Prologue: Vinyl's surprise (rewritten)

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“Are you sure you’ve packed everything you’ll need, Vinyl dear?” a woman with a fancy styled blonde-orangish hair asked with worry as she was about check the closed travel bags. Again.

“Aunt Orange, I appreciate that you’ve come to help me get my bags ready. I really do!” her niece, a young woman with a pale skin, short, messy, dark blue hair with cyan streaks in it replied, rolling her ruby red eyes in annoyance. “But, if you dare open that bag one more time, I’m gonna ask you to leave!”

“Do you see how she talks to me?” Aunt Orange asked her husband, a tall man with a short, well groomed, green hair in an incredulous tone. “Granny Smith was right, we should have made her come live with us during her school years instead of letting her stay in that overly expensive and superfluous dorm!”

“Don’t ask me to take sides, honey,” Uncle Orange said casually, raising his hands with a shrug. “I’m fine where I’m standing, and that’s leaning against the wall,” he added while leaning his back against the wall.

“I like your uncle, Vinyl,” Vinyl’s roommate, a girl with long, deep blue hair with a pearl white highlight, commented with a chuckle. “He’s a funny one!”

“Auntie, for the last time, the dorm wasn’t expensive, nor superfluous!” an exasperate Vinyl said, ignoring her roommate’s comment. “You and Uncle live on the other side of town, I wasn’t going to take a two hour carriage ride everyday to get to school, was I? And, the dorm fee was included in my scholarship!”

“Lucky you, because my parents sure complain about the dorm fee!” her roommate muttered sourly.

“Don’t you have your own bags to take care off, Colgate?” Vinyl asked her roommate in annoyance.

“Yes, but watching you doing yours with your aunt is way more fun!” Colgate replied with a small grin. “And, she’s just emptying your bag again!”

“AUNTIE!” Vinyl growled angrily as she faced back her aunt, who had just pulled out everything out of her niece’s travel bag. “I told you to stop checking my bags!”

“We have to make sure you don’t forget anything!” Aunt Orange stated firmly. “You don’t want to miss something important, do you?”

“Yeah, the train that’s supposed to take me back to Ponyville!” Vinyl replied loudly.

“I still have trouble believing that you of all people were a farm-girl from Ponyville,” Colgate commented in a pensive tone. “I’ve known it for three years, and I still don’t believe it!”

“I’m still a farm-girl from Ponyville, you wannabe dentist!” Vinyl jabbed her roommate's shoulder playfully.

“I don’t want to become a dentist!” Colgate shouted angrily. “I didn’t spend three years in magical engineering for that! And dentists scare the shit out of me!”

“Your collection of mouthwashes, toothpastes, and toothbrushes seem to tell otherwise.” Vinyl smirked as she pushed her aunt away from her clothes to put them back in her bag. “And, mind your language in front of my family!”

“I keep my teeth spotless so that I never have to go to the fucking dentist!” Colgate argued firmly, before giving a sheepish glance toward Aunt Orange. “Sorry for my crude vocabulary, madam.”

“It’s nothing, dear,” Aunt Orange assured. “You should hear what my husband says whenever he sees a pidgeon.”

“Birds freak me out!” Uncle Orange explained loudly. “They have no arms for crying out loud!”

The three women in the room looked at him with a raised eyebrow before Vinyl used her light blue magic to pour her remaining clothes in her last bag. When that was done, she closed her travel bag and put her backpack on.

“Okay! Now, I’m ready to go!” Vinyl said happily while picking up her purple shades from her soon-to-be former nightstand.

“Well dear, make yourself useful!” Aunt Orange ordered firmly before her husband sighed and picked up the two largest of Vinyl’s three travel bags. “We’ll wait for you downstairs dear,” she added to her niece before grabbing the smallest bag and leaving the room with her husband.

“So, this is it,” Colgate said slowly, standing up from her bed. “Vinyl Almata Apple is leaving the Royal University of Manehatten!” she added in a pinch of sadness.

“Hey, now don’t get all sappy on me,” Vinyl said softly. “It’s not like we’ll never hear from each other again.”

“Yeah, I know,” Colgate rubbed her arm while looking everywhere but at her roommate. “Still gonna be weird to have another roommate after you,” she said slowly.

“He or she probably won’t wake you up at the crack of dawn. That’s a plus compared to me, don’t you think?” Vinyl asked with a chuckle.

“I guess,” Colgate chuckled back. “I sure hope they’ll cook as good as you,” she added with a wink.

“Who knows, maybe you’ll even forget about me if he’s an awesome roommate,” Vinyl supposed with a shrug.

“I don’t think anyone can forget you, Vinyl,” Colgate affirmed softly. “You’re way too special and memorable for that,” she added with a smile while Vinyl blushed at the compliment.

There was a short silence between the two young women, before Colgate took a few steps forwards to hug her now ex-roommate. Vinyl didn’t stop her, but she had something to say.

“Colgate, careful with…” Vinyl demanded softly as Colgate’s arms passed around her.

“I know,” Colgate interrupted her before passing her arms around Vinyl’s neck to rest her hands on friend’s shoulders.

The hug was definitely weird in appearance, and a tad uncomfortable for her, but Colgate knew that Vinyl didn’t let anyone touch her back. Colgate didn’t know the reason, but the way Vinyl had snapped violently at her when she had once tapped her back during one of their many night outs was more than enough to prevent her from doing it again. It was something that clearly made Vinyl uneasy, and she’ll probably never know about it precisely, but Colgate wouldn’t change that for every bit in the world. Vinyl was an amazing friend nevertheless.

“I’ll miss you, Magic Musician,” Colgate said in a soft whisper, using the title Vinyl had earned after her first month in University.

“Miss you too, Minuette,” Vinyl whispered back with a caring tone before breaking the hug. “We’ll keep in touch, right?”

“Of course!” Colgate nodded eagerly. “I still have to visit that farm of yours after I graduate next year!”

“If you graduate that is,” Vinyl stuck her tongue out playfully. “Which will be hard without me around to help you.”

“Blablablabla!” Colgate replied, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “Just because you helped me a couple of times in magical theory…… Okay, fine! A lot more than a couple of times! Stop giving me that look already!” she shouted when Vinyl tilted her head to the right with a small smile and a cocked eyebrow. “I don’t need you to graduate!”

“I know you don’t,” Vinyl said with a nod. “You’re just too easy to play with, Colgate!” she pulled Colgate into a short embrace. “If you need anything from me, write! Heck, even if you just want to say hi, write! I don’t get that many letters,” she added with a short laugh.

“I can do that,” Colgate replied cheerfully. “But, you better write as well!”

“I will!” Vinyl assured before heading out of the room.

“Oh! And, blow them away at the big event!” Colgate cheered excitedly.

“Damn straight, I will! Goodbye, Colgate!” Vinyl nodded with a wave as she passed the threshold of the door.

“Seeya, Vinyl!” Colgate vigorously waved back. “Take care!”

“You too!” Vinyl closed the door, leaving Colgate alone in their dorm.

“Well, I just need to pack my stuff then!” Colgate said, while examining her side of the room, which was a lot more messy than Vinyl’s, even when her roommate’s stuff was still in the room. “This may take a while.”

*******

“Thanks for the ride, Caramel,” Vinyl said as she hopped down her friend’s carriage.

Vinyl had left her dorm in Manehatten about five or six hours ago. After short, teary goodbye on the platform with her aunt and uncle, especially with her aunt, Vinyl had taken the train in direction of Ponyville. Once she was back in her hometown, Vinyl had met with Caramel, an old friend from highschool, who generously offered to give her a ride to Sweet Apple Acres.

“We’re still a bit far from the house, you know?” Caramel asked as he narrowed his eyes to the small dot in the horizon that was in fact the farmhouse.

“I may have been gone for a year, but I still know where my home is, Caramel,” Vinyl replied with a chuckle. “Besides, I asked you for a ride to Sweet Apple Acres, so you just did as I asked,” she added with a wink.

“Are you going to be okay with all your….” Vinyl’s bags flew out of the carriage, englobed in a light blue aura. “I forgot you could do that!” Caramel said sheepishly. “It’s still quite a walk though.”

“Walking never scared an Apple, Caramel!” Vinyl commented happily.

“I guess you’re right,” Caramel admitted before pulling the reins to make his carriage turn around. “It’s great to have you back, Vinyl!” he smiled at his friend who smiled back. “See you around!”

“See you, Caramel,” Vinyl said with a wave. “Oh, and if you see Cloud in town, could you tell her I just came back?”

“You just missed her!” Caramel replied. “She left yesterday for Canterlot and after she’ll be sent to Cloudsdale for a week or so,” he explained. “Blossomforth and Swiftwing think she’s going to be promoted.”

“Ain’t that somethin’!” Vinyl whistled. “Thanks for letting me know! Bye!”

As the carriage went further away from the farm, Vinyl inhaled deeply, taking a deep breath of the smell of apples carried by the summer winds. When she heard the same winds getting caught in the large branches of the apple trees around her, Vinyl felt she was nearly home.

“Well, something’s still missing,” she whispered before walking calmly toward her house, her bags floating behind her.

It took Vinyl a good half-hour on foot to pass the threshold of her house. She looked around the living room, smiling at how it hadn’t changed since the last time she was there: the same worn out but comfortable couches and chairs; the same coffee table; the same rocking chair with the same old woman wearing one of her light green dresses and her apple-themed shawl, and enjoying her daily nap.

Vinyl chuckled silently, before delicately put her bags in a corner of the living room, before going out of the house. She was happy to see the old woman again, but she knew better than waking her up from her nap.

“Now, at this hour, Lil’ Bloom is still at school and Mac & AJ are most likely in one of the orchards,” Vinyl supposed before heading toward the west orchard.

After a short walk, Vinyl heard multiple, rapid stomping sounds followed by the characteristic noise of dozens of apples falling into wooden baskets. Vinyl smiled and quickened her pace. Only one person could make those sounds so quickly.

As she finally saw above the horizon line of the hill she was climbing, Vinyl saw her. 6 feet tall, a well endowed musculature -among other well endowed parts-, clearly visible under her clothes due to her kicking spree among the trees, a long blond ponytail that reached for the middle of back, a dark brown and worn out stetson, very visible freckles on her slightly tanned skin. Vinyl only knew one woman who had those features: Jacquelyn “Applejack” Apple.

Vinyl was about to call her name as she saw Applejack stopping in front of the tree line to let out a low angry growl.

“Stupid Big Mac!” Applejack muttered angrily. “Leavin’ all the harvest to me! Vinyl’s comin’ back this afternoon, and he just goes flirtin’ with Ms. Cheerilee!” she ranted in frustration. “Stupid brother!” she kicked a tree so hard its bark cracked up the whole height of the trunk.

Vinyl just smirked before focussing her light blue magic in her right hand. A sphere made of vibrating, ethereal blue strings appeared in front of her glowing hand. Vinyl pointed at the tree line, causing her magic sphere to fly toward it while passing next to a surprised Applejack.

“Let me help you with that, AJ!” Vinyl called with a chuckle before snapping her glowing fingers.

The sphere exploded in a loud and bright blue flash, shaking all the nearby trees for a few seconds before said trees delivered a rain of ripe apples which all fell into the baskets Applejack had probably placed earlier.

“Oh, Nelly!” Applejack whistled. “Yer fancy magic sure is a might stronger than last year, Vinyl!” she turned around to face the blue haired woman. “That ain’t how we do things down here at the farm though,” she added playfully.

“Well, I’ve got to justify my absence, don’t I?” Vinyl asked with a smile.

“Kinda,” Applejack replied casually.

The two women stared each other for a split of a second before they both rushed toward one and another. As they met halfway, the two women embraced each other strongly.

“Ah missed ya, lil’ sis!” Applejack whispered softly in Vinyl’s ear.

“Missed you too, big sis’!” Vinyl replied in a slightly shaking whisper.

“Welcome home, Sugarcube.”

“Ain’t no place like home!” Vinyl said happily.

Despite having entered the property easily half an hour ago, Vinyl finally completely felt home only at the moment Applejack had passed her arms around her. She had learned many years ago from her father that home would always be by her family’s side. Vinyl couldn’t help but to think he was still right about that.

*******

“Now, will ya tell me about that letter from the dean of your school concerning you running away from University?” Applejack asked with curiosity as the two sisters, having just finished the harvest of the west orchard together, were heading back to the farmhouse.

“That was just Dean Serious Scrib wishing his dreams to come true!” Vinyl snorted angrily. “I never ran away in the first place! I just went to Canterlot for a big audition! Had filled many demands for authorization for all my teachers, which they all gave me by the way, to skip a week of lectures!” she explained in a sour tone. “Yet, he dared feign ignorance and sent Granny a letter about me abandoning my studies!”

“That’s what happened?” Applejack asked with a pinch of disbelief.

“You think I’m lying?” Vinyl asked back with a cocked eyebrow.

“Of course not, Sugar! We Apples have no lying bones in our bodies!” Applejack retorted with honesty. “Ah’m just surprised he did that. That fella must hate yer guts.”

“Don’t tell me,” Vinyl rolled her eyes in annoyance. “He never got over the fact one of my spells went south and destroyed his collections of boats in bottles,” Vinyl scratched her chin in remembrance. “....Thrice…”

“He sounds less like a jerk now,” Applejack commented with a knowing grin.

“They were accidents!” Vinyl argued defensively.

“Accidents that gave me a panic attack, Vinyl,” an old, but firm feminine voice said in a reproaching tone as the two young women entered the living room.

Vinyl and Applejack snapped their heads in direction of the voice, finding that their grandmother, Arabella Smith, had woken up from her nap while they were outside the house.

“Granny, that letter was just….”

“Ah reckon ya must have somethin’ for me, Vinyl!” Granny Smith interrupted her firmly.

Vinyl blinked in confusion a couple of times before realizing what her grandmother was talking about. She picked her backpack up before pulling a rolled parchment closed by a crimson ribbon out of it.

“There you go, Granny!” Vinyl said as she extended the parchment to her grandmother. “Just like I promised in the letter after my “runaway”!”

Granny put her reading glasses on before unrolling the scroll. She cleared her throat before reading out loud what was written on it.

“Princess Celestia's Royal University of Manehatten is proud to confer to Ms. Vinyl Almata Apple Scratch her degree in Musical and Magical Arts summa cum laude.”

“Huh, what does “summer come load” means?” Applejack asked, scratching her forehead with a puzzled frown.

“It means I aced in University, AJ,” Vinyl explained happily.

“Really?” Applejack asked. “That’s amazin’!” she pulled Vinyl into a strong hug. “Ma lil’ sister’s a genius!” she said proudly.

“Well, Ah guess that calls for a celebration!” Granny chuckled with pride as Vinyl was struggling to get her head out of Applejack’s embrace. “Better get on it then!” she added to herself before heading to the kitchen.

“AJ, AIR! AIR!” Vinyl let out a few choked shouts before Applejack let her go. “Phew,” she said with a relieved sigh. “Try to not take my head off next time,”

“You just grew softer in that fancy boardin’ school!” Applejack jabbed her sister’s shoulder softly.

“I’ll show you if I got softer!” Vinyl growled playfully, before her stomach growled louder than she did. “After dinner,” she added before she and Applejack laughed cheerfully.

“Anyway, ya had that week long audition thingy,” Applejack said with curiosity. “What was it for?”

“Hang on to your hat, AJ,” Vinyl warned excited. “It was an audition to play for a big event in Canterlot!”

“Considerin’ yer all hyped, Ah’ll say ya got selected.” Vinyl nodded eagerly. “What big event yer talkin’ about?”

“Well, your sister is the musician selected to play for the upcoming wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armour!” Vinyl revealed with excitement.

“Sweet Epona! That sure as sugar is something!” Applejack shouted, quickly joining Vinyl’s excitement. “Congratulations!”

“It gets better!” Vinyl smiled. “You get to be my plus-one!”

“WHAT?!” Applejack’s excitement dropped dead. “NO! NO! NO!” she shook her head rapidly. “Ah ain’t going!”

“Oh, come on!” Vinyl shouted with a frown. “It’s the big event of the year! You’re going with me!”

“Naha! Ah ain’t going in that snobbish city of Canterlot!” Applejack said firmly. “Ya know what happens when Ah get too close with one of them high-nosed nobles!”

“Well, you could try to make an effort in restraining yourself a little,” Vinyl suggested uneasily.

“Not gonna happen!”

“Pretty please?” Vinyl begged with big, shiny, pleading red eyes.

“N-n-... AH SAID NO!” Applejack almost gave in in front of her sister’s puppy eyes.

“Well,” Vinyl muttered with a frown. “Since you’re taking that way..” she took a deep breath.

“Hang on a cotton picking…”

Vinyl interrupted her sister by wailing as loud as possible with big crocodile tears before laying on the nearest couch, punching and kicking it in frustration.

“Vinyl, stop!” Applejack said sternly. “It’s getting ridiculous.”

Vinyl’s reply was to cry louder, and to kick the couch more strongly.

“Vinyl!” Applejack shouted. “Ah ain’t budgin’, so stop!”

At that moment, a tall, muscular man with reddish blond hair walked inside with a very young girl with red hair and a large pink bow in it. Their eyes wandered from the wailing form of their blue haired sister to their exasperated blonde sister.

“Vinyl’s throwing a tantrum,” the man, Big Macintosh, commented calmly.

“Really, Big Mac?” Applejack asked with venomous sarcasm. “Ah didn’t notice!”

“Did she find out we don’ have bacon for tomorrow’s breakfast?” their younger sister, Apple Bloom, asked casually.

“No! She just wants to force me into doing somethin’ Ah don’ wanna do!” Applejack explained.

“Applejack, just say yes!” Granny Smith said as she came out of the kitchen. “Ah can’t hear maself thinkin’ with all that noise, and we all know ya’ll cave in shortly!”

“Not this time, Granny!”

The three Apples stared at eldest of the young girls for a few seconds.

“In three…” Big Macintosh called with a knowing smile.

“...two..” Apple Bloom said, slightly chuckling.

“...one,” Granny Smith pointed at Applejack.

“FINE! Ah’ll come with ya to Canterlot!” Applejack nearly shouted. “Just stop doing that!”

“WOHOOO!” Vinyl shouted excitedly as she jumped from the couch her two arms raised in victory before turning dead serious. “Now, what’s that story about no bacon for tomorrow's breakfast?” she asked sternly.

“Uh oh,” the four remaining Apples let out in a slightly fearful tone.

A story told by Vinyl (long rewrite of Vinyl's History lesson)

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With the return of their last member, the life of the Apples of Sweet Apple Acres was back to its usual train of life. Vinyl had happily returned to doing the morning chores with Applejack. Waking up at crack of dawn in Manehatten for doing nothing other than jogging during a whole year wasn’t really fulfilling compared to the morning chores.

While most of her days at the farm were spent in Applejack’s company around the farm, Vinyl still had to work for their trip to Canterlot. Those responsible for the wedding’s musical arrangement had asked Vinyl to compose a few tunes to add to the selection the bride-to-be had chosen.

It had become an habit to see the blue haired Apple sitting on the house’s patio, quill in her hand with many music sheets, and a bottle of ink twirling around her in a light blue magical aura.

It was in that state that AppleBloom had found Vinyl, focused on her composition, three afternoons before her departure for Canterlot. The little red-head had a rather big book with a golden engraving representing a winged unicorn.

“Huh, Vinyl?” AppleBloom called hesitantly.

“What is it, Bloom?” Vinyl asked casually, her eyes still focused on one of the many music sheets hovering in front of her.

“Ah...Ah have ma last history report to do for school,” AppleBloom explained slowly. “Ah know yer busy preparing for the wedding, so Ah asked Applejack to help me, but she said that Ah should ask ya… She said that yer the brain of the family, and that ya have a good feelin’ about history,” she added quickly.

“Well, that’s nice of her to finally admit it,” Vinyl said with a chuckle as she faced her little sister. “What is your report about?”

“Ya don’t have to if yer busy with….”

“Don’t worry about that,” Vinyl assured with a wave. “It was time that I take a break anyway. And, even if it wasn’t, your schooling is more important than the wedding of a complete stranger,” she added with a wink.

“Well, it’s the wedding of a princess,” AppleBloom remarked uneasily.

“Still a stranger to me,” Vinyl replied with a shrug while all her music sheets were being put away with her magic. “Again, what is it about?”

“Oh, right,” AppleBloom said while showing Vinyl the book she had been holding. “It’s about the founding of Equestria,”

“That’s a rather easy subject,” Vinyl commented. “You hear about it every year on Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

“Ah know, but there is something Ah don’t understand,” AppleBloom explained. “The book keeps referring to the three tribes as a whole… Like the tribes didn’t exist,”

“Well, there was a time before the three tribes, Bloom,” Vinyl said calmly. “A time when Titania, Epona and Jupiter were nothing more than a few drunken hunter’s rumors.“

“What do you mean?”

“Sit next to me, Bloom,” Vinyl demanded with a smile while patting the spot next to hers on the bench.

AppleBloom quickly sat on the indicated spot with an eager smile on her face. She knew what was about happen, and she couldn’t wait for it to happen.

“Ready for some good storytelling, Lil’ Bloom?” Vinyl chuckled at the smile of her little sister.

“Ready as Ah can be!” AppleBloom replied with a nod.

“Ok, then…” Vinyl cleared her throat. “Very long ago, in a land not so far away….”

~~~~~~~

A bit more than forty-four centuries ago,....

“Why don’ ya say four thousand four hundred years?”

“No questions when I’m telling a story, Bloom! Now, where was I?”

A bit more than forty-four centuries ago, our land of Equestria had a different name. The name was lost into the meanderings of time, along all the things related to that ancient realm. The only fact we’re sure about is that it was very prosperous. Until they came into the picture.

They came from the Arctic North, and they brought with them a wave of cold that stroke deep into the land itself. The crops started to wither, rivers slowly turned into glaciers, the earth started to freeze. Those frost monsters, half-elk half humans, went South to plunge the world into an everlasting winter.

It was the first time humans saw the use of magic, they were defenseless against this new enemy that let the weather fight for himself. Slowly, but surely this ancient kingdom fell, village by village, until the Windigos, as they were called, moved on to the bigger towns. In less than a few months, mankind was left with three strongholds.

Strongholds that were isolated from each other: one was a big coastal city that would be later on be called Manehatten; another was a fortress built on top of the mountains, not very far from where Cloudsdale is nowadays located; the last being a large castle of which ruins now lie deep within the Everfree Forest.

Humans felt the end coming. Their glorious kingdom that was supposed to last forever was now in ruin, and their last cities would be in the same state without much delay. They prayed for their deities to save them. The legends says that while the three last bastions were under the simultaneous onslaughts of the Windigos, their prayers were answered.

Though not by whom they had prayed to.

~~~~~~~

At the Everfree Castle

“They’ve breached the gates!” a castle guard of yelled in panic through the loud, icy winds that accompanied the enemy’s troops. “Retreat to the inner…” his order was interrupted by an ice-made javelin piercing his chest.

“In the name of King Fimbul, leave no one standing!” a massive Windigo with an ice blue fur and two larges ice made battle-axes ordered with a mad chuckle as his brethren charged into the castle.

Many castle guards sacrificed themselves in the hope that many citizens could reach the relative safety of the inner gate. They didn’t even inflict any casualties upon the beastmen invaders, who could paralyze them easily with their ice magic.

Thanks to that same magic, the windigos froze the inner gates to the point they would shatter under a kick from a Windigo’s hoofed leg. The invaders pushed the humans further into the fortress, killing everyone on their path.

As the Windigos were rampaging through the city, a middle aged man holding the hand of a very young child was cornered by the chief of the invading force and his party. The chief slowly walked toward the man who had his back turned to him with a mad grin, lifting one of his battle-axe.

“Gr...Grandpa, he’s coming,” the little boy’s voice trembled in fear before his grandfather kneeled in front of him and held him tightly.

“It’s going to be alright, little one,” the grandfather said in a final attempt to reassure his grandchild. “Just… don’t look.” he added almost pleadingly.

When he heard the Windigo was a few meters behind his grandfather, the boy hugged him strongly before closing his eyes.

“The human warmth at its finest,” the windigo commented with an icy chuckle. “The world our King wants won’t miss it for sure!” he lifted his right axe.

At the moment the blue furred biped’s weapon was about to come down on the old man, a giant column of bright white light appeared between him and his kill. The windigos yelled with a wince before stumbling backwards in front of the white light. In the entire area, windigos and humans alike stopped what they were doing to glance at the light with an awed curiosity.

“What was t….” the chief windigo began asking before seeing what had come between him and his victim.

Just in front of the old man and his grandson was standing a two and a half meters tall, pearl white unicorn, its horned head lowered threateningly toward the windigos. The invaders couldn’t help themselves but to feel afraid of the mysterious equine apparition. The white magical hue coming from the Unicorn’s eyes and horn wasn’t about to reassure them to say the least.

“Grandpa!” the boy let out in an awed whisper. “It’s like the stories… It’s Titania, the white unicorn of the forest!” he said with a fearful, yet excited voice.

Before anyone could make a move, the white unicorn stood up tall, proudly raising her two foot long horn to the sky. A white beam flew from the horn into the air, reaching a point where everyone see it clearly, before it exploded in a rain of white magic shards that flew toward every human in the vicinity.

Nearly all of them screamed in panic when the shards touched them. Upon contact with the humans, the shards illuminated the area like a thousand of small suns.

When the light died down, the chief Windigo noted that the unicorn had disappeared, leaving the old man and his grandson alone. He shrugged before returning to what he was about to do when the old man slowly stood up, his eyes focused on his palms.

The man turned around, revealing the beginning of a rather impressive, greying beard, his eyes and hands glowing in a deep blue hue.

“Stay away from our home, monsters!” the old man growled threateningly before extending both his hands to the Windigos.

“What did you just…” was all the chief could say before him and his party were engulfed in a torrent of blue flames.

As the invaders in front of him were burning to a crisp, the old man looked at the night sky, seeing it lit up by many colored hue while hearing yells of pain. Only this time, the yells were coming from the invaders and not from the attacked humans.

~~~~~~~

At the mountain Fortress

“Commander! We must abandon the walls!” a captain shouted pleadingly.

“If we abandon the walls, the Windigos would have won even before setting a darn hoof on them!” the commander barked at his captain. “It’ll be the end for all the people counting on us to protect them!”

“But, those flying sculptures are attacking from the air, and our men are sitting ducks on the walls!”

“Then grab a bow, and shoot those things down!” the commander ordered firmly, before setting the example for his men.

The Windigos didn’t make war with the sole strength of their hordes. They looked like beasts, but their tactics were as advanced of the humans’. Even probably more advanced as they could use their magic on the battlefield, something the humans could not.

Like on the ongoing siege, Windigos often used their magic to create ice made puppets of many differents flying creatures: from large birds of prey or small flying drakes. Needless to say those ice-made statues were resilient enough to simply brush off the humans’ arrows. Bolts from bolt throwers, on the other hand, not so much, but that’s what the flock of ice creations had first destroyed when they attacked the fortress’ walls.

The commander shot an arrow that bounced on the eye of a giant frozen eagle which, in response, grabbed half a dozen of soldiers in his talons when he flew above the wall. The next thing the commander saw was the bird of prey dropping his soldiers above the horde that awaited for the right moment for their assault on the wall.

Said moment seemed to be when another flying golem raised from the rear of the mass of blue furred creatures, which was hidden by the falling snow. The commander and all his troops gasped in shock when they saw what it was. The Windigos had created an ice version of a full grown dragon.

The dragon flew rather slowly compared to his smaller sculpted companions, and the Windigos were marching a few dozens of meters behind. They weren’t gonna do anything until their newest creation had breached the walls.

“Men, do not run away!” the commander ordered slowly as he felt the moral of his troops falling as quickly as the dragon came closer. “If it’s our fate to die today, then it’ll be with the honor that befits our duty as soldiers!” he said calmly while drawing his sword out of its sheath.

Soldiers passed their commander’s words to each other. Many gulped uneasily, but none of them left post. They all drew their weapons out, bracing themselves for their last stand. The dragon opened his maw to let out a loud, cavernous roar when landed in front of the fortress’ gate.

A loud boom resonated through the mountains. But it didn’t came from the gate. It came from the sky. The numerous clouds in the sky were suddenly scattered by a prismatic ring. When they heard a very sharp, and high-pitched whistling sound coming closer, the defenders looked up only to see a black blur crashing onto the dragon’s skull, completely shattering it in tiny shards.

The headless body of the ice dragon fell loudly and heavily on the ground, raising a large cloud of dust that masked the entire area in front of the wall. A sudden, powerful gust of wind coming from inside the dust cloud dispersed it instantly, revealing what had just destroyed the giant ice golem.

Standing proudly in a small crater, a massive stallion, about four meters to the withers the commander had estimated from the top of the wall, black as the night, with large wings spread on its back. The black pegasus’ eyes and front hooves were circled with sparks of lightning.

“Captain,” the commander called softly. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Yes, commander,” the captain replied in awe. “What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know,” the commander said, his eyes focused on the black pegasus that was angrily tapping its hoof on the ground.

“I think it’s the storm pegasus,” a nearby soldier thought out loud, earning a few glances in his direction. “You know… that legend about the shadow of a winged horse that some claimed to have seen in the sky after a lightning strike…. I think the stories called it Jupiter, or something like that,”

Jupiter reared up on his legs, his large wings widely open on his back. He let out a loud whinny as the cleared sky was suddenly filled with black storm clouds. The number of lightning sparks around his front hooves had doubled when Jupiter slammed them on the ground in a loud, thunderclap. When he did, the storm clouds above liberated an incalculable numbers of thunderbolts that all headed towards the human fortress. Before anyone could process what had happened, every single human in the fortress had been struck by a lightning bolt.

When he recovered from the strike, the commander saw electric sparks coming from his hand. He blinked many times until he realized the sparks weren’t a product of his imagination. The commander glanced where Jupiter had been standing earlier, only to notice that the horde of Windigos had ran toward the wall while he was a bit out of commission.

The commander didn’t even get the time to growl in anger before the earlier giant eagle flew in his direction, talons ready to crush him. He instinctually waved his hand defensively at the giant bird. The ice creation exploded with a loud shriek when a lightning bolt flew from the commander’s hand to its chest.

As the remains of the frozen eagle fell to the ground, the commander glanced at his hand in awe before he realized something had been weighing on his back since the moment he had been struck by lightning. He glanced behind him, surprised to see a large pair of black wings attached to his back. He looked at his men with curiosity. They all had also a pair of wings on their back. Some made of feathers, others made of colored light.

The commander glanced outside the wall. The Windigos were now busy freezing the gates while their flying sculptures dove towards the wall to attack the soldiers who were confused by their newly earned wings. He closed his fist angrily, causing multiple sparks to come out of it.

He felt his wings flutter on his back. He felt a high sense of exhilaration when they did that. When he saw an ice made drake diving in the direction of his men, he knew what to do. He took off, and destroyed the ice sculpture with another lightning bolt produced by his hand.

His men gasped as their commander kept himself in the air with constant flaps of his black wings. Another flying sculpture flew quickly to him to attack him, only to be destroyed by another lightning bolt.

“Men!” the captain called sternly. “Have we no shame at all that we leave the commander fighting alone?!” he asked in an angry shout, his ethereal blue wings widely spread on his back. “Is that how we do things now?”

“NO, CAPTAIN!” they all replied with a shout.

“Then, let’s join him!” the captain ordered before flying rapidly to the commander’s altitude, immediately followed by a great part of the soldiers. “Your orders, Commander?”

The commander looked back at his now airborne soldiers with a small grin. “Follow me!” he said before diving towards the horde of Windigos that were about to break the fortress gates.

“Onward!” a few soldiers chanted as they followed their commander to the ground before delivering to the invading force a rain of thunderbolts. “Onward with Commander Hurricane!”

~~~~~~~

In the city now known as Manehatten,

The defenders of the coastal city had prepared it for anything they could think off. They had reinforced the walls, condemned the gates with huge barricades, built hastily new siege engines to bombard the Windigos’ advance. They were ready for anything that would try to invade from the land.

Windigos simply mocked all those preparations by freezing the sea itself, using the thick layer of ice as a landmass to simply walk around the defenses. Their actions also trapped the many ships the city’s chancellor had prepared for an emergency evacuation.

As the bellowing horde was walking slowly toward the frozen port, the citizens started to panic and began to run inside the city, thus blocking the soldiers that were trying to get to the port. Only one person didn’t ran to the city.

An incredibly tall man, only armed with a pickaxe, madly ran on the ice until he reached the middle of the distance between the port and the invading army. He lifted his pickaxe high above his head before he started to mine the ice at a speed that showed his years of experience as a mine foreman.

Windigos started to mock his futile efforts as they came closer to the city’s port, while the humans couldn’t help themselves but to stare incredulously at the man’s crazy idea. Ignoring the mockeries yelled at him, the foreman contuned mining the ice at an incredible pace.

Eventually, one of the marching Windigos grew tired of the foreman’s action. He conjured a sharp ice shard before casting it at the mining man. The shard buried itself in the man’s chest, right below his right shoulder. The man stumbled backward due to the impact, dropping his pickaxe on the ground.

That attack caused an uproar in the human’s ranks. Many decided to angrily charge onto the ice to help the foreman, and many more followed suit, rage burning in their eyes. The foreman shook his head vigorously before picking his tool up and went back to mining the ice, ignoring the shard in his chest.

Unbeknownst to the two charging masses on the ice cap, something else was observing the whole scene. A massive workhorse mare was standing on the shore of the frozen, her floral mane flowing to an unexisting breeze and her glowing green eyes focused on the foreman.

She let out a loud whiny that was heard by everyone on the ice cap, turning many gazes towards her. She reared up and slammed her forehooves on the ground. Large roots made of a green light emerged from the ground around the mare. The roots entwined themselves and grew bigger until they formed a gigantic, vibrant green tree.

The tree shined brightly before exploding in myriads of bright green seeds that were carried by the winds to the city. The seeds landed on every human present before instantly merging inside them. The humans and Windigos alike didn’t notice any change until they heard a thunderous crack coming from in between the two crowd.

The foreman hadn’t stopped his mining when the magical mare appeared. But since the moment the seeds merged with him, each time his pickaxe went down it created large cracks on the frozen surface. At each hit, the crack grew longer, wider and deeper.

When they felt their ice-made footing becoming more unstable every second passing, many Windigos put their hands on the ground, using their magic to restore the ground. But their magic couldn’t overcome the damage constantly created by the foreman’s mining. They could barely stop him from more damaging the surface. One of the spellcasters yelled the order to kill the foreman.

The rest of the horde charged toward the foreman, casting many shards at him to stop him. Only this time, every shard that touched him couldn’t pierce his skin. They simply shattered on impact, as if they had crashed on a stone. While they didn’t hurt the foreman, one shard had broken his pickaxe.

The man joined his fists together and lifted them as high as he could, his eyes shining a yellow hue. The Windigos were only a meter away from him when he brought his fists down with a load roar. As soon as the foreman hit the ice, it gave way under the invaders’ hooves.

The cap in front of the foreman shattered and the cracks overcame the Windigos’ restoring spell. Small patches of ice drifted apart from each others, or collapsed under their own weight, making the Windigos’ army fall into the sea with panicked yells wherein many of them were crushed between drifting icebergs or simply blocked underwater by the same icebergs, thus leaving them to drown.

The Windigos who had stayed in the rear guard simply turned heel and ran away, to the coast, hoping they would outrun the collapsing ground they had previously created. The humans who had run to the foreman cheered for him loudly. For the first time since their appearance, Windigos had been vanquished on the battlefield.

“I wonder what that horse was?” a man thought out loud in the middle of the shout.

“Have you ever heard legends when you were young, boy?” the foreman asked happily, startling the man. “That was the keeper of the wild, the Nature Mare Epona!” he claimed with conviction.

“How could you be so certain of that?”

“Well, it’s more of a hunch than a certitude actually, but it had never failed me before so..” the foreman replied with a shrug.

“What’s your name, man?” a soldier asked him happily at some point. “So that we can chant your name for the whole town!”

“Hum..name’s Igneous Rock,” the foreman replied softly. “But my friends in the mine used to call me Puddinghead because of my silly ideas, like pickaxing the ice,” he explained sheepishly.

“Well, since that silly idea of yours saved us all in the end,” the soldier turned to the crowd. “For Puddinghead, hip, hip, hip…”

“HURRAY!” the whole crowd shouted happily.

~~~~~~~

Many years later, in the Everfree Castle,

“Starswirl, you’ve got to listen!” Hurricane claimed loudly to the old man with an incredibly long white beard sitting in front of him. “We can’t go on like this!” he shouted, ignoring the dark glares the entire court composed of the Children of Titania, or Titanians as they were also called, were giving him and his companion.

“Why should I listen to you, Hurricane?” Starswirl replied coldly. “You and your feathered kind have done nothing for us in the last two decades, and now you walk in and ask, no, demand my help in one of your nth attempt to get rid of Fimbul, the king of the Windigos!” he said with an unhappy chuckle.

“Nothing?” Hurricane asked angrily, his black wings instinctually flared open. “You dare say nothing? We Jupitarians fought against the Windigos, and took back many territories that were lost before the Horse Gods’ blessing, while you and your kind remained hidden deep inside of your enchanted forest. You’ve done nothing while we were shedding blood to claim back what was once ours!”

“You’ve only fought for yourself, Hurricane!” Starswirl retorted angrily. “Didn’t you say it yourself when we offered you a helping hand in the past? Pegasopolis doesn’t need help to fight her battles!”

Hurricane gritted his teeth before glancing at his companion, a brown haired man wearing the black armor of Pegasopolis.

“Someone made me realize how foolish I was back then,“ Hurricane admitted slowly, shocking about everyone in the court, except for his companion who nodded quietly. “We were once a powerful, and united nation! Unity is what we need if we want to get rid of the Windigos for good!”

His words were met with a deep silence.

“Glad you finally realized you were a fool, Hurricane,” Starswirl said slowly. “Too bad it was too late. What’s in the past must remain in the past!” he added firmly. “Now, I ask you to leave, Commander Hurricane!”

Hurricane trembled from frustration. “As you wish, Starswirl the Bearded!” he growled before heading toward the door.

Hurricane and his companion headed out of the Castle while every Titanian they encountered walked away from them with a dark glare.

“I’m sorry we had made the journey for nothing, Commander,” his companion said softly.

“It wasn’t your fault, Pansy,” Hurricane said with a sigh. “I should have known the old fart and his clique wouldn’t leave their enchanted forest.”

“I’m not sure that our idea was badly received by everyone, Commander,” Pansy reassured softly. “Starswirl might have said no, but….”

“But nothing, Pansy!” Hurricane growled impatiently. “He has kept them safe ever since the Blessing. They’ll never do something against his word! They owe him too much.”

“Yes, but…” Pansy started as they passed through the castle’s front gate before being startled by a purple flash. “Waah!” he let out, hiding behind his commander.

A young man with bright green hair, wearing a brown habit had appeared in front of Hurricane who rolled his eyes at his easily scared companion before focusing them on the young Titanian. The young man’s purple eyes stared at the commander with an evident interest.

“What do you want?” Hurricane asked abruptly.

“You really meant what you said to Grandfather?” he asked back curiously.

“You’re Starswirl’s grandson?” Pansy asked in surprise.

“I said many things to the old man,” Hurricane replied matter-of-factly. “Care to be more specific?”

“Unity is what we need if we want to get rid of the Windigos for good,” the young man quoted. “Did you really mean that?”

“Why is that so hard to believe?” Hurricane asked with an irritated frown.

“You have the reputation of being rather individualist,” he replied with a shrug.

“With what your grandpa just said to us, am really I the only one who’s individualist?” Hurricane asked sharply.

“Fair enough,” the man replied with a shrug. “Anyway, why do you need our help so much?”

“We tried to slay the king of the Windigos, many times,” Pansy explained slowly. “We tried every way we could think off, but he’s too powerful!”

“Hum-hum.” Hurricane nodded. “Whenever we tried to attack him, but his control on the wind is too much for us to handle,” he growled in remembrance of his former failures. “We hope that a combined assault of our three tribes would be too much for him.”

“That’s what we hope,” Pansy added.

“That’s logical,” the young man replied with a nod. “I’ll help you!”

“Really?” Hurricane asked skeptically. “You’ll go against your grandfather’s words?”

“Grandfather lost track of what was important,” he said with sadness. “The Windigos isolated us to get rid of us more easily in the past! If we maintain that isolation further, even with our abilities, we are condemned.”

“Your name, boy?” Hurricane asked with interested smile.

“Clover,” he replied casually. “Clover the clever!”

“Well, we’ll see if you deserve that title, Clover,” Hurricane said with a chuckle.

“We should go, Commander,” Pansy said. “We need to get to Manehatten as soon as possible.”

“You’re right!” Hurricane nodded. “Do you have any way for you to move fast enough to keep up with our flying speed?”

“Just needed to ask,” a woman’s voice said boastfully before a giant, crystally panthera jumped from the castle walls.

“What the in Tartarus name is that thing?” Hurricane asked, his fists sparkling with electricity.

“What are you doing here, Platinum?” Clover asked the woman, wearing a deep purple cloak with a black and white, furred collar, who was riding the crystal feline.

“Well, knowing you as much as I do, Clover,” Platinum said, rolling her gemlike eyes knowingly. “It was obvious you’d be interested in Commander Hothead’s idea,” she turned her gaze on a the growling, black winged man. “And for your information, that THING is a magically created crystal golem. I call him Fluffy!” she giggled while patting Fluffy’s head.

“It’s Commander HURRICANE, girl,” Hurricane growled angrily.

“Try to be a little more diplomatic, Commander,” Pansy advised before Hurricane growled at him. “Never mind what I just said,” he added sheepishly.

“That didn’t answer my question, Platinum!” Clover remarked.

“You know for someone whose title is ‘the clever’, you have trouble realizing the obvious sometimes,” Platinum replied in annoyance. “I’m here to give you a ride, because I know that you’re about to leave with these two, and if they don’t mind…. Well, even if they mind, to come with you!”

“Why would you want to come with me, Platinum?” Clover asked.

“Someone has to be there to make sure you don’t get sidetracked, Clover, and I doubt the Commander is willing to do it,” Platinum explained. “And, there’s something I need to ask the commander,”

“What do you want to know?” Hurricane asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“You’ve seen Fimbul in flesh and blood, right?” Hurricane nodded. “Is it true that his crown is adorned with a large saphir that shines as brightly as a blue sun?” she asked eagerly.

“Huh….” Hurricane was surprised by that question. “I haven’t paid much attention to that, but I’m pretty sure he has a large blue gem on his crown.”

“Fantastic!” Platinum replied happily before turning to Clover. “Hop on, Clover, or I’m leaving you behind.

Clover blinked before noticing the interrogation on the two Jupitarians’ face. “She has a thing for gemstones!” he explained with a shrug before climbing on top of Fluffy’s back.

“I can see that,” Hurricane whispered while Pansy nodded in realization. “Anyway, let’s go!” he said before taking off. “I’d rather be far away before Starswirl notices his grandson is missing. I hope your cat can keep up with us, girl,” he asked as Pansy had joined him in the air.

“Don’t worry about that, Commander,” Platinum grinned as her hand shined a pure white aura. “Where to for Manehattan?”

“It’s toward East, Platinum,” Clover said before tightening his grip on the crystal feline.

“Perfect! See you there, Commander!” Platinum rested her magic charged hand on Fluffy’s head, making his whole body shined brightly. “Let’s go!” she shouted happily before the crystal made cat dashed to the East at a speed that took Hurricane and Pansy by surprise.

“Wow,” Pansy let out in amazement.

“The girl sure got skills,” Hurricane commented slowly before they flew to catch up with the brightly white feline.

“Nice flying speed,” Platinum commented as the two Jupitarians flew a bit ahead of them.

“Thanks,” Hurricane muttered.

“Why are we heading to Manehattan by the way?” Clover asked, while holding firmly his crystal mount.

“We’re going to ask the help of their giant,” Hurricane replied. “It’s going to be hard,” he added with a sigh.

“Puddinghead is as stubborn as Master Starswirl?” Platinum asked with curiosity.

“Not really,” Pansy replied uneasily. “He’s…. Something else.”

“Huh?” Clover and Platinum replied in confusion.

~~~~~~~

In Puddinghead’s quarters in the center of Manehatten.

“So, that’s why we came here,” Hurricane said with the most infinite patience when he was done explaining his idea to the Chancellor standing inside the chimney in front of him.

“I see,” the voice of Puddinghead replied in a small echo, presumably scratching his chin with a pensive frown.

“I know I asked many times already, but…” Platinum began uneasily.

“Yes, Platinum, he REALLY is standing inside a chimney!” Clover replied with a shocked expression. The giant of Manehattan wasn’t like how he expected him to be at all.

“Okay,” Platinum focused her attention on the chimney. “WHY WOULD HE DO THAT?” she asked frantically.

“He likes to think outside the box,” Smart Cookie, the chancellor’s female assistant, wearing a brown jacket and a matching hat with a white feather on it, replied with a tired sigh.

“Why is he inside a chimney then?” she asked incredulously.

“He says that the inside of a chimney counts as outside the box,” Cookie replied apathetically. It wasn’t the first time she had to explain that small detail. “Personally, I think that the time he spent in the mines when he was younger damaged his head too much,”

“I heard that, Cookie!” Puddinghead called from his chimney.

“Good for you!” Cookie replied in annoyance.

“You’re awfully direct for an assistant,” Pansy remarked casually.

“And that’s why I’m keeping her!” Puddinghead replied happily before coughing a couple of times as they saw soot falling on his feet. “We really should clean up in here, it’s dirty.”

“Yes, Chancellor Puddinghead,” Cookie said monotonously while the others were glancing one and another with awkward expressions.

“Anyway, what do you think about Hurricane’s plan, Cookie?” Puddinghead asked curiously.

“You’re asking me?” Cookie asked back, completely taken aback by the chancellor’s question.

“Yep! I know I’ve made a few bad decisions in the past when I should have listened to you,” Puddinghead explained softly. “This time, I can’t allow myself to make a bad decision! It’s about our own future, not some regulation about how the guards are supposed to control the circulation in town.”

“And you’re trusting me with that something that important?” Cookie asked in a shaking tone.

“You think I’d have kept at my service for so long if I couldn’t trust you when it matters the most?” Puddinghead asked.

Smart Cookie didn’t reply immediately. She felt all the gazes of the people present in the room on her, even Puddinghead’s despite the fact he was still inside the chimney. Cookie glanced outside a window, only seeing the plains around Manehattan covered under a thick layer of white snow, the cloudy and grey sky in one of the rare moments when it didn’t snow.

“Does anyone of you remember what Spring looks like?” she asked pensively.

“Huh, no,” Platinum replied in confusion.

“I was too little to remember,” Clover replied sadly.

“I’m afraid I don’t,” Pansy answered quietly.

“No, I don’t,” Hurricane said calmly.

“Can’t say I do, sorry,” Puddinghead answered with a great sadness in his voice.

“Me neither,” Cookie said calmly. “I know it’s supposed to be the beginning for new lives, a revival for the old ones…” she sniffed slowly. “But it has been gone for two decades now,” she added in a shaken voice. “More than twenty years without Spring’s new flowers, twenty years without Summer and its warm days, twenty years without seeing the colors of Autumn,.... Just twenty years of snow and ice,” she said bitterly while she trembled in anger.

Puddinghead got out of his chimney before walking to his assistant while dusting his clothes and face from all the soot. He gently grabbed her shoulder and forced her to turn toward him and the others, only to see her pulled her hat down her eyes. Puddinghead lifted her hat up to wipe the tears in his assistant’s eyes. He gave her a short nod before she hugged him strongly.

“Hurricane,” Puddinghead called while patting Cookie’s head slowly.

“Yes?”

“This winter has lasted long enough,” Puddinghead said in stern voice that startled everyone. “Let’s put an end to it, Commander!”

Hurricane grinned. “With great pleasure, Chancellor!”

~~~~~~~

After weeks of preparations and scouting, Hurricane and his group laid an ambush for King Fimbul and his escorts in a chain of mountains in the center of the land.

“Why are there only six of us again?” Platinum asked casually as Fimbul’s escort was coming closer.

“Because a larger group would attract too much attention, girl,” Hurricane replied in annoyance.

“I have a name, Commander Hothead!”

“Call me by mine and I’ll start using it,” Hurricane replied.

“We need a distraction,” Puddinghead remarked. “We’re gonna have come closer discreetly to care of the escort quickly enough.”

“Why don’t we use her crystal cat?” Cookie asked as she pointed at Platinum.

“Not really a distraction,” Platinum replied. “I have to stay close so that Fluffy can move,”

“Great! So now you’re useless in battle on top of being a nuisance,” Hurricane growled.

“Pardon?” Platinum asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“I counted on your big cat for the fight, but if you can’t control it from a place you’d be safe, it’s no use,” Hurricane explained.

“I see,” Platinum replied with narrowed eyes. “Very well,” she added before standing up and walking to Fluffy who started to move when his mistress was close enough. “I’ll just go along with Cookie’s idea.” she climbed on top of her crystal feline mount.

“WHAT?!” Puddinghead, Cookie, Pansy and Hurricane asked, nearly shouting in shock.

Before anyone could stop it, Fluffy and his rider climbed down the cliff on which they were hiding to bar the road Fimbul and his escort were taking.

“The idiot!” Hurricane growled angrily as Fimbul’s escort stopped when they saw her dismounting fluffy and walking up to them. “She’s gonna get herself killed!” he was about to take off when Clover stopped him with his purple magic.

“Just watch, Commander,” Clover said with a knowing grin.

“Hello, dear gentle...deers?” Platinum called the Windigos. “I’d like an audience with your King, Fimbul,” she said calmly.

One of the most massive guards snorted. “What do you want of our King, woman?”

“I’m here to warn him of an assassination attempt on his ...person,” Platinum explained, unsure about her choice of words. “In exchange for my town’s safety.”

“A human selling her own kind?” a very deep voice spoke from behind the walls of guards. “How interesting.”

The escort parted to make way for the new comer. Platinum’s widened at the appearance of King Fimbul. She had found the Windigo that had answered to her was massive, but the build of his king made him look like a skinny Windigo.

The King was easily seven feet tall, without counting his massive staghorns, and four feet wide on the shoulder level. He was way more muscular than any of his guards. His fur was dark blue, nearly black on his hoofed legs, and his eyes were shining in a steamy, cold blue hue. He was wearing a skin made loincloth as a sole outfit, but he was wearing many golden bands around his wrist and arms, along with a many golden or silver necklaces. On top of his deer head, Fimbul was also wearing a simplistic silver crown with the largest and brightest sapphire Platinum had ever seen.

“So, you had a warning for me?” Fimbul asked in his deep, guttural voice.

“Well, sort of,” Platinum replied evasively, her diamond shaped irises focused on the sapphire between the two staghorns. “It doesn’t come without a fee though,”

“Yes, I heard that,” Fimbul chuckled. “Your town’s safety, right?”

“Well, since you’re never gonna set a foot… no a hoof in it, so how about that shiny sapphire on your head?” she asked pointing at Fimbul’s crown.

Fimbul narrowed his eyes at the woman with the purple cloak, before giving a small shake of his head and turned his back to her. Two of his guards took their icy swords out and marched threateningly toward the Titanian.

“Well, I’m still going to give my warning even if you didn’t pay.”

Fimbul heard Platinum’s voice before hearing two loud cracks and seeing his two guards falling in front of him, each with a large and deep bruised recesses in the shape of a round brilliant cut diamond in the chest. He looked back and his eyes slightly widened when he saw the Titanian’s arms surrounded by a bright white aura shaped like an assembling of jewels.

“Someone is going to assassinate you,” Platinum said coldly. “Right about now!”

“KILL HER!” Fimbul yelled his order furiously.

“We got to help her!” Pansy said with worry as five growling Windigos charged at Platinum.

“No, she needs to vent a little,” Clover commented casually.

“Huh?”

“SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU TWO LEGGED DEERS!” Platinum bellowed in fury as she her diamonds shaped gauntlets took the shape of long blades before she nearly diced the five Windigos in a flash. “YOU’RE NOTHING MORE THAN UNUSUAL HUNTING GAME TO ME!”

“She used to have anger management issues,” Clover explained while the others stared in awe at the rampage caused by Platinum. “Until Grandfather found out that fighting was an excellent outlet for her,”

“No kidding,” Hurricane whispered, blinking profusely as Platinum demanded to hesitant Windigos to come at her.

“Hey, where’s Cookie?” Pansy asked when he noticed the hat wearing woman’s absence.

“COME ON!” Platinum taunted the dozens of Windigos forming Fimbul’s escort. “Come on, you littles does!”

A muscular Windigo didn’t take well the insult on his buck-hood, raised his icy axe high before being shoved away by a brown blur and sent crashing on a nearby rock. Next to the now unconscious hoofed creature, her foot pressing the Windigo’s head on the boulder, Smart Cookie was nonchalantly standing.

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” Platinum remarked casually.

“Well, Puddinghead is a bit slow to get started, and I don’t know about the rest,” Cookie retorted as she left the defeated Windigo on the ground. “Looks like it’s going to be a nice girl & girl moment. Want to see who’ll get the most?”

“That’ wouldn’t be fair! I’m already six ahead of you,” Platinum commented with a smirk.

“Hum-hum!” Cookie frowned before lunging at the Windigos in a blink of an eye.

Cookie was so fast that Platinum heard her strikes hit their marks instead of seeing them. A few seconds later, six Windigos laid unconscious on the ground and Cookie had returned to Platinum’s side.

“We’re even now,” Cookie said with a cocky grin.

“You sure are a fast one,” Platinum commented with an impressed whistle.

“The fastest Eponian alive,” Cookie tipped her hat. “That’s why I’m at the Chancellor’s service!” Platinum and Cookie blinked as they processed what the latter had just said. “That sounded really wrong!” she added with a wince.

“A little bit,” Platinum admitted awkwardly. “How about we forget about it?”

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?” Fimbul bellowed at his guards. “Kill them! Or I’ll kill you myself after taking care of them!”

The four dozens of Windigos gulped fearfully at their King’s threat before charging in unison at the two women.

“Looks like Fimbul reigns with fear instead of respect,” Cookie commented with a shake of her head. “What a big mistake on their part.”

“Yeah, they should fear us more!” Platinum added with a smirk.

The two women were ready to receive the charge of the forty Windigos when a rain of purple fire and lightning bolts fell on the blue furred creatures, charring them all in a few seconds. As the incinerated Windigos fell on the ground, Clover teleported himself next to them while Hurricane and Pansy landed behind Fimbul along with Puddinghead who landed less delicately than his winged companions.

“Spoilsports,” Platinum and Cookie both complained with a frown.

“Sorry, ladies,” Clover said genuinely before the ambient temperature drastically dropped. “But we need to take care of him quickly,” he added in a low tone while facing Fimbul.

The rocky mountain path had frozen around Fimbul’s hooves, his eyes were bright blue fire of anger now. Due to the Windigos’ King wrath, the weather changes from a soft snowy day to a howling blizzard.

“So this is your new idea, Hurricane?” Fimbul asked in his deep voice as he glanced at the black winged Jupitarian behind him. “What happened to your ‘I’ll avenge those who fell because of you by killing you myself’?”

“I’d rather slay you in good company than letting you live longer than you already have,” Hurricane retorted coldly, his wings flared open in defiance and his fists surrounded by many electric sparks.

“I have first claim on his crown!” Platinum said in a greedy, defiant tone while her entire body was covered by a white light armor made of diamonds and that her giant crystal cat took stance next to her.

“His staghorns will be perfect on my wall,” Cookie taunted with a smirk, flexing her legs to get into a running stance.

“For all the harm you brought us, all the lives you’ve taken, we will take you down!” Pansy claimed loudly in an unusual angry tone, his hands surrounded by a grey-ish fog.

“Today is the day you’ll meet your destiny, King Fimbul!” Clover growled his hands and eyes shining in a deep purple aura while a circle of violet fire appeared around him.

“Arrogant humans!” Fimbul bellowed in fury before he let his anger explode in a bright blue flash. When the light died down, he had transformed into a giant, ice-made version of himself. “I am Fimbul, King of the Windigos and of the North! I AM THE INCARNATION OF WINTER! YOU WILL NOT STOP ME!” he yelled as the blizzard grew stronger.

“The incarnation of Winter, huh?” Puddinghead said in an unusual coldness, cracking his knuckles loudly and his eyes shining in a yellow hue. “Well, my friends, I think it’s about time we wrap up Winter!” he shouted before charging at the frozen giant.

Puddinghead was instantly imitated by Cookie, Platinum and her crystal feline, while Hurricane and Pansy took off before conjuring a shower of lightning bolts and large storm clouds and Clover extended his hand forward, casting a beam of purple fire at the King of the Windigos who shouted furiously before slamming his fists on the ground, sending large ice shards to his attackers.

The battle was long and painful. Fimbul was as powerful as a god of ice and cold but Hurricane’s plan worked in the end. Whenever the frost king tried to get rid of one tribes warriors, those from the others protected them.

When he unleashed the northern winds to throw Hurricane and Pansy out of the sky, Puddinghead and Cookie would interrupt his spell by strikes charged in Eponian magic that could break mountains. A simultaneous assault from the two Eponians shattered his hoofed right leg.

When he tried to trap the Eponians in ice coffins, his magic was counteracted by one of Platinum’s diamond shaped shield, or by Clover’s magic fire. One of the woman’s crystal made blades was responsible for the loss of his right hand, while the purple fire melted his external ice armor and burned large patches of his fur.

When he cast ice projectiles at the two Titanians, Hurricane’s lightings would intercept them or Pansy’s wind gusts would divert them from off their course, thus making them miss their targets, and even sometimes throwing them back at him.

In the end, the combined actions of the three types of magic defeated the Windigos’ King. The moment his last breath was consumed, the blizzard ceased to howl, the snow stopped falling. It is said the temperature has suddenly climbed up in the whole land at this very moment. Everywhere in the land, the Windigos felt their king’s demise, and when they did, they all retreated to the north where they came from, terrified that their god-like ruler had been killed.

After defeating their greatest enemy, the six friends found a nice spot in the mountain to heal their wounds and enjoy a well deserved rest.

“Careful with your hands, Clover,” Cookie warned threateningly as Clover was healing her bare bruised leg. “Don’t get the idea you can touch because you’re using your shiny healing method on my leg!”

“I got it the first ten times, Cookie,” Clover replied in annoyance. “While I admit you have good looking legs, I’ve seen what they can do. I’m not going to risk it!”

“Good!” Cookie replied curtly, not without slightly blushing at the compliment.

“I hear the wedding bells ringing. How about you?” Puddinghead commented happily as he passed his flask of ale to Hurricane.

“I think they’re a bit late for that.” Hurricane chuckled before taking a swig of the flask.

“That’s true,” Pansy said in slightly mocking tone. “A man shouldn’t see the skin of the woman he desires out of wedlock.”

“Clover has always been an impatient boy,” Platinum commented while meticulously cleaning the large sapphire she had pulled out of Fimbul’s crown.

“Will you all just shut up?!” Clover and Cookie, both red as beetroots, shouted in an angry embarrassment, causing the four others to laugh.

After the healing of Cookie’s legs was done, she and Clover joined the others in a small celebration that lasted throughout the whole night. Obviously, Puddinghead’s flask of ale didn’t last through the night, though that actually gave him the idea to hide stacks of ale everywhere in the land, in case of an ale emergency. An idea that was well received by Hurricane, but the others told them it wasn’t possible at all. Nevertheless, even without alcohol, the six companions didn’t stop their cheers, stories, songs until dawn.

“Hey, guys,” Cookie said softly. “The clouds are dispersing, look!” she pointed at the horizon.

Her five friends looked where she had pointed. For the first time in two decades of winter, the sky was clear enough to watch the sun rise. They all smiled at the sight of the yellow halo of the rising sun slowly merging in the dark blue sky of the ending night.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Platinum asked softly as small tears rolled along Cookie’s cheeks.

“It’s wonderful you mean?” Cookie asked back, a large happy smile.

“Things are going to be better now,” Puddinghead said softly, as he patted his assistant’s head.

“Hey…” Clover called, while narrowing his eyes toward the sky. “What’s that?”

He pointed at elusive line in the sky where the sunlight was touching the night sky. The other five focused their gaze on a bright, white star that was right on that line. A white star that grew bigger every second….no… A white star that was coming closer, and really fast.

“We have to get….” Hurricane didn’t get the time to end his warning.

A large ball of light crashed just in front of the six companions. Their first reflexes was to get ready to fight, but the benevolent warmth that emanated from it calmed them instantly. The light slowly disappeared, leaving in plain sight a tall unicorn with majestic, large wings. Its coat was pure white and its mane and tail were dark crimson. It stared at every one of them with its penetrating, teal gaze.

“Unity brings Harmony,” the warm and motherly voice of a woman came from the equine apparition, despite its lips not moving. “Preserve Harmony!”

Before the six companions could grasp the fact that equine had just talked to them, it disappeared in a bright flash. While they were still dazzled by the flash, the cries of newborn children were heard. They all glanced where the winged unicorn was standing a few seconds ago, their eyes falling on two naked babies.

“PLATINUM, YOUR CLOAK!” Puddinghead shouted firmly as Cookie dashed to the newborns. “They’re going to freeze without covers!”

“Ri-Right!” Platinum stammered in shock before joining Cookie who had picked the two babies in her arms.

She took her thick, purple cloak and ripped it two before Cookie passed her one of the newborns and took a part of her half-cloak. The two women quickly wrapped the babies up, both sighing in relief when they stopped crying.

“Where did those two come from?” Clover asked incredulously as the four men scooted closer to the two women.

“Probably from the same place as that horned pegasus,” Hurricane supposed slowly. “Why would they leave these two babies?”

“Don’t know,” Cookie said before she slapped Puddinghead’s hand away from the baby she was holding. “Stop that! You’re gonna scare her!”

“I’m not scary!” Puddinghead pouted.

“So, this one is a girl?” Clover asked with curiosity as he glanced at the tanned skin baby with a pink hair.

The baby girl opened her eyes at him, revealing her cerise irises, before giggling at the green haired Titanian. Puddinghead, Cookie and Clover couldn’t stop themselves from letting a a long “D’awww!”.

“They both are,” Platinum said softly as she showed the two Jupitarians the pale girl with light blue hair and teal eyes she was holding. “And they’re adorable!” she cooed before rubbing her nose on the blue haired girl’s who giggled playfully in response.

“They sure are,” Puddinghead said while caressing the pink haired one’s cheek with his forefinger. “Oh, look! She’s holding my finger. Isn’t that pre….”

CRACK!

“DAMNIT!” Puddinghead yelled in pain, pulling his finger, which was bent upwards now, away from the giggling girl. “SHE BROKE MY FINGER!”

“That...That’s impossible!” Cookie glanced at the pink haired with shock, while Hurricane and Pansy went to inspect Puddinghead’s finger. “She’s just a baby! How could she...”

“Yeah, it’s very well broken,” Hurricane commented with a wince. “Clover, do you have a spell for that?”

“Hum… Can someone help me, please?” Platinum asked in a panicked voice.

They all glanced at Platinum, seeing her holding on tightly to the remains of her cloak, a few feet in the air. The blue haired baby was happily flying around in circles thanks to large deep blue wings spread on her back, her small hands holding firmly the purple cloak that served as a blanket.

“What the hell?” Clover said in amazement.

“CAN ONE OF THE TWO FEATHERBRAINS COME UP HERE AND PULL HER DOWN?!” Platinum asked in a high-pitched shout as the flying girl was pulling her higher in the air. “I’m scared that she’ll get bored of holding my cloak at some point!”

“Oh, dear!” Pansy muttered before he and Hurricane took off.

Hurricane flew as fast as he could to the girl’s altitude, unintentionally startling her, thus making her let go of the blanket.

“HURRICANE, YOU STUPID OVERSIZED PIDGEON!” Platinum shouted in a panicked anger as she fell toward the ground.

Her momentum was stopped inches from the ground as she was grabbed in a bright golden levitation spell. The group’s heads snapped toward the pink haired girl whose hands were glowing in the same golden halo that surrounded Platinum.

“Did she just catch Platinum in a telekinetic field?” Clover asked with wide eyes.

“Is that normal for Titanian kids?” Cookie asked with worry.

“Not when they’re so young!” Clover shook his head vigorously. “And certainly not with something as big as Platinum.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the concerned party shouted angrily, still inside the golden halo.

No one gave her an answer, as the pink haired girl, who had just seen Hurricane struggling to get blue haired one down, decided to fly up there to join them with the help of large pure white wings. The golden aura around Platinum dissipated, making her fall on the ground with a loud, low growl.

Everyone gasped in shock when the blue haired girl ‘sneezed’ a powerful gust of wind that forced Hurricane to crash to the ground. As she saw him lying on the ground, the blue haired girl flew down before picking up him with a night blue aura.

“What the..?” Hurricane growled in surprise when he realized he was in the air due to the magic of the small girl. She flew close to him, her teal eyes filled with an innocent worry. Hurricane couldn’t help but to softly chuckle. “I’m fine, can you let me go now?”

The blue aura dissipated before Hurricane started to flap his wings to stay in the air. The blue haired girl hugged his armored arm before her wings dissipated into thin air. Holding the small baby tightly, Hurricane landed softly on the ground.

“I think she likes you,” Puddinghead remarked gently as the pink haired one landed on his shoulder, her eyes focused on his broken finger.

Her eyes shined in a golden hue that also surrounded his hurt phalange. In a blink of an eye, his finger was good as new. She gave a pleading pout to Puddinghead who simply laughed before cradling her in one of his massive arms before tickling her belly, earning playfully giggles from her.

“Looks like she likes you as well,” Hurricane commented playfully. “They just have a rougher definition of caresses.”

Clover sighed. “So we have two baby girls who have Jupitarian wings, the Titanian magic, and the Eponian strength, left to us by an unknown Horse God…”

“Silly, it was Faust, the Alicorn of Creation!” Puddinghead said with a roll of his eyes. “You all really lack knowledge of popular culture,” he added in disapproval.

“How do….” Clover started, taken aback by Puddinghead’s knowledge.

“Forget that! We have a much more important thing to think about!” Puddinghead said, his eyes focused on the giggling girl in his arms.

“What?” Pansy asked.

“How are we gonna name those girls?”

~~~~~~~

“WAOW!” AppleBloom let out in amazement. “That’s really what happened before the founding of Equestria?”

“Eyuuup!” Vinyl nodded. “They called the two girls, Celestia and Luna,” she explained. “Faust had appeared from the spot in the sky where Day and Night merge together. Since those two were left to us by Faust, they named them in honor of that place. Celestia for the day, and Luna for the night.”

“What did they do after that?”

“The six took care of the girls until they became adults,” Vinyl told softly. “On the mountain where they found them, the three tribes, now free of the Windigos, built a city to symbolize the re-found union they once had. They created the Principality of Equestria, and put the two girls on the thrones, so they could reign together in harmony.”

“WAOW!”

“I take it you liked my story, right?” Vinyl asked with a smile.

“It was great!” AppleBloom said excitedly. “How do ya know all that?”

“I worked at school, Bloom,” Vinyl said before ruffling her sister’s hair. “And, Manehattan Great Library had copies of the six Founders’ journals and memoirs. They were good bedtime readings,” she commented with a smile.

“Bloom, Vinyl!” Granny Smith called from inside the house. “Soup’s on!”

“Already?” Vinyl asked in surprise before standing up to get inside. “Time sure flew by this afternoon!”

“That won’t make ya late for yer compositions, right?” AppleBloom asked with worry.

“Nah, I should have things done by tomorrow night at most,” Vinyl replied with a shrug. “You’ll remember enough of it for your paper?”

“Hum-hum!” the red haired nodded. “Though, that’s really how things happened? Because some parts of yer story seemed a bit exaggerated.”

“Bloom, we live in a world where some can fly, can levitate things, or can pull an entire house with only a rope. Our rulers have been the same two women for a bit more than four thousand years,” Vinyl stated with a chuckle. “Our national history is sure to hold some exaggerations, but it doesn’t make it any less true!”

“If ya say, so,” AppleBloom said, not entirely convinced. “Ya sure ya didn’t changed a few things to make the whole story more interesting?” she asked with suspicion.

“I’d not invent things when you come to me for a school assignment, Bloom,” Vinyl remarked casually. “Or, at least not on important, historical facts.”

“So ya did exaggerate a few things,” AppleBloom remarked. “Puddinghead’s shenanigans, for example?”

“Sorry to break it up to you, Bloom, but that’s actually the one thing the historians are sure about!” Vinyl chuckled. “Chancellor Puddinghead certainly was an eccentric.”

“But.. Why standing inside a chimney?” AppleBloom asked in confusion.

“Because it’s outside the box, apparently,” Vinyl replied with amused smile, before entering the dining room. “Now, let’s eat! We’ll discuss that with a full stomach!”

Welcome to Canterlot (rewritten)

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“So, yer ready for tomorrow, Vinyl?” Mac asked calmly on the eve of his sisters’ departure, right before supper.

“To quote you, Big Brother, Eeeyuuup!” Vinyl replied with a nod as she was setting the table. “My compositions are done and secured in a folder inside my backpack, and I finished AJ’s and my luggage before coming downstairs.”

“Applejack couldn’t pack her stuff on her own?” AppleBloom asked with a confused frown, lifting her eyes from her history report she was busy writing.

“She did pack all her stuff on her own,” Vinyl said casually. “I just added some of the clothes I bought for her in Manehatten,” she explained.

“Why would you do that?” AppleBloom asked with curiosity.

“Because if I don’t force the circumstances a bit, I know she’ll never wear any of them,” Vinyl replied with shrug.

“Eeeeyuuup!” Mac agreed with a knowing nod. “I remember y’all’s prom night, she wanted to wear her worn out jeans and her work shirt,” he added with a chuckle.

“Tell me about it,” Vinyl chuckled in remembrance. “Luckily, Cloud and I managed to put her in that black evening dress. She turned many heads around at the prom thanks to it,”

“Ah bet she did!” Granny Smith shouted in approval from the kitchen. “Good thin’ Ah had sent Macintosh watchin’ over y’all to be sure no one would do anythin’ stupid to her.”

“What do you mean ‘stupid’?” AppleBloom asked with puzzlement.

“I think everyone valued their physical integrity, Granny,” Vinyl remarked. “What had happened with Cloudy two years before was still pretty fresh in their minds,”

“What stupidities was Granny talkin’ about?” AppleBloom insisted.

“Eeeyuuup, Ah didn’t have to move a finger that night,” Mac nodded, ignoring AppleBloom’s question. “She only danced with her usual group of friends.”

“Can someone tell me what Granny was talkin’ about?” AppleBloom nearly shouted impatiently.

“When you’re eighteen years old!” Vinyl, Mac and Granny all replied in unison. “At least!” the three added firmly.

“Hmm? Where’s AJ by the way?” Vinyl asked when she realized her blonde sister was missing while AppleBloom was pouting sourly.

“She said she wanted to work out a bit before dinner,” Mac replied casually.

“Could ya go tell her that it’ll be ready in thirty minutes, Vinyl?” Granny Smith asked.

“Sure thing!” Vinyl assured before heading out of the house.

“Ah’ll come with ya!” AppleBloom rushed after Vinyl, only to be held back by the collar by Mac.

“Get back to yer history report!” Mac demanded with a soft smile, pointing at his little sister’s unfinished assignment.

“Awww!” the little red-haired sighed.

Vinyl let out a quiet chuckle at AppleBloom’s misery, then she stepped outside the farmhouse. She made way to the barn on the edge of the southern orchard of the farm. It was the barn Vinyl and Applejack had converted into a lounge to hang out with their friends during their high school years.

Well, it used to be like that. Applejack had slowly re-converted it into a state of the art gym during Vinyl’s absences. As she remembered how much a subscription to a good gym had costed her in Manehatten, Vinyl didn’t mind her sister’s idea about the barn’s new function.

When she opened the gym’s door, Vinyl was a little bit startled by a loud bang before seeing a sandbag fly across the room, crashing heavily against the barn’s wall. She blinked while Applejack went to pick the bag up, muttering some insanities about it that would have caused their grandmother to wash her cursing tongue with two soap bars, at least.

“Something on your mind, Sis?” Vinyl asked worriedly as she walked next to Applejack who had hooked the bag back to its original spot.

“.......No,” Applejack replied with a scrunched nose and her emerald green eyes darting up and down before she started to punch the sandbag violently.

“I’d appreciate you don’t try to lie to me, AJ,” Vinyl said softly under the loud bangs of her sister’s punches.

“And, how do ya know Ah’m lyin’?” Applejack asked with a slightly offended tone, not interrupting her pounding on the bag.

“I’ve always known you were a bad liar, AJ,” Vinyl remarked. “And, even if I didn’t, the way you’re trying to kill that sandbag is more than enough of a sign that something’s bothering you.”

Applejack’s reply was to throw a stronger punch on the sandbag, once again unhooking it and sending it flying across the room. Applejack kept her punching stance for a few seconds before she relaxed her shoulders and faced Vinyl.

“It’s a bit annoying that ya know me inside out, Vinyl,” Applejack commented in a calm voice.

“It’s the job of the little sister to annoy to her older sister, ain’t it?” Vinyl asked with a small, quiet laugh, soon joined by Applejack. “So, what’s up?”

“Ah… Ah’m just nervous about this whole Canterlot trip tomorrow, Ah reckon,” Applejack admitted slowly, rubbing her arm in a slightly nervous gesture. “Ah know it’s probably an important event for ya, but Ah’m afraid Ah’ll do somethin’ that will ashame ya,” she confessed with a worried tone.

“What could you possibly do to make me ashamed of you?” Vinyl asked in a soft, caring tone as she placed a reassuring hand on her sister’s shoulder. “That never happened once during the sixteen years you’ve been in my life, and I know it will never happen!” she assured firmly. “Not in this life!”

“Vi’, don’t sugarcoat me, please,” Applejack said with an unhappy chuckle. “You and Ah both know how Ah ain’t suited to accompany ya!”

“Beg pardon?” Vinyl blinked with a shocked expression.

“Ah don’ belong in a Canterlot fancy party!” Applejack said quietly. “Ah’ll make ya look bad, Ah know Ah’ll be a burden for ya….”

“Enough!” Vinyl nearly shouted firmly, startling Applejack a bit. “AJ, you’re not a burden for me to carry around! If anything, you’re the rock that kept me on my feet during all those years,” she said softly. “You convinced me to take this scholarship, that I shouldn’t listen to what the naysayers said about me repaying you and the others by abandoning you for a good life in Manehatten!”

Applejack was about to say something when Vinyl put her hands on her cheeks. The two sisters’ eyes locked on each other. When the bright red met the green, Applejack didn’t say anything. Applejack could only see in Vinyl’s eyes the trust the blue haired woman had in her.

“It’s only thanks to you I came this far, AJ,” Vinyl continued softly, leaning her forehead against Applejack’s. “Like you said, it’s a very important moment for me, probably the most important gig of my life, and I don’t want to spend it with anyone other than you, big sis.”

They stayed with their eyes closed and their forehead pressed on each other’s for a few minutes, until Applejack pulled back, and lifted Vinyl’s chin to face hers. Vinyl couldn’t not see her sister’s relaxed smile.

“One day, yer gonna lose that silver tongue of yers.” Applejack chuckled. “Ah’ll sure as sugar miss it whenever Ah feel down!”

“Well, if you stop feeling down, you’ll never need it again.” Vinyl shortly chuckled too. “You’re good?” she asked with worry.

“Still a bit nervous, but not as much as before,” Applejack admitted. “Can’t understand how ya ain’t nervous! Ah mean, from what Ah understood, yer gonna have to work with that Philharmonica gal ya’ve been fan since Cloudy gave ya her first record,”

Vinyl blinked at her sister’s remark. She will have to work with Octavia Philharmonica, one of her favorite musicians, a real genius in the field of music, a member of the biggest cultural authority in country: The Council of Harmony.

“I think I just lost my appetite now,” Vinyl whispered in a fearful gulp.

“Ow.” Applejack sheepishly scratched the back of her head. “Sorry.”

“Well, now we’re both nervous,” Vinyl said with a sigh, her eyes slowly turning to the boxing ring in the room. “Luckily, we’re equipped for that! You’re a bit tired of sandbags, aren’t you?” she asked with a knowing grin as she climbed on the ring.

“A bit,” Applejack admitted while slowly joining her sister on the ring. “Ya sure yer up for that? Ah don’t want ya to get hurt,” she said worriedly as Vinyl levitated two pairs of gloves for each of them.

“I’m maybe not burly like Big Mac and you, sugar,” Vinyl stated calmly as finished putting her white boxing gloves on. “But, I always could take hits without much of a problem.”

“Well, ya probably didn’t get as much practice as ya’d like in Man….”

Applejack was interrupted by Vinyl’s white glove heading straight for her face. She quickly parried the gloved fist by grabbing it in her hand, stopping it a few inches from her visage. Applejack blinked in surprise, she remembered Vinyl was faster than Macintosh whenever they had trained together, but not as fast as now.

“You better not assume that I grew softer in University, big sis,” Vinyl said with a small smirk as she pulled her fist back. “Or, you’ll end up losing your ‘undefeated’ status.”

Applejack slowly grinned before starting to put her orange gloves on. “We’ll see ‘bout that in a few seconds, Sugarcube!”

“Ya sure ya don’t want me to hold yer bag, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked in a caring tone while the two of them were walking to the Royal Palace in Canterlot, her eyes fixed on the bruise on Vinyl’s right forearm.

“For the last time, yes I’m sure!” Vinyl replied in annoyance. “It’s just a small bruise. It’s not like you broke my arm yesterday, so stop worrying about it! And don’t even think about apologizing again, ok?”

“Alright,” Applejack said with a defeated sigh. She glanced at the huge, spiraled, white towers of the Immortal Sisters Castle ahead of them. “That place is a mighty huge!” she let out a long, impressed whistle.

“Yeah, much bigger than the main building in Manehatten University,” Vinyl commented in an awed tone.

“Ya have any idea where we’re supposed to go?” Applejack asked as a squad of the Castle Guard stopped its patrol when they saw the two sisters coming their way.

“We’ll just ask the guards,” Vinyl replied when they stopped in front of the golden armored men and women. “Hello, sir,” she said politely to the squad commander. “Perhaps you could help us?”

“It depends on what you’re asking, Miss,” he replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I’m the musician hired for the reception,” Vinyl explained before rummaging in her backpack. “Here’s my official invitation,” she added as she extended a parchment roll tied close by a light blue ribbon.

“Hmmm,” the Guard officer let out as he read the invitation. “Well, that’s an authentic one!” he said calmly. “Just need to do a small inspection of your belongings and…”

“Beg pardon?” Applejack asked with a small frown.

“It’s a standard procedure, Miss,” the officer explained softly as two of his guards walked to Vinyl and Applejack. “We must check everything that comes into the Castle.”

“Come on, AJ, be nice. They’re just doing their job,” Vinyl said calmly. “It’s not like we have anything to hide in our bags,”

“Fine,” Applejack muttered sourly.

The two guards opened the two travel bags to quickly inspect what was inside of them. During their short inspection, a large white carriage with a yellow, four branches star on top of blue other one as coat of arms passed next to the whole scene, heading unbothered to the Castle.

“Now, why in thunderation aren’t you searching that carriage as well?” Applejack asked with a sour pout.

“AJ,” Vinyl warned calmly.

“What? If it’s standard procedure, why are we the only ones who’re having our luggages searched through?”

“Well, Prince Blueblood and you two don’t really have the same level of importance,” the guard who was searching through Applejack’s bag, commented in an annoyed whisper, thinking Vinyl and Applejack hadn’t heard him.

“Come again, pal?” Applejack asked him angrily while Vinyl frowned at him. “The same level of what?”

“Misses, please calm down.” the officer demanded uneasily. “He meant that the Prince’s status forbids us to search his carriage without an explicit order from our Captain.”

“Not really,” the offending guard commented slyly.

“You better put your mad dog on a leash before he gets bitten!” Vinyl angrily advised the patrol’s commanding officer.

“Is that a threat?” a woman guard asked slowly, taking a threatening step toward Vinyl.

“Not really, but take another step toward ma sis, and Ah’ll be glad to give ya one!” Applejack growled while cracking her knuckles.

The situation between the two Apple sisters and the two rude guards was about to escalate when a cheerful song started being played near them. All heads snapped in direction of the music’s source, seeing a bright pink cart with whistles and trumpets coming out of it with waving flags and a young girl with cotton-candy hair.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” the girl sang cheerfully as she bounced toward the two Apples. “A fine welcome to you!”

Everyone stared blankly at the singing girl, not knowing how to react to what she was doing.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” the pink-haired put a party on top of Vinyl’s head, and Applejack’s stetson. “I say how do you do?” she ended her lyrics by blowing a trumpet in their direction.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” she tapped on a march drum while circling around the two puzzled farm girls. “I say hip hip hurray!”

“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” She slid on her knees until she stopped a few feet between the cart and the two Apples. “Welcome to Canterlot todaaaaaay!” she held a long note with her arms wide open.

She smiled widely at the staring crowd in front of her.

“Wait for it!” she warned happily before a mass of confetti and streamers was propelled out of one of her cart’s horns with a loud, sharp whistle.

The pink-haired blinked when she found in front of her the two offending guards covered head to toes by confetti and streamers, the woman floating in a light blue aura, and the man was held few feet above the ground by his chestplate.

“Woooooo! You’re good!” she commented with an approving nod. “No one ever thought of the substitution to dodge it before!”

“Glad to be the first then,” Applejack said as she let got of the collar of the guard’s chest plate, making him fall on his backside loudly.

“Very catchy song by the way,” Vinyl commented as her magic let the woman guard fall on the ground with a high-pitched shriek.

“Why you!” the two humiliated guards growled in unison.

“THAT’S ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU!” the officer yelled angrily at the two, instantly silencing them. “You can go, Misses,” he said more calmly to the two Apples. “I apologize for my mens’ behavior!” When they slowly nodded, he turned to the pink-haired girl. “My lady, could I ask you to not report the Captain about that incident? With the wedding coming up, he has enough to deal with.”

“No problemo, mister the patrol officer!” the pink-haired saluted happily. “I’m just gonna accompany the two Apples to the wedding planning committee!”

Vinyl and Applejack blinked in surprise. “How do you know our name?”

“Lucky guess?” the girl supposed with a shrug. “Anyway, follow me!” she said excitedly before bouncing to the Castle gates.

“Huh… Ok,” a puzzled Vinyl let out before grabbing her bag and going after the girl, her sister on her heels.

Applejack looked back at the guards after Vinyl passed the gates. The one she had used as a shield from the confetti was casting her a dark glare. Applejack responded in kind by giving him the finger long enough for him to notice before Vinyl called her to go.

When Applejack passed the gates as well, the commanding officer glanced around to see nobody was watching while the two offending guards stood up. When he was certain the coast was clear, he punched the man in the face and slapped the woman with the back of his armored gauntlet.

“That’s what you two call keeping a low profile?!” he growled in a much deeper voice, his eyes slightly shining in a dark green hue.

“We’re sorry, Captain,” the pair replied in a fearful whisper.

“I hope you are!” the Captain muttered, his voice slowly returning to the shriller tone he had used with the two Apples. “Otherwise, I’ll have to take disciplinary actions!” He exhaled loudly to calm himself. “Let’s get back to her patrol, and mask those wounds!” he ordered before his guards and him went back to their normal route, the two wounded guards’ face briefly shining in a green light before their faces appeared good as new.

“Thanks by the way,” Vinyl said as the pink haired girl was leading her and Applejack to the planning committee.

“What for?” she asked with curiosity.

“For guiding us through this Castle, we sure would have gotten lost at some point,” Vinyl explained casually. “And for that welcome song! That sure saved us from a heap of trouble with the guards,” she added sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about the guards!” she waved off with a small giggle. “They’ve been too much under pressure with the big day coming up. Everyone involved in the wedding is so nervous,” she scratched her chin. “Except me! I’m sooooo excited!” she added with a big smile.

“Well, that’s nice and all,” Applejack commented. “But, maybe ya could tell us who ya are?”

“I didn’t?” she asked with a shocked gasp. The two Apples shook their head. “No, you must be joking! Introducing myself is the first thing I do in every fanfiction I’m written in!” she assured with a nod, earning confused, raised eyebrows in response.

“Huh… I didn’t understand what you just said, but you didn’t introduce yourself!” Vinyl said cautiously.

“Hold on to that thought,” she said as she pulled a clipboard from her poofy hair, much to the two Apples’ shock. “Let’s see…. The situation between the two Apple sisters and the two rude guards was about to escalate when…….”Welcome, Welcome, welcome!....”Wait for it..”.” she read out loud before placing a hand on her cheek while gasping loudly. “You’re right! I completely forgot to introduce myself!” she said in an embarrassed, quiet voice. “Well, better late than never!” she put her clipboard back in her hair. “HI! My name’s Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie said cheerfully, extending her hand to Vinyl.

“Pinkie Pie… As for the Pinkamena Diane Pie from the Council of Harmony?” Vinyl asked with wide eyes. Pinkie simply nodded. “Wow! Pleased to meet you!” Vinyl shook her hand vigorously. “Name’s Vinyl Apple, and here’s my sister, Jacquelyn,” she added, nodding at Applejack.

“Pleased to meet ya as well,” Applejack said politely as she shook Pinkie’s hand as well.

“Now that we got that out of the way, how about we go meet Twilight?” Pinkie asked before leading the two Apples further inside the castle.

“Twilight Sparkle is the wedding planning committee?” Vinyl asked with a surprised tone.

“Hum-Hum!” Pinkie nodded. “It’s her big brother’s big day after all. No way she’d not get involved somehow.”

“Ah can understand that,” Applejack commented casually.

“Pinkie! Where have you been?” a woman’s voice asked in a slightly angry tone. “You’ve missed lunch!”

A dark skinned woman with long, deep purple hair with pink and light purple highlights in it walked in the trio’s direction.

“NOOOOOOOOO!” Pinkie shouted in despair, falling on her knees.

The newcomer rolled her eyes at Pinkie’s reaction. “There are leftovers for you in the kitchens,” she said softly.

“Oh!” Pinkie let out in a much more calm voice. “You could have said that earlier! Here are Vinyl Apple, the musician who passed the auditions, and her sister, Jacquelyn. See you!” she said quickly before dashing at top speed to where the dark skinned woman came from.

“Is she always like that?” Vinyl asked slowly while Applejack blinked in confusion.

“You have no idea,” the dark skinned woman said with a small sigh. “Anyway, my name’s Twilight Sparkle.” she introduced herself politely. “We were waiting for you, Miss Apple,” she added to Vinyl with a small smile. “

“You were?”

“Indeed,” Twilight answered. “Well, I said we, but it was mostly Octavia who’s waiting for you,” she added casually.

Vinyl froze when Twilight said that. “The famous Octavia Philharmonica was waiting for me?” she asked in disbelief. “Why?"

Twilight nodded. “Ever since she read the report on your auditions, she had been very eager to work with you,” she explained. “She’s in the one in charge of the music.”

“.She’s the one in charge of the.....eager to work with me?” Vinyl brought her hand to her temple as she started to feel dizzy. “Oh, dear Epona…” she said in a labored breath.

“Put yer head between yer knees, sugar,” Applejack advised softly as she gently grabbed her sister before she fell on the ground.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked with worry while Vinyl did as her sister told her, trying to catch her breath.

“It’s nothing serious,” Applejack assured while resting a reassuring hand on Vinyl’s shoulder . “She’s just havin’ a severe fangirl attack,” she added with a chuckle.

“Oh,” Twilight let out with a short giggle. “I get what you mean. It happened a lot back when Rainbow wasn’t used to talking to the Wonderbolts,” she added softly.

“Just…. Just wait until I can focus again, AJ!” Vinyl attempted to growl, but her frantic breathing made her sound anything but threatening. “You’re so gonna get it!”

“Keep telling yerself that, lil’ sis,” Applejack whispered in a caring tone, unfazed by her sister’s threat. “That’ll help ya recover from the stress!”

“I’m so close to hating you, right now!” Vinyl growled in between labored breaths.

“Love ya too, Sugar!”

First meetings (rewrite of the Magic of Music)

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After recovering from her fangirl attack, and strongly whacking the back of her blonde sister’s head, Vinyl was lead by Twilight to the room that had been reserved for her and Applejack, who had followed her sister with a mocking grin. Vinyl’s retaliation had the sole effect hurting her own hand.

While Applejack had settled their things in the rather luxurious room, Twilight had briefed Vinyl on what was expected of her. She had to get to the main ballroom as soon as possible to start her rehearsal.

After a quick shower to refresh herself from the journey to the castle and a change of clothes, Vinyl left Applejack settle in while she walked to the ballroom, following one of the very practical maps of the place Twilight had given them. She took a deep breath before entering the aforementioned room, finding it already decorated for the upcoming wedding.

Her gaze was quickly attracted to the stage set near the large French windows that gave access to the balcony. On stage, a young woman wearing a black performing suit, a white collar and a pink bow tie, with long, silk-like, black hair was busy tuning her instrument: a beautifully crafted cello.

Vinyl recognized the woman instantly. It was Octavia Philharmonica, one of the most talented musicians in the country, whose talent had made her famous at the age of sixteen, and recruited into the Council of Harmony at eighteen. Vinyl couldn’t help but to feel incredibly tiny at the sight of the black haired beauty. Yes, because the Gods had also gifted Octavia with something other than her incredible musical talent.

Vinyl shook her head to stop the lustful part of her mind, which was well developed due to years of hanging out with her and her sister’s best friend Cloud, from drifting her gaze lower than socially acceptable. When her mind was clear enough to her liking, Vinyl signaled her presence.

“Lady Philharmonica,” she called politely, but nervously.

“Hum?” Octavia turned around to face who had just called her. “Good afternoon, Miss,” she said politely. “Can I help you?”

“I was instructed to come here to meet you,” Vinyl explained. “My name’s Vinyl Apple.”

“Oh! Right!” Octavia said with a genuine smile while inviting Vinyl to come on stage. “I’ve been waiting for your arrival!”

“That’s what I’d heard from Lady Sparkle,” Vinyl replied casually as possible, shaking hands with her favorite musician. “Pleased to meet you, Lady Philharmonica.”

“Pleased to meet you as well, Miss Apple,” Octavia replied. “You sure got the Princesses and me curious about you!”

“What do you mean?” Vinyl asked in confusion.

“Well, the woman who passed the audition, Lyrica Heartstrings, was ecstatic about your performance,” Octavia explained. “She even said that she had never been that thrilled by a new musician since myself.” she blinked.

“I wasn’t that good,” Vinyl said with an embarrassed blush.

“That’s not what she said,” Octavia assured with a smile, before frowning when she noticed Vinyl lacked something. “Why didn’t you bring your instrument?” she asked in puzzlement.

“I did,” Vinyl replied with a small chuckle as her hand started to glow in a light blue aura.

“Ha, you know the spell to teleport objects to where you are?” she asked in a mix of realization and surprise. “According to Twilight, it’s a rather difficult spell,” she noted with a pinch of admiration.

“Huh… Did Miss Heartstrings tell you what my instrument is?” Vinyl asked with a cocked eyebrow while her magic was creating a dozens of small, floating, blue strings.

“Now that you make me think about it, no, she didn’t,” Octavia said after scratching her chin with a pensive frown. “Does it matter? Since I’m about to see it.”

“You’re already seeing it actually!” Vinyl pointed at the floating strings.

Octavia looked at the floating strings with a skeptical frown. “Is this a joke of some sort?” she cast an accusatory glare at Vinyl. “Rainbow sent you to impersonate Miss Apple, didn’t she?”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I wasn’t born yesterday, you know?” Octavia crossed her arms with an angry frown. “You can go tell Rainbow that her pranks are becoming more and more tedious than funny,” she added in a sour tone.

“Listen,” Vinyl said calmly. “I’m not some impersonator, and it’s not a lame prank,” she explained firmly.

“Sure,” Octavia said sarcastically. “Please, just go! I’m waiting for a musician, not a cheap fair illusionist,” she added coldly.

Vinyl blinked at what was implied about her before narrowing her red eyes at the cellist. Vinyl might have been a huge fan of Octavia, but she couldn’t let the famous cellist look down on her, even if it was because of a big misunderstanding.

In an instant, Vinyl focused more magic in her hands, tripling the amount of magic strings, and doubling their length. Octavia took a step back with a small shriek, thinking the blue haired Titanian was about to attack her.

She was proven wrong when she saw the strings forming various shapes: racks, circles, squares, and spheres for most parts. Octavia noticed that Vinyl had closed her eyes with a concentrated expression before she moved one of her magicked fingers. Then she heard it.

“What in the world …” Octavia whispered in shock while the combined melody of a piano and a guitar started to resonate in the entire ballroom. “Where does….?”

When the sound of a cello added itself to the music, Octavia’s gaze fell on the magical strings Vinyl had conjured, finally noticing that some of them were glowing brightly, others were flickering intensely.

Could it be…. her doing? Octavia thought as she glanced at Vinyl.

The blue haired woman’s fingers were nearly dancing in perfect synchronization with the floating strings, which were changing shapes as the music went crescendo, or when she could perceive an instrument replacing another.

Octavia decided to simply watch the ballet offered by the light blue strings. At the moment a violin played pizzicato joined the melody, two long, flickering strings caught the cellist’s attention by spinning around each other in an endless double helix form. When she heard the violin being played by a bow, the two strings took the shape of the infinity symbol.

Vinyl kept her magic active for a long time, a lot longer time than Octavia had thought. She had noticed that the Titanian in front of her had lost herself to the music very quickly after beginning her performance, but Octavia couldn’t bear to stop it, her right foot tapping to the rhythm of the music.

During the blue-haired woman’s performance, Octavia had recognized the sounds of at least a dozens of different instruments, while being mesmerized by the beautiful show of blue lights offered by Vinyl’s magical strings.

Eventually, the music started to become quieter as numerous strings dissipated themselves into thin air. Vinyl slowly closed her fists, which progressively shined less every seconds. When the ballroom became silent, Vinyl opened her eyes, finding an awed Octavia in front of her.

“I-I think I owe you a huge deal of apologizes, Miss Apple,” Octavia said in an embarrassed tone.

“That you do,” Vinyl said with a slow nod. “But, you seem to have liked it, so I can say we’re clear,” she added with small smile

“It was fantastic!” Octavia assured with a nod. “I had no idea Titanian magic could be used like that!” she commented excitedly.

“It’s not really surprising, my dear,” a motherly woman’s voice chimed in with a chuckle. “You’re speaking to that spell’s creator.”

“Ha! Princess, I didn’t notice you were there!” Octavia said casually, looking above Vinyl’s shoulder.

Vinyl looked at where Octavia was looking at, freezing when she saw a tall, tanned woman climbing on stage, wearing a regal, white dress, with teal, light blue, pink and light purple hair that were flowing to an unexisting breeze.

“I was having a stroll in the gardens when I heard the musicians play. Or should I use the singular form?” Princess Celestia asked with a chuckle, her magenta eyes gazed on Vinyl, who quickly kneeled on the ground with solemnity. “Please, stand up, Magic Musician Vinyl Apple,” she demanded in a gentle, warm tone.

“You..You know my name, your Highness?” Vinyl asked in a surprised tone, slowly standing up.

“You’re quite famous in Manehatten University,” Celestia replied with a soft smile. “And, I try to stay aware of what happens in the schools that carry my name.”

“You knew she could play music with magic?” Octavia asked the monarch in shock. “You could have told me that, I’d not have been so uncouth to her! Again, I deeply apologize for that, Miss Apple,” she added softly for Vinyl.

“You didn’t ask, Octavia,” Celestia replied, giggling playfully. “Now, I heard about your magic, but I’d like to hear from you how it works. If you don’t mind?” she asked the blue haired musician.

“Huh, you want ME to explain a spell to you?” Vinyl asked in dumbfounded expression.

The monarch nodded. “That’s the beautiful thing about magic,” Celestia replied with a smile. “You can live with it for more than four thousand years, and still having to learn about all the wonders it can create. Besides, I think Octavia would really like to know how it works as well," she added with a knowing glance at the cellist.

“Indeed!" Octavia nodded excitedly. "That should be very interesting!"

“I guess that should be okay then,” Vinyl said as casually as possible, the immortal monarch and her idol both genuinely curious about her magic made her bit nervous.

“Perfect!” Celestia smiled happily. “Why don’t we settle down at one of the tables?” she asked, pointing at the numerous tables placed around the ballroom.

The two musicians nodded before the Sun Princess lead them to the table the closest to the stage. Once they were all sit around the table, Vinyl took a short breath before speaking.

“The mechanic of the spell is akin to how a string instrument, for example a cello, is played,” Vinyl explained, glancing at Octavia before conjuring a small blue string, and a miniature bow with her magic. “You rub the bow across the string and you obtain a sound.” The small magical bow slided on the string, making a small note. “Surely you know why, considering you’re a talented musician,” she said to Octavia.

The cellist nodded. “The strings of an instrument vibrate, thus creating sounds.”

“That’s the key of this spell,” Vinyl agreed. “With the strings I create with magic, I can make vibrations that are the exact copy of the ones created by an instrument.” The string she had conjured took the shape of a circle. “By changing the frequency of the vibrations, or the shape of the strings, I can switch between instruments.” The string took the form of an pentagram before flickering intensively before the sound of a cello were replaced by one of a piano. “Or play more than one at a time.” The string divided in two, one still in the shape of a pentagram, maintaining the sound of the piano, the other took the shape of the infinity before making a violin heard in the room.

“Fascinating!” Celestia whispered in a slightly awed tone, earning a short nod of approval from Octavia. “How did you develop such affinity with sound magic?”

“I..I don’t really know, your Highness,” Vinyl replied with puzzlement. “As far as I remember that’s the type of magic I always did. I remember my first magic manifestation.” she chuckled softly in remembrance. “My brother’s ears buzzed for four hours.”

“You remember that?” Celestia asked in a surprised tone. “How old were you?”

“Huh...I was about six and half. Why?” Vinyl asked in confusion.

“Are you sure that was your first time doing magic?” Celestia asked with a puzzled curiosity. Vinyl slowly nodded. “That’s odd,” she whispered to herself.

“What is it, your Highness?” Octavia asked.

“It’s nothing serious, Octavia,” Celestia said with a dismissive wave, before turning to Vinyl. “It’s just that you were really old for your first magic manifestation,” she added softly.

“I know I was a late bloomer,” Vinyl replied with a sad tone. “My first years weren’t really the most appropriate for magic developpement.”

Noticing the uneasiness and sadness in her fellow musician’s voice, Octavia decided to change the subject.

“Anyway, how many instruments can you play with your magic?” Octavia asked eagerly.

“Hum, about five to a very decent level of qualification,” Vinyl replied after thinking for a bit. “Piano, cello, violin, drum and guitar!” she specified. “The rest is more sloppy than the those five, unless I got enough time to prepare.”

“That’s impressive!” Octavia smiled while Celestia nodded. “Can you do anything else?”

“Well, there’s that little trick.” Vinyl smiled, bringing two finger shining in a light blue aura on her throat.

“What does it do?” Celestia asked with a cocked eyebrow after noticing nothing happened.

“It does this!” Vinyl replied with Celestia’s voice, startling Octavia. “And I can change it easily,” she added in the perfect imitation of the cellist voice.

“Most impressive!” Celestia chuckled while Octavia blinked in confusion at hearing herself from another mouth. “How did you do to imitate our voices that quickly?”

“I was blessed with good ears,” Vinyl explained in her own voice. “But, that’s just for the fun. I can do a lot more with my sonic strings, but explaining that would take a long time.”

“Oh, dear! You’re right!” Celestia said before glancing at the clock. “The wedding is only a few days away, and here I am encroaching on your rehearsal time!” She stood up from her chair. “I’m going to leave you work in peace, but I hope to continue this conversation over dinner tonight, Miss Apple!” she added with small smile before heading out of the room.

“Huh...sure,” Vinyl replied uneasily.

“Great! I’ll see you tonight, Miss Apple. That invitation goes for your plus-one as well. Octavia, I’m counting on you to tell her where to join us.” she added to the cellist as she stepped outside the room.

“I will, your Highness!” Octavia called before standing up and facing Vinyl. “How about we get this rehearsal started?”

“Sure!” Vinyl answered with certitude this time.

“Will it be ok for you to cast that spell throughout the whole rehearsal, Miss Apple?” Octavia asked with worry. “I don’t want you to overexert yourself!”

“We Apples are known to last, Lady Philharmonica!” Vinyl assured with a nod. “Don’t worry that pretty little head of yours,” she added without thinking.

Both musicians’ cheeks turned bright red when they realized what Vinyl had just said.

“Huh...I’m sorry, I kinda forgot who I was talking to. I hope I didn’t offend you,” Vinyl stammered in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean what I said… Not that I find you not pretty or anything but,.... Oh, sweet Epona!” she muttered while facepalming. Keep digging, Vinyl! You must be halfway to Neighpon. It would be bad to stop now.

“It’s okay,” Octavia reassured, twirling a lock of her hair while blushing softly. “I get it, Miss Apple. Let’s just get back to music.”

“Sure thing!” Vinyl nodded in relief. “Just can I ask you a little something?” Octavia nodded. “Can you drop the “Miss Apple” thing, and call me Vinyl?” she asked.

Octavia smiled softly. “On one condition! You’ll have to call me Octavia!”

Vinyl smiled as well. “I can do that!”

********

The afternoon had been quite an adventure for Applejack. As soon as she had settled her sister and her things in their allocated room, Pinkie had come to ask if she could keep her company. Given she had nothing to do, Applejack accepted.

The excited pink-haired girl had lead Applejack to the kitchens, in which she had come to taste a few dishes the chef had planned for the wedding. At some point, Applejack was asked to taste as well, and like whenever someone asked for her opinion, she gave it without ceremony.

Needless to say, the kitchen staff hadn’t really appreciated to know that, in Applejack’s opinion, all the fancy looking food they had prepared for the taste test lacked something really important: taste.

After a rather long, and loud exchange of courtesies between her and the kitchen staff, Applejack was challenged to cook for them if she knew better than him and his kitchen help. Something she eagerly complied to. The blissful smiles on the chef Allez Cuisine, his staff, and Pinkie’s faces after tasting Applejack’s rather simple cooking was extremely satisfactory. That was how Applejack had been recruited in the kitchens for the time of the wedding, with a decent salary no less.

Happy with herself, Applejack had returned to her room to do her evening exercises. While in the middle of them, Vinyl had come to tell her that were invited for dinner by the princess Celestia. After getting changed real quick, Vinyl had ordered her blonde sister to take a shower and to wear one of the “fancy clothes”, as Applejack called them, she had packed for her before heading to the dining room.

Applejack interrupted her evening routine to hop in the shower, before getting dressed. She had decided to trade her usual orange shirt and blue jeans, by a classical pair of black pants, and a white, strapless bustier with a deep blue jacket on top. She also decided to leave her trademark stetson in the room. If the princess had invited her sister and her, Applejack wasn’t going to make her sister embarrassed by coming dressed like a dirty farm girl.

After getting ready, Applejack got out of her room, and headed for the dining room, two stories below. As she reached the second floor of the stairs, Applejack heard a rather displeased discussion between a man and a woman.

“As I already told you, Prince Blueblood,” a purple haired beauty, wearing a tight white dress, with a fancy accent said in a pinch of annoyance. “I’m expected for dinner with your most esteemed aunts, and I’m running late.”

“Now, now, Lady Rarity,” the blond prince with long hair, and wearing a white tuxedo replied with a charming tone. “No need to hurry like that, my aunts would probably accept your apologies for being fashionably late,” he added with a chuckle.

“While it may be true, I’m supposed to meet with the others of the Council to meet the musician selected for the wedding,” Lady Rarity explained in a low tone. “I’ll see you another time, Prince Blueblood.”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow at the blond prince still holding back the lady with curly purple hair. It was pretty obvious this Lady Rarity wanted nothing to do with this Prince Blueblood, even for Applejack who had a real problem at perceiving undertoned messages. When she saw the prince holding back the lady by taking her hand before she chased it away, Applejack headed to the duo.

“‘Scuse me, but Ah think the lady here said she didn’t have time for ya,” Applejack said slowly to the prince, who looked back at her with a cocked eyebrow. “More than once.”

“Why, thank you, Miss…?” Lady Rarity asked for Applejack’s name.

“Apple! Jacquelyn Apple, ma Lady,” Applejack replied politely.

“Well, Miss Apple,” Blueblood replied slowly. “I think you’re exceeding what’s asked of you,” he added with glare.

“Huh?” Applejack replied in confusion. “Exceedin’ what’s asked of me?” she repeated slowly.

“Yeah!” Blueblood nodded. “Didn’t someone tell you? A servant like you speaks only when she’s asked something, nothing more.”

“Wha...What did ya call me?” Applejack frowned in anger. “Ah am nobody’s servant!” she growled threateningly.

“Miss Apple, calm down,” Lady Rarity whispered while resting a small reassuring hand on the farmer’s shoulder. “He’s not worth your time,” she added in a venomous murmur.

Blueblood blinked. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed things,” he said calmly in front of Applejack. The blonde woman snorted before turning her back on Blueblood and heading to the staircase. “After all, a woman with such weird accent could not be a servant.”

“What did ya just say ‘bout ma accent?” Applejack growled as she glanced back at the prince.

“That it doesn’t fit a servant from the Castle,” Blueblood replied casually. “On the other hand, it fits wonderfully to an evening escort, I should have realized which one of the two you were.”

Rarity gasped at what the Prince insinuated, only to gasp louder in pure shock when the blonde woman suddenly punched his nose with a clearly audible crack before Blueblood screamed in pain, and fell on the ground. Applejack grabbed the collar of the prince angrily.

“Say that again! AH DARE YA... AH DOUBLE-DARE YA, YOU SPINELESS PRICK!” Applejack shouted in fury while slapping the prince a few times as he was calling the guards for help.

It didn’t take more than ten seconds for a squad of five guards arrived to try to separate the farmer from the begging prince, only to earn themselves a few hits from the farmer. Lady Rarity brought her hand to her mouth, too shocked to by the violent display of the blonde woman, while also completely awed by how easily she could take care of the guards.

The first one had passed his armored arm around her neck to pull her away from the shrieking Prince, only to be flipped over Applejack after she had grabbed his shoulder with her own arm. The guard landed heavily on his back before Applejack stomped his chest for good measure, making him gasp in pain.

A Jupitarian guard spread his wings to dive at her, hoping to tackle the blonde farmer to the ground. As he was about to reach Applejack, she jumped in the air high enough to be above the winged guard as he passed. The guard didn’t even get a chance to look up before two booted feet pushed hard on his back, sending him crashing into his already decommissioned colleague.

Two of the three remaining guards charged her from both sides at the same time. Applejack grabbed the back of each one’s head before slamming them together, a loud clang resonating in the corridor when the two helmets slammed into each other. The guards’ eyes spun for a few seconds before the both collapsed on their colleagues.

Applejack heard some movement behind her, and turned around with a threatening glare. While the last guard gulped in fear when the farmer faced him, unbeknownst to the fact she wasn’t even acknowledging him. During her move, Applejack’s gaze fell on Lady Rarity.

When the farmer’s eyes met the noble’s, Applejack stopped. In the sapphire blue eyes, she saw something she didn’t like at all: fear. The lady she had wanted to help earlier was scared by what she was doing. Applejack’s green eyes lost all their furious glint while she stopped clenching her fists. She slowly raised her hands in a surrendering gesture, while hanging her head low, too much ashamed with herself to even look at someone, especially the purple-haired beauty.

The four guards recovered with low grunts before Prince Blueblood, his broken nose dripping with red blood while his face was covered in dark blue patches where Applejack had punched him, ordered the guards to throw the farmer in the dungeons.

Vinyl is gonna be pissed when she finds out. Applejack thought with sadness as the guards were handcuffing her. Ah’ve really done it this time! she let out a long, shameful sigh.

Two interrupted dinners (a rewrite of the Might of an Apple)

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Vinyl considered herself a very intelligent woman. She had always gotten straight A’s in school, was given a scholarship in the second best University in the land, right after Celestia’s School for the Gifted in Canterlot, out of which she graduated top of her year. Vinyl thought that, after many discussions with her old teachers in Manehatten and helping her roommate Colgate to write down her thesis in Magic Engineering, she had developed an immunity to migraine inducing conversations.

Then Princess Celestia mentioned the spell she had invented to Twilight Sparkle and Pinkamena Diane Pie, and her head was just about split in two.

Vinyl had heard rumors about the two Council members, and quickly realized how wrong they were. The magical prodigy and the crazy inventor weren’t the two most intelligent women in Equestria. They were the most intelligent people on the planet despite being extremely different from one another.

Twilight was strict and mature, like a girl who had become a grown up too quickly, and Pinkie was goofy and random like a child who had never really grown up, but they had one thing in common. If spoken to about something new and magic-related, the two Council members would ask questions about it. A lot of questions. All asked in very eager, and high-pitched voices.

Vinyl was more than a bit surprised that Pinkie knew as much as Twilight in theoretical magic, and that, much like her dark skinned friend, she was very interested how her spell worked, claiming she would like to create a machine to do something similar one day. Pinkie said she would call it the “Boom-box”.

It was only Princess Luna and Octavia’s intervention that saved Vinyl’s head from exploding because of the so many questions from two Council members, reminding them that Vinyl had had long day of rehearsal, and she might like eat her dinner.

“Gotta say, music girl,” a young woman with rainbow colored hair, sitting across Vinyl, commented with a short nod. “I didn’t think you would hold that long. We’ve seen many university professors faint after only five minutes. Right, Princess C.?” she called the Sun diarch at the south end of the table.

“I must admit that actually has happened more than once, my dear Rainbow,” Celestia replied with a wink, earning a loud laughter from the Councilor of Sports and Ethics.

“Hum...Are you ok?” the woman sitting next to Rainbow, the fourth Council member at the table, Fluttershy, asked in worried murmur as Vinyl was rubbing her temples with both hands.

“I’m fine,” Vinyl assured in a tired voice. “It’s just that four hours of keeping my spell active for rehearsal plus these two...” she nodded at Twilight and Pinkie, who were respectively chatting with her older brother, and eating like there was no tomorrow. “..was a bit too much for my head today.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you rely too much on your only muscle,” Rainbow commented in a joking tone.

“Rainbow!” Octavia chastised sternly.

“My only what now?” Vinyl asked slowly, stopping her massage to cock an eyebrow.

“Well, you must have the same strength as Twilight, who can barely lift a six-pack of water,” Rainbow explained with a shrug. “You being an egghead like her.”

“HEY!” Twilight called in an offended tone. “I can lift a lot more than a six-pack of water!”

“Twily, I think she meant without your magic,” Her older brother, the future groom, Shining Armor remarked with a small mocking smirk, causing his wife to be sitting next to him to giggle softly.

Twilight blinked before pouting sourly. “Without your magic!“ she muttered in an angry snort, crossing her arms.

“Is that so?” Vinyl asked Rainbow with a growing smirk before extending her hand across the table, her elbow resting on it. “Try me!”

The challenge from the blue haired musician caused a small, sudden silence at the table. Rainbow cocked an eyebrow before chuckling and taking Vinyl’s hand, positioning her arm for a good old-fashioned arm-wrestle.

“You’re gonna regret that, Music Girl!” Rainbow said playfully, before pushing against Vinyl’s arm.

“......Sooo.” Vinyl grinned slyly. “When are you going to start pushing?” she asked in a mocking tone as her arm didn’t move at all while Rainbow’s was shaking at the effort.

Rainbow’s reply was to growl while pushing harder, making her opponent’s arm tilt to Vinyl’s right. The musician slightly pushed her arm to restore the statu quo between her and the athlete.

“Now, Rainbow, where is your usual ...swag? Is that what the young ones say nowadays?” Princess Luna asked Fluttershy with incertitude.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Fluttershy said slowly. “Rainbow is the one who knows all those slang words.”

“Impressive,” Celestia commented with a small nod. “It looks like our young Rainbow has bitten off more than she could chew this time.”

“Indeed, quite indubitably, Aunt,” Cadence added while Twilight was mocking Rainbow with her older brother.

“Come on, Dashie!” Pinkie encouraged loudly, waving light blue flags frantically. “You can do it! Push harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!”

“Pinkie, you’re distracting me!” Rainbow snapped, noticing that Vinyl had pushed her hand halfway to the tabletop. “Oh, dammit!”

“While I think that such a game is awfully uncouth, I’ll stoop to your level, Rainbow,” Octavia chuckled when Vinyl slammed the athlete’s fist on the oaken surface. “Hum-hum...In your face!” she declared in a tone that wouldn’t have been out of place in a tea party.

“Ow,” Rainbow let out, massaging the back of her fist after Vinyl had let go of it. “How in Faust’s name can you do that?”

“Farm work is an excellent work out program,” Vinyl explained with a shrug, before going back to her plate, rather pleased with herself.

“You do the farm work manually?” Twilight asked in a surprised voice, stopping instantly her laugh at her friend.

Vinyl nodded before swallowing what she had in her mouth. “Most of the time. I was raised in a full Eponian family, magic isn’t the first thing I think of using for my daily chores,” she explained casually. “Though, it sure helps when we’re behind schedule for Applebuck season.”

“What’s Applebuck season?” Celestia asked with curiosity.

Vinyl’s answer was interrupted by the dining roomdoors’ sudden opening followed by the entrance of a beautiful young woman with curly deep purple hair in a snow white dress that left little to the imagination regarding her figure.

“I apologize for my rude entrance, your Highnesses,” the woman declared in a hurried, and slightly angry tone. “But, I simply must inform you of something terrible that just happened!”

“What’s going on, Rarity?” Celestia asked in a serious tone as everyone’s attention was drawn on the last member of the Council of Harmony.

“There’s been an...incident with Prince Blueblood,” Rarity explained uneasily. “Someone attacked him!”

“Oh, thank Jupiter, I thought something bad had happened!” Rainbow let out in relief.

All the people at the table, except Vinyl who didn’t understand who they were speaking about, cocked an eyebrow at the rainbow-haired girl.

“Don’t look at me as if you all didn’t think what I just said,” Rainbow replied in an annoyed snort.

“We’ve got to admit she’s right, Sister,” Luna admitted slowly while the others at the table shrugged.

“That’s what bothers me the most, Luna,” Celestia commented in a slow, shocked voice.

“That’s not the point!” Rarity said with a firm shake of her head. “Because of him, a poor girl is in the dungeons!”

“A girl?” Twilight, Shining and Cadence stated in shock.

“You mean that the one who attacked Blueblood was a girl?” Octavia asked in a surprised tone.

“I knew he was a wuss, but damn!” Rainbow commented in a loud, mocking laugh.

“Behave, Rainbow!” Luna ordered with a short glare that silenced Rainbow instantly.

“What happened?” Celestia asked the seamstress.

“Well, your nephew the prince was very rude to her..,”

Rarity explained what Blueblood had said to anger the girl to make her snap at him and she easily took care of the guards that went to the Prince’s rescue, earning wide eyes from the diarchs, the captain of the Guard and Vinyl, while the others silently wowed, frowned or blinked at story about how violent the insulted girl had been.

“Hang on…” Vinyl interrupted Rarity’s explanation on how the second and third guards had been knocked out. “That girl… She was about six feet tall, tanned, with blond hair that goes down there…” she pointed at the her lower back.”...styled in a ponytail, with freckles on her face and bright, green eyes?” she asked in a fearful tone.

Rarity blinked. “Yes… How did you know?”

“Yeah, that was my sister,” Vinyl said in a calm sigh.

“Your sister?” Shining asked incredulous. “She’s the one who took out four of my guards?!”

“You can consider yourself lucky she stopped at four,” Vinyl commented as she stood up, earning confused cocking of eyebrows from the majority of the table. “Can you tell me where I could find the dungeons, please?” she asked the Captain of the Royal Guard in a low tone.

“Sure, follow me!” Shining replied with a nod, a bit disturbed by Vinyl’s previous comment.

The two two-toned blue haired Titanians walked out of the dining room, hearing the conversations about what happened between the blonde prince and Vinyl’s sister. Once they were out of earshot of the Council members and Princesses, the Captain turned his head to the musician.

“You don’t seem that much surprised about your sister,” Shining commented softly.

“My sister is the hot-blooded type,” Vinyl explained. “Always was, always will be. It’s part of her charm!” she added with a small chuckle.

“You’re not mad at her?” Shining asked.

“No,” Vinyl assured. “If I had been there, your prince would be deaf by now!” she growled angrily. “No one insults my sis without consequences!”

“Deaf?” Shining muttered with a puzzled frown.

“Not that she would need me of course,” Vinyl explained casually, ignoring the captain’s reaction. “One thing Applejack can surely do is fend for herself.”

“It seems so,” Shining agreed slowly. “Did she undertake a training in the Guard?”

“Applejack trained with a guard in the past,” Vinyl nodded. “Though that was before she actually joined the force. You probably know the guard in question!”

“I hardly know everyone in the Guard, Miss Apple,” Shining replied with a playful chuckle.

“Cloud Kicker!” Vinyl stated, smirking in triumph before noticing that her interlocutor had stayed behind with a shocked expression.

“You know Cloud?” He asked with wide eyes.

“Best friends for nearly sixteen years,” Vinyl replied with a nod as she resumed her walk. “She wrote me about how you gave her some good advice that one time.”

“Yeah, she was a good trainee,” Shining said softly.

“She also told me and AJ about the steamy night of fun you had with her afterwards,” Vinyl said casually.

“THAT NEVER HAPPENED!” Shining shouted in a slightly panicked voice.

“Yeah, I know!” Vinyl chuckled. “But, it nearly happened, didn’t it?”

“I’ll not answer that question!” The captain snapped, a bright blush appearing on his dark cheeks. “...Just don’t let that out!” he demanded in fearful whisper.

“Don’t worry, my lips and AJ’s are sealed!” Vinyl assured with honesty. “Kinda impressive you resisted her charms though,”

“It was… difficult,” he admitted slowly. “But I was in a committed relationship, so nothing would have happened!”

“That’s good!” Vinyl nodded with a small smile. “Are we there yet?”

“Just in the next corridor,” Shining said casually, relieved that the topic of conversation had been changed to a much safer zone.

In the following minute, the two Titanians walked through the door that lead guard post and the cells, finding four guards, free of their armor, treating their wounds. Two had huge bumps on their foreheads, one had a large bruise shaped like foot on his thorax and the last one’s back was being massaged by a nurse with hands glistening with a creamy ointment.

A fifth guard quickly went to Shining to explain him what happened, leaving an unnoticed Vinyl wandering in the cells area. After walking in front of a few empty ones, she stopped in front of a cell in which a tall blonde with a ponytail was sitting, her head looking at the ground.

“Hey, sis,” Vinyl called calmly.

“Hey,” Applejack replied quietly, not lifting her eyes from the ground.

“How are you?” the blue-haired woman asked softly. “Not injured or anything?”

“Of course, Ah’ ain’t injured,” Applejack replied in an un-happy laugh. “It’s me yer talkin’ about, right?”

“True,” Vinyl nodded slowly. “Anyway, how are you feeling?”

“Vinyl, don’ sugarcoat me!” Applejack shook her head. “If yer mad at me, just say it!”

“I would be lying to you if I say it, Big sis!” Vinyl assured. “Dad and Mom raised us so that we never lie to each other!.... Except for surprise gifts,” she added with a warm chuckle, earning a more sincere one from her jailed sister.

“Why ain’t you mad at me?” Applejack asked in an ashamed tone. “Ah made ya look bad and….”

“No, you didn’t!” Vinyl stated firmly. “That girl who witnessed the fight told me what that Blueblood said to you. I understand why you acted like that. He had it coming!”

“Still, it’s yer special moment an’ Ah just keep actin’ like a stupid brute!” Applejack said in a defeated tone. “Even that purple haired girl Ah tried to help ended up being scared by me! The way she was staring at me… Ah’ve never been so ashamed ma entire life.”

“AJ, come on,” Vinyl said softly. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. I saw that girl, she insisted on the fact this Blueblood fella had gone over the line with you after you went to help her. Her voice didn’t sound scared when she mentioned you!”

“Really?” Applejack asked in disbelief, looking up from the ground.

Before Vinyl could answer, the cell’s door shined in purple aura before sliding open, making Applejack blink in confusion.

“You can go, Miss Apple,” Shining said calmly as he walked to the open cell. “Someone pulled the right strings for you.”

“What do ya mean?” the blonde Apple asked with a puzzled frown.

“Let’s just say that Blueblood isn’t really appreciated by a lot of people around here,” Shining explained with a chuckle. “Rarity being at the top of the list, she made sure you don’t get too much problem.”

“Oh!” Applejack let out, a bit shocked. “So, I can just….go?”

“Yeah,” Shining nodded. “Also, Pinkie somehow rounded up the kitchen staff into pressuring Celestia so that she will go easy on you despite beating her nephew up,” he added with a shrug.

“Huh...How exactly did they pull that one off?” Vinyl asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Princess Celestia’s greatest weakness is cake,” Shining replied casually.

“Cake?”

“Yep, cake!” the Guard Captain nodded.

“Well, if you say so,” Vinyl let out, a lot confused by that revelation about the immortal ruler.

The two Apples followed the Captain out of the cells, finding the guards Applejack had roughened up. The blonde quickly apologized to them with the utmost sincerity, oblivious to the fearful glint they had in the eyes. Shining told the two civilians to go, not without making Applejack promise to keep a low profile, before facing his guards.

“Why did you all act so scared in front of her?” he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“It was scary, boss!” the guard with a footprint on the chest said slowly. “She flipped me over her shoulder with one arm! Look at the state of my armor!” he pointed fearfully at his breastplate, which was bent toward the inside where Applejack had stomped on him.

“Or, our helmets!” one of the guards with a large bump on his forehead added, pointing at the slightly deformed helmets him and his comrade wore at the time of the fight.

“She knocked us out in less than thirty seconds!” the fourth stated slowly. “I don’t know about you but that’s not what I expect from a farm-girl! That’s what I expect from a monster!”

Shining blinked at that word, remembering a past conversation with one of his friend about a blonde trainee.

~~~~~

“So, Spitfire! Tell me about that blonde girl you’ve been training for a few weeks!”

“Kicker? She’s good guard material! Focused, talented, and rather strong for such a small girl!”

“I never heard you so psyched up about a trainee before! *chuckle* What did she do to impress you like that!”

“Haven’t you heard? She defeated Blossomforth on her first day!”

“Blossomforth?! The daughter of Lieutenant Shields?”

“Yeah!”

“Wow, she’s also from a military family?”

“Not at all, she only trained with a friend before entering in the training program.”

“With a former guard?”

“Actually, no. I asked her, and she answered it was her farmer friend.”

“A farmer?”

“Yep. An unbeatable monster of a farmer, from what she told me…”

~~~~~

“Hmmm,” Shining muttered, lost in his thoughts. “Might be a good thing to gather some things about her, just out of curiosity!”

“Ok, Captain!” the four guards replied in unison.

After having picked a few things up in the kitchens, the two Apples went back to their appointed room. Applejack didn’t feel like dining in the same room as the Princesses and the Council of Harmony, despite Vinyl and the whole kitchen staff trying to tell her otherwise. The blonde Apple had none of it, she stated that she didn’t want anything else than having a quiet dinner on her own.

While Vinyl was busy reading some of her compositions again, Applejack’s dinner was interrupted by a few short knocks at the door. Applejack dropped her spoon in her half eaten bowl of lamb stew, and went to open the door, revealing a purple-haired woman in a white dress.

“Good evening,” Rarity said with a good natured smile.

“Evenin’,” Applejack whispered in a shocked surprise. “Huh...Why are ya...here?”

“Well, I was thinking you deserved a proper introduction,” Rarity explained, extending her hand toward Applejack. “Rarity Belle, pleased to meet you, Miss Apple!”

“Pleased to meet ya ...Ah guess,” Applejack replied with an awkward shake of hand. “Hummm.. Ah was told ya kinda helped me out.. so Ah want to say thanks!”

“You sort of rescued me from an unpleasant conversation earlier, so we’re even now,” Rarity commented softly. “Actually, we’re not really even. I still owe you for putting Blueblood in the place he was supposed to be sent long time ago.”

“Yer not pissed?” Applejack asked with wide eyes.

“Not really.” Rarity shook her head. “I admit that I was a bit … Well, a lot startled by the tour de force you pulled off against the guards,” she admitted sheepishly.

“Ah’m sorry about that,” Applejack whispered in a low, ashamed tone.

“Oh, it’s ok!” Rarity assured quickly. “You had every right to be as angry as you were back then. He was atrocious with you!”

“Well, maybe he was, but Ah shouldn’t snapped like Ah did and Ah know it scared ya,” Applejack argued softly.

“Like I said, dear, it’s ok!” The council member smiled softly. “Anyway, I said I owed you for being rough on Prince Blueblood’s pretty visage,” she said with so much venom in her voice that Applejack was surprised the purple-haired beauty wasn’t suffering from poisoning. “And, I’m not one to not clear my debts.” She glanced at the blonde with a spark in her eyes. “I’m going to make you a dress!”

“What?!”

“You heard me!” Rarity beamed. “As a thank you for teaching that ruffian some manners, I’ll make you a dress for the wedding!”

“Ya...Ya don’t have to!” Applejack said quickly. “Ya already bail me out of the castle cells apparently,” she added with shame. “Ya don’t need to do anything else for me!”

“Why, Darling I insist!”

“No need! Ah look awful in a dress anyway!”

“No, you don’t!” Vinyl shouted from her bed, her eyes still focused on her music sheets.

“Vinyl, silence!” Applejack snapped at her sister.

“You wish!” Vinyl replied with a chuckle.

“As Ah was sayin’!” Applejack faced Rarity again. “Ya’ve done enough for me, and Ah’m sure ya have many more important things to worry about with the wedding so close!”

“But,...”

“Please, ya need no thankin’ me for what Ah did!” Applejack shook her head sternly. “Ah want no gifts for actin’ the way Ah did!”

“Well, I suppose I can understand that,” Rarity admitted in a deflated voice, before staring at the farmer in the eyes. “Since you don’t want to me to make you a dress as a thank you, you’ll accept you letting me make you a dress as an apology for scaring me earlier!” she claimed with a small smirk.

Applejack blinked twice. “Ah’ll accept what now?”

“Well, your earlier, beastly, but quite impressive, display of pure, muscular violence was way too much for the delicate flower of a woman that I am,” Rarity let out in a pained voice, dramatically resting the back of her hand on her forehead while slightly stumbling backwards. “You simply must make it up to me by letting me create for you!”

“Wowowow! Hang on there, Missy!” Applejack called in shock. “Ya said that ya were okay when Ah apologized!” she nearly shouted.

“Why, a lady is prone to sudden changes of hearts, Miss Apple,” Rarity dramatically explained. “I didn’t expect you to turn away my offer, why anyone with good fashion sense wou...OH!” she gasped in a sudden realization. “You don’t like my designs, do you?” she asked with a tear-full glance.

“Huh,” Applejack replied, taken aback by the sudden question about fashion. “Ah have no idea what yer designs looks like actually.”

“Oh! So you’re part of those who thinks that I’m way too young to do the work I do, aren’t you?” the noble asked, sobbing softly. “That I have no talents, and that it’s thanks to my family’s money that I made this far?”

“Huuh…”

“I just wanted to be nice with you, and that’s how you’re treating me!” Rarity put her face in her hands, weeping louder every second.

“Ah..AH..” Applejack stammered in shock. “F-fi-fine! FINE! Ya can make me that dress if ya want to! Just stop cryin’, please?” she asked.

“How splendid!” Rarity faced the farmer, beaming brightly with tears completely absent on her face. “Meet me in my workroom at half past sixteen tomorrow so that I can take your measurements.” she eyed Applejack from bottom to top. “You’re a bit taller and sturdier than the women I’m used to work with, but I bet you’re going to be fabulous!” she added eagerly.

“What?” Applejack blinked in total confusion.

“Well, I bid you, and your sister a good night! Oh! One last thing!” Rarity said while extending her forefinger to wipe the corner of the farmer’s mouth. “You had a bit of gravy on your mouth, it’s been bugging me since you opened the door,” she explained sheepishly, before glancing at her now slightly gravy-coated finger tip. “Is that some of the lamb stew which you gave the recipe to Allez Cuisine today?” Applejack nodded in silence before Rarity put her finger in her mouth to taste the sauce. “It was delicious!” she commented happily before turning away from the door. “Goodbye, Darling!”

“.......Goodbye then.” Applejack whispered softly, staring at the white dressed beauty going away for a few seconds before closing the door. “What just happen… Why are ya starin’ me like that?” she asked when she noticed Vinyl’s red eyes looking at her in angry, and wondering frown.

“I’m trying to decide if I should be mad at you for letting a perfect stranger doll you up when you’ve been ignoring my ten years worth of attempts to do so,” Vinyl explained slowly. “Or, If I should be mocking you for falling for her little dramatic show.” she remained silent for a short moment. “I think I’m going for the latter.”

Applejack replied by tossing one of the chair’s cushions at Vinyl’s face, taking her by surprise and making her fall off the bed.

“Definitely the latter!” Vinyl muttered from the floor on the right of her bed while Applejack went back to her bowl of stew, grumbling between her teeth.

So it begins (rewritten)

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“GOOD AFTERNOON, ROYAL KITCHENS!” Pinkie shouted excitedly as she came out of a cabinet next to Applejack, startling the young farmer while the rest of the staff continued their work unfazed.

“Good afternoon, Pinkie!” they all calmly replied unison, completely used to Pinkie’s sudden appearances.

“What the hell? Pinkie, how in tarnation did ya come out of that cabinet?” Applejack asked with a dumbfounded frown. “There were nothing but pans in this here cupboard when Ah opened it five minutes ago!”

“Well, that’s what the author wanted, don’t blame me!” Pinkie explained with a shrug.

“Huh-huh...If ya say so,” Applejack said slowly after noticing some of the sous-chefs waving her to not pay attention to Pinkie’s explanation. “Anyway, why are ya here, Pinkie?”

“Well, I know your shift ends in about ten minutes, so I wanted to know, would you like to come fool around in the gardens with Dashie, Fluttershy and me?” Pinkie asked in her sing-song voice. “You didn’t get to meet them yesterday with the whole Blueblood thingy,”

“Good job on that by the way,” the kitchen chef, Allez Cuisine, commented from his stove with no small amount of pride in his voice.

Applejack blinked in confusion. “Say, Pinkie? What’s goin’ on in here? Ah punched a royal in the face and everyone keeps praisin’ me for it!” she shook her head incredulously. “Ah thought the Princesses’ kin was appreciated around here!”

“It is!” Pinkie nodded. “Blueblood is just the exception. He has every characteristic of the pretentious, high-nosed, farting higher than his pooper, generic rude noble you’d see in a Daring Do novel.” she noticed Applejack’s raised eyebrow. “I’m quoting Dashie,” she explained with one of her signature, toothy smile.

“Well, Ah’ll just believe ya on that, since Ah don’ really know her,” Applejack said with a shrug. “Why didn’t they come here with ya?” she asked with curiosity.

“First, Dashie doesn’t really like cupboard entrances. It’s uncool in her book she says, can you believe that?” Pinkie asked with a disbelieving snort before not waiting for Applejack’s answer. “Second, Fluttershy doesn’t really like to come inside the kitchens! She loves animals and something like that…” she pointed at the pork on a spit in the fireplace. “...would make her cry, and possibly faint,” she explained in a sad tone.

“That much?” Pinkie nodded. “Boy howdy, she sure loves them critters in that case,” Applejack stated while carrying her pans and tools to the sink.

“Yeah, she even helped a manticore giving birth to two cubs the day she was accepted in the Council!” Pinkie said excitedly.

Applejack angrily frowned. “Bringin’ two monsters into the world is what it takes to get in the famous Council?” she whispered in a sour tone while doing her dishes, only heard by Pinkie.

Her question was met by an unusual silence from the pink haired girl who tilted her head in a worried expression. Pinkie tried to start the conversation again when the kitchens doors opened to let an impatient Rainbow Dash in.

“Pinks, what’s taking so long?” she asked with a grunting sigh. “It shouldn’t take you more than twenty seconds to ask her if she wants to go or not!” She walked up to Pinkie and glanced at the blonde who was drying her hands from the dishes’ water. “‘Sup? Name’s Rainbow Dash!”

“Applejack Apple,” Applejack replied matter-of-factly, shaking hands with the rainbow haired woman with a rather distant expression on her face.

“Gee, what’s with the six foot long face?” Rainbow asked with a cocked eyebrow. “Did Pinkie annoy you that much?”

“Nah,” Applejack shrugged. “She just told me about how Fluttershy was chosen for that Council thingy.”

“Pretty awesome, right?” Rainbow said excitedly.

“That sure as sugar is a debatable definition of awesome, but Ah ain’t gonna judge,” Applejack said softly while putting her kitchen apron away.

“Huh?” Rainbow let out in confusion. “How is taming a manticore in labor not awesome?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

“Dashie, I think that’s not a good topic of conversation,” Pinkie said calmly, noticing Applejack clenching her right fist for a brief instant. “So, do you want to come with us?”

“Ah can’t, Ah have to meet up with yer friend Rarity in her workroom in about twenty minutes,” Applejack explained. “It would have been with pleasure though.” she paused for a few seconds. “Could ya tell me where is her workroom actually?”

“Sure!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “You go back to the main hall, climb the right stairway up to the fifth floor, take the third corridor to your left, first to the right, another to the left, and you should get there safely!” she explained quickly. “She fancyfied the door so you won’t miss it!” she added with a big smile.

“Thanks, Pinkie,” Applejack took her hat from the hatstand to put it on her head, and tip it at the smiling girl before heading out of the kitchens. “See y’all later!”

“Hey, wait!” Rainbow called before walking with Applejack, Pinkie hot on her tail. “We’re not done yet!”

“Dashie,” Pinkie said in a worried whisper.

“What’s your deal with Fluttershy?!” Rainbow asked angrily, earning side-ways glances from the nearby kitchen aids.

“Ah have no deal with her,” Applejack replied with a shrug. “Ah don’ know her!” she opened the door and was about to step outside the kitchens.

“Then why are you upset by what she did to earn her seat?” Rainbow asked vigorously, holding Applejack back by the shoulder, earning an instinctive reaction from the farmer.

Rainbow shouted in panic as she was suddenly flipped over Applejack’s shoulder and sent flying out of the kitchens, only to crash-land disgracefully on her backside a few meters away. While she stood up, she let out a pained moan, rubbing her sore regions to ease the pain.

“Oh, my goodness!” a worried Fluttershy, who had been waiting for her friends to come out of the kitchens, said as she ran to Rainbow’s side. “Are you ok?”

“I’ll be fine in a minute, Fluttershy!” Rainbow growled before taking off to fly toward Applejack, who was still shocked by her own reaction.

The light blue blur coming her way, snapped Applejack out of her trance. The winged woman rolled her body during her flight in order to land a “guillotine” drop kick on the farmer. A loud clash resonated when the jupitarian hit her target, causing Fluttershy and Pinkie to gasp in shock with widened eyes.

“Mighty good kick ya got there, gal!” Applejack commented casually. “Almost as good as the hand Ah used to block it,” she added with a smirk, nodding at Rainbow’s heel locked in the firm grasp of her right hand.

The blonde pulled Rainbow’s leg toward herself before pushing it away, earning another panicked shriek from the Jupitarian who, this time, managed to stabilize herself in the air before touching the ground.

“Why you…” Rainbow groaned.

“Dash, stop it!” Fluttershy demanded in a firm, but quiet voice.

“She started it!” Rainbow argued angrily.

“And, I’m finishing it!” Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow, her voice still barely louder than a whisper, but it carried an undeniable firmness. “Apologize to each other!” she added with a stern glare directed to the two fighting women

Under the disapproving, teal stare, Applejack relaxed her shoulders, and walked to Rainbow Dash before extending her hand to her. The grounded Jupitarian shook it reluctantly, earning a nod of approval from her light-pink haired friend.

“Sorry about that flip over.. It was more of an instinct than anythin’,” Applejack explained.

“It’s cool,” Rainbow said sourly. “It can happen to everybody, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Applejack replied, not really buying it. “Anyway, Ah must go, see y’all later!” she added with a tip of her hat before heading out of the room.

“I don’t like her!” Rainbow muttered when the blonde was out of earshot.

“Oh, come on, Dashie!” Pinkie argued softly. “I told you that bringing up Fluttershy was a bad idea!”

“Hmmm, what did I do?” Fluttershy asked worriedly. “Did I do something that upset her? I should go and apologize to her!” she added before taking off after the farmer.

“Shy, wait!” Rainbow said, but Fluttershy was already gone. “Damn, how come she moves so fast only to apologize or when animals are concerned?” she wondered in amazement.

“Well, that’s Fluttershy!” Pinkie explained with a cheerful giggle. “Anyway, let’s go in the gardens!”

“You’re still on that Fluttershy just went to talk with that impulsive cow-girl?” Rainbow asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“I don’t see the problem. Fluttershy talks to you everyday after all,” Pinkie retorted. “Though, you’re not a cow-girl so that changes everything.” she scratched her chin pensively.

“Hang on! What do you mean by that?” Rainbow asked with narrowed eyes.

“You want to know?”

“You bet your collection of candies I want!”

“Ok, first of all, I’m NEVER going to bet my collection of candies, ok?” Pinkie asked frantically. “Secondly, if you want to know, you’ll have to do something.” she booped Rainbow’s nose. “Tag! You’re it!” she yelled before dashing out of the room in a pink blur.

Rainbow blinked in surprise before smirking. “It is on!” she flew after the giggling pink haired girl.

~~~~~

“Excuse me?” Fluttershy quietly called as she flew a few meters behind the blonde farmer. “Jacquelyn?” she called a little bit louder.

“Huh?” Applejack turned around and noticed who had called her. “..huh... Fluttershy, right?” Fluttershy nodded quickly. “What can Ah do fer ya?”

“I just wanted to apologize,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“What for?” Applejack asked in confusion.

“Hum… Pinkie mentioned that it was because of me that Rainbow sort of snapped at you,” Fluttershy explained uneasily.

“Oh, shucks!” Applejack rubbed her forehead with a sigh. “It has nothin’ to do with ya, Sugar! Well, it kinda does, but it ain’t right for you to start apoligizin’ about it!” Applejack assured.

“What did I do?” Fluttershy asked. “If I upset you, I want you to know that it was unintentional!”

“Look, ya seem like a good gal, and Ah really don’ wanna bother ya with ma stupid problems!” Applejack said softly.

“Hum, not that I want to tell you what to do, but sometimes it helps to just talk about your problems,” Fluttershy commented softly.

Applejack chuckled. “Well, Ah guess yer right,” she admitted.

“So, what bothered you with me?” Fluttershy asked in a gentle, shy whisper.

“It was what ya did to get accepted in that Council thingy,” Applejack replied after a weary sigh. “Pinkie told me ya helped giving birth to two manticore’s cubs, and that was what bothered me,” she explained honestly. “Now, Ah’ll not pretend to know how that Council works, or anythin’. Ah ain’t smart enough for that! But, that didn’t appear to me as a good reason to invite someone in that big institution.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy let out softly. “Hum, it’s ok! It’s not the first time people think that actually.” she chuckled in an almost imperceptible sad tone. “You probably think that manticores are just bloodthirsty monsters, right?”

“Exactly!” Applejack replied simply.

“And, you must think that they should be hunted down,” Fluttershy continued, her voice slightly shaking in a growing anger.

“Yer right again.”

“Even if, like the majority of the population, you’ve never been in contact with one of them,” Fluttershy stated coldly.

“And, now yer wrong,” Applejack shook her head softly.

“What?” Fluttershy asked with wide, shocked eyes.

“When she was twelve, Vinyl was attacked by a manticore,” the blonde explained slowly. “She almost got eaten, and if it weren’t for her magic, she’d have been.”

“Oh, my goodness!” Fluttershy gasped in shock. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to...”

“It’s okay, Sugar,” Applejack whispered softly. “Ya couldn’t have known.”

“I guess that it makes senses you didn’t appreciate when Pinkie told you what I did on my selection day,” Fluttershy admitted slowly.

“Yeah… Don’t get me wrong! Ah reckon that what ya did was admirable!” Applejack assured. “It’s just that Ah have too many biases… Is that the right term?” Fluttershy nodded. “Too many biases to not be a jerk about it!”

“Considering what happened, it’s understandable,” Fluttershy admitted with slightly teary eyes. “I’m sorry that Rainbow snapped at you because of that,”

“Don’t apologize for her, please,” Applejack demanded softly as the pair reached the main hall and the large staircases. “If she feels sorry for it, she’ll apologize on her own.”

“Hum...Rainbow isn’t very good at apologizing,” Fluttershy commented with worry.

“Then, she won’t apologize,” Applejack shrugged. “It ain’t like Ah care about it anyway,” she scanned the two staircases. “Huh… Left staircase and fourth floor, right?”

Fluttershy shook her head with a short giggle. “No, it’s right staircase and fifth floor,“ she replied.

“Yeah, right! And after Ah must...huh…”

“Do you want me to show you the way?” Fluttershy asked with a warm smile.

“If ya don’ mind,” Applejack answered nervously.

“It’s no problem at all!”

~~~~~

KNOCK KNOCK

“Come in!” Rarity called in her crystalline sing-song voice from her desk, her eyes looking through her red glasses at her drafts of new designs.

“Howdy,” Applejack called softly as she entered the room. “Ah’m sorry if Ah’m a bit late. Fluttershy and Ah somehow took the wrong corridor when we were talkin’ on our way here.”

“It’s nothing, dear,” Rarity assured as she glanced at her work room’s clock. “It’s only four thirty-five. That’s being fashionably late,” she added playfully before going back on her designs.

The farmer glanced around the small circular room whose walls were covered by dozens of fabrics rolls of all sort of materials, colors, etc. Mannequins wearing what Applejack, despite her lack of fashion-sense, could only consider the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen. Granted, since she spent most of her time working on the farm, she didn’t get to see many fancy clothes, but it was enough to be dazed by the purple haired Titanian’s craft.

“That’s a might impressive,” Applejack commented with an impressed whistle.

“Thank you, darling,” Rarity said happily as she turned her chair around to face the blond farmer. “I thought you said Fluttershy was with you?” she tilted her head in confusion.

“Oh, she just showed me the way here,” Applejack explained, her eyes still wandering around the room. “She went to join Pinkie and that Rainbow gal in the gardens.” she added matter-of-factly.

“I see,” Rarity commented before standing up to scan the farmer top bottom. “Hmmm, Oh, Yes! This is going to be great!” she added excitedly as she straightened her glasses to admire Applejack’s build.

“Huh, what?” Applejack blinked.

“I’ve never worked on a woman built like you, dear,” Rarity explained. “This is going to be fun!” she smiled brightly before heading to her desk and started to searched for something on it. “Let’s do your measurements, Jacquelyn. Please take off your clothes while I’m looking for my measuring tape,” she demanded softly, moving her drawings aside in the search of her tape.

“Do Ah have to?” Applejack asked shyly, a small blush creeping on her freckled cheeks.

“I’m afraid you do, dear,” Rarity said compassionately. “Don’t feel embarrassed, though. I’m a professional who has been doing that for a long time now.” she affirmed in a reassuring tone.

“Hum, alright,” Applejack replied slowly while taking her hat off her head and putting it on a nearby chair. “Ah-Ah’ll trust ya on this one,” she said softly before starting to unbutton her shirt.

“Don’t worry, dear!” Rarity finally found her measuring tape under of her first wedding dress design. “HA HA, found it!” she turned around to see that Applejack was back to her and pulling her undershirt up her body to take it off.

For the seamstress, the time slowed as she let her measuring tape drop on the floor at the sight offered in front of her. Her small gap widened as the white fabric of Applejack’s tight undershirt went up in slow motion, revealing a perfectly toned back, glistening under the light due the hint of work perspiration.

OH my, what a nice piece of m…. BAD RARITY! Rarity chastised herself sternly, closing her eyes. What is wrong with you? That’s not proper lady’s behavior! No matter she’s got muscles, and not a pinch of fat, and that her sweaty body marvelously shines under the sunlight, it’s still no…. OH MY STARS! WHERE DID SHE HIDE THOSE TWO?! she yelled internally when she opened her eyes.

Rarity gulped when the shirt reached the blonde’s chest, slightly pulling her large breasts up before letting them drop a little with the mental boing sound produced by Rarity’s imagination, despite the tight sports bra the farmer was wearing. She closed her eyes again.

FOCUS! You’re a professional, you can’t react like that! Yes, she’s fit, gorgeously muscular, beautifully tanned, with cute little freckles on her face, with golden hair that are simply to die for, and with loveable, massive, perky breasts,…. What was my point again?... Ha, yes! BE PROFESSIONAL!

Rarity dared to open her eyes again, only to see that Applejack, now only wearing her bra, had just unbuckled her belt and opened her jeans’ buttons, and was slightly bending forward to pull them down. Rarity didn’t need her fertile imagination to have an idea of what Applejack’s behind looked like thanks to her skin tight boxer shorts.

Oh, Gods! As if it wasn’t hard enough already! Rarity couldn’t stop herself from licking her lips hungrily. Is there any part of her anatomy that isn’t perfectly muscular? Other than her gorgeous chest? Rarity stared agape at Applejack’s butt. Oh, dear, it looks so firm and hard… and look at her long, strong looking legs! Rainbow can brag all she wants, but her legs are far from being as developed as Jacquelyn…. Why do I suddenly feel like eating chicken thighs now?.... Well… hers certainly look sort of delicious….

“Ah didn’t know that professionals drooled like that,” Applejack’s commented in a sour tone, breaking the seamstress out of her daydreams while taking her shirt to cover her as much as she could.

“Oh, Gods! I’m so sorry!” Rarity quickly said in a sincere, apologetic tone, looking at her feet in shame. “I-I...It’s just...that… Well you’re kinda really well shaped and huh….I’ll just shut my mouth!”

“Ya probably should!” Applejack nodded sternly. “Now, Ah can appreciate the compliment, or what Ah think is a compliment, just fine, but please do yer measures thingy so that I can put ma clothes on again!”

“O-of course,” Rarity stammered as she picked her tape up. “Hum, turn around, please,” she demanded, her pale skin bright red from embarrassment.

The farmer reluctantly showed her back to the seamstress so that she could the measurements needed. It was awkward for both of them, and Rarity knew she’d have to slap herself mentally more than once to repress her wandering eyes. Normally, the seamstress would make conversation with the person she was taking the measurements, but she was scared to, for she might unintentionally say something inappropriate. Even more so when she had to measure Applejack’s hips size.

“And, I’m done now,” Rarity said as she took her last measure. “You can dress up now,” she added as she went to her desk. Oh, dear! Just as I feared! Not a millimeter cube of body fat, just pure, firm, and hard muscle everywhere…. I need to drink something cold! Stat! she thought with a growing blush as she grabbed the bottle of water she kept on her desk.

While Applejack wasn’t looking, being too much busy putting her clothes back on, the seamstress downed her bottle in a very unlady manner before fanning herself with some of her drawings.

“So, now that ya have yer measurements, what are ya...What in tarnation?” Applejack, her shirt on but still on buttoned up, yelled in surprise as the whole castle started to shake violently, almost sending her on the ground.

“Oh, dear! It must be an earthquake!” Rarity replied in a panicked voice as she tried to stay on her feet by holding onto the table.

“Wo, nelly,... Ah didn’t know there were earthquakes...here….” Applejack trailed off when she noticed the hooked rolls of fabric and the furnitures around Rarity wobbling dangerously. “Rarity! Look out!” she yelled before running to the seamstress before pushing her against the only bare wall of the room.

Before Rarity could blink, many of her rolls of fabric fell from their hooks on the farmer, burying the blonde under them before one of her massive wardrobe fell on Applejack in a loud crash. As the edge of the wardrobe fell on the top of her head, Applejack managed to hear Rarity called her name in panic before she lost consciousness.

~~~~~

“Octavia, you’re okay?” Vinyl asked with worry a few minutes after the earthquake ceased before standing up on the ballroom's stage.

“I think so,” Octavia replied with shaking legs as she stood up thanks to Vinyl’s assistance.

“Wow, that was quite a scare, wasn’t it?” Vinyl asked before she heard something coming from the outside. “Are you hearing that?”

“What?”

“Some sort of sharp whistling sound,” Vinyl let out as she turned toward the windows.

“Wait, I’m hearing it too,” Octavia remarked. “It’s getting louder, and there are some other ones.”

“It’s not getting louder,” Vinyl corrected slowly as she narrowed her eyes towards the windows, spotting small black forms in the gardens’ sky. “They’re getting closer! MOVE!” she grabbed Octavia’s wrist and ran off the stage before the black forms stormed inside the ballroom, crashing all the windows down.

The pair of musicians didn’t manage to make twenty feet away from the stage before being circled by five Jupitarians soldiers wearing a black and dark green, chitinous armor. When the fives draw their weapons out, Vinyl stood protectively in front of Octavia.

“Tsst tsst, don’t try to resist, girls,” a woman in black armor said in a mocking tone. “You’d only get hurt!”

“Wait a minute, I know you!” Vinyl retorted in anger. “You’re the guard that checked on me and my sis yesterday!”

“Well, you’ve got good memory!” the fake guard replied with a nod. “I had almost forgotten that trick you played on me with those streamers and confetti!” she growled.

“Traitor!” Octavia spat venomously.

“Now, that would imply that I was a Royal Guard to begin with,” the woman replied with a chuckle.

“So, you infiltrated the Guard,” Vinyl replied casually, her eyes darting to each of the five invaders around her and Octavia. “Why?”

“To be at the right spot to accomplish our mission!” she replied softly. Vinyl cocked an eyebrow at her. “Since the Moon Bitch left this morning for Cloudsdale, and that Sunbutt has probably just been dealt with by our Queen, we must gather the tools necessary to defeat Luna when she gets back.”

“What do you mean?” Octavia asked fearfully. “Nothing can beat Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!”

“Well, I said defeat, not beat!” The woman chuckled along with her comrades. “I doubt that the all mighty Alicorn Princesses would dare make a move with we have the lives of their precious Council in the balance!”

“You’re a fool if you think you’re getting anywhere near two feet from her!” Vinyl growled as Octavia scooted closer to her.

“We’re gonna have to do this the hard way, then!” a male invader chuckled before stepping closer to the pair of musicians.

“It’s better that way!” another remarked. “Beside, you have a count to settle with this blue haired chick, right?” he asked the woman who had spoken to Vinyl.

“Oh, yeah!” she nodded before taking a step toward Vinyl. “It’s going to be great!” she said with a triumphant smirk.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Vinyl nodded. “It’s going to be great for me,” she added, much to everyone’s incomprehension, as she pulled a pair of purple shades from her shirt’s pocket and put them on.

“Are you crazy?” Octavia asked fearfully. “They’re threatening us, and you’re showing off with those glasses!”

“Ok, Octavia! First of all, those are shades, not glasses! Second, I’m not showing off! Third, I’m perfectly sane of mind! And, fourth, cover your ears and close your eyes!” Vinyl demanded firmly.

“Huh?” Octavia and the invaders tilted their head confusion.

“Well, I’m about to go full throttle on those guys, and usually that means lots of flashes and loud noises!” Vinyl explained before focussing her blue magic into forming five rings around her right arm.

Then she swiftly extended her magic swiftly toward the woman who had searched her the day before. The five rings of magic shone brightly, and produced high-pitched chirping sounds, flying towards the invader before successively exploding in five loud, and bright flashes, startling everyone but Vinyl.

When the light died down, the black armored woman was crashed against the wall, passed out and with her armor completely shattered. All eyes were wide in shock and focused on Vinyl.

“Kinda like that!” Vinyl commented before rings of magic appeared around both her arms and legs. “Now, you want Octavia, right? Fine! Just come and try to take her from me!” she growled as her rings started to shine and produce with the same chirping noises.

~~~~~

BANG!

“Pinkie, are you ok?” Rainbow asked as she wiped her nose, while stepping on the unconscious black armored man who had just tried to attack her. “Pinkie, where are you?” She asked with worry when she looked at where she had heard the explosion only to see three other invaders pinned on the Castle outer wall, also unconscious and covered in confetti.

“In the tree, Dashie!”

Rainbow looked up and saw a disheveled Pinkie Pie stuck in a tree, her poofy hair full of twigs, and her right hand holding a consumed party popper. Rainbow blinked when Pinkie waved at her with her usual goofy smile.

“What are you doing up there?” she asked in confusion.

“I kinda put too much gunpowder in that party popper,” Pinkie explained with a shrug, pointing at what she was holding. “Can you believe that they laughed when I said that I wasn’t afraid to use that on those meany, pinknapping pants?”

“No, Pinkie. I definitely can’t believe that,” Rainbow answered sarcastically, knowing that sarcasm would lost to Pinkie.

“It’s not like I didn’t warn them! Anyway, what should we do now?”

“We should warn Shining,” Rainbow replied slowly.

“I know just the thing for that!” Pinkie chuckled as she pulled a large, pink megaphone out of somewhere.

“Oh, boy!” Rainbow covered her ears as Pinkie took a deep breath.

~~~~~

“Are you ok, Angel-bunny?” Fluttershy asked with worry as she picked her white rabbit from the ground. “You’re not too much hurt, aren’t you?” The rabbit slowly shook his head. “Oh, thank you for trying to save me from those mean kidnappers.” she said softly before kissing her pet’s forehead. “Now, we must hurry to Shining, he’ll know what to do!”

Fluttershy conjured her yellow wings before flying away from the small corridor in the search of the Royal Guard’s captain, leaving four black armored invaders sort of paralyzed in various striking poses behind her.

“What the heck did she do to us?” one asked through his gritted teeth. “I can’t move!”

“I don’t know!” another replied. “I don’t get it, at first she was all shaking in fear like a little girl, then that weird bunny throw a carrot at you,” he added for a third invader. “And, as soon as you kicked it, we were all sort of frozen!”

“You think we’re going to be like that for how long?” the third one asked.

“I want to scratch my nose!” the fourth paralyzed man complained loudly, ignoring his comrades ‘interrogation.

Fluttershy came back in front of the fourth infiltrated man before sheepishly scratching the tip of his nose, earning a relaxed sigh from him.

“Thank you, miss,” he said in a relieved tone.

“You’re welcome,” Fluttershy nodded with a shy smile before flying away again.

“What a sweet girl,” the scratched invader let out when she was out of earshot.

~~~~~

“Let me go, you ruffian!” Rarity tried to struggle against the gauntlet-wearing hand on her throat.

“Easy, now, Lady Belle,” the man holding her whispered softly. “It would be shame to have to hurt a beautiful visage like yours.”

Rarity’s answer was to spit in his face.

“Now, that was just rude!” the invader growled before slapping her with his free hand, earning a small whimper from the seamstress.

“Hey,” one of his two partners called. “The one under the fabric and wardrobe, she’s starting to wake up,” he said as they heard a few low grunts coming from underneath the fabric.

“Take care of her, it’s not like we need her!” the man holding Rarity ordered with a smirk.

“You’re despicable!” Rarity growled in anger.

“Stop flattering me…”

His two partners flew past him and Rarity as they were sent through the workroom windows with loud scared shouts that came to a sudden stop after two muffled, and distant thuds.

“Ya have exactly five seconds to get away from her!” a southern woman’s voice growled behind the assaulter’s back.

He turned around and saw an angry blonde emerging from a mess of rolls of fabric. “Don’t move or els…”

“DONTCHA “OR ESLE” ME, PAL!” Applejack bellowed in anger, startling Rarity and her attacker. “AH AIN’T IN THE MOOD! GET IT?!”

“Why you!” he let out furiously before letting go of Rarity, and charging Applejack while drawing his sword out. “Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?”

He swing his sword at the farmer who blocked it by grabbing his hand. He tried to push against the blonde’s grip, but to no avail. Then he conjured a dark green flame in his hand and was about to cast it at Applejack.

“Not gonna happen, Sugar!” Applejack smirked before punching his throat with her free hand, instantly breaking his concentration, this dispelling the green fire.

Applejack threw a series quick punches at him in various places: the inside of his elbows, his armpits, the separation between his chest plates, and a final one in his throat. During the onslaught he let go of his weapon. Applejack grabbed him by his shoulders before tossing him at the wall, and, at the moment his body came in contact with the wall, she kicked his chest, bending his armor inwards with the pressure in her blow.

“That’ll teach ya to not mess with me, punk!” Applejack growled, before taking her foot off of her opponent, making him fall on the ground heavily.

She kept staring at him to see if he would stand up, and when she was convinced that he wouldn’t, Applejack walked to Rarity who was rubbing her throat with rather soft groans.

“You’re okay, Rarity?” Applejack asked with worry.

“I’ll live,” Rarity replied in a shaken tone, before hugging the farmer briefly. “Thank you, Jacquelyn.”

“No problem, Sugarcube,” Applejack replied softly, returning the hug. “That’s what friends do!”

“You consider me your friend?” Rarity asked with surprised wide eyes. “Even after that measuring session?”

“Ma best friend have done worse than that.” Applejack assured. “Now, let’s go figure out what’s goin’ on, ok?” she asked as she helped Rarity on her feet.

“All right, Jacquelyn!” Rarity nodded as she and Applejack headed out of the room.

“Call me Applejack, Sugar. That’s what ma friends do!” Applejack said softly.

“In that case, lead the way, Applejack!”

When Changelings confront an Apple... (rewrite of the Good the Bad and...)

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“Highness!” a Guard squad leader called with hurry as Celestia invited him inside her quarters. “I’m sorry to barge in like that, but we’ve received intelligence about a surprise attack on Canterlot!” he explained abruptly.

Cadence and Twilight, who had been discussing about the wedding with Celestia, gasped slightly at the news while the Sun Princess’ warm smile turned immediately in a displeased frown.

“That’s unexpected to say the least… Then again, it wouldn’t be a surprise attack,” Celestia whispered to herself as the rest of the squad stood at her quarters door. “Have you checked your source?”

“Captain Armor is currently on the job as we speak, your Highness,” The squad leader replied with a short bow. “He’s not sure on whether it’s reliable or not, but he asked us to warn you about it anyway.”

“That’s the sort of thing he does.” Celestia nodded slowly before turning to her student and her niece. “I’m sorry, but we’ll have to decide on the possible flower settings later,” she added softly.

“No need to worry, Aunt,” Cadence assured. “There are things more important than a wedding’s flower setting.”

“That’s not the thing I’d ever have thought to hear from a future bride’s mouth.” Celestia chuckled playfully.

After a brief laughing fit, Twilight and Cadence excused themselves out of the room while Celestia turned to her desk in order to get a map of the Canterlot’s vicinity. Canterlot being situated at the top of a mountain, it only had few places an invading force could occupy before an attack.

Celestia blinked when she heard two metallic noises that were similar to the ones of closing shackles.

“PRINCESS, LOOK O...!” Twilight called before the room became filled with electric sparks’ sounds and a loud shriek of pain from her student.

The Sun Princess immediately turned around, her sight falling on the unconscious body of her student and her niece calling Twilight’s name with worry. The two of them were wearing dark shackles with a black crystal mounted on them at their wrists, and were surrounded by the dozens of guards who had come with the officer, one of them had his fist surrounded by electric sparks. She was so focused on her student that she didn’t notice the officer’s blade coming to her face.

Or so the officer thought.

The dozens of infiltrators gasped in shock at what was displayed in front of them. The sword their superior had used on the Princess was on the ground, the blade broken clear a few inches below the hilt, while the one who had used it was lifted above the floor, his head in Celestia’s left hand.

“So, that was your plan?” Celestia asked in a cold voice that gave goosebumps to anyone in the room. “A simple iron sword… Not even coated with magic…. Just who do you think I am?” She asked angrily, putting more strength in her grip.

The man desperately tried to punch the Princess wrist to make her let go, crying in pain as his helmet gave away under Celestia’s hand, slowly pressuring his skull. The intruders gulped, and fearfully took a step back.

“As stupid as he may have been,” a calm, feminine voice called from outside the room. “I’d ask you to let my man go, Princess.”

Cadence glanced toward where the voice came from, her eyes widening in shock when the fell on a tall, dark skinned woman with long, dark green hair wearing chitinous black armor walked inside, another group of guards escorting her before their armor changed from golden and blue to black in a green flash.

“You!” Cadence whispered in a venomous tone.

“Hum?” The woman glanced at the young princess with curiosity. “Haaa, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! It’s been a while,” she added, her reptilian, green eyes shone malevolently. “Tell me...How are your parents these days?” she asked playfully.

“Don’t you dare talk to her, Chrysalis!” Celestia spat angrily before Cadence could reply, letting go of the man in her hand. “What are you doing here?!”

“Straight to business, huh?” Chrysalis asked, turning her gaze to the Sun Princess. “Well, your kind destroyed my castle…”

“It wasn’t YOUR castle!” Cadence interrupted her in angry shout.

“It wasn’t really your father’s anymore, Cadenza,” Chrysalis chuckled. “After all, a king needs to keep his head on his shoulders to rule a Castle.”

“YOU BITCH!” Cadence shouted, lunging at the female in black armor, fury in her eyes.

The man closest to Chrysalis hit Cadence in the face with the back of his armored gauntlet, sending the young princess back on the ground. Her smooth and beautiful visage now marked by bloody scratches. As soon as Cadence hit the floor, the entire room, no, the entire castle grounds started to shake violently.

“You idiot!” Chrysalis growled, licking her lips in frustration. “Now, she’s not angry…. She’s furious!” she added slowly nodding at Celestia.

The Sun Princess’ eyes were shining brightly in a golden hue as she let the magic flow out of her body. A bright golden flash appeared next to Celestia’s hand, revealing a long staff that ended in a flame looking, golden blade the size of a broadsword. Celestia span her spear in her hand before leaning on her legs, ready to pounce on the attackers.

“DO NOT LET HER CHARGE! ATTACK!” Chrysalis ordered in a slightly scared yell, before conjuring a torrent of green flames from her palms.

All the Titanians with her imitated her spell, not quite matching it in term of power though, while the Jupitarians intruders conjured a constant fall of lighting bolts on the spear-wielding Princess. Cadence called her aunt’s name with worry when she saw her disappear in a twirl of green fire and lightning bolts.

From within the fire and lighting column a golden light emerged. The light, which was coming out of Celestia’s fingertips, repelled the offending magic, leaving the Princess completely untouched. All the attackers tried to pour more magic against the Sun Princess, but she kept their spells at bay effortlessly.

The beams of golden light suddenly pierced their way through the black armored soldiers’ magic until they knocked them down. The only one still standing was Queen Chrysalis, who was frowning in extreme concentration, her brow covered in sweat, to keep Celestia’s magic away from her. She was slowly but surely losing her ground.

“Impressive,” Celestia commented casually, before extending her middle finger toward Chrysalis, adding more intensity to her spell. “But it won’t be enough!”

The golden beam began to tear apart Chrysalis’ green fire. The queen’s eyes widened in shock, but only during the time of the blink of an eye. She conjured a large fireball to delay the Princess’ spell a bit more before reaching her satchel with her right hand, her lips twisted in a triumphant grin. The beam destroyed the fireball easily and was soaring straight to Chrysalis.

“No worries. I came prepared!” Chrysalis retorted smugly as she pulled a black crystal shard out her satchel before throwing it in the trajectory of Celestia’s spell.

As soon as it came in contact with the Sun Princess’ magic, the shard started to absorb it instantly while it was flying toward Celestia. Right when it was about to reach her, the crystal exploded in a black, smoky mist that wrapped itself around the Princess.

“Damn…” Celestia muttered before disappearing in a twirl of black smoke.

Chrysalis held her breath during the short time Celestia went out of sight before ducking swiftly with a brief shriek when a yellow flash came out of the black tornado. Celestia’s golden spear flew just a millimeter above the Queen’s scalp before piercing the wall behind the green haired invader. The many, loud crashing sounds that followed clearly suggested that there wasn't going to be enough walls on this floor to stop the Princess’ throw.

A few instants later, the shakings and the black tornado stopped. In place of the regal figure of the Sun Princess, stood a rough black crystal statue of a woman in a javelin throwing stance. Chrysalis smirked slyly as she stood up before laughing in triumph.

“What did you do?” Cadence asked slowly, her wide, shocked eyes focused on the crystalline statue.

“Do you think I’m foolish enough to challenge Celestia without one of the few things that can actually defeat her?” Chrysalis asked as she pulled another black shard of her satchel. “Sombra’s crystals prisons,” she explained with a malevolent grin. “The most powerful magic inhibitor in the world specially made to make war against the Alicorn Princesses…. Too bad they took care of the Crystal Empire before King Sombra could take the initiative six hundred years ago. It was quite a pain to dig them out of the northern tundra, but it sure was worth it.”

“What do we do now, Highness?” the man who had attacked Cadence asked in a deep voice.

“Find the other Council members, Captain!” Chrysalis ordered slowly. “We need all of them for when Luna arrives,” she explained before nodding at Cadence and Twilight. “Keep those two in here, and give the signal to move to our troops stationed in the Labyrinth,” she added to one of her Titanian soldiers. “We still got the element of surprise so….”

“SHINING!!!! SOME BIG BAD MEANIE PANTS TRIED TO ATTACK ME AND RAINBOW!!! THOUGHT YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW!” the cheerful voice of Pinkie Pie rang loudly for the entire Castle. “WE’RE FINE IF YOU’RE WONDERING. ALSO, MY SHOULDER IS HACHY! THAT MEANS THAT SOMETHING NASTY IS HAPPENING IN THE LABYRINTH….. OR THAT GUMMY IS IN THE TUB… COULD YOU CHECK MY BATHTUB IF HE’S IN THERE, PLEASE?”

The invaders looked at each other with dumbstruck expressions and gaping mouths while Cadence slowly grinned.

“You may have had the element of surprise, but we’ve got Pinkie Pie,” the young princess commented playfully.

Chrysalis stared angrily at Cadence before turning her cold, reptilian gaze to her captain.

“Proceed like we planned as quickly as possible,” the queen ordered sternly. “Be cautious of the weird inventor and the junior Wonderbolt, the other three shouldn’t represent a problem. And gag the future bride!” she added coldly.

The invading queen prompted herself on the largest chair of the room while her captain gave his orders to a part of his men who scattered in the corridor after having changed into the Royal Guard armor in a green flash. In the meantime, Cadence, now completely gagged, and Twilight, who was still passed out, were forcedly settled in a corner of the room.

The faint sounds of incredibly loud explosions came from the floors below. Something that puzzled the queen quite a bit. The key of their success laid on quickly capturing the Council members to put enough pressure on Shining Armor and Princess Luna.

While the former was sort of already dealt with since his younger sister and future wife were her hostages, Chrysalis wouldn’t try to act against Luna without a complete, winning hand. Meaning, the entire Council and Celestia trapped in the black crystal prison. She had heard stories about the Moon Princess violent ways of fighting. Stories she didn’t want to experience the veracity of.

Nethertheless, she wasn’t worried too much. She knew her men would at least have already captured three of the remaining Council members: The meek animal lover had probably surrendered without any struggle, and the musician and the seamstress couldn’t really defend themselves from what she knew. Unless they had some strong protectors whom she had never heard of before, but what were the odds of that?

~~~~~~

Rarity was leaning against the stone wall of the corridor that lead to the staircase of the fifth floor, her mouth slightly gaping in awe and a worn-out dark brown stetson on her head. Applejack had asked her to keep her hat safe when the two of them encountered a much larger group of attackers, who were prepared to fight unlike the three in her workroom.

It didn’t seem to bother the young farmer much though. Rarity didn’t have anything other to do than admire the well toned blonde fighting her way through the dozens of armed invaders. It was the third time the seamstress saw the farmer showing her fighting prowesses, it still scared her, but it was equally, if not a lot more, exhilarating.

As soon as the armored men showed their harmful intentions; circling the two women and ordering Applejack to hand over Rarity that is, the farmer took the matter into her own hands. The matter being the fake guard’s head.

Before his body fell limp on the ground, Applejack had grabbed the seamstress’ wrist and shoved her out of the circle of attackers before hitting the two invaders closest to her with the back of her fists in their stomachs. As they stepped backwards while holding their bellies in pain despite the ventral plate of their armor, Applejack faced the seven opponents with a small smirk.

Two of the three Jupitarians in the invading group growled at the defiance in the farmer’s green eyes before taking off to dive toward the blonde, one with his sword ready to strike, the other with his fists surrounded by electric sparks.

The one with the sword, apparently the fastest of the pair, was within reach earlier than his comrade. In a fluid movement, he brought his blade right where the blonde’s neck was. Only to strike the empty space left by Applejack when she flexed backwards.

She leaned on her right arm before lifting her leg to kick the sword wielding Jupitarian in the chin, sending in the air before he crashed loudly against the wall and fell on the ground unconscious. Her momentum made her do a cartwheel on one hand, thus making her dodge the electric punch from the second Jupitarian.

“That ain’t how you throw a punch, pal,” Applejack commented after landing on her feet. “That’s how you do it!” she added sternly.

The farmer managed a hit with her right fist right in the opening offered by the helmet, sending the Jupitarian rolling on the floor with a loud crack and a bloody nose.

Applejack didn’t get time to chant her victory as a Titanian grabbed her right leg in his deep purple telekinetic field while his comrades charged toward the blonde. Rarity gasped in fear when he lifted Applejack in the air by her leg, offering an easy target to the other invaders.

Applejack smirked. “Yer grip is too loose…”

The telekinetic field around her leg broke itself after she executed a strong kick along with a pull-up. Her feet found its way to one of the attacker’s chink in the armor: the neck. The strength in the blow was enough to knock the invader against the half of his comrades, sending all three of them in the nearby staircase in a cacophony of pained grunts and metallic noises.

The Titanian who had tried to levitate her was too stunned by the fact Applejack had broken out of his magical hold to notice in time the farmer charging him before knocking him unconscious with a small series of strong, well-placed blows.

Applejack realized that taking care of the Titanian opponent at that moment had been a mistake. Her charge had brought her between the last Jupitarian of the group, who had stood back during the fight and the two Eponians who hadn’t been hit by her yet plus the ones she had punched in the stomach in the beginning.

That also meant that four of her five opponents stood between her and Rarity, whose hands were shining in a deep blue hue as she stood ready to defend herself despite slightly shaking in fear at the prospect of fighting four to one.

She wasn’t the only one shaking because of fear though. Applejack noticed that all the armored attackers were shaking as well, their gaze completely focused on her while they were apparently ignoring Rarity.

“Go take the seamstress!” the tallest of the group shouted as he and the other uninjured one charged the farmer.

All happened in the blink of an eye. The Jupitarian took off and flew straight to Rarity, imitated by the other Eponians. The seamstress focused her magic before casting a blue missile at one of the three soldiers heading toward her, missing him because of her panic.

She tried to re-focus her magic to another attempt, but Rarity realized she would be too late. As they got closer, she panicked and curled herself in a ball with a shriek while closing her eyes. Three loud, metallic clashes rang out extremely close to her before a she heard the reassuring voice of the farmer.

“Come on, sugar. It’s okay now,” Applejack called softly.

Rarity looked up after opening her eyes. The two Eponians who had run to her were on the floor, stuck under their comrades who had attacked Applejack, both of them coughing blood while holding their stomachs in obvious pain, while the farmer in question was standing on top of the Jupitarian’s back.

The winged man tried to flap his wings to pull himself up before Applejack stomped briefly and strongly on the back of his head, knocking him out instantly. After that, Rarity slowly took the hand offered by Applejack to stand up.

“H...how?” Rarity asked as she gazed at the five men on the ground.

“When we left yer workroom, Ah told ya to not worry. Ah promised Ah’ll keep ya safe,” Applejack explained with a small smile. “Ah never back down on a promise!” she pulled Rarity to the staircase. “Let’s get out of here!”

“A-all right,” Rarity stammered with a imperceptible blush before following the farmer.

“Not so fast!” a man’s deep voice boomed from upstairs as a wall of green magic barred the way for the two women.

Applejack looked up where the voice came from, her gaze falling on a bald giant, who wearing the same armor as the ones who had attacked her not a minute ago, coming down to the fifth floor along with a much larger group of invading soldiers.

“Hand over the Council member, and nothing will happen to you!” the giant demanded slowly to Applejack.

“Funny,” Applejack replied with a snorted, mocking laugh. “These fellas said the exact same thin’,” she added, pointing at the dozen of soldiers on the floor. “As y’all can see, nothin’ happened to me and Rarity’s still with me.”

“Do not try my patience, girl!” The invaders’ Captain growled. “I think you don’t understand your current situation!”

As he said that, the Jupitarians behind him took off flew above the two women in circles like vultures while the rest of the soldiers readied their magic or their weapons. Quickly enough, around thirty crossbows, swords, spells, or spears were pointed in Applejack’s direction.

After looking everywhere around her, the young farmer sighed softly.

“Rarity, don’ be mad at me, please,” she said in a resolute tone.

“W-what?” Rarity gasped in shock and hurt, taking a step away from the farmer.

Applejack suddenly kicked on one of the helmets that rolled on the ground from one of the beaten-up invaders, sending it straight to the Captain’s face. While the concerned party held his face in his hands, Applejack picked Rarity up bridal style before jumping over the edge of the staircase before the majority of the crowd could react. A few bolts of magic and crossbow flew where the farmer had been seconds ago while the seamstress’ scream was audible for nearly all the castle.

The captain pulled himself together and glanced over the edge, seeing the offending farmer on her feet, Rarity still in her arms, on the inferior floor with the marble tiles cracked all around her.

“After them, you twits!” he ordered his men furiously.

“Darling,” Rarity whispered, a bit out of breath. “You’re forgiven for that stunt. I’m sorry I doubted you for a second.”

“Yer a bit too early for forgivin’ me, Rare,” Applejack replied with a grin.

“What do you meaaaaAAAAAAH!”

Rarity screamed again as Applejack jumped over the edge of the staircase for the second time, leaving four of the ten Jupitarians who were flying in their direction, crashing on the fourth floor’s ground when they failed to catch them.

The other six growled angrily before flying to the next floor, finding it completely empty. They couldn’t even find traces of Applejack’s landing like on the fourth floor.

“Where did they go?” one asked in puzzlement.

“Maybe the seamstress teleported them away,” another suggested.

“From what we know, she can’t teleport,” a third one retorted.

“Yeah, she probably knows only about make-up and dying spells with hair like hers,” the fourth commented with a chuckle.

“My hair color is all natural, you ruffians!” Rarity’s voice growled angrily from above them.

The Jupitarians blinked in confusion before looking up, finding the farmer and the seamstress hiding in an alcove of the wall in between the two floors. Rarity had her hands on her mouth while Applejack was staring at her with a cocked eyebrow.

“I’m so very, very sorry,” Rarity whispered in a sincere apologetic tone.

“No kiddin’,” Applejack replied with a roll of her eyes before jumping out of the alcove.

The blonde farmer landed feet first on the closest soldier’s shoulders, bringing him to the ground instantly. She quickly put him out of commission with a well placed stomp on his chest before punching the one on her left straight on the nose, earning a loud cracking sound when it broke.

One of the remaining four tried to fly to where Rarity was trying to stand, only for Applejack to grab him by his ankles before using him to bludgeon one of his comrades. Then she turned to the last two Jupitarians who gulped in fear at the sight of the blonde.

Their fearful expression quickly turned into a relieved one much to Applejack’s confusion. Though, she realized why as soon as she felt an iron grip around her throat. The invaders’ Captain reinforced his grip with his magic before lifting the farmer in the air. While he was choking her, Applejack brought her hands around his gauntlet to pull herself free.

“You’ll pay for that, girl!” he said slowly, referring to the large, bloody bruise on his brow. “And, pay for it dearly!”

“Put it on ma bill, pal!” Applejack retorted before wincing in pain as he tightened his hold.

“Who do you think I am, girl?!” The Captain growled angrily. “I’m Vigil Locust! Captain of the Changeling Warriors order! I’m the one who nearly defeated Shining Armor in battle during the war in the Barrens!”

“An’ ya brag about that?” Applejack asked mockingly in a choked whisper.

“You little arrogant, if it hadn’t been for the three stunt flyers I would have vanquished him!” he explained. “Without them, there would have been no Equestria’s Paladin! I would have broken his neck like a simple toothpick, just like I’m about to do to yours!” He added before putting more pressure on the farmer’s throat until…..

CRAAAACK

Rarity and the rest of the group apparently called Changeling Warriors stared with wide shocked eyes at what had just happened. It was Locust’s armored gauntlet that broke like a toothpick under Applejack’s grip, not her neck under his.

As his eyes widened because of the shock and the pain, Locust unconsciously let go of Applejack after her much stronger grip crushed his forearm. As soon as her feet touched the ground again, Applejack spun around before delivering a strong kick on the left side of Locust’s face.

“When ya have to fight, fight! Don’ talk!” Applejack said slowly as her foot made contact with her opponent’s face.

His head jerked to the side before his whole body was lifted in the direction of the staircase. Locust’s massive, armored body flew away like a disarticulated puppet’s and crashed loudly half a floor below under the gaze of the rest of his men who had reached the third floor when he was holding Applejack.

When the farmer brought her kicking leg down with a small, but clearly audible tap, all gazes focused on her. As they noticed the stern emerald stare of the blonde, many gulped uneasily while others shakingly pointed their weapons or magic at her.

“Ah sure hope y’all are ready!” Applejack let out as she took stance in front of the crowd. “Ah just finished warming up!” she added with a smirk, cracking her knuckles as she closed her fist.

She took one step forward, and that was the last straw for the Changeling Warriors. They all took a few steps back, dissipating their built-up magic or dropping their weapons with terrified expressions. The less strong willed ones even bowed in submission, only to be imitated by the rest of their comrades soon after.

“Whatever floats yer boat!” Applejack chuckled softly.

She relaxed her stance before walking to the wall, picking up one of the fallen helmets. She threw it high against the wall, making it crash next to Rarity, who finally broke from her stun before falling from her perch with a shriek, only to land in the farmer’s awaiting arms.

Rarity blinked before blushing when she realized where she was. She glared at the farmer who bore a small, playful smile. At the sight of that smile, her features softened.

“You really are a brute, dear Applejack,” Rarity commented with a grateful smile.

Applejack glanced at the few unconscious bodies around her and at the submitted invaders a dozen meters across the floor before returning her gaze to the seamstress, chuckling softly.

“What exactly gave it away, Sugarcube?”

Battles in Canterlot Castle (rewrite to Vinyl's applebucking...)

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“Pinkie, why are we in here?” Rainbow asked her companion who was pulling her “welcome wagon” behind her through the narrow paths between the high hedges of the Castle’s labyrinth.

“Well, duh, I told you that my shoulder was hacky, thus that something was happening in the Labyrinth,” Pinkie explained with a roll of her eyes. “Didn’t you listen to what I was saying?”

“You also shouted that it could mean that Gummy was in a bathtub,” Rainbow replied with a deadpan expression. “You even asked to check your bathtub.”

“That’s a possibility,” Pinkie admitted as she bounced happily in a right turn of the path, avoiding the dead end in the left one. “Better be certain that the Labyrinth is meaniefree, right?”

“That I can admit!” Rainbow conceded with a nod. “Now, why don’t you want me to fly above the Labyrinth and see instantly if there was anything wrong?”

“Because that would be cheating and it will hurt the Labyrinth’s feelings!” Pinkie replied firmly.

The junior Wonderbolt cocked slightly her eyebrow at the inventor.

“Pinkie, it’s a labyrinth made of bushy hedges… I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have feelings so to speak.”

“Bigot!” Pinkie muttered sourly as she pulled her wagon into another turn.

“Excuse me, what?”

“You think that you’re so superior to the labyrinth, don’t you?” Pinkie asked angrily.

“...What?” Rainbow blinked in shock.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is for him to grow so that people can have fun while losing themselves inside his maze?” Pinkie stared at her friend ferociously. “DO YOU?”

“Isn’t that the gardeners’ job to make a labyrinth grow like that?” Rainbow asked, cocking her eyebrow even higher than before.

“So now you belittle the abilities of the Labyrinth?” Pinkie asked with a snort.

Rainbow wasn’t really in the mood for continuing this conversation. Pinkie was probably the most intelligent girl the athlete knew, but there were times, numerous times one might add, when the inventor was completely irrational, and it was harder to get a point at her during those moments.

“Hey, look! We’ve reached the center!” Rainbow pointed at the statue that occupied the center of the maze at the end of the path.

“Oh, cool!” Pinkie shouted excitedly before sprinting to the statue, her wagon in tow.

Luckily, Rainbow also knew that Pinkie was easy to distract. Her worries about her friend’s so-called bigotry against labyrinths being the last of her thoughts as she reached the small place in front of the statue. Only to fall through the solid ground along with her wagon.

“Pinkie!” Rainbow shouted with horror and worry before flying as fast as a cannonball to her friend’s last location, as the final part of the cart disappeared in the ground. “Oh, no, no, no!” she whispered in panic as she hovered above the center of the maze. “That’s you, isn’t it?” she asked no one in particular.

“You took my words for real and took my friend, huh? Well, stupid labyrinth, give me my friend back or I swear to Celestia that I’ll take a axe and cut all your hedges down, then I’m going to burn them, and then I’ll move on to all the labyrinths in Canterlot. Then to all the ones in Equestria, and then to all the other labyrinths until you give me Pinkie back! You hear?”

The Labyrinth decided to answer the rainbow haired girl’s rant with Pinkie’s head coming out of the ground, earning a brief, and very girly -though, she’ll never admit it- scream of fear.

“Dashie, come see!” Pinkie said excitedly. “It’s a very complex dissimulation ward coupled with a powerful illusion rune! There are tons of tunnels down here!”

Rainbow froze in her pose of grabbing her hair, instantly stopping her scream when she heard her friend’s voice before blinking a few times. She coughed loudly before dusting herself off, somehow trying to regain her composure.

“I knew that!” Rainbow assured with her usual brashness.

“Come on!” Pinkie shouted before heading back through the illusionary ground. “It’s fun!”

“I somehow doubt that,” Rainbow whispered before nethertheless flying through the ground.

From the other side of the illusion, Rainbow noticed that there were many tunnels coming from the cave down the small underground path to the center of the labyrinth. She flapped her wings to fly to the rather large chamber in order to join Pinkie who had pulled out a yellow mining helmet with a candle on it from her wagon.

“Please, don’t tell me you’ve got….” Pinkie pulled a tool from her wagon after putting the helmet on and lighting the candle up. “..a pickaxe as well,” she ended her sentence with a groan at the sight of the mining tool.

“What’s the problem?” Pinkie asked with curiosity. “You don’t explore caves without the proper equipment!” she insisted firmly before being lost in her thoughts. “I wonder if there are mine shafts around here…. It’d be easy to collect railways for the wagon,” she pondered out loud.

“....What now?” Rainbow asked, cocking a puzzled eyebrow as high as she could.

“Anyway, let’s go!” Pinkie shouted before positioning herself in front of her wagon before pulling it.

“Hang on! We’re not going to explore those tunnels!” Rainbow shouted before following Pinkie close to the first tunnel at the right of the cave.

“Come on, Dashie! Where’s your adventurous side?” Pinkie asked playfully.

“Took a vacation when we were attacked, remember?” Rainbow asked back snappily.

“Of course, I remember silly! It happened two chapters ago!” Pinkie replied before scratching her chin with a reflective frown. “It’s been a while between the two previous updates…..”

“Look, we’ve got to go back and tell Shining about those caves!” Rainbow advised strongly, ignoring the random comment her friend had just voiced. “It’s probably through here that those punks infiltrated us!”

“I know, Dashie!” Pinkie nodded. “They’re coming out of their hideouts now!” she added, pointing at something behind Rainbow’s back.

“Huh?” Rainbow blinked before looking behind her.

A large group of soldiers, all wearing the same black armor as their earlier attackers, was barring the way out. A great portion of them seemed to be coming from the other tunnels while the rest simply appeared in the cave after dropping the illusion that kept them hidden.

“What do we have here?” an invader acting like a leading figure whispered playfully. “The jock and the crazy one from the Council. What a pleasant surprise,” he added softly, earning a few chuckles from his closest companions.

“Who’s he talking about?” Pinkie asked loudly in confusion.

“He’s talking about us, Pinkie!” Rainbow replied before spreading her wings wide open, electric sparks circling her fists.

“Are you sure?” The inventor asked. “Because, they would be half wrong in that statement. Last time I checked I wasn’t a jock!”

Almost everyone in the cave blinked with surprise at what Pinkie just said.

“Are you implying that they refer to me as the crazy one?” Rainbow slowly turned to face Pinkie, her magenta eyes burning with fury.

“Well, I wasn’t the one shouting at a Labyrinth when my friend fell through the ground.” Pinkie shrugged.

“....What?” a Changeling Warrior tilted his head in confusion.

“You’re the one who thinks that I’m a labyrinth bigot!” Rainbow argued.

“Are labyrinths subject to bigotry now?” Another invader asked with puzzlement.

“Of course not, you freaking idiot!” The leader whacked the other’s head.

“I don’t think things, Dashie. I know things, just like I know you’re a bigot about a few things!” Pinkie argued back.

“WHAT?!” Rainbow hovered in front of her friend.

“Well, you didn’t sound very tolerant about Jacquelyn earlier.”

“She insulted Fluttershy!”

“No, she didn’t! She just said that she didn’t think that what Fluttershy did was awesome in her opinion!”

“And, I keep on telling that’s not normal! Taming a manticore and helping it giving birth is undeniably, unquestionably, so un-non-cool!” A few impressed whistles and whispers from the Changeling Warriors followed her sentence. “See? Even those pricks agree!” Dash let out with triumphing smirk.

“HEY!!” Some of the invaders shouted angrily.

“Alright, that’s enough!” the leader growled, catching Pinkie and Rainbow’s attention again. “We’re not here to discuss that! We’re to…”

“PARTY?” Pinkie asked excitedly.

“They’re here to invade the Castle, Pinkie!” Rainbow replied while rubbing her eyes with a sigh. “That means no party!” she added when she felt that Pinkie was going to ask her a question.

“Awwwww!” Pinkie let out in disappointment.

“Anyway, catch them!” The enemy leader ordered.

The four closest invaders lunged forward to the two girls. Rainbow was about to cast a lightning bolt at the charging group when Pinkie gave her wagon a soft nudge with the handle of her pickaxe.

The upper part of the wagon opened itself as four horns came out of it before a sharp party whistle and loud explosion sounds rang throughout the caves. The four attackers were sent flying back to their group by clouds of confetti and streamers.

“That wasn’t really nice. We weren’t ready to play tag!” Pinkie frowned at invaders before searching for something in her wagon while they were staring at their repelled comrades with shock.

“Good one, Pinkie!” Rainbow said with pride.

“Found it!”

In the blink of an eye, Pinkie put a harness on Rainbow before the concerned party realized what her friend was doing. Much to everyone, including Rainbow’s incomprehension, Pinkie connected her friend’s harness to the front of her wagon with two ropes before sitting on top of it.

“All righty then, Dashie. FLY!” Pinkie shouted before pointing her mining tool at the only tunnel not occupied by the invaders.

Like a sole entity, Rainbow and the invaders tilted their head while blinking in extreme confusion.

“She’s expecting her friend to pull the wagon while flying away from here?”

“Seems like it…”

“What’s wrong with that girl?”

“Pinkie,” Rainbow began with a tired sigh. “Why? Seriously, why did you think it was possible! I fly fast, but not when I have to drag a heavy wagon behind it!”

“Oh, ye of little faith,” Pinkie chuckled playfully. “May I remind you who created the principle behind the Princesses’ special carriages pulled by winged horses?”

She tapped her pickaxe on top of her wagon three times. After the third tap, the sounds of a gearing mechanism came from within the wagon before it started to shine in really pale pink hue and hovered a few feet above the ground.

“Pinkie Pie, you’re a genius!” Rainbow chuckled softly. “A weird, completely random genius!”

Blue wings made of light snapped wide open on her back before Rainbow took off at full speed, effortlessly pulling the levitating wagon behind her while Pinkie let out a long “Weeeeee!” along with a loud giggling fit before the pair disappeared at the corner of the tunnel they took.

“.... Jupitarian squads! After them!” The leader ordered after recovering from the shock of the flying wagon.

Two dozens of black armorer soldiers took off and flew after the escaping pair.

“Hum…. Lieutenant?” an Eponian invader called nervously.

“What?”

“Aren’t we keeping it further in that tunnel?” he asked, pointing a shaking finger at the tunnel the flyers had just taken.

The lieutenant blinked. “Uh-oh!” he let out slowly. “Hmmm… let’s just hope that they won’t anger i….”

An incredibly loud, mooing roar echoed through the caves and tunnels. It was followed by the sounds of earthshaking stomps and two feminine, scared screams. Soon after, the characteristic sounds of breaking chains rang through the underground maze, along with a cannonade of explosions and multiple lightning strikes.

“EVERYONE HIDE NOW!” the invading Jupitarians yelled as they flew back to the entrance of the cave like the devil was after them before they scattered in the other tunnels along with their comrades on the ground.

“Damn it! Hurry! Hurry!” The lieutenant ordered in panic as the cannonade and the stomps came closer.

The Titanians cast camouflage spells as soon as their comrades were all in the other tunnels of the cave, making them look like they were empty while the caves started to shake. Even if they knew that the spells would hide them, every invader made himself as small as possible inside every single alcove they could find.

“SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT, PINKIE!” Rainbow yelled.

The pair entered the cave with their flying wagon, on top of which, defying all laws of physics, Pinkie was standing on her feet, a bright blue culverin with levers, switches and a large, glowing, pink gemstone at end of it.

“Focus on flying, Dashie!” Pinkie ordered as she pushed a few switches on. “Party Cannon 2.0……” She pulled the largest lever down and the gemstone started to glow much brighter than before. “....overLOOOOOAAADDDD!” she shouted as she pulled the trigger.

A constant volley of pink, magic missiles bursted out of the mouth of the blue cannon’s mouth straight to whatever was following them. While a few missiles touched the cave’s walls and ceiling, thus causing quite a few collapses, the largest portion of them hit the large shadowy figure seeming to take the whole width of the tunnel that was after them.

The huge beast didn’t stop at all because of the hits. It seemed more like they just made him growled louder and advanced faster to get rid of the source of the annoyance.

“Dashie, GET US OUT OF HERE!”

“ON IT!”

With a large burst of speed, Rainbow flew straight up through the illusion that kept the cave hidden with Pinkie managing to stand up on the wagon despite the angle of the cart. As soon as they were out of the caves, the inventor tapped her foot on a specific button of her wagon, unhooking Rainbow from the wagon and opening a large trap from underneath her contraption, thus causing the fall of many vials containing a transparent liquid.

Pinkie aimed her cannon at the ground before shooting another torrent of pink missiles on the center of the labyrinth while Rainbow conjured a genuine rain of lightning bolts on the same target. When the vials, missiles, and lightning bolts hit the ground, small chromatic explosions destroyed the center of the labyrinth.

Rainbow stopped conjuring her lightning bolts a bit before the gem on Pinkie’s cannon ceased glowing. When the smoke and dust of the explosions dissipated themselves, the pair could see they had leveled a large portion of the ground, thus blocking the whole access to the caves. Rainbow, panting heavily, landed in one of the untouched parts of the Labyrinth while Pinkie stopped the mechanism that kept her wagon in a hovering state.

“Phew.. what was in those vials?” Rainbow asked when Pinkie jumped off the wagon next to her.

“A solution of nitric acid with a sugar alcohol,” Pinkie explained briefly. “Still need to figure out a name though.”

“Well, can’t believe you kept those in your wagon, but I’m not going to complain.” Rainbow extended her hand to Pinkie who clapped it fervently. “Good job!”

“Good job to you as well!”

A loud rumble was heard before the collapse exploded again, letting a massive, fifteen foot tall minotaur emerge from the rubble with a deafening roar of anger. The beast leaned on its forearms which were the size of a tree trunk, before bringing his face just before the two Council members. Its glowing red eyes staring at the two of them while it flared its nostrils, forcing the two to take head on the hot breath of the beast.

“You think he’s mad at us?” Pinkie asked in whisper after gulping in fear.

“I-I know he’s mad at us, Pinkie,” Rainbow replied fearfully.

“Plan R?”

“Which plan is that?”

“RUUUUUUN AWAY!” Pinkie shouted before darting away in a pink blur.

“Go-good idea!” Rainbow replied, taking off the moment Pinkie turned around.

The large minotaur roared before extirpating itself from the hole in the ground to chase after the escaping pair, ready to crush every hedge, statute, or tree in its path. The blue winged Jupitarian grabbed her pink haired friend after a few seconds and flew higher with her, the enormous beast still after them.

“Hmmm,” an Eponian invader let out slowly as he and quite a number of his comrades peeked from the hole made by the minotaur. “Her majesty the Queen will be angry that we unleashed the Gorghon before capturing the Council members.”

“What do you want to do?” a Titanian asked slowly. “Catch it back to unleash it about half a hour later?”

“Shouldn’t we move out of here?” a Jupitarian asked while flapping his wings to stay a few feet above the ground. “I mean, what’s the point of remaining hidden if the beast is going to wreak havoc at the Castle?”

“Hmmm,” the lieutenant scratched his chin pensively. “How about we give it a head start so that it doesn’t take us as targets?”

“Agreed!”

“Good idea!”

“That’s why you’re in charge, Lieutenant!”

~~~~~

A bit earlier, in the Castle Ballroom

“Now, you want Octavia, right? Fine! Just come and try to take her from me!” Vinyl growled as the rings around her arms started to shine and to produce the same chirping noises as before.

“You bitch!” one of the four attacking Jupitarians growled before he and his comrades lunged forward, ready to avenge their apparent leader.

They all lifted their weapons high in the air before bringing them to Vinyl and Octavia.

Sorry in advance, Octavia. Vinyl thought before tripping the cellist with her foot, and stood protectively above her.

When the blades came down on her, Vinyl crossed her arms above her head. Octavia gasped as she realized that Vinyl was going to be hurt by the swords, and axes of the ones trying to capture her.

“What the?!” The four invaders let out simultaneously when their weapons were stopped by the many rings of blue magic around the blue-haired Titanian’s arms.

“Neat huh?” Vinyl asked playfully before focusing more magic on the rings in contact with blades. “Watch! It gets better.”

The rings in question started to vibrate intensively, causing tiny cracks on the edge of the offending blades while their wielders were wincing at the high pitched chirps coming from the rings. Vinyl pushed her arms open when the vibrations became intense enough to shatter all four blades into small shards.

“Let’s try with three,” Vinyl whispered with small grin before extending her left fist toward the closest opponent.

Soon after, three of the blue rings of magic shone brightly before flying straight to the man’s breastplate to disperse themselves into three loud explosions. The target man was thrown across the room by the explosions, his armor full of cracks seeming on the brink of shattering.

The remaining three invaders all took off to put as much distance that they could between the Titanian and them.

“What the heck is that type of magic?” one let out in a shaken voice.

“Never heard of anything like this!” another commented slowly.

“Let’s calm down, guys!” the only female of the group shouted after checking on their catapulted comrade. “We can take her from a safe distance!” she added with a smirk as she took off while conjuring a large amount of electricity in her fist.

Her two companions nodded with small grins before imitating her. They were about to cast their lightning bolts when they found themselves each surrounded by half a dozen of blue rings that were vibrating intensively.

“What was that about a safe distance?” Vinyl asked with a smirk when the three airborne fighters’ eyes went wide as they realized the predicament they were in.

The blue-haired musician snapped her shining fingers before one of her opponents could throw their projectiles at her. All eighteen rings dispersed in an equal amount of blue explosions. Before the lights died down, the three opponents fell unconscious on the ground.

“Wow…. That was amazing,” Octavia commented in awe after pulling the earplugs Vinyl had given her earlier out of her ears before she tried to stand up, an enterprise that was destined to failure with Vinyl still above her. “Could you m…” Her lips shone in Vinyl’s blue magic before being forced shut.

Vinyl brought her forefinger to her lips to signal the cellist to remain silent. Octavia tilted her head in confusion but didn’t try to speak again as her friend requested it. Then, the standing musician tapped her ear before pointing Octavia’s right hand which was now holding the earplugs.

Does she want me to put the earplug back on? Octavia wondered before mimicking her question, earning a nod from Vinyl. I wonder why…. It’s not like we’re still in danger…” she added mentally before doing as Vinyl instructed.

Now, hearing nothing except the beating of her own heart, Octavia watched Vinyl look around with the stern gaze of a hawk (should a hawk ever wear purple shades of course). The blue-haired woman stared in front of her few seconds before Octavia watched her focus her blue magic into a long whip.

Vinyl gave her whip a fluid, large circular move before snapping the air behind her with it, for no apparent reason according to Octavia. That was before an armored man appeared right where the whip had cracked, his breastplate snapped in two.

The stunned cellist turned her eyes to her friend who simply grinned before facing the wounded attacker, her lips moving slowly before flashing a small smile.

Don’t try sneak… on me… boys… Can...hear… Octavia tried to read on her friend’s lips before gasping in awe. She heard him sneaking around?! HOW?!

Behind the wounded attacker, three other people wearing the black, chitinous armor dissipated the illusion spells that kept them hidden. Octavia glanced at the quartet whose hands were shining in colorful auras before two of them cast beams of pure magic at Vinyl.

A blue hue englobed the cellist, and levitated her away from the other musician who responded the attack with a blue beam coming from her left hand. The blue met the red and green halfway between Vinyl and her opponents before the three beams didn’t advance further. Needless to say, Octavia was impressed by the fact that Vinyl was matching two spellcasters in a battle of raw power.

The cellist blinked when the two others teleported themselves behind Vinyl, before they cast an orange and a purple fireball at her from her blindspot. At that moment, Vinyl’s whip came back in action. The end of the magical blue whip flew through the orange fireball, cutting it in two parts that dissipated themselves a meter further.

Then, Vinyl let go of the whip, and made sharp and precise movements with her fingers. The whip disassembled itself into five long strings that took the form of a tunnel which positioned itself in front of the purple fireball. The fiery projectile followed the course of the tunnel made of blue strings which shone brightly at the contact of the purple flames while accelerating them.

With a sharp twist of her hand, Vinyl changed the course of her magic tunnel, pointing its end at one of the Titanians in front of her. The poor lad didn’t notice the purple fireball before it was too late.

Without the support of his comrade’s magic, the Titanian with the red magic couldn’t suppress Vinyl’s beam anymore. The blue magic energy tore the red one apart before knocking the attacker against the closest wall.

The musician spun on her heels before pushing her two hands at her enemies, casting a light blue beam at each of them. One managed to dodge by teleporting once again while the other tried to use a nearby table to block the beam. The furniture held on surprisingly, but it was nethertheless pushed back until the Titanian ended up sandwiched between the table and the wall.

The last opponent reappeared in an orange flash right next to Octavia who was quite startled by the silent teleportation. She was certain that she screamed a bit when he took a step in her direction. Octavia closed her eyes in panic and grabbed the closest thing she found before hurling it at her attacker.

She expected some sort of retaliation from the man who wanted to kidnap her, and was more than surprised when there was none. Octavia shyly opened her eyes before seeing her attacker and what she had presumably thrown at him. Though, Octavia never knew she of all people could make a man and a table fuse together like what she saw in front of her.

She glanced at Vinyl who was nodding in approval, her right thumb up. Octavia slightly chuckled nervously before pulling her earplugs out again, finally hearing the sounds of the ballroom.

“Really nice, Octavia!” Vinyl commented with pride. “That was the most classy table-throw I’ve ever seen!”

“T-thanks!” Octavia stammered with a small blush. “I-I never thought I’d ever do something like that.”

“Well, looks like you and I both realized something then,” Vinyl said with a small chuckle.

“Really?”

“Well, you realized you could force a man to become one with a piece of furniture, which is a rather rare gift, so you know,” Vinyl replied with a short laugh, soon joined by the cellist.

“What about you, then?” Octavia asked after her giggling fit.

“I realized that the prettiest roses really do have the sharpest thorns,” Vinyl said with a small wink while the cellist’s cheeks were becoming so red that it would make any tomato jealous of her skin color.

The Rodeo and Roar of the Apples

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“Octavia! Vinyl!” Fluttershy called as she entered the ballroom along with Shining and a large platoon of his guards. “I was so worried!” she added before strongly hugging the cellist.

“Glad you’re safe, Fluttershy,” Octavia said softly as she patted her friend’s back.

“What the hell happened?” a guard asked with puzzlement while checking the unconscious invaders on the ground.

“I happened,” Vinyl replied with a chuckle, earning dumbfounded stares from Shining and his men. “Though the one infused in the table is Octavia’s doing!” she added, pointing behind her shoulder at the unconscious man who became one with the destroyed furniture.

“Oh, my!” Fluttershy gasped softly as Octavia blushed in embarrassment.

“Hang on, you’re telling me that you took care of eight soldiers alone, and that Octavia threw a table on the ninth one?” Shining asked with a cocked eyebrow before Vinyl nodded with an amused smile. “How?”

“Manehattan’s Royal University Magic Duel champion three years in a row!” The blue haired musician pointed her thumbs in her direction with pride.

“Really?” Shining asked with a piqued interest. “That’s quite a feat!” Before Vinyl could retort, the Royal Guard Captain shook his head firmly. “Sorry, it’s not the time for that!”

“What’s going on, Shining?” Octavia asked. “Why isn’t the Princess doing anything?”

“I don’t know,” Shining sighed wearily. “Right after the earthquake, a bunch of warriors infiltrated and attacked the Guard post. I sent a squad to Celestia’s quarters, and I’m still waiting for a response from them,” he explained. “I was about to go there myself when Fluttershy found me and told me that they were targeting you and the others,” he added to the cellist who nodded slowly.

“Speaking of the others,” Fluttershy said softly. “Do you have any news from them?”

“Well, we all heard Pinkie’s warning.” The Captain of the Guard scratched his chin pensively. “But, I’m not too worried about her and Rainbow. They can keep themselves out of trouble, or at least I hope so.”

“And for Twilight and Cadence?” Vinyl asked.

“Well, since they were with Celestia, I wasn’t too worried about them.” Shining gulped uneasily. “Though that was before we didn’t receive any orders from the Princess.”

“What about Rarity?” Fluttershy asked with concern. “Did you send someone to get her?”

“I wouldn’t worry about her,” Vinyl said with a shrug. “AJ was with her, I’m sure she’s fine.”

“You’re sure?” The animal lover wasn’t reassured enough.

“Trust me!” Vinyl nodded. “One thing my sis can do is looking after herself!” she glanced at Shining. “Your guards learned it the hard way after all.” she chuckled.

“Look, miss!” a Guard chimed in with clear annoyance on his face. “Not to burst your bubble, but those guys aren’t here to play! They might have killed her if she resisted!” he added, earning shocked gasps from the two Council members and a glare from his superior.

Vinyl glanced above the guard’s shoulder before she started laughing loudly, earning puzzled frowns from the platoon and the two Council members.

“What’s so funny?” the guard asked angrily.

“Have a gander behind ya, pal!” a woman with a southern accent called from the ballroom front door.

Everyone looked at where the voice came from, only to gasp in shock at what they saw. Applejack and Rarity were casually walking in the ballroom, followed by a dozen of Royal guards that were escorting forty or so Changeling Warriors. The captured invaders were all bearing a defeated and scared expression on their face. With the exception of the ones lying unconscious on makeshift stretchers.

Recovering from her shock, Fluttershy quickly flew over Rarity and Applejack to see if they were hurt or not. The seamstress comforted her friend while the farmer walked straight to her sister. The two Apples glanced at each other’s body count before clapping their right hands together. Then, the tall blonde suddenly pull the blue-haired into a bear hug.

And for the first time on this day which was witness to an enemy invasion, Vinyl was in danger.

“...air...AIR!!!!!” She tried to shout with quiet, choked voice, tapping quickly on her sister’s arm.

“Wuss.” Applejack snorted playfully before releasing her sister.

“How did you manage to capture all those guys?” Shining asked the leader of the patrol with a stunned expression as his platoon were reinforcing the escort of the prisoners.

“Hum… We didn’t really capture them, Captain,” the squad leader replied uneasily. “They...hum...they were following Lady Rarity and Miss Apple when we found them,” he explained. “They were already that apathetic and defeated-looking.... They simply surrendered.”

Shining blinked with surprise. “...Why would they do that?”

“They didn’t take very well what Applejack did to their leader,” Rarity explained slowly. “He’s on that stretcher.” she pointed at the stretcher the closest to the Captain’s right.

Shining glanced at the tall man on the stretcher, his eyes widening in surprise when he recognized him. Vigil Locust had been the strongest warrior in the Istaloñan Conflict a few years ago. Had the now top three of the Wonderbolts not been there during Shining’s fight against him, the leader of the Changeling Warriors would have defeated the future Captain at the time.

And now, he was lying unconscious on a stretcher with a deep blue bruise that covered half of his face. Shining blinked before slowly turning his curious gaze in the direction of the blonde with the ponytail. The Princesses would need to know about this.

The entire room was suddenly startled by the cacophony of lightning strikes and explosions coming from the gardens. All the guards looked in the directions of the Labyrinth and noticed the fainting glows of what seemed like a multicolored, explosive chain reaction.

All guards turned to their Captain before they all let out calmly: “Pinkie Pie!”

“All right, half of you are going to bring all the captured invaders to the dungeons,” Shining ordered calmly to his soldiers. “The rest is going with me to see what Pinkie did!”

The guards nodded before doing as commanded. As soon as the half of the platoon was taking the prisoners away, Shining led the other half in the gardens after he asked the council members and their friends to stay here. After assigning a small squad for the girls’ protection.

“Ah need no protection!” Applejack retorted sourly. She wasn’t very keen on any plan that consisted in chaperoning her.

“I know that now,” Shining replied. “But it’s not really the case of those three!” he pointed at Fluttershy, Octavia and Rarity.

“A tad condescending, Shining dear!” Rarity humphed.

“Rarity, now isn’t really the time!” Octavia chastised softly.

“I’m not saying he’s wrong,” Rarity argued. “Just that he could be a little bit more diplomatic.”

“Hey!” Vinyl interrupted the argument to come between the Guard Captain and the seamstress. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Applejack asked before pricking up her ears.

“Some sort of deep stomps….” Vinyl whispered before noticing nearby glass shards slightly shaking. “It’s getting closer.” she added when the stomping sounds and the shakings grew more intense and audible.

Soon after, Pinkie and Rainbow rolled out of one of the labyrinth’s tall hedges, as if they been tossed by something. The pink haired inventor recovered quicker than the athlete pulled her on her back before running to the castle like the wind.

“NO! Don’t come closer!” She shouted as many guards were running in her direction to help her. “Don’t!”

With a thunderous roar, the seventeen foot tall minotaur bursted out of the Labyrinth, flattening the hedges that kept it hidden until now. The guards that had come to help Pinkie froze for a few seconds before turning heels when Pinkie dashed right next to them while urging them to run.

“Oh, my!” Fluttershy whispered with shock.

“SHOOT IT DOWN!” Shining ordered sternly while focusing his deep purple magic into his hands.

He cast a large beam of magic at the large minotaur, nearly instantly imitated by his Titanian guards. Some Jupitarians took off and conjured lightning bolts before throwing them at the beast while the remaining guards fired their crossbows or used their spears as javelins.

The magic missiles and lightning bolts were about to reach their targets when some complex marks on its skin, which hadn’t been visible due to the beast’s dark hide, started to shine a dark green hue. All the magic cast at the minotaur colored itself in the dark green color as the marks before dissipating itself while the spears and arrows simply bounced back on though skin of the beast.

“What happened?!” Rarity asked fearfully as Pinkie and Rainbow were lead inside by Fluttershy.

“I don’t know!” Pinkie replied frantically. “I emptied a fully charged crystal on that big meanie and it didn’t do a thing!” She pulled a nearby curtain open, revealing a hidden cupboard. “I’m bringing the big guns!” she added while searching through the cupboard for anything useful, emptying it of about everything else.

“Shy, can’t you calm it down a notch?” Rainbow asked her friend.

“I’m afraid that I can’t,” Fluttershy replied softly. “It’s a Gorghon. One of the most ferocious creatures from the Everfree Forest,” she explained. “He won’t calm down, especially not when he’s nowhere near his natural habitat.”

“And, what about your Stare?” Rainbow asked slowly.

“Her stare?” Vinyl let out while cocking an eyebrow.

“Hummm, well, if he stops moving for a sufficient time, maybe…” Fluttershy admitted uneasily.

“That’s going to be hard,” Shining commented sourly while his men were doing their best to dodge the black beast’s rampaging fury while keeping it away from the Castle. “Those runes seem to block any attacking magic. There’s nothing we can do other than hoping it tires itself out.”

“How much time do ya need, Sugar?” Applejack’s voice said slowly.

All heads turned to the farmer who was testing the toughness of a few sets of ropes Pinkie had thrown out of her secret cupboard along with many other weird things like a complete set of rubber ducks or an inflatable whale.

“Got anythin’ stronger than that, Pinkie?” Applejack asked to the inventor after snapping a rope in two.

“I think so,” Pinkie said from within the cupboard. “THERE!” She extended a furled, pink rope to the farmer.

“That’s a mighty good rope,” Applejack commented after testing its solidity. “Too bad it’s pink,” she added in whisper.

Vinyl’s eyes went from her sister to the rope, then to the rampaging minotaur, and back to her sister again a few times while the others were asking themselves why did Applejack need a rope.

“AJ, you’re not thinking what I’m thinking you’re thinking, are you?” she asked angrily.

“Since ya think of many things everyday, Ah think Ah’m gonna reply no!” Applejack chuckled.

“I’ll not allow it, AJ!” Vinyl shouted.

“Vi, Ah’m the big sister,” Applejack replied slowly. “Ah’m the one who allows things or not.” She flicked her sister’s nose before walking past her, the rope passed around her arm. “Tell yer men to move around. Ah’ll need some space.”

“Some space for what?” Rarity asked, voicing everyone’s interrogation.

“For me to capture this here bully!” Applejack replied with a smirk before taking her hat off Rarity’s head to put it on her own. “Now, Ah’m ready!” she added before jumping out of the ballroom into the gardens.

“WHAT?!”

~~~~~

“My stars!” Rarity let out in awe.

“That’s quite a sight,” Octavia commented slowly.

“Tiff iff greafft!” Pinkie tried to speak with her mouth full of pop corn. “Sufff an amaffing fffow!”

“Manners, Pinkie,” Octavia and Rarity let out calmly, not turning their eyes from what was happening in the gardens.

“Dash?” Fluttershy called softly, poking her friend’s shoulder, earning no reaction other than the gaping mouth Rainbow had on her face for the last ten minutes. “I think that was too much for her to handle.”

“Vinyl, there’s something I don’t understand,” Octavia called the blue haired woman at the other side of the spectating line as Pinkie called it. “You were visibly upset with what Jacquelyn is doing right now… How come you didn’t try to actually stop her.”

“Hmmmm,” Vinyl scratched her chin pensively. “Probably because she would have tossed my ass out of the way if I had tried.”

“Still, what if she hurts herself?” Fluttershy asked with worry.

“My sis is tougher than she looks, Fluttershy.” Vinyl smiled softly at her.

“She looks pretty tough to me,” Pinkie commented between two mouthfuls.

“I know!” Vinyl chuckled before turning her attention to the gardens along with the others.

From the looks of it, Applejack was having a blast. She had successfully caught the Gorghon’s attention by throwing one of the small white statues of the gardens. While it hadn’t done much damage, the fact it landed right above the beast’s left eye was more than enough to make it ignore the retreating guards in favor of the hat wearing blonde with a long, pink rope.

Applejack had attracted the beast away from the Castle into the small patch of trees that reminded her of her farm. The Minotaur had let out a loud moo before charging in her direction. The blonde had just smirked before climbing onto the closest tree with great ease.

Before the beast could make contact with its target, Applejack had leaned on a sturdy branch to jump above its head and to land on its back. During her short time in the air, the blonde had thrown her lasso which encircled the large snout before she pulled it shut, muffling the beast’s roars.

The Gorghon had tried to buck her from its back ever since. It was needless to say that it was furious for being mounted. As a male, it wasn’t in its nature to do so. Applejack had used the rope to remain on top of the largest rodeo bull she had ever encountered, shouting her traditional yeehaw every now and then.

“Boy, that sure was something!” Applejack let out as the beast stopped bucking and stood on all fours, large puffs of steam coming out of its nostrils. “Ah hope ya ain’t done already. Ah just warmed up!”

The Gorghon growled before suddenly standing on its rear, hoofed legs while one of its massive hands grabbed rope. It pulled strongly on the rope, feeling the light weight on its back disappear abruptly. It brought the rope in front of its furious eyes, finding nothing to see other than the pink color of the rope.

“Hehehe! Down here!”

It looked down, noticing that the rest of the rope was passed loosely around its two legs and the blonde woman was standing between them. Growling furiously, the minotaur brought one of his giant fists straight to Applejack who jumped back to avoid the hit.

“Time to end this!” Applejack whispered during her jump as she made the rope twirl around the minotaur’s punch with smooth moves from her wrist.

The Gorghon lifted its right leg to face the blonde, and she had chosen that moment to act. Applejack strongly pulled on her end of the rope, closing the trap she had prepared, thus tying the two legs and the one arm of the minotaur together, and making it fall on the ground.

Roaring as loudly as it could with his snout tied shut, the beast used its last free limb to try to crush Applejack. The blonde waited for the last second to step aside. The large, black furred hand landed right in front of her before she stepped on it to run/climb along the minotaur’s arm. When she reached of its shoulder, Applejack jumped in the air above the head of the beast, passing the rope around its neck as her momentum made her loop around it.

“YIELD!” Applejack ordered as she pulled the rope tight.

The monster let out a muffled choke as the pink rope crushed its throat. It tried to get it with its free hand, but its fingers were too big for that enterprise. It then tried to grab Applejack but she stopped him by pulling the rope even tighter.

Soon enough the Gorghon’s breath and movements slowed before it fell unconscious with a loud thud. Applejack loosened the rope after the beast stopped struggling, letting it catch its breath. She jumped off the monster’s back and made a very tight knot to keep the three restricted limbs tied together.

“And that’s how we do things down at the farm!” Applejack let out before glancing around her.

Even from where she stood, she could see clearly the gaping mouth on the Royal Guard soldiers, and the waving flag amongst the cloud of confetti, which she assumed were Pinkie’s work. She gave the tied up beast one last gaze before turning around to go back to the Castle, seeing the shocked faces of a large group of soldiers in black armor who had just come out of the Labyrinth situated closely.

“Howdy, Ah’m Applejack!” Applejack called with a small grin as they all stared at her. “...Basically…. Run!” she added in a slow, threatening half-whisper.

The invaders immediately turned their heels and went deep into the labyrinth as if the devil was after them. Applejack chuckled before casually walking to Castle while the Royal Guard, led by their Captain chased after the runaways. When she reached for the ballroom, a cyan blur stopped right in front of her.

“YOU….ARE…. SO AAAAWWWESOME!” Rainbow Dash squealed with excitement, puffing her cheeks together while the other Council members rushed to the farmer to congratulate her.

~~~~~

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Fluttershy asked shakingly as the girls were climbing up the stairs to Celestia’s quarters on the seventh floor of the East wing of the Castle. “Maybe we should have waited for Shining to come back.

“Considerin’ how fast they ran away, I’d say he’s still only seein’ them as black dots on the horizon.” Applejack chuckled playfully, earning a few giggles from the other girls.

“Still, I think we should have waited.” Fluttershy shook her head.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” Vinyl said softly. “AJ and I will protect you all!”

“Hey, I don’t need protection!” Rainbow swelled out her chest with pride, flexing her arm to show her muscle.

“You always need protection!” Pinkie chimed in sternly. “Otherwise you’ll get pregnant!”

The six other women stopped right in their tracks at the inventor’s remark before slowly turning their heads to Pinkie with a cocked eyebrow.

“Hmmm, why are you bringing that up, Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked with a mad blush.

“That’s what Mama Pie told me! Well, not really to me… I heard her say that to my big sister a while back when I walked in front Blinkie’s room. She said: “Blinkie, I just want you to be careful! I’ll not say you’re too young to..do that, but please, you better use .hum.. protection!”” Pinkie explained. “And Blinkie was like : “MOM!” And Mama replied: “What? I don’t want you to get pregnant! You and I are too young to be respectively mother and grandmother!” Pinkie patted the side of her blue culverin which was strapped on her shoulder. “That’s why I always have this bad boy close! For protection!”

“Yeah, that’s not the kind of protection your mom was…” Rainbow was abruptly interrupted by three hands covering her mouth.

“Silence!” Rarity, Octavia and Fluttershy ordered sternly, all three of them keen on protecting the young girl’s obliviousness on that subject, and avoiding a rather stressful talk with her.

“I know it still lacks firepower for now, but I’m working on a third version!” Pinkie added.

“That’s nice and all but how about we move on?” Applejack asked sternly, her cheeks slightly rosy due to the topic of conversation while Vinyl was doing her best to contain her laughter.

The seven girls walked to Celestia’s quarters in silence for the following ten minutes. When they reached the right corridor, Applejack and Vinyl, followed by Rainbow discretely went to the large, golden framed, double door of the Sun Princess’ room. Applejack tried to softly push the door open but it was locked.

“That’s odd,” Vinyl commented slowly.

“What?” Octavia asked with curiosity.

“It’s too quiet,” Vinyl explained. “There’s virtually not a single sound from the other side of the door.”

“Ya think there’s a soundproofing spell?” Applejack asked.

“I’m pretty sure of it.” the blue haired Apple nodded. “Tell me, does the Princess care for her door?”

“Darling, it’s just a door,” Rarity replied, tilting her head in confusion.

“Good!” Vinyl’s right arm was now encircled with strings of her magic. “You might want to take a few steps back.” she advised the Council members with a wave. “So…” she glanced at door. “... Everfree oak…. Metallic reinforcements… AJ, what’s the thickness of the doors?”

Applejack gave a small knock on the door. “Ah’ll say about six inches.”

“Let’s try with five then.” Vinyl focused her strings in five brightly glowing rings as chirping sounds resonated through the corridor. “Be careful of what you see inside, it might not be what it really is from what Pinkie and Rainbow told us about the caves.”

All girls nodded before covering their ears when Vinyl punched the air in front of the door, sending successively her glowing rings to the door’s lock. One by one, the rings exploded, blasting the lock and a good portion of the center of the double doors into dust.

When they pushed the doors open, Applejack and Vinyl’s gazes were first attracted to the black, crystal statue in a javelin-throwing stance at the end of the completely empty room. Not counting the apparently unconscious bodies of Twilight and Cadence. The two sisters felt a small breeze before a yellow and pink blur flew past them to her friends.

“Fluttershy!” Applejack called, but the concerned party ignored her and checked her friends’ wounds.

As nothing seemed to happen, the rest of the group walked slowly to get to Fluttershy’s side. Cadence and Twilight were both gagged and handcuffed and Cadence’s face was showing the mark of being hit by an armored fist.

“You think they ran away because their minotaur was beaten?” Rainbow asked slowly after gazing around the room.

“Leaving their hostages here?” Vinyl retorted.

“Vi…” Applejack whispered to her sister’s ear. “Ah think we should leave this room!” she added slowly.

“What is it?”

“Ah don’ know… Something’s nasty happened here…” Applejack glanced at the black statue. “Somethin’ unnatural…”

“Cadence, can you hear me?” Fluttershy called softly as she took the gag out of the princess’ mouth.

“Hurrgh aaaa,” Cadence groaned while fluttering her eyes open. “Girls...” she asked softly.

“We’re right here, Cadence!” Rainbow said with conviction.

“...They heard you!” Cadence whispered. “It’s a trap!”

Before the seven not chained women could blink, the room went suddenly dark as the night. A cacophony of feminine screams and groans as well the sounds of metallic boots filled the room before the darkness dissipated itself.

Queen Chrysalis was now standing in front of Cadence and Twilight while her soldiers were holding all the other five Council Members and the Apples captive. Each girl was restricted by two Changelings Warriors. Chrysalis blinked in surprise when the sounds of crashing windows came from behind her. Apparently, two wasn’t enough to restrain the tall blonde.

“Now, now!” Chrysalis snapped her fingers when Applejack moved toward her, making dark green chains snake around the farmer. “I should have realised that two men wouldn’t be enough for you!” she glanced at the broken windows, through which her men had been sent flying. “Oh well, it happens!” she shrugged.

“Let me go!” Applejack growled as she tried to push the chains off of her.

“Maybe…” Chrysalis stated softly. “But, first you’re going answer a few questions for me.”

“Because ya think Ah’m going to answer ya?”

“Well, if you don’t..” Chrysalis walked up to Vinyl before grabbing her chin. “I’ll ask this one… as you two seem to have come here together from what I heard!” she pinched Vinyl’s cheeks with her claw-like gauntlet, making the blue-haired’s blood pearl.

“DON’TCHA TOUCH HER, BITCH!” Applejack bellowed furiously, nearly freeing herself from the chains before another, more heavy set appeared with a snap of fingers from Chrysalis.

“Now, let’s us remain civil!” The queen let out playfully. “Otherwise, I’ll have to be extremely uneasy with your friend here!” she tapped softly the whip that was hanging at her belt.

Applejack and Vinyl’s skin lost all their color when their eyes fell on the whip, a detail that didn’t go unnoticed by the other in the room. The queen smirked before unstrapping her whip before unfurling it, revealing the small silver blade at the end.

“First of all,” Chrysalis said under the shocked gazes from the Council members. “People capable of handling an adult Gorghon aren’t at two bits the dozen. I’d like to know who you are.”

“...” Applejack licked her lips uneasily. Chrysalis raised her arm when she didn’t reply. “Wait! Ah’ll tell ya…”

“DON’T SAY ANYTHING!” Vinyl shouted, earning a surprised expression from the queen.

“Curious… Maybe she likes being whipped,” Chrysalis voiced her thoughts out loud, earning laughs from her men. “Why don’t you want her to answer my question?”

“If you don’t know who we are, you can’t really find us to get your revenge after leaving this Castle with your tail between your legs!” Vinyl replied defiantly.

The laughter died down as the queen titled her head pensively.

“You’re quite the clever one, aren’t you?” Chrysalis smirked.

“I try,” Vinyl replied slowly.

“Though, why do you think I’ll be leaving this place with my tail between my legs as you say?”

“With the shit I’m going to give you, I don’t see why you wouldn’t,” Vinyl chuckled before looking at ground.

The smirk on Chrysalis’ face turned into an angry snarl, while everyone else had their gaze on the captured musician. Applejack shouted in desperation when the queen lifted her whip, making it crack behind her before beginning the movement to hit Vinyl with it. Vinyl took a deep breath and lifted her face, showing to all that her throat was shining in an electric blue hue before opening her mouth.

All the birds and critters in the vicinity of the Castle fled the area or went into hiding at the thunderous roar coming from the seventh floor. All the invaders let go of what they were holding, whip and prisoners alike, to cover their ears in obvious pain. All windows exploded while the Changelings fell down, screaming like they were tortured.

Vinyl closed her mouth, thus ending the incredibly loud, feral roar she had cried out, before bringing her hand to her throat with a wince. The Council members, Cadence and the two Apples seemed unaffected by the roar, much to their own incomprehension.

“WAAAAHAAA! I can’t hear a thing!” Pinkie shouted dramatically. “How can I party if I can’t hear anymore?”

All brought their hands to tap next to their ears when they saw Pinkie moving her lips without hearing the sound of their voice. Vinyl snapped her fingers after massaging her throat.

“WAAAhaaaaaaa….. I can hear again!” Pinkie yelled cheerfully. “WOOOOHOOO!”

“What happened?” Fluttershy asked.

“Just ...a few muffl...ing spells on ...your ears,” Vinyl explained in a rocky, hoarse voice, wincing every two words. “Gonna...shut up...now!”

Applejack quickly went to her sister’s side while Rainbow helped Twilight and Cadence up, but before she could reach her, Vinyl’s neck shone in a dark green aura. They all looked back and saw the now limping Chrysalis leaning against the crystal statue, one hand pressed on her left ear while the other was extended towards Vinyl.

“You’ll pay for that, girl!” Chrysalis growled as she closed her fist, choking the blue-haired Titanian.

“I don’t think so!” a stern, angry woman’s voice came from the statue before anyone could react.

Chrysalis blinked before the crystal arm she was leaning on shattered to make way for a tanned one to hit the queen with the back of its fist. The rest of the statue broke into tiny shards as Princess Celestia extricated herself from the remains of her temporary prison.

“Princess Celestia!” the girls called with joy and relief.

“H..How?” Chrysalis stammered in disbelief. “There’s no way to escape one of Sombra’s prisons!”

“It should be that way,” Celestia admitted slowly, rolling her shoulders. “Looks like it wasn’t designed to imprison me or Luna,” she supposed before turning her gaze to the green haired woman, then to the other girls in the room. “Are you all okay?”

The girls all nodded slowly, earning a relieved sigh from the monarch. The Sun Princess cast a quick healing spell on Cadence’s bruises, and Vinyl’s throat before she destroyed the cuffs on her student and niece’s wrists with a snap of her fingers. During that short time, Chrysalis pulled another black shard from her satchel. She was about to throw it at Celestia when the monarch snapped her fingers again.

After a bright flash of light, Chrysalis threw the shard at the raging sea. She blinked before she looked around. She was standing at the center of a tiny, desert, rocky island lost in the middle of the ocean. She tried to teleport away but her magic was somehow blocked.

Another flash of light appeared behind her as she tried to see anything other than water at the horizon. It was a rolled parchment. Chrysalis unfurled it, gulping nervously before reading it. The message was really short:

Welcome to the Moon!
Luna comes here very often to think about the things she did.
Why don’t you get inspired by that?
Celestia of Equestria.
Ps: Don’t mind the name. It’s one of Luna’s idea!

Epilogue : a royal party

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“So, Pinkie,” Twilight called as she turned the pages of her clipboard. “How are the repairs coming along?” she asked before glancing around the busy ballroom.

It had been three days since the attack on the Castle. Due to the amount of damage done, the wedding, which should have happened the day after Chrysalis’ attempt, had been postponed until the repairs were done. Canterlot Castle had been filled with many workers since the restoration had started.

“They’re almost done, Twilight!” Pinkie replied, tipping her yellow helmet at her dark skinned friend. “There’s only a few nails left to be nailed, and a final coat of paint on the window frames, then it’s over!”

“Perfect!” Twilight nodded happily, before checking the item “checking on the repairs” on her to-do list. “Now, I have to go to Rarity’s workroom.”

“Why?” Pinkie asked in confusion. “She’s on the balcony with the others.” Pinkie pointed her thumb above her shoulder to a window across the room.

“Hum?” Twilight blinked before noticing the three women outside the window. “That’s odd. She said that she would probably be busy on the dresses all day long.”

“Maybe she finished early,” Pinkie suggested with a shrug.

“Maybe,” The Princess’ student let out slowly. “I’ll ask her.”

“Later!” Pinkie waved at Twilight who waved back before heading for the balcony.

On her way to her destination, Twilight frowned with puzzlement. From one of the windows, she saw the heads of her future sister-in-law, Fluttershy and Rarity coming up and down in perfect synchronicity. She walked out of the ballroom, seeing the rather odd scene taking place on the balcony.

“What...WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” Twilight asked loudly.

All three heads of the women sitting on Applejack’s back turned to the scholar, tea cups in their hands while the farmer continued her streak of push-ups. Twilight blinked before glancing around, seeing Rainbow doing push-ups as well under the watchful eyes of Vinyl, who was sitting cross-legged on her back.

“Rainbow dared Jacquelyn to a push-up contest,” Octavia, being the only one sitting on a chair nearby the small table, explained before taking a sip of her tea cup. “Jacquelyn dared her back with the condition of someone sitting on their back.” she ended her explanation with a small wave of her hand.

“Oooookay,” Twilight let out in bewilderment. “Why did she ask that?”

“To spice up the challenge, Sugarcube!” Applejack rolled her eyes at the scholar, not even bothered by the effort she was giving.

“But...why are you three on her like that?” Twilight asked to the three ladies on the farmer’s rather large, and muscular back for a woman’s.

Fluttershy, Rarity and Cadence looked at each other for a few seconds before facing the puzzled Titanian.

“It’s surprisingly comfortable!” the trio replied in unison.

“How much have they done already?” Vinyl asked the cellist while Twilight was trying to process what the others just said.

“By my count, they’re at sixty-eight,” Octavia replied.

“It’s really ...hum… comfortable?” Twilight asked in disbelief.

“Oh, yes!” Rarity assured with a nod.

“Very strong, and firm muscular tissue that gives a proper support,” Fluttershy explained.

“But it’s also subtle and delicate enough to perfectly embrace the shape of your backside,” Cadence added after thinking a bit, only to frown at her own sentence. “That sounded way better in my head.”

“Maybe you should re-phrase that really quick,” Vinyl suggested with a smirk. “Because, you’re making it sound like AJ’s gropping all three of you,” she added with a short mocking laugh.

The reactions were instantaneous, all three women became beat red at the implication, and the same could be told about their blonde bench. Applejack leaned on her left arm before using the right one to grab the cushion on the chair that Cadence had abandoned in favor of Applejack’s back, and throw it at her sister.

“HAHA! Missed!” Vinyl chuckled as she caught the cushion with her magic. “WOAAH!” she fell backwards while trying to avoid the chair that quickly followed.

Her fall disturbed Rainbow’s rhythm and the pair quickly tumbled on each other in the following seconds with pained grunts.

“Was that really necessary, Darling?” Rarity asked Applejack, silently awed by the fact that the farmer was still maintaining her push-up stance with only one arm with the trio still on her back.

“Nah,” Applejack admitted casually. “That was for my own satisfaction!”

“Brutish cowgirl!” Vinyl muttered as she helped herself and Rainbow up.

“Thank ya kindly!” Applejack chuckled. “Now, off my back, Ladies!”

The three women stood up to go for their chairs- Vinyl had levitated Cadence’s back in her spot along with the cushion. Released from the trio settled on her back, Applejack stood up and stretched with a low grunt, popping her spine with a large amount of satisfaction.

“Isn’t that bad for your back?” Twilight asked slowly.

“With them girls all lighter than feathers? Not at all!” Applejack declared, causing the girls in question to blush once again at the compliment.

“Anyway, Rarity!” Twilight called the seamstress. “I wanted to see how are the dresses coming along.”

“They were mostly done before the attack, Darling,” Rarity replied.

“Why did you keep on saying that you’ve been sewing non-stop since the day after?” Twilight asked with suspicion.

“Well, if you really want to know, I wanted to make sure that the only dress I had left to do was perfect!” Rarity explained with a small humph. “It’s really important that it is!”

“....” Twilight blinked before widening with dread. “You mean that you still haven’t finished Cadence’s dress?!”

“What?” Cadence asked loudly.

“Twilight, dear, why do you think that?” Rarity asked with a cocked eyebrow. “Cadence’s dress was the first one I finished.” Cadence sighed with relief at that. “The only way for it to be more perfect would be during the moment when Cadence will place the ring on her finger!”

“Awww, that’s sweet!” Cadence let out with a small smile.

“You’re very welcome, Dear.” Rarity gave her princess friend a short bow.

“Whose dress are you working on then?” Rainbow asked out of curiosity.

“Applejack’s,” the seamstress answered, pointing at the farmer.

“Huh?” Applejack blinked in confusion. “Sugar, it doesn’t need to be perfect!” she added with worry. “Ah’d rather want that ya ain’t overworkin’ yerself for it!”

“Yes, it does need to be perfect!” Rarity argued. “That’s why I came here to get you before I was dragged in your silly dare contest.”

“We didn’t see you complain a lot though,” Octavia commented with a cocked eyebrow.

“That’s not really the point.” Rarity shrugged. “I need Applejack to try her dress before doing the finishing touches.”

“Is that really necessary? Didn’t ya have ma measures-thingy?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, it is,” Rarity replied simply. “Now, would you please come with me so that I can make your dress fabulous… Or maybe you just want to look like you’re wearing a sack of potatoes?” she asked playfully.

“To be completely honest, Ah wouldn’t mind the sack of potatoes over the dress if Ah can avoid another modeling session.”

Rarity’s right eye gave a small twitch while the others giggled softly.

“I’ll pretend I haven’t heard what you just said!” Rarity let out slowly. “And YOU will come and try that dress! Is that clear?” The seamstress stared straight into the farmer’s green eyes with determination.

“Huh… Yes, Ma’am… Ah guess,” Applejack replied sheepishly after being a bit lost in the sapphire blue orbs of her interlocutor.

“Perfect! Now, come along, Darling!” Rarity waved Applejack to follow her inside.

“Huh, see ya’ll later then,” Applejack said before walking after the seamstress.

“Bwahaha!” Rainbow let out a few moments later. “Rarity got your sister totally whipped!” she said to Vinyl mockingly.

“Hmmmm… Not sure she’ll be the one whipped in a few seconds,” Vinyl replied after glancing inside and putting her hands on her ears.

SNAP

“YAAOOWWW!” Rainbow flew in the air, her hands firmly pressed on her butt.

“Thank ya kindly for the whip, Pinkie!” Applejack’s voice came from the ballroom as the end of a rather long, pink whip was pulled back inside.

~~~~~

“Feeling nervous, Lil’ Sis?” Applejack, who was standing in the dress Rarity had made for her, asked with worry.

“A little bit,” Vinyl admitted slowly as she waiting for her cue to go on stage to start the music. “Too bad my lucky shades were broken when I shouted at Chrysalis.”

“Sugar, ya need no lucky charms or trinklets!” Applejack reminded her sternly. “Ya got enough talent to be here! Don’tcha ever forget it!” she added, putting her hand on her sister’s shoulder.

Vinyl sighed softly, grabbing her sister’s hand. “Thanks, AJ.”

“Now, go make some noises, Sugarcube,” Applejack said softly before scruffing her sister’s naturally spiky hair. “Not too much though! Remember it’s about the newlyweds!” she added playfully before leaving backstage.

“It’s like me asking you to act all lady-like!” Vinyl replied with a short laugh, earning a dismissive hand wave from the blonde.

Vinyl took a short breath before getting settled on stage as the couple of the day entered the ballroom, followed by the two High Princesses and the Council of Harmony. The guests all turned their attention on Cadence and Shining who were both positively beaming, something that brought a small smile on the blue-haired musician’s face.

The newlyweds walked slowly to the center of the ballroom, then they bowed softly to each other. Shining took his wife’s hand, entwining his fingers with hers before their foreheads touched one another. At this moment, Octavia gave a small wave to Vinyl who focused her magic in her hands immediately after noticing the cellist.

“Let’s get this party started!” Pinkie shouted excitedly as Vinyl slammed her hands together, creating many strings of her blue magic before the music started to ring through the ballroom.

While the crowd was more than a bit awestruck by the magic used to provide music, they quickly returned their attention to the couple of the day who had started to dance while Twilight had joined Vinyl on stage. The blue haired Titanian gave a small touch with her magicked finger on the Council member’s throat, slightly amplifying her voice before she started to sing.

“LOVE IS IN BLOOM!”

The guests all started to bob their heads to the rhythm of the song while Twilight kept singing the first song of the wedding reception. Soon enough, the attention on the newlyweds diminished as everyone started to dance.

Vinyl caught sight of the crowd dancing to her music, even Luna and Celestia were enjoying themselves to the beat she offered. She couldn’t help to smile. This was what she was meant to do. She had never been so certain of that as she was right now.

Vinyl closed her eyes before going wild. She had rehearsed a selection of twenty songs she was supposed to play for the hour she had been booked for. She kept playing for more than three hours, and in the end, she had only played a single song of the ones Cadence had picked for the wedding. No one thought of stopping her though. They were all far too busy enjoying her music.

~~~~~

“Can Ah have a glass of fizzy apple cider then?” Applejack asked at the waiter behind the bar installed at one end of the ballroom.

“I’m sorry, Miss, we don’t have that either,” the waiter replied with embarrassment.

It was the tenth drink that the young blonde asked and that he couldn’t provide. He was starting to feel sorry for the girl as many women, and men from the Nobility around her started to gossip and to mock the blonde for her rather simple tastes as they said.

“Urgh!” Applejack groaned, ignoring the giggles made of her by the nearby Nobles. “Let’s make things simple, pal,” she added to the waiter. “Tell me what ya have, an’ I’ll take what will do with my tastes, alright?”

“I can give you the menu of our drinks, Miss,” the waiter replied slowly before offering said menu to her.

“You won’t find anything, you know?” a male’s voice said to Applejack as she was leafing to the drink menu.

“Huh?” Applejack blinked in confusion before turning her head to where the voice came from. “Why isn't that Prince Blood-not-so-much-blue?” she added with narrowed eyes to the blond prince and the bunch of nobles behind him.

“Well, I hardly think you could ever find something that matches your tastes,” Blueblood replied with a high and mighty tone. “This is a royal ceremony, not the common pig fair after all.” his comment brought the snickers from his group of supporters.

“Ah’m rather surprised ya got a clue of what they serve at pig fairs, actually,” Applejack replied with shrug, her eyes settling down on the glass of red wine the blond was holding. “What have ya got there?”

“Huh?” Blueblood blinked before glancing at his glass for a few second. “That’s a glass of red wine of course. Surely you must have heard of wine before?” he asked with a laugh.

“Is it any good?” Applejack asked, doing her best to not snap at the prince who apparently hadn’t caught the meaning of the first lesson she gave him a few days before.

“It is, but I doubt that an uncultured farm girl like you could ever appreciate this fine Manehattanite vintage,” the prince reply with arrogance.

“Mhm. Could ya get me a glass of what this here prince thinks is Manehattan wine, please?” Applejack asked the waiter, unfazed by the blond’s remark.

“Huh, all right,” the waiter replied with surprise before doing as asked.

“What do you mean by “what I think is Manehattan wine”?” Blueblood asked in confusion as Applejack received her drink containing the exact same, dark red liquid as his.

“Hmmm.” Applejack focused her gaze on her glass, tilting it a bit to the right. “A nice burgundy color…. small deposits at the bottom of the glass… That’s the characteristics of a vintage from further in land, not a coastal region like Manehattan!” Applejack put her nose just above her glass. “.... A subtle aroma of cherry… The vineyards in Dodge Junction and Fillydelphia add a bit of cherry juice to their wine… But the clear smell of pine makes me think that it’s from Fillydelphia.” She took a sip of her glass, making her drink circulate in her mouth. “Yep! Fillydelphia! Dodge’s vintages are bit more dry in the mouth.” She took another sip. “A bit strong of taste… stays long in the mouth… Chateau Fleur de Lys… six...No! Seven years of age!” she turned to the waiter.

“That’s correct, Miss,” the waiter commented in a slightly awed tone.

“That’s what Ah thought!” Applejack replied smug before turning to the Prince. “Also, food for thoughts, Prince: Manehattan vineyards only export white wines!” she added before giving him a patronizing tap on the cheek.

Applejack, pretty pleased with herself, turned her back to the stunned prince and his even more stunned group of supporters and walked away slowly, nearly bumping into Rarity.

“Really impressive, Miss Apple,” Rarity commented with a short nod. “I have no idea you were such a connoisseur in wines.”

“Well, Lady Rarity, it ain’t proper to assume thin’s,” Applejack chuckled before clearing her throat. “After all, one can never be certain of what stands after the cover of a book, isn’t that right?” she added with a perfect Manehattanite accent that surprised Rarity even more than the farmer’s knowledge in wines.

“Oh my!” Rarity let out slowly.

“Surprisin’, huh?” Applejack asked, returning to her usual southern accent.

“Quite,” Rarity nodded, eyeing the farmer from a totally different perspective. “Tell me, Darling, how good is your knowledge in proper vintage?”

“Not to sound full of maself, but Ah’ll say pretty decent.” Applejack pointed back at the dumbfounded prince behind her. “Better than his, that’s for certain,” she added with a short laugh, soon joined by the seamstress. “Why do ya ask?”

“Well, I just happen to have a private booth, what do you say that I test your knowledge with some of the vintages I have booked for the evening. I want to see how many you can recognize,” Rarity explained.

Applejack stared at her for a few seconds. “Ya had ma curiosity, Lady Rarity.” she smiled widely. “Now, ya have my most dedicated attention!” Rarity beamed at that sentence before leading Applejack to her private booth.

~~~~~

Vinyl had just stopped her performance to bow to the cheering audience. She had given two encores already, and while she wouldn’t have minded giving a third one, she knew her limit was near.

After the crowd reluctantly accepted her coming down of the stage, she encountered the dark haired cellist she had spent the last few days rehearsing with with a large glass of water in her hand.

“A wonderful performance, Miss Apple!” Octavia said with a warm smile as she offered the water to the tired musician. “Though, if I may give a small piece of advice, from one professional musician to another, try to play for the amount of time you’re hired to play. Not everyone will bother paying the extras you just did, no matter how good they are!” she added playfully.

“I guess I kinda lost myself to the music, huh?” Vinyl asked sheepishly. “I’ll try to pay more attention to that!”

The pair of musicians discussed the blue-haired one’s performance, being interrupted a few times by a random guest praising Vinyl or giving his salutations to Octavia. In order to have their conversation uninterrupted, the pair walked into the gardens and settled on a bench a bit aside from the path leading to the ballroom.

“Vinyl, I have something I must speak to you about,” Octavia said after nervously rubbing her hands.

“I’m all ears!” Vinyl replied, oblivious to her friend’s nervousness.

“Well, yesterday, after your sister left with Rarity, I went to see Princess Luna and Celestia about the program of this evening. You remember?”

“Yep, it was only yesterday after all!” Vinyl joked, earning a giggle from Octavia, something that helped the cellist relaxing.

“I kinda lied… It wasn’t about the program that I went to speak with the Princesses,” Octavia confessed slowly. “It was about you.”

Vinyl blinked before turning her face to the cellist. “About me?” Octavia nodded. “Huh… What did you talk about me?”

“I...I made a suggestion to the Princesses. A suggestion that they agreed to,” Octavia explained. “I recommended you for the seventh seat in the Council of Harmony.”

“.....” Vinyl brought her glass to her lips after a short silence, she took a sip from it before spitting all the water out of her mouth. She noticed Octavia’s cocked eyebrow. “Sorry, I kinda always wanted to do that at least once!” she explained sheepishly. “So… You recommended me?”

“Yes!” Octavia nodded.

“Ok, so I heard correctly.” Vinyl licked her lips nervously. “Why?”

“Because of your magic!” Octavia explained. “You might not realize it, but sound magic as developed as yours doesn’t exist! The implications it can have in the fields music and magic are not negligible.”

“That much?” Octavia nodded. “So, I’ll have to stay here? In this Castle, I mean?”

“Yes,” the cellist replied softly. “It’s the one obligation you would have. We stay close to the Princesses’ so that they could watch us progressing, developing our talents, becoming examples for the next generation… Leaving our mark in History!”

“And, the Council is the only path for that?” Vinyl asked softly.

“Huh?” Octavia let out in confusion.

“For leaving our mark in Equestria’s History,” Vinyl started her explanation. “The Council isn’t the only path. Many famous people weren’t in the Council, yet they achieved something that changed the lives of everyone since then. Like Snow Drop, who was the first Jupitarian to have tamed the magic of Winter. Like the famous explorer, Daring Do, who discovered wonders from times even before Celestia and Luna. They all left a mark in History.” she glanced at the puzzled cellist. “Like you’d have, even without joining the Council.”

“...What?” Octavia asked with puzzlement.

“You’re not looking at this the right way… I think,” Vinyl shook her head before focusing her magic. “Let’s take you for example,” she added as a little Octavia made with Vinyl’s blue magic appeared in front of her.

“Me?”

“Yeah.” Vinyl nodded. “You’ve started playing in professional circles when you were fifteen or sixteen.” she said as the magic Octavia started to play on a tiny cello.

“You’re well informed,” Octavia commented slowly.

“Your very first record was one of my sixteenth birthday presents,” Vinyl explained. “I’ve been a fan since then.” Octavia smiled with a small blush in response. “Anyway, you’ve become famous around seventeen by becoming one of the youngest first chair cellist in Manehattan’s orchestra, and a year later, you composed with the help of a friend probably one of the most beautiful symphonies I have ever heard.” Octavia’s blush only deepened. “Then you became a Council member.” Magic Octavia slided in front of a miniature of Canterlot Castle.

Octavia waited for Vinyl to continue, and frowned when she didn't. “And that’s it?”

“Pretty much yeah,” Vinyl replied.

“I’ll have you know that I haven’t been twiddling my thumbs since I joined!” Octavia argued.

“I’m not saying you have,” Vinyl replied with a smile. “But about that mark in History, admit that you have already left it before joining the Council.”

Octavia was at loss of words when she realized what Vinyl meant.

“You see, from my perspective, you, and the other girls as well, were brought in this Council because you had already left your mark, not the other way around,” Vinyl explained softly.

“I...I see what you mean,” Octavia whispered slowly.

“I’m honored that you of all the people suggested me to join,” Vinyl said softly. “I really am, but I’m going to have to decline. It’s too… restrictive for me,” she explained.

“What do you mean restrictive?” Octavia asked. “How is the Council restrictive? You have access to the royal funds. You can meet people from all around the world. You…”

“Octavia,” Vinyl interrupted the cellist. “Have you ever played another instrument beside your cello since you’ve been chosen?”

“Huh… no, why?”

“Well, because I was hoping you’d do another record of your violin,” Vinyl commented with a sigh. “The first one was nice.”

“What does it got to do with anything?” Octavia asked in confusion. “Besides, I’m the Council’s….cellist,” she added in a shocked whisper.

“Who said that?” Vinyl asked slowly. Octavia didn’t answer. “That’s why the Council is restrictive in my opinion. It shows you a path, yes, but a path with fences and walls that prevent you from changing direction.” The magic Octavia now slided in between two blue walls which she tried to pass through without success.

“So, I lost opportunities when I joined the Council?” Octavia asked nervously.

“Probably some,” Vinyl replied with a nod. “But, that’s common to every choice people make.”

“And, I’m stuck on that path for good according to you?”

“That path isn’t a bad thing, Octavia!” Vinyl assured. “If it works for you, it’s not a problem to walk on it, but if it doesn’t… well,” she grinned. “What’s stopping you from jumping over the fences to explore what you missed now that you realize there’s something beyond them?”

To express her point, Magic Octavia grabbed her mini cello before hammering the small fences of her path until they shattered. The real Octavia giggled as she saw her tiny version changing her cello in favor of a guitar before getting a shot at the drums.

“Thank you for telling me that, Vinyl,’ Octavia said in a whisper as her blue, miniature version dissipated in the air. “It brings me a whole new perspective.”

“You’re welcome.”

“It’s too bad that you didn’t accept though,” Octavia said with a sigh.

“Why’s that?”

“Well, I kind of took a liking in working with you over the last few days,” Octavia explained with a small blush. “I was hoping we’d do that again if you chose to stay.”

“Well, what’s stopping us from doing that?” Vinyl asked with a chuckle. “Canterlot isn’t that far from Ponyville. Nothing prevents us from visiting each other, right?”

“Yes, indeed,” Octavia replied with a nod. “I suppose the Princesses wouldn’t mind your presences after what you and your sister did for us… I just realized I never really thanked you for saving me that day.”

“I wasn’t gonna let one of my idols being kidnapped right in front of me.” Vinyl chuckled softly. “You’re lucky they weren’t stalkers though, I might have joined them if they were.”

“Lucky me,” Octavia replied before giggling at Vinyl’s joke. It was a joke, wasn’t it? Don’t ask, Octavia, it’ll ruin the mood!

The pair of musicians continued their discussion in a more lighter tone, oblivious to the fact that Princess Celestia had heard their conversation about the fences restricting the Council members during her stroll in the gardens. The Sun Monarch couldn’t deny what the young musician had said.

Such a shame she didn’t accept Octavia’s offer. Celestia commented internally as she walked back to the Castle, leaving the two girls to their conversation. She would have changed quite a few things… Though, those changes can still happen if she keeps in touch with Octavia.

The more she thought about it, the more Celestia was convinced that jumping over those fences, as Vinyl said it earlier, was the perfect experience for her six Council members. She had noticed that all six of them had a bit lost their enthusiasm as the routine of their lives in Canterlot was finally settling in, even more so for Twilight, Octavia and Rarity who had all three joined around the same time a bit more than three years ago.

The girls need to break out of this routine, seeing the world from a different perspective… In short, the Council needed a long breath of fresh air. Princess Celestia kept thinking about it until she walked to the dessert table to help herself with a slice of cake. To help her think about things of course.

She was about to grab the plate with a slice of a double chocolate cake with whipped cream and strawberry jam offered by the waitress when her gaze was attracted by a round, red fruit on the table. Celestia smiled as she glanced at the apple on the buffet, it had just given her a great idea. She took a forkful of her cake as a reward for it, giving her a totally different reason to smile. The cake was really delicious.

~~~~~

Dear Jacquelyn and Vinyl Apple
I am writing to you about something that you might want to know about.
For a while now, I have been noticing a rather important loss of enthusiasm from the girls. I had hoped that it will pass thanks to the wedding organisation. Sadly, I was mistaken, but I’m happy to tell you that I found the perfect solution for them.
I think, and my dear sister agrees with me on that, that the girls need a little break from the Castle life, and from Canterlot in general. The fresh air of the countryside would do all them some good, and I can’t think of a better place than Sweet Apple Acres for that.
I told the girls about it, and all of them seem pretty excited at the prospect of spending three weeks in Ponyville. Some a bit more than others. We had to tie Pinkie Pie up to prevent her from running to the train station as soon as we suggested the idea to her and the others.
Also, Rainbow wants me to tell you that she’s still got that push-up contest to finish with Jacquelyn. I’m a bit puzzled by her explanation involving a cushion and a chair though. I fail to see the correlation between those two elements and push-ups…. Probably some new fashion I haven’t heard of yet.
Anyway, to make things clear, the girls should arrive at the farm in the afternoon on the fifth of July, and should stay for about three weeks. They can stay a week longer if they want to, but we don’t want to impose of course.
Yours truly.
High Princess of the Sun
Celestia of Equestria.
Ps: Luna just reminded me that Pinkie eats the equivalent of nine meals a day, so you might want to plan enough food during their stay. She also wishes you two good luck.

“What do ya think about that, Sis?” Applejack asked when she noticed Vinyl had finished reading the letter Ditzy Doo had just given the blonde Apple.

“What do I think?” Vinyl asked back. “I think we’ve got a strange summer coming right up!”

An Apple Scratch toward the World.

by Mariacheat-Brony

Prologue: Vinyl's surprise (rewritten)

A story told by Vinyl (long rewrite of Vinyl's History lesson)

Welcome to Canterlot (rewritten)

First meetings (rewrite of the Magic of Music)

Two interrupted dinners (a rewrite of the Might of an Apple)

So it begins (rewritten)

When Changelings confront an Apple... (rewrite of the Good the Bad and...)

Battles in Canterlot Castle (rewrite to Vinyl's applebucking...)

The Rodeo and Roar of the Apples

Epilogue : a royal party