> Gleaner Chronicles
>  by sevenofeleven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One: With hunger it begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Changeling Hive
Royal Quarters
Princess Chr'Aya's Chambers

A small female changeling with a pale blue mane and tail tossed and turned in her ebony-sheeted bed. She had already kicked off her bedcovers. Her holey wings flapped and her rear hooves thrashed as she slowly fought her way back to wakefulness. Once awake, the crushing weight of the Hive's distress fell back on her small shoulders.

Princess Chr'Aya looked around her private chambers. Her green eyes only saw dim shapes until with a quick green flash from her horn, she turned on the lights.

Her eyes fell upon the paintings of T’cheraak the Younger, one of the best painters the Hive has ever seen. A tear fell from one of her large eyes. The famous painter was a victim of the Hive's slow implosion. Her sister, Chr'Ida had managed to save some of the doomed painter's emotions in an Emotion jar for her. He was her favorite artist but the Hive was hungry for emotion. 

Few changelings were safe.

The usual sources for emotions to feed on were dwindling or gone, the hated Sun Pony made sure of that. The Diamond Dog and Griffon nations now had artifacts that allowed them to see the changelings in their midst. No more emotions from them. 

Now the Hive must drain changelings to appease the hunger. This was far from ideal, most of the emotions were tainted by fear and despair. The higher emotions were better to feed on. Creative types had better emotions but there were so few of them now. Neither the Royal or Noble families would submit any of their relatives for draining. There were only so many lesser changelings and they were needed to do menial work. She remembered the piles of smelly trash that piled up outside her rooms. 

It seemed almost hopeless until after several months of research, Chr'Aya made a breakthrough. She hoped that it would be enough to save the Hive.  Chr'Aya plodded over to her bathroom to wash up and get ready for today's presentation.

***

Royal Waiting Rooms
Outside

When Chr’Aya reached the entrance to the royal waiting rooms, a functionary wearing black and green trotted up. Even from a few steps away, she could smell that his clothing hadn’t been washed recently.

The functionary bowed. “Princess. Please follow me.” As she followed him, Chr’Aya wondered how bad things were in the Royal section. The floor was clean but she could see that it could use a washing. After a few moments, they stopped in front of an open door. The acrid stink of fear wafted out. Chr’Aya looked up at the sign. It read,”The Hall of the Cracked Carapace.” This was the room where traitors waited before being judged. Chr’Aya looked down at the functionary with narrowed eyes. 

He cringed. “I’m sorry princess. The recent troubles have made it hard to get good cleaning staff. The other waiting halls are in much worse shape. I hope your wait is short.” Chr’Aya sighed and entered the room. The ebony door with green highlights locked behind her with a click.

Unlike the Hall of the Virgin Queen’s First Flight or even the Hall of the Dutiful Drone, this room was dark and somber. There were no pennants or banners. It took Chr’Aya a moment before she realized why. The stink of fear was a good clue. Since this was a room for those that awaited judgement, some changelings didn’t wait. To them it made sense for them to kill themselves. So the room was empty of anything that could hasten a changeling to the Final Hive. That thought made a chill race down her back.  Chr’Aya didn’t like to think of the stories about what happened to changelings when they died. The stories that her nurse told her about the UnderHive crawled back into her mind’s eye. 

Youngling Chr’Aya looked up at her nurse. “Tell me about the UnderHive again, please Nursey.”

Nursey grimaced. “You shouldn’t be so curious about the UnderHive. There is a place for those that look for knowledge beyond what the Hive teaches. Fanged ch’kals with snapping jaws roam the dark halls for blind changelings with milky white eyes. When you are judged by Bykriss the Just and sent there your eyes turn white. Then you’re stumbling and fumbling through the darkness until a ch’kal finds you. Little one, you don’t want to know what it does to you then.”

Youngling Chr’Aya, just shrugged. “What’s a suicide?”

Nursey just sucked her fangs. “Tchi tchi, little one. So many questions. Suicides are changelings who kill themselves. They go straight to the UnderHive without judgement. There they go to the Floor of Flailing so razor taloned Ekreet can walk on them forever. Can you recite the hells for those who hurt and betray the hive?”

Youngling Chr’Aya stood up on her hind hooves and closed her eyes. “The black sun of madness, the rain of malice, bugbringer winds, the rot of flowers...” When youngling Chr’Aya was done, Nursey gave her a bit of larval honey. 

That memory made Chr’Aya’s ears droop. After she was old enough to do the duties of a princess, Nursey disappeared.  Chr’Aya didn’t care because she had to grow up. She tried to look around the room to distract herself from worrying. Her eyes shied away from paintings of the most famous betrayers. There were no tables, just a black and green bench that ran along the wall. Chr’Aya noticed that one rounded edge had a brown stain. Two things she knew could cause that color and both of them were unfortunate. Chr’Aya just sighed and waited.

Hall of the Cracked Carapace 
Waiting Room
An hour later.

Chr'Aya waited impatiently for her older sister, Chr'Ida.  Chr'Ida was not the most trustworthy, prompt or quiet sister, but without her help, the project would have not gone as far as it did. 

Chr'Ida had a fine mind for magic but there was coldness behind her green eyes. She would look at a changeling and within a few heartbeats tell if the conversation was worth it. If she judged that the changeling was important to speak with then Chr'Ida was all bright eyes and smiles. To her sisters, she was less cold. At least that was what Chr'Aya thought.

Chr'Aya paced back and forth across the shiny black and green tiles while her reflection kept pace.

"Trying to wear a groove into the floor, younger sister?" Chr'Ida said with a smile.

Chr'Aya bowed to show respect to her older dark blue maned and tailed sister. Chr'Ida in turn bowed back.

"Are you ready for the show?"  Chr'Ida asked gleefully.

"Not really," Chr'Aya replied shyly and looked down. She wanted to get this over with already.

"Chr'Aya, you will let me do the talking. You control the device. Don't forget our oldest sister, Chr'YSalis will need our help,"  Chr'Ida said while placing her left holey forehoof under Chr'Aya's chin and lifting gently.

"Fine," Chr'Aya said.

"Ahh! You must contain your enthusiasm! It almost cracked my horn!" Chr'Ida said in a sarcastic tone of voice.

A changeling guard with black and green armor walked up to the princesses. 
"The Queen will see you now," he stated as he bowed. 

While Chr'Aya walked out of the room to go to the throne room, she thought about the Hall of the Cracked Carapace. This was where traitors waited before their final judgment. Chr'Aya pushed the fear that the demonstration would fail out of her mind. I will make this work and serve my sister, she resolved.

Queen Chr'YSalis's situation was precarious. Her time on the black and green Hive throne could end real soon. Only the fact that she had been able to beat the hated Sun Pony, Celestia, in a magical duel kept her there. It was just a matter of time before the other noble or royal families came for the Chr clan and its allies. Chr'Aya did not relish being in the middle of a civil war. When it came to magic, she was highly ranked. There were few Loreweavers, changelings that dedicated their lives to the study of magic, that could beat her. Then again, the Hive does not run on magic alone. Chr'Aya pushed the unpleasant thoughts away so she could focus on the current situation.

***

Hive Throne Room

Chr'Aya did not look at the curvy black and green columns covered with ebony and emeralds or the sleek statues. Even the large emerald and ebony banners of the royal families were beneath her notice. There was only one thing she cared about, her sister, the Queen.

The two princesses walked up to the Queen on her throne and bowed.

Chr'Bintha watched them from her post next to the throne. Red maned and tailed, Chr'Binta was the largest sister, she was the next oldest.  Chr'Binta liked warfare and battle but she was not stupid. Chr'YSalis trusted her enough to watch her back and to lead her army at home. If Chr'Binta had more ambition, things would be different. 

"Greetings, oldest sister. I would like to request a small boon from you," Chr'Ida said.

"What is it?"  Chr'YSalis said with barely hidden annoyance. She was still annoyed from the rumors that Chr'Binta had brought her. Most of them were a lot of nonsense but Chr'YSalis could sense that a threat was hiding somewhere. It bothered her that she could not get a firm grasp on what was going on. With a blink, Chr'YSalis brought her attention back to the two princesses in front of her.

"We have found something that could lead to saving the Hive!" Chr'Ida announced.

Chr'YSalis's dark ears perked up. The fact that Chr'Aya and Chr'Ida were here on this presentation usually meant that this was something real. Chr'Ida talked a good game, but sometimes the results were well, lacking. Chr'Aya on the other hoof would make wonderful things but then Chr'YSalis would have to work hard to pull useful details out of her sister.

"Set it up, younger sister," Chr'Ida commanded with a wave of her left forehoof.

"Everypony except my sisters, leave this room!" Chr'YSalis ordered.

The throne room was filled with the sounds of changelings exiting. The presenters waited until the throne room was empty.

Chr'Aya nodded and used her telekinesis to pull out the parts of a black metal pedestal out her left saddlebag. With a few pings and clinks from the parts, the platform stood in front of the throne while the queen watched with curiosity.

A strange black globe floated out of the right saddlebag and landed on the pedestal. Chr'Aya walked up behind the orb and focused her will upon the device.

"Watch my Queen,"  Chr'Ida whispered.

At first, the globe reflected just the throne room then green tinged images began to swirl within. One image appeared, it showed a group of strange creatures walking on their hind hooves.

No muzzle or tails, ears at the sides of the heads, having only two legs. Chr'YSalis had to go through her memories to name these creatures. Then she remembered reading a copy of Bullfinch's Mythology. The pictures looked like Humans, clawless, fangless and semi clever creatures. A clever pony could easily trick a human. Trolls had better stories. Ponies could make friends with trolls, but humans were too sneaky to trust. The idea that such creatures were real, piqued her curiosity. Also this was more interesting than hearing changelings whine about wanting more emotions. Even better, it distracted her from her own gnawing hunger for emotions too. Chr'YSalis got up and walked down the throne's ebony steps to get a closer look at the creatures. 

Chr'Ida looked away and smiled, she could see that her oldest sister was hooked. She kept her expression neutral when she looked back at the Queen.

"Please show us more of these creatures, younger sister," Chr'Ida said.

The scene changed to a park, some humans were bouncing a ball and jumping around. One of them threw an orange ball with black lines into a basket and smiled broadly. 

Another scene showed the mythical humans lining up to buy food and drinks. Chr'YSalis could see that the facial expressions of the humans were pretty close to pony facial expressions.

The next image showed two humans, male and female. They kissed and then the male took off his shirt. Chr'YSalis watched with more interest. It had been a while since she had been with a consort. The female started to take off her shirt and the image faded.

"What happened?" Chr'YSalis asked with surprise. She wanted to see how humans mated. Chr'Aya looked up from behind the orb with a blush on her face.

"These creatures, these humans, seem to be close to ponies. Yes?" Chr'Ida asked carefully. She knew that the Queen was sold.

"Chr'Aya, please come over here so we can discuss this. Your sister, Chr'Ida, sometimes does not tell the entire truth." Chr'YSalis gave Chr'Ida a stern look.

Chr'Aya slowly walked up to her Queen.

"Tell me what is the purpose of this artifact and how can it help the Hive?" Chr'YSalis said slowly. She knew Chr'Aya was afraid of her. 

"The device allows us to look into another world. One that has humans on it. It might be possible to make other devices to get emotions from the human world," Chr'Aya replied. 

"So the humans have emotions that we can use?" Chr'YSalis asked.

"I don't know.  We need more magic users, equipment and a larger place to work in. If we have these, we could find out more," Chr'Aya looked down.

"Stop that!" Chr'YSalis ordered.

"What?" Chr'Aya asked with a squeak.

"Stop looking at the floor, it has not changed since the last time you looked at it," Chr'YSalis said with a bit of jollity.

Chr'Aya looked up.

"Well done, sisters. Well done. I will give you what you need," Chr'YSalis said.  

Chr'Aya, Chr'Ida and Chr'YSalis began to discuss more details about what needed to be done to save the Hive.
	
	
> Chapter two: Stopping a threat and the trip begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles

L. A.
Jacques Bistro
A few days ago

The silver and white kitchen at Jacques Bistro was humming. And just like a hive, to an untrained eye things might look chaotic but it was far from that. 

Jose Fernandez, one of the cooks, was finishing up shredding some parmesan cheese. “Yo, Marg, are you done with that beef?” He looked at a tall, gray eyed, blonde who was across a silver table from him. She was slicing up some meat.

Margot Summerholt  looked up and replied. “Almost, just two more pieces and I’ll be done.” Then she went back to shaving off another paper thin piece of pinkish beef.

“Seriously, Marg. Don’t use calipers this time,” Jose joked as he put the cheese away and reached for some olive oil.

Brown haired and brown eyed, Andrea Cardoza walked by and said with a wink. “Marg uses laser calipers now!”

“Guys, if it is worth doing, it’s worth doing right!” Margot said while handing the plate of beef to Jose.

Margot worked for an alien organization called D-core that protected worlds in different universes from outside threats. She was a field agent on standby. Since D-core knew about the problems idle hands could get into, they had a policy to put agents to work in between missions. Working in a busy French restaurant was no big deal for Margot, at least she could go home at a decent time. 

Any mistakes did not cost anyone’s life. At the worst maybe some money from her paycheck. On the other hand, there was less excitement. Margot missed the life or death stakes in some of her earlier missions, but now she was content. It helped that she met a nice guy name Brad Turow.

Margot’s cellphone vibrated. For a second she thought about ignoring it, but then she wondered if it was a call from Brad. She pulled out a black cellphone from her dark blue jeans. There was a terse message from H. G., Harris Goldman, the D-core Station Chief for L. A. It just said, “Come in.”

She thought that maybe there was a new mission for her to execute. The good news was that Jacques Bisset, the guy that owned the bistro,was an ex D-core agent and would not ask questions. Margot slid the phone back into her pocket, and went looking for him.

It did not take her long to find the short man with the short brown hair, he was working on some desserts while wearing green gloves. She watched as he ran a small blowtorch over the custards to make a crust on the surface. Margot licked her lips, she remembered how tasty the Blood Orange Creme Brulee desserts were. 

Jacques faced Margot and locked his brown eyes on her. “What?”

Margot looked away from the desserts to look Jacques in the eye. “I have to come in. Family problems.” She did not have to say the family part but in a crowded kitchen, it would make more sense. 

Jacques stuck out his gloved hand. “I wish you well. It’s been an honor.” Margot shook his hand while a realization dawned in her head. Maybe this was a mission offworld and she was never coming back? Margot did not want to end the relationship with Brad this early. She decided to wait until she knew all of the facts.

 L. A. 
D-core LA Station

D-core’s L.A. station building was a shabby six-story walkup next to the warehouse district. The faded yellow bricks had seen better days. Margot looked around at the empty street around her. No one was there. Then she focused her attention on the rusty door and keypad at the station entrance. She typed in the code then the door opened and beeped. Margot stepped inside.

Once Margot was inside, she sighed. The peeling, white paint on the walls was still there except for the chips on the floor. The grey steps beckoned her to climb, sweat, and pant. The idea of having to walk up five flights of stairs in a hot stairway added to her resentment of D-core. First make her sweat and then send her away. It did not seem or fair to her. Margot started up the stairs.

A more logical part of her mind replied that she owed D-core a lot. They found her when she ran away from home. Margot shied away from thinking why. It was complicated. Then D-core taught her how to use her abilities for Invocation(energy manipulation), Divination and some other magical abilities she picked up while in the field.  

While she walked up the stairs, she knew she was being monitored. There were probably all sorts of surveillance devices locked on her, but Margot did not care. As long as she did not stop to magically scan anything, no one would care. The stairway was quiet, that was probably because the rooms had sound blocking magic or tech. Margot figured both.

On the fifth floor, there was a gray metal door and a keypad right next to it. Margot typed in the code for the fifth floor and the door opened with a click. A bead of sweat fell from her brow. Margot ignored it as a blast of cold air hit her. She sneezed and wondered why they cranked up the air conditioning while she walked down the hallway.

No peeling paint here, the light green hallway was dust free but the framed prints of abstract artwork were ugly. Margot could easily spit up stuff that was prettier after a night of partying. Most of her stuff would be in shades of brown though since she just drank whiskey or vodka. Her focus went back to the hallway. Harris’s office was just a few steps away.

Margot had been to his office a few times. She hoped it would not be the last. Harris’s door was open and he sat at his desk. Harris Goldman had red hair and gray eyes. She noticed that his white shirt had sweat stains around the neck and armpits. In front of his desk was a plain black metal chair. He smiled a quick smile as Margot entered the room then he pointed toward the door.

She closed the door and sat down. Harris raised his hand and did the ‘wait’ hand signal. He reached under the desk and hit a button. Margot cringed when the security field came online. She hated the cold clammy feel of the spell. Now nobody could spy on them using magic or tech. 

Harris waited a few minutes then he ran his hands through his thinning hair. “Ok, lets do this. I have a lunch date. We have a situation that requires your knack for getting into trouble. Precogs upline have seen that an unknown organization is planning some sort of attack at several areas on planet Earth.  You will be assigned to a group that is going to protect the Mall of America from an attack at 2 p.m.”

Margot’s eyes narrowed, “Really? Thats it? I hope that I can sense their weapons or things are going to go pear shaped real quick.”

“Well, that is what we have now. When more info becomes available, you will know. Due to the fact that the attacks are all over the world, we will be making some of our operations public. You will be working with Homeland Security and the FBI,” Harris said then he opened a drawer. A few seconds later he handed Margot a large yellow folder.

She went through the folder. Inside there were some forms, a gold badge and a gun. “Working with the locals can be...”

“Yeah, I know.  Upline strongly suggests that you do not use the word ‘magic’ on this world because it will reduce credibility even though that might be the truth. On other worlds, people would accept magic but here not so much. Use ‘alien tech’ instead. I know it’s a bad way to begin, and sustain a working relationship but these people have to listen to us first,” Harris said while searching through his desk for a pen for Margot’s forms.

“That stuff will bite us in the end,” Margot said then she looked over Harris’s desk.
What happened to your pens?” she said when she sat back in her chair.

“Oh I dunno. I got two. Give me a sec while I check that they work. Yeah, I hear you. My kids watch a show about magical ponies. If you were there, they would take the magic explanation without blinking, but in this world that is not going to happen without lots of evidence. Even then there will be people who will not believe.”

“I doubt that there is a world with sentient ponies. We would have heard about it,” Margot said with a dismissive shake of her head.

“Well, I read a paper in which the writer theorized the existence of an Equine Multiverse. He said it was possible that beings with a primate brain would not exist there or they would be changed. It’s possible somewhere sentient ponies could be living out their lives wondering about humans,” Harris said while handing Margot two pens.

Margot wanted to reply that ponies had more interesting things to think about than humans, but the change in Harris’s voice made it clear he was back to business.

“Margot, you are now a FBI agent, try to reduce the mayhem.” He locked his gray eyes on Margot’s face. Harris’s piercing gaze did not waver.

Margot looked away and then back. “Fine, I will find who is responsible for the bombs or whatever and stop them with a minimum of collateral damage.” Margot smiled. “I promise to leave half of the city standing.”

Harris looked away. “Fine. That’s the best anyone could do. I will give you a transport slip and you will take the transport ring to the temp local station outside of Bloomington, Minnesota. There you will meet the staff onsite. Fill out your forms first then head to the ring.”

Bloomington, Minnesota
Mall of America Parking Lot
Section C5
Present

It was a warm June day at the Mall of America. Crowds of shoppers flowed through its white and silver doors to take advantage of the bargains to be had. Others were there to meet and greet. A much smaller group inside had more serious business in mind as they searched for threats. Undercover Homeland Security agents carefully watched the people inside. Outside, more undercover agents were preparing to assist in the search for threats.

Margot watched the white and silver doors at the front of the mall open and close. She was dressed like a tourist, white blouse with a grinning pink pony with bright blue eyes on it. The bright blue text under the pony said, "Smile." For some reason, when she picked out the shirt, it seemed to resonate. Blue jeans and cheap white sneakers finished her fashion statement. Her Glock 43, a 9mm pistol, was a cool weight against her back as the warm breezes played with her hair. Margot looked at Mark Strickland, one of the FBI agents she was working with. He was bald with bright blue eyes. Today, he was undercover and wore a white T-shirt and khakis. Shiny black sunglasses protected his eyes from the bright sun. 

He grimaced. “I guess its time to dance.” A quick glance at his watch showed that there was only fifteen minutes left before the attack happened. Margot put her earpiece from her headset in her ear. Mark put in his earpiece too.

Margot nodded then she put on her shiny black and gold sunglasses. Mark started out across the parking lot to the doors of the mall, Margot followed him. When she reached the front double doors, for a few seconds, Margot thought she saw pink fur on her arm, then the fur changed to her regular skin color. What the hell, Margot thought. She paused for a moment, staring at her arms. Mark bumped into her. That caused her to push that weird image to the back of her mind to fuss over later. Every second counts and Margot already felt she’d wasted some. With a quick yank, she opened the door and held it for Mark

Cold air that smelled of pizza and other snack foods hit Mark and Margot. The sounds of people talking and cellphones ringing threatened to deafen them. A glance upward showed eight floors. An idea surfaced in her mind about how difficult it was to find the threat in such a large place. 

Using magic to cast a spell was out, if the enemy was sensitive to magic, they would set off the bomb. Its better to go quiet and not attract attention. Margot closed her eyes and tried to passive sense magic. Nothing came up and she opened her eyes. She moved toward the escalator. Margot desperately hoped that they would get more clues because there was no way to logically find the threat. Of course they did not know the nature of the threat either. A nagging worry surfaced at the back of her mind, maybe they would not find the bomb or the threat until it went off. Margot shook her head to get rid of that thought.

Near the escalator she tried again to feel for alien magic. This time she caught a quick feel of something. It’s like catching a whiff of frying bacon in a perfume factory. The slight hint of magic was upstairs somewhere. Margot went on the escalator while Mark followed.

“Why are we going upstairs? We didn’t finish downstairs,” Mark asked with a quizzical look on his face while he rode upwards.

“I think what we’re looking for is up here,” Margot replied while trying to sense more of the strange magic. That attempt failed.

When they reached the next floor she checked out her watch, eight minutes left. Margot walked by a Target store while trying to think how to find the alien artifact. It would be a shame if what she sensed was not related to the attack.

A crisp authoritative voice filled their headsets. “This is Supervisory Special Agent Monica Williams. We just received more info. The attack is bomb related. Also the ones responsible are wearing black and green with backpacks. Make the last eight minutes count.”

Margot focused again, and this time she sensed the alien magic. Again it faded away, but she had some ideas where to go.. Ahead there were some tables and chairs next to a glass wall. Two sets of teens were sitting down. One group was a bunch of girls fussing with their phones while the other table had one teen drinking something orange from a bottle. She made a beeline for the single teen. Mark followed Margot while checking out the other people.

Her subject was a male white teenager with pale skin and black hair. His green eyes looked at Margot and moved on to other sights. She noticed he wore black and green, but Margot was not sure he was the target. The pulse of alien magic was in the area though. She would have spent more time trying to get more clues when her second sight flared up, and showed what the teenager really looked like.

She saw a black pony like creature with insect-like green eyes and a gray mane and tail. Also, the creature had fangs and a twisted holey black horn sticking out of its forehead. Margot stepped back in surprise. She took no chances. 

"FBI! Put your hands up!" Margot said then smoothly grabbed her gun and pointed it at the creature.

The teen’s left hand moved like it was reaching for something. Margot did not give the creature a chance to do anything, she put a shot through its head. Scattering like spooked pigeons, the people near the ‘teenager’ fled screaming.

"What the hell! Summerholt! What th-" he stopped when the body transformed. One second, it was a teen wearing black and green and the next it was a strange looking pony with an oozing red hole in its head.

Mark looked at Margot with confusion and fear in his eyes, but Margot was looking at the creature’s knapsack. She walked to the bag and knelt down next to it. After a quick magical scan for traps that came up negative, Margot carefully opened the knapsack.  An blackish-green oval shaped object lay inside. A square box was connected to the object by some black wire-like stuff. Margot could not understand all of the magic emanating from the device. Some of it she did understand. She cast a locator spell to find more objects.The spell came back quickly. Four more objects were in the mall. A feeling of dismay filled her. Margot turned the item over and saw the display. There was just one small green alien symbol. It seemed to be shrinking. Margot did not understand the symbol, but she was willing to guess it was part of a countdown sequence. Margot felt when the symbol faded away, it would not be a good idea to stand next to the device.

"We have to leave now," Margot warned while she carefully closed the bag. Then she placed it on the table.

"Let’s evacuate the building first," Mark said while looking at the crowds that were still on that level.

He wanted to see what was in the bag, but Margot’s statement made him step back.
Mark glanced at the bug eyed pony lying on the floor. He wondered what sort of world would make such a creature.

"Tell the others to evacuate while we are leaving the mall," Margot said while she headed to the escalator.

Mark followed her while talking to the other agents on the headset. “We have to leave now. Yeah, its a bomb! I am not going to hang around and find out firsthand. Get those people out!”

He switched from his headset to yell at the few people around him. “Get out now!”

"How much time do we have?" Mark asked as he ran down the stairs. Afterward, he kept telling the people inside to evacuate.

"Not enough!" Margot replied.

Margot and Mark ran down the escalator while screaming at the people that were still downstairs. At the exit out of the mall, Mark gave output on a sudden burst of speed and was outside the building looking in. He wanted to be at least a thousand feet away, but he wanted to make sure Margot got out.

“Come on Margot!” He screamed.  It was not safe here, Mark wanted to be hiding behind a car or something. The explosion would probably turn the glass in the windows into flying knives.

Ahead of Margot, an overweight woman was huffing and puffing away dragging her poor daughter out of the mall when the poor child flopped onto the floor. She just lay there and cried. Her mother was torn between going back and escaping. She just stood there looking. Margot got the tired child on her feet and her mother came back and carried the child outside. The mother turned and mouthed a “thank you” before running off into the parking lot.

Then the bombs or whatever the devices were went off. A wave of greenish black swirling alien magic overtook Margot. The next to last thing she saw was the mother and daughter escaping the building. She felt hooks tear into her head and pull. The pain was excruciating. Margot wanted to wish for death, but then she felt something grab her. The last thing she saw was two sky blue hooves wrap themselves around her waist...


Some sort of underground area

When Margot woke up, she felt strange. Her hands and feet seemed to be missing. She could not feel them. Margot opened her eyes to look at her arms. Her arm ended in a shiny dark red hoof. Seeing that made Margot wonder if she was sane. She closed her eyes for a few minutes. Being in another form was not a new experience for her. Sometimes D-core needed agents to be in other forms for missions. Margot remembered the time she was a dragon. Then again, they made her sign a form. Once that memory surfaced, she felt calmer. Margot wondered who or what turned her into this form.

Margot looked around. She was lying on a brown blanket inside a wide dirt tunnel. Every few feet there were wooden columns made of tree trunks. Most of them still had their bark. Wooden planks stretched between the columns to hold the ceiling up. Small lanterns filled with glowing green specks hung from the columns. Margot noticed that the specks moved around like they were flying insects. 

Across the uneven dirt floor, a small animal with bright yellow fur lay on a brown blanket. Margot studied the creature carefully. It had four hooves and a bushy red tail. The head threw off Margot’s efforts to classify the creature. It was round like a human’s head and not narrow like a real horse or pony. The muzzle was short and the eyes were not on the sides of the head either. Margot also wondered why someone would tie a bow in the strange creature’s hair.

The blood-soaked bandages covering her forehooves showed that the creature had been in some sort of accident. Every few minutes, the creature would moan and thrash her rear hooves making her blue horseshoe necklace jiggle around. In the background, Margot could hear people whispering and groaning. Also in the distance, somebody was screaming. 

"Hey! Are you alright?" a voice asked with concern on Margot's right.

Margot looked over to her right, anything to get her mind thinking about something else. An orange creature with a purple mane and tail looked at her. She also had a blue horseshoe necklace, but unlike the yellow one, this being had small wings. Margot wondered what sort of place had these strange colored animals. Wait, she thought, maybe these are alien ponies. Everything else fit except for the freakishly large heads.

"Can you hear me?" the orange female creature asked with some annoyance. Margot could see the pony's mouth move. She was actually talking.

"Yeah," Margot said while trying to hide her surprise at seeing a talking pony. The orange pony peered closely at Margot. She could see the suspicion and curiosity in the orange pony's purple eyes.

"Fine, wait here while I get somepony to explain things to you," The pony said and turned away from Margot.

“Wait! Where am I?" Margot asked. She watched as the orange pony ran away. Was she really here or somewhere in a hospital bed, or worse dying on the floor of the mall? Margot wrestled with these questions as she waited.


> Chapter Three: Tell me and preparation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles

Somewhere underground.

Margot looked around. The whole area was full of ponies. Some were sleeping while others talked in small groups. She sat up and closed her eyes for a few minutes. Her sense of smell intensified. Margot could smell blood, anger, fear and other scents. All of the pony scents were making her head spin. She stopped sniffing and started thinking more about her situation. Margot wanted a mirror so she could see what her face looked like. From what she could tell, her senses seemed to be working fine.

She stood up, then almost fell down. Wait, I have been a four legged creature before, she thought. It took her a few minutes to remember. Margot just had to not think about what leg did what. Just pick a direction and go. The rest of her brain would figure it out. She took some steps toward the nearest wall.

It was just dirt with a bit of plaster over it. The ground was like that too but a bit smoother. Margot got the impression that these tunnels were made recently and not with a lot of skill. Most of the wooden support beams still had bits of bark on them. Margot wondered if she would be better off above ground. A soft female voice brought Margot from her musings.

“Yeah, it doesn’t look like much really. Dirt floors and slipshod wooden columns. It’s better than being aboveground with all of the monsters running around. I would be so glad when things get back to normal or whatever normal is around here,” A beige mare with pink and blue mane in large curls said sadly. Before Margot could say anything, the mare rushed off to deal with a crying foal.

There was also some commotion behind Margot. She turned to see what was going on. The orange filly with wings was back, with a white filly with pink and lavender mane and tail. She had a short tapered horn sticking out from her forehead. They stood over the yellow pony. Margot walked back to watch what happened.

Margot couldn’t see too much. There was some words being said and then there was a blue flash. The pegasus and unicorn fillies’ bodies blocked Margot’s view. She tried to sense the magic, but nothing happened. It wasn’t like there was nothing to sense, like her ability to sense magic was gone. The yellow pony got up. The white unicorn used some sort of telekinetic magic to gently remove the bandages from the yellow pony. Just by watching Margot could see that healing and telekinetic magic was being used. She wished that she could sense the magics involved to make sure.

Not being able to sense magic in a world filled with magic gave Margot a chill. The area around her seemed to fade away as Margot’s fears started moving in on her. How would she get home? What would she do for money without a magical talent? It took her a bit of time to push her fears back and return to reality. Margot watched the fillies again.

The orange filly said something about a funeral and the now healed yellow one nodded. They cantered down the tunnel in one direction while the white unicorn filly ran off in the opposite direction. Margot walked back to her blanket. She wondered when someone would come and brief her.

Again, Margot tried to sense the ambient magic in the area. Nothing happened. Being able to sense magic was a basic ability. That made Margot feel uneasy, not being able to sense magic was like being half blind. It was like a basic part of her had stopped working. There was one thing she could try to stave off the panic that was slowly rising.  She could try a Ritual of Synchronization. This would allow her to access the magic native to this world. Margot started to concentrate…

A blow from a hoof broke her concentration. "What the hell?" Margot asked in surprise while she rubbed her cheek.

"I’m sorry about hitting you, but I am responsible for the health and safety of all the ponies here in Ponyville," a maroon pony with light and dark pink mane and tail said. "If you had done that Synchronization Ritual, you would have brought the Gleaners on top of us," the pony explained with anger in her green eyes.

"Yeah! Things are pretty bad now already!" the white unicorn filly with green eyes added. Margot recognized her, this was the same one that did some sort of healing magic on the yellow pony. She also had a blue horseshoe necklace.

"Did you have to smack me so hard?" Margot complained while her ears and tail drooped.

"Yes! Your horn was glowing so brightly, it was lighting up this area. I hope that the Gleaners didn’t sense you doing your magic," the maroon pony replied as she looked over the area.

“I need to do the ritual so I can access my powers on this world. I would be more useful with my powers,” Margot cajoled.

“No, you can’t do that here. The Gleaners will come and all of this will be at their mercy,” the maroon pony said as she looked back at Margot.

Margot looked around and saw ponies were looking at her with a range of emotions on their faces. None of them seemed friendly. At least the ponies stayed where they were. It was a surprise to Margot that she had a horn. She wished for a mirror.

"Cheerilee?" The white unicorn asked.

"Oh. Sorry about that. My name is Cheerilee," Cheerilee extended her left forehoof.

Margot got up on all fours. It felt normal and strange at the same time.  She gingerly stuck out her hoof. For a few seconds Cheerilee and Margot just stood with extended hooves. Margot had no idea what she was supposed to do. The white unicorn filly laughed.

"Sweetie Belle!" Cheerilee admonished with narrowed eyes.

"Sorry," Sweetie Belle said with an impish grin as she walked up to Margot.
Sweetie Belle stuck out her left forehoof and this time Margot walked up and shook it.

"Please follow me to a more private area so we can discuss the situation in detail," Cheerilee said.

Margot followed Cheerilee while Sweetie Belle followed them.
"Why are some ponies wearing blue horseshoe necklaces?" Margot asked.

"Those who wear the necklace are the servants of Oonté, the Just and Merciful," Sweetie said with a serious tone in her voice. "Me and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are real crusaders now. We have put aside our quest to get cutie marks until the Gleaners have been defeated. We are now the Sky Hoof Crusaders, The SHC!" Sweetie Belle explained.

"Wait? What is a Cutie Mark? Where can I see one?" Margot asked as they walked past more ponies lying on blankets. It seemed like there were a lot of ponies down here. After walking a while she could see that they were inside a series of tunnels dug under ground. Sweetie Belle giggled.

"You are a pony but not from Equestria. I think the rules might be different where you come from," Cheerilee said.

"How can you tell?" Margot asked.

"Because you don’t smell like an Equestrian pony!" Sweetie Belle said with a laugh.

"Sweetie Belle!" Cheerilee said with a stamp of her left forehoof.
.
"Sorry," Sweetie said and looked back at Margot with a barely restrained grin on her face.

Margot followed the two ponies through the tunnels and wondered about her sanity. 





Town Hall Basement 
Meeting Room 3

Gray cracked plaster on the walls and scuffed floors gave a good clue that this room had seen better days. Other than that it was clean. The ponies hiding underground had different priorities than fixing floors. Three ponies sat at a beige wooden table. Two of the cracked white plates in front of the ponies were empty. The last plate had food on it. Margot eyed the small pile of hay and dried daisies on her plate. Cheerilee and Sweetie Belle watched Margot. 

"I am sorry we have so little food," Cheerilee explained. “Our supplies are running low. The resupply caravan from Lower Canterlot is late.”

Sweetie Belle’s stomach growled loudly. Margot realized that she needed to eat before her food was snatched away. She stuck her muzzle into the plate and ate. It tasted OK but she was still a bit hungry afterward. Margot thought about cheeseburgers. The thought of eating the flesh of another animal made her stomach flip. She had to spend a few moments thinking of vegetarian dishes. The queasiness faded.

"Okay, lets begin," Cheerilee said, and looked into Margot's eyes with her green ones. "You must go to Lower Canterlot and meet the Prophetess. She will answer your questions in more detail."

"No, I want to go home," Margot replied. ”Please send me home.”

Cheerilee blinked in surprise. Margot had to get back home and finish the mission there. No going on trips with ponies.

"I can't send you home, I don’t do magic," Cheerilee replied firmly. “There is no pony here with the power and knowledge to do that. If you want to go home, you have to go to Lower Canterlot and talk to the Prophetess.”

Margot looked deep into Cheerilee's eyes to see if she was lying.  Automatically, Margot started the ritual. Cheerilee moved closer and raised her right fore hoof. Margot stopped concentrating. There was a knock on the door. Sweetie Belle got off of her chair to answer it. 

An orange pegasus filly waited outside. She peered into the room at Cheerilee and Margot and then walked up to Margot. "Do you know how you got here?" she asked pointedly.

Margot replied, "No."

"Scootaloo, this is not the right time for this!" Cheerilee said while watching Margot and Scootaloo carefully.

"Margot needs to know how she got here, and know that she owes us." Scootaloo walked up to Margot and stood up on her hind hooves. Her stubby orange wings unfurled. Scootaloo stuck her face so close to Margot's that she could smell her sweet pony breath. "We lost a friend and others got hurt getting your unconscious body from aboveground," Scootaloo whispered. “You owe us.”

Margot looked at Cheerilee and Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo went back to all fours. "Is that true?" Margot asked.

Cheerilee looked away and replied, "Yes, but I was going to mention that later. It is a bit much to tell somepony along with the other info." Cheerilee looked back at Margot.

"I am sorry for what happened to your friends, but I left a world where buglike ponies set off some sort of device," Margot said. “I think many people got hurt or killed. I have to go back and help my people. They expect me to do so.”

"Buglike ponies?” Sweetie Belle asked with surprise. “Did they have holes in their legs and wings?"

Now, it was Margot's turn to be surprised. "Yes, how did you know?"

"Those were changelings. Now do you see why you must go to Lower Canterlot?" Scootaloo asked with annoyance.

"Where are these changelings? How can I find out more about them?" Margot asked.

"Go to Lower Canterlot and ask the Prophetess," Cheerilee said. “She knows more about what's going on.”

"We need to cover some other topics, Margot," Cheerilee said firmly.

"How do you know my name?" Margot asked with more surprise in her voice.

"The Prophetess told me a lot about you. Please return to the table so I can finish the briefing,"  Cheerilee suggested. "I will send the Cutie Ma--um, excuse me, Sky Hoof Crusaders, to protect you. I think I can get one or two volunteers to come along. It is a dangerous trip. 

The area between Ponyville and Lower Canterlot has turned into an area called the Shatterleg Wastes. Also, Gleaners, Remnants and worse wander there. In the past, you could just take a train but that has changed. When the Gleaners came to Equestria, a lot was lost and changed for the worse. I don't know how or why. You will have to ask the Prophetess if you want to know more," Cheerilee explained and looked down.

"What are Gleaners and Remnants?" Margot asked.

Cheerilee looked up. "Gleaners are ghost like creatures that feed on life and emotion. When you see the pale green glows heading toward you, gallop as fast as you can away. Remnants are ponies that were not killed by the Gleaners when they were drained. They live a horrible half life trying to chase down the living so they can replace what was torn from them. We stay safe from both groups by hiding underground." Cheerilee said sadly.

“Where did the Gleaners come from?” Margot asked while looking around the room.

Cheerilee just shrugged. ”No one knows. Then there are rumors of something called the Train. I do not believe such a thing is possible."

"Train?" Margot asked.

"If you want to waste your time with rumors, you can ask Apple Bloom or the others," Cheerilee said with a dismissive swing of a forehoof.

Cheerilee took a breath. "Lower Canterlot is a tent city some distance from Canterlot. Its straight north east from here. Far will give you better instructions."

"I noticed that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle have blue horseshoes? What do they mean?" Margot asked.

"There is a being called Oonté. She isn’t from Equestria. The horseshoes are given to her faithful. Some of them might be able to do miracles with her help but I am not sure. I don’t know too much about her. You will have to talk to the Sky Hoof Crusaders, SHC, for that," Cheerilee said.

"You did not answer my question about Cutie Marks earlier. Do I have one?" Margot asked.

Cheerilee turned sideways. “Cutie marks are marks on the flank of a pony that shows their special talent. You can see mine. You don’t have one yet. It is very rare for an adult pony to not have a Cutie Mark, but maybe that’s related to the loss of your magic." Cheerilee looked around the room. "I have to round up the volunteers and supplies for the trip. Please stay here," Cheerilee requested. She turned and left the room.

Margot sat in the empty room, and thought about her options. She wanted to go home and find out what happened at the mall, but then she could see that these people or ponies needed help. Not being able to do magic was also bothering her. If Margot ignored those issues, it felt like the type of work she did, helping locals fight strange things. Somewhere in the distance, a pony let out a fear filled scream. Margot stopped her musing, then she left the meeting room to investigate.

A few tunnels away, two stallions guarded a locked wooden door. The screams seemed to be coming from behind the door. "Hey! You can't go in there!" the light pink pony said and moved his hoof to block the door. Several more screams of fear burst out of the door.

"What is going on in there?" Margot asked while pointing at the door with her right fore hoof.

"This room is for the partially gleaned. Sometimes the Gleaners are interrupted before they totally drain a pony. Most of the higher emotions are gone except for fear," the green pegasus said.

"Nobody can cure or heal them?" Margot asked. She wished she could help but even if she had her powers working, they could do nothing for emotion based magics. All she could do is give them a quick and painless death.

Both guard ponies sadly shook their heads. The light pink pony said, "They will live in fear of everything until their poor hearts fail."

Margot could not imagine living a life of constant fear. She quickly thought about putting them out of their misery, but that seemed too cold.

"Thank you gentlestallions," Margot said and walked away.

The guard ponies nodded. She tried to get back to Meeting Room Three but she ran into Cheerilee.  She gave Margot an annoyed look and a tired sigh.

"Please come with me, we are almost ready to leave for Lower Canterlot," Cheerilee said.

"What building is this?" Margot asked as they moved from the tunnels to stairs.

"This used to be the Town Hall. It had a small tunnel to help the Mayor escape, and we expanded it and added more tunnels," Cheerilee explained. "We had a Mayor and a support staff but they did not make it. Those terrible days were so chaotic,” Cheerilee said with sadness in her voice. Her ears and tail drooped.

"I gave some good advice and somehow I became the new mayor," Cheerilee said with a sorrow filled voice and drooping ears.

Margot could see that she was blinking rapidly like she was going to cry. They waited a bit so Cheerilee could regain her composure. The two ponies walked into a room filled with pictures from a happier Ponyville in the past. In a lot of the pictures, a light brown-coated, gray and white maned mare presided over different events.

Margot pointed her right fore hoof at the wall and asked, "Is that..."

Cheerilee replied with drooping ears and tail, "Yes. I have her job now but it is a heavy responsibility. Somepony has to make sure things are running smoothly. Twilight Sparkle, um, Princess Twilight Sparkle would have done a better job but for some reason I have heard little of what happened to her."

"Who is Princess Twilight Sparkle?" Margot asked.

"To be brief because we have a lot to go over, she is one of the Elements of Harmony and a close friend," Cheerilee said then sighed.

“What is an Element of Harmony?” Margot asked with more curiosity.

Cheerilee sighed. It was a lot to tell a foreign pony and she did not really want to get in a long conversation.

“Harmony is one of the most powerful magics in Equestria. It is wielded by six special ponies that embody Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, Kindness and Magic. They used the Elements to defeat many enemies but for some reason several of the ponies are missing. Only Rainbow Dash, the element of Loyalty and Applejack, the Element of Honesty are with us. In the past, all of the elements lived in Ponyville. If you want more details, please speak to someone in Lower Canterlot,” Cheerilee said.

“I guess if you had all of the elements, the Gleaners would be defeated?” Margot asked.

Cheerilee shook her head. A pony discreetly coughed. Margot turned her attention to the rest of the room and its occupants. Two ponies sat at a shiny black wooden table patiently waiting for Cheerilee. One was a brown male pegasus with a black mane and tail. The other pony was a female light blue unicorn with a red and white striped mane and tail. Something about the way the unicorn looked at Margot, gave her the impression that the blue unicorn would be snooty.

"So, that's it, Cheerilee?" the brown pegasus asked.

Cheerilee nodded.

"Are those annoying Cutie Mark Crusaders going to be joining us?" the light blue unicorn asked.

Eyes narrowed, Cheerilee replied, "Yes."

"I surely do not want to be rude but I think such power should not be in the hooves of those fillies. It is just not right," the light blue unicorn complained.

"When you meet Oonté, maybe you should share your concerns," Cheerilee said snidely. 

Margot knew her first impressions about the light blue unicorn were right.

"I have to get the supplies ready. Please introduce yourselves," Cheerilee said. She turned and left the room.

The brown pegasus walked up to Margot and stuck out his left fore hoof. "My friends call me a pain in the plot, but the name I was given is Far Traveler. The few friends I have left call me ‘Far’," Far Traveler said with a wink and then a smile.

Margot shook his hoof. "My name is Margot Summerholt." 

The light blue unicorn walked up to Margot and gingerly offered her left hoof to shake. "I am Skybreeze Cloud,  Professor of Higher Magics at Hoofvard in Canterlot, sorry, Lower Canterlot," Skybreeze said.

Margot touched her hoof and there was no shaking. It was more like a hoof bump. A few seconds later, the door burst open and squabbling fillies could be heard.

"Gleaners don't eat apples!"
"Then they will leave the trees alone!"
"The gleaners buck up everything so your orchard will be changed!"

"Ladies?" Far said and walked up to the squabbling fillies.

Margot recognized some of the voices. She turned around to see. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and the yellow filly that Margot had seen earlier were chatting with Far. Far pointed to the table with his left fore hoof. The SHC headed to their seats.

The yellow filly with the pink bow walked up to Margot and introduced herself in a slight Western accent. "Mah name is Apple Bloom."

"Hello, Apple Bloom, my name is Margot Summerholt," Margot introduced herself.

She noticed that Apple Bloom was walking fine, the bandages that covered her fore hooves were gone.  Margot wanted to scan her and see how the bones had mended but again she cursed that she could not do any magic.

"I see that the healing was a success," Far stated.

"Yes!" Scootaloo announced while her stubby wings flapped a little.

"Alright, my little ponies, I will brief you on the trip to Lower Canterlot. All of you should know how to get there in case we get separated," Far said. "We have to go straight north, too much to the west or east and things will get worse. It’s either the Rotten Lake and swamps or the Train. I have been with the supply caravans so I know the way," Far said with a serious look on his face.

"The Train is just a rumor," Skybreeze stated.

"Maybe so but I would rather not find out the truth," Far replied.

Cheerilee returned with a sad look on her face. "We don’t have enough food and water for you," she said and looked at the group.

"We could find the caravan--" Far started.

"No, it is taking too long. Something has happened to them," Cheerilee interrupted Far.

Apple Bloom waved her fore hoof at Cheerilee to get her attention. "We can ask Oonté for her help with the supplies!"

Cheerilee nodded.

Margot watched as the SHC exchanged glances. They touched their right fore hooves together and intoned some words. A blue glow covered their hooves and then a brown wooden barrel of water appeared in the corner of the room, afterward brown wafers appeared on the table and floor.

"Thank you, The Merciful," Sweetie Belle said with gratitude.

Cheerilee's green eyes seemed extra large as she took in the sight all of the food. "Well, um, thanks, girls," Cheerilee said.

"Praise Oonte!" Scootaloo said and bowed.

Margot noticed that the SHC seemed a bit less energetic, almost tired after conjuring the food.

"This looks like there is enough food for our trip and for the town," Far said while he sniffed the wafers in front of him.

Cheerilee left to get some help in moving the wafers to the food storeroom. Margot looked at the ones in front of her. The wafers were shiny brown with either fruit or hay in them.  Several ponies returned with Cheerilee, they gawked with surprise at the sight of all that food. Sweetie Belle counted six wafers and put them into the bags. Margot thought the wafers were light but her saddlebag felt like she was carrying lead bars. A yellow unicorn filled up bottles of water and placed those in the bags too.

"These bars feel heavy. We just might need one a day. It takes four days to get to Lower Canterlot," Far said.

After a few minutes, all of the saddlebags were ready. Sweetie placed the bags on the traveler's backs. Then she placed a saddlebag on her own back.

"Lets see, Me, Margot, Skybreeze, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and AppleBloom, its like the six Elements of Harmony. This is a good omen," Far joked.

"Follow me and I will lead you to the exit," Cheerilee opened the door and pointed down the tunnel.

"Please be careful, all of you," Cheerilee warned the ponies waiting at the wooden doorway when they lined up to leave.

Margot could feel a familiar excitement fill her heart. Yes! She was going on an adventure. A more sober thought crossed her mind, would she survive the trip?

> Chapter Four: Shatterleg
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles

Town Hall Exit

Lukewarm winter sunshine flooded the tunnel from the wooden door to the ruined town. After hours underground, it was almost too bright. Margot watched as the SHC smiled as one. She figured that they were looking forward to challenges to their faith and to help ponies. Far Travel hoofed the ground. She could see that he was anxious to go. On the other hoof, Skybreeze Cloud’s lowered ears bothered Margot. Did Skybreeze know something about this trip that Margot was ignorant of? Margot looked away until her eyes adjusted. In her heart was a mix of excitement and dread. Without her magic, she felt like she was not quite the person, um, pony she should be.

Far said with excitement. "Once we get outside, follow me and gallop! There is not much that can catch a galloping pony. Well at least until we get to the Shatterleg Wastes." Far smiled. He was happy to feel the sun on his fur.  Far pranced out into the street followed by Skybreeze. Margot was behind her and the SHC brought up the rear. Cheerilee waved and whispered, "Good Luck" as the shadow of the closing door covered her face. Worry made her tail and ears droop.

The team galloped through a maze of buildings. Many of them were just shells with one or two intact walls. Margot thought she saw a unicorn pony skeleton in a doorway of a building, but she was not sure. She wondered about the fate of that poor pony. Margot felt a tap on her right side and turned.

Apple Bloom pointed to a pile of rubble that stunk of rotten sweets. “That was Sugarcube Corners. We used to have milk shakes and other tasty things there.” Her ears drooped for a second.

A few steps later, Sweetie Belle with drooping ears pointed with her left fore hoof at a wall. The pile of rubble around it suggested that the building was much taller. “That used to be The Carousel Boutique. I used to live there with my sister. I miss her.”  A few tears fell out of her eyes as she looked at what used to be her home. Scootaloo walked up to Sweetie Belle and whispered something. 

Far walked up to Sweetie Belle, “Maybe when we get to Lower Canterlot, you can ask about your sister. I’m sorry but we need to keep moving. I don’t know what’s in this town and I don’t want to fight it. Somepony could get hurt.” 

Margot watched Sweetie with a lowered ears too. She could imagine walking through a ruin that used to be her home town. For a second, an image of a ravaged Manhattan with crumbling buildings surfaced in her mind. Sunlight spewing beasts roamed the empty streets. Margot pushed the terrible thought away and glanced at Sweetie. Sweetie stopped sniffling and nodded. The ponies started galloping.

After a few minutes, the devastated town was behind them. Margot glanced at the yellow-green grass in this area, it seemed like something was leeching the life from it. Again, Margot wished she had her magical abilities back. It would be simple to sense what is draining the life from this land. Nopony bothered to talk, galloping seemed to take all of their concentration.

One hour later, Far called for a break. Margot was glad, her legs were starting to ache. After more tiring galloping, the group looked down into a partial shadowed crater that seemed to go on forever. 

Margot got a chill looking at the rough brown ground, low lying fog. The smell of dry rotting flesh wafted up from the edge of the sunken area.

"My, what a charming place with such a lovely aroma," Skybreeze quipped. Even the SHC had lowered ears and tails. 

"How are we going to get down there?" Margot asked while checking out the sheer cliff walls on the sides.

Far said with confidence while he pointed into the crater. "There are rockfalls all over the place that will allow us to get to the crater floor. I will fly around and find them. Remember, I used to be with the supply caravans and they always managed to get through."

Shaking her head, Apple Bloom said, "Except for nao."

Scootaloo asked with a smile. "Skybreeze, you learned all sorts of magic. Can't you teleport us down there?"

"Teleportation magic takes a lot of magical power and--" Skybreeze started to explain but was cut off by Sweetie Belle.

"You don't know that spell," Sweetie stated while she rolled her eyes.

Far announced before taking off. "Hey! I am going to find a way down. Stay alert."

For a few minutes, the SHC took a break and curled up in the yellowish grass. Margot and Skybreeze kept a wary eye open for threats. Skybreeze walked up to Margot and pointed to the Shatterleg scenery with a left fore hoof. “I certainly will find traveling through that less than pleasant.”

Margot nodded. The area below them looked like it would be a nightmare to walk through. Every step could lead to a broken leg or worse. She wondered what would happen if she broke a leg.

“You sound like you have not been here before. How did you get to Ponyville?” Margot said while facing Skybreeze.

“Well, the caravan I went with went around the Shatterleg,” Skybreeze said while still gazing into the crater. She did not mention that earlier events in her life left her in such a sorry state that she barely remembered anything.

The sun slowly sank in the west while shadows gathered in the Shatterleg. Far flew back to them with a rustle of wings. "Wake up everypony! We need to move fast. I do not want to be at the edge of the Shatterleg at nightfall," Far trumpeted to the annoyance of the SHC who were enjoying a game of tag. "This might sound strange, but we will be better off in the Shatterleg than messing about at the edge," Far said.

Skybreeze peered at Far. "Really?"

“Would you like to run in the dark with steep cliffs at your back?” Far asked while his ears went back on his head. Skybreeze looked at the Shatterleg and back at Far.

"I figured that. Lets go!" Far said with unfurled wings. He led them to a steep incline made by several rockslides. To Margot it was a difficult walk down, she could see how hard it would be if she was human. Eventually the group made it to the hard and rocky floor of the crater.

“Gals, we need to check for leg breaking holes. Skybreeze, do you remember that spell the last caravan leader taught you?” Far said while looking around. 

“Yes. I remember that this spell has a part that actually shows the holes so its easier for the caravan to avoid them. This helps future caravans too,” Skybreeze said while remembering the spell.

“Good, you will need to teach it to Sweetie Belle,” Far said while he glanced at Sweetie.
It took Skybreeze just a few moments to teach Sweetie Belle the spell. Margot watched with drooping ears and wished she had her powers back. Far had the two unicorns, Sweetie and Skybreeze use the hole finding spell to scan the ground ahead of them for holes. Skybreeze probed the ground ahead of her and it was stable. Sweetie probed beyond Skybreeze's area and a pit revealed itself. Margot walked up to see what happened. She thought she saw the gleam of bones down at the bottom. After that, the lead ponies crept along.

"Ah will be glad to be out of here," Apple Bloom said while she looked around at the dead skeletal trees.

"I bet this place does not get any better when the sun goes down," Scootaloo said with a fearful voice.

"Hey, don't forget we got faith in Oonté! She will see us through! All of us!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

Margot watched as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom did a high hoof. Somehow watching the SHC gave Margot the impression that maybe they have a chance. After some more tromping through a wasteland that just had shades of brown and gray, the ponies found a place next to a dead tree. Dead branches littered the stony ground.

Far looked around and said, "This looks like a good place to camp. Everypony stay together. Watches last four hours. I will take the first watch, Margot will take the second watch and so on down the line until morning."

The sun had set, but there was enough light from the sky to see. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom collected wood for the fire. Once they had a nice pile of branches, Skybreeze set it on fire using a spell. Instead of feeling like they were in a wasteland surrounded by enemies, it felt like a camping trip. Margot got to satisfy her curiosity about the food bars. They tasted like granola bars with dried grass. It sounded boring but the bars tasted pretty good. The ingredients meshed nicely and it was not too sweet.

"Who wants to tell ghost stories?" Scootaloo asked with a smile after they ate some of the food bars. Far and Skybreeze exchanged glances.

"How about a story about the Train?" Scootaloo asked, her large purple eyes lit by orange firelight. Sweetie and Apple Bloom moved closer in anticipation of a scary tale.

"I think that story might be too scary for young fillies. You will have more than enough problems sleeping," Far advised.

“This story could be too scary for older mares," Skybreeze whispered while her eyes darted all over the place.

Apple Bloom still wanted a story,"How about one on the Headless Horse?"

Far shook his head. "I think we should get ready for sleep. There is a lot to do tomorrow. Margot will you take the first watch?"

"Sure but how will I know when four hours have passed?" Margot asked. 

"Don't worry, I can feel when its four hours. You will not be up all night," Far replied.

"You are no fun, Far," Scootaloo said with a frown as she prepared to go to sleep.

"When we are in a safer place, I will tell you the story of the Train," Far offered.

Margot watched as the ponies went to sleep. The stars slowly wheeled in the dark blue sky while she stood guard. Other than the crackling of the fire and the occasional sound of a pony moving in its sleep, it was pretty quiet. Sometimes the wind would blow making the dead trees creak and claw at the sky.

Even though it felt like a camping trip, Margot’s worries would not let her enjoy the peaceful evening. She felt she was lucky that there were no enemies in Ponyville to fight. Margot had no idea how to fight as a pony without her magic. The idea that others would have to fight for her made a frown cross her face. She wanted to pull her weight and not be a burden. For a quick second, she thought about doing the Ritual of Synchronization. 

At least here, there was no Cheerilee to smack her. Another thought crossed her mind, what if she was in the middle of the ritual and gleaners came? Doing the ritual took a lot of focus and Margot would not be able to wake up or even know that the gleaners were there. Everypony could die. With a sigh, Margot decided to wait until she got to Lower Canterlot. 

After a while, Far came and relieved Margot. She curled up next to Skybreeze and went to sleep. Dawn could not come fast enough for Margot. Her dreams were murky and filled with fear. A quick look around showed that the other ponies did not sleep any better. Well, except for Far.

"Good Morning Trottingham!" Far crowed with a smile on his face.

Skybreeze grimaced at Far's good spirits. Margot on the other hoof was still groggy from her terrible dreams.

"Y'all ready for more adventuring?" Apple Bloom asked. The wide smiles on her crusader counterpart's faces was a good enough answer. After a quick breakfast, the group was off.
The ponies slowly plodded through the almost monochromatic wasteland.

To relieve the boredom, Far told a story about The Train. "You asked about The Train. Now, I will tell you what I have heard. When the Gleaners started to attack Equestria, a bunch of ponies escaped Ponyville by taking the train. They planned to go to Canterlot. Halfway there, the train was attacked by gleaners and Foulshaper, a powerful gleaner lord. Foulshaper lives in the center of Stifle Swamp. In better times, that area was called Saddle Brook," Far paused to see if any pony wanted to know more.

"Come on Far, we wanna hear the rest!" Apple Bloom screamed.

"Foulshaper took some of the refugees and bound them to the train. Now its a half mechanical, half remnant monster that hungers for life and emotions. It stays near or on the tracks, but sometimes it ranges far from them. Some nights if you listen closely, you can hear its whoo hoo scream," Far said with a nervous laugh.

"Simply dreadful. I doubt that anything like that is possible," Skybreeze said with a dismissive wave of her left forehoof.

Margot said nothing, she had seen some strange things in her travels. She did hope not to see the Train.

"Where did you hear this terrible story?" Skybreeze asked.

Far looked away and looked back at her, "I heard it from caravan leaders. They are not the sort to just make stuff up and say its real."

At that second, there was a scream of pain. Everypony looked around to see what or who made the sound, but the rocks and trees blocked their view.

Far pointed off to the west, "The sound is coming from there." The group slowly followed Far. Margot hoped that they would get there in time to save somepony. Just around the bend, the group saw who was screaming. It was a buglike pony being chased by a greyish brown stumbling pony. Margot figured that this must be a changeling. One of the changeling's wings was bent at a strange angle.

"Changeling? Lets leave it to its fate," Skybreeze said with narrowed eyes.

"No, its a pony too. We must save it!" Apple Bloom announced.

Far flew up and dive bombed the gray pony. It was no contest, he hit the enemy’s head with a hind hoof. With a loud crack, the undead pony’s head was crushed. The body collapsed to the ground.

"That is what Remnants look like," Far said as he hovered and then landed next to the group.

"Thank you for saving Nga'Devro," the hungry changeling said with gratitude.
Skybreeze looked away. Margot watched the changeling carefully. If it was not for them she would be back home and human.

"Mah name is Apple Bloom. Do ya'll need food and water, friend Nga'Devro?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Nga'Devro would be grateful for the smallest amount of food and water," Nga'Devro said while bowing. Sweetie opened up her saddlebag and gave the poor changeling a food bar. Nga'Devro used his telekinesis to pick up the bar. He nibbled on it. The rest of the ponies introduced themselves except Skybreeze and Margot.

Margot saw the changeling, it was similar to the one she shot in the mall. This seemed like a good time to her to find out more about these creatures.

"Why are your people attacking malls?" Margot asked with narrowed eyes and ears back on head.

Confusion covered Nga'Devro's face,"What is a mall?"

"Several of your people had bombs and they killed several people in a mall!" Margot said while keeping her gaze on the changeling.

"Nga'Devro has not been back to the Hive. When the Love pony caused my brothers and sisters to be cast away, I decided not to go back to the Hive. I wanted to get my own emotions. I do not know what was happening in the Hive," Nga'Devro explained.

“I am sorry for the loss of your people, but I did not have anything to do with that,” Nga'Devro said.

Margot peered closely at the Nga'Devro. Again she wished she had access to her magic. For some reason, Margot felt that the creature was not lying.

"Nga'Devro, can you tell me how you ended up here in this Celestia forsaken place?" Far asked.

"Nga'Devro will share all he knows," Nga'Devro replied while he ate. After a few bites, the bar was gone. Margot noticed that the poor creature was almost skin and bones. It was probably a while before it had a good meal.

"So you have been roaming around Equestria and draining ponies?" Skybreeze asked with a tone of voice that promised violence. Far stepped between the changeling and the angry unicorn. A green glow covered Skybreeze’s horn.  Nga'Devro's horn started to glow greenly. Margot saw a bright blue flash and Skybreeze toppled over in the grayish brown dirt.

"Is she?" Margot asked.

"No, she is just resting. Oonté will not tolerate ponies fighting each other," Sweetie Belle said in a serious tone of voice.

"Nga'Devro, you must promise not to steal emotions from ponies anymore," Scootaloo said while walking up to the surprised changeling.

"Nga'Devro thinks you are asking for a difficult thing. It might be--" The changeling was interrupted by a blue glow that covered his body. He fell to his knees. Margot watched as a blue glowing Scootaloo stepped back from the changeling. She also slumped to the ground. Sweetie and Apple Bloom ran up to Scootaloo's unconscious body. The changeling stood up. The nice ponies had fed him but he was still hungry for a tasty emotion. When the orange  pegasus filly walked up to him and cast a spell on him, the hunger faded and then was gone. Nga'Devro remembered the terrible things he had done to feed his desire for emotions, now he was free.

"Nga'Devro is filled with unbounded gratitude for what you have done. My life is yours,"  Nga'Devro said.

"Fine, we can discuss that later. Can you tell me what you saw when you entered the Shatterleg?" Far asked while glancing at Skybreeze and Scootaloo who were still lying on the ground.

“By the way, that is Skybreeze and that is Margot,” Far said and pointed to Skybreeze and Margot.

"Before Nga'Devro's right wing was bent, he saw mostly that,"  Nga'Devro waved a hoof at the scenery.

"Later on, Nga'Devro saw a caravan of Remnants. Some were pulling carts while others had saddlebags. I think they were carrying supplies," Nga'Devro explained.

"Too bad for those ponies but the supplies could be still useful. We need to get those supplies," Far asserted. Skybreeze opened her eyes and got up. Apple Bloom left Scootaloo's side and walked between Margot and Skybreeze.

"Y'all know that the changeling Nga'Devro is under our protection," Apple Bloom said while looking Margot and Skybreeze in the eye.
"Fine but I still need to know why changelings are attacking my world," Margot said pointedly.
"The Prophetess will have the answer," Apple Bloom replied.

"If you wake up with no emotions, it is upon your head. Keep the misbegotten spawn away from me! If it attacks, I will not step aside," Skybreeze said with narrowed eyes.

"Enough! We have supplies to get. Nga'Devro will you help us recover the supplies?" Far asked.

"Yes,"  Nga'Devro replied and pointed to the North East.

“Why should we bother about these supplies? We have a mission to do,” Skybreeze opined.

“I know but at least if we know where they are, we can send someone back to get them,” Far answered.

“There is a chance that the supplies may be ruined,” Margot suggested. Far looked down and thought a bit.

“The both of you have made good points but Cheerilee and Lower Canterlot need to know what happened. That summoned food will not last forever. We will need a new caravan for Ponyville. I owe them that much,” Far said and stomped his left forehoof. 

Margot replied,”Sounds good but we need to be careful.”

“Nga'Devro needs help with his bent wing, will someone help me?” Nga'Devro said and grimaced in pain.

Far looked at the changeling’s bent wing with a puzzled look on his face.

“What do I have do?” Far asked.

“Nga'Devro needs your help in bending my wing back to its former shape,” Nga'Devro replied. Sweetie moved in closer to watch. Far grabbed the wing in his hooves and twisted it up to the right, Nga'Devro shrieked then he collapsed to his knees. “Nga'Devro thanks you. The pain will fade slowly,” The changeling said with gratitude. He stayed on his knees for a few moments before standing up with a grunt.

Apple Bloom walked up to Nga'Devro. “Ah you alright Ngah?”

Nga'Devro nodded slowly.

The group set out to find out the status of the missing supply caravan. Sweetie Belle took a break from probing and Nga'Devro took over for her. It was late in the afternoon when the group found the supply caravan, well, what was left. Nga'Devro gave them good instructions so the group was able to get close enough to study the Remnants. The group hid behind a small pile of rocks and trees while the Remnants wandered aimlessly in front of them. To Skybreeze’s chagrin, the wind shifted and brought the smell of dry dead flesh to their noses.

“That is definitely a foul stench,” Skybreeze complained.

“I think they are beyond caring,” Margot replied.

Unlike the first time, Margot had a bit more time to study Remnants. These ponies looked like they were put in a freeze dryer. Most of their fur was gone or converted to a grayish brown color. They were just stumbling around when something changed. All of the Remnants stood still then they raised their heads.

“Manure! The wind must’ve shifted,” Far exclaimed.

The hungry enemies walked toward the hidden ponies. No more wandering now, the Remnants knew where to go now. Margot noticed that three of the enemy still pulled supply carts while the other ones had full saddlebags. 

“Skybreeze, Nga'Devro and Sweetie Belle get ready to use your magic to put these things down!” Far said as he prepared to take off. Before he had a chance to take off, Far was hit by a blast of green energy from a Remnant unicorn that knocked him over into a thorny brown thicket.

Margot glanced at Far’s twitching body. She wished she could do something to help him. Skybreeze blasted two of the enemy off of their hooves. Sweetie used her telekinesis to grab small rocks to fling at the enemy. If they were fighting normal ponies, she would have knocked out some of them, but the Remnants shrugged off the attacks.

Covered with a blue glow, Apple Bloom strode out to the Remnants. The creatures fired bursts of green energy at her, but her shield blocked the shots. Scootaloo followed closely behind with her own shield. Sweetie Belle fired blasts of blue energy at the enemies from her horn. The Remnants recoiled from the shots. Nga'Devro also fired away at the creatures too.
Margot wanted to help but she could not do any magic. A quick glance showed that Far had recovered from being hit, now he was trying to free himself without success.

“Margot, help me!” Far screamed. Margot walked up to the thicket and wondered how she was going to do anything without hands. Reluctantly, she put her mouth on one branch and pulled back the branch until it snapped off. The branch tasted sour like old regrets. Then Margot went for another nasty tasting branch and broke that one off too. Far climbed out of his woody prison. Margot noticed two bleeding scratches on his flanks.

He followed Margot’s gaze, “Don’t worry about that, I am fine.” Far sprang into the darkening sky. Margot stood on her hind legs to try to do a martial arts move, but she lost her balance. Her head hit a rock. Before she fell into darkness, Margot wondered if she was going to survive this or other threats in this world.
> Chapter Five: On two sides of the glass
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles

Mall of America


When the wave of alien energy grabbed Margot and pulled her in, Mark wanted to go into the mall and get her out but something held him back. He got as far as the closed door. A quick glance inside showed no bodies. The sun was warm, but Mark felt cold. The comms went quiet.  He did not know if that was better than hearing screams. Mark had to reach out.

“This is Special Agent Mark Strickland. Is there anyone out there?” Mark asked through the headset. Very few agents replied.

Then his comms was filled with a commanding voice, “This is SSA Monica Williams. All agents must keep the mall secure until local law enforcers get here. Until the Hazmat team has certified that this area is safe, no one is to enter the mall.”

Mark looked at his reflection in the glass,  and saw the small crowd moving up on him. He turned around. It seemed like a guy in a Red Sox baseball cap was the leader.

He walked up to Mark and said,”I need to get in there to get my wife! These people have loved ones in there too.” The guy made a gesture to include the people behind him.

“I’m sorry but no one can go in until the Hazmat team says it’s safe,” Mark replied. He understood what the guy felt.

“Well, it looks safe to me,” Baseball cap guy said aggressively after looking around Mark to see into the mall.

Mark could feel that this situation could slide into something worse but he had orders. Baseball cap guy took a step forward. The crowd stepped forward too. Mark drew his gun. The crowd and baseball cap guy backed up a step. A second later, baseball cap guy squinted like he was looking into a too bright sun.  At that moment, police cars and SWAT trucks arrived with flashing lights and screeching brakes. Mark did not want to think what would have happened if he had to handle the crowd by himself.

---

A day later
Washington D.C.
FBI Offices.


The normally busy office was quiet and somber. The incident at the Mall of America had cost the FBI several agents that had worked in several cubicles near Mark. He would not joke with or work with them ever again. Mark looked over his dark brown wooden desk that had a few folders and reports on it. He sighed when he thought of how much paperwork he had to do. Mark grabbed a pen and was going to work on another report when he felt someone was standing in front of his desk. Mark looked up. A tall guy with slicked back dark brown hair and brown eyes looked down at Mark. He smiled a wide smile, then extended a well manicured hand.

“Glad ta meetcha! I’m Margot Summerholt’s replacement. My name is Jerome Siklis. I'll be working with you.”

Jerome reminded him of a pushy car salesman, someone with a glib reply for everything. Mark looked at his new D-core partner, Jerome Siklis. Something about the guy ticked him off. Jerome seemed okay but something about this guy…

Earth
Some time later
Dallas D-core offices
Interrogation room six

A few days later, the terrorists attacked again. This time D-core had better info. Mark and Jerome with the help of some SWAT teams managed to stop the attack in NYC and get some prisoners. Other teams around the world were less successful, they stopped the attacks but the terrorists all died. The prisoners from NYC were sent to the Dallas D-core office.

Interrogation room six was a gray-green room with a one way mirror window on one side, a desk with a computer and behind it some shelves and cabinets. Room six did have one different thing, a perplexed FBI agent.

Other than the prisoner, there was not much to see. Two cheap fold-out chairs and a gray metal table. Mark gazed through the one way glass into the interrogation room. A black bug-like pony waited with a glum look on its face. The creature had a silver and black torus on its horn. Mark knew that if he walked into the room, he would see a blonde woman wearing a pink halter top chained to the table and floor. He did not understand what he was seeing. When he interrogated suspects, they were the same on both sides of the glass. Mark wondered what was really going on.

How many FBI agents dealt with fanged bug ponies? Ponies? They were docile creatures that kids pet at shows. Ponies pulled carts or maybe had kids riding them. At most ponies bit people because they were not trained well, or because they were mean. He refused to believe that these alien ponies were leaving bombs in knapsacks to explode and kill people. Then there were the bombs themselves. They caused almost no physical damage.

Video footage from security cameras showed at most tables and chairs were moved a few inches. Mark wished that the films showed what happened to the people. There was a green flash with some black in it and then the people were gone. The idea that ponies - even black bug eyed ones - were capable of making weapons bothered him. The FBI handbook, though quite extensive, did not have anything to cover this situation.

Then again as Mark peered through the glass, he saw that the bug pony’s head was a big as a normal human’s head. Maybe they were as smart as a regular person and the handbook might still be valid, he thought.

Jerome came in with a steaming cup of coffee, and looked at the prisoner.

“Ya know, even with the fangs, she’s kinda cute looking,” Jerome mused.

“You know, it could be male,” Mark replied, but then regretted what he said.

“Nah, I checked, its female,” Jerome said with a smile. Mark did not want to know how Jerome checked.

“Are you ready for some fun?” Jerome asked with an even larger smile.

Mark nodded. Jerome gave him a thumbs up. He left to go to the interrogation room. Mark hoped that they would get some useful intel from the prisoner. To him, it seemed like things were going to get worse. Mark leaned close to the one way glass to watch. Jerome walked into the room and sat down across the pony.

“My name is Jerome. What’s yours?” Jerome asked in a chatty tone of voice. The pony just looked at Jerome with a sullen look on its face.

“What? No name, rank or serial number? I am sooo disappointed,” Jerome said.

“You know, I do not have the time to play games. You either be a bit more chatty or...” Jerome narrowed his eyes a bit. Mark did not understand what happened next. The pony’s green eyes widened and it cringed away from Jerome. If it had not been chained up, the creature would be hugging the furthest wall from Jerome.

“Ya know, I will be back. I hope by then we can have a nice discussion,” Jerome said and walked out of the room.

When Jerome entered the viewing room, Mark asked him,”What the hell did you do to that prisoner?”

Jerome answered with a question,”What do you think happened?”

“Do not go there! Answer my question!” Mark replied with narrowed eyes.. The feeling that he was back in the Twilight Zone surfaced again along with the resentment. Mark wondered what Jerome did to the prisoner to make it react like that. There was no physical contact.

Jerome glanced at the cowering prisoner, ”Its complicated.”

“No, it is not,” Mark replied. Mark’s resentment went up a notch. To him, complicated was trying to hook up a VCR to a TV set and cable box. Interrogating prisoners is not as complicated as Jerome said. 

Jerome looked away for a second and then looked back. “There is a lot of weird stuff going on with this case,” Jerome said.

“No kidding,” Mark replied while locking his gaze on Jerome. “This is not normal, a lot does not make sense. There are no messages. No videos showing propaganda,” Mark said while clenching his hands.

“Maybe this unknown organization, UnOrg, in D-core speak, does not care if we fear them or not. You know why we are here and my bosses don’t care about local threats,” Jerome stated while waving a well manicured right hand. 

Mark noticed that Jerome’s fingernails were perfectly shaped and just a bit too shiny. He figured that he had nail gloss on them. It was not just Jerome’s hands that bothered Mark, it was also the rest of Jerome’s outfit. The charcoal gray suit and pants were definitely not off the rack. He wondered how much money Jerome was making. Then Mark realized where some of his distaste for Jerome was coming from. He was jealous of Jerome. It was unprofessional and Mark resolved to keep those feelings under control. He still had this feeling that he was being kept in the dark.

“I have this feeling that there is more going on than you or your boss, is sharing,” Mark said while his eyes narrowed.

“Hey, point that anger somewhere else. You feel angry because you don’t understand what is going on. I only know a little bit more than you. Do you want to know what I know?” Jerome asked with a smile.

“Stop dancing! Just tell me what’s going on!” Mark said with clenched fists. Something about Jerome’s smiles was stomping on Mark’s toes.

“I am not really supposed to mention this,” Jerome said while glancing around. Jerome’s actions seemed a bit too dramatic to Mark.

“Well. Go on!” Mark spat out.

“My employers don’t want to mention the word ‘Magic’. People on this world have crazy ideas about it,” Jerome said after sighing. It also seemed too dramatic to Mark.

Mark shook his head in denial, “Magic? There is no such thing.”

Jerome’s right eye twitched. Mark smiled on the inside, finally he managed to get under Mr. Smooth Salesguy’s skin.

“Yeah, Magic. Not just for unicorns and the mentally unstable or naive. Magic is why you can see what Ms. Pink Halter top really looks like. Magic is why she is able to fool people into thinking that she is a hot looking blonde. Magic is how I was able to dump a little fear into the head of our guest. If I push harder, I can make our guest see anything I want, ” Jerome finished his little speech with a few deep breaths to calm down.

“If you are right about magic, if it really exists... What about the attacks?” Mark asked while unclenching his fists. He was far from accepting magic, but it felt like it made sense.

“The attacks are not from enemies that want to just kill. I think they are harvesting something from people. I have sensed some sort of magical residue left over at the places where the bug ponies exploded their devices. If you want to kill people, you just kill them. There is something more about these devices. I wish that your bosses had listened to my boss and moved the soldiers further away from the areas where the bombs exploded,” Jerome said.

“You think something is going to happen?” Mark asked while frowning. The idea that more of these attacks could happen was something he did not want to think about.

Jerome shrugged. “I don’t know, but I wouldn't risk it for at least a few weeks.” 

Mark leaned into Jerome. “What are you? Some sort of Psychic?” Another flicker of annoyance crossed Jerome’s face. That gave Mark a bit of pleasure.

“No! I am a wizard. My specialty is Enchantment, Mind based magic,” Jerome replied while looking into Mark’s eyes.

“Stop before you start to ask me silly questions about pointed hats and staves. Oh yeah, I stay out the minds of the folks I work with unless authorized. To cut a long story short, the UnOrg is magic based. Do not mention this to your FBI coworkers,” Jerome said in a warning tone while looking around.

“You know, this sounds like a load of bull,” Mark said with narrowed eyes. Even though he was still angry, there was this feeling that he had been given some useful info. Something to help him deal with the Twilight Zone feeling.

Jerome sighed, ”Can we keep working, at least? Keep your eyes open and you will find something that might change your mind.”

Mark just stared at Jerome. After a second, he pointed at the interrogation room. Jerome turned and went back into the room.

Mark watched as his partner sat down and started to question the cringing prisoner. One thought wondered if Margot knew about Magic. He wondered if she would tell him what he needed to know without all of the drama that Jerome liked. Then he said a quick prayer for her soul.

> Chapter Six: A Latte Grande with Luna
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles

Equestria
Shatterleg Wastes

Margot slowly returned to reality while voices wondered about her condition. Her head pounded like it was a drum.

“Was she drained?” Skybreeze asked with concern while she peered closely at Margot with worried eyes.

“No, she hit her head on a rock,” Far replied as he looked around for more threats.

“Nga'Devro wonders about all of that blood,” Nga'Devro said as he looked away. It seemed like his stomach was doing slow rolls. He did not want to lose the food the ponies gave him.

When she opened her eyes, Margot could see ponies looking down at her. Shame rolled through her heart.  She wanted to help out not become a casualty. 

Far used some of his water to wash some of the blood out of Margot’s fur.  Apple Bloom walked up to Margot and put her hoof near her head wound. A blue glow flowed from her left forehoof. Margot’s pain faded away.

”Thank you,” Margot said. She still wished that the blow to her ego could be healed that quickly. Apple Bloom just nodded.

“What happened?” Margot asked when she managed to push her feelings of failure away.

“We destroyed the Remnants. Quickly and effectively,” Skybreeze stated with a proud toss of her striped mane.

“You should have seen it Mahgot! Me and mah friends were granted Oonte’s Grace to give the Remnants peace,” Apple Bloom said with a smile, then she covered her mouth with a hoof when she yawned.

Margot watched as Apple Bloom slowly trotted next to Scootaloo and laid down in the grass to rest.

“Nga'Devro is amazed at the bravery of those fillies,” Nga'Devro said with admiration. He then said with lowered ears, “Nga'Devro could also see that their zeal will lead them into fatal situations.”

Margot shakily got up, and followed Far as he walked over to the supply cart. She did not miss the sight of the SHC lying on the ground getting their well earned rest. Far saw Margot look at the SHC lying in the grass. "If I had enough time, I would have gotten them blankets, but they hit the ground and were out like lights before I could do anything,"

Margot turned her attention to the supply cart. The sun bleached wood of the supply cart looked like it had been in the desert for years. Ropes that were sturdy now looked like they would turn into beige dust if Margot touched them. Skybreeze walked up to Margot and Far. She glanced at Nga'Devro who was acting like a sentry, looking for more threats. Then she used her telekinesis to open a food bag. The stink of dry rotted grain hit their noses.

“Manure!” Far cursed. Skybreeze opened a barrel of water. Dark green rancid liquid oozed out. Margot had to cover her nose with a hoof to keep the sour stink out. That did not work, the smell still got in.

“I am sorry that I risked all of your lives for this useless stuff,” Far said with drooping ears.

“Well, I didn't agree with you but at least we know what happened to the caravan and the supplies,” Skybreeze said as she shrugged optimistically.

“Nga'Devro thinks that we should be leaving this place soon,” Nga'Devro said while looking at the dead gray brown ponies.

“We’re ready to go!” Apple Bloom yelled as she and her cohorts walked up to Skybreeze, Margot and Far. Margot looked at the dead ponies, and wondered if she should do something. It didn’t seem right to just leave bodies of ponies lying around. They were someone’s friends or relatives. She looked at Far.

“Skybreeze-” Far started to ask her to deal with the dead.

“I understand,” Skybreeze said as she prepared a fire spell to burn the bodies. A green glow covered her horn for a few moments. 

Scootaloo glanced at the Remnants. “Don’t worry, we have given them peace. Whatever made these things ponies is long gone.”

Then the dead ponies, tainted supplies and the ruined cart burst into flames.  The group left as the dead ponies and the tainted supplies burned behind them. A plume of black smoke climbed into the darkening sky.

For a few moments, Margot watched as the orange flames licked over the dead ponies and the cart. She wanted to be gone but it didn’t seem respectful to the dead to rush off. So she looked at the other ponies. 

Nga'Devro stood straight and tall while looking around for more threats. Scootaloo had already stopped watching the burning cart and ponies and was looking down the path. Apple Bloom kept looking at the other ponies to see when they were going to leave. For some reason Sweetie Belle had stopped watching things burn and was sniffling. Margot wondered if Sweetie was still worrying about her sister. On the other hoof, Skybreeze kept her gaze on the leaping flames. Every once in a while she would sigh. Far looked at Margot from across the flames. She thought she saw that the fur around his eyes was wet. She glanced at the burning cart again.

The flames had covered everything and it was getting hard to see the shape of the cart as black smoke began to rise. Margot watched the burning remnants and wondered if she would survive the next attack. Again she missed her magic as well as being human. 

Finally Far raised his head. “Let’s go.” The group left as the dead ponies and the tainted supplies burned behind them. A plume of black smoke climbed into the darkening sky.

Margot did not say anything while her hooves tromped mechanically over the grey brown ground. She was still struggling with feeling so inept. Normally when she was human, she was competent. Now, Margot felt like a princess in a videogame, useless except as a trophy.

Far led them to the edge of the Shatterleg Wastes. The moon was rising in the dark blue sky when they climbed out of the crater. Oblivious stars sparkled above the ponies. When they got a few miles away, the tired ponies did not bother with stories. Far picked Nga'Devro to do first watch, and went to sleep while the stars silently turned in the night sky above them.

Margot thought about the day’s events, the feeling of being useless still bothered her. A darker thought surfaced, maybe she would never get her powers back? She pushed that thought away as her gray eyes closed in slumber.

The Starbucks on East 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue was filled with ponies. Some of them were using their laptops while others were chatting at tables. Margot glanced out the windows, and just saw a desert wasteland. Nothing but featureless grey brown sand burning under a black sun for miles. She did not think it made sense that this wasteland was outside, Margot was sure she was in Manhattan, but it felt like she was in a very vivid dream. A nagging doubt whispered maybe it was not exactly a dream. She was so into her thoughts, she did not notice that she was not sitting at a table alone.

“Be of good cheer!” somepony said.

“Who are you?” Margot asked when she turned to look at who was sitting at the table with her.

“Who are you?” Margot asked when she turned to look at who was sitting at the table with her. On her left, was a dark blue unicorn with wings. Her light blue mane sparkled like little stars were trapped inside, and it moved slowly like a breeze was blowing into her face. Margot watched as the large light blue tail floated behind the winged unicorn. She looked back into the unicorn’s face.

There was some levity, but there was a lot of tiredness too in the light blue eyes that returned Margot’s gaze. A Starbuck’s medium cup with a straw was surrounded by a blue glow that made it float in front of her. Every few minutes, the straw would move to the pony’s mouth and she would take a sip. A black crown lay on the table.

“My name is Luna and I am an alicorn princess,” Luna replied. Margot gazed down at her reflection on the shiny brown wooden table. A glum unicorn pony with limp blonde hair, pink fur and sad gray eyes returned her gaze.

“Gather up your courage, soon you will be in Lower Canterlot and we will talk again,” Luna said. A cold cutting wind blew through the store. The busy happy ponies started to scream and groan. Margot watched with fear as the ponies’ bright colors faded to grayish brown. Their eyes went dead and then filled with a poisonous green glow. 

A sharp and cold voice said, “We shall talk too.”

An armored hoof touched her face gently, and Margot looked back at Luna. “Courage,” she whispered.

Margot woke with a gasp. A quick look around showed that it was getting close to dawn, the east was brightening. She watched the sleeping ponies as the sun rose. While she stood guard, the strange dream replayed itself in her mind. Margot was not looking forward to meeting the owner of the cold voice. She just knew there was going to be a lot she was not going to like today.

> Chapter Seven: A poisonous Empress appears
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles

Equestria
Near the Shatterleg Wastes

After everypony was up, Far briefed them about the next part of the trip.

“Drink up, if we get through, we'll get more water later. The Searing Flats are next. Its flat which is good for galloping. Its also hot which is not so good for galloping, but you must keep going. Somehow, the sun in this area is really very intense and hot. Do not stop. If you stop, we will never see you again,” Far said and looked away.  He remembered a dear friend that did not make it. Far looked back. A few minutes later, the group started galloping.

After an hour of galloping, they could see the bright white edge of the Searing Flats. Margot could not see any details in the brightness. With a gasp of surprise, she entered the area. It felt like running in an oven. Nothing to see, but a blue white haze. Nothing to feel but the hammer blows of heat from the sun. Margot focused her will to keep running. A few minutes later, her breath started to rasp in her overheated lungs. It was getting harder for her to breathe and concentrate. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton. Just when she thought her body was going to collapse, Margot broke through to cooler air. Everypony else was looking at her.

“We were wondering if you were going to make it,” Far said. Sweat dripped off of him while he took a deep breath. The group continued to canter north. In the distance, Margot could see what looked like a city in the clouds. The blue white buildings were tall and pointed at the top.

“What is that?” She asked and pointed with her right forehoof.

Far’s ears drooped. ”That is Skyshriek Tumult, home of the shriekers, Gleaner-made creatures that could deafen or slash a pony to ribbons. Before the Gleaners, it was a place called Cloudsdale, home of most of Equestria’s pegasi and other flying creatures. I lost a lot of friends when the Shriekers came. The Shrieker King, Slashwing, rules the Tumult now.”

“My condolences Far,” Skybreeze said. There was a short pause while Skybreeze and Far gazed at each other.

Scootaloo tried to cough discreetly, but it sounded like she was saying “letsgetonwithitalready.” Margot tried not to laugh as Skybreeze and Far looked away from each other with blushes on their faces.

Far looked at his friends. “OK, lets keep going.”

“Fah, do you know what caused the Searing Flats?”, Apple Bloom said while sweat dripped off her face. Far just shook his head. 

“Who cares! Let’s go!” Scootaloo said. After a few hours of slow cantering the group walked into a silent forest of trees that looked like they had been torn apart. Jagged stumps thrust from the ground littered with sharp pieces of wood.

“Nga'Devro wonders what happened here?” Nga'Devro asked while looking at the devastation.

“Slashwing does not like ponies hiding in the forest and spying on his kingdom. He had his minions level the forest here. I heard that from some ponies that used to live nearby. They ended up having to go to Lower Canterlot,” Far replied while avoiding sharp wooden spikes left over from some young trees killed by the shriekers.

To Margot, this seemed to be a place of death. There was just mud, no grass on the ground. All of the birds and animals were gone. The amount of destruction and the implied malice bothered her. These were the actions of an enemy that did not fear reprisal. Margot hoped that she would not have to deal with such an enemy alone and without magic.  While they trotted through the silent forest, Margot walked up to Skybreeze.

“Why do you hate Changelings?” Margot asked.

Skybreeze looked to the left for a second,”They killed two friends of mine. One died quick, drained of emotion. The other one died slowly and in great fear. I felt his heart quicken and then slow and stop in my hooves.”

“My apologies. I don't know why they attacked my world,” Margot said while looking around.

“They probably wanted the emotions from the ponies in your world,” Skybreeze explained. Margot wanted to explain that there were humans in her world, but she decided not to say anything. The ponies trudged through the sticky brown mud while the mournful wind blew through the shredded trees. When they left the forest behind, Far called a rest break.

“We are so close, by night we should be in Lower Canterlot,” Far said.

That put a weary smile on everypony’s face.  After what seemed like too many hours of cantering, Margot could see the outline of Lower Canterlot as well as the dark purple hills of the Unicorn Range. They were getting close. Margot smiled. She knew a food and rest would make her feel better. Hopefully, she could do the Ritual of Synchronization, and get her powers back without being hit. That idea put some bounce in her step.

As the ponies moved from a canter to a gallop, Margot could hear sounds of combat and see multi colored flashes of magic. She began to wonder if Lower Canterlot would be there when she arrived.  

The ponies were galloping when a bright green poisonous portal appeared in front of them. Dust flew from their hooves as they stopped. A dark green Alicorn daintily stepped from the glowing portal. The portal faded away in a blaze of green. Its’ black and green crown had green sparkles inside. The unknown creature’s eyes and mouth were dark voids. The group gaped in surprise at the alicorn in front of them. The group gaped in surprise at the alicorn in front of them.

A voice cold as Winter addressed them,”Bow to me, for I am Empress RazorHoof!”

Margot gazed at the green creature in front of her, the Empress was not the color of natural growing things. She was the color of poison and things that rot in darkness and despair. The voice as cold as a biting winter wind was familiar to Margot, she had heard it in her dream this morning. Margot's eyes and tail drooped. She had no intention to bow to such a creature, but Margot knew she had no magical power.  She needed help to fight the Empress.

A green light flickered on Empress Razorhoof’s horn as she whispered quietly, “Your friends are gone.”

When Margot looked back at her friends, she got a shock. They were gone! Dismay filled her heart.  A quick fearful glance ahead showed that the Empress had a smile colder than the edges of sharp knives.

“My enemies think that you and another can stop me. I laugh at their weak attempts to interfere with my reign!” The Empress said.

Margot scraped together some courage. It was hard to do. If she had some spells, even low level ones, she could do something better than look determined. Still, she had to make an attempt, maybe the Empress will make a mistake that Margot could take advantage of.

“Where are my friends? What did you do to them?” Margot asked while her ears narrowed and ears went back on her head.

The Empress gave Margot a condescending smile. “I have such plans for you. It will hurt a bit, well, really it will hurt a lot, but what do I care? I won’t be the one in pain. Come along and lets get this done. You shall help me crush the ponies here and then the humans on Earth.”

Margot dug her hooves into the ground and snarled. “Where are my friends?”

“Your friends?” The Empress said with a laugh. Her laugh sounded more like glass being cut. No mirth in it at all. Just a painful ear hurting sound.

“You consider that rag tag group of miscreants... friends? If I were you, I would be more careful with my choice of companions,” The Empress said. Margot narrowed her eyes.

The Empress whispered, “This is the truth.”  A green spark flew from her horn and floated between them. Then it expanded into a green tinged image of the area outside the Searing Flats. Margot remembered the area, it was right before she came through the Searing Flats. All of the ponies were there resting. 

Scootaloo looked around and complained. “How long do we have to wait for that weak pony?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “Maybe she lost her way and is not coming out?”

Scootaloo grimaced. “No way! She owes us for the loss of Golden Harvest.”

Far looked up at the sky to check the position of the sun. “We will wait for a few more hours.”

“Nga'Devro is surprised at your generosity. If she was in the Hive, she would have been left outside to die already. Useless drones are not needed,” The changeling said and stamped a forehoof for emphasis.

“Nah, I will wait a bit longer so its easier to say that I waited. I did the right thing but she did not make it,” Far replied.

“Well, I for one will be glad when that sorry excuse of a pink unicorn is out of our manes,” Skybreeze said with her nose in the air.

The comments surprised Margot, she thought they liked her or at least tolerated her. Anger started to rise in her heart until she remembered what happened to her when the remnants attacked. Knocking herself out was not the action of a useful pony. Another thought surfaced, maybe this was all just lies from an enemy. Empress RazorHoof did not exactly look very friendly. Margot could not decide if what she saw was real or not. In frustration, she waved her right fore hoof at the image as if to sweep it away.

“No, I have more fun things to show you,” The Empress said in a mock serious tone of voice.

The scene changed to one with her boyfriend, Brad Turow and another woman in a restaurant. They started a slow passionate kiss that seemed to take hours. Margot remembered times they used to kiss like that. A sense of betrayal went through her.

“Do you see it now? Poor Margot, you are alone and powerless. Join with me and I will give you as much power as you desire,” The Empress purred in a voice smooth as a silken noose. 

Margot was too deep in her thoughts of betrayal and hurt to hear anything. After a few minutes, she looked at the grinning Empress. “No! No! I won’t believe it. Its all lies!”

“Go ahead! Run at me in anger. You will get knocked back, and hurt your leg.”

In her anger, Margot ran at the Empress, but a green bolt of magic knocked her back. Margot landed badly and her left hind leg snapped like a twig. Pain shot up her leg.

“The pain is real, feel it. It hurts so bad! You will fall onto the ground. Oh my, I see that you have hurt yourself,” The Empress said with an air of boredom.

The pain was so excruciating, Margot fell onto the ground. She raised her head despite the pain. “I will not surrender to you or your lies!” There was no pity in those dark holes that the Empress had for eyes.

“Poor Margot. All alone,” the Empress said and then she vanished in a blaze of greenish black smoke.

“Your leg hurts so bad that you can’t get to your supplies.”

Margot breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. Worries about being in the middle of nowhere without supplies began to surface. She pushed the worries back by remembering she had a saddlebag with food on her. All she had to do was to stand up and take the saddlebags off. The pain in her broken leg stopped her from standing up.

“You are in the wasteland all alone.”

A feeling of isolation crept in. Margot remembered that she had seen approaching creatures and tents in the distance. She looked into the distance. Nothing but long abandoned ruins met her gaze. There were no approaching creatures to help her. Margot began to worry that she would die of thirst but then she remembered that she could do a Synchronization Ritual. 

“You don't have any magic. You just dreamed that.”

Once she had her magic synced to this world, water and food could be conjured up, and her leg would be healed. Margot tried to focus on her magic, but it did not seem to exist. She remembered casting spells but it was so hazy almost dreamlike. Her memories of being a magic using human slowly faded away. 

“You are Gray Glimmer, a powerless unicorn pony. Accept this. Do not fight. Then you will need my help.”

Margot went through her memories, for some reason, they only consisted of her life in Ponyville. She was Gray Glimmer, an unicorn pony that barely had any magic. Even the most low level spells were too hard for her. All of her memories about working for D-core and being human were almost gone.

Gray Glimmer awoke on the cold ground, and wondered about the strange dream she had. Somehow she had had been dreaming that she was a human with magical powers. Gray thought this was one of the strangest dreams she had ever had. Humans were just mythical creatures, they did not exist.

A voice as warm as a ray of light on a cold day whispered, “See the Truth.”

The new voice that entered Margot’s mind was familiar to the Empress. “Stop your futile meddling, this world will be mine!” She stomped a dark green hoof with anger.

Margot struggled inside of Gray Glimmer’s mind. It was like trying to climb out of a deep dark pit. She just had to keep fighting against the pull of the pony’s fear and sadness. The feeling of being isolated grew worse. It was like they were a hundred or now a thousand miles away from anyone that could help. 

She was going to die millions of miles away from anypony that could help. Something about the despair filling Gray Glimmer’s heart did not feel right to Margot. She tried to reach for the Truth the strange warm voice offered.

”You are a dying crippled pony in the wasteland. Call to me and accept my offer of power.”

For a few moments, she was a crippled dying unicorn pony out in a cold dark wasteland while shadows crept closer like hungry wolves, but then something flashed. Margot reached for it like a drowning man reaches for a life preserver.

Flash, she remembered her first kiss with Brad.

Flash, she remembered flying over the Sekar Mountains in dragon form. The warm winds lifting her black leathery wings.

Flash, flash, flash. More memories came back to her. Now, she remembered that she did not work alone. There were always a support team even on tough missions. The flashes slowed down as Margot remembered who she was.

“Your thoughts are lies!”

Certainty filled Margot’s mind. She was not Gray Glimmer, She was Margot Summerholt! Margot gasped as a Vision filled her mind.

The Vision flew to the West into a tangled forest full of pain. A yellow pegasus mare with teal colored eyes and pink mane and tail languished inside a cell made of twisted branches harder than iron. It seemed that the pony saw her and smiled a little.

Then the Vision flew up from the forest and into a place made of clouds full of screams of fear and anger. A grey pegasus mare with a blonde mane and tail looked at Margot with her crossed golden eyes while she sadly lay in a cell made of clouds.

After that, the Vision flew high up into the sky until the whole of Equestria was spread out below her. Waves of pain and defiance streamed from the tortured land. The pain was almost too much to bear but Margot managed to keep her sanity. She resolved to help Equestria any way she could. Margot found herself lying on the ground in front of a pink unicorn with a dirty blonde mane and tail. Its black hate filled eyes gave a clue who she really was.

The pink unicorn changed into Empress Razorhoof.

Margot faced her enemy bravely. “No more tricks!”

The Empress was surprised and took a faltering step back. Margot struggled to her hooves, she was expecting her broken leg to hurt but there was no pain. She galloped toward the Empress filled with righteous anger while spitting words like bullets.

“You are an Enchantress. One who messes with other’s minds. NO MORE TRICKS!” Margot screamed when she was right next to the Empress. Everything faded into a fog of poisonous green then the green was swept away by a blue that was bright as a cheerful shout.

There she was, standing on the dusty plain, just a short gallop away from Lower Canterlot. It seemed that the battle there was done. Blue and white flags flew bravely from tents. Help in the shape of ponies and other creatures was approaching quickly. Empress Razorhoof looked into Margot’s eyes with fear. Margot broke eye contact to check on her friends. They were right behind her ready for battle. The sound of approaching allies also reached Margot’s ears. She looked back at the Empress.

“Nice try but my friends and I will come for you. We will cast you and your works down!” Margot shouted in determination.

The Empress recovered her composure with a sneer. “It matters not, I shall have this world and Earth too. Your pitiful attempts to delay the inevitable will amuse me,” The Empress said and faded away in a blaze of green.

The group turned and faced the oncoming army. Lower Canterlot was just a short trot away. Margot faced the oncoming ponies with some happiness in her heart. She figured that she would get a lot of questions answered and go home. A doubting thought snaked into her mind. Maybe?
> Chapter Eight: Gone Foal Gone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles 


The dream of Past Ponyville

“Mommy, I want to fly!” Margot’s violet unicorn foal screamed with glee. Twinkle looked up at her with bright green eyes and bounced on the ground. Margot grabbed her with her telekinesis and lifted her up into the bright blue sky.

“Look at me Mommy, I’m a pegasus! Wheeee!” she said between squeals of happiness.

For one moment, Margot was truly happy. Her daughter, Twinkle, the park filled with other pony parents - it was pure. Margot’s heart was filled with happiness and love. Black clouds filled with green flashes roiled into the bright blue sky. The warm golden sunshine began to get cold. Cold cutting winds started to blow through the park. Cries of fear and surprise were mixed with calls to wayward foals as ponies prepared to leave the park to seek shelter. The sky was quickly covered by the clouds and the area was filled with darkness until the lights in the park came on.

“Mommyyyy!” Twinkle screamed with wide eyes. Margot brought her shivering scared daughter down to the ground next to her.

She touched her daughter with a comforting hoof. “Stay close to me and we will be home soon.”

The apartment was at least ten blocks away. It was a quick walk on a sunny day but now it would take much longer. Margot looked up at the sky. The clouds looked like they were coming down to the roofs of the buildings. Something about that made the fur bristle on her neck. She gazed at her fearful daughter and they went across the street. Just two more blocks and they would be home. Margot looked over at Twinkle, she was quiet and still cantering next to her. A flash of green caught her eye. Another flash of green caused Margot to stop. A tendril of green touched a pony a few steps ahead of her. He groaned in pain and turned grayish brown.

Margot looked at Twinkle, the poor foal’s eyes were watching with fascination. She put her hoof in front of Twinkle’s face to stop her from looking at the grisly scene. The gray brown pony with the green glowing eyes stumbled toward Margot. She did not allow it to get close. The enemy was blasted away with a burst of power that sent it flying.

“Come on Twinkle , let's go,” Margot said while looking for other threats.

Twinkle followed and sniffled. Margot breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, they were home. All they had to do was open the door and get inside quickly. She used her magic to unlock the door. Margot was planning to grab Twinkle when she heard her daughter groan. Margot looked back and her heart fell, Twinkle had a green tendril sticking into her. 

Her little face twisted in agony Twinkle cried. "Mommy! Help me!"

Margot could sense the strange magic draining her poor daughter’s life away. She could not do anything, but watch helplessly as her poor daughter faded away into a green glow and disappeared.

Royal Guest Quarters
Waking

Far and Skybreeze held the weeping Margot and tried to make sense of her statements. They both looked at each other while holding Margot close.

“How did she know about what happened when the Gleaners came to Ponyville?” Far asked with confusion in his voice.

“She must have the ability to see the past, though in other ponies it's not this extreme, ” Skybreeze said while holding the still weeping Margot.

AppleBloom strode up to the group. She touched Margot’s head with her right forehoof and said,”Peace.” Margot’s tearful eyes closed. She slumped into the hooves of Far and Skybreeze.

Nga'Devro walked up. “Nga'Devro wonders what is happening, it sounds like a mare lost her foal.”

Far looked at the puzzled changeling and said, “Yes.”

Far and Skybreeze placed the unconscious Margot back on her sleeping bag.

A few hours later

Margot woke up slowly. The dream or Vision was so vivid. She had seen the fall of Ponyville through the eyes of a unicorn mare named Prism. Her loss of her foal, Twinkle, tore through Margot’s heart.  Prism managed to dodge attacks from Gleaners and Remnants while standing in the doorway of her building waiting for her foal which was never coming back. Eventually hunger and dehydration killed the broken hearted mare. Margot remembered seeing her skeleton back in Ponyville. The dream strengthened her resolve to help Equestria deal with the Gleaners. She opened her eyes and slowly stood up on her bedroll. A tear fell from her eye as she fought back another wave of sadness.

Nga'Devro walked up to Margot. “Nga'Devro sends condolences for your loss.”

Margot frowned. “What?”

Confusion covered the changeling’s face, “Nga'Devro wonders if you lost a little one?”

“Yes, um, no. I had a Vision in which a mare, Prism, lost her foal. I felt everything,” Margot’s ears and tail drooped.

The changeling nodded,”Nga'Devro understands.”

Far and Skybreeze walked up to Margot and Nga'Devro.

Margot’s ears went back up as she asked. “What happened when all of the ponies and creatures showed up? Its all a blur now.”

Far replied,”Not much. Princess Luna noticed how tired we were and postponed the meeting. We have to go now. Don’t worry, there will be food and drink.”

Margot remembered how Prism did her vigil while suffering from hunger and thirst. That made her ears droop again.

Skybreeze asked with concern on her face,”Are you alright?”

“I am still dealing with the Vision I had,” Margot replied.

The SHC walked up and Apple Bloom walked up to Margot.

“Y’all OK?”

Margot looked down at Apple Bloom. ”I am better, thank you.”

“We need to leave now. The Battle Council is waiting,” Far said while his stomach growled.


Battle Council Room

Even though it was called a room, it really was just a large blue tent with a sectioned wooden table with ponies sitting on one side. Far and his group sat on the opposite side.

A white female alicorn with a white coat and a flowing multicolored mane of blue, green and pink was in the first seat on the right. Princess Luna sat in the next seat. A blue female pegasus with red eyes and a rainbow colored mane and tail was next. An orange mare with blonde hair and orange coat was sitting in the last seat. She was wearing a stetson.

The white alicorn introduced herself, ”I welcome you to Equestria and my name is Princess Celestia. Princess Luna has already given me your names.” Princess Luna nodded when her name was mentioned.

Celestia looked at Margot, ”I am familiar with all of the ponies here except you. What brings you to Equestria in these dark times?”

“I don’t know how I got here. Maybe it was the devices that the changelings exploded? I am not sure that is the purpose of the devices,” Margot replied.

Scootaloo faced Celestia, “Margot was found lying above ground in Ponyville. We brought her into the tunnels.”

Margot asked with narrowed eyes, “Where's the Prophetess? I was told that she could explain things and help me return home.”

“Well, the Prophetess is gone. She got grabbed by the Shriekers,” A brash sounding voice replied. Margot looked at the blue pegasus.

“Yeah, Rainbow Dash here. I want to raise an army and sweep those nasty shriekers from the sky!” Rainbow Dash said.

Celestia turned around and looked in Rainbow Dash’s direction. “I am sorry, but we can not spare the ponies for such a project. I think there are just too many. We could be leaving ourselves open to attacks from Canterlot.”

“How about the changelings? There are a lot of them.”

A grimace of distaste crossed Celestia’s face. “I would rather not use them for that purpose.”

Luna spoke up. “‘Tia, you must get over your resentment against the changelings.”

“You are working with creatures that have killed people on my world?” Margot asked while her ears went back.

“Well, Missy, I suggest you watch that tone when you are talking to the Princess,” The orange mare warned.

“Applejack, Margot does have a right to know about the changeling’s role in what happened to Equestria and her world,” Celestia replied in a conciliatory tone. She motioned to a guard and told him to fetch the changeling Princess Chr'Aya. He saluted and left.

“It started when Queen Chrysalis, the leader of the changelings attacked Canterlot. She was driven off by my niece and her husband. We had several years of peace until the Gleaners came. A month later, the same Queen who attacked my city returns asking for asylum,” Celestia said the last sentence with a note of anger in her voice.

“It was a wise and just decision. They have been helpful in fighting the Remnants and Gleaners,” Luna said as she tried to calm her sister down.

“Luna, you know that their explanations for why they left their hive were very vague,” Celestia said with more anger.

“I do not understand, what did the changelings do to Canterlot?” Margot asked.

“Changelings are ornery creatures that can drain a pony of its emotions, lickety split. Also they are shape-shifters. Poor Princess Cadence was replaced by Queen Chrysalis. If it was not for my friend, Twilight Sparkle, the Queen would be ruling Equestria,” Applejack said, her green eyes blazing with anger.

Right after Applejack’s description of the changeling attack, the Royal guard walked in with Princess Chr'Aya and Princess Chr'Ida.

Princess Chr'Ida looked at the faces of the angry ponies and remarked to her sister. “Tough crowd, we should be careful.”

“You should be careful sister. I will just tell the truth,” replied Chr’Aya. The changeling princesses bowed to the assembled ponies.

Celestia stood up. “I demand the full truth from you on why you left your hive!”

“We will have to consult--” Chr’Ida tried to dodge telling the truth, but was interrupted by her sister.

“I will tell you so you know and can help us later,” Chr’Aya said bravely.

Chr’Aya’s Story
Several Months ago
Hive Labs

Chr’Aya was amazed and humbled by the amount of support she got from Queen Chr'YSalis. They had more than enough researchers and equipment. Now, after a few weeks, the transport gate was ready to send the first subject to Earth. Also there was a viewing device too so Chr’Aya could watch what happened.

Shifting his hooves nervously, the test subject waited. “Princess, I am ready to go.”

Chr’Aya looked at the changelings monitoring the viewscreen and the support equipment. They nodded. A bright green glow filled the arc of the black and green transport gate. The subject walked into the gate and was gone. A small ripple crossed the gateway.

Chr’Aya and Chr’Ida watched as the test subject approached a human wearing a lot of ragged clothing. Earlier, the human had been seen drinking out of a bottle. He then fell asleep with a smile on his face. The test subject walked up to the sleeping human, and looked around then he started to drain the human’s emotions. The human went slack and dropped his bottle.

“I told the test subject not to kill the human!”  Chr’Aya said angrily while pointing at the screen. Chr’Ida did not care about the human, but she noticed that the human was still breathing.

“No, my sister, the human still breathes,” Chr’Ida said while watching the screen. The test subject turned around and staggered back to the gateway.

“Is the subject drunk?” Chr’Aya asked with a look of horror on her face.

Chr’Ida wanted to laugh but she had a feeling that her younger more prudish sister would not understand. The subject appeared in the lab and took three steps before collapsing onto the floor. He closed his eyes. Everypony in the lab watched as the test subject curled up and went to sleep. Several changelings walked up to the snoring subject and scanned him. Chr’Aya went to another console and checked out the stats while her sister looked over her shoulder.

“It looks like the first transfer was a success,” Chr’Ida said.

“Maybe, but I don’t like some of these figures. We need to do more testing,” Chr’Aya replied. The test subject belched loudly, causing several changelings to giggle.

Several weeks later
Chr’Aya's Quarters

Chr’Aya sat in her quarters and wiped the tears from her eyes. Today’s status meeting was just terrible. The Queen had put her hoof down and forced Chr’Aya to move the project along faster. She did not know what was worse, being demoted or having the project move faster even though the anomalous figures seemed to suggest that they need to be more careful with the equipment. Even though the designs that Chr'Aya got from the ancient book seemed to work, deep down she still had a degree of mistrust. If the Hive was not in so much distress over emotions, Chr'Aya might have left the book back in the Forbidden tunnels. 

She sniffled again as she realized that being demoted to just designing equipment hurt her ego. Along with that Chr’Aya thought that if she was not useful to the project, they would find other projects for her and she would not be able to fix problems with the gate tech. After she used her telekinesis to bring a handkerchief to wipe her eyes, Chr’Aya resolved to do whatever it took to make sure humans were not harmed and her sister did not run the project into the ground.  

Hive Labs

Chr’Ida watched the view screens with a grin while changelings found scenes with naked humans. This was important because if they were going to send changelings to different areas, they need to understand how humans move. One bright lab changeling found a way to save static pictures from the main viewscreen. That was useful for research and other purposes.

Today, they were going to use devices that Chr’Aya had designed to drain emotions from a group of humans instead of one human. Her overcautious sister wanted more time to study the effects, but Chr’Ida pushed hard for the devices to be made. 

Five changelings morphed into humans waited for the order to step through the gate. Chr’Ida gave the order and the changelings stepped through. All they had to do was leave the devices and return. After a few minutes, the devices would explode generating a draining blast that would send emotional energy back through the lab and the Hive.

The amount of emotions would not feed the Hive’s hunger, but it would take a little bit off the top. It would allow the Queen to keep her throne and add more allies. Chr’Ida knew that the project needed somepony who understood real world demands and priorities. Her younger sister does not have the heart for this.

Five humans came back through the gate and transformed back to changelings. Chr’Ida was happy that her picky sister just had to make equipment and analyze figures. In a few seconds, the devices would send a flood of emotion through the lab. Chr’Ida found a chair to sit on as the rest of the lab team readied themselves.

Emotion filled the lab as the devices went off. Chr’Ida felt the feelings flow through her. Most of the emotions were positive, but there was a bit of fear at the end but that was OK. She smiled at the small amount of lust she sensed. It was not enough to totally satiate her but the gnawing ache inside her was reduced. The changelings outside the lab would get less, but they would not go against the Queen now.

Chr’Ida sighed, there was so much work to be done. More devices have to be made and more changelings trained to carry them.

Several weeks later
Battle Council Room

Chr’Aya stopped to catch a breath and lowered her head. “A few days later, things changed for the worst.”

> Chapter Nine: The Gleaners arrive, Some extra research
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles

Battle Council Room

“I managed to get back into the Hive Labs to get some real data. Chr’Ida had not been telling me everything,” Chr’Aya gave her sister an angry look.

Chr’Ida waved her left forehoof dismissively. “The Queen wanted results and I got them.”

“For two wonderful days, we had enough emotion for every changeling. I knew that all of that emotion was probably not being obtained peacefully. My sister was probably killing humans, but I needed proof to bring to the Queen. I was checking some of the logs when things changed...” Chr’Aya glared at her sister and continued.

---

Hive Lab

“You can stay here but don’t interfere. The Queen has made it clear that nothing must stop our work,” Chr’Ida said with a determined tone.

With a toss of her head, Chr’Aya replied, ”Fine.”

Chr’Aya walked away from her sister and started checking the black and green humming machines. Some of the strange energy readings were alarming her. Chr’Aya did not like surprises. The figures hinted at possible problems. It was bad enough that she was using designs from an old tome she found in the forbidden tunnels. Chr’Aya wished she had more time to study the energy readings. To  Chr’Aya, her sister was just rushing the project into a dangerous situation. Several teams of changelings transformed into humans and walked into the gate. Chr’Aya watched the readings carefully. Five minutes later, almost all of the teams returned but two.

“Where is Team Four and Three?” Chr’Ida asked loudly while staring at the gate.

The researchers shrugged and checked their monitors for info.

“Research Leader, Chr’Ida, Team three’s life signs are gone. I think the humans killed them,” One of the researchers responded with lowered ears and tail.

Chr’Ida wondered how the humans were able to kill one of the teams. It seemed that they were capable of sensing that they were changelings. She was quite sure that humans didn’t practice magic. They had spent countless hours watching humans through the viewscreens, it seemed that humans didn’t practice magic. There was sleight of hand, um, hoof but no real magic. A bit of dismay floated into Chr’Ida’s mind. Her ears drooped. The idea that they missed something about humans could make the Queen angry. She didn’t care that much about the loss of a few changelings, but the fact that Chr’Ida missed an important detail on humans would make her look sloppy. Chr’Ida resolved to learn more about human magic or whatever they used to detect the teams. The report filled Chr’Aya with foreboding for some reason.

Another researcher announced, “Incoming emotional surge in one minute.”

Chr’Ida sat down with a smile. Chr’Aya checked the figures from one of the devices again. Several minutes passed and there was no emotional surge. The gateway started to glow a brighter shade of green.

Chr’Ida looked at the gate with surprise. “What’s going on?”

Chr’Aya looked at the glowing gate with fear. “Turn it off!” She screamed. For a second, Chr’Aya thought about using her telekinesis to disconnect the power cables. Then she realized she didn’t know what would happen if she did that, maybe the gate would expand and engulf the room?

A green glowing translucent blob floated out of the gate. Seeing the being gave Chr’Ida a chill. It took her a moment to find the right words to describe the thing. Before she took up her princessly duties, she used to be an avid fan of horror and ghost stories. This creature had the look of a ghost, but even equine ghosts had equine heads. It looked like a blob. Then it floated up to a researcher who watched it with curiosity until the it grew two legs. Before Chr’Ida could scream a warning, the strange being stuck it’s legs into the poor changeling’s chest. The victim screamed in pain until it faded away into a blaze of green. The creature floated up to its next victim until it was blasted into glowing bits by Chr’Ida.

A smug look covered her face,”There, the problem is solved!”

The gateway was now too bright to look at, and more ghost like figures floated into the lab. Chr’Aya ran for the doorway. She hoped her sister was heading that way too. Behind her more changelings screamed and died. When Chr’Aya reached the hallway, she looked behind her. The doors to the lab were smashed open with a crash and a flood of green energy creatures flowed out of the lab. Ahead of the hungry enemies, Chr’Ida galloped to safety. The two princesses ran to the throne room.

Hive Throneroom

“You three, form up over there! You cover them!” Chr’Bintha shouted orders as Chr’Ida and Chr’Aya cantered through the doorway. A guard closed and locked the door behind them. Chr’Aya hoped that that was enough to keep the enemy out. Deep down, she knew it wouldn’t hold for long. The princesses pushed their way through the thronging soldiers to the Queen.

Queen Chr’Ysalis fixed her frightened sisters with a cold green gaze. “How can we fix this?” Chr’Ida looked at Chr’Aya for a second. Chr’Aya looked back.

“Well, I am waiting,” Chr’Ysalis said while her patience faded.

A panicked guard yelled,”Something is burning through the wall!” All eyes focused at the wall as it was covered by a network of green lines that grew brighter.

“Everypony move back!” Chr’Bintha commanded while she stepped back too.

The wall exploded and several changelings got crushed by the debris. Glowing figures floated through the gaping hole in the wall..

“Send them back to Tartarus!” Chr’Bintha screamed as she fired green blasts from her horn. For a few minutes it looked like the defensive line would hold, but there were just too many of the green enemies and the line was overwhelmed. Changelings screamed as their lives and emotions were torn from them. Chr’Aya looked away from the carnage, it was just too much. Chr’Bintha dodged and fired blasts before she ran back toward the Queen. The remaining soldiers followed her.

Chr’Ysalis blinked slowly and sighed. “It has come to this. Follow me!” She got off of the throne and used her magic to activate it. The emerald and ebony chair smoothly slid aside and revealed a dark tunnel. Chr’Ysalis cantered into the tunnel followed by the princesses and soldiers. Chr’Aya thought it would be pitch black, but green runes in the walls provided enough light to see. After a few minutes of walking, Chr’Ysalis stopped and raised her left forehoof.

“The tunnel goes up and out of the Hive. Once we are safely away I will decide where to go,” Chr’Ysalis said. She galloped down the tunnel. Chr’Aya could hear screams coming from behind her. She knew the enemy was in the escape tunnel with them. The princesses followed Chr’Ysalis as she galloped to the end of the escape tunnel. Then she flew upwards. All of the surviving changelings followed her with a whirr of wings. Black walls just kept passing by. Chr’Aya was getting tired, but she kept on flying. She wondered how long it would take them to reach the surface. At first it was just blank walls, then she could see doors. Some of them were opened by escaping changelings. Later on, Chr’Aya could see glimpses of green on the higher levels. More changelings joined the group.

Chr’Bintha flew up next to Chr’Aya. “These foul Gleaners are everywhere now!”

“Gleaners?” Chr’Aya asked with surprise.

“I call them Gleaners because the foul creatures steal life and emotion. I await the day when we can tear emotions out of them,” Chr’Bintha explained then she glanced back at the changelings behind her. A scowl covered her face.

Chr’Aya could feel cold air blowing down on her. Exhaustion threatened to slow her wings, but she kept flying.

The swarm flew out of the hive into the dark cold night sky. With a green flash, the changelings lit up their horns so they could see. Chr’Aya wanted to slow down and rest, but the glow of the chasing Gleaners kept her flying fast.

Beyond the Gleaners chasing her group, Chr’Aya saw a frightening sight. A bright green fountain of Gleaners spewed out of the Hive going in different directions. She also saw something next to the fountain that looked like a glowing green alicorn. Chr’Aya faced forward and concentrated on flying as fast as she can. Slow flyers would fall back and never be seen again.

Battle Council Room

“When the last Gleaner behind us was killed, we found a place to rest. Chr’Ysalis made the decision to go to Canterlot to ask for refuge,” Chr’Aya’s ears drooped.

Margot didn’t know what to say. After hearing Chr’Aya, she was not sure what to do or think. Now she understood why the changelings killed the people in the mall. Margot wished she could contact her boss at D-core and pass on the info. Something could be worked out, but Margot still had no idea how to get home.

Celestia sat in her seat and pondered Chr’Aya’s story.

“This is a good story, but how does this help us get the Prophetess back or take down Skyshriek Tumult?” Rainbow Dash said.

“I wonder if we can sneak in and get the Prophetess?” Margot asked.

“They would see us, but the changelings can look like other creatures. Yeah, I am liking this plan,” Rainbow Dash enthused.

“I know some levitation and illusion spells. I can help with rescuing the Prophetess,” Margot suggested.

“A small group might have more success than a large invading army. What do you think ‘Tia?”, Luna asked.

Celestia looked at her sister and then back at the group. “Yes but the group must do its work quickly and quietly. They will not survive a battle with a much larger force. I agree that this could work. After lunch, we need to do more planning and preparation.”

“Princess, its Skyshriek Tumult! No one does anything quiet there!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Everypony laughed.

“Princess Chr’Aya and Princess Chr’Ida would you like to have lunch with us?” Celestia asked.

“Yes. I thank you for the invitation,” Chr’Ida replied with a bow.

The changeling princesses joined the table. Luna motioned to a waiting serving pony and she brought some cleaning bowls. Margot watched as ponies put their forehooves into the bowls to wash them. Then she tried it too. Serving ponies brought bowls with clean water for rinsing as well as towels. After their hooves were clean, the waiters brought in all sorts of food and drink.

“Where does all of this food come from?” Margot asked while she munched on some celery.

“We have a special group of unicorns that conjure up food and water. It’s too late in the season to grow anything. Also the big farms have been abandoned,” Skybreeze replied.

Margot thought a bit. ”I might be able to help your unicorns. If I could contact someone from back home, they might be able to help.” D-core had access to tech and magical ways to replicate stuff like food and water. A fearful thought crossed her mind, maybe she wouldn’t be able to get back. Margot shoved that idea away.

“We could use the extra magical power if the food making unicorns were freed from their duties,” Celestia added.

Margot liked the lunch and the company. She had been resentful of the changelings but now she was not sure. Rescuing the Prophetess was her next priority.

---

Lower Canterlot
Lore Archives

Margot and Skybreeze stood in front of a small green velvet tent. A breeze pulled at their manes and tails.

“This tent holds the magical archives of Canterlot. Celestia and some forward thinking ponies made copies of the archives and moved the copies to an area outside Canterlot. We will have to ask for books on Conjuration, Polymorphism and Illusion. I hope none of these are in the proscribed area,” Skybreeze said.

Margot looked at the tent. “Why?”

Skybreeze sighed. “Proscribed items require more paperwork before you can get your hooves on them. I thought that they would streamline things, but nothing has changed.”

“After you,” Skybreeze pointed at the door of the tent. Margot walked through the door of the tent and entered the archives.

Margot was expecting to be in a hot stuffy tent with books all over the place. What she saw was much different. A brown carpet over a black marble floor led to a desk with a gray unicorn sitting in front of it. A swinging door with a shiny bronze plaque that said ‘Authorized Ponysonnal Only’ was on the right next to something that looked like some sort of non reflective mirror. It had a fancy frame like a standing mirror, but the metal part did not show any of its surroundings. Behind the unicorn’s desk, Margot could see bookshelves going to the back of the tent. She was quite sure that the number of bookshelves she saw didn’t fit in the small green tent. Margot looked at Skybreeze.

“Yes, it is quite impressive. From the outside you would not expect this much room. You can thank the Hoofvard Advanced Applied Magics group for that,” Skybreeze said with a smile then she walked to the desk while Margot followed.

At the desk, the gray coated and maned pony still read aloud from an open book. “Ah Yes, Sinnamon Swirl The Breaded. She was a portly unicorn mare who was the head baker at the Sweet Hoof Confectioners. A chance meeting with a pony who’s talent was finding magical talents changed her life forever. Sinnamon learned that she had magical powers...” The unicorn looked up. “Oh, I am sorry.”

Skybreeze smiled. “Gray Page, you can continue talking about Sinnamon Swirl.”

Gray Page smiled. “Well thanks, I will just skip to her contributions to magic, and get back to work. Sinnamon Swirl tried to combine magic and food and most of the time she failed but she made two important contributions. She created the first set of food conjuring spells. This allows us to keep ponies from starving. The second one was the Donut of Dispelling. This artifact when placed on an unicorn’s horn, prevents the unicorn from casting any spells.”

“Thank you for that bit of lore,” Skybreeze said with a smile.

Margot on the other hoof could barely keep her eyes open. Gray Page’s voice was nearly a monotone. When he was reading about Sinnamon Swirl, Margot almost thought her eyes closed for a second. She hoped he would not do any more reading aloud.

“I have to say, I was quite appalled at what happened to you at Hoofvard,” Gray Page said.

Skybreeze looked down and then back at Gray Page. “Well, it was an unpleasant time.”

“If you need someone to put in a good word, count me in. I would be honored,” Gray Page said and saluted.

Skybreeze nodded.

“Who is this fine pink unicorn mare? A student perhaps?” Grey Page said while facing Margot.

“She is a visiting mage from, well actually, where do you come from Margot?” Skybreeze looked at Margot.

Margot had to think quickly of a decent name. Earth was not a good answer. It seemed like some of the places these ponies had were pony or horse themed names. “I’m from Los Angeles.” She hoped that would work.

“Las Anglos? I have not heard of it. Where is it?” Skybreeze said while peering closely at Margot.

Margot did not bother trying to correct Skybreeze. “Its to the west.”

“Ah, beyond Las Pegasus,” Skybreeze said and nodded.

“Harumph! Your accent seems more Eastern, like Manehattan. They clip their vowels there,” Gray Page said while flipping pages in another book.

“Wow, you are good,. I did spend a lot of time in Manehattan,” Margot said with a smile. She hoped that they would move on to another subject.Skybreeze placed the list of books on the desk. 

Gray peered closely at the list. “The book on Polymorphism is on the proscribed list for sure.”

Skybreeze sighed. “Really?”

Gray stepped back. “I am quite sure. I will check the list to be sure.” His horn started to glow as he opened drawers to search for something. Then a large dusty book floated in the air, and landed on the table. Margot hoped he would not blow the dust off, and make her sneeze. Gray just opened the book.

“Lets see Polymorphism, Theory of, by Redshift. I am quite sorry, you will need a signature from a Princess for this book. Oh wait, only Luna or Celestia will do. I know that Twilight Sparkle has authority, but this book has not been updated. Also I believe that she is missing. Quite a shame,” Gray Page said.

“Why is Polymorphism a proscribed subject?” Margot asked. She had been on worlds where wizards were encouraged to change their forms. Seeing the world through another creature’s eyes would give interesting insights.

Gray Page looked away for a few moments. “Well, I don’t know why. I do know only a few ponies have ever changed their shape. Star Swirl the Bearded and Alakosh the Rainbowed. Alakosh would take the form of a rainbow scaled dragon. He only wrote one book, in it he claimed that there were more worlds than just our own. Alakosh even theorized that some worlds could have humans on them. After than I stopped reading, it was just so fanciful. Now since I think about it a bit more, Princess Twilight Sparkle was the last one to have access to the book.”

“Gray do you think that we could just borrow the book on Polymorphism for a short while?” Skybreeze said while cranking up the charm. Even Margot felt like she wanted to give Skybreeze a book even though she didn’t have one.

“Ah Skybreeze. Who could resist your charms? Well, I am the Head Archivist and I would be remiss in my duties if I did not follow the rules. I am so sorry, but you need to get a signature from a princess for that Polymorphism book, ” Gray said.

“I am off then to get the signature,” Skybreeze said and walked out of the tent.

Margot looked at the strange mirror. She could not see her reflection. Again she wished for the ability to scan the mirror so she could understand it.

“You can’t use that to preen with, it’s a Mirror of Truth. It shows the truth. The mirror was made for detecting changelings. If one of them were to show up disguised as another pony, we could see the changeling underneath,” Gray said while fussing with another book.

“What if a changeling just shows up in its regular form?” Margot said while still peering into the mirror.

“Well, to answer your question, the mirror would show nothing. Just like it is doing now,” Gray said as he blew the dust off of a book. 

Margot sneezed and sneezed.

Gray Page ignored Margot’s sneezing. “Ah yes, the Enigmatic Alakosh the Rainbowed, not much is known about this pony...”

After catching her breath from the sneezing, Margot’s body slumped to the floor. Her eyes closed as Gray Page read about Alakosh’s strange life.


The vision of the Pink Pony

Margot was standing somewhere while the weight of Sadness pressed down on her like twenty tons or more. Her eyes burned while the oppressive atmosphere threatened to make her curl up into a weeping ball. She was in some sort of forest while a pony cried near her. Margot looked down. A pink pony was in a pond looking up at Margot. It had straight red hair and bright blue eyes. Some of the brightness was stolen by the constant weeping. 

The pony stopped crying. “You can see me? P-please help.” 

A voice cried out “Wake up!”

Margot awoke and found herself lying on a carpet while a pony droned on.

“Are you alright? You had such a sad expression on your face,” Skybreeze said while concern covered her face.

“I had a strange dream or vision,” Margot replied while she stood up.

“I would like to hear more after we get the book from Gray Page,” Skybreeze said then she looked at Gray Page. Margot nodded as Skybreeze walked up to Gray Page.

“I have the signature for the book on Polymorphism,” Skybreeze said while placing the form on the desk.

Gray Page peered at the form and the blue crescent moon seal. “Its official. Here is your book.” The book floated over to Skybreeze who placed it in her saddle bags.

“Do you need anything else?” Gray Page said.

“We are fine now. Take care of yourself Gray Page,” Skybreeze said while turning around to leave.

“I shall and I wish you well on your work,” Gray Page said as he watched them leave.

Outside the tent, Margot felt the sun on her fur, it felt good. Even though her nap left her feeling a bit sad, she felt energized. She hoped she was not bouncing on her hooves.

“I talked to Princess Luna and she provided a place where we can do our magics for the mission. You can do your Synchronization ritual there too. I am heading there now. Please tell me what you saw in your dream that made you feel so sad,” Skybreeze asked.

“I saw a pink pony with blue eyes and red hair crying in a pond or puddle. It seemed like she was in some sort of forest,” Margot said while following Skybreeze. 

Skybreeze put a forehoof up to her face. “Hmmm, I wonder if that is Pinkamena Diane Pie?”

“Who?”

“Pinkamena Diane Pie or Pinkie Pie, is one of the Elements of Harmony. She represents Laughter. We could use her help,” Skybreeze said while gazing at the glum looks on the passing pony’s faces.

Skybreeze stopped Margot. “Do you have other visions of ponies?”

Margot looked away. “Yes, I saw a yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail. She had teal colored eyes. I think she was in some sort of forest. Then there was this grey pegasus with blonde hair and crossed golden eyes. She was in a cloudy noisy place.”

Skybreeze’s smile widened. “The first pony you saw was probably Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness. The other pony was the Prophetess. I will pass this info to the Princesses. After we save the Prophetess, we can get those Elements of Harmony. Each one returned will help us fight the Gleaners.”

“Don’t worry. Once I do the ritual, I will have my powers back. I will help with getting all of the ponies back,” Margot said. For some reason, she felt that maybe she was promising more than what she could deliver. Margot wondered if when she did the ritual, most if not all of her magics were not compatible with this world. That thought made her ears droop. A defiant thought arose in her mind, even without her magic, she would do what she could to help. Soon she would be in a place to do the the ritual. Then she will know the truth.


> Chapter Ten, The Ritual, Derpy rescue plan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles

Chapter 10

Drooping ears and tails, that’s all Margot could see as she followed Skybreeze to the Mage Laboratories. Margot could hear the fearful whispers of the ponies as they tried to guess when the next Gleaner attack would happen or where the Elements of Harmony were. After walking for what Margot thought was a while, they stopped in front of a gate guarded by two earth ponies in silver armor. Behind them, there was a large brown tent. A moment later, a group of pegasi in light armor flew over with a rustle of wings. Margot noticed that a Mirror of Truth was here too. The guards eyed them carefully.

“I’m Skybreeze and this is Margot Summerholt,” Skybreeze said while looking around.

Margot noticed that one of the guards checked the mirror while the other one hoofed through a guest list. Then the pony checking the list nodded. The gate opened with a squeak of unoiled hinges. Margot and Skybreeze walked through.

“Don’t bother to see if the Area Expansion spells in the Archives are being used here. They’re very distracting to ponies doing advanced level magic, ” Skybreeze said when they were standing in front of the brown tent. Margot just nodded. Inside the tent, it was well lit and cool. The first thing that grabbed Margot’s attention was the group of ponies and changelings looking at a floating image of something. She started to walk toward it, but Skybreeze stopped her.

“You need to get your powers back now,” Skybreeze said while keeping Margot in a steady gaze. Margot nodded. She saw an empty space next to the tent wall and went to it while Skybreeze walked up to the image viewing group.

Margot looked around to make sure Cheerilee was not around to smack her then she closed her eyes and focused. She started the Ritual of Synchronization. For a second, it seemed like there was nothing to connect with and then she felt the connections. Doing a Ritual of Synchronization is like trying to plug in plugs in a large totally dark room. Most of it is just flailing around at the speed of thought until the right sockets are found. When all of her abilities were hooked up, a feeling of well being enveloped her. Margot opened her eyes. At last she was whole. For some reason her flank tingled.

Above her, she could feel the cool air from the air conditioning spell being sucked in from outside while the warm air was being vented from the other side of the tent. Margot sensed the scrying spell that she saw earlier. It would be so easy to plug into it and get her own feed instead of walking over to the other ponies.

A worrying thought snaked into her mind. Empress Razorhoof nearly had Margot convinced that she was a dying powerless pony. There was no warning, no blaze of magic that gave Margot a chance to protect herself. Somehow she had to find a way to protect herself from having her mind messed with.

Margot sighed and got up. She had missed her magic, and now it was back. No more just seeing the world though five senses. Now she had much more. Margot walked over to the group of ponies around the scrying spell.

Nga'Devro waved his left forehoof at her. “Nga'Devro sends his congrats for regaining your powers. Also for getting a Cutie Mark.”

“Thanks. It feels good to get them back. What?” Margot replied.

Skybreeze pointed at Margot’s flank. “I recognize the symbols for Elemental magic and for Divination, but some of the other symbols I don’t know.”

Another voice chimed in. “Excuse me, but we need to focus on our mission.” 

Margot looked to the left and into the brown eyes of a white coated unicorn with a brown mane and tail. Her cutie mark looked like a flat glowing disk. Margot looked up at the glowing image.

“Ah, I like ponies with some working brains. My name is Scry, Scry Cloud. Yes, that is what I do, I make scrying spells that allow one to see things that are far away. Unlike telescopes, you can sense the magic of what you view. That is my special talent. Unlike my sister whose fondness for changelings-” Scry Cloud said and was interrupted.

Skybreeze walked up with narrowed eyes. “I suggest that you change the subject, Sister.” Margot could feel the tension in the room rise as the changelings focused their attention on the two sisters. Also several other ponies started to move in closer.

Scry said in a low voice, “Do not show up at the Hoofvard tent.  You won’t be welcome, Sister.” She spat out ‘sister’ as though the word tasted foul in her mouth.

Scry turned her attention to Margot. “So, what is your name, pink unicorn?”

“My name is Margot Summerholt,” Margot said.

“A strange name for a strange scented pony. Don’t get me wrong, you are a pony but you are definitely not from around here. My guess is that you are from across the Sea,” Scry said while peering closely at Margot.

“Nga'Devro kindly suggests that we get back to work,” Nga'Devro said. The changelings behind him nodded.

“Ah, kind changeling, you are correct. Let’s start by briefing our new friend. Behold! Our enemy the Shrieker!” Scry said and waved her left forehoof. The floating image changed to a blue-white spiky creature. Margot could not see any eyes or other sense organs, just a lot of spikes in different sizes.

“As you can see it’s just a mass of spikes. I have yet to find out how they shriek. And yes we have checked them out from all angles,” Scry said.

“Rital’Maya has fought these creatures and can vouch that the flesh tearing shrieks can come from any sets of spikes. Changeling chitin or pony flesh, it doesn’t matter. The shriek cuts both equally,” A blue haired changeling said. A green haired changeling walked up to Margot.

“Rital’Harak greets you on behalf of the Rital Clan,” Rital’Harak said while sticking out his left forehoof. Margot bumped with her right fore hoof. Then Rital’Maya, Rital’Ric  and Rital’Tora walked up for a hoof bump.

“Margot, we need to start hitting the books now,” Skybreeze pushed. Margot watched as Skybreeze used her telekinesis to pull some lorebooks out of her saddle bags. 

“How about we start with Illusions first?” Skybreeze said as she opened the tome. Margot peered at the text. It looked like someone dipped a worm in ink then they let it squirm around. She looked up at Skybreeze. 

“From that look, I can assume that you can’t read High Equinish, the language of pony wizards,” Skybreeze said.

“No problem, I can do illusions,” Margot said while looking at the image of a shrieker that Scry put up for the changelings.

Scry made the spell show a shrieker from all angles. Margot and the changelings studied the images carefully. Skybreeze was the first to come up with a shrieker illusion. It looked pretty good until Margot touched it with her left fore hoof. The spell faded away.

“I am just starting to work on it,” Skybreeze said. Several changelings transformed into shriekers then they went back to their own forms. Margot and Skybreeze focused on making more stable illusions. 

A half hour or so later, Applejack and Rainbow Dash entered the tent. They walked up to Margot and Skybreeze who was inside the shrieker illusion.

“Y’all look like the real thing, what do you feel like...” Applejack said and touched one of the illusionary spines. The illusion faded away.

“Ha ha, that’s funny but when we go out there, it’s gotta work better than that,” Rainbow Dash warned. 

“Let’s see if we can do better,” Margot said as she molded the ambient light in the room into an illusion. This time she added support for handling kinetic energy. Skybreeze’s horn glowed as she added some more spells. Now Applejack looked like a big bluish shrieker. Rital’Harak used his telekinesis to push a mirror over to Applejack. She looked at her image in the mirror.

“Yee haw! Now that's a fearsome shrieker! I wonder if ah could go outside?” Applejack asked.

“A lot of ponies will be on you real quick,” Rainbow Dash said to Applejack then she faced Margot.

“What happens if Applejack runs around? Will the spell still look good? It has to look good while we zip around in the sky,” Rainbow said.

Applejack didn’t wait for an invitation, she galloped around the tent. The illusion stayed clear and did not blur. Several changelings stomped the floor in appreciation.

Rainbow nodded. “Ahh yeah, it looks like you guys are almost there. Do me next!”

Scry walked up. “I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but there is only so much we can do with illusions. If you are in a situation where we have to fly very fast, then it’s very quite possible that the shriekers know who you are. It’s a waste of power and time to make illusions that could handle very high speeds. It would be better to make the illusions handle decent speeds and go from there. Who knows how much time we have to save the Prophetess?”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes narrowed. “Really?”

“Well, hold on there sugarcube. Scry has a good point. Shriekers are probably not stupid and will have sentries near Cloudsdale, now Skyshriek Tumult. How do we get past them?” Applejack said while looking at Scry.

“We have been watching them for a while and so far they just make shrieking noises. No pony knows how to understand them,” Scry said.

Applejack pointed at the changelings with her left forehoof. “Do y’all know what the shriekers are saying?” All she got was shakes of heads and shrugs. “Once those ornery shriekers realize that we ain’t shriekers they’ll be on us like yellow on hay.”

“So we have to fight our way to the Prophetess? I’m no coward but I can see that is not going to go well,” Rainbow said with a frown.

Applejack tapped Rainbow Dash. “Ah think you have gained some wisdom there.” Rainbow Dash smiled.

“Maybe if we gave them something they want, they’d back off?” Margot suggested.

“Who? What?” Rainbow said.

“Ah get it! The shriekers would love to get their spines or whatever on the Blue Butcher!” Applejack said with a smile.

“What?” Rainbow said. Then her red eyes went wide when she realized who they were talking about. “Well, I have hit them so hard, shrieker bits fell from the sky like rain!”

Scry laughed. “What a splendid idea! This will also give us an excuse to take Rainbow Dash to the prison or where ever they are keeping the Prophetess. No shrieker in its right mind would refuse a high value prisoner!” Nga'Devro and Rital’Harak walked up. 

“Nga'Devro is happy that you have made great progress with the illusions, but you are missing something. We will need to know how shriekers capture and transport prisoners. If you don’t have that right, the enemy will attack quickly,” Nga'Devro said.

“That’s a problem, Shriekers don’t usually take prisoners,” Rainbow said and looked at Scry.
“Well, this spell has been up for a few days and we haven’t been looking at shriekers for that long,” Scry said.

“Scry, does that spell work on the past?” Skybreeze said.

“No,” Scry replied while looking at Rainbow.

“I know some divination magic and I could help with checking out the past. When did the Prophetess get abducted?” Margot asked.

“The shriekers stole her about a week ago,” Skybreeze said.

“How about Marhgot and Scry work on that divi whatis spell while Skybreeze casts the shrieker illusion on Rainbow. Oh yeah, you need to take it offa me,” Applejack said.

“What AJ, you aren’t coming with us?” Rainbow said while her ears drooped.

“The Princesses will have a fit if Ah go with you. Ah have to stay here and keep mah hooves on the ground,” Applejack replied. “Besides, mah sister is in town and I want to spend some time with her after mah duties.”

“No probs AJ. Let’s do this!” Rainbow said with a wave of her left forehoof. Skybreeze dispelled the illusion and Applejack left. Scry turned off her spell then she worked with Margot. An hour or so later, some ponies came in with a grey table loaded with food and drink. After a quick snack, Margot and Scry went back to work. Margot thought that working with Scry was a pleasure, she knew her stuff, but she didn’t have an attitude about it. After about an hour, they had the spell ready to cast. 

Scry looked around at the changelings and ponies. “Let’s give them a show!”

Margot nodded and her horn glowed. A few seconds later, Scry’s horn glowed too. An image of the sky appeared above them. A changeling laughed as the silvery moon moved backward. The viewpoint floated above a grey tent with yellow highlights. Two earth ponies in silver armor patrolled around the tent while an unicorn stood off to the side watching. A squad of four pegasi flew over the tent every few minutes.

Then the shriekers fell upon the vigilant guards. They didn’t have a chance. Every guard was attacked by at least four or five shriekers. They would send beams of green-white energy and the ponies would just disintegrate into clouds of blood. The unicorn guard was able to set some shriekers on fire, but more just shrieked at him until he died. 

Once the guards were dead, some shriekers used their shrieks on the tent. Margot was surprised when the tent glowed and flashes of energy flew up to tear some shriekers to bits. For a few seconds, it looked like the tent was going to hold off the shriekers until help came. Already some ponies tried to help, but the shriekers blasted them. The bright golden glow faded and the shriekers torn the tent to shreds.

Standing in the wreck of the tent was a female grey pegasus with a blonde mane and tail. Her Cutie Mark was of bubbles. Even though her eyes were crossed, Margot could still sense the defiance in the narrowed golden eyes. An unicorn foal was clinging to her mother and screaming. After three strikes from the shriekers, she fell over.

“Nooo, Derpy, um, Prophetess!” Rainbow Dash said. She sniffled a bit. The shriekers ignored the crying unicorn foal as they chained up her mother and flew up into the dark night sky. Scry stopped and rotated the image so that everypony could see the cruel black chains.

"Who is that foal with the Prophetess?” Margot said.

“I think her name is Dinky,” Skybreeze said. Margot wondered why somepony would name their foal Dinky.

“Now we know how they transport prisoners. Let’s do this!” Rainbow Dash said with narrowed red eyes.

“Well, we aren’t quite finished. We need to see where they put the Prophetess,” Scry said.
The view swooped into the night sky until it reached Skyshriek Tumult, a large spiky cloud structure. To Margot’s surprise, the spikes really looked like tall thin pyramids. Again Margot thought she heard sniffling from Rainbow Dash. The shriekers headed with their prize to a black spine.

“I can’t believe what those damned shriekers did to my Cloudsdale!” Rainbow said with lowered ears and tail. Scry adjusted the time setting forward to find out which cell the Prophetess was being held in. Then she advanced the spell to current times to verify that the Prophetess was still in her cell. The only bit of good news was that the Prophetess was kept near the entrance.

“This is how we’re gonna roll. At dawn, we fly!” Rainbow said with narrowed eyes then she turned around and headed to the door.

“Well, I have to find a spell to help ponies and changelings walk on clouds,” Skybreeze said while trying to stifle a yawn.

“I guess we better send out for some coffee, we will be working all night!” Scry said. Margot nodded.

> Chapter Eleven, Saving the Prophetess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles

Margot shivered in the predawn coolness outside the Mage lab tent. The sky was still dark and she wished for a few more hours of sleep. While she was still waking up, the changeling squad was waiting with perked up ears and bright eyes. 

“I just realized that I don’t know if I can handle the speed of flying really fast,” Skybreeze said with a smile.

Margot yawned then covered her mouth with her right forehoof. “Well, I could conjure up a Flight Sickness Apparatus.”

“No, I think I’ll be fine. You need to save your power for dealing with those nasty shriekers,” Skybreeze said.

“Well, if you feel the need, face away from me or just aim at the shriekers,” Margot said. She watched as Nga'Devro walked up to the group. A blue blur landed next to the group while the sky brightened in the east. 

“Are you ready to get this done?” Rainbow Dash said. Margot walked up to her and started summoning the fake chains. Rital’Harak walked up with his squad then they positioned themselves around Rainbow. The plan was to have the changeling squad be Rainbow’s guards, while Margot and Skybreeze would be support guards.

“Wait, wait!” The rescuers turned to look at the approaching ponies. Apple Bloom, Applejack and Princess Luna galloped up. After a quick bow to Luna, the rescuers waited.

“I came to wish you well on your endeavor. It’s one worthy of the best heroic tales,” Princess Luna said.

“Ah have a Blessing from Oonte for you,” Apple Bloom said then she closed her eyes as she raised her right forehoof. There was a blue flash around her. Margot thought she was touched by something, but she wasn’t sure.

“Rainbow, can we talk a bit?” Applejack said.

“Really? Can it wait?” Rainbow said while rolling her eyes.

“No! You ornery pegasus!” Applejack pushed.

“Fine,” Rainbow said then she walked up to Applejack. They walked a few paces away. Something about the quick glow on Luna’s horn attracted Margot’s attention. It took very little time for her curiosity to overwhelm her politeness. She hacked Luna’s sound blocking spell to hear what was going on between Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

“--They will miss you if something were to happen,” Applejack said.

“Those Shriekers, I want to kill them all and their crap king. So many friends lost...” Rainbow said with lowered tail and ears.

“Ah understand. Ah want to kick all of the gleaners and remnants out of Equestria! Kick them so hard they act like bags of garbage. Splittin open’, spewing bits all over the place. You know what happened to Granny Smith...” Applejack said while her ears drooped.

Rainbow put her right fore hoof on Applejack’s shoulder. “AJ, I understand. When our friends are back we are going to give that Shrieker King, Slashscream quite a party...” Rainbow said with narrowed hate filled eyes. Applejack’s eyes echoed Rainbow’s hate for a few seconds. Both pony’s ears and tails went back up. Rainbow Dash went back to her guards.

“Ah wish you well, bring the Prophetess home,” Applejack said when she walked up to the rescue party.

Princess Luna walked up to Margot and whispered. “I like how you respect privacy. We should talk later,” Luna said then winked at Margot.

“Seriously? Let’s do this already!” Rainbow said with a jab of her left fore hoof in the air. Everypony turned on their illusions or transformed into shriekers. After that they silently flew up into the lightening sky.

Margot’s exhilaration ebbed as the group headed toward Skyshriek Tumult. She wondered how they were going to get through the sentinels and guards. After seeing shriekers in action, it seemed pretty stupid to fight them in the air. Up ahead, two shriekers flew at the group. The rescuers stopped moving and just hovered.

“What the heck? We finally got the blue nag!” One shrieker said. The other one flew up to the group.

“H-how did you do that?” The other shrieker asked. Margot had very little time to wonder how she could understand the shriekers. She flew up to the two.

“We lost a lot of our squad, but with this new spell, we caught the blue nag!” Margot said.

“Wow, I thought she would be bigger,” One shrieker said.

“Blue nag?” Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath. She struggled a bit making the chains jingle.

Margot spoke louder to drown out any more comments from Rainbow. “We have to get this prisoner to a secure holding facility before the spell wears off. You don’t want to be here when the spell fails.”

The two shriekers backed off. “Yeah, you keep going.”

The group flew forward again. Skybreeze faced Margot. “Maybe we can get the Prophetess without fighting?”

“I doubt that!” Rainbow said.

More shriekers flew up, and Margot had to tell them to stay back in case the spell keeping Rainbow Dash docile failed. Once they heard that the spell might fail soon, all of the shriekers found other things to do. The black spire grew larger as the group flew closer. Margot got a chill when she realised that there were no windows. When they had been watching the Prophetess earlier, the focus was on her and not on the area around here so Margot did not get a good view of the area. Now just a few feet away, the tall black building seemed to cast a dark pall over their morale. After a quick swoop, they were hovering in front of a black metal door flanked by guards.

One of the guards yelled. “They got the blue nag! Open up!” The door opened with an ear splitting screech. Margot and allies flew inside. The well-lit hallway inside was flanked by small cubicles in which alert shriekers watched as the group walked to the end of the hallway. 

“Wow! You should get a medal from the King for this!” The guard gushed then he opened the door to the cells. Margot was surprised that no one had raised an alarm yet. She kept her mouth shut and kept looking for traps. The cell area only had two shriekers and one empty cell with some grey pegasus feathers in it. 

Margot waited until the door closed before talking to the guards. “We need a space for the prisoner.”

“Not here, this is for the prisoners awaiting execution--” The shrieker did not get to finish before a green glow crushed him. The other guard was thrown against a wall. 

“Rital’Harak wants to know where’s the Prophetess?” Rital’Harak said. The shrieker cringed, Margot could see the spines trying to shrink. 

“Why would I help you? You’ll kill me anyway!” The shrieker said then a green glow covered it. The poor creature started to groan.

“Wait! Stop that Rital’Harak! We aren’t like that. Tell us what we need to know and I will see that you live,” Margot said. The green glow faded until it was barely visible. She could feel the attention of the shrieker switch from Rital’Harak to her. Margot did not understand how she knew that.

“Fine. The grey sky pony is heading to the Royal Spire. The King is going to spill her life ichor himself. If you fly fast enough, you can catch up with the guards,” the shrieker said. Before Margot could say anything, the shrieker blew up spraying green liquid all over the place.

“Rital’Harak! Why did you do that? I promised that it would not be harmed!” Margot said with narrowed eyes.

“Rital’Harak will not honor deals with enemies. Also it knows that we are not shriekers. Unless you are capable of clearing his memory of us, it is not worth it,” Rital’Harak said with a stomp of a fore hoof.

“How would you–” Margot tried to reply, but was interrupted by Rainbow Dash. 

Rainbow focused and broke her chains with a grunt. “We’re wasting time, the Prophetess must be saved before she gets inside the Royal Spire. This is how we are going to do this. I’ll distract the shriekers while the rest of you go for the Prophetess.”

“My apologies but I think that plan is a suicide mission. There are too many shriekers out there,” Skybreeze said.

Rainbow Dash stood up on her hind hooves and crossed her fore hooves. “Nope. I’m not listening to anyone else’s plan. You’re wasting time.”

Skybreeze sighed. “Fine, how do we get out?”

“Rital’Ric has noticed that the hallway is full of shriekers and probably the levels below us are too,” Rital’Ric said.

Margot thought about blasting through a wall if it led outside. She walked up to a wall. 

Skybreeze watched Margot. “This isn’t going to be quiet, but maybe we could blast through a wall.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Skybreeze. “No one does anything quiet here.”

“Stand away from the wall, Margot. The Squad will blow a hole through that wall!” Rital’Harak said. Margot backed away from the wall as the changeling’s horns started to glow. A section of the wall exploded with a green flash and poof. Rainbow Dash flew out and the group followed her. Rainbow Dash flew to the left.

“I have a bad feeling about this plan,” Skybreeze said while they flew among the blue-white spires.

“Maybe we can pull this off,” Margot said while trying to focus on her levitation spell. The changelings were starting to pull away from them then with a green flash, they flew away leaving Skybreeze and Margot alone.

“Damn!” Margot focused harder as the scenery began to blur around her. She thought she heard something from Skybreeze but it was lost. After a few minutes of peering around, Margot found the changelings, it took just a few seconds for her to reach them. One of the changelings, Margot could not tell who, had the Prophetess on her back. Several blasts from the shriekers landed near the poor changeling and it flipped over. The Prophetess fell like a gray stone.

“Noo!” Margot yelled and then she added more power to the levitation spell so she could move faster. The shrieker illusion spell was dispelled and she cast a spell to protect her face from the effects of blasting through the air. Then Margot swooped downward after the tumbling pegasus. After a few seconds of flying, she noticed that the Prophetess was hovering over the bottom of Skyshriek Tumult. Below her was a deep pile of stinking trash. 

Margot flew up to the Prophetess. “Prophetess–”

“Please call me Derpy,” Derpy interrupted then she started panting. “My wing muscles are so sore after weeks of just lying in a cell. Thank you for saving me.”

Margot cast a quick levitation spell to keep Derpy from falling. “We haven’t saved you yet.”

A shadow covered them and Margot and Derpy looked up. Rital’Harak and two changelings flew down to Margot and Derpy.

“Rital’Harak suggests that we leave soon or everything will be wasted,” Rital’Harak said while he searched for threats.

“What happened?” Margot said.

“Rital’Ric didn’t make it. We should leave now,” Rital’Harak said.

“No, we should wait a bit more for Rainbow Dash and Skybreeze,” Margot said. Rital’Harak was getting on her nerves. On the other hoof, they could not stay here for long. Margot wondered what happened to Skybreeze and Rainbow Dash. After thinking a bit, she decided to make a distraction to help them out. Margot scanned the spikes near her. They were made of some sort of cloud stuff that was as dense as concrete. A few seconds later, Margot fired off three red orange blasts at the spikes that were some distance away. More seconds later, rumbling noises could be heard as the spikes began to collapse. Margot could also hear screams too.

“Rital’Harak is impressed, but now we must leave,” Rital’Harak said then he waved his left fore hoof at Rital’Tora. She flew up to Derpy. Margot watched as Derpy climbed on the changeling’s back.

Something warm and wet fell on Margot’s back causing her to look up. Rainbow Dash and Skybreeze had arrived. Skybreeze looked tired, but Rainbow was in bad shape. Blood dribbled out the corner of her mouth. Rainbow also wheezed like she was having problems breathing. Margot did a quick scan and sensed that one of Rainbow’s lungs had been pierced by a broken rib. Also there was some nerve damage to her left rear leg. 

“Hey! It’s not that bad,” Rainbow wheezed. Margot cast a spell that would feed oxygen to Rainbow’s nose and mouth.

“Let’s bail!” Rainbow said. Rital’Tora led the group as the thunderous roar of the collapsing spines threatened to deafen them. Some of the junk rose up because of the falling spines and the group had to avoid that. Margot kept expecting to get blasted, but so far they were ignored as the group flew along the bases of the remaining spines. Finally, they left Skyshriek Tumult and headed for Lower Canterlot.

For a few seconds, Margot thought maybe the shriekers would leave them alone. The chorus of rage filled screams behind them changed her mind. Green-white flashes flew past them. Margot focused and cast some shields at the rear of the group. The protective spells shattered almost immediately. She could sense the changelings firing back, but the shriekers kept coming.

“You call this a power dive? Applejack can dive faster that that!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Apologies, Rainbow Dash, but you're only flying because of my magic,” Skybreeze said.

“Fine, but can we move a bit faster?” Rainbow Dash said.

Margot could sense the shriekers moving in on them like a lowering cloud bank. More shrieks flashed past her. Rital’Tora started to pull away from the group. Margot focused more on her levitation spell, and the ground began to blur underneath her. Then there was a scream and a changeling head flew past her before several shrieker blasts hit it. The sight of the head almost made Margot lose focus, but she regained her composure. Margot focused and tossed a lightning spell at the pursuing shriekers. Ozone filled the air as several shriekers got torn apart by the arcing electric bolts. She threw more of the lightning spells behind her.

“Ahh! Yeahh!” Rainbow Dash said then she had a coughing fit.

Exhaustion was creeping up on Margot. The constant drain of focusing on the levitation spell and trying to dodge shrieker blasts was taking its toll. She didn’t know how much more she could do. Again Margot dodged a blast. It seemed like Lower Canterlot was so far away.

Then a wave of green energy went through them. It was like being in a bathtub when someone throws something electric in. Pain thrilled through her nerves. Margot lost control of her body. It just twitched and jerked painfully. The levitation spell faded away. Even the changelings could not fly anymore. The ground seemed to rush up at them.

Margot managed to focus and cast a levitation spell over the group so they could survive hitting the ground. It was so hard to do, her legs were still moving spastically. With a squeal, Margot hit dirt and grass hard.

A few seconds later, Margot regained consciousness. Her body felt like it had been pummeled by hammers. She figured every muscle in her body had clenched and released. On that note, a quick sniff showed that Margot had soiled herself. While Margot was still trying to decide whether to stand up, she heard two sets of hooves walk up.

A tired glance showed that it was Skybreeze and Rital’Harak. They managed to carry Rainbow Dash on some sort of levitation spell. Margot felt something poke her side.

“Rital’Harak wishes for you to meet your death on your hooves and with a fighting glow on your horn!” Rital’Harak said with a stamp of his left forehoof.

“Too bad, I’m going to meet my doom smelling as though I tumbled into a latrine. It would be so much better that I got a chance to clean up first,” Skybreeze said. Margot struggled to her hooves. She noticed that Rainbow Dash wasn’t moving.

“Is Rainbow Dash...” Margot asked.

“No, but if we don’t get help for her soon...” Skybreeze said with lowered ears.

Margot faced Rital’Harak. “Did Rital’Tora make it?”

Rital’Harak just shrugged.

“Well, I do have to say that spell that made us twitch is something I didn’t expect from shriekers,” Skybreeze said.

“That spell wasn’t from a shrieker, it came from their king. Don’t worry about your smell. You won’t be around for much longer,” Rital’Harak said.

Rital’Harak looked up at the massed shriekers above them. “They come!” 

Exhaustion pulled at Margot, she wanted to lie down on the grass and rest. Somehow she managed to find some power left to cast a spell to shield the group from shrieker blasts. Skybreeze and Rital’Harak fired blasts at the massed enemy above them. It seemed like for every shrieker that was killed, three more would replace it. Margot poured the rest of her magic into the shield, but it was starting to crack under the strain. Already several blasts landed near Rainbow Dash’s body.

The strain of keeping the shield intact was hurting Margot, her nose was starting to bleed. A quick golden flash caught her attention. It was swallowed up by the blue white and green of the oncoming shriekers. Just when the shield finally shattered under the green shrieker blasts, a golden shield appeared above them. An exhausted Margot sunk to her knees and closed her eyes. Darkness took her.

“Hey! Hey! Can you hear me? Somepony get a stretcher for this one too!”

Margot heard voices, her eyes just refused to open.

“Rainbow Dash? Is she okay?”

“She won’t be unless we get her to the hospital tent!”

Margot felt her body being lifted and placed on a gurney. The wheels squeaked and squealed as a pony galloped. Over the drumbeat of the hooves, she heard more voices.

“I’m amazed that they lasted this long.”

“Well, they’re lucky that the princesses showed up in time or we’d be looking at four smears of blood in the grass.”

“At least the Prophetess is safe.”

“Thanks to that brave changeling, yeah.”

The voices faded as Margot went to sleep.

> Chapter Twelve, It's their funeral
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles

Lower Canterlot
Medical Tent Three

Medical Tent Three had just a few ponies resting on clean white-sheeted beds. On one bed, a pink unicorn with a blonde mane and tail thrashed her legs and opened her grey eyes. A changeling was sitting across from her on another bed. When Margot woke up, she found herself looking into the green eyes of Nga'Devro. 

The changeling bowed. “Nga'Devro is pleased that you are well.” He wrinkled his muzzle and Margot was reminded that she needed a bath or at least a shower.

“I need to take a shower or a bath. Do you know where I can go?” Margot said.

“Nga'Devro doesn't know, but he can find out for you,” Nga'Devro said while looking around.

Margot sat up. “Do you know if Rainbow Dash is okay?”

“Nga'Devro overheard some doctors. Ms. Dash was close to death, but she has recovered,”  Nga'Devro said while watching a nurse approach. Margot watched the nurse canter over to her bed.

The nurse had a white coat with a pink mane and tail. Her cutie mark was of a red cross over a heart. She wrinkled her muzzle. “Well, Ms. Summercolt, the doctor says that you’re in good health. He suggests that you get some more rest and some food. A shower or a bath would be good for you too.”

Margot’s eyes narrowed for a second then they went back to normal. “Its Summerholt, not Summercolt.”

The nurse shrugged. “We’ll need that bed now.” Margot climbed out of bed.

“There are signs pointing to the showers, please follow them,” The nurse said. 

While Margot and Nga'Devro headed for the showers, he stopped Margot with a raised fore hoof. “Rital’Harak has a request that you join him at a LeaveTaking. It’s a changeling ritual that honors those that have passed.”

“I would be honored,” Margot said. Then they continued to the showers. Nga'Devro stayed outside while Margot went to the Mare’s section. A few moments later, Skybreeze trotted by.

“Excellent. Applejack has called a strategy meeting. She wants you and Margot,” Skybreeze said. 

“Nga'Devro wonders about a Strategy meeting,” Nga'Devro said.

“Actually, Applejack called it a stratergizin meetin,” Skybreeze said. Nga'Devro nodded. They waited for a few moments until Margot showed up.

“Well, is it nice to be finally clean?” Skybreeze said. Margot nodded.“Applejack has called a Strategy meeting. There will be food and drink,” Skybreeze said.





Lower Canterlot
Royal Meeting Tent

Applejack sat on one side of a long beige wooden table. Far, Skybreeze, the SHC, Nga'Devro and Margot sat opposite her. The tasty lunch was done. Applejack fixed Margot with a green gaze. “Ah know in your vision you saw Fluttershy. Do you know her exact position?” Margot shook her head. 

“Can you do a spell to locate Fluttershy? The Everfree is a large forest full up with ornery creatures. I reckon that wanderin around will get us in more trouble than we need,” Applejack said.

“I need something of Fluttershy’s or something off of her body. Without that I can’t do a location spell,” Margot said. The sound of approaching squeaking wheels made everypony look at the tent entrance. Then the door opened and Rainbow Dash appeared in a wheelchair pushed by an annoyed nurse. “AJ, do you have some oil?”

A smile covered Applejack’s face. “Rainbow Dash, you ornery mare! You’re supposed to be resting in bed!”

“Well, I would but somepony forgot that other ponies might want some books,” Rainbow Dash said.

Applejack looked away for a bit then she looked back. “Well, I kinda forgot to mention that there’s a regular library.”

Scootaloo broke in. “Tell me what books you want and I’ll get them for you!”

The nurse sighed. “Ms. Dash, why don’t you do your business so we can go back to bed.”

“Well, you can go back and go to bed, I’m gonna work with AJ. Can you wheel me closer to the table?” Rainbow Dash said.

The nurse made another deep sigh then she pushed the squeaky chair next to Applejack. 

“Could you go get some oil for the wheels please?” Rainbow said while smiling. The nurse’s eyes narrowed for an instant, and then she cantered off to the door. Applejack waited until the nurse left.

“Did I miss anything?” Rainbow said while looking around for something to eat.

“We were talking about locating Fluttershy. Margot said she couldn’t locate her. I’m thinkin we could use that spell that Scry used to see the past. Margot, can you lock the spell to a pony?” Applejack said.

“I guess so,” Margot said.

“Hey AJ, can you get me some food? Hospital food is nasty,” Rainbow said while making gagging sounds.

“Yeah, give me a sec,” Applejack said.

“How about asking Angel what happened? He’s Fluttershy’s pet,” Rainbow said.

Applejack grimaced. “Angel isn’t my favorite bunny. He’s too ornery for my tastes. I also don’t talk bunny. I don’t know how Fluttershy puts up with him.”

“Because she’s Fluttershy. Maybe there’s a pony in Lower Canterlot who can talk to animals?” Rainbow said.

“I think I know who could help. I heard a story about an earth pony named Beast Tongue. He can talk to animals,” Far said.

“Ahh yeah, awesome!” Rainbow said.

“Excuse me, but what will we accomplish by talking to a bunny? He may not know Fluttershy’s location,” Skybreeze said.

Applejack looked away for a second before she spoke. “I reckon that the Gleaners probably had some sort of trick to send Fluttershy away. I want to know how they did it. It seems that the Gleaners had a plan to isolate all of us.

“A strange pony came by Sweet Apple Acres, and told me that Braeburn my cousin was at Death’s door. He wanted to see me before he passed. I don’t know why I would just jump up and go. Ah was halfway there when I started having feelin’s that things weren’t right. Ah came back to the farm...”

Skybreeze nodded. “My condolences.”

“I was working hard moving some clouds---” Rainbow said but she was interrupted by a glare from Applejack. Rainbow continued with a sheepish grin.

“Okay, I was napping. My dreams had been pretty bad lately. Most of them were filled with dark clouds and shredding lightning. Anyway, this griffon named Airheart challenges me to a race. Hey, you know I love a challenge. So we race, she was pretty fast. I am having a pretty cool time but, then I notice that her feathers aren’t moving in the breeze. I’m like, what in Tartarus? This griffin is keeping pace with me, but her feathers aren’t moving. I get this chill down my back like I’m reading a Stephen Fang story. Except now I’m in one. 

“Anyway, I’m thinking about stopping the racing and just flying back to Ponyville. Airheart gives me this smile. AJ, you should have seen it. I knew that I was in serious trouble. Then these green glowing things started swarming all over me. It took a lot of fancy flying to dodge them and get away.”

Margot looked at Rainbow. “The Gleaners have a boss, an Empress Razorhoof. I ran into her before we came to Lower Canterlot. She’s an Enchantress, a magic user that can make ponies see and feel anything she wants. I bet she made that griffin and that strange pony.” 

“You know that would’ve been something we needed to know!” Rainbow said with narrowed eyes.

Applejack faced Rainbow. “Hush!” Rainbow looked away.

Margot faced Rainbow Dash. “I’m sorry. I was waiting for someone to ask me then I got caught up with other stuff.”

“How did this Enchanter work? Spells that alter ponies’ minds are on the proscribed list and are forbidden,” Skybreeze said.

“Well, I can’t do Enchanter magic. The Empress almost had me, but then another being helped me. I don’t know his or her name. The Empress also mentioned another pony is supposed to help out but she didn’t give me any details. I was with a group and she almost got me. I hope I don’t run into her again,” Margot said with drooping ears and tail.

“We need to tell the Princesses immediately. Enchanters can cause a lot of chaos,” Skybreeze said.

Applejack pointed at Scootaloo. “Scoots, please send a message to the Princesses so we can brief them.” Then Applejack pointed at Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie Belle, please tell the guard outside that we’ll need more food when the Princesses arrive.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle galloped out the door. Rainbow started snoring. Applejack glanced at her and then at the ponies at the other side of the table.

“Ah reckon that we got a few hours before we get back to stratergizin. Don’t worry, Ah’ll send some ponies to git you when we’re ready. Y’all are dismissed,” Applejack said before she glanced at the snoring Rainbow.

---

Changeling enclave

When Margot followed Nga'Devro to the changeling enclave, she was surprised that she had to go through almost all of Lower Canterlot. The changelings lived next to the Commoner Section. Unlike the other sections that Margot had been in, it was noisy and crowded. There were fewer pegasus patrols. Homeless ponies with tired eyes watched Margot and Nga'Devro walk past. The few tents they saw were small. Even the ground was rough, just a few steps from just being dirt.

A few unfortunate ponies even asked Margot for bits or some food. It tore her heart to say no. Nga'Devro on the other hand just ignored them. Above the small camps of poor ponies, the Changeling Enclave towered. Margot figured that the shiny black towers were at least five stories high. She also noticed that none of the ponies from the commons camped close to the changeling enclave.

At the front of the Enclave, there were several changeling guards. They nodded at Nga'Devro and ignored Margot. Behind them, the door to the Enclave was open. Changelings walked through it on their own affairs. Margot followed Nga'Devro as he led her inside, their hooves clicked against the floor. 

“Nga'Devro, what is the floor made of?” Margot said while she looked down at her reflection.

“It is called ‘tairu Yocu’ in the language of my people. The Enclave is built using different forms of ‘remgai Yocu’. Larvae excrete a soft substance that the Builder clan uses to make building material. Nga'Devro is glad you wish to learn more about my people, but we must not be late. It’s very disrespectful,” Nga'Devro while he started walking faster. Margot had to stop gazing at changelings flying up and down through holes in the ceiling. Black curvy sconces with flickering green flames lit up the area with a green glow.

After what seemed to be a few minutes Nga'Devro stopped in front of two changeling guards standing in front of a closed door. They nodded at Nga'Devro then their horns glowed. Margot watched as the guards moved to the side and the door opened. Inside there were low black shiny benches filled with changelings.

“When we get inside, Nga'Devro wishes for you to wait for an usher to seat you,” Nga'Devro said while Margot and Nga'Devro entered the room. Behind them, the black door closed silently. Two small changelings hopped and flew up to Margot and Nga'Devro. They seemed to be as old as fillies. One of them pointed to Margot and said “Follow me.” Margot followed her as she went up the aisle. Every few steps she would look back shyly at Margot.

Margot thought that Nga'Devro would be sitting next to her, but he ended up sitting in the back.

Her usher pointed to the seat. “Please sit.”

Margot nodded and took her seat. Even though the changelings sat on the benches with their hooves, the candles were black with green flames dancing above them. It felt like she was at somepony’s funeral.

There were no coffins up front, just a table with two ebony statues of Rital’Ric and Rital’Maya. Behind that, there was a black banner with what Margot figured was a clan sigil. Behind that were tables covered with lit candles. Margot saw doors on the left and right sides. A male changeling wearing a black cloak covered with symbols came through the door on the left side. He walked up to the table with the statues and bowed to them. “Rital’Ric ti Rital’Maya Subite nu ichezoku no temo ni kerera o atemishetu...”

For a half hour, Margot watched the ceremony. She could not understand any of the words but Margot could understand the gestures. There was no crying, but some changelings were sniffling. Then the changelings stood up like one and chanted “Heibo no taku no she!” Margot just sat on the bench and watched. The changelings sat down. 

Nga'Devro walked up to Margot’s bench. “Nga'Devro and the Rital clan thanks you for your attendance. Nga'Devro urges that we head back,” Nga'Devro said. Margot followed him out.

“What was that chant about?” Margot said when they were outside.

“It’s a chant that affirms our commitment to defeating our enemies. Nga'Devro is unhappy that your treatment was so poor. Your grace has shamed me,” Nga'Devro said.

“Grace? Treated so poor? I don’t understand,” Margot said while they headed through the Commons. The sun was setting and she was starting to get nervous.

Nga'Devro sighed. “Nga'Devro is sad that some of our people still harbor a disdain for ponies. You should’ve had one of my people translate or cast a translation spell on you so you could understand what was being said. Nga'Devro is also sorry that he had to take you away from the ceremony early. Please accept my apologies. We need to gallop now to get back to the meeting.” Nga'Devro began to gallop, Margot had to run faster to keep up with him. While she galloped, Margot wondered what the meeting would cover now.

> Chapter Thirteen, Angel speaks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lower Canterlot
Royal Meeting Tent

This time Applejack was sitting behind the table with an alert Rainbow Dash in a wheelchair and the Princesses. Scry, Skybreeze, and Far were there along with a white bunny with black beady eyes and an earth pony. Two pegasus guards in silvery gray armor stood in the corners. Princess Celestia nodded as Nga'Devro and Margot walked through the door. It took a few seconds for them to find seats. Margot peered at Scry, she looked like she hadn’t rested in a while. Her brown eyes were sunken into her face.

“Scry, are you alright?” Margot said with concern.

Scry looked at Margot. “There’s no time to rest, too much to do.”

“Scry, you have done a lot for us. Please take some time out to rest,” Princess Luna said. Scry just looked away.

Rainbow Dash squirmed in her chair, making it squeak in protest. “Princess Celestia, what do you think about my report that the shriekers are made in a factory? We need to get back there and take it out before they replace the ones we killed and come for us here!”

Princess Celestia turned and gazed at Rainbow. “You’ve made a good point, but even if we threw everything at the factory, we could be leaving ourselves open to a counter attack.”

Princess Luna looked at Celestia and then Rainbow. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there were traps. Stumbling blindly into traps isn’t good strategy. I also agree that something needs to be done, but first we should get all of the Elements of Harmony.”

“Let’s discuss this matter later after we have had time to think more on it,” Princess Celestia said then she glanced at Applejack. Rainbow sat back in her chair.

“Okay. Scry and Mahgot, can you do that viewing spell again? We’ll need it to track Fluttershy,” Applejack said while looking over the other guests.

“Wait, I need some paper, quills and ink. I could make a map if I can see enough landmarks,” Far said.

Princess Celestia waved at a guard. “I need a cartographer’s pack.” The guard nodded and left the room.

“Before Ah forget, Mahgot, the Prophetess would like to see you tomorrow morning. She will send a guard to fetch you,” Applejack said.

“No problem,” Margot said while looking at Scry.

“My sister doesn’t look well,” Skybreeze said with lowered ears.

“Don’t worry, sister, I am fine,” Scry said as she glared back at her sister.

“Mahgot and Scry, can you do the viewing spell again? We need to see what happened to Fluttershy,” Applejack said.

Scry started the spell, which flickered a bit before it stabilized. Margot added the parts that looked through the past. It seemed like the amount of magical energy she was getting from Scry wasn’t steady. Margot added more power to smooth out the image.

“First let’s focus on Ponyville several months ago, then I will tell you how to get to Fluttershy’s cabin,” Applejack said while she looked eagerly at the floating image. The scene shifted from a bustling Ponyville to a cottage at the edge of town. There were assorted pens and coops for different animals. As Applejack tried to get the exact time when the enemy tried to trick Fluttershy, the group was treated to scenes of Fluttershy doing her routine and chatting outside with friends. Finally Applejack found the right moment with Rainbow’s help.

“There, AJ! That’s it!” Rainbow yelled while pointing frantically with her left forehoof at the image. The wheelchair creaked as Rainbow moved around. The image showed a scene where Fluttershy was facing an empty space. Even Angel was facing the same area.

“Can you move in closer so we all can hear what they’re saying?” Applejack said.

Scry zoomed in, but before she stopped, Rainbow told her to hold position.

“Hey! Do you see that green blur?” Rainbow said.

“Where?” Applejack said.

“Right there!” Rainbow Dash said while she pointed her right forehoof at the blur. Her wheelchair creaked louder as Rainbow bounced in her seat.

“I see it! What is it? ‘Tia do you see it?” Luna said while she peered closer at the floating image.

“I see it Luna. Scry, can I sense magic from this image?”

Margot looked at Scry. She did not look like she could maintain the spell for much longer. Scry was wobbling on her hooves and her eyes were half closed.

Scry opened her eyes. “Huh, I don’t know if I can.” Margot walked over to Scry.

“Teach me what I need to know to maintain the spell. You need to get some rest,” Margot said.

Scry sighed. “I wish I could do that, but I am so tired. I will try to help with finding Fluttershy.”

“Fine. Let’s follow Fluttershy and see what happens,” Applejack said. A few minutes later, a guard came in with a cartographer’s pack. Far grabbed it from the guard and started working on a rough map. Scry sped up the time in the image so they could see what happened. Halfway to the Everfree forest, Angel stopped and pointed back at the cottage. Scry zoomed in closer so they could hear what Fluttershy said.

“Angel bunny, why are we stopping?” Fluttershy asked. Angel shook his head.
Fluttershy looked at an empty spot on the ground. “Greypaw needs our help!” Angel thrust his left paw at Fluttershy then he pointed at himself and then he pointed back at the cottage.

“Angel Bunny, I’m so surprised at you! You know that I can’t just ignore an animal that needs my help!” Fluttershy said with narrowed eyes. Then she looked at the ground next to her. “Don’t worry, Greypaw, I will help or at least see how bad things are and get my friends to help.”

Angel looked up to Fluttershy with a pleading look in his eyes, but Fluttershy did not look back at him. She just ran toward the dark green looming forest. Margot noticed that Angel watched the image.

Scry advanced the time until Fluttershy was in the Everfree Forest, then things took a dark turn. Fluttershy was walking among some trees and then several strange looking creatures loped into view. To Margot, they looked like someone tied bundles of faded or drained brownish gray branches in the shape of wolves. The leaves were red or orange, but the creature’s eyes had that poisonous Gleaner green glow.

“Graypaw look out! There are timberwolves here!” Fluttershy said then she looked down. Almost everypony could see the look of surprise on Fluttershy’s face when she saw the bunny was gone. The one pony that couldn’t see the image was Scry. Then the image faded away.

“Hey, we need the image back! I need to know what happened to Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash said.

Scry collapsed to the ground. When Margot saw Scry fall, she feared the worst but a quick scan of her vitals just showed a lot of exhaustion.

Applejack faced Margot. “Can you do what Scry did so we can find out more?”

“No, I just added the part that looks into the past. Scry did all of the heavy lifting. I can make a spell that will show the past, but I will take me at least several hours to make the equipment,” Margot said.

“Well, we don’t have several hours!” Rainbow said.

“Princess Luna, since you enter ponies’ dreams, have you seen any of Fluttershy’s?” Rainbow said.

“Well, you are assuming that Fluttershy sleeps well enough to dream. She may be too scared to rest at all. To answer your question, no. I haven’t sensed any dreams from any of the missing Elements of Harmony except for you and Applejack. I’m not sure why. They could be awake or maybe not in Equestria or maybe my magic is being blocked,” Luna said then her ears drooped.

“We still have one more thing to try. We can ask Angel, he might know something,” Celestia suggested. She pointed at a guard. “Please transport Scry to the hospital.” The guard nodded and left the room.

Applejack faced the earth pony. He had a brown coat with a brown mane and tail. His eyes were also brown. The pony’s cutie mark had a series of different paw prints in it. He bowed.

“My name is Beast Tongue. What do you wish of me?” Beast said.

“We wish to talk to Angel, the white bunny there,” Applejack said while she pointed at Angel.

Beast walked up to Angel and tried to put his left fore hoof on his head. Angel backed up shaking his head.

“I need to touch you for my talent to work. You do want to help us find Fluttershy?” Beast said while trying to touch Angel. Then Beast just stopped and stuck out his left fore hoof. Angel walked up to Beast and touched his hoof.

“Do you understand me Angel?” Applejack said.

“Yes,” Beast/Angel said. Margot thought it was strange to hear a bunny’s squeaky voice come out of a pony’s mouth.

“Can you tell us what you saw, the day Fluttershy went missing?” Applejack said.

Angel looked around and nodded. “Yeah, I can do that. It was late morning when this strange grayish brown bunny with green eyes shows up. Lookin’ at that creepo creature made the fur rise up on my back. Fluttershy shows up and she is all, “Poor little bunny, do you need help?”  If it was up to me, I would slow down and ask that funny bunny more questions, but Fluttershy decides the poor thing needs help. Oh yeah, the funny bunny’s name is Greypaw. Fluttershy is sooo lucky she has me to keep her safe. Anyway we head off to the Everfree forest. Halfway there, the weirdness factor just is too much for me. I don’t know why but I didn’t want to be around that Greypaw anymore. I wanted to keep an eye on Fluttershy, but I got that deep down feeling that I was in major trouble if I kept on travelin down that road. I tried to warn Fluttershy but she wasn’t having any of that. So, I went back to the cottage. After what I saw in that magic spell, I kinda wish that I was there to help.”

“No, Angel. You couldn’t handle timberwolves by yourself,” Applejack said. Angel just looked down. An unicorn and an earth pony came into the tent with a gurney. The unicorn levitated Scry onto the gurney, then the earth pony pulled the gurney out the door.

Princess Luna leaned in toward Angel. “Angel, do you know where Fluttershy is?”

“Yes, she’s in an area inside the forest. I can show the map pony. Fluttershy sent some animals to the cottage. They told me where she is,” Angel said.

“Great, we don’t have to wander around and deal with all of the ornery critters in the Everfree,” Applejack said with a relieved look on her face. Her ears drooped. “I’m sorry that we didn’t get back to you, Angel, after Fluttershy went missing. The Gleaners attacked Ponyville and then Cheerilee sent me and Rainbow to Lower Canterlot.”

“Hey, no problem. I had to hitch a ride on a caravan to Lower Canterlot,” Angel said.

“Applejack, I will provide two squads of Royal Guards to help you. One extra squad will fly your team to the area. I leave the rest of the planning to you and Rainbow,” Princess Celestia said.

“No problem Princess, we will have Fluttershy back tomorrow,” Rainbow said with a smile.

Margot glanced at Skybreeze, she looked back.

“Get some rest. Y’all are dismissed except for the Map-” Applejack said, but was interrupted by Far.

“That’s Far Traveler or Far. Not Map Pony,” Far said.

“Whatever. All of you are dismissed!” Applejack said.

While Skybreeze, Margot and Nga'Devro walked back to the Royal Guest tents, it seemed that Skybreeze read Margot’s mind. 

“I wonder if that green blur is Empress Razorhoof? Will we meet her in the Everfree forest?” Skybreeze said.

“I hope not, I barely survived the last time. Are there books on Enchantment Magic?” Margot said.

“I don’t know. It’s not an area of interest for me, but I guess we’ll need to study Enchantment Magic,” Skybreeze said.

“Nga'Devro can ask some changeling loreweavers to see if they know,” Nga'Devro said.

“Thanks, Nga'Devro,” Margot said, then she sighed. The ponies traveled to their tents in silence while they wrestled with their thoughts. Margot wondered what she would find out from the Prophetess tomorrow. When she lay in her sleeping bag, she didn’t worry too much. Sleep took her worries away.

> Chapter Fourteen, Muffins and Platinum
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prophetess’s Office

Margot had just returned to her room in the Royal Guest Quarters when a guard for the Prophetess showed up. He escorted her through the predawn coolness to a grey and gold tent.

“Is this her home?” Margot said while gazing at the tent.

The guard shook his head. “This is her office.” Then he pointed with his right forehoof at the door. Margot stepped through. Inside, the tent had the same color scheme, gray with accents of gold. The walls and floors were dark gray with golden edges. A large gray table was in the center of the room. Golden plates and candelabra sat on top. There was a gray chair on the other side of the table. The Prophetess sat on a chair with a plate of muffins in front of her. Margot sat in the chair and eyed the muffins.

“Go ahead, try one. They’re my favorite, Lemon Surprise,” the Prophetess said with a smile.

Margot used her telekinesis to grab a muffin and a plate. “How did you become the Prophetess?”

The Prophetess looked away for a moment and then looked back. “Please, call me Derpy. I was the mailmare for Ponyville until the Messenger of Oonté showed me what was coming for Equestria and how I could help. It has been quite the burden.” 

Margot took  a bite out of her muffin and was surprised as sourness blew across her tongue. What she’d thought was sour was just a pale relation to what she tasted now.

“I took my visions to Mayor Mare. She didn’t believe me at first, but after a bit she understood. She got a bunch of ponies to collect supplies and extend the escape tunnels under Ponyville. By then I had flown to Canterlot to see the Princesses. Luna did some sort of dream magic to fully see what I saw. After that they prepared for when the Gleaners would come. So many ponies were lost...” Derpy trailed off.

Margot finished the muffin with two more bites. Something about Derpy’s silence made Margot turn her gaze back to her. Derpy’s eyes were starting to focus on Margot.

“I can sense that you have the Sight. Maybe you could take my burden?” Derpy said while her eyes focused on Margot. She could feel that a vision was coming on, one that would hit her mind like a sledgehammer. Margot pushed away from the table. The chair hit the floor with a crash. For a moment, the room was quiet except for Derpy’s sobbing.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m not used to seeing so much death. I know that you’ve been through so much. You you could handle it better than me,” Derpy said between sniffles.

Margot squeezed her eyes tight, she did not want somepony else’s burden. Images of the flying changeling head and the other terrible things she saw in Equestra returned to her mind’s eye. Margot had enough to handle.

“The Messenger said that Oonté doesn’t give ponies burdens they can’t handle. I should try harder to believe him. I’m sorry Margot. I will try harder to carry my burden. Don’t worry, I won’t share any visions with you unless you want to,” Derpy said while walking around the table to Margot.  She opened one eye to look at Derpy, both eyes were back to being crossed. Derpy offered her left forehoof to Margot. Margot got up without Derpy’s help. The office was quiet except for Derpy’s hoofsteps as she walked back to her chair. Margot used her telekinesis to bring the chair back to its upright position.

“I would like to know how I got here,” Margot said while watching Derpy carefully. She was still somewhat angry that she tried to pass on her terrible visions. Keeping her eyes on Derpy, Margot sat in the chair.

“The Messenger saved you. Oonté has seen that your skills would be useful to Equestria,” Derpy said while grabbing a muffin.

“I would like to go home after I help find Fluttershy,” Margot said.

“Can you stay and help find Pinkie Pie? Then we can send you home,” Derpy said and gazed at Margot.

Going home was the first thing on Margot’s mind. Her employers at D-core did not like when agents went on unsanctioned missions. Also Empress Razorhoof was definitely a threat to Earth. The Empress said so herself. Then again, Equestria needed her help. Margot remembered another question for Derpy.

“The Empress mentioned another pony that was supposed to cause trouble for her. Who is it?” Margot said.

Derpy looked down before she replied. “The Messenger didn’t tell me the name of the other pony from your world, but he will arrive soon. You’ll need his help to free Pinkie Pie.”

“Do you know where Pinkie Pie is?” Margot said.

“Somewhat. When the Gleaners arrived, they attacked almost every city in Equestria. Celestia managed to send teams of scouts to look for the missing Elements of Harmony. Almost all of them returned empty hooved except for one team that found Rainbow Dash after Cloudsdale fell. Another team had been sent to the Melancholy Marsh, that is south east of here. It was called Saddle Lake in happier times. They never returned. That seems like a place where the Gleaners could keep Pinkie,” Derpy said.

“I had a vision of a pink pony crying in a place of sadness. Maybe that’s the place?” Margot said. 

A royal guard in gold armor burst through the door then he bowed to the Prophetess. “We need Margot now so the Platinum Squad can leave!” He pointed his right forehoof at Margot. “You must leave with me now!” 

Margot dug in her hooves, she was not going anywhere. “I’m sorry but I’m not done yet.” The guard looked at Derpy and then back at Margot.

“Margot, we’re done now. We can talk later,” Derpy said and nodded at the guard.
The guard turned and went through the door. Margot looked back at Derpy before turning to follow the guard outside. 

He turned and faced Margot. “My name is Sure Strike. This sprawling tent city must seem confusing to you. I remember when it was much smaller.”

“How much has the tent city grown?” Margot said while passing by dark tents with busy ponies outside.

“Hah! It has exploded. I am surprised that we so far have enough food. I hear that they are going to start up some farms around here. We’re in the Noble Family section. The servants are out before dawn. Some of the market stalls are open now.”

“Really, it seems too early for that.”

“It’s never too early to earn a bit. Well that’s what my cheap plot uncle would say,” Sure said as they galloped by another set of large and dark tents. “This is where the wealthy and the guilds live. Some of the most wealthy ponies are in or are leaders of guilds. Have you noticed that the guild tents are near the airfield?”

“Yes,” Margot said while they cantered to the airfield.
“Some guilds have found ways to ship goods by air. It’s safer than using caravans. For some reason shriekers ignore flying carriages. This is where you have to go. Good luck on the mission,” Sure said and waved a hoof at Margot.

“Thanks,” Margot said. Inside the fenced off area of the airfield, large pink and gold carriages were lit by green lights on poles.

Margot’s attention was grabbed by Applejack arguing with a large red coated earth pony mare with green eyes and short cut blonde hair. She also noticed that the red pony’s cutie mark was of a silver and black hammer. The guard galloped off while Margot watched Applejack argue with the red pony.

“Ah don’t care if you are my second cousin twice removed! Ah want to be on one of those carriages!” Applejack said with narrowed eyes.

The red pony fired back. “With all due respect, Ma’am, it’s no can do on that request. Princess Luna has ordered me to not take you on this mission. After what happened to Rainbow Dash, the Princesses don’t want to have any of the Elements of Harmony in danger unless necessary. Do you wish for me to send a message to Princess Luna so she can verify my orders, Ma’am?”

Applejack’s ears and tail drooped. The red pony continued. “I and my team will execute our mission’s objectives and bring back your friend, Fluttershy. You’re invited to a party in our tent when she’s returned safely.”

“Ah wish you luck then, bring her back,” Applejack said as her tail and ears rose. 

The red pony nodded. “Luck has nothing to do with it, but I understand your sentiment.” Applejack waved her left forehoof at Margot. She waved back.

“You’re the one called Margot?” The red pony said as she walked up to Margot.

“Yes Ma’am, that is my name,” Margot said.

“Well, my name is Blunt Force. I’ll be leading this mission. My squad, the Platinum Squad will do their best to execute the mission. We don’t appreciate anypony who threatens or interferes with our mission being executed. If you sense anything strange, make sure we know it too. Even if you aren’t totally sure. Are you clear on this?” Blunt said while peering at Margot.

“Ma’am yes ma’am!” Margot said. She had worked with different military groups for some missions, somehow this didn’t seem too different other than the pony part. Unless their orders caused things to get worse, Margot would follow them.

Blunt pointed to the first carriage with her right forehoof. “Good, you will ride in the first carriage. There will be briefings on the creatures in the Everfree.” Margot nodded then cantered to the carriage. She wished it looked more utilitarian. D-core transports looked like flying boxes, but they were armored and had weapons to protect the landing zone, not like these carriages. Margot hoped they had a wet bar or at least a snack bar. Her hooves clanged against the silver stairs as she entered the carriage.

Inside it was pink with golden highlights. There were dark brown wooden benches to Margot’s left and right. In the middle, was a dark brown table. Margot could see that the table had drawers along its sides. She figured that was where the snacks and drinks were. A green pegasus mare with a black mane and tail was pointing to several sketches on the top of the table. She rolled her blue eyes when Margot appeared.

“Really? I have to do the briefing over? Blunt?” The pegasus said while staring at Margot.

“No, Quick. Margot, this is Quick Fact,” Blunt said from behind Margot. On the other bench a bunch of familiar faces looked back. Skybreeze, Far, The SHC and Nga'Devro were there. Margot felt a light tap on her plot. 

“Please take a seat. Daylight is a burnin’,” Blunt said. Margot took her seat. 

A bat-winged pony mare with sunglasses looked through the doorway. “Y’all be ready?”

Blunt looked at Margot and noticed her surprise then she looked at the doorway. “This is Dusk Flight. She’s a thestral. Don’t call her a bat pony. We’re ready, Dusk.” Dusk nodded then she closed the door. Margot heard her tell the pegasi that were in charge of flying to take off.

Margot expected some sort of jolt or roughness, but the takeoff was smooth. She was too far from the window to see anything though. 

“Since you’re late, you get the short version,” Quick said with a toss of her mane.
Blunt sighed. “Margot was on official business. Not sleeping. You can reduce the attitude.”

Quick looked away and back at Margot. “The Everfree Forest is mostly unexplored and there are probably creatures there that haven’t been seen before. I will cover the ones we know for sure. In its green depths, you could find Cockatrice, Manticores or even worse Timberwolves...”

Margot was not particularly interested in hearing about strange creatures. Something about the Platinum Squad’s attitude made her think that they would handle the threats with little help. Quick made sure that Margot knew that the Platinum Squad were professionals. When anything threatening showed up, Blunt and her team would deal with it. It basically boiled down to, “When the monster shows up, civvies stay out of the way.” After Quick finished her briefing there was an awkward moment. Margot looked away and hoped that the mission would start soon.

> Chapter Fifteen, Kindness and Claws
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside the Everfree Forest

“Mahgot, do you think that we will run into any of the critters that Quick Fact showed us?” Apple Bloom said with wide eyes.

“I don’t know,” Margot said. She wondered why she didn’t feel any turbulence.

“We met a cocktrice once,” Scootaloo said.

“Fluttershy took care of it!” Apple Bloom said with a wave of her left forehoof.

“I hope she’s okay,” Sweetie Belle said with lowered ears.

“I think Timberwolves would be a bigger threat since they travel in packs,” Far added while looking out the window.

“Don’t worry Sweetie, we'll  get Fluttershy and later on get Rarity! Oonté will help us! Margot, you’ll help us too?” Scootaloo said. Margot looked into Scootaloo’s purple eyes.

“Let’s find Fluttershy and rescue her first,” Margot replied. She hoped that would be a diplomatic response. Margot was not sure she would be around. Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed. 

“Come on Scoots, maybe Margot has family and maybe she wants to go back home,” Apple Bloom said.

Scootaloo sat back and looked away from Margot. Nga'Devro turned and faced Margot.

“Nga'Devro wonders if Margot learned what she needed from the Prophetess,” Nga'Devro said while gazing at Margot.

“Yeah, she answered all of my questions,” Margot said. It wasn’t quite true. She still wanted to know why she was a pony. Then again it was better to look like a local and blend in than look like a freak and stand out. The carriage tilted forward. Margot knew that they were going to land soon. After a few moments, the carriage landed with a slight bump.

Again Margot wished she had the window seat. “What do you see Far?”

“We’ve landed outside the Everfree forest, or some place near it. There’s a path going into the forest a few steps away,” Far said then he looked at Margot.

“Well, let’s get this over with,” Skybreeze said while staring at the door.

Somepony banged on the door twice then it opened. Dusk peered in. “We be here now. Let the Squad step out first. When we be sure that things are secure, you will know.” Blunt and Quick walked through the door.

Then somepony whistled. Margot left the carriage followed by the other ponies. Outside, Margot could see it was afternoon by the sun’s angle. She hoped they could do the mission without spending the night. Yellow and pale green leaves from the trees formed a path leading deeper into the forest. Underneath the smells of the forest, there was a smell of rot. It was similar to what she’d smelled in the Shatterleg.

“Gah, smell that rot! I know that things live and die here, but this doesn’t smell natural. Right Blunt?” Somepony said behind Margot.  She turned to see an unicorn mare with reddish brown mane and tail walk by. Her cutie mark was a ball of flame. 

The complaining pony blinked her grey eyes. “Can’t wait to burn something to get that stink out!”

Blunt smiled. “Well Fireburst, you might get your chance. Guests, this is Fireburst.” Fireburst nodded.

“Guests? Now that sounds like we’re just tourists,” Skybreeze said with narrowed eyes. 

“Yeah, well, let them have their fun,” Far said while looking around.

“Considering that we were taught tactics and fighting skills by someone who has probably forgotten more than what you know now, I think ‘guests’ is a good term,” Blunt said with narrowed eyes.

“Now before anyone gets their saddlebags in a twist, I’ll go over the engagement procedure. The Platinum Squad will engage first and you will assist as needed,“ Blunt said.

“Why do we need those fillies or that changeling anyway, Blunt?” Quick asked while looking over the group. Margot gazed at Nga'Devro. He just looked away.

“You might need a blessing from Oonté!” Apple Bloom said with narrowed eyes.

“I think we’re going to be fine without that,” Quick said.

“Everypony settle down! Save the aggression for the enemy!” Blunt said while looking at every pony to see if they would challenge her.

When nopony said anything, Blunt continued. “Marching order is Quick and I in front. Dusk and Fireburst covering the rear.  Don’t dawdle, you aren’t traveling with your mommies. Everypony else in the middle. Let’s get going!”
Skybreeze whispered “delightful,” before the ponies stepped onto the path into the forest. The canopy above them had many holes that let sunshine in. Margot figured that if the trees were healthy, there would be fewer gaps and the path would be dark. Beyond the path, the forest was foreboding and filled with all sorts of furtive noises.

The ponies traveled down the path while their ears swiveled left and right. Hackles were raised as they stepped along the path. Everypony felt hidden eyes were watching them. It was a relief when they reached a sunlit clearing. 

Poor Fluttershy was in a cage made of dark brown ironwood branches. Margot did not miss the sight of an upside down wooden bowl with reddish stains on it. Some of the red stuff was spilled in the cage. On Fluttershy’s right, there was a bowl with water. Fluttershy watched the approaching ponies with great interest. Several feet away was a timberwolf. It did not seem too threatening for some reason. Margot also noticed that the dark brown branches and green leaves of the creature seemed healthy.

The timberwolf walked up to Blunt. “Please don’t hurt Dimroot. I don’t want to have any of my sap on the ground please.” Dimroot towered over Blunt. He seemed at least two or three times taller.

“Please don’t hurt him,” Fluttershy said while peering through the bars of her cage.

Blunt stared at Dimroot. “Well, if he opens the cage, he won’t be hurt.”

Dimroot cringed. “By root and branch, Dimroot doesn’t know how to open the cage.”

“Can I burn him now?” Fireburst asked with a smile. A red glow covered her horn.

“NO! No burn Dimroot! Only pack killer Rotvine Crushroot knows the spell to the cage,” Dimroot said while making himself even smaller. “Rotvine Crushroot says he’s the King of the Neverfree Tangle. He killed my pack and left me alive. By branch and root, I hate him, but he’s too powerful for me. He had me watch the little yellow pony. I make sure she gets sweet water, but no food,” Dimroot said while all of his branches shook with fear.

“Please, um, please don’t hurt him,” Fluttershy said from her cage.

Blunt eyed the trembling timberwolf carefully. “So, you don’t know how to open the cage?” Dimroot nodded with a thrashing of branches. In the distance, there was a howl.

Dimroot cringed even more, now he was just a little bit taller than Blunt. “Rotvine c-c-comes! P-please let me go!” Margot felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Dusk.

“You be tryin’ to open the cage,” Dusk said and pointed to Fluttershy’s cage. Margot went to the cage. Dimroot made a choked howl and loped off into the dark forest.

“Well, it looks like I’m going to burn some things soon!” Fireburst said with a crooked grin. Blunt glared at Fireburst.

Fireburst looked back at Blunt. “What?” 

Blunt looked around. “Listen up! SHC stay near me. Let’s see what this Oonté can do. Skybreeze and the changeling provide support. Quick, Fireburst and Far also provide support. Margot and Dusk, get that cage open! We’ll keep the enemy busy until Fluttershy is free, then we head to the evac site.” More howls filled the air, and they were getting closer.

Margot scanned the wood of the cage. It felt like just a dense wood, but the Gleaner magic added more strength. That meant that Margot had to concentrate and cut each bar separately. It just took a moment to conjure up a welder’s helmet.

“Don’t look at the spell or the sparks,” Margot said then she took a flame based spell and turned it into a welder’s cutting flame. Bright green sparks flew from the wooden cage bar as the spell started to burn through it. Fluttershy moved back from the flying sparks.

Five timberwolves loped into the clearing. Unlike Dimroot, these had faded light brown branches with highlights of gray on them. The leaves were yellow and orange except for the largest timberwolf. He had red leaves on his branches. Margot figured he was the leader. The poisonous green glow of their eyes showed they were Gleaner creatures.

“Rotvine Crushroot, I presume,” Blunt said while looking up at the towering timberwolf.

“Well, it’s nice when your name is known by strangers. Even if they are little ponies,” Rotvine said with a toothy grin. He took a deep sniff.  “Ah, the scent of pony fear. It’s been a while since I have smelled that. Why are you here?”

“We came for Fluttershy,” Blunt said with flattened ears and narrowed eyes. Margot’s spell cut through the top of the cage’s bar, she moved the spell to the lower part.

“Fluttershy isn’t for you. She is mine! It’s been awhile since I have tasted pony heart sap. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to taste it again,” Rotvine said. Then he stretched out his neck. A dark green smoke floated out of his muzzle and headed toward Blunt. The few bits of grass near Blunt’s fore hooves curled up and blackened.

Margot wished she could help, but keeping the spell cutting the bars of Fluttershy’s cage was taking most of her concentration. Then a glowing blue shield appeared around Blunt. For a few seconds blue and dark green fought then the deadly green fog faded away. Scootaloo slumped to the ground only to be carried away by Sweetie and Apple Bloom. Fluttershy watched as they carried their friend to a spot next to the cage. Rotvine retreated.

“Light em up!” Blunt screamed. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a black and silver warhammer. The timberwolves attacked as the second bar from the cage fell to the ground. There were just two more left.

Two pack members ran at Blunt, but a blast from Nga'Devro pushed one back while Blunt hurled her hammer at the other timberwolf. There was a loud crack and the creature fell. Pale green sap dripped from its mouth and nose as it panted on the ground. The hammer flew back into Blunt’s mouth while she dodged a swipe from a timberwolf claw. Flames covered the downed timberwolf. For a second, the timberwolves looked at their burning dead pack mate.

“So little ponies got claws?” Rotvine said. He looked at the remaining pack members. “What are you waiting for? GET THEM!” He walked over to the pile of burning branches and breathed on them. The rising flames guttered and went out. “Little red pony with a hammer, I will enjoy feeling you squirm in my claws.”

Blunt spoke around the hammer in her mouth. “Bring it! Stickdog!” The green glow of Rotvine’s eyes intensified then he leaped at Blunt. She managed to avoid his attack, but her attack missed.

The remaining timberwolves focused on attacking Fireburst. She kept casting fire spells at the timberwolves. The branches would catch fire, but the timberwolves would shake their backs like a dog would shake water off of its back and the flames would go out. Fear started to worm its way into her heart. Fireburst knew she did not have an infinite amount of power. Eventually, it would run out.

Quick wasn’t feeling any better. Her flying hoof strikes weren’t even making the enemies pause. Far’s attacks did make the timberwolves react.  At least Skybreeze and Nga'Devro were causing a bit more damage. Not enough to take out any of the enemy, but they were getting hurt.

“Mahgot, you gotta cut the bars faster! They are not goin’ to last for too long!” Apple Bloom said while the third bar fell inside the cage. Sweetie started to charge up her horn, but Dusk stopped her.

“You be savin’ that for later. It will be needed then,” Dusk said while watching the fighting. Sweetie stopped concentrating. Blunt was panting while blood oozed from a gash on her flank. Rotvine was moving slower now with two smashed legs. Margot could see the broken branches and the green sap dripping to the ground. Fireburst stopped firing off blasts of flame to pick her shots. Blunt dodged an attack from Rotvine and smashed a timberwolf that was trying to bite Fireburst. The creature’s head exploded in a spray of sap and wooden fragments. Fireburst squealed as some of the caustic sap got in her eyes.

A well timed blast of magic from Skybreeze and Nga'Devro pushed back the remaining timberwolves from attacking the blinded Fireburst. Quick swooped in and carried Fireburst to the cage. Far managed to kick a timberwolf in the head, the creature retreated.

“My eyes!” Fireburst screamed. Apple Bloom’s left forehoof started to glow. 

Dusk shook her head. “This be not the time, take her to the evac zone! Margot, you be cuttin that last bar now!” As if the bar heard Dusk, it fell to the ground. The cage was open. Fluttershy looked at the opening like she didn’t believe that it was real. She shook her head and tottered out of the cage. Margot was dismayed to see Fluttershy’s ribs under her fur.

While Fluttershy was getting out of her cage, Blunt faced Rotvine and the rest of the pack. Dusk looked at her. Far’s attacks pushed one timberwolf back.

“We have to help her!” Margot said while watching Blunt dodge attacks.

Dusk shook her head. “No, she knows the mission. We must get Fluttershy to the evac zone.” Margot shook her head, she was not going to leave a pony in danger. After cutting the cage’s bars, she didn’t have a lot of power left. After thinking a bit, Margot decided to try dumping some napalm based fire on the timberwolves. Unlike regular fire, this stuff was sticky and it burned hotter. While Dusk yelled at her to get to the evac zone, Margot focused on the spell and dumped it on the two remaining pack members. Far followed Blunt as she ran for the clearing’s exit.

As expected, once the timberwolves felt the burning, they shook their branches. Some of the sticky napalm flew from the burning timberwolves to land on Rotvine. Soon he and the area around the wolves was in flame. Sweetie and Apple Bloom carried Scootaloo to the evac site while Margot and Dusk followed them. Skybreeze and Nga'Devro kept embers off of Blunt as she ran for the path. They also followed her out.

Behind the fleeing ponies, the clearing turned into an inferno. The burning timberwolves could not be seen within the spreading orange flames. At the evac site, Quick dragged Fireburst into the second carriage. Apple Bloom arrived next followed by Sweetie and Margot. They used their telekinesis to carry Scootaloo who was still unconscious. Apple Bloom looked back for a quick second. She saw the rest of the group was galloping fast while the hungry flames chased them. Then Apple Bloom headed to the first carriage. The rest of the group headed to the carriages except for Blunt.

Blunt dug in her saddlebags and fired the flare spell. A green pillar of light flew up from her hoof. She looked back at the path. Flames were racing toward her. Blunt hoped the carrier pegasi would show up soon as she headed to the first carriage. Far landed with a grunt and followed Blunt into the carriage. 

Again Margot did not get the window seat. Nga'Devro got it. Orange red light from the approaching flames painted the ponies orange. Then with a jolt that almost tossed the passengers to the floor the carriage took off.

Skybreeze looked at the window. “Nga'Devro what do you see?”

“Nga'Devro sees that the forest is on fire. The flames are spreading. Wait! What?” Nga'Devro said while gazing out the window. 

“What?” Blunt said.

“Nga'Devro thought he saw a burning timberwolf run north, but he’s not sure,” Nga'Devro said.

Blunt grimaced. “If I see that stickdog again, I will shatter his branches for sure.”

Apple Bloom looked at Fluttershy. “Ah you alright Fluttershy?” Fluttershy’s hungry stomach answered that question with a loud growl. 

“I’m fine, but I’m a bit hungry. Is there food on this carriage?” Fluttershy asked with a hopeful look on her face.

“No, the mission was seen as a local one so we didn’t load any food. I’m sorry,” Blunt said. Sweetie went through the drawers to make sure. She found a packet of soup crackers.

“Maybe these could help?” Sweetie said while levitating the crackers in front of Fluttershy.

“Um, thanks but I want something more filling,” Fluttershy said while eyeing the floating packet.

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, we’ll will get you better food when we land in Lower Canterlot,” Far said.

“Lower Canterlot?” Fluttershy asked while looking around.

“There have been a lot of changes since you’ve been away,” Skybreeze said.

“Yes, I can see that a changeling is here. They attacked Canterlot. Did we lose...” Fluttershy said while looking at Nga'Devro.

“Nga'Devro was not at the attack on Canterlot. Things have changed between ponies and changelings,” Nga'Devro said with narrowed eyes.

Margot watched the exchange between Fluttershy and the other ponies. She wanted to ask some questions, but exhaustion pulled her down to sleep. As the voices faded away Margot hoped that everything would be okay.

> Chapter Sixteen: Twilight and Rarity snatched, Building with Luna
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lower Canterlot Airfield
Late Evening

“Margot, wake up!” Sweetie said in between jabs of her white forehoof into Margot’s stomach. After a few more prods she opened her eyes.

“We're back in Lower Canterlot, ” Far said while looking out the window.

“Finally, we’ve arrived. I need a bath to get that smoky stink out of my coat,” Skybreeze said while glancing at the window.

The door opened and the cool breeze pushed away the rest of Margot’s drowsiness. She watched as the ponies left the carriage. When Margot left she could see two Royal Guards waiting for them.

“The Princesses request your presence. Except for the wounded,” One of the guards said.

Dusk faced Blunt. “You be goin to the meeting and I will check on Quick.”

Blunt opened her mouth, but then she closed it and nodded. The guards headed to the Princess’s Meeting tent two while Margot followed them.





Princess Meeting Tent Two

Meeting tent two looked different from the Prophetess’ tent. While that one was gray with gold highlights, this one had dark blue and silver highlights. On the opposite side of the blue table with silver highlights, were Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, Applejack and Fluttershy. On the other side were Blunt, Skybreeze, Sweetie Belle, Far, Nga'Devro and Margot. 

Fluttershy had her muzzle deep in a bowl of some sort of fried food. Margot sniffed, it seemed like Fluttershy was eating some mix of potatoes and hay. It had been a while since breakfast and Margot’s stomach was starting to grumble.

Fluttershy raised her face out of the bowl. “You know, um, Dimroot used to laugh when my stomach would growl. He said it sounded like a baby timberwolf. I hope he’s okay.”

“Well, I’m not sure I could trust such a creature, he didn’t feed you,” Skybreeze said with a toss of her mane. 

“Rotvine ordered him not to feed me. I could get all the water I wanted but no food,” Fluttershy said as she eyed the contents of her bowl.

“Nga'Devro wonders how you were able to survive,” Nga'Devro said while looking around for more food. He was getting hungry smelling Fluttershy’s snack.

“Um, somehow the animals I helped found out where I was. They brought me food, but nothing too big. Dimroot would chase any animals that brought larger bits of food,” Fluttershy said then her eyes narrowed. “Then Rotvine tried to feed me tomato soup. I was so hungry that I almost fell for his trick.”

Applejack leaned in toward Fluttershy. “What trick sugarcube?”

Fluttershy looked around. “The soup smelled so tasty. I had nothing but bitter acorns and a few berries. The tomato smell was soooo good, but there was something else underneath it. I couldn’t put my hoof on it. Then that monster Rotvine showed me that the soup had some sort of greasy gray meat in it. He laughed then he suggested that it was bunny meat. I was so angry, I knocked the bowl over. I wondered maybe the meat was from Angel. Dimroot tried to clean up the mess, but Rotvine told him not to. I had to put up with the stink of the soup as it rotted. Normal flies stayed away, but there were these gray flies with bright green eyes.

“They fed on the soup and the meat. You should have seen it. Um, maybe not. It was disgusting. The flies were as big as bumblebees and twice as noisy. When they would land on me, I felt even more filthy. I, um, won’t mention the maggots. After a few days, it rained really hard and all of that stuff got washed away. I hope that Rotvine burned up and is ashes now!” Fluttershy banged on the table with a forehoof.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack said. Margot had a sneaking suspicion that Rotvine was still alive. She did not know how she knew. The door opened and Rainbow Dash and Scry walked in. 

Sweetie left her chair to trot up to Rainbow Dash. “Is Scootaloo alright?”

“Scootaloo’s going to be fine, she just needs some rest,” Rainbow Dash replied with a smile. She took a seat next to Fluttershy and bumped her hoof.

“You are fine, sister?” Skybreeze said to Scry. Scry nodded and turned away.

Rainbow Dash peeked inside Fluttershy’s bowl before looking up and facing the Princesses. “Princess Celestia, have you decided on doing something about the upcoming shrieker attack?”

“Rainbow!” Applejack said.

“Rainbow Dash has a valid concern. Luna and I have been discussing how to handle this problem. The shriekers will be expecting us to attack and will have some sort of trap waiting for us,” Princess Celestia said while facing Rainbow Dash.

“If we hit them hard and fast now before their numbers get too big, we could beat them!” Rainbow Dash said.

“It’s possible that their numbers might be too large for us to handle now. Also I don’t think it’s a good strategy to walk into a trap even if we know it’s there,” Princess Luna said.

“You know they could be gearing up to wipe us out,” Rainbow said while she looked away.

“Please understand that we understand your concern. Something must be done. ‘Tia, I wonder if we could lay traps for the shriekers when they attack?” Princess Luna said then she faced Princess Celestia.

“Traps in the sky?” Princess Celestia said.

“How about if we had ground based systems that attack airborne enemies? They would support our air units. I would have to get data for all friendly flying creatures and the spell is complicated, but the spell could help us survive an attack,” Margot suggested. Princess Celestia and Luna traded glances.

Princess Luna faced Margot. “Tomorrow evening, I will help you with this task. Teach me the spell or I can give you power so you can cast the spell. Either way we will make something that will protect us from the shriekers.”

“I will round up different flyers to help your magic,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Why tomorrow evening?” Margot asked.

“You and your friends need some rest. I’m sorry for delaying saving Pinkamena Diane Pie, but you and your team need their rest. It is easy to make mistakes when exhausted,” Princess Luna said.

“Ah was wondering if we could find out who is behind Fluttershy being led into the Everfree,” Applejack said while looking at Margot.

“Well, no problem Applejack, Margot and I will find out,” Scry said then she started her divination spell. Margot left her seat to help out. She expected to find problems with the spell, but the energy levels were steady.

“Ok, gals, can you show us that strange green blur that was near Fluttershy?” Applejack said while peering at the image of Fluttershy’s cottage. The scene shifted to that time. At first the blur resisted Scry and Margot’s efforts to see who it was. 

“Well, it seems that who or whatever that green blur is knows some Divination magic,” Scry said with a stamp of her left fore hoof. Margot nodded and adjusted the params for her past viewing part. A familiar green alicorn showed up next to Fluttershy.

“Empress Razorhoof!” Princess Celestia said while her eyes narrowed and her ears went back on her head.

“Scry and Margot, can we see if she is responsible for Rarity and Twilight Sparkle’s disappearance?” Princess Luna said while she leaned toward to image to see more.

“Rarity works and lives in the Carousel Boutique near the center of Ponyville,” Rainbow Dash said. The scene shifted to the boutique then it zoomed in close to a white unicorn with a fancy purple mane and tail.  Her blue eyes were focused on an empty space. Next to her a purple and green dragon gazed at the same area. Margot adjusted the spell so they could hear what Rarity was saying.

“Well, Coco, I am sincerely distressed by your sad news. Please come in darling and we can chat more about it,” Rarity said with lowered ears.

“Wow, Coco, I didn’t realize that the flooding was so bad in Manehattan,” the dragon said with concern.

“Mahgot, the baby dragon’s name is Spike and he’s Twilight Sparkle’s assistant and a big fan of Rarity,” Applejack said.

Scry moved the view inside the boutique. Spike closed the door as Princess Razorhoof stood inside Rarity’s home. Rarity was walking toward the kitchen when she and Spike vanished in a flash of green.

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle yelled. Tears ran down her face. “She’s g-gone.” Fluttershy left her seat to console Sweetie.

“We’ll find Rarity. Don’t worry,” Fluttershy said. She waited until Sweetie stopped crying.

“Dangit! How are we goin’ to find out where Rarity and Spike went?” Applejack said with a stomp of a forehoof on the table.

“I will ask the Prophetess again if she could help us find them,” Princess Celestia said.

“This explains why I have not felt their dreams,” Princess Luna said while her ears drooped. 

“Scry can we see what happened to Twilight Sparkle? Everything kinda happened on the same day,” Rainbow said while looking over at Scry and Margot. The view switched to a large castle outside of town. Scry had to find the exact time when Twilight Sparkle was at the castle. They did see Spike leave to go to Rarity’s. Finally, Scry found the right moment. 

Again they saw Empress Razorhoof standing next to a purple alicorn. “That’s Twilight Sparkle,” Sweetie Belle said between sniffles.

“Sweetie, we will get Rarity back soon,” Applejack said while watching the image. Fluttershy went back to her seat.

“Rainbow, are you sure Fluttershy is in trouble and you just need my help? I could get the other girls to help out too,” Twilight Sparkle said. Every few minutes, she would shake her head. “Why am I shaking my head? I have some sort of weird headache. It’s probably from the last spell I did. It was so complicated. Let’s get to Fluttershy’s!” Twilight galloped away and then she disappeared with a green flash.

“Princess Celestia, if Twilight Sparkle knows a lot of magic, why did that ornery Empress fool her?” Applejack asked.

“Twilight sensed something, but I guess that enchantment magic isn’t an area of magic she knows. My guess is that the Empress has been doing this for a while,” Princess Celestia said then she looked at Princess Luna.

“I can’t put thoughts in ponies' heads unless they are dreaming. I can do more research on enchantment, though the number of books on that subject are few. It’s not exactly a common pony talent,” Princess Luna said.

“Um, what about Pinkie? Do we know where she is?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes we do sugarcube! She’s in the Melancholy Marsh, a sad place south east of here. When the Gleaners attacked, Princess Celestia sent some scouting parties to search for Pinkie. Two didn’t return. The Prophetess was able to verify what happened to one group. Margot was even able to get a vision of Pinkie’s general location,” Applejack said.

“After tomorrow, we should send a party out to rescue Pinkie,” Princess Luna said then she looked at Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia looked back. Two serving ponies opened the doors and pushed in carts loaded with food. Princess Luna faced Margot.

“We also must meet with the unicorns making food. I heard that you know some ways to make food generating artifacts,” Princess Luna said while gazing at Margot.

“Yes, I’ll help as much as I can,” Margot said as she looked at the trays of food being placed on the table. The rest of the evening passed with fine food and stories about Equestria in the past before the Gleaners came.





Outside the Royal Guest Quarters
Evening.

Margot was gazing at the dark blue night sky when with a quiet rustle of wings Princess Luna landed next to her.

“I will make a privacy spell so others will not hear what we are saying,” Princess Luna said while a light blue glow covered her horn. Margot scanned Luna’s spell, it seemed pretty secure.

“The spell is done. Now we will join minds. Don’t worry, we will not share secrets. Think of this spell as a way to talk very fast without the limitations of mouths, or as a way for you to show me this spell in a way that is easy for me to understand,” Princess Luna said while stepping closer to Margot. Their horns touched with a blue flash.

“How do I start?” Margot asked.

“Show me the parts of the spell and let’s see what happens from there,” Princess Luna said. After going over the design, they decided that the anti shrieker system would be a visible thing. Margot wanted it to be invisible so the shriekers couldn’t see it but Luna suggested that non flying ponies might want a safe area to go to without being attacked by shriekers. 

Then things got strange, Margot could not remember clearly what happened. It was a blur, they went to places and built things. She came out of the trance when they were back at the Royal Guest Quarters. Tiredness filled her body.

“Wh-what did we do?” Margot asked after a big yawn.

Princess Luna smiled. “We made five anti shrieker towers and a long range radar for sensing airborne enemies.”

“Wow, that was a lot of work. Before I pass out, I have to apologize for hacking your privacy spell. I should have minded my own business. I’m sorry,” Margot said then bowed.

“I accept your apology. Now, please get some rest. You have a lot of work to do tomorrow. I wish you a good night’s sleep,” Princess Luna said and then she smiled. Margot nodded. Luna headed off to her quarters while Margot headed off to bed.

> Chapter Seventeen: Back to the Mall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI Offices

Mark was at his desk going through the info he had on the bug ponies. It seemed that they knew the native languages of the regions they attacked. One of the first things the D-core staff did was to make the ponies shift back to their natural forms. Mark looked over photos of male and female ponies. It was easy to tell which was which, they weren’t too different from regular ponies and horses.

Some of the ponies talked about their names and the different clans. The Nga clan were super spies while the Chr clan were great planners. Mark hoped that the spy ponies were not going to make trouble.

Something about the bug pony’s multifaceted eyes gave him a chill. The autopsy pictures showed that the pony’s brains were larger than human brains. Part of that was the strange bundle of nerves and blood vessels going into the horn. Of course, no one could explain why. While Mark looked through the different reports Jerome sauntered up to his desk.

“How would you like to go on a road trip?” Jerome asked with a smile.

Mark’s eyes narrowed. “Where?”

Jerome made a theatrical sigh. “I was talking with some friends and I saw something interesting in the photos.”

“What?”

“Did you notice that the bug ponies seemed pretty scrawny when they got caught? The holes in their legs were pretty deep. Now the holes are barely visible and the ponies look almost fat.”

“Yeah, they haven’t been exercising so they’re getting fat. Maybe they’re being fed vegetarian Beltway Burgers?”

Jerome sighed. “Let’s take a ride down to the Mall of America. I have a hunch about something. If it doesn’t pan out, at least I checked.”

“You know something about the fat bug ponies?” Mark said.

“Yeah, but let’s get going. I don’t want to be in that mall at night,” Jerome said.

Mark almost wanted to ask about Jerome’s fear, but he decided to not bother.


Route 494

“What about the fat bug ponies?” Mark asked.

“Well, it seems that they were feeding off of more than just food. Did you hear the rumors about Agent Spivak?” Jerome said with a knowing smile.

“No,” Mark said.

“Well, she was found in a compromising position with a male bug pony,” Jerome said with a wink. 

“Really?” Mark said with a disgusted look.

“Yeah. I checked her out and the pony. It seems that the pony was picking up her emotions and feeding off of them. Then it would emit other emotions to get the interrogator flustered and more,” Jerome said.

“Let me guess, magic?” Mark said. 

“Yes,” Jerome said while watching the scenery roll by.

“Wait, you guys put those doughnut things on their horns. Someone told me that stopped them from doing magical stuff,” Mark said then looked at Jerome.

Jerome sighed. “Enchanters are kinda rare at D-core, at least at the field agent level. Most of them do interrogation and other areas. If we had more, some of this could have been caught earlier.  I think that the inhibiting rings don’t stop all magic. They started looking into that. It’s quite possible that Ms. Spivak really likes ponies.”

Jerome broke into song. “Blue bug eyes in a pony face! Your inhibitions will melt without a trace!”

“Seriously? She had a bug pony fetish?” Mark said with disgust.

“Dude, it’s not bestiality if it can say her name! Of course there isn’t too much we can learn now. They’re out of touch with their home world, so we don’t know when the next attack will happen,” Jerome said.

“What will happen to them now?” Mark asked.

“Maybe D-core could get them jobs at a petting zoo?” Jerome said with a smile.

“I’m not petting anything with fangs that also set off bombs that killed people,” Mark said.

“Your loss!” Jerome said. He laughed when Mark gave him a nasty look. At that moment, Jerome’s phone tweeted.

“Gimme a sec. What? DOD are going to take everything over? I thought we were equal partners? Yeah, good luck explaining magic to that crowd. What? I gotta do it? You know you hurt me really deeply. Okay. Whatever. Bye,” Jerome said into his phone.

“It seems like the Department of Defense is taking over. They want possession of the ponies and the FBI will be going back to its normal duties. I have a bad feeling about this. Anyway, we need to get to that mall so I can do my tests,” Jerome said while staring out the window.

“What is at the mall?” Mark asked.

“Something important or not,” Jerome said.


Checkpoint 64

Jerome faced Mark. “I’m going to give the guards a little mental push so they’ll forget we were here.”

“What? Why can’t we go in and leave the guards’ minds alone?” Mark asked.

“The DOD is taking over now and they think that things are done. I don’t want to waste time justifying my presence here. It’s bad enough that my boss doesn’t know I’m here. I just have to test my hunch. It might give us more info on why the bug ponies exploded their bombs. To be honest, I’m not sure they were bombs. There was so little damage done. The ponies wanted something from those people. I am guessing their emotions. That would be good enough, but I just have this nagging feeling there’s something more going on.

“Let me persuade the guards we weren’t here. It will make things easier for us,” Jerome said. Mark sighed.

“Yeah, love that enthusiasm!” Jerome said. The car pulled up to the checkpoint. The guard just waved them through. When they reached the empty mall, it was late afternoon. Jerome figured he had at least two or three hours to do his tests. Mark again wondered if Margot suffered when the alien bomb or whatever it was went off. Jerome stepped into the empty mall with Mark close behind. It was deathly quiet inside.

“I don’t know what we’ll find but can you watch my back?” Jerome said. Mark nodded. Jerome just started walking around. He expected something to happen, but all Jerome did was walk around, stand still for a few minutes then walk somewhere else.

Mark toyed with asking Jerome what he was doing but then again he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear Jerome talk mumbo jumbo. Finally after a few hours of watching Jerome stalk around inside the totally quiet and somewhat creepy empty mall, Jerome said something.

Jerome looked at the setting sun and cursed. “Damn, I wanted to find something before dark.”

“Well, I guess your hunch didn’t pan out,” Mark said. The automatic lights outside came on. Pinkish orange light flooded the room.

“I’ll try one more thing. If it fails, we get a nice dinner. My treat,” Jerome said.

“Sounds good. Wait, why?” Mark said while peering at Jerome.

“Heck, why not? You’ve been a good partner. Gimme a sec while I concentrate,” Jerome said then he closed his eyes. Mark had an urge to grab his gun. His neck hairs bristled like someone or something was watching him with malicious intent. Again, Mark looked around. No one was there except for Jerome. The feeling of being in imminent danger increased. Mark felt that he was in danger, but there wasn’t anything in the area that supported his feelings. Finally, he followed his gut and got his gun ready.

Jerome scanned the room where the bomb went off. Again he felt nothing. Jerome focused on another frequency, again there was nothing. Then he thought about the bug pony’s magic. Jerome did another scan. Nothing. He thought about surf and turf, then his stomach rumbled. Jerome focused and tried a different approach. There, something moved away from his probing. It was so brief, he wasn’t sure he really sensed it. Jerome adjusted his probing and tried again.

Mark looked around again then he saw a green glowing figure come out of the ceiling. It looked wispy and had dark eyes. Acting on instinct, Mark aimed and fired. The creature flew apart. He glanced at Jerome. He was still staring at the ceiling. It started glowing green again as more figures appeared. 

“Was this what you were looking for?” Mark said while firing at the glowing creatures.

“Nope, but I now know more about the bug pony’s bombs. The ponies didn’t intend for this to happen though. Let’s get out of here,” Jerome said while watching the figures float up to them. He stuck out his right hand and threw together a quick spell. Several creatures faded away. More creatures came out of the ceiling.

Jerome panted while they ran toward the exit while the creatures floated right behind them. Mark wondered how floating creatures could move so fast.

Mark glanced at the door, it was several steps away. “What? The bug ponies didn’t intend this? What are you talking about?”

“I can sense that these creatures aren’t friendly to us or anything else,” Jerome said while they headed toward the door. Jerome stopped as more of the glowing creatures moved up on them.

“Hey, I’m going to hold them off. You have to warn the guards!” Jerome said while he looked around in panic.

“No way, I’m not going to leave you to them!” Mark replied.

“Go!” Jerome screamed as the figures closed in on him. A green glow started to surface in Jerome’s eyes. Mark turned and ran to the car. Behind him he could hear Jerome curse. Mark did not turn around. Something about that didn’t feel right. He stomped on the gas. The mall was now so full of green glowing creatures it was like a beacon shining in the night. 

Again Mark wondered what was wrong with him, he wasn’t the type to abandon partners. That thought was overwhelmed by a need to get to the checkpoint and alert the guards. That desire faded away as he stopped the car in front of the checkpoint. This time the guards were alert and had guns pointed at him.

One of them walked over to the driver’s side and motioned to Mark to get out. Mark left the car with his hands up. 

“What the hell did you guys do in there?” The guard shouted.

Mark couldn’t answer. It felt like his mind was frozen, locked on getting to the checkpoint. Now he was there, his thoughts were coming back. He left someone to die. He left Jerome to be killed by green ghost creatures. Mark wondered how he could be so heartless, then it hit him. Jerome used his mind magic stuff to force Mark to leave and alert the guards.

“Put your hands down and get into the car and DRIVE!” One of the guards said and pointed away from the mall. In the distance, there was a bright green glow. Mark was torn out of his thoughts. He got into the car and unlocked the other doors.

“Sergeant Phipps, we should stay here and defend this post! It is our duty!” One of the soldiers said.

“Are you blind and deaf Corporal Hicks? Did you not hear the reports from the other checkpoints or even see the videos?” Sergeant Phipps said while casting a fear filled glance down the road.

“Our sacrifice here is needless. There are too many!” Phipps turned to Mark “What is your name?”

“My name is Mark Strickland-”

“What do you know about the green glow?”

“I shot one, but the other ones ignored my later shots.”

“Great.”

Phipps faced Hicks. “Do you want to stay?”

Hicks looked down. “No Sir.”

One of the soldiers said, “Game over man!” That earned him an angry glare from Phipps. Mark looked at the rear view mirror and saw one of the soldiers standing next to the rear of the car with some equipment in his hands. Mark hit the button that opened the trunk.

“I don’t want to be here when those things arrive. Get the lead out and get in the car!” Phipps said and then raised his assault rifle as the first glowing figure floated into view. He fired a shot at it and it flew apart. Mark had been too distracted to notice but now he could hear panicked voices coming out of Phipp’s headset as he walked around the car to get to the passenger side.

Mark glanced at the rear view mirror and saw the panicked eyes of three soldiers looking back at him. Then Mark realized he had no idea where to go other than away from the green glow. He figured that once they were some distance away, someone would suggest a destination.

Phipps tapped Mark on the shoulder. “WE ARE LEAVING!” The car sped away from the doomed checkpoint as more green glowing figures floated up.

> Chapter Eighteen: Tracks and Jerome
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canterlot Airfield
Early morning.

When Margot finally trotted up to the airfield, the sky was still dark. Applejack was arguing with Far.

“Ahm sorry, but the carriage pony guild are scared of the region. They don’t want to be so sad they crash into the ground taking the carriage with them,” Applejack said with an apologetic look on her face.

“Maybe they can get us close enough or something? I don’t want to travel all of that distance by hoof. It’s not safe,” Far said.

“How close is safe? The carriage pegasi could get too close and drop out of the sky. We don’t know how far the spell goes,” Skybreeze said.

“Nopony knows any spells that could help?” Far asked while looking at the assembled ponies. All eyes locked on Margot. She looked away.

Margot looked back at Far. “I’m sorry but I don’t know how to deal with Enchantment magic. If it was a ring of fire, I could handle that,” Margot said then she looked at the SHC.

Far faced the SHC. “Can you bless the pegasi or something?” Applebloom looked at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. A few minutes passed before Scootaloo shrugged. “I guess so.”

Apple Bloom gaped at her friend in surprise. “Why are you so glum? Oonté picked us to do her will.”

“I know but I’m getting tired of being knocked out when doing a major blessing. I want to fight too!”

Far looked at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “Girls, sorry, ladies. We don’t have time for this now. Can you bless the carriage ponies? Yes or No?”

Apple Bloom looked up with a smile and said yes. Scootaloo wouldn’t meet Far’s questioning gaze. “No.”

Sweetie Belle looked down and murmured maybe. Margot wondered what had changed the SHC’s minds.

Princess Chr'Aya walked up. “I agree with Applejack, it will be better if we are on the ground. I know some emotion based magic. I might be able to protect us from the Melancholy Marsh’s magic.” Nga'Devro walked up behind the princess. 

“Well, git your supplies so you can head out before the sun comes up. You have a lot of ground to cover,” Applejack said while pointing to the supplies. The team lined up and loaded up. While Margot had supplies placed in her saddlebags, a thought crossed her mind. She really had a lot of doubt that anypony here could handle the sadness she felt when she had the vision about Pinkie.

After everypony got their supplies. Applejack looked at them. “Ah wish y’all luck. Bring Pinkie home!”

“With Oonté’s help we will!” Apple Bloom said with a smile. She looked back at her team. They weren’t smiling, but they seemed determined.

Far pulled out a map from his bulging saddlebags. “This is how we are going to do the trip. If we took the most direct route we’d pass close to Canterlot. Empress Razorhoof and too many gleaners live there. We’ll have to go south almost to the northern part of Ponyville then head east. Does anypony have any questions?” Far said and looked around. Margot noticed when Far mentioned Ponyville, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s ears drooped.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Far headed toward the eastern gate and the ponies followed them. 

Applejack watched them go with a sigh.





The sun was going down and the sky was getting dark when they decided to rest. The party was in a meadow covered with yellow grass that spread out for miles. Margot wished that the meadow was full of healthy green grass, but it was better than no grass and just dead grey dirt.

Princess Chr'Aya gasped and panted next to Margot. “Well, I guess I need more exercise. Nga'Devro, how are you able to do all of this and not be uncomfortable?” 

“Nga'Devro keeps himself fit by running and flying several miles a day,” Nga'Devro said.

Skybreeze muttered under her breath, “Show off.” Margot was glad they had stopped cantering now or she would end up panting like Chr'Aya.

Far looked around. “Guys, I gotta say this. You won’t like it. We’ll have to sleep without fire and have cold food. An open flame out in the middle of nowhere would attract enemies.” 

“Dang it Far! No smores tonight!” Apple Bloom said with a smile.

“Oh no! No popcorn!” Scootaloo said while a smile covered her face.

Chr'Aya wrinkled her nose in puzzlement. “What is a smore?”

“It’s a tasty sweet that will put extra pounds on a pony’s rump,” Skybreeze said.

“When we get back with Pinkie, I will show you, Princess Chr'Aya. And other ponies can save their rumps by not having any,” Far said then winked at Skybreeze.

“Oh I’m so going to have some! Screw my rump!” Skybreeze said with a wave of a forehoof.

Princess Chr'Aya gasped with surprise. Margot noticed that Nga'Devro placed his left forehoof over his mouth as though he was hiding a laugh. 

At that moment, a sound tore at their ears. It was like the noise a train makes when braking mixed in with ponies screaming. Everypony looked around while their ears swiveled to try to find the location of the maker of the noise. The noise got louder like it was approaching. 

Far stood with his wings unfurled. “Stay calm and just wait until we know where it is.” Margot scanned the area. Nothing was found. She extended the range and still found nothing. Margot tried again. This time she got a quick flash of something. It felt like warm metal, pony flesh and malice then it was gone. The braking screaming noise seemed to fade into the distance.

“Far? Was that the Train?” Skybreeze said. Far nodded.

Princess Chr'Aya faced Far. “Where did such a monstrosity come from?”

“Several caravan leaders think it was made by a Gleaner Lord called Foulshaper,” Far said.

Sweetie Belle walked up to Far. “After that, I don’t want to go to sleep in the dark. A fire lets us see what’s out there.”

Skybreeze looked at Sweetie. “I have an idea, we could conjure up a magical fire that will light up this area but can’t be seen from outside the spell.” Sweetie smiled.

“That is a great idea. I can help with that,” Princess Chr'Aya said.

Margot faced Skybreeze. “Maybe we could put the spell in an artifact so we don’t have to cast this spell all the time?”

Skybreeze nodded. “Sounds wonderful.”

Far pointed at Nga'Devro. “We will watch your backs while the spell is being cast.” Princess Chr'Aya started by creating a spell that would block light, but still let viewers see the area around the ponies. The spell would just show an empty area. Skybreeze added the light part, and the area was lit by a soft white light. Margot grabbed the finished spell then conjured up a small square block of gray granite to hold the spell. There was a large switch on it so users can turn the spell on or off. A few minutes later, they had an artifact to take the place of a fire but that wouldn’t attract attention.

Skybreeze looked at the artifact while it was suspended in her telekinesis field. “Nice work Margot, its simple but elegant. All I have to do is to feed it power and hit the on switch?”

“Yes.”

Far looked at the device. “What do we call it?”

“How about NightLight Device?” Scootaloo said then she looked at Sweetie.

“Sounds good Scootaloo.”

Far’s stomach growled. “How about we call it Nightlight for now and let’s get ready to eat!” Margot opened her saddlebags and looked inside. There were several paper wrapped bundles along with water bottles. She grabbed a package and some water, then Margot walked over to Far. He was busy tearing into his dinner. 

Unlike the last time they camped out, the atmosphere felt different. Nopony thought this was just an outing. The Train sucked all of the fun out of the evening. Ponies just ate their food in silence. Margot took the first watch. For a few hours, she watched the stars and the grass wave in the slight winds. When her watch was done, Nga'Devro took over. Margot closed her eyes hoping she would just sleep and not get any terrible dreams.

Morning came and Margot got part of her wish granted. She didn’t rest well, but at least there was nothing to remember. After eating breakfast, the area was cleaned up then they started cantering.





Ponyville Outskirts

The yellow grass started to get sparse. Now the ground was covered with grey brown dirt. Beyond that there was something that looked like train tracks. Instead of shiny metal it looked like the rails were a combination of burned flesh and melted steel. An aura of Gleaner magic covered the tracks. Margot followed the tracks with her eyes and saw it led to Ponyville. To the east, there was a forest. It didn’t look as bad as the Neverfree, at least the trees were spaced out so sunlight could reach the ground.

Skybreeze looked at the tracks and wrinkled her nose. “I do say, this doesn’t smell good. The dark magic here doesn’t help either. If somepony walked over the tracks, who knows what would happen?” Margot looked at the tortured flesh and metal of the tracks. It was hard to see where one ended and the other began. To her, it seemed like flesh and metal were melded together.

Scootaloo looked at the tracks with a grimace of distaste. “What do we do now?”

“Well, we need to cross these tracks. We don’t have the time to go to Ponyville. Maybe after we get Pinkie we can stay awhile. We should jump or fly over the tracks. Margot and Skybreeze can either jump or use magic to cross over. Flying ponies can carry the SHC over the tracks,” Far said and flapped his wings.

“We could use telekinesis and carry the SHC,” Skybreeze said.

Margot shook her head. “I think we should save our power for saving Pinkie.”

Skybreeze looked up for a second. “Really Margot, we are going to be that stingy with our power?” She looked at Margot.

“We don’t have an infinite amount of power. Who knows what we have to fight?”

Nga'Devro nodded. “Nga'Devro believes that Margot has a good point. There is another solution that costs little magic. All the flying ponies can carry a SHC member across. Nga'Devro will carry two members across. This way the Princess doesn’t have to do this task.”

Princess Chr'Aya frowned. “Even though I am a Changeling Princess, I wish to help out.”

“We are burning daylight! Please decide soon. I don’t want to fuss with whatever is in the Melancholy Marsh at night,” Far said. Apple Bloom walked up to Far. He knelt and Apple Bloom climbed on his back. “Hold on tight!” Far took off and flew over the tracks. 

“Nga'Devro suggests that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle walk up to me,” Nga'Devro said and pointed at them.  Sweetie walked up to Nga'Devro but Scootaloo just stood there looking around.

Princess Chr'Aya waved at Scootaloo. “I can carry you across.” Far landed next to Scootaloo while Apple Bloom kept watch from the other side. Sweetie Belle climbed on Nga'Devro while Scootaloo climbed on Far. They flew over the tracks then landed next to Apple Bloom. With a sigh, Princess Chr'Aya flew over the tracks.

Margot thought about using a levitation spell but she just had a feeling that she’d need that power later. She ran at the tracks as fast as she could. When she got close, her hind legs propelled her over the tracks. 

She felt the clammy touch of gleaner magic on her hooves for a second then she landed with an ooof. Margot figured she was not going to get a perfect score from the judges. Skybreeze jumped over without incident. The SHC had climbed off of their flying mounts and were waiting to move on. Far looked over his party and then they headed east.

As Margot cantered toward the forest, her mind slowly filled up with doubt and worry. At first she was able dismiss the thoughts and continue on, but they continued to gather like hungry dark birds. It was getting harder and harder to push the negative thoughts away. The weight of the thoughts were weighing her down like somepony added bars of lead to her saddlebags.

Even though the forest ahead of her was lit by golden rays of sunlight, to Margot, the sun was weak and pale. Her eyes burned as the weight of all of the things she’d screwed up or should have done better threatened to break her back. Margot’s vision blurred as tears flowed freely down her face. It felt like she was carrying a mountain on her back. Even breathing was too much work now. Margot slumped to the ground and fought for her next breath. It felt like it was almost not worth the effort. Darkness closed in on her.

Somepony nudged her then they pushed harder. “Come on! Wake up! Freakin WAKE UP!” Margot opened her eyes just in time to see a light brown unicorn stallion with slick brown hair and brown eyes punch her in the nose.

“What the hell!” Margot said as she prepared an offensive spell. A red glow covered her horn.

“Wait, don’t do that! My name is Jerome Siklis and you will regret that!” Jerome said while backing away. A red fireball appeared in front of Margot.

“Great! Anger is good, it keeps the sadness spell from messing with your head,” Jerome said while trying to put up a defense. He sensed that the fireball was more powerful than any defense he could throw together. Invokers with their energy manipulation abilities were dangerous enemies.

“Who are you? And why did you hit me?”

“Okay, maybe I went a bit overboard with that, but you weren’t waking up. Please don’t throw that fireball at me. I kinda like my coat’s color,” Jerome said. He tried his best imitation of puppy eyes to sooth Margot’s wrath. The fireball’s color shifted to orange before shrinking and fading away into nothing.

“Who are you again?” Margot said.

Jerome sighed. “Really? Fine. My name is Jerome Siklis. D-core sent me when you disappeared from the mall.”

“It’s not my fault, something grabbed me and I ended up in Equestria. Did Mark make it out alive?”

Jerome glanced at the other ponies in the group then back at Margot. “Mark is fine. I’ll explain everything later. I need some power from you though.”

Margot grimaced. She’d heard stories about Enchanters. They  never seemed to have enough power. Feeding Jerome power would mean less power for her to use if things got rough.  “Do I have pink fur and bang a drum?” 

Jerome smiled.

Margot looked at her leg. “Okay, you got half of that. I need that power for later.”

“I know, but without my help, you won’t get close enough to save Pinkie,” Jerome said.

Margot focused and sent over some power to Jerome. 

“Really now, I know you’re being stingy. Come on Dura-, um, Margot,” Jerome said while looking around. Margot focused and sent Jerome even more power. “Finally, a decent amount of power I can work with!” The feeling of crushing sadness withdrew. It was still there but it was manageable. Margot followed Jerome as he trotted over to Far.

Far was on his knees whispering apologies to dead ponies in his past. Jerome tapped him with his left fore hoof. “It’s in the past, you need to move on.” Before Far could reply, Jerome was standing next to Skybreeze. 

She was standing, but tears rolled down her face. “I loved a changeling, and I let my cowardice rule me! I should have said something!”

“It’s ancient history now. We need to focus on Pinkie,” Jerome said before walking toward the SHC. Margot noticed that Nga'Devro and Princess Chr'Aya were watching Skybreeze with great interest. 

Princess Chr'Aya walked up to Jerome. “Who or whatever is doing this emotional magic is quite skilled at it. Changelings don’t spend time using emotions this way.”

“Nga'Devro thinks it’s like playing with one’s food,” Nga'Devro said.

“Ya know my ma was no fan of me playing with my food and she was an expert of manipulating emotions. She could wield guilt like a baseball bat or like a scalpel,” Jerome said while watching the SHC. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were up, but Sweetie Belle was still lying on the ground.

“Nga'Devro wishes to know what a Baseball Bat is. Does it fly at night?” Nga'Devro said.

“What is a scalpel?” Princess Chr'Aya said. 

“Wait wha?” Jerome said. He looked over to Margot for help. She was tempted to let him fumble around, but then they really didn’t have the time for it.

“A baseball bat is a club used for a popular game at home  and a scalpel is a small sharp knife used by doctors,” Margot said while looking at Jerome. Jerome walked over to the SHC. 

“Hey foals, what’s up!” Jerome said. Apple Bloom looked away from Sweetie to glare at Jerome. 

Scootaloo’s ears went back on her head. “We’re older than foals, we’re fillies. Is there something wrong with you?”

Before the situation could get worse Margot walked up to Sweetie. “Is she okay?” Scootaloo just looked at Sweetie Belle as she lay in the grass murmuring about losing Rarity. 

Apple Bloom leaned down and put her hooves around Sweetie’s face. “Come on Sweetie! We are going to find Rarity.”

Scootaloo put her left fore hoof on Sweetie Belle’s shoulder. “Yeah, and she’ll be fine.” For a few seconds, it seemed like Sweetie was going to stay on the ground then she got up with a sniffle.

Jerome scanned Sweetie Belle’s mind, it was still fixated on finding Rarity. He looked away from Sweetie, there was something he could do, but it would probably bite him in the plot later. There was not enough time to wait for Sweetie to recover. With a sigh, he adjusted Sweetie’s mind so she felt like Rarity would be waiting for her back home. No more worry until the mission was over. 

Sweetie Belle looked around and then looked at Jerome. “Guys, who is that?”

Jerome took that as a cue to introduce himself. “Guys and gals, my name is Jerome Siklis. I was sent here by the Messenger of Oonté to help rescue Pinkie.”

Scootaloo walked up to Jerome with suspicion in her eyes. “How do we know you were really sent by the Messenger? You might be working for the Gleaners.”

Apple Bloom looked at her friend with surprise. “Scootaloo!”

Jerome smiled. “Come over here Scoots and I will whisper it to you.”

Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you call me Scoots!” She walked up to Jerome. He whispered something in her ear. Margot wondered what he said that made Scootaloo’s ears droop for a second.

Sweetie Belle bounced on the ground. “Come on, let’s save Pinkie! I want to be back with Rarity before dark.” Scootaloo exchanged a glance with Apple Bloom. Margot didn’t have to share a glance with Jerome. She knew what Enchanters can do. Jerome is going to fix this one on his own, Margot resolved.

Far looked at Jerome. “Are you going to take point?”

“Heck no! Put me behind Margot,” Jerome said. Once he was behind Margot. Far got the other ponies to move up and they headed toward the forest. 

Jerome started singing. “We’re off to save Pinkie from a situation that is hinky...” Margot wasn’t the only pony who rolled her eyes. Far saw something up ahead that looked like four piles of rocks, but when he stepped closer, he knew those were not rocks. They had found the four lost pegasus scouts. Their weather-whitened bones looked like the ponies just laid down on the ground, and died. For a few moments, everypony looked at the bones. They had come so close to dying like that.

Sweetie Belle just glanced at the bones. “Come on Far! Let’s move it!”

Apple Bloom looked back at Sweetie. “Sweetie Belle, you know we have to give Oonté’s Grace to these bones.” 

“Yes but we can do it later! They aren’t going anywhere!”

Far trotted to the SHC. “Gals, can we deal with this later? We may need Oonté’s help freeing Pinkie.”

Apple Bloom looked away from Sweetie Belle. “Yes.” Sweetie Belle just looked into the forest. Far trotted back to the front then the ponies continued. Margot wondered if they had enough power to deal with what was inside. They would find out sooner or later.

> Chapter Nineteen: Gringrinder and Pinkie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Jerome tapped Margot as they traveled through the forest. “We need to talk in private.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

Margot focused and cast a sound blocking spell around her and Jerome. She hoped no one would hack the spell. “It’s up now.”

“Do you know how we’re going to find Pinkie?” Jerome said.

“I don’t know. I know she is in a pool or a pond. In my vision, I was right next to the pond. I have no idea how to get there. I didn’t see any landmarks, just trees.”

“Ya know, I can sense these geysers of sadness. It would be great if we can go straight to the right pool and not wander. These geysers make the stuff you felt earlier seem like a melancholy walk in the park.”

“What we felt earlier was no walk in the park.”

“Exactly. We need a way to find the right pond.”

“Well, I could cast a spell that would lock onto an earth pony’s life signs. Apple Bloom is a good example.”

“Apple who? OK, no problem. What about false positives?”

“Really? I know what I am doing. I don’t have any of Pinkie’s DNA or whatever passes for DNA here. So I will have to use Apple Bloom as a scan template and work from there. Maybe you should be scanning for emotions from a real pony instead of a spell?”

“Yeah, if both spells find the same target we can be pretty sure. Alright, I will do it!”

“Is this the only reason you wanted the privacy spell? This stuff isn’t worth hiding,” Margot said.

“I need to discuss that Nga changeling. What do you know about him?”

“Well, we ran into him in a place called the Shatterleg Wastelands. He helped us.”

“Do you know he is a spy? The Nga clan is a clan of spies. It’s like if James Bond was a 4th gen British spy. Ya know like those cop and military families.”

“How do you know this?”

There was some sort of thumping in the distance. It almost sounded like the hoofbeats of a very large pony. The group stopped moving.

“Great, a giant pony. Anyway, you know that changelings exploded some sort of devices in malls all around the world. Well, some of them got caught. Once they realized that they weren’t going home soon or at all, some of the changelings decided to make themselves more comfortable. Seriously, the bug ponies were starting to take over the confinement areas. One FBI agent almost ended up in a very compromising position.”

“How could a changeling get an agent compromised? No, I don’t want to know,” Margot said with disgust.

“I showed up just in time and stopped things before they could get interesting. Some of the changelings were quite chatty as they tried to get better digs and food. Seriously, we could have James Bond in our group and not know it.”

“Um, and what are we? I’ve done undercover missions and you’ve probably done some too. James Bond isn’t going to work against us if we are trying to save his world.”

Jerome sighed. “Yes, Mr. Bond will work with you but when he feels that you aren’t doing things right or he gets orders, he could turn against us. I’m not saying we zap him or anything. We just keep an eye on him.”

“Fine. Are you going to work on that spell now?” Margot said. She dissolved the privacy spell.

“Yeah. Gimme a sec while I signal our team leader so we don’t head further into the forest,” Jerome said while trying to get Far’s attention by waving his left forehoof.

Far walked back to Jerome’s position. “What’s up?”

“Margot and I are going to cast spells to locate Pinkie. We should stop here for a bit,” Jerome said.

Skybreeze and Nga'Devro walked up, followed by Princess Chr'Aya. Sweetie Belle trotted behind the princess.

“I stepped on a bird skeleton. That explains why this place is so quiet. Are we going to do some magic now?” Sweetie said. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo followed her.

Jerome looked around. “Ya know, I could use some help. I need to make a spell powerful enough to blunt the effects of the sadness geysers.”

Skybreeze wrinkled her nose. “Sadness what?”

“Nga'Devro is tired of the constant tasting of sadness, but he worries what other feelings will be shoved down his throat,” Nga'Devro said. Princess Chr'Aya nodded in agreement.

Jerome waved his left forehoof while explaining. “Sadness geysers kick out a lot of sadness, more than any of us can handle without magic. I know a spell that should keep us somewhat safe from them, but I need power from all of the unicorns and changelings.”

“What about us?” Apple Bloom said.

“Save your blessings for later. Maybe for the giant thumping creature we heard,” Jerome said.

Sweetie Belle jumped up. “Come on! Let’s do this!”

Margot gave Jerome a look then she started working on the scanning spell while Jerome collected power from the other magic using ponies. Far and the SHC kept watch as Jerome and Margot worked. Margot got her results first. There was a live earth pony in the middle of a set of geysers. A few seconds later, Jerome’s spell verified her results. 

Jerome wasn’t happy. “Great, it seems like Pinkie is in the middle of a bunch of sadness geysers. Even with your help the trip there will be rough. Guys, girls, foals, we need to be thinking a lot about our comfy places.”

Scootaloo shot Jerome a nasty look. “Foals, seriously?”

Jerome continued. “Be angry or happy, you have to work harder to push the sadness back or you won’t make it. Far, let’s wait a few moments until everypony is ready.” Then they headed toward Pinkie’s position.

The quiet woodlands changed to silent marshlands. Margot ignored the occasional crunch of bones underfoot. Bird, frog or whatever, she didn’t care. Instead of sadness feeling like a heavy weight, it was now a muttering voice in her head. Margot was glad she didn’t hear what the voice was saying, but it was just a matter of time until she did understand.

Skybreeze tried to pull her hooves out of the sticky mud again and it was bothering her. “This foul stinking mud just clings to my hooves. Disgusting.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “It don’t smell that good either.”

Skybreeze looked back. “Apple Bloom, did you miss a day of school? It’s ‘doesn’t’, not ‘don’t’.” While Skybreeze and Apple Bloom squabbled, Margot tried to ignore the voice in her head. Then she was in an office.

It looked like the one she visited before being sent to the mall. The table was covered with pens. A pink pony with bright blue eyes peered at Margot. Margot watched as the pony put a file on the desk. “I see that you left a Martin Harmon to die alone.”

Margot had to dig back in her memories for a bit. “We were pinned down by enemy fire. By the time we cleared the area it was too late.”

“Really, You could’ve used your magic and stunned the attackers. Then you could have gotten to Mr. Harmon before it was too late. It’s shameful how you treated a close friend.” 

Tears burned in Margot’s eyes, but she managed not to cry. She tried to remember that this wasn’t real. The office faded back into the silent stinking marsh. The smell of rotting things filled Margot’s lungs.

Jerome pushed Margot. “Keep moving. Ignore the voices in your head.” Margot saw Far trudging along. Behind Jerome, Skybreeze and the SHC were still moving. The changelings looked like they were going to drop any second. Their eyes were half open and their legs wobbled.

“Jerome, you need to do something for the changelings. They aren’t going to make it,” Margot said.

Jerome shook his head. “Not now. When we get to Pinkie’s pool I can.” Margot shook her head as it seemed like she was back in the office hearing a pink pony with straight red hair berate her about the failures in her life. Some of the memories were very painful, and she didn’t like having to deal with them now. Margot focused, and cast a pain spell on her left foreleg. The office faded in and out of view, until she added more pain. Her foreleg felt like someone was tearing the skin off of it, but that was better than dealing with her memories.

Finally, they were at the sadness geysers. The geysers were just pools of tears with a pink pony floating at the bottom. Margot and Jerome stopped next to Pinkie’s pool. A cry of despair grabbed their attention. 

Jerome looked at Margot. “Stay here while I find out what’s going on.” Margot nodded. A few steps away, both changelings lay on the ground. Some sort of green substance dripped out of their mouths. Margot walked up to the changelings.

Skybreeze pointed to the changelings. ”What’s wrong with them?”

Jerome scanned the changelings’ minds. “They can’t take the sadness geysers. I think they are overloaded from all of the emotions. I think I can tweak the shielding spell so they get less emotions.” He focused and adjusted the spell. It didn’t take long before the changelings noticed the effects. Princess Chr'Aya barfed up some stinking green stuff. Skybreeze danced back so none of it would touch her hooves. Nga'Devro also threw up. Jerome waited while the dazed looks faded from the changeling’s eyes.

Sweetie Belle jumped up and down. “Come on! We have to get Pinkie!” Margot watched as the rest of the group joined her at Pinkie’s pool. At the bottom, Pinkie cried without seeing her saviors.

Far leaned in close to the pool’s surface. “How does she breathe down there? More important, how are we going to get her back?”

Nga'Devro looked at the pool. “Nga'Devro suggests, um, give him a second.”

Sweetie Belle touched the pool with her right fore hoof. The ripples only went a short distance before fading away. “Maybe somepony has to jump in and get Pinkie?” 

Far looked into the pool. “Does anypony know how to swim?” Margot knew how to swim, but as a pony, she wasn’t sure. Far looked around and sighed. The idea of jumping into a magical pool of tears wasn’t something he wanted to do. Margot saw Far look around and finally dive into the pool. She leaned toward the pool to watch Far’s progress. 

Jerome looked into the pool too. “Ya know, getting Pinkie might be the easiest part. Maybe getting away from the thumpy thing will be our greatest challenge.” Skybreeze just shrugged. The SHC looked around for more threats. The changelings just stood around looking dazed.

Margot stomped her forehooves in appreciation as Far grabbed Pinkie and was swimming back up to the surface. “Far has Pinkie and they’re coming up!”

Far’s and Pinkie’s heads broke the surface of the pool, splashing warm tears on the other ponies. 

“Warm and salty, this is quite gross,” Skybreeze said while stepped back. The changelings just stood there while the tears rolled off them.

Far swam with Pinkie to the edge of the pool and dragged onto dry land. She began to wheeze and choke. “Somepony do something!” Pinkie collapsed onto the ground still gasping. Margot scanned Pinkie. Pinkie’s lungs were still used to breathing water not air. Margot had to think of a spell that would change Pinkie’s lungs to an air breather’s or make a water breather mask and tanks.

She decided on making a water breather kit because she didn’t have enough power to change Pinkie’s lungs. Before Margot could cast the spell, Pinkie stopped wheezing and closed her eyes.

Skybreeze walked up to Pinkie. “Oh, this is not good. Pinkie has stopped breathing.”

Sweetie Belle stomped her forehooves. “Somepony do something! Anything!” 

Pinkie took a deep breath then she took another one. Her eyes opened. “Where am I?” Then she stood up.

Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo. “Ah you sure this is Pinkie Pie? I don’t remember her having straight red hair.”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Maybe this pony knows the way to the real Pinkie Pie.”

Sweetie Belle looked at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “Really? Don’t you remember what Rainbow Dash said? Pinkie’s hair goes flat and straight when she’s sad. All we have to do is to make her happy.”

Apple Bloom looked at Pinkie then back to Sweetie Belle. “Ah, you sure?”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Come on! Let’s do it!” In the distance, something was thumping toward their position. Pinkie shivered until Margot cast a warming spell on her. The SHC ran up to Pinkie. Pinkie stepped back.

Far cursed. “Ms. Pie, these are your friends.” Sweetie Belle wanted to hug Pinkie, but now she wasn’t sure.

Pinkie looked around. “When I was in the pool, sad and lonely, nopony came to help me. Well, except for her.” Pinkie pointed at Margot.

Margot bowed. “I’m sorry it took so long to find you. I didn’t know where you were. You are among friends now.”

Skybreeze walked up to Pinkie. “I remember the party you arranged for one of my colleagues in Hoofvard. It was quite spectacular.” The thumping was getting closer.

Pinkie looked at Skybreeze and the other ponies. She still looked confused then Sweetie Belle ran up and hugged her. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo followed suit. Pinkie just stood there for a few seconds. A smile exploded onto her face then with a POOF, her hair expanded into a red mass of curls. “Come here, all of you!” Margot found herself in the middle of a group hug.

It was like being in the middle of a furnace, though not a horrible mean burning one. No, one that spread warmth to all of the parts of Margot’s heart that were cold and lonely. All of the pain caused by the sadness geysers were just washed away by a wave of warmth from the hug. A perfect moment of happiness then it ended.

Pinkie pointed at the changelings. “Why are they here?”

Far looked into the marsh. The hoofbeats were getting closer. Then he faced Pinkie. “Princess Chr'Aya and Nga'Devro have been helping us fight the Gleaners.”

“Gleaners?” Pinkie asked.

“A lot has changed since you were captured. Changelings are allies now,” Far said.

Pinkie walked up to the changelings and gave them a hug. She was surprised when they sunk to their knees and threw up. “I’ve heard of a tough crowd but this is ridiculous!” Margot hoofed through her saddlebags for a napkin. Skybreeze did the same.

Unlike the last time Princess Chr'Aya and Nga'Devro threw up, Margot could see that they were alert. She handed the princess a napkin. 

Princess Chr'Aya grabbed the napkin and wiped her mouth. Skybreeze gave Nga'Devro a napkin too. Jerome walked up to them. “Guys, gals, we need to prepare for the thumpy thing that is coming. I’ll need more of your power to protect us from its emotional magic. Once we have some sort of protection, we can fight back.” Princess Chr'Aya’s and Nga'Devro’s horns glowed as they focused. Skybreeze and Margot also focused their power. Far unfurled his wings. 

The group could see trees being pushed aside as the thumping unknown thing approached them. Then the face of a pink pony with bright blue eyes and red straight hair loomed above them. “I am Gringrinder, surrender now and I might consider being merciful.”

Pinkie craned her neck upward, “Nopesie.”

Gringrinder peered down. “Good, this will be interesting.” A crushing wave of sadness flew from Gringrinder. Margot thought what she had felt earlier was pretty sad, but this new attack threatened to make her sink to her knees. Jerome’s spell was fading quickly. Margot heard Apple Bloom scream something and a blue glow flashed past Margot. Jerome’s spell was enhanced and the weight disappeared.

Far unfurled his wings, he was prepared to attack. Jerome held him back with a hoof. “Once ya leave the protection of the shield spell, it won’t be good for you.”

Pinkie looked up at the giant pony enemy. “It’s bad for him, but I can handle it.”

Margot looked at Pinkie. “We need to get you back to Lower Canterlot!”

Pinkie looked back at Margot. “Yeah, I know but this big saddie me won’t let me go. Also I’ve been here for months. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Pinkie left the protection of the shield and galloped toward Gringrinder. Margot saw Pinkie hesitate for a bit then she continued. 

Gringrinder frowned and sent out another sadness wave. Margot could feel it press on the shield like a hundred ton weight. Pinkie still managed to run around Gringrinder’s legs. Then Pinkie giggled. The sound flashed silver and the weight on the shield felt more like a ten ton weight. Gringrinder snarled then she tried to stomp Pinkie. Margot wished that she could help, but most of her power was going into supporting the shield.

Somehow, Pinkie managed to barely miss the Gringrinder’s stomping hooves. Gringrinder ignored the other ponies and focused her fury on Pinkie. That didn’t work, she kept missing Pinkie. Then Pinkie started to giggle and laugh like it was some sort of game. The sound was infectious.

Far looked at Gringrinder’s face. “Look! She’s almost smiling!”

Sweetie Belle jumped up and down screaming, “Giggle at the giantess!”

The weight of sadness on the shield faded away while Pinkie giggled among Gringrinder’s stomping hooves. Margot gasped as Pinkie rolled underneath one of Gringrinder’s fore hooves. One giant pink hoof touched Pinkie. A loud “BOOOP!” echoed through the marsh. Then Gringrinder’s straight hair poofed out along with a wave of mirth and happiness that engulfed the ponies. Everypony laughed in that warm golden moment.

A roar of rage sounded in the distance. Gringrinder looked up with fear in her blue eyes. “Its Foulshaper! He knows what’s going on. You must leave now!”

Pinkie wrapped her hooves around Gringrinder’s left fore leg. “No GG, we will help you fight Meanie shaper.”

Margot walked up to Pinkie. “We don’t have enough power to fight Foulshaper, and we don’t know anything about him.”

Pinkie faced Margot. “What if this was your sister? Would you abandon her or would you help her?”

“I understand, but we promised your friends Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash that we would bring you back.”

Pinkie unwrapped her legs from Gringrinder’s leg then she looked upward. “Maybe you can come with us?” The roars of rage were getting closer.

Gringrinder looked down at Pinkie. “My essence is bound to this area. I can’t leave it. I will delay Foulshaper so you have time to escape.” Gringrinder looked up. “Remember me fondly.” 

Jerome remembered to dispel the emotion shield. Pinkie sniffled and held out her right forehoof. Gringrinder bumped it lightly. Far saluted Gringrinder then he turned around. “Alright, let’s gallop as fast as we can!” Without the sadness geysers, the marsh was just a marsh as the ponies galloped through it. They were are the edge of the forest when they heard a defiant cry then it stopped.

Pinkie stopped galloping. “GG?”

Nga'Devro tapped Pinkie with a fore hoof. “Nga'Devro suggests that you keep moving. This Foulshaper is beyond our power now to defeat.”

Pinkie faced Nga'Devro. “I Pinkie Promise that Foulshaper will go down!”

Apple Bloom walked up to Pinkie and stuck out a fore hoof. “Ah will help you!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle did the same.

Far looked at the group. “Foulshaper goes down. I got your back Pinkie. How about the rest of you?” Nga'Devro and Princess Chr'Aya nodded.

Margot walked up to Far then she faced the group. “All of the gleaners should be destroyed. Foulshaper’s time is limited! I will help!” Skybreeze nodded. Then all eyes were on Jerome.

“Well, duh! Ya got my help.” The group started galloping north. While they were galloping, Margot wondered how much more they would have to sacrifice to save Equestria. 

> Chapter Twenty: A desperate fight in the dark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gleaner Chronicles


The group was some distance from the forest when a green flash exploded in the sky above them.

Skybreeze looked up. “I highly doubt that was something good.” Margot nodded.

Far just yelled,”Keep galloping!” After the group left the forest behind, a familiar noise assaulted their ears. Everypony slid to a halt. A cloud of dust arose from their hooves.

Pinkie put her hooves over her ears. “What’s making that racket?”

Far and Skybreeze traded glances. Far looked over the meadow of dying yellow grass. “It’s the Train.”

“Ooh, a train, we can ride and tell stories and not have to wear down our hoofsies galloping!”

Far sighed. “It’s not that type of train, Pinkie. It’s a pony mechanical horror made by Foulshaper.”

Pinkie gulped. “Wha? How?”

Skybreeze walked up to Pinkie. “A lot has changed since you were in the pond.” The noise of screaming ponies and brakes moved closer. 

Margot looked at Far. “How is it approaching us? There are no tracks nearby.” 

“I have heard that the train can leave the tracks when it needs to. I was hoping that was just somepony’s exaggeration,” Far said while peering into the distance. 

“Ya know, Far, it looks like we will know the truth soon,” Jerome said as he saw a grey brown cloud heading toward them.

“Nga'Devro wishes to know what our plan is. The Train approaches too fast for us to outrun,” Nga'Devro said while watching the dust cloud get closer.   

Sweetie Belle bounced on her hooves. “Then we fight! Right guys?”

Scootaloo shot Jerome a nasty look. “Yeah, we fight!”

The Train turned and stopped several hundred feet away. A few seconds later, the dust cloud faded away so the ponies could see what they were dealing with. At first it looked like a normal steam powered train with passenger cars and freight cars, but then pain-crazed pony heads thrust their way through the sides and front of the train. Even the front of the train changed to a fear- and pain-crazed pony head. The poor creature looked at them before it sunk back underneath the metal.

Margot watched as the black glass of the passenger cars turned to eyes then the doors on the freight cars opened. A flood of Gleaners and Remnants poured out. It would just take them a few minutes before the enemies were upon them. The doors closed. The Train headed south.

Skybreeze turned to Far. “How are we going to handle all of these foul creatures? Most of our power was used in that horrid sadness marsh.”

“I don’t know but the Train is heading south to Ponyville. Somepony needs to warn them,” Far said.

Margot prepared a few spells, but she knew that there wasn’t a lot of power left. “Far, you need to warn Ponyville. The rest of us can fight and run until we reach Lower Canterlot. “

“Nga'Devro suggests that he be allowed to fly north to get help,” Nga'Devro said.

Far nodded. Nga'Devro left with a whirr of wings. Far unfurled his wings. “Guys, be safe.” Then he flew south to Ponyville. Pinkie stood up on her hind hooves and tied a black bandana around her forehead.

Margot turned to Skybreeze. “How does she do that?” Skybreeze just shrugged.

In a few seconds, the first Remnants would be within melee distance. Above them the Gleaners swirled around in a bright green cloud. The first Remnants tried to surround Pinkie. She just drawled out, “I’m yer worst nightmare!” Pinkie punched the first Remnant in the head, it splattered like a melon spewing dark green blood and brains everywhere.

Margot stopped watching Pinkie and focused on blasting Gleaners. Skybreeze fired blasts of blue magic at the Remnants. Princess Chr'Aya focused her power on the Gleaners. Flashes of green flew back and forward between the princess and the Gleaners. Apple Bloom yelled something and a blue wave of power filled the ponies. Margot felt like she had more power. Pinkie punched another Remnant and a blue lightning bolt arced to the Remnants near her killing some of them. 

For a few minutes the lightning helped out Pinkie until the Gleaners focused their magic on her. Margot switched focus to keeping the Gleaners busy. It didn’t seem to help. Pinkie moved back to the ponies while still punching and kicking. Dead Remnants piled up near her. 

Skybreeze tapped Margot. “I think it’s time for us to retreat and rest.” Margot and Pinkie nodded. Princess Chr'Aya walked up and charged up her horn, it was so bright, it was hard to look at. 

Then she screamed,”GETTI BEKU!” A wave of green magic flew from her and pushed the Gleaners and Remnants back. Some of the Remnants were hurled high into the darkening sky. Margot hoped that some of them wouldn’t survive the landing. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were wobbling on their hooves, until they were picked up by Skybreeze and Jerome. Margot used her telekinesis to pick up Sweetie Belle. Sweetie wrapped her forelegs lightly around Margot’s neck then they were off following Princess Chr'Aya as she galloped north. The sun went down and the plain was dark.

After a few minutes of galloping, they stopped. Princess Chr'Aya conjured a ball of green light and raised it above the group. The SHC slowly climbed down off their mounts. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo just went to sleep in the yellow grass. Sweetie Belle stood guard over them.

Skybreeze looked up. “Too bad we have to show them where we are. Then again if we keep destroying them, they won’t cause problems for other ponies.”

Jerome looked out into the darkness. “I hope this will be the last fight. I am sooo tired.” Margot curled up and tried to nap. Pinkie just stared at the sky.

Skybreeze looked at Jerome. “I’m afraid that we will be doing this a few times. We made a dent, but there are so many.”

Sweetie Belle walked up to Skybreeze. “Skybreeze, you’re a unicorn. Why do you have a pegasus sounding name?” 

Princess Chr'Aya nodded. “I have noticed that unicorns get names like Twinkleshine and Dusk. Names dealing with light and time.”

Skybreeze sighed. “Well, when we were just foals before we were even named, our parents were killed in the Great Trottingham Flood. Their close pegasus friends, The Clouds, adopted us. My sister changed her name from Cumulus to Scry when she found out what her special talent was.”

An approaching green glow and the thunder of hooves got Jerome’s attention. “They’re coming. Will be here soon.”

Pinkie stopped staring at the sky and woke up Margot. She trotted next to Jerome.
Margot focused her power and dropped a mass of orange flames down on the oncoming enemies. “Time for a BBQ!”

Skybreeze frowned. “Margot, I don’t think I want to know what you consider good eating.”

Several blasts of energy flew from Margot’s horn as the enemies got closer. Remnants blew up and sprayed flames all over the place. A breeze brought the stink of burning Remnant flesh and fur. Princess Chr'Aya walked up to Margot and cast an exploding spell at the enemy too. Soon the Remnants would be in melee range. Skybreeze looked back at the SHC. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were still sleeping.

Jerome walked up to Skybreeze. “Let ‘em sleep, we can handle this.” Pinkie nodded. 

Even though Margot felt a little better after her short rest, she knew their time was running out. It was like in the zombie movies when the brave zombie fighters check their dwindling ammo stockpile. She was down to enough power for a few telekinetic bursts and that was it. Margot wished that she was human, at least then she could swing a bat or stick a knife into the Remnant’s heads. When the magic ran out Margot would be helpless. She narrowed her eyes and waited for the Remnants to approach.

Then she thought about somepony that wasn’t fighting. “Jerome, can you use your magic against the Remnants and Gleaners?”

Jerome looked at Margot then looked at the approaching enemies. “I wish, but I’m not so good with offensive magic.”

“What, no enchanter spells?”

Jerome sighed. “Remnants barely have any minds to affect. Gleaner minds are too slick and slimy for me to mess with them. I’m sorry.”

Pinkie moved in front and whirled like a dervish. Remnants fell to her punches and kicks, but more kept coming. Margot managed to get five Remnants with focused telekinetic strikes and that was it. She was out of power.  Remnant jaws snapped next to her before she moved back. 

Princess Chr'Aya walked up and focused her power. Again her horn started to glow brightly then the glow faded. “I am spent! We must flee!” Margot got Sweetie Belle to climb on her back while Jerome got a sleepy Scootaloo to mount up. Skybreeze carried Apple Bloom. Again Princess Chr'Aya led them north. Even though it seemed that they had galloped for a while, the green glow of Gleaners was still visible behind them. The light that Princess Chr'Aya summoned faded out. Now, they were just galloping in the dark.

Margot wondered if they were going to make it. It had been a long and exhausting day. All of their bodies were screaming for rest. Already the Remnants were moving up quickly.

Sweetie Belle tapped Margot. “I know what we could do to get rid of the Remnants and Gleaners. It might cost me my life.”

“No Sweetie. It’s not that bad yet.”

“Margot, I can feel you stumble. You need sleep. Everypony here needs to rest. If I do this, everypony will survive.”

“If you do this, you may never see Rarity.”

“Maybe but at least my friends will be safe.”

Another voice joined the conversation. “You be a brave pony but your sacrifice isn’t needed now!” Margot and Sweetie Belle looked up to see a familiar looking thestral hovering above them.

“Dusk Flight is here and help is coming. The rest of the Platinum Squad is coming soon to protect you until the others arrive. Hope is coming with the sun!” Dusk Flight said.

Jerome sighed. “Great but we’ll need help before the sun!”

A carriage pulled by thestrals landed softly next to the group. They stopped galloping. Blunt Force ran out followed by Quick Fact and Fireburst. The Gleaners and Remnants were getting close. Fireburst’s horn glowed as she summoned a wall of flames in front of the carriage. Blunt Force hefted her hammer.

Pinkie pointed at Blunt Force. ”Who’s that?” 

Quick Fact flew over to Pinkie. “Wow, you guys did it. You rescued Pinkie. I gotta hear this story after we deal with the enemy. We are Platinum Squad, Pinkie. Princess Luna is our Battle Teacher.”

Pinkie looked up at Quick Fact. “Princess Luna is a Battle Teacher? How did that happen?”

Skybreeze walked up. “A lot has changed-” 

Pinkie interrupted her. “Enough of that!” 

All heads looked forward as the Remnants and Gleaners approached. Two Remnants ran through the wall of flames and caught fire. Fireburst cursed. Blunt Force ran up and struck them down with her hammer. Dusk Flight and the thestrals that pulled the carriage dive bombed the Remnants. Margot watched as the Remnant pegasi backed away from the unicorn and earth pony Remnants. She was glad that the pegasi didn’t do any air attacks earlier. The Remnant pegasi started to flap their wings in unison. A wind started to swirl in front of them then it blew toward the wall of flames. 

Margot could feel a stinking breeze blow past her. The flames guttered and went out. Fireburst cursed louder. The Remnants’ wings beat even faster and a gray brown tornado began to form. A swirling column arose in front of them while bits of dirt and sand got in Blunt’s and Dusk’s eyes. Dusk Flight and her thestral allies fell to the ground. The tornado moved toward the carriage.

Dusk cursed as she tried to clear the gritty sand in her eyes. “Bloodfire! Them Remnants be stomping on me last nerve.” Blunt Force retreated with Fireburst while they tried to get the dirt out of their eyes. Margot managed to close her eyes when a grey brown cloud floated their way.

Even though Margot couldn’t see, she could hear the tornado pick up the carriage and smash it against the ground. Several earth pony Remnants galloped forward and attacked the blinded thestrals. The screams of the thestrals that were being drained filled the air. Finally, the cloud of debris passed Margot. She looked at the area. Her heart fell when she saw the destruction.

The group of pegasi Remnants were on fire. Instead of running in random directions, they ran at Blunt Force’s group. The earth pony group was attacking Blunt Force and Dusk Flight. Somehow they kept fighting back while retreating. It didn’t help that their aim was impaired by dirt in their tearing eyes. Fireburst kept stumbling backward. Quick Fact was the only member of Platinum squad that managed not to get blinded. She kept screaming out warnings and enemy locations.

Skybreeze watched the brave squad retreat. “I know we are exhausted but we have to do something.” 

Margot frowned. “I’m out of power and can barely stand. What can we do?”

Princess Chr'Aya walked up to Margot and Skybreeze. “I have a little power left. I know what to do.” Sweetie Belle slid to the ground.

Margot knew what Sweetie was going to do. “No! Sweetie No!” Princess Chr'Aya picked up Sweetie Belle using her telekinesis. Then they galloped toward the retreating Platinum squad.

Jerome looked at Skybreeze. “We need to get going if things go south.”

“I won’t abandon our friends!”

“Think about the mission. We have to get Pinkie to Lower Canterlot.”

Pinkie wobbled up to Skybreeze and Jerome. “I can get myself to Canterlot!” Then she sunk to her knees and her eyes closed.

Margot’s eyes were glued on Princess Chr'Aya and Sweetie Belle.  A blue flash covered them for a second then Princess Chr'Aya’s horn glowed a shade of blue and green. A wave of magic flew from her and hit the burning Remnant pegasi. They exploded like green and blue fireworks. After that, Princess Chr'Aya slumped to the ground. Sweetie Belle fell to the ground next to her.

Jerome looked at what happened to Princess Chr'Aya. “Things have gone south! That red coated pony and her friends are not going to make it. Skybreeze and Margot, get Pinkie on my back and let’s get out of here!”

The rustle of wings made them look up. Princess Luna flew over followed by several squads of thestrals and changelings. A carriage pulled by white pegasi landed near them. The door opened and Nga'Devro stuck his head out. “Nga'Devro suggests that you hurry and get inside.” 

Margot poked at Pinkie with her left forehoof. “Wake up Pinkie!” Pinkie mumbled something and opened her eyes. Jerome managed to wake Apple Bloom so she could climb on his back. Skybreeze picked up Scootaloo.

Margot pointed at the carriage. Pinkie looked at the carriage. With a yawn, she stumbled toward the carriage. Margot glanced at Blunt Force and Fireburst. A group of changelings guarded them while thestrals washed their eyes.

Jerome walked up to Margot. “What about Princess Chr'Aya and Sweetie Belle?“ They watched as thestrals backed by changelings carried Sweetie Belle and the princess to the carriage. Any Remnants that came too close got blasted by the changelings. After all of the ponies were in the carriage, the pegasi picked it up and flew to Lower Canterlot. The first rays of sunlight were just touching the carriage as it flew.

It seemed almost unbelievable to Margot. Everypony was alright. Sweetie Belle and Princess Chr'Aya woke up with sleepy yawns. After glancing at Sweetie Belle and Princess Chr'Aya, Margot went back to her thoughts. Far hadn’t shown up yet. She hoped he was OK. Margot’s eyes closed as she fell asleep.

When the carriage reached Lower Canterlot, Pinkie yawned and looked out the window. “Wow! Look at the crowd below! I see Dashie, Fluttershy, Applejack and Princess Celestia. Where’s Rarity and Twilight?”

Sweetie Belle jumped up and joined Pinkie at the window. “Where’s Rarity? I thought she would be here. Why?” Tears began to well up in Sweetie Belle’s eyes. Again, Scootaloo shot Jerome a nasty look. 

Jerome sighed. “Sweetie Belle, we need to talk.” Sweetie Belle still kept scanning the crowd for Rarity.

Apple Bloom tapped Sweetie Belle and pointed at Jerome. Sweetie was crying now. She walked up to Jerome.

Jerome looked away from Sweetie Belle and then back at her. “Sweetie, do you remember when we were outside the sadness marsh?”

“Maybe?”

“You were so sad. I know you miss your sister a lot.”

Sweetie sniffled. “I’m never going to see my sister Rarity again!”  Apple Bloom and Scootaloo walked up to Sweetie Belle to lend support.

Jerome looked at Margot. She just nodded. “You were in such pain there, I didn’t want you to suffer. So I placed an idea in your head that you would see Rarity soon.”

Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed. “What gives you the right to do that?”

Pinkie Pie walked away from the window. “How are you able to put stuff in ponies’ heads? Do you put them in trances too?” The carriage landed with a soft bump.

Jerome looked at Pinkie and looked back at Scootaloo. “No, I don’t have the right. You do realize that we were on a mission, right?”

“Yes but...”

“No buts. If Sweetie Belle could have kept her own morale up, I wouldn’t have had to mess with her head.”

“You have no right to do that. You-” Scootaloo was interrupted by Apple Bloom.

“Ah understand why Jerome did what he did. Arguing about it wastes time. Jerome, can you promise not to do this without somepony’s permission?”

“I’ve learned my lesson. No messing with ponies’ minds without their permission. I need to undo the spell.” Apple Bloom nodded. Scootaloo looked away while muttering a curse. A blue flash came from Jerome’s horn. 

Sweetie Belle sunk to her knees crying. “I’ll never see Rarity again!” Tears poured out of Sweetie Belle’s eyes. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo tried to console her but it didn’t work. Margot didn’t know what to do. She had no power to do anything. Just when Sweetie Belle’s cries of despair over losing her sister were at their worst. A green flash covered her head then she went limp.

All eyes were locked on the changelings. Princess Chr'Aya’s eyes were still filled with surprise but Nga'Devro’s eyes were a different story.

“Nga'Devro regrets his action but it’s necessary. We all need rest and food. Sweetie Belle can get help elsewhere,” Nga'Devro said. Pinkie gave Jerome and Nga'Devro a look then she opened the door. Skybreeze used her telekinesis to pick up Sweetie Belle and place her on Margot’s back.

As Margot stepped outside into the cool, early morning sunshine, she remembered Jerome’s warning. Also rescuing Pinkie cost them the lives of some ponies. Margot wondered what sort of sacrifice would be needed to rescue Rarity and Twilight Sparkle. She smiled for the crowd, but inside fears of what might be needed remained.