Cursorial Hunter

The night sky was always so beautiful. The princess did such amazing work. It filled Yards with vicarious pride, that he'd served her.

He tightened the harness as tight as it would go. It had been intended as a harness for a passenger. One smaller than the pilot, so a mare or an ectomorphic unicorn. Little fillies were a little smaller than what it was designed for. Her foal sized head rattled around in the adult sized helmet he'd put on her.

“Are you ready?” he asked her.

“Are we really gonna fly?”

“Yup.” He slapped his old helmet on, feeling the enchantments change him. His pupils elongated and his night vision improved. The color washed from his pelt, turning him into a misty grey. He began to charge the Eso-battery on his back.

“Here we GO!” He started to run. As he did so he sent a magical charge into the engine and started up the turbines. They started to lift him off the ground. He wrapped his hooves protectively around his cargo as he sent a charge to the secondary engines. The scramjets kicked in and the protective shield encased them from the wind. He pulled into a power climb. He could hear her giggling over the comms in the helmet.

“It's getting my belly!”

He took a lazy circle as he leveled off, letting her see all around. “WOW! It's amazing!”

“Do you like it?”

“I don't wanna ever go down.”

“Oh, you will eventually. Where do you want to go now?”

“What's that there?” She pointed at a group coming up the drive. It was too early for them to be back. This was bad. He swooped down to get a better look. There were three ponies pulling a fourth in a cart. He cut the scrams as he came in for a landing. He ran up beside the ponies. It was Apple, Toffee, some looker of a pegasus, and Delta in the cart.

“What happened?”

“Yards?” Apple asked, looking at her daughter.

“MOMMA! I FLEW!” She tried to wriggle out of her restraints. “Yards took me! It was the greatest day ever! Thank you, Momma!”

Tears started to roll down Apple's cheeks. The tears quickly turned into sobs, then a body wracking breakdown. Yards looked at the others in confusion while he held the crying mare.

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The stars were beautiful. There was a crescent moon hanging low in the sky. The breeze blew softly. “Greetings, my Loyal Subject.” The voice resonated all around her.

Apple curtsied to her majesty. She was unable to see where The Princess of the Night descended from.

“Arise.”

“Your majesty. Thank you for coming...I have questions.”

“Certainly. I understand thou hath had some difficulties of late.”

“It seems that a lot of farms are having trouble with staying afloat.”

“Yes. We hath been trying to save as many as possible. That is part of what thou and Yards hath been working upon.“

“Are we purposefully destroying the economy?”

“WHAT?” Her usual decorum was gone as she reared in alarm.

“The terrorists on the train, they said that we were purposefully destroying the economy to force earth ponies to starve.”

Luna closed her eyes. “Truly these are times of great change. There are always those that would want to cling to ways that no longer apply. Change is scary. Rest assured, fair Apple, we are doing everything we can to help everypony. Yay, though these changes are going to upset some ponies, ultimately we will be much stronger for them.”

“Why are we called earth ponies?”

She looked at her confusedly.

“Is it because we're just dirt?”

Luna picked up a hoof of the earth. “Earth ponies are the bedrock of everything. Without the earth, life couldn't exist. There would be nothing for food to grow upon. There would be nowhere for the water to collect, so there could be no clouds. Without mine earth ponies, Equstria would crumble. There will always be a place for earth ponies both in our society and in Our hearts.” She held her hoof to her chest to reinforce her sentiment. She then smiled at her farmer. “So, ye met Starfall?”

“Yes, she seems nice-?”

The princess winked. “It would be a good to become very good friends with her. I must go now. I'm needed elsewhere.”

Apple curtsied again as her Highness flew off into the night.

She woke up with a start, looking around the dark room. Yards's chest rhythmically rose and fell at the far end of the bed. It was amazing. She'd asked him to stay with her, and he'd readily agreed. Of course he'd slept on top of the covers, but what was truly amazing was that Rhu, worried for her momma, had snuggled into bed with them and he'd snuggled next to her. Maybe, just maybe. Maybe she should talk to him about sleeping there more regularly.

She slid out of her bed quietly and walked down the hall. Delta was sprawled out on her back on Yard's bed, stoned off her flank on pain killers. Her snoring was rocking his room. She'd saved them again. She'd saved a lot of ponies. The surviving terrorists had ran away, escaping into the wilderness.

Going down stairs, the pegasi were asleep in the living room. Toffee was too exhausted to walk home and had crashed on her couch. Apple threw the blanket back over her. Starfall was sleeping on a palette in the middle of the floor.

She'd heard about her not having a home, and what she'd done to help her. In payment she'd offered her an abode in her home. She'd get Yards to finish out a room down in the root cellar. That way Starfall could come and go as she pleased. She'd have two weeks to decorate it to her taste since the rail company had given her time off to deal with the trauma.

The dark coated pegasus rolled over in her sleep. She'd welcomed her into her home, then the Princess had told her to make sure to become friends with her. Maybe it was just getting foal napped or what Mantis had said, but for some reason she couldn't get over the feeling that she wasn't in control of her life anymore, and she didn't like it. Something was going on and she couldn't help but feel like a pawn in somepony's elaborate game.

Seeing that at least everything was in order in her home, she turned and went back to sleep.

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The sound of hooves quietly walking away in the night woke up Toffee. She looked down at her new friend. Their shared horror had bonded them.

Quietly she walked over to the phone. The device was going to be Ponyville's salvation. Too bad if she did this she'd be the villain. Her ire boiled. Why should she consider herself a villain when she was saving the whole town? Because it meant betraying a friend who'd just saved her life. She took the phone off the cradle and dialed a number. “Hello, Inquisition, I-I need to report a changeling...”