streaking towards my enemy. It flew too low and now it is mine.

Its carapace shatters satisfyingly as I ram it, twisting my body away to miss the rake of those scythe-like forelimbs. It almost works, but fiery pain rakes over my ribs and spine. That feels like a nasty flaying, my left hind leg tingling alarmingly. Time to finish the thing before it really does kill me. 

Reversing my magical flight, I ram the thing into the dirt as hard as I can walk away from. Blinking gore from my eyes, I immediately whirl to help Kicker.

Only a moment more would have been enough.

The stone monster's great club arm is already in motion, even as I scream warning, too far away, too tired and off balance to do more than cry out. In horrific slow motion, the battered, dusty stones bash my love like a child angry with her toys.

I can hear the crunch even over the roar of the crowd.

Something inside of me shatters like frozen glass in a blinding wave of agony like nothing I have ever felt and…

And I remember.

My parents, my life changing when accepted by Princess Celestia for special teaching. Spike's sweet little face, new from his egg. Pinkie Pie, always so fun and unpredictable, the life of the party. Sweet, timid Fluttershy, her kind soul broken by this place. The faces of Rarity and Rainbow Dash, whose fates I will never know.

My beloved Applejack, the first pony to welcome me to Ponyville, doing her best to warm up my aloof attitude. Finding friendship and trust that became love. Our lean, muscled bodies that hold no sign of the foals we once carried.

This hell has taken all of that from me.

Ahmet once echoed Princess Celestia in telling me that I have powers I have yet to tap.

Screaming with a rage I cannot contain, I let it come to me.

The force of the very stuff of creation flashes a needle of power to me that feels as though I have swallowed a thousand suns. Oh how it burns… but I welcome it. Immolation is my only escape, all I want now that everything I love is gone. But, by all that is good and holy, I will take them with me as I go.

I am rage.

I am revenge.

And I let loose.
> 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 9

++ Applejack ++

I leave one nightmare only to find myself in a new one.

Trembling with exhaustion like nothing I've ever felt before, I scrabble weakly away from the searing heat, tumbling down to a hard surface that jars me like a hoof to the head. Why am I so weak? What is happening?

Someone is screaming, a feral roar of emotion that makes my soul hurt. It tears at my heart and makes me whimper like a puppy. Suddenly, there is a whirlwind of sound and fury, more voices raised unnaturally loud, the sound sucked away by the howling vortex. The world around me flashes black and blindingly bright, like a strobe light gone mad, burning my eyes despite the leg I weakly throw across them.

With a last rush of sound and fury, it just… stops.

The quiet is deafening, only the weak cries of the terrified and the wounded, the crackle of fire and the rattle and thud of falling debris.

"Applejack? Applejack? Are you all right?"

Wait, I know that voice. With my body like lead, it is a terrific struggle to move my protective leg, I heave myself over and get rubbery legs beneath me. When did the foal get so unwieldy? Great sun and moon, I feel like I'm carrying Big Macintosh around my middle! Blinking in the smoky light, I raise my head to rest my chin on the bed which I have only just fallen from.

Sure enough, I am suddenly nose to nose with a very surprised Princess Luna. "Oh, thank all that is holy, you're alive," she breathes and her dark horn flares with energy. Gentle as my Mama once cradled my baby filly self, I am levitated to be tucked against the princess' lanky body.

Outside, we are attacked by the rest of the gang, all of them talking and crying at once. My strength is slowly returning, though I could do without the battering hugs of my hysterical friends! "Dang it, fillies, stop beatin' me like a bag ah oats! Ah'm fine! What in tarnation's got y'all actin' like a buncha hysterical chickens?"

It's Dash that has the strongest hold on me, choking tight around my neck, her whole body shaking like a leaf. Rarity is draped all over me like a winter saddle and both Pinkie and Fluttershy have managed to shove their heads in to press almost painfully against mine.

Suddenly I know, as sure as there are three apples on each of my flanks, that it had been no dream. The horror of it washes over me, stills all of our bodies like a single entity. "I was the first one to come back," Dash breathes, her nose in my ear. "I didn't last long there. Rarity was close behind. We waited so impossibly long for the rest of you, watching over your bodies day after day, night after night. Us and our families and the princesses and seems like half of Equestria. But you wouldn't wake up! It's been months, Applejack. Months."

When I squirm, they lean away only enough to make eye contact. I search Dash's gaze, then Fluttershy, then Pinkie, seeing the shared trauma. Doubtlessly, Rarity, still heavy against my back, also wears the scars in her eyes.

"Twilight?"

I almost don't want to ask, my voice a hoarse whisper. Dash's fuchsia gaze flickers over my shoulder and I twist around, putting a leg around Rarity without thinking about it. From the rubble of whatever building that once was, Princess Celestia strides out, the smoke billowing around her. Shockingly, she is covered in burns and cuts, trailing white feathers and speckles of blood in the snow. Her wings and ears are still smoking, one eye twisted painfully shut. Cradled in the royal one's glowing magic, looking small and frail, is my dearest love.

When I tense to move, I am held fast by my friends, and the grim, gentle voice of Luna. "She has not yet returned, Applejack, but she lives. Come to the castle proper and we will explain as best we are able."

That was three days ago.

Everything is still filtering through my shock and pain. Honestly, the whole thing is so unbelievable that I'm having real trouble getting my brain around it. The memories are so hazy that how is a sane pony supposed to believe that it really happened? How do I accept that nightmare as truth? 

The princesses have been very candid with me. They told me in cracked monotones, their pain as obvious as my own. 

Back in time far enough that even the princesses are at a loss to remember details, when my ancestors were only just figuring out how to be civilized, the alicorns were faced with an enemy from some far off dimension of magic that could destroy the fabric of our reality. It was bigger and meaner than them and could wipe Equestria from reality. Faced with that, the alicorns didn't have a choice but to take the deal the nasties offered them. Rather than have our realm destroyed as sure as heat destroys mold in cider, there would have to be a sacrifice. 

On random Summer Solstices, a small contingent of ponies must go and fight in the horrible blood games I only dimly remember. Turns out the royal guards have been built around this core purpose. Generation after generation of them knowing what would be asked of them one day. Sobering stuff. Though it explains the vastness of the guard and their uniformity. It always happens at the Summer Solstice, the grandeur of Celestia's ritual raising of the sun covering the collapse of the guards that are chosen.

Only this time, something went dreadfully wrong.

We're all in agreement that it must have something to do with the power of the Elements of Harmony, once again returned from whatever mysterious place they come from. My fur is still ruffled into the shape of the golden necklace where I wore it for so long. Like the horror of the hazy memories, it will take time to fade. Each of us has been changed by the experience and a sobriety hangs over us like a fog. We haven't talked about what happened as much as we probably should be doing, after all we can heal in the sharing, but we're obviously not ready yet. And the others have had a lot longer to process than I.

Right now, I'm more worried about Twilight.

Despite my exhaustion from being bedridden for more than six months, I cannot sleep or eat with any normalcy. Luckily for me, the princesses' magics kept my body from deteriorating too much and I'm in far better condition than I can believe, given that I was celebrating Summer Solstice and now it's winter partner has passed! I lay in the comfortable bed with my lover, watching over her quiet body, hoping against hope to see those beautiful violet eyes open and reassure me that everything's going to be okay.

There is a flutter of sound, one that is unnatural enough that I have never heard it before, and I look up to see a very sober Celestia looking mournfully at Twilight and myself. I have no feelings towards her right now, numbed by what has happened to us.

"Centuries ago, the bargain we struck with those faceless, dark forces, was the only choice we had. It has never struck so close to home before."

"Does it bother ya?"

Yes, that was my voice that just so tactlessly asked that. Celestia looks utterly startled and I'm perversely reassured by her very normal reaction somehow making her so much more accessible. Then her expression wracks with pain. "It tears out my heart every time."

The hurt in her voice is real, as is the gentle touch of one golden-shod hoof to the white and pink star on Twilight's hip. In our mutual adoration of this wonderful young mare, we are of a mind. While it's really strange to find myself in this position with our immortal leader, I'll accept it and move on. What else can I do?

"Why don't ya hop up here and keep us company fer a bit. She'll like that."

Startled again, Celestia looks pathetically grateful for the invite and she very carefully climbs into the huge bed to settle against Twilight's back. After Twi blew up the hospital that had been caring for us, Celestia put us in her own rooms. It's surprisingly cozy, warm with the same colors of her strange, rainbow mane that tickles my hide with its constant, magical motion.

Sighing wearily, I rest my head beside Twilight's on the thick pillow, taking in her warm scent and the unique press of her horn on my forehead. I have to shift around a bit to get more comfortable, as we're both as big as barrels now. Magic kept our bodies and our children whole while we were gone and for that I am thankful. Poor Twilight, I fear for her and the foal grown large on her delicate frame.

"Ah was fascinated the moment she stepped onto Sweet Apple Acres." I'm too raw to fight the soft words that suddenly pour out of me. Without looking, I know that Celestia is listening closely. Dunno if Rarity might be, too, as she'd been napping next to the bed. "Had the whole clan there and we ganged up on her to eat somethin'. Wasn't easy, she was so focused on makin' sure everything was right for ya visitin' Ponyville and wantin' to investigate Nightmare Moon. Then we were off on that adventure ta stop Nightmare Moon and all made friends and little by little ah lost mah heart. Good thing she took good care of it for me. Ah miss you, Twi. Come back to me."

Then I feel it.

A spark like static electricity or the energy of the zap apple trees beneath the clouds they gather to do their magic. There is a shift in Twilight's breathing, a hitch in the mechanical evenness of it, something that might be a sigh… or a sob.

Forcing calm, I open my eyes and stare at her closed eyelids, willing her to me with everything I am. "Remember that first adventure, Sugar? The cliff cracked and we all went a'fallin'. You were so scared hangin' from that cliff edge and I asked you to trust me. Ah'm askin' you again, Twilight Sparkle. Ah'm askin' ya to trust me that yer safe here with me. No one's gonna hurt you anymore. Trust me." There's a twitch and my heart is in my throat as her hooves bump my swollen belly. "C'mon, Darlin'. Me and the foals are waitin' here for ya. Come back to us."

There have been a great many milestones with this sweet girl, adventures and high emotions and mutual adoration, but it all pales in comparison of her blurred eyes blinking open at me. Like that first moment of danger we shared on that dark, frightening cliff, I force calm and smile lovingly at her.

"Welcome home, Love."

Swallowing hard, Twilight blinks once, twice, her gaze clearing, the pupils focusing on my face. "Applejack," she breathes softly and it is the sweetest benediction. Shuddering sharply with relief, I close my eyes against the blur of tears and press my lips to her forehead. Only then do I feel the heat of magic in her horn and it makes me smile.

Rarity gasps and sobs herself before Celestia casts some sort of bubble around the three of us and remains perfectly silent and still as Twilight gathers herself. Those bright eyes, so close to the color of her coat, watch me with complete attention as I quietly tell her the bare bones of what happened to us. Without a word, she listens before clinging close to me and sobbing quietly until we both fall asleep.
> 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 10

++ Twilight ++

For two days, I have done little but listen intently and bask in the attentions of my loved ones. Everyone I adore most in the world has come to quietly reconnect with me, voices hushed and eyes wet with tears. Apple Cider kissed my forelock as warmly as my own father and even old Granny Smith had a nuzzle and a cuddle for me. The other Elements of Harmony and Spike are always close, sometimes the seven of us, sometimes in twos and threes. The Princesses, one or the other and often both, are with me constantly.

Applejack has only left my side when forced to get some exercise by family and friends. Everyone has a piece of the story of our insane adventure, our souls torn away to sacrifice for our very realm. I absorb every word, my intellect calming my animal brain, putting the horrific experience in as much perspective as I can.

The foal feels impossibly strange and heavy inside me. I have lost so much time with this new, mysterious life and that upsets me as much as what I have experienced at the arena. Restless and alive with magic, the baby shifts and sparks sorcerous power almost constantly now, readying itself to come into the world. Astonishingly, Applejack's foal feels the same, despite her being an earth pony, supposedly without inherent magics of her own. Personally, I have my doubts about that! I think the princesses are more fascinated by the baby mystery than any of us.

My attention focused on my coming child allows me some breathing room from the memories that hound me like timber wolves. It is somewhat karmic that the nightmares that woke me screaming that first natural sleep have been mostly held at bay by the Princess of the Moon. She explains that she did the same for each of my friends when they returned, helping them each to heal. My heartfelt gratitude pleases her enormously, and that makes me glad. 

On the third day, I wake with the sunset, disturbed from my sleep by the royal sisters switching places in the bed. I love that they have watched over Applejack and me during all of this, coddling us like invalids. But it is time to step past what we have been through and start healing. 

With that in mind, I do my best to roll to my swollen belly and stretch like a cat. A soft chuckle makes me smile at my teacher, the expression willingly returned. "I look forward to being able to do that properly. Would you take a walk with me?"

"I would be delighted."

My awe of the magnificent Princess of the Sun has been worn away by my dark adventure in the arena and I can see more of what makes her an individual, no matter how different she and her sister are from all other ponies. I suspect that she and Luna both enjoy the small normalcy. "I feel stronger today." I breathe into the chill of the deepening night as I sit on the balcony where I have so many times with my teacher.

"A blessing," Celestia agrees.

"Thank you for taking care of all of us."

"Caring for you, your friends, and your coming children kept my sanity. Those cursed games have never hit so close to home before." The pain in her tone warms me that she cares enough to be so upset. Her gaze drops to mine and her tone becomes more conversational. "Did you know that you very well may have broken the curse?"

"What?" I blurt out, startled.

"It's true. The portal, weak as it is when closed, was always there, at the edge of my perceptions. A dark reminder, if you will. Neither myself or Luna can sense it any longer. Your rage at watching Applejack fall seems to have been enough to close it, hopefully forever."

"Wow."

"Haven't I always told you how powerful you are?"

The words are a painfully familiar jolt. Someone in that hellish place told me that once. Shrugging off the wrenching sensation, I return my attention to the conversation. "Part of me would like to stay here. The familiarity is soothing."

"But it is no longer home."

Her soft voice is warm and yet regretful and I look up into the familiar eyes and nod. "My home is among the apples now. The clan as well as the trees. Would you be willing to take the whole gang of us home?"

"It would be my pleasure."

Once back in the safety of Ponyville, we have all recovered nicely, the horror of the gladiatorial games fading to hazy memories. Oh, we have all been changed forever, a sobriety clinging to we six that I suspect will never go away. Perhaps, in some small way, it is for the best. Only time will tell.

Despite the cold of winter still thick in the air and on the ground, Applejack and I spend most of our time at the library rather than Sweet Apple Acres. Spring will be here soon and neither of us will be away from the farm much then! In the meantime, as swollen with pregnancy as we both are, we're sticking close to town where our friends are. In fact, as Winter Wrap Up once more draws closer and closer, at least one of them is pretty much on hand day and night. Luckily, no one is stupid enough to keep us from participating in cleaning up winter, even if we can only supervise! In the Town Hall, I coordinate with the Mayor, assisted by the lovely Mrs Cake, who is only half as pregnant as I. Applejack fitfully paces the huge room, wanting so badly to be out there doing something instead of being trapped here. But it's too cold out there for the foal and she knows it. Members of the plant team come and go to speak with her, but Carrot Top seems to be handling AJ's usual position adequately. 

Both of us are antsy and restless with the year-long pregnancy, long even with half of it lost to our experience at the arena. We're more than ready for the children, but they are stubbornly holding to their own time-line, whatever that might be. But I know the doctor will be taking measures to hurry them along if they don't make an appearance within the next few days.

"Honey? Are you okay?"

Yanking my attention back to the here and now, I'm struck by how oddly Mrs. Cake is looking at me. That's overshadowed by the weird sensation stealing over me, reminding me far too closely of being abducted away to those bloody games. 

"I'm... I'm not sure," I hesitate, not having the words to explain how odd and disjointed I feel right now. There's a deep, wrenching sensation deep in my body and soul that I have never felt before.

I'm shocked out of my rising panic by a bellow from Applejack.

"Ow! Dang it!"

Even as I struggle to stand, I note that she sounds more annoyed than anything else. But any effort to rush to my lover is cut short by another wrenching sensation. Blowing out a hard breath, I let my eyes focus again and euphoria replaces the pain.

"The equinox is tonight isn't it?"

Intrigued, Mrs. Cake nods where she's helping me back to shaky hooves. "Yes, it is. The teams will be especially busy tonight."

"So will Applejack and I!"

Laughing giddily, I toddle across the room even as Mrs. Cake hollers for the Mayor to send a runner for the doctor. My ruddy-hued lover is standing near the door, looking stiff-legged and uncomfortable. "Seems the muffins are a comin' right at the year mark, huh, Sugar?"

We're both grinning idiotically and I kiss her soundly as Derpy Hooves whizzes past our heads with her important message for the doctor. Soon our friends and family will gather for the momentous event in a big blur of noise and love. "Happy anniversary."

Hours later, it doesn't seem nearly as sweet and humorous. It feels as though, once again, something bigger and more powerful then myself has taken over my body and I'm helpless to do anything about it. When I whine that sentiment pathetically at my hovering mother, she chuckles and tells me I have it just about right. She has been in town for several weeks now, my father commuting back and forth as often as he can to be with us. I think she likes it here more than she thought she would. Pink Lady had arrived at a dead gallop only minutes behind Mom and she smiles at me where she sits with her straining daughter.

The time is close now, there is a different urgency to the straining in my exhausted body as I struggle to complete this birthing task. Grunting and wet with sweat, I gather my sanity and scoot over to press my nose into Applejack's neck. Immediately, she does the same and we are once again bound together in the magic that produced these children in the first place.

And it seems that is all they needed.

With one, last, great effort, our straining bodies in sync, there is a final climax of pain, euphoria and sorcery. Utterly spent, I can only collapse, dimly noting I can once more sprawl on my stomach, and pant into my love's blonde mane. 

A collective gasp of shock somehow does not surprise me. "Bet there's something unusual about our children," I murmur into Applejack's mane, basking in her loving chuckle.

"Bet yer right, Sugar."

Looking down the sturdy, orange body, I watch as Pink Lady gathers up the squirmy bundle that is her grandfoal. "Ah-mazin'," she breathes in wonder, cradling the infant close. "Applejack, darlin'? Ah do b'lieve that all this magic has resulted in a miracle."

"Two of them," Mother adds.

Held in the cradle of Pink Lady's forelimbs, is a foal the likes of which I have never seen before. A little colt, his fur all the shades of the Elements of Harmony, the nub of a horn on his head... a fluttery little wings.

"Wow," Applejack comments and I can't help but laugh. Bet my youngster is at least as startling. Right on cue, the royal sisters arrive in an exhausted, disarrayed tizzy, scattering the hospital staff like frightened chickens. Before they can speak, their eyes fall on the babes, even as I roll over to meet my newborn child.

"They're alicorns," Luna squeaks out in complete shock and I hold out eager hooves, noting that the match to Applejack's foal is a little girl with the same striking coloring. And she too has both wings and horn. Leaning heavily on one another, ignoring everypony around us, Applejack and I cuddle our foals and soak in the moment. Warm towels are draped around the whole family of us, but the others give us a moment to bond.

"They're jus' perfect," Applejack breathes reverently, touching both of them gently, nuzzling them and me lovingly. 

"I agree. See, we were right that they were going to be special."

"They ain't gotta be alicorns for that."

We chuckle together and admire the babes for a bit longer before reluctantly handing them off to the medical staff to be checked over. It makes me feel better that the fascinated royal sisters are overseeing the whole operation. It's not like anyone in Equestria knows how to deal with an alicorn but those two!

Quickly, everypony is cleaned up and we're cuddled into a big nest of blankets and towels with the sleepy new foals, who have cleared their check up with flying colors and have suckled with no problems and now sleep with infant abandon. Dash arrives first, no surprise, still cold and wet with her efforts with the Weather Team, an incoherently excited Pinkie clinging to her back.

"Wow! They totally look like twins!" Dash is right of course, they really do look remarkably similar, particularly since their coloring is so wild. "Oh clouds and stars, is it gonna be awesome fun to teach you two to fly!"

Pinkie is silently fascinated, visibly quivering with the effort of behaving herself and staying quiet. It's adorable and I hug her tightly. "Pretty soon, they'll be having all sorts of fun with you too."

She smiles in that hugely luminous way only Pinkie seems to be able to do. 

They don't stay long, still needed outdoors to finish bringing in spring. Fluttershy arrives next, cooing over the babies and curling up beside us to watch over them so that we can nap. Neither Applejack nor I have spoken much, too caught up in the visceral experience of magic and love and new life.

When we wake, our mothers have left and Rarity is speaking quietly with the princesses. In an oversized basket, swaddled up warmly, the babes still sleep, but they will wake soon, hungry. I don't know how I know this, but I do.

"Well, Twilight and Applejack, it seems that you will be seeing much more of myself and Luna," Celestia teases warmly as she grins at us and the babies. Luna nods emphatically.

"There is much they will need to know from us."

"Ah course," Applejack agrees readily, kissing me quickly before getting to wobbly legs. "That is some hard work like ah ain't never done before!" She leans down to snuffle over the foals and they stir with small, hungry noises. "Y'know, Twi, we said we wouldn't worry 'bout names till they were born. I have an  idea."

"I'm all ears, My Love."

Stretching away some of the soreness, I join her, gathering up the closer of the babes, the little boy. We cradle them close, our bodies pressed even closer, and stare in wonderment at the little miracles. Then Applejack grins mischievously at the princesses. "Since y'all are sun and moon, I think these new alicorns should be Dusk and Dawn."

"Oh, that's wonderful, AJ! Inspired even. Welcome to Equestria, Dusk and Dawn."
> Epilog
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

EPILOG

Happiness is like a drug, a sweet euphoria that consumes my days and nights. In the cool of fading spring, the twins cavort about with their doting aunts, determined to keep up. They have been named Dusk and Dawn for their striking coloring. Bisected from chest to tail, they are my purple on their top halves, and Applejack's orange on belly and legs. Their stubby wings are Fluttershy's buttery yellow and the longer feathers are Dash's blue. Mane and tail are Rarity's deep purple, striped with a wildly kinky pink lock like Pinkie's.

One of the princesses is always in attendance to the youngsters. These foals are a legacy of more than just Applejack and I, more than the Elements of Harmony, more than the regal sister of sun and moon. They are a new future.

"Mama!" Dawn burbles happily, toddling over on his stubby legs to collapse onto my forelegs. He squeaks and I automatically shift his weight a bit so that he's not kinking his wings. The poor dears have so much magic and so many limbs to learn to coordinate! Babbling at me in baby speak, my son tells me about his day, his games with his aunties and sister and Appy. That's what they call Applejack. When Dusk came up with it, my lover shrugged and said it was close enough to 'daddy' and the moniker has stuck. 

Dawn may have been birthed by Applejack, but he is every inch my son too. So much like me, intent and interested in the world around him, but more cautious than his devil-may-care sister. Even now, Dusk giggles and screams happily as Dash and Fluttershy toss her carefully back and forth like a beach ball; many pony-lengths from the ground. The stubby wings buzz wildly and I know she will fly at an early age. So much alike in color and conformation, we all call them twins, despite them not sharing a womb. The little darlings were created simultaneously by magic, conceived and later birthed at the height of the Spring Equinox. Twins seems one of the more mundane things to call them!

Today is another milestone as Luna is busy teaching Applejack some of what she will need to know about the infant alicorns. The princesses have magicked up a talisman for her to mimic flight and enable her to help control her powerful children. My flight talisman is nearly done and I both look forward to and dread the lessons. Wingless ponies are meant to keep their hooves on the ground! But we'll never keep up with the twins if we don't take this step. Despite her natural fear, Applejack listens closely to the moon sister and nods along. As with everything she does, my darling will excel at this. And the foals will be thrilled to have us to fly with when we are all ready for that step. 

"What are you doing, silly boy?"

My teasing question makes Dawn giggle and continue to bat at my chin with his little hooves. So, I happily oblige him and lean down to make those obscene farting sounds against his soft belly that make him laugh so. Soon, he is breathless and weak with laughter and I can lean away from flailing hooves. Little guy is getting stronger every day! 

"Look at your Appy," I coax Dawn and he obliges, turning those big emerald eyes over to his other parent. I am so very pleased that they inherited Applejack's rich gaze, sharing the brilliant, earthy color of summer grass and trees. Applejack is hovering awkwardly at the moment, the faint shimmer of what look like immense bee wings buzzing wildly behind her. How appropriate for my hardworking earth pony! Dusk is thrilled, squealing happily to be included in this new game. Dash obliges, bringing over the squirming foal so that she can cuddle her Appy and they can test out their wings together.

Standing, I stretch luxuriously and shake off my lassitude before nuzzling the boy and nudging him to trot over to the rest of our family.

"Look at you!" I crow at Applejack and Dusk, who looks like she is very nearly ready to launch away from the supporting orange hooves. "You'll be flying as well as Rainbow Dash soon!"

"Ah doubt that," Applejack chuckles wryly, but doesn't take her eyes off of her daughter. Seeing that her awkward hover is already improving in just these few minutes, I snort in disbelief. In fact, I scoop Dusk up to perch just behind my horn and we both rub our muzzles on Applejack's belly.

"You look pretty good from here, Lover."

"Flatterer," she chuckles and nabs a falling Dusk with careful teeth and lands to toss the squirmy filly onto her forelock so that she can babble excitedly at her brother. While they are distracted by one another, I can nuzzle and kiss my dearest, basking in this perfect day.

Yes, this is my life now, this wonderful mare, our miracle children, the apple trees that make up my home instead of just my books, the attentions of the mystical princesses to the foals that are their legacy too.

This is my life now.

I wouldn't have it any other way.


THE END... For now!