A Darker World

        Down the hill the train ran, at the head an older model engine, blue colors zipping over the landscape. Only a handful of cars followed the engine down, mostly cargo cars filled with materials for outlying towns, the two passenger cars were lightly populated. Inside the second passenger car eight ponies and one dragon masquerading as a pony in armor sat.

        “So that’s pretty much the experiment in a nutshell. It shouldn’t take long to do once we find a good place to it set up.” Twilight said as she smiled at her brother and the other two ponies. Shining had remained quiet through her explanation, Pyro had known most of the details already and had spent most of the time dozing off, Strong Hold, one of two ponies that hadn’t been present when Shining had agreed to take his squad out to help his sister, had been held in rapt attention by Twilight’s idea and experiment and had stopped her a few times to ask questions. Two seats away Stomper and Crusher were playing some kind of card game with each other. The last two ponies in the train, Shining’s two pegasi, were longing on opposite ends of the train car, this was one of the few moments when Flick wasn’t flying, the speed of the train made him nervous about flying while on it.        “Alright, sis. So then where are we doing this? If you can’t do it up in Canterlot you must have some thought on where you are planning to do this,” Shining asked his sister.        “The space I need to do this is fair large but there is another factor,” Twilight nervously rubbed her hooves together, she had spent some time trying to figure out how to convince her brother to agree to go into the Everfree Forest, “I need excess magic to power the magic circle. I may be able to provide enough power to it, but I don’t even know if I have enough to set up the circle correctly.”        “So we will have to recruit unicorns from inside Ponyville. That might be problematic, Twiley.” Shining tapped the cushions of his seat for a moment, “There might be some unicorns deployed out here with the militia we can pull to help us out.”        “Actually, there is a certain location we will have to go to. It has excess magic residue so focusing that into the magic circle instead of trying to use anypony else will be simplier. It’s just a bit out of the way from Ponyville, but nothing too bad I’m sure!” Twilight bounced happily in her seat, smiling at the other unicorns.        “Alright, where is this place Twilight?” asking Shining.        “It’s castle in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Only about half a days trip into the forest itself.” Twilight was quick to answer her brother, trying to make it sound like it wasn’t that bad.        Which went over as well as expected. Between the three other unicorns the range of reactions of quite amazing. Shining wore a blank expression, mainly because he was still processing what was just said. Pyro was trying to hold in a giggle of joy at the idea of being inside a forest full of deadly animals. Strong merely looked terrified at the idea.        After a few moments of it processing what Twilight said finally clicked in Shining’s head. “No Twilight. You are not going into that forest. We are coming along to protect you in Ponyville and not in a forest that is out to kill you!”        “We’d be fine! You all are perfectly capable of protecting me in the forest! You all were trained for far worse than this!” Twilight pleaded with her brother.        “Plus,” Pyro interjected, “she has training in how to defend herself. And it looks like she is going one way or another, you can either agree or she’ll go on her own.”        Shining glanced at Pyro, his expression marking her a traitor. “Fine. I’m not happy about this Twilight but knowing you Pyro is correct. Next time though,” Shining turned and pinned his sister with a glare, “you are telling me everything that you are planning. I’m surprised at you for lying but don’t try it again.”

        The train slowed to a halt on the platform. Seeing the train stopping Rarity steps up from where she and Applejack were sitting, fidgeting slightly as she walking up towards the train. Applejack stood up slower behind her and walked up to join her friend. “Now Rar, there is no need to get so worked up. It is just a few ponies from Canterlot.”        “Just some ponies?  Applejack these are high society ponies! Even just a little misstep in greeting them will be an insult!” Rarity turned around and glanced at Hearth, who was walking up to stand a little bit behind and next to Rarity. “You are sure the rooms are good enough Hearth? We can’t insult these ponies.”        “Yes, Magistrate Rarity. The rooms booked at the White Clearing are the best they have to offer. The staff assured me that the rooms would be extra clean and ready for use by the time we walk over there with the guests. They also said they would do everything in their power to ensure a comfortable stay for them,” Hearth said, for the third time, to Rarity.        “Good, good. Alright, best face forward it’s time to meet these ponies.” Rarity turned back around to the train standing up straight on her four hooves and waited.        The train doors opened up as if on cue from Rarity and quickly the handful of ponies on the first passenger car filed off. At the same time the station ponies headed up to the cargo cars along the train and opened them, unloading the supplies and crates inside them. Rarity glanced at the ponies that had stepped off the train, none of them looked like an escort group or a high society pony, most of them looked like business ponies or working ponies.        Rarity looked around, surely they hadn’t missed the train or decided not to come, the note had seemed important given how short a time span it had been sent on. Just as her worrying was reaching a peak a pony stepped off the second passenger car. Or rather, it looked like a pony, it was covered in a heavy cloak and what parts weren’t covered showed heavy armor. This must have been the Guard Captain, Shining Armor, the pony was certainly dressed for the part. Rarity stood still for a moment looking at this figure then swallowed her fear and moved towards the pony, Applejack and Hearth following her.        However before Rarity greeted the pony it stepped forward and off stepped a white coated stallion wearing slightly less armor. Behind him a small group followed, two heavy set earth ponies, two unicorns, and two pegasi. Each one of the group had the air of a well trained Guard pony to them and all of them spent at least a moment sweeping the area with their eyes before they arranged themselves around the white stallion in what could only have been a relaxed formation that could tighten up if any threat presented itself. Finally a last pony stepped off the train, a purple unicorn carrying a simple packing bag on her back. Rarity looked over the group and stepped forward, catching the eye of the white stallion, which must have actually been Shining Armor with the way the others moved around him.        “Welcome to Ponyville! I am the Magistrate of this town, Rarity. It is my honor to welcome you here. We have set up rooms for you in the White Clearing inn near the center of town. With me here are Hearth, my assistant, and Applejack, one of the members of the Apple Clan who have been good friends to both myself and the rest of the town.” Rarity bowed slightly as she finished her introductions, both Hearth and Applejack doing the same, though Applejack with less elegance then the other two.        The cloaked pony stepped forward at a glance from Shining. “Thank you for the welcome, Magistrate Rarity. Allow me to introduce our small group here. I am Spike, servant to Twilight Sparkle and the Sparkle family. Here,” Spike carefully motioned with one armored claw towards Shining armor and the other Guard ponies, “are Shining Armor, Guard Major, and the rest of his squad, Pyro Spark, Stomper and Crusher Grounder, Flick Flyer, Swirl Black, and Strong Hold.” Each pony lowered their head in greeting as their name was sounded off, “And, of course, Twilight Sparkle, Professor at the Advanced Studies University in Canterlot and daughter of Night Light, Dean of the same university and sitting member of the Council in Canterlot.” Spike bowed as he finished out the introductions.        Rarity looked the group over again, having also given a nod in greeting to each pony. Here eyes stuck to Twilight Sparkle though, who was looking right back at her. “Wonderful! If you don’t mind me asking though, why are you in Ponyville? The message was rather light with details on that.”        Spike looked back at Twilight, who blinked back at him and shrugged. “Well,” said Spike looking back at Rarity, “we are here to test a theory. It shouldn’t take more than a few days to test and then will be out of your town. However we will need your assistance. We will need a guide for the Everfree Forest tomorrow morning. The experiment we have planned to test the theory must take place at a point of large magic concentration, of which there is a substantial one in the middle of the forest, in some castle ruins if we are correct. We will need to reach that point as quickly as we can.”        Silence descended on the group for a moment. “Well, I do not know of anypony within town that could guide you in the forest. Most ponies avoid the forest. I will do what I can to find somepony of course, but I do not know if we will be able to locate one by tomorrow morning.” Rarity looked at the group, a trace of her nervousness creeping into her pose.        “Ah know someone.” Applejack spoke up from behind Rarity. “My family’s farm has a boundary near the Everfree Forest. We do not dare go into the forest but there’s a small family that has been living near our farm for as long as Ah can remember. Used to play with their kid. They know the forest well. Ah’ll see if they would be willing to help ya’ll out.”        Shining Armor looked at Applejack. “I’d like to meet this pony before we go out, is there a way for her to come over to the inn tonight?”        Applejack shook her head. “Not at any reasonable hour. I have to get back to my farm and then get over to talk to her. By that point the Day Star will be completely down and it’ll be too late to head back into town. Assuming the pony agrees I can bring you all out tomorrow morning.”        “That will have to do I guess. Very well we will hope to see you tomorrow morning. Speaking of which, is there any place we could purchase supplies locally?” said Shining.        “Ah can see if a local food shop can whip up something for ya’ll by tomorrow morning. Ah’ll have it brought out as well tomorrow morning if that suits you all,” replied Applejack.        “Perfect. Well it has been a long trip and I believe we would like to see our rooms,” Shining looked back at Rarity, “if you could show us the way Magistrate?”        “I would love to,” replied Rarity, turning to head away from the train station and deeper into town with the collection of ponies following her, minus Applejack who broke off and headed elsewhere in town.

        “And these are your room, Miss Sparkle” the cleanly groomed stallion said, holding open a door into a large room that was dominated by a single bed. “Everything should be prepared for you. This room is your’s for as long as you need it. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you.” The stallion stepped aside as Twilight entered the room, closing the door quietly.        “Well I will say they are quite polite.” Beside her Spike moved into the room and set their bags down next to the bed. “Almost obsessively so.”        Twilight headed over to the desk in the room. The desk took up a large section of the wall pointed out to the rest of the town. “Can you grab the map Spike? I want to check this farm that Applejack mentioned.”        Spike opened up the smaller of their bags and pulled out a folded up map and walked over to the desk with Twilight. He laid it out and spread it out on the table. The small map showed Ponyville in the center with the surrounding area.        “Alright, let’s see where this farm is, the Apple Clan was it?” Twilight leaned over the map, tapping the center of Ponyville with her hoof while she glanced around the edges of the town. “Ah! Here it is!” Tracing out to the west on the map Twilight centers her hoof on the Apple Clan’s farm. “A little south and west. And yep, border with the Everfree. Fairly large farm too, they must produce most of the food in the area.”        Spike glanced over Twilight’s shoulder at the map, looking over the area. “Hey, what’s the larger area encircling it?” He reached over a tapped the larger words over the label for the Apple Clan’s farm. “Sweet Apple Acres? Do they own all that land but only farm that part?”        Both of them moved their limbs off the map. Within the larger borders of the Sweet Apple Acres were thinner borders, marking off different farms, the two largest sections were marked for the Apple Clan and the Carrot Clan, there were smaller farms marked off for smaller families between the two larger sections. “Interesting. So whoever owns the who Sweet Apple Acres actually lets other families farm on it as well. Must allow them to centralize the shipping of their produce and help each other out.”        A knock sounded from the door, causing both of them to look at it. “Miss Sparkle, Captain Shining Armor sent me over to cast a few protection wards on your room, may I enter?” spoke Stronghold from the other side.        “You may enter Stronghold.” Twilight moved over to the center of the room as the door opened and Stronghold entered the room, still wearing his Guard pony armor. “And are you ever going to get over calling me ‘Miss Sparkle’, I’ve known you all for long enough.”        “Oh, maybe in time. Right now though it’s important for the ponies of the town to know who you are, so formalities.” Stronghold closed the door gently with his magic, looking around the room before moving to the window next to the desk. A quick glance at the desk while his horn lit up and a glow encircled the window, slowly spreading across the rest of the wall. “Looking over the local area?”        “Yeah, we were trying to find the Apple Clan’s farm. Found them and the rest of the farms with the area of Sweet Apple Acres. It’s interesting that all of them would be in one location. I would think the farmers would spread themselves out a bit to not step on each other’s hooves with watering concerns or anything else,” Twilight replied, watching as the glow of Stronghold’s magic snapped into place on the wall, a seven pointed star rune formed at the center of the window, the edges of the rune glowing brighter than the rest before vanishing along with the rest of the magic.        “Well knowing a bit about the town’s farmers might help. The town is mainly formed of farmers, plenty of extra pony’s around sure but the main export for the town, and thus their main income, is the farming here. When the town was first made the Apple Clan actually owned most of the land out here. The City bought most of it up to set up for the town itself but the Apple’s kept that land over there. Ended up letting other farming families rent sections of their land to plant and grow on. They did it at first to help these farmers settle here and start producing while they find their own land. As time went however the farmers that rented from the Apple Clan stuck around there and the Apple’s didn’t seem to mind that much. Actually ended up being a smart move for everyone. The farmers can help each other out as needed and centralizes the shipping. And for the Apple Clan, well, they still managed the land and handle the go between for most of the farmers and any buyers. Basically the farmers themselves sell their crops to the Apple Clan and then the Apples sell all of it to the buyers. It’s created a strong community over there, one that has actually helped make this town into what it is now.” Stronghold stopped as he reached the middle of the room, his horn glowing again as magic spread from his feet across the floor then up the other walls.        “So that’s why. But wouldn’t the other farmer’s want to get out from under the Apple Clan since they only started farming their while they found their own land? Doesn’t it prevent them from making as much as they could by selling directly to the buyers instead of through the Apple Clan?” Twilight asked as the magic ward snapped again into place in the room, a smaller version of the same seven star rune forming under Stronghold’s hoof, repeating the same process of glowing at the tips before vanishing.        “No, actually. Beyond the advantages of the community that the farmers have over there, the centralization of the selling causes it to be cheaper. The Apple Clan make only a little profit from what they buy from the other farmers, and that money is sent into maintaining good food storage to contain the food in different seasons, maintaining the roads between the farms, securing transport for all the food to wherever the buyers want it loaded, normally the train station in town, and then any remaining profit is actually set aside into a fund managed by the Apple Clan but available to all the farmers on their land to help cover emergencies, something like a kid getting sick for a planting seasons. Sure the other farmers come in to help but the fund pays out a little bit to each family that helped and pays for any expenses to take care of the sick kid. All in all, it’s a really great deal for the farming families. Sure some of them could buy the land they are on out right from the Apples now, or land elsewhere around town, but they don’t want it. If they did, they’d have to manage the selling, securing of transport, any roads they used, storage, and then any emergency spending on their own. It is much better for them to continue working with the Apple Clan. One moment.” Stronghold stopped in front of the door to the room, his horn lighting up as the magic reached out and surrounded the door. The glow of the magic this time was denser in the casting, causing a brighter glow from Stronghold’s magic. Once surrounded the same seven pointed star rune appeared but this time the center pulsed with light before vanishing.        “And lastly, the Apple Clan is known for their honest dealings. After working together for so long the Apple’s don’t actually pay the other farmers until after the sell of all the produce is done. Normally that would cause a family that depends on the money from the sell to panic, but it works better for everypony on that farm to let things work this way. They know they will see the money from the Apples and they don’t have to worry about much of anything at all. It’s a rather interesting affair over there. Made for some interesting reading a while back.” Stronghold said as he turned to look at Twilight.        “Interesting reading? Now why would you be reading up on the farming set up in this town?” Twilight asked.        “It was actually reading about the town in general. With it being a possible hotspot for trouble, I know you and Captain Shining have been working with your father looking over the proposals they keep sending to lift the Martial Law, we were all required to read up on the town when we joined the squad. Also had to read up on the current situations in the border towns and neighboring cities. By far the farming community here was the most interesting, I ended up reading up on all the details about them. The pony we met earlier? Applejack? Actually in line to take over the managing of the whole Sweet Apple Acres farm when her grandmother passes, her older brother, a stallion named Big Mac, is already running the Apple Clan’s farm. Her younger sister, a filly named Apple Bloom, is assumed to follow in Applejack’s foot steps and help her out, she hasn’t taken to farming well at all, though she doesn’t have her cutie mark yet so that could change. The Carrot Clan recently lost one of their sons, a stallion just entering his prime named Clear Cut, and has asked for help from the rest of the farmers to manage a bit of the farm. It was quite the blow to the Carrot Clan who have been the biggest supporters of keep the Sweet Apple Acres farm the way it is. Like the Apple Clan the are involved in managing the whole estate over there. They provide a good chunk of the extra labor when it comes to maintaining the roads.” Stronghold stopped for a moment, deciding against continuing.        “Sorry, I got rambling there, Miss Sparkle.” Stronghold opened the door with his magic, the ward glowing for a moment to check who it was before disappearing into the door. He stepped out of the room and turned around and bowed to Twilight. “The wards are in place, feel free to check their strength if you wish. They are general wards for right now, mostly to alert us if somepony tried to break into your room as well as provide additional strength to the walls against both physical assault and magical. Capitan Shining Armor has one of us posted outside your door for security as well, each of us is registered to the ward so it will allow us passage through them should something happen, no one else will be able to open the door should the wards be activated. So long as the runes aren’t activated by somepony attempting to force entry or any other signs of struggle the ward on the door will allow anyone in so long as you or Mister Spike invites them in. Sergeants Stomper and Crusher Grounder have the first watch,” both of the mentioned earth ponies waved at Twilight from the other side of the door having taken up their posts while Stronghold was getting the wards set up, “and Sergeant Pyro Spark will take over after them with Corporal Flick Flyer finishing out the night. The farmers, and thus the town itself, wakes up with the Day Star so we expect Miss Applejack to be along shortly after that. Please wake up when the Day Star rises so we can all be ready when Miss Applejack arrives. Having a good evening, Miss Sparkle.” Stronghold bowed again and then closed the door.        “Well, it’s late in the day and the Day Star will be setting soon. How about we have a little snack and then get some sleep Twilight?” asked Spike, already moving to their bags to pull out some of the snacks he had packed from Canterlot.        “That sounds like a good idea,” said Twilight joining Spike.        Unnoticed outside their window a single brown stallion tipped his hat at Twilight’s window, another piece had arrived on the board, it would be interesting to see how it would affect what he had already set in motion.