Broken Stems

Chapters

Look At This Photograph
Long Train Runnin'
A Train Bound For Nowhere
All The Tired Horses In The Sun
Two Tickets To Paradise
I'm On A Boat
I'll Be Thunder
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Freeze Frame
Run To The Hills
Blaze Of Glory
Mama I'm Coming Home
Cat's In The Cradle

Look At This Photograph

A gentle snow fell on Hearth's Warming, just as the weather schedule had said it would. Not enough to cause problems, but plenty to lay a light blanket of white across Ponyville and set the tone for the holiday.

And what a holiday it was - Tempest Shadow (née Fizzlepop Berrytwist) hadn't seen the like since she was a filly. It was, admittedly, the first she'd enjoyed among her fellow ponies since joining the Storm King (and later reversing that mistake), but that didn't make it any less wonderful to experience.

After too many years alone, she found herself in a place of solace: Sweet Apple Acres. Here, she was surrounded by friends and their families - and had been told in no uncertain terms that this meant she was family, too. Just the thought of that made Tempest smile. Like a great many things today, now that she considered it.

Most of the ponies in attendance were inside right now, gathered around the tree and singing carols. The strum of Applejack's guitar was fading in Tempest's ears after a heartfelt chorus of Days Gone By finished. She herself preferred this moment of quiet away from all that - standing on the farmhouse's porch, watching the snow fall and sipping on a mug of cocoa. No need to rush. No underlying tension. No looming battle. Just... peace.

Tempest had forgotten what it felt like.

Minutes later, she was joined by company. Applejack herself had split off from the party and emerged from the house with meandering hoofsteps. Tempest acknowledged her with an earflick.

The two stood beside each other in silent contemplation, watching the holiday scene that nature (and the weather team) had laid out for them. It was the farmer who broke the silence, in time. "Need a refill?"

The soldier tested the weight of the mug in her hooves for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Hope you're not hidin' out here 'cuz you don't feel comfortable," was the next statement - the true reason for Applejack's appearance.

And once more, Tempest shook her head. "No, it's not that. I'm just enjoying the view and the chance to let my soul take a breath."

Her response was a soft nod. "Ah hear ya there. That's one thing Ah find we're mighty short on. What with Twilight's day planner lookin' like a train schedule, Rarity being constantly hoppin' from one project to the next, Rainbow being physically incapable of slowing down when she ain't asleep and Pinkie Pie being, well, Pinkie Pie? 'Bout the only one of the girls who can stop to smell the roses is Fluttershy, and she's got Discord turnin' her life into chaos every time it does slow." Applejack shook her head. "So yeah. A breath ain't anything Ah'll begrudge anypony."

Tempest sipped her cocoa, taking her time to respond. "Shame," she finally decided on. "This is a great place for it, too. Your family's really got something special here."

Applejack couldn't help but smile at that. "Yeah. Yeah, we really do. Been a long time and a lotta work to make it that - blood, sweat an' tears of three generations of Apple." That made her pause in thought, however. "Tempest, come with me fer a sec? There's somethin' Ah don't think Ah told you about yet."

Though that got a raised eyebrow, the soldier followed the farmer inside. She paused to put down her cocoa and brush the snow off the black frock she wore, but it only took a minute before the two stood in the front hall of the farmhouse. Further inside was the low murmur of activity as the rest of the party went about their business. The scent of the next pie wafted through - as did the sound of Granny Smith scolding Scootaloo to let it cool. Sugar Belle could be heard as well, going over family trees with Sweetie Belle to see if they could find a distant relation like Pinkie Pie had found with the Apples. Neither Applejack nor Tempest paid the hubbub much attention.

Side by side in the hall, the quiet pair looked up at a family photo of six ponies - six smiling Apples. A maudlin one of her own came to Applejack's lips. "Tempest Shadow? Ah want you to meet our parents, Bright Mac an'--"

"Buttercup," Tempest finished at a hush.

A moment's surprise disappeared just as quickly - there was no need for Applejack to ask the question. After all, Pinkie Pie existed. She probably had warned Tempest ahead of time about the sensitive subject. "Yeah." She let out a heavy sigh. "We all miss 'em since they passed on, but if it weren't for their work? Sweet Apple Acres wouldn't be the place it is today. An' we wouldn't be the ponies we are." She turned to face Tempest - and stopped.

The orchid mare's eyes looked haunted - no, hunted. It was the look of a sheep cornered by timberwolves.

"Tempest?" Applejack took a concerned step towards her friend. Tempest - the most battle-hardened pony Applejack knew, who had faced down all four Princesses without blinking - took a step back. She retreated from the farmer. Another concerned step forward, and Tempest broke into panicked flight.

Applejack pursued, and the pair charged out into the snow once more with the door rattling behind them. Tempest was in a blind run, careening through the orchard with the care of a stampeding steer. More than one apple tree shuddered as she bounced off it in a desperate attempt to be anywhere else but the farmhouse. And every step of the way there was an Apple only a yard or two behind her.

Finally the chase ended in the most ironic of places - a patch of snow slipped under Tempest's hooves and sent her tumbling down an incline. Snow filled the air as she rolled, chaotic momentum pushing her desperate flight just a little further. Then there was a muffled thump as she came to rest against a rock at the base of two intertwined trees - one apple, one pear.

Coming to a more controlled halt, Applejack held out a hoof. "What in tarnation's gotten into you, sugar?"

The help up wasn't taken. Tempest scrambled to her hooves on her own to find herself backed up against the stone. It was the end of the line. Resigned to her fate, Tempest closed her eyes and finally said it. "...I've seen them."

A chill zephyr cut across the snowy orchard in the silence that followed. Several different forms of confusion washed over Applejack's face. "Ah don't understand. Did Pinkie show you one've those photos before?"

Tempest shook her head, still unable to look at the farmer. "No, Applejack. I've seen them."

"That's impossible. They-- they died." Applejack's words hitched. "Years ago. Right after Apple Bloom was born."

"They didn't." Uncharacteristic panic crept into Tempest's cracking voice. "Applejack, I didn't know! I--"

An orange hoof slammed into the rock beside Tempest's head and knocked a few tiny chips free. The soldier flinched away. The farmer's ire rose all the more. "This ain't funny, Tempest! Ah know Rainbow lets her pranks go too far sometimes, but even she knows better than this!"

The dark mare's eyes popped open. "Applejack, if I'd known they were your parents I would have told you sooner. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Snarling, Applejack pushed in close, muzzle to muzzle with Tempest. Her heart raced, flip-flopping between injury and anger. "Take it back. Now. Ah'm gonna give you one chance to say yer sorry an' we'll forget this happened."

Blue-green eyes full of sadness locked with Applejack's. "I swear on my Mark - when I set out alongside the Storm King to attack Equestria, Bright Mac and Buttercup were alive."

Deathly silence blanketed the snowy orchard. Tempest waited to see what Applejack was going to do and... Applejack waited for the same thing. A dozen instincts in her screamed to buck the wine-dark mare right in her lying mouth. But behind that was a single voice - the voice of a foal Applejack could barely remember being. And it asked a question that snuck out of her lips.

"...You swear it?"

That voice wasn't the Applejack that Tempest knew. It was a painfully familiar one, though - the voice of a small filly who's life had fallen apart around her. Tempest swallowed roughly and nodded. "I swear, Applejack. Pinkie Promise or anything else you want me to do. It's the truth."

Applejack sagged - the hoof planted right beside Tempest's head did all it could as only thing keeping her upright. The anger simply... wasn't as that little voice cried out louder. After nearly a decade and a half, there was hope. Careful to not shatter the glass of the delicate moment, Applejack softly pushed for more. "Why'd you run?"

Tempest wasn't able to stop her nervous laugh. "A good soldier understands when to fall back. I know what your family means to you. If you thought for even a second that I was involved in--"

A gentle orange hoof silenced Tempest. "Ah know. We're close enough to the same age - you'd have been just a filly too." Applejack shook her head. "Ah know you didn't do it, and at that age Ah don't think Ah could blame you if ya had."

Now it was Tempest's turn to let the tension drain from her. But she didn't sag - it steeled her spine instead as the weight lifted. "I've spent the last two years trying to atone for what I've done," she noted as she rallied. "I've had to face a lot of horrible things that were my fault, and it hasn't been pleasant. You're one of the few ponies I can call a friend, Applejack. You invited me into your home, gave me my first Hearth's Warming since I was Apple Bloom's age, and I repaid you by telling you your parents were slaves under my watch. The idea that I could hurt you so much..." She trailed off for a moment, unable to meet those green eyes. "I couldn't take it. Not after how you brought me into your lives today."

In the snow, against the stone - they hugged.

Minutes passed in somber silence before they broke apart again. And Applejack asked a simple question. "Where are they?"

"Last I saw them? The Citadel of Storms - the Storm King kept them close." Tempest paused before elaborating slightly. "He didn't have a lot of Equestrians as slaves and considered them valuable. He, ah.... liked the earth pony work ethic."

"'Course he did," Applejack grumbled with dark, dry humor. "But they were okay? They're still probably there?"

Tempest set a hoof on the farmer's withers. "Applejack, I know what you're going to say and I agree. Tomorrow we'll gather everypony up, contact Twilight and--"

Instead, Applejack shook her head. "Nope."

"...What?"

"Nope," repeated Applejack. "We ain't gonna do that." And then she explained with a deep sigh. "Granny Smith's too old for somethin' like this. Apple Bloom's too young. And Big Mac... well, he's plenty capable but he's got a family of his own to start real soon now. If they know about this, every Apple from here to the ends of Equestria is gonna come clamorin' up." She shook her head with a deep frown. "And Ah know you know how dangerous this is gonna be."

Tempest gave a solemn nod. "It will be. It's probably even more dangerous now that the Storm King's gone. At least when he was around, someone was firmly in charge."

"We head out tomorrow. You an' me. Nopony else." Applejack took a deep breath and cast her eyes back to the distant farmhouse. "Ah won't risk their lives on this. Not gonna save our parents just to lose one've them along the way."

In turn, Tempest followed that gaze back to where the party still played on. "To Canterlot and the Princess, then."

Applejack didn't turn her eyes to her co-conspirator. "Does Canterlot know?"

"...Partially," was the dark mare's admission. "I told the Princesses that the remnants of the Storm King's armies did still have some Equestrians in chains. That's... part of what I've been trying to fix since then. Freeing those that the remnants of his army still hold. I never said who was being held - I didn't know those two were so important."

A small smirk cut across the farmer's lips. "Not important to Equestria. Just lil' old me."

And gently, Tempest bumped her hip against Applejack's. "So - important, then."

The smirk became a smile. "This is family business, Tempest. Ah'm not gonna cut you out because Ah won't deny you that atonement--"

"And because you know you need me."

Applejack rolled her eyes in much the same way she did at Rainbow Dash. "And because you'll be mighty useful, yeah. Knowin' the ins and outs of that place sure ain't gonna hurt any. Point is though - if Ah tell Twilight, she'll throw everything she can at it. And Ah can't do that. She's gotta prioritize all of Equestria now."

Tempest narrowed her eyes. "I think that's a really big mistake."

"Maybe," Applejack agreed. "But it's mine to make."

That hung in the air for long moments before Tempest nodded in reluctant agreement.

"Good. Tomorrow, you an' me start the trip." Applejack sucked in a breath of chill air through her teeth. Her eyes turned skywards - habit momentarily overwhelming hope. "Ma? Pa? Sure as summer - Ah'm comin' for you."

Author's Note

To note, this is not intended as a fixfic - personally, I'm absolutely happy with the Apple parents being dead. But Matthias Unidostres brought up the idea of the Apple parents being taken by the Storm King in Of Revolutions And Reunions - he hit it briefly as a side-note to the rest of the tale. I felt it was too strong a story hook to walk away from and not spin into a tale of its own. It just demanded being expanded on, and I couldn't turn it down.

An additional thank you goes to Estee for the title idea.

Long Train Runnin'

The next morning they met before dawn. Both had packed as lightly as they could - food, water and little else. Tempest walked as the heavier of the pair, with the matte black of her armor peeking out from under her frock.

Applejack raised an eyebrow at that, but the soldier was ready for it. "It's possible they haven't heard of my change of heart so far off. If that can get us past even one confrontation..."

"It'll be worth it," Applejack agreed with a nod.

They checked each other's packs in silence as the sun began to rise. And they were gone into town before another Apple could come out to ask questions that weren't answered by Applejack's terse note that lied through so many omissions.

Fresh snow from the night before crunched underhoof as they trotted in time towards the train station. There was no rush, but the sooner they arrived the less chance there was of being interrupted and asked awkward questions.

It was being alert to that which made Tempest's ear twitch. "...We're not alone."

"Well, yeah," Applejack dismissed casually. "This is Ponyville. Ah'm up early but there's still others out and about this time of day."

Tempest shook her head. "No, I mean that somepony is coming to us."

Before Applejack could react, it was too late. Their pursuers were upon them.

Rainbow Dash was - unsurprisingly - the first to reach the pair, hovering down to block their path. But the others - Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity all - weren't far behind. Each was kitted out not terribly differently than the first two with light saddlebags ready for long travel.

As the dawn sun broke across the tree line, the two sides faced off. There was a lengthy silence as each stared the other down - breath crystallizing in the chill air - before finally Applejack spoke up. "Mornin'."

"Good morning," sniped Rarity, lobbing a warning shot across the farmer's nose.

"Off somewhere?" came Applejack's casual reply in complete defiance of the alert.

Rarity's teeth audibly ground. "With you."

"Us?" Applejack looked guilelessly to Tempest and back. "What for?"

Pinkie Pie popped her head in front of Rarity's. "To save your family, silly! I mean duh!"

Still trying to avoid an actual lie, Applejack shifted uneasily. "That's quite a thing to be suggestin'."

Rainbow Dash's always short temper blew, and she hovered accusingly closer. "Cut the crap, AJ. We know everything, I heard every word!" She momentarily hesitated, realizing what she'd revealed. "Not because I was spying or anything! But when you two ran out of the party and into the orchard, I was worried! So... I followed you. And I heard it all!"

That shut Applejack up.

For around five seconds.

"So? Then you heard what else Ah had to say, Dash. That this is a family matter. An Apple family matter." She prodded the fluttering pegasus with her hoof. "Ah will not let any of y'all get hurt for this. No more than Ah'd let Apple Bloom."

And Rarity's ignored warning shot became a broadside. "Applejack, darling, please know and understand that I say this as one of your best friends and somepony who loves you dearly: shut up."

Applejack's jaw clicked shut.

"Thank you." Rarity gave her hair a perfunctory toss. "Now I do understand your concerns about the danger of this, as well as your feelings about the privacy of the matter. However - these are your parents we're talking about. Do you think for even a single moment that the whole lot of us wouldn't hurl ourselves into the maw of Tartarus itself to do this for you? If so, then I am sorely disappointed in how little you think of us." She stomped a forehoof for punctuation. "Now come along, we're wasting time."

It was probably a good thing that Applejack was staring at Rarity, because she would have felt obligated to punch Tempest in the face for the wide, smug grin she was wearing.

The farmer wasn't quite finished with the fight yet, however. "Now hold on just a minute everypony. Ah understand that you ain't afraid, but you've all got lives!" She turned her head. "Dash, you're a Wonderbolt! You can't just go traipsin' off on a moment's notice like this! You got practices and shows to be doin'!"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Nah, it's okay, I quit."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Weeeell," Rainbow hedged, "Less quit and more put in for a leave of absence. I mean, Spitfire hasn't approved it yet - or read it, probably, since I just tossed it on her desk at like two in the morning last night and she's off for the holiday - but I know she's totally gonna. So no obstacles for me."

Anticipating the question, Rarity piped up. "I've already asked Coco to swing into town and keep an eye on the Boutique for me while I'm away."

"Cheese should be here tomorrow to cover my party needs, and the holiday baking rush is over," Pinkie added.

Fluttershy simply smiled, because everypony knew the answer was 'Discord' and going any further into detail would only be a headache.

"You know," Tempest noted as she trotted forward to join the others and continue the journey, "I would think that by this point you would get how friendship works. I mean, I'm a lot newer at this than you are and even I saw this coming."

With a heavy sigh, Applejack admitted defeat. "Alright. Ah know Ah can't talk y'all outta this, so Ah guess we're all goin' now. But nopony else!" There were reluctant nods of agreement to that. And Applejack blushed as her voice quieted. "And.. thank you."

Pinkie pronked over and grabbed her cousin in a hug. "Say thank you by bringing them home." Her smile widened a little - hinting at a very dangerously large one behind her restraint. "The party to welcome them back is going to be legendary."

On the platform of the station, the six gathered close. The morning train was due in ten minutes - leaving Canterlot before heading southwards. But they still had a choice to make.

Between them, Tempest spread out a map. "The Citadel of Storms is here," she pointed with her hoof, "To the south and past the edge of Equestrian maps. Not far past, but enough. To get there we'll need to cross the sea, and there's three sensible routes for us to take."

She pointed to the south-eastern edge of the continent. "The first is via Mount Aris. It's the closest, has a rail route that goes directly there and we could easily get re-supplied before we continue on."

"But?" Rainbow Dash knew there was one coming.

"But that means we'd have to convince a hippogriff crew to sail into the heart of the Storm King's territory, which isn't easy." Tempest paused. "Also, while Equestria pardoned my crimes? Queen Novo has been pointedly silent on if I'm still an enemy of the state or not."

Fluttershy shuddered. "So if we go there, they might put you in prison? I don't think I like that idea." The others nodded in firm agreement.

And Tempest moved on. "Our second option is Klugetown. Finding an airship to get us there would be easy. Possibly even trivial, since I know for certain that they still trade with the Storm Kingdom. And since it would be through the air instead of by sea, it would probably be the fastest way to get there."

"Yes but darling, it's still Klugetown," Rarity noted with more than mild disdain.

"Exactly," came with a nod from the dark mare. "There's no direct rail connection so it would take us the longest to get there, and the odds of us finding a fast transport are about the same odds as someone trying to capture and sell us."

"Again," Rarity added for emphasis.

Tempest's hoof slid up to the south-western coast. "The third option is here - Shire Lanka. Out past the Arimaspi Territories and on the coast. It's an Equestrian settlement, so it's connected by rail and the safest location for us to get to and hire a ship. The problem is that while it's the closest place inside Equestria's borders to the Citadel, it's a lot further than Klugetown or Mt. Aris. And the way back is going to be tough - there's only one train a month each way, so we might get stuck there on either leg of our trip."

"Soooo our choices are you going to prison, all of us going to prison or an extra-long vacation in a tropical paradise?" Pinkie Pie tilted her head curiously. "You've got some reeeeally weird ideas about equivalent options, Fizzie."

The girls all laughed, of course, even as Tempest blushed miserably at the shortened use of her original name.

"Ah think the point Pinkie's tryin' to make is that two of those three options sound about as appealin' as holes in a cider barrel." Applejack tapped her hoof on the map beside Shire Lanka. "Here's 'bout the only choice we really got. Maybe it'll be slower, but it's our best chance of gettin' there and back in one collective piece."

All around, the girls nodded and murmured agreement. With the plan settled, Rarity split off to purchase the tickets while the rest got organized.

"Still funny to see Rarity makin' a trip like this without twice her weight in luggage," Applejack off-handedly noted as they waited.

Rainbow Dash, of course, laughed.

More kindly, Fluttershy gave her opinion alongside a hip-bump to silence her oldest friend's snickering. "We all understand how important this is, Applejack. That Rarity's bringing so little shows how seriously she's taking this. We all are."

A soft smile reluctantly came to Applejack's lips. "Ah know, Fluttershy. And while maybe Ah still think this is too big a risk for y'all to take on my account - Ah appreciate it more than there's words to say. This is a debt the Apple family's never gonna be able to repay."

"Who said anything about repaying it?" Fluttershy's laughter chimed cheerfully. "You know that if it were any of our families that needed help, you wouldn't hesitate. Knowing you would be there to help us if we need it is more than enough. It's part of being a friend."

The four ponies hugged tightly.

Tempest Shadow... stood awkwardly beside the cluster of mares.

At a brisk trot, Rarity returned with a half-dozen tickets in her magic. Seeing the situation, she clicked her tongue. "No no no, that will not do at all." A cornflower blue aura wrapped around a wide-eyed Tempest and forcibly dragged her alongside Rarity as the fashionista plunged into the group hug. "You're one of us now, Miss Shadow. If you intend to stand by our sides for the bad parts, we shall insist you share in the good ones with us as well."

In the pile - and with Pinkie Pie's forehooves around her neck - Tempest grumbled with embarrassment. And then hugged the others back.

Just up the tracks, a train's whistle signaled the imminent arrival of their future.

A Train Bound For Nowhere

The swaying motion of the train bordered on hypnotic - mile after mile passing by out the window while the white noise of the tracks hummed under everything.

That Rainbow Dash was asleep as a result was no surprise.

Around the same time the pegasus had dozed off, Rarity had decreed that it was best to be comfortable while they still could be - it was half a day more to Appleoosa and three to Shire Lanka beyond that. Then she had dragged Tempest away to retrieve lunch.

Applejack hadn't paid a lot of attention to that. Her mind was elsewhere, and her eyes were on the rapid passing of Equestria outside the window. As they had gone southwards the snows of winter had reluctantly given way to Appleoosan scrub and dust - the holiday feeling faded with the snow and was replaced by pinprick worries that grew with the temperature.

One pensive thought after another filtered through her brain, each pulling downwards and until they weighed more than the train they were in.

Pinkie Pie popped up beside Applejack, looking eagerly out the window as well. "Whatcha doin', cousin?"

The somber mood was irrevocably shattered by Pinkie's unending smile. Applejack futilely tried to re-establish it with a heavy sigh. "Just thinkin', Pinkie."

"'Bout whaaat?"

Applejack leveled a glowering glare at the party pony. And Pinkie utterly failed to get the hint.

Fortunately, Fluttershy did. "I think what Applejack means is that she's still coming to grips with the news."

"Ooooooooh." Pinkie nodded understandingly. "Well, that makes sense. I mean, who expects this?" She giggled unhelpfully.

A long, deep sigh slipped from Applejack. "That's kinda the whole problem. Ah mean, don't get me wrong. The idea that Ma and Pa... that they're... " She trailed away as a broad smile took over her face.

Both Fluttershy and Pinkie smiled as well.

Shaking her head to dispel the joy, Applejack tried to continue. "Every time Ah think 'bout it, it's like this tiny filly inside me just starts shoutin' with joy. Ah'm gonna get to see 'em again. Say a million dang things Ah never understood needed to be said when Ah was a young'un. Ah'll get to... to feel..." She wrapped her forelegs around herself subconsciously.

Applejack sniffled, and suddenly Pinkie was hugging her with fierce intensity. The farmer's eyes turned to her cousin. "I know I'm not them," noted the Pink One, "but maybe it'll tide you over?"

For several minutes Applejack simply let herself be hugged by Pinkie Pie, unmoving aside from the occasional shuddering breath. Eventually she pulled back - but not out of the hug - with a deep, steadying sigh. "Thanks, Pinkie."

A gentle yellow hoof set on Applejack's shoulder. "I don't think any of us can really understand what you're going through," Fluttershy softly said, "But we're here for you, and we'll do our best."

"Ah know, Fluttershy." Applejack finally managed to gather her wits again. "Ah guess the problem is that Ah just got so many questions about what's gonna happen. It's been so dang long. What do Ah even say to them when we get there?"

Fluttershy's jingling laugh danced through the car. "I have to deal with something a little like that every year. The migratory birds return in the spring, and it's been months since I've seen them. I think what you'll say will be like what I tell the birds. You'll tell them that you love them, and that you've missed them. The rest can wait to be natural."

"But... what if they ain't who Ah remember?"

Fluttershy smiled softly. "Do you love your parents?"

Slowly, Applejack blinked. "Uh... yes?" She politely refrained from noting how silly of a question that was.

"Then it doesn't matter." The pegasus leaned in around the still-hugging Pinkie and took Applejack's hoof. "The rest will work itself out. Maybe they'll be different ponies than you remember, and they'll need time to adjust. You're certainly going to be very different from what they remember, too. But the important thing is that there will be six Apples in that house again. Together."

"And Pies and Shys and--" Pinkie was silenced by an orange hoof before she could rattle on too many others.

Thus there was peace for a long minute before Applejack spoke up again. "Ah just... it took years to get used to them bein' gone. It always came back at the oddest times, too. Like one mornin' two years after, Ah just broke down when Ah realized that Pa would never set the work rotation for the orchard again." Pinkie - still clinging like a cotton candy lamprey - hugged her cousin harder. "You girls know me. Apple family's all about tradition. Habit, really. Ah've finally managed to make my peace an' build those habits without my folks. It ain't that Ah don't want them back. But the practice of puttin' them back into our lives is gonna be just as hard as it was gettin' them outta it."

"There's going to be a lot of tears," Fluttershy advised. "But they're going to be good ones instead of bad."

Pinkie still refused to let go. "And you won't be having them alone. We'll be there for you every step of the way."

Applejack stayed in the embrace of her friends for almost an hour, even after Rarity and Tempest returned.

Appleoosa was behind them now, with the Macintosh Hills rising all around. The train would occasionally slow as it powered up one of the steeper grades, continuing ever southwards. The sun had risen an hour ago, though the light was diffused by heavy cloud cover off to the east. A wild storm on the edge of the Badlands - far enough away to be of no concern but still enough to muffle the morning light.

Most of the group was still asleep - even Applejack had risen late with no chores to get her moving. She wandered the train with a mug of morning coffee (black and fresh, just like it should be), walking along to keep her legs stretched.

At the back of the train she found Tempest. The dark mare stood on the small balcony on the rear of the caboose, eyes locked out on the tiny town fading in the distance behind them. Applejack drew alongside her and, just as they had on Hearth's Warming Eve, the two stood in silence as the world passed by.

Applejack's mug was nearly empty by the time either spoke. "So," she broke the silence with, "Ah'm hopin' you could give me a few more details 'bout how you got to know my parents. Since things've calmed a bit since the orchard."

The reply was slow - mulled over carefully. But also simple. "Okay."

Another sage-covered hillock passed by to the left, appearing and fading in time with Tempest's breath. "I don't know how they ended up in Verko's possession. I probably could have found out from your parents, but I never asked them the story. Verko just said that he'd acquired them from an undisclosed source before selling them to the Storm King. I suspect that he bought them cheap - your parents were..." The corners of Tempest's mouth twitched up in a tiny smirk. "Willful."

Applejack chuckled quietly at the accurate description.

"The Storm King was interested because he'd lost out on Hippogriffia. When the hippogriffs fled out of reach to Seaquestria, he was looking for some way to make up for it. Something to soothe his wounded pride." Tempest sucked in a deep breath. "Verko presented Bright Mac and Buttercup as prime examples of Equestrian ability. And the Storm King loved what he saw." She shook her head. "He always knew the power that Celestia had, but seeing more of what Equestria had to offer a conqueror? It was enough to overcome his fear of her and make him start planning. Considering his options even before he found the Staff."

Tempest's tongue ran across the inside of her upper lip. "You know most of what happened with him after that. But it took time to get there, and his two new favorites were set to work in the meantime." A pause. A hesitation. "Your parents were... themselves even after the Storm King bought them. He thought they could be broken, but even back then I knew it wasn't so easy."

"I met your mother first - she worked in the Citadel itself. It's probably not news, but she's a Tartarus of a cook." Both Tempest and Applejack laughed at that. "Originally both of them were out in the surrounding town, but the minders were worried about escape attempts. Keeping them separate and controlling when they could see each other was a security measure for the King's new prizes. One wouldn't leave without the other."

A quiet sniffle slipped out of Applejack. Their devotion to each other still rang true from the stories she'd been told - as did their unbreakable spirit.

Tempest closed her eyes, calling up the memories. "She tried to connect with me. I was the only pony other than them there, and at first she thought I was a prisoner too. I was..." She hesitated, words thick in her mouth. "I wasn't very kind to her. Unlike some of the Storm King's commanders I wasn't abusive, but I took pleasure in taunting and berating her. I said a lot of cruel things, Applejack, and knowing now who she is makes that even worse."

The empty mug was set aside, and Applejack put her foreleg across Tempest's withers. "You ain't that pony no more, Tempest. Ah know that ain't you, and the only other pony you gotta apologize to is my Ma when we save her."

She let out a long, shuddering sigh. "I know," Tempest admitted. "But these last two years... I spent ten years of my life in service of the Storm King, and the two years after that trying to make up for it. That's half my life. The last two I've spent nearly all of on my own, and what hasn't been? I've spent it surrounded by creatures who hate me. Who only remember me for the wrongs I did to them and are more than happy to remind me about that." She barked a sharp laugh. "You can only live like that for so long before you start to think they might be right about you."

"But they ain't." Applejack's tone held steel in it - unbending in the face of Tempest's sourness. "A pony like that wouldn't have spent years of her life spreadin' the word of the Storm King's defeat and workin' to break the remnants of his army. A pony like that wouldn't have told me 'bout my parents. An' a pony like that sure as sugar wouldn't care if others thought she was good or not."

"That's why I have to do this." The darker mare turned to the farmer, eyes opening with desperation. "Everything has been about me making up for my mistakes. This isn't my mistake - I didn't help, but I'm not the one that did this to your family. This is the first chance I've had in my adult life to do real good, Applejack. Not just to cancel out what I've done but to bring something positive into the world. I need it. I need to be sure what Twilight saw in me is really there." She paused, sucking in a ragged breath through her nose. "You understand, don't you?"

The train rattled onwards, slowing a little as another hill rose ahead. And Applejack pursed her lips before nodding. "Ah understand. An' Ah'll help you as best Ah can. Not just because it's my family, but because you're my friend."

A tension she hadn't realized was there drained out of Tempest and she sagged against the rail. "Thank you."

"Now," Applejack verbally nudged, "Ah believe you were tellin' me about how you knew two particular ponies?"

Tempest cleared her throat, cheeks darkening further with her blush. "Ah, yes, I... yes." The two briefly laughed with each other before she continued. "Despite the fact that I was a horrible pony to your mother, she was never anything but kind-hearted. She pitied me, I think. Which just made me angrier." Tempest sighed. "She cared deeply for the other slaves around her and tried to reach out and bridge the gap with the rest of us - to care about us, too. It didn't work out for her, but Buttercup never stopped trying." She shrugged. "Maybe it was part of her plan to escape, but she never let herself be bent or broken by everything that happened. Buttercup was true to herself - always."

"Ma... she had her share of heartache when she was younger. Her and Grand Pear - he didn't approve of Pa and disowned her for it." Applejack forced herself to unclench her jaw - the story still galled her, even if her grandfather had repented his mistakes. "If she endured that, Ah can't rightly see how anything the Storm King could throw at her would be worse than what she'd already had done."

Quietly, Tempest watched the hills roll by as she considered that. "Explains a lot," she finally settled on. "Looking back, I understand now how strong she was. As opposed to your father, who I always knew was strong. Even if back then I meant his body instead of his soul."

A smile fluttered over Applejack's lips. "Big Mac comes by it honestly. In both cases."

"He does," Tempest agreed with a grin. "Bright Mac, unsurprisingly, got used for heavy labor. And by the time I set out he was the closest thing there was to a manager - even many of the overseers defaulted to his judgement in how to make things work. He wasn't as friendly as Buttercup, but he knew how to keep the work on track." She paused for a moment, thinking. "He hated us and never pretended otherwise - but he knew that if he played the role it would let him have at least a little control over his life. And the lives of others, too. I can see now how he would adjust work assignments and loads so that those who were injured or weak would get lighter duties. I think..." Tempest trailed off with a frown.

"You think?," Applejack prodded gently.

"I think after he lost all of you, he took up the others as a surrogate family," came the admission.

That drove both ponies into a long silence as the train rattled onward.

All The Tired Horses In The Sun

Metal squealed against metal as the train ground to a final halt. The tired conductor cried out their arrival further up - "End of the line - Shire Lanka! Last stop, everypony!"

From their sleeper car at the rear, the six ponies of the rescue party gathered their sparse luggage and debarked with stiff legs and bleary eyes. The long journey hadn't been difficult but days of minimal activity, no schedules and the lulling rock of the rails had left them all half-zombies.

Except for Rainbow Dash. She had gotten plenty of exercise, having repeatedly lept out the window to race the train as practice. And - once she had realized she could catch it easily - flying laps around the moving train.

That wide gulf of energy between her and her companions only served to make their moods worse.

"C'mon! We're finally here and you're all just moping along?" Rainbow fluttered in front of the other five.

A bleary-eyed and painfully makeup-less Rarity glared at the pegasus. "Rainbow Dash, I will remind you that enthusiasm has a time and a place and that unlike you, the rest of us have endured several days in cramped conditions with minimal privacy and sparse accommodations. Right now, I - and I expect I speak for the others as well - would like to simply have a proper meal and the chance to rest in a bed that isn't in motion."

"Seriously? It's, like... two in the afternoon!" Rainbow squinted up at the sun. "Unless being this far south means time works differently. It's a different season so maybe they measure time different?" She swung her head and the topic back around. "Pinkie, back me up here! We can't just go from sleeping on a train car to sleeping in a hotel! Not when there's stuff to do!"

Pinkie Pie yawned widely. "Dashie, I wanna do stuff just as much as you do but this party pony's plain pooped and plans to plant herself presently prior to popping."

Dash quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Popping?"

"Like a balloon," Pinkie explained without answering a single thing.

Intelligently, Rainbow Dash didn't press further.

Tempest's voice rumbled lowly. "Dash, for somepony who naps more than a cat does, it's ironic to hear you tell us when we are and aren't allowed to rest."

The other four girls snickered. Dash pouted.

"I'll tell you what - we'll go secure some food and a place to stay, and you can check at the docks to see if there's any ships we can catch a ride on or charter." Tempest fixed the pegasus with a steely gaze - a warning one. "Don't buy passage or promise anything, just find out what's available. Alright? Or do I have to make you leave your wallet here to be sure you don't pay for anything."

Dash considered the suggestion. And nodded. "Nah, I get it. I can handle it - I mean, it sounds like a decent plan. No sense in all of us doing a job I can handle on my own totally fine!" She snapped a quick salute and jetted off in a flash of feathers.

Applejack sighed in relief. "Thankya, Tempest. Much as Ah love Rainbow Dash like family, she can get mighty Rainbow Dash at times."

"She means well," Fluttershy softly added.

"She does." Tempest nodded in agreement. "And what she's doing now really will help us."

Rarity steered the group to the left, aiming for a side street. "Yes, but I believe we all know what will help us the most. A warm bath, a filling meal and a room that isn't moving."

Many aspects of Shire Lanka were familiar to the Bearers - the size wasn't all that different from Ponyville prior to Twilight Sparkle's arrival (and the subsequent population explosion) and the residents had a similar attitude of friendly openness. There was even the looming danger on the edge of town with the Arimaspi Territories replacing the Everfree Forest.

It wasn't Ponyville, however. In sweeping, general terms the two towns weren't dissimilar. But it was in the small things that comparisons fell apart. The way the architecture favored red terracotta roof shingles over Ponyville's thatch; how the wind out of the west carried the salt of the sea rather than the barest hint of apple; that the posters for the lone movie theatre were weeks out of date. And, at that moment? How local cuisine trended more towards curry than hayburgers.

The open air cafe at least wasn't busy. A table for five (plus one coming) wasn't too difficult to secure - even if Fluttershy was currently taking a nap in her seat. It was clean, described by Rarity as 'quaint' and the food was freshly made.

Swallowing another forkful, Applejack sighed happily. "Ah think we all needed this. Stuff might be strange, but good grub'll settle a pony's stomach an' soul better than just about anythin' else."

Rarity nodded in agreement. "Quite. And it's hardly so odd - Pinkie, do you know what this reminds me of?"

The baker hesitated. "Weeeeeell I bet you're going to say it reminds you of the Tasty Treat. Which it should because they're similar but there's a lot of important differences. Like this curry uses a coconut milk base, while Saffron's uses heavy cream. The rice is a totally different variety too, and--"

Pinkie stopped as she noticed the glazed, confused look on Rarity's face. She smiled. "And that's how it sounds to the rest of us when you talk about the difference between cotton perle and tatting cotton threads."

Rarity blinked once. Twice. And then started laughing. The others (who were awake) at the table joined in a few moments later.

"There you are!" Heads turned as Rainbow Dash came flapping down to the cafe. "I've been looking all over for you!"

Applejack's eyes narrowed. "Dash. There's maybe half a dozen places to eat in this whole town, an' we can see most of them from here."

Just as quickly as she arrived, Rainbow dismissed the subject. "Doesn't matter, I found you now! And guess who else I found!" She was met by silence and unamused looks. So Dash flitted to the side and motioned to the two ponies coming up behind her. "Mane Allgood and Snap Shutter!"

Recognition flickered in Applejack and Rarity's eyes. "Oh, yes! You're Scootaloo's parents, correct?" The unicorn immediately threw on a smile. "Now that it comes up, I do remember that this is where you said your new study was taking you. What a happy coincidence!"

"Yeh, Rainbow 'ere told us you were in town for a bit, then lookin' to charter yerselves a boat after that." Snap adjusted his hat, pushing it up out of his eyes. "I figure it'd only be propah to repay some kindness an' let you bunk up in ours instead of some cramped hotel here'bouts."

Smugly, Rainbow added her own twist to the tale. "Plus they owe me since I basically raised Scoots for them."

Nearly every non-Rainbow Dash pony present shifted uneasily at that. Tempest simply looked confused and Fluttershy continued to nap.

"Point is," Applejack thankfully cut in with, "we're mighty thankful for your hospitality. Only other thing Ah can really ask is if you know much about those boats and us gettin' transport squared away."

The two locals looked at each other for a moment, exchanging an unsaid conversation between them. When they turned back, it was Allgood that took the lead. "Well, I guess that you're not looking for one of the fishing boats that stop here. There aren't any larger ones right now, but a merchant ship from Zebrica due in about three days. They're going to be your best chance, and there isn't another large ship due in for some time after that. At least, that I'm aware of."

The farmer turned to look at her longtime friend. "An' what'd the folks at the harbor say, Dash?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Dunno. Didn't ask 'em. Figured it'd be smarter to ask locals I trusted and you're the ones saying how tired you are. So I busted two clouds with one buck."

Applejack groaned in frustration and thumped her head against the table. This, in turn, woke Fluttershy up with a startled yelp. Her tired eyes looked over. "Oh, um. Hello, Rainbow. You got here quickly."

"I know," bragged Dash, smugly polishing her hoof.

It was at this point that Pinkie Pie started giggling maniacally.

Tempest loudly thumped a hoof on the table, causing the others to jolt. "That's enough. We need to stay focused!" She paused, looking around the table to be sure she had everypony's attention - she did. "Dash, good job at connecting with local forces and securing a proper billet. Bad job at failing to follow orders and reconnoitering our future transport situation. Fortunately we have an adequate timeframe to correct this and secure provisions for the next stage in our campaign.. to..." She trailed off, eyes darting around to the others. "...I'm doing the military thing again."

Applejack nodded and put a hoof on Tempest's shoulder. "You're doin' the military thing again. But it's okay. It's been a long trip for everypony, an' nothin' you said is wrong. We got a place to stay with plenty of time ahead of us. We'll get ourselves situated an' in order tomorrow, agreed?"

Around the table were nods of agreement - even from Allgood and Shutter. "Right then. Since that's all settled, Ah figure we at least ought to have you two for lunch since you're hostin' us." Applejack waved her hoof in the air and whistled. "Waiter! Mind pullin' s'more menus an' chairs for us?"

Two Tickets To Paradise

True to Rarity's words, the party of six was recovered by the next morning. A good meal, a peaceful sleep in a motionless bed and a hot bath did wonders for their morale and made all ready to face the coming trials once more. The remaining two days of downtime were spent in different ways by the group - each had their own ideas of how to best prepare themselves.

For Fluttershy, it was to divert her mind away. She spent the intervening time practically attached at the hip to either Snap or Allgood - the two experts were constantly in and out of the surrounding jungles and on the hunt for rare creatures. When they weren't, the pair were around the small research compound they had established and the numerous examples of local wildlife that they kept there.

In short, Fluttershy was in paradise.

Dozens of new species she had never encountered, two experienced researchers with decades of documentation and a new wild zone full of surprises all added up to unending wonder for the pegasus. By the time the two days were up, Fluttershy had already arranged for exchanging letters with Mane Allgood and promised another visit before summer came around.

Rainbow Dash did Rainbow Dash things. At the end of the day, all she really needed in her life was an open sky, a crowd to watch her in it and a comfortable cloud for afterwards. And with Shire Lanka being so remote, it had never been given the pleasure of a Wonderbolts visitation.

Half the first day was spent (with Pinkie Pie's help) spreading the word. And then the second half was a blur of loops, corkscrews and of course a Rainboom. While the show was lacking the complex choreography of a true Wonderbolts show - as that would require more than one Wonderbolt - it was far beyond what the distant backwater had ever been treated to.

Rainbow Dash hadn't needed to pay for a single drink that night.

Which was why she spent nearly the entire second day napping and recovering.

As for Pinkie Pie, after that first half-day, she became the most dangerous version of herself: quiet.

There were the usual cheerful greetings and sampling a few of the local foods, but Pinkie spent nearly the entire time in preparation for the most important part of the mission. Once they returned (and the Apples had been given a chance to relax and return to normal), there would be the need for a welcome home party - and she had to be ready. It was going to have to make up for all of the parties missed: birthdays uncelebrated, weddings unattended, holidays missed. This would be one that would be talked of in awed whispers for years to come. Her magnum opus.

Pinkie Pie would make it legend.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Rarity had the opposite of work on her mind. While she did make a cursory examination of the local styles and had a few samples mailed back home, her time was instead mostly spent on the beach.

Comfort, she reiterated, should be taken while they still were able. The road ahead wouldn't afford many opportunities and she intended to make the best of the downtime.

What counted for 'the best' was different for Tempest. Her mind was on the mission - she knew better than the others what as likely ahead, and that knowledge punched through every other thought. But after checking their supplies three times and several hours of tactical planning, Tempest found herself... bored.

Which was when Rarity came off the beach to drag the former soldier into a quaint little shop she'd stumbled onto the day before and you would not believe the prices they had on silk here, I mean it's positively scandalous even allowing for the distant location it really just--

And that is how Tempest replaced her heavy frock with a floral sarong - a deep grey-green, studded with printed flowers in orange and pink. The light material was certainly a better choice for the Shire Lankan weather than thick, black wool - a fact that was demonstrated when Tempest was dragged to the beach with Rarity for the rest of the day.

"Really, darling, I don't know how you managed it." Rarity continued to dab the aloe (courtesy of Fluttershy) on Tempest. "How ever did you sunburn your horn? And just that? You were right beside me under the umbrella the entire time, and as much as I may not wish to admit it? I am a far more delicate mare than you are. Yet you have burned and I have not!" She tittered with schadenfreude.

Tempest merely glowered, occasionally wincing as Rarity's magic grazed just the wrong spot of her well-seared forehead.

Shire Lanka's port was barely worthy of the name - while a key part of the town's infrastructure, it saw use only slightly more frequently than the rail station did. Sometimes a week would pass without a ship of notable size pulling into dock and most of those wouldn't stay for long. The remote town was a stop-over for supplies, usually enroute north towards Las Pegasus or back across the South Luna Ocean.

Today was one of the days it saw use as a large cargo ship inched the final few feet into its temporary home. The sextet watched from the shore, a mixture of eager and nervous for what the ship promised. And with that unease came their own ways of dealing with it - most obviously now being Rarity's fussing over anypony within her reach. (Which meant Tempest, since all the others were experienced enough to know when to give Rarity space.)

On the ship's deck, the crew of zebras scrambled back and forth. Shouts in their native Zebrican were bandied about, each call and response floating out over the water. As the crew handled their final duties of the journey, Applejack turned to the others. "Alright, here's what Ah'm thinkin'. This here ship's our best chance for headin' south - it's plenty big, looks strong enough t'handle the trip an' alla them zebras seem to know what they're doin'. So Ah figure if we--"

With a loud sigh, Tempest interjected. "Pinkie Pie's already gone aboard to talk to them. Also, she's wearing an admiral's uniform for some reason."

"Oh." Applejack looked over to the ship where Pinkie had managed to board before the gangplank was down. "Well, that makes it simpler then."

"...Shouldn't we stop her?" Tempest's eyes darted between Pinkie and the others, waiting for confirmation to stop the party planner.

"Nah," was Rainbow Dash's evaluation.

Aboard the boat, one of the crew finally noticed the intruder. "Sawa! Wewe ni nani na kwanini uko hapa?"

Beaming broadly, Pinkie nudged up her cheerful blue pork pie cap. "Habari za asubuhi! Rafiki yangu na tunataka kununua njia kwenye mashua yako. Kiasi gani itakuwa ni gharama kwa ajili ya sita?"

Tempest blinked. "Since when did Pinkie Pie speak Zebrican?"

"Oh, she learned it years ago." Fluttershy simply smiled passively. "She wanted to make Zecora feel more at home, so she spent a few weeks learning it."

A moment of thought passed before Tempest asked her follow-up. "How many languages does Pinkie speak?"

The other four looked between each other for a moment, silently exchanging notes. Fluttershy again gave the answer. "We're not sure. But besides languages nopony speaks anymore like Old Ponish, I don't think we've come across one yet that she didn't know."

On the ship, Pinkie was in a vigorous discussion now with the zebra who was presumably the captain. She had also acquired an even fancier bicorne hat, complete with several ostrich feathers. The two went back and forth with a rapid, musical patter that none of the other five understood even a hint of.

Silence crept awkwardly over the remaining five as they watched the animated but incomprehensible conversation play out. Several minutes passed before Applejack finally broke the silence. "So, uh, Tempest. Mighty nice new duds you've got there."

"Thanks. I needed a change anyway, and Rarity..." The dark mare trailed off with a slight frown.

"She desperately needed a wardrobe change," came the fashionista's interjection. "Black armor, black wool, black black black black black." Rarity stuck out her tongue. "Such wonderful fur and mane to work with, and her only choices were things out of Starlight's darkest high school years."

The four veteran mares paused, remembering Firelight showing off pictures of his daughter's youth and her angst-ridden teen years. Moments later, they burst out laughing again.

Out of the joke's loop and a little unnerved, Tempest changed the subject. "Applejack - you know, I didn't see you at all yesterday. What did you get up to in the downtime?"

It was a wild deflection, but the way Applejack nudged her hat downwards said it still scored a hit. "Well, Ah admit the long trip had me antsy. An' when we got here it didn't get much better. Farm life's all about schedules and habit - this travel's gotten under my skin since there ain't nothin' to do right now but wait. Had a lot on my mind, too. So Ah did what Ah do best - worked."

A moment barely passed before Fluttershy cut in. "Applejack's been worried about what happens after we save her parents."

"Find 'em," Applejack countered pessimistically.

Fluttershy smiled gently. "Save them." There was another momentary pause - then she continued when the farmer didn't try to correct her again. "She's not sure how to bring them back into her life after so long."

"Ah don't think there's much to talk about, Fluttershy. Ain't the sort of thing you can plan for." Applejack tried less successfully to change the subject. "So there's nothin' to talk about. Not yet."

"Wait. What work?" Tempest - still relieved the subject was off her own fashion choices - jumped into the conversation to help. "I haven't seen a single apple tree since we got here."

Applejack muttered something - and was promptly hip-bumped by Rainbow Dash. And then with a grumble, she spoke it louder. "Ah built a barn."

The other three started snickering. Tempest was left confused. "O....kay?"

Rainbow put a wing across Tempest's withers. "C'mon, you know how Apples and barns are! Sure she built it fast, but that thing's got maybe a week!" She barely held back another laugh. "Classic AJ, am I right?"

A dark shadow crossed Tempest's face. "No, I don't know. Look, I get that you're trying to include me, but I'm not one of you. I wasn't there for most of your adventures. I don't live in Ponyville. I don't--"

"Darling." Rarity cut in, stepping up to Tempest's other side. "Forgive us. I suppose we're so used to traveling as a group and sharing so many memories that it just.. comes naturally."

"Yeah! And you're, like, the perfect Twilight replacement!" Rainbow added her own two bits without thinking. "I mean, you're purple, you're smart, you're strong and you're a unicorn!" She leaned in slightly, half-whispering with a wink. "It's kinda good, too. Twilight's awesome and that, but her being an alicorn threw off the numbers. Two and two and two, instead of two and a half pegasi, two and a half earth ponies and one and a half unicorns."

A heartbeat. "Um, Dash? That's three halves," Fluttershy pointed out.

Before an argument about math could break out, a low growl from Tempest washed through the group. "I'm not sure if it's flattering you're comparing me to a Princess or insulting that you're treating me as a Sparkle-substitute instead of an actual pony with--"

Suddenly, the fury was cut off by a deep red snowcone, for Pinkie Pie had returned. "This sounds like a perfect time for everypony to cool off!" Gleefully, she held out a paper tray of snowcones. "Because boy is it hot today!"

Four ponies hastily agreed and grabbed their cones - Tempest glowered briefly before giving in to the inevitability that is Pinkie Pie and submerging her anger in boysenberry ice.

After about two minutes (and half a snowcone), Applejack asked one of the looming questions. "So how much are they wantin' for passage, Pinkie?"

Pinkie paused in her eating. "Nothing! Because they aren't willing to take us." She cheerfully grinned, completely ignoring the rest of the group's fallen faces.

"What? Why?" Applejack's expression cycled through a string of disappointing and angry emtoions as the prospect of waiting longer washed over her.

"Because it's too dangerous and only crazy ponies with no sense of self-preservation would ever want to go to the Citadel of Storms, for it is the place where hope goes to die and blah blah blah blah I stopped listening after about the third paragraph," admitted the party planner. "Plus he said their ship's too big to get close to the island and they're heading north anyway."

There was silence for a long moment as the plan fell apart around them. Tempest recovered first. "So to get to Mount Aris we'll have to take the train back to Appleoosa and--"

"Or we could take that boat over there that the zebra captain suggested as an alternative," Pinkie interrupted with.

All eyes went to the dock opposite the large merchant ship. The boat in question was far smaller - less than a third of the merchantman's length and half the height - and covered with blocky wooden frames and nets. The boat itself was painted a familiar deep red, shot through with cream-colored highlights. And across the side of the bow was written her name: The Mare Of L'Mer.

Applejack groaned loudly. "Aw applefudge." The looks went from boat to farmer. "That's cousin Crab Apple's boat."

And without thinking, Rainbow Dash immediately said what everypony else was thinking. "Wow, you really do have family everywhere."

"Ah still think this is a bad idea," Applejack noted for the third time in a hundred yards.

And for the third time, Fluttershy tried to gently reassure her. "We don't have a lot of choice, Applejack. If we don't at least ask, we might be here for weeks."

"But Crab Apple's sure to tell 'bout all this to every Apple there is, an' Ah still don't want any of 'em gettin' hurt."

"And how, pray tell, would he?" Rarity cut in quickly to head off the concern. "Taking us or not, your cousin's boat is for fishing, yes? So even if he declines our request he will be out on the sea again within a day - there is nopony he can tell and a letter to your family will take weeks to reach them."

Applejack's next objection never came - she had plenty, but a shout from the fishing boat prevented it. "Cousin? Cousin Applejack?" The thick twang pulled all attention to it as the blue-green stallion with a red mane - obviously Crab Apple himself - trotted to the boat's rail. "Now jes' what're you doin' all the way out here?"

"Uh, well, hey there cuz." Applejack scuffed her hoof against the dock, unable to look at the boat captain. "Well, it's a funny story, y'see--"

And Pinkie Pie shot up from behind her. "Hey cousin!"

Crab Apple let out a hooting laugh. "Cousin Pinkie! Well I'll be! This is lookin' like a regular ol' reunion!"

"I know, isn't it great!" The pink mare bounced around to beside Applejack. "We're here with our friends - this is Rarity and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and Fizzlepop!" In the background, Tempest grimaced slightly. "We need to rent a boat and go south to the Citadel of Storms!"

Every pony present paused. "...Citadel of Storms, huh." Crab Apple pursed his lips tightly. "Heck of an ask, I tell ya whut."

Pinkie's smile disappeared, replaced by a narrow frown. "We wouldn't ask if it wasn't super important, Cousin."

Crab looked down at his boat, then at the six ponies on the dock. "Won't be easy. The Mare's no ship of the line, but she'll get us there."

"So you'll--"

The sailor interrupted Pinkie's question with a grin missing several teeth. "What's family for?"

Author's Note

There were originally two and a half other chapters in here. They're gone now, since on review they were total filler and added very little to a stretch of story that was already dangerously off-topic. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I originally decided to have a beach party chapter in the middle of all this.

I'm On A Boat

"Boats are actually really boring."

This was the exact opposite of what Rainbow Dash had previously said. Her precise words had been in response a week earlier to Applejack's caution that the time ahead wasn't going to be a pleasure cruise, to which Dash responded "Boats are awesome, what're you so worried about?"

Several long days out on the open sea had changed her tune. At least for the first two days they'd been within view of the shore as they skirted the Nightmare Cliffs. But after turning south at the edge of the Sea of Clouds, land had disappeared entirely. Five days of nothing but open ocean - just the stars for guidance and the gentle lap of the waves on the hull.

It had proven that even Rainbow Dash had a maximum number of naps she could take before going stir-crazy.

They had all tried to lend a hoof, of course - Applejack had been thankful for the chance to do work that helped their goal - but in the end there just wasn't much to be done. Crab Apple had sailed for years with just himself, and there was too little to keep six extra ponies busy.

The claustrophobia of the train car had been different than the boat. At least on the train there had been room to move around. Now even flying was curtailed - with the trackless sea in every direction, going too far and losing sight of the boat was too great a threat even for Rainbow 'Danger' Dash. There was daring, and then there was foolishness.

On the morning of the eighth day, Rainbow said those words. And aside from Crab Apple's smug smirk, none of them disagreed.

The lack of disagreement meant there was no one to stop Dash from complaining more. "I figured it wouldn't be a luxury cruise but come on! I bet I could've flown there in like, half the time! A third, even! Got it all done and had them back in time for--"

Rainbow Dash stopped her whining dead. Instantly, every pony on the boat perked up - the flier giving up mid-sentence meant something. Slowly, they all approached through the looming dread. Pinkie Pie was the one to ask it. "Dashie? What's going on?"

"Do you feel that, Fluttershy?" Rainbow's red eyes were fixed on the horizon - a specific spot to the south, despite nothing being visible but blue sky, waves and a few distant clouds. "You feel that, don't you."

Now they looked to the other pegasus. That she could feel what Rainbow did was obvious from the way she was cringing. Her voice squeaked, fearing whatever was out there could hear her. "yes."

"It's... angry." Rainbow's eyes drifted closed as she concentrated. Her head canted to the right, ears moving on a swivel to try and pin down an unheard sound in the distance. Her wings spread themselves wide without thought, feathers grasping at a far-off wind. "South-south-west. Hundred and ninety degrees, about seven kilometers."

Crab Apple trotted the few steps to the bow, pulling a pair of binoculars up. It took him only a few moments to confirm. "Storm front," he pronounced direly. "Big 'un. If we're lucky it's blowin' crosswise--"

"It isn't moving." Dash shook her head, eyes still closed as she focused intently. "The wind's going westwards, but the storm isn't. It's... why isn't it moving? I can feel it. We're way past the reach of the Weather Bureau, so all the storms out here should be wild. But this one's... not. It's big and angry and--"

"And it's stationary."

All the eyes turned to Tempest - even Dash opened hers up to look. The dark mare let them hang in suspense for a few seconds before continuing. "The Citadel of Storms isn't called that for no reason." She glared out across the sea at the just barely visible speck of grey cloud on the horizon. "We'll be there soon. Everypony should start to prepare. I'll lay out the plan as we get closer."

An hour made all the difference - the Citadel was no longer a tiny greyish spot in the distance. It loomed now, tearing out of the sea like a badly hammered nail. The island itself was a jagged, rocky scar that stood defiantly against nature - slate grey cliffs against the blue sea. What could be seen of it was inhospitable and exuded an ominous aura even before looking to the stormy sky. Tall grey spikes of stone jutted out of the water, eventually becoming so dense as to pass for land - and then one's eyes were drawn to the north-western end.

There was the Citadel itself: a spikey black edifice atop a high promontory. Around it, the ever-swirling bank of stormclouds made why it was named obvious and lit it with bursts of blue lightning that danced from cloud to cloud.

Rainbow Dash whistled lowly. "And they did this without pegasus engineering?"

"Dash, could you be a bit less impressed 'bout the ominous evil fortress we're about t'be stormin'?" Applejack stretched her rear legs one at a time, limbering herself up in preparation.

"What?" The pegasus shrugged. "It's good weather work, okay?"

Applejack muttered something about children as they turned to gather with the others around Tempest. She had a rough map laid out on the deck of the boat, drawn in charcoal on the weathered wood.

"Our first problem is the approach," she outlined. "The waters around the island are a deathtrap to boats. Even if they were calm - and the storm means they're never calm - the stone spires get thicker the closer to shore you get. Most aren't above the water, so getting anywhere near risks having the hull torn apart with no way to realize until it's too late. My original plan had been to take a small rowboat, get as close as we could before it was destroyed and swim the rest of the way." Tempest looked to the sides of the fishing vessel. "Since there aren't any onboard, we'll have to figure out a new plan."

Pinkie said what the others were thinking, and somehow managed to make it not sound like an accusation as she did. "Maaaybe we should have planned that part out sooner?"

Dash's input was far less gentle. "So we shouldn't have taken a boat to start with! If we'd gone by air--"

Holding up a hoof to silence them, Tempest shook her head. "Air would have avoided the rocks, but it has other problems. There's only a few safe paths through the storm to begin with, and the Citadel has a lot of defenses pointed right at those gaps. Going through them would be putting ourselves directly into their cannons, and there's no taking a different path without a few dozen pegasi to cut the stormclouds." She paused for a moment, watching as Dash's ire dampened back down. "As for planning ahead.. You're right, I should have. With the changes of plan from the zebra ship to this one, that part of it slipped past me until we were already sailing and it was too late. I'm sorry."

Even before she could hang her head properly, Tempest was hugged. "Everypony makes mistakes," Pinkie Pie advised from out of her cuddly death grip. "We haven't let anything stop us yet, so this won't either."

With a deep sigh, Tempest nodded and returned to the sketch. "Once we figure out how to get through there, we're going to have to scale the cliffs. That's the easy part. Since no one's able to get close to shore, there aren't any guards dedicated to watching them. As long as we take it slowly, we'll be fine. And the weather's normal inside the ring of clouds, so we won't have to worry about that. But once we're there..."

Tempest's hoof slipped over to the island's interior. "Up here, on the promontory, is the Citadel itself. Tall central tower surrounded by about a dozen smaller buildings. Barracks and the like. That's all surrounded by a curtain wall. Outside that and stretching to the south-east is the encampment - it's where most of the Storm Guard lives, along with the rest of what they need for that. Cook-houses, crafters, the airship docks and the merchant's annex. But most importantly..." She tapped a roughly-drawn hexagon with her hoof. "The slave quarter. If nothing else has changed, we'll find Bright Mac there and Buttercup at the Citadel."

The others were all silent, looking over the sketch. Applejack's nodding was solemn and silent; Rainbow Dash's wings flared angrily at the word 'slave'. Pinkie had only a simple question: "So how do we free them?"

"We start here," Tempest indicated with another tap on the hexagon. "Getting in there should be the easier of the two. Then once we have Bright Mac, we gallop to the Citadel as fast as we--"

A bright pink hoof sealed Tempest's mouth and silenced her. "No. How do we free them."

Seconds ticked by as Pinkie's words rolled through all of their minds. Recognition snapped into place for all but Tempest. She simply stared at Pinkie Pie, unsure how the question was different than her answer.

"I believe," Rarity ventured, "What Pinkie means is... Tempest, how many slaves do they have?"

Still not getting it, the dark mare considered. "Assuming that the number's still around the same, since we've been preventing them from raiding for more? A few hundred. I don't know how many they brought back from the outlying regions we didn't manage to free, though."

A few more seconds passed. Tempest blinked. "OH."

"Eeyup," Applejack pronounced.

Pensively, Tempest looked at her sketch again. "I... I understand what you mean. And you're right. But it's just the six of us - since no offense Captain Apple, but you didn't sign up for this."

Crab Apple gave a slight smirk and a nod.

"Getting out two is difficult," Tempest noted with heavy words. "But rescuing all of them complicates things. Six against an entire army is.. not the best odds."

Rainbow Dash let out a loud snort. "Yeah, but we're awesome."

"It ain't gonna be easy, but they're right." Applejack set a hoof against Tempest's shoulder. "An' you know they're right."

A heavy sigh slipped out of Tempest. "I know. I just don't want to risk saving your parents, that's all. We're so close and I.. I don't want to fail. Them. You. Anypony."

Applejack considered for a moment. "You said before that Pa - he sorta adopted the others around him, right?" Her voice hitched as she spoke, crawling past the thought of her father taking a replacement family. "If that's true, ain't no way Ma and Pa would leave the rest behind. Wouldn't be right."

It was slow, but Tempest nodded. "Yes. You're all right, and I know you're right. We can't just leave them." She scanned over the sketch again. "New plan. Half of us will get into the compound and alert the slaves there. The other half will sneak into the nearest armory, get as many weapons as we can carry and deliver them to the compound. Then we stage a revolt and get them to one of the airships while we go to the Citadel itself to rescue Buttercup and the others there. It's going to be a lot tougher and it's going to be a mess, but we can do it. ..After we get to shore."

"Ah think we all agree there."

"Well," Pinkie noted, "All of us except Fluttershy. She's gone."

It took Rainbow Dash approximately three seconds to go from 'chillax' to 'airborne search and rescue'. "Fluttershy? FLUTTERSHY?!"

As the others dashed to the rails of the boat, the pegasus zipped from side to side, red eyes searching the waters around. "Come on Fluttershy, where are you?!"

A small splash attracted everypony's attention, pulling them all to the port side of the boat. Fluttershy surfaced a moment later, just her head breaking the water - then she whipped her head back to get her mane out of her eyes. The luxurious pink tresses arced, a rainbow of water droplets glittering in the sun as it flipped above her. Somewhere in the far distance, Photo Finish gasped dramatically. Then - with a cheeky smile and glimmering eyes, Fluttershy giggled. "Hi, Dash. Sorry, did I miss something?"

All around, ponies relaxed. Rarity shook her head with a smile. "Fluttershy, darling, you gave us quite a fright disappearing like that. What are you doing down there?"

"Oh! Oh, sorry." Fluttershy sank slightly, trying to extinguish her fiery blush with the sea. But then she rose up again - as did another head next to her. "I was solving our problem. This is Bertram. He and his friends agreed to help guide us through the rocks!"

The dolphin happily chittered. Fluttershy nickered back and rubbed noses with it.

"Left! I--I mean port! Port!" Fluttershy waved her hooves wildly at a spot just off the bow of the boat. Tempest scrambled into place, bracing a long pole in her teeth. Spearing into the water, she jammed the rod against the hidden rock that Bertram (via Fluttershy) had indicated - adjusting the vessel's course just enough to prevent it from tearing into the hull.

They were in the thick of the rocks now - inching forward with the sails down. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were hovering just above to spot and relay messages as the others scrambled around the decking to respond. Poles and oars held at the ready, they slowly pushed the boat from rock to rock. Each deflection was narrow - some within just a hoof-width from the hull - and each took them creepingly closer to the island and the cliffs.

Dash zipped to the port side again, bracing herself against the rail beating her wings to give the boat a little extra shove. "So Tempest. How many guards are we expecting in there again?"

Her push done, Tempest pulled backwards and waited for Fluttershy to call out another. "Hard to say. Most of the army that's normally here went to Equestria with the Storm King. The garrison he-- we left behind wouldn't be much, but the last two years are going to work against us." She started to move as Fluttershy called out another rock - but Pinkie Pie got there first. "After I helped free Panthera, the Storm Guard there scattered. Most probably came back here. The same with all of the other border posts, fortresses and camps around the Storm King's territory that we've destroyed since his defeat."

Tempest looked up at the towering cliffs - and to the castle-town atop them. "It could be five hundred. It could be five thousand. For all I know they could have abandoned the Citadel entirely and run to set up somewhere else. That's why I said rescuing all of the slaves is dangerous, Rainbow. We could be climbing that cliff into anything."

Rainbow Dash pursed her lips in a pout. "Well, then who's gonna be in charge? That's how it always works - you take down whoever's in charge and it's over."

"If that were true," Tempest pointed out, "Then we wouldn't be doing this in the first place. You took out the Storm King, remember?"

The boat rocked hard to the left as it grazed a rock - Applejack and Rarity both pushed as the farmer cried "HEAVE!".

Tempest lurched with the boat, and Rainbow did not. She barely reacted to the sound of stone scraping against wood and instead rolled her eyes. "Pft. We didn't do that. You're the one that took out the Storm King. And then you were next in charge and you kinda took out yourself? Not sure if you get the credit or Twilight does on that one."

Bracing herself against the rail, Tempest glared at Dash.

"...What?" The pegasus blinked uncomprehendingly.

Rainbow Dash barely dodged the wildly-swung pole in Tempest's mouth-grip.

"Will you two dang donkeys stop that an' help?!"

Instantly, Dash disengaged. "Sorry! Sorry, my fault." She zipped to the outside edge of the boat, wings flapping furiously as she gave it a push away from another rock. "I was just asking Tempest about what we're gonna be up against. Like who's in charge and stuff."

Letting out a long sigh, Tempest tried to brush it all off again. "If it'll let you concentrate on us not sinking, it's probably the Storm King's idiot nephew."

"Wow!" Pinkie popped up from the bow of the boat. "That creepy weirdo has a family?"

For a moment, all paused at the juxtaposition of Pinkie Pie calling someone a weirdo. Then Tempest shrugged. "He always called him nephew. But Cadence isn't really Celestia's niece so who knows." A pause - another push of the pole to inch the boat a little closer. The shore wasn't far now, but each hoofstep forward meant more rocks that slowed the journey even more. She tried to concentrate on the information rather than the pace. "He calls himself the Scion of Storms, because if those two were related? He has his uncle's ego. And not a lot else." She snorted. "Certainly not the Storm King's trust. Little nephew wasn't originally the one left in charge, but after two years of clean-up he's all that's left. A sad monkey on a lonesome throne over an angry sea."

"And quite a poetic way to express it," Rarity noted musically.

"STOP!"

Four poles jammed into the sea at Fluttershy's call, bringing the boat to a halt. They all looked to her, waiting as she conversed with the dolphin - and pronounced the end. "We can't get any closer. It's too shallow."

Nodding, Tempest once more took control. "Alright, we'll swi--"

And the Bearers were already in motion. It was like clockwork - Rarity projected a flat diamond-shaped field of magic onto the deck that she, Applejack and Pinkie stepped onto. Mere moments later, Applejack had her lasso looped around under the field and tossed the ends into the air - one to Rainbow Dash, the other to Fluttershy. And they simply looked to Tempest, as if wondering why she wasn't already aboard.

Tempest blinked. "...Oh. Right. Already veteran adventurers."

Pinkie Pie giggled. "Well duh, silly! Now come on Fizzy! Dash and Fluttershy can't go far but they can get us to shore, then help Crab Apple get his boat back out with Bertram. It'll be easy!"

The dark mare frowned. "...Yeah. Easy."

And she looked up at the tall, grey cliff - and the storming skies above it.

Author's Note

Finally! Done with the journey and we can finally get to the meat.

I'll Be Thunder

"Ah wish you had a better plan than 'act casual'."

Applejack hadn't liked Tempest's plan from the moment it was spoken. It didn't help that Tempest had admitted from the start she didn't like it either. About the only one who was on board with it was Rainbow Dash and even she had some reservations.

"We don't have a lot of alternatives." Tempest paused to rap her hoof against the plating of her armor. Those two years of change meant it was riding wrong - fine enough for now, but it would chafe if she left it for hours. "This is one of our best tools and this is our best chance to use it. If this works, all I have to do is say a few words and all you have to do is stay quiet."

Rainbow tried to help. "Yeah, and if it doesn't work we just give it to 'em! Pow!" She did not help.

With another heavy sigh, Tempest shook her head. "Look. There's only two entrances to the armory - one for carts, one for hoof traffic. Both are locked and guarded. We would have to pick the guard's pocket, unlock the door silently and sneak past two of them to get inside. My magic doesn't have the dexterity to grab the key unnoticed and none of us are particularly stealthy."

"Windows?" offered Applejack.

"Barred on the outside and the inside, and high enough off the ground that only Rainbow could reach them."

"The roof!" Dash happily volunteered.

Tempest shook her head. "They have griffons and hippogriffs here, and that's one firm rule - no flying. Anything that lifts off the ground is to be shot down, no questions asked. And you aren't a subtle flier."

Searching for an alternative, Applejack tried again. "Sewers?"

"Who in their right mind would connect the interior of an armory to a public sewer system?" Tempest actually laughed at that - sharp and dark. "It's our only way. Now come on."

Tempest led the trio forth, emerging from between two buildings. Her head held high, she marched towards the armory as if she owned the entire Citadel. Her presence - as well as attitude - did not go unnoticed. Dozens of eyes locked onto Tempest as even the slaves murmured among themselves. None seemed quite sure how to react to the Commander suddenly re-appearing after being gone for two years, let alone if they knew what she had spent that time doing.

Slightly behind and to her right, Applejack whispered. "Are ya sure this is--"

"Too late to back down now," Tempest hissed. "They've seen us."

And it was - only a few dozen yards ahead, the pair of hulking Storm Guards at the entrance had stiffened up at the sight of Commander Tempest Shadow parading towards them as if she had never left. Their meaty paws tightened on the spears - both bracing against the looming force of personality that strutted towards them. She stopped - pointedly just inside spear-reach - and fixed her eyes on each in turn. "Open the door."

The guards looked at each other, and the one on the right grunted to voice an objection.

Tempest's horn sparked. "Open. The. Door."

They opened the door.

As soon as the trio was inside, the door closed again behind them. Tempest leaned against the wall, shivering and holding down a mouthful of bile. Rainbow gave her a friendly punch to the shoulder and grinned. "That was awesome. You really--"

"Shut up."

The snarl was enough to make Dash jerk backwards.

Applejack grabbed the pegasus by the ear and dragged her towards the armory's interior. "We ain't got time for jawin', you two."

She was right, of course. The three moved into the armory proper - the center of the grey stone building was almost entirely a single room. Throughout it was packed the tools of war - carts for moving heavy material, rack after rack of bi-pronged spears, stacks of black iron shields, cannon of several descriptions and piles of ammunition for them. Above was seemingly endless rows of black flags and banners, each and all emblazoned with the blue double-lightning bolt of the Storm King.

The first order of business was a cart: one that could be pulled by a pony and had the proper size to carry enough weapons for their revolution. That duty fell to Applejack - which was only fair since she'd be the one pulling it.

While she handled that part, the other two set to gathering. Tempest pulled spear after spear off the rack, stacking them into a pile. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was entranced by the cannons.

"Leave them," Tempest firmly advised.

Dash didn't give up so easily this time. "Come on, why not? If we just bring spears, the slaves are only gonna be even with those guards. With some cannons they'll totally have the advantage!"

Temper roiling just below bursting, Tempest shot a glare at the pegasus. "Because we don't want them to fight the guards. We want them to run away. If they stay and fight, they're just going to get hurt - because they can't win. They're outnumbered and almost none of them have any experience fighting." Stomping over, Tempest didn't take her eyes off of Dash. "If they stay and fight, they don't get free. And big, heavy, immobile cannons don't help them run to the docks." She jabbed Dash in the chest with her iron-shod forehoof. "So we leave them, so no creature gets the idea to be stupid."

The logic did seem to mostly end the discussion - though Rainbow Dash still pouted. "You are such a Twilight," she groused.

Tempest's teeth started to grind. "Now listen here. I don't know what your problem is, but I am not Twilight Sparkle and--"

A sharp whistle from the cart slashed through the looming argument. Both turned to Applejack. "Hey, Tempest? You've got a handle on that grunty-howly language those guards speak, right? 'Cuz there's more than two of 'em out there havin' a big chat."

"...That's not good."

The three crept to the door as quietly as they were able, hooves relatively silent on the flagstone. Outside they could hear the grunts and growls of the guards - though only Tempest knew the guttural language of the Storm Beasts. She knew enough that after only the second minute, her eyes went wide.

Hurriedly, she grabbed the wooden bolt and slammed it across the doorway. "The other one! NOW!"

Rainbow Dash was gone before Applejack could react - and the other bolt falling closed echoed off the stone. The farmer, in turn, looked to the once-Commander.

"Well, you'll be pleased to know you were right," Tempest sneered with exasperation. "The uniform didn't fool them at all. They let us in because they were too afraid to fight me on their own and needed to delay until backup arrived."

Applejack blinked slowly, very much not pleased that she had been right. "So they... locked you in a fortified building full of weapons."

"Yeah." Tempest facehoofed. "Now do you understand that Grubber was the smart one?"

There was quiet as Applejack processed the implications of that - enough time for Rainbow Dash to rejoin them. "So! We're kinda trapped, huh."

With a nod, Tempest confirmed it. "For the moment. They won't open the doors until they think there's enough of them to take us with. That should give us enough time to load the cart and be ready, so that when they open the door--"

"You blast 'em with your horn and WHAM!" Dash enthusiastically ended.

"Dash." Tempest closed her eyes tightly, trying to hold in the frustration. "I want you to look around, and I want you to count how many barrels of cannon-powder there are in this building."

She didn't need to - Rainbow Dash got the idea and counting that high would take too long anyway. "Oh. So... bad plan."

"Terrible plan," came the dry confirmation. Tempest looked then to to the pair of barred doors, each in turn. "I'll set up one of the cannon. When they break the door down to come for us, I'll fire it off. The shot should scatter the guards and we can get the cart past in the wake of it. I'd hoped we could get to the encampment without the guards up our flanks, but it's what we've got to work with."

Their next few minutes were spent in a scramble - loading every spear and shield that could fit into the cart. Haphazardly hurling everything into an unsecured pile was fast, but not fast enough. There was still room in the cart when the trio heard keys turn in locks and the doors rattle. Glances were exchanged - they knew what to do. As the first shoulder-check hit the barred doors to break them open, Applejack scrambled to get herself harnessed to the cart. The other two pushed one of the stored cannon into position, lining it up to blast the doors open and start their escape.

WHAM

Loaded - primed - aimed. A glance over, and Applejack was securing the last straps.

WHAM

The Storm Guard crashing against the doors gave no respite - but there was enough time. Tempest grabbed Rainbow, a hoof on either cheek. "Dash. Swear to me that this cart will get through."

Rainbow Dash's eyes frantically went between Tempest and the trembling door. "I--I don't think this is the--"

WHAM

"Swear to me!" She ripped Rainbow's attention back. "Pinkie Promise me that you will get this cartload of weapons through no matter what."

"Okay, okay, I promise!" Rainbow quickly mimed the motions of the Promise before yanking herself away from Tempest's grip. "Sheesh, what's you problem anyway? You think I'm gonna screw this up or something? 'Cuz I don't see you grabbing Applejack!"

With a snarl, Tempest pushed her face threateningly close to Dash's.

WHAM

And there was fear in those blue-green eyes. "It's because you're Loyalty, Dash. And I'm sorry but what's about to happen is going to test that, and I have to be sure you'll make the right choice."

Tempest pointed to the trembling door. "In a few seconds, we're going to charge out there, barrel through a lot of guards and run froth-for-leather until we get to the compound. Every step of the way, we're going to be attacked by guards and they're going to do everything they can to stop us. If I go down or if Applejack does, your first instinct is going to be to try to help us. You can't do that. Because the revolt's already started, Dash. They're a bunch of malnourished, untrained, unarmed slaves against a much larger number of guards. And without these weapons, they die."

WHAM

"Do you understand that, Rainbow Dash?" Tempest shoved her hoof against Dash's chest. "They all die. All the slaves. Applejack's family. Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie - all of them. It's going to hurt you more than anything else and it goes against everything in your heart, but for the love of the alicorns you have to leave us, Dash. Do you understand?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes were darting - those who knew her well would be able to see the plans formulating in her mind. Wild, half-mad contingencies from a mare who had made her life about overcoming the odds and defying physics.

She still nodded, even if it was as close to a lie as the Pinkie Promise would allow.

WHAM

The sound of wood splintering raked over them.

"We gotta go!" Applejack shouted. "Doors ain't gonna hold much longer!"

Tempest leaned over, lighting the cannon's fuse with her horn - and the other two jumped onto the cart.

WHAM

BOOM

The cannon erupted with flame and shot, shredding the already cracking doors. Several of the guards could be heard through the smoke as they howled in surprise and pain - but the ponies didn't pay that any heed. Applejack was in motion before the powder-flash faded from their eyes, and out the other side of the smokecloud before the ringing faded from their ears. A detached part of Tempest's mind was flattered at how many of the Storm Guard had been considered 'enough' to take her on - even with two Bearers to help, she would have had trouble being outnumbered more than twenty to one.

An uneven spot in the cobbles kicked one of the cart's wheels up, rocking the entire thing dangerously rightwards. The contents of the cart - weapons and ponies both - shifted and lurched. Applejack let out a mighty grunt as she heaved the cart back to solid footing, but sweat was already on her brow. Another shout ahead - and she whipped back left as the guards from the armory's other door came stomping around the corner. Lightning bolts started to fly as the second group gained sight and the first recovered from their shock.

Applejack twisted again, swerving the cart around a well as she found the way ahead blocked by guards once more. In the bed of the cart, Rainbow scrambled to take one of the spears in her hooves and return fire.

"Too many!" Tempest wasn't a Bearer, but she had more than her share of fights and she could read a tactical situation faster than any of them. "There's too many!" For a moment, she met Rainbow Dash's gaze. And the dark mare smiled. "Pinkie Promise," Tempest grimly noted.

Then she lept off the cart.

"TEMPEST!" Dash's instincts screamed for her to go after the unicorn, even as she fell. Only that reminder of the Promise stopped her... and Dash watched helplessly as Tempest charged the guards.

Furious sparks kicked up from iron-shod hooves and cascaded down from her broken horn. The guards - painfully familiar with just what that horn could do - scattered for cover rather than continue firing.

She had been counting on that.

A zig-zagging bolt of unfettered magical power ripped through the air from Tempest, sharply ignoring physics as it shot between several of the Storm Guard, turned a corner and flew into the armory. Two seconds later, her blast detonated amidst the munitions they'd left behind.

The building ripped itself apart in a tremendous explosion of magic and cannon-powder. Several lesser structures nearby collapsed from the force, and the crowd of Storm Guard were thrown to the ground. The only one that remained standing in the face of the blast was Tempest Shadow - who promptly yanked the spear from a guard with her mouth and spun it around to strike another.

And then the cart was around a corner, leaving the burning wreckage out of sight.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

It was almost disappointing, how the first moments of the revolution went.

Despite it being their primary job, the Storm Guards watching the slave encampment were lazy and lackadaisical from years of monotony. By the time they registered that a group of slaves a hundred strong was coming to the gate when they weren't supposed to be, it was too late. The guards were armed, yes - but they were too few and too slow. Rocks and claws and hooves did the job, and then the gates were open.

It took seconds for the slaves working nearby to the encampment to see what was happening - and then it spread like a flame through gasoline. The Storm Guard had grown complacent, believing they had the spirit of the slaves crushed. Now they paid as the town exploded in a wash of chaos.

It would have been impressive to Rarity if she weren't so unnerved at how gleeful Fluttershy's smile was.

"Darling, we really must discuss at some point how he's rubbing off on you."

Then a griffon ran past them with a flaming stick in claw, and Rarity's focus snapped back to the here and now.

They had the advantage for the moment as the handful of nearby guards were overwhelmed by surprise and numbers. But the moment was passing - bells were ringing not just in the town but at the CItadel itself - loud peals of thundering sound to bring the wrath of the Storm Guard.

And there was no sign of a cart or of three other ponies.

"Um. I don't see Applejack anywhere. Do you think something happened to them?" Fluttershy flapped her wings once, starting to move to a higher viewpoint - before Bright Mac touched a hoof to her side and gave a shake of his head. Up would make her a target. She understood and went no higher.

Rarity frowned deeply, even as she watched a group of Abyssinians overwhelm a guard using nothing but broom handles and fury. "Hopefully we can find Pinkie Pie and she can guide us."

"I actually wasn't in the Filly Guides but I can try!" Pinkie cheerfully noted from three inches behind Rarity.

Predictably Rarity shrieked and lept into the air, legs flailing wildly.

Leaning over to Bright Mac, Pinkie stage-whispered, "She drinks too much coffee."

Then Pinkie's mind screeched to a halt. Her eyes widened, filling with sparkling stars as she looked up at Bright Mac. And her mouth morphed into a smile that threatened to envelop her entire face.

Fluttershy gently pushed the party pony away as she started to vibrate with glee. "Pinkie, I know you're excited to meet Bright MacIntosh, but we're, um, sort of in the middle of a violent revolution against his oppressors right now. Could you maybe tell us where Applejack is?"

Pinkie shrugged. "No idea, haven't seen her."

A recovered Rarity rejoined the conversation. "But the signal! We heard you fire your party cannon!"

"What? No I didn't." Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. "I didn't bring my party cannon, silly. It wouldn't fit in my saddlebags! You know that, Rarity - I mean, did you see me carrying it when we left Ponyville?"

Under other circumstances, Rarity would have ground her teeth and been irate. But not now - not like this. Her eyes went wide, as did Fluttershy's as they looked at each other. "Oh no." And then they both looked to the rolling boil of riot.

The crowd was cheering, high on their apparent victory and the catharsis of finally taking action. The slave quarter and everything immediately around it was theirs - the only remaining guards were heaps on the ground.

But there was an undercurrent of noise below the cheers. The loud thump of furry feet on stone and the jangle of black iron weapons. It came out of the west, from the direction of the Citadel - and it was growing.

Bright Mac paled. "We gotta do somethin'. If those guards get here, we ain't got a thing but rocks and sticks." His gaze darted around the compound, looking for anything usable. "Barricades! We gotta close off the street!"

"You'll need time." Rarity spoke up - and stepped up. "Fluttershy, help him gather the others to make the barricades. Pinkie, if you please? I need you to shatter as many rocks as you can into as of small of pieces as you can."

The old farmstallion quirked an eyebrow at the unicorn. Rarity batted her eyes and smiled. "Trust a lady, please?"

He did - and galloped to the nearest group of rioting slaves to spread the word.

They weren't fast enough.

A phalanx of Storm Guards crashed through the half-built barrier scant minutes later, scattering slaves and stones to mark their arrival. The horde of rebels surged to action, just as they had in the opening moments - a wave of bodies to overwhelm the guards and drag them down. But what worked on surprised individuals didn't do the same for a coordinated and prepared unit. The wave crashed - and the wave broke, bouncing off in a flurry of jabbing spears and crackling electricity.

Several of the slaves fell to the ground while the rest recoiled, taking cover as the guards began unleashing lightning around themselves. Rocks and debris were lobbed in return, wobbling blunt force in response to far more powerful blasts.

The guards advanced in a tight pack, protecting one another in a formation that reeked of Tempest's work. One guard strayed slightly and paid the price - the hornless minotaur lept from the roof of a building, bowling the furry Storm Guard out of formation. The minotaur was put down quickly as several bolts of blue lightning struck home - but so did the guard as a quartet of griffons wielding makeshift clubs and sharpened stones left it in a heap before scattering again. Two others tried to pull guards from the pack in quick succession, but found that the minotaur's strike was a one-time deal. They paid for their attempts with pain.

Advancing, the Storm Guards sent the slaves scurrying away like rats - making room for a second phalanx to advance into the gap. The revolution was less than ten minutes old, and it was already on the ropes.

On the ground, a young diamond dog groaned. Stunned by a bolt of lightning, it futilely struggled to crawl clear of the advancing guards. The nearest raised its spear to club the helpless dog with the butt-end--

Air rippled, and the Storm Guard dropped the spear with a yelp of pain.

The formation closed back up, eyes searching for a new threat to beat aside. It didn't take long to find - after all, there were only two ponies in the entire camp, and neither of them looked like that.

Rarity took another step forward, fully coming out from behind the makeshift pile of benches and tables that the slaves had piled up. Identifying the unicorn as the threat was easy - the glowing field of magic around her vibrated, tensely holding dozens of tiny pebbles and stone shards in the air.

For a moment, the guards held to try and make sense of her - the only unicorn they knew was Tempest Shadow, and she did nothing like that.

Rarity smiled, showing enough teeth to make Nightmare Moon jealous.

"Darlings."

Then there was a hiss as the first projectile cut through the air.

One after another, Rarity launched the shards into the crowd of guards with well-practiced precision. Years of juggling dozens of pins and needles at once came to a literal point as she slung fragment after fragment with rifle precision.

Beside her Pinkie Pie brought her hooves down on the flagstones again and again, breaking rock into thin flechettes to feed the barrage.

The phalanx broke and scattered - the guard's shields were far too small to protect their massive forms and every exposed inch was a target for Rarity's stinging fury.

One peeked out from a doorway, pointing its spear towards the unicorn. A bolt of lightning flew - and fizzled as Rarity conjured a diamond-shaped shield in front of her. Her gaze locked on the one who had dared to take a shot at her, and every one of the hundred or so shards in the air around her snapped to point exactly where she was looking.

The guard howled as half a dozen bits of stone tagged it in the arm.

As Rarity continued to launch her barrage of suppressive fire at the guards, the liberated slaves took the opening to pull their own injured to safety. The one-eyed hippogriff broke from cover to help Fluttershy drag an injured Klugetowner the last few yards, the three taking shelter by Bright Mac behind an overturned cart. His beak turned to a grin as she paused to catch her breath. "Take a moment, pony. Your friend's got this in claw." He motioned towards Rarity with his chin. "If we'd had soldiers like all of you at Mount Aris, the Storm King wouldn't have stood a chance!"

Fluttershy blinked guilelessly. "Oh, we're not soldiers."

The hippogriff paused uncertainly. "You're... not?"

"Rarity's a seamstress," Fluttershy explained. "Well, um, she prefers fashionista."

Slowly, the hippogriff tried to process that. "And you're...?"

More confidently Fluttershy noted, "I run an animal sanctuary."

A third time and even more slowly, the hippogriff pointed to Pinkie Pie with a claw. "And she's?"

"A party planner and baker," Fluttershy chirruped.

"So... Equestria didn't send an elite commando team of highly trained soldiers to liberate us? You're just.. normal ponies?"

There, Fluttershy wavered. "Um, I'm not sure I'd say normal? We try to be but I guess wielding the Elements of Harmony and serving as the Princess' Council of Friendship probably disqualifies us."

A long moment of silence awkwardly crept from the hippogriff - though only from him, as the background was still packed by the sounds of sporadic lightning bolts, pain and Rarity shouting about someone getting the point.

"Well," he finally settled on, "I'm not going to complain about the help either way. If she keeps this up, we can't lose."

It was at that moment Bright Mac chimed in. "She ain't gonna keep it up much longer." His frown deepened. "Gal's sweatin' up a lather, even if that white coat of hers ain't showin' it."

Fluttershy bit her lip and nodded. "Twilight was always the one with the magical power - Rarity's not nearly as strong. Holding all those shards in the air is one thing, but she isn't used to throwing them. I think we might need a new plan soon."

Before they could come up with anything, however, all ears turned to the sound of crashing chaos. Rebel hearts skipped a fearful beat as sound of more guards running at a charge came bouncing off the stone walls of the street westwards. The first line of fresh Storm Guards rushed onto the battlefield - and were violently tossed aside.

The new guards hadn't been advancing - they had been fleeing. Three were thrown clear, scattered like bowling pins as Applejack plowed through at breakneck speed. The only thing keeping her slow enough to have some meager control was the weight of the laden cart behind her - though it was scorched from lightning and one of the wheels was wobbling in protest.

Behind her on the cart, Rainbow Dash was doing her best to fend off their pursuit - the cart was far faster than the lumbering Storm Guard, but they still had persistence and numbers on their side. All Rainbow Dash had was Lightning and Thunder - which is what she had named the two spears she was currently wielding. Awkwardly standing on two hooves in the wildly rocking cart, she held both spears - because A is both for Akimbo and Awesome - wedged between foreleg and barrel as she aimlessly sprayed bolts of electricity backwards. They hit nothing she intended to outside of raw luck, but it had been enough. The cart made it through.

It immediately fell over.

Applejack tried to brake, and the wobbling wheel broke. The cart itself flipped onto its side, scattering a plethora of spears across the flagstone courtyard. Rainbow Dash - used to crashing - instinctively flapped her wings and took to the air, losing both spears she carried before executing a quick backflip and putting all four hooves on the ground. The farm mare herself skidded out, sliding across the stone before coming to rest against one of the rebel's makeshift barriers.

A dozen yards to the side, Rarity let out a shout of effort as she hurled all of her remaining ammunition forward. Splinters and shards cascaded against everything in front of her in a cone to buy a little more space - before the unicorn collapsed out of exhaustion. Pinkie faithfully grabbed and hauled her friend out of the open.

And the open was suddenly a very dangerous place to be. The Storm Guard surged forward moments after Rarity fell - and found that stinging unicorn magic was replaced by dozens of liberated slaves grabbing up spears. Both sides slammed together in a choatic melee.

But back behind it all, Applejack groaned. Slowly finding her hooves again, she pushed her hat up out of her eyes.

And she stared.

Bright Mac stared back.

Only a few feet apart, both were struck dumb. Despite almost two weeks of preparing herself for this moment, Applejack couldn't find the words. And after a decade and a half, no words could express what Bright Mac needed to say.

Softly - silently - Applejack did the only thing that made sense to her. She took off the hat and held it out to give it back to her father.

Bright Mac looked at it, wiped a tear from his eye, and nudged her hoof away with his. "'S yours now," he gently noted. "Ah hear tell you've more than earned it, sugarcube."

A moment later, Applejack had him in a tight hug as she bawled her eyes out.

The moment didn't last very long - while Fluttershy watched with barely restrained joy and Rarity was laying against an overturned table trying to catch her breath, Pinkie Pie interrupted the hug with hesitant words.

"Applejack?" She grimaced as her friend and her father looked over, torn away from a most precious moment. "Applejack, where's Fizzie?" Pinkie's voice trembled dangerously - and looks of fear came to Fluttershy and Rarity's faces as well. Three had gone out - two had come back.

Applejack swallowed a little bile. "She..." Another hesitation - she looked to her father. To the fear in his eyes that their reunion already had a dear cost. "She stayed behind. Lept off the cart to hold 'em off, an' blew up the armory behind us." Her eyes swept over the battlefield - one slowly calming as the Storm Guard pulled back again to regroup. And her own fears were confirmed with the presence of only one pegasus. "Ah think Rainbow Dash went back for her."

"Then we must move." Rarity rose unsteadily - nearly falling again as her legs wobbled, but that was prevented again by Pinkie Pie. "Losing one of them is a terrible tragedy - two is unthinkable."

Nodding, Fluttershy pursed her lips and looked towards the towering black edifice of the Citadel itself. "The slaves should head for the docks to escape soon. If we're going to save Buttercup, we need to go before they do. And, um, fast."

A little grin cracked Bright Mac's face. "She's got a point. We gotta go save your Ma, right Jackie?"

Applejack shivered with joy at the thought of that next hug. "Yeah. Yeah, we gotta." She stomped her hoof to bring it all to order. "C'mon! We still got three ponies to save. We ain't gonna leave without 'em."

As they started to move off, Pinkie used her free hoof to wave Bright Mac over to the unicorn she was lifting. "C'mon, two backs can lighten any load!"

Though weary, Rarity still managed to be offended. "A load, am I?" She sputtered ineffectually - though it brought a small smile to her friend's faces as some things never change, even in the face of tragedy.

Bright Mac flanked Rarity's other side, already picking up on the group's good humor. "Now don't you go slightin' the lady, little miss," he playfully scolded. "She's done mighty fine at crammin' a day's worth of work into the last half hour."

With a wink, Pinkie returned fire. "Aw, don't worry! Rarity knows how much we all love her, Uncle."

It took Bright Mac about six steps to realize what was said. "....Uncle?"

Freeze Frame

As it turned out, Rarity was a bit more of a load than she claimed. Every time she stubbornly tried to walk on her own, she'd make a half-dozen steps at most before her knees gave out again. Eventually - and reluctantly - it was agreed to stop for a few minutes to try and help her recover. The clincher had been when Fluttershy pointed out they didn't even know for sure where the others were, and it was far more likely that Rainbow would find them.

They sheltered in a smithy - one that had been fast abandoned. The furnace still burned, and a still-hot iron collar sat half-formed on the anvil. Most of the remaining troupe scattered themselves around - Fluttershy had not, instead remaining outside to take the smoke and steam coming out of the furnace's chimney and shape it into a cloud-signal to help Rainbow Dash find them. Rarity lay against the wall as Pinkie Pie tended to her - providing water from the quenching trough and pulling out an unexpected tool.

Rarity blinked at it. "Pinkie, what is that."

"Emergency cupcake," the party pony perfunctorily stated. "See?" She turned the delicate clear box around, directing Rarity's attention away from the dense chocolate confectionery and to a small label that read IN CASE OF FOOD EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS.

Even having known Pinkie Pie for years, it still took Rarity several seconds to reconcile normal reality with the undeniable fact that Pinkie had kept a cupcake in a glass box inside her saddlebags for several weeks and it was still entirely unblemished. Her mind eventually locked on to the label for stability. "But won't that get glass on the cupcake?"

Pinkie somehow had anticipated that, and instantly was shaking her head. "Nope! It's not really glass, it's sugar glass. Totally edible!" She smashed the glass with her hoof - again, somehow leaving the cupcake inside entirely undamaged - and held out the treat to Rarity. "Come on, you need your strength."

Unable to deny that logic, Rarity took the cupcake - and then a bite. "...Darling, are those cherries? How ever did you manage to keep them fresh for so long?"

Pinkie Pie drew a hoof across her smiling lips, the mimed zipper sealing in the dark secrets of her flour-laiden trade.

Across the room, Applejack watched the world outside through the cracked door. It wasn't the same chaos as the initial riot, but the calm within the storm right after. No direct conflicts but all around were the debris and damage of where the fight had happened - where slaves had suddenly risen up against the guards before fleeing for the docks ahead of reinforcements. (Reinforcements, she mentally noted, that oddly didn't seem to have shown up yet to re-secure the street.)

Turning back, Applejack let herself sigh and release a little of the tension she'd been carrying since they took the first step towards the armory. "We probably got a few before more guards come by. An' they're probably not gonna check every--" She stopped, breath knocked out as Bright Mac grabbed her in a tight hug.

It took a moment for Applejack to adjust - to realize just who was hugging her - before she grabbed hold right back. "'S alright, Pa. We're here. We got ya."

"Ah can't quite believe you're real." Bright Mac snuffled before pulling back slightly to get a better look at her. "When your friends told me everythin', I believed 'em. But seein' you in front of me - holdin' you? This all feels like a dream an' if Ah turn around you ain't gonna be here." His hooves came up, cradling her cheeks. She leaned into his right hoof, rubbing against it. "But you're real, an' you're really here. My darlin' little girl. Ah'm so proud of you."

Applejack let out a shuddering breath, the rest of her tension and stress disappearing when faced by one of the things she wanted most in the world. "Ah've done a lotta big things, Pa. Savin' Equestria an' all that. Always hoped you'd be proud of that."

But Bright Mac shook his head. "Naw. Your friends, they told me 'bout those things you've done. But that ain't why Ah'm proud of ya. When they were tellin' me it all, Ah could hear it in their voices. It ain't that you're a hero. It's that you've become a good enough pony to inspire that in yer friends. That they're willin' to do somethin' crazy like this just because you asked says a heck of a lot about what you mean to 'em."

Uneasily, Applejack shifted. "Uh, actually, Pa? Ah didn't ask. They ambushed me on the way outta town and wouldn't let me go without 'em."

Bright Mac's soft smile grew wider. "Well then, don't that just say all the more 'bout how much they care for you?"

"Yeah," Applejack reluctantly admitted. "The girls - all of 'em - are basically family. Ah forget that sometimes." Her thoughts turned unsurprisingly to the missing two. "Ah just didn't want-- Ah wanted you back, Pa. You and Ma both. But givin' up one of them to save you's a choice Ah didn't want to make."

Gently, he stroked her mane. "You didn't, sugarcube. They made that choice - they decided what it was worth to make ya happy."

"But... Ah ain't happy, Pa. Not without them. Ain't right." Applejack pinched her eyes tight, trying to force them to stay dry.

Bright Mac let out a sigh. "We don't know for sure, Jackie. Your Granny taught me that, when she accepted your Ma into the family - ponies are gonna surprise you, even if you assume the worst of 'em. An' from what Ah hear your friends are pretty tough."

Unable to hold back a little smile, Applejack allowed that much. "Yeah. They are."

All eyes went to the door for a moment as Fluttershy slipped back in - she let the Apples alone and went to Rarity's side, letting them get back to their quiet talk.

"So," Bright Mac segued, "Your friends told me a bit about how the rest of the family's doin', but Ah'd much rather hear it straight from your lips."

It took a moment for Applejack to find the right place to start - and when she did, she took off her hat. From inside, she brought out a little memento: a family photo, taken the day before the fateful Hearth's Warming. "How 'bout Ah show you instead? Kept it in here so Ah'd keep them close to mind."

The two Apples settled against the wall, photo held between them. "As you can tell, Granny's showin' her years but she ain't too bad for a mare of..." Applejack frowned. "Well, she won't rightly tell any of us how old she actually is, but she's wearin' it well." They both laughed. "Ah figure you can guess which one Big Mac is - the pretty mare next to him's his new wife, Sugar Belle."

Bright Mac peered a little closer at the picture. "Your friends did say Li--Big Mac had gotten himself hitched. They kinda forgot to put a name to her, though." He scratched his chin with his free hoof. "Sugar Belle. Hm. Pretty thing, an' Ah hear tell the two of them got a mighty special love."

Applejack nodded again, memories welling up into a broad smile in spite of the situation around them. "She's tougher than she looks, too. She helped us shut down a cult just south of Rainbow Falls - well, she was part of it, an' came to her senses."

That made Bright Mac frown rather sharply.

"She was just a victim!" Applejack had to append that rather quickly. "When we showed up, she reached out to us for help, an' was pretty key in the end. Not long after that, she started buyin' apples from us for her bakery. Then, well..." She chuckled. "Didn't take that long to figure out why Big Mac was makin' so many deliveries."

The news was good enough for Bright Mac - he nodded approvingly. "Good. Bein' a loyal customer says she loves apples just as much as an Apple."

Applejack elbowed him. "Says the stallion who married a Pear?" The two laughed together for a moment before she continued. "After they made if official, she started apprenticing to Missus Cake--"

Cutting in, Bright Mac tilted his head slightly. "You say that name like I should know her."

"Chiffon Swirl," Applejack amended.

That cleared Bright Mac's expression to a brighter one. "Got herself married, Ah take it? Name sounds... wait, to the lanky fella, Carrot Cake?"

Applejack nodded enthusiastically. "That's the one. Pinkie over there works in their bakery, too. They had a pair of twins 'bout four years ago now, an' Ah'm sure they'll be over the moon to see y'all again."

Bright Mac beamed, nodding in happy agreement. Then the smile faded to a frown, and he gave the photo a little nudge. "Better put this back under your hat, sugarcube. Ah'm eager to know more, but at the same time--"

"--It don't feel right without Ma?" Applejack could see where he was going - and the nod confirmed it. "We'll get her soon, then the three of us'll have a good long trip back to discuss it all. Ah figure it'll be my chance to tell all Mac an' Bloom's embarrassing stories before they tell mine."

From across the room, Pinkie piped up unhelpfully. "Unless we tell your embarrassing ones for you!"

Applejack let out a good-natured groan. "Ah thought you were my friends."

They all laughed again.

Then the door exploded inwards.

All five ponies were on their hooves immediately - even Rarity, despite a wobble. There was also a wobble from the pegasus who had just smashed through the door.

Rainbow Dash looked the definition of 'worse for wear': while the lack of burn marks said she had avoided being struck by lightning, Dash was sporting several blooming bruises and panting for breath. "Found you!" The others relaxed down from combat readiness and instead let out a collective sigh of relief - save Fluttershy, who grappled her closest friend in a furious embrace. The speedster simply laughed it off. "Nice work with the sign, 'Shy. Maybe none of these doofuses would notice, but there's no way I was gonna miss smoke clouds in the shape of my cutie mark over this place."

"Mighty glad to have you back, Rainbow." Applejack set a hoof on her shoulder. "You had us all worried."

"Me? Pft, yeah right. I'm fine." Then Dash's bravado gave way to concern. "Tempest's the one in trouble."

Before she could say anything more, Pinkie Pie shoved both Applejack and Fluttershy aside. "Fizzie's okay?!"

Rainbow only recoiled a little. "Last time I saw her. But she was also at the gate of the Citadel trying to hold off the Storm Guard! Like, all of them!"

Most of the others gasped. Bright Mac had a different reaction. "Wait just a gol-darned minute. Tempest? Tempest Shadow? The Storm King's right-hand mare?"

Dash looked at the others in confusion. "You didn't tell him?"

Pinkie Pie shrugged. "It didn't come up."

"Didn't come up?!" Rainbow Dash sputtered ineffectually.

The exchange didn't phase Bright Mac. "She's a monster!" he spat.

"She's reformed," all five of the others stated in unison, with the reflexive practice if being around Starlight Glimmer for years.

Bright Mac blinked owlishly, anger derailed by that entirely unexpected reaction.

Applejack picked up the slack. "Really, Pa. She realized the error of her ways back when the Storm King attacked Equestria, an' she's why we beat him in the end. She's been the one fightin' against his troops and freein' lands for the last two years. And she's the one that told me you and Ma were still alive. We wouldn't be here without her, and she's pushed herself harder than any of us to save ya." She took her father's hooves into hers. "Ah trust her with everything Ah got. She's one of us. She's family, like the girls here are."

The other four mares watched in anticipation as Bright Mac's face shuffled through emotions. Confusion - the Tempest Shadow he'd known for so long was a black-hearted villain, not a hero of liberation. Anger - she was a cruel taskmistress who had enslaved entire nations at her King's command. And trust - because his daughter believed in the most hateful pony he had ever known with all of her heart.

Reluctantly, Bright Mac nodded. "Ah'll give her a chance," he grudgingly allowed. "Leastwise we can't just let her face all that alone, an' we gotta get to Buttercup anyway."

Applejack nodded back in acceptance. "You'll see, Pa. Thank you - for giving her a chance."

"Well if we don't hurry, she's not gonna need that chance because she's gonna be a smear on the ground!" Rainbow Dash lifted off in a flurry of flaps.

Applejack turned to their sole remaining unicorn. "Rarity? You good?"

Shaking her legs out one at a time, Rarity tested her stability - and nodded. "Quite, darling. I'm not one hundred percent but I shan't slow us down, I think. Pinkie's emergency cupcake did me wonders." Which, of course, resulted in the baker beaming happily. "So long as I don't have to put on a show like that again, I'm as good as I can be for now."

"Right," Applejack pronounced. "Let's get goin'. Dash, lead the way and try not to leave us behind this time? Ah know you wanna help her but six ponies is a lot better backup than just one."

Run To The Hills

A part of Tempest was having the best time of her life. There was something liberating about it - having no burdens, no responsibilities, no need to think. Just raw physicality as she moved from moment to moment, acting and reacting to live purely in each second as it passed. Her mind taking a backseat to the body's simple need to fight for its life as she existed in the Now.

The Storm Guard pushed again, insanely expecting the results to be different this time.

Limited by the narrow gate of the Citadel's curtain wall, only a few could fit through at a time. The ones behind the first three were suppressed as Tempest's magic exploded in their midst, causing the ones that weren't stunned or thrown back to recoil for safety. The three that passed through the gate quickly found themselves confronted directly.

The first was bowled backwards as the electrical bolt from Tempest's salvaged spear struck it in the chest. It collided with the wall, twitching.

The second slowed its charge to dodge a jab from the spear's point - falling entirely for the feint. Tempest spun the weapon around in her hooves, sweeping the butt low and directly into the guard's knees. It toppled into a furry heap.

A moment later, she planted the spear-butt on the flagstones and used the transferred momentum to pole-vault herself upwards. The third guard found a pair of iron-shod rear hooves in its face, slamming in and cracking the guard's mask clean down the middle.

Then Tempest let go of the spear, executed a quick forward roll and landed beside the second guard. It had risen just enough to run into her forehoof - a simple knockout blow to the side of the head.

Eight seconds. And it wasn't the first time, as the dozens of unconscious Storm Guard around her could attest.

As her mind started to take back control from her body's reactions in the lull, Tempest once again reminded herself that Grubber had been the smart one.

It helped, of course, that she had literally written the book on tactics for the Storm Guard and personally trained most of the marginally sentient beasts. But even allowing for that, Tempest was forced to reluctantly admit it: she wasn't having that much trouble with twenty to one.

Of course, she had to remind herself that she wasn't winning - holding strong, yes, but there were literally hundreds of Storm Guard inside the Citadel. Even if they kept coming at her in manageable dribbles, she would eventually get tired.

...More tired, Tempest thought as the rib she had cracked earlier twinged.

But the longer she held them here, the more time the slaves had to get to the docks and the more time the others would have to prepare their own strike to rescue those inside. Hopefully Rainbow Dash would come through--

Rainbow Dash came through.

Hooves on stone was an unmistakable sound - only a handful of creatures around the Citadel could make that noise. And none would be coming in a galloping group. A set that wasn't running in time with the others landed just back and to Tempest's right, the disturbed air from a pegasus' wingbeats kicking up a tiny whirl of dust.

"Hey," Rainbow Dash breathlessly quipped. "Sorry for being late. Rarity's in bad shape."

It took that for Tempest to swing her head around from foes to friends. "She's hurt?"

Dash shook her head. "Nah, just wiped out. The revolt started early, so she had to hold the guards off herself until we got there." A pause. "Which we did and I'm still mad at you. You knew from the beginning you were going to stay behind, didn't you? That's why you made me Promise." Rainbow pouted in frustration.

Tempest ignored the accusation and twisted herself around to the others.

The first thing to hit her about the group was Pinkie Pie. Literally - the earth pony was airborne and impacted Tempest with a hug. "Fizzie, you're alright! We were so worried."

"I'm alright but very disappointed." Unable to contain all her sarcasm, Tempest nodded towards the Citadel wall. "I thought I trained them better than this."

Fluttershy frowned a little. "I'm glad you didn't."

"Coulda taught 'em worse from the start." Bright Mac didn't hold back the touch of bitterness in his voice.

Rather than retort, Tempest bowed her head to the farmer deeply enough to press her muzzle to the stones. "Before we go any further. Bright Macintosh, I want to tell you that I'm sorry. I was an idiot foal who cared more about her hurt pride than what she did to others. I was a monster who served a monster. I can never make up for what I did but I'm trying anyway - not for forgiveness but because it's the right thing to do. Your daughter and her friends saved me - they pulled me off the dark path that I was on. Please, let me help your family. Let me do something to repay her. Let me make something good in the world." Her words stayed even throughout - it was a speech she had practiced in her head a hundred times on the trip.

For a tense moment, Bright Mac simply looked at Tempest with a critical and almost cruel eye. "Ah don't think Ah can ever forgive some of what you did," he began. "There's too many folks you've hurt. But Ah understand that sometimes a pony makes a bad choice or loses their way, and Ah can respect turnin' your life from that. So Ah can't forgive, but Ah can try to move on. My daughter trusts you. Her friends trust you. Least Ah can do is give you the chance."

Tempest let out a tightly held breath. "Thank you."

Behind them, someone started slowly applauding.

All eyes turned to the parapets and the clapping figure there. The who was easy to figure out - the obvious Scion of Storms was distinctly related to the Storm King. White fur and grey skin stood out against the black mantle and cloak he had chosen instead of the King's dark iron armor. And where the King had been svelte, the Scion was instead pointedly scrawny - an obvious boy to the King's man. But he had a too-big horned crown on his head, an all too familiar sarcastic grin on his lips, and just enough authority to control the army behind him.

"How darling! How heart-felt! How stomach-turning." The Scion's voice squeaked when he wanted it to rumble. "But I can tell you aren't fond of her either, so I'll make a deal." He lounged forward on the edge of the wall, leering down at the ponies in what was likely supposed to be an attempt at intimidation. "I don't care about you. Any of you. But I care about her." A thin finger pointed directly at Tempest. She snorted derisively back. "Walk away and leave me the traitor, and you can go. I can get more slaves, after all."

The girls looked at each other, unamused. Even Bright Mac frowned - but when he opened his mouth to respond, Applejack cut him off. "Rarity? Think you got one in ya still?"

"Darling? For this? I've got a million." The alabaster unicorn's horn glowed - only shooting off a single stray spark of strain - and a pebble lifted off the ground.

The Scion of Storms yelped in pain as her high velocity response stung his cheek. He toppled off the parapet - but from behind the wall, they could hear his shout. "GET THEM!"

The sensible thing, tactically, was to hold the gate and force the Storm Guard to face them on equal terms. That wasn't the plan, but the defenders had no way of knowing that. Understandably, they were surprised when the cadre of ponies charged them.

Tempest hurled another exploding bolt into the middle of the guards as they pushed, scattering the first layer of attackers. The two Apples were the spearhead that pierced the lines for the rest, forging a pathway in thundering hooves. The others were close behind, with Rarity projecting a diamond shield behind them to ward off the few stray bolts fired in pursuit.

The castle compound within the wall rushed by as Bright Mac guided the charge. Smaller buildings around were ignored - guard bunkhouses and armories and training rings - in favor of their goal: the Citadel of Storms itself. Standing tall over everything else on the island, the spiked black edifice that faintly resembled the Storm King's crown stood apart from the rest, overshadowing it all. The massive double-doors at the entrance were left undefended as the Storm Guard had surged towards the rioting slaves, leaving only a few hundred pounds of ironwood between the ponies and their goal.

Both doors shattered like balsa under the hooves of the Apples, and the seven plunged inside.

The grand foyer spread out before them - sized for the Storm Beasts, the expanse of onyx and marble represented the entrance to what had been the Storm King's lair of opulence. A pair of statues of the departed King flanked the door before each side swept up into a long, arcing staircase upwards to the reception balcony and the vaulted ceiling above. Rich carpet - black set with a hound's tooth of blue lightning bolts - padded the way inwards between artfully fluted columns. On either side, a decorative fountain sat in the lee of the stairway's curve. The waters - filled with hyacinth and waterlily - gave small specks of color to the rest of the stark room.

Rarity let out a small gasp at the opulent artistry of it - and the wild contrast to the grey on grey on grey just outside the doors.

Tempest barely noted the beauty. She, instead, spun around and kicked one of the statues over to block the door. A moment later Pinkie Pie bounced off the other to complete the barrier.

"Go!" Setting her hooves wide, Tempest positioned herself in the middle of the foyer. "They're going to be after us once they get over the shock! If they get through they door they'll be able to flood the Citadel and we'll be trapped. I'll hold them here while you get Buttercup! Go!"

A wing cuffed Tempest upside the head. "No way!" Rainbow Dash hovered in front of the broken unicorn, lips in a snarl. "You tricked me into ditching you once and that is not gonna happen again!"

Tempest tried to grab Dash and hurl her away - the pegasus proved too agile to lay hooves on. "Damn you, go! They need you more than me!"

The left side of her field of vision was suddenly consumed by pink as Pinkie Pie grabbed her in a hug. "I'll stay too! If we work together, we can make sure those meanies don't get inside!" Then she gave Dash an over-exaggerated wink.

Loudly, Tempest sighed and gave up a fight she had no hope of winning. "Fine! You two watch my flanks and stay out of the way."

The others hesitated. Dash, this time, was the one who shouted to them. "Go on! We've got this! Trust me!"

Applejack nodded, even though her lips were a tight frown. But she turned to her father never the less. "Let's go get Ma."

"This way." Bright Mac led them between the staircases and through a semi-concealed door against the rear wall. Not intended for viewing by the King or his guests, the servant's section of the Citadel was narrower and far less decorated - the dark stone only sported the occasional leering painting of the Storm King. A few of the Citadel's slave staff came peeking out of side rooms and corridors as the four ponies ran - Fluttershy and Rarity would occasionally briefly break off to spread word of the revolution and encourage them to run for the dockyards. Those diversions swiftly left them further and further behind.

Neither Apple stopped - though a few words did pass between them as they climbed a back stairway to the second level.

"You really trust her, don't ya." Bright Mac's mind was still on the foyer - the stone muffled noise, but there was the occasional distant thump in the air that suggested Tempest's magic exploding.

Applejack didn't hesitate. "Totally an' completely." She paused as they turned a corner. "You weren't there when the Storm King fell, Pa. Tempest sacrificed herself to stop 'im - if Twi hadn't grabbed her at the last second, she woulda died. She knew it, and she didn't expect she was gonna be saved. Ah trust Tempest with my life 'cuz she already showed once she'd give hers up for us. And that was before, well, alla this."

The Citadel shook as a great crash tore through it. The whole building lurched in a way stone spires shouldn't. Looking grimly at each other, both Apples doubled their pace.

On the third floor, the Apples spread out a bit. Bright Mac knocked open one door - finding it led out into the more palatial front half of the Citadel that was intended for the King and his guests. "This one's a dining room!" He twisted his head back around. "Kitchen's gotta be nearby!"

Nearer than they thought - the door across the hall cracked open. "Bright Macintosh?"

The door flew open as he pulled it wide - and instantly hugged Pear Butter tightly. She returned it without hesitation.

Laughing with joy, she pulled him the rest of the way into the kitchen - into the heat of the stoves and heavy clouds of spices - and spun him around merrily. "I just knew it!" Pear Butter turned to the other slave in the kitchens with her - a large frog-faced Klugetowner in a rough dress that would have made Rarity faint. "Muriel, I told ya! All that ruckus out there had to be Bright's fault." She beamed at him as the Klugetowner smiled and gave them their space. "You never could do anythin' quietly, could you?"

He ran a loving hoof through her mane - while his had greyed evenly, her bushy mop had done so in streaks that cut through her orange-gold hair. "Never could, but this all ain't..." Bright hesitated. "Darlin'? There's somepony you gotta meet."

Bright Mac stepped aside - and Applejack stepped forward. Pear Butter lurched backwards to her haunches, both hooves coming to her mouth. "A--Applejack?" She reached out to her eldest daughter. "Is that...?"

"It's me, Ma." Doffing her hat, Applejack trembled as she tried to stay strong. "Sorry this took so long, but--" She wasn't able to finish. The urge overwhelmed her like a wave - Applejack lunged, grabbing her mother tightly. A moment later her father embraced them both from behind.

Applejack melted into them, a blissful smile dominating her face as the tears started to flow.

The three were still holding each other and joyfully crying when the door slammed open again. All eyes went to a panting Rainbow Dash who slumped against the doorframe. "Finally found ya! Come on, we gotta get outta here!"

Applejack dashed to Rainbow's side, even though breaking away from her parents made her heart lurch sickeningly. "You alright?"

Dash's shoulder popped as Applejack helped her up again. "Been better. We did what we could, but... they are really peeved, AJ. Like, that Scion guy? He's totally ignoring the town. They're just letting all the slaves get away."

"Well, that's great news!" Bright Mac hugged Pear Butter, completely missing the point.

"Yeah, he just wants us," Rainbow darkly noted. "Well, less us and more Tempest--"

Pear Butter cut in. "Tempest?" She blushed sharply. "Um, sorry. Hi, I'm--"

Dash smirked. "Buttercup - you're AJ's mom. I'm Rainbow Dash, but yeah. Tempest Shadow's with us. She's kinda how we found out about you and got here?"

Rather than asking another question, Buttercup turned to her husband and smirked. "I told you so, Bright Mac. I told you that filly had somethin' special in her. You said she was just one've the Storm King's tools but--"

Bright Mac raised his hooves in surrender. "Alright, alright! Ah can admit when Ah'm beat. She's maybe not as bad as Ah was thinkin'."

There was a clamor from up the hall - the direction of the stairs they'd come from. "What I was trying to say," Dash reiterated, "is that they're letting the slaves get away to the docks because the entire Storm Guard is chasing us!"

There was burst of pressure in the air - muffled but closer this time - as another of Tempest's magical blasts detonated. "GO GO GO!" The military mare's voice drove the remaining missing three on - Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity rounded the corner at a gallop.

"We bought some time 'cuz Tempest and Pinkie collapsed the whole foyer, but they're still coming inside other ways." Rainbow looked over her shoulder. "I really wasn't kidding when I said we gotta get out of here."

The others - sans Tempest - came to a halt outside the kitchens. "I think," Fluttershy panted, "I need you to help me with my cardio when we get back, Rainbow."

Pinkie Pie was just giggling with excitement.

"Alright, Ah figure we gotta spread the word still to get this place clear an'--"

Pear Butter put a hoof on her daughter's lips to silence her. "Muriel?" The Klugetowner simply nodded and loped off out one of the kitchen's other doors. "I knew Bright would try something crazy sooner or later," she explained slightly smugly. "We've had our escape plan ready for years."

"Darlin', if you were waitin' on me..." Bright Mac frowned sharply.

She kissed him. "And deny you the chance to be my knight in shining armor?"

Cheeks red as his mane, Bright Mac scuffed his hoof with embarrassment. "You always did figure the best've me. Guess that's why you're the apple of my eye."

Rainbow Dash made an overdramatic gagging sound. Rarity elbowed her.

Another boom echoed, and Tempest came backpedaling around the corner. "That should slow them down! Now we have to find--" She turned and froze, seeing they had already found the pony they were after.

Tempest immediately bowed to Pear Butter, prostrating herself on the floor. "Before we go any further. Buttercup, I want to tell you that I'm sorry. I was an idiot foal who--"

"Oh get up you silly filly." Pear Butter grabbed Tempest and hauled her to her hooves. "I always had a feelin' you were better than you admitted to yourself." She looked to the others. "There's a supply tunnel that goes from the storage rooms to the docks that they bring food in through."

And there, Tempest cut back in with a shake of her head. "We can't. If we go that way, the entire Storm Guard's going to follow us right to the docks. We stick to the plan: we head up to the Storm King's quarters and his personal landing platform. Then we take the skiff there and meet up with the stolen airship outside the storm wall."

Pear Butter pursed her lips. "I know where his rooms are, but I don't think I've ever been on any landing platform."

"It's there," Tempest affirmed. "I know it well - the only question is if his skiff's still parked. But the alternative is leading an army right to the escaping slaves and..." She paused. "I know we all agree that's not an option. So now we're the distraction."

Nods confirmed it - and then they ran.

Blaze Of Glory

The eight moved as one - a single tight herd with focused purpose. They moved through the luxuriant half of the Citadel and the more open rooms - and better visibility - there rather than the tight corridors of the servant's section. The King's extravagance sprawled out before them - rooms fit for royalty, paid for by the pillaging of a dozen kingdoms. Abyssinian silk for the draperies; statues cast in Mazein bronze; plush carpets of dyed yak fur; pillars cut from Arisian stone.

That the portraits were still almost all of the Storm King himself spoke volumes of either how weak his nephew's hold was, or how badly the Scion wanted to be the King.

Room after room flashed by as they galloped. Halls turned to stairs and back again, and hooves grew sore as they pounded to higher heights. But none slowed - they could all hear the heavy footfalls behind them, echoing up the stairwells from lower levels. Ten stories up, and Tempest led them in a sharp turn. Grooves in the stone signaled a place that had been continuously guarded, where heavy feet had worn smooth spots in the floor. A burst from Tempest's horn shattered two great ebony doors, giving the ponies entry into what had once been the Storm King's personal sanctum.

The rest of the Citadel had been opulent enough to satisfy even Rarity's darkest whims. The King's private rooms put that to shame. Every inch, every nook was layered with loot plundered from the King's conquests. The bed alone spread out larger than most rooms in the Apple home - a glance at one of the side doors suggested the steaming bath was bigger than even that. Closet doors that implied the walk-in was more of a warehouse drew the fashonista's eyes like a magnet, tempting her with the staggering possibilities of what might lie within.

Beyond the extravagance, two parts of the room stood out. The first was one wall's almost macabre display of flags - some damaged, some nearly pristine - that hung limply around a map. Trophies, each taken from a city or nation that had fallen to the Storm King. Near the center was a singular empty space about the proper size for the Equestrian flag, fated to remain eternally vacant.

The second part that stood out was far more relevant: a broad stretch of three sets of Prench doors, cast in ebony and glass. They led out to an expansive balcony that overlooked the town, giving both the Storm King and his Scion a place to look down on their grey kingdom. And on the far east side of the balcony sat a set of moorings designed for a small personal air craft.

A craft that wasn't there.

All eight ponies stopped just past the doors, staring at where their escape should have been.

Thirty full seconds of silence passed as the situation processed through their minds.

Their collective thoughts were summarized as Rainbow Dash let slip a single expletive.

"Okay.... okay." Tempest took a long, deep breath and turned to the others. "Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy. The trick with carrying the shield we used to get from the boat to shore - do you think you can do it again?" The named mares looked between each other for a moment before nodding ascent. "Alright, do it. Once you're clear of the Citadel's wall, it shouldn't be hard to make it to the dock and--"

Applejack cut in harshly. "You mean once we're clear."

"No, I mean you." Tempest set her jaw. "Look, earlier it wasn't easy going from ship to shore. That was with two fewer ponies and we were all fresh. Plus those guards aren't far behind us and the carry isn't quick. All one of them needs to do is get a single shot off at Rainbow or Fluttershy, and we all fall a dozen stories onto open stone." A shiver passed through all of them at the image. "I'll stay here and cover your retreat. It's a decent choke point, so I should be able to hold them long enough for you to get to ground. Then I'll..." She hesitated for a moment. "I'll blast around here with my magic once they close in. A strong enough burst should be able to weaken the balcony's structure and knock it off the building. It won't stop pursuit entirely, but it should put them into disarray and buy you more time."

Tempest turned away from the others, cracking her neck and focusing her mind. It was a good plan - it was their only plan. Those distant echoed footfalls on the stairs were growing louder. All she had to do was fight for a little while longer and they would all escape. It would be worth--

"No."

The abrupt syllable made Tempest startle. She twisted her head back. "What?"

"Ah said no," Applejack stated more firmly. "Tempest, this is the third dang time you've tried to ditch all of us so you could fight impossible odds. First time, Ah couldn't stop you because Ah had the cart. Second time, Ah trusted Rainbow and Pinkie could keep you safe. Now this time you're not only tryin' to stay behind but you're outright tellin' us you're gonna blow yourself up?"

Tempest growled. "Applejack, there isn't time for us to discuss this. You have to go!"

"We ain't gonna leave you."

"Damn it, Applejack!" Tempest stomped her hoof, kicking up a spark from the impact. "Save your family!"

Softer - almost ashamedly - Applejack retorted. "That's why Ah ain't gonna leave you."

The balcony went silent save for the wind. Applejack's implication hung over it.

Slowly, Tempest turned back to the others. "This isn't the time to--"

The farmer took a single purposeful step forward. "Ah will not save two parts of my family just to lose a different part along the way. Ah told you that from the start."

Tempest lashed out, words desperate and packed with pain. "I'm not family! I'm just-- just some damn beast! A monster who served a monster!" Her eyes shot to Bright Mac and Buttercup. "Tell her! You know what I really am, tell her!"

The couple looked at each other for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Were," Bright Mac led with. "Not am. Were. Ah said Ah could move on and give you a chance. So far you've done nothin' but show me my daughter's right about you."

Buttercup added her part, as well. "You weren't a monster - you were just a hurt filly that trusted the wrong folks. By the sound've things, one that's grown up to be a good mare." She glanced to Bright again - he gave a tight-lipped nod. "You did a lot of good today - and you gave us hope. You deserve some of that, too. We're not gonna just abandon you. Family doesn't abandon each other," she added with bitterness.

Applejack opened her mouth to say something to her mother - but Pinkie Pie cut in instead. "The welcome home party's going to be legendary!" She pronked over, literally (and coincidentally) interposing herself between Applejack and the Apple parents. "But it can't be if everypony isn't there to celebrate it. You just gotta be there, Fizzie, or it'll ruin the party. You don't want that, do you?"

Rarity piped in as well. "As I said at the train station - you're one of us now, Miss Shadow. We share the good parts and the bad, and shan't abandon you so easily."

Fluttershy simply smiled, because everypony knew her answer was 'Fluttershy' and questioning any further into detail would only make them feel ashamed for doubting.

In desperation, Tempest turned to Rainbow Dash. "Come on, you know I'm right! You were there, you know what I did to your friends!"

Dash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and? That was, like, forever ago. You've been way cooler since. It's not like we don't have a ton of other friends who did stuff that we had to forgive them for. I mean there's Starlight Glimmer and Trixie and Discord.. kinda still not sure on that last one, though."

Fluttershy aggressively pouted at Rainbow for that one.

Tempest paid it no mind. "But I'm not your friend, you know that! I'm just a stand-in because Twilight's not here."

"What?" Rainbow Dash stared as if Tempest had grown wings to make up for her lost horn. "Wait, are you mad that I've been comparing you to Twilight? You're mad that I'm saying you're like an alicorn?" She jabbed Tempest with a hoof. "Seriously, you're smart. You're powerful. You're an awesome leader and you're willing to put everything on the line for your friends. Why is that a bad thing?"

It wasn't the response Tempest expected, and she fumbled her words to ineffectual syllables.

"I mean, yeah, the comparison's helped because you're a purple unicorn but-- how the heck did you think that it was a negative?" Dash shook her head. "Point is - you said it yourself. I'm Loyalty. I don't abandon my friends."

Tempest hung her head, cheeks blushing dark with shame. "You're all sure about this? You know what this means?" All around her, ponies nodded, expressions grim. "Then.. thank you. I still think you should go, but..." She took a long, deep breath and raised her head. "We hold them as long as we can. Every minute we keep the Storm Guard here with us is another minute the slaves at the docks have to escape. We can't win, but we have to delay as long as possible."

Looking between the other seven, Tempest set her jaw. "Dash - how fast can you get clouds from the storm wall to here?"

It took a few seconds for the pegasus to answer as she gauged distances. "I can get there pretty fast, but back's gonna take longer if I wanna keep the cloud intact."

"Do it. Bring them and buck them as fast as you can - that's going to be our artillery." Tempest swung her eyes over. "Rarity. I know you can't fight like they said you were before, but do you have enough to shield us?"

She didn't. They all knew it. Rarity had kept up with them all the way, but her knees still shook and her face wore a week's worth of weariness. "Until I've nothing left to give, darling."

Tempest nodded grimly. "Fluttershy, your job's going to be to be our eyes. Watch out for anything tricky they try, like bringing an airship up to flank us. And if any of us get hurt, pull them out of the way. The rest of you..." She turned her eyes to the doors. "I'll take the center. Two of you on either side of me. We can use the doors to limit their approach and keep the odds mostly even."

The four earth ponies fell in - Bright Mac and Buttercup to her right, Applejack and Pinkie Pie to her left.

Echoing footsteps grew louder. More numerous. Closer.

"I'll fire where I can," Tempest advised. "But once they're up our muzzles I can't without risking catching us in the blast. Watch each other's flanks and..." She set her hooves wide, bracing for her first salvo. "Let's show them what ponies can do."

The shattered ebony doors from the hallway framed the first two Storm Guards as they charged through - a perfect target bracket for Tempest to fire a burst of magic into. The guards were thrown backwards - two more moved to replace them and met the same fate. It took four waves until another group smashed a hole through the wall to create a second entrance. A third hole followed shortly after. Tempest's fire slacked, unable to keep all three entrances suppressed.

From there it was hoof-to-hoof - the ruins of three Prench doors vomited guards towards the line of ponies.

Four stood strong, flank to flank as the tidal wave of Storm Guard crashed against them. The Apples stood beside Tempest - three sets of bucking hooves lashed out over and over. Pear Butter and Bright Mac worked in near-perfect concert, moving to protect one another with decades of love. Applejack - more experienced with actual fighting - held her own with buck after buck. And Tempest? Tempest was a whirlwind of hooves, punishing any who got close with a flurry of fury.

Pinkie Pie was the one who didn't hold - but that was more because Pinkie could not be contained. She watched Applejack's flank, popping out of seemingly nowhere right at the moment she was needed to trip a guard or steal a spear from their hands. Other times, she simply was places. Hanging down from a chandelier to spin a guard backwards. A pink leg sticking out from under the bed to trip another. Leaning out from behind a curtain to grab a throw rug and yank it away. She wasn't where Tempest had wanted her to be - but Pinkie was where she needed to be.

Above, Rainbow Dash did exactly as she had been told: rocketing back and forth between the balcony and the storm wall. Every thirty seconds or so she would arrive, shower the guards with lightning, and then be gone again on another trip. She worked with a speed and precision that wildly contradicted her napping laziness - constantly on the move to push it just a little further, a little faster.

Behind them all, Fluttershy waited and Rarity focused. Shield after shield appeared in the air, each popping into existence for only a second to intercept a burst of lightning before both bolt and shield evaporated into nothingness. Each interception bought the front line a few more moments, signalling each tiny victory with the sound of shattering crystal and a few sparks from Rarity's horn.

To an outside observer, the battle was glorious. The Bearers hadn't fought on a similar scale since the Wedding Invasion, and now they had both reinforcements and years of greater experience. Dozens of the Storm Guard fell by the wayside - kicked clear, stunned by lightning, thrown, beaten and tossed away.

But there were hundreds, not dozens.

Rainbow Dash was the first to fall.

The space ahead of the ponies was flooded with bodies - the crush of guards exorbitantly pushing them towards the balcony's railing inch by inch. Fluttershy's ears caught it before her eyes, and she pointed to the right. "Rarity! The window!"

Steam poured out of a window from the bathroom as broken glass fell away. Three spear-points jammed through the relatively small gap, using the angle to get a shot at the ponies' unprotected blind side. With a grunt of effort, Rarity projected another shield - this one slashing downwards and cutting the spears to useless sticks.

She wasn't fast enough.

Two of the bolts went wide, striking nothing at all. The third... the third hit the cloud in Rainbow's grasp as she flew in. Lightning touched off lightning, and the stormcloud detonated in the pegasus' hooves like a grenade.

Fluttershy shrieked. "RAINBOW!"

Knocked out by the blast, Rainbow Dash fell limply away from the tower in a flat spiral. The others could only gasp and cringe as she disappeared below the balcony - except Fluttershy. Dust kicked up as her wings heaved and she hurled herself off the edge. None of the rest moved to help - the guards gave them no space. But they also believed in Fluttershy.

Painfully long seconds later there was the thump of hooves behind them as Fluttershy landed. Then a second thump as a limp Rainbow Dash slipped off her back. It was a momentary win for the Bearers - Dash was breathing and Fluttershy held her close.

They needed the morale boost from the little victory.

Because Rarity was next.

The Storm Guard kept finding new angles of attack. Any window or opening that had a line of sight to the balcony had a spear poking out of it. One or two enterprising guards clamored up to the heights of the tower to fire downwards. And there was a constant stream of them inside the King's rooms that climbed on furniture to blast over the others flooding it.

Rarity caught every bolt, her magic intercepting one after another.

Looking up from Dash, Fluttershy gasped. "Rarity, your horn!"

Smiling thinly, Rarity didn't look away from the raging battle. "I'm fine, darling! Help Rainbow." Another streak of lightning rocketed towards Bright Mac's blindside - it was caught at the last moment by yet another diamond. The projection shattered, and Rarity's front legs gave out with a wobble.

"Rarity, your horn is smoking." Fluttershy detached - reluctantly - from Rainbow Dash. "You're hurting yourself!"

Another blast - this one from a side window towards Applejack. Rarity's horn threw sparks as she shielded that one, too. "Just ozone," she dismissed as if that was somehow better than smoke.

Two shots came in from different sides. Two more projections appeared and shattered. The force of the blow made Rarity's entire body shudder - then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.

Generosity ran out of things to give.

That was the tipping point - the fight became more an exercise in dodging than a brawl, and the ponies were pushed back further. The broken doors weren't a funnel anymore as the Storm Guard advanced and the Equestrians retreated. Inch by inch, but they did.

Tempest knew the battle was lost outside of a miracle. Then a miracle presented itself.

Back behind twelve layers of guards, a high-pitched cackle echoed out. Through the hulking furry bodies of the Storm Guard, Tempest caught a glance of the source - the Scion of Storms. The scrawny would-be king was perched on an opulent gold-inlaid vanity, pointing towards the balcony. "GET THEM GET THEM GET THEM!" His screeching drove the Storm Guard onwards - and it stood to reason that if it stopped? They might as well.

He was too far back to attack directly - too many bodies between. Tempest shot a glance to Applejack as the farmer ducked under a spear-jab and unleashed a series of hoof-blows to the guard's chest to knock it backwards.

One chance.

"Applejack!" Tempest was already in motion, galloping towards Honesty. "Boost me!"

No time to debate. Applejack rolled onto her back, legs coiled. Tempest jumped onto her - four hooves matching four hooves. Then both pushed as hard as they could.

Everything slowed down.

Tempest's leap was augmented by Applejack's own shove, throwing the ex-Commander high into the air. Energy crackled around her jagged horn, running up the shortened grooves to gather at the wrecked end. The leap hoisted her, bringing Tempest over the heads of the Storm Guard. It was just momentary, but she had a clear shot at the Scion. His beady eyes went wide as he saw her rise. Her head whipped back, winding up to unleash. She brought it forward, taking all the magical energy she could muster to a single point.

Four separate bolts of lightning hit Tempest at once, hurling her backwards on the stone. The energy she gathered dissipated uselessly as she hit the ground in a stunned pile and slid until she impacted against the balcony's railing.

So Tempest was the third to fall.

Time resumed its normal flow.

With almost half their number lost, the remaining ponies tightened up. The three Apples stood at the fore, shoulder to shoulder and braced to meet their enemy's final attack. Behind them, Fluttershy stood wide-legged over their three fallen friends like an angry mother bear. And behind her was Pinkie Pie, stretched out over the balcony's railing and desperately looking for somewhere for them to retreat to or something - anything - to turn the tide with.

The Storm Guard closed in, holding back their attack for the moment in favor of making a wall of speartips. The Apples backed away again, giving way for the forest of sharpened black iron.

Behind his wall of guards, the Scion spoke with a braggart's confidence. "You've lost," he sneered. "Give up and go back to the pens, ponies. I'll let you take all but the traitor." A stray cloud passed overhead, blocking the sun and laying a shadow over the balcony. "Maybe the next rescue party will save those of you who are left."

"Every second we keep ya here's another second the others have to escape." Applejack straightened herself up, steeled with defiance.

In response, the Scion pointed a thin finger off to their left. Equestrian eyes followed it - to an airship listing over the docks. The one the rebel slaves had commandeered... and it was hurting. A second airship had lifted off from the docks and the two were playing a fiery game of cat and mouse as the escaping vessel tried to both make it to the break in the storm wall while still evading the pursuer's cannons. Smoke told the tale that a few shots had already landed, and the slaves' lack of skilled crew was making all the difference.

Another little cackle slipped from the Scion. "I only needed a handful of my guards to chase them. Why waste it on mostly used-up trash?" He glared from behind his guards. "Now surrender or share the traitor's agonizing fate."

The ring of spears tightened.

Three Apples stood firm.

Pinkie Pie gasped.

The hammer of an angry god slammed down in front of Applejack, kicking up a cloud of dust and shaking the entire overloaded balcony. Both sides reflexively looked away, shielding their eyes from the sudden wave of debris.

Then there was a surprised holler from one of the Storm Guard as it was sent flying. All looked back - and the dust was blown away by the furious snort of Big Mac's anger. For a moment everything stood still.

Until the red stallion swung around again and planted both hooves into the chest of another guard to eject it from the battlefield.

"APPLEJACK AH AM SO GOL-DANGED ANGRY AT YOU RIGHT NOW."

The named mare wobbled on her hooves, letting out a choked noise that was half sob of relief, half laugh.

Big Mac set up again, ready to buck another guard right off the balcony - none seemed eager to test the fresh intruder, backing off out of reach. Which, in turn, let him continue his tirade. "Of all the stubborn, mule-headed, short-sighted foolishness you coulda done! You knew an' you didn't tell any of us? Just went off on your own like a... like a..."

"Like a Pear?" Bright Mac jokingly suggested. And was promptly smacked by his wife.

The sound of his father's voice pierced through Big Mac's heart, derailing his fury into disbelief. But before he could say another word - or the guards could rally and close in again - a single blessed syllable cracked the air.

"DIVE!"

All eyes went skyward as the Royal Canterlot Voice boomed. The cloud above that blocked the sun was suddenly a riot of color as Captain Celano's galleon unfurled its rainbow side-sails. And with it came the color of gold - of Royal Guards that plunged from the ship to fill the air with the rallying cry of "FOR EQUESTRIA!". The gleaming armor of the Household Battalion - still bearing the traditional title of Celestia's Own and her golden sunburst as their insignia - fell upon the Citadel like a hurricane.

The thunder of wingbeats echoed further around the island as the storm wall was ripped wide. A trio of lithe airship cutters came barreling through, each led by a spearhead of two dozen pegasi to forge a path through the eternal stormclouds. Two turned to the town itself while the third swept in, placing itself between the commandeered ship of the fleeing slaves and the cannons of the Storm Guard.

And beside Celestia's Own descended a glowing alicorn clad in gold, regally shouting commands in a less ear-shattering voice than before. "Secure the Citadel! Make it a fall-back point for the others as they free the imprisoned in the town surrounding!" Princess Twilight Sparkle - regal and bright as the sun - coasted downwards behind a phalanx of guards. Her horn was alight, carrying down the unicorn and earth pony members of her guard into the midst of their enemy.

It took seconds for the Storm Guard to waver - and less for them to break. The Scion of Storms shouted, of course, trying to rally his troops. "No, you fools! Stand and fight!" He squeaked with all his might, fists impotently shaking in the air. It changed nothing. The tiny number of guards who listened to him found the cream of the Equestrian military charging full -speed - most didn't even have time to completely turn around before they were overrun. But enough turned to give the Scion time to duck inside the Citadel itself and disappear into the chaotic rout.

With the grace of a goddess, Twilight gently set down on the balcony beside Big Mac. She gave a glance to her troops as they poured into the Citadel itself in pursuit - then let them be as the matter was well in hoof.

Then Twilight Sparkle - sovereign of Equestria, the Sun and Moon Incarnate, Princess of Friendship and Defender of Harmony - turned to the farmstallion and cuffed him upside the head with her wing.

"ONE CONDITION! I let the Apple family come along under the singular condition that you were to all remain out of the line of fire!" Twilight poked him in the chest with her hoof. "And the first thing you did when we got here was throw yourself off the side of the boat!"

Big Mac simply smiled wider.

Twilight sighed heavily. "You Apples are going to be the death of me."

Rainbow Dash's groan drew the Princess and the farmer back to the others. Dash was awake but still on her back, cradled by Fluttershy. The two unicorns were in similar states of conscious but unsteady - Rarity was being helped to her hooves by Pinkie, and Tempest was stubbornly trying to bring herself to entirely unnecessary combat readiness by using the balcony's railing for leverage.

Applejack, meanwhile, was shame-facedly trying not to look at either of the two newcomers. That was foiled as Buttercup leaned close and half-whispered an important question. "Who's that?"

The farm mare cleared her throat. "A... few things've changed in the last couple of years. Ma? Pa? Ah'd like to introduce y'all to Princess Twilight Sparkle, ruler of Equestria and Princess Celestia's successor."

Both Apple parents moved to bow to their monarch - and found themselves preempted as she bowed to them first. Not merely a tip of the head, but fully prostrating herself on the dark stone. "As Princess of Equestria, I wish to formally apologize for your rescue having been delayed for so long, Mister and Missus Apple. Had we been aware of your imprisonment, this would have happened long ago. Equestria does not tolerate having its citizens in chains and you have my deepest apologies for all you have endured."

Pear Butter and Bright Mac looked at each other in confusion - there was a new Princess and she was bowing and apologizing to them? Fortunately, their daughter knew how to handle this.

Still getting the stink-eye from her brother, Applejack trotted over and pulled Twilight up. "Ain't your fault, Twi. You couldn't have known. Nopony could've." Then she pushed down her pride again. "An'... Ah didn't help things with how Ah went about all this."

Big Mac snorted derisively.

From her place leaning against the balcony railing, Tempest scoffed quietly. "Told you so."

Rising again, the Princess couldn't suppress a smirk. "I will say that I'm very disappointed in all of you for not telling me what was happening so I could help." She paused for a beat. "Well, not all of you." Her gaze - and in the moment right after, everypony else's - turned to look right at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash - who despite having one eye swollen shut - was looking impossibly smug. "What?" she said with entirely false ignorance. "I told you I left a request for a leave of absence on Spitfire's desk. Like she'd grant it if I hadn't told her the whole story about why I was asking for it."

Applejack just gawked at the fact that she had been completely outsmarted by Rainbow Dash.

"Once Spitfire found it after the holiday," Twilight added, "She personally flew it to me. Because she realized I should know about it." The Princess shot a sidelong look at Applejack. Again. "Once I knew, I called on Captain Celano, mobilized the Guard and headed to Ponyville to try and catch up to you. That part didn't work out so well, which is where the hippogriffs came from."

The group's eyes turned to the sprawling camp surrounding the Citadel. The three other ships that had come out of the clouds were hovering over it, swarms of flying creatures pouring out - hippogriffs, now that they looked.

"Wow. They look really unhappy," Pinkie observed as she watched through binoculars she didn't have a moment before.

Twilight laughed at that. "When I found out you had taken the train south, I assumed you were going to Mount Aris. I spoke with Queen Novo only to find that you hadn't - and before we could leave for the Citadel, she had opinions about what we were doing." She paused for a breath. "The loudest opinion being that our timing was terrible and since most of the Royal Navy was out of port she could only spare us three ships full of hippogriff marines as aid."

The sound of a propeller grew louder - a small landing skiff was coming down from the galleon above. Twilight glanced to it and nodded. "While we rescue the prisoners and cripple any remaining military power here, I'd like all of you to please return to the ship. Since some of you," she noted with a glare at Big Mac, "Promised to not get involved in the fighting then did it anyway. And some of you," she said as she turned her glare to Applejack, "Can't be trusted to not go running off into danger without thinking. And some of you," she finally added with a kind smile to the Apple parents, "Have more reunions and catching up to do."

With a grunt, Tempest pushed away from the rail and straightened herself. "Permission to assist the Royal Guard in securing the area, Your Highness."

"Denied." Twilight barely let Tempest finish her sentence. "You're injured and knowing you? You've already been fighting since you got here." The monarch smiled to her friend. "Rest. You did another amazing thing today on top of all the other amazing things you've done, Tempest. Let us finish the clean-up."

Tempest hung her head - but didn't argue.

The skiff fluttered down beside the balcony - and as it did, it revealed more passengers than just the crewparrot. Apple Bloom, Sugar Belle, Granny Smith and--

Pear Butter stopped breathing. Beside her Bright Mac similarly froze. But it was her that finally squeaked it out as the small boat came to rest and she couldn't deny her eyes anymore. "D--Daddy?"

Grand Pear stumbled as he got off the skiff - his eyes were on his daughter instead of his hooves. Silent and wide-eyed, he half-staggered over to her. She, in turn, stared back. The world waited.

"I'm sorry," he choked out, saying words he'd never dreamed he would have the chance to say.

And then he grabbed tight hold of her and wept.

Author's Note

That last bit? Those like ten sentences? Were the second scene written for this story and what everything was building to. (And they're entirely why rescuing Buttercup was as far back in the story as it was - I couldn't give any of them the chance to tell her about Grand Pear.)

Mama I'm Coming Home

The sun shone gently down the day after Winter Wrap-Up, just as the weather schedule had said it would. Enough to warm cold bodies and sparkle in the eager eyes of ponies who were enjoying the first moments of spring.

And what a spring it was - Applejack hadn't seen the like since she was a filly. It was, admittedly, the first she'd enjoyed with her parents since then and that made it all the brighter.

Sitting in a rocking chair on the porch, she watched as the two Macintoshes quietly talked under a tree. She couldn't hear the words, but the way each would occasionally mime a buck told her they were disagreeing on harvesting techniques. The father was trying to provide sage wisdom, while the son was bringing his parent up to speed on more recent innovations.

The scent of cinnamon wafted out of the house behind her - Buttercup was teaching Sugar Belle her old Pear family recipes to add to the baker's already huge number of apple dishes. Having somepony in the family who'd grown up outside the feud was a blessing for the Apple mother - somepony she could teach her side of the family's ways without fruit-based prejudice.

Not there was as much of that anymore: Granny Smith and Grand Pear were both asleep on the far end of the porch, after all. Side by side on a hanging bench and under hoof-knit quilts.

...A small part of Applejack's mind reminded her she didn't know where Apple Bloom was. She dismissed it, because Applejack wanted to think about good things right now and whatever chaos the Crusaders were up to was future Applejack's problem.

Good things - and good friends, like the one coming up the road. Applejack could see Tempest coming a literal mile off. The dark mare was holding to a brisk pace, but the hills around the Acres gave long lines of sight towards town.

She drew close to the farmhouse and more things came into focus - Tempest was wearing yet another gift from Rarity. Rather than her plain black woolen frock, she was draped in one made of deep grey flannel. In true Rarity style, the grey was shot through by golden thread to create shaping highlights, leading the eyes along the flow of Tempest's bulky body to the neck. There sat two bright electric blue gemstones which had been cut to resemble one of the Storm King's lightning bolts that had been snapped in half. A small nod to Tempest's overcoming of that past, forged in lapis and gold.

Applejack was patient, waiting several long minutes for the liberator to close the distance. And, in time, Tempest stood at the base of the steps up the porch.

Both were silent for several more minutes in quiet contemplation - watching the new leaves blow in the warm breeze, listening to the birds as they flitted about to make their nests, and feeling the warm sun shine down.

In time, Applejack spoke first. "Had a good trip? You kinda disappeared after Pinkie's party to welcome my folks back."

"After a party that legendary? I had to recover." Tempest chuckled, and Applejack did so with her. But she answered truthfully afterwards. "I went down to Mount Aris with Twilight." She took a deep breath. "They put me in jail."

Applejack stopped rocking.

"I had to do my penance, Applejack." Tempest still frowned. "I served one day for every year that the hippogriffs were away from Mount Aris, and at the end Queen Novo ceremonially released me. I don't think I'll ever be welcome there, but I'm officially not a wanted criminal anymore."

The farmer nodded slowly and resumed rocking. "Good. You've more'n earned that, Tempest." A thin smile came to her lips. "Ah don't think Starlight worked half as much for her redemption as you did, an' she destroyed all of time."

Tempest chuckled darkly. "I don't have the benefit of being a brilliant self-taught magic prodigy."

A wider smirk crossed Applejack's lips. "You know, your horn is pretty powerful. Just like the pony it belongs to."

Something halfway between a snort and a laugh snuck out of Tempest. "No fair using a Princess' words against me."

They both smiled, lapsing to a long silence again.

Both sets of eyes watched as the two Macintoshes seemed to find an accord, mirroring each other as they both bucked a tree. No apples fell - only the first blossoms were showing on the branches - but the pair of farmers seemed satisfied with what they'd agreed to.

"Seems apple farming's like riding a bike," Tempest quipped.

Applejack laughed lowly - then frowned. "It ain't been easy," she admitted. "Equestria's changed a lot since they left it, after all. Happens at the strangest times, too. Things Ah've learned to take for granted's new to them - like Princess Luna or how many different creatures are around the School." She paused. "Sometimes Ah come into a room an' one of us is just... cryin'. Even Sugar Belle's feelin' it sometimes."

A slow moment passed. "And you?" Tempest didn't press, didn't judge - but she knew the answer.

"Sometimes Ah'm the one they find there like that," Applejack admitted with a half-dodge.

The former soldier chuckled. "I'd say I'm sorry - but I'm not."

Applejack rose up out of the rocking chair, stepping to the edge of the porch. "Tempest," she started, "Ah know Ah told you at the beginning that there was no way Ah could ever repay you for doin' this for our family. Well - Ah was wrong. Sayin' that was short-sellin'. There... there aren't words for it, Tempest. The whole town knows it, too. Ponyville's small, and you've given every pony here two amazing gifts." Reaching out, Applejack set a hoof on Tempest's shoulder. "This family - this town - will do anything for you. Ah know you've wrestled before 'bout your place in this world. And Ah want you to know that you will never, ever have to wonder that again."

Tempest was silent for a few long seconds - and then cracked a little grin. "You make it sound like I'm leaving. Or is that your way of saying that I should take a hike?"

The unexpected swerve made Applejack sputter - and flush with embarrassment when Tempest started laughing. "Ah mean-- well, Ah thought you would be leavin' again. You didn't stick around any other time, after all."

"I had a job and now it's done." Tempest's eyes pinched closed as she took a long, deep breath. "Just saying it feels weird - it's over. The Storm King is gone, the Citadel's under Queen Novo's control, every nation the King conquered is liberated and I'm..." She trailed off.

Applejack gave her a slight nudge. "You're what?"

"Free," Tempest half-whispered.

The farmer raised a silent eyebrow that begged for elaboration.

"I'm free," Tempest repeated. "I've spent so much of my life orbiting the Storm King - either working for him or trying to tear down what he created. And now it's all finished. I'm free of his legacy. I can... I can live without his shadow."

Gently, Applejack shook her head. "Afraid it don't work that way, Tempest. He's always gonna be a part of you - there's no avoidin' that. But Ah'd say you've moved past it, and you're right. It's time you got to build somethin' that's you alone."

Tempest reached up to the orange hoof on her shoulder, touching her own dark one to it. "Not alone."

A soft chuckle slipped out of Applejack. "Yeah, sorry. You're right - not alone." She paused for a moment. "So then - what're you gonna build?"

Silently, Tempest considered that. Her eyes roamed the farm around them - the grandparents sleeping on the bench; father and son amongst the trees laughing together; the barn that looked ready to fall apart at any moment because no Apple barn seemed to survive the year.

"Nothing, yet," she decided. "I think... I think I need the chance for my soul to take a breath."

Applejack smiled. "Ah hear ya there." Her eyes flicked back to the farmhouse behind her. "We got a spare room, y'know. Could use an extra hoof around since the growin' season's about to start."

Tempest shook her head. "I couldn't. You've got plenty of ponies to buck apples already."

"Grand Pear's been rebuildin' his grove, and he's too old to handle that whole thing on his own." Applejack changed her tack, flanking in on Tempest's verbal blindside. "Since he's come back that whole orchard's needed some tender care that he can't do by himself. Now we could spare a pony to help him - but Ah think he'd appreciate the chance to know the mare that gave him his daughter back."

There was hesitation. Tempest didn't say no. Applejack pounced on that chance. "You already get up at the crack of dawn. You're physically stronger than any unicorn Ah've ever seen. And--"

Tempest raised a hoof to silence the farmer. "Okay, okay," she laughed. "You talked me into it, Applejack. At least for the season. Ponyville seems to be a pretty nice place anyway."

Applejack grinned. "The best. An' gettin' better every day."

Author's Note

Thank you all for hanging around through this tale, and I hope it's been enjoyable.

I think it came out fairly well overall - the middle sections suffered and there were some pacing issues when the central chapters got condensed, but the focal parts came out strongly. All in all? I'm mostly satisfied with it. 6.5 out of 10.

Oh, and another shout-out to Matthais Unidostres for the inspiration to write this piece - it wouldn't have happened without the seed of an idea his work planted.

Cat's In The Cradle

The last armor plate slipped into place - Tempest Shadow looked now just as she did when she last left the Citadel. The black bodysuit under the matte black armor was a little ill-fitting after two years without military discipline and with Pinkie Pie's baking - but it was passable enough.

She looked down at herself and hated it.

But if it got them past even one fight, it was worth her pride. Pride didn't matter now - so she scuttled through the rocks and back to the others.

Their position was as good as they could have hoped for: a cluster of jagged rocks along the cliff-face, creating a narrow strip of ground between the hostile camp and an open fall. Close quarters was understating it - which is why Tempest had moved further away to don her armor - but it was safe and it was concealed.

From the rocky nook, the six could see the activity of the town around the fortress at close range. Above the sun shone down - the sky incongruously clear within the island's defensive ring of stormclouds. But even with that brightness, the town itself was grey - grey flagstreets surrounding buildings built from grey stone, all mined out from deeper parts of the grey island. Most were low and flat, single story affairs that cleared the ground only enough for the hulking Storm Guard to fit inside. Nearly all, as well, were peppered by a thin dusting of salt that gave a visual representation to the tang of the sea that permeated the air.

And the creatures that walked those cobbled, salt-stained streets? They were a wild mix of races - a wide variety of Klugetowners, Abyssinians, donkeys, zebras, a handful of hippogriffs, even a minotaur or three. Despite the disparate shapes, though, there was one thing that tied them all together: chains. They all wore at least a collar of dark iron as they milled about in daily chores - and all of it watched over by the ominous Storm Guards.

"There's so many." Fluttershy's quiet voice quavered. "How could any-- that one's just a chick." Her words hitched as she spied a tiny griffon - and an undercurrent of rage rose. "We need to save everycreature here from these monsters."

The yellow pegasus trembled with anger, steadied only as Rainbow Dash put a comforting wing over her oldest friend.

Tempest looked to the others with two words on her lips. "I'm sorry."

Pinkie Pie hugged her. "This isn't your fault. And now you're fixing it."

Slowly, Tempest nodded. The reassurance didn't reach her frown but she had to soldier on. "See those?" Tempest whispered and pointed with a hoof to the twin-pronged spear that each of the furry Guards held. "Those are the key."

As they watched, a donkey stumbled on a loose stone and fell. The basket full of bread he had been carrying dropped with him, scattering the loaves across the flagstone. One of the nearby Guards tapped the butt of its spear against the ground, causing an arc of blue lightning to spark into being between the tines of the spear. The threat was enough - the donkey scrambled to gather up the fallen food.

It was at that moment Tempest realized that Rainbow's wing wasn't comforting Fluttershy - it was holding her down. The normally placid pegasus' low growl was unexpected - though not to the other Bearers, who seemed to think nothing unusual of Fluttershy's barely restrained fury.

"A-Anyway," Tempest continued, "I think the plan has to be straightforward. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and I will go to the town armory. It's better stocked than the one in the Citadel itself, since there's more space outside the walls. Hopefully they don't know about my betrayal--"

"Redemption," Pinkie firmly corrected.

Tempest frowned harder and didn't amend her statement. "--And we can get inside without any trouble. We'll load up a cart with as many weapons as we can and then bring it to the slave's encampment that I showed you on the map. At the same time, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie will sneak in there and make contact. Bright Mac's probably your best choice to start from. He's going to be easy to recognize, knows everycreature here and you're going to be looking for him anyway. Tell him what's going on and to gather all the slaves up. Once we get the weapons to the encampment, they can use them to break free." She paused, watching the others to be sure they understood - around the tight circle, they gave nods of agreement.

"Most of them will make their way to the docks. They'll have to take one of the airships there to make their escape - after they spike the guns guarding the safe path out of the stormclouds." Tempest motioned upwards with a wag of her head. Around the rocky island, the wall of clouds continue to hold unnaturally firm. Lightning arced ominously through the stormwall, save for the few narrow openings that showed the outer sea. "We can't help them with that part, though. Once we get Bright Mac, we have to head for the Citadel itself as fast as we can to rescue Buttercup and any other slaves inside. If we're lucky, all the guards will be too busy trying to stop the larger group at the docks to notice us. Then we head up the Citadel itself - the Storm King has a small dock near the top for his personal air skiff. Presuming that's still a thing, we can use that to escape."

Silence - for a moment. Then, five more nods.

Tempest let out a satisfied snort. "Alright then. Let's go."

"So we're agreed?" Rarity glanced at her two companions. "Pinkie, you'll keep an eye out from here and signal us when the others are arriving with the cart. That way we'll have a little advanced warning."

Pinkie sharply saluted.

Fluttershy took a deep, steadying breath. "Now we just have to sneak in."

With a tittering laugh, Rarity shook her head. "Fluttershy, please. That's the least of our worries. Prisons are meant to keep you from breaking out. One as poorly handled as this likely never considered somepony trying to break in. Besides, if they catch us, what are they going to do? Throw us into the slave pen?"

"Rarity, I don't think it works that way." Fluttershy motioned at the slaves walking around behind the high iron fence that separated the encampment from the rest of the town. The only visible gate was flanked by two pairs of guards. "Plus if we were going to pretend to be them, wouldn't we have to wear those collars?"

Rarity sputtered with indignity. "Those horrid things? Never! I would never wear..." Shame struck Rarity's face. "...well. Under the circumstances I could make an exception. So long as there are no photos!"

"Or," Fluttershy gently prodded, "We could just sneak in."

"I suppose you're right." With a sigh, Rarity nodded. "If we approach it carefully and slowly, we should be able to find a path insi--"

Pinkie Pie slapped a crash helmet onto Rarity's head. "Problem solved good luck!"

"Wait, what?"

And then the catapult Pinkie had set up under them while they talked hurled both unicorn and pegasus through the air, over the fence and into a massive basket of dirty laundry.

Though some miracle the guards didn't hear either of the frightened shrieks - though the Abyssinian doing the laundry let out one of her own when the ponies impacted.

"Oh! Excuse us! Sorry!" Fluttershy popped out of the basket with grace - unlike Rarity. She got dragged out by the tail, flailing hysterically as she tried to free herself from a dirty burlap smock. The siamese-marked Abyssinian just stared.

Several minutes untangling later, the pair were threading their way through the encampment. As slave pens went, it struck them as rather well developed - while hemmed in by the tall iron fence, the buildings inside held strong under obvious decades of wear. Built from the same rough-hewn stone as the rest of the island, the long bunkhouses lay along five of the six sides of the hexagonal compound. A gate stood in the middle of the remaining side and a well sat in the center with an open-air pavilion around it that the rows of benches and tables suggested was for eating.

Presumably most of the slaves that weren't being worked outside the fence were here, probably asleep in the bunkhouses. Only a few were moving around the compound - a handful with laundry baskets, one or two sweeping up and one rather large stallion heading right for the two ponies.

"Well, this certainly simplifies things." Fluttershy fluffed her wings as the stallion who could only be Bright Mac trotted up to them.

The Apple family genes were strong - fur the same pale yellow as Apple Bloom's, a build like Big Mac's and the same serious frown that Applejack wore every time that the Crusaders got covered in tree sap. His age was showing over the old pictures they had seen, however - the bright red mane had faded to a greyish rose, and the same years of hard work that had left his body chiseled had also left deep lines on his face. His mane still sat as if there were an invisible hat on his head - instead he had the same collar of dark iron around his neck as the other residents of the camp.

"Ah hadn't expected new arrivals," he twanged in a voice tinted by sadness. "But Ah suppose that sooner or later they'd have to catch another pony. Welcome to the eye of the storm, ladies. Ah hope you weren't treated too bad comin' in."

He blinked in surprise as the two mares flanked him - Rarity on the left, Fluttershy on the right. "Your concern is appreciated, kind sir, but I think you may be a bit surprised at how our entry was treated." Rarity had to suppress a giggle at that. "Quite surprised."

Fluttershy was able to stay more on topic. "I think we, um, we might want to talk somewhere more private. Please."

Confusion was Bright Mac's first reaction - then shock as he looked at their necks. "You ain't chained." His eyes darted around, frantically looking for any nearby guards. "C'mon, this way."

The bunkhouse he led them to was empty - the beds stripped and likely in the laundry they'd fallen into earlier. Rows of single beds lined the walls, but Bright Mac took them to a cluster of benches near the central fire pit. It sat empty and cold, though the stallion's eyes still went to it as if gazing into the fire. "Now, the way Ah figure it there's two things that could be happenin' here. Either you're some of the Storm King's new allies like the Commander, or you're merchants here to make a buy. Either way, Ah figure it's better to--"

"We're the rescue party," Rarity cut in.

"...What?"

"We're the rescue party," she repeated as a smile crept to her lips. "Bright MacIntosh Apple, we're here to rescue you."

Fluttershy jumped in with her own addition. "And Buttercup, and every creature here if we can."

Rarity nodded in agreement. "Our sincere apologies for it taking so long, but everypony thought you were, well, dead. We only discovered that you were both here about two weeks ago, and certainly weren't going to allow it any longer."

"Ah don't-- Ah don't understand. Who are you? What in tarnation do you mean, rescue party? Ain't like nopony cares about a pair of nobody farmers from Ponyville." Bright Mac shook his head, refusing the glimmer of hope. "Ain't no Princess that's gonna come lookin' for us after all these years."

"Not a Princess," Fluttershy replied. "We came with your daughter. Applejack is our friend, and she wants her family back."

Bright Mac's spine stiffened at the name. "Applejack?" His face contorted into a snarl. "Ah swear, if you're lyin' there's gonna be mighty harsh consequences. You do not use my family--"

"Your wife's real name is Pear Butter and one of the secrets to getting zap apples is to hop over a watering can while wearing an adorable bunny outfit."

Bright Mac froze and stared at Fluttershy.

A slight blush touched the pegasus' features. "Applejack asked me to help one year. She even let me keep the bunny costume!"

Rarity gawked at Fluttershy, aghast.

A loud thump drew both mares' attention back to the stallion as Bright Mac fell onto his haunches. "My little filly. You're actually-- Ah don't believe it." The reality of the situation snapped back into place for him, and he turned to Fluttershy. "Is she here? Is she okay?"

It was Rarity that responded. "Applejack is indeed here - off with the rest of our troupe to acquire the tools of your liberation. And that is why we must be swift. In only a short time they will be arriving with a cartload of weapons to stage a breakout, and we need every creature here to be ready."

Fluttershy gently put a hoof on Bright Mac's shoulder. "I know all of this is sudden. I'm very sorry about that. But the revolution won't wait and it needs you. It's time to rise up and topple the corrupt edifice of your oppressors."

"...Yeah. Yeah, you're right." Bright Mac rose, wits gathering slowly. "'Scuse me a moment, while Ah get the proper folks gathered up."

He galloped out the door and Rarity turned to her friend. "Fluttershy, dear, while you're right that we are in the teeniest bit of a time crunch I must say that I detected a surprising amount of ease in your declaring the needs of a revolution. Where ever did you--"

Fluttershy simply smiled, because Rarity knew that the answer was 'Discord' and going any further into detail would only be a headache.

"--Nevermind, darling."

Tense minutes passed in silence with both mares impatient and on edge. Pinkie's signal could happen at any moment, and the possibility that the others would arrive at an unprepared camp with a cartload of weapons and the guards hot on their tails was... concerning to say the least. But the signal didn't come and neither did shouts of alarm from the hulking Storm Guard. All was calm until Bright Mac slipped back through the door.

"Others'll need time to gather up," he noted. "Not every one of 'em - just the folks that get pegged as leaders in these parts. Then they'll need time to spread the world an' contact the ones outside the fence." Bright Mac reached up to his head - a painfully familiar gesture that turned from adjusting his absent hat to brushing his mane back instead. "Ah also gotta apologize for bein' rude before. Ah didn't even ask your names."

"Rarity," the unicorn noted. "And Fluttershy. Truly, it's not a problem. We have put quite a lot on your plate unexpectedly."

Bright Mac gave each a respectful nod in turn. "My Ma would've tanned my hide somethin' fierce if Ah didn't show proper courtesy to guests." He reclaimed his seat on the bench, eyes closing for a moment of thought. "Though.. Ah hate to impose, but since we've got to wait anyway? Ah was wonderin' if you ladies wouldn't mind answerin' a few questions." Eyes the same green as Applejack's opened up and pierced the other two. "Could you maybe tell me 'bout my family?"

Rarity nodded at that - then motioned with her head for Fluttershy to sit beside Bright Mac. "Where to start, where to start..." She pondered for a moment more, pacing beside the empty fire pit before finding her beginning. "I suppose since you bring her up, the best place is to let you know that Granny Smith is still with us."

A shiver ran up Bright Mac's spine and he pinched his eyes closed once more. "Ah...Ah can't believe it. Ma's still... she's okay?"

"Perhaps not as hale and hearty as she once was," Rarity admitted, "But as vigorous as a lightning bolt, to put it in her quaint terms. Though she is perhaps getting a bit too cantankerous in her old age." She tittered merrily.

But Bright Mac was in quiet tears. "There was always the hope, but Ah fear'd she'd passed by now. Ah'm... Ah'm gonna get to see my Mama again."

Having been positioned properly in advance, Fluttershy gave the stallion a hug.

And Rarity put a soft hoof on his. "Granny Smith has been an unstoppable dynamo of a mare in the years since you were taken. Her steady hoof has ensured that Sweet Apple Acres has endured every trial while doing her letter best to raise your children with love and compassion."

Bright Mac wiped his eyes with the back of his hoof. "Our kids. Please, tell me about our kids."

Rarity nodded. "Your eldest - your son. They call him Big Macintosh now - and he is!" She laughed again. "I do believe he may be even larger than you, sir! But he is also one of the most polite gentlestallions I have ever had the pleasure to meet. He's quiet and thoughtful - and perhaps the only thing greater than the strength of his body is that of his heart. There is scarcely a stallion more noble, honest and forthright as your son."

She paused for a moment before taking another tack. "He was wed this past spring to a lovely unicorn - a baker of humble origins whom he loves with a quiet passion that any mare who sees them is jealous of. They held the ceremony under the intertwined trees that yourself and Pear Butter planted for yours."

A half laugh, half sob wracked Bright Mac.

"And," Rarity said with a conspiratorial stage whisper, "I strongly suspect that we shall be hearing word of your first grandfoal from them very soon."

He cried openly now - Fluttershy stroked Bright Mac's mane gently, holding him as he joyously wept.

"Your youngest, Apple Bloom, was ironically a bit of a late bloomer. Though still quite a little hellion!" Rarity couldn't help but smile widely at the many Crusader memories she had. "She's inseparable best friends with my little sister and another filly - the trio gained their cutie marks together. Apple Bloom is still in many ways a foal and deep in the rambunctiousness of youth, but she's wonderfully smart, happy and loved. She has grown up without want, surrounded by those who care deeply for her and is told so at every turn."

Sniffling, Bright Mac wiped his eyes again. "And Applejack?"

Fluttershy beamed. "Rarity saved the best for last."

"Indeed I did." Reaching out, Rarity took both of Bright Mac's hooves in hers. "Your daughter did suffer at your loss, I shall not lie. But it forged her and she has become one of the strongest, noblest mares there is. She is a peer of the realm and a hero of Equestria - responsible for saving the land several times over. She serves beside us on the Princess' privy Council. She is friend to kings and queens as well as to farmers and shopkeepers. Your daughter remains humble despite having been awarded nearly every medal and honor that Equestria has thought of."

The pegasus spoke up. "The kirin call her the Breaker of Silence."

"The Inheritor of Strength," Rarity added. "The Element of Honesty."

Bright Mac took a long, slow breath. "So my little sugarcube's a..."

"A hero," Fluttershy said simply.

And Rarity nodded. "The sort that legends are written of. But more than that - Applejack is a good pony. She is honest, compassionate, humble, kind and loving. She believes in hard work, honest speech and proven traditions. The passion she holds for home and family surpasses words, and I have seen her risk life and limb for others without hesitation, regret or thought of reward." She paused and briefly looked to Fluttershy. "We would and have entrusted her with our lives on multiple occasions because, above all else? Applejack is the truest, dearest friend anypony could hope for."

"And do you know why that is?"

Snuffling, Bright Mac cracked a grin. "Ah'm guessin' you're about to tell me."

Rarity tittered. "Indeed I am. It's because every time I have seen Applejack tempted, she asks herself just one question: if I choose to give in, would my parents be disappointed in me? Because, my dear Bright Macintosh - even after you have been gone for so long? You are her soul. You are that mare's everything." Letting go of him, Rarity stood. "And that is why we followed her into Tartarus for you. And while we shall get you out of it no matter our cost."

With another sniffle, Bright Mac wiped his nose with his fetlock. "Ah guess Mama did raise 'em right, even without us."

And Fluttershy shook her head. "That's not true. You've always been with them in spirit and in their thoughts. We just need to fix that your body's been absent."

"Thank you. Thank you both." The old stallion gave Fluttershy a hug back, and a respectful nod to the more distant Rarity. "No matter what's comin', Ah thank you for doin' what you've done for us."

It was around ten minutes later the others gathered up - the motley collection of slaves that Bright Mac had called together. The group numbered just short of a dozen, all bedraggled and worn from years of hard labor. They covered a wide range of races - while Bright Macintosh was the only pony, the group included a eyepatch-clad hippogriff and a hornless minotaur. Rarity frowned as they all shifted uneasily.

"I am going to presume that Bright Mac gave you few details," she started out. This was her arena much more than Fluttershy's - Discord's influence and Iron Will's seminars aside. "And we have little time so I shall be brief and to the point. Two years ago, the Storm King attacked Equestria. He was defeated - turned to stone in the end by one of his own obsidian orbs and shattered across the steps of Canterlot."

She paused, rightly anticipating the gasp of surprise from the audience. "Since that time, heroes of Equestria have been working to carry word of his defeat and striking at the outliers of his former kingdom." Rarity also chose to not speak the former Commander's name - a number of these slaves were victims of her armies. "Nearly all of his conquered lands have been liberated and his outposts destroyed - Panthera flies its own flag once more, and Queen Novo's hippogriffs have returned to Mount Aris."

The one-eyed hippogriff went stiff with shock, beak hanging open.

They were eating out of her hoof, and it made Rarity smile all the wider. A proper sense of drama didn't hurt the occasion, after all. Neither did a little bit of lying by omission to bolster long-faded hopes. "And now we come here. This is the last bastion of the former Storm King's lands, and we are here to help liberate you. In a short time, the rest of our party will be arriving with a cartload of weapons. With those weapons, the intent is for all of you to make your way to the docks, foul the guns watching the passages and flee using one of the airships there. We," and she paused to indicate herself and the unseen members of the rescue party, "Shall be striking the Citadel itself in the confusion to free those there."

Bright Mac spoke up. "Ah won't leave Buttercup behind, and you all know that."

The others gathered nodded solemnly.

"The hope is that in the confusion, both of our groups will be able to achieve our goals." Rarity tried to keep upbeat, but in her heart she knew the coming hour or so would be an uphill battle. A lot of creatures were going to get hurt or worse - there was no avoiding that. She tried not to think about it. "Once we are all clear, the intent is to head north to the coast, then east along it to Mount Aris. It won't be a short trip, but the navigation will be easy and--"

Her attempt to lay out further plans was interrupted by a not-so-distant boom. All eyes went westward towards it - and Fluttershy frowned. "I don't remember Pinkie Pie bringing her party cannon."

"I don't remember her bringing a trebuchet but she certainly did," Rarity pointlessly sniped, sounding only a touch bitter.

"It was a catapult," Fluttershy quietly corrected.

Rarity paid the correction no mind. "I'm afraid we're out of time, darlings. That't the signal - the cart should be here at any moment."

A second, far louder boom rolled through the air.

Fluttershy frowned sharply. "Oh dear."

"Quickly!" Rarity stomped a hoof on the flagstones. "Gather every creature you can and get ready! We shall have only a short while to harness the seventh Element - surprise!"