Twilight Sparkle faces the end of the world as she knows it. An epic three book series depicting the fall of Equestria and the rise of a new nation from the ashes.
Twilight Sparkle faces the end of the world as she knows it. An epic three book series depicting the fall of Equestria and the rise of a new nation from the ashes. I promise you intrepid explorers, bumbling changelings, lost civilizations, murderous trees, villainous nieces, flaming timberwolves, meddling time lords, graceful airships, monstrous bears, frozen dragons, mysterious cities, penitent farmers, stolen kisses, mythical gemstones, foreboding Pinkie twitches, missed parties, epic magical battles, unhelpful zebras, and perhaps even a phoenix or two. I laughed, cried, and squeed while writing it; I hope you enjoy it too! Features primarily Twilight Sparkle, Sunny Daze, and an OC, Apollo Dawn.
My thanks to: Mailbox Bomber (formerly from bronyville.org) - Pre-reading and very helpful story outline advice --This is a much better story because of your help! Metaright (from friendshipismagic.org) - Extremely capable and detailed proofreading --FAR better proofreading than I had any right to expect! Jadeite (from bronyville.org) - Cover image --Just what I needed! (Though I did modify it a bit ^.^)
Rated T for brief (where appropriate) gore. This was written before season 3: it's in a season 2 universe; there are already some conflicts with season 3's canon... please disregard them.
If anybody feels like contributing artwork, feel free; and I'll likely add it to the appropriate chapter of the story. If anyone wants to do a spin-off with some of the same characters, feel free, and let me know! I, myself, will probably make future fics using Apollo and his crew. There are some characters there who I didn't get to play around with and develop as much as I'd like to.
Apollo Dawn steadied himself with his wings as he brought the ice pick down yet again, breaking off a sizable chunk this time. The darkened shape was directly in front of him, just inches away now, really. It tantalized him with its mystery and with its proximity... they would be only moments away from finding out just what this was! As of yet, it was just a dark, indistinct shape in the ice... what could it be, embedded down here at the bottom of an ice cave? He was sure it would be a clue leading his crew closer to their eventual goal: the legendary largest blue diamond known to pony kind, Moonfeather's gem, stolen by an ice-dragon over eight hundred years ago!
With another swing at the ice, the pick struck home, getting stuck in the ice this time but creating a large crack. The reverberations from the impact stung Apollo's hooves, but he ignored it, looking instead at the large crack that had opened up... it wouldn't be long now!
“Do you know what this means?” He said excitedly back to his crew.
“We finally get a lunch break?” Pebble's reply came, despite the heavy load of ice chunks on her back.
“We can pack up and go back someplace warm?” Splints wasn't about to be outdone in rhetoric.
Apollo brought a hoof to his face... As wonderful as his crew was, they could be difficult to live with sometimes. “No, it means–”
His reply was cut off by a loud crack resounding through the icy walls around him. He whirled around to look at the work site as the ice cracked again, his ice pick falling free and clanging to the floor. Ice creaked and groaned as Apollo and his crew members slowly backed towards the entrance of the cavern... it didn't look like a cave-in; only the spot they had been working on was cracking, but nopony wanted to be buried in ice!
Their nervous backing quickly turned into an all-out dash for the exit as small bits of ice crystal began to rain down from the ceiling. Apollo dashed as fast as his hooves could carry him.
He skidded to a halt just outside the ice cavern, his spiked horseshoes scoring lines in the frost as he came to a stop and spun to look back into the hole. Slowly, the sounds of cracking and groaning ice stopped, replaced by the sounds of the last few free chunks rolling to the floor of the cave. He leaned forward, curiosity piqued yet again – Apollo was an explorer after all, and no danger could keep him away for long.
Before anypony worked up enough courage to venture back into the cavern though, a strange shape came rushing out. It was long and sinuous, and seemed to be made of an amalgamation of many different creatures... Apollo had never seen anything like it in his life. He and his crew looked on in stunned astonishment.
“Oh my, it feels just wonderful to finally be out of there,” The creature hissed out, turning her attention to the ponies in front of her, “And since you were so thoughtful in freeing me, I think I'll give you a little gift.” Apollo's attention focused on that! Did this creature perhaps have the gemstone he was looking for? Could it really be that easy? “I will allow you to live,” she said, “to live and experience my lovely new world... at least for a while.” She stretched lasciviously before continuing, “Hm... and speaking of which, I really should get started on that, don't you think?” With a disturbingly coquettish giggle, the creature flew away southwards, quickly vanishing over the horizon.
“What was that?” his team navigator asked shakily from behind him.
“Sure didn't look like a big blue gemstone.” Pebbles answered laconically.
Before Apollo could reply, Splints's Trottingham-accented voice cut in, “Hooray! Our glorious leader has brought us to yet another fabulous discovery!”
Apollo only groaned. Not only had this lead turned out to be a dud, not only was his crew acting particularly insufferable today, but he couldn't shake the feeling that freeing that... whatever it was... from the ice had been a very, very bad idea. Still, there were plenty more ice caverns around this glacier – surely the prize he was after would be in one of them.
Twilight always found it a little trying, getting the nocturnal Owloysius roused for pony pet playday. She had resorted to caffeine this time, slipping the bird a little coffee. It was working wonderfully: the normally groggy owl was as chipper as ever, despite the bright sunshine... Problem was, Spike's little Peewee had insisted on getting some too.
For the hundredth time, Twilight suddenly stopped in her tracks as a bright hot orange blur shot right in front of her.
“SPIIIIKE! Get control of your bird already!”
The little dragon growled in frustration, “I'm TRYING!”, waddling after the hyperactive baby phoenix.
Twilight seethed, this is NOT the time or the place for out of control fire birds! She looked around at all the bustling ponies in town... and all the horrifyingly flammable buildings. Spike's little Peewee had already started two minor fires in town, and Twilight was not in the mood for another 'incident'... Some ponies in town already were grumbling about how dangerous a baby phoenix could be... Twilight listened, sure she would hear even more now that there was a caffeine-fueled firecracker whizzing around town...
She listened, but only heard the normal babble and a few coughs... nothing about little birds, and nothing about fire. She tried to sigh with relief... but for some reason it felt hollow... there was just something hanging over her head, but she couldn't put a hoof on it. With a shrug, she turned her attention back to the moment.
The trip to the pet park was actually going swimmingly, all things considered. Twilight usually was all but dragging a drowsy owl along, but this time she was being rushed, trying to keep up with Spike's little bundle of energy. Which is almost literally true, She thought, The Marvelous Manual of Magical Monsters had said that phoenixes were creatures of energy more than matter... which some speculated to be the reason for their unorthodox life cycle, in fact... She shook her head. No, it's not studying time, play time, remember? Her friends had been trying to help her with that recently, after she had admitted having a bit of a compulsive studying problem. Her habit, though, was proving hard to break.
As she approached the park, Twilight could see that they had arrived very early. Only Applejack had arrived so far, causing Twilight to wonder for a moment if she would ever get to any appointment before her earth pony friend. If Twilight had a problem carrying her studying into the rest of her life, Applejack was definitely letting her work ethic bleed over into everything else! Not that it's a bad thing, she thought, it's nice to have somepony you can always rely on.
* * *
“Wow Twilight! You gotta give that little guy a boost more often! That was AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash had spent most of their pony pet playday effectively having traded pets with Spike. Watching the two of them careening through the sky had been quite the sight. They had even tried a few races, once Rainbow discovered the little bird's speed... not that they had turned out well... it his current state, the little bird didn't have the attention span to fly in any particular direction for long.
“Ya said it R-D!” Applejack spoke up. “With y'all two featherbrains cavortin' around up there, ah hardly missed Pinkie n' Rarity.”
“Featherbrains!?!” A high-strung voice from the sky called out... a little more raspy than usual?
“Oh, please don't be mad,” Fluttershy, said, quieter even than normal, “I'm sure she didn't mean–” only to be suddenly cut off by Rarity's late arrival.
“SO sorry girls, I was only stopping for my appointment at the clinic, to pick up a few lozenges for this dreadful little cough going around... but wouldn't you know, the place just had to have the longest line, all the way out the door... it was just dreadful!” She adjusted her saddlebags again; her cat, Opal, was weighing down one side, while the other looked relatively light. After a demure little cough, she continued her tirade, “Can you imagine that kind of RUDE service right here in little old Ponyville? Making me wait at the end of the line when I had an appointment for that very time? And so early in the morning! Why would they have a rush at this time anyway, don't those ponies have jobs to do?”
Ignoring the fashionista's continuing rant, Twilight looked thoughtful for a moment... “Wait, if you were at the clinic the whole time, where was Pinkie Pie?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow piped in. “We thought she was with you.”
Finding her rant (rudely) interrupted, Rarity replied, “Why, no, I haven't seen her all day.”
A few slightly worried looks passed around between the five ponies, and wordlessly they set out for Sugarcube Corner, their various pets struggling to keep up... or struggling to keep focused as the case may be when concerning a certain baby bird.
* * *
Twilight Sparkle followed Rainbow's tail through the front door of the confectionery, the little bell on the door ringing, prompting a call of “Just a moment dearies,” out from the back room.
Fluttershy was the last through the door, leaving Spike outside with some of the more rambunctious pets – particularly his own, though the little bird was by now merely bouncing everywhere, rather than flying... Perhaps the caffeine rush was wearing off?
As Fluttershy stepped inside, Mrs. Cake emerged from the kitchen, quite covered in flour. “Oh, don't mind the mess dearies, with my hubby off to Canterlot to get some ingredients and with Pinkie locked up in her room, I've been having to do all the baking and all the selling.” A buzzer went off back in the kitchen. “Oh! Just you wait, this will only take a minute,” and with that Mrs. Cake whisked back into the kitchen.
The five friends waited for a moment... and then another... Mrs. Cake was taking much longer than just a minute! As they waited, Rainbow sidled over to Rarity. “Say, you wouldn't mind letting me borrow a few of those cough drops you picked up, would you?”
“Oh, poor dear,” Rarity cooed, “You've got that little bug going around as well?”
“What!?” Rainbow started. “Me, the most awesome pegasus ever, sick? No way! I was just wanting them for... for... uh... Tank! Yeah, for Tank!”
Rarity simply gave Rainbow a look. ... Rainbow held her own in the stare-down... right up until she broke down in a little fit of coughing.
Sensing defeat, Rainbow quietly admitted, “Okay... for me.”
Rarity smiled, looking more than a little motherly. “There's nothing to be ashamed of to have caught a bit of a cold my dear. Here, have some – my pleasure to share with my friends.”
As Rainbow gratefully took the proffered medicine, another cough could (barely) be heard... Very dainty, and it would have gone unnoticed had there been any other sound at that moment.
“You too, Fluttershy?” Rarity asked.
Fluttershy just looked a little abashed and nodded, hiding behind her pink hair.
Another package of cough drops floated over to Fluttershy, enveloped in a light blue glow, to be quickly snapped up by a white bunny who ran them over to Fluttershy's side and proceeded to guard them as if they might be stolen at any moment.
Twilight saw the grateful look Fluttershy gave Rarity, and it warmed her heart. She knew that Rarity – fashion aspirations aside – loved nothing more than receiving a look like that.
Twilight's thoughts on the magic of friendship were cut short, however, by the return of Mrs. Cake. “So what can I get for you my dearies?”
“Actually,” Twilight replied, “We were looking for Pinkie Pie... You said she was locked in her room?”
“Oh, yes,” the baker answered, “I can't for the love of sugar get her to come out... something's bothering her and she's...” Mrs. Cake leaned in conspiratorially. “in one of her moods.”
The five friends all looked at each other worriedly... none of them wanted to consider what may be going on with the odd pink pony this time... Despite that, Rainbow Dash led the way up the stairs to Pinkie's room. – Not that Rainbow was any less worried about what they might find. Rainbow just couldn't let herself be seen as being afraid, especially not after that loss of face earlier with the cough drops.
As her friends arrived at the top of the stairs behind her, Rainbow knocked on Pinkie's door, which was indeed locked tightly. “Pinkie, what's wrong with you? You never miss a pony pet playday.”
Without warning, the door opened, and a pink hoof whipped out, impossibly grabbing all five ponies and dragging them through the door, which promptly was locked behind them... with a truly staggering number and variety of locks.
Having re-fastened the locks, Pinkie Pie stood, chest heaving, with her back pressed against the door, as if she was afraid something would try to beat it down. Well, at least her hair's still fluffy, that's a good sign, right? Twilight thought. Still, it wasn't all that reassuring; Pinkie looked like a wreck, with a grimace on her face and eyes narrowed down to points, darting all around the room... and where did she get all those locks anyway?
“Oh, my...” Fluttershy said, rushing over to her friend. “Pinkie, what's the matter?” Seeming to realize how forward she had been, she added, “Um, if you don't mind.”
A pleading look came on Pinkie's face as she said to her friends, “My knee is PINCHY! Not even regular pinchy, but super-duper like it's never pinched before ultra-uber-extreme pinchy! It's like that time I tried licking the electrical socket – 'cause it looked so tasty – have you ever looked at them they look soooo delicious and then it hurt so much but that time was in my face not in my knee but it felt kinda like that so maybe –”
Pinkie's chatter was cut short by Applejacks' hoof. “So ya say there's gonna be somethin' scary happenin' sugarcube?” Everypony there knew enough about the Pinkie sense to know that a pinchy knee meant that something scary was about to happen.
Still with a hoof in her mouth, Pinkie nodded. “MmHm!”
“Well what is it?” Rainbow Asked.
Pinkie looked defeated for a moment, plopping down on her haunches. She looked up at her concerned friends. “I. Don't. Know.” ... and promptly started to cry, eliciting an embrace from Fluttershy, and worried looks from the rest of her friends.
Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but worry about her friends. Rainbow kept playing tough; she wouldn't admit to any hardship. Fluttershy would hardly say a word to anypony, and Rarity, oddly enough, tended to brush it away as if it were nothing... But Twilight knew them too well. She could see the tiredness in their eyes. It had been four days since she saw any of those three, and she suspected it was because they were secretly bedridden much of the time. Rainbow was playing too tough... she had learned more humility than that... and Fluttershy was being too quiet, did it hurt her to speak? And Rarity... Ponyville's biggest drama queen giving up a chance to wail about her despair? Not a chance. Something was up, which is why Applejack, Twilight, and Spike were now escorting their friends to the clinic.
Not just the ordinary clinic either... Whatever bug was going around had been hitting the town hard, and the special emergency tent had been set up for the first time since Pinkie's 'baked bads' incident. Using a quick teleportation spell, the five friends had managed to escape Pinkie's room earlier, leaving Pinkie presumably still locked inside, but Twilight was now beginning to wonder if Pinkie's prediction was already coming true. Her and Applejack were only able to get their friends to the clinic by force, and after spending a time there, Twilight could understand why. If the line Rarity was complaining about the other day was bad, this was a disaster. Ponies swarmed the tent, no longer even making an orderly line. Twilight had been there for hours already, and they weren't any closer yet.
An outcry began to break out near the center of the crowd, at the door of the tent. Twilight and her friends were just starting to try and figure out why, as a voice called out from the center, “QUIET!”
In the short, stunned silence that followed, a pony Twilight vaguely remembered, Nurse Redheart, is it? Jumped up on top of something – Twilight couldn't see what with the crowd in the way.
“We're now completely out of medicine, everypony!” The nurse shouted out. “So for everyone still trying to get treated, all we can do is recommend some warm soup and plenty of bed rest!”
This elicited a great deal of grumbling in the crowd. Twilight could only wonder how long some of them must have been waiting, only to hear that.
“We're expecting another shipment next Tuesday,” the nurse continued, which brought even more grumbling, and a few calls of “Tuesday!?!” from the crowd, but the nurse's last word entirely changed the crowd... a simple addition of, “hopefully,” just barely loud enough for anypony to hear.
As Nurse Redheart hopped down from her impromptu platform, the mood of the crowd completely changed, from resentful anger to worried fear. These ponies weren't used to the idea that help might not come, and it clearly shook them.
“Well, now that we wasted ALL morning here,” Rainbow said, turning to Twilight crossly. “What are we gonna do now?”
Twilight was saved from her chagrin by a sudden belch accompanied by a gout of green flame. Spike caught the letter and began to unroll it even before it hit the ground. “It's from Princess Celestia,” he said.
“Well what's it say, hotshot?” Twilight prodded.
As the crowd surrounding the clinic started to break up and head home, Spike began to read, “Her Grand Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, hereby issues royal decree numbered four hundred and eighty seven, in light of–”
“An official royal decree!?!” Twilight shouted, “I haven't heard of one of those outside of a history book! Nopony has! The last one was issued almost seven hundred years ago to–”
Twilight suddenly noticed her friends' glares. Sheepishly, she backed down a little. “Heh... sorry about that...”
Spike mustered a look of complete disdain and annoyance, and continued, “Now, if we can avoid any further interruptions... Ahem, ... In light of the sickness known only as the 'Fairflanks malady' spreading throughout Equestria, it is hereby decreed that this is a full-scale emergency, and all royal resources will be immediately employed to the finding of a cure... Repeat, all current projects will be put on hold until a cure is found. Any information should be forwarded to the desk of Healing Heart, president of the royal research hospital, fifteen-twenty Songwind's Lane, Canterlot. ... Residents of Equestria are advised to avoid all contact with infected ponies. Quarantine rules are in effect. Symptoms of the disease are as follows: a gradually worsening cough and sore throat, passing on to stomach ache and fever, leading to dehydration and fatigue, and then leading to death. Mortality rates are estimated at ninety-five percent. Our best pony doctors have been unable to make any progress. This disease seems entirely new, and bears no relation to the known cured diseases that we are familiar with, so any information will be most helpful. ... P.S. Be strong my little ponies, we will come through this. – Princess Celestia.”
Spike finished reading the letter, having paid more attention to his oratory skills than the actual message inside, and turning to his friends, he looked surprised to see that the reaction wasn't what his imagining of his oratory skills led him to expect. The five ponies – and quite a few of the ponies still lingering from the crowd – were all staring at him dumbfounded.
Rarity still laid on the ground, having fainted sometime during the letter, and Fluttershy cowered into a quivering little ball of yellow and pink fur. Rainbow Dash, as usual, was the first to spring to action. “So, what's the plan?”
The prospect of planning caught Twilight's attention enough to draw her out of her stupor. Plan indeed... But what can I do about this? I don't know anything about medicine, or know anypony who does... anyPONY... Twilight's face lit up as the idea struck. Come on girls! To the Everfree Forest!
Twilight was greeted only by confused looks, until Applejack deduced her idea. “Zecora! Let's go!”
The four ponies began to dash off... only to stop a moment later. Four? Twilight thought, Wait. Rarity! Twilight quickly trotted back to rouse her fainted friend. Wow... usually she just pretends to faint... but this time she really did! Still, a few shakes were enough to bring Rarity back to the conscious world, leaving the group now ready to go.
With an eye roll from Rainbow Dash, the now five ponies dashed off towards the Everfree forest.
* * *
“Come along, Hooves!”
Derpy Hooves hurried through the Ponyville's Stirrup Street as quickly as she could... which wasn't fast enough for Doctor Whooves, apparently. It wasn't easy when she couldn't keep from bumping into ponies and buildings and anything else in the way.
“We need to get out of here before the disaster comes.” He seemed pretty serious about that.
“What disaster?” She looked around and held her little Dinky closer than usual, even more confused than usual. “Everything looks fine.”
“This isn't a good place to talk about it.” The Doctor looked warily around at the ponies surrounding them. “I'm glad we could come back for your daughter, but I didn't mean to get back this late... the disease is already spreading, and we have to get out before we catch it, okay?”
Derpy still didn't know what he was talking about... but she had been traveling with him long enough to know that he was usually right. She rushed after him again, eager to get herself and her precious little daughter to safety inside the tardis.
Far from the dreadful and fearful place Zecora's hut had once represented, as Twilight and her friends approached the zebra's home, it now seemed to shine like a beacon of hope.
Already Twilight could imagine the feeling of accomplishment, the recognition, the warm smile from her mentor's face, on hearing that she and her friends had so quickly found a cure – an herbal remedy, no doubt – to this awful sickness. Her high hopes making her brash, Twilight barged right through the door of the hut. Only to watch, for a second time, an upside-down meditating zebra suddenly wobble and crash to the floor.
“If you ponies continue to refuse to knock,” Zecora chanted, “I will be forced to put in a lock!”
Ignoring the jibe, Twilight burst out, “Zecora! We need your help, there's a horrible sickness going around and we have to find a cure as soon as possible!”
“Very well my dear, let's have one of your sick ones come forward here.” Zecora looked at the ponies, all of whom were looking rather reluctant.
A stern gaze from Twilight at her three sick friends did the trick: while Fluttershy was still cowering, and Rarity was looking very studiously uninterested, Twilight's gaze fell on Rainbow. Rainbow Dash glanced ploddingly to her left and right, to Fluttershy and Rarity, hoping to see one of them stepping forward... but finally allowed herself to be the volunteer, temporarily dropping her 'I'm not sick' act.
Seemingly oblivious to that little drama, Zecora spoke up. “Good, a diagnosis we'll get very quick, and we'll find what has made you sick.” With that, Zecora started wandering all around the hut tossing a strange variety of things into the big cauldron in the center. After a few moments of this, she approached Rainbow. “Now with all that in the brew, I need just one more thing – from you.”
Before Rainbow could cringe away, Zecora darted in and pulled out just one hair from her prismatic mane with a quick nip of her teeth, happening to snag a red one. Rainbow darted back in startlement, but Zecora already had her prize, which she promptly tossed into the cauldron.
Zecora leaned over the brew, watching closely. This, of course, prompted the same behavior from the five ponies, forming a circle of ponies all closely watching the brew, though they didn't know what they were looking for.
Slowly, the mixture began to bubble, building up to a boil, and it began to change color from it's previous milky-white appearance to what was becoming a startlingly vivid blue.
With a worried expression, Zecora went to fetch an old-looking book, and quickly opened it to a well-used page.
With the Zebra incredulously looking back and forth between the pot and the book over and over, finally Twilight could take it no more. “So, what is it? What's the cure?”
Zecora just shook her head. “For this mix to turn so blue... this sickness... it is entirely new.”
“What?” Twilight cried, “You mean you don't know how to cure it!?!”
Zecora looked oddly beaten, hanging her head low and mumbling, “I can treat the symptoms this is sure... but I cannot make a cure.” She stepped over to a shelf and grabbed a couple bottles, handing them to Twilight. “Here, for the coughs, this is the one to take, and that one for when a fever needs to break.” She avoided eye contact, “Twilight, I wish I could help you, but I've done all that I can do.”
As Twilight plodded back towards Ponyville, the three ponies staring hungrily at the bottle of cough cure weren't enough to distract her from her own disappointed inner monologue. Variations of What are we going to do now? replayed incessantly in her mind... Her hopes of a quick cure and a hero's welcome seemed very far away now.
She wasn't precisely running away from the problem, but Twilight knew that none of her books would give her a cure. Still, she read the days away, vague feelings of guilt growing about her faux action... but what else was there to do?
“Twi-Light,” She heard Spike calling from the next room, “Would you put down that book already? You've been reading all day and you haven't eaten anything! ... And when's the last time you slept?”
Twilight sighed. It was true. Even though she knew this marathon study session wouldn't be curing any diseases, she couldn't stop. To stop would be to admit defeat... and be forced to think of something else to do... and what else was there? So, she continued to study, at least finding a little comfort in the familiarity.
Shocking her out of her reverie, the page she had been looking at was suddenly blocked by a plate of – admittedly delicious looking – waffles. “I made waffles Twilight, don't you want some?”
Twilight looked up to see Spike proffering the plate as enticingly as he could manage. She was finally about to break down and accept when an odd look came over the baby dragon's face. Having spent quite some time around him, she sprung into action, grabbing the plate with her magic and ducking out of the way... Not a moment too soon, as a burst of green flame came flying out of his mouth.
Waffles momentarily forgotten, Twilight opened the letter: another from Princess Celestia, but no kingdom-wide decree this time. This was a personal note.
Twilight's eyes grew wide as she rapidly read the contents of the letter. Rolling it up and shoving it into a hastily donned saddlebag, she turned to Spike. “Quick spike, I need AJ, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity at Sugarcube Corner as soon as possible! The princess needs us!” With that, she rushed out the door.
Spike gave a longing backward glance at his magnificent waffles now getting cold on the floor – he had spent all morning getting them just right... But he knew the futility of ever getting Twilight to put the princess on hold, even if it was just for a minute to eat. With a sigh, he followed Twilight, running out the door to round up her friends.
* * *
Twilight's face began to burn with rage as she yelled once again at the locked door. “PINKIE you HAVE to come out! It's an order directly from Princess Celestia for pony's sake!”
“You don't want me to come out!” Came the reply from inside. “It won't end well, Twilight.”
“PINKIE! I. DON'T. CARE!” Twilight screamed back, “You are coming out of that room RIGHT NOW!”
As Twilight prepared to blast the door away with magic, her friends came trotting up the stairs. Rarity stopped Twilight's preparation with a simple “Darling, you can't possibly be serious. Blasting that door would just be unforgivably rude.”
Rainbow leaned in close to Twilight, whispering conspiratorially. “We've been working on a 'plan B' ... Just watch.”
Unsure what her friends were up to, Twilight did as asked, though still keeping the blast-the-door plan in reserve as 'plan C'. She watched Rainbow take a high, hovering position above the door, while Applejack readied her rope. Once they were in position, Rarity began her part, “Oh Pinkie Pie, won't you come down, we have just a lovely party ready, It would be simply dreadful if you missed it.”
Taking the silence from inside as encouragement, she continued, “Oh, and there's just ever too much cake, what ever shall we do with it all?”
That seemed to do the trick: the poor pony had been locked up in there without food for days now. Rainbow and Applejack passed a look as they heard locks being undone on the other side of the door. Slowly, the door opened with just a blue eye and a sliver of pink face peeking out... which was all the opportunity the plan needed.
Quickly, Rainbow rammed the door at full power, sending it flying open, and sending Pinkie flying back into the room. As Pinkie and Rainbow flew together towards the far wall, Applejack's rope whipped out, catching the pink pony before she even hit the floor. By the time Rainbow recovered from her crash, Pinkie was hog-tied and ready for kidnapping.
* * *
Pinkie Pie had been positioned as comfortably as could be arranged while still tied, and she now 'sat' around one of Sugarcube Corner's tables with the rest of the group. The Cakes looked on, a little bewildered, but being used to Pinkie's antics – and a little peeved at not having her help in the shop for the last several days – they weren't asking any awkward questions about the restraints.
“Now why did y'all round us all up here in the first place, Twi?” Applejack asked, which brought nods from around the table, though Pinkie – with hair now hanging straight down – just sat and gave Twilight a pleading look.
“The princess has requested our help,” she answered. “immediately,” she added, with a peeved glance at Pinkie. With a tug of magic, the scroll she received earlier floated out of her saddlebag, and she began to read, “My dear Twilight, my sister and I have exhausted all avenues of inquiry about this illness. All save one. However, this last is not to be taken lightly. We need you and your friends in Canterlot as soon as possible. The trains have stopped running because of the quarantine, so I've dispatched a chariot. It should arrive shortly. Please come to the castle with all haste. – Princess Celestia.”
Fluttershy and Rarity looked a little worried, Applejack and Rainbow Dash resolute, but Pinkie just looked resigned to her fate... which Twilight found more than a little disturbing.
“Y'all know more than yer tellin' us, dontcha, sugarcube?” Applejack prodded.
Pinkie just looked Applejack's way and nodded, shedding a tear before going back to her morose fascination with staring at the floor.
Twilight would have pressed the issue had it been any other pony... but despite Pinkie's inclination toward being a blabbermouth, if she got it in her head to keep something a secret, it would be a secret 'FOREVER', as the pink party pony herself would put it.
A loud clatter came from outside, and through the window, Twilight could see their ride arriving, one of the biggest sky chariots she had ever seen, drawn by a team of ten pegasus guards. Wow... the princess must have really meant it when she said 'with all haste,' huh? Turning to her friends, she called out, “Okay, grab Pinkie and let's go.”
Rarity looked panic stricken for a moment. “To Canterlot? Now? Without packing a single thing to wear?” More than one stern backwards glance came her way, and with a nervously forced laugh she followed the others out to the chariot.
* * *
Twilight couldn't help but to be impressed at the raw power of their transport – the wind was whipping by despite the heavy load... but it also left her a little worried. What could have happened to make the princess so desperate? What is this last 'avenue of inquiry'? She looked around at her friends – the elements of harmony – seated around her. Whatever it is, it must be big... so big the princesses don't think they could handle it on their own... What?
Twilight's mind continued to chase itself in circles as the countryside passed by underneath and Ponyville receded into the background.
Having extracted a Pinkie promise from the inventor of Pinkie promises, Applejack began untying the pink pony. Their ride was almost over in any case, with the chariot slowly coming down to ground level.
As the wheels touched pavement – not the castle entrance either, directly in the courtyard, Twilight noticed – the two royal sisters were already in evidence, waiting on the group's arrival.
Still wondering what it was they were called for, Twilight rushed up to Princess Celestia. While her other friends bowed respectfully, she ran right up and began babbling. “What's wrong Princess? We came as fast as we could! What do you need us to do? Why do –”
The princess cut her off with a look. “I've called you all here as a safeguard. My sister and I have decided that we need to speak with someone. He's very dangerous, and I believe you've met before – Discord.”
As her friends looked on in shock, Twilight realized just how desperate her mentor must be to resort to that. Was there really no other way?
Celestia continued, “I will be opening up a connection through his stone prison... It should be perfectly safe... but naturally we want to have backups in place.” She glanced to her side. “Princess Luna will be keeping an eye on me – in case I am overwhelmed.” She received a few shocked glances at the prospect of her being overwhelmed with anything. “And I want all of you keeping an eye on Discord... During this time, his prison will be weakened, and I need the six of you to ensure any escape plan of his is short lived.”
“Are you ready, my little ponies?” The princess asked.
A chorus of affirmation resounded in response, with Rainbow Dash going as far as to give a salute.
Princess Celestia paused for a moment looking slightly unsure, causing Twilight to wonder if she might actually be feeling reluctant to continue... but the moment passed, and Celestia's mask of a pleasant smile returned as she levitated out a familiar bejeweled box, eliciting a few sighs of relief when the six ponies in front of her saw the elements safe inside. “Very well then, please follow me to the gardens.”
* * *
As she approached the familiar statue, Princess Celestia's heart filled with dread. It wasn't often that the princess of the sun had occasion to feel fear... And though she strove to keep her regal mask in place, she worried that the fear was showing through.
Before long, she found herself beneath the towering statue – again an unpleasant change from usual – being quite nearly the tallest pony in Equestria, she wasn't accustomed to being towered over... and this accentuated her nervous fear all the more. Resolutely, though, she stared down the statue. Her ponies were dying from this plague, and she needed to do whatever it took – anything – to put an end to it.
She looked up at the draconequus's face. She had taken great pleasure in having a base attached to the petrified Discord, and having him placed in exactly the same spot in the gardens as before. She recalled getting a laugh out of how much the spirit of chaos would enjoy getting to look at the exact same scenery for a few thousand more years. Now, though, she almost wished she had been more kind... this was going to be difficult enough without the complication of a personal grudge.
Lost in thought, she hadn't noticed when her escorts brought themselves into position. Luna nudged her out of her reverie with a poke and a clearing of her throat. Celestia almost adopted a sheepish look – almost. Thousands of years of practice with a royal visage had her transforming that sheepish look into a regal nod, as if she had been planning to just stand and stare at the statue for a few minutes.
She glanced around. Her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends were gathered around behind Discord, all staring back at her expectantly. Her sister was at her side, a concerned look on her face, but Celestia could see that her sister was trying to be as supportive as possible. She, for one, understood how Celestia was feeling better than anypony else could.
Her pulse racing, Celestia forced herself to take a deep breath... here it goes. She leaned in and touched her horn to the statue, calling up a simple spell to help bypass the stone barrier, and with a gasp, she saw the world around her vanish.
* * *
At the princess's gasp, Twilight ran forward to help, only to be held back by a dark blue hoof.
“Let her be, Twilight Sparkle. She is not in peril yet, and this must be done.”
With a reluctant look at her teacher's pained face, she slowly returned to her place, keeping vigilant watch over the statue along with her friends.
* * *
A cacophony of light and noise assaulted Celestia's senses... and more than that, she realized, every sense was assaulted. She could feel alternating hot and cold, electric tingling, a tickling feather, a lover's touch, and something that felt like warm pudding sliding down her neck... meanwhile, tastes and smells whisked to and through her almost too fast to recognize, the smell of lemons, and the taste of chocolate, suddenly replaced by an acrid taste and smell, and replaced again by the smell of fresh coffee and the taste of cheese, only to be replaced again. Even her magical sense was going haywire, telling her that random magic was flying all around her.
Get a hold of yourself, she thought, It's all just illusion. Ignore it. Easier said than done. Every moment was a full sensory overload, and none of it made any sense. The fear came rushing back... what if she was to be trapped like this forever? No, she thought, Luna's there, she'll get me out... now just KEEP IT TOGETHER!
Suddenly, the assault on Celestia's senses died away, leaving complete absence of any sensation at all. She languished that way for a moment, completely lost, and still reeling from the overload earlier... and then a voice came lurking from the darkness...
“Oh my... look who's come to pay us a visit! If it isn't my old friend Celestia...” The voice seemed to move right up next to Celestia's ear. “Why, you should have called first, I would have set up a better welcome. ... Still, I did the best I could on such short notice; I trust you enjoyed it?”
“Discord,” Celestia managed to say, despite the nervous tightness in her chest.
“Oh, I'm soooo honored,” The voice replied, “She remembers my name! It's just wonderful. Perhaps she'd like to stop for a spot of tea?”
Celestia couldn't let fear get the best of her. She brushed aside thoughts of Discord's previous tea party, thousands of years ago... Not a pleasant experience. “Actually, Discord, I've come to ask a question.”
The voice from the black void returned. “No, my dear, I won't marry you. You're quite nice and all, and quite the beauty, but you see, you can just be so dreadfully dull and dreary.”
Celestia sighed. Dealing with Discord was always a challenging endeavor. “No, I've come to ask you about a disease spreading through Equestria, you see it's –”
“And there you go again!” The voice interrupted. “Being all boring and serious again. Really Celly – can I call you Celly? – Really, you should learn to lighten up a bit!”
Ignoring Discord's interruption, Celestia continued, “it's killing too many ponies... it's a disease that starts with–”
“Oh, I know all about your little plague running amok out there my dear,” the voice responded. “Just because you've got your minions to lock me up in this stone doesn't mean I can't keep tabs on the world. I'm the spirit of Chaos, after all. Locking up this physical body only does so much.”
“Yes,” the princess responded, “but about the disease...”
“And you can forget about that,” the voice came back snidely, “you won't see me interfering with my dear little neice's silly corpse games.”
“Niece?” Celestia asked in shock.
“What, you didn't know?” Discord had himself a little laugh. “Oh that's just too rich.”
Realizing the import of what Discord had just let slip, Celestia began to shut down the spell, exiting his world... only to have it locked in place.
“Oh dear, leaving already?” The voice taunted, “Won't you stay just a little longer? – I made a gift for you, after all... only fitting in return for your little gift of putting me back in my accustomed place...”
Suddenly, Celestia's world again exploded into a kaleidescope of sensation in all six senses... Only this time, they were all pain and unpleasantness. The colored lights were back, so bright they burned her eyes. A staccato screeching noise pained her ears. Bitter taste filled her mouth, accompanied by the smell of sulfur, quickly replaced by the exact smell and taste of hot, fresh blood – it was making her gag. She could feel her fur being pulled out, one hair at a time, as her legs tied themselves in knots.
Celestia cried out, only to feel herself flung to the side, and find some blue monster standing over her. She instinctively struck out in fear, only to see her magic diffuse along a shield barrier. ... Slowly, she came to her senses. That wasn't a monster, it was her sister, Luna. She had pushed her Celestia aside, breaking contact at the first sign of trouble, just as planned.
Celestia looked at the singed ring of earth around her sister's feet. The attack she had lashed out with had been a powerful one... She was glad to have had her sister in this position... few other ponies could have blocked such an attack. “I'm so sorry sister, I didn't mean to–”
Luna cut her off with an embrace. “Do not mention it my sister. We – I mean, I – remember the last time we had occasion to talk to the demon Discord. It is only natural to come out a little defensive.”
Celestia glanced back up at the statue of Discord, still struggling to catch her breath. Gradually, her mask of regal serenity returned, and she turned to Twilight Sparkle and her friends. “Thank you. Thank you all. I think I've learned something helpful here, and I won't be needing to talk to Discord again anytime soon.” She suppressed a shudder at the thought. “I'm afraid we'll need you to stay here in Canterlot for a time... I think we may have need of your special talents again soon.” She summoned her sister to come along with a glance, and headed towards the royal guard's headquarters. The guard hadn't seen much action so far in this crisis, but they were about to make up for that... she would need the biggest aerial search in Equestria's history to locate this niece of Discord.
Spending a vacation in Canterlot would normally have been pleasant – an opportunity to show her friends around town... except that Twilight had been stuck here for five weeks already, with no end in sight, and the great city was no exception to the depredations of the mysterious disease plaguing all of Equestria.
As they sat around the outdoor table at Twilight's favorite bistro, her friends' moods continued to worsen. Rainbow Dash and Applejack argued quietly, but heatedly about the merits of disobeying the princess and returning home. Twilight could only catch a few words of the whispered fight, 'harvest', 'traitor', 'sick filly', 'duty'... She continued to pointedly ignore it, turning to the rest of her friends. Pinkie was strangely morose, mane and tail still hanging straight down, all because of that strange premonition she had. Rarity seemed to be doggedly attempting to enjoy her stay in Canterlot, despite her worsening health and growing fatigue, chatting amicably with an unresponsive Fluttershy... and Fluttershy herself seemed to be just as bad off... she didn't show many obvious symptoms... even her coughs and sneezes were almost too quiet to catch... but Twilight could see the tiredness in her eyes.
Twilight Sparkle sighed. She wanted to assist the princess more than anypony... but they were wasting their time doing absolutely nothing here... and truth be told, she found herself getting very homesick for Ponyville. Twilight sipped her tea – not her usual blend she liked from this bistro. That had become unavailable, the waiter had apologized, due to quarantine. As she sipped, she thought, I wish the princess could finally get on with whatever she needed us to help with or at least tell us what it was! I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this little group together...
Twilight came out of her thoughtful mood as she noticed everypony else staring at the sky... Looking up as well, she was amazed and shocked. The sun turned a sullen reddish color, staining the sky. Impossibly, a full moon rose with startling speed and began tightly circling the sun. Despite both sun and moon in the sky, the stars somehow were also beginning to shine through.
Apprehension gripped Twilight. She turned to her friends. “Come on girls, I think we'd better go check on the princess.” Nods of nervous agreement met her statement, but as she turned to go, leaving a few bits on the table, a pegasus royal guard landed in front of her, looking very winded.
After a moment to catch his breath, the guard spoke. “Twilight Sparkle, the princess has requested the aid of you and your friends immediately at the quarantined graveyard south of town. She insisted it was very urgent.”
“At the graveyard?” Twilight asked in shock, turning back to look at her friends, who displayed looks of appalled confusion, except for Pinkie, who seemed to just wince, before turning back to her look of remorse. Noticing the guard still standing there staring directly at her, she replied, “Of course, we'll be there as soon as we can.”
With this, the guard seemed satisfied. He gave a curt nod, and zoomed away, presumably on some other errand.
Twilight turned back to her friends. “Let's go!” Together, under the strange, sick sky, they rushed towards the other side of town, hurrying to the princess's aid. In their haste, none of them noticed a plume of smoke beginning to rise from the valley below.
* * *
Princess Luna looked to her sister as they flew together. Her sister had donned her battle armor – it hadn't seen use since the day she was banished, and it still unnerved her slightly to see that gleaming white and gold plate armor, glistening with both sharp edges and countless magical enchantments and enhancements. At her sister's insistence, she had brought out her old armor she had worn as nightmare moon... less covering, but just as enchanted, and still just as intimidating. Still, she wished her sister would have waited for the elements of harmony to show up before rushing off to fight this threat. Luna remembered the last time the two sisters had fought a draconequus... They weren't to be taken lightly. The princess of the sun, however, had insisted on meeting the threat immediately after the report came in with a location. She thinks she has to defeat this monster as soon as she can, to save every life she can... but she's not thinking, 'what if we lose'? Still, messengers had been sent out to find and send the elements of harmony. All Celestia and Luna would have to do is delay the creature and keep it – her – in place.
The thought of meeting this new draconequus filled Luna with foreboding. Celestia had told her of the conversation with Discord, and Luna did not like the sound of this niece of Discord's 'corpse games'. She worried that this draconequus would make Discord seem friendly and likable by comparison. Too late to turn back now, she thought, as she saw the graveyard drawing near. I just hope we won't regret this later.
* * *
The sky burned an ugly grey-orange, as the two gleaming alicorn sisters glided down into the huge graveyard. By royal decree, contact with infected corpses was kept to an absolute minimum, which unfortunately meant that little respect could be given to the dead. Most of the 'graveyard' was just one big open pit, filled with a disturbingly large number of recently deceased ponies... the disease had been taking its toll.
The two alicorns looked around suspiciously. The royal pegasus guards had reported spotting a draconequus in this area, but none was in evidence at the moment. The tension in the air was palpable as the two sisters slowly stalked around the edge of the pit. Many of the corpses seemed to have been badly abused. Was this the nature of the creature's 'corpse games'?
At a noise from behind, both sisters whipped quickly around facing – nothing. Weary of this game, Celestia called out, resorting to her rarely used royal Canterlot voice, “SHOW YOURSELF, FEIND.”
Slowly, a few bodies in the pit began to move, rising up... and then flopping sickly down again as a she-draconequus rose from beneath them and stretched luxuriantly. Despite their random nature, one draconequus was much like another – this one also sported a lion paw and snake tail... all the same parts as her uncle, Discord. This one, though, was more curvaceous, and distinctly feminine. Her fur seemed to be slicked down with some kind of oil, giving her a darker, glistening appearance.
“Oh come now, did you really have to disturb my nap?” The beast asked.
“You've been sickening and killing my little ponies long enough,” Celestia replied, her urgency showing in her voice, “It stops NOW.”
“Stop? Whatever do you mean my dear?” The draconequus asked, with a slight hiss, “I've only just started... and look how wonderfully it's going!” She bent down and picked up one of the corpses, which was once a blue and white unicorn mare. She hugged the corpse tightly, giving it a decidedly unchaste kiss. “I do just love these little ponies like this; how could you ask me to stop?”
Reeling with revulsion, Princess Celestia sent a blast of magic towards the draconequus, which upon striking lit the entire graveyard with a piercingly bright burning glow.
As the glow dimmed, it again became possible to see the draconequus, utterly unharmed, but looking wistfully at her arms where the corpse she had been caressing had been incinerated. “How could you?” She cried out, in seemingly genuine distress, “How could you!” Rage lighting up her face, she rushed towards the two alicorns.
Strange flashes of light flashed across the dully lit sky as Twilight raced to Princess Celestia's aid. She could feel the immensity of the magical power being unleashed ahead, almost painfully intense even at this distance. She ran on, struggling to keep her group together, with Rainbow constantly pulling ahead, and with Fluttershy and Pinkie constantly falling behind... Fluttershy apparently out of her normal timidity, but Pinkie seemed to be almost limping. Pinchy knee... Twilight thought, something scary is about to happen... She looked ahead. The flashes were brighter and closer, and were they higher up? Well, now we know what that was all about.
The six friends crested one last hill, and before them sprawled Canterlot's quarantine burial grounds. Many of the corpses had obviously been desecrated... used as some kind of sick playthings... but the grounds were devoid of any sign of life, leaving Twilight confused for a moment. She was sure this was where the message said to go... and she was sure this was where the flashes and magical discharges were coming from...
Suddenly, a bright flash from above lit up the scene. A wave of magic resembling twinkling starlight was dissipating away from an invisible shield around... a draconequus! Even from the ground, Twilight could tell this wasn't Discord... it – she – looked distinctly different, despite the same general shape. It seemed to notice the newly arrived ponies, and simply froze in the air, chanting and waving arms around... seeming to be preparing for a very complicated spell.
Twilight shouted out a warning, “Princess, look out!”
Celestia didn't seem to notice. She, too, had an intense look of concentration on her face as she hovered in midair. Princess Luna had been angling behind the draconequus, looking to land a sneak attack from the back, she turned though, at Twilight's call, to see what was the matter... just at the wrong time.
Celestia's tightly-channeled solar flare tore through the sky, roaring with tightly contained, unfathomable power. It followed a curving path, down from the sun, directly at the draconequus. The draconequus, who had seemed to be engrossed in casting a spell, suddenly looked up, and rather than giving the flare the fear it was due, she only gave a little smirk...
With a flash, the draconequus teleported herself out of the path of the beam of solar fire... leaving it now headed directly for a distracted Princess Luna.
Luna was not a pony to be trifled with. Thousands of years of experience and some of the most powerful magic in the world saw to that. Casting aside the star-powered attack she had been preparing, she quickly dodged to the side, calling on the power of the moon for the strongest shield she could muster.
Her intended target now teleported away, Celestia's heart skipped a beat as she suddenly noticed who was in her flare's path. Urgently, she veered the deadly beam off the the side.
Twilight watched from the ground in stunned horror as Celestia's beam of solar energy veered to the side... the same side that the princess of the night had dodged toward. Another savagely bright flash lit up the sky as Twilight saw the tightly focused flare cut through Luna's shield.
Caught in the beam, Luna was slammed to the ground, landing within Twilight's view. Her starry mane and tail were gone, along with most of her fur, and even a lot of skin. Her sleek black armor was glowing red and slowly melting around her. Her mangled face showed only a tight cringe of pain, as wisps of smoke rose from the new crater she made upon landing.
Twilight and her friends stared in silent shock, disbelief and horror on their faces. A piercing cry tore through the sky, “LUNA!” as Celestia went into a steep dive, blind to all else but her suffering sister.
Still high in the sky, Celestia's plummeting form came to a sudden stop and slightly reversed, as a rapidly rising draconequus impacted from below.
Twilight looked on helplessly as the two fell down towards the ground, much more slowly this time. The draconequus's mouth was clamped over the princess's face – the only gap in her armor – locked on tightly, with an eagle claw gripped tightly on the alicorn's horn and a tail wrapped around her wings.
As the two entwined combatants fell, Celestia struggled. First, her horn lit up with a dazzlingly light glow, but the glow seemed to only travel down the draconequus's claw and dissipate. The pony princess struggled physically, but could find no leverage, and the draconequus continued to stay latched on doggedly.
The two hit the ground with a thud, a small cloud of dust rising from the impact. Twilight was already running to help, horn aglow and friends close behind. As she approached, and the dust cleared though, she saw what she knew would haunt her for many years to come. The draconequus was still latched on to her mentor, the alicorn's entire face trapped in the creature's mouth. As Twilight's first magical attacks reflected harmlessly off of a shield around the two, the princess of the sun gave a few final twitches, and then lay still.
Twilight's world began to spin around her... no, that wasn't it... it was only the shadows spinning... Twilight looked up; the sun was zooming around the sky, taking a wide spiraling path from its zenith down to the horizon... Which could only mean... Her teacher, her mentor, the princess of the sun and ruler of all Equestria... was dead. Twilight's stunned horror lasted only a moment. This had to be stopped, but how?
Princess Luna rose shuddering from her crater nearby with a groan, attracting attention both from Twilight's group and from the draconequus. Her armor had cooled and solidified in a badly distorted shape, and she herself looked as though she should hardly be alive, much less standing, shaky with rage and pain. The sun now behind the horizon, the sky began to look much like a normal night sky, with a full moon high overhead.
“TIA!” Luna cried out blindly, “Tia, where are you?” She received only a sickeningly mirthful laugh in return.
Luna's eyes were long gone, but began to glow nonetheless, and she shouted out, in a surprisingly strong voice, “You will pay for this vile beast! Show yourself!”
The draconequus rose from her fresh kill, and responded, “Oh, come now, I much prefer the name 'Pestilence'. I may be vile, but I do like to think of myself as above the beasts.” Quickly, she dodged to the side.
One of the stars in the sky suddenly changed from a twinkling point to laser-like beam, vaporizing a large chunk of ground, and several deceased ponies. Celestia's armor still protected her body, which now lay at the bottom of a shallow crater, missing most of its wings and face, which were unprotected.
“I do so love the new look, Luna my dear,” Pestilence taunted, “No fur, no tail to hide the naughty bits... very risqué!”
Another shaft of starlight shot down and annihilated the area where the voice had come from... Which had only been a pony corpse animated by the draconequus's magical puppet strings from above.
Grinning at her blind target, Pestilence dove down silently, dropping like a rock – directly towards Luna's now unprotected neck.
At the point of impact, a cracking sound brought horror anew to the six ponies watching. As Pestilence rose from her second alicorn kill of the day, the moon rolled down from the sky, seeming to land on the southern horizon and stick there. The stars all began to slough off from the sky in different directions, like raindrops running down a window.
Twilight could scarcely breath at this point. This had to be a bad dream or a warning or something... it couldn't be real. It couldn't be real.
As she Twilight stared on in denial, Rainbow Dash was the first to respond, “The elements! Come on! We've got to get to the elements!”
This roused the group to action, and they began running back toward Canterlot, to the hall where the elements were kept... Only to have their path blocked by the bulk of the draconequus. This close, the smell of her was overpowering, cloyingly sweet, with a distinct undertone of decay. “I can't let you do that darlings,” Pestilence intoned sweetly.
Twilight and her friends faced off against the draconequus, Pestilence, blocking their route to the elements of harmony. “Come on girls, we've got to get past her,” Twilight said, “As a team, we're unstoppable.”
“Oh, yes, and about that...” Said Pestilence, looking directly into Twilight's eyes with a predatory look... Without warning, the draconequus sprung for Twilight, only to be blocked just as quickly by Applejack.
This didn't faze Pestilence in the slightest though, who simply scooped up the brave earth pony, carrying her up into the sky. A strangely distorting magical shield went up around the two as the draconequus said, “Oh well, I had wanted the ringleader... but you'll do... as long as I have one...” She coiled her body tightly around Applejack, still floating in midair, and moved in close, face to face.
* * *
Applejack struggled fiercely against the draconequus's coiled body, but push as she might, even with all her considerable strength, she couldn't budge. She stared defiantly at the monster's face as it hovered in front of her, but her defiance began to wilt into confusion and fear as the face drew slowly closer and closer. She arched her neck back, trying to get further from that face – she could smell the thing's breath now... sickening sweet like rotten apples, but with an undertone of the stench of dead things... she did not want that face coming any closer!
Closer it came though, forked tongue flicking out to lick its lips. Applejack felt her body trying to make panting breaths of fear, but she clamped down, holding her breath against the stink in front of her. That horrible face was only inches away now, and she found herself trapped, staring into its eyes, unable to look away as it closed the final distance. She could see flashes of light and color around her peripherally, she could hear muffled shouting... but she couldn't manage to look away from those eyes.
Applejack shuddered and felt a little sick as noses made contact and she felt something flicking up against her own lips. She could still smell the awful stench of good things gone bad on the creature's breath, and she tried to recoil away, but she was already as far back as she could get. The tongue at her lips suddenly forced its way through, horribly strong. Applejack could taste it as it explored her own mouth... and she did not want to think about where those awful flavors had come from! In desperation, she bit down on it as hard as she could... but it didn't seem to have any effect at first; it was tough.
Her bite did have an effect though... the horrible foreign organ responded by shoving in deeper... impossibly deeper. Her entire mouth was suddenly full of it, and she began to gag as she felt it in her throat, still sliding slowly deeper in. The draconequus's eyes in front of her grew half-lidded as the tongue shoved in deeply enough for the pain to start.
Applejack's gagging intensified tenfold as she began to feel something writhing around, stirring her insides in a way that should never happen, but she stopped even noticing it as the pain started. That tongue was thrashing inside her, crushing things, tearing things, rearranging her organs and wrapping around them.
Slowly the realization hit her... she wasn't going to survive this. And worse, she would be leaving her friends crippled, with only five elements. Still with her eyes fixated by the draconequus, Applejack's look of shock, fear, and pain gave way to sadness. She didn't want it to end this way... she didn't want to let her friends down...
* * *
Twilight looked into her friend's eyes as Pestilence planted a firm kiss on Applejack's mouth. Applejack's expression quickly changed to complete surprise, but then quickly to pain as she began to make gagging motions.
Twilight could see Pestilence's tongue slide deeply – far too deeply – into Applejack's mouth, and she took action, sending a flurry of magical bolts against the draconequus... all of which curved around the shield, continuing on afterwards as if they had missed.
Twilight sent every kind of magical attack she knew at the strange shield... but everything was bending around it, not even making contact. She wasn't the only one intent on saving Applejack, though, she saw. Rainbow Dash had flown up and was now smashing herself against the shield, futilely trying to break through to her friend. This made Twilight's task more difficult; she had to try and make sure her attacks wouldn't strike the brash pegasus.
As she began to tire, sweat dripping down her face, Twilight looked back into Applejack's face. Her friend had lost her pleading look, and now just looked remorseful, as remorseful as possible while still gagging on a draconequus's tongue, anyway.
Rainbow was now screaming Applejack's name, beating herself bloody against the infernal shield blocking her from rescuing her friend. Again and again she rammed herself as fast as she could against the shield, tears streaming, but the shield showed no signs of weakening.
Twilight watched, despair growing, as the color faded out of Applejack, slowly turning her grey as she had been under the influence of Discord. As the last bit of color seeped out of her, she closed her eyes and finally stopped the sickening gagging motion she had been making since her unwanted kiss with Pestilence began.
Rainbow continued to bash herself against the shield, either unable to see what had happened through her tears or not caring. Twilight couldn't tell which.
The draconequus set down on the inside of her own shield holding the now-dead Applejack (too) closely, and stared down at Twilight, “I do like her so much better this way, don't you dear?” She gave Applejack's face a lick with her horribly long, horribly stained tongue. “This one was so delicious... I can't wait to taste the rest.”
Suddenly, the danger became apparent to Twilight. The shield must be time-based! Set for a given amount of time, it would stay there for that time, no matter what, but only for that time. She had to get her friends out of there before the spell ended!
Turning, she screamed desperately, “RUN! Get away!” Pinkie Pie and Rarity needed no further encouragement, they dashed off together towards Canterlot. Fluttershy was already missing... she must have hidden or fled already. Rainbow Dash, though, was still doggedly smashing into the barrier.
Twilight sent a burst of magic at the colorful pegasus, knocking her away from the shield, and followed it up with a magically boosted voice, with a touch of command spell, “GO!”
Rainbow Dash had just recovered from the magical shove as she heard Twilight's voice, and despite the magical command within it, she hesitated, looking conflicted and glancing back and forth between Twilight and Applejack, whose body was now being obscenely abused by Pestilence. Disregarding Twilight's command – an impressive feat given the magic she had laced it with – Rainbow redoubled her futile pounding against the shield.
Twilight urgently raced through her mind, trying to think of some way to save her pegasus friend. Time was running out, she was sure, and she couldn't afford for Rainbow to still be here when that shield went down... Finally, a plan came to her. Grabbing her rainbow-colored tail with a telekinetic grip, Twilight hauled her friend back to the ground next to her, pushing the pegasus to the ground and looking her right in the eyes, “Rainbow! Our other friends need your help, and I do not want to lose them, too. I need you to keep them safe for me!” Twilight scowled back at Pestilence and growled as menacingly as she could manage, “I'llhandleher.”
With a final glance at what used to be Applejack, a hoarse cry, and a renewed burst of tears, Rainbow flew off as quickly as possible, leaving Twilight alone with Pestilence. The draconequus looked at Twilight hungrily, still playing with Applejack's body... Twilight prepared to flee herself, but stopped as she caught a glance of gleaming white and gold armor.
She turned back around, facing Pestilence, now resolute. She wouldn't let that monster abuse these bodies like the others. Worrying that the shield spell might end any moment, she began preparing a massive teleportation spell. She would need to teleport four ponies – two of them extra-large – an enormous distance... But where? Seeing Applejack's body made up her mind. Sweet Apple Acres. She would be safe there, able to regroup and form a plan...
Twilight was almost finished preparing her teleportation spell, when a popping sound announced the end of Pestilence's shield. The draconequus came roaring down from above, terrifyingly fast. Straining with the effort, Twilight put the last pieces in place, and vanished just before the draconequus smashed into the ground where Twilight had been.
* * *
Pestilence picked herself up out of the draconequus-shaped hole she had just made, seething with anger. She looked around for the little purple unicorn. That impudent little filly would pay for this trickery! Already Pestilence's mind was working over the pleasant possibilities of just how to collect that payment, when as she looked around, she noticed the absence of a few of her favorite new toys... The two alicorns and her delicious little earth pony were missing! Nowhere to be seen! Now she howled with rage. Nopony can do this and get away with it! She began sniffing around the ground, finding Twilight's trail obviously ending where she had teleported away... but four others trailing off in different directions, yes... those she could follow.
The draconequus stalked off on the trail of one of the ponies... the white one, she thought, getting a whiff of expensive perfume. She would follow these ponies, and she would find the purple one... and she would get her toys back, and more, many more. Rage now replaced with her accustomed predatory gleam, she pursued her quarry.
* * *
Twilight Sparkle struggled to remain standing in the field just in front of the Apple Family's home. She was trembling, her horn – and indeed all her bones – felt like they were on fire, and her insides felt upside down. Shakily, she looked around. Applejack's body was there, still grey. The now wingless body of Celestia was still there, in its glimmering armor, and nearly unrecognizable now, Luna's abused form could also be seen.
Turning her head around left Twilight more than a little dizzy, and now a crushing headache was making itself felt. One slow, shaky step at a time, Twilight made her way towards the farmhouse door... she had to get help... Almost halfway there, her front leg gave way, sending her crashing to the ground. Oddly realistic stars spun in her eyes as she made a determined effort to stand again. She succeeded in standing, only to lose focus and fall again, this time totally unconscious.
Twilight Sparkle slowly awoke to the smell of coffee brewing and golden sunlight pouring in through a window, making the specks of dust in the air sparkle prettily. Still half asleep, she breathed a contented sigh... This bed wasn't her own, but it was very comfortable... with a blanket that had a green and white checkered pattern with apples on it. Hm, she thought groggily, must have spent the night at Applejack's... rough night. I still feel tired... what happened?
Twilight thought back, trying to remember why she had spent the night at Applejack's farm... When it hit her. No, that had to have been a dream, just a nightmare! She jumped out of bed – or tried to rather. At the first movement, the pains in her bones awoke all over again, making her cry out. She quickly resolved not to try that again... but the pain still being present... that had to mean it was real...
Despite any evidence to the contrary, Twilight almost managed to convince herself that it was indeed all just a bad dream, as Big Macintosh pushed open the door and walked in, carrying a tray. His once huge frame was still tall, but now gaunt and thin from exposure to the disease. Spike's letters had mentioned that the whole Apple Family had come down with the plague, but Twilight had never expected it to take such a toll on the strong earth pony.
She had to know the truth. As Big Macintosh set down the tray next to the bed, she asked, slightly surprised at the weakness of her voice, “Applejack?”
As a short wince crossed Big Mac's face, before being quickly replaced by his normal stoic look, Twilight already knew the answer she dreaded to hear, “Eeyup... I saw to what needed to be done.” His eyes looked more than a little pitying. “They're all in the family plot up on the hill.”
Twilight's heart sank, and for a long while, she merely retreated into herself, losing all interest in Big Mac's tray of food, and in his efforts to get her to eat some. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of her friend, now gone forever... and thoughts of her mentor, who had seemed like the anchor of Twilight's life... she had always been there, and she always would be... except, now she wasn't.
As the day's events replayed over and over in Twilight's mind, she came upon a sickening revelation. It was all her fault.
If she had gone to get the elements first, rather than going straight to Celestia... If she hadn't called out that stupid stupid warning at exactly the wrong time...
She was brought out of her reverie by a hoof brushing the tears from her eyes. She followed the bony red leg up to see Big Mac's face looking down on her, still there, still caring. Now that she looked closer, she could see the red eyes and tousled hair... It looked like the stoic earth pony hadn't had a very good night either.
She spoke, or rather whispered, as her voice was still weak, “My friends – my other friends – they ran away... we have to find them!”
Big Mac just looked down at her and shook his head, “Enope. You're in no shape to travel, and I can't leave yet. You want to go get your friends, you've got to get better first... and you want to get better, you got to start by eating this.” He took a bowl of soup off the tray, and though it was more than a little cold by now, it still smelled delicious.
He moved to feed it to her, but she brushed him away. “I can do it, don't worry.” She lifted the bowl with her magic – or rather, she tried, only to wince in renewed pain from her horn, and only a few weak sparks to show for her effort.
“Eeyup. You probably shouldn't be trying that just yet,” Big Mac said.
Magic overload. Her teachers at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns had taught her about that. When a unicorn overreached the limits of her power like Twilight had with her long distance teleport, it could cause real harm... sometimes permanently. She groaned with a little dismay and self-pity as Big Macintosh lifted the bowl up to her again... but didn't refuse this time. Slowly she ate her meal, a delicious, if now tepid, tomato-based soup, a few mild biscuits, and some juice... evidently the coffee she smelled earlier wasn't for her. Her stomach complained a little at even what she had now, and she decided that was for the best.
As she finished eating, she noticed the sun going down... that was odd, it had been rising as she woke up. “It's sunset already?” She asked Big Macintosh.
“Eeyup,” He replied, “Well, sorta. Sun's been acting a mite strange the last few days. It just circles around the horizon bobbin' up and down above and below it every few hours.”
“Few days?” Twilight asked in reflexive surprise, “How long was I out!?!” She lost Big Mac's reply, however, as the enormity of the disaster manifested itself. The sun was out of control... the whole world was out of control. Her grief had been personal, all about what Celestia, and even Luna had meant to her... but now she felt the loss of them to the world...
Her anxious thoughts of the fate of the world fought a losing battle against her full belly and tired body's insistence on sleep... She mumbled a few objections as Big Macintosh pulled the covers back over her, but she fell asleep before seeing him pick up the tray and walk out the door.
Book 2: Equestria Lost Chapter 2 (Before the fall of Celestia and Luna)
Apollo looked up as he heard the first cracks begin to spread. Little chunks of ice were already trickling down, and cracks across the ceiling were spreading... He kicked his assistant as hard as he could, the betrayed-looking white pegasus sliding backwards as Apollo Dawn was forced forwards, sliding away from each other despite their cleated horseshoes. Both ponies slid to relative safety just in time as a huge chunk of the ice from the ceiling collapsed into the narrow passage, blocking it almost completely, but not crushing the two.
As the noise died down and the snow-dust settled, Apollo rushed to the tiny remaining crack that the passage had been reduced to. His faithful assistant was on the other side, shaken, and electric blue mane frazzled, but otherwise unharmed. “Albie!” He called.
Albatross shook himself, short mane falling back into its accustomed place. He laughed, albeit a little nervously, “Heh, close one, eh?”
Dawn grinned approvingly at his assistant. The colt's talent might simply be flying long distances tirelessly, but though Albie didn't know it, one day he would be Dawn's replacement. “Head on back to camp... there's no more you can do here.”
A slightly worried look crossed Albatross's face, “You'll be okay without me?”
Dawn put on his most dashing face, “Of course. Don't you know who I am?”
Albatross gave a salute, somewhat ruined by the eye-roll that accompanied it, “You're the boss!” With that he turned, carefully ascending back to the entrance.
Apollo Dawn stepped back away from the crack, turning toward the continually descending ice cavern, and his confident look melted into trepidation. Still, he brushed his light grey mane out of his eyes and gazed resolutely down the passage. Now, the only way out – if there was one – was through, not back... And he hadn't become the most famous explorer in recent history by turning back when things turned rough! He moved on, more carefully now, his washed-out blue fur blending with the washed-out blue light filtering in from above through the thick ice.
Before long, he was finding the occasional gem encased in the ice... and the air grew even more frigid. Excellent. He was drawing close to his goal. Tightening his parka against the chill, he continued onward, now paying special attention to staying quiet. This mission would require stealth.
The gems embedded in the floor and walls... and even ceiling now... were becoming even more frequent, nearly to the point of where there were more precious stone than ice. As Apollo rounded yet another bend in the passage, he was confronted with a fearful, yet magnificent sight. Before him lay an enormous cavern in the ice, glittering with an uncountable wealth of gems. The distant walls were vanishingly far, difficult to even distinguish in the vague, shimmering light. The ceiling rose high above, letting in more light than the passage had – the ice in the ceiling must be much thinner.
What truly made the view awe-inspiring, though, was the cavern's inhabitant: resting on her side in the center, the great ice-dragon of the lonely wastes. She was dark blue and purple, according to legend, but she was covered with a thick layer of icy armor – as ice dragons often were – and so looked to be pure white all over... And next to her head glimmered the object Apollo had spent the last three years searching tirelessly for: glinting in the odd light of the cavern, the lost stone of Moonfeather, the largest blue diamond known to pony kind, stolen over eight hundred years ago by this very dragon.
One careful step, one nervous breath at a time, Apollo Dawn crept towards his goal, taking extreme care to be utterly silent, lest he wake the sleeping menace. As he drew closer, the ice dragon began to tower over him, even in her reclined pose. The closer he came, the colder the cavern became. A thin layer of frost began to build up around his face as his own breath froze. He began to shiver, wincing at the slight scratching noises of his cleated shoes on the gems in the floor... Yet he continued on, not the most famous explorer in Equestria for nothing, he reminded himself.
Finally, he reached his goal. Eagerly he grasped the enormous gem... almost the size of his head... But his half-frozen hooves betrayed him, and the gem slipped out of his shaky grip, clattering noisily to the floor. He cringed as he turned around to find himself face-to-face with a truly enormous – and very open – slitted yellow eye.
The eye narrowed, still remaining larger than the terrified pony in front of it. Apollo Dawn put on his best 'nothing to see here' face, quickly grabbing the gem and shoving it securely into his saddlebag. The giant eye widened, pupil contracting, as Apollo's own dark blue eyes darted around looking for an escape route.
With an ice-dragon's enraged roar, Apollo took off across the ice, wings beating furiously to add extra speed to his low-traction escape route... And then furiously backpedaling as a huge ice-studded tail slammed down in front of him, spreading cracks all over the floor. He took to wing, flying for the far wall just as a gout of frost-breath encased everything he had just been standing next to in solid ice. He flitted as fast as he could around the now very confining-feeling cavern, narrowly avoiding strike after strike from the ice dragon's formidable natural armament. He began to grow a little concerned – some might call it terrified. He wasn't the fastest nor the most agile pegasus ever... sooner or later, one of the dragon's attacks would strike home, and he'd be done for... And the only escape route he knew of was blocked!
As he dodged yet another swipe from the huge claws, only to barely avoid the dragon's frigid jaws, he shot upwards, toward the sunlight coming through the thinner ice above... and an idea came to him. He continued on towards the ceiling, only making a slight detour to avoid another blast of frost-breath. Once he reached the ceiling, he turned, expecting to need to taunt the beast.
He seemed to have underestimated the dragon's rage, however. She had already followed him in taking wing, and was only barely behind him as he turned to taunt. Quickly, he pushed off of the ceiling, down into a daring dive straight at the ice dragon. Cleated horseshoes raking along the dragon's iced hide, he barely slipped by along the dragon's back. He continued his dive as the dragon continued her fast upward thrust. As the dragon burst through the ice at the ceiling, he turned, angling along the floor to avoid the huge chunks of ice raining down from above.
He looked back at the dragon, now crawling back through the hole she had just made in the ceiling... and through the hole he could see sunlight! Real, unfiltered sunlight, and real clouds! He began working his way back towards the hole, enraged ice dragon still hot – or cold, rather – on his tail.
* * *
Albatross was looking forward to the hot cocoa that would be waiting for him in camp... That cave was so cold he was sure his beautiful feathers were frozen solid. As he reached the edge of the rough camp, a few other ponies peeked out of their tents. Most of them didn't seem concerned at him coming back alone. They trusted Apollo to always make it back. He smiled, looking forward to telling them what happened over a warm mug inside a (relatively) warm tent.
He looked back over the ice field, wondering how Apollo was doing, only to be surprised at actually getting an answer. A light blue blur that could only be the famous explorer shot straight up out of the ice at top speed, curving quickly toward camp, filling Albatross with relief... which was quickly replaced by fear as a truly enormous ice dragon followed, shooting up out of the ice, glistening in the wan sunlight for the first time in ages.
Thoughts of warm mugs abandoned, Albatross shouted to the crew, “The toboggans, get 'em out and get 'em going!”
Most of the others had also seen the dragon erupting from the ice, and needed no further urging. Albatross thanked his lucky stars that Quartermaster had packed the silly things. He had laughed at the time, but he should have known by now to trust the old goat. As the first few slid out, carrying his teammates to safety down the glacier, he cast a nervous glance backward. He couldn't make out Apollo anymore, not against the background of the massive dragon closing in fast... which was bad, because this would require split-second timing... all the others were already on their way down, but he had to get his last toboggan moving at just the right time and speed to match up with Apollo's approach... He placed himself in position, looking back with intense care.
“Okay,” He said to himself, “Five... Four... Three... Aurgh!” A huge weight slammed into his back sending the sled careening forward.
“Perfect timing, as usual, Albie!” Apollo shouted as the sled accelerated downward.
Albatross took one glance backward at the still gaining ice dragon before turning his complete attention to steering across the treacherous glacier, “Yeah, heh, perfect, of course!”
They skidded together dangerously fast across the rough ice, narrowly avoided crevasses and outcroppings, and narrowly outrunning the approaching dragon. Luckily, her ice armor was designed for brawling, not for speed. It was holding her back just enough for them to outrun her.
Apollo laughed at the impotent rage of the dragon as the slid even further away from her... but his laugher was cut off suddenly as their toboggan hit the tree line. It continued to slide on the soft covering of pine needles, but the forest floor was no substitute for snow when it came to steering. As both ponies braced for impact, the sled struck a tree root, sending them both flying deeper into the forest.
The two wasted little time picking themselves back up, of course. There was still an enraged ice dragon to be concerned about. They ran on as fast as they could, using the forest as cover. As they passed a massive rock outcropping, a massive pair of pale green hooves grabbed them both, hurling them around and behind the rock.
Albatross's pleased outburst of “Pebbles!” Was muffled by yet another pair of hooves, bright pink this time. Shimmer Spell motioned for them to be quiet, and engaged an invisibility spell before peeking over the top of the outcropping again.
He shoved the pink hooves out of his mouth, with a look of mixed resentfulness and thankfulness at Splints, and whispered up to Shimmer Spell, “What's going on?”
With her invisibility spell active, he couldn't see it of course, but he felt the annoyed eye roll in the tone of her voice just the same: “Shimmer Spell can see the dragon. It stopped at the tree line and seems like it doesn't want to pass... but it's blasting the nearby trees with ice for all it's worth.”
Albatross heard the unicorn drop down next to him, as her spell started to, well, shimmer, letting her become visible again.
“And that's why I'm glad we added you to the team, Shimmer,” Apollo said. “You really are the best magical unicorn ever!”
Shimmer looked coy for a moment, batting her light blue mane out of the way, but it was obvious to everypony present that she simply melted in the warm glow of Apollo's praise. Unable to resist that adorable look on his favorite unicorn, Albatross gave his fiancé a quick kiss, which she returned enthusiastically.
“Come on now, everypony,” Apollo continued with a sharp glance at the love birds, “Even if the dragon stops pursuing us, we're stranded far from the nearest town, and we've lost all our supplies. We'd best get moving.”
“Did you at least get the goods this time?” Splints asked, her Trottingham accent coming through thickly, “I'd really like to get paid this time...” She leveled a withering look, not at Apollo, oddly, but at Quartermaster, who had been in charge of team payroll.
“Did I ever!” Apollo proclaimed, drawing the magnificent gem from his bag. For a moment, all seven pairs of eyes reflected only the amazing, glittering gem held in Apollo's hooves, each widening in amazement. Quickly though, he shoved it back into the bag, “this is no place for celebrating though... let's get back to town!” As he began to walk, he looked sidelong at his crew... they deserved it. “And when we get there, first round's on me!”
Trailed by a now more enthusiastic crew, Apollo began the trek back to town. It had taken eight days to reach their camp, but two of those had been ascending the glacier, and they had just bypassed that bit of arduous tundra by their hectic sleigh ride... and the return trip would be mostly downhill. Albatross hoped to see the lights of the town within five days: they would be hungry, but they'd make it. They always did when Apollo was in charge.
* * *
Albatross looked over at his team leader. The blue pegasus's cutie mark was a new moon, only showing the slightest sliver of white, which he always said represented him shining the light of knowledge to the darkest parts of the world... but the way albatross saw it, Apollo's true talent was in inspiring his team and keeping them together against all odds and against all adversity.
As Twilight's eyes slowly opened, she was confronted with a pair of big light blue eyes. Before she could properly process this, a shout of “She's awake!” awoke her fully. Carefully, she propped herself up on her front hooves, successful this time. Her pain level was already much reduced from earlier. She looked down at the little earth pony filly, still standing with her front hooves propped up on the bed and staring at Twilight. She had seen this filly before, but couldn't quite remember her name. Bright yellow coat and a white mane... with a big shining sun for a cutie mark... what was that filly's name?
“Now Sunny,” Big Macintosh said as he entered the room, “Y'all need to let miss Twilight get her rest. She's been through a lot.” He turned to Twilight, “Please 'scuse little Sunny Daze here. She's been staying here ever since the fire.”
Twilight's face scrunched up in confusion. “Fire?”
Sunny Daze's face lit up with the realization. “She doesn't know!”
“Know what?” Twilight asked.
Big Macintosh looked uncomfortable, but Sunny didn't seem to be encumbered. She elaborated enthusiastically, “Oh, like the whole town burned down! Almost everything! And the firefighter ponies were all sick so it just spread and spread and it was SOOO scary and I ran away and–”
Big Macintosh's hoof covered the filly's mouth. “Now Sunny, miss Twilight here don't need to be bothered with that just now.”
It was too late for that though, as Twilight replied, “My library! Oh my gosh! Are my books okay? Wait... Spike! Is Spike okay? ... Wait, silly question, dragons are fireproof! What about all the other ponies?”
Big Mac hung his head low. “Eeyup... library's gone... haven't seen Spike since the fire, but he probably made it out... and... well...”
Somehow, the little yellow filly was unperturbed at all of this. “The fire got a lot of the ponies who survived the sickness. Only a few left now, and they mostly left for other towns.”
She didn't know if it was just the combined shock of all the news she had gotten recently, or if somehow she was going a little crazy – as had been known to happen on occasion – but Twilight somehow thought it fitting that Ponyville should fall along with the princesses, along with the sun and the moon, and along with Applejack.
“Come on now, little Sunny, miss Twilight needs some time to think about all this,” Big Macintosh said, and ushered the filly out the door.
Twilight laid back in the bed and sulked. Time to think was the last thing she needed. Her thoughts kept going back to a scorched Luna, to a twitching Celestia, and most of all, to the apologetic eyes of her friend Applejack at her end. ... And more than that... her thoughts kept returning to the awful fact... it was HER fault. She could have prevented it all. She felt a strange hatred growing in her... a hatred of herself. She loathed herself, blaming herself for all that went wrong. She could have saved the day... could have fixed everything... except she had been so blatantly stupid. What did she plan to do when she got to Celestia's side without the elements anyway? Why did she cry out that stupid warning? Surely Celestia was already watching that beast...
And suddenly, Twilight's anger found a new target. Pestilence. She would dedicate her life to hunting down and ending that loathsome creature, she thought. Then maybe everything could be better... maybe then she could forgive herself. She entertained herself with thoughts of revenge most foul for a time... before coming to the bitter realization that she couldn't get revenge. Even the princesses together couldn't stop that thing... what made her think she had the slightest chance?
With that, Twilight fell into a deep depression. There was nothing left for her, nothing left for Ponyville, nothing left for the world. Why try? Why do anything?
Needle Point led the way back to town, unerringly as ever. Apollo could remember being dubious about signing the shy, frail-looking earth pony mare onto the team in the first place... as much for apparent weakness as for her cutie mark, which happened to be exactly the same as Apollo Dawn's most hated fictional character, Daring Do. Reluctance aside though, the first time he had seen his new navigator actually navigate all doubts were cast aside. The unassuming light brown mare had a true talent for it, and he had never seen her lost, not even for a moment, not even in completely unfamiliar territory. Needless to say, that was an extremely useful talent on an exploration team, and Needle Point had quickly become one of his most valued crew members.
After her followed the longest-serving member of his team, his personal assistant, Albatross. His talent, as evidenced by his wing cutie mark – and his rather magnificent wings – was flying long distances without tiring. Pretty useful when it came to doing an areal search for a long-lost temple, or when it came to flying all the way back to civilization to get help... but the real reason Apollo liked having that pegasus around was for his can-do attitude. He was down for anything... and though Apollo had never told the brave young pegasus, he was grooming the lad to become his replacement someday... Exploring and adventuring took their toll on a body, and he'd have to retire someday. It warmed his heart to think that somepony would carry on his tradition after he was gone. It also warmed his heart to see his assistant walking right alongside his magical expert, Shimmer Spell.
Apollo had never had a romance that deep, really. He regretted it a little, but the explorer's life didn't leave much room for commitment. Still, he enjoyed by proxy watching the relationship between his assistant and his new magic expert unfold. Shimmer Spell was the crew's newest addition, and the only unicorn on the team. Truth be told, after having her around for a while, Apollo could hardly fathom how the crew had managed without magic before. Though the blue unicorn was a little odd, always referring to herself in third person, she was invaluable, helping out in a million little ways... and now that she was inseparable from his long-time assistant, Apollo doubted that he could remove her from the team even if he wanted to.
Himself, he walked between Pebbles and Hair Trigger, the massive size difference between the two making him feel off balance somehow. Pebbles was the largest earth pony mare he had ever seen, a big bulky draft type with pale green coat, and her short blue mane and tail had streaks of green running through them. Despite her huge, intimidating appearance, she really was good natured... at least when she had access to the food, drink, and stallions the way she liked them: 'the bigger the better,' to use her own phrase for her preferences in all three. Her cutie mark of a huge boulder supposedly represented her immense strength – she claimed to have gotten it upon lifting an enormous rock that looked just like it. Apollo suspected that there was more hidden beneath that gruff exterior, even though he had never seen evidence for it.
Hair Trigger, small as he was, had to be coaxed into being quiet. The rambunctious little pegasus colt was the youngest member on the crew, with a coat of bright yellow, and a mane of neon orange, it was sometimes hard to even look at him in bright sunlight. Apollo would never have involved a colt so young in such a dangerous business... but the little guy always seemed to know when danger was approaching before anypony else did... He saved the crew more often than the crew saved him... barely. His cutie mark was an ear and a telescope, representing his acutely tuned senses of sight an hearing... but really, all of the little pegasus's senses were extremely sensitive, and the slightest stimulation to any of them would send the little guy bounding all over the place. He couldn't fly yet, except for short bursts, but he did those (too) often, and the colt could usually be located only as an orangeish blur ricocheting back and forth all over the area. The long, hungry trek seemed to have tired even the boundless energy of Trigger though, causing Apollo to worry about the less energetic members of the team.
Quartermaster brought up the rear, along with the crew medic and animal expert, Splints. Quarter was the oldest member of the team, and it showed. Slow and crotchety, he would have no place on the team, except for his special talent. The crate on his wrinkly flank represented his ability to pack things... It didn't seem like much, really, but he was very talented at it. The toboggans had been his idea to bring, and as usual, his sense of what they would need on the journey seemed almost supernatural. With that old dark-grey earth pony, scraggly black mane and all, on the team, they always seemed to have just the right amount of stuff in their packs, never too much, and never missing anything they needed. For that, the old guy was worth his weight in gold, despite his rambling stories about grandpappy Nicklemaster, or occasionally even great-great-grandpappy Pennymaster.
Somehow, Splints and Quartermaster were the only two on the team who could stand to talk to each other for very long. Somehow Quartermaster's acerbic wit just clicked with Splints's acidic personality. Splints was the best field doctor Apollo had ever seen, and an expert on wild animals, too... But he was glad that she spent her time with somepony else, not him. Her bright pink coat and purple-streaked yellow mane gave her a falsely cheerful appearance, belied by the annoyed-looking squint her purple eyes were accustomed to. The mare had no patience, and no compassion... for anything healthy, anyway. Give her something injured though, and she would nurse it back to health as tenderly and lovingly as anypony could wish for... and then she would kick it out of the sickbed brutally as soon as it was healthy again. That mare was a puzzle indeed, but despite her personality issues, she was valuable to have around in such a dangerous profession! Apollo himself had been under her care several times, enough to earn her forgiveness for all the insults and wry comments she could muster.
His team had been walking now for four days without provisions, and he hated taxing them so, but unless they cared to go brave the ice dragon's territory again, there wasn't any alternative. Besides, he hoped to reach town within a day or so, and then they could gorge themselves to hearts' content. For hundreds of years, the Canterlot History Museum, where he nominally worked as a curator, had posted a reward of several thousand bits for the return of the fantastic gem in his saddlebags. A payoff like that would more than compensate for the let-down of the last mission, when the crew had found an (unfortunately empty) long lost tomb of an ancient zebra king.
As the ground leveled out, Apollo Dawn's hopes rose. Their first few hours of walking out of town had been level, and though he couldn't see any smoke rising in the distance, he knew they must be getting close. He trotted up to Needle Point, wondering just how far they had yet to travel.
As he came up alongside, Needle seemed to already know what he wanted. “Only a couple of miles, now. We'll be there within an hour.”
Apollo grinned. The team had made better time than he had expected, and soon their trek would be over. He looked again towards the town, looking to see the smoke rising from the chimneys as it had when they left... but he couldn't.
Again, he looked at Needle Point. He never doubted the little mare before, but, “You're sure?” He asked, “We should be able to see it by now.”
Needle just shrugged, looking away shyly, “That's the place, I don't know why we can't see it.”
“Trigger?” Apollo said quietly – he knew that the little colt would hear him, even if he had whispered it.
Instantly, a yellow and orange blur resolved itself into the little colt at his side, “Uh huh? Ya need me! Woohoo! I'm ready! Let's go! We'll –”
With a roll of his eyes, Apollo shushed up the energetic little colt. He was about to ask the little guy if he could discern any sign of the town when the town became visible to all. The team stood at the lip of a valley, and down inside was the town of Fairflanks, northern-most town in Equestria. Apollo looked to his team. They all looked relieved and happy... all save one. Hair Trigger was looking only confused and troubled.
“What's wrong little guy?” Apollo asked. He had learned to trust the little colt's sharper senses completely.
“It's... It's all so quiet... so empty... nopony home...” the colt said softly.
Instead of 'Ponyville librarian', Twilight Sparkle's new career seemed to now be 'professional moper'. And mope she did. For days she stayed in bed... even though she was pretty sure she was well enough to get up... but why get up? What would she do? She spent most of her time thoughtlessly watching the strange behavior of the sky. Her window faced east, giving her a fine view of the stationary moon, both in day and night... The sun was still behaving strangely, still circling around the horizon, regularly dipping above and below it every few hours... making most of the day perpetual sunrise or sunset. Twilight had – as most ponies – began counting days by considering the daily eclipse as 'sunrise'. By chance or someone's design, the sun was eclipsed by the stationary moon about once in the period of time that used to be known as a day.
Twilight missed the stars though... She had loved to look at the stars back in what she was already thinking of as 'the old days'. Now though, all the constellations she had learned laid broken, only a few stars left barely above the horizon in any direction... most of them had fallen below it. Thinking about that loss would inevitably remind her of her other losses, leading to yet more morose –”
A loud banging on the door snapped her out of her thoughts.
Sunny Daze burst through the door, apparently after having decided that five seconds was too long to wait for an answer. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!” The little filly literally bounced with joy, “Big Mac says you're healthy enough to come out! We can finally go play!”
The only response Sunny received though, was a groan as Twilight rolled over, pulling the covers over her head.
Sunny's enthusiasm carried her over for a short time. She continued, prodding and cajoling the stubbornly sorrowful lavender unicorn... but after a time, even Sunny could see that it wasn't going to have any effect.
Twilight felt only relief as the annoying little yellow filly dejectedly left the room. She couldn't stand to be around such cheerfulness. It grated on her decidedly un-cheerful mood.
* * *
Twilight's next visitor was Big Macintosh, who, though he brought in some food for her, just stood there next to the bed with a disapproving look on his face. She contemplated giving him the same treatment she had given Sunny, despite her hunger... but deep down, she knew, that would only make things worse.
With a sigh, she looked up at him, still very tall, even though he was much thinner now. “I suppose you think it's time for me to get out of bed, huh?”
“Eeyup.”
“But there's nothing left for me out there... anywhere.”
“Enope.” He responded, “You're forgettin' somthin'”
Twilight thought for a moment, and later she would feel completely awful about how long it took her to remember, or that she even forgot in the first place. “My Friends!”
“Eeyup.”
Twilight jumped out of bed, surprisingly agile, only to wince in pain upon getting to the floor.
“You're not quite ready to go get em just yet though.” Big Macintosh said, “Can y'all use your magic again yet?”
Twilight focused on an apple slice on the tray, her horn aching a little as it glowed, but the apple slice did rise up, and did move towards her... before falling to the floor.
“Eeyup. Didn't think so. Y'all still need to rest up, but it's time to get movin' some.”
Apollo looked as his crew worriedly as they walked through the streets of the eerie ghost town of Fairflanks. All of them, even the jaded Splints, seemed subdued and nervous. It just wasn't right, seeing a the vibrant town they had been looking forward to so empty. The buildings were cold, empty and intimidating, the streets were empty of all the life that should have been there... but nowhere was there any hint of what happened... it looked like all the residents had just packed up and left without warning.
As a first few flakes of snow drifted down, Apollo decided to take action. His crew would be able to handle this better if they had direction... something to do. “Okay,” He said, “something strange is going on here, but we've got to make the best of it.”
He turned to his crew. Quartermaster seemed to be doing the worst out of all of them... “Quarter, you and Splints go to the inn we stayed at last time. Get it warmed up and ready.”
A look of relief passed across the old pony's face. Apollo could tell that Quarter's joints had been bothering him again in the cold... being the first to get warm in the hotel would be a relief, for sure. Splints just gave the annoyed and put-upon look she gave anytime she was asked to do any real work, and followed Quartermaster off towards the inn, just across the railroad tracks.
“Trigger, Needle?”
Hair Trigger responded with a quick “Yep!?” Needle Point simply looked up, gracing Apollo with a rare instance of actually making eye contact.
“You two go and see if you can sniff out some food supplies and water. Use anything perishable or hard to transport first.” Already he was thinking of the trip out of town... the train ride had taken weeks... and somehow, he doubted the trains were still running.
Trigger was off in an instant, pinballing between buildings with short bursts of wingpower. Needle point ran off in a vain attempt to keep up with him. Apollo didn't worry though. If Trigger needed help, he'd find her, not the other way around.
To Pebbles and Shimmer Spell he said, “Okay ladies, if you could get started looking for replacements for our gear we lost, that would be great. Anything you can find for now... we'll sort through it later.”
Pebbles only gave a mumbled grunt of an acknowledgment, but as usual, the unicorn was vocal. “Shimmer Spell shall not fail!” she said, trotting off, Pebbles in tow.
Only his assistant remained now. “Alright Albie... Let's try to find out what happened here.” His ever-faithful assistant just nodded, as if he had been eager to do the same.
* * *
Apollo began to suspect he had given himself and Albatross the most frustrating task of all. Already it was growing dark. The snow hadn't let up either, growing heavier as the wind began to pick up... Apollo wondered if any of that might be the ice dragon's doing... even as far north as Fairflanks, it wasn't usual to get heavy snow this time of year...
Every building they had entered looked completely innocuous, as if nothing was wrong... everything had been tidily packed away, as if the whole town had gone on vacation for a month. With a sigh, he turned to the last major building in town they hadn't visited yet, the town's clinic. Even if they couldn't find out what happened, at least they could pick up a few replacement medical supplies... Splints would be glad for that, though she wouldn't show it, of course.
As he crossed the street towards the clinic, the looked back at his assistant, seeing his own frustration, confusion, and underlying nervousness mirrored in the brave pony's face. His assistant followed close behind as he cracked open the door of the town's clinic. Like most of the doors in town, it hadn't been locked... of course, many of the doors didn't even have locks. He guessed crime wasn't much of an issue in these parts. He looked into the main lobby inside, only to reel back in shock, slamming the door in his assistant's face.
Albatross looked at him, giving him a hurt look for the second time today... but Apollo Dawn barely noticed. His eyes shrunk down to points at what he had seen... Row upon row of black bags... each just big enough for a pony. He had heard of such things before... a plague... but it never prepared him to actually see it. Those things were supposed to be ancient history!
Albatross looked at Apollo with concern and confusion, “What's wrong?”
“It's a plague... everypony is... well...”
“A what?” Albatross cut him off.
“A disease, a sickness... they all got sick... and...” For some reason, he couldn't just say it...
He didn't need to though... as the concept sunk into his assistant. “Then they're in there... everypony?”
“Uh huh,” Apollo responded, “Must be the whole town in there...” He shook himself, “Come on, we can't go in there, it might still be contagious... we've got to get news of this out... we might be the only ponies still alive that know about it!”
Dawn looked ready to take off right then and there, but Albatross stopped him, “We're tired, and you've got a team to take care of. These ponies will keep for one more night... let's get some rest.”
Looking a little more subdued, Apollo headed back towards the inn. His assistant was right, of course; his first responsibility was to his crew, and they needed him... now more than ever, perhaps.
Twilight sighed. Big Mac had finally found her. She had gone for a walk a long while ago... probably much too long – the sun had gone up and down several times, Twilight had lost track. She hadn't really meant to, but her little walk had led her straight to the Apple Family's burial plot, and the three fresh graves there. She had been just sitting there, feeling sorry for herself to be honest.
The thought of honesty reminded her of Applejack, threatening to bring tears again, but Twilight fought them back, since Big Macintosh was approaching. “This wasn't quite what you meant when you said I could use a walk, was it?” She asked, as he stepped up beside her.
“Enope.”
“But I just can't stop thinking about it... it keeps going over and over, and the worst part is it's all my...” Twilight hesitated... she hadn't told anypony yet that it was all her fault, and now she felt reluctant to... she hated to hide it... but she found herself also hating the thought of how others would look at her if they knew... and at that moment, that threat of disapproval seemed the greater evil.
Luckily enough, Big Mac didn't seem to pick up on what she almost said, instead he sat down next to her and said, “Sunny Daze came to live here on account of her house burnt down... while she was out shopping for food because her ma was too weak with the plague to get out of bed. Her ma burnt up with that house. Before that, her pa had to go help with the clinic in Canterlot, and he hasn't been heard of since... they wrote to Canterlot, but they said he never arrived. And before that she lost her best friend, Peachy Pie, to the plague. Those two used to go everywhere and do everything together.”
Twilight looked around at the other gravestones. She hadn't missed Granny Smith's and Applebloom's when she saw them earlier. She looked to the gaunt red pony beside her... he had lost everything, too. All his family, and even the strength that had defined him. Now he was as weak as Granny Smith had been... No, Twilight wasn't the only one suffering, but how could she stop thinking about it... how could she stop hurting?
Big Macintosh continued, “That little filly needs somepony to look after her. I can't keep up, not since I got sick. And more than that... she needs a friend.”
Twilight looked over at him and simply nodded, giving her silent assent. She got up – still a little stiffly – and started heading slowly off back towards the farmhouse, with Big Macintosh following her lead only a moment later, though Twilight never saw his backward glance at the tombstones. Both slowed by their past ordeals, they walked home together.
* * *
Twilight poked her hoof through yet another pile of blackened rubble. Idly, she wondered if her hooves would ever return to their normal color, or if they would stay darkened forever. She stepped away... this pile didn't look too promising anyway, full of cans of paint that had boiled and burst from the heat of the fire.
Sunny Daze dropped a few cans of soup – only a little bit burnt – into Twilight's saddlebags. Twilight didn't even stop to see what the were, instead looking warmly at the bright little filly... well, less bright at the moment, since she was pretty well covered in soot... but despite having been scavenging through the burned-out town of Ponyville for the better part of a day, she was still as bouncy and giggling as ever.
Their scavenging missions into Ponyville had become less and less fruitful though, and they were taking longer and longer to complete. There wasn't much left of the town, and Twilight had a suspicion that they weren't the only ones picking through the ashes for scraps. At any rate, they had managed a pretty good haul for the day, all things considered, and it was time to head back.
Sunny, of course, challenged Twilight to a race to the edge of town, and with Twilight encumbered by both lingering weakness and saddlebags, won it easily. Even though it had hurt her pretty badly to try and keep up with the filly, as she lay panting on the grass outside of town, she couldn't help but be uplifted by seeing the look of joy on the filly's face... Twilight's participation had made the filly's day, and Sunny was beaming with a huge smile. Somehow that also made Twilight's day all worthwhile, and as she realized this, a strange sensation came over her... partly emotion, but more of magic... strange, powerful magic. The only time she had felt anything like that was when she had been facing down Nightmare Moon, when the element of Magic attached itself to her... But looking around, she couldn't see anything that should have caused a feeling like that...
Shrugging it off, she turned to Sunny. She hated breaking the good mood, but what she had to say needed to be said... “Sunny... I... About the way I treated you earlier... I was so awful to you... and after you had lost your family and your friend... I'm just so sorry. I can never make that up to you. It's just I lost ponies I love too, and I wasn't feeling myself, and –”
Twilight's apology was cut short as Sunny Daze wrapped her hooves around Twilight's neck, giving her the biggest hug her little body could manage, looking up with teary eyes.
Twilight returned the filly's embrace, and shared in her tears. It felt good to finally let the grief out... and more than that, it felt great to have a friend there to share it with.
As they finally broke apart, the sun was on its way down again – it would be dark before they managed to get home. Both ponies were a mess. Sunny covered with soot, Twilight with a big splotch of soot where Sunny had been, and both of them with muddy streaks where tears had been draining down. Twilight wiped the tears from Sunny's eyes, and from her own. “Friends?” She said to the filly.
“Forever!” Sunny replied, giving Twilight another short hug.
Together, they headed homeward, with lighter hearts and heavier bags... a day well spent.
Apollo Dawn surveyed his team as the winds howled outside the inn. The storm outside was getting worse as the night progressed, but his team seemed to be in high spirits; the cider found during yesterday's scavenging probably helped with that. Needle Point and Hair Trigger were poking around the pile of supplies that had been gathered, putting first dibs on some of the equipment, maybe? Quartermaster was contentedly napping in front of the fireplace, snoring quietly, probably enjoying being truly warm for the first time in almost a year. The rest were sitting around the table with him, Pebbles laughing slowly but boisterously at some sarcastic comment Splints had made while he was distracted. His assistant and Shimmer Spell, though, were pretty well distracted by each other, sitting close and not paying attention to much else... He had a chuckle of his own about that, and thought it was probably the subject of Splint's earlier comment. The two love birds hadn't had any privacy in almost a year... they were probably looking forward to a private hotel room!
He hadn't told any of them about what he had seen in the clinic though... He couldn't really bear to dampen the first easygoing night they had enjoyed in quite some time. Some glances from Splints had suggested she knew he was hiding something... that pink mare had a disturbing ability to see what he was thinking sometimes. It didn't seem to sour her mood any more than normal though, so he didn't worry about it... there would be plenty of time to tell them in the morning.
He left the table, going over to stare out the window at the barely visible snow piling up. With this wind, there would be some pretty bad drifts, but at least most of the ground would be clear... He noticed Shimmer Spell and Albatross in the reflection on the dark window, following his lead in leaving the table, leaving Splints alone with Pebbles as Shimmer trotted up the stairs towards the rooms, with an eager white pegasus following. Apollo sighed... he wished he could be so carefree, but his mind kept coming back to the bags he saw in the clinic... so many... it must have been the whole town. Idly, he wondered if there was one pony left not in a bag... after all, who could have bagged up the last one?
Apparently – and not surprisingly – tiring of Pebbles's company, Splints also left the table. She was headed straight towards Apollo. Uh-oh... he thought, darn... I had hoped to have more time to think it over... Before long, she was at his side, starting into the darkness outside the window with him.
“So, what's got you down, oh fearless leader? Besides the spooky ghost town and all, since everypony knows you never get scared, right?”
With a sigh, Dawn let Splints' sarcasm roll right off. She knew that the stories of the fearless explorer in the cheap newspapers were mostly made up, but teasing him about it was just a normal part of her attitude... just how she communicated with him. Still, he wasn't ready to tell the crew about what he'd seen. “Oh... just thinking about some... things,” he replied, lamely.
“You know, I was taking a look at the supplies earlier,” she said, watching him from the corner of her eye, “and we didn't seem to get much in the way of medical supplies...” She then looked at him overtly, and with a raised brow asked, “you think we could go check the clinic later and see what's there?”
A pained look crossed Apollo's face, “Albie told you?”
“No,” she replied smugly, “You did. Just now.”
Apollo sighed again. Splits was altogether too good at reading him... he should have known he couldn't hide anything from her for long...
“So, fearless leader, what's in there?”
Looking defeated, he turned away from the window, looking Splints closely in the eyes. He paused for only a brief moment. Had he seen a blush on her face? At any rate, there wasn't one now... she was looking at him with her customary annoyed smirk. “Yes... there's something there...” He admitted, “but I'll tell everypony at once at breakfast... suffice it to say that nopony should go there,” He glanced outside. Snow was now building up against the window. “Not that anypony would, in this weather.”
She continued glaring at him for a moment, but eventually seemed satisfied. Everypony on his crew knew he was honest to a fault and that he could be counted on to keep his promises. She turned, and with an odd backwards glance at him, retired up the stairs to her room.
He looked around the room. At this point, the only other pony in the common room was Quartermaster, still happily snoozing in his chair by the fireplace. Apollo walked softly over, draping a blanket over the tired old earth pony. Looking down with a gentle smile, he knew, despite any disaster that had befallen this poor town, he still had his crew – his friends – and together they could handle anything. With a tired yawn, he headed up the stairs himself. It had been a long day, after all, and he would sleep easily, despite his troubled mind.
* * *
Morning had come bright and early, last night's storm clouds nowhere to be seen. Pebbles, who as the best cook in the outfit and prepared most meals, had with the assistance of her cook in training, Hair Trigger, whipped up a quite impressive breakfast: omelets full of fresh peppers and mushrooms. Apollo wondered where they had gotten the fresh ingredients... then again, he had told them to use the most perishable things first, so if they were available, the crew might as well use them. It seemed to suit them well, anyway. They had been living off of trail rations for too long now, and it was easy to see from the contented looks on the faces around the table that they had enjoyed the opportunity for a real fresh meal... though he suspected a certain pegasus's and unicorn's contented looks were due to more than just good food, seeing as how they had been that way before breakfast even began.
He noticed Splints giving him the look from across the table though, and knew that he couldn't put it off any longer. He stood up, bracing his front hooves on the table for more height. All the ponies on his crew were already giving him full attention. They could all sense he was about to make an important announcement. “You're all probably wondering what happened to this town...”
A few nods came from around the table, and a few concerned sidelong glances.
“Well, yesterday, Albie and me found out.” He looked around the table... he had all their rapt attention, but he was still reluctant to continue... Still, his policy had always been to tell his crew the truth... and they needed to know, “This town seems to have been hit by a really bad plague... a sickness... The clinic is full of... full of...”
“Dead ponies.” Splints added, with her usual level of sensitivity and tact: none.
Apollo sighed, “Yes... So everypony should avoid that building at all costs... we don't know if it might still be contagious. And you should avoid any other bodies you might find anywhere else, too... there might be some in other places besides the clinic.”
He received stunned looks from all around the table. “So... everypony in the town is...?” Trigger's squeaky little voice broke the silence, “even...”
“I'm afraid that's what it looks like,” Apollo said, as he noticed the little pegasus beginning to tear up. Too late, he remembered the red and purple unicorn colt he had seen Trigger playing with last time they were in town. Pebbles draped her huge hoof over the saddened little colt, drawing him in close. “I'm... I'm sorry,” Apollo whispered, so soft only Hair Trigger's highly attuned senses would pick it up.
Looking back up, he addressed the others, “We have to get this information to the rest of Equestria. I guess it's too late to send help, but they still need to know.” Most of the expressions around the table changed from shock to various forms of resolute stare... Good, he was getting to them, “So, we'll all need to work together. The train's probably not coming back, so that means we've got a very long hike over snow ahead of us.” He turned to the left side of the table, “Quartermaster, I want you to take Needle and Pebbles to find a wagon, something big and sturdy.” He looked at the still despondent pegasus colt, still nestled against Pebbles' huge frame. “and take Trigger with you.” He turned to the other side of the table, “The rest of you will be coming with me... we're going to comb this town through for the best supplies. The walk out of here is going to be hard. We're going to need everything we can find.”
As his crew went about cleaning up breakfast and preparing for the day's exploration, he attempted to open the inn's front door. Unfortunately, it opened outwards, and even after bashing himself against it several times, it had barely opened wide enough to allow one slim pony though. He sat back a moment, seething in frustration. The snow wasn't even that deep, but it kept piling up right next to the door, and the further he pushed it, the harder it became. After a moment, though, he noticed Pebbles standing behind him with a smug grin on her big face.
With a soft laugh at himself and a sigh, he stepped aside, letting Pebbles push the door fully open with seemingly little effort. Well, after all, where would he be without his crew? Trotting back to get his parka on, he watched his first crew members walk out into the windswept snow. Yes, together, they could find a way through this.
Sunny looked askance at Twilight at the dinner table that night... again. The odd purple unicorn kept making the strangest faces... and several times it seemed like she was about to say something, but suddenly stopped. Sunny kept an eye on her new friend's odd behavior, but paid most of her attention to the meal... It was quite astounding really, better than most they had been able to scrounge up recently. Apples were fine and all, of course, but you get tired of them... especially if you're a young filly always wanting to try new things. And they had been stuck with apples for a long time now. Two of the only-slightly-burnt soup cans were in today's dinner though, and the improvement was magnificent!
She was about to reach for another serving, ignoring the beautiful-looking apples on the table, when Twilight finally managed to blurt out, “It's all my fault!”
Sunny looked over at the unicorn quizzically, as did Big Macintosh, who only let out a confused “Huh?”
Twilight was sitting there as if she expected the world to come crashing down in on her now, crouched down with eyes shut tight and hooves over her head... But after a few moments of silence broken only by Big Mac's questioning 'huh', an eye peaked out, glancing around nervously.
“Watcha mean, Twi?” Sunny asked.
“Don't you get it!?!” Twilight screeched, “It was all my fault! I'm the one who's responsible!”
This only elicited further confusion from the bright yellow filly. “Responsible for what?”
“EVERYTHING!” Twilight responded, “The princesses, Applejack, they're gone because of ME!”
This time it was Sunny's turn to add in a “Huh?”
“I was the one who distracted the princesses at the crucial moment! I was the one who rushed in without the tools we needed to defeat Pestilence! I was the one who killed them! ME!” Twilight was in tears at this point, head sagging down to the table.
“Twilight, it is NOT your fault,” Sunny said, “I know you, and you'd never do that!”
Twilight only responded from her fortress of misery there on the table, not even looking up. “But I DID. I'm an awful pony. I should have died instead. I deserved it.”
Sunny Daze hopped onto the table, spilling a couple drinks in the process, and making her way right up to where Twilight's head was hidden under her hooves. “Did you want it to happen that way?”
“No, no, no, NO!” Twilight sobbed.
“Are you happy it happened that way?” The filly continued.
Twilight Sparkle looked up at the filly on the table in front of her. The tears streaking down her face and her desperate, self-accusing eyes were answer enough without resorting to any words.
“Then we forgive you.” Sunny Daze proclaimed with a magnanimous look on her face.
Twilight's turn this time, she replied only with, “Huh?”
“Right, Big Macintosh?” The filly asked.
“Eeyup.”
“But... but but... how...” Twilight stammered. “It's the worst thing ever! I'm the worst pony ever!”
Sunny looked down at the despondent purple unicorn... she had to do something to cheer her up. “Twilight,” She said, “you did everything you could, because you only knew what you did then. I know you didn't mean to, and that's what makes the difference!” With that, she jumped at Twilight, forcing the unicorn to catch her – into a tight hug.
With the little filly wrapped around her neck, Twilight finally began to feel forgiven and accepted by the others... Forgiving herself though... that wouldn't be as easy.
* * *
Sunny Daze leaped into the sky, straining to catch hold of that elusive purple glowing flower, but again it darted up out of her reach. She had been playing like this with Twilight for the better part of a sun cycle, and still showed no signs of slowing down. Twilight kept the flowers darting around, actually having to strain herself to keep the filly from catching them; her magic was still weak. This was excellent training, of course, getting her magical abilities back in top shape... but more than that, she loved to see the little filly playing and laughing in the sunshine – Sunny seemed to adore sunshine!
Loosing her attention for a moment, the flower drooped, allowing Sunny to snatch it from the air. She promptly ate it, lest it escape again, then turned to Twilight, beaming. No, Twilight thought, that was what made it all worthwhile. Somehow making the little filly smile was opening Twilight up, and letting her forget about the past.
* * *
Big Macintosh watched Sunny and Twilight play on the grass in the front yard, enjoying the short burst of sunshine before the third sunset of the day came around. It was a real pleasure to see the two enjoying themselves... and he had few enough pleasures these days. The plague had taken a lot out of him, and though he didn't let on about it, it still pained him every day, weakening his every movement.
He had struggled on though. First to care for the ailing Applebloom and Granny Smith, then to care for the orphaned filly, Sunny. Seeing the two out on the lawn like that though allowed him to relax for the first time in a long while. Twilight would look after Sunny, raising her up into a fine young mare... and Sunny would look after Twilight, her sunny disposition helping keep Twilight out of the dumps. A gentle smile crossed his face as he let his tiredness catch up to him, and settled in for a nap, sitting there on what used to be Granny's favorite rocker on the front porch.
* * *
As the sun began to set, Twilight and Sunny came trotting in from the yard. Sunny was sweaty all over, and with more than a few grass stains, and Twilight was beaming a huge smile despite a growing headache from magical overexertion.
Sunny came hopping up the steps, already shouting to Big Macintosh about how much fun she had. Twilight noticed Big Mac sleeping peacefully in the rocker, and began to chide Sunny about waking him up... when she noticed just how still he was... And noticed how Sunny hadn't woken him up.
Worried, Twilight trotted over, giving him a nudge... and a poke... and a shout... and even a shake... all to no avail. The big red pony had finally succumbed to his plague-born weakness and let himself go.
Realizing this, Twilight stepped back, covering her mouth in an expression of shock and loss.
Sunny had just sat down, eyes tearing up, but not yet crying. Big Mac had become like a father to her already. For a while now, her life had revolved around him... but she was becoming much too exposed to such losses for such a little filly... it was almost as if she expected them now, and she was better able to accept them.
Twilight looked back at the filly, expecting her to be bawling... Only to see her handling it well... too well. It hit her then just how much Sunny had lost. What was a little more, after all? She scooped her up, holding her tight, and promising to herself never to leave little filly alone.
Apollo Dawn found himself inordinately pleased with his crew. Despite the snow drifts often blocking the path, his team had already gathered up nearly enough supplies to see them through the long trip southeast to Stalliongrad. They had been lucky, really, finding a survivalist pony's secret stash of apocalypse food. Barrel after barrel of food that, while a little gritty and tasteless, would last for years without going bad... And no small amount of useful gear either! Whoever that pony was, he was ready for anything! ... Well, except for a deadly disease, apparently.
As his half of the team approached the hardware store, he could hear muffled voices from around back, so he took to wing, making a short hop over a particularly high snow drift to find the other half of the team.
“Ah, Polly my boy!” Quartermaster called out to him... That old earth pony was the only one he would tolerate being called 'Polly' by. “Glad ye came by! I was jes teachin' these youngins a few of the finer points of wagon repair!”
Apollo looked at the long-suffering team members, all over a wagon that, while large, seemed to have more broken parts than working ones. He glanced back to the bespectacled old pony questioningly, “You're sure this is the best one?”
“It's the ONLY one sonny!” He replied, “Why, the only thing this here town's got a shortage of is waggins!”
Now that it was pointed out, he finally noticed... it was true, he hadn't seen a single other conveyance of any kind in the whole town. Hmm... perhaps that meant some of the townsfolk had left by wagon, which meant at least some of them might have survived... Well, that was a relief. “You're sure it's even possible to fix this thing?” He asked skeptically, turning back to Quartermaster.
“Sure as my grandpappy Nicklemaster's stockin's!” he replied, brushing his mostly imaginary mane back, “Why, we're almost half-done already! Lucky fer us it were behind the hardware store all convenient-like!”
Apollo looked back at the busted wagon doubtfully. If it was already half repaired, he didn't want to know what it looked like before they started! Would that thing make it all the way to Stalliongrad?
Despite cloudy eyes, his logistics expert saw his doubtful look, “Now dontcha worry lil' Polly, I been doin' things like this since I were just a liddle squirt, and I knows a thing er two about it! We'll have this here contraption glidin' along like a fluffy cloud... and I'm puttin' skids on it too, so we can have ourselfs a dainty little sled.” The old pony's neck stretched impossibly long, looking over Apollo's head, “And you lazy ponies move yer cabooses! This here Andromeda ain't gonna fix itself!”
Apollo was about to leave, but turned back around at that last word. “Andromeda?”
“Why of course!” Quartermaster said, zipping much faster than his usual pace to caress a busted side board. “Anything so fine deserves a fine name! Why, I spent the first couple'a hours just figgerin what te name such a beauty.”
With that, Apollo decided it was time to go – and also that this half of the team should get a break tomorrow. He flew, winging his way back to the front of the hardware store and angling towards the door, only to change to quickly back winging his way to a stop as a blue-glowing bundle of various axes, picks, hammers, and shovels came floating out, followed by his triumphant-looking magic expert. As he settled to the ground, Albatross came running out.
“Hey Apollo, Check these out!” he said excitedly, holding up a squat little metal cylinder. With his teeth, he popped the cap off of it, and it suddenly hissed to life spouting out a little magical flame. “They've got portable stoves! Lot's of 'em!”
Shimmer Spell used her magic to pop the cap out of her coltfriend's mouth, putting it back onto the cylinder and cutting off the flame. “Where should Shimmer Spell put these things?” She asked.
Apollo hid a little eye roll at his assistant. The pegasus always had been very impressed with any kind of magic... possibly why the praise-loving Shimmer liked him so much. “Hmm... Just take them around back. You'll find what Quarter calls a wagon back there, and we might as well put durable goods somewhere close to it.”
She glanced over at Albatross, and he nodded, taking to the air. Apollo marveled at how well the two worked together as his assistant guided Shimmer, “Okay, a little to the left... little more... and... THERE!” At that word from Albatross, a loud clatter rose from behind the hardware store, followed by a few startled screams of terror. At Apollo's quick glance upward, Albatross quickly became defensive, “Hey, it's okay, I didn't hit anypony!” Apollo gave him a withering look, “Okay... maybe it was a little close,” He said, cheeks flushing.
Still looking up, Apollo noticed more clouds rolling in. He turned back to his half of the crew, “On second thought, let's get a few more of those shovels from inside and put them in the inn... looks like we might get more snow tonight, and we don't want to get snowed in all winter.”
Dutifully, Shimmer and Albatross trotted back into the store. Apollo took another look at the sky, weighing the possibility that he and Albie might be able to go up and make a dent in the amount of clouds up there and save themselves snow clearing later... but he noticed something odd... the moon was rising... again... and in the wrong direction.
As the two ponies in the store came back out, this time with a big bundle of shovels in tow, they noticed Apollo staring at the sky, and looked up themselves. The full moon had fully risen now, impossibly fast, and was now circling the sun as the whole sky warped into a dour reddish grey color. Wasn't it impossible to have a full moon and the sun right next to each other? Even more impossibly, the stars were coming out as well, becoming visible despite the sun still high in the sky.
None of the ponies had seen anything like this before... with a crash, the floating bundle of shovels dropped onto the hardware store porch, failing to attract any attention from the ponies staring at the sky. The voices and sounds of work from behind the store had fallen silent as well.
After a while, the ponies were about to go back to their work when a long thin tendril split off from the sun, arrowing down somewhere to the south, baffling them even more. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared though.
Apollo looked down to Shimmer Spell... Surely his magic expert could explain some of this... She was still staring raptly at the sky, so he gave her a nudge, and an imploring look.
She only turned to him and shrugged helplessly, turning back to watch the sky again.
He also turned back to the sky, just in time to see the sun start to waver, then begin to trace a widening circular route across the sky, spiraling closer and closer to the horizon.
By the time the sun finally neared the horizon, Apollo had managed to herd his team to the inn's entrance, even managing to get them to bring a shovel each, despite how the rotating shadows were starting to make him a little woozy... As the sun dipped below the horizon, some semblance of normalcy returned... the sky at least looked somewhat like a normal night sky... except that the sun shouldn't have set for several hours yet. He wasn't able to actually get them in the inn, of course. By unspoken unanimous agreement, they stayed just off of the inn's porch, still watching the sky.
Suddenly, one of the stars ceased to be a twinkling point, instead becoming a vivid ray of light, angling off to the south, then another and another. Apollo turned to Shimmer again, but thought better of asking her anything when he noticed her dumbstruck stare at the misbehaving sky.
Looking up again, Apollo Dawn found himself dumbstruck. The moon simply rolled away from it's position high in the sky, seeming to land and stick, just peeping over the southern horizon. As it landed, seeming to shake the stars loose from their places, Apollo was strangely crushed. Somehow it felt as if he had lost a dear friend. As the stars slowly fell towards the horizon all around, Dawn began to worry, just a little. The plague in this little town now seemed a lot less significant.
The eight ponies stayed outside for some time after that, staring as the last stars disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving the sky grey and empty, except for the storm clouds still rolling in. In fact, those clouds looked worse than ever, growing black, and even letting out the occasional burst of lightning, rolling thunder echoing off of the nearby mountains. As the winds began to pick up and the first flakes of snow fell, that seemed to be enough to usher the crew into the safety of the inn. Lightning in a snowstorm was unheard of... something told Apollo that this storm would be as unusual and catastrophic as the display in the sky had just been.
The hill had gone feral, as most of Sweet Apple Acres had by now. Weeds and brambles grew all over in between the apple trees, and even other kinds of trees were beginning to be interspersed in with them. They still bore fruit, but there was nopony around to care for them or harvest them. Twilight and Sunny had only been able to keep a small portion of the orchard kept up, and now that they were ready to leave, even that small part would become wild like the rest.
Twilight looked to the tombstones in front of her, but when she looked around, she thought that actually the orchard, abandoned as it was, would be more of a memorial to the Apple Family. Even centuries later, apple trees would still grow here, brightening the lives of anypony who stopped by. That would be the Apple Family's real legacy... their real mark on the world... thinking of it that way made Twilight's burden of guilt a little easier to carry.
Sunny Daze stood by quietly, not wanting to interrupt Twilight's reverie, but getting visibly impatient. If they wanted to get to Cloudsdale before dark, they needed to leave very soon. She was very impressed with Twilight's magic now that she had fully recovered – and more, she claimed. 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,' she had said, and indeed, her ordeal with the long-distance teleportation had already apparently made her stronger once she recovered. Twilight claimed to be able to teleport anywhere now... and even planned to do it with Sunny in tow as she searched for her lost friends.
Sunny couldn't wait for the excitement of visiting new places all over the world. The burned-out Ponyville was depressing, and while Sweet Apple Acres was huge, the farmhouse she spent most of her time in was really pretty small and dull... after over a year of staying there, she was growing bored with the place. It was finally time to leave though, if only Twilight could quit staring at those graves and move on!
Twilight began to turn away, but then turned back one last time, to give one last goodbye to the stones: one marked with a moon in a shadowy cloud, one marked with a sun-in-glory... she stopped to wonder for a moment, is this really where the princesses should be buried? She was sure that some Canterlot survivors would disagree, but she thought no place could be more fitting than the peaceful little hill in the apple orchard. Next to those, there was one marked with an apple pie, and one with only text... Applebloom never had gotten her cutie mark, poor little filly. Next to that was a more crudely made one... neither Sunny nor Twilight had much skill in carving, but they had managed a crude representation of a big apple half for Big Macintosh... And finally, the one that still haunted Twilight the most, marked with three simple apples.
Twilight turned away resolutely. Applejack was lost, it was true... but her other friends might still be out there... might still need her. She had to go find them. Seeing Sunny's hopeful face as she turned melted her grief away, and the tears that had been threatening to flow receded. She scooped the filly up into an embrace, holding her tightly... only partly out of a desperate need to hold on to the ones she had lost.
Setting Sunny down, she asked, “Ready?”
At this, Sunny looked a little nervous... she had never been teleported before, and the prospect scared her a little. She tried her best not to show it, not that she was very successful in hiding it – her face had always been very transparent in giving away her emotions. “Ready!” She replied.
Twilight again held Sunny close, this time more for the filly's sake than out of missing her lost friend. Twilight's horn began to glow brightly, and Sunny winced, but Twilight touched the filly's cheek bringing her up to meet her eyes. As she looked into Sunny's eyes, the look of fear was replaced by one of trust and affection, and a smile crossed Twilight's face.
With a violet flash and a pop, the two ponies vanished, leaving the empty grove silent and peaceful once more, broken only by the occasional falling leaf or cricket chirping as the sun began to set.
Sunrise came too early: it seemed like he hadn't slept at all... truly early, Apollo realized as he glanced at the clock in his room. The sun had gone down only a few hours ago. If it had been behaving normally, it would have only just dipped below the horizon, and here it was rising again! He had only just gotten into bed, but rose again to close the shutters on the window, blocking out the unnatural light... only then did he realize, his window faced west! He peeked out the window again. Yep, definitely a rising sun, peeking through the clouds... in the west. So much for hoping the sky would return to normal soon...
Still with a troubled mind, he crawled back into bed with a groan. The wind still howled, despite the short break in snowfall... and it had been a long day... but tomorrow looked to be even worse.
* * *
Apollo woke to the sounds and smells of breakfast being prepared. He must have slept in pretty badly... but again he glanced at the clock... no, it was still very early morning... or at least it should be.
Opening the shutters again, he was greeted by the rich purples and reds of a late sunset against the still-cloudy sky... though the light was coming from the northeast, out of his view. More than that, he noticed how awfully high the snow had piled up during the night... they'd be lucky to be able to get out. He thought of returning to bed... but he was already up, and pangs of loyalty forced him to think of how much his crew would need him today.
With a sigh at the warm, comfy looking bed, he stretched, back popping, and headed downstairs. Not everypony was awake yet, apparently. He found Splits sitting sullenly alone at the table, nursing a cup of coffee, and he could hear Pebbles in the kitchen humming tunelessly as she often did while cooking. Hair Trigger was engaged in getting a long-winded story about the good 'ol days from Quartermaster, who was still in the chair by the fire, still covered in the blanket Dawn had put on him last night... he must have slept there the whole night. Trigger was sitting with a look of rapt attention on his face, so it must have been one of Quarter's better yarns... usually the little yellow pegasus couldn't stand to sit through those rambling stories!
As he helped himself to some of the same coffee Splints had found, the rest of the crew began to filter in down the stairs, Albatross and Shimmer being the last to finally make it down.
He listened in to Quartermaster's story, waiting for it to be over before he interrupted by addressing the whole crew. He couldn't hear it all from across the room, but it seemed to have something to do with Quarter's distant ancestor Pennymaster and the first nightmare night... Had Pennymaster really lived that long ago, to have seen the day – or night rather – when Nightmare Moon was banished? Well, at any rate, it seemed an appropriate story to tell after seeing what the sky had done yesterday... was still doing, actually, he thought, looking out the window. As the time normally came for the sun to rise, it was instead just now growing dark. The inn's main window faced south, and through it he could see the moon's glow peeking over the rooftops of the town... still solidly stuck on the southern horizon.
Hair Trigger came running up to the table as the first plates were set down, with Quartermaster following at a much more sedate pace. Apparently, story time was over, so Apollo decided it was time for a talk with the crew as they began to gather around the table. He looked around, making eye contact with each member of his crew... or trying to, anyway: some of them seemed rather distracted, “Well guys, whatever it is that happened yesterday, it's a big deal... Bigger than a whole town of ponies getting sick.” They were all paying attention now. “And if last night's storm is any indication, the winter that's coming is going to be bad ... really bad.” A few nervous looks to the window answered this, and he looked over at it himself... though it was dark outside, the lights inside still lit up the snow covering the lower half of it. “So, more than for getting the news out, we should try to get further south before winter really hits. We don't want to get buried up here!”
A few resolute looks answered him, and a few nods... and a few tired, but resolved, looks from the more experienced members of the crew... they knew that getting further south would be easier said than done. “So, everypony, we need to finish up our jobs from yesterday.” He glanced over at Quartermaster. “And definitely go for putting skids on that wagon!” He turned back to the rest, “I want to try to get out of this town by tomorrow morning... we can't afford to waste any time.” The wind howled again outside, as if mocking his resolve, but he cast his doubts aside. “We can do this, am I right?”
A few nods came from around the table, as well as the bellowing announcement from Pebbles that breakfast was ready. Once again, Apollo found himself thanking his lucky stars – or what was left of them – to have such a crew.
Twilight Sparkle stepped through yet another gaping hole in the rubble. What had happened to Canterlot? The place was a disaster, with hardly any building left unscathed and nopony to be seen anywhere... nopony alive anyway.
She swept her detection spell across yet another abandoned building and courtyard... to come up empty yet again. It was disheartening enough not being able to find her friends, but at least the other towns had some life in them... She had nearly completed her sweep of Canterlot, and hadn't yet located a single living soul... which could be a good thing, all things considered. Pestilence was still unaccounted for. Who knew where she might be?
With a sinking heart, Twilight looked up to the final place in the city she hadn't yet explored: the royal palace. She hoped the sinking feeling that came over her was only a result of the bad memories from her last visit... but all the same, she was glad she had left Sunny Daze outside the city this time. She would be safe hiding out next to the lake below Canterlot Mountain... safer than Twilight suspected herself to be. Her heart dropping even further, she took the first steps toward the palace.
* * *
Twilight sighed as she looked around the desolate room. Princess Celestia's private study had seen better days, to be sure. Really, she supposed, it wasn't surprising that she ended up here. She knew her memories would get the better of her, and this room had housed some of the brightest moments of Twilight's life.
Even though the warm fireplace was now cold and dead, and even though the soft rug her mentor liked to lie on was now covered in shards of broken glass from the now gaping window, the room was still a comfort to her... and given the memories welling up inside, she could dearly use some comfort right about now.
As she turned to leave, giving one last longing glance backward, a door caught her eye... a small, unassuming door, but one of great importance nonetheless... It was the door to the princess's private room. Nopony had ever been inside, not the palace servants, not the royal guard, and especially not Twilight Sparkle... A sudden light of curiosity burned inside her... what had been in that room? That door had occupied far too much of her thoughts as a filly, of course, even after she had been burned one too many times by its powerful protection spell.
...But with no princess to power it, the protection spell would be gone, wouldn't it? Before she knew it, Twilight found herself stepping slowly towards the door, bits of glass crunching under her hooves. With an effort of will, she stopped herself. What kind of service would it be to the memory of her mentor to go snooping through her private things? Resolutely, she turned away from the door again... but found herself glancing back at it. She was searching for her friends, right? She would have to search everywhere, right?
She had only managed to half-convince herself that looking in was really the right thing to do, but that was enough to get her slowly walking toward the door again, enough to get the light of her magic surrounding the doorknob. No protection spell shot back into Twilight, no arcane wards burst into blinding light... the door was finally undefended. Hardly daring to breathe, Twilight turned the knob and slowly pushed the door open.
At first, she was slightly disappointed... no secret dungeon, no hidden, unspeakable fetishes, no magical artifacts too powerful to leave anywhere else... instead, there was a simple wardrobe, a very comfortable looking couch, what looked to be some kind of hot tub, and as the door opened further, she caught sight of an enormous feather bed... a bed that was not empty!
Twilight backed away quickly at the sight of the draconequus snoozing contentedly on Celestia's bed. Horribly, the beast was using a rather decayed pony as her pillow. Twilight winced as her back hoof came down on a particularly large shard of glass, making a particularly loud crack.
Pestilence stirred, an eye cracking open just in time to catch Twilight Sparkle turning and making a dash for safety. Three different types of claws tore into the luxurious bed as the draconequus launched herself after her most wanted prey.
Twilight risked a glance behind her as she ran down the hallway, desperate to get away... and she wished she hadn't. An eager looking, asymmetrical face was following much too close behind her! Struggling to concentrate while still running, Twilight powered up a teleportation spell. It broke as her concentration faltered when she felt a tongue brush against her flank. Redoubling both her speed and her magical effort, Twilight's horn began to glow again, and her body started to shine with sweat.
With a loud flash, Twilight vanished just as the draconequus's jaws snapped shut on thin air. The creature seethed in impotent fury before slinking back the way she came.
* * *
With a too-bright flash and a too-loud bang, Twilight appeared next to Sunny Daze, the startling violet explosion evidence of wasted magical energy on a teleportation spell with desperately poor control. It had worked though, as Twilight lay on the ground next to the filly, sides heaving with panted breath.
“Are you okay, Twilight?” Sunny's concerned voice broke out quickly.
Twilight looked over herself, not even sure of the answer to that question... but finally she replied, “Yeah... okay...”
“You didn't find anyone here either?”
“Oh...” Twilight panted a bit more before continuing, “I... found someone...”
Apollo groaned as he looked at the mess his crew was in. Five weeks! Five weeks since he had said he wanted to get started 'tomorrow'. Old mare winter must have had a good laugh at his expense there! The supplies had been gathered, the wagon readied and parked in front of the inn door, the crew was ready to go... and when morning had dawned, it was all buried. They hadn't even been able to see that from the downstairs window. They had needed to look out from an upstairs window because the lower ones were completely covered!
To make matters worse, they had already eaten most of their stored trail rations, threatening to run out of food and leaving them without provisions for the journey south. As Needle Point came back inside – having walked through the inn's new main entrance, the window in the hallway upstairs – he asked her, “How's the excavation going?”
The shy little navigator had been on digging duty all morning, working on digging a way into the restaurant next door. “Well, um... uh... we found the front porch...” She said, “but...”
“But what?” he asked. The little mare was a great asset to the team... but getting her to talk was never easy.
“Um... it's just that... nopony remembers where the door was on the porch.”
“But they're looking for it, right?” He asked.
A soft “Uh huh” was the only answer he received.
He tried to settle Needle's apprehension with a warm smile of thanks, and she walked off towards the couches in the common room, but Apollo was still unsure if he had actually reassured her at all.
As he looked into the common room, he could see Quartermaster and Hair Trigger engaged in a game of chess. Trigger seemed to be winning, though Apollo wasn't sure if that was due to Quarter's kindhearted nature or his senility. Suddenly, Trigger perked up, sitting straight up and perking his ears. Apollo knew to pay attention to that! He trotted into the common room, asking, “What is it?”
The little pegasus stayed motionless and silent a moment longer – a very rare occurrence for him – before saying, “The snow... it stopped.”
The snow had still been gently falling the whole time... had the little pony really been able to hear it? Quickly, Apollo trotted upstairs. Looking out the window he saw it was true... the snow had finally stopped.
The sun was beginning to go down again, just in time for lunch, and the remaining excavation crew ponies were on their way back inside, trudging along in their improvised snowshoes... and miracle of miracles, they were carrying bags of food! They must have found the entrance!
* * *
It had taken another week, time Apollo alloted only begrudgingly, but the team had finally done it. As the first light of the morning broke above the horizon – from the south, unnervingly enough – his crew were all arrayed outside the inn, decked out in layers of heavy coats and kludged snowshoes. Bringing their wagon – or sled rather – to the surface of the snow, rather than deep underneath it had taken countless hours of hard work, but Quarter's ingeniously insane idea of a ramping tunnel had actually worked... It was finally time; they were ready.
The feeling of setting off usually invigorated Apollo Dawn. Truth be told, the feeling he got when he took the first step on a new mission was what he lived for... And there still was some of that feeling present. A vague feeling of dread poisoned it though.
He began walking along where the train tracks should be, with Needle Point at his side... not that navigating along this trip would be difficult. Even under the heavy snow, the railroad's path was clear as a long straight line where the thick coverage of evergreen trees was missing. Albatross and Shimmer Spell fell in behind him, along with Splints for some reason. Bringing up the rear, Quartermaster walked along with Pebbles, who was pulling the sled. The big mare always got stuck with the heavy jobs like that... she would always complain about it, but everypony knew she actually didn't mind. Physical work seemed to come to her effortlessly. Hair Trigger, of course, didn't exactly stay in any position in the group, flitting all over back and forth, and to the sides. Apollo had no idea where the little colt found the energy; that little pegasus would probably end up traveling twice the distance the rest of them did, if one counted all his zig-zags. Like the rest of the pegasi on the team though, he didn't wear snowshoes. Having wings brought more advantages than just flight – for a pony who could walk on clouds, walking on soft snow was nothing.
Looking ahead, Apollo could only see an endless expanse of mountains covered in snow and fir trees. He sighed – it was going to be a very long journey. He kept on though. It wasn't the first long trip on foot this team had made... and probably wouldn't be the last either. With only the sounds of the ponies' hooves and the sled's slow rolling crunch breaking the silence, the determined group of ponies pressed on.
“And that's when 'ol nickel up 'an picked up his chair. He went over and poked that mean lookin' manticore right betwixt the eyes, and darned if the critter didn't start runnin' scared!”
As the sun rose for the third time of the day, barely peeking above the mountains to the north, Apollo sighed. His crew had been walking for four weeks now, and the stress of the journey was getting to everypony. Quartermaster's way of dealing with it seemed to be a constant stream of rambling old “truer than the big blue sky” stories of the exploits of his ancestors.
Suddenly, an explosion of snow flew up in front of Apollo, making him rear back. He fell backwards, but jumped right back up, ready for anything... Only to see a sheepish looking yellow face peeking up out of a new crater in the snow. Trigger's bright orange eyes didn't look apologetic at all though. As Apollo was preparing to give the little pegasus colt quite the lecture, his opportunity vanished as the orange and yellow blur shot off again, somewhere off to the right.
As he stepped carefully over the snow crater, he looked to his side, just in time to see Needle having herself a little giggle at his expense. He suppressed his feeling of pique though... The timid little earth pony mare had seemed particularly withdrawn into herself lately, it was good to hear something from her, even if it wasn't the most polite thing ever... especially if it wasn't the most polite thing ever.
With the light of dawn coming from behind them now, Apollo looked onwards to the road ahead. From the crest of the hill they were on, he could see for miles... and yet still all he could see was an endless expanse of hills, broken only by the thin white line that represented the railroad line they were following. With another heavy sigh, he put down his hoof, one more step along the way. If the feeling of exhilaration when setting out on a journey was the favorite part of his job, this was the part he hated the most... When the road stretched on and on, with no relief in sight. He walked on, head hung low... and stopped short when he saw another little crater in the snow... and another. How many times had that little pegasus hit the snow?
He turned to shout to the colt, but stopped as he noticed his navigator staring with abject horror at the ground ahead. Following her gaze, he looked up. The indentations he had noticed a moment ago continued... on and on, right down the same path they were following... and now that he looked at the pattern... True, they were each large enough to have been made by a whole pegasus colt crashing into the snow... but they were all the same shape, and all in two lines... “Um, Splints?” He called, “You think you could come over here a second?”
An exasperated “Ugh!” answered him, “What? Does little Needle need me to hold her hoof to cross another bridge maybe? Oh, I know, maybe our little orange pinball finally ran out of energy and now I have to carry it?”
Apollo Dawn shook his head, “Just get over here, okay?”
“Fine,” Splints said, trotting over, disdain mapped across her face, and even the way she moved. “What is it now?”
Rather than risk further argument with his medical and animal expert, he simply pointed.
That got Splints to stop her complaining! She simply stood and stared for a moment, before jumping up to get a closer look, then trotting off to look at a few more prints, making the occasional sound of confirmation to herself. “MmHm, white bear all right,” she concluded, finally.
“White bear?” Apollo asked. He noticed Needle Point cowering, ironically enough inside one of the creature's footprints. “Is it dangerous?”
“Oh, yes, very,” Splints confirmed, accent coming in heavily, “I warned you about them on our way up here, if you could remember anything I ever say... They usually don't come so far south though... Hmm.”
“So what do we do about it?”
“Why're you asking me, oh fearless leader?” Splints replied, “I'm not the one who calls the shots around here, isn't that what you told me?”
Now it was Apollo's turn to be exasperated. That pink and yellow mare could be infuriating at times. That particular argument had to have been years ago, but he still apparently hadn't heard the end of it. “Fine,” he said, “It's ahead of us on the path, maybe we'll never even see it... let's just keep moving.”
Apollo looked at Splints as the group began moving again, their hoofprints obscuring the prints of the bear as they moved along. He found the irritable mare completely unreadable. Often, he wished he could read her the way she could seemingly see straight through him, but she only stared back with an annoyed look on her face... yet there was something beneath that... something frustratingly impossible for Apollo to figure out.
* * *
Waking with a start, Apollo looked around his tent. Nothing seemed wrong. The pile of blankets insulating him from the snow beneath were still fluffy and soft, and it was even dark enough to truly be called night time, not even the slightest glimmer of light coming through the tent wall. The dark periods during the day were hard enough to get used to, but the bright-as-day periods during the night were what really drove him crazy.
Still, what had awoken him... Not a dream... he had actually been having a very pleasant dream... one featuring Splints, embarrassingly enough. Slowly, he let his guard down, pulling a thick blanket back over him... Then, he heard it. A thick, sustained, creaking crunch as old snow was crushed beneath something heavy... and a windy-sounding snuffle.
He knew what it was instantly. The white bear. It must have found their camp, and now it was only a matter of time until some disaster happened. Would it attack one of the ponies? Would it eat their supplies? They still had weeks of travel left: without supplies they might not make it... and the thought of the bear having its way with one of his crew sent a bolt of lightning down his spine. Not on his watch!
Quickly, he hopped out of bed, thankfully already wearing his parka, no time wasted wrestling that heavy thing around his wings. He unzipped the front of his tent, seeing the pale white snow barely visible in the dim moonlight from the southern horizon. Strangely though, he couldn't see any trees, or the other ponies' tents... only three big dots arranged in a triangle, two on top, one below. Still a little sleep addled, he stared at the odd vision in front of him... until the two top dots blinked.
Fabric ripped as he shot straight through the back side of his tent, a feat he never thought he would be able to do, but apparently a huge bear right in front of one's face could inspire one to some pretty epic accomplishments!
At a safe distance, he hovered above, flying in a small circle around the camp. The bear was still just standing there, staring at him. The huge beast made a low, rumbling growl as it watched him circle.
Responding to that growl perhaps, a face popped out of one of the tents. Needle Point's, Apollo noticed with suddenly redoubled worry. The face popped back into the tent, giving Apollo a moment of relief, only to have it shattered as Needle's face once again popped out of the tent, this time with her thick glasses in place so she could actually see what she came out to look at.
Now that she did see it, she popped back inside even faster, zipping the closure up behind her with a timid little squeak.
Apollo winced as that squeak diverted the bear's attention from him to the tent where the sound came from. As the huge white muzzle came down to sniff at the tent's entrance, he knew that he would have to take action if he was going to protect his crew.
He dove down towards the bear, buzzing by and landing a good kick on the back of its head. He bounced off, back into the safety of the sky, but the huge bear only looked up at him, a little annoyed. Hitting it had felt like hitting a brick wall... a big, fuzzy brick wall. The bear was huge, a little bigger than their whole supply wagon, and a lot heavier looking... How could he possibly stop this thing?
The bear lumbered up after him, bowling over a couple tents in the process. Apollo winced, trying to remember whose tents those had been, but quickly found something else more urgent to think about as the bear reared up and took a swipe at him, coming uncomfortably close – Apollo had badly underestimated the bear's reach!
As the bear pursued him, an idea occurred though. He kept at it, always staying barely out of reach, always coming back to harass the bear if it began to lose interest in him. Slowly but surely, he was drawing the bear away from camp.
* * *
Apollo made one more tired dive at the bear, using his new strategy of hitting it with snowballs rather than getting within kicking range – his back right leg still stung with the glancing contact it had gotten from a big bear paw. This snowball was a great success, hitting right in the eye. “Bullseye,” he said to himself, with a little smirk. After a couple of hours of this, he was starting to get good at it!
The freshly enraged bear made another run at him, which he easily avoided, gaining what he now knew to be just enough altitude to put him firmly out of bear-reach. As the first light of the night's second dawn broke the horizon, he decided that he had probably led the bear far enough away. He darted away, quickly making one last snowball before the bear caught up with where he landed, and again took to the air.
This snowball didn't hit quite so spectacularly on-target, but further enraged the bear nonetheless. With that, Apollo began to fly off, slowly gaining more and more altitude, still heading away from camp. With any luck, the bear would continue to chase him in this direction even after he headed back to camp.
The bear slowly receded in the distance, becoming difficult to see against the snowy backdrop. Apollo gave it plenty of extra room though, continuing on long after the bear was invisible in the snowy countryside. The sun was fully above the horizon by the time he made a sharp dive back down to tree level, leveling back off just above the treetops, and only then beginning a wide circle back to camp. With any luck, he could get back to camp by the time the sun was going down again, even by this wide route, and he could still enjoy a few more hours of sleep before the 'morning' came.
Twilight Sparkle turned around to see Sunny lagging behind. She slowed her pace to let the short-legged little filly catch up, but she still kept on trotting down the street, scanning buildings as she passed by. Manehattan was a challenge, of course, given its huge size and complicated streets, but slowly, methodically, she had been getting it completely scanned.
Like most of the cities she had been to so far, Manehattan showed some signs of life... nowhere near the bustle that should be here, but occasionally she would pick up a few ponies in her scan of a building. Strangely though, the ponies in this town weren't rushing out to greet her... they stayed safe and hidden inside their homes. What were the ponies of this city so afraid of? There didn't seem to be anything wrong; in fact, this city seemed to be in better shape than most she had been to... no major signs of damage to buildings, no corpses in the road. What had them so scared?
Yet again shrugging it off, Twilight resolved to find a few and ask them... once she was done with her scan. It wouldn't be long now; she only had a few more blocks to go... which might explain how her pace had picked up in eagerness. Finally, Sunny caught up next to her, going at a full run to keep up with Twilight's still-fast trot... but the filly didn't complain – Twilight couldn't ask for a better companion for her search.
Turning what would be the last corner, Twilight came to a dead stop. “Miss me?” A sultry voice asked from above.
Twilight and Sunny both looked up in horror to see a draconequus hovering above them. Gripped with fear, Twilight fired off a fast teleportation spell, only to reappear right back where she and Sunny had started. As she looked in the direction she had tried to go, she could see a ripple of light traveling upwards and outwards... a spherical shell around the whole city block, trapping Twilight and Sunny inside.
Twilight backed away fearfully as the draconequus edged closer. “Not this time, precious pony.” her voice slid disconcertingly into Twilight's ears. “This time, you're mine!”
In desperation, Twilight fired off a bright flare of unfocused magical light, quickly running off with Sunny as the blinded monster cried out in pain and surprise. She rounded the corner again and headed down the street, only to quickly be stopped short by the spherical shield cutting across it. She took Sunny with her, ducking into an alley quickly before the draconequus came around the corner.
“There's no escape this time, little one,” that horribly smooth voice came through again, “So just keep running! I like the taste of fear in a pony!”
Twilight knew Pestilence was wrong... she could escape, but she would need more time... she needed a distraction.
* * *
Sunny Daze ran out into the street, catching Pestilence's attention just as Twilight had planned. Quickly taking off into a run, she led the draconequus away, giving Twilight the time she needed to complete her spell. The filly couldn't run terribly fast though, and she had no wings to compete with those of the draconequus. She quickly succumbed to the monster's greater speed, Pestilence grabbing her around the middle with one giant eagle claw and holding the screaming filly above her head like a prize.
“Oh Twilight Sparkle! Come out Twilight Sparkle! Come out and I'll let your friend to live!”
* * *
With one final grunt of concentration, Twilight put the final parts of her spell in place. Pestilence had trapped her in here with a three dimensional sphere... but Twilight Sparkle was as well-educated as she was magical... she knew there were more dimensions than that. Holding Sunny close, she walked up to the edge of the sphere, and horn glowing, she simply stepped around it. To somepony watching form the outside, she might have seemed to vanish for a moment and reappear on the other side, something that should be impossible with a magical shield of this kind... but not impossible for a unicorn as well-studied as Twilight!
Confident now, Twilight led Sunny back to the street through another alleyway, so they could see Pestilence still inside the shield, holding Sunny Daze aloft. They drew the creature's attention with a friendly wave before Twilight removed the power from her illusion spell. The Sunny Daze in Pestilence's grip suddenly vanished, leaving her talon to close on a quickly dispersing cloud of yellow dust. Before the draconequus could even cry out in rage, Twilight and Sunny vanished from the street, teleporting away.
The sun was only visible as a dim glow below the horizon as Apollo Dawn came back to the camp, glad to finally be finished with his bear-distracting mission. He was surprised to see a bright fire glowing in the middle of it, with several ponies around it.
As he came closer, he could see Albatross propped up, sitting next to the fire. His front left leg was bound up in a sling, like it had been broken, but he didn't seem to be overly worried about it. With both Splints and Shimmer fussing about him and seeing to his every need, he looked pretty satisfied, actually... though that might also have something to do with the several empty bottles laying in the snow next to him.
Albatross greeted his team leader with a slurred smile as Apollo came in for a landing. Looking around, Apollo could see two of the tents were still in shambles... and with a wince, he noticed that his own tent had a big pony shaped hole in it... he wouldn't be warm in there anymore, that was for sure.
He looked back at his assistant, asking the three ponies there in general, but really Splints specifically, “How is he?”
Albatross took it upon himself to answer, and it was immediately obvious that his pain tolerance was in large part due to a rather large portion of liquid courage. “Awww I'm GREAT!” the white pegasus answered, “da best der ever was! Wooo!” Apparently noticing Apollo's skeptical look, he continued, “and dontcha worry 'bout this little boo boo... I don need legs anywho... I'll jus fly the whole way! It's my secial talent, afer all!”
Splints knelt down next to him, cooing, “Aw, I'm sure you will. There's my brave pony. Don't you worry, this'll heal right up and you'll be good as new.” It was always strange to see Splints go into her caring mode... she would only show this mood if she was caring for someone injured, and it clashed so much with her normal personality that Apollo could hardly believe she was the same pony.
Apollo finally received his answer from Shimmer Spell, “He'll be fine... eventually. Just a broken leg where it got a little stepped on.” Apollo winced at the thought of being stepped on by that humongous bear. “Everypony else is okay. Trigger was a little shaken up when his tent got tossed all around, but once we dug him out he calmed down. He's staying in Pebbles' tent now.
He sighed with relief. That encounter could have gone very badly... to get out of it with only a few busted tents and one broken leg – on a pegasus, luckily enough – they were very fortunate. As he thought about it, he realized that even in a drunken stupor, Albie was right. If anypony could finish out the whole journey by wing, that tireless pegasus could. With a sigh mourning the loss of his own tent, he gathered up a few blankets from inside it and made his own nest next to the fire. Morning wouldn't be here for another couple sun cycles yet, and he was definitely due for some sleep by now – it had been a long day!
* * *
Apollo Dawn trotted along happily. The sun was brightly shining, the snow on the ground was tapering out – only a few inches deep now – and Albie was making good on his word. That pegasus had spent two whole days now in the air, only landing to eat and sleep, and he was now a good way through his third day of solid flying. Apollo shook his head... How did that pony have such stamina?
As usual, he was out front with Needle Point, guiding the way, though of course, it still wasn't difficult to see where to go now. With the snow cover dwindling, it was even possible to see the actual railroad tracks occasionally now. The sled had been converted back into a wagon yesterday, causing some delay, but Apollo didn't begrudge that time... having the snow be shallow enough to use actual wheels was such a great milestone it filled him with joy despite the lost time.
Up ahead, he could begin to see in the distance that the railroad was approaching another bridge... another reason to be glad of converting the wagon back to a wheeled version... crossing the last bridge with it as a sled had been hard work! As he congratulated himself on how easy it would be this time, he noticed that Trigger had stopped moving for once, instead standing and sniffing the air.
“The 'bombable snow pony!” The little pegasus suddenly shouted, darting with a burst of wingpower to the back of the convoy, “It's back to eat me!”
Apollo glanced back over his shoulder questioningly. What was the little colt excited about this time? As he looked, he saw Quartermaster behind him.
“Aw, that silly liddle colt,” The old pony said, “after that critter tore up the camp, I told 'em a few stories about my great grandpappy and the abominable snowpony, and now look, the liddle feller's seein' 'em everywhere!”
Suspicion grew in Apollo's mind though... If there was one thing he had learned, it was to never doubt the little pegasus colt's senses. He stared long and hard at the road ahead... and finally, he saw it. In the snow just beyond the distant railroad trestle, he could see a familiar pattern of black dots in the white background. Horseapples! That thing must be smarter than it looked!
“Stop!” He shouted out, quickly bringing the whole group to a halt. They looked at him quizzically, confused about the sudden stop, no doubt. “The bear is up there, just on the other side of the bridge up ahead,” He explained, “We've got to find a way around.”
“But the nearest bridge must be hundreds of miles away,” Albatross said, hovering just above the group, “If there even is one!”
“Right,” Apollo said, “Hm... and only the two of us could fly over...” He sat for a moment, thinking... all he had to do was think of a brilliant plan to get them past the bear... after that, no problem, right?
His thoughts were interrupted by Shimmer Spell stepping forward, a determined look on her face. “Let me at 'em,” she said, “This is a rematch Shimmer Spell has been waiting for.”
Apollo was taken aback by the firmness of her voice, and the absurdity of what she was suggesting. “But it's huge! What are you going to do against that thing!?!”
Albatross joined in on the nay-saying. “No way am I letting you go up against that thing all alone! I'm not going to lose you!”
She stared both of the pegasi down, “Shimmer can do this, and she will.”
The force of her will was impressive... neither pegasus was willing to take a stand against it. With a final stare, she grabbed a rope out of the wagon and trotted off briskly toward the bridge. The rest of the group followed at a distance, save for Albatross, who flew protectively just above, apparently unnoticed by his marefriend.
* * *
Apollo's crew waited, faces peeking over a shallow hill at the confrontation at the bridge. Shimmer spell stood at one end, looking far more confident than any pony in her right mind should, while the gigantic bear stood at the other end, almost as wide as the bridge itself.
The unicorn's horn began to glow, and the rope she had brought snaked its way off from around her neck to float in midair along the length of the bridge. The bear snarled and roared from its side of the bridge, sending the rest of Apollo's team a little lower into their hiding places.
Shimmer's horn began to glow even more brightly, and a clump of snow formed itself into a vaguely pony-like shape near the bear. Seeing this, the bear lunged at it, but the snow sculpture jumped away just in time, moving surprisingly quickly, and in a surprisingly life-like way. Again, the bear made a lunging swipe at the snowpony, and again it avoided the attack. As this pattern repeated, the two moved slowly and jerkily toward the lip of the canyon the bridge had been built over.
The bear's face transmitted a look of pure glee as it finally had the snowpony pinned against the canyon wall. With nowhere to run now, it would finally be caught! But, just as the bear moved in for the kill, the snowpony simply fell apart, slumping back down into a lumpy pile of old snow. The bear stared at the lump, sniffing it incredulously, when a glowing length of rope appeared in front of it, beginning to wave hypnotically. The bear watched the end of the rope waver back and forth impossibly, not noticing as the other end began to coil around its own legs.
With a sudden pull, the rope coiled itself tightly around the bear's legs, breaking its hypnotic stare and making it both enraged and off balance. For no discernible reason, Shimmer Spell reared up, flailing her hooves as she brought her plan to fruition. A blue glow enveloped the bear, shoving it sideways, straight toward the canyon. With a surprisingly high-pitched yelp, it toppled in, rolling down the wall and landing in the stream at the bottom with a huge splash.
As the bear washed away downstream, and as Apollo and his crew ran forward, Shimmer Spell brought the rope flying back up to coil itself at her feet and turned toward her friends.
Albatross, having been hovering above rather than hiding, was the first to arrive, smothering his marefriend in effusive praise and a huge hug.
As Apollo ran up to her, the one thing he could see was pride. This unicorn had just done something amazing, in front of everypony, and she was clearly enjoying it! He suspected that if any more pride was stuffed into the single pony, she might burst. Still, it was wholly justified, and with his beaming smile matching hers, he joined in with the rapidly growing group hug.
* * *
Finally! As he crested yet another hill, the city of Stalliongrad unfolded below him. Apollo had never been more glad to see smoke! Smoke was rising from a few chimneys down below! No ghost town this time!
In fact, as he looked down the railroad – now with only a slight dusting of snow on it – he saw a couple ponies approaching along the line. How long had it been since he had seen a (living) pony who wasn't a member of his crew? It seemed like eons now, and though he loved his crew, he found himself strangely eager to meet somepony – anypony – new. He strained his eyes to see the newcomers... he thought about asking Trigger, with that little colt's eyesight, he could probably get a full description... but no, he would meet them soon enough, he decided... for now, all he could tell was that a little yellow pony was walking side-by-side with a larger purple pony. He couldn't wait to meet them.
Twilight Sparkle wasn't exactly happy about walking to the next town... But this was the last town! The last place she hadn't yet searched for her friends. She wished she could teleport there, as she had to the other towns all over Equestria... then she could meet back up with her friends right away! But no, the town was very far, very remote... and maps of it were frustratingly vague. She could teleport somewhere she had never been, of course, but she needed to know precisely where it was – something she couldn't do when given maps that only vaguely showed the direction Fairflanks would be in.
She wouldn't let that stop her though! Not after searching all of Equestria for her lost friends. She moved on, Sunny Daze at her side as always. Her mission was almost complete. After all, she had looked in every other town, which left only one logical possibility, however unlikely it seemed: her friends were in Fairflanks. Thinking on it, what could be more reasonable than that, really? If you wanted to escape a deadly disease, where better to go than the most remote town in all of Equestria?
Twilight walked on, a little lost in thought about how wonderful it would be to finally see her friends again. The railroad line was an easy path to follow, and it left her paying little attention to her surroundings.
Sunny Daze broke her reverie, “Hey, look Twi, Somepony's coming!”
Twilight looked up, and indeed, a group of ponies were coming down the line in the other direction, just barely now within sight. They seemed to have a wagon, too, and looking up, she saw they had a pegasus flying overhead. She felt conflicted... she wanted to ask them if they had seen her friends, of course... but over the course of her travels, she had learned that the world as it was now wasn't always the safest place... and a big group of strange ponies roaming around might not have the best of intentions.
She looked over at Sunny Daze. The innocent little filly was straining her eyes, trying to get a better look at the oncoming strangers. Fear took hold of Twilight... she didn't want Sunny exposed to... whatever that group might do. With a violet flash, Twilight and a surprised and confused looking Sunny suddenly appeared well off to the side of the tracks, in the woods where they wouldn't be seen. Twilight cut off the filly's shouted complaint with a hoof in the mouth.
“They might be bad ponies, so let's just stay here where it's safe, okay?”
“Mpfhm,” Sunny replied... correcting it to, “Okay,” once Twilight removed her hoof from Sunny's mouth. “But they don't look bad,” she whispered.
Twilight just wrapped around the filly protectively. She had taken responsibility for this little pony, and in these troubled times, she wasn't taking any chances.
* * *
As his crew approached the place where the two ponies had vanished, Apollo looked for signs of them... which weren't difficult to find. Two sets of hoofprints, one bigger and one smaller, led to a slightly singed patch and disappeared there. As he stood looking at the spot – unicorn magic had always secretly freaked him out a little – Hair Trigger caught up with him.
Apollo felt a nudge at his side, and looked down at the little pegasus colt. “Um... 'Pollo?”
He looked down at his youngest team member.
“Those two ponies, they're over there, watching us.”
Apollo looked to where Trigger was pointing, and after squinting into the woods for some time, he was finally able to make out a little flash of yellow far off in the distance. He couldn't see it, but he was willing to bet there would be a little purple not far away. He could only barely make out a tiny bit of color. He would never have noticed without having it pointed out, and definitely couldn't tell if the two ponies were watching them or not!
“We know you're out there!” He shouted at them. “Show yourselves!”
* * *
Twilight cringed and hid further behind a tree when she heard one of the strange ponies call out. Unfortunately, in doing so, she loosened her grip on Sunny.
Twilight winced as Sunny called out with a loud, “Okay!” and began running toward the newcomers. Quickly, she took chase, determined to catch the filly before she could get herself into trouble. Branches slapped her in the face as she zig-zagged through the dense woods. She ran on at top speed, desperate to catch up, but the little filly was fast – and she could run right under the thick fir branches that were slowing Twilight down.
Finally approaching the errant yellow filly, Twilight caught her with a leaping tackle, landing together in a heap. Thank Celestia's ghost, she had stopped Sunny in time! She looked up in relief, right into a pair of vividly blue eyes looking back down at her. She jumped to her feet, ready for action... only to stop as she noticed the variously confused and bemused faces looking back at her.
She stood a moment longer, legs still braced wide for a fight, as her look of fierce determination faded to a more bashful tone. These ponies didn't look evil. As she came to terms with how her suspicions were probably just paranoia, the first pony she had seen – a light blue pegasus with a grey mane – stepped towards her.
“Apollo Dawn,” he said, “explorer extrodinaire. It's nice to meet you, ... ah”
Twilight let herself relax a little, “Oh, uh, Twilight Sparkle,” She said with a blush, “And this is–”
“Sunny Daze!” the little filly shouted out, jumping up from where Twilight had tackled her.
“And nice to meet you, too, little lady!” He replied. “So what brings you two out here?”
“Oh, well,” Twilight said, “We're looking for some friends of mine. Maybe you've seen them? There's a pegasus with a rainbow mane, and a pink–”
Apollo interrupted her, “We haven't seen them. You're going to Fairflanks to find them?”
“That's right,” Twilight confirmed, “We've looked everywhere else, so they have to be there!”
The pegasus pony's face fell. “You won't find them there. Trust me.”
“What?” Twilight asked, incredulously, “I told you they have to be there. It's logically the only place left where they could be!”
Apollo sighed, “Everypony there is gone. It's a ghost town.”
Twilight refused to accept it. She would find her friends, she had to. And since she had looked everywhere else, they had to be in Fairflanks. “You don't get it. They have to be there.” She tried to explain.
Apollo just shook his head. There would be no reasoning with this one. “All right then... it's been nice meeting you. Have a nice trip.” He turned, continuing to walk down the tracks, but looking back as he did so.
Twilight set off northward again with a sigh, taking a quick look back to make sure Sunny was following. She would show that guy. She would go to Fairflanks, and she would find her friends there, and they'd fix everything that was wrong, and they'd get back to normal, and everything would be like it should.
* * *
Apollo looked back at the now receding unicorn.
“She'll be dead a long time before she gets there,” Splints commented, “Serve her right, too, for being so dumb and stubborn.”
He graced her with a reproving look, which she didn't seem to notice.
“Awww,” Needle Point added in, “But what about that cute little filly with her?”
Trigger jumped into the conversation, literally. “Yeah! What about her!?!”
Apollo looked at the two strangers again... and made his decision.
“Wait!” Apollo shouted after the purple unicorn, “You're going to make the trip all the way to Fairflanks like that?”
“Huh?” The unicorn said, turning around, “Like what?”
“Like you're headed to a dainty little tea party!” Splints butted in.
Apollo gave her another reproving look, which similarly seemed to go unheeded.
“So poorly equipped.” He added in himself.
The stubborn little unicorn only seemed tiffed that he should question her. “Why, I've got everything I need!” Her horn lit up with a violet glow, and a scroll lifted up out of one saddlebag. She unrolled it and began to read, “Egghead's Guide to Search and Rescue: Check... Totally Terrific Traveler's Tome: Check... Map of Equestria: Check... Map of the North Territories: Check... Checklist of things in the bag...”
Apollo was taken aback... Did this mare really think she could walk all the way to Fairflanks because she had a few books and scrolls? “But what do you have to deal with the snow?”
“Oh, this?” She scuffed a hoof along the light dusting of snow on the ground, “I'm not worried about that!”
With a sigh, Apollo reminded himself to be patient. “You're not really the traveling type, are you?”
“Well... no,” she admitted, “But I've read a lot about traveling!”
Ignoring Splints' burst of laughter, he forged on, “The snow gets worse further on. A lot worse... and a couple books aren't going to help.” She looked a little worried; good, maybe he was finally getting through to her. “Why don't you come back to town with us, and we'll get you properly equipped for the trip, hmm?”
“Well, you see,” she looked conflicted, “I'm kind of anxious to find my friends... I mean, I'm sure it can't be that bad, and–” She stopped, as the little yellow filly next to her wrapped a hoof around her leg, staring up at her with pleading eyes.
Seeing the opportunity, Apollo Dawn used it to help sway the unicorn, “If not for yourself, do it for the little filly there. It's not an easy trip. You don't want to risk her safety, do you?”
She sighed, “Okay, let's go. I guess it can wait one more day.”
“Good, come on then,” he said, “I'll introduce you to my crew as we go.”
* * *
Twilight hated to be turning back. It felt like she was turning her back on her friends. But as she had talked to the leader of this well-prepared group, she had started to feel completely unprepared for a long journey... and as she had looked down at Sunny, she had thought of what it would be like to lose her. After being responsible for the loss of the princesses and the loss of her friends, she couldn't bear the idea of being responsible for even more loss.
So, she found herself on the way back to Stalliongrad, alongside Apollo Dawn – the Apollo Dawn! She realized. She had read of him, of course. What bookworm hadn't heard of the real-life Daring Do? To be walking along with him now was pretty amazing, really.
As they walked, he began making introductions, “Okay, first off, that guy up above us is Albatross. He's my closest assistant, and he goes everywhere I go! ... Except right now he doesn't go on the ground because he's got a broken leg.”
Twilight looked up, and indeed, the white pegasus up above had his front leg in a sling. How long had he been flying?
“And this here is Needle Point, our navigator.” The little brown mare who had been walking alongside him blushed a little, and gave a shy wave.
Apollo stepped off to the side of the path, and began walking more slowly, with Twilight and Sunny following, “Here's Quartermaster, he's–”
He was cut off by the old pony himself, “Why, it's a pleasure makin' your acquaintance young miss!” he said, making a stiff bow right there in the middle of the path.
Twilight giggled a little. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“Now see here!” Quartermaster said sternly, “I were talkin' to the young miss!”
With a smiling face, as a miffed Twilight looked on, Sunny returned the gesture, bowing deeply, “The pleasure's all mine, gentle fellow!”
Looking inordinately pleased with himself, Quartermaster moved on, no longer holding up the wagon behind him.
“And this is Pebbles” Apollo said, pointing out the big green mare pulling the wagon. She gave only a grunt and a dismissive little wave.
“And this is...” Apollo looked around, “Aw, where'd he get to now?”
A bright little orange and yellow pegasus colt skidded to a halt in front of Twilight, seemingly from nowhere, “Looking for me?”
“Right,” Apollo continued, “That would be Hair Trigger.”
Sunny piped in now, “Oh, Hi!”
“Hiya!” Trigger said with a bright smile, “Wanna play?”
Sunny Daze only replied with a beaming smile. How long had it been, Twilight wondered, since she had a real playmate her age? Hair Trigger shot off again, just an orangeish blur, quickly followed by the lighter yellow blur of Sunny Daze.
Apollo stopped his introductions for a moment to smile at the two. “He really doesn't get to play with kids his age much. Nice to see him get an opportunity,” he said, mirroring Twilight's thoughts. “Anyway, moving on, this is Splints,” He pointed to a pink and yellow earth pony. “She might be a little rude sometimes, but she's got a good heart.” Splints just rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue in disgust at the display of sentimentality before walking on past the two.
“And this,” Apollo Continued, “is... wait... where is she?” He looked around, evidently not seeing who he was looking for. “Hey, where's Shimmer?”
Hair Trigger landed next to Apollo, Sunny close behind, “Oh, she's just on the other side of the wagon!”
“Hey, come on out so we can introduce you, Shimmer!” Apollo called out, only to hear an unintelligible whimper from behind the wagon. With a glance back at Twilight, he trotted over, with the new unicorn and the two foals behind him.
As they rounded the corner of the wagon, Shimmer Spell came into view. “Wait...” Sunny said, “Isn't that the great and powerful–”
“TRIXIE!?!” Twilight shouted in surprise, “What are you doing here?”
The blue unicorn just curled up into an even tighter ball where she lay, mumbling, “No not her anypony but her...”
“So, I guess you two have met?” Apollo said to Twilight.
“Oh, you could say that,” Twilight responded, “She came to Ponyville once, with her traveling show, and she made a complete flank of herself before she finally got exposed as a fake and ran out of town.”
“A traveling wha–”
Apollo's question was cut off by the sudden presence of a big white pegasus in between them and the cowering unicorn. “You leave my Shimmer alone!” Albatross shouted. “If anypony's making a flank of herself, it's you!”
“But Trixie's just a big faker!” Sunny butted in. “She puts on a big show, but really she can't do anything.”
“That's not true!” Albatross shouted defensively. “You should have seen how she took out that bear when—”
“Oh, she told you that story, too?” Twilight asked, laughing. “She made the whole thing up, you know. She even admitted it the last time I saw her. Trixie just makes up stories like that to make herself look better.”
“My fiancé's name is Shimmer Spell!” Albatross yelled, scowling. “And she did not make it up! I saw it myself, we all did!”
Twilight looked confused for a moment. She looked over at Apollo, who just nodded, affirming that he, too had seen it. She looked back at Trixie. Was this really the same pony? Same blue coat, same eyes, same flowing pale blue mane, same unmistakable magic wand cutie mark... even still wearing a cape! ... It had to be her!
“But... but... Trixie's just–”
“SHIMMER SPELL,” Apollo corrected forcefully.
Twilight just sat back quietly, now doubting herself... Everything she knew about the unicorn in front of her was being called into question.
Apollo looked up at the sky, “Anyway... Come on, let's get to town. I'd like to get there before it gets dark again.”
Hair Trigger shot off down the railroad, with Sunny following close behind. Apollo continued to walk with Twilight, but silently now, and Twilight could feel his disapproval. Albatross and Trixie – or was it Shimmer? – followed along well behind the rest of the group, with Albatross scowling and keeping himself between Twilight and his fiancé the whole time.
* * *
Despite Apollo Dawn's intentions, the sun was below the horizon again before they arrived at the outskirts of Stalliongrad. He began to consider where his group should stay... The Grand? The Mountain Lodge? The Gold Rush?
“Why hello there!” a voice called from the dimly lit street. “Nice of ya to come back Twilight! And look! Ya brought friends! I sure am glad to see that – it was getting pretty lonely around here!”
As Apollo strained to see where the voice was coming from, Splints spoke up incredulously, “Lonely? In 'The Star of the North'? Well, that's gotta be your own fault! What are you, ugly or something? Come on out and let me see!”
Apollo gave her a reproving look. He did wish she would be less rude to strangers. You never knew when you might need their help or something, after all. This time though, his reproving look might have been legitimately not noticed... it was getting awfully dark after all.
“High Stakes!” Apollo heard Twilight call out. “Good to see you again too. Think we could stay at the casino again?”
“Of course!” The voice said. Now detaching itself from the vague shadows, a pony came walking out from under an awning of a nearby building. “All the rooms are empty, these days, you know... Heh, I guess ponies don't see much point in gambling anymore.”
“Wait,” Apollo interjected. They had progressed to the famous Stalliongrad strip... there should have been bright lights and excited ponies all over the place – no matter what the time of day or night! “Why is there nopony around? Why is everything empty? Why are all the lights off?”
Twilight and High Stakes both stopped walking, turning to look at Apollo... then to look at each other, and back to Apollo again. “You mean you don't know?” They both said in unison.
“Know what?” Apollo asked, a little alarmed. “What happened here?”
“The same thing that happened in all of Equestria,” Twilight answered, “A disease came through, and it killed most of the ponies... and left a lot of the others weak and helpless.”
“All of Equestria?” he asked, dumbstruck. “All of Equestria... all of it like Fairflanks...” He stared blankly for a moment, absorbing this terrible news. “Wait, then the Sun and the Moon, what about that?”
Twilight's face suddenly looked guilt-strained, but she choked it down. “The disease was caused by a draconequus named Pestilence... and I... I...” The little yellow filly next to her drew closer, comforting her. “And I was there when... Pestilence killed them.”
“Killed them... who?” Apollo asked, confused. “...Oh...” he began to understand on his own, just as Twilight began to speak.
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna... When they fell, the sun and moon went down with them... And my friends...” She was silent for a moment... she seemed to be fighting with something, her voice was strained, “The friends I had left anyway, all scattered to get away when that happened. I've been looking for them ever since.”
Apollo's mind was fighting for some purchase, some fact he could leverage to convince himself it was all untrue. It couldn't be... everything he had known would be in shambles now if that was true. Aha! “But you said you had searched all of Equestria for your friends! There's no way you could do that in such a short time... not just in the time since the sun and moon fell.”
Twilight looked abashed for a moment, “Well, being able to teleport helps.”
“No,” Apollo insisted, “Nopony could teleport that far, that much... and did you take that filly with you the whole time? That's doubly impossible!”
“Well,” Twilight demurred, “I kind of had some practice at it... and it did wear me out for a while... but once I recovered, I could teleport better than ever... so I've been using it as much as I can in order to find my friends faster.”
Slowly, Apollo began to believe the purple unicorn's tale... and he was conflictingly filled with both fright and awe in the pony's abilities... and with aching loss at the idea of losing everything he had ever known or worked towards.
“Ah, here we are!” High Stakes called out, standing below a dead and dark neon sign that was apparently supposed to be a cowpony waving a lasso, though it was hard to tell in the dark. “For you new ponies, this is The Mountain Lodge, finest casino in all of Stalliongrad! ... Or at least it was before everypony left and the power went out.” He pushed open the door, ushering them inside. “Now you new fellas look a bit worn out, so let's just get a quick bite and then hit the hay, hmm? We can get acquainted in the morning.”
Twilight Sparkle sat alone in the dark and quiet casino floor. She had found it to be the perfect place to be alone for a while, and the eerily gloomy and silent atmosphere suited her mood. All around her were slot machines, game tables, even a vacant bar mouldered nearby... but instead of the din of activity, light, and noise the place would normally be full of it was all empty. Somewhere – in the bar maybe? – she could hear water slowly dripping, a sound she never would have been able to hear in the casino's heyday. It was the perfect place to sit back and think... especially for the kind of thinking she was doing now.
She had slowly come to trust Apollo... something about him just seemed like he wouldn't be the type to lie... something about him reminded her of Applejack, actually. If he was telling the truth though... if Fairflanks really was an abandoned ghost town... It would mean her quest to find her friends had failed. She wasn't sure she could handle even more failure from herself. Hadn't it been her failure that had sealed the princesses' fate? Hadn't it been her failure that had doomed Applejack? And now she was failing again... she had told her friends to scatter and run... it was her responsibility to find them again... and she had failed. Again.
She slammed her hooves down on the nearest slot machine, breaking the eerie silence with a clanging thud... followed by another slightly softer one as her head followed suit. She felt sick... like she was hollow inside. Without her friends, she had lost everything now... even herself – she didn't want to be herself anymore. She was just a failure, a wretched useless failure. Another string tugged at her conscience. Apollo's team had thought she would have died if she had continued on the railroad as she was... That she would have been responsible for even more loss... If they hadn't stopped her, she would have lead Sunny off to freeze... another failure... of the only responsibility she had left. She slid down to the floor, curling up into a ball and moaning. There was nothing left for her... nothing at all... and–
“Twilight... Sparkle?”
She looked up, to see Trixie – Trixie of all ponies! – looking down at her with a strange look on her face – Twilight couldn't quite figure out what it was, but she knew if Trixie had come for her revenge, to prove she was better than Twilight... she couldn't have picked a better time. Twilight was sure at this point that she was the worst pony in history, completely worthless in every way. Anypony could prove themselves better than her now, and she would only agree.
“Shimmer Spell came here to... well... apologize. ... She didn't mean to disturb you... um... she'll leave, it's no problem.”
“Wait, Trixie! ... oh... or... uh, Shimmer!” Twilight called out. She had now recognized the look on the blue unicorn's face as a mixture of shyness and pity... a strange mixture, and doubly unrecognizable as neither emotion was one she would have expected from her! Suddenly though, she very much needed somepony to talk to... so much so that even Trixie... or Shimmer, would do. “Apologize for what?”
Shimmer turned back to face Twilight again, but averted her eyes, seeming to suddenly find one of the dead gaming machines next to her fascinating. “Well... um... for the last time we met... when Shimmer Spell's name used to be Trixie... she wasn't very nice... she said things that Shimmer regrets... and she did things that she regrets.” She looked up at Twilight again, still looking remorseful. “But she learned her lesson. And she changed her name... so Trixie is gone... and now Shimmer is ready to make amends.”
Twilight looked up at Shimmer, grateful, even if it did nothing about her problem. “I forgive you. I always hoped you'd learn someday and become a good pony again... and now you have.” She gave a weak, teary smile.
Twilight's smile brought concern to Shimmer's face, “What were you doing alone in the dark anyway? It took Shimmer forever to find you.”
Twilight fell back into her gloom. “I... I've lost everything.” She couldn't believe who it was she was confiding in... but who else was there? “And I'm a worthless failure. Everypony around me dies and it's all my fault.” Shimmer Spell knelt down next to the curled-up Twilight, and wrapped a hoof over her comfortingly. “And now I've failed to find my friends... I've lost them too... Lost everything and now I have nothing and nowhere to go nothing to do.” Her face fell back into her hooves again. She had never felt so low.
“When Shimmer left Ponyville, she lost everything, too. She lost her home and her outfit, and her act... and all her fans... She lost everything she had. She ran down the road until it hurt to run... and she ran some more. She had to escape her failure.” Twilight looked up at Shimmer. She hadn't realized what that pony had gone through. “When Shimmer couldn't run any more, she dropped on the side of the road and she cried. She had no friends, no family, no home, and nopony to turn to. She couldn't even be proud of herself.”
Twilight sat up now, still looking morose, but now paying attention to the story more than her own misery. “She didn't want to be Trixie anymore... so she changed her name and she became Shimmer Spell...” She looked down regretfully. “but that didn't change anything, of course. Shimmer was still broken, she was still cold and hungry, and she was still lonely. She thought her life was over... she would just lie there until she died... but then...” A warm smile came to Shimmer's face. “Then a group of ponies came down the road... they took pity on Shimmer, and they gave her good warm food, and brought her to the next town... and when they found out that Shimmer was homeless and jobless... they gave her both.”
“Apollo and his group,” Twilight guessed.
“MmHm. And that's when Shimmer learned... even when you're broken and everything is gone... there's only one way to go... to move forward. Now Shimmer has a life again... she has friends... and she has a lover... But if she hadn't moved on from the side of the road there, she would still be broken and worthless.” She lifted a hoof, raising Twilight's face from staring at the floor to looking at her. “You have to move on and move forward with your life Twilight Sparkle... you can't stay broken forever...”
Twilight ended Shimmer's talk by suddenly rising up and hugging her fiercely. “Thank you Shimmer,” She said. “I'll try... and I won't forget this.”
* * *
As Twilight softly shut the door of her room behind her, the first sunrise of the night was just beginning to become visible in the window. She looked at Sunny Daze, sleeping soundly, curled up in a ball, with the beginning of the sunrise through the window behind her... This was her future, she realized. And she would move on... for this little filly's sake. With her magic, she softly drew the curtains closed before the sun could shine in fully, taking her own place on the room's other bed. As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered, moving on or not, could she ever forgive herself?
“I really can't thank you enough for this,” Apollo Dawn said to High Stakes. “It's just amazing!” There was indeed quite a spread on the breakfast table, worthy of the casino even in its prime.
“Don't mention it,” The orangeish pony replied. “Back in the day I might have made most of my money dancin' and gamblin', but I did my time helping with the chefs too, and I learned a thing or two!” He brushed a hoof through his yellow mane. “Anyway... are you all going to be staying long?”
Apollo looked around the table. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do, actually. To his left, Splints just sat grumpily. She apparently hadn't appreciated it when Trigger had woken her up. Albatross and Shimmer Spell sat to his right, and Apollo thought it strange that while Shimmer had been painfully shy, and even afraid of Twilight earlier, now the two unicorns were sitting there staring at each other, without a hint of fear or animosity... Had something happened between those two? Across from him, Needle Point sat sullenly... her eyes were very red... and if the way Pebbles was sitting close, giving silent comfort, was any indication, the shy little mare must have been crying all night last night. For a moment, he wondered who she thought she lost... but soon his thoughts returned to the present. He had more urgent concerns.
His thoughts were interrupted for a moment by another loud crash from down in the empty gaming floor. Trigger and the new little filly, Sunny Daze, had been playing down there since they woke up, with only a tiny break to wolf down a bit of breakfast. What had the two destroyed this time?
He shoved thoughts of that aside for the moment though, instead focusing on the more important issue: talking to his crew. “So, I guess every town in Equestria is going to be like this,” he said, looking around the table, “And that means we've got to decide what we're going to do now.” That got their attention... as well as the attention of High Stakes, who seemed to take that as the answer to his earlier question. The rest of the ponies around the table just looked nervous or apprehensive... except for Splints, who was still keeping to her grumpy visage.
“The exploration missions for the university are canceled, of course, and since they won't be paying us anymore, all our contracts are canceled too.” He glanced around, looking each of them in the eye... well, those who would make eye contact anyway. “But... anypony who wants to stay with the crew... we'll stick together, and we'll find a way to move on.”
He saw Twilight's face suddenly lift up and look at him as if she had just suddenly noticed he was there... now what was up with that? From his own crew though, he saw nods and looks of faint hope. He could see that they wanted to stay together. He looked closely at Splints who still hadn't moved. She looked back at him, still with an annoyed look on her face... but for a moment, he saw something stranger and deeper in her eyes... She made a barely perceptible nod before quickly returning to her scowl.
“So, I think we should find a place to settle in and rebuild, somewhere safe...” He looked around at the casino. “This place is nice... but it's still pretty far north... and after what we saw on the way in, I don't think we want to risk spending the winter so far north with this crazy weather going on.”
He saw a few vehement nods of agreement from around the table, though High Stakes looked a little crestfallen. Apparently his crew had seen more than enough snow! “We can't all go back to my hometown... Cloudsdale wouldn't work so well for our wingless friends!” He paused for the laugh, hoping to relieve a little tension with humor... and received only silence in return. Apparently the mood around the table was too dark for that. A little embarrassed, he continued, “So... any suggestions?”
“Canterlot?” Quartermaster spoke up, “What city could be better than that?”
Before Apollo could reply, Twilight Sparkle cut in. “NO. You don't want to go there!” Everypony at the table turned to look at her, and she looked a little abashed after her outburst, but she explained herself. “That's where Pestilence has been living most of the time. You don't want to go there... you'll just end up being her...” she winced, “playthings.”
“Who?” Quartermaster asked, confused.
“Pestilence is the draconequus who caused all this... She made this disease, and she killed the princesses.” Twilight looked sickened for a moment. “And she really likes dead things... And now she lives in Canterlot. I barely got out alive when I went there looking for my friends.” She hung her lead low. “And it's all for nothing with that thing still out there! She'll keep killing, and everything we rebuild will be lost again.”
“We can't just give up,” Apollo replied. “We have to try something, and we can't stay here.”
“What about Trottingham?” Splints asked. A few murmurs of agreement from around the table came in reply.
Twilight just shook her head. “Some stallion named Black Diamond is running a nasty gang there... When I visited there, they tried to force me and Sunny to stay and work for them... If you go there, you're in for either a big fight or a future of slavery...”
A few ponies around the table winced. “Which brings to mind,” Apollo cut in, “we could use someplace defensible... you never know what might be coming, and the royal guard won't be around to solve our problems anymore.”
Thoughtful silence filled the table as each pony sat and tried to think of a good place to go. Suddenly, Albatross jerked up, 'I've got an idea!' broadcast on his face. “I think I might know a place!” he said.
Apollo looked over at him questioningly. “Where?”
“Just outside of where I grew up in Las Pegasus, there's a place called Griffon's Gate Castle. It was built for the griffon wars way back, and then used as the immigration checkpoint for the first treaty with them... but ever since the new treaty a few hundred years ago, it hasn't been used at all.”
Apollo – together with most of the other ponies at the table – looked over at Twilight expectantly.
She, though, hadn't expected to be the center of attention, and looked around uncomprehendingly for a moment before she realized what they were all waiting for. “I don't know anything bad about it,” she said. “The plague hit Las Pegasus hard... I didn't see any other living ponies when I was there.”
Apollo nodded to himself. “An old castle will have strong walls, and it won't depend on modern technology...”
Albatross cut in, “And I heard there's a natural spring in the middle.”
With a smile and rolled eyes, Apollo continued. “So it seems like a pretty good place to go.” He looked around the table once more. “Any objections?”
Only silence greeted him in return. “Well then, it's settled. Let's set off for Las Pegasus tomorrow morning. Today, we'll gather supplies.” He looked to his right, then to his left. “Splints, Albie, we'll be taking the most dangerous assignment. We still need medical supplies.” He looked back to the rest of the table. “Quarter, I want you to take the rest and gather up all the other supplies we'll need for the trip to Las Pegasus... food, water, and anything else you think we'll need.” He knew he could count on the old pony to get just the right supplies. Somehow he always knew exactly what would be needed... some of that elusive earth pony magic, maybe?
As he looked around, Albatross looked back at him a little apprehensively, and Apollo didn't blame him. Going to any kind of medical center would be risky... they might get infected from some lingering disease. He couldn't allow the risk of continuing on in this dangerous environment with no first aid supplies though. As he was about to get up, he heard Twilight clear her throat shyly...
“Um... well,” She dithered, “Sunny and I have nowhere to go now... and I was thinking... maybe... well, maybe we could come with you, too?”
Apollo's first impulse was to refuse. He still remembered the pony from yesterday, who had thought that a few books would be sufficient to get her to Fairflanks... he supposed that his crew could use all the help they could get though. He sighed. “Okay, you can come along... just try not to get in the way, okay?” He looked over to High Stakes. “Are you coming, too?”
The slick-maned pony laughed, “Oh no. This place is my life... has been forever. I'll stay here, for better or for worse.”
Apollo thought him foolish, perhaps even more so than the purple unicorn across the table, but he had no right to force the pony to leave... “Well, it's going to get cold, remember... and if you change your mind, you're welcome to come along, too.”
“You're really going looking for medical supplies?” Twilight asked apprehensively. She stood in the casino's entryway as Apollo and the other two ponies with him prepared to go.
“We can't do without them, lady.” Apollo replied.
“But it's too risky!” Twilight insisted, “the hospitals are all full of dead ponies... and they still carry the disease.”
Apollo scoffed at this pony of all ponies trying to tell him to be safe. “It's my job. Getting things from dangerous places is pretty much what I do!”
“Well, at least let me go with you,” she pleaded.
Apollo laughed this time. “You? ... And what would you do, besides get in the way?” He winced a little; he hadn't meant for that to sound so rude.
She didn't seem perturbed by it though. Instead, she gritted her teeth and her horn began to glow. Apollo's leeriness of magic came into full force as a violet aura surrounded him closely. He suppressed a shiver... he didn't want to appear weak and fearful, not now. The aura seemed to solidify around him, becoming, well, shiny... he lifted his hoof up, and he could see the reflection of the sun on the magic around his leg. As he set it back down he noticed something odd... he couldn't feel the ground below it anymore. Instead, it felt like stepping on a smooth bubble.
“There,” Twilight Sparkle said pridefully, “the personal barrier spell!” She trotted up and poked him, causing a ripple in the field, but he couldn't feel it at all. “You can still breathe and move around, and do pretty much anything, but now nothing can touch you.”
She touched him with her horn, and as the spell dissolved, he couldn't help but be a little impressed, despite his distaste for magic. “Where'd you learn that?” He asked.
“Oh... that?” She asked, a with a little faux modesty. “I made it up myself... number twelve... it's actually based on an older spell for...” Her face began to blush furiously. “well, for protection on a more intimate level... just change it a little to allow filtered air in instead of sense of touch...”
Apollo glanced at the unicorn... Had she just covered him in a magical, full-body... what? He shook his head. At any rate, it didn't matter. “Well, come on then, we need to get moving if we want to be back before dark.” He looked at the purple unicorn again. Seems she was talented after all... maybe he had been wrong about her.
* * *
As the four ponies walked down Stalliongrad's main street, for some reason Twilight couldn't stop thinking about the warm look of approval the blue pegasus had given her. What was it about that? Somehow, at the moment, it seemed to be the one thing making her life worthwhile... But how could that be? She didn't care what he thought of her... did she?
* * *
Apollo nudged open the hospital door, all four ponies already covered by Twilight's protection spell. Already, just the entrance alone was a house of horrors. Ponies littered the place, barely even a clear path between them. He found himself very glad of the filtered air... he didn't want to know what this smelled like.
He picked his way through, stepping around carefully. Behind him followed Albatross, a horrified look on his face. As he reached the main lobby – again littered with bodies, though now at least they were covered in sheets – he turned to see Splints following, disgust and morbid curiosity warring on her face. Behind her came Twilight Sparkle, who to his surprise, didn't seem much affected. She looked a little distressed, to be sure, but didn't show the horror or revulsion he was expecting.
Of course, he thought, she's been all over Equestria... she's seen all this before. He stepped carefully between the sheets lining the floor, off to a side hallway... They needed to find a supply closet.
He turned to see Twilight staring at a directory posted on the wall... She turned to him and shrugged... Of course supply closets wouldn't be on the directory... he'd just have to use his instincts to locate one.
Before he turned back, he noticed Splints eying one of the corpses closely. Could she really want a closer look at that? As he watched, she turned down the sheet, revealing what was left of a face. Apollo shuddered. Just who did he have on his team anyway? The pink pony leaned even closer in... what was she going to do, kiss it?
Splints suddenly let out a piercing squeal. She jumped backwards, scrambling away from the corpse she had been looking at. As Apollo looked at her, standing a good distance away now and catching her breath, he saw the rat that had startled her scurry away to some other hiding place. He couldn't prevent a grin from spreading across his face... maybe she wasn't quite so untouchable after all!
“And then, I kid you not, she made her own party guests!”
Apollo looked over at Twilight incredulously. “She what?”
“Really, Rainbow saw the whole thing, a bucket of turnips, a pile of rocks, even a wad of lint! She was having her own party with her own homemade guests!”
Apollo laughed, for what seemed like the first time in a long time. His mood certainly seemed to be improving after spending some time with her! “So that's where Madame Le Flour comes in?”
“Exactly!” Twilight said, beaming, as the four ponies approached the casino. She hadn't expected to get along so well with this new pony... but they had really grown to understand each other once they started sharing stories about their friends.
“Ugh... finally, I don't have to listen to this prattering anymore,” Splints said as they reached the casino's entranceway. Quartermaster and most of the rest of the crew were outside, loading the wagon.
Twilight looked at the odd pink pony... she had become increasingly belligerent as the day wore on... had it been because Twilight had laughed when she freaked out about the mouse? Splints tossed her bag of supplies into the waiting wagon. Twilight looked at Apollo Dawn questioningly as she followed suit, using magic to place her bundle of medical supplies in the wagon much more gently.
Apollo just shrugged. “She gets like that sometimes... I wish I knew why... but she just does.” He turned to the ponies bustling around the wagon. “Got everything we needed?”
Somehow, Quartermaster's face popped out, upside down, form the bottom of the wagon. “Jus' bout!”
Motion from the doorway caught Twilight's eye; the door opened, and the big earth pony mare came out, a huge crate on her back that barely fit through the door.
“An there's Pebbles wit tha last of it!” The upside down pony said, vanishing into the wagon again.
Twilight looked over the ponies around the wagon, trying to remember all their names... The old one was Quartermaster, the big one Pebbles, the shy one Needle, and the little colt... where was he? ... After a moment of looking for him, Twilight's mind caught up with her, where was the other youngster? Where was Sunny?
Inexplicably distracted, she had hardly even thought of the little filly all day, and now suddenly she was filled with worry and self-reproach. Had she failed again? It was her job to keep track of the little filly, and she had just completely forgotten about it because she was off with Apollo! Where was she? Was she safe?
She could feel the eyes of a few of the other ponies on her as she began to go into full freak-out mode, “Sunny? Where's Sunny? Is she okay, has anypony seen her?”
Before anypony could answer, the casino door burst open again, a giggling bright yellow filly came shooting through them with one of the casino's shiny, gold-plated thousand bit chips in her mouth. A neon orange and yellow blur shot through after her, yelling, “She stole my chip!”
Apollo tried to keep up with the pair as they ran in zig-zags all over the entranceway, “There's a whole box of those things back in the cashier's room,” he called out.
“I know!” Trigger replied, zooming around the wagon in an attempt to head Sunny Daze off, “And this one's mine!”
Sunny Daze's great escape was suddenly hindered by a surprise tackling hug from a purple unicorn. “Oh Sunny! I was so worried about you!” Twilight said, as the filly looked up at her in confusion.
“I was here the whole time, relax!” she mumbled back through the chip in her mouth.
“But I thought I might have lost you, and–”
Twilight was cut off by Sunny, who seemed to finally notice the seriousness in Twilight's voice and face. She smiled reassuringly, taking the chip out of her mouth, holding it in one hoof, and drawing Twilight into a hug, “I told you, Twi, we'll always be together.”
As the two pulled apart again, a maniacally laughing little pegasus shot in between them, and suddenly the chip was gone. “Hey!” Sunny cried out, jumping up after him, “I stole that fair and square, givit!”
The two carried their pursuit back through the casino doors as Pebbles stepped up beside Twilight. “Don't worry, we've been keeping a close eye on the littles. Me and Needle always work to keep Trigger out of trouble, what's one more furball in the mix?”
Twilight looked up at the big mare in gratitude... she felt that she might be able to fit in here after all.
* * *
Sunny Daze hopped up onto the back of the wagon again. Now this was the way to travel! It beat walking, for sure, and it didn't make her feel dizzy like Twilight's teleporting. She could see a longer way from here too. She craned her neck and squinted, and she could still make out High Stakes waving from the casino entranceway.
She hopped down again – she couldn't seem to hold still long, not with the excitement of a new trip ahead of her – landing next to where Trigger was at the moment, though it didn't stay that way for long; that little pegasus seemed even more excited than her. Up ahead, she could see the other ponies in the group walking along... Twilight was walking up in the front with the blue pegasus. She giggled a little, just out of pure joy. She was happy to see Twilight made a new friend. She was glad to see Twi making friends again and laughing... because she had seemed really sad and lonely lately. Sunny knew though, the best cure for that was making friends and laughing... just like Twilight was.
Sunny continued trotting along down the road, Trigger once again appearing for a few moments at her side before dashing off again. Yep, things were looking up!
The wagon rattled along the cobblestones as Apollo Dawn and his crew made their way out of Hoofington. The sun had only set moments ago, and they would leave the paved road soon. Apollo had been tempted to stay; there was a small, peaceful group of survivors here, seemingly led by a chubby older earth pony mare by the name of Blueberry. She had run a sweet shop before she apparently began running what was left of a town... he could still smell the mouthwatering aromas coming from her parting gifts in the wagon... but his crew couldn't stay here. It was too close to Everfree, and with the collapse of the kingdom, who knew what might come wandering out of there?
As had become his habit lately, he walked alongside Twilight Sparkle. He hadn't liked the mare at first, but he was enjoying having somepony new to talk to... someone other than his crew, since he could pretty much predict what any of them would say on any subject... At least, that's what he told himself, anyway... He glanced over at her, only to see her looking back at him. He quickly looked away again, breaking the unintentional eye contact... now why had he thought it necessary to do that?
As he looked away, he noticed Shimmer walking along with the group dejectedly... She hadn't had any family in Hoofington, or even any real friends, but it was still her home town... Seeing it like this had taken a toll on her, he could tell. He decided to try and talk to her about it, see if he couldn't help her out of this mood a little. As he stepped over to her though, a thin howl cut through the dusk, answered by another.
Twilight stopped walking with a gasp, “It's timberwolves! We used to hear them sometimes in Ponyville, on the other side of the Everfree Forest.”
Albatross's voice cut in from above, “Oh, don't worry, we're still in Hoofington, and headed away from Everfree... we couldn't be safer.”
Apollo told himself there was no need for worry... Albatross was right, after all. He continued on, listening to the staccato beat of the wagon's wheels against the stones. As he looked around at his crew, he saw Needle Point was looking a little nervous... but then again, anything seemed to be able to scare that little mare. The rest of them seemed to accept Albatross's assessment, and were traveling normally... or at least as normally as this little group ever traveled. As he began to relax, another howl rose from behind them... it seemed louder this time.
“They're in the town!” Hair Trigger called out. Apollo looked over to the little pegasus in shock. Timberwolves never left the Everfree Forest! Trigger shot straight upwards with a burst of his wings – he couldn't quite fly but he was able to pop up and hover for just a moment before falling – and landed stiffly, with a puff of dust.
“Did you see them?” Apollo asked, “Are the ponies in the town safe?”
“Yep,” the little orange-maned pegasus said. “But we're not.” Apollo could see the fear on his face. “they've already passed where the ponies are staying... they're headed for us!”
Apollo's heart froze... but only for a moment. This wasn't the first time his team had seen danger, and he wouldn't let it be their last either. As the ponies around him began to run, he yelled out, “Stop!” He had managed to stop them, by shock value alone, perhaps, as they all turned to look at him confusedly. “We can't outrun them with the wagon, and we can't go on without food and water.” He took a fresh look at their surroundings – this seemed to be something of a town square, a big empty circular spot in the road, with a dry fountain in the middle.
“We'll stand here and fight them off,” he said. “Get the wagon over to the fountain there, and get Pebbles unhitched. The rest of you, get the extra firewood out and light it all.” He turned to Twilight and Shimmer, “You two, let's get some kind of barrier up.” He ran right along with the rest of them, unloading firewood from the wagon as Quartermaster worked on getting the first few pieces lit.
* * *
Sunny Daze huddled close to the now roaring bonfire they had made in the center of the dry fountain... she had made sure she was on the side closest to Twilight, and Trigger was at her side... but she was still scared. She realized, as she watched the shadows at the edge of the square warily, that she was the only one here who hadn't been through anything like this before... It wasn't a pleasant thought... what if there was something she was supposed to do, and she didn't know about it?
She let a little gasp escape when she saw the first pair of eyes in the shadows, glinting off from the firelight. She shot over closer to Trigger, who still looked into the shadows defiantly.
* * *
“Umm, Shimmer,” Apollo asked a little nervously, as he too began to see the eyes in the shadows, “Are you and Twilight about ready with that spell?”
“I think she's got it,” Twilight replied, to Apollo's surprise. “I learned this one from my brother. Just needed a few quick modifications to be cast by two ponies instead of one.” She turned, and said a little quieter, “You ready, Shimmer?”
“Ready,” came Shimmer's voice from the other side of the fire.
“Then let's go,” Twilight called out, and her horn began to glow brightly. Peering around the fire, he could see Shimmer's also glowing... oddly not her usual color, but a bright violet. As he noticed that, twin beams of light, the same color, shot up and met overhead above the fire, where they stopped and spread out in a circle... falling down and becoming more transparent until they formed a dome over the whole group.
“Nice going!” Apollo congratulated her, “we'll be safe now.”
“Well...” Twilight said, with difficulty, groaning under the strain of keeping the shield up, “I'm no Shining Armor though... I can't... make it as big as he can... and... I can't hold it up as long.”
“How long?” He asked.
“With... Shimmer helping... an hour maybe?”
Apollo winced. The wolves were visible now, prowling around the outside of the shield. He could see Twilight wince every time one of them tried to push through it... No, this wouldn't do at all... He looked at them... ugly creatures, the looked like walking woodpiles... but with sharp edges and lots of teeth. He didn't want them anywhere near his crew. He looked back at his crew worriedly. They all looked either grim or fearful now... He turned his eyes back on the wolves again, instinctively backing away a little... and winced away with a start as he got a little too close to the now overheated stones of the fountain.
With a start, he looked back at the wolves, their wooden forms menacing in the flickering firelight... He looked back at the fire... and to the wolves again... the wooden wolves... he looked back at the fire again... and he had an idea.
“Twilight,” he asked, “Can your spell let ponies through without letting the wolves in?”
“That's... what it always does.” She responded, sweat beginning to break out on her face.
He broke into a challenging smile. “Albie! Come on, we're going to do some bombing runs!”
As his assistant looked at him in confusion, then turned to the other ponies around the fire. “Line some wood up around the fire... break of pieces of the wagon if you have to.” They looked at him in confusion as well, until he flew up to the fire, grabbing the end of a piece that hadn't completely caught on fire yet. As he flew up through the barrier, well above the wolves, his crew seemed to finally understand what he was doing.
* * *
Sunny cheered as another wolf ran away, engulfed in flames. Quickly she turned back to her task of helping the other ponies line up wood by the fire. She set out another piece, just right so that part of it would be in the fire, part out... as Albatross whizzed back in grabbing one of the pieces she had set out earlier, and whisking back up into the air again. Her fear was mostly forgotten now. Now she was excited to be helping... proud to see that her efforts were helping.
“Only two left!” Hair Trigger called out. He was far from Sunny now, circling around the inside of the barrier... He had been put on wolf spotting and counting duty soon after things got going, and he had helped a lot too... even warning Apollo about the wolf that was waiting for him on a rooftop. Her pride extended to him for some reason too... she was proud of him!
She paused for a moment, looking out again, in time to see a flaming piece of the wagon's sideboard lodge itself in a wolf's face.
“Last one! Get em!” Trigger called out. “It's over there under the tree!”
The tree on the edge of the square was dangerous, as the two pegasi had quickly learned. Sunny remembered screaming in fright when she had seen one of them almost get Albatross as he darted under the tree to try and hit a wolf hiding there... Their flaming wooden 'bombs' got caught up in and bumped around by the tree. They couldn't hit the wolves from above there, so he had been swooping down under it...
She watched as Apollo and Albatross circled around the tree, looking for an opening... neither one seemed to want to go down in there again... It was on the side closest to Sunny, so she had a good view. Next to her, she heard Twilight give a gasp and collapse. She rushed over in concern, but she found her friend exhausted, but okay. She sighed with relief, looking up... just in time to see cracks appear in the dome's surface... and spread... and then the whole thing collapsed into sparkling shards of magic.
She heard a snarl to her left, and she turned to see the last timberwolf running towards her... now with nothing in between. She froze in terror. She wanted to run, but she couldn't. She stood trembling as the wolf zig-zagged to the side, avoiding the piece of wood Apollo threw at it, turning back and heading... straight for her.
Time seemed to slow, and she was transfixed on the wolf as it drew closer... It seemed like she couldn't see anything else. She shrank down as it was about to reach her. She wanted to scream, but her voice seemed like it was gone... It was right there in front of her, mouth open wide... she would feel its bite any moment... But suddenly, a pair of big, green hooves hit it from the side.
Knocked to the side, it missed Sunny, continuing on in its charge. It wasn't able to stop fast enough... and hit the edge of the fountain, flipping over and landing in the fire on its back. It let out a horrible wail, and shot out of the fire faster than she had seen anything move before, howling all the way. She watched it breathlessly as it ran away... but before it vanished from view, it slowed, then stopped... and after a moment more, its howling stopped too.
She turned around to see Pebbles looking at her with a warm grin on her face. She ran up to the big green mare and jumped up into a hug. She had just saved her life!
Twilight looked up to see Apollo Dawn looking down at her, a mix of concern, pity, and admiration in his eyes. “You did it,” he said, simply.
“But I failed... I failed again.” She replied. She hadn't been able to keep the shield up long enough... one of the wolves had gotten through... it almost got Sunny... She had almost lost another friend!
Apollo lifted her to her feet, seeing the concern on her face. “You held it long enough. And we'd be lost without you here. That was amazing!”
She looked away, shyly, “It wasn't that much... I'm not very good at that one, or I would have been able to hold it longer... And Shimmer helped.” Wait... Shimmer! Was she okay? Was the spell too much for her?
Apollo must have seen the sudden concern in her eyes, “Shimmer's fine. Albie's over there taking care of her.”
She allowed herself to relax a little. “Whew... I'm glad that's over... I think I'm totally worn out... no more magic for me for a while!”
Apollo's chuckle warmed her heart, but then another one added in with it... It wasn't one of the crew... but still, it was strangely familiar...
“Oh, you have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that my little dear,” a voice said softly from the shadows of the town square. “I was so disappointed when our times together in Canterlot and Manehattan were cut short by teleportation...”
Twilight suddenly felt like her insides had been replaced by a block of ice. “Pestilence,” she whispered.
“Ah, she remembers me, how sweet,” the voice replied with another chuckle, “You know, of all your friends, the yellow one was the most delicious... and the rainbow one put up the most fight... but the pink one was the hardest to track down... had the worst habit of disappearing into impossible places... but, eventually, I got them all.”
Twilight's lip started to quiver and her eyes began to tear up a little. She had suspected it, sure... But she had still harbored some hope that her friends were okay.
“But you... you my little dear...” the voice paused for a moment before resuming, “you were the hardest of all. Every time I thought I almost had you... only to see the trail go cold at another teleport mark...
“You're a master of evasion, sure,” the voice said, “but now your time's up!” The draconequus's form burst out from the shadows into the firelight in front of Twilight. “One last element of harmony to dispose of, and here she is! ... I just hope you don't whine about it like the white one did... ugh.”
Pestilence drew slowly closer to her exhausted target, but stopped when Apollo jumped up in between the two.
“She's a part of my crew now, creature,” he shouted, “and I don't let my crew get hurt!”
Twilight winced. She didn't want to see even more friends lost to Pestilence. “No Apollo... just go... she's too much for you... for any of us.”
“No can do, Twi,” he replied, “I stick with my people.”
“And I stick with my friend!” A little yellow filly jumped up next to Apollo.
“Hmm... all very touching,” the looming draconequus said, “but my pursuit ends here... and there's nothing left in the world that can stop me, now is there? I killed your pony princesses, even if I didn't get to keep them as playthings... and I killed the elements of harmony one by one... except for one...” she licked her lips hungrily, and Twilight could smell her stench. “the last. ... magic.”
Twilight expected to feel fear, dread maybe... or perhaps despair... but somehow, as she looked at Apollo Dawn and Sunny Daze in front of her... she didn't... it was some other odd feeling... a familiar feeling she had last felt when...
She looked up at Pestilence defiantly, a spark crossing her eyes. “You think you can destroy the elements of harmony that easily?” She pushed through in between her two friends, so she was standing in front, with one on each side. “I learned the value of generosity when I helped take care of Sunny even when I was hurt and broken. Apollo Dawn's loyalty and honesty pulled us all together and got us this far... and Sunny Daze healed my heart with laughter and kindness when I couldn't go on.”
Pestilence looked a little worried as Twilight continued, “We three ponies are the new elements of harmony!” As she said this, a brightly shining ball of violet magical energy began to circle around her, and another blue one joined it. Sunny and Apollo experienced the same thing, though they both looked much more confused by it.
As the lights broke away from the ponies and began to circle Pestilence instead, she began to panic, but she couldn't escape. Every time she tried to flee, she would find herself swatted back by a quickly moving ball of magical energy.
“No! It's not possible! You can't do this! I did everything perfectly!” She cried, as the orbs around her spun faster and faster, blending into a single rainbow and Twilight, Sunny and Apollo began to float in the air. Their eyes all opened as one, showing not the eyes that should have been there, but blindingly bright white light that quickly grew to engulf everything in view.
Gradually, a familiar and comforting sight, the draconequus's body began changing to stone, from the ground up, slowly freezing the creature into a petrified stare of shock and anger.
* * *
Twilight Sparkle slowly awoke... feeling a familiar ache along with the growing headache of overtaxing her magic. She was laying on a blanket, she noticed, and the sun had risen almost to its highest point. As she turned her head to the side, she saw Sunny Daze lying next to her, already rising up. She turned to look the other direction and found Apollo laying back with his hands over his eyes.
“The elements of harmony are nice to have, to be sure... but do they have to hurt so much when you used them?” he asked.
Twilight just struggled up herself and leaned over to embrace him, Sunny unexpectedly joining in.
She looked up, startled to see Pestilence's cringing stone form set up on the pedestal of the fountain, now filled with ashes rather than water.
“We thought that would be a good spot for it,” Pebbles spoke up from next to the fountain.
Indeed it is, Twilight thought, considering the symbolism of the ashes there instead of water... It hit her a moment later. “Wait, is everything back to normal, did the elements fix everything?” she cried out, quickly, and perhaps a little desperately.
Albatross floated down close by. “No.” He looked dejected. “We talked with the ponies in the town... all the ponies who were still sick are healed now... but the dead ones are still gone, and all the other damage is still there.”
Twilight sighed. She knew why. The only magic Pestilence had used was creating the disease... it had spread and done its damage on its own. The elements had taken the disease away with its creator... but the effects of it were still there. Crestfallen, she looked up at her new friends, “What do we do now?”
Sunny looked up at her, still in the group hug. “What we always do!”
“Move on, move forward,” Apollo said.
Twilight looked around her. The world was still in shambles... so much had been lost. Even with that monster defeated, how could they ever hope for things to return to normal?
Sunny Daze could hardly wait to see it again. Las Pegasus was a place of wonders, a vast waiting playground. For the thousandth time, she ran up ahead with Hair Trigger. It just had to be over this last hill... if it weren't for the fog rolling in, she could probably see it! She heard somepony calling for her, but she went on; she knew she would be fine.
* * *
“Sunny!” Twilight shouted for the thousandth time, “Come back here and stay with us, it's not safe!” She sighed. Once again the little filly had gone wandering off into the fog. At least the sun was rising now, making visibility a bit better and making the fog bank glow yellow and orange throughout.
The fog itself was a good sign. Las Pegasus was known for it, so they were probably getting close. She stepped to the top of the hill alongside Apollo Dawn, and looked out as they waited for the wagon to catch up.
“Think you could clear the fog a little?” he asked, “I think we should be able to see it now.”
Clearing an entire coastal plain of fog would be no small feat, but it warmed Twilight to see him thinking so highly of her abilities. She planted her feet firmly, braced herself, and her horn began to glow. The glow swelled, becoming blindingly bright for a moment before vanishing again.
As the glow died, a breeze came from behind them, quickly growing to a powerful gust, and as the two watched, the fog bank parted, the golden glowing clouds receding away and revealing the path ahead... and more than that. Buildings began to loom out of the fog, the famous skyscrapers of Las Pegasus, half made of stone and wood like earth pony buildings, half made of clouds fashioned by pegasus ponies. They stood impossibly tall, with bases on the ground and top floors hidden – or perhaps part of – the clouds above. In even the topmost layers though, metal catwalks could be seen jutting through the clouds.
The break in the fog traveled on further, revealing the seaside cliffs and their magnificent cloud-made piers jutting out unsupported, far above the crashing waves below. Several huge airships were still moored to the piers. Nowhere else in Equestria had earth pony and pegasus architecture been blended together like this, and it was a wonder to behold. It had been founded by a pegasus and earth pony married couple, and had become a haven for all pegasi who were too attached to the ground to leave it, yet couldn't give up a life in the skies either.
A channel had been opened through the fog now, completely revealing the road ahead, gently sloping down directly into the heart of Las Pegasus.
“Almost there, and a nice clear open road,” Apollo said with satisfaction as the wagon finally made it to the top of the hill. “All downhill from here, straight through Las Pegasus, and Griffon's Gate should be on the other side of the bay.” He grinned, “We'll be there in time for dinner!”
Twilight grinned right along with him. She was definitely ready to put all this travel behind her and rest for a while. She looked down on the open road before her, took the first step down it... but then hesitated and her grin began to fade a little. Something was wrong... but what?
Twilight gasped as it hit her. The clear, open, empty road! “Sunny!” She shouted, “Sunny, where are you?”
Her worried look was mirrored by Apollo as only silence came in reply.
* * *
“Trigger!” Apollo shouted, hearing his voice echo away through the towering forest of skyscrapers around him, “Come back! Where did you go?” The ghost town of Las Pegasus gave back only his own voice back in return. The fog was back, despite the sun now being at its highest point, which to be fair, wasn't very high. The buildings all around cut huge gaping shadows through the glowing fog, with occasional thinner lines cutting through as a gantry or catwalk hidden in the fog far above cast a shadow down onto the eerily empty streets.
He turned to Twilight. “Keep laying down the trail, I'm going to fly up and see if I can cover more ground.”
“You can't see!” Twilight protested as she continued laying down little pulsing dots of magic down on the road they were following, “And there's walkways connecting buildings all over the place up there! You can't fly up there!”
Apollo didn't feel the fear he probably should have, only the twisting, empty feeling in his heart, guilt and desperation overriding his good sense. “I have to go, I have to do anything to find them!”
“I'm not losing you, too!” Twilight pleaded, but Apollo launched himself into the air without a reply, quickly disappearing into the fog.
With the fog hiding everything above, and most of the buildings at ground level made of conventional materials, Apollo could almost believe he was in an ordinary city, but as he rose, more and more of the buildings were made mostly of cloud. They were a bit softer, yes, but also more dangerous, as they blended in perfectly with the fog... and they still hid metal and wood frames and floors inside, made for the earth ponies of the city. He knew his flight into the upper levels was foolhardy, but he couldn't stand it anymore to do nothing.
Trigger should have heard him calling, from any distance. Him not coming back must mean that something happened to him. Apollo could only hope that they were okay. His worry propelled him faster and faster through the maze of half-cloud buildings. He dodged an arching walkway between two buildings, only to see the silhouette of a wrecked airship looming in front of him, snagged on some part of a building. He dove beneath it quickly, dodging it while increasing his speed... only to come to a sudden spinning halt as something hit his leg, wrapping around. He spun and tumbled, not falling, but just continuing from the momentum of his flight. Another cord wrapped around him, and another. The more he struggled, the more tangled he became.
He writhed with desperation; he couldn't be caught! He had to keep going, had to find the missing children! He struggled blindly even more, becoming hopelessly tangled before he finally gave up and let himself hang limp, panting from the effort. He felt tears come to his eyes, desperation and a feeling of futility welling up inside... but then a voice came out of the fog. “Are you finished now?”
Sunny Daze groggily shook her head as she woke up... and immediately regretted it as a headache swelled up. She blinked away the darkness... or at least tried to, but wherever she was, it remained stubbornly pitch black. She stood up, and at least that worked okay. She tried to think back, to figure out where she was... but the last thing she remembered was running through the fog with Hair Trigger.
“Trigs!” She called out, “Trigger, where are you?”
A soft “Ngh” came from beside her. “Ow, what happened?” He asked.
“I dunno.”
“Well, where are we?” he asked, moving toward her, and finally bumping into her.
“Um, somewhere dark?” She really didn't know that either.
A pair of green glowing eyes appeared in the darkness, followed by the sound of a door closing. “Ponies keep quiet and stay put.” Something said in a strange choral voice.
“Hey,” Sunny replied, “There's ponies out there who are going to miss us! You'll be sorry!”
“Oh no, they not miss you,” the voice said with a giggle and the sound of insectoid wings fluttering, “we make sure!” With that, the green eyes disappeared accompanied by the sound of a door closing again and a lock latching.
“Sunny, what was that?” Trigger asked.
Once again, all Sunny could say was, “I dunno.”
The two huddled together, with no idea what was happening, no idea where they were, and precious little hope.
* * *
Apollo stopped struggling with a sigh. “Yeah, I guess I'm done.” His assistant sometimes did seem to know him better than he knew himself. “Think you could help me out of this, Albie?”
“What are number one assistants for?” The white pegasus replied, coming in closer through the fog. “Wow, you've really got yourself in a bind this time, huh?”
The two pegasi shared a momentary laugh. “Yeah, I guess so,” Apollo said. “You think ponies could be a little more careful where they park their airships?”
“You think a pegasus could be a little more careful where he flies in the fog?” Albatross came back, coming in close to pull a rope off of Apollo's leg.
“Heh, yeah... maybe I kinda lost it back there,” Apollo said dropping down a short way, “Whoa! Careful there, maybe get my wings out first, okay?”
“Sure thing,” Albatross replied, moving over to free up Apollo's wings.
Apollo flexed his wings a little. It was so nice to have them free again. Even that short captivity had been a trial. He leaned over, now using his free leg to help Albatross work. The crashed airship loomed above him, the jumbled frame blocking out his view of the sky. Most of its lift-providing cloud had escaped when the frame broke, but some of it was still in there. The ropes that would have supported the deck below were hanging freely now, some of them still wrapped around him, a few others wrapped around a walkway on the nearby building, keeping the wreck from drifting away. Perhaps the fog added to the effect, but he felt a little like some poor unsuspecting sea creature caught by a jellyfish... the resemblance was uncanny.
With that thought in his mind, he was even more ecstatic when Albatross finally managed to free him. He shouted with joy as the last rope came free, but was interrupted...
“Apollo! Fly!” The cry came from above.
It wasn't entirely necessary though. The feeling of the wind rushing past triggered a long-ingrained instinct and Apollo's wings snapped open, catching the air and bringing him back into blissful free flight.
His assistant came gliding down from above. “You really need to get a grip, you're going to get yourself killed if you keep acting like this... Now let's get back to the others, okay?”
“But I still haven't found Trigger and Sunny yet!” Apollo protested, “I've got to keep looking!”
“And you think they're up here?” Albatross asked doubtfully. “Whoa, look out!”
Apollo also saw the bridge looming in the fog ahead just in time, dodging above the obstacle this time. “Well, they could be.”
“An earth pony filly and a pegasus colt who can barely fly?” Albatross laughed, “All the way up here?”
“Well, they could,” Apollo insisted.
Albatross shook his head as the two broke apart for a moment, dodging to either side of a cable hanging down from who knows where. “We should get back.”
“And just give up looking for them?” Apollo asked, “I'm not leaving them behind!”
“Look, maybe they already found the rest of the crew back down there,” Albatross said with a sigh. “At least go back down and check before you get both of us killed up here, okay?”
The worry and guilt kept assailing Apollo's conscience, but he couldn't argue with that. Twilight had been laying down a magic trail, and the ponies back on the ground were looking too. There was a good chance they had already found the missing foals, and he shouldn't risk being up in this dangerous maze any longer than he had to, not if it might be entirely unneeded. “Fine,” he said. “Let's go...” He flew in a tight, slow circle, looking around. “Um... do you remember which way they went?”
* * *
Twilight was now getting very worried, as evidenced by her wide eyes and frazzled hair. Sunny had just disappeared, vanished without a trace... her Sunny! Her final chance to redeem herself and finally manage to protect somepony she loved, and she was gone! And to make matters worse now Apollo was gone, too! He had been gone far too long, up in that dangerous forest of abandoned skyscrapers. The crew and her were already almost out of Las Pegasus, the fog lifting a little as they drew close to the last few skyscrapers.
She laid down another blinking magical marker. How could she let her friends just run off like that? She was sure she would never see them again. What would she do? Could she keep the rest of Apollo's crew together on her own? She was the newcomer, they wouldn't accept her! They would kick her out, and she would be all alone again. What would she do then, where would she go?
“He'll be back.”
Twilight snapped out of her thoughts, as a blinking blue marker appeared in front of her. “Huh?”
Shimmer Spell smiled at her. “He always comes back, and always gets what he went to find, that's what he does.”
“But, it's dangerous up there, and–”
“And this time he left to find Trigger and Sunny. Just another dangerous mission for him, an ordinary day, so don't worry.” Shimmer laid down another marker with a snicker. “And you should pay more attention instead to laying the trail.”
Twilight looked back, the last five blinking markers weren't her deep violet, but were instead a light blue... Shimmer's magic, not hers. “I... I'm sorry, I just...”
“It's okay, Shimmer understands.” She laid a hoof on Twilight's back. “Shimmer used to worry about Apollo and Albie too.”
Twilight looked back again, “I wish I knew where they were, I hate the idea of leaving them here.” She looked wistfully along the trail of blinking markers hoping to see... and she did! Apollo was coming, trotting along the line of markers, with Albatross, Trigger and her precious little Sunny all coming along behind. She almost fainted with relief. Running back towards them, she scooped Sunny up into a fierce hug, pulling Apollo into it as well. Shimmer Spell wasn't far behind, jumping up into an embrace with Albatross even though he still couldn't stand on all four feet. Trigger met the rest of the crew halfway, jumping up to hug them all. Twilight looked into Sunny's light blue eyes, so glad to see her again... and she suddenly felt weak, drained... but she didn't stop: Sunny seemed to be eating it up.
Twilight Sparkle looked up at the towering face of Griffon's Gate castle. Built right on the edge of the soaring cliff side overlooking the ocean, it was a magnificent sight. Two short towers flanked the main gate in, leading into thick swooping walls that reached out to the cliff face on either side, with two higher towers at each point where the wall met the drop off. That paled in comparison, however, with the main body of the castle. Within the courtyard a massive stone edifice rose to dizzying heights, and rather than ending in a vaulted roof like the towers, it was crowned with a flat deck, the famous gate for which it was named.
When it was built, the fortress was a defensive point, holding the western coast against invasion from the warlike griffon nations on the archipelago of islands well off the coast. Twilight could remember from her (exhaustive) study of pony history that one of Princess Luna's last acts before beginning her rebellion had been to forge a peace treaty between ponies and griffons, and at that point, the castle had become the main border crossing between the two races. Any griffons heading to Equestria were supposed to pass through the gates at the top of the castle, and likewise any ponies heading to the griffon nations were supposed to check in at the castle.
“Ugh, we have to stay here?” Sunny Daze asked as the group approached the massive wooden gates.
“Huh?” Twilight turned back to the filly. “It's all you've been able to talk about for the last few days, and now you don't like it?”
“Oh, um...” The filly stalled.
“And look at these walls!” Apollo said laying a hoof on them appreciatively. “Nothing's getting to us in here.”
Twilight continued to look at Sunny questioningly. “Oh, yeah, I... um... love love love it!” she said, running up and giving Twilight a big hug.
Twilight shook her head with a laugh and returned the filly's embrace. For some reason she felt like she was going to faint for a moment, but Sunny dropped back down to the ground, and the feeling passed.
The gates glowed blue for a moment and shook, a little dust falling down. They rattled but didn't open. “It won't open,” Shimmer Spell said, a little unecessarily.
“Great, you bring us all this way and now the door's locked. Any other great adventures you want to take us on?”
Apollo looked back at Splints, “Hey, I have a plan thank you very much. I'll just–”
“Hey, that wasn't me!” Splints said defensively.
“Well what is this genius plan of yours then?” Hair trigger said.
“Wait, that was you?” Apollo asked. “First you run off and get lost, and now you're playing critic?”
Trigger just sat down crossing his arms. What happened to that little colt? Twilight wondered. He wasn't even darting around like he usually did, though he was still sticking close to Sunny like he had been for the whole trip.
Shaking his head at Trigger's silence, Apollo took to wing, flying up and over the wall. A moment later, the sound of a big board hitting stone pavement echoed out from behind the wall, followed by a few pounding hoof beats before the sound of a rusty latch opening.
With a grunt from behind the door, Apollo started pushing the door open, though he didn't have to struggle with it for long. Shimmer Spell caught the doors in her magic, flinging them open and almost dropping Apollo down into the dust.
“There, that's the plan,” Apollo said, looking at Trigger sternly. “Now let's get in and get unpacked.”
Twilight pulled Apollo aside as they passed through the gate, entering the wide courtyard. She looked over her shoulder furtively before asking him, “Where'd you find those two? It seems like they're acting funny... What happened to them?”
Apollo only shrugged. “We found them following along your trail of markers, just like we were.” He looked past Twilight at his crew, now with the wagon passing through the gates. “They said they just got lost for a little while, and then found your trail and followed it.”
“And they never said anything else about what happened when they were gone?” She asked.
“Nope, not a word...” Apollo stopped for a moment thoughtfully. “Which is kind of odd for those two.” His look changed to one of concern. “You think something happened to them?”
“I don't know...” Twilight replied. “Something's different... I just don't know what.”
Apollo grinned. “We'll just keep an eye on them... but look, we're finally here. You ready to settle in?”
Twilight looked up at the central fortress. Despite its age, its stone still looked fresh-cut and clean... protected by spells perhaps? Windows peeked out all over the big building, and the light colored stone kept it from looking too gloomy.
She smiled back, blushing a little for some reason, but looking forward to finding out what this castle had in store for them. “Yeah, I'm ready.”
“Are you coming?” Twilight asked, turning back to Sunny Daze.
The ponies of Apollo's crew were almost finished unpacking already, thanks to a little magical help from Twilight, though most of it was still scattered haphazardly around the main entrance hall. She had found it strangely difficult to manage unloading the wagon... it would normally be trivial to her magical skill. She just put it down to distraction. The entrance hall was a wonderful thing, long and broad, and with a high vaulted ceiling. Doors to other rooms branched off either side, with the bigger main doors to the stairwell all the way at the other end. The whole place was decorated with the most amazing – and historically important! – carvings in the stone on the side, and Twilight had already taken an opportunity to appreciate the delicately carved wood of the stairwell door, decorated with a larger-than-life griffon, and carved so well that the details of every feather could be picked out.
Sunny still hadn't answered... where had she gotten to? “Sunny! Apollo and I are going to go explore the castle, are you coming?”
“No,” Sunny replied, simply.
Twilight shook her head. What was up with that little filly now? She had been looking forward to this for days, and now she didn't want to go.
Apollo was already walking toward the big stairwell doors at the end of the hall, and he looked back at her, waving a hoof. Shrugging off the perplexities of the capricious little filly, Twilight trotted away to catch up with Apollo.
* * *
“Look at those two,” Albatross grumbled, “running off to explore and leaving us to do all the work.”
Shimmer Spell put down the box she had been levitating. “What, just like a certain somepony used to do?”
“Hey, I was Apollo's number one assistant! We were off doing important stuff!”
She came over and nuzzled up against her special somepony. “Shimmer sees what's wrong.”
“You do?” Albatross asked.
Shimmer Spell giggled. “Indeed. You're jealous.”
“Jealous!?” Albatross recoiled. “I'm not, I'm...”
Shimmer shut him up with a hoof placed lightly over his mouth. “You said it yourself... you said you were his number one assistant... like you're not anymore.”
“I'm his best friend!” he insisted, “We did everything together... and now this mare's come along and–”
“Oh, silly, you don't see it do you?” Shimmer laughed, “Well don't worry about it then, and just look at the bright side, Albie.”
“Oh, and what's that?” He sat, seething.
“You get to spend more time with Shimmer Spell!” She said, surprising him with a quick kiss and a long hug.
* * *
“So,” Apollo said, standing at the beginning of the broad, curving stairwell, “Down or up?”
Twilight Sparkle unfurled her checklist, examining it. “Item one, water supply.” She rolled it back up, putting it away again.
Apollo looked at her a little confusedly. Where had she gotten that checklist from? Where had she put it? He shook his head... unicorns. “Well, alright then,” he said with a little shiver. Despite his long experience with caves and dungeons and all manner of places, he still felt a pegasus's instinctual fear of enclosed places... especially dark underground enclosed places. Just unnatural. With practiced ease though, he shoved the feeling aside and began his way down.
Despite his aversion to being underground, Apollo found himself a little excited. The stairway spiraled down through half a circle, ending quickly as it opened up into the fortress's basement. He could hardly see anything ahead, until a pale violet light sprang up from next to him, illuminating a wide circle around.
A cool, dim and narrow corridor was revealed in the light, and he had to admit, purple wasn't exactly the most flattering color for the already dark place. He began walking confidently ahead, but the corridor became darker as he went along. He turned around, to see Twilight Sparkle still hesitating at the entrance.
“Trust me?” He said, holding out a hoof.
Twilight blinked for a moment, seemingly startled by his question. “Oh, ah, right...” She walked down next to him.
“Don't worry,” He said, “There shouldn't be anything down here.” He gestured towards the first of many side-doors in the long corridor. “Let's get started looking for that water.”
* * *
“You're sure there's supposed to be a well in here?” Apollo asked.
Twilight sighed. They had been wandering through the basement for over an hour now, and still no sign of the well... Just lots of empty storerooms, one after another. “Albatross said there should be... and from what I remember of the history books there should be.” She opened another door, peeking inside to find yet another empty room, except for a couple equally empty, half-rotten crates. “And the history books agree. From what I remember, this fortress only survived the siege of Stormcloud because they had their own internal water supply... but where is it?”
The two ponies had worked their way to the far corner of the basement by now. “Who knows?” Apollo sighed. “This is the last room we haven't been to. The well should be obvious! How could we have missed it?”
Twilight looked over at him dejectedly. She was sure there should be one in here somewhere... She couldn't see part of the room because of a massive round pillar in the middle, so she walked around it, shining her light as she went. ... Still nothing. She sat back leaning against the cool pillar, defeated.
Apollo came over, joining her in sitting against the pillar. “Was it outside in the courtyard maybe?” he asked.
Twilight shook her head and stood up. This didn't make any sense; it should have been right here! She began to pace, as was her habit when something was bothering her, but was stopped short by a tug on her tail.
“Apollo!” She yelped, “Let me go!”
“Not me,” he said, rising up, “Look.”
She did, turning around... to see her tail caught on some kind of valve sticking out of the pillar near the floor. She brooded in annoyance for a moment before it hit her... With a little burst of magic, she freed her tail from the valve and dropped down to inspect it.
“You thinking what I'm thinking?” Apollo prompted.
Twilight only grinned, and went at the valve's handle with her magic. It was difficult to turn, very rusty, and Twilight felt a twinge of headache as she strained to turn it... Why was it so difficult? It shouldn't have been that hard... With a groan, the valve opened, releasing a violent spray of water.
Quickly closing it, she beamed back at Apollo. “Found it!”
“This is amazing!” He said. “They built the well up higher to get water to the upper floors!”
“Let's find out how high it goes!” Twilight said in excitement, “Ready?”
“Of course!” Apollo replied, already turning back towards the stairwell.
With a flash of light, the two ponies vanished. They reappeared on the very top deck of the fortress, large scorch marks around them. Apollo staggered around dizzily for a moment, tips of his hair and feathers smoking. “Whoa... warn me next time, okay?”
Twilight didn't seem to be doing much better. She sat down, a little dazed, and winced as another pain shot through her head. She had teleported all over Equestria with Sunny... Apollo was a little bigger, sure, but not that much, and the distance was much shorter... it shouldn't have been that difficult. “Wha?” She said, still a little stunned. “But, it shouldn't have been like that... I've had practice... it should have been nice and smooth.” She covered her head with a hoof as another twinge of pain shot through.
* * *
Apollo looked down at the purple unicorn and shook the soot off of his fur. Maybe he had been leery of unicorn magic his whole life for good reason! “Ah... let's just take the stairs next time,” he said. Twilight looked even worse than he did though... and hadn't she supposedly teleported all over Equestria? Had it been this bad each time? He thought back, remembering her strained look as she had helped unload the wagon, something Shimmer Spell could do easily enough, and wasn't Twilight supposedly a lot more powerful than Shimmer? He shrugged. Unicorn magic had always been a bit of a mystery... Maybe Twilight was just worn out or something?
Putting that aside, he looked up and around. Comforting blue skies were overhead, a nice change from the gloomy basement. A stiff wind was blowing from offshore, and as he looked out, he could see the fog beginning to clear from around Las Pegasus. The sun was just beginning to set in the north now, but with no clouds in that direction, the sky didn't change color much.
The two ponies were near the corner of the building, just above where the well had been in the basement, and Apollo stepped over to the edge of the flight deck. The edge had no railing, but Apollo stepped right up to it, looking down unafraid. Being a pegasus might make him leery of basements, but it paid off now in the complete absence of any fear of heights. They were indeed very high, and he could see a few ponies moving around in the courtyard far below, barely recognizable at this distance, but he knew they must be a few of his crew members. Good... if they were wandering around the courtyard they must be finished unpacking already.
He looked over at Twilight, who was just now beginning to take stock of her surroundings... that teleport must have really put a strain on her. She was staring up at the two towers rising from the deck. These were the famous 'gates' that gave the castle it's name. Apollo was on the 'pony side' of the deck right now. Half way to the other side, the deck was divided in two, with fences, gates, and what looked to be ticket booths forming a line across the middle. This must have been where griffons and ponies lined up to process through the border, he supposed.
At the end of the dividing line on either side, towers rose up above the deck, still bristling with sharp protrusions and empty holes for anti-air weapons... a reminder of this castle's original purpose of defending from an aerial attack. He wondered if the harpoon launchers Twilight had mentioned at the top of the two towers were still around somewhere... They might come in handy sometime, he thought grimly.
“Pretty amazing, huh?” Twilight said from behind him as he stared up at the towers.
“Heh, yeah. How'd they ever manage to build so high without using clouds?”
“Magic, of course,” Twilight said with a wink. “But I don't see the well anywhere up here. Guess they didn't bring it up this high... Next level down?”
“Yes, but not by teleport!” He insisted. “Let's just take the stairs.” He trotted off towards one of the towers, Twilight following. They were the only protrusions on the roof... they must be the stairwells down.
* * *
“I really can't believe it,” Twilight said, looking at the round pool of water in front of her. Just one level down from the top, they had found it, the very top of the well... and it was impressive. A wide circular pool of water dominated the room in front of her. Once again lit with the pale violet glow of her magic, most of the pool took on the violet tone, reflecting from the magically fused stone beneath... but one small circle in the middle remained dark, almost black... the shaft of water going all the way down to – and below – the ground... from way up here!
“This place really is amazing,” Apollo agreed, running a hoof along the many water pipes branching off from the cistern. “This might be the last place in Equestria that still has working running water!”
“Okay,” Twilight said, “So we found the well... and the day's almost over... should we go back down?”
Apollo looked over at her, “Sure... but...”
Twilight's horn began to glow, but she stopped as she felt a hoof on her nose. “No, no teleporting until you figure out what's wrong with your magic, okay?”
“Wrong!?!” Twilight said suddenly defensive, “Who said there's anything wrong? I can do just fine if I can...” She stopped, seeing the way Apollo was looking at her, and gave a sigh. “Okay... stairs it is...”
“Oh, I don't know about that... there is another shortcut...” Apollo said, suggestively.
“Huh?” She was genuinely confused as to what he was getting at. He flapped his wings a couple times, and Twilight's face lit up with shock, “Oh, no... no way!”
“You took me out of my comfort zone with that teleporting,” he said, drawing close, “Now it's my turn.”
“Ooh, I'm going to regret this,” Twilight moaned, following him back up the stairs to the flight deck.
Twilight Sparkle looked timidly down over the edge of the flight deck at the courtyard far below. The dizzying height of the drop made her instinctively want to back away, but Apollo was right there next to her, trying his best to reassure her.
“It's perfectly safe, just a little glide down... it's not like we'll be doing a stunt routine.”
“Are you sure we can't just teleport down?” She asked, her trepidation getting the best of her.
Apollo looked at her sternly. “After your performance last time? Something's wrong, and I am not teleporting with you until you figure out what.”
Twilight suspected something else at play there... but she couldn't really argue. To be honest with herself, she doubted if she could do it safely right now... for some reason she just felt really weak, and the nagging headache didn't make it any better.
“Now,” Apollo said with a smile that tried very hard to be reassuring, “are you coming?”
Suppressing a gulp, a shudder, and probably a few other displays of fear, Twilight nodded... slowly, so as to not aggravate her head any worse.
“Then hop on, and watch the wings!” Apollo moved over next to her, looking at his own back suggestively.
Feeling more than a little awkward about it, Twilight worked her way onto the pegasus's back.
“Never flown before?” Apollo asked.
Twilight tried to readjust her grip again... but she still felt pretty precarious. “Not like this... I mean riding in a balloon or a chariot is one thing... but this...”
Apollo laughed a little, and Twilight could feel it as much as she heard it. “Move up a little, and put your hooves around my neck instead of behind my legs... good, and now grip with your back legs... there... better?”
Twilight was sure she was squeezing too hard. “Um, yeah... feels much more secure.”
“Good then, ready to go?” He asked, walking right up to the edge.
She squeezed even harder, letting out a sound somewhere between “eep” and “yes.”
Apollo stretched and flapped his wings a couple times, and Twilight found herself curiously very aware of the powerful flight muscles flexing under her chest, and the feel of his warm fur as she squeezed close. She lowered her head down next to his neck, burying her face into his mane, and braced herself for the worst.
His whole body bunching up for a leap was the only warning she was given before Apollo launched himself off the edge and into the air. Twilight let out a short yelp, but quickly regained control of herself.
Looking back over his shoulder, Apollo gave Twilight a nudge. “Hey, don't miss out now. Open your eyes!”
With a wince of anticipated fear, Twilight did... but she found herself surprisingly less fearful than she had expected. She looked out through Apollo's mane fluttering into her face, and saw the fortress's main tower over to her left, they were slowly circling it, dropping in altitude. Hairs from his mane slapped her face occasionally as she looked over at it, into the many windows still holding their secrets.
“You must be feeling better!” Apollo observed.
“Huh?” Twilight asked, “how do you know?”
“I can breathe now!” Twilight could feel his sides moving as he laughed again.
She gave a little giggle of her own, switching her head over to the other side so she could look out, and to keep his mane out of her face. The bay stretched out in front of her now, and beneath her, as she saw when she dared to look down. On the side facing the sea, the fortress came right up to the edge of the cliff – it formed a straight line all the way from the flight deck above to the crashing waves far below.
A seagull squawked at them as Apollo rounded the corner of the fortress again, now giving Twilight a view of Las Pegasus from only partway down. The fog had mostly cleared now, and the view was impressive. At this distance, the many skyscrapers blended into one massive shape stretching from the ground to the clouds above.
Turning her attention away from the view, Twilight simply began to enjoy the feeling of flying... the cool sea breeze blowing past her mane, the gentle rhythmic flexing of the hard, warm muscles beneath her, and the feeling of the soft fur on Apollo's neck pressing into her cheek... and with a blush she was glad Apollo wasn't in a position to see, she realized it was more than the sensation of flying itself she was enjoying.
* * *
“Hey!” Sunny Daze yelled, “You can't just keep us here with nothing to eat and drink forever!” She scowled a little harder at where she thought the door was. “It's been... uh...” she paused for a moment, realizing she didn't know how long they had been imprisoned. “A long time! And you haven't given us anything!” She was tired of this black silence with its vague fear... and more than tired of the stench! She wanted something to happen!
Only silence came as a reply. She heard Trigger scraping along the wall, until he stopped, a little to the left of where she had thought the door was. She heard a few hoof beats, and then a loud slam as the little pegasus colt bashed the door somehow. “What are you doing?” She asked.
“I'm breaking us outta here!” He shouted. “They're not coming back and I'm not staying to starve!”
She walked over closer, uncertain if she could help or not. It was still pitch black, and she wasn't sure she could find the door... and she didn't want to get in between it and Trigger by accident and get bashed, herself.
Another slamming sound let her know that Trigger had tried the door again, but it sounded solid... she doubted he could break through.
Unexpectedly though, the door opened. It filled with a pair of glowing eyes again. “The ponies will be quiet!” It hissed, and the room was filled with a quick flash of green light before Sunny was knocked unconscious.
“Where is everypony?” Twilight wondered out loud as she looked around the entrance hall. Most of the supplies were still scattered around the room in various states of organization, but there were no ponies to be seen. She turned to Apollo, but he looked just as clueless as she was.
“Oh, there you are!” Splints's voice called out from the stairwell doors in the back of the room. “Here I spend an hour searching for you in that ratty old basement and you turn up at the front door... I hope you're proud of yourself.”
Apollo ignored the mare's barbs and instead asked, “Where'd the others go?”
“They went up to bed, dummy. It's getting late, and they found some very nice bedrooms on the fourth floor... bedrooms that I'm not in, because I'm busy looking in the basement for our fearless leader and his floozy. How'd you two get out in the courtyard anyway? Some kind of secret passage?”
“Floozy!?!” Twilight recoiled, “Hey, I'll have you know–”
Apollo cut her off by just placing a hoof on her chest, whispering, “Don't worry, she always talks like that, even if it is a little worse than normal this time.” To Splints he just said, “We flew,” reveling in the confounded look he got in return.
“Well, you already missed dinner,” Splints replied, “And now that I found you I'm going to bed, too... You should do the same,” She gave them an odd look, “Or go back to flying in and out of basements, I don't care.” With that she turned around and headed briskly up the spiraling stairway.
* * *
Twilight opened the door to her room, careful to keep it quiet and not wake Sunny Daze, who was sleeping in the other bed, closest to the narrow window. Luckily, she and Apollo had found Quartermaster on the third floor, and he was much more helpful than Splints had been, giving them some leftovers from dinner – still just trail rations – and pointed them to the rooms that had been picked out for them.
The room was mainly bare stone, very little in the way of decoration or furniture. What should she expect from a long-abandoned castle, though? She decided that she should just be grateful that beds remained, even if they didn't have any sheets or blankets. She crept around, careful to not wake Sunny, exploring the room, which turned out to actually be a suite of rooms. These rooms must have been for important guests back when the castle was still used. She found four rooms connected, though with most of the furniture gone, only the water closet was obvious in its purpose, with its pipes coming down from above. They led all the way back to the cistern Twilight had discovered earlier, no doubt.
She returned to the bedroom, settling down on her own bed and looking over at Sunny. The little filly was sleeping soundly, but still had the scowl on her face she had been wearing ever since she got lost... It really wasn't like her... With a sudden spark of suspicion, Twilight decided to do an unveiling spell. She targeted it on Sunny, and prepared the little bit of power the spell required... only to be deterred by the suddenly intensified pounding in her head. No, it wouldn't be a good idea to try any magic right now. Still... She knew she would have to do something... something wasn't right with Sunny.
* * *
Sunny Daze woke up slowly, finding herself still in the pitch black room. “Trigger?” She called out quietly, “Are you there?”
She felt movement against her back as he replied, “Yep, but they've got us stuck now.”
“Stuck?” She asked, confused, but quickly found out what he meant when she tried to stand. All four of her legs were stuck to the ground with some kind of glue or something, and she could feel that she and Trigger were stuck together back to back as well.
With nothing better to do, she stopped struggling and returned to her sitting position. “Well, any other ideas?”
“Um... a miracle?” Trigger suggested.
“Right.” Sunny sighed. She hung her head low; she missed the others already, she was hungry and thirsty, and she missed the sunlight badly. “We just need a miracle. That's all.” She fought back tears as her hope dwindled. She wouldn't be seen like that in front of Trigger. She could hold out.
“There, you've got the right power matrix behind it now... Now you need to focus it as if through a convex-convex lens.” Twilight Sparkle watched her new student struggle with it a little, before the power dissipated again with no results, bleeding off its wasted energy into the walls of the empty room in the fortress's basement.
“A what-what?” Shimmer Spell asked, a little lost. The blue unicorn really was trying hard, but this new spell Twilight was trying to teach her was more complicated and delicate than her usual tricks.
“A lens that's rounded outwards on both sides,” Twilight sighed. She wished she could just do it herself, but her magic was even worse now... this was the only option left. “Now, let's take it from the top again.”
* * *
Shimmer Spell tried once more, and this time Twilight let out a yip of excitement: The apple on the floor had turned back into it's true form of a rock... Shimmer had learned the basic disillusion spell!
Tired, but pleased with herself, Shimmer turned to Twilight, “Okay, I got it... finally. Now what was so important about his that we had to learn it right away?”
“I hope I'm not right about it,” Twilight answered, “and I've definitely learned my lesson about making wild accusations... so I'll just say you'll see soon.”
Shimmer stomped a hoof in exasperation. “You really are infuriating, you know that?”
* * *
Apollo Dawn looked with pride on his crew, all assembled together in the big dining hall on the second floor, but with a measure of doubt at the purple unicorn next to him. He whispered over to her, “Okay, time to stop being so secretive, why did you want us all here, what's going on?”
“Sorry,” She whispered back, “Hopefully nothing... but if I'm right, it's important.”
He sighed, “Well, get on with it... I would say we're burning daylight...” He looked out the window, seeing only the blank black sky. “except that there's none out there to burn at the moment... anyway, we're spending time here, I hope you're not wasting it.”
“I hope I am,” she whispered back, “but you're right, time to get started.” She looked up at all the members of Apollo's crew. “Okay, can Sunny, Shimmer, and Trigger come up please?”
The two foals only looked confused and put-out, while Shimmer Spell walked up to Twilight as if she had been expecting to be called up. Apollo himself wondered what she could possibly want with this combination of ponies... Sunny trotted up right next to Twilight, giving her a nuzzle that oddly was only hesitatingly returned, and Trigger followed not far behind, showing his now usual tendency to stick close to the filly.
“Okay, Shimmer,” Twilight said, “Like we practiced, and do Trigger first.”
The two foals looked up at Shimmer Spell, with looks on their faces matching Apollo's own confusion... What was Twilight Sparkle up to? Shimmer's horn began to glow, and she pointed it at a now worried-looking pegasus colt. Apollo felt protectiveness rise up in him... if Twilight was planning to do anything to the little colt... but Shimmer Spell was doing it. She wouldn't hurt Trigger, would she?
A jet of magical energy shot out from Shimmer's horn, spraying over Hair Trigger, and to Apollo's amazement, Trigger changed. His bright yellow fur became black, his neon orange mane turned into greenish-blue fin-like things, his wings became translucent teal green, and holes opened up in his legs. Trigger, or whatever he was now, looked up and hissed through his now fanged mouth.
“What did you do to him!?!” Sunny cried out as the others just stared in amazement, “Fix it right now or you'll be sorry!”
Twilight looked over at Shimmer spell, nodding in Sunny's direction. The little filly didn't waste any more time, and quickly ran. “Catch her!” Twilight called out, to be rewarded when a big green hoof slammed down on the filly's tail, pinning her to the floor.
“Got her!” Pebbles called back with a little pride. She didn't often, but she could move fast when she needed to.
Shimmer Spell approached the frantically struggling filly, and performed her new spell again, and again a transformation occurred, leaving a stunned little black insectoid creature where Sunny Daze had been.
“What is this?” Apollo asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this. What had happened to Trigger? Could it be fixed?
“They're changelings,” Twilight explained. “They take the form of someone you love and feed off your love for them.”
“But... but, how?” Needle Point's voice came from the back, “Where's my real Trigger?”
“I think they were replaced when they got lost yesterday,” Twilight mused. “That's when I started feeling weak, and that's when Sunny started acting weird...”
“Trigger's... gone?” Apollo asked, devastated. He had been the one to find the two... it had been his job to bring them back safe... and it looks like he hadn't.
Twilight shook her head. “I think the changelings have to keep the pony they replace alive in order to take their shape... Sunny and Trigger are probably hidden away somewhere.”
“But how are we going to find them?” Apollo asked, “They could be anywhere.”
“I know how,” Quartermaster said, walking up to one of the changelings. “He's coming to... quick, somepony fetch me some rope.”
* * *
The changeling scowled and hissed as Quartermaster admired his handiwork. “There, all them holes shore do make 'em easy to tie up, don't they?” A green flash of magic shined through the wrapping around the other changeling's jagged horn, but dissipated. “And thank ya kindly for showin' me how ta block their magics, liddle Twilight,” he added with approval.
“So,” Apollo said to the two little black creatures as he walked up close, trying to be as intimidating as possible, “Where are our real little ponies?”
The two little bugs just hissed back at him defiantly.
He crossed his hooves smugly, “Twilight here says you can't survive without love... and you're not getting any here.”
They looked a little less defiant and more worried now, but they stayed quiet.
Apollo looked over to Albatross, cuing him that it was his turn to play good cop. “Now, if you'll be good little bugs and show us where our friends are, we'll let you go,” the white pegasus said, trying to do his best to overcome his revulsion of the creatures and look friendly.
One of the changelings looked like it was about to talk, but it stopped when the other jabbed it and hissed, quickly shutting it up. That one must be the one in charge, Apollo supposed. Which one had that one been mimicking, Sunny or Trigger? He had lost track, he realized. Both changelings looked identical now.
“Well, okay then,” He said, “If you don't want to talk just now, we can wait.” He began to walk away slowly, “Splints here will keep you company... I think she has some new medical techniques she wants to practice... Oh, and I'm sure she'd love to learn more about changeling anatomy!”
The pink and yellow earth pony trotted into their impromptu prison happily, holding a scalpel in her mouth and humming. Both changelings had been around Splints long enough to get to know her evil-seeming exterior, but neither had ever seen the kindness she kept hidden inside... and both became wide-eyed with fright at the sight of her and the gleaming tool in her mouth.
“Wait!” one of the changelings shouted out.
“Oh, changed your mind, have you?” Apollo asked sweetly, turning to the changeling that had looked like it was going to talk earlier... but it was the other one who answered,
“We take you to little ponies! Keep scary pony away!”
Apollo suppressed a chuckle. Looks like they had made progress after all. He stepped out to the door, “Okay, Pebbles, your turn.”
The big mare walked in, with Shimmer Spell following. With a glow of Shimmer's magic, the ropes quickly untied themselves and retied, forming a leash around each of the changelings necks, connected to the earth pony's massive front legs. “Once again, Shimmer Spell saves the day!” came a voice from inside the room.
Ignoring it, Apollo walked out toward the stairwell and toward the exit, Twilight falling in next to him. “You weren't really going to let Splints cut on them, were you?” She asked, tentatively.
He laughed, checking behind to make sure the changelings were still out of earshot, “Of course not... but it makes such a lovely threat, doesn't it.”
Twilight giggled a little herself, “Uh huh. I guess it does.”
* * *
The moment the two changelings got outside the door, they made their break for freedom... or tried to. Both of them tried to fly off at once into the pre-dawn sky, only to be jerked back as they reached the end of their ropes. They hadn't managed to budge Pebbles at all.
As they fell back down to the ground, Apollo stood over them. “Okay, you've had your fun little bugs... Now take us to our friends.”
Twilight looked on in grudging admiration as Apollo managed to keep control of the changelings and the situation, and the creatures started walking off compliantly towards the main gate.
She had been afraid again when she realized she had lost Sunny again. Was there no end to her capacity for failure? She couldn't even keep one little filly safe, after all. Now though... now her hopes were beginning to rise. This might just work... she might just see her little Sunny again... and this time, she promised herself, the little filly would never leave her sight again. It was just too risky out there.
“We not take them to hive!” The bug Twilight had taken to thinking of as Tweedle Dum insisted. “Is secret hive!”
“Don't wanna be tied up and starve!” Tweedle Dee hissed back, and gave a worried look back at Splints, who was following near behind. “Don't wanna have anatomy lesson.”
“You not gonna have anatomy once the hive done with you!” The less cooperative of the two changelings spat, “You have holes in your head? Think they let you live?”
With that, the changeling drone seemed to give up, and just sat down where it was. “Am dead changeling already. Let die in peace.”
The other changeling said nothing, but also stopped moving, with a look of triumph on its face.
Pebbles continued on, dragging both a short distance out of sheer determination before remembering that she had no destination unless there was a cooperative changeling helping. She looked back at Twilight with a helpless look on her face... the big mare really did like Trigger a lot.
Twilight Sparkle walked up to the despondent changeling, still clinging to the cobblestones of Las Pegasus's streets, and sat down next to it. “We won't let the other changelings hurt you. Just point us in the right direction, and we'll let you go free without them even seeing you. You could come back later and pretend you knew nothing about it.”
Tweedle Dee didn't seem enthusiastic about the idea though. “Bad ponies magic us and tie us... Bad ponies lie to us and kill us later.”
She sighed... this didn't seem to be going anywhere... she looked back at Apollo and his crew for help. They all looked variously doubtful, confused, or hopeless... except for Splints, who smugly walked up to Tweedle Dum.
She sidled up next to it, causing it to lean desperately away, trying to gain distance without breaking some internal promise to not move any further. She just leaned in close and asked in a soft, cold voice, “How many bugs does it take to lead us to our friends?”
If possible, the changeling's composure broke even more, before it slowly replied, “...Two?” It looked back at the too-close pink pony staring him in the face, putting on its best imitation of sincerity and hope... which wasn't very convincing given the current conditions.
Splints only continued her chilling stare, “Hm... I thought maybe we could do with less... Maybe we could just pick which bug was least helpful, and open it up to see how it works inside, since we have a spare and all...”
In a flash, Twilight found Tweedle Dum next to her, begging, “We go this way!” It pointed down a side street with its perforated hoof. “Is helpful changeling! Must keep bad pink pony away from helpful changeling! Let bad pink pony cut other changeling!”
Tweedle Dee shot up to its feet in an instant and began walking, not to be outdone. “Follow! We go to hive now! Look how helpful!”
While she was normally off-put by Splints's vitriol, Twilight had to begrudgingly admit that it had worked wonders. The two changelings who had been so uncooperative just a moment ago were now eagerly competing to show how helpful they could be, and the group was on their way again, even making better time than they had before. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised that the changelings could be turned on each other so easily and viciously... Feeding on love, they never really knew it themselves.
* * *
Sunny Daze flinched away from where she remembered the door being, as she heard a loud crash from outside. What horror would be coming now? She wished she could turn around and see Trigger, but she was still glued back to back with him... for that matter, she wished there was light so that she could see anything at all.
Despite herself, she let out a little whimper of fear. “What's going on?”
Trigger though, didn't seem afraid at all, even though the noise outside grew to a cacophony of hisses, smashes, thuds and a hundred more unidentifiable sounds. “It's them!” he shouted.
“Huh?” Sunny asked, confused. “It's who?”
Her question was answered not by Hair Trigger, but by Twilight, who appeared in the doorway as it burst open with a flash of violet light.
It was the first expression of hers that had been visible in quite some time now, due to the lack of light, but even if she had tried, she couldn't have come up with a better one to greet the light with than the look of shock and delight that filled her face now. “Twilight! It's really you!” she said, still half in disbelief as the purple unicorn rushed over and blew the sticky glue away with magic. She immediately became as attached to Twilight as she had been earlier to Trigger, not by glue this time, but by her own clinging hug.
She watched over Twilight's shoulder as Trigger impacted into the mass of ponies trying to squeeze through the door all at once. Crammed into a small doorway might not have been the best place for a group hug, but it happened all the same, with even Splints joining in. For the first time since she had been lost, Sunny giggled, wondering how they would ever extricate all the ponies now jammed into the doorway.
* * *
“You were good changelings,” Twilight said happily, as she stood with the rest of Apollo's crew in the abandoned building where Pebbles had been left to keep an eye on their little helpers. – And a good thing, too, she supposed; she hated to think what that hug in the doorway would have been like if the huge earth pony mare had tried to participate! “So now we're going to let you go. Just no more stealing our friends and imitating them, right?”
Both changelings nodded nervously.
“Are you sure it's such a good idea to let them go?” Apollo asked, “They need our love to live... They'll be back.”
“I told you!” one of the changelings shouted out, “Bad ponies lied! Now bad ponies kill us!” It started chewing at the rope still looped through one of the holes in its back leg frantically.
Twilight looked at Apollo reproachfully. “We made a promise.”
He sank down a little. “Fine.” With a nod to Shimmer Spell, the ropes came loose all of their own accord, and the two changelings wasted no time in escaping, nipping at each other's heels as they flew out and away. “I hope we don't end up regretting that,” he commented sourly.
Twilight wasn't sure where it came from, but she laid a hoof over Apollo's back. “No act of kindness is ever wasted,” she said, looking at the open door where the changelings had made their hasty exit. “Remember that for me, okay?”
He just leaned in closer, wordlessly, but Twilight could still tell he was worried about the implications to his crew of the changelings still going free.
The huge building loomed above Twilight and her new friends, indomitable and impenetrable so far. Like most of the buildings in Las Pegasus, it had been locked up tight for some reason. Surely there had been some survivors of the plague... but where had they gone, and why had they locked everything up behind them?
“Come on, come on!” Apollo's voice could be heard from around the corner where he was struggling with a big bay door. “Just a little more...”
A snap and a crashing sound later, Twilight saw Apollo fly out from behind the corner, landing with something almost exactly unlike grace, upside down on the pavement, half a crowbar still in his hooves. He shook his head, eyes rattling around for a moment, before noticing Twilight still standing there.
As the echoes of the crash died down from out of the empty streets and blank building faces, Apollo looked up at her a little sheepishly. “Uh... a little help?”
She just gave him a little grin and trotted around the corner as he struggled back to his feet. “Trigger told me you might be needing a little help,” she said amusedly, coming face to face with the door Apollo had been struggling with. She found Needle Point and Quartermaster already there next to the door, inspecting the damage done to it... which only amounted to a few scratches, despite the pile of discarded or broken tools beneath it.
“Jus' don know whats wrong with this here door,” the elderly pony said, “It's jus' too strong!”
She walked up to it and looked at it closely... she could feel something odd about it. Curious, she touched her horn to the door, opening her magical senses to see what had been done to it... she could feel something... something powerful, and it seemed to be building up for something... She was promptly thrown backwards, flying straight into Apollo who was just now getting back on his feet.
“Ugh,” The pegasus pony moaned from beneath Twilight, thrown onto the hard cobbles of Las Pegasus's roads for the second time in under a minute. “I think I'll just stay here this time.”
“That,” Twilight said as she staggered to her feet, and turned back to roughly face the door again... she was pretty sure that at least one of those three doors was the real one, after all, “That was one hay of a ward spell!”
“A what?” Apollo asked, now from a more comfortable pose, but still laying in the street. Apparently he hadn't been kidding about staying put this time.
Twilight shook her head, punished by a hint of a headache it generated, but rewarded in that the three doors in front of her merged into just one, clearing her vision. “A ward spell... it's kind of like a magical lock... it's meant to protect things.” She approached it again, much more cautiously this time. “And this is one doozy of a ward spell!”
She gestured down at the pile of broken and failed tools. “That's why all your tools could barely even scratch the door... it has some powerful protections on it.” She eyed it closely. “But that's a good sign. Ponies wouldn't put such a powerful spell to lock the door if there wasn't something important inside! ... Now, if I could just find the unlock trigger and–”
A bright yellow flash shot out and Twilight found herself once again on top of the unfortunate Apollo Dawn somehow.
“Okay...” She said, shakily, looking up at the concerned faces of Needle and Quartermaster, “maybe that wasn't such a great idea after all.” Back on her feet again, she planted herself firmly. “Okay, door, you've met your match... you want to do this the hard way, we'll do this the hard way!”
Apollo peeked at her from safely around the corner, watching her as her horn began to glow brightly, growing into a huge violet aura above her head. The surrounding buildings began to shake a little as the whole street lit up with purple light.
A laser thin beam of light shone out through Twilight's horn, now pointed directly at the door, and it was met with the now-familiar yellow flash... but the flash didn't go away this time, sustaining itself like a luminescent bubble protecting the door. Through the strain on Twilight's face, a smug grin could be seen growing. Her little tendril of magic stayed the same miniscule width, but suddenly grew incredibly bright, threatening to blind anypony who looked at it too long as it surged with raw power.
The protective bubble around the door seemed to surge for a moment, matching Twilight's beam in increasing its power, only to falter after just a moment of the onslaught, vanishing altogether with an odd popping noise, it sent a ripple around the base of the whole building, blowing back anypony close to it as the ward spell broke completely and Twilight's beam disintegrated the door.
Twilight looked at her handiwork, panting a little. The door was now completely obliterated, shattered to smoldering splinters. Needle Point and Quartermaster both looked on, mouths agape... they had never seen magic like that, Twilight supposed. She wavered on her feet for a moment... neither had she very often, for that matter. Whoever had set that spell was either really powerful or had a lot of help.
“Heh, see,” She said, struggling through her new exhaustion and looking over at the corner of the building for Apollo, “No trouble at all.”
Her weakened bravado was wasted on Apollo though, who was lying groaning in the street once more, blown away from where the shock wave from the ward spell breaking had hit him. “I knew I should have stayed home today,” he grumbled, rising to his feet once again. “Well, let's go see what needed to be protected so well. I hope this was all worth it.”
Twilight Sparkle couldn't stop laughing. She was sure it was inappropriate to the situation, sure that the other ponies present didn't appreciate the humor of the situation... but she just couldn't stop. After suppressing herself back to a mere giggle, she looked again at their big discovery.
It was magnificent, splendor that any thief could only dream of, right in front of them all... huge stacks of gold bullion, flanked by mountains of bits, all gleaming dimly in the light from the vaporized door... and every ounce of it completely worthless.
* * *
Apollo shook his head with exasperation. Focused on the useless treasure in front of him or the incessantly laughing unicorn behind him, he couldn't decide. He was beginning to regret leaving the most difficult target for himself... not that he hadn't earlier while sprawled on the pavement a truly disgusting number of times.
He growled lightly to himself before walking outside, “Okay, Needle, mark it on the map... maybe it will come in handy some day...” he sighed, “but let's hope the other two teams have had better luck than this!”
“Why, what's in there?” The shy navigator asked, already pulling out a rolled-up map of Las Pegasus.
He couldn't bring himself to say it. “Ugh... just ask Twilight when she comes out... if she ever stops laughing long enough to come out that is.”
* * *
“Albie!” Apollo called out into the echoing chasm between the skyscrapers looming overhead, “Shimmer! ... Where are you?” His calls echoed unanswered into the cityscape, even though this was the area the two had been assigned to forage in.
Twilight walked alongside him, taking in the sights. The streets were a mess, trash laying everywhere, discarded carts or vendor stalls making the streets and sidewalks an obstacle course... and overhead now that the air was clear she could see the spider's web of connecting bridges and catwalks above, already falling into dangerous disrepair with no pegasus ponies to maintain the clouds they were attached to at the higher levels.
Despite the silence and neglect though, Las Pegasus still boasted a quiet grandeur. The buildings all still soared up majestically to disappear in the permanent cloud bank above, which she knew once functioned as a second set of city streets for the city's pegasi. A flock of birds wove their way between buildings and gantries far above, the only motion visible in the city at the moment. She paused a moment to admire a particularly amazing bridge, arching its way over a small city park; every single girder was a work of art, each connecting together in an intricate stylized braid, but still managing to support the bridge's soaring span. Even though the life had fled out of this city, she found herself continually impressed by the ponies who had lived here and built it.
“Over here!” A shout came from her left, behind her as she had been admiring the bridge.
Albatross could be seen there at the street corner, waving them over. “Sorry, got a little carried away and lost track of time... almost didn't make the rendezvous!”
“Just tell me you found something useful,” Apollo sighed, “My target was a complete bust.”
The white pegasus just grinned back, hovering there just above the street, “Just you wait and see! Come on!” With that he started off down the street, forcing the ponies behind him to run in order to keep up with his flying.
* * *
Albatross kicked the already broken door open with a flourish, spinning around and gesturing with his good front hoof, “Fillies and Gentlecolts, allow me to present to you, the finest department store in Las Pegasus!”
Apollo stepped gingerly forward through the pile of broken glass at the entrance, cautiously making his way into the dark building. There wasn't much to see so far, with dim shapes looming at the edge of the narrow walkway he found himself on.
“Shimmer honey, time to hit the lights!” Albatross called out into the darkness.
A bright blue glow illuminated Shimmer spell standing a good distance away in the center of the floor, quickly shooting up to inhabit a truly gargantuan chandelier in the middle of the single big room. In the fractured blue colored light that filled the room, Apollo found himself surrounded by... fancy clothes. It was true, they were the best of the best, their frills and dazzling rainbow of colors shown off to interesting effect by the unorthodox lighting... but still... just clothes. “What are we going to do with these, hold a dress ball?” He asked.
Albatross laughed as he continued to lead the group to his fiancée in the middle of the room, “This is just the first floor, buddy, it gets better.” He looked back with a crooked smile. “And what if we do want to hold a fancy dress ball?”
* * *
Twilight let her own magical light augment Shimmer Spell's, lighting the next floor with an even stranger combination of colors, her violet and Shimmer's blue blending together and throwing oddly colored shadows wherever there was a place that one color would reach and another couldn't.
“Allow me to introduce you to floor seventeen, Furniture and Appliances!” Albatross called out theatrically, though it was truly beginning to get a little old after sixteen floors of hearing his pronouncements.
“At least this one might be a little useful,” Apollo mused, “That old castle is awfully bare. ... So, that's one out of seventeen so far.”
“Hey,” Twilight admonished, “I liked eight!” Liked was a bit of an understatement, actually. Floor eight was Books! A whole floor dedicated to be a big bookstore! And they were all free for the taking! It wasn't the biggest collection she'd ever seen... not the royal library by any means... but it was enormous, and stocked with a dizzying selection, including new releases the library hadn't managed to get a hold of before she left for Ponyville. Despite Apollo's insistence at moving on, her saddlebags were already bulging full of a few she just couldn't leave behind... and her mind was likewise full of plans about how she would transform that upper reception hall in the castle into the most wonderful library.
Rather than leading them to the stairwell to move up to the next floor though, Albatross was guiding them through this floor, giving Twilight a moment to look longingly at a fine mahogany desk along the way... she was missing having somewhere to settle down to do her reading and writing... but that was way too big for her saddlebags, and the other group had taken the wagon. She passed by, making an addition to her mental checklist of things to get when she had the opportunity... right behind item forty five on her checklist: acquire quills and ink so she could make a real checklist.
Albatross stopped next to a door set in the outer wall of the furniture floor... which was itself a strange thing to see, given that they were on the seventeenth floor.
“You want to introduce it, Albie?” Shimmer Spell asked.
“You're the one who found it,” he replied nuzzling her a little.
She perked up, showing a little hint of her previous showboating self, and opened the door, leading the group of ponies across one of the many bridges crossing the streets of Las Pegasus.
Twilight was surprised to see as she exited that while the support columns here were still made of stone, the walls themselves were already made of cloud. The paneling on the inside had hidden that, and she suddenly felt a lot less secure this high up above the city street. Even though the buildings still stretched far above, this seventeen story drop seemed plenty high to her at the moment!
“And now, Shimmer Spell shall redeem this entire edifice with her magnificent discovery!” The blue unicorn cried out from the other side of the bridge, fully in performance mode now. “She gives you the Home Improvement Department!”
* * *
Apollo hopped up, boosted by his wings, taking a shortcut over a ladder that was laying propped up sideways in the street for some reason. As he watched the ponies not so blessed with wings work their way around, he once again had to grudgingly admit that behind her showy exterior, that Shimmer Spell really could deliver. The home improvement department had left him like a colt in a candy store... To just think of all they could do with the castle and all the equipment and supplies they could find in that place! It would become a real home, not just a big drafty cavern to set up a camp inside... Still, the one thing the department store didn't carry was what they needed most right now: food.
He didn't have to call out to find the last members of his crew, they were already ready and waiting at their rendezvous location, with a promisingly laden wagon hitched to Pebbles. Even if they had been hard to find, Splints's loud arguing with the two foals would have given away their location easily.
“NO! You will stay RIGHT HERE!” She yelled out. A whining voice came back, but at this distance he couldn't hear what it said. “I KNOW it's an ice cream shop! But there is NO ice cream in there you idiot! How long has the power been out here? What in Equestria makes you think it wouldn't have melted already?”
“Did you find any food that isn't melted?” Apollo asked, interrupting the argument... Only to find himself interrupted as Twilight rushed forward and scooped a surprised Sunny Daze into a fierce hug. The unicorn had been even more overprotective of the little filly ever since the changeling incident, not that the filly seemed to mind too much, at least not at the moment.
“Heh, did we ever!” Splints replied, ignoring the show of affection. “Fifty bits says we got more than all the rest of you combined!”
Apollo just rolled his eyes. “First of all, of course you did. You can carry more with that wagon... and second, I'll take that bet.” He relished the momentarily confused look Splints gave him. “I've got a lot of bits I need a purpose for, and losing bets seems like as good a use as any.”
At that, Twilight broke out laughing again, but he ignored her mirth as he had grown accustomed to doing back at the gold hoard. Instead, he paced around the wagon to see its contents... and he wasn't disappointed. A huge pile of food filled the interior! Sure, most of it was canned or packaged and heavily processed... but what could one expect after over a year of not having any fresh produce? It was still food, and plenty of it... maybe even enough to last the winter... and he was sure there must be more where they had found this.
Lost in thought and now pleased with the prospects of the future, Apollo sat, oblivious to the activity around him for just a moment. Things were finally looking up.
The nail quivered in its little crack in the stone again as Apollo Dawn carefully lined up his next shot. He paused for a moment, wiping the sweat from his forelock before taking the swing... only to see yet another one snap and fall spiraling down to the castle courtyard far below. He let out a curse, muffled by the hammer in his mouth, though he doubted it would have been coherent even if the hammer wasn't blocking its path.
“Brilliant, featherbrain!” Splints's voice called out from inside the window, her Trottingham accent coming through thickly. “A few more of those and we'll be out of nails and then we can call it a day!”
Apollo growled in frustration. Installing these new shutters on the castle's windows would help keep them all warm this winter, but though they had gotten off to a good start, fasteners meant to attach to stone had quickly become scarce... leaving Apollo with the infuriating task of trying to attach them with these wimpy nails. They weren't designed for piercing stone; that much was obvious... these nails were intended for the hobbyists of Las Pegasus to mount things on their mostly cloud-made walls. Still, it needed to be done.
“We can't just call it a day!” He shouted back into the window, a bit tersely. “When winter comes, we'll need these in place already, and there won't be time then.”
“When what winter comes?” Splints's sardonic voice wafted out, “Las Pegasus hasn't seen snow in fifty years!”
He took the next nail from midair as Shimmer Spell floated it out to him. “Another bit of supplies successfully delivered! Was there ever any doubt?”
He hung his head low for a moment, shaking it in frustration before smashing in the next nail with what was probably too much force. Why, again, had he chosen the two most annoying ponies on his team to do this with him? At any rate, the weight behind his frustration seemed to have driven the nail home... fifth try's the charm, right?
Tossing the hammer back into his saddlebag, he hovered over to better talk to the ponies inside the window. “First of all, no there was never any doubt. It's just a nail, okay.” Shimmer only seemed to laugh inside at him, her face growing mirthful... even she had learned to humor herself, why couldn't he? “Second, the pegasus ponies aren't in control of the weather anymore, and with the sun acting all weird, we could be in for some strange weather, so that's why we're doing this!”
“Or maybe it's just going to be bloody hot all winter,” Splints called out, “ever think of that?”
“Quartermaster thinks it's going to get really bad here.” he growled back.
“And you're going to trust that old goat?” Splints asked with faux incredulity. “Never thought I'd see a pegasus asking a senile old earth pony about the weather!”
Why did he even bother arguing with that one? “Look you two, this is the last one on this floor, just meet me up at the next level, okay?”
He fluttered up to the next window in line, taking a well-deserved break on the generous windowsill: from his companions' banter as much as from flying... he wasn't Albatross, after all. He couldn't fly all day without getting worn out. He peeked upwards, and immediately wished he hadn't. He was less than halfway up the fortress's side. Even though Albatross, Twilight and Needle Point were working their way up the other two sides, it still seemed like a daunting task.
He just couldn't shake the feeling though... feeling that the wellbeing of his crew depended on the preparations he made now. With his nature being what it was, of course, he couldn't ignore it either. He would do anything to protect his crew... even fight his way to mounting yet another of the infuriating window shutters.
The window next to him opened, swiveling inside and giving him a view of who were by now the last two ponies in the world he wanted to see. He heaved a heavy sigh, grabbing a nail from Shimmer before flying out, the next shutter quickly following him, enveloped in a blue glow. “Back to work... again.”
* * *
Sunny Daze noticed Twilight watching her come through the door, so she carefully – and theatrically – shook the snow from her feet before coming in further, even though she had the most important of all possible messages. “Twilight! You've got to–”
She was interrupted by the purple unicorn almost immediately though. “Now, have you gotten your bath yet?”
“But Twilight, there's–”
“Have you?” she said, giving Sunny the look.
“Well, no, but,” Sunny stuttered.
“Well then get to it young filly!” Twilight stepped up from where she had been reading a book near the entrance hall's fireplace.
Sunny seethed in frustration. “But Twilight!”
“No buts!” The unicorn replied, hefting Sunny up in a field of magic. “I won't have you missing bedtime again, not for any silly excuses you think up.”
“Twi-Liiiiight!” The filly shouted as she found herself floating in front of her unicorn friend as she trotted towards their suite. “It's important! The weather!”
“I know, right?” she replied happily, “Now that there's a little dusting of snow on the ground, Apollo's preparations are going so much faster! I mean just look at how well that fireplace is working now that we cleared out those chimneys – you should really thank your friend Trigger for that, he was a huge help by the way! – and the stockpiles of food and supplies are more than big enough now, and we haven't even brought in the last load yet... Don't even get me started on–”
“SHUT UP!” Sunny screamed out in desperation as they entered the door to their suite.
Twilight dropped the filly onto the hard stone floor out of shock, but she didn't let it faze her, getting right back up and running over to the unicorn before she could be grabbed in another magical aura. Having given up on getting a word in edgewise, she began physically shoving her friend towards the window, simply shouting, “Look!”
* * *
Exasperated at the filly's poor behavior, Twilight turned to look out the window. If Sunny was just trying to think up another excuse to avoid bath time, she would be in for it now! She had gotten fed up over the last few days from the young mare's excuses, and her behavior this time was completely out of line... she looked out the window – and completely forgot about her brewing plans for Sunny's punishment.
Out of the window, she could see a horizon now quickly filling with roiling black clouds. They were moving towards her. She still found it creepy to see clouds moving around without pegasi to drive them... and at such an alarming rate! Leaving Sunny Daze forgotten, she raced further upstairs to where she remembered Apollo working.
* * *
Apollo looked up from his inventory as the door burst open, promptly losing count again... he hoped it would be worth it this time. “No, we still don't have any, Shimmer. You'll have to make due without fireworks this time... Oh, wait, Twilight... I thought it was Shimmer Spell again.”
“Storm!” The out-of-breath unicorn called out.
Apollo didn't need any further prompting. They had been planning for this for weeks now. “On it!” he replied, “Spread the word out and then get to your position!” Twilight's 'position' was to teleport to the very top of the fortress, closing up the top entrances and closing the protective slabs that went over them... slabs that annoyingly enough could only be moved from outside, up on the flight deck. Only Twilight, with her ability to teleport would be able to do it; the pegasi on the team would be busy flying around the outside closing shutters... doubly busy, Apollo realized, since Albatross was still in town gathering up one last supply run.
Cursing his luck, he saved time by exiting through the window, slamming the shutters closed behind him. For a moment he stopped to look in awe at the approaching storm front. Despite how distant it was, the winds were already picking up, and he felt the occasional snowflake hit him as he hovered in place. This was definitely the storm they had been preparing for. He could only hope that their preparations would turn out to be enough.
The wind tore through Twilight's mane as she trotted through the castle courtyard. Her storm preparations were complete, but Albatross's food gathering team still hadn't come back yet... and the storm was coming in. She could see it as she darted out through the big main gates, billowing up high overhead and cutting off what little was left of this sun cycle's light. The light covering of snow already on the ground was blowing around all over the place, obliterating her footprints almost as soon as she raised her foot.
She cast a magical shield around her as she trotted on towards Las Pegasus. It wouldn't keep the cold out, but it would block the blowing snow. It obscured her vision a little as the snow worked its way around the edges of her sphere, but not as much as snow blowing into her eyes would have. She forged on, just as fast. She wouldn't have gone off quite so readily, but with the others still busy with preparations, she was the only one available to go find and retrieve the scavenging team. No problem; it would be easy: just find the team, then teleport them back.
Spurred on by her concerns, she sped along even faster. The storm was growing now, wind-driven falling snow coming in thickly. She could barely see the road as it became more covered, drifts already forming... but that was fine; she knew it well now, well enough to follow it without problems. She just had to find that team before this got any worse!
A big sheet of paper or fabric or something suddenly loomed up in front of her, driven by the wind maybe? No problem. With the help of her magical shield, she punched right through it, continuing on down the road as fast as she could. With a sudden shock, though, she lost her footing, her traction suddenly gone as she hit a wide, solid patch of ice. She found herself skidding, bringing up uncomfortable memories of her brief span as a lake scorer in her first Ponyville winter wrap up. A leg slipped out from under her, and she slid on her side, shoulder first, breaking her concentration on the barrier spell and letting it fall... how could an ice patch this big have formed in the road anyway? She had precious little time to ponder that question as a pillar suddenly loomed out from the white background. It promptly made contact with her head.
Twilight's world was quickly turned into a very unpleasant place. A ringing filled her ears, an uncontrolled spin confused her sense of balance, and her vision kept blurring out to black... not to mention a new, splitting pain in her head. With another impact, her spin stopped, even though it hurt her legs a little. She tried to stand, but slipped down again. Winding herself up for another effort at it, the darkness in her vision became complete, and she couldn't help but lay down. She tried to think of something, but she never had the opportunity as she lost herself and knew no more.
* * *
Apollo sped his wings against the growing wind, pushing on the last shutter far up on the top floor. In retrospect, it would have been wiser to start with the top first, and so be doing the more protected lower windows as the wind picked up... but then again, it had never been the plan for just one pegasus to be closing them all. He pushed with just a bit more force, straining as hard as he could. Since this was the last one, he could put his all into it without worrying about leaving energy for the others. With his redoubled efforts, it finally slapped closed, and he quickly threw the latch on it to keep from losing all his hard work.
He looked down at the courtyard as he began descending, and it was already becoming difficult to see due to the amount of snow blowing around in between him and the ground level. Still, he could make out Albatross's group coming back in, just in time to not help closing the shutters... He didn't mind though; he was just glad to see the ponies all back safe and sound... or at least that's what he told himself.
Gliding down likely a little faster than was wise given the conditions, he managed to meet Albatross at the entrance to the castle. “Good to see you all back in one piece!” He called out as he landed.
“Good to be in one piece,” his assistant replied, shaking the snow out of his cerulean mane, “We've got our little Trigger here to thank for that. He noticed the change in weather just in time.”
“Well, let's get in!” Apollo replied, opening the door against the force of the wind. “It's way too cold out here!”
* * *
“So then,” Albatross laughed, “The little guy comes in wearing a snorkel and a floatie... Good thing too, 'cause once those milk barrels were loose he was swimming!”
“That is SO not funny!” a perturbed and rather fragrant Hair Trigger protested. “There were chunks in there!”
Still, Apollo couldn't help but smirk a little at the thought of Trigger swimming in a pool of spoiled milk. The little pegasus had earned that much at least with his 'trash can monster' prank from earlier. “You go and get cleaned up, okay? We'll just have Twilight help unload all this.” It really wasn't much anyway. With the more fruitful scavenging locations already emptied, the wagon was so light on the return trip that anypony could pull it. He called out at the yellow filly running away before she could follow Trigger upstairs. “Hey Sunny! Send Twilight down, okay?”
“Okay!” she said, running off while Apollo Dawn began to look and see just what they had brought home this time... Not too much food; it was a good thing they were already pretty much set for the winter... but they had apparently found most of what they had been looking for: some spices, glue and tape, a bunch of baskets, a few coils of rope... no soap, but surely they could find some next time... maybe they could search ponies' apartments rather than stores next time...
He turned as he heard somepony coming down the stairs, and saw Sunny Daze and Shimmer Spell coming down. “I couldn't find Twilight, but I found Shimmer!” the filly called out, causing the unicorn next to her to stop and stare at her.
“Wait, you couldn't find Twilight Sparkle?” She asked. “She wasn't with you?”
“Of course not silly!” Sunny replied, “I had to take a bath!”
Shimmer looked up at Apollo with a look of sharp and growing worry. “But she passed Shimmer on the way out... she said she was going to go find you... Where is she?”
The wind howled outside, shaking the door behind Apollo, and he turned along with the other ponies to look at it, a sick feeling of dread quickly sinking into him. He knew where she was now... out there.
Apollo didn't stay long in his case of shock – he hadn't gotten through a lifetime of exploring by standing still and worrying. “Shimmer, a flare please.” He said. Shimmer Spell really seemed to enjoy that one, though they didn't use it often.
The blue unicorn stood stock still for a moment in concentration before her horn flashed and swirling blasts of light flew off from it in all directions, quickly moving to and through the walls. Shimmer's flare spell was the prearranged emergency signal for Apollo's crew to gather together, and though the flares didn't fly straight, the ponies would be more or less able to figure out what direction they had come from, and being illusionary as they were, they would shoot right through the walls like they weren't there.
“Quarter, Needle,” He called out once the flares had gone, “grab the cold weather gear while we wait for the others, okay?”
The two ponies nodded and rushed off – or creaked off in Quartermaster's case – leaving Apollo alone in the entrance hall with Shimmer for a moment.
“Is she going to be okay?” Shimmer surprised him by asking.
He turned, and was a little shocked at the amount of concern Shimmer was showing. She seemed to be nearly in tears. He nearly gave in to the compulsion to tell her a little white lie, just something to make her feel better, but something in him just wouldn't let him. What was it that Twilight had said about 'elements'?
She didn't like his moment of silence, not at all. She rushed up, getting uncomfortably close. “Is she safe?”
“We'll find her.” He said simply. That, at least, was true... one way or another, he wouldn't give up until he found her... though he couldn't guarantee he'd find her soon enough. “What's the deal with the two of you, anyway?” He wondered out loud, backing up for a bit more space. “The two of you sure acted strangely when you met, and now this...”
“Ah...” Shimmer dithered for a moment, backing off herself. “Shimmer is just concerned about her new teammate...?”
Apollo just squinted his eyes a little, blatantly not buying it.
She stood nervously sweated for a moment before giving in. “Shimmer Spell met Twilight Sparkle a long time ago... before she met you and before she changed her name.”
“Wait,” Apollo interrupted, “You changed your name?”
“Um... yes,” she said, abashed.
“What was it?”
“She used to be called... well, Trixie.”
“Trixie?” Apollo laughed a little but quickly cut himself off when he saw her face, “It, ah... sounds pretty short, that was really it?”
“Well, um... she called herself 'the great and powerful Trixie'.”
He looked at her anew now, gamely restraining himself from laughing this time... “And this involves Twilight how?”
“You promise not to tell the others?” She asked. “Shimmer has only told Albatross about this before... she would prefer it not be well known.”
“I promise.”
She made a little gulp before continuing softly, “Trixie was a performer. She traveled and put on shows with lots of magic... mostly fake magic.” He raised his eyebrows at that, but didn't interrupt, fascinated now to find out about Shimmer Spell's true past. “And one day she performed her show in the town of Ponyville...” She looked away, apparently not enjoying her own story. “Trixie was boastful... she claimed herself the most magical... the best unicorn ever.”
“And Twilight...?” Apollo inquired.
“Trixie didn't know her then... but it didn't seem to matter, she just ran away.” She slumped and looked down at the floor. “And then the ursa came.”
“An ursa!?!” he gasped, “As in an ursa major?” He had heard of them, of course, even seen one once from a distance, explorer that he was. He certainly had no wish to see one again!
“Yes, well, sort of,” She confirmed, “Trixie had boasted that she could vanquish an ursa major. But the one that came into town was an ursa minor.”
“But she – you – couldn't vanquish it, could you?” He asked. Drat, now she had gotten him doing it!
“No,” she said shamefully, “and Trixie was part of the reason it came... and everypony saw her shame when she could not defeat it... but then, another unicorn came... Twilight Sparkle.
“The new pony vanquished the ursa, and exposed Trixie's fraud for everypony to see... she sent the ursa back to its cave, and she put Trixie to shame.”
“What did you do?”
“Trixie ran... and ran... before she finally collapsed. She had lost everything... not just her possessions, but she had lost who she was, too. She was sure news of her shame would spread to other towns, and the great and powerful Trixie laid down and cried.”
“Is that when you changed your name?” He asked.
She nodded. “Trixie's life was gone, and after a long time feeling hurt and wronged, she finally figured out who was to blame.”
“Twilight Sparkle?” He said, with a knowing nod.
“No!” she said vehemently staring him in the eye, “It was Trixie's fault! She brought it on herself.” She looked down again. “... and then she changed on that long night on the roadside. She decided to get rid of Trixie and become somepony new.”
“And that's when you named yourself Shimmer Spell?”
“Um... not exactly,” she gave a weak little laugh. “Shimmer didn't name herself until a passing group of ponies found her there and helped her... she had to make something up when they asked her who she was.”
“Hey,” Apollo interjected, surprised, “That was us, wasn't it?”
She just nodded, leaving him to chuckle for a moment to think that she had just made up the name she gave him right there on the spot that day... and he had never known.
“But why the concern for Twilight?” he asked. “wouldn't you two be enemies or something?”
“NO!” She shouted, much louder than needed, eyes shut tightly. He could see that the suggestion was somehow hurtful. “No... That is Trixie's way.” She looked up resolutely, and a little tearfully. “and Shimmer is not Trixie!” She looked away again, off towards the door. “at least not anymore...”
He looked at her, still a little confused about why she seemed to care so much about Twilight Sparkle, and she seemed to notice.
“Twilight is special... She is the one who broke Trixie... the one who set Shimmer Spell free, in a way. ... Shimmer Spell owes her for breaking her out of her shell. Otherwise she would still be Trixie... and she would still have no real friends. And... well... Trixie owes her too. Trixie was mean to Twilight and her friends... and now Shimmer wants to make up for that.”
He moved over embracing her closely, now at least somewhat understanding how she felt about that purple unicorn. “We'll find her, I promise–”
He was about to say more, but the stairwell door burst open, spilling most of his crew into the entrance hall, with Albatross at the lead. Suddenly realizing his compromising position with Shimmer, he quickly separated and tried to act casually... which – he realized after seeing Albatross's accusing face – was probably counterproductive.
He sighed. This could be sorted out later. For now, they had a wayward purple unicorn to find. “Okay everypony, Twilight Sparkle is missing. She's probably out there in the storm.” He looked around to his crew, “Did she tell anypony where she was going, or did anypony see her?”
Blank, concerned looks and a few shaking heads met him in return, pretty much confirming his worries about the unicorn.
“So, we need to organize a rescue. Quartermaster and Splints, I want you two to stay here and keep watch, in case she comes back. The rest of you, get your cold weather gear on and come with me!”
* * *
Apollo slammed the door back behind him, looking back at his crew, who all stared at him with a mixture of expectancy and confusion. He cracked it open again, peeking out. The wind was screaming by, despite the protection of the surrounding walls, full of snow and reducing visibility to almost zero... the snow had already built up to his hocks near the door, and it was only getting deeper by the moment.
Closing the door again and looking at his crew, he decided they needed a little more organization, or they would only get scattered, lost, and frozen themselves. “Okay,” he said, a little fearful of the ordeal ahead – not that he would ever let that show! “Get some lanterns... and hm... some rope! There's some in the wagon... Oh, and Pebbles, where did that box of whistles go?”
Apollo watched Needle Point's flank moving in front of him – not because it was particularly shapely or anything. Thoughts like that about a longtime subordinate would just be... unprofessional. Covered by a bulky parka, it wasn't much to write home about anyway. No, the reason he found himself staring at the shy navigator's flank as they walked was that it was simply the only thing – at all – he could see besides snow and the rope that held them all together.
He was trudging along second in line in the little chain of five ponies he had created, all roped together behind Needle Point, which would hopefully prevent them all from becoming lost themselves. She had never been lost before, and completely blinded as he was, Apollo had to trust her judgment... he couldn't even figure out where the road was anymore, or if they were on it or not.
He glanced back, seeing Albatross's face through the blowing snow, but he couldn't see any further back than that, and he had to just hope that Shimmer and Pebbles were still behind. He could catch an occasional blink of light from there, so Shimmer was still there apparently, still laying her markers down. Each flash silhouetted the ponies behind him for a brief moment, confirming they were still around.
He tried looking to the sides... but it was a little hopeless, really. He couldn't see anything except snow... how could they ever hope to find Twilight if she wasn't on the road? He was pretty sure she would have gone this way, and pretty sure she would still be near the road... but where? Would she have continued on to Las Pegasus to seek shelter? Would she have wandered around lost? Why didn't she just teleport back? The worry was getting to him, he realized. Even worse than usual when a teammate was in trouble... but the middle of a blizzard probably wasn't the best place to ponder on that.
Before he noticed, he found himself ramming into Needle's backside... and before he could even come to realize what happened, he found Albatross ramming him from behind... the chain reaction probably went down the whole rope. Note to self – make spaces between ponies on the rope longer next time, he thought. The wind seemed to have died down a little for some reason now, and Needle turned around to talk to him, apparently.
“Um... Apollo... we've reached Las Pegasus now,” She said, her quiet voice barely audible over the still heavy winds. “I maybe think she wouldn't have gotten this far before the storm came.”
“And if she did, she's hiding in a building right now,” Apollo said, looking side to side for one of said buildings... and not finding any, though he thought he might have seen a bit of a reflection from one of Shimmer's marker, as if from a window maybe? “Let's turn around and look for her on the way back.” He shivered, despite his heavy coat and despite the burning, frustrated worry growling away inside him. “And then we'll stay at the castle until it blows over.” He hated the idea of abandoning her out here, but what else could he do? If he and his crew stayed out here too long, they would all freeze. He just thanked the stars for now that they had been able to convince the foals to stay home and sit this one out!
* * *
Apollo watched the road ahead now. The snow hadn't lessened. If anything, it was coming down even faster and piling up higher now. He could see Needle Point ahead of him starting to tire, always breaking up the snow in front... but if anypony else led the way, they might get lost, despite Shimmer's markers dimly lighting the way with their brief flashes. In fact, in their back glow, he could even make out silhouettes of things on the side of the road occasionally: a bush being beaten down by the wind one moment, a growing snowdrift the next, and a big billboard on the side of the road, with a strange circular hole off-centered in it... He stopped for a moment – causing another pile-up crash along the line – considering this hole... and remembering Twilight's perfectly round shield spell... No, it couldn't be.
...But he couldn't forgive himself if this was it and he didn't check it out! He rushed to the side, heedless of the rope joining his crew together – which apparently wasn't such a good idea. He found himself suddenly jerked back by the rope from both sides as the weight of Needle in the front and the other ponies behind him both caught him at the same time. He heard a scream from his side as Needle was flung around by the combined momentum, followed by a sickening crunch as she hit the billboard he had been making for.
He strained against the icy road beneath, trying for enough traction to reach the poor little mare, and with a few beats of his wings he was finally able to make enough headway to drag the others behind him up to where she was laying. As he finally managed to make his way up to her, she slowly rose from the snow, only to fall again as one of her back legs gave out. “Stay put, we've got you,” he called out, while pulling the others close with the rope.
He looked down at the furrow he had caused Needle to make in the snow... right next to a partially filled up one a lot like it... Growing more sure now, he called back, “Shimmer, can you get her on my back?”
If there was a reply, it was lost in the wind, but Needle Point did glow blue for a moment and float up onto Apollo's back. With her safely in place, he began walking in the direction he thought Twilight might be, more carefully this time, now that he could sense the solid layer of ice beneath the snow.
“Everypony fan out into a search pattern!” He called out behind him, and at least one pony seemed to hear him, as the rope began to stretch off to his right more than directly behind him. He watched the snow ahead of him carefully, but didn't see any sign of the unicorn he was looking for... and he had walked quite a way beyond the billboard now he thought nervously, glancing back and wondering if he could find his way back there... Needle was still conscious for now, but for how long? And would she be able to navigate as well without walking the distance herself? He winced for a moment for the pain she must be in... but he wouldn't pass up this chance to save a team member.
A shrill whistle came from off to his right somewhere – the team's prearranged signal to stop because they found something. Excitedly, he hurried over in the direction the whistle seemed to have come from, following the rope to its source. He found them, finally: Albatross, Shimmer, and Pebbles huddled over a lump in the snow, with Shimmer Spell hurriedly brushing away the snow to reveal a hoof. He couldn't be sure in the uncertain light, but it seemed purple!
* * *
Twilight Sparkle slowly opened her eyes... she felt awful for some reason. Blurredly, she could see a pink face hovering in front of her... “Pinkie Pie?” she asked, drowsily, “But I thought you–” Her vision cleared a little, and she began to be able to see the straggling streaked yellow mane... no, not Pinkie. “Splints?”
“'Bout time!” Splints said, “You've been lounging for long enough!” The pink pony quickly turned around, turning to another bed beside her.
Twilight took a moment to look at her surroundings and get her bearings... she seemed to be in the room Apollo had set aside as an infirmary, a few cots, and lots of medical supplies – most of them still packed in boxes – littered the floor... Light streamed in the windows, despite the thin curtains that had been installed. Looking down at herself, she was glad to see no obvious injuries, and even gladder to see Sunny Daze curled up into a ball sleeping adorably at her side... Indeed, sleep suddenly seemed like a splendid idea. She closed her eyes for a little nap... wouldn't want to wake Sunny, after all, right?
* * *
“So, I heard she woke up earlier today,” Apollo mentioned quietly, leaning over Twilight's cot.
“Yeah, she did, but then she went right back to sleep, lazy pony.” Splints replied, turning back to Needle. “Need anything honey, maybe some water?” Needle just shook her head a little. “You're sure?”
“Um... well... maybe a little snack?” She asked shyly.
“Sure!” Splints rushed over to a small table at the side of the room, quickly returning with a half of a sandwich.
“Uh, Splints... is it just me, or is it...” Apollo started to say.
“Or what?” she replied venomously.
“Well... it kind of seams like you don't care about Twilight as much for some reason...”
“And what do you care?”
“Well,” he wasn't sure, actually. “It's... It's just not like you to be like that with somepony who's injured...”
Splints turned on him viciously. “And you would know what I'm like, would you? How about you keep your nose in your job and I'll do mine! Nopony asked you to come up here you know!”
Put off by her display of animosity, Apollo retreated, leaving the infirmary and wondering to himself what had gotten into the mare. She was usually very kind to anything injured or sick, and unrelentingly acidic towards anyone who was healthy... It just wasn't like her to be critical or short with a patient... what would be next, her having a civil conversation with a healthy pony? For all that he knew about his crew, sometime they still were a mystery to him sometimes.
Twilight Sparkle breathed in the brisk late spring air deeply, but it did little to soothe her nervous excitement over the coming celebration. Again she brought up her checklist, triple-checking it. She had taken it upon herself to organize this remembrance day for the fallen princesses, and she wanted the very first one to go off without a hitch. Despite her organizing skills and her time spent with the pony herself, she was no Pinkie Pie though... planning parties wasn't exactly her forte.
Complicating that was the fact that this party wasn't meant to be a raucous celebration, but rather a somewhat somber affair, memorializing Equestria's lost leaders... She hadn't been to many parties like that... and she wasn't entirely sure what one was supposed to be like.
“Are there enough streamers?” She asked, turning behind her to where the boxes were bing unpacked, just in time to see a blue flank and waving grey tail sticking out of the box towards her... A strangely fascinating blue flank...
“What was that, Twilight?” Apollo called back, popping up out of the box.
Twilight turned away at the last moment... she didn't want to be caught staring... why was she staring anyway? Quick, change of subject! “I asked if there were enough streamers in there?”
“Enough to cheer up five funerals and a divorce filing or two, I guess,” he replied laughing. “Seriously, did we really need fifty pounds of streamers?”
Now Twilight was doubting herself again. She had put streamers on the checklist... but was the occasion supposed to be cheered up? Oh, what to do? “Um, okay, I think that's enough,” she said, silently wondering if it was actually too much. This was the two year anniversary of when the princesses – and Equestria with them – had fallen. She looked again at her checklist of festivities... it didn't seem quite appropriate now, really. An outpouring of joy on this day might make it look like they were happy about what happened that day.
Twilight found herself getting a little choked up just thinking about it again... how it was all her fault, really. Was she really the right one to be putting this event together? Should she even be here? She began to feel a little ill, dark thoughts continuing to run through her head even as she continued to work her way down the checklist... Balloons? No, too festive. She crossed the item on the list out, not that it made much difference. They didn't have any balloons anyway. And cake? She thought for a moment. Yes, they could have cake, but...
“Twilight?” ... “TWILIGHT!”
“Huh, what?” She responded, jolted out of her thoughts.
Apollo just shook his head and giggled a little at her. “Where were we going to set up the stage again?”
* * *
Apollo Dawn clapped his hooves together in time with the music and shouted right along with the rest of his crew, cheering on Shimmer's piano work. Who knew that pony was so talented? She was just sitting there in front of the piano, letting her horn do all the work, and though she tried not to show it, he could see that she was eating up the enthusiasm from the ponies crowded around the table next to him. The piano may have been a little out of tune, and Shimmer's special talent certainly wasn't music related... but it was still very passable, and entertainment was hard to come by these days!
As Shimmer Spell's musical number came to its glowing crescendo, Twilight came in, floating the cake in front of her on a platter held up with her magic. “Who's ready for cake?” She called out through Shimmer's applause. The weakness for sweets being as common in ponies as it was, she was heard despite the uproar and greeted with several variations of 'Ooh! Me!' Apollo just shook his head a little though.
Twilight had been serving their food, setting things up, and generally not getting to be any part of the party the whole night. He had tried to talk to her, tried to get her involved... but she kept shutting him down with talk of being 'not worthy' and 'making amends'. The worst were the muttered comments of 'my fault'. Apollo was no foal. He knew something was getting to the unicorn, and he knew it had to do with this day in particular. And what was special about today? The anniversary of course.
* * *
With the rest of his crew – sans foals – well into their wine by now, Apollo took note of Twilight Sparkle leaving the party early, everypony else too besotted or distracted to notice. He rose to follow, interrupted for a moment by the little yellow filly, Sunny Daze.
“I wanna go play outside, okay?” She said.
He looked out through the window, now hanging open to let the breeze in. The sun was just finished rising for the last time of the day, off to the west at the moment. “Sure,” he said absently, more concerned about Twilight at the moment, “Just be back before dark.”
As Sunny ran off toward the exit, Apollo tried to discreetly make his way toward the door Twilight had left through. After being a leader for a while, he could tell when a pony needed to be talked to, and Twilight needed it as much as anypony he had ever seen.
He slipped through the door quietly, not wanting anypony else following to talk to him, or worse, eavesdrop... but there was no sign of the purple unicorn on the other side of the door, despite the fact that this was just a storage closet off of the ballroom. Where had she gone? Of course! He thought, She teleported! Now, where would she go? She liked to look at the stars, but they weren't out right now, so probably not the roof... Her room? But she would be expecting Sunny Daze there soon. So where? Ah, but what if she knew Sunny well enough to expect the filly to go play outside? Well, it couldn't hurt to check... and maybe he'd find a clue somewhere along the way.
He slipped his way back through the closet door, back into the ballroom with the other ponies, checking behind him a moment to see if he was noticed... to find Albatross looking right at him with a knowing smirk, despite the semi-conscious blue unicorn wrapped around him. Apollo actually blushed a little when he realized what the other ponies had seen... Twilight Sparkle disappears into a supply closet, followed by Apollo sneaking into it... They stay vanished for a little while and then Apollo sneaks out.
Silently with some very interesting attempts at sign language, he tried to convince Albatross that nothing of the sort had happened... but he only managed to convert his assistant's knowing smirk into a full-fledged grin.
In exasperation, but not wanting to cause a scene, he simply walked to the actual exit and left the room. Once his cheeks cooled again, he wondered what Albatross would think when Twilight never came out of the closet. He stopped walking for a moment, realizing what ponies might think... he did not want to end up as the subject of a murder investigation! But no, his crew knew him better than that, right? And there was no body in the closet... it would be easy enough to explain that she must have teleported out. Still... he hoped she wouldn't stay disappeared long.
* * *
Sunny Daze stretched out and luxuriated in the warm glow of the sun, now at the highest point it would reach in the day. She had been through a fine run through the grass near the cliff side, and found a wonderful bunch of blue butterflies drinking from a mud puddle left over from the recent rains.
Now though, now was the time to relax in the wonderfully warm sunshine she had been missing so much. She knew it wouldn't last long, but while it did, she would enjoy her nap! She had always enjoyed taking little naps outside in the middle of the day back in Ponyville, something she had sorely missed on the road... but now she had found a lovely little grassy hill close to the castle; it almost always had a face angled toward the sun, no matter which direction it was coming from... when it was up anyway, that is.
She rested her head on a front hoof, still stretched out absorbing the wonderful warmth like a cat in a sunbeam from a window before scratching her back against the prickly grass... it was so itchy lately for some reason. She closed her eyes slowly, already feeling herself drifting off into the comfort of her old pastime. She drifted off to sleep, wishing that the sun could stay up for a long time again, like it used to... she would sleep as long as it kept shining down so happy and warm...
* * *
Apollo knocked on Twilight's door. He was sure she was in there; he had heard a few muffled sobs... but now after knocking, he heard only silence in return. She didn't want company, apparently.
“Twilight... I know you're in there... and I know you're hurting.”
Still, only silence greeted him in return.
“Twilight Sparkle... I want to help you!”
“I don't deserve help,” her voice finally returned from inside the room.
“Everypony deserves help when they need it,” Apollo called back.
“I'm not a pony.” She replied, confusing him for a moment... was she another changeling? That might explain her extraordinary magic... “I'm a monster.”
“Twilight, please let me in... we need to talk.” He said, hoping she would listen... he wasn't sure he could console her through a big wooden door.
His hopes raised as he heard hoof steps inside, and were vindicated when he heard the latch opening. Suddenly in front of him was a disheveled, red-eyed purple unicorn looking up at him with an awful mixture of sadness and self-loathing... and his heart felt like it just dropped out of his chest.
As he had walked down the halls to her room, he had thought of what he would say... He would tell her it wasn't her fault really... that she couldn't have seen it coming... that she was still a magnificent unicorn with a bright future... but all that left him suddenly, and he just found himself holding her as she cried into his shoulder. He held her close, slowly realizing that talk hadn't been what she needed after all. This was what she had needed.
Apollo woke from a knock on the door. Quickly he glanced up at the window... the sun was high in the sky, still to the west, so it couldn't have been long. He got up, careful not to disturb Twilight, who was still sleeping on the bed after crying her heart out. As the unicorn had cried, he had been able to pick up snippets of what was making her so upset. She did indeed think that the deaths of the princesses had been her fault somehow, though he was still pretty unclear on just why she thought that.
Making his way quietly to the door, he cracked it open and slipped through, to find himself face to face with Albatross, the white pegasus again wearing a knowing smirk on his face.
“They've been looking for you for hours now... but I knew where you'd be,” he said with raised eyebrows.
“It's not like you think! Nothing happened!” Apollo insisted in a sharp whisper, “Twilight just needed to – wait... Did you say hours?” He thought back to his view out the window, “But the sun hasn't moved at all, it can't have been hours!” A sudden realization hit him... “Have I been in there a full day?”
“Nope, like I said, a few hours.” Albatross replied.
“But... but the sun is–”
“That's why everypony's been looking for you.”
“Huh?” Apollo asked profoundly, quite confused now.
“The sun has been up – in the same place – for six hours now.” Albatross explained patiently. “... and nopony could find you, Twilight, or Sunny.”
“Well,” Apollo explained, “Twilight is–”
“I know.” Albatross said with a wink.
“Augh! Seriously, it's not like that!” Apollo brought a hoof up to his frustrated face. “But where's Sunny, and what's going on with the sun?”
“Don't know and don't know.” Albatross replied simply. “But eventually Needle Point said she had seen Sunny talking to you, so maybe you knew where she was?”
Apollo thought back... he did seem to remember saying something to Sunny Daze... what was it? Something about how she wanted to play... and he was pretty sure he told her to be back by dark... 'back'? So, she must have left. “I think she went to go play outside.” He said thoughtfully.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Albatross hopped up excitedly. “Let's round up the others and go find her!”
* * *
“Sunny?”
Sunny Daze stirred a little, enjoying the feeling of cool grass scratching her back while the warm sun beat down on her belly.
“Sunny, wake up!”
She rolled over, still drowsy... Wow... what a nap! She stretched her neck out a little, and flared out her wings, stretching them too... and it felt very good... they had gotten so stiff somehow.
“Sunny Daze, are you okay?”
She cracked her eyes open a little, finding Twilight Sparkle's face looking down at her. “Oh, hi Twilight,” She mumbled, “You should lie down... itsa good place for a nap...” She drifted off towards napping again... she seemed to remember a really nice dream, something with bright sunshine... something about being in the sun all nice and warm and bright, and looking down at herself sleeping on the hill... or maybe she was the sun? ... It was all a little blurry, but she wanted to get back to it. It was a really nice dream, she was sure she remembered that much.
“Sunny!”
Ugh... Twilight's voice shattered her dream again... she was a little annoyed, but this time she finally decided to get up and see what her unicorn friend wanted. She sat up, still a little sleepily, opening her eyes and stretching out her hooves in a big, luxurious yawn. “Hi, Twilight... What is it?” Looking around a little, she was surprised to see all her other friends circled around too, all staring at her. “Something wrong?”
“Um...” Twilight hesitated a moment before asking. “Are you feeling okay, Sunny?”
Sunny giggled a little. “Yeah! I feel really good!” She stood up on all fours, pushing herself forward and stretching her back, letting her wings flare up again and have another good stretch before returning to a more normal standing position.
Twilight turned her head, looking back at Sunny out of the corner of her eye, “Well, because you kind of seem to have wings and a horn now.”
“Huh?” Sunny replied before looking back over her shoulder. Two little filly-sized wings were there, matching her fur color perfectly... where there had been none yesterday! she realized with a start. Quickly, she brought a hoof up to her forehead, and sure enough she felt an unexpected impact as her hoof hit a stubby little horn growing out of the front of her mane... and she didn't only feel it with her hoof, she also felt the impact with the horn... her horn! “Huh!?!” She questioned again, much more urgently this time, “What happened?” She began to tremble a little... this was all so strange.
She felt the comforting hooves of her old friend Twilight wrap around her, a very comforting bit of familiarity in this suddenly strange world. “We were hoping you could tell us, actually, little miss alicorn.”
Her wings seemed to close and fold up automatically as she snuggled up next to Twilight. “What do you mean what happened... how I got a horn?”
“Well, we are curious about that,” Apollo's voice came from beside Twilight. “But what we really want to know is what's up with the sun.”
“Hm?” Sunny asked, a little calmer now with Twilight's help. She looked up, and the sun was still right where it should be, high in the sky. “It looks okay to me.”
“That's just it,” Twilight said with a giggle that she could feel from their bodies touching as much as she could hear. “It's perfect, nice and high in the sky... and it has been that way for eight hours now.”
Sunny looked up again, making a double take. The sun was higher than she had seen it in a long time now! “How'd that happen?” She asked.
“Well...” Twilight said, holding her out a little, and meaningfully looking at her head, her back, and her cutie mark, “we kind of suspect that you might have had something to do with it.”
“Huh?” Sunny asked, once again... “Me? What?”
* * *
Twilight Sparkle looked down on the little yellow filly she was holding, completely understanding her confusion. Hinting around didn't seem to be working... maybe if she asked a little more directly. “Sunny... did you raise the sun?”
“What?” The tiny little alicorn protested, “I can't do that!”
“You can't just suddenly grow wings and a horn, either.” Twilight pointed out, reaching up to touch the filly's new horn. “But you did that... and just look at your cutie mark... a shining sun, hm...” She looked down at the filly warmly. “A brand new little alicorn with a sun for a cutie mark, and suddenly, the sun is up and shining like it's supposed to be...”
“But... but”... Sunny wasn't getting any more coherent, that was for sure.
“It's okay, Sunny. I'm here for you.” She discreetly motioned for the crowd of ponies watching to back off a little.
“But...” the filly protested, “I got my cutie mark for growing flowers in the sunshine! Not for controlling the sun!”
Twilight just shrugged a little. She didn't understand it herself. “Well, you changed... maybe your special talent changed, too.”
“But...”
“It's okay,” Twilight comforted her, “You don't have to get used to it all at once. Just take your time. You've got all the time in the world now.” Inwardly, Twilight winced, hoping in afterthought that Sunny wouldn't pick up on that. She had enough new things to worry about now without needing to think about the new blessing – or curse – of immorality.
“Well, actually...” Apollo cut in again, “The sun has been up for eight hours now... If it stays up too long, things are going to heat up... a lot.”
“Shush!” Twilight shot back, “This isn't the time!”
“I know, Twilight,” he replied, “but it is kind of important... fate of the whole world and all... okay?”
Twilight glanced back down at the filly in her lap. Sunny looked up at her with worry and concern written all over her face.
“Come on, Sunny,” Twilight said, trying to make it sound as comforting as she could. “I'm really good with magic, and I was Celestia's own student... if anypony can help you learn how to do it, I can.” To herself though, she wondered about it... She really didn't know much at all about it, even if it was true that she was the best pony still in existence for the job.
Sunny Daze stared intently at the little pebble in front of her... more intently than she had ever looked at anything before. She was giving it her full concentration, just like Twilight said.
“Okay Sunny,” Twilight continued, “Now do the channeling exercise we worked on earlier, but keep the rock in mind.”
Sunny strained herself, drawing from her newly accessible magic reserves... but the energy just sparked and sputtered at the end of her new horn. The pebble did manage to be surrounded by a light yellow glow for a brief moment though. She broke off her attempt, breathing heavily and a little tired already.
“There you go!” Twilight said, “You're starting to get it now!”
“No I'm not!” She protested back, “I can't even lift a little pebble... How am I supposed to move the sun?”
“You're progressing really fast though!” Twilight told her, “Most unicorns take weeks before they can even get that far. We'll get there. Now, just take your time... this time I think we'll try something a little different...”
“But we don't have time!” Sunny interrupted. “You heard what Apollo said... if the sun stays up too long, it'll burn everything.”
Twilight sighed. “And that's why he's not allowed to be with us for our little practice session. You need to take this nice and slow with no pressure. If you try to rush it, you're going to fail... Now, this time, I want you to channel the energy first, then focus on the rock, okay?”
Sunny sat back down dejectedly and stared at the stupid little rock again. Why were they even doing this? There was no way she would be able to do it... she couldn't lift the dumb rock, she couldn't move the sun... she was just a little earth pony, or at least she should be... why was all this being put on her now?
“Okay Sunny, now channel up a little energy.”
With an exasperated sigh, Sunny complied, drawing up energy and causing her horn to spark a little. This all felt so weird...
“And now, look at the rock, and think about it.”
Obediently, she looked at the little pebble. It still didn't make sense to her at all that she could move things just by thinking about them... thinking only happened in her head, right? Gradually, though, the little pebble began to be surrounded by a yellow glow again – and it stayed there this time.
“Good! You've got a grip on it now!” Twilight said in excitement. “Now just think of it being pulled up.”
“Pulled?” Sunny asked.
“Yes, with telekineses you always want to do it like you're pulling the object around. It's a little counterintuitive at times, but it's really important. As Shadow Dancer wrote in his memoirs, a pushing impulse with telekineses tends to have... interesting results, but the object in question is rarely intact afterwards... that's because it's a totally different type of energy actually, and...”
Sunny tuned out from Twilight's lecture as she had quickly learned to do over the course of their lesson. Once the unicorn got to talking about some magical subject or other, it would just go on and on... and besides, she had already gotten her next instruction, right? Just think of pulling it up... She renewed her concentration on the pebble, pleased to see it was still surrounded with the yellow glow that she was starting to become familiar with as her magic... and she pulled up on it.
* * *
“And that's why negative-neutral energies should never be mixed with anti-positives; it always results in–”
Twilight was startled out of her lecture as the little yellow glowing pebble she had been vaguely watching suddenly shot straight up into the air, almost too fast to see. She followed its path straight up, quickly losing it in the glare from the sun, but she could tell it was going really high, really fast.
She looked down at the little yellow alicorn in front of her in amazement, and Sunny stared right back at her in utter shock, horn still glowing, wings now spread in surprise.
“Wow,” Twilight said, simply.
Sunny Daze just kept staring back, looking a little fearful now.
Shaking herself out of it, Twilight said to her, “Okay... that was, uh... really good! ... Now, let's let go of the rock... just stop thinking about it and cut off the energy flow at the same time...”
Her little yellow head shook for a moment... clearing her thoughts maybe? At any rate, her horn soon stopped glowing, and the little filly looked upwards expectantly. Without thinking about it, Twilight looked up, too, expecting to see the rock coming back down, perhaps. If so, she was disappointed. No falling rocks met her gaze. “Okay, Sunny, so now we know for sure you can do magic... and that you've got plenty of raw power!”
Sunny just looked back at her a little sheepishly.
“So, how's it feel?” Twilight asked, curious to find out if Sunny was taking it well or not.
She folded her wings back down and stared at the ground a little before looking up again sharply. “It's weird!” The look on her face grew pleading. “It's just not right, I shouldn't be doing this!”
“Aw,” Twilight cooed, moving over and wrapping her hooves around the frightened little alicorn, “It's okay, you'll get used to it, I promise.” Breaking from the embrace, she went back to business... they were working on a time limit, after all. “Now how about we start working on toning down the power level so we can control how high the rock goes, hm?” As if to enforce her point, the pebble finally came streaking down, surprising them both as it struck the ground between them, driving down deeply and making a little crater.
“But aren't we trying to move the sun?” Sunny asked. “We need more power!”
“You'll have to learn control some day, Sunny,” Twilight insisted.
* * *
Apollo Dawn flew over the field where he knew the two would be practicing. He knew he wasn't supposed to interfere, but the sun had been up at its zenith for fourteen hours now. The weather was already getting noticeably hotter, and the sun showed no signs of moving.
He swooped around to the back side of a hill; perhaps the two had gone over here... and back-winged furiously to stop before a huge yellow glowing log shot upwards in front of him, just barely missing it.
“Okay, that seemed to be a little slower this time,” he heard coming from below... it sounded a lot like Twilight Sparkle.
He spiraled downwards towards the voice, trying to simultaneously watch out from above and below, not wanting to be hit by that log on its way back down, but also wanting to keep a watch out in case anything else decided to shoot up in the air at him. He hoped that flying log was an indication that Sunny's crash course in sun moving was going well. He hadn't mentioned it to anypony else, but there was a plan 'B'... unsavory as it was. If Sunny couldn't get the sun to go down, he would be presented with a terrible, awful choice... a choice he desperately hoped he wouldn't be forced to make.
He knew the sun had gone awry the first time because of the death of Celestia... and while it had caused problems, the pattern it fell into wasn't about to imminently destroy all of Equestria like this permanent noontime was... He knew there was another way to get the sun to go down. Could he sacrifice an innocent little filly like that if it was to save his whole crew? The whole world? He really didn't want to have to make a choice like that, but if the sun didn't go down soon...
His thoughts broke off as he landed on the far side of the hill, finally spotting Twilight and Sunny Daze hiding under an overhang... why were they down there? He wondered. Wouldn't they be more comfortable in a less cramped space?
“Look out!” Twilight called out from inside, waving her hooves at him.
Huh? Look out for what? What was she going so crazy about?
“LOG!” She screamed out this time, as loudly as she could, pointing upwards.
Apollo put two and two together just in time, looking up, he could see the dark brown blur heading towards him, and he jumped to the side as quickly as he could, just in time to get showered with dirt and splinters flying away from where the log impacted on the ground behind him.
As he stared back at what was yet another close call for him, he heard Twilight and Sunny approaching behind him.
“And did you have some reason to come here, besides projectile avoidance practice?” She asked irritably.
Shaking the debris from his mane, he just asked, “How's the training coming along?”
“Just fine,” she snapped.
“Well, good,” He replied, a little sarcastically. “Because I really hope we can get the sun down soon.”
“It takes time and practice,” Twilight insisted. “It can't just be done all of the sudden.”
“It needs to be done all of the sudden!” Apollo insisted right back.
“We can't just ignore Sunny!” Twilight said, apparently unaware that she was doing so at that very moment. “We have to take her wellbeing into account.”
“Look at you sitting there sweating,” he said... and it was true, beads of sweat were going down her face... it was really starting to get hot. “I'm taking Sunny's wellbeing into account and all of ours! If that sun stays up too long, she'll bet burned right along with the rest of us!”
With that, he flew off, not even wanting to hear her response. He had said what he came to say. He just hoped that she would realize that babying the little alicorn too much would kill them all... or maybe just Sunny... he thought darkly. He really hoped Twilight would get their new little alicorn working in time... he didn't want to make that choice.
* * *
“Well, now with that behind us, we can get back to work!” Twilight said, happy to have Sunny to herself again. The little filly really didn't need that kind of pressure on her during her first lesson. “You think you can get the log to hover within view this time?”
“Twilight!” Sunny protested back.
“Huh?”
“Twilight, this isn't doing any good! The sun's still up there, and we're not doing anything about it!”
“I told you, we need to start off slow, with the basics, and work up to it, okay?” Twilight chided back. “Now, if you could...”
“No Twilight!” Sunny said, exasperated. “Apollo's right. We have to start working on the sun, or it's gonna be too late!”
Twilight sat down and gaped a little. She wasn't used to the foal being so authoritative... did that come with being an alicorn or something? But she needed more time... With a start, Twilight realized she wasn't even thinking of Sunny, really. Twilight needed more time. She had been teaching Sunny what she knew... and she didn't know anything, really, about moving celestial bodies... This was all so different than the peaceful life in Ponyville... it all seemed so long ago now.
With a gulp, Twilight gave in. It was getting hot, already, after all. “Okay, let's see you give it a try.”
“Really, that's it?” Sunny asked back.
She winced a little, being called out on her very real lack of knowledge about it. “Um... just try. I want to see... um, what you've got so far before we begin.”
The little alicorn seemed placated with that, and she sat down and looked at the sun, horn starting to glow. Her face took on a look of increasing concentration, which built into strain, and eventually became obvious overwork, the filly giving her all into trying to budge the sun... but it stayed stubbornly in its place. Finally with a grunt, Sunny gave up and flopped to the ground, exhausted. “Did I do it?” she asked.
“Um... I think it might have wiggled a little...” Twilight lied. “But maybe we're taking the wrong approach... were you trying to move it like you moved the rock?”
“Uh huh... what should I do?” Sunny asked.
With a sigh, Twilight admitted, “Okay, I don't really know much of anything about it... But Celestia once told me about it, and she said it wasn't like other magic at all... she said that on some level, she was the sun... and that she just tapped into some kind of connection with it, and told it to move itself... that's all I really know.”
* * *
A connection with the sun? Sunny wondered... was that it? She had felt a little like that when she was napping earlier... This time, she didn't try to look at the sun, or focus on it... she just closed her eyes and felt it shine on her, remembering what she felt when she went to sleep.
With that touch of the sun on her, she tried a little to touch the sun back... and to her surprise, she felt like she could... she could just reach out and touch its wonderfully warm surface, she could immerse herself in it... and it felt wonderful! She began to feel it again, like she was looking down at herself down there on the grass. She looked down closer and saw her own peacefully closed eyes, and Twilight Sparkle staring in wonder.
So... it was now or never, she decided. From her perch high above, she made a move to dive down, not into her body back on the grass, but off towards the horizon... and she could feel her point of view shifting, feel her massive new body in motion as it fell down towards the horizon... At the last moment, before it was out of view, she tried to jump back into her body... and it was a little bit of a strain, but with an odd popping sensation, she was able to.
Quickly, she looked up to see the last light of the sun vanish as it sank below the horizon. “I did it! I did it Twilight!” She shouted.
Twilight scooped her up into a hug, excitedly shouting right along with her and holding her close. Sunny turned and watched the sun, her sun's afterglow fade from the sky with pride. She had really done it! She moved the sun... it was still hard to believe, but there it was, she, little Sunny Daze, had done what no other pony could ever do!
“Can you believe it?” She asked Twilight. “It really worked!”
“Mmhm,” Twilight replied, “and for the next lesson...”
“Aww,” Sunny cut in.
Twilight squeezed her closer before continuing, “For the next lesson, maybe we can work on getting it to rise and set from the right horizons.”
“Huh?” Sunny asked, looking a little confused now.
Twilight giggled and nuzzled her. “You just set the sun down to the northeast, my little alicorn.”
“Are you ready? Huh? Huh? Huh? How about now?” Trigger was being even more hyper than usual, bouncing all over the room on his stubby wings.
“Almost, okay?” Sunny replied. She didn't really care for her dress much anyway... it was too white. Twilight had picked it out for her... but did white and gold really go with her yellow and white colors? It just seemed too overpowering. She had already decided to ditch the faux-gold horseshoes that went with it... and at any rate, putting on a dress around your wings when you had never done it before was hard!
“Well I hope so!” He called back again, suddenly at her side, and suddenly shooting off again. “You are the guest of honor, after all.” She heard a few bounces on her bed, and didn't have to turn to figure out their source. “Whoo! The first new years celebration – this is gonna be so awesome!”
“Ugh,” she sighed, “I didn't really do anything.”
“Are you kidding?” The little orange blur coalesced at her side again. “You raised the sun for the very first normal day of the very first normal year!” He jumped back, shouting again, “You're the most awesome filly ever!”
She just rolled her eyes at the overenthusiastic pegasus colt, and finally managed to get the last clasp around the base of her wings done by pulling it with her teeth. She didn't dare use her magic. Her lessons with Twilight were still ongoing, and though she was pretty sure she now wouldn't send the clasp whizzing through the wall, she probably still would tear the dress. She turned around to face Hair Trigger. “So, how do I look?” ... or she turned to where Trigger used to be, anyway.
The reply came from her side. “You look awesome! I really like your mane!”
She blushed a little. Her mane and tail were pretty interesting these days. It still retained its white-with-just-a-hint-of-yellow color, but now it was longer... and less hair-like. It billowed around in some kind of wind nopony could see or feel, and sometimes it seemed more like a cloud than a mane... It even glowed a little... it was only really noticeable in the dark, but her mane produced its own light somehow.
She laughed. “I wish I only had to wear a little collar and bow-tie like you! It would be so much easier!”
“Nope! Guest of honor, remember – you gotta look extra fancy!” He suddenly popped up by her side again. “Shall I escort you to the festivities my lady?” He could barely maintain a straight face after saying such frippery.
“Hey, I asked you out!” Sunny cried out, launching a pillow in his direction... which he dodged easily. The little guy was fast, after all. “So I'll do the escorting, thank you very much!”
To the great peril of her fancy outfit, they both tried to squeeze through the door at the same time, both insisting on leading the way. Thankfully, though, they were both still quite small, so no actual damage occurred, just a little wrinkling. “Hey, wait up!” Sunny cried as they ran down the hallway, “It's hard to run in this thing!”
* * *
“Aw, Twilight, come on!” Apollo said, leaning against the door. “It's the very first new years celebration, you really want to miss out on that?”
“It's not new years!” Twilight's peeved voice came back through the door. “That's not for eight months now.”
“Well, yeah, but that's the old calendar!” he called back, “The new one starts today with the very first new day!”
“Do you have any idea how much this is going to mess up historical dating!?!” Her voice had a tint of desperation to it. “Starting a new year and a new dating system in the middle of a year?” She sounded close now... she must have been right on the other side of the door. “If this goes on, every single historical date will be off by part of a year, don't you see? Do you really want school fillies having to add and subtract months from historical dates, huh?”
“You know, they could just rewrite the history books using the new dating system...”
“And do you have any idea how much work that would be? Who's going to do that, huh? And what about the old books that are history themselves? And what if they make mistakes? There's just no way it can work!” She sounded more than a little hysterical now.
“Twilight, can you just do this... for me?” He decided to try something a little different now. “I don't want to be lonely out there.”
“NO!” She screamed out, startling him with her volume, “I will not be a part of this travesty! Somepony's got to keep track of the real dates!”
He sighed, beating his head against the door. “Twilight...”
“I said no!” Her voice came back one last time. He heard the slight sound of her magic, and another door lock clicking into place, then footsteps away from the door.
Dejected, he began to slowly walk away. It looked like he wouldn't be able to spend the day with Twilight after all. He had been strangely looking forward to it... maybe even thinking of it like a date? He stopped short for a moment. Wait... had he just thought of going on a date with Twilight Sparkle? ... For some reason it didn't strike him as wrongly as it should have. He started walking again, faster now... he really would be late to the party if he didn't hurry up a little.
Turning around the corner in the hall, he thought he saw another pony at the end, dark blue. He called out, “Hey, who's that?” ... but the other pony just slipped away into the stairwell. Rushing to the stairs himself, he tried to see the other pony again, but couldn't see anyone, even when he ran up and down the stairs a little. Was he seeing things now? Was it a ghost or something? Shaking his head, he made for the party downstairs. Whoever it was, it would come to light soon enough, he guessed. For now, he had a party to attend.
* * *
Now that was an awesome party! Sunny thought to herself, finally in her bed again... she wasn't looking forward to getting up early to raise the sun again. Would she ever get a break again? She sighed... it looked like she would just have to get used to being a morning pony. Still, the party had been great. She hadn't wanted all the 'guest of honor' stuff to begin with... but once it started happening, it was actually pretty cool... and despite having all eyes on her, she had still managed to sneak off and get her very first kiss from a certain cute little pegasus. She blushed and smiled at the thought, even as she laid in her bed. Yep, definitely a good night!
Twilight was already asleep. She had been even before Sunny came back to their room. Sunny just shook her head... what a waste. Her new teacher had missed out on a lot of fun down there, just because of her silly dates and calendars. Sunny shrugged it off... you can lead a pony to a party, but you can't make her have fun, after all.
As she snuggled into her sheets to sleep, she heard a faint voice, “...Sister.... Where's my sister... I want my sister...”
She looked up again. Twilight was still sound asleep, not moving at all, and the voice was still coming. It didn't sound quite like a pony... something was off about it. What was that? “I want my sister” it said again, a little softer this time, as if it had passed by and now was receding. As Sunny listened fearfully, it got quieter and quieter, eventually fading off into nothing. Who was that? Nopony had any sisters here... so who would be wandering the halls at night mumbling about a sister?
It kept her awake for a little while longer, but she knew the door was locked tight, and she knew Twilight was there in between her and the door... and she was an alicorn now, she remembered... a little burst of levitation, and whoever it was would be sailing up into the sky, unstoppable. She might not be able to do delicate things yet, but she had plenty of practice making things fly up into the air! So, eventually, she did get to sleep, comforted that she would be safe... The delay in getting to sleep would only make the next morning even harder though.
Sunny Daze was rather disappointed with the next morning, actually. Twilight Sparkle had woken her up early and helped by teleporting her up to the roof level, that had all gone well... but for the first time, her beautiful dawn was obscured by a bunch of clouds! Even as the sun rose even higher, the stubborn layer of clouds remained looming low and dark and blocking her view of her handiwork.
“It's okay, Sunny, really.” Twilight tried to console her a little. “You raised it without being able to see it... you know what that means?”
“Um... no.” Sunny pouted; she didn't see any reason why that would be a good thing; it was what she had been complaining about the whole time!
Twilight laughed a little. “It means that soon you'll be able to do it from inside, so you don't have to go outside anymore.”
“But I want to go outside and see it!” She protested.
Twilight's horn began to glow, preparing to teleport them back to their room. “Even when it's raining?” With a pop, both ponies were back in their own room. “Even when it's cold?”
“Oh... well I –” Sunny's response was cut off by a third pony unexpectedly in the room.
“Sister! My Sister!”
* * *
With another popping sound, Twilight brought Sunny to the roof again, mostly because the destination was already in mind and could be used very quickly.
“Who was that?” Sunny asked her, “Was it Nightmare Moon?”
“No.” Twilight wasn't sure herself... “It looked like Princess Luna... but it wasn't... there was something really strange about it, and it couldn't be her... she's... gone.”
“No,” Twilight admitted, “I wouldn't have been able to tell if it was a changeling... and besides, they need the pony they're copying to be alive, and Luna...” She paused for a moment. “well, Luna isn't.”
“And what's that?!”
Twilight shook her head slowly. “I don't know... I've never seen anything like that pony-thing before...”
Sunny shook her head, looking behind her at something. “No, what is that? That wasn't here earlier!”
“Huh?” It was Twilight's turn to be a little confused – and more than a little worried – as she turned around, but then she saw it. “Oh, that? I do know what that is, I've seen it before, and it means help!”
* * *
“My sister... where is my sister?”
Apollo Dawn heard somepony out in the hallway, but when he looked out, nopony was there. It was just a little past midmorning now. Who would be wandering the halls? And who would be talking about a sister?
“...My sister...”
The call came again, more faintly this time, and it sounded like it was coming from the left, maybe towards the hallway that led to the stairwell?
Curious and a little suspicious now, he trotted off in the direction of the voice. He would find out what was going on. As he neared the corner, he slowed down; quietly and carefully, he peeked around, and saw... nopony again... but the voice came again, this time definitely from the stairwell, and maybe a little closer.
“Where is ... my sister?”
He trotted on towards the stairwell, determined now to find out what was going on... this was getting a little strange. Perhaps he should have noticed it was slightly odd for nopony to be around in the floor they had designated as their main living quarters, but he supposed they were probably just still in bed after too hard of a night of partying yesterday. Reaching the stairwell, he heard the voice again, from above this time.
“I want my sister.”
The voice seemed to be moving away, so he hurried up the stairs after it. It must have been close, but the curvature of the spiraling stairwell was keeping him from seeing it.
“My sister...”
The voice sounded feminine, but kind of strange and ethereal... it didn't sound like a normal pony... and why did it keep talking about a sister? He was several levels up the staircase now, into the portions of the fortress his crew hadn't used for much besides just a cursory exploration, but he was just now catching up. The voice was very close.
“Sister, come back.”
Finally, he caught a glimpse of what must have been making the voice, and he couldn't contain his surprise. “Huh, P-Princess?” In front of him was, well... something... that looked a lot like Princess Luna, or at least how he had always heard her described... he'd only seen the princess of the night once, from a distance. Apparently hearing his voice, she wheeled around to face him, but she seemed to move stiffly, like it was difficult to bend any of her joints... and her fur was strangely shiny and reflective, even in the dark stairwell.
“You are not my sister.”
Did this thing want Celestia maybe? Was that the sister she was talking about? And what was it anyway? Some kind of ghost?
“I want my sister... you will take me to my sister.”
Too late, Apollo realized that standing here and chatting with it might not be the best plan. He turned to run, but found himself lifted and bound in what resembled a unicorn's telekinetic grasp... but rather than a colorful glow, he was surrounded by a dark black aura. He cringed. He knew he had always been leery of magic for a reason, and now it had him.
The apparition began walking up the stairs again, now holding Apollo out in front, and still babbling about a sister. Apollo called out for help, but he was already too far from the inhabited portions of the fortress... nopony would hear him up here... and where was this thing going anyway?
* * *
“What do you mean, 'help'?” Sunny asked skeptically. “I've never seen something like that before, and how did it get here?”
“I have seen it before,” Twilight answered, glad to see the tall blue box sitting near the edge of the roof. “Just wait for it...”
A door on the box suddenly popped open, and out hopped a grey pegasus mare with yellow mane and tail, wearing a party hat for some reason. Stepping out onto the rooftop excitedly, she paused for a moment, looking at her surroundings, her eyes beginning to point different directions as a look of confusion grew on her face.
“Derpy! Is the–” Twilight cut her greeting off as the pony she was just asking about walked out of the door and closed it behind him. Light brown body and a dark brown mane, with an hourglass for a cutie mark, there could only be one pony like that.
“Twilight,” Sunny asked from behind her, “Who is that?” Twilight didn't seem to notice the question though. She was a little lost in thought, remembering the last time she had seen that pony, and wondering about the workings of that blue box.
“There,” the brown pony said. “Day one of year one... the very first new years celebration! Now we just have to find the party and slip in.” He turned from Derpy Hooves, noticing Twilight and Sunny. “oh, and who's this? I think I've met Twilight here before... and this...” He started in excitement, grabbing Derpy and pointing her towards the filly. “This must be Sunny Daze, still a filly! She just raised the sun for the very first time, you know!”
“Don't you mean Princess Sunnara?” Derpy asked, her eyes getting a little more separated as her look of confusion grew.
“Oh, no, that won't be for years yet! She's just Sunny Daze now!” He corrected her.
“Twi-liiight!” Sunny cried out, looking frustrated now from not being told anything, “What's going on?”
Twilight still didn't pay her much mind... she really was enthralled with the idea of what she could learn if she could just disassemble that box... there must be some really interesting magic in there, and she desperately wanted to get her hooves on some of it... The pony from the box though seemed to notice Sunny's compliant.
“Well hello there, little one!” He said, “This is Derpy Hooves, and I'm The Doctor, just 'The Doctor', thank you. We're hoping to join you for your new years celebration!”
“Oh...” Sunny said, still a little unsure about it. “But new years was yesterday... today's the second.”
The Doctor winced a little as the look on the pegasus beside him changed from slightly confused to slightly disappointed, and she dejectedly brushed the party hat off her head. “Well... ah... only one day off... Not too bad when starting twenty million years away... ah... right?”
“Wait,” Sunny said, “years away, what? ... Where'd you come from? Who are you anyway?”
“I'm The Doctor, of course! Time traveler, legendary hero, man of mystery, finder of lost cats, what have you... But never mind that, we'll just be off now.” He turned, trotting back to his box. “Allons-y and all that! We'll see you yesterday!”
That shook Twilight out of her reverie. “Wait!” she called out, “I think we might need your help!”
“What's that now?” he asked, popping back out of the door of his box.
“Something appeared in our room... it looked like Princess Luna... but it wasn't. It was really strange... I've never seen anything like it.”
“A strange apparition, hm?” He mused, “I think we may just have something here... Derpy,” He called back inside the box, causing a strangely spacious sounding echo, “I think we'll be putting the party on hold for just a tick.”
“You're sure you don't want to just teleport down?” Twilight asked yet again. “We could get there much faster that way.”
“Quite sure.” The Doctor said, still trotting down the stairs.
“But–” Sunny wasn't enjoying the long hike down the stairs either, but her objections were interrupted.
“You saw Derpy's eyes back there, right?” he asked.
“Well, yeah, but what's that have to do with anything?” Twilight still wished she could teleport down... if only this strange pony would just listen to reason... maybe he didn't realize just how many flights of stairs there were? They had only gone down twelve stories so far.
“Everything,” he responded. “Her condition was caused by a teleportation accident.”
“Really?” Twilight asked, a little shocked now... she had thought teleportation to be completely safe, at least for passengers. “I've never heard of anything like that happening...”
“All the same, no teleportation, thank you.” He came to a sudden stop, almost causing Twilight to run into him; she could barely stop in time on the staircase. “Ah, and here I think we have your problem.”
“What?” Twilight said, peering around the brown earth pony and the pegasus beside him, “No, it was in my room and...” She caught sight of it now though; it was just below then on the stairs, coming up... and holding somepony in a magical grip. “It's got Apollo!” She shouted.
“Oh, well now!” The Doctor said, looking enthusiastic rather than frightened like the rest of the ponies. “Wow... I haven't seen one of you in ages... what a beauty. Just look at the shine on her, and at her age!”
Apollo just wiggled around ineffectively and shouted, “Help please!”
“Sister! I want my sister!” The not-alicorn in front of them said, a black aura beginning to grow deeper around her horn. “Give me my sister!”
Looking at that black-glowing horn, The Doctor turned a little and whispered, “I think now might be a very good time to... run!”
The other three ponies needed no further encouragement, and took off back upwards along the stairs, Derpy taking a quick lead thanks to her wings. She didn't hold her lead long though. The black aura crept up her tail and hind legs, slowing her down, “Doctor!” She shouted, “Problem!”
Twilight cast a quick barrier bubble, and the aura around Derpy quickly faded away, but just as quickly, the bubble broke with a shattering sound... whatever that thing was, it was powerful.
“Quick, this way!” The Doctor shouted, holding open a side door. All four ponies slipped through hurriedly, barely making it through before the false Luna caught up with them.
Derpy Hooves shoved the door closed, pressing against it, and was quickly joined by Twilight using her magic to hold it fast. The Doctor, though, quickly whipped out a shiny little cylindrical device, holding it up to the latch. It lit up and made a strange little sound before he just as quickly put it away again. “There, that should hold her for a while... now, I could really use a shower.”
“A what?” Twilight asked, incredulously.
“You know, water comes from a pipe up above and you stand under it and wash up. A shower.” A heavy thud resonated from the door as something beat against it, causing everypony except the Doctor to wince and glance at the door.
“Augh... Okay, never mind,” Twilight shook her head in frustration, “The better question is what IS that thing?”
“Ah, that beauty,” The Doctor replied, “is a Trimierdian consolation statue.” All three ponies, even Derpy, just sat and stared at him blankly. He smiled, “In a certain culture, namely the Trimierdian culture, it was customary that when a friend lost someone dear to them, you would give them a gift of a statue of their lost loved one, as realistic as possible, and perhaps embellished a little. Over time, they got to be very good at it, as you can see.
“Creepy... but that's not a statue!” Twilight protested, “It chased us up the stairs for pony's sake!”
“As I said,” The Doctor continued, a little condescendingly, “They got very good at it.” He put on a musing look. “I knew Celestia had made some off-world friends, but I never knew she was friends with a Trimierdian... Hm... they must have given her this when she banished Luna to the moon.” He shrugged. “She never did much care for sharing her secrets, now did she?”
“Wait,” Twilight tried to stop him, struggling to keep up with the conversation. “Celestia had 'off-world' friends... what's that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, I guess she didn't tell you anything, did she?” He shook his head a little. “Well, all in good time. For now, I think we need to find that shower before the door breaks.” As if to emphasize his point, another heavy thud resounded from the door. “And sooner would probably be better than later.”
“But why do we need to–” Twilight's question was cut off by another thud from the door, the old timbers beginning to crack.
“Come on!” he called, rushing off into the unknown floor, “No time for all that!”
As much as Twilight would have liked to stay put and demand an explanation, she could tell the door wouldn't hold out much longer. She wasn't too familiar with this floor, only having been here once, but it seemed to follow the basic floor plan of one of the upper barracks floors. Luckily that meant that each hallway had a window at the end, letting a little light in and not leaving them in complete darkness. With a pop and a flash, she teleported herself ahead of the other three ponies, nullifying their head start. “There should be a bathing room on the left at the end of each hallway.” She shouted out, leading the way. Behind her, a crash and the sound of dry wood bouncing across stone increased the need for urgency. “I sure hope you know what you're doing!”
“So do I!” He shouted back, following her into the bathing room and repeating his trick on this room's door.
“There's no way out!” Sunny cried out from the other side of the room. She had already picked up a little proficiency with her wings, thanks to Trigger, and had used that to get ahead a little.
“Now what did you need a shower for?” Twilight asked, pressing the strange earth pony for an answer.
“Ah, that! Good, right to the point, I like that. Good thing too, since this little room's door won't hold as long...” He hurried over to where Sunny Daze stood. “That thing is chasing after Sunny Daze... It was programmed to seek out Celestia... and now that Sunny's gotten herself all sun-alicorned she's the nearest match around.” He cut off Twilight's continuing questions with a raised hoof. “And being a Trimierdian statue, she has one fatal flaw... you may have already noticed it moving stiffly... Their joints are most decidedly not waterproof.”
“Oh...” Twilight said, thinking, “So we just need to get it into a shower and turn it on... but how do we do that?”
“Aha, and that's the clever bit!” The Doctor said, a look of positive glee on his face. “You stand by on the shower controls with your magic, and the rest of us give her what she wants.”
“What she wants?” The door to the room crashed, creaking menacingly. “You don't mean...?”
“That's right, come on Sunny Daze, we need you in the showers!” He scooped up the little alicorn filly, rushing towards the nearest shower head.
“I am not letting you use her as bait!” Twilight shouted furiously. “You come back here right now!”
The room's door broke down with a bang and a clatter. “There's no time!” The Doctor shouted, “Hide, and be ready on those valves! Now!”
Twilight was barely able to hide herself before the dark blue menace was in the room. Derpy didn't quite make it out of sight in time, but it didn't even seem to notice her, going instead straight for the shower stall where The Doctor had taken Sunny, as if it could sense them. Twilight edged her way out, making sure she could see the shower controls... she would only get one shot at this... “Sister, come out!” it said, stalking its way into the stall.
As it edged into position, Twilight used a surge of magic, quickly turning on the flow to the shower. The pipes groaned... and nothing happened. Twilight began to panic as both Sunny and The Doctor were surrounded in a black aura, trapped in the shower stall with that thing... but she couldn't do anything; they were beyond her reach now, and the plan had failed!
Suddenly, a crash rang out from the back of the room, something heavy against something made of metal, then something heavy against the stone floor. “Ow!” Derpy's voice came from that direction, then the sound of flowing water. “Oops, my bad!”
Freed from their blockage now, the pipes let the water flow, allowing the shower to function again. “Sister!” Twilight heard the shout from inside the shower, along with the hiss of falling water drops. She rushed over to see what happened.
Edging around the now frozen, motionless statue while keeping as much distance from it as possible, Twilight finally caught sight of her friends. Sunny, Apollo, and The Doctor were all stuck solidly in the false alicorn's now unbreakable grip.
“A little help?” Apollo asked hopefully.
“Twilight!” The Doctor said, “I knew you could do it... now if you could just...” He tried to squeeze out, but couldn't. The grip was too tight. He paused for a moment to catch his breath. “Phew... okay, sonic screwdriver, fell on the floor right over there, if you could be a dear and pick it up for me please?”
She lifted it up to him easily, using her magic, and he grabbed it with his mouth eagerly. Quickly, he turned it on the arms of the statue, sending it whirring away at the joints, and after a moment of that, a crucial joint popped free, allowing all three ponies to fall to the floor.
“What? Just? Happened?” Apollo asked, very wet and a little in shock.
“Sister. I want my sister.” The statue said, still talking even though it couldn't move anymore.
“What are we going to do with that now?” Twilight asked. “I don't want to just leave it here... what if it starts moving again?”
“Oh heavens no! She's coming with me!” The Doctor replied, “She'll go back to the Trimierdian construction yards for an overhaul, and go on to console someone else about some other loss maybe.
“Huh?” Twilight was a little unsure. “You're talking about it like it's a pony or something.”
“Of course!” He said with confidence, “She may not be a pony... not nearly as intelligent as one either... but she's very much alive in there. Wouldn't want to leave her staring at a blank wall for the rest of eternity, now would we?”
“Sister, Don't leave me sister,” the statue spoke again.
“Don't worry,” The Doctor said to it, “I'm taking you back home.”
Apollo seemed to be getting frustrated. “Will somepony please tell me what the hay just happened?”
* * *
Stopping her progress back up the stairs, Twilight Sparkle turned back incredulously. “The second time you've stopped a rampaging robot Luna?” That was just too much to believe! “Now I know you're joking!”
The Doctor smirked up from below her on the staircase. “Well, the first one may have been mostly made of tin foil and old ink pens... but it was a lot bigger.”
“Really?” Twilight began walking up the stairs again, shaking her head, “And when was this?”
“Oh, very early. She wasn't even an alicorn yet back then.”
“WHAT?” Sunny Daze's voice squeaked from behind. “Luna wasn't always an alicorn?”
“Of course not,” he replied smugly, “nopony's born as an alicorn.”
Twilight perked her ears in interest. “Then how does it happen? Why does it happen? Is that the same thing that happened to Sunny?”
The Doctor sighed and shook his head. He said, under his breath, “They never do teach the important stuff in school anymore do they?” Looking up again, he replied, “When your solar system was set up in this... unique fashion – which I was against, mind you – a provision had to be made for controlling the motion properly. That is what alicorns are... and whenever the old ones stop working, the system finds – and makes – new ones to replace them.”
“The System?”
“I like you Twilight: you're a very clever pony, very inquisitive... but this one's a bit over even your head, and this staircase isn't long enough for all the explanation you'll need.”
“But... but...” Twilight felt herself getting frustrated, “Why is the night sky still not working? Who's going to do that now?”
He laughed, “I do wish I could take you with me! Good assistants are so hard to find sometimes. You've got more important things to do though, so you just wait and see.”
“What more important things?”
“Spoilers.” The Doctor just smiled enigmatically.
Twilight just shook her head and kept on following Apollo up the stairs. It seemed like she'd be wasting her effort to get this pony to say anything that actually made sense.
* * *
Twilight Sparkle waved a hoof as The Doctor's blue box began to make a periodic whooshing sound and slowly disappeared. He had reluctantly agreed to let her teleport the statue back up to the roof, once it became apparent that it wouldn't fit back through the door unless its limbs were moved again.
“So... that box is a... a what?” Apollo asked, still a little fuzzy on the details.
“A tardis.” Twilight replied simply, causing Apollo to just shake his head in even more frustrated confusion.
“And where did that Luna thing come from?”
“We already told you that, silly, from Trimierdia, wherever that is.” Twilight said, a little speculatively, increasing Apollo's frustration even more. Why did every answer he get only raise even more questions?
“No, I mean, how did it get here?” Apollo asked... what he really wanted was assurance that another one wouldn't be greeting him tomorrow.
“Oh, that?” Twilight pondered it for a while. “Celestia had some... odd... friends who gave it to her, apparently... but I guess she couldn't keep that thing around ponies. She must have stored it away in this old abandoned castle to keep it locked up safely.”
“But why would it attack now?” He wondered, “Why wouldn't it have broken out a hundred years ago?”
“Because it sensed Celestia again, or it thought it did,” Twilight replied, putting a friendly hoof on Sunny's head.
“But Celestia is...” he looked where Twilight had put her hoof, saw Sunny Daze, and realized what happened. “Sunny is the new Celestia now, isn't she?”
“NO!” Twilight shouted, surprising both ponies with her vehemence. “No...” she said more quietly, “Nopony could ever replace her...”
“Hold tight on that windlass!” Apollo shouted out, “Don't let it slip again, we're getting it this time!” He turned towards Twilight. “How's the inflation going?”
“Almost there... all we need now is... that!” She said, pointing to the group of three ponies flying in. They were pushing along enough light 'floater' clouds to finish filling the 'sails' of their airship. They would really do it this time! They were really going to get one airborne! The first three attempts had failed, only one of those failures leaving enough of the airship intact to make a second try with it... Thankfully, the things were very popular in Las Pegasus, so crashing a few didn't really impact them much.
Twilight was glad they had saved this one for last, gunmetal grey with gold filigree decorations, and a good one third larger than most, it was one of the best they had found so far. Supposedly, the idea was to use it to move cargo, enabling them to scavenge further afield... which was important, since Las Pegasus had pretty much been totally picked through by now. Soon they would have to start scavenging from further away, grow their own food, or start trading their excess stuff for things they really needed. The real purpose of it though, Twilight suspected, was mainly for the novelty of it. The big airships were all just there after all, just hanging, moored to the docks and just waiting for somepony to come bring them back to life... it was amazing that they had resisted the temptation for this long, honestly.
“There, that should do it,” Sunny Daze said, swooping low over Twilight's head, closely followed by Trigger and then Albatross as the three ponies began breaking chunks of the light cloud off and shoving them into the big balloon-like enclosure that would tether them to keep the airship aloft. Sunny Daze had taken a while to get used to her wings – and her magic for that matter – but she had now pretty well mastered both. She didn't have Twilight's mastery of magic yet, despite her ample raw power, of course. That took decades of study.She didn't have quite the flying ability of a native pegasus yet either... but those would come in time; as an alicorn, she would have all the time in the world to practice, after all. Still, it was wonderful to see her grown and flying along with her old friend. The two had actually learned to really fly together, Trigger dragging Sunny along for the first part: at first, she hadn't wanted to fly at all... but soon enough, Sunny began to surpass him, making it a competition between the two.
Privately, Twilight suspected there might be more than just friendship and rivalry between those two, but she kept quiet about it... perhaps more to keep her occasional thoughts about a certain other pegasus from becoming public either.
Apollo flew by underneath, checking on Shimmer Spell. “Any trouble with the ropes?” Twilight couldn't hear her answer, but apparently she was still keeping the lift ropes nicely untangled, since Apollo popped back up soon with no commotion. She was glad he was able to be here today; all too often lately he tended to get caught up in running what had become a little town of sorts. Already the fortress was nearly full of ponies, some already beginning to choose to live outside it in the surrounding area instead. Their little group tended to pick up stragglers now and then. Whenever a down-and-out pony wandered by, they often ended up staying with their little community. Was it how well-prepared they had become? Was it the sense of real community and rebuilding what was lost? Was it simply the fact that they had the new alicorn of the sun with them? Who knew... but over the years, all those stragglers and lone wanderers added up... their population was probably a little bigger than Ponyville's used to be by now.
“There, all finished!” Sunny said, landing next to her with something not entirely unlike grace. She was already growing into her full stature, already nearly a full head taller than Twilight herself, and even higher over Trigger, who was about the same age. Was it something about the magic in an alicorn that caused them to grow taller? She would hesitate to admit it, even to herself, but Twilight loved getting a chance to study the development of an alicorn. All three races of ponies had magic, of course, though the magic that helped a pegasus fly and touch clouds, and especially the magic that helped an earth pony endure and grow things... those weren't as well known or as obvious as unicorn magic... but an alicorn... they had all three forms... so was that what caused them to grow bigger? The need for more room for all that magical energy?
“So, whatcha think, Twilight?” Sunny's question caught her off-guard. She had been a little lost in thought, and hadn't even noticed her talking.
“About...” She attempted to recall what it had been...
“About finally getting a weather control team together again, duh!” Trigger said.
Oh, that. They had been talking about it before now as well... hm, moving that cloud must have brought it up again. “You think you have enough pegasi now?”
“Well, for some reason we're kinda short on ones who are actually healthy enough, but we're sure we have enough to at least control it a little, and enough to get total control for special occasions and stuff!” Sunny Daze had been pretty keen on it, after all. She seemed to enjoy messing around with clouds almost as much as moving the sun... which, admittedly, must have gotten pretty routine by now.
“Well, sure then, just run it by Apollo first.” Twilight gave her stamp of approval. Though some ponies, especially some of the newcomers, expected Sunny Daze to be the leader, being an alicorn and all... she had even heard a few whispers of 'princess' sometimes... Sunny had repeatedly made it clear she did not want to be in charge, so Apollo remained the titular leader of their little community. Twilight had noticed that her opinion was asked on just about everything though... she'd worked up quite the reputation as a learned pony, so even if she didn't have any actual authority, ponies – especially Apollo – often asked her for advice on what to do.
“Everypony ready?” Apollo called out, hovering above the dock. A chorus of affirmatives met him in return, including Twilight's own, confirming that the airship's 'sails' were full and ready to provide lift. “Okay, release the tethers on the count of three... one... two... and... Three!”
The straps holding the sails open and low for loading all came untied in quick succession, mostly by Twilight and Shimmer's magic, though all the ponies on deck helped out. Quickly, the balloon began to rise, pulling its lift ropes up and over the deck until they snapped taunt with a pop and a low pitched hum as the cables vibrated after snapping into place.
Carefully navigating around the ropes, Apollo landed on the deck in front of Twilight, carrying Shimmer from underneath and setting her down gently to the deck. “Okay, everyone on station?” He looked around. “Okay, Albie, you've got the helm? ... Good... ... Hey, who's supposed to be on lookout?”
“Oh,” Trigger said, startled. He apparently had been focusing a little too much attention on Sunny and not enough on what he was supposed to be doing. “On it!” He called back, quickly shooting up to the top of the balloon, to the lookout's post on top. Though he was capable of much more now, he still did excel at short bursts of wing speed.
“All right everypony!” Apollo called out again, “Winds are favorable, the ship's ready... Cast Off!”
With a burst of Shimmer's magic, the ropes holding them to the dock untied themselves, coiling themselves neatly in their places on the deck... and with that, the ship began to rise away. Twilight could barely contain her excitement... she wasn't immune to the novelty of it either, truth be told. Sure, she had flown in her hot air balloon before... but this... Taking the grand hulk of an abandoned airship and finally lifting off with it, it just left her breathless... not to mention the view! To the bow, there was the grand city of Las Pegasus, its many towers seeming to form a solid wall in front of them, from the ground straight up into the permanent layer of clouds above. It was showing its age though... clouds didn't tend to stay in their positions long without pegasus ponies to maintain them, even ones intended to be permanent. Even now, parts of the overhead cloud had broken open, allowing direct sunlight into city streets that hadn't seen it in centuries... and the buildings themselves were becoming unsafe, especially on the upper levels where they were mostly cloud.
...And to the stern, there was the vast expanse of the Great Western Sea, just beginning to get a tinge of gold to it from Sunny's oncoming sunset... They would be doing well to get the airship back to the fortress's roof and moored before dark. Twilight was tempted to ask the alicorn for a little extra time in the sunlight... if it hadn't been Twilight herself who had drilled her on the importance of keeping a perfectly regular schedule. Still, she found herself enjoying the view; the sparkling waves below growing slowly more distant, the birds offshore growing slowly closer...
She looked more closely at those birds... there was something odd about them... the shape a little off... and something about how they moved... Wait... they were huge! “Apollo!” She called, “I think there's–”
Her announcement was cut off by Trigger performing his job as lookout from above, shouting loudly, “Griffons on our six!”
Sunny Daze rushed to the stern, eager to see the incoming griffons. She peered out into the setting sun – another perk of being tuned into the sun, she seemed to be able to look directly into it without hurting her eyes at all; sometimes she liked to just stare at it... it truly was magnificent! She was a little disappointed when all she could see was some large bird-looking things approaching though.
“Turn around and face them!” Apollo shouted out from behind her on the deck, “Everypony to battle stations!”
“What?” Sunny said, turning around and giving him her best confused and disapproving look. “We don't even have battle stations!”
“Oh... right... heh.” Apollo looked a bit sheepish at that, “Well, everypony just be ready then!”
Already the ship was turning, thanks to Albatross's quick hooves at the helm, and as the ship maneuvered, Sunny turned to look at the approaching griffons again. They weren't approaching directly... they seemed to be making for some point inland... but then they seemed to notice the airship moving around and changed their course, heading directly for it. “They're turning this way!” She shouted to everypony, quickly echoed by Trigger up in the lookout post as he noticed the same thing.
* * *
On Apollo's cue, Twilight activated the ship's propulsion spell. It was a truly ingenious little thing, since it only used passive magic and thus didn't need constant energy to power it. Far back in the old days, a unicorn named Cloudy Sky had made a place for himself in the history books by inventing it – a simple ratcheting spell modified to operate on air; it would allow air to flow past the hull in one direction, but not the other. The beauty of it was that the tiny random motions of the air would then propel the ship.
Apollo had wanted to meet the griffons head-on, and now they would have the speed to do so, to whatever end he had in mind. She just hoped this would go well... she wasn't sure Apollo understood the seriousness of the situation – this was a new first contact between ponies and griffons... it could end in a peaceful and prosperous trade negotiation... or it might end up with a new round of pony-griffon wars, and weakened as the ponies were right now, they just might lose this time!
“They're almost here!” Trigger shouted from up above as Twilight made her way over to Apollo, slightly more difficult now that the ship was in motion.
“You do realize how important this is, right?” Twilight asked him as she approached. “I mean this could affect the relationship between all ponies and all griffons, not just us!”
“Of course,” he replied simply, mollifying Twilight's doubts somewhat. “And I'm glad you're here... you've dealt with griffons before, right?”
“Well, yeah, a couple...” she replied, “but didn't you go all the way into the griffon kingdoms once on a mission? You must know a lot more about them than me!”
He glanced to the side a little nervously. “Well... it was kind of a covert mission... we didn't exactly stop to chat with the locals...” he took a deep breath, “I just hope this group isn't from the White Claw kingdom... if those particular griffons recognized me...”
“I don't even want to know,” Twilight said. “But I have studied griffons a little, so maybe I can help.”
Apollo looked like he was about to reply, but he never did, given the distraction of the first of the griffons swooping past their airship, followed by another, and another... soon they were circling all around it, at least a dozen of them. Twilight tried very hard to keep the analogy of sharks circling a sinking ship out of her head.
* * *
Apollo watched the circling griffons, trying hard not to let his nervousness show. Thankfully, this group seemed to be from the Red Wing islands, not White Claw... but still, he was less than enthused about the idea of meeting griffons. They could still be angry about certain invasions of territory and certain 'thefts' of valuable antiques... but really, how was he supposed to tell the difference between a temple that was abandoned and one that nobody was holy enough to set foot in? ... That had been one of the closer escapes they had ever made... and if White Claw hadn't been at war with Strong Beak at the time, they probably wouldn't have been able to get away at all...
His reminiscing thoughts were cut off as a large, very dark grey griffon suddenly landed on the deck. His wingtips were dyed red, showing which of the many constantly-warring griffon kingdoms he hailed from... but thankfully, he also carried a little white flag, showing that he came in peace, to negotiate. Taking another deep breath to calm his nerves, Apollo stepped forward, Twilight following along just a step behind him.
“Greetings!” The griffon boomed out in a powerful, but not overwhelming voice. “I am Gozwin, ambassador from the Red Wing kingdom,” he flared the tips of his wings out at that, proudly displaying the red-dyed tips, “now the dominant kingdom once again!” He then folded his wings, seeming to settle in a bit, and continued in a still strong, but quieter voice. “We wish have an audience with the leader of the ponies, so that we can negotiate a new alliance.”
Apollo wasn't as worried anymore that this would end badly... they either didn't know or didn't care about his earlier trip to the griffon kingdoms, and they didn't seem interested in starting a new war with ponies... those were the two major things he had been worried about. “Welcome,” he responded, “I'd love to talk to you... but I have to ask, what happened to the Strong Beak kingdom?”
“Ah,” The griffon responded with a twinkle in his eye, thankfully not seeming offended by the question. “Strong Beak depended on their alliance with the ponies too much in maintaining their dominance... When the ponies got sick, the trade stopped, and they weakened. The battle was glorious, and Red Wing came out victorious! Now Red Wing seeks their own alliance with the ponies.” he leaned down a little conspiratorially, “but we won't depend on it so much that we grow weak!” He straightened up again. “Now, to business; we have heard that the old leaders of the ponies fell... who now leads the ponies?”
“Ah... well...” Apollo paused, not sure, actually, “I guess that's more or less... me.”
“You are leader of all the ponies?” The griffon asked, leaning down again and looking just the slightest bit incredulous.
“Well, no, not all. The biggest group remaining, maybe.” Apollo looked around, feeling a little bashful at his earlier hubris. “There's another pretty big group led by Black Diamond pretty close in Trottingham, but you don't want to deal with him... they're slavers... very nasty...”
The griffon ambassador looked a little disappointed and just the slightest bit confused... he seemed to have really been expecting to find one singular ruler. “But the sun has begun to rise normally again... there must be a new ruler...”
* * *
Suddenly, Twilight understood what they needed in order to get the negotiations moving... Quickly glancing back down at the lower deck, she spotted Sunny Daze, sitting and watching with the others. She used her magic to discreetly pick up the end of a rope and poke the bright yellow alicorn with it. Sunny looked at the rope, a little startled, and then irritably up at Twilight when she saw the violet aura around it... but once Twilight caught her eyes, she made a quick jerk of her head, trying to get the point of 'get up here' across... and she used her magic to lift up Sunny's wings a bit, trying to nudge her into making the grand entrance they would need.
Thankfully, Sunny seemed to get the hint, and came walking up to the upper deck where she and Apollo were still talking with the griffon.
“I do not know what to do now... I am not sure...” The griffon was saying, “If there is no single leader, we can't be sure that–”
He stopped suddenly as Sunny Daze appeared on the upper deck, spreading her wings dramatically as she stepped in place behind Twilight and Apollo. She didn't say anything, but the effect on the griffon was dramatic.
“Oh...” He said, stopping his earlier conversation cold and blatantly staring for a moment before returning his attention to Apollo. He definitely seemed to understand the significance of seeing a pony who had both wings and a horn. “Ah... so maybe we can talk with you after all...” he glanced at the spectacularly bright alicorn on the deck again. “Yes... maybe you don't speak for all the ponies, but we will like to make an alliance with you anyway.”
“And you'll send us some royal guards if we need help then?” Gozwin continued lightly.
“Ah... well...” Apollo prevaricated. Though the griffons seemed to know that ponies had been through an awful tragedy, they still seemed to harbor a lot of assumptions about things still being the way they were in what he had gotten used to thinking of as 'the old days'. “Well... there aren't really any royal guards anymore.” At the dismayed and slightly confused faces of the griffons in front of him, he quickly continued, “But we would send what help we could, of course. It's only fair.”
“None... none at all?” The griffon ambassador asked, looking a little shocked.
“Well, there are a few retired ones living here now... I think one of them even still has his armor... but you know most of them were lost when Pestilence destroyed Canterlot.”
Even on this subject the griffon wasn't at a loss for what to say... after all, warfare was much more common in their kingdoms, right? “Ah, and may their souls bask in the glory of a fine death in combat.” He was silent for a moment, either in memorial for the fallen guards or just thinking of what to say next.“Now, as for trade...”
This was more to Apollo's liking, though he would let Quartermaster handle the details. He appreciated the mutual offer to help out in battle, but he didn't entirely like the idea of sending ponies off to fight in a griffon's war far away, no matter how decisive the advantage could be. He would have preferred to limit assistance to only against outside threats, not other griffons... but as Gozwin had pointed out, Apollo's group might also need help against internal threats, from other ponies... so he would leave that for now, and perhaps try to change the bargain later when the ponies had been unified again.
Behind him, Shimmer Spell was walking around setting up lamps – dusk was already falling on the rooftop of the castle. Sunny Daze had gone inside, setting with the sun; she would have to be up early tomorrow, after all... and most of the other ponies who had either helped bring their new airship to rest on the roof or ran up to meet the new arrivals had already retired back downstairs. Only Apollo, Twilight, Quartermaster, and a few others now remained, continuing on what had increasingly become a tedious negotiation.
As the lamps around the rooftop lit, the griffon envoys again became easily visible. They sat in a rough semicircle behind their leader, all different earth-tone shades of grey and brown, but with the same white feathered head and the same red-dyed wingtips. They all wore the same light leather armor, and all seemed well equipped with weapons... He supposed he couldn't blame them. They were setting out in a small group into what was now largely unknown territory... just because they were prepared to protect themselves didn't mean they were a conquering army... right? At any rate, they hadn't shown any hostility yet, and Apollo was enjoying his break from being the center of negotiations for a moment as Quartermaster took the lead. The old earth pony would know better than Apollo or even Twilight did what they did and didn't need... and he'd also know what they had to spare. Now... they didn't have any experienced sailors that he knew of, but there was a small fleet of ships still in the harbor at the base of the cliffs below Las Pegasus... and besides, wouldn't the griffons have trading ships of their own?
Apollo broke off his train of thought as he heard some kind of commotion from below. Negotiations seemed to cease for a moment as well, as everyone – griffons included – made their way to the edge of the roof to peer down and try to see what was going on. As Apollo reached the edge, before he could look down, a blue and white pegasus mare shot right up in front of him... he thought he recognized her as one of the newer arrivals... Windsong was it?
“They're here! I told you they'd come!” The mare cried out in obvious distress.
“What?” Apollo said, not understanding. “Wait, who's here?”
“Black Diamond! He's come for the escaped slaves, and he's taking everypony else he can get too!”
Apollo winced. He suspected this day would come... the two settlements were too close together, and they had been taking in some escaped slaves of his... it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.
“I've got to go!” The mare shouted, already flying back downwards. “I've got a little filly named Breezy and that slaver is not getting her!”
Apollo prepared to dash off of the rooftop as well. This had to be stopped – hopefully before the slavers made it inside the fortress's walls. There were a few ponies living outside the walls, but if he could hold them off there, he could protect most of his ponies. “Sorry,” he called back at the griffons – and the other ponies present – “I've got to stop them!”
“Wait!” The ambassador called out, his voice booming loud enough to bring Apollo to a halt. Turning, he saw the griffon give a signal that sent all the other griffons into motion, taking off one by one. “You get your ponies safe inside! We will honor our deal and stop the slavers ourselves!” There was an unmistakable tone of pride in his voice, and for once Apollo found himself not inclined to doubt him.
With a nod towards the griffons, Apollo tossed himself over the edge, quickly gaining control of his fall and turning into a steep dive for speed. He swooped low over the gates to the fortress, which now looked very much like a battlefield... one where his ponies were not doing well. They had been caught off guard, of course. Policy so far had been to only set one guard at the gates... hardly enough to stop an assault from hardened slavers. Most of the ponies he recognized below were unarmed, though a few were still managing to put up a decent fight, but even as he watched, one of them became entangled in a net and was quickly bashed on the head and dragged off.
He caught the glint of steel in the dim light and dodged away just in time to miss a date with a thrown spear... apparently these slavers had dealt with pegasi before... he quickly descended near the largest group of his own ponies he could see, watching the sky for their secret weapon... and there it came!
“Inside!” He shouted. “Fall back and seal the doors!” He kept shouting it and most of the ponies in the courtyard seemed to hear him, beginning to move back towards the fortress's doors. Just as they began the retreat though, the wing of griffon warriors descended on the slavers, turning their confident approach into a terrified rout in just moments.
Gathering a few of the better fighters on his side, Apollo stayed outside the fortress's doors. They would hold the doors from the outside, buying more time for the griffons to wreak their havoc on the field. It looked like that would be unnecessary though; now being harried from above by an unknown, unexpected, and well-armed foe, the slavers were in full retreat, many even dropping their weapons to run faster. Before long, only a few stragglers were left inside the courtyard.
“You three,” Apollo said to the ponies beside him, “Come with me; we're going to catch one of those slavers!” He knew it would be important to gain some intelligence on them if he was ever going to get the ponies they had captured back... and who better than a member of their own organization? “You other two, get that front gate closed so they can't get away!” With that, he rushed off, taking wing to quickly get on the other side of the soon-to-be trapped slaver.
Their targeted pony was more crafty and agile than he had expected though. She quickly side-stepped him, and quickly rushed between two of his chasers, causing them to collide into each other. He took off again, hoping to beat her to the gate. His third chaser was close behind her, but not gaining ground. The two ponies he had sent to close the gate were cranking away at it as fast as they could... but the doors were enormous. They couldn't be closed quickly and he could already tell that the slaver pony would get through before they closed.
Just as she was about to make her escape though, the huge doors suddenly burst into a bright yellow glow and slammed shut impossibly fast, filling the courtyard with a deafening boom. The slaver pony had been running flat-out... she couldn't stop in time and slammed face-first into the heavy doors, making a nice slaver-shaped imprint and a thud that would have been impressive if it hadn't been preceded by the sound of the doors slamming closed.
Sunny Daze slowly floated down next to Apollo with a proud grin on her face. “Twilight woke me up and said I should come see you... and it looked like you could use a little help.” Looking at the semi-conscious slaver pony laying in the gateway, he could even forgive Sunny the snide grin she was displaying. That pony laying there would be the key to getting their friends back.
Twilight held the still-sniffling mare closely as she watched the work in front of her progress. The griffon ambassador Gozwin was helping Apollo and a couple pegasus ponies she didn't recognize lift a rafter as a few ponies below attached it to the growing frame of the little house. The rest of the griffons had gone home after their battle, but Gozwin – as the ambassador – had stayed... and Twilight had to admit that he was being a very good representative, first putting the ponies in their debt by helping turn back the slaver attack, and now building goodwill by helping with the rebuilding.
The mare at her side quieted down now, and Twilight turned to her. “Feeling better?” The pegasus mare was light purple, almost Twilight's own coat color, but had a very light pink mane, and a cutie mark of a sun shining through a couple little clouds... She had been one of the ponies living outside the walls... what was her name again? Right... Merry Weather. Even that little bit of conversation threatened to throw the mare into tears again, so Twilight tried to console her again. “Don't worry, we'll get them back, no matter what it takes.”
She wiped a tear from her eye and gave Twilight a weak little smile. “I... I know you will. It's just...” Twilight just held on, giving her the time she needed. “It's just yesterday, he proposed to me.”
“Aww... that's so sweet!” Twilight said, but she soon regretted it.
Merry's expression dropped, and it looked like she was struggling not to break down into sobs again. “I said no.” Now the tears did start flowing again, “I said I needed more time... and now we're out of time... I said... no. And now he's gone!” With that she drooped down almost to the ground.
Twilight wrapped her hooves around the tearful mare again, more tightly this time. “You'll have another chance, I promise.”
* * *
Apollo Dawn landed for a moment, catching his breath. Even with two other pegasi and a griffon helping, those trusses were heavy. Still, only two more to go, then the roof and walls could be filled in... it would start to look like a house soon. This mare's house – as well as the houses of the other displaced families – were still mostly intact outside the walls; in fact, that's where they were getting most of the building materials. Mostly, since a couple had burned down... and nopony was sure if that was the work of the raiders or if it was just an accident. At any rate, nopony felt safe living outside the walls anymore, not with those slavers on the loose, so the lucky ones, the ones who got away, were now busily moving inside.
He still felt sick about it inside, really. He had let his ponies down. Unofficial as it was, it was his job to keep the ponies under his care safe... it was like they were an extension of his crew... but all told so far, over a dozen ponies had come up missing after the raid, including one who was actually part of his crew, Hair Trigger. According to reports, the brash colt had flown off to meet the raiders even before the griffons joined in the fight... and he hadn't been seen since. He just couldn't help beating himself up over it... how could he not have put plans in place for that kind of thing? How had he thought that a single pony guarding an open gate was enough security? How could–
“Apollo!” The shout broke his internal tirade off. He looked back towards the fortress's door, now obscured by the increasingly crowded little village between the walls and the building. Albatross was approaching, flying low and coming to a landing right in front of him. “The prisoner's awake!”
* * *
Sunny Daze scowled at the captured earth pony mare. She hadn't responded to any of Sunny's shouted questions yet, infuriating Sunny even more. Her coat was a light brown, and had lots of old scars running across it, while her mane was a vivid yellow, even as matted and tussled as it was. The cutie mark was a smiling yellow heart... which was entirely inappropriate – Sunny thought – for a slave-raiding pony. These monsters had taken away a lot of her friends, especially one of her best friends in the world, Trigger! How could such a mare dare to have such a bright and cheery cutie mark?
So far all the prisoner had done was roll over and moan a little, once asking for water... But Sunny was in no mood to be nice to anypony, especially not this pony! “Where did you take him!?!” She demanded again, only getting a whimper in response. This was getting her nowhere. Obviously, she would have to resort to something a little more drastic... what would she do?
Before she could think of anything, the door to their makeshift dungeon – just an empty storage room in the basement, actually – opened, Apollo and Albatross walking in. She turned to them instead. “Ugh, this thing won't tell me anything! We have to do something.”
Apollo peeked around her at the prisoner, who again softly moaned for water. He nodded back to Albatross, who left... apparently to go get some.
“What?” Sunny asked, incredulously. “You're going to give in to her demands?” How could he give in to this monstrosity so easily? Didn't he realize what she had done?
Apollo only stepped around her to get a closer look at the prisoner, who cringed and tried to shy away from him. He just stood and stared... for far too long in Sunny's opinion.
“See! She's being entirely uncooperative!”
Before Apollo could respond, his assistant came back, flying in, carrying a jug in his hooves... which Apollo quickly took and gave to the prisoner, who gulped it down greedily. When he moved in to take the empty jug, the prisoner cringed away again.
“Look at that!” Sunny said vindictively, “Such an ungrateful little–”
Apollo cut her off with the sternest of looks. “How about I ask a few questions?” he said to her, before turning back to the prisoner. “What's your name?”
The earth pony mare only cowered again, covering her head with her hooves. Sunny was about to make another snide comment about what a monstrosity that mare was, but Apollo cut her off with a raised hoof before she could even start.
“You're safe here.” He said, “We'll protect you, and nopony,” he gave a significant look towards Sunny, “nopony is going to hurt you.”
The imprisoned mare peeked up from her cowering stance a little doubtfully, but saw only the gently smiling face of Apollo. “Happy Heart!” She blurted out quickly, before covering herself again.
“There we go, Happy Heart.” Apollo said with – in Sunny's opinion – a revolting level of sweetness in his voice. “Do you think you could tell us how you got those scars?”
She shied away a little, asking softly, “You won't be angry?”
“We promise,” Apollo said, again looking back at Sunny, this time expectantly.
Sunny sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we promise.”
The prisoner still looked uneasy, but began to talk again, “It was Black Diamond and his gang. They live just over on the far side of Trottingham, only a little way away... They made us work, and if we didn't work hard enough... we got punished. Whips... or beatings sometimes... Sometimes they would do it for no reason, too... like it was just for fun... and if anypony tried to fight back... they got sent to Black himself.”
“And what did he do?”
“I... I'm not sure...” the mare continued, “But there were rumors... rumors that he did terrible things. He's a unicorn... and they said he used his powers on ponies... but nopony really knew. When a pony got sent to Black... they would come back, but they wouldn't be the same anymore. Their eyes would be all wrong and they wouldn't talk anymore.”
“Wrong?” Apollo asked gently.
“They wouldn't have any color anymore... just a black hole in a white eye... and it seemed they could look right through you.”
“But how does he get ponies to beat the slaves? How does he control them?”
She paused for a moment. “If they find out... if they know I told you things... they'll take me to him! No! I can't!”
There it was again, the refusal. Sunny rolled her eyes again; this wasn't getting them any closer to getting Trigger back. Apollo didn't seem to think so, though. He continued on. “Shush... Don't worry, they can't get you here... Now tell us... we need to know if we're going to stop him.”
Happy Heart looked up fearfully, but began talking again, “The ones with the wrong eyes... he has a bunch of those, and they do anything he says... but, but mostly it's regular ponies... they beat and control the ones under them because they know they'll get even worse if they don't.”
“And that's why you were on a raiding party?” He asked.
The prisoner nodded weakly, looking shameful now. “I had a friend there... named Peachy... she didn't want to go on raids. She got beaten really badly... but she still wouldn't go... I tried to tell her she had to... but...” she gulped, “she didn't... and she got sent to Black.”
Apollo then moved over, wrapping a comforting hoof around the prisoner. Sunny couldn't believe he was being like this with such a little monster.
“This scar,” She pointed to a relatively fresh one, running along her neck and down her shoulder. “This one was made by Peachy... after she came back from Black.” She started to cry a little. “She was my friend... I thought maybe I could talk to her... maybe I could bring her back... but instead.” She just collapsed. “She was my only friend there. After she was gone, I gave up.”
“I can't believe you're falling for all this!” Sunny said, fed up with keeping quiet through this display.
“Sunny!” Apollo whirled to face her. “Look at her!”
“I have!” Sunny insisted.
“No, look!” Apollo insisted right back... and this time, in frustration she did... and it finally 'clicked' in her head. She really looked at the mare this time... at the scars on her body, and more than that... at the scars in her mind. The poor little mare was still on the floor, halfway between cowering and crying. Suddenly, the part of herself Sunny had been ignoring and shoving aside came back full force, and she wanted nothing more than to comfort that poor, abused pony. She even made a move to do so... much too quickly, it turned out. Apollo stopped her before she could reach the prisoner, but the frightened mare had already scurried to the far corner of the room when she saw Sunny try to approach.
“Easy there,” Apollo said to her, “She's still very scared... and unfortunately, she's scared of you. Just let me handle it, okay? I'll see what she can tell us about their town.”
Filled with regret, Sunny walked out of the makeshift holding cell, leaving Apollo to hopefully make more progress without her. Only too late did she realize that the pony there wasn't a monster... even if she had helped steal Trigger. That pony was as much a victim of Black Diamond as the ponies who had just been taken... maybe more... and now Sunny had missed out on a chance to make a friend. She wondered if Happy Heart would ever want to talk to her again.
Twilight Sparkle stepped into the dimly lit room. Makeshift as it was, it still looked very much like a dungeon. She let the heavy oak door shut behind her, leaving the few candles scattered around the room as the only light. They cast odd triplicate shadows of Apollo and the prisoner, who were huddled together against the far wall of the room. They must have been talking in here for hours, Twilight knew, as she had stayed at the construction site for quite a while – until Gozwin got to talking with the pegasus mare she had been trying to console back there... somehow, the griffon had seemed much better than her at it, even getting the distraught pony to laugh a little.
Having seen her lonely charge into even better hooves (hands? claws?), she had decided to see how the interrogation was going. Apollo and the captured pony both looked up at her as she entered. “Twilight, this is Happy Heart – Happy Heart, Twilight Sparkle.” he said, gesturing at her. The pony shied away from Twilight at first, but soon seemed to warm up a little when Twilight showed no signs of hostility. “She's been through a lot lately, and she's pretty scared...” He turned to the other pony. “but she's safe now, right?” The battered mare made a barely perceptible nod.
“Have we found out anything useful?” Twilight asked. She was eager to make good on her promise to return those who were taken, and this was their only lead.
“Well,” Apollo responded, seeing as how the captive was still being very quiet, “That they came from Trottingham, and their leader is a stallion called 'Black Diamond'... but we knew that already.” He paused for a moment. “We did find out though, that he's a unicorn, that most of the ponies who work for him – even the slave drivers and raiders – don't really want to, but they're forced to at the end of a whip... but there's a core group that he controls somehow with magic.”
“Did we find out where he keeps the slaves? And where he is?”
“Some of them... and we think we know where he'll bring the new captives... but the problem is, we don't know where he will be. All we know is that he has some lair deep in the mines... and he hardly ever comes out.”
“In the mines? Is that where he makes most of the ponies work?” Twilight asked, a little confused... what would he do with the Trottingham mines' gold and gemstones these days anyway?
“She says only a few work in the mines.” Apollo confirmed her doubts. “Most of them are working the farm camps on the outskirts of the city... That makes it a little easier; they'll be less defended... but it also makes it harder, because they'll be scattered around... we can't just rescue one group and run.”
“You said he controls his core group with magic?” Twilight asked. “If I could get to him, I think I could break the spell.”
Apollo wore a look of concern. “He's supposed to be a really powerful unicorn, Twilight... what if he puts his spell on you?”
“Hm...” Twilight thought for a moment, before getting a look of glee on her face. “A contest of power, huh? Well, I could probably take him on my own...” At this, Apollo's face grew even more concerned. “but if it makes you feel better, I could maybe... bring Sunny Daze.” She said with an evil-looking smile.
That seemed to put Apollo's concerns to rest. He had seen Sunny's power for himself, and it was truly astounding... no mere unicorn could best her and Twilight. “But we still don't know exactly where to find him... I don't want to send anypony in to wander those mines blind.”
Twilight thought for a moment. “Okay... then we need a spy.” She looked hopefully at their captive.
The much-abused mare cringed away, trying to hide behind Apollo. “No! I can't go back! They'll find out about this... I just know it somehow... they'll know! And then... then...”
“We're not going to let him have you.” Apollo tried to reassure her... which was a little awkward, actually, with her trying to hide behind him at the same time.
Twilight could see that even if they convinced the mare somehow, she wouldn't make a good spy: she would crack under pressure easily. ... Besides, they probably needed somepony with magic, so they could send messages from the inside... but who? Who could they possibly send that would get this Black Diamond's trust other than this mare? She racked her brain, trying to come up with somepony, even going as far as to try and think of any non-pony allies they could call upon... he wouldn't trust the griffon he had already seen on the other side of a battle, would he?
After drawing a blank for a while, it hit her; the perfect plan, with the perfect spy. “Apollo,” she said, breaking the short silence, “I know where to find a spy.” He looked at her half hopefully and half confusedly... he must have been trying to solve the same problem... but he hadn't thought of her plan!
* * *
“Are you sure about this?” Apollo asked Twilight. They were approaching the old changeling lair, and the smell was beginning to get to him.
Twilight only looked confident. “I'm sure that we can find some sign of where they went... they didn't seem like the brightest bunch even when they had a queen to guide them... on their own, they should be easy to track down.”
“No... I meant... are you sure it's a good idea to go looking for them with only three ponies... even if one is an alicorn?”
“Oh, there was only a dozen or so, right?” Twilight said confidently. “They're not that tough; I've fought them before... and besides, I'm pretty sure Sunny here could take all of them herself, right?” She nudged the tall alicorn beside her.
“For Trigger? Sure... it's not that big a deal, really.” Sunny said... she didn't seem too proud of her power... which was probably a good thing.
“Still...” Apollo said as they slowly walked through the door, Twilight's light spell popping into existence. He never really finished the sentence, since he never really finished the thought. He knew he still had misgivings about seeking out the changelings... especially now that he found himself stepping in their long-dried... goo, but he just couldn't seem to put a name to any of his objections. Fear or no fear, he wanted Trigger and the other ponies back... and if this was the way to do it, so be it.
The building's basement reeked now, even more than it had when they first came. Apparently, that green slime the changelings made grew even more vile as it aged and decayed... it was still sticky, but now brittle and yellow, and still all over the walls and floor. There was nothing for it though; Twilight seemed sure she would find a clue to their current whereabouts in here, so there was no choice but to hold his nose and press forward.
“Well that was disappointing.” Sunny said dejectedly as they exited the old changeling hive. Hours of searching had only given them plenty of time to find out that no matter how long you stayed, you never got used to the smell of dried changeling goo... There was very little else in the old basement, and most of that had probably been there before the changelings even moved in.
She sat down on the cobblestones, grateful for the fresh air and looking up at her beautiful sun... a few hours seemed too long to go without looking at it; she missed watching the flames of its corona play across the surface. It was a shame other ponies couldn't see it the way she did – it was a lot more complex and beautiful than the simple orb of light most ponies took it for... why, the fun she had with the sunspots alone...
A quick movement up above distracted her for a moment... had she just seen something there? She stared at where she thought she saw it... and there it was again! A little black something flitting into a window high above, landing on the ledge for a tiny moment before crawling in. She carefully counted the windows to the side and to the bottom before taking her eyes off it and grabbing Twilight.
Ignoring the sticky yellow mess on her as well as the unicorn's protests, she pointed her friend at the building she had been watching. “Seventh window from the left, twenty-fourth window up,” she said, “watch it!”
Twilight seemed more than a little bewildered at this, but did as she said... just in time to see a black shape crawl out of the window, crawl up the wall next to it a little way, then release and fly off. Her eyes opened wide. “That's it! That must be the new hive!”
* * *
Twilight stepped carefully around a thick rope of green slime stretching from the ceiling all the way to the floor. That confirmed the suspicions of her nose that they were drawing near to the hive. The new, active hive didn't have the overpowering stench of the abandoned one... more a sickly sweet odor with the hint of something chemical, maybe acidic? ... but it was still the distinctive smell of changeling. She doubted anything else in the world smelled quite like that.
Approaching the door, she whispered to her companions, “Okay... this should be it. Now... I'm going to go in and try not to alarm them... you two stay behind me, and only come in if it comes to a fight, okay?”
Bracing herself for the worst, she stepped up and knocked on the door, wincing as sticky green strands peeled off, staying on her hoof. Inside, she could hear quite a commotion going on, lots of hissing and buzzing, but no words. With a sigh, she decided to hope that those hisses and buzzes translated to 'welcome, come on in!' Using her magic this time, and avoiding direct contact with the sticky door, she pulled it open, to find herself face-to-face with half a dozen identical-looking changelings, all with the same black shell, twisted horn, and blank eyes. Unfortunately, none of their facial expressions seemed to say 'welcome' at all. As one, they hissed at her.
“Uh, good morning!” Twilight opened up, “I was hoping we could talk maybe?” The faces continued to stare with a mixture of rage and fear... but at least they didn't attack. “Really, I just want to talk... I have a, uh... job to offer.”
She didn't seem to get much of a response at first... they just continued to stare and hiss... but then, they parted, revealing another changeling behind them... this one seemed feminine, a little larger than the rest... and her eyes seemed to even have the beginnings of irises in them. Was this a new changeling queen developing? That would be a dangerous development! ... But then again, what if they could open up relations and actually be at peace? Twilight decided to hope for the best.
“What do you speak of, pony?” She asked in a reverberating voice.
“Ah, well... we need a... a spy.” Twilight decided to be honest. “We need someone to sneak into an enemy camp and tell us where their leader is.”
“Why changelings do this?” said the apparent changeling leader, “Changelings happy already now, not want pony friends.”
This was the part that Twilight knew would be difficult: giving the changeling a taste of the reward. She began forcing herself to feel love, admiration, and gratitude towards the female changeling... and she couldn't just fake it either; they had to be genuine emotions, or they wouldn't feed the bug. She tried her best, imagining how she would feel after the changeling had helped rescue Trigger and her friends. After a few moments, though, she couldn't keep it up anymore... they were just too weird. She looked up, hoping her efforts had been enough.
“MORE!” The female changeling was right in front of her now, literally drooling at Twilight's feet. “Make more!” She insisted.
“After you've helped us, we'll put on a parade for you... you'll go by hundreds of ponies... and they'll all be feeling like that for you.” Twilight promised, hoping it would actually be true.
“Hundreds?” the changeling asked, licking her lips hungrily.
“Hundreds.” Twilight promised. “And all we need is a spy or two.”
The creature seemed conflicted... it seemed to go against its nature to purposely have dealings with and help ponies... but those emotions... and aimed at her, not somepony she was mimicking, but directly at her... she looked like she was caught between two things she couldn't do. She couldn't deal with ponies... but she couldn't pass up a treat like that either... After a few whole minutes of conflicted silence, she finally broke free, choosing one alternative. “We help!” she said simply, but leading quickly to an impatient demand. “Now tell how!” She seemed very eager to get her perforated hooves on more of those emotions.
“Easy,” Twilight said, because after all, it would be easy for a changeling, right? “We have a mare in our fortress you need to mimic, then sneak into a mine in Trottingham, and find a leader of the ponies there, named Black Diamond. Then, just use magic to tell us where he is and get away.”
“And then feed?” the changeling asked eagerly, the reverberations of her voice filling the room as she intoned the last word greedily.
“Um... yes.” Twilight agreed. That was the bargain, after all.
“There, how do I look?” Happy Heart said, turning to look expectantly at Happy Heart. The still-imprisoned mare smiled weakly at the perfect copy of herself standing in front of her, looking none too sure about the whole thing... she had probably never seen a changeling before, Twilight thought, so no wonder she was a bit confused. She and Apollo had agreed that it would be best if the mare stayed imprisoned until Black Diamond was dealt with... to hide the duplication from any spies, and also – though Twilight hated to admit it – because fear still had quite a hold on the poor mare... there was no telling what she might do if she convinced herself that it would keep her safe.
“It's perfect,” Apollo said from behind her, towards the changeling. “An exact copy... Now, how to get you in...?”
“Well, duh, I just walk in!” The disguised changeling said. Her dialect seemed to have changed right along with her voice, mimicking the imprisoned mare perfectly. Was this why the changelings needed their victims to be alive? So they could speak convincingly?
“No,” Apollo said, “They'll suspect something's up if you just walk in perfectly fine after disappearing in a raid... and then who knows what they'll do. We need some way to get you back that they won't find suspicious. Maybe...” he trailed off, seeming a little lost in thought.
“The patrols.” A voice came from behind the changeling. “They patrol all over the woods outside the farms.” It was the real Happy Heart, helping them yet again.
Apollo seemed to get an idea. “Right! Um... changeling?” The changeling had never given them a name... she didn't seem to quite understand the concept of names. “You think you could make yourself look a bit more injured?”
With a green flash, the false Happy Heart in front of them gained a twisted, broken leg and an ugly gash along the top of her head that had left a trail of blood leaking down her face... very convincing.
“Great!” Apollo exclaimed, “Now, we just get you onto one of their patrol routes, and you pretend to be unconscious. That should get you in without much suspicion!”
The changeling looked gleeful and jumped up and down, completely betraying the fact that the leg wasn't really broken... but hopefully she would be a better actress when the time came.
* * *
“Everything going according to plan?” Twilight asked Apollo as he came, back winging down for a landing through the large window.
“Yep, got her sprawled out very convincingly on one of their main patrol routes... she looks just like she was crawling along and finally collapsed... she really is a good actress when she tries.” Apollo shrugged.
“So now... we wait.”
“Right. Happy Heart said that they patrol that area about once every three hours... so it should be less than that until we get the first report.” He glanced at the changeling drone sitting across from them. Seemingly identical to all its cousins, it just sat there, completely passively, but its eyes glowed green, betraying that it was being mind controlled by its queen. It was their communication link, eerie as it was.
Before Twilight could respond, the drone suddenly sat up straighter and started to speak. “I been found. They pick me up and they carrying me to their base.” It quickly fell silent again, and though Twilight knew the queenling could hear anything the drone heard, she didn't really have any response for that anyway, other than the simple confirmation that she got the message. She and Apollo returned to their vigil, waiting to hear the information they needed.
* * *
“They take me to little room in the mines and lock door,” the drone in front of them said. “I should pretend to wake up?”
This wasn't a good sign... they seemed to have imprisoned the changeling spy... They must have been suspicious after all. Still, there weren't really any other options but to go through with the plan. “Yes, wake up... and remember your cover story.” Her story was simple really... initially captured, she had quickly escaped, but got badly injured in the process. She had struggled to return, but in the end collapsed before she could get all the way back... hopefully it would hold.
“Being carried again,” the drone spoke. “They take me to bottom of central shaft... is a big open area.” It paused for a while, not saying anything. “The strange-eye ponies are here... they look like changeling drones. I like.”
Twilight rolled her eyes at that; the little developing changeling queen would enjoy ponies looking like drones, wouldn't she?
“Looks kind of like a throne room... He comes!” the drone said. “Is the male pony! Is white and black hair, and has black diamond butt mark!”
“Cutie mark!” Twilight emphasized, giving herself a nice, comforting facehoof. The changeling still couldn't be convinced to use the more polite pony terms.
The drone seemed to ignore her correction, likely because its queen was too busy to deal with grammatical concerns at the moment. “He questions!”
“Tell him the story!” Apollo insisted.
“Does not believe!” the drone said, more loudly now, and sounding a little panicked even though it didn't move a muscle. “Is taking me to back room alone!” The drone's eyes opened wider, almost looking pleading through the green glow. “No want back room! Get me out!”
“Calm down,” Twilight said. “You're alone with him now?”
“Yes,” the drone said, a note of fear entering its voice. “The horn glowing! Is glowing black! Is scared!”
“Okay, he doesn't know you're a changeling, remember!” Twilight shouted. Somewhere inside she wasn't sure why she was trying to save a changeling, but it felt wrong to just abandon her like that. “You have the advantage of surprise! Quick, slime him!”
Twilight waited the next few moments, staring at the inert challenging in front of her... she wished she could see what was going on... but she would just have to wait for the report coming through.
“It worked!” The changeling drone shouted happily, still without moving in the slightest.
“Good,” Twilight said. “Now, everypony there is terrified of him... so take his form! Then you can just walk out, and nopony will dare question you!” She hoped that this Black Diamond's control spell was a loyalty spell, not a complete control spell... If it was a complete control, then he would still command his drones, and have them recapture the changeling... but if it was only a loyalty spell, they would accept the changeling as their leader.
More unbearable moments of silence followed before the drone's buzzy voice came again. “Is working! They too scared to look at me!”
Twilight sighed with relief. It looked like their spy would return intact... for better or for worse... and now they knew the location of Black Diamond... at the bottom of the central mine shaft. Suddenly, it hit her. They also knew he was incapacitated right now! Stuck down with changeling glue!
“Apollo!” She shouted, “We have to go now!”
“What?” He looked at her as if she had just slapped him with a rubber chicken, “I know you're eager to get out there and all, but we should at least wait for the changeling to get back, I mean–”
He didn't get to finish as Twilight quickly interrupted, “Black Diamond's glued to the floor right now, with his horn blocked!” It seemed to be dawning on him, “He's helpless, but we've got to get there before anypony finds him and sets him free!”
With a shocked look, he seemed to suddenly understand, “Go get Sunny and get out there!” he shouted. “Teleport as close as you can and get him quick! I'll round up the team... We're finally getting him back!”
With that, they both ran off, leaving the changeling drone still sitting there, staring into nothing with its green-glowing eyes.
* * *
Twilight and Sunny Daze appeared with a flash at the entrance to the Trottingham mines. It was the closest point that she could be sure of. She wished she could have given Sunny the opportunity to practice her teleportation – the new alicorn could still use a lot of magical practice... but they had no time for mistakes. As quickly as they appeared, they disappeared again, Twilight letting Sunny do her own invisibility spell this time. Hers didn't end up quite as good as Twilight's... a slight shimmer in the air still betrayed her, but it would still probably do for now, as long as nopony was specifically watching for invisible ponies sneaking in.
Speaking of sneaking, she turned toward the entrance just in time to see a white unicorn with black mane come strutting out of the mines like he owned the place. That must be their changeling! The pony kept strutting right off toward the road out of town, apparently completely oblivious to the two invisible ponies watching him.
She rushed off down into the mines, but soon noticed that she was alone. “Sunny!” She called out in a too-loud whisper. “Come on, what are you waiting for?”
She saw the invisible alicorn look down the tunnel with surprise. “I thought you were still up here!” She called back, far too loudly.
“Use the see-true spell,” she whispered harshly. They had been through this in practice. Why didn't Sunny already have it working?
“Oh, right!” Came the unnecessary reply as Sunny concentrated for a moment, and then stopped staring blankly into the tunnel and instead looked right at Twilight. She began following down and Twilight resumed her downward journey. Hopefully, their confrontation wouldn't end up like this!
* * *
Distracting the guards for a moment with a magically thrown pebble, Twilight opened the door, getting Sunny and herself inside as quickly and quietly as possible. If any of the guards had been looking, they would have seen a door open and close itself... if they were well trained, they would know that this was a dead giveaway for a unicorn sneaking around with an invisibility spell... Thankfully, it looked like at least one of those wasn't true, as no outcry came from outside the door.
Inside the door was another story though, as a white and black unicorn colt struggled and made muffled cries from behind a thick covering of changeling slime. The muffled cries intensified when Twilight and Sunny canceled out their invisibility spells, suddenly appearing in front of him.
“Okay, Sunny.” Twilight said, not whispering, but still quietly, “Link up and give me a power reserve like we practiced before.” She didn't have time to teach Sunny the intricacies of undoing powerful spells... she would just need the alicorn's power reserve if it came to that. She felt a little guilty about using her like this, and about wasting such a wonderful teaching opportunity... but she couldn't risk something like this with a first-timer, and she knew Sunny would do anything to save her friend.
Stretching out her magical senses, Twilight felt for the control spell she knew must be there, and found it immediately... dozens of them. This pony must be a genius to be able to control so many at once using different spells for each! She marveled for a moment before remembering that this was an evil genius. How could he do that to so many ponies... and there was more... a subtle fear spell, somehow making all the ponies more afraid of him. So that was how he was keeping such good control over them...
Steeling herself for the worst, Twilight attacked the fear spell first. It detached easily... not much power flowing through that one. Will Happy Heart now be less fearful of him now? She wondered a little absently. With a start, she realized that she feared him less now... which meant... his spells were affecting her! She would have to be more careful from now on. Quickly, she called up a light shield around herself. Not enough to really block anything, but she would know something was trying to get in when the shield failed.
Now... now for the main event, she thought. It was time to tackle the control spells. They were indeed loyalty spells, as Twilight had hoped earlier... but they were strong, and they seemed to be tied into the victim's life force. She inspected them a little closer, ah... and also tied into each other in an intricate web, each of them connected to all the others. That would make things a little more complicated. She would need to break all of them at once, while shielding the victims against the spell's backlash as it broke... and for that she would need a lot of power, since the spells had been built up and powered for a very long time. She glanced back at Sunny, whose long horn was shining, showing that her magical reserves were ready to be accessed. Twilight grinned smugly and began to concentrate. She had all the power she needed.
Twilight's horn glowed brightly for a few moments, both in her own lavender, but also with Sunny's bright yellow mixed in. For a while, nothing else visible happened, but then with an audible crashing sound like a breaking mirror, the backlash of the spell came back violently – aimed straight at the only involved pony who wasn't shielded: Black Diamond.
She looked down without pity as the glued-down unicorn suddenly groaned and tried to curl up in pain. The energy backlash from the spell had to go somewhere, and as far as Twilight was concerned, this Black Diamond deserved every bit of it.
* * *
Apollo landed hurriedly in the farm camp. It was much like the last three he had been to, beaten and bedraggled looking ponies ganging up on each other and less beaten, but very confused looking, ponies who must have been just freed from their control spells. This camp had already almost degraded into all-out violence... he hoped he and his team could get to all of them before anything unfortunate happened.
Quickly, he explained what had happened, stepping in to protect the small group of confused-looking ponies from the vengeful mob. Once again repeating his suggestion to travel to Las Pegasus instead, he rushed off again; there was no time to lose, and no time to spend searching for his lost crew member... not yet
Twilight sat back on their impromptu parade float – the same wagon they had pulled all the way here, now gaily decorated and pulled by a (nearly) matched team of two stallions from their little town. Apollo sat next to her, looking as if he was completely comfortable with the situation, which she rather envied. She was feeling nervous and more than a little shy at the moment... she wasn't used to being adored by a crowd.
Even Sunny, sitting at her other side, didn't seem bothered by the crowd, instead looking out curiously, and occasionally waving to ponies she knew. Was that something that just came from being an alicorn, she thought sourly, the ability to stay calm when you're in the center of that sea of attention? Or maybe it was just having Trigger at her side again... The two had been inseparable after being reunited. He couldn't even be kept off of the parade float if that was where Sunny was.
The place of honor though, in front of all four of them, was taken up by Twilight's favorite changeling... who was quite busy making the biggest glutton of herself possible. She was obviously enjoying this greatly, leaning forward in her seat, as if trying to get just a little closer to the adoring ponies. She wasn't disguised; she was propped up there in all her changeling glory... and the ponies loved her anyway. After all, Twilight had made sure that the story of 'the changeling who freed the slaves' was well-circulated... everypony knew what the changeling had done... though they didn't know why. The changeling's enjoyment of this adoration focused on her – the real her – was obvious. She kept leaning forward, darting back and forth to one side of the float and the other, whichever seemed to have more ponies on that side at the moment. Her eyes were half-lidded and her tongue was lolling out of her fanged mouth, letting out the occasional drop of green drool. A close look at her and Twilight could see that her sides were heaving; the changeling was breathing really heavily. Idly, she wondered if consuming this much emotion at once was good for a changeling... would she get a stomach-ache or something later?
Ahead of the float walked all of the newly freed slaves, or at least all the ones who had come to Las Pegasus. Many had wanted to leave off and search for their friends or families elsewhere, but a surprisingly large portion had decided to follow Apollo's advice and come here... Even without the few that had gone elsewhere, the population of the Las Pegasus area would be more than tripling now... How they were going to feed all these new ponies, Twilight wasn't sure... but she thought maybe those now-abandoned slave farms near Trottingham might help.
A lavender pegasus came rushing out of the crowd at the side, catching Twilight's attention. It took her a moment to recognize the mare she had been consoling earlier, as they rebuilt her house. The mare jumped into the line of freed slaves eagerly, quickly latching onto a sandy brown stallion right in the middle of the parade. The two threatened to stop the parade's progress entirely as they stood still in the middle of the street, but Twilight quickly forgave that little inconvenience as she saw the colt kneel down and present a ring... which the pegasus mare quickly snatched up and put on before kissing him perhaps a little too vigorously for being in the middle of a crowd. Merry Weather had gotten her second chance, Twilight thought gratefully. She was glad that the pony had made the best of it this time.
As the parade stopped for a moment, waiting for the two lovebirds to move on, Twilight caught Happy Heart looking back at her, a smile on her face. It was another sight that warmed her heart, since she hadn't seen the fearful mare smile hardly at all... but now she was beaming, despite her scarred body and still disheveled mane... and she had her hoof around a light pink pegasus mare... that must have been the friend she thought she lost... the one who had been mind-controlled.
Twilight leaned back in her seat on the float... at least if she couldn't enjoy the parade for her own sake, she was glad her friends were making the best of it.
* * *
Twilight could hear the sounds of the party outside still. She was eager to get back to it... despite the hard times, it was a party to rival any that Pinkie had ever thrown, full of joyful reunions and ponies tasting freedom for the first time in years... it was amazing... but she had a task to do first.
Again, she sat next to Sunny and Apollo, but this time in what was starting to look and feel far too much like a throne room. In a corner, their tame changeling was sleeping contentedly, looking very satiated... even Twilight had to admit... the bug actually looked kind of cute like that. The sight gave her a little hope for their future with the changelings... if they could follow this example, maybe changelings and ponies could get along after all.
Before them, now entirely wrapped in a cocoon, was Black Diamond. Twilight wasn't concerned about him escaping or causing them harm... after all, even Celestia hadn't been able to break out of such a cocoon when she had been trapped in one. Twilight sighed; her brother's wedding seemed so long ago now.
The unspoken question before everypony now was simple though... what do do with Black Diamond. “But we can't just keep him imprisoned forever,” Apollo insisted. “Cruel or not, we just can't. He'd figure out a way to use his magic eventually... he'd take over his guards or something, and they'd set him free... and then who knows what he might do?”
Twilight had some pretty likely ideas about what the furious-looking encased pony in front of them might do... at the moment, the most likely seemed to be 'kill the ponies who trapped me'... but she was sure that 'escape to start slaving again' and 'take over this fortress' were also high on the list. She sighed again and shook her head. “Apollo's right... we can't keep him here.”
“But what else can we do?” Sunny asked, her hoof still wrapped around Trigger, “We can't set him free... we can't trust him...” She paused for a moment, thinking... “Wait... you don't mean we're going to...”
“I'm sorry. I don't think we have any other choice, Sunny,” Apollo said, looking a little dejected. He didn't seem to like the idea of capital punishment either.
Twilight looked around, a little desperate to find some other solution... and ended up focusing on Sunny Daze... but she was thinking back to another sun-alicorn: her mentor, Celestia... how would she have handled the situation? Her mind wandered to an old off-color joke she had heard back in Canterlot... and then it hit her.
“Sunny, Apollo?” She said, getting both of them to look her way. “I was thinking about something Celestia once did... around a thousand years ago or so... We have all the elements of harmony here... and an alicorn...”
It took them a moment, but they seemed to get it. Each of them nodded, smiling.
Twilight walked up to the cocoon encasing Black Diamond with a slightly maniacal grin on her face. She looked him in the eyes and asked simply, “Black Diamond, do you like bananas?”
Twilight found herself at the very top of the fortress. The night's sea breeze was cool and soothing, but the big stones beneath her were still giving off a little of their heat from the day. The night sky was crisp and clear... not that it was easy to tell of course, seeing as how it was still empty. Still, she was glad to be up here where it was calm and cool, especially after her overindulgence at the party down below... It was getting very late, and many of the ponies had gone off to seek their (or maybe somepony else's?) beds, but a die-hard group remained down below... she could barely hear their music from up here... she wondered if they would stay up all night.
At any rate, she was sure she wouldn't be bothered way up here. The only one who came up here sometimes was Gozwin, who used the roof as a shortcut to get to his ambassadorial suite on the top floor... it was handy that the fortress had been built with a griffon-sized suite at the top... but given its origins, it was hardly surprising. Still, Gozwin had retired hours ago... and surely was asleep by now, so she had the cool rooftop to herself, and she had to admit that it felt pretty good after all that cider she drank.
The chill quiet was broken, even if slightly, by the sound of flapping wings. She turned around just in time to see Apollo come in for a landing. “There you are! I've been looking everywhere!”
“Is something wrong?” She asked. Surely he wouldn't be searching all over for her unless something was happening.
“Well, no... I... uh...” He seemed to be at a loss for what to say all the sudden... a state she didn't often get to see him in.
She cocked her head to the side. “What is it?”
“I wanted... well... I wanted somepony to talk to.” She tilted her head even a little further over, which given her current state was a little bit disorienting. He saw it and continued, “Somepony to talk to who doesn't do the whole leader-worship thing... I don't like giving autographs!”
Twilight got it then. Sure, there were lots of ponies down there to talk to... but she had gotten quite enough of the hero-worship herself... more than she could stomach, really... including a few autographs of her own. It was part of the reason she had teleported up here in the first place... and with Sunny already in bed, she was probably the only pony in the whole town Apollo could have a normal conversation with.
He smiled, settling down next to her. “You think we did the right thing with Black Diamond?”
Truthfully, Twilight had her own misgivings about that... but what choice did they have really? “We did the only thing... and believe me, better ponies have been sent to the moon!” She giggled a little, not that she had intended to.
“I miss it.” Apollo said simply. When she didn't seem to understand, he clarified a little, “The moon, I mean.”
“Oh, it's still right over there!” She pointed over at the horizon where the moon still stayed solidly in place, even after years.
“You know what I mean,” he said with a sigh. “I just always kind of liked it for some reason, you know?”
“I know...” Twilight admitted, “I miss the night sky a lot too...” she sighed again, “I miss a lot of things.”
She turned to look at him, and unexpectedly found herself all too close, looking right into his eyes. She could smell he had probably had a few too many ciders as well... but the eyes... She was sure she had noticed what a vivid blue they were at some point... but right now it really seemed like the first time. She was being absorbed into them... they were just that amazing... Suddenly, their noses touched, and Twilight realized just how close they had gotten to... well something. She quickly jerked away, just at the same moment he did, but it was too late to keep things from getting more than a little awkward. “Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to...” She cut it off there... she really didn't want to mention what it was she didn't mean to do. “I, um... it's getting chilly up here... I think we better go in.”
He smiled... he seemed more comfortable with this kind of thing, that is if they were having a this kind of thing... “Well come on,” he said, “I'll find us something warm to drink.” He hiccuped a little. “something warm and not alcoholic.”
It sounded nice... it really did. Maybe a nice mug of cocoa... but she knew the invitation for what it really was... didn't she? She looked over at him, still looking back at her expectantly... and somehow, she was okay with that. Remembering back to their first visit of the roof, she wandered out loud, even though she hadn't really meant to, “want to take the fun way down?”
He smiled at her as if he had been expecting that the whole time and quickly trotted up to the edge of the roof, waiting for her. “Hop on!” he called back with a wink.
* * *
A slightly wobbly pegasus ride and several vows to only ride sober ponies from now on later, Twilight found herself in her own library, enjoying a cup of hot tea more than she usually would. The library was technically public to everypony in the town... but of course its main inhabitant was Twilight Sparkle. Come to think of it, there was nowhere else she would rather be right now... surrounded by all her favorite books and a few comfortable chairs, enjoying the tea Apollo had brought, which she was really enjoying, even if her original request for cocoa had turned out to be impossible – apparently, there was none left in the entire town.
She was sitting next to Apollo yet again, on a small couch she had spent countless hours reading on before. Looking back on it, she was pretty sure they were sitting much closer together than really needed, not that she noticed at the moment. They were busy telling each other the stories of what happened earlier in the day, each filling the other in on the parts they had missed.
Before she knew it, Twilight found herself face to face with Apollo again, drawing closer... where had that come from? She was sure they were just talking normally a minute ago, but now... Before she knew it, Apollo closed what little gap remained, making contact with a tiny, brief, but unmistakable kiss. Twilight pulled back a little, eyes wide in shock... had that really just happened? Apollo was a good friend, yes... but just a friend... ... right? Coming out of her shock a little she saw him, also pulled back away, looking as bashful as possible, a blush visible on his cheeks. He looked ready to apologize profusely.
That was what pushed her over the edge, really, she thought. He was just so cute like that! She couldn't resist any more... She glomped the unsuspecting pegasus, pinning him back against the couch in a sudden embrace and locking their lips together before he could protest. His eyes registered a brief moment of complete shock, but soon went half-lidded in pleasure as he began to return both the kiss and the embrace, wrapping his hooves around her back.
After some amount of time – Twilight wasn't sure if it was fifteen seconds or most of an eternity... it seemed like both in different ways – she sat up, separating from him a little. At the moment, she couldn't imagine how she had possibly lived for years with this colt without doing this... the things she had been missing out on! ... Speaking of which... Maybe it was the cider talking, but somehow it didn't seem too forward when she grabbed him by the shoulders and leaned back, pulling him on top of her on her side of the couch this time.
She lightly bit her lower lip and gave him the most bedroom of eyes... That bought her another shocked look, followed by another adorable blush, but the pegasus wings quickly springing up in the background made things clear enough how he really felt. She pulled him down for another kiss, and once again wondered how she had lived for so long without this.
* * *
Twilight laid on the couch cushions next to Apollo, still wrapped closely together. Her breathing was quickly returning to normal, and the cool sweat drying... she could probably use a shower after that... but there Apollo was, right next to her, already dozing off with his hooves wrapped around her. How had she not noticed before how adorable he could be? Sure, she had admired him before, he really was a great colt... but why hadn't she noticed this cute side before?
Slowly, lulled by the rhythm of his breathing, she drifted off to sleep... and she had the strangest dream... there were stars and a moon... and somehow she was the stars, and she kept wanting to wrap herself around and all over the moon... It was very peaceful, and yet somehow felt very real, like she could feel every bit of it.
Apollo Dawn opened his eyes slowly... he had been dreaming the most lovely dream, even if it did seem a bit strange now... something about him being the moon and sliding through a sea of stars... and somehow the stars were Twilight Sparkle... He giggled a little inside at how appropriate that metaphor was, given their fun last night. She was still there, right in front of him, and now her violet eyes were starting to drift open, too. He moved in close for a little nuzzle, but he was stopped prematurely... his head had bumped into something.
That confused him enough to pay a bit more attention to his surroundings... oddly enough, this wasn't the red couch cushion he remembered falling asleep on... it was his own sky-blue sheets. Had he and Twilight done more than he remembered? But he remembered the library and the couch just fine... Just how many ciders did he have last night?
Finally, he looked up, still trying to put the pieces together, and found a very impatient and irritated young yellow alicorn standing at the foot of his bed, her softly glowing hair providing pretty much the only illumination in the room, save for the moonlight from the window. Suddenly, he was glad he hadn't indulged in his earlier inclination to do more than nuzzle Twilight... it would have been more than a little embarrassing to go for a second round without even noticing somepony else in the room.
While Twilight came to alertness and began to sit up next to him, Sunny Daze spoke up. “We tried to get you two into separate beds, but we just couldn't peel you apart! Are you two finally finished yet?”
Apollo could feel his cheeks heating even though he was sure he had no rational reason to be embarrassed. “Um... yeah, I guess...” Sunny's attitude was beginning to strike him as a little odd though. “What's the rush?”
“The rush is for you two to get your silly moon and stars out of the way so I can raise the sun!”
Apollo just sat and blinked for a moment... there was no part of that sentence that made any sense. “Raise the sun? But it's still dark outside.” It was still early in the morning after all, and after a hard night of partying, drinking, and ... frolicking to put it gently... The gears in his head weren't exactly turning at maximum efficiency.
“His moon and stars?” Twilight asked from next to him, apparently recovering a little more quickly, “How are they his?”
Sunny Daze growled in frustration, “It's Dark outside because I can't raise the sun!”
“But the night isn't even over yet...” Apollo said, still feeling more than a little bewildered.
“That's right,” Sunny said, as if she was talking to a particularly dense school filly, “But it should have been!” She scowled at them. “It should have been three days, but instead, it's all been just one night.”
Both he and Twilight seemed to get it at the same time, “Oh no!” they said together, Apollo adding a “Are ponies panicking?” while Twilight added a “Is it getting cold?” at the same time.
“Yes and yes,” Sunny said icily. “Now get your sky stuff out of the way so I can fix it!”
“But... our stuff? How is it ours... and how do we move it?”
“Ugh, are you always this dumb in the morning, or is today just special?” Sunny threw her head up in exasperation, the shadows cast by her softly glowing mane jumping wildly. Her patience exhausted, she jumped up onto the bed with a single flap of her wings, thumping Apollo on his horn and lifting up Twilight's wings before either could protest.
Their protests about the rude treatment died on their lips though, as they stared at each other, each really noticing the other's new accessories at the same time, eyes growing wide and jaws dropping.
“There,” Sunny said, jumping back onto the floor, causing the bed to bounce. “Now that you two have finally figured it out can we please please please move on to the fixing things stage?”
“But how are there two alicorns of the night?” Twilight asked confusedly. “There's only supposed to be one.”
“When I was dreaming...” Apollo started, only to be interrupted by an ever-impatient Sunny.
“How should I know? You two figure it out!”
Shaking his head, Apollo tried again. “When I was dreaming... it seemed like I was the moon and I was swimming through the stars... and the stars were you... You think that...?”
Twilight's face lit up. “Of course! You got the moon and I got the stars... but how, I mean, nothing like this has happened before, I've got to do some research on it!”
Sunny Daze stopped Twilight before she could get out of bed and rush to the library. “No,” she said as simply and slowly as she could manage, “Make way for sun first, research later!”
“Oh... right.” Twilight said a little sheepishly, folding her wings back down along with her ears. Apollo had seen her study habits himself, and he had to admit that they wouldn't have ever gotten anything done if they had let Twilight get into research mode.
* * *
Twilight concentrated on not concentrating, paradoxically enough, remembering her first lessons with Sunny daze in moving the sun. She was grateful to have the experience, actually, since it helped her know ahead of time just how to do this...
She reached out, feeling the stars there as she never had before, like she was part of them... and they were part of her... it was amazing. She reached out to the moon as well... it seemed close and inviting... but it didn't seem like a part of her. She supposed, in the little corner of her mind still allocated to thought, that she had been right about who got the moon and who got the stars.
As she remembered telling Sunny Daze to do, she focused on her connection with the stars... and then rolled herself down over the horizon. It was a very strange sensation, to say the least... yet it also felt somehow comforting, like she had been doing it all her life. With a startled realization, she realized that part of her had been doing that for more than just her life... for millennia. The stars were part of her now... and that part of her was comfortable with the routine of raising and lowering. She looked over at Sunny Daze again, wondering how much of Celestia the sun had brought with it... and did Sunny know?
* * *
“Um... well, I think I might kind of feel it now.” Apollo gave a shiver as he tried again to get this 'connection' with the moon Twilight kept telling him about. He had never really liked unicorn magic much, and now he was stuck with a magic horn on his very own head... worse yet, he had to try and use it, or the whole world would freeze!
“Okay, what's it feel like?” Twilight pressed.
“It... ah... I don't know!” Apollo sighed in frustration. He had nothing to compare this to! How should he know what it felt like or didn't feel like? “I think I can sense it up there... but I just don't know. ... I don't think I can do it.”
“Well...” Twilight mumbled off... “There is one other way.”
“There is?” Apollo asked eagerly, “What?”
Twilight looked away, looking a little shy for some reason, “I could help... but I'd need to be, um, inside you in a way.”
“Inside me?”
“Well, turnabout is fair play, right?” Twilight commented with a suggestive look, causing Sunny Daze to roll her eyes.
It was Apollo's turn to look embarrassed. “Not in front of Sunny,” he whispered. Grown up or not, alicorn or not, he found it hard not to think of her as the happy yellow foal she was when they first met. Sunny's eyes just rolled again at his protectiveness. He looked back at Twilight, “But... okay... we have to do this.”
“Don't worry, it won't be bad,” Twilight said, leaning closer, “I'll just be there with you, showing you how... Now, touch your horn to mine.”
He did... with more force than he had intended, making a loud clack and hurting a little. He still wasn't used to having the thing there... and he had rather miscalculated just where it was.
Before he knew it, he felt Twilight there... more than just contact on his horn, it was contact in his horn, in his mind. He thought they had been together in the most intimate way last night... but this, this was a whole new level... everything he realized was open to her... she could go anywhere in his mind she wanted...
:A little much, isn't it?: A voice, sounding a lot like Twilight's, resounded in his head. He looked over to Sunny, but she didn't seem to hear it. :No, I'm talking inside your mind: Twilight's voice came again, :Don't worry, it's perfectly normal.: He wasn't so sure about that... he knew unicorn magic could be weird... but this... :Oh, wow... you've felt that way about magic this whole time and I never knew? You're being braver than I thought: Apollo kicked himself. She knew what he was thinking, of course! Now his biggest secret was right there in the open! :Don't worry, I won't tell!: the voice came again, :Pinkie promise!:
A what promise? This was starting to make less and less sense now... Without warning, the full sense of the meaning behind the words 'Pinkie promise' came flooding into his head all at once. It wasn't words, or even pictures... it was memories and knowledge in their purest form, flowing right into his head. :Convenient, isn't it?: the voice commented, :Now, let's get focused on our little problem, okay?: The voice took on a more serious tone, :I'll pretty much do it myself, but you need to watch and pay close attention so you can do it yourself next time.: Without even an ounce of his own will this time, his horn began to glow again, a smooth, steady glow, not the spurts and sparks he had been producing earlier. He watched carefully as Twilight pooled together a little energy, and then sought out his connection with the moon, and suddenly he felt it, really felt it.
Suddenly the moon felt like a part of him, just like a part of his body, just like it had always been there. It was all very strange, but he kept paying attention to Twilight's actions as she focused on that bond and then did some kind of strange internal twist. With that, he could feel the moon going down quickly to the horizon. He braced himself for feeling the loss as it disappeared, but he felt nothing actually... it was still there even though he couldn't see it. Not surprising, actually, once he thought about it... after all, he hadn't been seeing it this whole time. :There, did you get it?: He thought so, and was about to say so, but the voice had already caught his thought, and didn't need his words, :Good. Hopefully next time you can do it all by yourself.:
With a rush, Twilight's presence vanished from his mind and their horns separated. “Can... can any unicorn do that?” Apollo asked, a little note of fear in his voice. Having unicorn powers seemed even scarier now.
“The more talented ones, yes.” Twilight said, but she laid a hoof on his shoulder. “But don't worry, it's easy to block, and I'll teach you how... on one condition.”
He winced... there was always a catch, wasn't there?
“I want you to teach me how to fly!” She said with a smile.
Oh, was that it? It didn't sound so bad after all... between magic practice and flying practice they would be spending a lot of time together... and after last night, that didn't seem like a bad prospect at all.
The concept kept growing on him as Sunny Daze finally raised the sun, sending it beaming in through the window brightly as if in revenge. No, the more he thought about it, the better an idea a little mutual training seemed. He was a great flier to teach Twilight how to use her new wings, and she was a really great magician to teach him how to use his new horn... and with this night to remember, he was sure they would get along really well!
“Are you sure about this?” Twilight asked shakily from the edge of the fortress's roof. She was literally teetering on the edge, wings spread wide. Apollo hoped she would go ahead and do it soon, or else a gust of wind might blow her off by surprise.
“You can do it!” He shouted, already hovering just out of reach off the edge... and he was sure she could. Her flight training had been going well, and now it was time for a real confidence builder. She had already flown distances longer than what he was asking for now, just never so high up. For a pony who was born without wings, she sure seemed to be a natural, actually. She was up and flying much more quickly than it usually took a pegasus filly to fledge... Then again, she didn't have to grow the wings and muscles for it; they were already there and all she had to do was learn to use them.
With a cringe and a flap of her wings, she jumped, falling quickly at first and startling Apollo into a dive to catch her, but she recovered just as fast, rising back up to the roof level and beyond. Slowly at first, but building speed, she completed his requested loop around the edge of the roof before landing again where she took off.
He set down next to her, congratulating her on her performance, “You did great for your first high flight!”
“Really?” She asked eagerly.
“Really! I just wish I could learn magic as easily as you're learning flying.”
“Oh, it's no big deal, you're a fine student. It just takes a lot of study... it's not like flying... that just comes naturally. Magic you have to really learn,” she said reassuringly.
“You know that's not it.” He said, turning away.
She sighed. He was sure she was getting tired of his hangups about magic, but if she was, she was doing a good job of hiding it. “You'll get used to that in time, too.” She snuggled up close, laying a wing over him. “Magic isn't anything to be afraid of... especially once you learn it, and especially for somepony as powerful as you'll be.”
Sometimes he wasn't sure... maybe it was the prospect of all that power that was actually scaring him sometimes. It was just... creepy. “Sometimes I wish we could just go back to the way things used to be...” he mused.
“Yeah, me too... all the time. Things were simpler back then, I just had my friends and my studies, and I would write a letter to...”
She wasn't just talking about the times before they became alicorns, Apollo realized. She was talking about the times before everything changed. “Heh, yeah... those were the days all right,” he agreed... but privately he wasn't so sure he would go back if he could. He personally hadn't lost anyone, and while there was a lot more grief in the world now... there were also a lot of other new things; he had made new friends, got a new job not just as the leader of an exploration crew, but as the leader of a whole city... and even other little settlements here and there had begun swearing allegiance now. He would be leading a nation before he realized it... and of course, he had a new lover! Would Twilight really want to take all that away?
With that in mind, Apollo remembered something he had been meaning to do lately... and now would be just the time; it would take her mind off of the past for sure! “Oh, Twilight, I was wondering...” he lead on.
“Hm?” She turned towards him, away from looking at the scenery below.
“I know it's a little soon, but...” he held out a ring, “Would you marry me?”
If his goal was to distract her from her wistful thoughts on the past, he certainly succeeded. Her eyes grew wide and she gasped, thoughts obviously very much on the future now rather than the past. Her look of shock faded into a big smile and what looked very much like a valiant struggle to hold in a shout. “Yes!” She broke out, managing to contain the volume... mostly.
He joined her in sharing a big smile now, leaning in for a kiss. Just as they touched though, and before he could actually give her the ring, the quiet was broken by an enormous roar from below. Both ponies rushed to the edge of the roof, looking down and knowing anything that roared that loud must be a serious problem.
* * *
Twilight hurried to the edge of the roof, rushing to see what was going on below. What she saw surprised her, even after she had been expecting something terrible. An enormous dragon was at the fortress's gates, being harassed by a few brave pegasi and roaring back at them enraged.
What would they do now? Twilight's mind was going frantic quickly. How would they deal with a full-scale dragon invasion? Sure, they had three alicorns here now... but two of them weren't very well-versed in magic... and honestly, she wasn't entirely sure about herself either. Some of her spells had turned out a little differently than expected ever since her change... So how would they get this dragon to go away?
She looked back at the scene below, expecting it to devolve into a full-scale slaughter any moment as the dragon's rage took hold... yet it didn't seem to happen... why? What was going on? The big purple and green dragon was just standing at the gate and bellowing, halfheartedly swatting at the pegasi harassing him as the only sign of offensive action.
Wait just a minute... purple and green? No, it couldn't be. There was no way he could be that big already... could he? She realized she didn't know much about dragon development... maybe it could be... but no, it was too far fetched.
Just when she had almost convinced herself that it couldn't be... she caught a tiny glimmer of flame circling the dragon, quickly growing into a bright flash, deterring one of the pegasi who got too close. That flash... only one thing in the world made a flash like that... a phoenix... and with that, she knew this one's name: Pewee. It WAS spike! After all these years!
With a thought, Twilight teleported away, leaving a concerned looking Apollo in her wake. She reappeared with her customary violet flash at the very peak of the arch of the gates. Gathering her breath, she yelled out as loudly as she could, “STOP!”
Apparently she wasn't used to having the power of the royal Canterlot voice behind her yet though. All the ponies around – and even the huge dragon in front of her – were all holding their ears in pain... Well, at any rate, it got the job done. They all did stop what they were doing.
Reverting to her normal voice, and hoping he could still hear her despite the claws held over his ears, Twilight called out, “Spike... is that you?” The huge beast nodded, leaning in closer. Even though Twilight was standing at the top of an enormous arched door, Spike could still look her eye to eye... he even had to bend over a little to do so. The phoenix stopped its circling and landed on one of the spines on his head. Twilight remembered reading about how loyal they could be... and it looked like that was true... how many years had those two been alone together?
“Wow... you're ah... big!” Twilight exercised her brilliant powers of observation. Trying to recover a little from that, she added, “And... um... nice wings!”
He seemed to squint at her a moment before his eyes widened in surprise, “Nice wings yourself!” He bellowed before quickly following up, more quietly, “Oh, sorry, It's been a while since I talked much at pony volumes.”
Twilight quite literally couldn't believe it. After she had given up on all her old friends here one was, right in front of her, very much larger than life! Suddenly, she remembered something she couldn't wait to tell her old friend. “Oh! Spike, guess what?” She held her hooves up to her chest in excitement. “I'm getting married!”
“But Twilight, won't you just listen to me?” Spike's voice rumbled from above.
“I said no Spike!” Twilight wasn't taking any of it – she was not going to profane her memories that way.
The big purple dragon just rolled his eyes. “But Twilight,” he pleaded, “It gives ponies out there hope to think that there is a princess again.” She knew that; it wasn't the first time they had been through this, of course. She knew all about Spike's story now, of how he had fled, then been unable to find her for years... until he began to hear rumors of 'Princess Twilight' living near Las Pegasus.
It irked Twilight that ponies somewhere were already calling her a princess. She was not a princess! Celestia and Luna... they had been princesses. To call an ordinary pony like Twilight 'princess' would be to belittle their memory! Why couldn't Spike see that?
The phoenix roosting on his head spines called out, looking minuscule still, despite being fully grown now. “Come on Twilight, it won't hurt anything, and it's for the best!” Spike obviously still couldn't see the problem.
“I said NO!” Twilight called up her magic, the extra power boost from being an alicorn thankfully giving her enough juice to summon a door gargantuan enough to slam in a dragon's face. She stomped back through the fortress gates, leaving Spike to brood outside. He had pretty much taken up living just outside the gates; it was too crowded now in the courtyard, even if he didn't still abjectly terrify half the ponies inside.
As much as she missed her old number one assistant, he could still be a real bonehead sometimes. She didn't care what happened, she was not going to be accepting any royal titles just because she managed to grow a pair of wings!
* * *
“Apollo!” Twilight called out, still looking for that infuriating blue pegasus. “Apollo! Why do these wedding invitations say 'royal wedding' on them!?!” ... She looked around suspiciously... Sunny and Trigger had said that he went here, but she couldn't see him anywhere in the dining hall.
She threw her head back in frustration, resorting – probably a little too soon – to using magic to locate the wayward pegasus. She concentrated on him, mixing in a little bit of teleportation spell... and pop! A very surprised-looking Apollo suddenly appeared, complete with a sizable amount of sudsy bath water, right in the middle of the dining hall, quickly splashing down onto the hard floor.
The sight of him utterly shocked and confused, sitting there in the middle of a large puddle, drenched with water and bubbles would have brought a smile to her face if she hadn't already been infuriated. He shook his head, sending water flying and freeing his grey mane up to billow as it normally did now. “What?” He asked, not much, but surprisingly coherent given the circumstances.
Again – and more productively this time – Twilight asked, “Apollo, why do the wedding invitations say 'royal wedding'?”
“They say what?” He quickly levitated the slip of paper Twilight had been holding over to himself so he could read it. “Well, I'll be a donkey's uncle, they do say it!” Twilight just continued to stare intensely, tapping her front hoof impatiently. Apollo sighed. “Okay, Twilight, I did not tell them to put that on there – I just asked them to make invitations and told them the names!”
“This is completely unacceptable!” Twilight insisted, “We are not royalty!”
“Um... Twilight... have you talked to the average ponies in town about that?” He glanced toward the window, getting up and shaking off more water. “You know most of them are assuming the opposite, no matter what we say, right?” She just hissed in frustration. “Oh... and one more important little detail... These things have already been mailed out and delivered.”
Twilight's expression quickly faded from frustration to horror. This was bad... really, really bad! Her mind started going a mile a minute, trying to figure out a way to undo the damage, but she was getting nowhere.
“Twilight?” She looked at him desperately. “Twilight... I know it means a lot to you, and I know why you don't want it... but there's really nothing we can do.” That was not what she wanted to hear! “Can you accept that for the good of the ponies out there?” He pointed at the window. “They all think that having a princess back in charge will help the world get back to normal... and you know I feel responsible for them. I want to do whatever I can to help them.” He walked up and laid a still-soggy hoof on her back. “So can you do it for them... and for me?”
“But... but the memory of the princesses...” Twilight stuttered. She knew it might sound a little weak, but it was important!
“Twilight... just because you become a princess doesn't make the title any less valued on its own. If you don't think you're worthy of it, then make yourself worthy of it – live up to the expectations... make your life good enough to be a tribute to them.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “How about this? I'll accept the whole royalty thing, and then you can just be a princess by marriage... that's no pressure, right?”
Twilight plopped down, sitting and staring at the floor. Apollo was right, she supposed. There was nothing she could do to stop it, and it was for the best... She would just have to live up to it... if she could.
* * *
Apollo rummaged through the third supply room he had been in today, still looking for those cursed tablecloths. Why did weddings have to be so much trouble anyway? It wasn't like anypony there would particularly care about tablecloths, right? He stopped moving for a moment though when he heard something coming from the back corner of the room.
Suspicious and stealthy now, he crept over towards the source of the sound... it seemed to be coming from behind a few large boxes... It sounded like... wait, what? It sounded like a pony crying. Who would be hiding in here crying? They all had their own rooms, after all, and there were plenty of more comfortable places, right?
With a few final steps, he rounded the corner, finally able to see past the crates... but he wasn't at all prepared for what he saw.
Splints was a mess, tear-streaked eyes clamped tightly shut, mane even more bedraggled than usual, and huddled together in the corner of the room, right on top of certain tablecloths.
“Splints! Are you okay?” Apollo asked in mixed shock and concern. A low, drawn-out moan was his only answer... He got the distinct impression that he was the last pony she wanted to see right now. “What's wrong?”
That seemed to break her out of it. Her face now a mixture of grief and anger, she turned on him, shouting, “How can you be so blind? How can you be so stupid!?!”
“Wha–” was all Apollo could get out in return before she continued.
“Twelve years we've been together, and you don't know what's wrong!?!”
“Splints... I don't know what you're–”
Tears were streaking down her face again as she pressed closer, “Twelve Years, and now you're going to go off and marry that stupid bookworm hussy?”
“Wait...” The pieces were starting to fall together, but it still didn't make any sense... Splints was... jealous? “But you always seemed like you hated–”
The normally fierce earth pony collapsed again, bawling. “It's all my fault! Of course I acted like I hated you! I couldn't let anypony know! But... but my act was too good...” She looked up at him again, and he could see the desperation in her eyes. She stood up, slowly moving closer, her face pleading with him... and suddenly she struck.
She wrapped a hoof around the back of his neck pulling him in for a hard kiss. On one side of the kiss was desperate passion... and on the other, only stunned shock. After a moment, Splints dropped back away from the unrequited kiss, looking as if she had just been stabbed in the back by her best friend. Before Apollo could say anything, she ran out of the storage room, tears streaming down once again.
Slowly overcoming his shock, Apollo gathered up the tablecloths he had been looking for, still unable come to grips with what just happened. He shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. “Mares.”
* * *
Twilight Sparkle breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves... but it didn't seem to help much. She kept reverting to shallow breaths, and she was sure she was beginning to sweat on her dress. Was she really doing this? She looked down at her white gown, and then at Shimmer Spell next to her, looking unnaturally calm. Yes, this was it... not another rehearsal, not another dream... she was really really getting married... right now!
The curtains in front of her enveloped her whole attention. They stood tall in front of her, like arbiters of her fate... when they opened, it would be happening – everypony would be watching her, watching her walk up and... She gulped. Was she really ready for this? It had all gone so fast, and she still wasn't sure about the whole 'royalty' thing... Her heartbeat grew just an iota more rapid with the thought of yet another thing to worry about... and what if she messed something up? What if something went wrong?
Her worries must have begun to show on her face. “Shush, there now,” a voice came from next to her, “Shimmer was nervous before her wedding, too.” She nudged twilight's face back up with a gentle hoof. “but she carried on anyway... because she had somepony there with her!” She nudged Twilight, reminding her that she had done the same thing for the blue unicorn. “And it was the best day she ever had. You're going to do fine, and you're going to have a wonderful time.”
She calmed down just a little. Maybe she would be fine... things could go perfectly, couldn't they? With a flare of music, the curtains in front of her opened, and her nerves returned tenfold... but Shimmer Spell released her, the traditional gesture of 'giving away' Twilight... and she gave Twilight an invisible little nudge forward, at the same time, ensuring she got started. She began walking as the music continued, with only a quick glance back at Shimmer – as her 'oldest friend' not otherwise involved in the ceremony, she had been given the honor of giving Twilight away, even though the start of their relationship hadn't been all that friendly.
The next one to catch her eye – perhaps because he stood out so much in the crowd – was the griffon ambassador, Gozwin, who was keeping a close watch on their friendly changeling queen. She had developed even further now, almost fully looking the part of a queen now, though she still hadn't let anypony give her a name. Twilight was glad that Gozwin was performing the duty she had asked of him diligently – she remembered the events of the last royal wedding she had attended, and even if they all had begun to trust this queenling, she still wanted to take precautions against any repeat of last time!
Ahead, Twilight could pick out most of Apollo's crew in the seats on the lawn outside the castle; she smiled at them, but couldn't help but have her attention drawn to the reason the ceremony had to be outside: the ring-bearer. Spike had insisted on taking the same role he was familiar with from the last wedding, and given that he was a humongous dragon now, nopony was overly inclined to argue with him. As Twilight continued to slowly pace forward, his enormous slitted eye winked at her, and his angular face gave a little twitch to the side, motioning for her to move her attention over to...
Apollo Dawn. There he stood waiting for her at the end of the isle, looking truly resplendent. Somehow, he had managed to find a tuxedo vest that matched his billowing grey mane perfectly, and his washed-out blue coat had been brushed to a high shine. Albatross at his side, he looked out at her with pride, wings outstretched... it was obvious he had eyes only for her, and it made her blush just a little.
Finally reaching the little wooden stage at the end, she stepped up, finally turning to face Apollo... she still could hardly believe that he was about to be her husband... but Shimmer had been right; with all her friends there at her side her nerves were calming down a little, becoming something more akin to excitement than trepidation.
* * *
Sunny Daze began her carefully memorized speech once Twilight was in position. Having been chosen to preside over the ceremony, she couldn't afford to mess anything up. She was a little envious of her friend, to be honest. Twilight's mane had changed, just like her own... but in what she thought of as a much more dramatic way. While her own had simply grown a bit longer and begun to softly glow, Twilight's had gained a dramatic waving pattern throughout, darkening some and gaining lots of tiny twinkling lights scattered all throughout it. It contrasted wonderfully with the white dress she was wearing.
That was only the start though – being jealous of a mane style was awfully petty after all. What Twilight really had that Sunny envied was standing right there at her other side... a handsome colt to have and to hold... 'till death do us part?' They were probably immortal now... why not just say forever? Still... she glanced out at the audience, easily catching sight of the neon orange and yellow pegasus in the front row. He was a full grown stallion now, and she had shared more than a few good times with Trigger... but would he ever propose? She brought her attention back to the ceremony; there would be time for that later... and besides, she had a little plan about giving him a bit of a hint today.
Reaching the end of her speech, she nodded towards the dragon crouching behind her, and levitated up the two rings from the single talon he carefully extended out over the stage. Placing one on each horn in front of her, she said the words everypony had been waiting for: “I pronounce you prince and princess! Apollo, you may kiss the bride.” She felt her own heart leap as he did... she could only wonder what they must be feeling.
* * *
Memories of the moonlit reception party still fresh in his mind, Apollo extended a hoof to help his new bride up onto the strange saddle. Of course they had held the reception outside, up at the top of the tower and under Twilight's stars and his own moon. What else could be more appropriate? She took his hoof, letting him help her on to Spike's back, even though she could have easily flown up herself.
“Ready?” She asked, looking forward up at the big dragon's head. He only snorted, a little gout of green flame visible in the dim light. Spike had volunteered to be their honeymoon transportation, and though Apollo still wasn't sure about it – he was more used to fighting and stealing from dragons than riding on them, after all – Twilight seemed to trust him completely... and he had to admit, with the addition of his newly-made riding saddle, the dragon did make for quite an impressive mode of transportation.
She tossed her bouquet out to the waiting crowd and was surprised to see Sunny of all ponies jump up and grab it greedily... though the mystery was quickly solved when she saw Sunny, bouquet still in her mouth, giving a very suggestive look in the direction of a certain yellow-and-orange pegasus.
With a few flaps of his huge, leathery wings scattering anything not tied down on the rooftop below, the dragon took off, carrying the newlyweds off to their honeymoon destination, an old water spirit temple at the edge of a crystal-clear lake: it would be the perfect place for them to enjoy themselves and... well, 'get to know each other better' before being thrust back into the daily grind of running their little settlement.
Apollo looked eagerly over the dragon's neck, peering down into the forest below for signs of their destination. The area looked a little more overgrown than the last time he had been there, but already he was beginning to recognize landmarks. Their destination would be just outside the southern border of the Everfree Forest, where it met the ocean. Despite being uninhabited, it was really quite safe – far enough from Everfree that its creatures didn't come there.
Spotting a rock jutting out into the sea, he knew they were almost there... just around the next hill would be a secluded lagoon with the enormous ruins of the water spirit temple surrounding it, jungles all around the other sides. Spike cleared the hill, and there it was... the lagoon was the same crystal blue he remembered, the thin strip of beach still the same perfect sandy white, and though the jungles around it seemed to have grown a bit thicker and darker, there was the temple, sprawling out into the jungle.
He and his team had found the place themselves... after it had been lost many thousands of years... even Princess Celestia hadn't known about it. Wryly, he remembered their first trek through the treacherous jungles searching for it, and he had to admit, flying there on a dragon's back sure beat that by a long shot; they had wandered around for months searching for the place before they finally found it.
Spike spotted it as well, and began angling in for a landing. As they drew closer, details of the temple began to be visible: the huge standing stones, their extremely detailed decorations only visible in the sparse undamaged patches. Out of and through the ruined buildings grew the lush vegetation of the jungle coast, vines and tree roots weaving through and voraciously devouring the ancient stoneworks. Occasionally glimpsed behind the stones and trees were a few of the many statues they had found, fanciful depictions of some kind of pony-like being, except with fish tails instead of hind legs.
His team had spent months exploring and cataloging the place, and while the legendary treasures within had proven to be legends only, they had been able to shed some light on an ancient and entirely forgotten culture, one which – if the hieroglyphics on the walls were to be believed – lived together with the strange underwater ponies and dealt with them every day. But while they hadn't found much of actual monetary value, he did remember another find that would be important for him now.
In the temple near the beach, just below where a huge tree was growing out of what looked like solid stone... There! – There it was, a still-intact low-roofed stone building... the very same place his team had made camp while exploring the temple. It would keep out the weather well enough, but had lots of entrances, keeping it dry and well-ventilated, so it wouldn't be like living in a cave. With that shelter, they wouldn't need much in the way of camping supplies... they would have more room for luxuries in the bundles tied behind Spike's saddle.
Beside him, Twilight gasped when Spike turned around to complete his landing on the beach, giving her the first clear view of the temple... and from the look in her eyes, he knew he would have to try hard to keep her out of 'study mode' during their vacation. Not that he thought he would be particularly successful at that though; it was, after all, one of the reasons he picked the place – besides the natural wonders of the place, he knew she would enjoy exploring the temple and finding out about the ancient culture as much as he did back in the first time he came... and who better to be a guide than the pony who discovered it?
Following Twilight, he quickly dismounted from Spike, gliding down on his own wings. He used his magic to unbuckle and slip off the huge saddle from the dragon's back, giving Twilight a prideful glance as he did so – under her tutelage he had been greatly improving his magical skill, and being able to deal with those intricate little buckles and the heavy weight of the whole saddle was a great way to show off his improved skills.
She looked at him appreciatively... she knew he was showing off, and she seemed to approve. He followed her glance up to a pensive and eager looking dragon, and saw her give him a slight nod... With a rush of wind, Spike whirled and dove into the lagoon, creating a wave that washed over the entire beach, almost submerging their supplies. He surfaced again, filling a substantial portion of it, swimming around and circling, only a face, an undulating ridge of spines and a pair of wings visible above the water as he swam around snake-like, obviously enjoying it after the exertion of his long flight.
“Enjoying yourself, Spike?” Twilight's voice called out.
A deep rumble sounded from the lagoon. The big dragon might have been laughing... or sighing with pleasure... or exasperation for all anypony knew. Apollo never could get the hang of reading the big dragon's emotions.
He levitated the big saddle up again, heading for their camp site. He and Twilight could go for a swim later... when it was a little less crowded. In the meantime, he was eager to get unpacked and show his new bride some of the high points of this temple. He could already see the foal-like anticipation in her eyes... she just looked so adorable that way!
* * *
Twilight laid on the beach towel on the eastern edge of the lagoon, reclining against Apollo's side and basking in the last of Sunny's wedding gift. After four straight hours of sunset, the sun was finally falling below the horizon... it had sped across the sky somewhat faster than usual today, slowing down as it set so that she and Apollo could enjoy watching the sunset beyond the trees across the lagoon for hours. It was a wedding gift only an alicorn of the sun could give, and Twilight made a note to herself to thank Sunny when they returned... it had been wonderful. She nuzzled Apollo a little, getting a short kiss in return. Soon, they would need to see to their own new duties, bringing out the moon and stars... but not for a few moments yet... for now, they could still relax and simply enjoy the moment.
Apollo's horn began to glow, and an answering glow came from behind her, still behind the trees, but soon the moon would rise high enough to be seen above them. She reached out for her own celestial connection for a moment, closing her eyes to concentrate. As she opened them again, the first few stars were beginning to sparkle in through the twilight sky. She looked out over the sleeping form of Spike out near the edge of the lagoon's connection to the ocean, wondering how her parents had managed to name her so appropriately... how could they possibly have known?
She rose up to her feet, stretching luxuriantly, and in a way that just happened to give Apollo quite a view... she walked off toward their camp, ready to hit the bed... or the hammock as the case may be, but after a long day of relaxing on the beach, sleep was hardly what her mind was dwelling on... She glanced back, finding Apollo following her, eyes glued to her gently swaying flank... yes, her plans for the night would be going well indeed.
* * *
She shifted in the hammock, rocking it a little more than the sea breezes blowing in the entrance to their little stone house already were. It still didn't wake Apollo though... it appeared that she had rather worn him out... She looked out through the entrance at the water in the lagoon, the moonlight now reflecting on the small waves even though the moon itself was too high to see from under the roof.
She noticed a tree in the way of the entrance now... had that been there earlier? She couldn't remember... but it didn't look like it belonged in the jungle setting... a small and scraggly-looking oak maybe... not one of the towering forest giants around her, and not one of the twisted and vine-like trees of the under-story either...
Shrugging it off, she closed her eyes and nuzzled up close to Apollo again, happy to share his warmth in the cool sea breeze. She opened her eyes again one last time before going to sleep, and cried out in shock, jumping out of the hammock... or at least trying to. She did manage to fall out, while setting the whole thing spinning around wildly. Apollo's head came peeking out of the top once it stopped moving temporarily, but quickly disappeared into a blur as the hammock spun back the way it had came, undoing the tension Twilight had put into it.
With a thud, Apollo was shot out of the hammock, landing next to twilight, looking bewildered and a little hurt. “Huh, wha?” He managed to get out.
Twilight just pointed at the reason she had jumped in the first place. There, right next to the bed was a tree, its branches reaching out towards them like grasping fingers and the knots on the trunk looking disturbingly like a distorted face... and worse yet, now there were two more silhouetted against the moonlight at the entrance.
Another tree disintegrated into purple flames as Twilight's magical bolt struck home. She stopped for a moment, taking careful aim at the next one, out by the entrance.
“Twi! Behind you!” She whirled around at Apollo's shout, barely reacting in time to hit the next tree, sneaking up behind her. Apollo was doing a pretty good job of defending the back entrances, but he had two openings big enough for the trees to squeeze through, and apparently a tree or two managed to slip through his defenses.
Facing her own entrance again, she let loose a wave that chopped three trees in half at the trunk... She knew from experience now that it wouldn't stop them, just slow them down... only fire seemed to be able to put a permanent end to them. But they had been steadily creeping along their roots; she wouldn't have been able to flame all three in time, but now with them slowed down and crawling along with their branches, she might just manage it.
Still, they seemed to be in a no-win situation... for every tree she mutilated or burned, it seemed like three more took its place. The situation was hopeless, and she still didn't know where Spike was. Were the trees attacking him? Was he able to fight them off with his fire breath? Or was he still asleep, blissfully ignorant of all this?
She concentrated on taking out the next wave of trees coming in; they seemed to have some intelligence to them – they had learned to attack in single file, hiding behind each other so she could only blast one at a time... and this wave would be tough! She still couldn't see the end of their single file line this time, and she had already blasted five of them! Still they moved in, making steady progress despite continually losing the first in line.
“Twi! I don't think I can hold them!” Apollo's shout came from behind her... too close behind her. She risked a glance back and saw him already retreating back towards her as two lines of trees like the one she was dealing with advanced on him.
Using her – admittedly quite impressive – reserves of power recklessly now, she went into a flurry of activity, focusing on all three lines of advancing trees. She was managing to hold them back now... but just barely. A rhythmic whooshing sound began to fill the room as she spotted two more lines of trees beginning to move in. She knew she couldn't hold out much longer, even with Apollo blasting away right next to her, his dark blue magic sweeping from tree to tree, not taking out quite as many as Twilight, but still doing very well for himself. The whooshing sound built into a crescendo, and as Twilight whirled around to focus on yet another line of advancing trees, she was more than a little surprised to find a tall blue box in her way.
A now-familiar brown stallion opened the door of the box and hopped out, quickly followed by a certain grey and yellow pegasus mare. “Ah, hullo Prince Apollo, Princess Twilight!”
“NOT a good time!” Twilight shouted, turning to blast two more trees with a fire spell. “And I still don't like being called 'Princess'!”
“Ah, still the early first century then... good. It seems we got here on time. When we got your message we got here as quickly as we could!”
“Message?” Twilight asked, letting loose another devastating wave attack... it slowed them down, but now she had twice as many targets.
He looked over at the wall the two alicorns were being pressed towards. “Oh, I see, you haven't written it yet... You really should.”
Twilight took a short, but perilous, break from her fighting to turn her blasting spell onto the rock wall, focusing it down more to write a message calling for help and giving a date and time. “There!” She whirled back around to face her attackers, but instead of fighting again seemed lost in thought for a moment. “Wait... you wouldn't have come if we didn't write a message; we wouldn't have written a message if you didn't come...”
“Don't let it bother you. Like I say, time isn't the straight line you ponies seem to assume; it's more of a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey... stuff... so, you see, it doesn't really matter that–”
“TWI!” Apollo shouted, practically right in her ear. Shaking off her thoughts of time paradoxes for the moment, she quickly blasted the tree right in front of her, feeling a slight scratch on her cheek where one of the branches had gotten altogether too close. If only these trees could be dispelled by laughter as easily as the ones she had helped deal with before facing Nightmare Moon... but no, and she had tried it.
The trees were closing in now, despite their best efforts, The Doctor and Derpy getting pressed against the wall right along with them. “I think right now might be a very good time to go for a swim, don't you?” the odd earth pony asked, causing Twilight even more confusion. Here they were about to be... well... who knows what... by a bunch of very evil-looking trees, and he was wanting to go swimming? Of all the random... this colt was almost as bad as Pinkie had been; maybe it was an earth pony thing? Her well-studied mind didn't fail her though; as soon as she stopped thinking about the absurdity of it, it hit her... they were being attacked by plants... right next to a lagoon filled with salt water.
Her horn began to glow in a way much different from the incineration spell she had been relying on lately, quickly growing as the trees closed in for a final push. Their branches closed in on empty air though, as with a sparkling pop, the four ponies disappeared from the ruined temple and reappeared a short distance above the lagoon outside.
One pretty spectacular splash later, four soggy pony heads popped up out of the water. Twilight and The Doctor didn't seem very surprised, and Derpy only grew just a little more cross eyed, but Apollo came up sputtering in shock. “What happened?” He looked around at his new location, figuring it out himself. “Why'd you do that?”
His answer came all on its own though, as the trees that had been attacking them quickly lined the beach around them on all sides, stopping just at the highest point the waves reached. Like all land-based plants, being submerged in salt water for any length of time would be rather fatal, so for now, the ponies were safe.
“Okay, that was a little too close... Now would somepony tell me what in the hoof that was about?” Twilight paddled over to her new husband, sharing his confusion... in her experience, trees weren't usually quite so hostile.
She stopped for a moment though. “Wait... where's Spike?” She looked all over the shoreline, panicking a little before she saw Derpy's hoof pointing toward where the lagoon met the ocean. There she found the top of the dragon's head poking out above the waves and staring suspiciously at his own audience of trees lining the beach near him and looking very much like a giant purple crocodile. She was glad the dragon was on their side... the last thing she needed right now was a giant aquatic predator in the lagoon with them.
“Those trees,” The Doctor said, ignoring her search for the dragon, “are some of the, ah, visitors that I mentioned last time I was here?”
“Celestia's friends from another world?” Twilight asked.
“Well, sort of... only you see, this bunch isn't quite so friendly.”
“But what are they?” Twilight asked, eying the trees along the shore pensively.
“They're the Lud.” The earth pony said, treading water next to her. “They travel from planet to planet as a single tiny teleported spore... and then they feed on any magic they find to take root and grow and reproduce.” He stared at them a little quizzically. “but for there to be this many... the original spore must have found something really powerful... hm...” A few moments of silence passed as the four ponies bobbed up and down on the gentle waves. The night was nearly over, Apollo's moon almost down to the horizon again now. “Wait!” The Doctor shouted out suddenly, “Did you ever hear what happened to Celestia's and Luna's parents? The king and queen?”
“Huh?” Twilight asked, confused at the non-sequitur. “No, nopony knows.”
“The princesses knew. I was there when it happened, you know.” His voice grew a little reminiscent. “Something happened to those two... and the beautiful forest where they made their home began to be overrun by evil trees... They abandoned their home and fled, but it was too late for the king and queen. Their daughters were able to hold back the threat with their magic and my help... but just barely.”
“Their home?” Twilight thought for a moment, “You don't mean the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters?”
“'Ancient'? Is that what they call it these days?”
“Then the forest was...”
“Right,” he said, “Everfree.”
“And now the princesses' wards are gone, so they're out.”
“Right again,” he said, giving her a wink, “you are a smart one!”
“So all we have to do is put the wards back up, and everything's back to normal!” Her face lit up with glee; this would be simple!
“Well, no. Not really.” He looked saddened for a moment. “Now that they've broken free and devoured more magic, those simple wards won't hold them any more.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Apollo cut in, looking very much not sorry about it, “It's a shame our honeymoon was cut short and all, but how about we just get up on Spike and fly away? We can't stay swimming here forever.”
“Just one problem,” The Doctor answered. “They've got a taste of your magic now... and you've got a LOT of magic... They'll follow you wherever you go now.”
“Great, just great,” the blue alicorn grumbled as the sun began to rise. “So what do we do?”
“All the trees are linked,” The Doctor replied. “If the original two are destroyed, all the magic devoured by all the trees will come rushing back in to that spot... and all these trees will turn back into the ponies they used to be.”
Ponies... they used to be? Twilight began to feel sick. How many had she destroyed tonight? Hundreds? A thousand? She could barely concentrate on swimming... she felt suddenly empty inside.
“So let's get to it!” Apollo shouted, either not realizing or not caring what they had just done.
“Not so fast...” The Doctor placed a hoof on Apollo to keep him from rushing off. “Pony magic will only feed them... that's why they couldn't be destroyed back when they first appeared.” He looked over at Spike, still mostly submerged. “for that, we would need a big, non-magical source of fire...”
* * *
Twilight hovered far above the Everfree Forest, next to Apollo and Derpy Hooves, The Doctor – being the only wingless pony – clinging awkwardly to her back. Thankfully, an alicorn's boosted magic applied to their pegasus and earth pony magics as well, so she had no trouble flying with a passenger, despite her inexperience.
Spike was swooping down toward the target area, after they had spent hours flying around looking for the two original trees. She had wanted to go down with him, but The Doctor had insisted against it, saying that it was too risky; they couldn't allow the trees to get even more alicorns. He had even insisted that Spike's Phoenix stay behind, saying he wouldn't risk them even getting that much magic.
The big purple dragon dove down, steadily gaining speed yet surprisingly stealthy. Their plan hinged on the element of surprise, after all. With a crash of branches and a plume of dust, the dragon slammed into the ground in front of two huge and twisted trees. A gout of flame shout out from the dust, enveloping the trees and quickly burning them down... Spike was fully grown now, after all; his dragon fire would be incredibly hot. Twilight watched him with more than a little pride – that was her number one assistant scorching away those evil trees!
As the two trees burned down to nothing but withered stumps, twilight saw trees all over the forest begin to glow. As she watched, one of them suddenly turned into a pony... a bright pink pegasus, and that one's glow shot over to the stumps of the original two, making them glow... Quickly, the process accelerated, happening all over. Lights were streaming into Spike's still-raging inferno, causing the stumps of the trees inside to glow so brightly they were visible even through the intense green flames.
More and more lights shot into the flames until, finally, they began to slow down, coming only two or three at a time, then just one occasionally... Then none. That must have been the last of them! Looking down, Twilight could see lots of bewildered ponies scattered all throughout the forest, some of them wearing archaic forms of dress she had only read about... wow, some of them must have been imprisoned as trees for ages!
She looked back at Spike again with pride, knowing it was all thanks to him that these ponies were free at last. Suddenly though, the glow from the trees in the middle flashed even brighter, and somehow, Twilight was sure she heard the sound of a bell ringing. With that, they blossomed into a huge sphere of light, enveloping Spike, a few of the newly freed ponies, and a large chunk of the forest floor.
Slowly, the glow faded away to nothing, and as Twilight blinked the glare from her eyes, she saw it had been replaced by... nothing. Only a steaming, perfectly hemispherical crater remained... no forest floor, no ponies, and certainly no dragon. Her jaw dropped, her expression growing horrified. “Spike? ... Spike!”
“It was very brave of him,” The Doctor's voice came from her back.
“What!?!” She shouted the question, enraged. “You knew this would happen, didn't you?”
“I did... and so did he, once I told him.” The Doctor nodded sagely.
“How could you just let him die like that?” Twilight moaned, horror, anger and loss churning inside her. “How could you!”
He remained infuriatingly calm. “We had to make a choice... him or the world... and he made the right choice.”
“But... but...” Twilight felt lost for a moment. “But nopony asked me for MY choice! ... And now he's dead!”
“He isn't dead.” The Doctor said all too calmly, “That flash was the teleportation device the spores used to get here reversing itself. Him and anything else caught inside that circle are now safe and sound on the Lud home planet... A shame he wouldn't fit through the door on my tardis, but I guess I could take you to go visit him sometime...”
Twilight just stared at the crater down below... it was just another part of the world that had been... another link to her past ripped away. She ignored The Doctor's continuing speech, her eyes beginning to burn. She had gotten so little time to spend with him again... dragons lived so long... they could have lived through the ages together, but now he had been taken away so soon... Hovering in the air next to her, the phoenix Peewee gave a mournful cry.
Twilight looked around, spotting Derpy coming in with the last few ponies trailing behind her. They had now painstakingly collected all the ponies scattered throughout the forest; trees no longer, they were looking very bewildered as they gathered together in the circular clearing Twilight had created by filling in the crater. “Yes, I think those are the last ones,” she said, nodding at the incoming pegasus mare and her followers. Twilight, Apollo, and Derpy had flown all over the forest, finding the survivors and herding them here, where The Doctor would round them up and explain what happened, since none of them seemed to remember. “But what are we going to do with them now?”
“Why, take them back to your city, of course!” The brown earth pony replied flippantly, “It's been rather empty lately, right?”
“But... but they're so many, and they're...”
“They've lost a lot... just like you.” He put a hoof on her shoulder, “Don't worry, they'll fit in just fine after a while... Hm... I always wondered what had caused the big pony population recovery in the first century... I guess now I know!” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, now that that's taken care of, mind giving me and Derpy a lift back to my tardis?”
She looked over at Apollo, and he nodded back. He could handle things while they were gone. She gave him a 'be back soon' wink, gathered The Doctor and Derpy close to her, and disappeared with a flash.
* * *
The three ponies appeared in a tiny violet explosion back inside the room of the abandoned temple where they had met. The Doctor immediately went up to the door of his blue box, not wasting any time... but Twilight had other plans. “Wait!” she called out, “I've been wondering...”
“Hm?” He stepped back out, bumping into Derpy on her way in.
“If you have a time machine, why wouldn't you just go back in time and prevent all this?”
“All this?” He asked, not seeming to quite understand.
“The plague... the princesses... all of it!” She cried out, letting some of her emotion slip into her voice.
He sighed and shook his head. “Fixed point in history... sorry, I can't do a thing about it.”
“But... I could go back, I could warn myself about Pestilence! We could gather up the elements soon enough to defeat her way back when we first saw her!”
“Fixed. Point.” The earth pony tried to explain, hanging his head low. “If we try to change it, we tear a hole in the entire fabric of reality... and the whole universe falls apart.” He looked up at her. “And besides, you of all ponies should know what happens when you try to interfere with your own time stream.”
She looked at him quizzically, not understanding what he meant by that.
He grinned suggestively. “Time spells, Canterlot archives, Tuesday morning disaster...”
“Oh, that...” She looked away, blushing a little. “You knew about that?”
“Oh yes,” he said, nodding and smiling, “that little stunt created a nasty little time wave you know. Threw my tardis way off target and we ended up somewhere around the beginning of the universe. Derpy here sneezed, planting the first seeds of life in the universe on that barren planet...” He glanced wryly at the pegasus mare in the tardis's doorway, who just shrugged and looked a little wall-eyed. “but that's a story for another time.”
“And the other-world visitors you mentioned, will we be seeing more of them?”
Rolling his eyes, he grinned at her. “Hey, when you stumble on a star orbiting around a planet, it draws attention, okay? Especially when it defies a few of the more important laws of physics to slow down for a few hours at sunset! ... So yeah, you'll probably get more visitors... just remember, not all of them are like this – some of them are friendly.”
“I'll remember,” she promised. “And what about us? Me and Apollo?”
“What about you?”
“Why are there two alicorns of the night now? Why is it us two?” It had been bothering her for a while now... and she was finally with the pony who was probably the only one in the world who could tell her.
“Oh, Twilight...” He shrugged. “I don't know everything. I don't know how you two were chosen... I don't know why. But I do know that there are usually one day and two night alicorns. The past few thousand years have been a bit strange, what with Luna being both moon and star alicorn.”
He stepped back toward his box. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about twenty three thousand years late for a surprise birthday party, and I don't want to miss it... See you around!”
With that, he hopped into his box, Derpy following close behind, and shut the door. Twilight watched wistfully as it repeated the whooshing sound from earlier and slowly disappeared... only realizing too late that she had forgotten to ask to be taken to Spike for a visit as promised... and who knew when she would see The Doctor again... With a sigh, she teleported back to Apollo, disappearing with a purple flash. He would need her help getting all those ponies home safely.
Moments after she disappeared, a windowed blue box came whooshing back into existence. A brown pony's head popped out and said, “Oh, sorry, almost forgot... would you like to go visit your dragon first... we can put the party off for a few more...” He looked around, not seeing anypony and looking disappointed. “Hm... missed her...I could have swore I got the time just right... oh well.”
* * *
Twilight Sparkle reappeared in the middle of the circular clearing, quickly spotting Apollo nearby talking to a group of ponies. Before she could approach him though, a group of ponies came up to her. “Your highness,” one of them said, and Twilight winced as the whole group bowed down low in front of her. It was the same pink pegasus she had noticed earlier, now close enough to see her purple eyes – nearly the color of Twilight's own – and the purple highlights in her wavy mane. Unsure of what to do, Twilight just nodded to them, as regally as she could manage... it seemed to satisfy them, as they took it as permission to rise back to their feet. “We owest thou a great debt, my princess,” the pegasus continued, “Thou hast freed us from the clutches of evil.”
Looking over at Apollo pleadingly for a moment, she turned back to the ponies in front of her. “Um... you're welcome?”
“We were the personal servants of Queen Shadow, and we wouldst be honored if we may now be permitted to enter thine service.”
“Wait... you mean like servants... like palace servants?” Twilight asked as Apollo trotted up to her, caught a little off-guard.
The pink pony in front of her made another short bow. “Verily.”
“But... but I couldn't... there's no... I wouldn't...” Twilight was having a little trouble putting her objections into words.
“Just be gracious and accept it,” Apollo said, now beside her, “Another group already came up to me, and they were very insistent... wouldn't take no for an answer, really.”
“But I...” She looked down at the pegasus, still prostrated in front of her, but now looking up at her with a pained expression. Twilight sighed a little. “Okay, fine.”
The mare stood back up straight and brightened immediately upon hearing that. “We await thine every command!” She said with surprising eagerness, as the group of ponies who had been in front of her now dispersed all around her, somehow managing to look inconspicuous and blend in even though there was nothing for them to hide behind... They really were good at their job, weren't they? She spotted the pink pegasus mare again, now noticing the pillow cutie mark and marveling at how this pony must be thousands of years old now... if one counted her time as a tree. The last pony she had heard speak like that was... well, Luna... but these ponies had been out of society even longer than her! She realized suddenly that she hadn't even gotten the pony's name...
“I know the feeling,” Apollo's voice came from next to her, “It's weird talking to living relics from the past, isn't it?” She nodded in definite agreement, promising herself she would make a point of learning her new servants' names... if she couldn't manage to interest them in another line of work. “But they're not all relics...” he continued.
“Huh?” She prodded him on.
“Well, I happened to meet one who was very excited when she heard about Princess Twilight Sparkle...” His gaze wandered over to the side, playing coy.
“Who!?!” Twilight startled him by grabbing his shoulders and shaking him... She wouldn't admit it to herself, but losing Spike had left her with a hole in her heart... one that could only be filled by some tangible link to the past she still yearned for.
He nodded to an earth pony stallion who had been following at his side... was this one of his new servants? The pony quickly disappeared, zipping away in a blur, only to return a moment later with another earth pony... a fuchsia mare who Twilight recognized instantly.
“Twilight!” Cheerilee shouted, running up and giving the shocked alicorn a hug. She caught a glimpse of one of her new servants standing against the crowd and looking positively scandalized about how her new princess was being treated so informally.
“Cheerilee!” Twilight stuttered back, “But... but how?”
The schoolteacher broke from the hug, sitting down next to Twilight. “Well, after the fire in Ponyville, I heard Spike went wandering off into Everfree, so I went to look for him... but then these trees showed up, and I couldn't get away... I don't really remember much after they caught me...” She looked down, a little depressed, maybe? “But then I woke up in a completely different part of the forest, and I was lost for a little while, but then Derpy found me, you know, the mailmare?” Twilight nodded, knowing now that somehow Derpy was so much more than just a mailmare. “Well, she led me here, and then this prince of yours started talking about 'Princess Twilight' and I got excited to see my old friend again.”
“You can't imagine how glad I am to see you, too,” Twilight added in. She had just lost one old friend. She didn't want to think in terms of replacements... but it did make her feel much better to still have a link to her past with her.
“And haven't you grown!” Cheerilee poked her a little on her wing. “And how are you being called a princess now... doesn't Celestia have a little bit of a problem with that... or...” The earth pony's face lit up. “Did you marry a prince!?!”
“Well, actually...” Twilight pulled Apollo in for a quick surprise smooch. “I did! ...” Her face fell after that though. “But you haven't heard about the princesses?”
“No, what about them?” Cheerilee asked, still only looking happy for her friend. The two hadn't been as close as her other friends back in Ponyville, but being the two most learned ponies in town, they had spent a lot of time together.
Twilight Sparkle sighed and hung her head low. Explaining what had happened while Cheerilee was a tree was going to be difficult. “It's... a long story... Let's get these ponies moving, then I'll tell you on the way, okay?”
She nodded cheerfully and began helping Twilight and Apollo organize the huge group of ponies into something resembling a caravan. It was going to be a long trip home...
Princess Twilight Sparkle walked away through the castle gardens with a few of her friends: Cheerilee, Sunny Daze, and her husband of years now, Hair Trigger. “I still can't really believe it.” She said thoughtfully.
“I know,” Trigger replied, “He was just always there... and it seemed like he always would be.” Even Trigger was showing his age, having grown a little bit of a paunch and gained a few wrinkles... but his senses and his mind were just as sharp as ever... that was the important part.
Twilight hadn't aged a day of course, besides having grown to full alicorn stature. Neither had Sunny. “If there's one thing I've learned, it's that things change,” Sunny said... admittedly, she had grown more, well... regal over the years, losing her foalish exuberance, but gaining a calm, but still cheerful demeanor... As much as Twilight might hate to admit it, Sunny began to remind her of Celestia more and more. Again, she wondered just how much of the old princess's essence had been held within the sun itself...
Cheerilee was creaking along with them still, but slowly beginning to fall behind. “Do you think you could do an old lady a favor and take a rest for a moment?” She asked, making Twilight cringe in chagrin again... she had overexerted the aging mare again... she kept forgetting that Cheerilee wasn't as young as when they first met anymore, despite a few non-aging years spent as a tree. Even back in Ponyville, she had been middle-aged, of course, and now her age was truly starting to show.
“Summer Bell?” Twilight called out, the servant pony appearing in front of her instantly, “Do you think you could bring some seating cushions out please?” Twilight smiled as her eager new head servant zipped away on the errand. She was the daughter of the pegasus mare she had rescued from the trees, and had now taken over as head servant when her mother was getting too old to keep up... and she seemed to like the job as much as her mother had. Summer was back with the cushions before Twilight had hardly even begun wondering if this was how Celestia had felt, watching all her closest servants... and her closest friends... come and go. “Thank you my dear,” Twilight was sure to say before the pony disappeared again... how did they manage to disappear all the time, yet stay close enough to hear any request?
Twilight helped her aging friend onto one of the cushions before taking one herself. They were in a small circular clearing in the new castle gardens. They had been Cheerilee's idea in the first place, anyway... All the ponies who had settled in the castle courtyards had been moved out – and compensated handsomely for the inconvenience of course – making room for an intricate and compact system of decorative and functional gardens within the walls... a private hideaway for anypony allowed inside what some ponies were already starting to call a palace rather than a fortress. The coat of white paint over all the old stones didn't hurt, she supposed.
Looking in the right direction, she could just make out the tops of the Las Pegasus towers over the inner wall... Between the freed slaves, the rescued ex-trees and the ponies' own inclination to repopulate, Las Pegasus had become a bustling metropolis again. Even from this distance, she could make out the shapes of a few airships moving around the upper levels of the city. The city itself was in good repair now, no longer falling apart at the seams now that they had enough pegasi here to take care of it; even the weather was back under control now, at least in their little corner of Equestria.
Las Pegasus was now the de facto capital of Equestria, once again united under one rule and – almost – as expansive as it had once been. The lands to the southeast still remained largely lost, either reclaimed by the buffalo or simply abandoned... but it didn't bother Twilight much... She knew that given time ponies would expand back into them... maybe a hundred years, maybe a thousand... but some day. For now, even most cities in the heart of Equestria were still ghost towns, including and especially the old capitol. It would be some time before ponies even meaningfully reclaimed towns like Hoofington or Trottingham, much less anything towards the borders like Stalliongrad or Dodge Junction. Why, even now they had just barely progressed to making their own food and goods again rather than salvaging from –
“Princess?”
“Huh?” Twilight said, only barely regretting having responded to the title of 'princess' yet again.
Cheerilee smiled at her. “It's nothing, Trigger here was just asking if we'd like to move over to the dining hall... it's getting late and a youngster like him must be getting hungry.” Trigger just rolled his eyes irritably at the joke... he was by no means a youngster anymore, but here surrounded by elderly and immortals, he might as well be. Sunny Daze scooped him up into a hug, which seemed to make him fell better anyway.
Twilight nodded, rising and heading down the path towards the fortress's entrance, sparkling mane and tail billowing behind her. Looking back, she could see the now-rested Cheerilee following along with her, keeping up with Sunny and Trigger more easily now... and further behind, the seating cushions were already gone from where they had rested, left without a trace. How did those servant ponies do that? Shaking her head and walking on, she noticed it was getting late. Apollo would be up in the dining hall waiting for her.
* * *
Apollo pushed around the food on his plate listlessly with a magically levitated fork. His mind was far away, certainly not focused on the food, no matter how skilled the new 'palace chefs' were. He had known this day would come sometime, but he still didn't enjoy presiding over the funeral of his old friend, Quartermaster.
He sighed and rolled a piece of carrot to the other side of the plate yet again. Being immortal was hard. He knew someday he would go through this with every member of his crew... how could he possibly handle that? What would he do when the last of them were gone?
Rolling the carrot back to its original place, he propped his chin up with a hoof and stared listlessly at it. Quartermaster had been his very first crew member, and though he would never have admitted it before now, the old earth pony had done a lot of the work of raising him... he had be awfully young and naïve when he first set out, after all... and now the old pony was gone, taking his wisdom and his old stories with him.
The doors to the dining hall opened, the other two alicorns walking in along with a couple of their friends... just seeing them lifted his spirits a little. He could make it through this... he had to go on... and with these ponies at his side, he was sure he could. His wife just sat next to him and wrapped a hoof around him, thankfully seeming to sense his dark mood and not trying to interrupt with light conversation. He leaned against her, wrapping a hoof around her in turn. Other ponies might come and go, but at least Twilight would always be there.
Twilight eyed the monument in front of her, glad that her persistence with the craftsmen had paid off, getting it done just in time for the fiftieth annual Princess Day, even if she had been forced to be sterner than she liked with them. Still, there it was, marble gleaming in the sun of the courtyard... and even if Celestia looked suspiciously like Sunny Daze, and Luna looked suspiciously like Twilight, it was still the thought that counted, right? She could hardly blame the sculptors; they had never seen the two princesses after all. What was important was that they would be remembered.
Seeing even this crude image of days gone by moved her into a wistful mood, remembering fondly her times with the princesses... both of them, even if she longed for Celestia rather more. She had even taken up the habit of writing friendship reports again, still addressing them to her mentor even though she had no way to send them anymore. Maybe she could still read them, wherever she was?
Still, even if she continued to write friendship reports, she found herself with less and less friendship to report about... the curse of being immortal, of course, coupled with the curse of being royal. One couldn't make friends with ponies who only groveled and refused to call one anything other than 'your highness'. She made a distasteful face at the very thought of that title. The elderly Cheerilee was still with her, along with Sunny and Apollo of course. Even most of Apollo's crew, except for Quartermaster, of course... when they were in town anyway. With Apollo now busy being a prince, Albatross was leading the crew, once again brazenly heading off to exploration and adventure... they didn't come back often, nor stay long when they did... leaving Twilight even more lonely.
The gardens didn't help much either... a chirping bird passing by reminded her of a certain yellow pegasus... the fruit tree it landed in reminding her of Applejack. She couldn't look at the clouds in the sky without thoughts of a brash prismatic pegasus, and when a couple of the rapidly-forming noble class walked by on a nearby path, she couldn't help but notice that their fancy dresses reminded her of a certain unicorn, or that their laughter reminded her of a particularly bubbly pink earth pony... not to even get her started on the idea of family. Apollo was all she had now, since despite their best efforts, it seemed that alicorns couldn't reproduce... and she had never even learned what happened to her parents or her brother... but in all likelihood, they shared the same fate as most of the other residents of Canterlot... something she didn't really want to think about, not even in her current dark and wistful mood.
Why did they still linger in her thoughts? Why couldn't she move on? With a growl of frustration she teleported away from the garden and the memories it contained, reappearing in her private suite... Of course it didn't help though. She would find reminders of what was lost anywhere... and especially here. Her eyes were drawn, almost against their will, to a photo frame next to her bed – inside it was the only picture of her five friends that anypony had been able to find, all of them gathered up into a group hug for the photo.
She flopped down on the bed dejectedly. She was glad there was a Princess Day, glad that the regular ponies all over would be remembering the loss of Celestia and Luna... but in a way, it was the worst day of the year for her: the day of the year when her memories tended to pain her the worst. She rolled over in the bed, less comfortable now, but staring at the old photo, already starting to yellow around the edges. Idly, she wondered if she should commission some artwork based off it... something that would last longer...
Without warning, Apollo walked through the door into the room. Prince Apollo, Twilight thought with a roll of her eyes.
For his own part, she just heard a heavy sigh from him... Even though he made no move to say so, she could tell that he was disappointed to find her brooding yet again. “You know, you really should go out and join in the festivities,” he said, trying to sound casual... but Twilight knew it was followed by the unspoken “(instead of lying here and turning sour.)”
The gears of her mind slowly clicked back to life... “Festivities?” She floppily rolled over, facing him. “What kind of festivities?”
He just smiled. “Go and see for yourself... It'll be good for you.”
She rolled her eyes, but got up out of the bed just the same, walking to the door. They gave each other a quick peck on the cheek as they passed... something that had become customary for them ever since their first major fight... over bedsheet colors of all things. Of course, it hadn't really been about the color of anything... but that was all behind them now, and their marriage was stronger for having been through it.
* * *
Twilight strolled along the road between the fortress and Las Pegasus, now a real road, well paved and lined with buildings on each side, rather than the disused path it had once been. She couldn't help but notice many of the bright decorations lining the streets... she couldn't fault the local ponies for that, even if the alicorns depicted in decorations often resembled Sunny, Twilight, or Apollo... after all, they were the only ones this new generation of ponies really knew... so of course their ideas of the old princesses would be based on the current ones. Again, it was the thought that counted, right?
...And not just the decorations; ponies were out in droves to celebrate the day... why, she hadn't seen the streets this packed in a long time... yet nopony blocked her path; they all just stayed off to the edges, watching her pass by. The royal treatment, she assumed with a sigh... sometimes she really missed being treated just like a normal pony. She thought about just flying or teleporting to the city, so she wouldn't have to deal with it... but this street was as much a part of the city as any now, and the heart of the city would probably behave the same way, so she might as well observe what she could of the Princess Day celebrations here while she was on her way.
She had already given up on participating in any celebrations. She knew full well that the ponies around her would go to such lengths giving her what they thought she wanted that they would prevent her from getting what she really wanted... to live like a normal pony again.
Something was tugging on the edges of her awareness though... something strange. The crowded edges of the street were becoming even more so... to the point where the street was nearly fully lined with ponies now... all of them looking at her... and celebrating? They were exuberant... but she thought it looked more like cheering... and where had they all come from? There was no way this many ponies lived along this road...
Walking further on, the streets became fully lined, now several lines of ponies deep, adult ponies letting foals climb on their backs to get a good view... and suddenly Twilight realized what this reminded her of... why hadn't she realized it earlier? By simply deciding to walk to town, she had started her own one-pony parade! Word of it must have spread on the wings of pegasi, and ponies had come out from all over to watch a princess simply walk into town...
Hanging her head low in exasperation, Twilight continued on, barely noticing the cheering shouts and Princess Day flags at her sides... Sometimes being royalty could be such a bother.
* * *
Twilight approached the city's central park with lined streets next to her and a huge throng of cheering ponies following her. Finally catching sight of Sunny Daze in the park ahead, she picked up her pace. It would be comforting to talk to somepony not inclined to cheer for her.
Sunny met her halfway into the park with a hug. “You sure do know how to make an entrance, Princess Twilight!” Twilight cringed a little at hearing the formal title from the mouth of her longtime friend, but she had agreed that it was best they didn't use their nicknames for each other in public... They had appearances to keep up these days, after all.
“So how's the celebration going?” Twilight asked her, ready to get down to business.
Sunny brightened even more. “Well, most ponies have finished with their gift-giving... they like to do that in the morning, usually.” Gift-giving? Twilight wondered... a little tasteless as part of a remembrance for fallen heroes, that was a new development for her, but she supposed she could get used to it... “And now they're all gathering in the central park for the speech before they all break off for feasting and dancing and all that.”
Wow... Princess Day had really changed since the last time she had paid much attention to it... Inside, she was grateful to Sunny, having kept up with the customs while Twilight was customarily wallowing in depression on this day every year.
“And I'm really glad you came this time!” Sunny continued, “This is the fiftieth, so it's special... and now we have two princesses here for the speech, so it's extra special!” She looked thoughtful, then like she had an idea. “Ooh, are you going to give a speech too? 'Cause that would be so awesome!”
“No, no... I don't have anything prepared,” Twilight declined. She hadn't expected to be invited to, well, participate quite so easily.
“Oh... okay then.” Sunny seemed to shrug it off. “Anyway, the park's almost full, so I better get my speech started, huh? ... Come on! You can at least stand up there with me!”
Twilight followed Sunny up to a podium set in the middle of Las Pegasus's spacious central park, which by design or fortuitous accident was shaped rather bowl-like, giving everypony an excellent view of the stage at the center.
Sunny quickly proceeded to a lectern placed front and center on the podium, raising a hoof to quiet the cheering and applause from the audience. Twilight was glad to see that the technological level of her little ponies hadn't fallen too much due to the disaster, or at least it had recovered nicely already. Sunny was using a little microphone to boost her voice out to the crowd, not using the alicorn ability for royal Canterlot voice, as Twilight feared she would have to.
“Hello my little ponies!” Sunny cried out into the microphone, to a response of thunderous applause, drowning out even the powerful speakers. She held on, waiting for it to die down before moving to her next line. “Welcome to the fiftieth princess day celebrations!”
As the applause roared up again, Twilight quickly lost interest in the speech. It was obvious that it was going to take forever at this rate, having to wait for the applause at the end of every line... She looked out over the crowd, noticing their signs and flags... she read them absently... a picture of a purple alicorn, with 'Twilight Sparkle' under it, another one next to it, a more masculine light blue one with a grey mane... she couldn't read that one, but she could guess who it was for... She rolled her eyes... those ponies were celebrating the entirely wrong princesses... her eyes fell on another banner, this one honoring... Sunny Daze?
Perking up a little, she examined the crowd more closely... their flags and decorations didn't just resemble the current royalty... they were the current royalty! In all the crowd, she only spotted a hoof-full of ponies celebrating Celestia, and only a sad one with anything about Luna. How could it be? How could they?
Twilight walked up to the lectern, full of righteous indignation. “Princess Sunny Daze?” She asked, interrupting the speech... probably very rudely so. “I think I have something to say after all.”
Noticing Twilight's infuriated demeanor, Sunny gave up the podium with only an odd look in her direction, not wanting to start a fight between royalty right here in front of so many onlookers. “Oh... um... of course,” she said softly.
Twilight waited for the applause to die down. It had started in fitful confusion as Sunny Daze had stepped away mid-speech, but had quickly grown once the ponies saw Twilight Sparkle taking center stage. As soon as it was quiet again, Twilight began. “This is wrong!” she shouted in the microphone, not waiting for the applause – which was a good thing, since precious little came in return. “This is NOT about me, NOT about Princess Sunny Daze and NOT about Price Apollo Dawn!” She shouted again, quickly following it up. “Princess Day is about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! They gave their lives for their ponies, and they died for their ponies! This day is the fifty-first anniversary of the very day they died, trying to save us all, and I will NOT see this day sullied! This day is nopony except Celestia and Luna!” Silence filled the park, save for one or two scattered hoofbeats of applause.
Down below her, in one of the front rows, a cute little red filly with light blue hair spoke up, easily audible in the stunned silence. Her honest question was simple, yet it completely devastated Twilight: “Who?”
Twilight slumped, her face hitting the lectern and leaning all her weight against it, half expecting it to break under her and collapse as her hopes just had. She felt utterly drained, and totally defeated. What could one pony, even a princess and an alicorn, do against the force of ignorance? She looked up at the audience glumly, seeing the same question on many of their faces... and she just gave up. Her friends were gone, her family was gone, her princesses were gone... and now even their memory was gone.
“Twilight...” Sunny approached her, about to put a comforting hoof over her shoulder.
She shrugged off the yellow hoof, not wanting to be comforted. With an anguished little cry and a violet flash, she disappeared from the stage, leaving behind a concerned and worried yellow alicorn and a whole crowd of ponies now inexplicably drained of their enthusiasm.
Twilight Sparkle glided through the pre-dawn sky, skirting a thin layer of clouds below and watching her namesake last few stars of the night slowly disappear – disappearing at her command, of course. She had even experimented with daytime stars, but in the end decided that they looked much better with a dark background to be set against.
And anyway, now she was just enjoying the sensations of flying: the wind rushing through her mane, the buffeting of air in her wings, and the positively delicious feeling of being totally in-tune with the sky around her... her responding to it and it responding to her, all nearly automatically, like they were both just parts of each other... she could definitely see why Rainbow had liked it so much.
With that, she quickly lost her euphoria, remembering the purpose of this flight. It was the three hundred and twenty-ninth Princess Day celebration, and as her habit had become over the last century or two, she preferred to spend it away from Las Pegasus, away from all the forgetful ponies who thought it was a celebration about her, away from all the joy and shouting that so clashed with her mood on these days.
She would spend the time in the ashes of Ponyville and the ruins of Canterlot, remembering the true reason for the holiday, even if nopony else ever did... She felt it was important for somepony to remember the princesses... and her friends... as something more than just dry passages in a history book.
She banked down towards New Ponyville; even though the new town was built on the foundations of the old, she didn't begrudge them... After all, they were just trying to make their way in the world, just like anypony else... and in a way, a vibrant and growing little town was a far better tribute to Ponyville's memory than a sad pile of ashes could ever be.
Landing in the town square, she was greeted by a small group of ponies, who quickly bowed, and more than a few Princess Day decorations. Almost automatically motioning for the ponies to rise and go back about their business, she looked around at the décor. There wasn't quite as much here as there would be in Las Pegasus... some ponies traveled across all of Equestria to celebrate Princess Day in the capital, after all. What warmed her heart though, was that the decorations that were up were largely depicting a white alicorn with colorful mane, and a dark blue one with sparkles in her mane. Thanks to her frequent visits and speeches on this day every year since before the town was even founded, this town remembered what Princess Day was really about, even if no others did.
She was able to wander the streets almost entirely unencumbered by the local ponies – after decades of visiting this town every Princess Day, the locals all knew her preference for being alone with her thoughts... on this day at least. I really should visit on some other day sometime, and actually talk to them... Twilight thought idly. It wouldn't do for them to think she was always this way.
Turning a corner, she noticed a Rainbowbolts poster, advertising their air show in Las Pegasus for today. She smiled for a moment, wondering how Rainbow would feel knowing that the greatest aerial team in all of Equestria was now named after her. The poor pegasus had never gotten the chance to live her dream of being on such a team, but in a way, the name Twilight had given them made Rainbow a part of the team anyway. From what she had heard, one of the new generation of flyers on the team had even managed to repeat Rainbow Dash's stunt of a sonic rainboom.
Before long – just like every time she visited – without any conscious decision to do so, she found herself on the path towards the old Sweet Apple Acres. It had become her morose routine to come each year, wander Ponyville for a while, inevitably end up on a certain hill in Sweet Apple Acres, and then after some time there flit up to and... well... mope around the ruins of Canterlot for a while, always being sure to return well after dark when Las Pegasus's Princess Day celebrations would finally be over. Nopony would be trying to visit the night court after a long day of partying after all... and even if some did, Apollo could handle them on his own just this once.
Now well out of the (now much smaller) town of New Ponyville, Twilight lifted her attention away from the path immediately below her feet. The sight of those acres of apple trees, now growing wild, always managed to cheer her up a little: they were the Apple family's legacy, the proud result of hundreds of years of Apple family work, and the wild apple trees growing there would stand for centuries more, a testament to her old friends. Those apple trees were more than just trees, they were – they... they were GONE!
Twilight stood, frozen in shock at the scene in front of her. Rows and rows of furrowed fields stood in front of her, neatly fenced in and growing the beginnings of what looked very much like carrots and tomatoes. The trees though... the trees were all gone!
“Well howdy there, Princess!” A reddish mare with white mane, a carrot on her flank, freckles on her face, and a frayed straw hat on her head came trotting up to Twilight before making a quick bow. “Welcome to mah humble farm!” The pony said, rising.
“The... the apple trees!” Twilight managed to get out, though still mostly frozen in shock.
“Oh them? Shore was a lot a' hard work clearin out all them, but with mah brothers we got it done!” The farm pony tilted her head off toward a distant field, where Twilight could just barely make out two large stallions pulling a huge plow in tandem.
Twilight could still hardly move... this went against everything she wanted. Her eyes remained stuck on the two stallions plowing the field in the distance... when something horrible occurred to her... the tilled fields all around her, the ground all torn up... The grave site!
Suddenly no longer paralyzed with shock, Twilight was running toward the old hilltop. If these ponies had plowed right over it... if they had desecrated her last memories... She would – what would she do? – No time for planning that now! ...but she knew it wouldn't bode well for the vegetable farmer running behind her and struggling to keep up.
* * *
Twilight heard the farmer's hoofsteps and winded breathing as she finally caught up. She had been sitting and brooding, staring at the graves, mercifully untouched, but now surrounded by a sad remnant of only five apple trees. She could feel the tension building in the muscles along her back as the earth pony approached. That was the one! Her and ponies like her were the problem... the enemy. They didn't care about anything! They didn't care about what came before them, they didn't care about how things were supposed to be!
As the concerned farmer approached, Princess Twilight Sparkle whirled around, rising to hover just above the ground on her wings, horn and eyes glowing brightly. An intense wind picked up, whipping the dust along the ground as storm clouds quickly gathered to swirl around the hilltop and fill the morning sky. “YOU WERE WISE TO LEAVE THIS PLACE UNMOLESTED!” She boomed out in what only she would recognize as the royal Canterlot voice, thunder and lightning from the clouds above accentuating her every point. “THUS, YOUR LIFE WILL BE SPARED!” The earth pony was frozen at her feet, jaw dropped in shock and terror. “BUT YOU HAVE DESTROYED SOMETHING PRECIOUS AND YOUR FARM IS NOW FORFIET!” She allowed even more venom to seep into her voice, even more disapproving rage to show on her face, “YOU AND YOUR FAMILY WILL LEAVE THIS LAND AT ONCE, AND NEVER RETURN!”
Twilight's found herself enjoying the look of loss and horror on the pony's face: it mirrored her own feelings on seeing the trees gone. Good. Now that this farmer was taken care of, she would have to go back to New Ponyville. Those two-faced ponies had allowed this to happen right in front of them, they deserved to–
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Twin voices from above accompanied by the light of a high-powered teleportation spell. Suddenly, Twilight's horn stopped glowing, the storm clouds above stopped roiling and quickly dissipated.
Twilight looked up, eyes still glowing and even more enraged now. What force in the world could neutralize her magic? The most powerful magical being in all Equestria! Who would dare? There! ... There above her were... Sunny Daze and Apollo Dawn?
The light faded from Twilight's eyes and she slowly fell back to the ground under the gaze of her only two remaining friends. “Wha... how did you?” She managed to get out.
“Your little lighting and thunder stunt was visible all the way from Las Pegasus,” Apollo pointed out to her.
“Twilight, what are you doing?” Sunny Daze asked her.
Getting a little back into the spirit of things, Twilight pointed at the still-prostrate farmer. “This... this thing tore up all the apple trees in this whole place! Those were the last legacy of my friend, they were the only–”
Getting a look from Apollo, Twilight skipped right to the point, “And for her crime, she and her family shall no longer be allowed to farm this land. It isn't theirs and they obviously don't care about it!”
“Twilight...” Sunny began to say.
“No! It's final!” Twilight cut her off. She wouldn't budge on this – it was too important.
“Twilight!” Apollo shouted at her, “Remember your friend, Applejack! How would she feel about this?”
“About having her legacy ripped out of the ground and burned away like so much trash? About –”
“No!” Twilight was interrupted by Apollo's magic forcibly grabbing her head and wrenching her around to look at the earth pony she had been yelling at, who was now just quietly sobbing into the dust. “How would Applejack feel about having her farm taken away for something she didn't know about, something she didn't understand?”
Suddenly, Twilight saw the pony... actually saw her. And with her frayed straw hat and freckles, it really wasn't hard to see her old friend Applejack in the same position, tears running down her face after unexpectedly and inexplicably losing what she loved most... and suddenly, the pony was no longer just an object, no longer the enemy: she was just sad and scared.
Tears welling up in her own eyes, Twilight rushed forward, trying to comfort the mare. She scooped the surprised pony up into a tight hug, saying over and over again, “I'm so sorry!” She set the now rather confused earth pony back on the ground, using her magic to lift the straw hat back onto her head. “I was wrong... and I take it back. You keep your farm.”
Still looking confused, but now rather relieved, the pony wiped some of the dusty tear streaks out of her eyes, “Ah... Ah don't know what ta say...” She surprised Twilight with another tight hug. “Thank Y'all,” she said, before dropping back to the ground and running off towards a farmhouse in the distance.
“It wasn't really about the trees, was it?” Apollo asked her, coming up beside Twilight.
Twilight looked back at him, her face finally unguarded, letting her sorrow, loss, confusion, and even fear show through. “This world... It's so different now... everything I wanted, everything I knew is gone... I just want it back the way it was!” Her eyes began to tear up again, this time in frustration. “Why does everything have to be taken away?”
Apollo nodded to Sunny Daze, who quickly teleported away... as the most popular princess, she had important duties on Princess Day after all... she would need to get back to them. “Come fly with me?” he asked.
Twilight wasn't sure what he was up to, but she no longer felt in any mood to resist, and she followed him up into the air, quickly angling off towards New Ponyville.
The two royal ponies flew low over the town, Apollo pointing to foals running and playing here, a group of old ponies reminiscing on a front porch there, a young mare blushing after getting a kiss from her special somepony there... before finally leading her to land on a small cloud above the town.
“It's different, I know,” Apollo said to her, “But our little ponies still live and laugh and love... and it's never going to be the same again.” She turned to him sharply at that. “but even if it's not the same, it's still good!” He looked her in the eyes. “I lost almost everypony to the past... all my friends, all my crew, everypony.” He looked down for a moment before looking back up at her even more desperately. “I can't afford to lose you to the past, too!”
Her sharp expression melted away as she looked back at him... and without warning, jumped on top of him for a fierce hug and a deep kiss. The two stayed that way for a few moments, hidden from the ponies below by the cloud, before Twilight finally relented and rose up again.
“Ready to go?” Apollo asked her, offering up a hoof and spreading his wings.
She knew that there was a lot more meaning there than what showed on the surface... He wasn't just inviting her back to the castle. He was asking if she was ready to let go, if she was ready to embrace the new world instead of being stuck in the old. It wouldn't be easy. The old order of things, the way everything used to be... that connected her in a way. It connected her to her lost friends. She looked up at Apollo and smiled weakly. With her new friends though, maybe she could manage to move on. Finally, she realized, she really was ready to let go.
