In order to save the hive, the changeling princess known as Twilight Sparkle is sent to evaluate the prospects of friendship as a food source. Then everything goes wrong, and she is forced to fight a legend. But she won't be alone.
The changeling princess known as Twilight Sparkle is ecstatic. Her mother is giving her a chance to save the hive! All she needs to do is evaluate the efficiency of friendship as a food source! Perhaps she can even prove that a changeling can be friends with ponies without having to use a disguise! But when the reigning monarch of Equestria disappears, the young princess finds herself facing something she's only heard about in legends. And what about that mystery hive that's been destroying other hives with reckless abandon?
Deep inside the Everfree Forest lay one of many changeling hives. The Everfree Hive was not just any hive though; it was an elder hive, ruled by a descendant of one of the six heroes of old, who saved the changeling race from extinction long ago.
Inside this hive, two hoofmaidens, identical twins, looked at each other in worry, then to the young princess that they worked for as she frantically rushed around her room filled with books and scrolls.
One of the hoofmaidens cleared her throat. "Princess, maybe you should calm down a bit."
The young changeling princess turned to the hoofmaidens, her eye twitching slightly. "I told you two, this is a very very important meeting! It could very well change the fate of the entire hive! I can't afford to waste time by calming down!"
"Are you sure things are that serious?" The second hoofmaiden asked. "Her Majesty would not likely get us into a dire situation, as she is cunning and resourceful." She stopped for a moment, realizing what the statement sounded like. "A-as are you, milady, I didn't mean to imply-"
"It's alright, Twinkleshine," The princess interrupted. "I know what you meant, and the fact that Mo- I mean, Her Majesty has ruled our hive impeccably is not lost on me. In fact," she gathered her notes and quickly stuffed them into her saddlebags as her tone grew more frantic, "that's the reason I am so worried! I have to be at my best- no, better than my best, if I have any hope of solving a problem that not even M- Her Majesty can!"
The first hoofmaiden rolled her eyes, though no pony would have been able to tell. "Really, Princess, you won't get anything productive done if you're all tense. Just calm down!"
That calmed the princess down a bit. "You're right, Lemon Hearts... I just need to calm down... hoo..."
Lemon smiled. "There, isn't that better, Princess?"
"Yes..." The princess smiled at her hoofmaidens as she left. "And how many times have I had to tell you two that you don't have to call me Princess?"
Lemon Hearts rolled her eyes again. "Whatever you say, Twilight Sparkle."
Queen Chrysalis III was not a happy hive queen.
She had one problem that ought to have had a simple solution, and yet nothing she could think of worked out. "Let me think... if I had more infiltrators in high positions in Canterlot... No, they'd be found out too quickly. I might be able to get more harvesters in Las Pegasus, but... no, that wouldn't get nearly enough... AAARRGH!" Her head hurt, only in part because she was banging it against the table in the center of the conference room. "I just want a way to gather food for my subjects that doesn't involve kidnapping the princess of love! It should not be this difficult!"
"My queen, you called?"
Chrysalis perked up upon hearing the voice of her youngest daughter. "Twilight, how many times must I tell you that you don't have to act formally when we're in private?"
"B-but Twinkleshine said-"
Chrysalis put a hoof to the young princess's mouth. "Twinkleshine is just my subject, not to mention a 'huge stick in the mud' as your sister so eloquently puts it." The two shared a small laugh before Chrysalis continued speaking. "You are my daughter, Twilight. You do not have to follow the same rules that she does."
Twilight reluctantly nodded. "Alright, Y- Mother. What did you want to talk to me about?"
Chrysalis sighed and pointed to the map on the table, riddled with scribbles, calculations and arrows. "As you may have noticed, Our hive is slowly but steadily starving. I have tried to think of some method to save us without invoking the ire of Equestria, but I can think of nothing." Chrysalis shook her head with shame. "I was hoping that you might have a solution."
Twilight thought for a moment, then turned to Chrysalis. "I've actually been thinking about this for some time, but... maybe we could find some emotion that's a lot easier to obtain than love, but still powerful enough to feed the hive effectively?"
Chrysalis thought about this for a moment. "That could work in theory, but... what would it this emotion be, if I may be so bold?"
Twilight was practically aglow with excitement, both pleasing and worrying Chrysalis. "Well, my studies into pony behavior have found one promising candidate: Friendship. I have a good idea of what someling needs to do for ponies to be willing to share it with us, and it seems pretty easy!" She had gotten pretty excited at this point, her wings quietly buzzing with excitement as she delved into 'full-scholar mode'. "Furthermore, friendship and love seem to be very similar. Ergo, there is a large chance that friendship just about as nourishing as love!"
There was a bit of silence as Chrysalis waited for Twilight to recover. Once she was visibly calmer, Chrysalis sighed. "I think that if it were that simple, Twilight, we would have learned of it already."
Twilight's wings visibly drooped, and even her teal mane and purple eyes seemed to dim a bit.
"However," Chrysalis continued, "I would be remiss to ignore this possibility completely. Twilight, I am leaving this task up to you and you alone."
"Really?!" Twilight bounced up and down with glee. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!"
Chrysalis chuckled. "Calm down, Twilight. You know I have confidence in your abilities, but you need to keep in mind that there is still a chance that it may not work."
That calmed Twilight down. "You're right, I... I'll need some sort of plan."
"I already have one for you to use." Chrysalis pointed out a map of a town called 'Ponyville'. "Ponyville is a small town less than a day's flight north of the hive." Her hoof traced a line from the area marked 'Everfree Forest (enter at your own peril!)' to what seemed to be an orchard with the words "Sweet Apple Acres" in the middle. "The Apple family has been known to be very hospitable to travelers. As long as you work hard in helping out on their farm, they should be willing to lend you a room."
Her smile turned to a grimace. "Unfortunately, they have a strict 'no-magic' rule, and I haven't been able to come up with an earth pony cover for the mission. You would have to use your unicorn guise."
Twilight smiled and in a flash of purple fire turned into a lavender unicorn, though she was too proud of her cutie mark to disguise it like other changelings. She turned back into her normal form and grinned. "Not a problem at all. I should be there by tomorrow morning if I take the tunnels."
Chrysalis shook her head in exasperation. "I swear, your father, Queens bless his soul, passed on a bit of his foolhardiness to you." She let out a small sigh. "Very well, I'll have a contingent of guards ready for you by the time you're at the entrance to the tunnels." A few moments before she wrapped her daughter in an embrace. "Stay safe, my little lightningbug."
Twilight separated from the embrace after a few seconds. "Don't worry about me, Mom. I'll be fine, no need to worry."
The queen could only shake her head as she watched her daughter confidently buzz out the door. "It's when you say that that I worry about you the most."
"So did she say yes?" Moondancer asked as Twilight emerged from the meeting room. Upon seeing the Princess's beaming face, she smiled. "I'm guessing that smile means that yes, she did."
"Yeah, I- I mean... it still feels kinda surreal." Twilight replied, tripping over words in her excitement as the two walked through the narrow tunnels of the hive. "I mean, we, we worked on this so long, and it finally comes to fruition! Not only can we prove that changelings and ponies can live in peace, but we can save the hive at the same time!"
"Wait, 'save the hive'?" Moondancer looked at Twilight, startled by her words. "I'm sorry, when did the fate of the hive start hanging in the balance?"
Twilight landed, now visibly drooping a bit. "The hive is starting to starve."
Moondancer blinked, then smiled a bit. "And here i thought we were just being overzealous when naming it..." She shook her head, her face becoming a solemn mask. "Alright, so when do we leave?"
In response, the princess only drooped more, almost cowering. "Mom wanted me to do it alone."
It took a few moments for Moondancer to process what Twilight said, but when she did she simply shrugged. "Eh, it's probably for the best that you handle it anyway. You know how I get when I meet new people, and we need an actual 'ling on this mission, not a social tortoise like me."
"But-"
"No 'buts', Sparks." Moondancer interrupted, her face grim. "We've been working on Project: Salvation for four whole years. I, for one, am not going to take any more chances than necessary."
Resigned, Twilight sighed and gave her friend a quick embrace. "Alright... I'll miss you, Dancer."
Moondancer chuckled. "You too, Sparks."
"Are you absolutely sure you can do this, Twitch?"
Twilight groaned at her elder sister's nickname for her. "Minuette, How many times do I have to say 'yes' before you get the point?"
The elder princess crossed her hooves. "Until you tell me why you think that you can handle this better than Shiny or I can."
Twilight rolled her eyes as she put some memory crystals in her bag, along with emotive gems and a few bits. "Well, let's compare our strengths: You are an incredible tactician and field medic. You know how to run a hive, and you have a personality that makes you easily approachable. Only one of those would help you in this mission.
"Shiny's great at battle magic, and he's learned how to fight effectively in the air and on the ground, with or without magic. He's the eldest, which means he has more experience than you or I, but his personality makes him awkward and inapproachable, except for when he's in the heat of battle. He would be terrible for this mission.
"I am better at illusion magic than either of you, having already created a guise for myself, which you have yet to do and Shiny did only recently. I know a wide variety of spells including teleportation, major telekinesis, misdirection, and memory record, all of which will be useful for a venture of this nature. Furthermore, if I'm attacked, it's most likely going to be a one-on-one fight, and I'm trained in Karate, Tai Chitin, and mage fencing, and have beaten both of you in sparring matches!" A few hairs in Twilight's otherwise well-kept mane sprung out of place. "Most importantly, Moondancer and I have studied pony culture! Extensively! Perhaps obsessively!" She stopped to catch her breath and her mane returned to normal. "Your personality may be better suited for this task, but that's it. Also, Mom put her trust in me and I am not going to betray it, no matter what!"
There was a bit of silence before Minuette chuckled. "That's all I wanted to hear, Twitch." She took out a towel from her dresser and tossed it to her younger sister. "You're going to want this. It'll be more useful than you think."
Twilight giggled in spite of herself. "Minuette, you are so weird."
Minuette just chuckled. "Love you too, Twitch. Stay safe, OK?"
"Are you sure about this, Twili?" Shining Armor asked his sister for the fifth time since they had started the trip through the dark, subterranean tunnels. "You don't have to do this."
Twilight shook her head in exasperation. It was enough that he had personally led the whole of the first legion into this simple escort mission, so Twilight just thought that this was adding insult to metaphorical injury. "First Minuette, and now you? What is it with my siblings not being willing to put their faith in me?!"
Shining Armor opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by his sister, now speaking more calmly. "Seriously, why are you so worried about me, Shiny? I mean, you are my big brother and all, but-"
"No, you're right." The heir to the Everfree sighed. "Twilight, some hive - we don't know whose - is destroying other hives. No survivors are left behind."
A cold feeling ran through Twilight's body. "H-how many hives have been destroyed?"
"Eleven." Shining Armor looked at his sister with concern. "Cutting you down would be a good first step towards them taking their lucky number twelve."
"Eleven hives gone..." The princess shuddered. "Has Mom and the rest of the Circle of Elders met and talked about this?"
A faraway look entered Shining Armor's face. "As of right now, Mom is the Circle of Elders."
Twilight's stopped in midair, her face ashen. "No, th-that can't be right! Petra, little Thetis, they can't just be gone like that!!!" She turned on her brother, tears in her eyes and fury in her heart. "You can't be telling the truth, you're just... lying! You're a lying li-"
"SHUT UP!" Shining Armor roared, frightening Twilight and the rest of the guards. "You think I'm HAPPY about what's happened?!"
Twilight just stayed there for a few seconds, silent save for the faint buzzing of her wings, then looked down in shame. "I-I'm sorry... I forgot that you and Petra were-"
A hoof met Twilight's mouth, and Shining Armor spoke. "It's okay, Twily. I should be the one apologizing. Mom and I have been hiding this from you and your sister, but you two deserve to know." With those words said, the prince started moving forward again, and Twilight and the rest of the guards quickly followed.
They continued flying for a couple of minutes before Shining Armor spoke up again. "Mom sent out seeds for the destroyed hives last week."
Twilight grew somber. Seeds were a last resort, only to be used if a hive was completely and utterly annihilated beyond all repair. They would spread around Equestria and 'plant' themselves in a pony that lined up with the last queen in personality, skill, behavior, etc. Within eleven months, they would go into a cocoon and emerge a month later as the new queen of that hive - just in time for them to be officially recognized as such at that year's Queens Council.
The problem was that the ponies in question didn't know. They would be completely clueless until they found themselves with a strange urge to eat anything edible, followed by an urge to wrap themselves in whatever they could find and seal it with spit. This would draw attention, of course, and the pony wasn't likely to survive the ponies declaring them a monster. And yet the reward so very greatly outweighed the risk.
Using seeds threatened to reveal the very existence of changlings, so the queens avoided complete obliteration of hives. Even the more violent queens would leave some of the royal family of a captured hive alive so that the destroyed hive at least had a chance to carry on without risking exposure.
This mystery hive wasn't playing by those rules. But then again, they were attacking elder hives, in itself a major taboo. That could only mean one thing.
"They're trying to kill us all." Shining Armor numbly said, mirroring Twilight's thoughts. "These aren't changelings we're dealing with, Twilight. These are monsters."
Twilight didn't know how to respond to that, but in a a strange, horrifying way, she knew he was right.
The rest of the flight was silent save for the buzzing of their wings. "I still think that this is too dangerous," Shining Armor said as they reached the rest point just before Ponyville, where they would spend the night. "You could be seriously hurt, and..." Tears filled his eyes. "I don't want to lose you."
Twilight's heart ached, but her resolve steeled more than ever. She now had more riding on this mission than anyling else knew now. If she could forge bonds with the ponies, that would be that. Celestia would surely protect them, just like she'd protected so many of Equestria's other ally nations. No more danger.
She looked her brother in the eye once he had checked in with the changelings manning the point. "Then I guess I'll just do my best not to die." Twilight smiled a bit, trying to reassure her brother. "If anything happens, I'll let you, Mom and Minuette know over the hivemind. No need to worry."
Shining Armor just shook his head as he walked to his room. "Good night, LSBFF."
"Good night, BBBFF." Twilight whispered as she and her brother entered their respective rooms. Sleep threatened to overtake the young changeling queen, but she knew she had something to do first. She took a memory crystal out of her saddlebags and projected her thoughts into it.
Everfree Hive Princess Twilight Sparkle, June 14
Day one of Project: Salvation (a study looking into the effectiveness of Friendship as a source of nourishment)
Today I have embarked on a journey that (I hope) will change life for not only our hive, but perhaps all changeling kind.
Our hive, the Everfree hive (currently under the rule of my mother, Queen Chrysalis III), is facing possible starvation in the near future. In an effort to solve this problem before it is too late, I proposed a study into a concept that ponies hold in high regard, calling it 'Friendship'. I had already done some research on the subject, and I observed a wide variety of similarities to love, and yet this 'Friendship' seems much easier to come by than love. I can't help but think about why noling has discovered this. It actually seems to come right before true love blooms, so why hasn't it been discovered and documented? I can't help but think that there is some missing component that I have yet to find.
On an unrelated note, I have learned of a mysterious hive that is destroying all other hives, leaving no survivors. The elder hives seem to be the primary target, as the Everfree hive is the only one left. We are all in grave danger thanks to this strange adversary. I have to (Redacted) before it's too late.
Signing off, Twilight Sparkle.
Once she had finished recording the day's events, the princess finally let sleep overtake her.
Applejack raised an eyebrow as she saw shadows flitting to and fro under the trees of the Everfree Forest. "Wonder what that's all about..." She muttered before returning to her work.
"Princess Celestia!"
The solar monarch yawned as she woke from her slumber. "Yes, Spike? What is it?"
Her loyal dragon assistant looked in, somewhat grumpy. "Prince Blueblood came by, said that some stuck-up nobles are wondering why you're holding the one-thousandth summer sun celebration in Ponyville instead of Canterlot."
Celestia shook her head sadly. Most noble houses had become much less than what their noble predecessors were. Blueblood himself, that bundle of joy she was proud to call her nephew, would likely have turned out the same way if the Twilight Velvet and Night Light hadn't treated him like the son they never had.
"I suppose I'll have to make an announcement on that later today," Celestia mused. "Can you fit that on the schedule, Spike?"
The young dragon grumbled as he pulled out a long sheet of paper. "Not really, between that dinner party with Fancy Pants, that concert featuring Octavia Melody, and your monthly summit with the heads of the military, your schedule's pretty much full for today." His eyes traveled down the page. "You've got a lot of free time tomorrow, though!"
"I suppose that will have to do." The princess sighed in depression as she lost herself in remembrance, as she had been doing a lot as of late.
This worried Spike. The princess was like a mother to him, to see her so depressed... "What's wrong Princess?"
"Nothing, Spike," Celestia lied between her teeth before an idea came to her. "I've just been thinking that maybe you and Blueblood need a break, I've been working you much harder as of late."
"Really?!" Spike excitedly asked, his worries forgotten.
"Well, you will have to do something, but it won't be much," Celestia smiled warmly. "All you have to do is go to Ponyville the day of the Summer Sun Celebration and make sure everything's going smoothly. You can have the rest of the day and the day after off."
"Awesome!" The dragon cheered. "I've gotta tell Blueblood!"
"Could you tell Cadence to meet with me while you're at it?"
"Sure thing!" Spike beamed and rushed out the door.
Now alone again, Celestia dropped the facade of peace and serenity she was forced to wear on a daily basis. Sorrowfully, she looked out the window to see the fading moon making way for the sunrise. A tear ran down her face as she whispered, "You have no idea how much I miss you."
Princess Cadence looked over the Everfree Forest in apprehension as the sun set in the distance. "I still don't get it... why would Auntie Celestia want me to retrieve the Elements? They've been inactive for centuries!" Her wings started to beat a bit faster in agitation.
"No," She whispered to herself, forcing herself to calm down. "I can't be making excuses. I've got to do this. Auntie trusts me with this, I can't let her down!"
After only a brief moment of apprehension, Cadence steeled her determination and flew into the dark forest.
She shivered at the sight of the twisted trees and flinched at the bestial sounds emanating from deeper in. She was not used to battle, but she had to do this, even if it meant getting her hooves a bit dirty. She really didn't want her aunt thinking less of her.
Pushing her fear aside, Cadence put up her pegasus disguise just in case she came across a curious pony, and continued into the forest, unaware of a pair of eyes watching her from the bushes.
Every pony in Ponyville had heard of the Everfree Forest. They were told at a young age never to enter, or else they may never leave.
The way things worked in the Everfree just wasn't natural. Instead of working with ponies, the forest seemed to actively work against them. The weather was uncontrollable, animals hunted each other, and dangerous plants grew rampant. Many ponies considered going into the Everfree unprepared or without reason to be madness.
It was at the edge of this forest that - to anypony watching - two unicorns stood.
"Well," Twilight said, scraping her hoof against the ground nervously. "I guess this is where we part ways, then."
Shining Armor sighed. "It's not too late for you to change your mind..."
"Shiny, Mom needs you at the hive more than I need you here." Twilight looked at her brother sternly. "What if that mystery hive attacks? What if Minuette can't rally the soldiers in time to form a proper defense? They need you, Shiny, I don't."
"What if you get attacked?" Shining Armor retorted. "I won't be around to protect you if that happens, and I just..." Tears entered his eyes. "I don't want to lose you."
Twilight shook her head. "Shiny, you and Minuette have done so much for our hive. If it wasn't for Minuette's quick thinking, we would have been discovered years ago by that archeologist! If it wasn't for your barrier spell, that ursa minor from a few months ago would have killed Mom and I!" She gave Shining Armor a pleading look. "I want to be useful. I want to show my worth. And I can't do that if I'm in your shadow."
"Twilight..." The prince wiped the tears from his eyes. "You grew up way too quickly for your big brother, you know that?"
"Shiny..."
The prince ruffled his sister's mane. "Just stay safe, Twily. I've already lost Petra. I don't want to lose you too." And with that, he walked deeper into the forest. If one looked closely, they might have seen a green flash and many shapes moving in the shadows before he disappeared from sight.
Twilight sighed and looked out the forest. "Best get going then..."
She steeled herself and walked out of the mass of trees and into a mass of much-less-frightening trees. An expansive apple orchard stretched out in front of her, dwarfing anything she had ever seen before save for the hive and the Everfree Forest itself.
Twilight couldn't help but gawk as she walked through the trees. Not only was the orchard huge, but the apples bore a delicious red luster.
"Well howdy there, pardner!" Twilight leaped back at the sudden voice and turned to see an orange earth pony standing aside her. She wore a stetson on her head and her mane flowed in a long and loose 'ponytail', as ponies called it for some reason. Emblazoned on the mare's flank was the likeness of three apples - her cutie mark.
"Sorry 'bout that," The pony smiled sheepishly, "Ah saw you comin' outta the Everfree Forest, an' Ah thought y'all might be hurt." Her smile became less embarrassed and more relieved. "Good ta know that ain't the case."
Twilight let out a breath she had been holding. The farm mare didn't suspect a thing! "I appreciate the concern, Miss...?"
"Applejack."
'An Apple family member! This must be Sweet Apple Acres, then!' "Miss Applejack. My name is Twilight Sparkle."
As Twilight spoke, she recalled the infiltration lessons Mrs. Heartstrings gave her. 'The first thing a pony will want to know is where you're from and what you do.' "I'm a traveling scholar studying Equestria's history." 'The best lie is the truth.' "I'm going to be staying in Ponyville for about a week in order to progress my studies." 'Never outright ask a pony for help.' "Do you know of a place where I could stay for the week?"
"Sure thing, Miss Twilight!" Applejack responded cheerfully. "We're expectin' a bumper crop this year, so y'all can just bunk with us if ya want!"
"Really?" Twilight's face brightened. "You're just going to let me stay? No chores or anything?"
Applejack just laughed. "Naw, not here! Maybe other Apples do that, but me..."
Twilight didn't need changeling senses to tell how distressed Applejack was. "Y-you don't have to tell me if you don't-"
"It's okay," Applejack interrupted. "Let's get ta the house, Ah'll tell ya on the way."
The two started walking toward a distant building. After a few seconds, Applejack sighed. "Ponyville was attacked by an Ursa couple'o months back. " Twilight's face turned grim as she remembered the incident, but Applejack didn't seem to notice and continued. "Our family wasn't affected, since we live on the outskirts of town an' it came from the other side of the Everfree Forest, so we offered ta help repair. Most ponies got out safely, but there were still a few who didn't make it..."
Applejack exhaled as she pushed the last bit of rubble away. "Alright... Now we just hafta see if there's anypony inside..."
Suddenly, a cry of grief came from inside the house. "Well that answers that." Applejack muttered as she ran inside.
The scene she saw... well, it wasn't pretty. near the back of the room, buried under some rumble, lay what remained of Muffins, that lovable mailmare. In a pool of the pegasus's blood lay a sobbing unicorn filly who looked just like Muffins in every other respect. "Aunt Muffy... p-please wake up..."
Applejack stepped forward. "Are y'all okay?"
The unicorn filly turned and, ever so slowly, found her way into Applejack's embrace, staining her hooves with tears. After a few minutes of uncontrolled sobbing, the filly looked up at her savior. "Miss Applejack?"
"Yeah?"
"Aunt Muffy... she's with Queen Majesty, r-right? Not T-Tirek?"
Applejack's heart ached as the filly asked the same question Applejack had asked her Granny all those years ago. "Of course she's with Majesty, Sugarcube." She whispered. "Ain't no doubt about it."
After a few minutes, Applejack ever so carefully lifted the filly onto her back and walked out of the wreckage toward the still-intact hospital. The filly never let go of her savior.
Once they reached the hospital, Applejack turned to the little filly, who had introduced herself as Dinky. "So, d'ya have a place to go from here?"
The filly shook her head sorrowfully. "A-Aunt Muffy was the only pony I ever knew..."
Applejack was silent for a moment, then made her decision.
"Ah learned a lesson that day." Applejack finished her story as they approached the house. "There's always folks that have less than you do. It's only right to help them out. Even if Ah can't take them in forever like Ah did with Dinky, Ah'll do whatever Ah can. One small act of generosity can change a life."
"Wow." Twilight whispered. What else was there to say?
A small laugh came from the farm mare before she opened the door and yelled "Everypony! We've got ourselves a guest!"
"A GUEST?!" Two fillies' voices filled the house and before long, Twilight found herself on her back with two young faces beaming at her. One was a yellow earth pony with a bow in her red mane and the other was a gray unicorn with her yellow mane in a braid.
"Howdy!" The yellow one said. "Mah name's Apple Bloom!"
"And I'm Dinky!" The gray one added. "What's your name, miss?"
Despite the pain now rushing through her spine, Twilight couldn't help but grin at the sheer amount of affection coming from the two fillies. Before she could answer their question, an elderly voice called from another room, "Applejack? We got guests?"
"Sure do, Granny!" Applejack responded, then turned to Twilight. "C'mon, Ah'll introduce ya to the family."
She walked into a room, Twilight following close behind. In the room were a big red stallion and an elderly green mare. Applejack turned to Twilight and smiled. "This here is Big Macintosh," she pointed to the red stallion, "Granny Smith," the elderly mare gave a warm smile, "an y'all have met those two rascals over there already." The two fillies in question smiled angelically. "An' finally... C'mere, Winona!"
Barks came from somewhere inside the house, and before she knew what had happened, Twilight had been toppled for the second time, this time by an excited border collie. "Ow... why... floor... pain... argh."
Applejack chuckled as the collie licked Twilight's face. "Sorry 'bout that. Winona loves meetin' other ponies."
"It's alright," Twilight said as Winona leaped off her. She got up, trying to ignore the pain her back was suffering, and smiled at the family. "My name's Twilight Sparkle. I'm a traveling scholar studying Equestria's history. I'll be staying in Ponyville for about a week." She gave a small bow. "It's nice to meet you all. I will try not to be a burden..."
"Are ya stayin' for the Summer Sun Celebration?" Apple Bloom asked.
Twilight's face blanched. 'Summer Sun Celebration?! Argh, I know that's important, but what is it?!' Panic seeped into the changeling's mind as she struggled to recall what exactly the filly was talking about.
Thankfully, Applejack answered for her. "'Course she is! Ah'd bet that's part of her studies!" Her smile suddenly turned into a frown. "Come ta think of it, Ah still need ta prepare the food, don't Ah..."
"I can help-" Twilight started before catching a glance at Applejack's face, which had 'no' written all over it. "Ooor I could just... walk around Ponyville for a while..." And maybe find the library and brush up on pony culture while she was at it.
Applejack's face brightened as she shooed the two fillies off of their captive. "Actually, Ah need ta see a friend of mine t'get some ingredients, so Ah can show y'all around town if y'all'd like."
A smile came to Twilight's face. "Thank you, Applejack. I'd like that."
"Then let's get goin'!" Applejack cheered and rushed out the door, with Twilight following close behind.
Twilight stood at the entrance to Ponyville, mouth agape. And the surprise wasn't just from the giant cupcake. 'The residual love from this point alone could feed a single changeling on its own! Now I see why Mrs. Heartstrings retired to Ponyville...'
Beside her, Applejack chuckled. "Trust me, Ponyville's looked much better. Heck, we still haven't completely finished rebuilding after the Ursa attacked." Looking around, Twilight now noticed that there were many houses in various states of disrepair and reconstruction. "Ah'm surprised that the Princess is comin' ta our humble little Summer Sun Celebration." Applejack continued, looking out over the town. "Good thing the gazebo in the center of town wasn't destroyed, that was a stroke of luck right there."
Twilight was about to agree, but was interrupted by a new voice calling, "Oh Applejack! So lovely to see you, dear!" Twilight turned to see an alabaster unicorn with her leafy-green hair in a simple bun walking towards the pair. Her cutie mark was vague, as unicorns' usually were, depicting three blue gems. "I still have to thank you for rebuilding the Boutique for me." The mare gave a small curtsy. "How can I possibly repay you?"
Applejack just shook her head. "Ah told you, Rarity! Ah don't need y'all ta repay me, the deed itself is payment enough. And," she added as the other mare opened her mouth, "Ah'm not talkin' about the deed to th' Boutique."
Rarity chuckled. "Applejack, you are too selfless for your own good sometimes!" She turned to Twilight and raised an eyebrow. "And who are you, dear? I haven't seen you in these parts at all."
"My name's Twilight Sparkle." She replied on instinct. "I'm a traveling scholar studying Equestria's history. I'll be staying in Ponyville for about a week."
Rarity blinked, her eyes widening for a moment, then she sighed. "Don't tell me, Applejack offered you a room, asking nothing in return?" Upon seeing Twilight's sheepish nod, Rarity gave Applejack a sharp glare. "Again, Applejack?"
"What can Ah say, Rares?" Applejack gave a nervous chuckle as her eyes darted around, looking for an exit. "Whatever Ah have, somepony else needs it more than Ah do."
A worried look appeared on Rarity's face. "But your farm is..." A harsh look from Applejack silenced her, and she shook her head in resignation. "Fine, at least let me show your new friend around!"
Applejack looked like she was going to protest, but a quick glare from Rarity silenced her. "After we get ta Sugarcube Corner. If Twilight's okay with it."
"I don't mind," Twilight responded. "In fact, I'd feel terrible if I distracted you from your job."
"Wonderful!" Rarity cheered as the three mares walked further into town.
Now that they were in Ponyville proper, Twilight was so stricken by the sheer amounts of love that a bit of drool came out of her mouth. A chuckle from Rarity brought her to awareness. "Yes, I know Sugarcube Corner looks delicious, but it is a building, not a pastry." The white mare chided, bringing Twilight's attention to the a giant cupcake, which upon closer inspection had a door and some empty spaces where windows would be. "Their cupcakes are divine, though, don't get me wrong..."
Twilight blushed and mentally thanked the Queens that they were right next to Sugarcube Corner. "R-right, sorry..."
"An' that's where Ah'm gonna hafta leave y'all." Applejack said as she walked toward the delicious looking building. Before entering, she turned to Twilight and Rarity and waved. "Make sure ta be back 'fore supper, Twilight!"
"I'll make sure she is!" Rarity waved back. Once Applejack was out of sight, she turned to Twilight with a bit of a frown on her face. "I swear, she is too selfless for her own good!"
Twilight knew in her heart that she shouldn't pry, but she had to ask. "What do you mean, exactly?"
"Exactly what I said!" Rarity responded. "She's spending more time in Ponyville helping out ponies who suffered from the ursa attack than working at her own farm. I swear, if Noteworthy wasn't helping them with their finances, they'd be GET DOWN!"
Twilight barely had enough time to react before a cyan blur came zooming straight towards her. She yelped and ducked, only for the blur to veer up, splattering her with the mud in her wake. "What was that?!" Twilight sputtered.
"That was the Ponyville welcoming committee." Rarity responded, trying to shake the mud off of her before giving up and glaring at the clouds above. "I know you're up there, Rainbow Dash! You are not getting away with this!"
A resounding laughter was heard, and a cyan head with rainbow-colored hair popped out of the bottom of one of the clouds. "Oh man, the look on your faces! Priceless!" The strange mare gave another laugh as she flew out of the clouds, revealing her to be a pegasus with a strange, 'rainbow-bolt' cutie mark. "Hey, sorry about the mud, lemme wash it off for you!"
"Rainbow Dash if you even think-" Rarity could get no further before the pegasus flew onto a cloud and started jumping on it. This caused a downpour that soaked Twilight and Rarity to the bone, though it did also clean them off.
Rainbow Dash peeked off the side of the cloud, and upon seeing a bemused Twilight and Rarity shivering like a chihuahua, she went into another gale of laughter. "Priceless, simply priceless!"
Then, to Twilight's surprise, a snicker came from Rarity's mouth, and then another one came from her own. Soon, the three mares had doubled over in laughter while passerby just shook their heads as if this was an everyday event.
Once the they were no longer in danger of dying from laughter, Rainbow turned to Twilight. "So, what's your name? I don't remember pranking you before."
"My name's Twilight Sparkle. I'm a traveling scholar studying Equestria's history. I'll be staying in Ponyville for about a week!" Twilight mentally winced at how mechanical that was starting to sound. "And you're Rainbow Dash, I assume?"
A cocky smirk came to the pegasus's face. "The one and only!" She stuck out a hoof which Twilight hesitantly took.
When nothing happened, Twilight rose an eyebrow. "What? No joy buzzer? No ketchup packet?"
Rainbow snorted. "I wouldn't use a joy buzzer when you're soaking wet! That would be going a biiit too far." She put a hoof to her chin. "The ketchup packet is a nice idea though... I'll have to remember that."
Rarity groaned. "Please, no... the red color might give ponies the wrong idea." Twilight was a bit confused before she remembered that ponies had red blood. "Besides, don't you have some rain scheduled for the next few days?"
The pegasus rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah... oh, word of advice, Twilight, watch out for Pinkie Pie!" As the pegasus turned around, Twilight caught sight of a nasty-looking scar on her side. Before she could ask about it, however, Rainbow Dash was already nothing more than a multicolored blur once again, quickly fading from view.
Deciding to ask about something else she was curious about, Twilight turned to Rarity and inquired, "Who or what is Pinkie Pie?"
Rarity just chuckled as if Twilight had said something funny without realizing. "Oh, you'll find out eventually."
Despite her curiosity, Twilight refrained from saying anything on the subject for the rest of the tour, mostly because the next stop was the library, where Twilight quickly got a library card from the couple running the place. She then borrowed as many books as she could fit in her saddlebags before being dragged off by Rarity while the two unicorns who lived there simply stared.
"Well that was odd..." The pink mare mumbled as Rarity pulled their latest customer away by the tail.
"She did borrow a lot of books though." The orange stallion replied. "I think she'll be a great customer if she decides to stay."
The mare chuckled at that. "Let's just cross our hooves..."
Dinner at the Apple family was like a skillful battle for Twilight as the family asked questions about their guest.
"Where do you come from, Miss Twilight?" Dinky asked bashfully.
"My hometown, you mean?" Twilight smiled, trying not to show how much the question was making her panic. "It isn't too far from here, actually! In fact, I live right next to a forest as well!" Of course, she neglected to mention that it was the same forest, or that she actually lived in it.
"How'd you get yer cutie mark?" Apple Bloom inquired, exuding curiosity and ignoring her vegetables.
Twilight smiled at the easy question. " I got it after h—my mother helped me recover from a pretty destructive magic surge. It represents my proficiency for magic." She let loose a small, controlled firework to demonstrate. Strangely enough, the firework brought a wave of anxiousness from most present, but it quickly faded as the firework did. Apple Bloom seemed somewhat disappointed, but Dinky was quite intrigued.
"So what's your family like, Twilight?" Applejack asked.
Another easy question. "We're about as different as we can be." Twilight chuckled a bit. "My mother is busy a lot of the time, but she's always there whenever we need her. She's really serious, but I know she'd die before she let any harm come to us." She knew that firsthoof.
"I've always looked up to my big sister." Twilight blushed a bit at admitting that. "She seems to be good at anything she does, and yet she always has time for me. She is a bit weird though..." She rummaged through her saddlebags and took out the towel Minuette had given her. "She gave me this when I left. Said it would come in handy." Everypony chuckled a bit at that before Twilight continued. "She's a weirdo, but she's my weirdo. That's what matters.
"And then there's my big brother." Her mood soured as she remembered the events of the night before. "He's overprotective, and I mean really overprotective." Her heart rate started to rise, and she forced herself to calm down. "I know he's just worried about me, but he takes it way too far." A sigh. "But really, in the end? I couldn't ask for a better big brother."
"Ah know how ya feel." Applejack smiled, pointing to Big Macintosh with her hoof. "As far as Ah'm concerned, Big Mac may be quiet, but he's the best big brother Ah could ask for. Ah wouldn't trade him for the world." Apple Bloom and Dinky nodded in agreement, causing Big Macintosh to blush a little.
"What about yer Pa?" Apple Bloom asked. "What's he like?"
Twilight looked down as a flash of pain filled her heart. "I... never knew my father. He died before I was born." Gasps went around the table, and the air was practically flooded with pity and sympathy.
A hoof was put on Twilight's shoulder. Looking over, she saw Applejack giving her an apologetic look. "Ah'm sorry if we stirred up some bad memories, Twi. Ah hardly remember mah parents either, so Ah know how it feels."
Twilight gave a weak smile. "Applejack... everypony... thank you."
Twilight sighed contentedly as she laid down on the bed the Apples had offered for her, listening to the patter of the rain outside as it hit the roof. She was so exhausted from Rarity's tour and Rainbow Dash's antics that she barely had the energy to take out a memory gem out of her saddlebags. After making sure nopony was looking, she started recording.
Everfree Hive Princess Twilight Sparkle, June 15
Day two of Project: Salvation
So far, so good.
I have met three mares today that are all potential candidates for this 'friendship'. The first is Applejack, a hospitable earth-pony farmer who has given me a place to stay during my time in Ponyville. She is extremely selfless, apparently to the point of self-neglection. At least, according to the second candidate, a unicorn who goes by the name of Rarity. She's a dress designer, and runs a boutique in ponyville, and yet she is very humble and frank, quite unlike the fashionista personality one would expect. While she was showing me around Ponyville, we ran into the third candidate, a pegasus named Rainbow Dash. I didn't really get much time to know her, but she seems quite outgoing. She has a tendency to play pranks, but they are harmless and, if I'm being honest, quite hilarious.
I also got a good lay of the land while Rarity was showing me around. During the tour, she pointed out some notable locations, like Sugarcube Corner (Ponyville's main cafe and sweet shop), Golden Oaks Library, and the gazebo where the Summer Sun Celebration will be held.
Oh yeah, the Summer Sun Celebration! It's a very important pony holiday celebrating Princess Celestia banishing Nightmare Moon using the Elements of Harmony! I have no idea what they are, hold on... Er, I may have checked out a few books from the library... Ah, here it is! ...Apparently, the Elements of Harmony are six powerful artifacts used to ward off evil. Only five of them are known, those of Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty. Their last known location is the Castle of the Two Sisters, deep in the Everfree Forest. I recommend sending out a survey to locate these artifacts, as they may provide insight into pony culture.
Oh right, the celebration. Apparently, this Summer Sun Celebration is the one-thousandth. To make matters even more exciting, Princess Celestia decided to hold the celebration here in Ponyville! Maybe I could begin negotiations with her after the celebration!
Signing off, Twilight Sparkle.
As Twilight finished the record, the door creaked open to reveal the border collie Twilight had met earlier that day.
The disguised princess smiled. "Hey there, Winona, wanna come sleep with me?"
Winona happily obliged and jumped up on Twilight's bed, paced around a bit, then curled up next to her and fell asleep. After closing the door with her magic, Twilight fell asleep with her.
Or at least she tried to. 'Why does it have to rain tonight?!'
Inside Carousel Boutique, a certain green-haired unicorn was snoring rather loudly
"Rarity?"
"*Snrk* Wha?" Rarity lifted her head up to see a giggling pink earth pony, as well as a small white unicorn behind her. She narrowed her eyes at the two of them. "Might I ask what's so funny?
Her pink charge giggled again, a strange, buzzing sound that Rarity had barely gotten used to over the months. "I didn't know drool was the next big thing in fashion."
Rarity looked down and groaned. Once again, she had fallen asleep, her design notebook all the damper for it. "I should get to bed..." She briefly looked to the clock before turning her gaze to her young charge. "As should you two - don't think I can't see you Sweetie Belle! - and especially you, Diamond Tiara. You know what happens when you go to school tired." She chuckled briefly. "I would rather not have to explain why you have a horn... again."
Diamond rolled her eyes, but begrudgingly walked up the stairs to her room, Sweetie Belle not far behind.
Rarity sighed, briefly turning back to her 'design' before shaking her head and closing the sketchbook. "What am I going to do with that little filly?" Putting her hoof to her chin, she added "And how am I going to discreetly tell her that her foalsitter is in town without her accidentally ousting everypony?"
Blueblood was not in the best of moods as he traversed the streets of Canterlot with his best friend. Who happened to be the reason for his sour mood.
"You know, I thought you'd like being able to take a break from all the noble snobbery." Spike spoke up sheepishly.
Blueblood sighed. "I do Spike, I really do, but... realistically speaking, my reputation will follow me to Ponyville. You remember that time that Princess Celestia asked us to visit Appleoosa to negotiate a peace between the settlers and the buffalo? How we almost made things worse because the ponies tried too hard to please us and the buffalo dismissed us as royal snobs?" The two of them shivered. "Reputation is a frightening thing, Spike. Its speed is impossible, its effects unbelievable."
"Still, Appleoosa wasn't too bad." Spike recalled before pulling out a picture of him and Blueblood along with another stallion and a young buffalo. "Braeburn was a bit excitable, but he treated you the same way he treated everypony else. And Little Strongheart pulled you out of the way when the pies came out."
Blueblood sighed as he came to a middle-sized house. "That's two people in what is essentially two small towns. Maybe there were a few more that I just never had the pleasure of meeting, but I doubt I'll find anypony quite like them in Ponyville, given its proximity to Canterlot."
"Or maybe you're being a pessimist." Spike retorted as the two walked up the stairs.
"Guilty as charged..." Blueblood chuckled before opening the door to the house. "Mother! Father! I'm home!"
"In the kitchen!" Twilight Velvet's voice echoed from deeper in the house. Indeed, a delicious scent was wafting around the area. "Come on in!"
Drool escaped from Spike's mouth as he and Blueblood walked in. "What'cha making, Ms. Velvet?"
"Chocolate chip cookies!" Night Light shouted as surprised his adoptive son with a hug. "Welcome back, son!"
After getting over the surprise, Blueblood unashamedly returned his father's embrace. "Thanks, Dad. I never feel like myself when I'm away."
Pedestal Placer, Centurion of the First Legion and the prince's confidant and best friend, sighed as he trudged through the Everfree Tunnels, trying to ignore the constant and infuriating sounds of water dripping from numerous exit holes and the splashing of Everfree's first legion following close behind him and Shining Armor. The past two days had been exhausting for him. First the incident with the ever-decreasing rations, then Shining Armor's announcement about the 'killer hive', topped off by this whole mess with Princess Twilight...
It was starting to take its toll on his patience.
His eye twitched as he heard Shining Armor start to fret for the fifth time. "I just can't help but worry about her, Pedestal! I don't want to lose her!"
"You worry too much, sir," Pedestal bluntly replied, all sense of tact worn away. "Your sister knows what she's doing. Much like changelings, ponies tend to stick in a group for safety. If she's attacked, she'll have a lot of protectors."
Shining armor sighed again. "I know that up here," he pointed to his head, then to his chest, "but not in here. I've already lost Petra, and a couple of months ago I almost lost Twily and Mom as well. I just don't want to lose them..."
Before Pedestal could respond, a scream came from the surface. Shining immediately grabbed his shortsword and flew out one of a nearby exit hole, while Pedestal and the rest of the legion reluctantly followed. "Always trying to be a hero..." Pedestal grumbled before he saw the scene aboveground.
When he did, he found himself unable to do much more than gape.
A swarm of changelings wearing black goggles and armor to disguise their hive was attacking a pink, vaguely ponylike shape, while Shining Armor was trying to fight the offending changelings off and failing due to sheer numbers. "I could use a bit of help here!" He shouted.
Pedestal snapped out of his stupor and turned to the soldiers. "You lot heard him! Formation Theta-Pi, go!"
A cheer went up around the soldiers as the decurions formed a line and charged into the fray, allowing them and the more skilled legionnaires to form a protective barrier around the pony while the centurions led the inexperienced legionnaires to Shining Armor's side, driving the hostile changelings away. Pedestal himself took to the skies, divebombing the enemy with his spear, sending terrified changelings scattering.
Just when Pedestal was lined up for a debilitating blow to one of the would-be assassins, a bright flash of light blinded him, and he stopped in midair. There were a few shouts of surprise, but no screams.
Pedestal knew what was going on. The flash of light was a flashbang, and if their adversaries weren't using the flash to attack them, that could only mean one thing.
The enemy was retreating.
He groaned as the black trees of the Everfree slowly faded back into existence. Yes, this meant no casualties, but it also meant that they had noling to interrogate and no hive to question.
He sighed and turned to the prince. "They're gone. All of 'em."
Shining Armor grimaced, apparently sharing Pedestal's sentiments. "That's not good..." He turned to their newfound charge, a quivering pegasus mare. "Are you alri-"
"Get away from me!" The pegasus threw a nearby branch, hitting Shining Armor between the eyes.
"Hey, woah, calm down." Pedestal flew in between them, using his spear to keep the two at distance and preventing the already-unstable prince from doing anything rash. "I know we may look frightening, but we have no intention to harm you." He turned to Shining and smirked. "Especially not the prince, he's a teddy bear really."
"Gee, thanks." Shining Armor grumbled before pushing aside the spear and approaching the mare again, this time bending down to meet the mare at eye level. "He is right though. I have no idea whose hive those changelings belonged to, but I promise you that the Everfree Hive has absolutely no bad blood with ponies." He smiled as the mare seemed to calm down a bit. "Can you walk or fly out of here on your own?"
"NO!" The mare leaped up, but quickly calmed herself, speaking in a more controlled manner. "S-sorry, my aunt wanted me to retrieve some artifacts from a castle deeper in. I'm not leaving until I get them."
"Well in that case, Mrs..." Shining Armor paused and looked at the mare.
Realizing the reason for the silence, the mare said, "Cadence."
Shining Armor nodded. "Mrs. Cadence. My name is Shining Armor, and it would be my honor as the commander of Everfree's First Legion, as well as the prince of the Everfree Hive, to have my soldiers and I escort you."
Cadence looked up. "R-really?"
Shining Armor smiled comfortingly, while Pedestal rolled is eyes at the prince's strict adhesion to complete chivalry. "Of course!" The prince's face became stern as he turned to address his soldiers. "You hear that, men?! From here on out, you will be protecting Mrs. Cadence as you would protect me!"
"Yes sir!" The changelings saluted, before a decurion spoke up. "Permission to search the area, sir!"
"Granted, decurion Board Blade. I want two pairs out there looking for enemy scouts and three more looking for dangerous wildlife! If you find them, report back to me immediately! Do not engage unless absolutely necessary!"
"Sir!" One of the more skilled legionnaires spoke up. "My sister is a topographer, I think I know where the castle Mrs. Cadence is searching for is located!"
Shining Armor nodded. "Alright then, decurion Battle Rust! Lead the way!"
If Battle Rust noticed his promotion, he did not show it, and he merely saluted. "Sir, yes sir!"
Pedestal chuckled dourly, then turned to Cadence. "I apologize for our prince's zealousness. He's been going through a lot lately." Another chuckle, this time more joking. "I think he has some need to protect someone, or else he'll go off the deep end."
"Is that so..." Cadence whispered as she looked at her savior, who was chewing out a pair of bumbling legionnaires known only as the Tweedle Bros. Her tone was laced with worry.
Pedestal stopped chuckling immediately, his face grim. "In all seriousness, I am concerned for his well-being. One day, he's going to work himself to death, or worse..."
Cadence only nodded, but for the briefest of moments, Pedestal could have sworn he saw a horn on the pegasus's head and a flicker of concern on her face.
Twilight groaned and rubbed her head. The constant sound of rain hadn’t been good for her sleep the other night and the last thing she wanted to do was get up early. Unfortunately, Winona had other ideas.
The collie barked again, scratching on the door, causing Twilight to sigh. “I get it Winona, you want out. Just a minute...”
Yawning, Twilight looked in the mirror to make sure her disguise was still applied, then opened the door to see Applejack standing in front of it. “Ah, there ya are, Winona!” The farm mare gave Twilight an apologetic look. “Sorry if she bothered you, Ms. Sparkle. We’re all used ta wakin’ up early, see.”
“Oh, it’s no problem at all...” Twilight yawned, noting that there were an awful lot of presences in the area. “And please, call me Twilight...” She yawned again. “Er, you don’t happen to have any coffee don’t you? I didn’t get much sleep last night...”
Applejack gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Ponyville hasn’t kept coffee around ever since Pinkie Pie got her hooves on some...” The mare shuddered as if trying to get dirty images out of her head. Upon seeing Twilight’s curious glance, Applejack merely said, “You do not wanna know, Twilight. Ever.”
Twilight curbed her curiosity for a moment as she watched Applejack lead Winona downstairs and let her outside so that she could do her business. How the collie could leap around in the pouring rain as if the sun was shining in full force, Twilight doubted she’d ever know.
After a few minutes, Applejack poked her head back inside. “Say, Twilight, mind doin’ a small favor fer me?”
Twilight perked up at that. If there was one thing she hated, it was feeling useless. “Of course, what do you want me to do?”
“See, Fluttershy – she’s Ponyville’s unofficial vet – is supposed be giving Winona her yearly checkup today.” Applejack chuckled as she watched the collie in question. “Not entirely sure if she needs it, but Ah’m not gonna argue. Anyway, Ah hate ta have ta ask ya, Big Mac an’ Ah need to work on preparations fer the Summer Sun Celebration, Granny Smith can’t go out in this weather, and ta be honest, Ah don’t trust the fillies after what happened last time.”
Twilight decided not to ask, instead putting her hoof on Applejack’s shoulder. “Really, I don’t mind doing that, Applejack. Just tell me where to go.”
Applejack breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks so much Twilight. All ya hafta do is go out of Sweet Apple Acres the same way as yesterday an’ turn left. Eventually you’ll come across this house, looks kinda like Golden Oaks Library, right on the border of the Everfree. Just tell the mare that lives there that Ah sent you, and she’ll help ya right quick.”
“Got it.” Twilight looked out the door. “Will I have any problem with Winona?”
“Ya shouldn’t, she trusts ya enough ta sleep in yer room.” Applejack gave Twilight an umbrella, which she accepted gratefully. “Be careful out there!”
Twilight nodded. “I will, don’t worry.” And with that, she exited the house, using her magic to hold her umbrella above her. True to Applejack’s words, Winona followed Twilight, though it seemed more out of excitement than obedience.
The rain was very peaceful, and Twilight found herself drifting into memories as she walked.
“C’mon, Twilight!” Thetis called as she ran from Twilight. “You’re being boring!”
Twilight huffed as she tried to catch up to the tiny changeling. She never liked being active, Especially since Minuette would always shock her when she was out practicing running in her pony guise.
“Or maybe... you’re too quick...” Twilight gasped for air as she slumped down. “How do you have so much energy, Thetis?”
“’S a secret!” The filly beamed contentedly. “C’mon, c’mon, I wanna play some more!”
Twilight held back a groan, and instead tried her best to muster a smile for the filly. “Sorry, Thetis, I’m a bit played out. How about we get started on that schoolwork instead?”
“Aww...” The little foal pouted. “Why do I have to learn boring facts?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “They’re only boring because you think of them as boring.” She selected a random book from the shelf – Creatures of the Deep – and opened it to a random page. “Oh, this is interesting...”
Thetis piqued up. “What?”
“Apparently, there’s a very odd creature found in the depths of undersea trenches called a Hagfish,” Twilight read, herself fascinated by the strange creature. “They exude a strange slime used in a great amount of seapony cuisine. A visiting pony diplomat from long ago described it as being ‘far more flavorful than our own foods.’”
“Really?” Thetis was amazed, and Twilight couldn’t help but smile. “That sounds... disgusting.” Twilight’s face fell a bit until Thetis grinned maniacally. “I want to know more.”
Twilight smiled as she scooted aside to make room for the little princess. The rest of the day was spent learning of the wonders of the deep sea.
“Bark bark!”
Twilight blinked as the memories faded. As she looked around to get a better sense of her surroundings, she noticed a cottage matching Applejack’s description. And she had almost walked right past it. “Thanks Winona, I guess I was a bit distracted.”
“Bark.” Winona seemed to smile smugly.
Twilight shook her head. That was a dumb idea, a dog being smug. She walked up to the door and knocked lightly.
The door opened just a crack, revealing a pair of sky blue eyes. “Y-yes? Who is it?”
“My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m a traveling—” Twilight stopped herself from continuing with that line. ’Stupid!’ “Applejack asked me to take Winona in for her checkup.”
“Oh, come on in!” The door opened all the way to reveal a butter-yellow pegasus with long, pale pink hair. Interestingly, instead of having a long tail to match her hair, she had a short bobbed tail. “Sorry about keeping you out in the rain so long. M-my name’s Fluttershy, and these are all my friends.”
Twilight’s eyes almost popped out of her head. Rabbits, squirrels, birds, a bear and even a jackalope were crammed into the tiny cottage, including a little white rabbit that Twilight could swear was exuding pure malevolence. “Y-you take care of all these animals?!”
“Oh yes!” Fluttershy smiled, beaming with pride. “I could never just leave any of my friends to fend for themselves out in the Everfree forest!”
Twilight held back a snort. She had never understood why ponies were so afraid of the forest. Most of the creatures were easily fended off if they were even encountered, the dangerous plants all stood out, and for goodness sake, there was a zebra living in there all on her own! “I’m sorry, I’m not from around here, but is the Everfree Forest really that bad?”
“Oh yes,” Fluttershy replied as she inspected Winona. “For one thing, there are so many wild beasts that are very hard to communicate with! Some of them are nice, like manticores, but most of them are almost impossible to reason with.
“And then there’s the plants!” Fluttershy continued as she shone a light in Winona’s eyes, the collie standing perfectly still for her. “Oh sure, they may look pretty, but just one touch could do all sorts of nasty things to you! You just can’t afford to be careless in there!
“And to top it off, there’s the weather...” Fluttershy shuddered a bit as she wrote the report. “You move a cloud and then, a few minutes later, its gone! Not to mention the fact that sometimes it will just suddenly start raining on you, or even shoot out lightning when you’re nearby...” She shuddered again as she continued. “There are rumors that sometimes you can even hear them laughing afterwards.”
Twilight grimaced at the last part. ’Mental note: have some... words with the weather team once I get back.’ “Well, I’ll make sure to stay out of the area, then.” She turned to look at the animals again. Her chambers at the hive seemed so dreary compared to the activity in this tiny cottage. “You know, I’ve always wanted a pet... Maybe I’ll stop by later.”
“Oh, that would be so wonderful!” Fluttershy cheered quietly, grabbing Twilight’s hoof. “Some of these poor critters have gone through quite a lot, and all of them would love a home where they wouldn’t have to share attention with all the others.”
Twilight nodded as she grabbed her umbrella. “I’ll definitely come back then. I have to get back to Applejack’s, but I’ll see you later, for sure!”
Fluttershy nodded and waved as Twilight waited for Winona to exit and closed the door behind them.
“She was rather nice,” Twilight said to herself as she walked back to Sweet Apple Acres. “A bit timid, but very nice.”
She made sure not to get distracted by memories this time, instead focusing on the scenery of the area. She had always found the rain peaceful, though it was always frustrating when she wanted to read a book outside. It always seemed as if the world went silent, save for the sound of the rain itself. It was so serene.
The serenity was cut off by a growl from Winona. Twilight looked at her with concern. “What is it, girl? is something wrong?”
Now that she thought about it, the rain had lightened up a bit, and the leaves were audibly rustling, despite the lack of wind. Remembering the killer hive her brother had warned her about, she braced herself, ready to defend herself if need be.
When what seemed like half an hour had passed, Winona stopped growling. Twilight sighed with relief, though not quite relaxing. “C’mon, Winona. We’d better get back.”
Despite Twilight’s concerns, the rest of the trip was rather uneventful. Twilight sighed in relief. “Thank goodness... I don’t think today could have been more tense!” She opened the door to the Apple house and–
“SURPRISE!!!”
–Promptly proved herself wrong by instinctively shifting into her changeling form.
The world stood still for a few seconds. The shock and fear overloaded Twilight’s senses as all the ponies she had met stood there, mouths agape. Even Fluttershy was there – she must have passed Twilight when she thought she’d heard an ambush.
The silence broke when Rarity stepped forward.
At once, everything Twilight was taught came back to her. All the stories of changelings being discovered and ran out of town, or... worse.
Names and dates ran through her head as she grew more panicked. ’Hoofington,1939 AC. Changeling runs into town badly injured, was thrown out and died from injuries. Manehattan, 1785 AC. Changeling uncovered, lynched. Canterlot 1847, Changeling reveals self to pony lover, stabbed in the neck that night.
’Rejected.’ Twilight shrunk back, trying not to make eye contact with any of the ponies.
’Killed.’ She took a shaky step back, and then another. None of the ponies made any moves to stop her.
’Betrayed.’ That thought hurt most of all, like a dagger sinking into Twilight’s heart.
She turned around and flew out of the house and into the Everfree Forest, refusing to look back.
’How could I have been such an idiot?!’ She berated herself as she flew. ’I should have waited, should have taken the time to relax, and now...
’Now they hate me.’ That thought, combined with the fact that a rest stop was below her, stopped her mid flight. ’They hate me and it’s all my fault.’
Slowly, she sunk down to the forest floor, towards the entrance. “Maybe I should just stay out here,” she whispered to herself. “Maybe something will...”
Twilight’s ramblings were cut of by whimper beside her. Shocked, she looked to her side to see a familiar collie looking up at her “Winona?” She whispered. “You really shouldn’t be here, this is no place for dogs...” She tried to nudge Winona away, but the collie just stuck even closer to her.
Twilight sighed and shook her head. “I don’t have time for this... just... follow me I guess.” She opened the trapdoor of the rest stop and walked inside, Winona trodding in behind her.
It wasn’t much, but it was enough. A bed, a chest of drawers, a closet, and a candle. ’Just like at Sweet Apple Acres.’
Another pang of guilt hit Twilight. The Apple family had been so welcoming to her, and she had just...
She couldn’t finish that thought as, once again, she was cut off by Winona giving a small whimper. Twilight stared at the dog, somewhat shocked by the look of worry on her face, before chuckling. “You’re right Winona, I shouldn’t worry about that right now.” She fluttered into the bed and under the covers, Winona jumping up and curling up next to her.
’Tomorrow,’ she thought to herself, ’I’ll be making sure Winona gets to Sweet Apple Acres, get my things, and then...
’Then I’m going back to the hive.’
The farmhouse was completely still for minutes after Twilight’s departure, until Pinkie Pie – the one who, one could argue, caused the whole mess to begin with – quietly whispered something about a doozy.
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, “What the hell was that?!”
“Heck if Ah know!” Applejack retorted. “Gah... Ah should’ve known somethin’ was up with her th’ moment she came outta th’ Everfree forest!”
“Everfree Forest?!” Granny Smith yelped. “Applejack, ‘bout the only good thing that’s come outta th’ Everfree was zap apples!”
“And, um, critters and medicinal herbs...” Fluttershy meekly replied, still recovering from the shock. “B-besides, how do we know she was really that bad?”
“Yeah!” Applebloom agreed, with Dinky nodding beside her. “We can’t jus’ judge a book by its cover, an’ we can’t jus’ assume Twilight’s a bad pony jus’ cause she’s a... a...”
“Changeling,” Rarity supplied.
“Yeah, a changeling!” Apple Bloom finished, before her eyes, along with those of the other ponies in the room, widened and turned to face Rarity. “Say what?”
“She was a changeling,” Rarity repeated. “They are a rather... reclusive race of shapeshifters that feed on ambient emotions – ambient, Rainbow Dash. Perfectly safe.”
Rainbow huffed and crossed her hooves. “Alright, but how do you know all this? Are you, like, a spy or something?”
Rarity gave the pegasus a flat look. “Really, Rainbow? If I was a changeling, there is no way on Equestria I would let myself have green hair, or at least not green on white.” She shuddered before continuing. “I would truly love to tell you all exactly how I know this, but it’s not my secret to—”
“It’s Diamond Tiara, isn’t it?” Dinky interrupted. When she got astonished looks from the gathered ponies – except for Pinkie Pie, of course – she shrugged. “In hindsight, it makes a lot more sense than ‘she wanted to pull a little prank on the whole school with no rhyme or reason’.”
Apple Bloom nodded in understanding. “Come ta think of it, she only really pulls pranks like that when it’s Nightmare Night or durin’ test days...”
Rainbow Dash blinked. “Huh... never really took her for a prankster... Gah, that’s not important! Twilight went toward the Everfree Forest, right?”
Rarity growled. “If you even think about setting a hoof on her, Rainbow—”
“I’m not that thick, Rarity!” Rainbow shouted, much to Granny Smith’s annoyance. “I’m not gonna hurt her, I’m gonna make sure she’s alright! She’s in the Everfree Forest for cryin’ out loud!”
“She came outta it too,” Applejack spoke up. “Ah’d bet bits ta berries that goin’ in there would likely just put us in danger, an’ we probably wouldn’t even find her anyways.”
“She’s right,” Fluttershy piped up. I remember one time when I was out helping Mr. Bear find a den for the Winter, I found this strange little cave with a chair, and a closet, and everything.”
Rarity sighed. “Oh, sure, give away all the secret hiding spots of an extremely secluded race, I’m sure they won’t mind...”
“Well you started it!” Pinkie giggled. “At least you didn’t Pinkie Promise not to tell, that would’ve been messy.”
Rarity coughed nervously. “Yes, well... I did Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony that Diamond Tiara is a changeling, but that ended up being moot.” Dinky giggled sheepishly as Rarity continued. “Even so, I would have told you about changelings – I couldn’t let poor Twilight’s name get ruined like that, especially not when I knew the truth.”
“Alright, enough gabbin’!” Granny Smith hollered. “Now Ahm afraid we don’t got ‘nuff space for everypony in th’ house, so it might be best if’n y’all get back t’yer homes before—”
Whatever Granny Smith was going to say was interrupted by the roar of thunder. “...Nevermind. Big Mac, see if y’all can scrounge up some blankets. Some folks will have to make do sleepin’ in here, blanket o’er hay.”
“Eeyup!” Big Mac uttered as he walked out of the barn.
Pinkie Pie jumped into the air with a burst of confetti. “Slumber party!” She squealed excitedly. “Oooh, it’s my favorite kind of party ever, well except for Birthday parties, oh and Hearth’s Warming parties are pretty good too. Can’t forget about about Nightmare Night or Hearts and Hooves day either... ooh, Maredi Gras, Maredi Gras!”
Minuette was starting to get suspicious.
It wasn’t something that she usually did. She found it boring and, in the end, extremely awkward. If something bad was going on, there would be very clear clues, or it would just happen with little to no warning at all. There were no internal plots in the Everfree Hive. No militia looking to overthrow the Queen, no underground manticore-fighting rings, no secret party corps. (Although she wouldn’t have minded that last one.)
Yet something Twitch had said before she left stuck out in her mind. Why in the Hive would Twitch and her friend study pony culture? Twilight wouldn’t need to interact with ponies anytime soon, since she was a part of the royal family. And Moondancer... Minuette had met Moondancer before. At least, if you called looking with pity upon a stuttering mess of a changeling ‘meeting’ them. Poor girl wouldn’t last a day as a changeling infiltrator. How she had even managed to befriend Twitch was a mystery, really.
And yet, here they were, the two changelings most unlikely to even come into contact with ponies, studying pony culture. Then, one day, when Mom calls Twitch in to help with the food shortage, she ‘conveniently’ has an idea fully formed that Mom could only trust her with, sending her on a mission where her knowledge of pony culture ‘coincidentally’ happens to be a great benefit. And, to top it all off, by sheer ‘chance’, there just so happens to be a killer hive on the loose.
Though, to be honest, she questioned if that third one was even related, but even so, she was suspicious. She would have brushed it all off if it weren’t for one small thing.
Moondancer was happy.
Moondancer, the changeling that spent her day eating, sleeping, and reading, was skipping around the hive for no reason whatsoever. Moondancer, the changeling who had spent most of her life in the library, was roaming the corridors and attending concerts. Moondancer, the changeling who was rumored to have her scowl etched into her chitin, was grinning ear to ear.
If it was just Twitch, Minuette would just brush it off as pure coincidence.
If it was just Moondancer, she would have gone to Canterlot and make sure the seal on the Destructive One was still intact.
But it wasn’t just Twitch, or just Moondancer. It was both, and that’s what worried Minuette.
So, fearing the worst, she did what any normal elder sister would do: capture her younger sister’s hoofmaidens and interrogate them. Gently.
“YOU WILL TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON WITH TWILIGHT OR SO HELP ME, I WILL FEED YOU TO A HYDRA!”
Okay, so maybe ‘gently’ wasn’t the right word.
“P-p-please, Y-Your H-H-Highness, we d-don’t know!” Twinkleshine cried. Sobbed, really.
Lemon Hearts, on the other hand, was much more calm. “I’m afraid we don’t know much more than you, Your Craziness.” Minuette always did like Lemon Hearts. “Of course, if you told us what you’re trying to figure out, we might be of more help.”
Minuette rolled her eyes. Of course, they wanted to be reasonable. Boring. “I’m talking about what’s going on between Twilight and Moondancer, why they’re interested in pony culture, why Moondancer has to be so Queens-damned chipper all the time, etc.”
Twinkleshine whimpered. “P-please... We d-don’t know anything...”
Minuette sighed. “Right, you’re free to go Twinkles.” The hoofmaiden eagerly jumped out of the room, leaving Minuette alone with Lemon Hearts. “...Well?” Minuette asked.
Lemon Hearts shrugged. “The only thing I can tell you is that, in their research, they just throw any books portraying ponies in a negative light into the nearest wall, declaring them ‘a horrendous excuse for scientific literature’.”
Minuette scowled. “Free to go. Leave me.” She cursed herself as Lemon Hearts rushed out of the room. She’d been so stupid. Why had she gone for the small fry when the source of the problem was within reach?
She gave a gleeful cackle. Tomorrow was going to be fun.
Cadence still found it hard to believe what was happening. Just the day before, she had been ambushed by a group of strange bug-ponies, only to be saved by a different group of bug ponies led by an overworked and protective prince and his sarcastic right hoof.
It was all a bit confusing, to be honest.
She sighed as she looked at the stars above. She didn’t have many memories of her birth parents, but one thing she did remember was watching the stars one night and them talking to her. She didn’t even remember what they had said. Maybe they were pointing out the constellations, or regaling her in the tale of Nightmare Moon.
It was one of the best moments of her life.
“Fancy seeing you out here.”
Cadence turned to see the changeling from before. “Ah, I’m sorry...”
“Pedestal Placer, Ma’am.” He smiled. “Don’t worry, we have just as much trouble telling your royal guards apart.”
Cadence let out a laugh at that. “Glad I’m not the only one.” She breathed out a sigh, looking back to the stars. “So what are you doing here? I thought you were on duty.”
“My shift just ended,” he replied, taking off his helmet. Cadence couldn’t help but note the unusual sheen of his fin. “What about you? Why are you out here?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” she lied.
“Ah.” He turned to watch the sky. After a while, he spoke up again. “Y’know, if you look closely, you can see the ancient changeling heroes of legend.”
Cadence raised an eyebrow. “Really? Please enlighten me.”
“Sure thing.” He pointed over to a straight formation of stars. “That’s Setanta, the Loving Lance, and that over there is Sidhe, the Peaceful Rest.” He pointed to another formation. “And lastly, if you look way out over there...” He pointed behind them, to a single star with a chaotic line of stars above it. “That one represents our hive’s hero, Anam Cara, the Bonded Flame. You can’t see the other three at this time of year, but they are still something to behold.”
“Wow,” Cadence whispered. “They’re all so different from our constellations.”
“Yeah...” They were silent for a while before Pedestal turned to Cadence with a serious expression on his face. “Hey, mind if I ask a favor?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“During this trip, could you look after Shining Armor for me?” Cadence rose an eyebrow as Pedestal continued. “Ever since his fiance... well, died, he just hasn’t been the same. Now, with his sister away, I’m afraid he might be close to the breaking point, and I can only do so much to help. Could you try and make sure that he doesn’t break down?”
Cadence thought about it for a bit. She still wasn’t completely one hundred percent sure that she could trust these changelings, but Pedestal seemed to be sincere, at least. And she was the Princess of Love after all. Wasn’t it her job to help mend broken hearts?