Chapters "Chapter One- A Spell Gone Awry"
"Ok my little ponies! It's time to come inside!"
There were groans and shouts as twenty young unicorn ponies detached themselves from the play toys, jumping from swings at the peak of their height and raced to line up outside Canterlot Elementary. Each colt and filly lined up according to alphabetical order against the brick wall outside of the classroom, and a unicorn mare with a sunshine yellow coat, blue striped mane and tail and cheery pink eyes held a clipboard with magic in front of her face. She went down the line, calling each pony's name as she passed and checking them off with a light blue aura covered quill.
"Autumn Breeze?"
"Here!"
"Banana Fluff?"
"Here!"
"Berry Pinch?"
"Here Miss Lemon Hearts!"
With each tiny voice she checked their name off on the list. A squeal farther down the line caused a momentary pause in attendance, though Lemon Heart’s eyes never left the names levitated in front of her. She sighed, recognizing the squeal and mentally counted to ten. There was a white flash as a filly leapt out of line, staring with one wide blue eye at the colt next to her. The other was covered in amethyst hairs curled to perfection despite the repose outdoors.
"Don't you dare come near me with that!" Her voice held the commanding power of a queen, the persona completed with a regal accent. The colt in question grinned mischievously, holding out his hoof toward the white filly's nose. "But Rarity, don't you think it's pretty? It’s just like those stones you like to collect!" The filly named Rarity squealed again, pushing another foal in front of her in an effort to get away from what turned out to be a very large red beetle perched on the colt's hoof. There was a myriad of snickers and more attempts to get away from the overlarge bug. The clipboard lowered and with a disapproving snort, Lemon Hearts trotted to the end of the line, which was now alive with whispers, laughter and pointing.
"Ponet, just what are you doing to Rarity?" Her question was more accusatory than confusion, and her voice held a twinge of exasperation
"Aw, I was just showing her this cool beetle. How was I supposed to know she is afraid of them?"
Lemon Hearts' gaze was not amused as it froze the dusky blue colt in place. His wicked grin faded away, replaced with a look of angry contrite. "Sorry Rarity." He mumbled, just barely audible to the teacher and the very unhappy unicorn peeking out from behind her pony shield. Rarity looked at him and sniffed, tossing her expertly curled purple mane and pointing her nose to the sky. "You're a bully." She said, hitting his hoof and causing the beetle to take off in the opposite direction. She resumed her place in line, making sure to ignore Ponet with all of her power. The rest of the class giggled, covering their mouths with hooves when Lemon Hearts looked their way. She sighed and walked back to continue attendance.
"Graphite?"
"Here!"
"Holly Dash?"
=============
"Unicorns are the only ponies in Equestria who can control magic. Since the beginning of memory, there has been a special corps of unicorns dedicated to lifting the sun into the sky each morning, and a separate group to bring forth the moon. High in towers, they spent their whole lives dedicated to making sure day and night got equal share of the sky. Long ago, unicorn settlers who had felt that they were too crowded in other cities came to Canterlot when it was only a mountainside surrounded by forests. They were tired and hungry, and were looking for a new place to live. The land they found was beautiful, but harbored dangerous ponies that almost drove them away. These ponies didn't have magic, or wings. They lived off of the land in crude huts, and spoke in a strange, base language. King Nickle Note tried to reason with these earth ponies, tried to give them tools to help make better homes. But the earth ponies didn't want to hear them. They chased the unicorns up the mountain until the unicorns used magic to block the way for the barbarians. These brave unicorns used their magical skills to build a city high above the earth, where they would be safe. This city became Canterlot. The earth ponies returned to their homes that would one day become Ponyville."
Lemon Hearts finished writing her notes on the chalkboard, magically placing the chalk back into the tray with a small puff of dust before turning to face the class. Many of them were staring at her with mixtures of interest and boredom; Twinkle Toes was facedown in his book fast asleep. Only one filly was busily writing notes. A youngster with purple eyes currently hidden by a dark purple mane with a pink streak decorating it was sitting in the front row. Her pen was covered with a purple aura as she used to magically take notes. Lemon Hearts could almost hear her whispering to herself, as if trying to memorize the story right here and now. Her smile was warm as she drew her eyes from little Twilight Sparkle to address the entire class.
"The earth ponies soon realized that we were responsible for raising the sun each morning, and demanded that we raise it according to their rules. Our scientists told them that if we deviated from what our charts told us, then the whole world would be thrown off and they wouldn't be able to grow food efficiently. The arguments got heated, and the Chancellor of the Earth Ponies tried to attack Canterlot in an effort to change King Nickle Note and his advisors’ minds. In retaliation, the astronomy unicorns stopped raising the sun. Soon the earth was covered in eternal darkness, and the crops wouldn't grow. And while the unicorns with the talent for green magic could continue to coax plants to grow within the walls of Canterlot, there wasn't enough food for both cities. The earth ponies came to the gates of Canterlot and begged us to bring back the sun. As tribute, they agreed to give us a portion of their crops every year to feed our city, and they would never ask us to change our schedules again. The rulers of Canterlot agreed to these terms, and let the sun rise.
Unfortunately, this series of events led to...displeasure between the unicorns and earth ponies. Fights began to break out, and there was a threat of all-out war. But our King and their Chancellor created a peace treaty between them that allowed trade to be conducted. This treaty prevents them from attacking us again or demanding that we use magic to change the growing schedule. Most unicorns choose not to press their luck however, and stay here in Canterlot."
"Oh! Oh! Miss Lemon Hearts?" A light purple hoof was waving in the air frantically. There was a groan somewhere in the back of the classroom, and a few foals facehoofed. The pink filly next to the attentive student flashing her hoof in the air whispered “Nerd”. Lemon Hearts ignored the reactions from the other students and pointed at Twilight Sparkle with a hoof.
"Yes Twilight Sparkle?"
"What about the Pegasus?"
"Pegasi." Lemon Hearts corrected her gently. Twilight nodded, crossing out a section of her notes and scribbling something in. "Pegasus is for only one of them. Well, the Pegasi saw the tribute the unicorns were receiving and became jealous. You see, Pegasus have always been in charge of the weather.”
“I thought that unicorns changed that with magic.” Came a squeaky voice from a row away.
“Please raise your hoof next time Berry Pinch.” Lemon Hearts said absently, then clarified. “Unicorns changed day to night and vice versa, but Pegasus are the only ponies that can walk on clouds. That means they can move clouds with very little effort whereas it would take unicorns much more to move he same amount. They have a schedule of their own for rain, snow and sunshine weather. Anyway, when they realized that the unicorns were being paid for their services, they demanded the same. They covered the sun with rainclouds, and refused to let it be seen again until they too received a tribute for aiding in weather control. They threatened to attack our city and Ponyville with lightning if both earth pony and unicorn didn't give them something as well. There was a battle. The Pegasi flew to Canterlot and attacked the cities. Our magic users managed to chase them away, but part of the city was ruined while almost all of Ponyville was laid to waste. In order to keep the rest of Equestria safe, the unicorns and earth ponies agreed to pay the pegasi for their control of the weather. The tension created from these battles can still be felt. That's why earth ponies and pegasi aren't normally seen in Canterlot."
Twilight nodded, busily burying her nose in her notes. Lemon Hearts gave another look around the room so see if anyone else had any questions. A bell rang overhead, and she clapped her hooves together. "Alright class, that's it for the week! I will see you on Monday!" There was much shuffling as unicorns quickly pulled their saddlebags from under their desks and placed them over their backs. The noise in the room went from silence to high volume as foals excitedly chattered with their friends and hooves clip clopped across the classroom. Twilight took her time, making sure her notes were safely tucked away in her saddlebags for reading later that night when she felt a bump on her flank. She looked over to see Rarity smiling at her, saddlebags already across her back. They looked to be brand new; purple embroidery traced her initials across the flaps. The filly was in much better spirits since the incident with Ponet, and she placed a foreleg over Twilight's shoulders, drawing her close.
Rarity had a tendency to be a bit snobbish, but Twilight knew that beneath that royal exterior lay a kind hearted nature. She and Rarity had been friends since kindergarten when they realized that they shared an interest in the famous 'Mare Do Well' picture book series. Since those times their friendship grew and now Twilight couldn't imagine being anywhere without Rarity nearby to help her when she needed.
"I see you have your cutie mark now!"
"I do!" Twilight said, shaking her rump proudly in her seat. The pink star with tiny white stars surrounding it stuck out like a fresh tattoo. Twilight received the cutie mark while trying to do a spell. She finally managed to teleport from her bedroom to the kitchen of her house, and she was so excited that she almost didn't realize the cutie mark had appeared. Only at her mother's question did she run to the mirror to see the pink star twinkling up at her.
"Now we are Cutie Mark Buddies!" Rarity practically flashed her three diamond cutie mark. She was the first of their class to receive hers. The diamonds represented her love of shiny things, and her innate ability to find the gems that she so desired. Twilight smiled, feeling excitement bubble in her. It was like she was in a club!
"Say Twilight, would you like to come over for a sleepover? My mother promised to make sweet apple tarts today!"
Twilight looked at her bag uncertainly. The parchment paper was practically whimpering at her, begging her to stay home and read the notes written on them. How much would she forget if she didn’t look over her carefully designed notes? "I dunno Rarity. I was hoping to look over my notes for today."
"Oh come ooooooon Twilight. Pleeeeease?" Rarity removed her hoof from Twilight's shoulder, leaned forward and batted her long eyelashes at the other filly. Twilight felt the uncertainty grow in her chest. Her heart and her mind were at odds. There was a tense moment; and the lavender filly caved. Twilight smiled, patting Rarity on the head and earning a snort from her best friend. "Alright, I'll ask my mommy."
Rarity bounced happily and walked towards the door to the classroom. "Oh I'm so happy you said yes Twilight! We can stay up all night and tell ghost stories and secrets! I'll see you for dinner at six!" She gave the purple filly one more happy smile before exiting the classroom with her fellow ponies. Outside, Rarity’s mother and father were waiting to walk her home. She chattered up at them about how everything had to be perfect for tonight. Twilight sighed and shook her head. Rarity always knew what to do to get her to cave. But then, that was why they were best friends. Lemon Hearts poked her head into the classroom and said "Twilight, your parents are here to get you."
"Ok Miss Lemon Hearts!" she said, galloping out of the classroom. Night Light and Twilight Velvet were indeed waiting for their daughter, and her mother wrapped her in a hug.
"How was school today?"
"We learned all about the history of Canterlot!”
“Well that sounds like a fun lesson!” her father said, looking over his shoulder as their oldest trotted into the courtyard. Shining Armor usually picked Twilight up from school on his way home from Canterlot Middle. He paused and waved to his parents before increasing his pace to meet them.
“Oh Oh! And Rarity asked me to come over for a sleepover!"
Night Light brought his attention back to his daughter as she grasped at his legs while Night Light looked down on her with eyes full of love.
“Can I go? Please please please?”
Night Light’s gaze met his wife’s and he chuckled and ruffled his daughter's mane. "Well then, I suppose we had better get you home and packed then."
"I can really go?" Twilight asked, staring up at her parents with pleading purple eyes.
"Of course." Twilight Velvet said. "Who are we to come between best friends?"
"Yesyesyesyesyes!" Twilight Sparkle bounced around her parents in elation. Shining Armor was quick to ask if he could have a friend or two over for the weekend, but Twilight didn’t take notice of him, though she mentally reminded herself to tackle her BBBFF after she was done celebrating. This was going to be the best weekend ever!
====
There was giggling through the second story window of a regal looking house as the streetlights flickered to life outside. The house matched the others around it in color and shape. Marble and stone created facades and a doorway surrounded on both sides by columns. A low wall framed a manicured yard fringed with plants that glistened with moisture from an earlier watering. A large flowering tree covered the second story window but for a small corner. Inside the room, two fillies were using weak magic to throw pillows at one another, erupting into further giggles as a throw connected. Feathers drifted lazily in the air, twisting as pillows flew by. Rarity kicked at a pillow, landing it against Twilight Sparkle's head. She rolled over laughing, hair sticking up from static electricity and the remnants of magic. "Alright Rarity you win!"
"Of course I did!" Rarity trotted forward and plopped onto a pile of pillows. Her mane was frizzy, the large curl that normally draped over her shoulder was split in a couple places. She fluffed her pile and wiggled into a comfortable position, lowering her head to her hooves and looking to Twilight Sparkle.
"I always forget how pretty your room is Rarity." Twilight said, gazing around at her friend's room. It was lavishly decorated with purple drapes, expensive looking furniture and more stuffed animals than the young foal could count. The round bed had curtains that could be drawn around, a secret clubhouse. Everything sparkled with glitter and jewels that Rarity had found and incorporated into her decor.
"Thank you! It is pretty isn't it?" She cast a blue eyed gaze around as well as if to admire her handiwork. Which of course she was. "I am hoping mother or father will take me out tomorrow after you go home so I can look for more gems. My bedside table needs a couple more emeralds to make it really sparkle!" She pointed her horn at a table covered with a tray of sweets and drinks. Two cups wobbled upwards, and then floated over to the two. "So now that the pillow fight is done, what do we do next?" She sipped her hot chocolate primly, releasing her hold on the second cup when Twilight’s magic took over.
"Well according to my book" Twilight said, pushing her nose under a couple pillows in searching. The cup bobbed comically a foot or two above her head, moving in tandem with the lavender filly’s head. She overturned a few more pillows and located a blue leather bound book near the bed. She flipped it open and skimmed the pages, placing a hoof onto the middle of one. "Now that we have done the pillow fight, makeover and ghost stories, we're supposed to tell secrets." She tapped the book shut, and inhaled deeply. "Well, do you have any secrets?"
There was a moment of silence as each filly looked at the other expectantly.
Rarity thought hard, tapping a hoof against the other. "I don't think I have any secrets." she confessed, looking sheepish. Twilight expressed the same sentiment, and they sat in silence for a few minutes. What were they to do? They had to go by the book right? But what did they do when the book ran out of ideas? Both fillies lay in silence, drinking their hot chocolate and waiting for the other to come up with an idea.
"Let's practice magic!" Twilight said, jumping to her hooves. The cup clattered to the ground, luckily empty. She kicked the pillows away, clearing an empty spot in the room. Rarity rolled her large eyes, saying with a slight whine "But Twilight, that's school work! This is supposed to be a sleepover!"
"We can practice magic that we haven't learned in school yet." She said, giving an unusually mischievous grin. Twilight was one to follow the rules. But it wasn't exactly against the rules to practice magic outside of school right? Rarity gave the other filly a strange look. Normally Twilight wasn't one to take risks, a quality that Rarity both loved and disliked. This leap into rebellion startled her a bit, but soon an equally mischievous grin graced the alabaster filly's face. Twilight rolled her shoulders, thinking of her teleport spell. "I bet that I can teleport down to the kitchen and grab a couple tarts before you do!" Rarity jumped to her hooves as well. She did love a good challenge! Twilight took a few minutes to teach Rarity the teleport spell. Once she was sure that she got it, Rarity backed up a couple steps and Twilight grinned, saying "Loser has to tell Rumble that she will be his special somepony for next Hearts and Hooves Day!"
"Alright Twilight, you've got a deal!" They stood face to face, staring into eachother's eyes. They both counted off together, each feeling a flutter of nerves in her heart. Neither filly wanted to be Rumble's special sompony. A flicker of uncertainty sent a shiver down Twilight's spine. What if she did it wrong this time? Rarity was just as apprehensive. This was a new spell for her, and she wasn’t sure that she could do it right the first time. Catching eachother’s eyes emptied their body of doubt. Both wanted to win.
"One, Two...Three!"
There were twin flashes of blue and purple light. A moment later, Rarity blinked into the kitchen, eyed slammed shut, wobbling sideways and then falling to her knees on the tile. She was breathing hard, but her face was plastered with a grin.
"I win!" She crowed, looking around the dark kitchen. The table s and chairs were dark blotches against the streetlight streaming through the bay window. The air smelled faintly of apples and something smoky. Twilight was nowhere to be found. She laughed and rose to her feet, testing her stability. While still a little shaky, she found that walking and even trotting was no problem as long as she didn’t move her head too quickly. She bounced up the stairs and entered the bedroom. "Really Twilight, you think with all of that studying you would have beaten me. I guess that just means I have more tal....ent."
Her boasting trailed off as she realized that her bedroom was empty as well. "Twilight?" she said, looking on her bed. She checked her expansive closet, pushing back the clothes with a blast of her own magic. "Twilight this isn't funny. Where are you?" She raced around her room, looking in every nook and cranny to no avail. Her heart began to race, and a feeling of dread creeped into her very bones. Her movements became jerky and disjointed as her room was turned upside down in an effort to find Twilight. She bolted down the hallway, pushing open the bathroom door, calling all the while. Her best friend was nowhere to be found. Her calls got louder and more frantic as she ran downstairs and checked the living room, dining room and even the kitchen a second time, just in case. She flipped over cushions and threw open doors. Every cupboard and closet was checked for a lavender filly. A door opened upstairs. Rarity ran up the steps, only to skid to a halt in front of her mother. "Rarity what is going on? You two should be asleep, not playing hide and seek!" Her mother's tone was tired, but firm. Her hair was up in rollers, and it was obvious that she had been fast asleep before hearing her daughter stumbling around downstairs.
"Mom, Twilight is gone! We were teleporting to the kitchen, and I made it but....but..." Her frantic tale turned to sobs as she ran to her mother's side. "She isn't here! Twilight isn't here!" Rarity's mother shushed her daughter as her father entered the hallway, blinking away sleep. A quick retelling of the tale, and all three unicorns were searching the house high and low for Twilight. As her father checked outside, her mother alerted the staff that stayed in the house and Rarity checked under all of the beds. But the purple filly remained missing.
"Twilight, where are you? This isn't funny. We are all worried about you!" Her eyes filled with tears and she shouted "We're supposed to be friends! How could you leave without me!?" She sat just past her closed door, crying her eyes out.
==============
Twilight Velvet sobbed quietly in Twilight's room a few hours later as the sun broke over the horizon. They had managed to send the first wave of reporters away, and were wearily waiting the second set of phone calls and ponies at their door. Night Light hugged his wife gently, whispering "Dear, we will find her. She has to be somewhere safe." He stroked her white and purple mane, trying to still her crying. Shining Armor was gone, out searching as soon as he found out what had happened. Night Light let him go, knowing he was old enough to be out on his own. Plus he knew that even if he had forbidden his son to go out, Shining would have snuck out to search for his little sister anyway. Both parents were exhausted. Night Light had already called into work. The publication company could run without one of their printers for a few days. Twilight Velvet was waiting for daybreak to call out of her job at the cafe.
"But where Night Light? Where?" Twilight Velvet clutched a picture of their missing filly close to her chest, tears burning her eyes. The first search party had already been sent out to sweep Canterlot, and the second group would start a couple hours after sunrise if their daughter still wasn't found. Night Light cast his gaze around the orderly room. Twilight had always been a very neat child. The sight of her toys, and the open closet with clothes for special occasions hurt him. Smarty Pants lay across her pillow to their right. Twilight never went anywhere without her. Seeing the stuffed pony alone seemed to burn Night Light's very soul with sadness.
"I...don't know." Night Light said, lowering his head to his wife's. "I just don't know."
"Chapter Two- From High Above"
The coach’s whistle flashed in the sunlight as he stared intently at the line of foals. They were all flexing, waiting….
The sharp report of the whistle sent the six foals into flight. Almost immediately, two or three gained a wingspan over the others. The track was an easy oval, and all of the ponies remained close to the ground. Along both the inside and outside of the dirt track, pegasi foals jumped up and down on the clouds or hovered above them to better see the race. The stands had a few parents who came to watch the after school practice. Cloudsdale Elementary was known to have the best flying team, even if the meets were more for fun than actual standings. These were the try outs and as the race continued, the spaces between the competitors increased as some began to lag. One blue colt with shocking green hair landed, skidding to a halt and breathing heavily. A pink filly bumped into another, causing them both to tumble out of the sky and land on the track before bouncing into the clouds surrounding it. There was a collective gasp, and then exhale as two filly heads popped up out of the fluffy clouds.
The remaining four pegasi didn’t even look back, and a tan colt with a chocolate colored mane even laughed at the poor souls who had fallen. His laugh was cut short by a flash of color that shot past him, and remained three or four wingspans ahead of him. The tail waving teasingly in front of him was a flashy mixture of every color in the rainbow. The colt growled, and forced himself to go faster.
“You’ll never win Rainbow!” he shouted, thrusting his forehooves out as if to grab her annoying tail. “You’ll flicker out, just like last time! You shouldn’t even own a pair of wings!”
The confidant voice that called out to her opponent seemed to send him into a rage. “Face it Cocoa Bean, I’m gonna win and there’s nothing you can do about it!” Berry colored eyes squinted as Rainbow Dash pushed herself to the limit, rounding the final corner and reaching her top speed. A rainbow streak streamed from behind her. Cocoa Bean was infuriated, and with his last bit of strength, brought himself even with the colorful filly. As they crossed the finish line, everyone’s eyes turned from the skidding competitors to Coach, who was rising from his position on the ground to get a better view of who crossed first. The cheering was swallowed by anticipation, the other racers momentarily forgotten as they too crossed the white tape on the ground.
“The winner is..Cocoa Bean!”
“WHAT!?” Rainbow Dash’s head shot up out of the cloud bank she and Cocoa Bean had crashed into. She stared open mouthed at Coach while Cocoa extracted himself from the clouds to walk over and receive a medal. Her pupils dilated with disbelief. Cocoa Bean flashed Rainbow a cocky grin, saying “I knew you couldn’t do it.”
Anything else he was going to say was drowned out by a feral roar from the cyan filly as she leapt on Cocoa Bean, throwing bits of clouds in all directions. They rolled on the clouds for a moment in ball of fur and feathers, and came to a halt with Rainbow on top of Cocoa, her knees pinning his legs and her wings flared, tense. Her hoof came down just below his eye, and he cried out, flapping his wings helplessly and wiggling to get out of her grasp while other ponies began to shout and run toward the quarreling duo. Small as she was, Rainbow managed to keep the larger Cocoa Bean pinned long enough to hit him again in the chest.
She aimed another blow to his left forehoof before she was shoved off by one of Cocoa Bean’s buddies, a sleet grey colt by the name of Tornado. Cocoa Bean remained on his back, holding his uninjured hoof to his face while a bruise began to spread underneath his tan hide. His eye was swelling shut, and liquid seeped out from underneath the lid. Tornado held Rainbow by the wing while she strained against the hold, shouting “There is no way you beat me! You cheated!” Coach flew between them, giving Rainbow a hard stare down. She immediately stopped fighting, lowering her head and wings. She knew she was in trouble. Again.
“Get Cocoa Bean to the nurse.” Coach commanded Tornado, who released Rainbow and skittered over to his friend who was stumbling to his feet with tears in his eyes. “Rainbow. Take ten. I have races to run and I can’t be here babysitting you.” Rainbow sniffed, angry tears falling onto her blue cheeks. It wasn’t fair! She was supposed to win! When she tried to voice her opinion, her open mouth was met with a hard look and a stern gaze. “I don’t want to hear it Rainbow Dash. Scram. Now!”
Rainbow sat on her favorite cloud bank, punching the fluffy seat with her hooves. Bits of fluff scattered and spun. Stupid Cocoa Bean. Stupid Coach. Why did everyone have to think she was the bad guy? And why did she have to take that stupid test? Everyone knew she was the fastest flier in Cloudsdale Elementary! She growled, kicking her back legs in frustration and rolling around. She was full of angry energy, and no way to release it. Now she was never going to make the team. Stupid Cocoa Bean. Stupid Coach.
“Uhm, Rainbow?” she said, voice every bit as soft as her mane. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I was hoping I could..talk to you. And make you feel better.” She cast her eyes downward, hiding one with pink hair. “But if you don’t want to, I totally understand.” She quickly added, taking a step backwards. “I just don’t like seeing you this way.”
Rainbow rolled off of her cloud to land on the one next to the other filly. “I’m sorry Fluttershy.” She said in a huff, falling backwards onto the cloud and stretching out her back legs. “I don’t mean to scare you. Cocoa Bean just makes me so mad!” She slammed a hoof against the cloud in emphasis, causing Fluttershy to squeak and flinch. Rainbow’s eyes were apologetic when they regarded the fellow Pegasus. “Sorry again. I just….I know I’m the best flier here. I know I’m the fastest. So why did Cocoa Bean beat me?” Her hooves went behind her rainbow colored hair and she stared up at the robin’s egg blue sky above them.
“Maybe you got nervous?” Fluttershy offered, sitting next to the depressed foal. “I know when I have to fly in front of a group, I get pretty scared.”
“No offense Shy, but you get scared all of the time.”
Fluttershy gave Rainbow a serene smile. “That is pretty true I guess. Maybe he knew how to better pace himself so he wouldn’t be so tired at the end of the race. Then he could catch up.”
Rainbow rolled over, cradling her head in the crook of her arm to face her buttery colored friend. “I guess so.” Her bad mood seemed to be dissipating, and Fluttershy was determined to keep her friend from moping any longer. She carefully edged to the side of the cloud and peeked over. “Hey Rainbow? Do you ever wonder what it’s like down there on the ground?”
“What are you, nuts?” Rainbow moved to where Fluttershy lay staring. The earth spread below them like a great green carpet dotted with lint the color of houses, trees and even a stain or two of a lake. Some places were hidden in shadow as clouds passed overhead on a crisp breeze, obscuring the sun for a minute or two to the ponies below. Every once in a while, the wind brought with it the faint peal of laughter, a note or two of music. All in all it was very pretty from high up.
“We can’t go down there.” Rainbow said, picking at a stray clump of cloud that had come loose. “We would get run out of town by those earth ponies.”
“I don’t understand why we can just get along.” Fluttershy said with a hint of sadness. Her gaze carried that same sadness, and even a bit of what looked like longing. “They can’t really be that bad, right?”
“Are you kidding? They chased us out of town when we were here first!” The old history lesson was taught in all Pegasus schools. “And then those unicorns came and started messing with the days and nights, calling our job useless and threatening never to raise the sun again if all of us didn’t pay them.” Rainbow’s berry eyes narrowed. “They sound like jerks.”
“You would know.” Came a sneering voice form overhead. Tornado had found Rainbow Dash’s hideout, and with him were two other colts. One was orange with a white mane, the other a darker gray than Tornado, with black stripes in his scruffy mane and tail.
“Go away.” Rainbow said, getting to her feet. She brushed her short mane away from her eyes. Fluttershy also stood, but took her place behind Rainbow Dash, eyes cast down and mouth glued shut.
“You’re the jerk for beating up Cocoa Bean!” Tornado yelled, taking a step forward. “You belong down there with those jerk earth ponies. In fact...” The orange colt, named Swizzle took the hint and dove towards Rainbow Dash, shoving her with his flank. She stumbled, eventually falling to her knees. The knock from Swizzle caused Rainbow to bump into Fluttershy, who in turn stepped backwards. One squeal was heard, and Fluttershy was gone.
“Fluttershy!”
Rainbow flew off of the cloud, searching for her yellow friend. A hole in another cloud showed that she had fallen straight down and without a backwards glance, Rainbow dove after her. The colts remained atop the first cloud, staring at where the two fillies used to be with fear. If Rainbow was going to be in trouble for hitting Cocoa Bean, they were going to be in BIG trouble for knocking perhaps the worst flier out of Cloudsdale off into the sky.
======================
Fluttershy felt like she had be falling for hours.
She was facing up at the sky, wings tightly plastered against her back. She paused in her screaming to catch her breath, and realized that if she didn’t do something soon, she would hit the ground, which definitely wasn’t as fluffy as a cloud. She shut her eyes and forced herself to roll so that her hooves were now pointing at the rapidly approaching ground. Her hair whipped above her head like an angry snake. She flailed for a moment before forcing her wings to open a little. Once the seal to her side was broken, they were ripped open, and she cried out as the muscles stretched to their very limit. A few feathers shot past her as they were popped from their place on her wings. Painfully she began to slow and through tears, Fluttershy could see that her approach to earth was delayed. She kept her throbbing, trembling wings open, but even with the resistance her descent was still too fast. She saw the trees too late, and cried out again when she hit the first set of branches. The second set knocked her out cold, and she remembered no more about the fall.
When Fluttershy finally cracked her eyes open again, she was covered in branches and leaves. Scratches etched themselves all over her body, and she didn’t find many of them until she tried to move. She lifted her head, only to have absolute pain stab into her brain. She whimpered, and covered her eyes with her hooves. Everything hurt. Even the places where her hair grew from her scalp were aching. Fluttershy lay there for an undetermined amount of time, crying her blue eyes out behind her hooves. How was she going to get home?
A rustle and footsteps woke her from her misery. There was somepony coming! Rainbow’s words echoed in her perked ears. Were they really coming to chase her away?! She squeaked, making herself as small as possible as a colt came into view. He wasn’t as young as Fluttershy, but nor was he a full grown adult. He was somewhere in between, at that awkward stage where legs and necks grow faster than the rest of him. His coat was apple red, and a shock of bright orange mane stuck out at funny angles. When he turned around a tree and saw Fluttershy, he gasped, trotting to where she lay shivering.
“Are you ok?”
His voice was a bit squeaky, but already changing from a foal’s octave to the baritone of an adult. Fluttershy snuck a glance from beneath a hoof, and saw him gazing at her closely. She mumbled something and then went promptly back to shivering.
The colt offered her a hoof, saying “Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you.” He looked around, wondering where she had come from. A falling apple brought his attention to the wreck of branches and the significant hole through them above their heads. He let out a low whistle.
“Did you fall?” he asked, looking at Fluttershy and realizing that she indeed have a pair of wings attached to her shoulder blades. She also looked worse for wear, and just so scared…
Fluttershy’s response was only to squeak and make soft crying sounds. He was going to tell on her! She was going to be run out of town and lost forever! And she would never see her mom and dad again!
The colt smiled, and sat down, willing to wait. Patience was Big Macintosh’s specialty. His Ma said it was one of his better qualitites. He didn’t have to wait too much longer though. Soon Fluttershy ran out of tears and her throat cracked mid sob. She rose to a sitting position, wiping her eyes with a dirty hoof. The look she gave Big Macintosh was one of utter despair. He shook his head and said “I said I ain’t gonna hurt you. My name is Big Macintosh. What’s yours?”
“F-F-Fluttershy.” She practically whispered, hiding beneath her tangled mane. A sniff came from behind the pink curtain.
“Fluttershy did you say? Well that’s a pretty name.” He grinned foolishly, hoping to warm the poor filly up. She seemed right out of her mind with sadness. “Why were you in our apple tree?”
Fluttershy looked up, saw the hole, and burst into apologies. “Oh, I’m s-s-soo sorry about that. I..well, I didn’t m-m-mean to. You see, they pushed me and I fell and, oh dear.” She looked ready to cry again. How was she going to pay to get them a new tree? How much did trees cost? Maybe she could work off the money…
Big Macintosh put a hoof on her shoulder and said “It’s alright. It’s just one tree. We have lots of them.” He indicated the forest of apple trees around them and for the first time, Fluttershy realized that he was right. They were surrounded by apple trees, all laden with ripe fruit ready for picking. “Now you look very scared, and very tired. I got a place that you can stay for now, but it’s a bit dangerous for you to be here, so I can’t tell my mom and dad. You can have the clubhouse though.” Fluttershy looked very confused, so the colt sighed and got to his feet. “Follow me Fluttershy.”
She followed Big Macintosh to a different part of the orchard, limping slightly. After all of that crying and the fall itself, she found that she was absolutely exhausted. Her guide stopped, and she almost bumped into him. In front of them was a large treehouse crudely made of wood. There was a ramp up to the door, and a balcony that wrapped all the way around it. Two windows had shutters with hearts carved into them. A picnic table rested beneath the treehouse in the shade.
“Here.” Big Macintosh said, walking up the ramp. He nosed open the door and let Fluttershy in. “It’s my little sister's but she doesn’t use it anymore. You can stay here until your all better. Then you can go home.” The inside was just as crude as the outside, with a roughly hewn table and chairs. There was a bookshelf covered in dust, and a space for a bedroll. Big Macintosh noticed the lack of bedding and added “I can sneak a sleeping bag from our camping stuff I think. And I can bring you something to eat if you don’t want apples.” He offered another warm smile to the shivering Fluttershy. “Don’t worry, it’s gonna be ok.”
Fluttershy stammered out a ‘thank you’ before Big Macintosh trotted away. She watched him from one of the windows until the trees obscured his path. She sat down on the ground and buried her face in her hooves. Oh what was she going to do?
Chapter Three- Sugar High
The first thing Twilight Sparkle noticed was that it was incredibly dark. Her second thought was that the ground beneath her hooves certainly didn’t feel like tile. It was spongy and springy, not altogether unpleasant. But definitely not what a kitchen floor was supposed to feel like. She took a careful step, sliding her hoof along the ground to make sure she didn’t end up on a cliff somewhere. Her teleportation spell must have backfired, or maybe she miscalculated. Things, probably dirt, rolled and shifted under her careful hoof. There was no sudden drop, so she took another cautious step. Now that she was aware that she was in a different place than before, she could smell open air. Crickets chirped just outside of her vision as if to beckon her forward.
Twilight knew a spell for a light, but as she tried to focus on her magic, her fear rose up and bubbled into her conscious, preventing her magic from happening. What if she miscalculated again? She had a horrible flash of a vision of her bursting into flames before she shook her head and body. At this moment, the clouds moseyed away, letting the half moon shine down upon the unicorn. Shapes began to form before her eyes. Trees and bushes leapt out of the darkness at her and it took a few hurried blinks for her mind to realize that they were not creatures threatening her life. Her heart was pounding. Where had she ended up? And what happened to Rarity?
“R-Rarity?” She called out pitifully, taking one more careful step. “Rarity, are you ok?” Her voice sounded feeble among the commanding presence of the trees. These were different from the trees of Canterlot. Magic was used to aid their growth, creating delicate trunks twisted into fantastic shapes. These trunks were twisted not for beauty, but for necessity. The bark was strong, the trunks thick and proud. Aided by the undergrowth, they seemed to muffle all other sound except for the crickets. Those rang sharp and true, stunned into momentary silence by Twilight’s call. The foal cringed, took a deep breath and called out “Rarity? Anypony?” Her voice squeaked at the end, betraying her fear to anyone listening. There was no response. She lowered herself to the ground and slunk across the mossy surface to a trunk, finding a hollow space underneath. She pawed at it with her hooves until she could fit snugly inside. She crawled into her hole, curling into a ball and wrapping her purple tail around her nose. Loose dirt fell on top of her, and she sneezed to clear her nose of the debris. It wasn’t very cold, but Twilight was shivering. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she cried herself to sleep.
Sunlight across her eyes from breaks in her tree root ceiling woke Twilight after only a few hours. She blinked tiredly and lifted her head, only to smack it against a large root above her. She winced, but held her cry. Dirt cascaded down from the root, and she shook her head to clear it from her eyes. Wiggling free of her makeshift home, Twilight once again looked around at the forest she had landed in. In the wispy mist of morning, it looked peaceful.
The sunlight that slanted through the leaves sparkled with dew, and the undergrowth was wet and fresh smelling. The trunks were plastered with moss, and densely packed together. As lovely as the scenery was, Twilight knew that she was undoubtedly lost. She sighed and began searching for a path, circling around her tree trunk in wider and wider circles. Her stomach growled angrily. She was hungry, dirty and wet, and really wanted to go home! After an hour of walking, she found a dainty path between two bramble patches. It seemed relatively unused but for woodland creatures. As she passed through the brambles unscathed, for once she was glad that she was so little. The path wound around trees, leapt over a happily chuckling brook and passed under multiple mossy logs before joining a more substantial path. Twilight cheered, jumping into the air before practically galloping down the path. There had to be something ahead!
The dirt changed quickly into rock, and Twilight admired the small sign of civilization beneath her feet. Ahead she could see rooftops, some with smoke rising from chimneys to mix with, and eventually replace, the mist that still clung to some places. She ran to the town, pausing at a bridge over a larger stream that led straight into the main square. Now that much of the mist had burned off, the town was alive with ponies. They wandered from house to house, pausing to hold a minute or two of conversation before continuing on their way. Stalls were lined up next to one another, each with a sign depicting their wares and a pony behind the counter. Twilight was so happy she felt her heart might burst. Real ponies! She cheered and galloped to the main square, choosing a mare with an orange mane striped with peach. She was buying flowers from a stall run by a dusky rose colored mare when Twilight carefully sidled up to her, saying “Um, excuse me. I’m lost, can you help me?” She put on her best oh-so-sad face and as the mare turned to look down at her, she saw the pity cross her face immediately. Twilight gave a mental cheer, but kept her mouth firmly placed in sadness.
“Oh you poor dear!” she said, turning around to face the rumpled and dirty filly. “Where are you from? I bet I can tell you how to get there.”
“Well I’m from Canterlot and….”
The mare’s green eyes fastened on the almost unnoticeable horn that was peeking out of Twilight's tangled mane. Her eyes widened. Twilight looked confused. The mare backed away, narrowing her eyes back to suspicion. Twilight took a step toward the mare, while the shopkeeper quietly gathered her bits into saddlebags and placed a ‘Closed’ sign over her flowers and scampering away.
“This is a trick isn’t it?”
“No!” Twilight insisted, taking another step towards the mare. “I really do need help!”
“You’re here to make sure we are doing as you 'command' us. Look, our prices are still fair. We aren't cheating you! And we can't give you the payment until the final harvest comes in, which won't be for two more weeks. But we will! Now go home and tell that snooty Princess or King or whoever of yours that it will get there!”
Ponies were staring to stare. Twilight sat down on the ground, dejected tears again filling her eyes. “But..but…” Her protest was drowned out by a booming voice behind her.
“Junebug! I see you’ve found yourself a unicorn!”
The yellow-brown stallion trotted forward while a crowd began to gather. They were whispering, glaring in the filly’s direction. The stallion’s proclamation drew more shop goer’s attention, until it seemed half of the town had gathered to gawk at the purple filly with a tiny little horn sticking out from between her ears.
“You see her?” “What is she doing here?” “The unicorns are sending children to spy? How awful!”
Twilight couldn’t believe her ears. They thought she was a spy? But for whom? She had a flashback to class, was it really only yesterday? Miss Lemon Hearts had said that the earth ponies didn’t trust unicorns. But she was just a filly! What harm could she bring?
Junebug nodded, backing away further. “I didn’t do anything wrong Steamer, she came to me. Wanted directions home.” Her voice seemed to add ‘a likely story’ to the end of her sentence.
Steamer nodded and put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, spinning her around on the spot. His orange eyes were appraising, focusing for a moment of two longer on her horn with a mixture of disdain and fear.
“Now look here missy.” He said, lowering his eye to her level and capturing her gaze. “We don’t like being spied on, even by little ponies like yourself. So why don’t you just go back home to your little mountain side and leave us earth ponies alone?” He voice was cheerful, but his smile was sinister. Twilight shivered. She felt the anger radiating from the crowd. A couple of foals that had come to see what was happening backed away, hiding behind their mothers' legs and staring open mouthed. They wanted her to protest, demand that they treat her right. They would have no problem chasing her from town. The purple foal lowered her ears and eyes, saying “Yes sir.”
“Good. Now go on!” he released her shoulder, waving for the crowd to make a path. She slowly left through the hole in the crowd, stares burning into her very soul. Once clear of the crowd, someone shouted “Pick up the pace!” A few ponies trotted towards her, eyes full of malice. Twilight looked back and gasped, galloping headlong across the bridge while the same ponies trotted behind her, shouting jeers and insults.
At the outskirts of town, Twilight slowed, panting heavily. Her pants turned to sobs and she sat alongside the road crying. How could grown up ponies be so mean to a filly!? She felt alone and scared. And even hungrier than before. Between sobs, she heard hoofsteps. Holding her breath to keep her crying in check, Twilight dove for a couple bushes just off of the road. She imagined an angry mob following her hoofprints out of town, searching for the filly to make sure she had run away far enough. So it was to Twilight’s surprise that another filly walked down the road. Walked wasn’t the right word she mentally amended. This filly was bouncing.
She hopped down the path, humming a merry tune. Her coat was a cheery pink, and her mane was a deeper shade and impossibly curly. It stuck out at all angles, giving the plump filly a look of wildness. Her tune changed, and she bounced past Twilight and off down the path. Twilight released her breath, coming out from her hiding place.
“HI!”
Twilight shouted, leaping a foot into the air. She twisted on the spot, gazing at the same pink filly she had just seen bounce down the road. “But..but how…?” she gasped, feeling her heart beating out of her chest.
“My name’s Pinkie Pie!” the pink foal interrupted. “Who are you? I don’t think I know you and that is a super big problem because I like to know everyone! How come you were hiding in that bush? OH are you playing Hide and Seek? Because I am a master of hide and seek! I know all of the super secret places that you can hide if you need help!” Her blue eyes were practically pushed shut by the enormous grin aimed at the very confused looking unicorn.
Twilight stared at Pinkie Pie with her mouth open, expression blank. Her brain was still trying to process what the hyper foal had said a moment earlier before Pinkie opened her mouth again, placing a hoof on the unicorn’s horn.
“Ooooo are you a unicorn? No wonder the town is in such an uproar. You really shouldn’t be here. Last time there was a unicorn they” Twilight placed a hoof over Pinkie’s mouth, rubbing her temple. She took advantage of the silence to collect her thoughts, and when she spoke it was slowly, as if this poor creature couldn’t understand.
“Yes, I am a unicorn. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I accidentally teleported from Canterlot here, and I’m trying to get home. I just need to find a way up the mountain.”
There were muffled words behind her hoof. Twilight sighed and released Pinkie’s mouth, unleashing a torrent of thoughts from a high squeaky voice filled with excitement.
“I knew you were a unicorn! And you need a way up the mountain? Well that’s silly why don’t you teleport back? Of course if you could you would have. How silly of me!” Pinkie Pie practically vibrated with excitement. “I know! You can stay at my house until you find a way home!” She grabbed ahold of Twilight’s hoof, dragging her along the road. Twilight fought the grip, protesting the entire way to Pinkie’s house.
It turned out to be a rock farm outside of the town which Twilight later learned was called Ponyville. The house was three stories tall, and looked worse for wear. “A rock farm?”
“What?”
“I’ve never had a sleepover before! Unless you count when my sister Inky had a nightmare and came in my room because she was scared and didn't want to sleep alone. ”
“Is that what you think this is?”
“Well, you’re going to sleep here right? So that would make it a sleepover by definition.”
Twilight considered this, trying to find another option, then nodded in defeat.
“Alright Pinkie, this is a sleepover. Now where exactly am I sleeping?”
Pinkie wiggled over to a door, opening it to reveal a closet. Twilight's expression was unreadable.
“You’re kidding right?”
“Normally I kid a lot, but this time nopers dopers. You’re a unicorn. My family won’t like that you are here. So you have to hide until they are gone.”
Twilight looked at her doubtfully. “But how will I eat?”
Pinkie laughed and rose, walking to the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring you some tasty treats! But you gotta get in there. My folks are home and they don’t like to knock.” Pinkie started to leave the room, and Twilight caught a glimpse of her cutie mark. Three balloons created a triangle on her flank, all cheery colors.
When Pinkie Pie returned, she found Twilight in the closet fast asleep even though it was barely dinner time. She smiled warmly, gently nosing a plate of fruit and a small bowl of hay just beyond the door. She nudged it almost shut, and whispered “Goodnight Twilight Sparkle. I can’t wait for us to be best friends!” before hopping out of the room to help her family move the rocks from the north field to the west.
Chapter Four- Barrel of Apples
Big Macintosh was true to his word. A couple hours later he returned to the clubhouse, a bundle rolled up and slung across his back and a small sack in his mouth. He pushed open the door and chuckled when Fluttershy practically jumped out of her skin, twisting from her examination of a few small trinkets left on the raggedy bookshelf. He crossed the wood floor, kicking the door shut and bouncing his back legs to knock the bundle off his back. It dropped and unrolled, and it turned out to be a puffy sleeping bag. A small pillow was in the center of the sleeping bag. It was green with an apple embroidered on it.
Fluttershy bent to examine it, placing a hoof on the fabric to test how plush it was. She climbed inside, feeling the fabric brush against the small cuts she had from falling through the tree. This elicited shivers of pain that she didn't care for at all. Spinning around at the bottom of the sleeping bag, she poked her head out of the opening, her hair sticking up in different places due to static electricity. Big Macintosh watched her, and said “Since its autumn, it shouldn’t be too cold yet. But if you don’t like it I can find something else.” His words were kind, but Fluttershy knew he doubted that he could sneak anything else away.
“Thank you.” She said, small smile brightening up her face. “I…you don’t have to help me.”
“Of course I do!” the colt replied, waving a hoof. “You’re a lady. My Pa taught me that I’m supposed to take care of ladies.” Fluttershy blinked and blushed, stammering something about ‘not being a lady’. This roused another bout of laughter from Big Macintosh, and he gently pushed the second bundle toward the Pegasus. The flaps came undone, and revealed an assortment of foods, including bread and fruits.
Fluttershy lifted a grape, looking it over before popping into her mouth. She paused, then hummed as the sweet fruit burst in her mouth. This colt was so nice to her, even if she was almost a perfect stranger. Maybe earth ponies weren't so bad after all! Fluttershy thought about the conversation she would have with Rainbow Dash about her adventure, but remembering her friend made her sad, so she brushed that idea away for now.
The two foals chatted lightly while Fluttershy enjoyed her lunch. At one point, Big Macintosh left the clubhouse to gather a couple apples for his own lunch. He returned with a saddlebag full, and took his place by the door, talking in between bites. Big Macintosh learned the Fluttershy live in Cloudsdale, and her father used to be a Wonderbolt, whatever that was. Fluttershy learned that Big Macintosh was the older of two siblings, though his mother was expecting another on in a few months. They grew apples for a living, and he was responsible for all of the animals on the farm other than the cows. Those were his Pa’s to take care of.
FLuttershy picked up another grape when voices froze her mid-bite. Big Macintosh’s head swiveled, and he whispered “Uh oh.” His orange mane seemed to lose its wildness and droop; he shuffled to the window and peeked outside before scooting backwards. "They're coming up here!"
The voices were high in pitch, but loud in volume. The owners were two fillies, one pastel yellow with a candy pink mane, the other pumpkin orange with blonde hairs sprouting from beneath a weathered cowboy hat that seemed to be just a little too big for her head. On one flank there was an apple with a bite taken out of it; the other sported three red apples in a triangle formation. The ramp groaned slightly under their combined weight, and the happy chatter continued until the door was once again pushed open with a creak. The blonde haired foal stopped mid sentence, mouth hanging open with unspoken words still inside. The other filly froze as well, staring at Big Macintosh as if he had grown a second head.
“Mac, what the hay is goin’ on here!?”
Big Macintosh stared at the fillies as if he had forgotten to speak. Fluttershy felt two foreign pairs of eyes on her, and she slowly lowered the grape, putting it back on the fabric next to the other food before sinking into the fabric of the sleeping bag and covering her eyes with her hair. The orange foal crossed to Big Macintosh, getting millimeters from his face. She was so close, her hat rose off her head and against Big Macintosh’s. Her southern drawl was dripping with rage.
“I said, what. Is. Going. On. Here?”
Big Macintosh was silent, alternating between staring into his sister's eyes and looking away from her angry gaze.
"Well?"
“Ain’t nothin’ AJ.” He said, finding his voice and pushing against the smaller foal’s head. “And don’t be treating me like a colt. I’m your older brother.”
“Well shouldn’t you be settin’ and example for me?” She said, pushing against him one more time before backing off. She leaned sideways and stared at Fluttershy, who felt a blush creeping over her entire body. The blush rebounded off of the fabric of the sleeping bag, making the butter colored pegasus uncomfortably hot. But she didn't dare wriggle out of the sleeping bag. If Big Macintosh was in trouble just for her being here, imagine what they would do if they found out she had wings!
“This is mah clubhouse, an’ me an’ Apple Bumpkin come here to play games an’ we find you up here with some filly doin’ who knows what!” She stared at Fluttershy accusingly, narrowing her eyes and taking a few steps toward the intruder. Fluttershy squeaked and covered her eyes with her hooves over her hair. She felt as if she had stepped onto hallowed ground and gotten caught. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out and it closed just as quickly, biting her lip. Her ears lowered, and she tried to stammer out an apology.
"You never come up here anymore!" Big Mac protested, trying to draw the angry filly's attention away from the cringing Fluttershy.
Her gaze slid back over to her younger brother, and she hissed "So just because I stop comin' here for a few days you think you can bring some....filly out here?"
“AppleJack that’s enough. You’re scaring her.”
Big Macintosh stepped forward and grabbed ahold of AppleJack’s tail, pulling her backwards and away from Fluttershy, who gave a sigh of relief. Applejack resisted, dragging her hooves while he pulled her away. She snorted and straightened, pulling her tail free and flicking Macintosh in the face with the gathered end. Her freckled face was angry, but Apple Bumpkin broke her frozen pose to sneak forward and place a hoof on her shoulder. Her voice also carried a southern accent, but it was lilting and light.
“He’s right AJ, look at her. She’s so scared of you, there’s no way Big Mac could touch her.” Applejack froze, and then shivered as if to rid herself of a fly. Her gaze went from Apple Bumpkin to Big Mac, and finally back to Fluttershy, who cowered. Apple Bumpkin looked from Applejack to Fluttershy, and even if her tone was light and innocent, her gaze was anything but. She released Applejack and stood appraising the other foal.
The southern pony sighed, and said in a much gentler tone “Ahm mighty sorry sugarcube. I guess I got a might carried away. But in all seriousness, what’re you doin’ in our clubhouse? And just who are you?”
Fluttershy came out from her hiding place in her pink mane and whispered “I’m…F-Fluttershy.” She slowly rose to her feet, letting the sleeping bag fall away from her and exposing her wings. Apple Bumpkin gasped and backed away, fear replacing suspicion. Applejack’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth with a hoof. “Why, you’ve got wings!”
“I’m a..pegasus.” Fluttershy said, tracing an invisible circle into the wooden floor. “I…fell from Cloudsdale, but I can’t really get home. You see, I’m not the best flier.” Big Mac made a move to comfort her, but an inquisitive look from his younger sister abruptly stopped his attempt. This Pegasus conflicted with what she had been taught. Teachers told her about how the Pegasus were big bullies who threatened to block out the sun until the earth ponies paid them tribute. They fought with the unicorns and destroyed half of their city because they weren’t getting as much as the magical ponies. Ma and Papa said that if they ever saw a Pegasus or unicorn hanging around the farm, they should run and tell them right away.
Run and tell them…
“Bumpkin!” Applejack whirled to see the candy haired foal bolting for the door. Big Mac lunged, grabbing his cousin by the back legs and sending her crashing to the ground. She wailed, kicking her hooves to try and force him to let go. Fluttershy squeaked and jumped backwards, almost out the window behind her. Applejack leapt over Bumpkin's wriggling body and blocked the doorway, staring down and Apple Bumpkin. “You were goin’ to tell our folks, weren’t you?”
“That’s what we’re supposed to do!” She whined, looking up at her cousin with baleful eyes. “She’s lyin’! I bet she’s here to make sure we have enough apples to pay them!” Big Mac and Fluttershy both shouted “No!”. Applejack stamped her hoof, silencing Bumpkin’s accusations and the two protestors.
“Now this here filly doesn’t look like the type to go runnin’ of an’ stealin’ our apples. She looks genuinely scared an’ I’m willin’ to overlook the…additions she has until she proves that she is anything but honest.” Her face was level with Bumpkin, who avoided catching her gaze. Big Mac released their cousin while Fluttershy looked on in awe.
“If you tell a soul that..Fluttershy was it? Right. If you tell a soul that Fluttershy is here, I’m gonna make sure your parents know jus’ what happened to the grain silo an’ why they lost a whole season’s worth of grain because of you. You got that?” Bumpkin didn’t reply, only sniffed. Applejack attempted to look her in the eyes, and then finally gave up, letting the filly go. She sat still for a moment, sniffing. Fluttershy thought she might kick Applejack when the pale foal shouted “Your mean Applejack!” and ran from the clubhouse sobbing. She wasn’t going to tell. Not yet. Let Applejack and her awful big brother make friends with the refugee and then, oh boy was she gonna tell on them! As Apple Bumpkin ran away, Applejack sighed and shook her head.
“You don’t think she’ll tell do you?”
“Naw, she won’t say a word. If her parents knew about how she left the door to the grain silo open an’ let a whole field of mice in to ruin their harvest, they’d tan her hide.” The cowpony sat down, rubbing her temple beneath her hat. All this excitement had given her a bit of a headache.
“AJ, I can explain..”
“No Big Mac, I want Fluttershy to explain just how she got here. An’ no lies. I can tell.” She lay on the floor and stared up at Fluttershy, who cleared her throat experimentally. She relayed the entire tale, from Rainbow Dash’s race to her fall and the moment when Big Macintosh had found her. Her voice started nearly inaudible, but grew in power as she story went on. All of this telling took some time, and the moon was out by the time the story was over. Finishing the story was a yawn, Fluttershy flexed her stiff wings, earning a strange look from Applejack. She paused mid stretch, then asked “Why don’t earth ponies like pegasi? How come I have to hide in here?”
Applejack looked uneasy, so Big Macintosh offered an answer. “You see, the pegasi haven’t always been the nicest of ponies towards us earth ponies. We don’t have magical powers, and we can’t fly. All we can do is good, honest work. But the pegasi don’t really care about that. They say that if we don’t pay them some of our harvest every year, they will cover up the sun and then our crops won’t grow.”
“We’re responsible for a lot of ponies out here.” Applejack chimed in, looking at her brother seriously, but talking to Fluttershy. “Our crops feed almost all of Ponyville, and some are even sent to other towns. Our apples are famous.” She grinned proudly, a grin that turned into a melancholy visage. “Without the sun, our apples wouldn’t grow, and then we couldn’t sell them. Our farm would go under. We would have to move.”
The tension in the room was rising as all three foals went to their private stash of misery. Fluttershy couldn’t imagine what it must be like, worrying about losing the one place you love. Applejack didn’t want to think about how hard it must be for Fluttershy. She was lost, and had no way of getting home. Big Macintosh was lost in his thoughts about the one time he said he would run away. It hadn’t been more than two hours before he came crying back to Sweet Apple Acres.
The mood turned sour, and finally Applejack shivered, saying “Well anyway, you don’t seem like a terrible pony, so I guess you can stay in mah clubhouse. But you can’t be seen by anypony else. I can only threaten so many ponies.” Her smile was warm beneath her freckles, even welcoming. Fluttershy’s eyes filled with happy tears and she said “Oh thank you Applejack. I promise I won’t let anypony else see me. I’ll be as quiet as a cloud.”
“Right.” Applejack said, chuckling at the odd expression. She rose to her hooves and turned to Big Mac. “We best be gettin’ back or Granny Smith will have our flanks.” The siblings went out the door, and as Applejack walked down the ramp, Big Mac poked his head in one last time. Fluttershy was settling into her sleeping bag before she looked up at a yellow-green glow. Big Mac was scooting a medium sized mason jar into the room that glowed softly with tiny lights. Fluttershy stared at the glowing glass, and realized that the jar was filled with fireflies. She had only seen fireflies from far away before. He nudged it one more time, just to make sure it was as close as possible to Fluttershy. His smile was illuminated by the fireflies, and his eyes were warm.
“I kinda figured you’d be scared of the dark. These guys should keep it lit up though.” Her gratitude was overwhelming. How did he know? “Thank you Big Macintosh. For everything.” She smiled, drawing the jar a little closer to herself.
“It’s Big Mac.” He said, shutting the door behind him. She could hear him walking down the ramp, and felt the clubhouse wobble a bit when he jumped off. She traced the path of the fireflies in her nightlight until she became drowsy, and drifted off to sleep. Big Mac and Applejack went to their respective beds after being berated by their grandmother, each thinking about the hidden pony out in the orchard. Big Mac wondered if she would be ok out there all alone. Applejack wondered if she would be ok if the other ponies found her.
Three Worlds - Chapter Five
Oh her parents were going to be very upset when she got home.
Rarity forced herself to ignore the small part of her brain that said ‘if I get home’, and instead concentrated on not getting ill. The crate she happened to be hiding in was bouncing uncomfortably, jarring the small unicorn filly and making her stomach threaten to ruin the clothes she was packed with. Which would be an absolute disaster! Not to mention making her escape/prison extremely smelly. She swallowed loudly, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, just like her mother taught her to do when she felt nervous or sick. Her mother…
Her mother would know that she had left by now. She probably walked into Rarity’s room, snuck quietly over to the bed where she believed her only daughter was fast asleep, and gently shook at the lump under the blankets, saying “Rarity dear, it’s time to wake up.” Upon no response, she would draw back to covers and see that there was no filly to be seen, only a lumpy pillow. Rarity flinched as the box bounced again. She could practically see her mother’s surprise when she realized that her daughter was gone. Well, there was nothing she or anypony else could do about it. Rarity had to find Twilight.
After Twilight’s disappearing act two weeks past, Rarity was constantly under fire from classmates, parents and police ponies alike. They all wanted to know how she disappeared, where Rarity thought Twilight had gone, how she was holding up under all of the pressure from everypony and her own emotions. A tear traced a wet line down her pale cheek. Twilight was her best friend in the whole wide world! She was one of the only ponies that didn’t think she was a stuck up snob. Her loneliness was shattered in magic kindergarten when a bookworm asked to join her table. And now that kind little filly was missing. It had torn her apart when her parents told her that she couldn’t go with the search parties. Her heart broke so audibly that she didn’t hear her father say “You’re much too young to follow them. You could get lost too!” Instead she ran to her room sobbing, throwing herself dramatically across her plush bedspread and kicking her back hooves in a very unladylike manner.
It was in that long night of crying that she decided that she was going to run away and find Twilight Sparkle. So she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, casting the teleportation spell. She ended up right outside of her own gate in a flash of purple and white. She galloped around Canterlot, hiding in bushes and trying to find a way out of town that wasn’t overseen by guards.
The densely packed houses of Rarity's street were not uncommon. Canterlot was a large city but because virtually the entire population lived behind the walls, expansive yards were long ago sacrificed for more living space. Most of the houses were pressed so close together that windows along the sides became bothersome. So the windows relocated to the front and back of the houses. Each house had a fence and a gate in front of it, and the nightly accumulation of dew made the small flower gardens sparkle in the street lamp light.
There were still ponies on the roads. Most were dressed in some sort of finery and chatting about things like opera, plays and whose party they were going to attend. Rarity gazed at some of the dresses in awe, slowing her trot to a complete stop. If only she had a place of her own to make such pretty dresses! She would make dresses that all the ladies of Canterlot would wear to all of the finest occasions. Blue with silver trim…red and white with stripes…She suddenly remembered her mission and shook herself from the cultured crowds. While these unicorns were all wonderful she had to find Twilight!
After three hours of practicing her hide and go seek skills, she noticed a large number of boxes being loaded onto a cart that was hooked to a quartet of unicorn stallions. They waited impatiently, kicking out a front hoof every now and again while boxes were being loaded by other ponies and complaining to one another. Magical auras covered the boxes and even the cart. Rarity made her way to the box pile, poking around until she found one with a lid that wasn’t securely fastened. She wiggled her way inside, catching her tail in the lid as it closed. She bit her lip, trying not to yell. Her tail was just barely inside the box when it was magically lifted and placed on the cart by one of the stallions, bumping her uncomfortably against the wooden sides. Eventually the stallions started to pull the cart and Rarity was alternately lulled into sleep and jarred awake for the rest of the night.
When the bouncing finally stopped, the stallions had picked their way down from their mountain home to the outskirts of Ponyville. Rarity blinked, imagining that she could see sunlight through the fine slits in between the wood boards. She pressed her tiny nose against the wood, narrowing her purple eyes to confirm that her brain wasn’t playing tricks on her. Her entire face hit the wood and she squeaked as the box she was in was lifted and placed roughly on the ground. She could hear voices, and none of them sounded happy.
“You’re late.” An annoyed mare said somewhere to the filly’s left.
“Have you tried to climb the mountain since you earth ponies attacked us? It’s hard to do in the day, let alone in the middle of the night. If you weren’t so eager to get this stuff up in your shop, we could have made the trip on a normal schedule.” The stallion’s voice was equally as venomous. “Here’s your boxes, now where’s the payment?”
There was a clinking of bits and she could hear a bag being tossed from one side of her head to another.
“Here. If you unicorns didn’t monopolize the fabric production, we wouldn’t have to buy from you. What you charge is outrageous!”
Someone snorted. “Maybe you should learn for yourselves how to make decent fabric.”
No more angry words were exchanged. Instead the boxes were once again roughly picked up and Rarity gagged as she was jostled and rocked into nausea. She wasn’t sure how long she was tortured with being bounced around. When she finally reached solid earth again, her legs were splayed out, touching both walls of the box while her head was lowered, a cold sweat breaking out along her brow. She didn’t notice that the boxes were being forced open, and when her box’s lid was lifted she surged out of it, taking a grateful breath of fresh air.
A scream interrupted her joy of being free of the tiny space. The mare she had heard speaking earlier was a few feet away, staring at her as if Rarity had three heads. Rarity stared back, suddenly fearful of the scared mare. The mare screamed again, drawing a few looks from nearby stores. Rarity leapt from the box, twisting on the spot for an escape route. She was in front of a store in the middle of a small town. Ponies were everywhere, eating at restaurants, placing goods in their saddle bags and generally enjoying the sunshine. All in all the town gave her a first impression of being nice, but that particular idea was being drowned out by the thought of the screaming mare behind her. She wasn’t some cockroach to be shouted at!
There were more screams and shouting as Rarity took off in a random direction. Ponies moved out of her way as if she had a contagious disease. Others followed her, anger flaring in their eyes. Shouts of “A spy! They sent another spy!” rang out across the town square, and bounced off the walls to echo endlessly in Rarity’s ears. She ended up running between two houses, losing part of the mob and tripping over a carelessly thrown broken basket. She cried out as she tumbled over and over. Rarity wanted to just lay there, but the jeers from a crowd looking for her roused her from studying the spots in her eyes. She kicked the basket away, and ran again, her back leg aching from being tripped. Soon the group of angry earth ponies found her, and renewed their chase.
Eventually her breath started to fail her, and her head lowered as she ran. The purple haired filly didn’t see a cyan colored filly sitting in the road and summarily crashed into them, rolling over the top of the foal in a strange somersault and landing on the ground in a belly slide. She groaned, pulling herself upward and placing one hoof to her head and the other to her stomach. Her lovely white coat was dirty and tangled, and she mentally wept for her terrible appearance. The other foal was already on her feet, and looked positively livid under the new layer of dirt that had accumulated.
“Watch where you’re going!” she said, stomping a hoof and opening her wings threateningly.
Rarity turned and eyed the cyan filly with a critical eye. Her mane was an eye blinding rainbow of colors that matched the lightning bolt on her flank. While pretty, Rarity couldn't imagine having such a shocking mane style. The filly's berry eyes were narrowed, and slightly scary. Rarity opened her mouth to say something, but her voice wouldn't come. The filly had wings!
"Well?"
“I’m....terribly sorry. I was running and I couldn’t see in front of me..”
“Well that’s why you run with your head up.” She said, raising her chin condescendingly. She spied the horn among the tangled purple mane and back away, suspicion evident.
“What are you doing here unicorn? Why aren’t you out having a tea party with your Canterlot buddies? I'm sure they are missing a fabulous pony like yourself.” If she had fingers to make air quotes, she would have. But the mocking tone was enough to annoy her target into responding.
Rarity took the use of her species as an insult and scoffed, lifting her own nose to the sky.
“Well Pegasus, if you must know I’m looking for my friend." She said, using the same regal tone she had used on the colt back in the classroom. "Not that it’s any of your business what I do. As a matter of fact, I take offense to what you said. I am a lady and can go wherever I want whenever I please. And my name is Rarity , not unicorn.”
She walked past the cyan filly, flicking her tail into the other’s nose. This did not go well, and Rarity was tackled to the ground by the Pegasus a moment later. She screamed a very girlish scream, rolling onto her back and swinging her hooves wildly around the face of her attacker. She soon found herself pinned, and berry eyes inches from her own. She could practically feel the fury of the pegasus beating down on her.
“Don’t. Ever. Touch me. Again.” The threat was frightening, and Rarity locked eyes for a moment before looking away, frowning deeply. “And my name is Rainbow Dash , not Pegasus.” She added, mimicking Rarity’s snooty tone. She got off or Rarity, letting the unicorn back to a sitting position. Rainbow Dash placed herself a few feet away, eyeing the other filly in case she tried to use magic on her.
Rarity picked herself up and brushed herself off, hiding the tears that threatened at the corners of her eyes by checking to make sure her cutie mark was spotless. “You touched me just now. I don’t want you to beat me up because you can’t follow your own rules.”After she was sure the tears wouldn’t fall, she turned to Rainbow Dash and said “So if I’m not supposed to be here, then what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out gathering lightning bolts to shoot at Canterlot when we don’t pay you? Or mustering up a thunderstorm to ruin our Grand Garden Party like last year?”
She could almost see Rainbow’s hackles rise. “I’ve never ever shot a lightning bolt at anyone! And neither has anyone else I know! The Weather Foreman warned you there was supposed to be a thunderstorm that day, but you ponies didn't listen!" Her voice again took on the mocking tone. "Oh no, those barbarians simply won't ruin our party with a little rain!" There was a dangerous tone to her voice when she returned to it from mocking Rarity. "What about you? Are you out here getting ingredients for some magic brew that you're gonna poison us with?”
Rarity was insulted. She put a hoof to her heart, saying “Well I never! I’ve never hurt someone with magic! How dare you assume things about me!” She turned her face away dramatically. This Rainbow Dash was so callous!
“Well I have always been told that unicorns can’t be trusted. They are the reason that the earth ponies don’t like us and that has to be true because as soon as anypony in town saw me, they were throwing things at me to try and knock me out of the sky!”
“That’s nothing! I didn’t even set one hoof into town before they chased me out like I was a criminal!” Rarity’s voice took on a high pitched whine that she instituted whenever things weren’t going her way.
Rainbow Dash stamped a hoof, frustrated. “All I wanted to do was find Fluttershy.” Her voice trailed off into worry, and Rarity stared at the blue filly with a faint sense of pity. Quite suddenly she and Rainbow Dash had a common thread explaining their existence in Ponyville. A common thread that was laced with sadness and longing.
“You’re looking for someone? I’m looking for someone!”
Rainbow Dash locked eyes with the white filly, saying “Seriously? Who did you lose?”
“My friend. Another unicorn. Her name is Twilight Sparkle. We were playing and…she did her magic wrong and disappeared.” Rarity’s eyes watered again, and she looked down. "I hope that she didn't come here though. No wonder we are taught that earth ponies are ruffians. If that is how they treat guests, I would almost rather be their enemy."
Rainbow Dash looked away, uncomfortable with the other foal’s sadness. It reminded her of her loss as well. “Well, I have to find my friend Fluttershy. She fell from Cloudsdale, and I was sure she would have landed somewhere around here.” She sighed, and gave Rarity a smile. “Why don’t we look together? Four eyes are better than two.”
Rarity sniffed, and smiled back at the Pegasus filly. “Are you sure you trust me? I might turn you into a flying potion or something.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled, and said “Only as long as you trust me not to attack you with a tornado or something.” The foals shared a laugh, and then assessed their location. They were still in the middle of the road, a dangerous place for a unicorn and a Pegasus on the ground.
“Why don’t we get out of here? Find something to eat. I’m starving.” Rainbow’s stomach growled in agreement, eliciting another round of giggles from the twosome.
“That sounds like a wonderful plan.” Rarity said, hopping past a bush alongside the road. The field before them didn’t look promising for food, but the haystacks would provide hiding places in case the angry mob came back for them. The two foals walked into the stubby remains of the hay field, both feeling a little apprehensive of their present company, but comforted to have another body nearby that, for the moment, wasn’t hostile.
"Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah?"
"How does one simply fall from Cloudsdale?"
Three Worlds - Chapter Six
"Ponies all over Ponyville have been telling tales of a unicorn foal being spotted in the vicinity of the town square. Upon closer investigation, it seems that not one but two different foals are being described."
The television screen changes from a brown stallion with an expertly styled white mane to two blurry images side by side.
"These are two images that our photographer was able to capture. It seems that the two unicorns are young in age. One is purple, the other is white with a purple mane. It is unclear whether or not these foals were sent as spies, or are acting separate from the government."
The images zoomed in slightly, blurred pixels of cuties marks were seen, but the exact design of them was too distorted to make out. The faces were also too far blurred to make out properly. The second image of the foal disappeared and the purple foal's picture remained on screen.
"This foal was seen about a week ago in the Town Square. She is described as 'quiet, and very innocent looking' by locals. She was last seen asking for directions back to Canterlot because she 'got lost and needed a way home'. The ponies present refused to legitimize this claim, and chased her out of town. The unicorn was chased over Spring Bridge and hasn't been seen since."
The image disappeared to show JuneBug, who looked equal parts distraught and angry.
"She had the nerve to come talk to me, as if I'd give up any information to her!" The ponies in the background nodded in agreement, and one waved at the camera. "I hope she is found and kicked right back to Canterlot before any real damage is done!"
The screen scrolled back to the second image. The white foal was leaping out of a brown smudge that looked like a box.
"The second foal arrived later in a crate of clothing arriving by a cart pulled by two unicorns. After exchanging the money, Brass Buttons opened her crates to find a filly within. After notifying the police, the filly was seen running through town and then over Spring Bridge as well. It is unclear what the unicorn was doing in the crate in the first place. The general consensus among locals is that she was sent as an information gatherer.
"She was probably trying to figure out the prices we sell the clothes at. If they are too high, the unicorns would charge us even more for them!" Brass Buttons was furious. She was surrounded by the clothing in her store. She picked up a sleeve and brandished it at the camera. "Do you see this? Shoddy work, and they expect me to pay top dollar!"
"Unable to locate to two foals, the police have called off their search. Citizens are encouraged to report any information they have to the police. In other news, an unusually high number of pegasi have been seeing flying over Ponyville. They have been slowly driven back, but it is unclear as to why they are near....."
======
"The whereabouts of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are still unknown. The two fillies were last seen two weeks ago at the Cloudsdale Flight Camp, where it is reported that Fluttershy fell from her cloud and was chased by Rainbow Dash into the Everfree Forest. Neither of the fillies have been seen since. Patrols have been sent out every day since the disappearance that have slowly covered the area of Ponyville, the Everfree Forest and Canterlot. The patrols have been hindered by the locals of Ponyville. Attacks on landed guards have driven them away from the main town proper. Commander Hurricane held a press conference earlier today to address the concerns of Cloudsdale."
The image changes to that of a cloud podium. Pegasi dressed in silver armor lined the back wall, and Commander Hurricane had his hooves on the podium itself. His armor was gold, and an image of his cutie mark was pressed into the chest plate. The tornado was echoed on the shoulder guards of his armor. His steel grey eyes were fierce, and he stamped a hoof onto the podium, puffs of cloud eddying off of it. The flashes of cameras glinted off of his armor.
"It has come to my attention that our guards are unable to search the location known as Ponyville for the missing Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Attempts to contact the earth ponies have failed. This behavior has officially be classified as suspicious, and I am lead to believe that our missing foals are located inside Ponyville. This would change a simple missing foal alert to that of a kidnapping. Unless the Earth Ponies allow us to search the town for our missing young kin, we will be forced to take offensive action to gain access to the town proper."
Shouting and waving of hooves accompany this speech, and Commander Hurricane calls on sompony before the image switches back to the two reporters in the studio. The mare is shaking her red head saying "It is a shame that this type of action is being considered. Cloudsdale residents are warned that, in the event of offensive action, a draft will be instituted. Any colt over the age of majority will be called in for tactics training. We spoke to the mother of one of the fillies today, and she had this to say."
Screen change. A deep blue mare with a red and yellow mane and tail held a microphone in her hoof. A light blue stallion with a shock of white hair atop his head had an arm around her, holding her close.
"Please Rainbow." The mare said, voice shaking with sadness. The stallion kissed the top of her head, and she took a deep breath. "If you can here me, please come home. We are so worried about you and Fluttershy. If anyone has any information that will bring them back, please, I beg you to call the authorities. I can't bear to lose my baby...." Her voice broke and she erupted into sobs. When the reporters came back on screen, the stallion was wiping a tear from his eye.
"Very emotional. If anypony has any information the number to dial is 444-541-12......"
======
"This will not be tolerated!"
Princess Platinum rose from her regal seat, surrounded by her court and a swarm of reporters. Magical auras glowed from all around the room as reporters held cameras and notepads with magic, ready to capture her every action and word. The unicorn princess was tall and mint green in color. Her silver mane was topped with a crown and red and white.
"We have two missing fillies now. This is somepony's attempt at ransom." She sat back down, anger evident. "I have seen that the Pegasi are starting to patrol the skies daily. Their circles have widened to include Canterlot. I see this as suspicious."
There was the sound of mass scribbling as everypony tried to get her exact words down.
"It is my opinion that the Pegasi are kidnapping foals in order to exert more power over the other species of Equestria." She sniffed angrily, leaning her head on a hoof. "The question is, why have we not heard form the Earth Ponies? Have they lost any foals?"
One member of the court, a regal looking pale blue stallion with a monocle raised his hoof. At a look from the Princess, he cleared his throat and said loudly "Perhaps they have paid off the Pegasi? They already got what they needed from the Earth Ponies; now it is time for them to attack us?"
There was much nodding and agreement around the room. Pictures were snapped of the smug unicorn, but Platinum waved away his explanation with a bored hoof.
"If that were the case, wouldn't they have sent a ransom note by now? Or they coud have at least warned us of the possibility that this sort of thing could happen."
A light entered her eyes, and she righted herself, heavy with thought. "Perhaps..."
The whole court froze, hanging on the silence like a lifeline. No one so much as dared to cough, until the Princess looked around the court with a triumphant eye.
"The Earth Ponies and Pegasi are working together!" she crowed, and the whole room erupted into madness. Anger was the prevailing emotion, though fear was a close second. Everypony had an opinion, and chose now to express it quite loudly. The cameras were flashing wildly, and reporters strained to get past the guards that kept them at a reasonable distance from the Princess, who looked very smug indeed.
"Quiet!" she shouted, stamping her hoof. The room gradually fell into silence as all eyes were placed on her. Just how she liked it.
"If the other two ponies are going to work together on this matter, we must take action." She removed herself form her place, walking regally toward the reporters. She stared straight at them, and said. "I want every capable stallion readied. Cut the lines to Ponyville. We will no longer trade with them. There is now to be a curfew imposed. All foals must be inside by nightfall. I will not have anymore of my subjects taken away and used as ransom fodder."
She turned away from the reporters, who were shouting questions at her.
"They won't get away with this." she said quietly, retreating to her personal quarters. There was much planning to be done.
Three Worlds- Chapter Seven
The classroom was quiet except for the scraping of pencils across paper. One foal paused to scratch his eraser across his forehead in thought before scribbling something down quickly before the answer escaped his grasp. The air was stuffy despite the open window on the left side of the room; the curtains barely fluttered with a late autumn breeze to counteract the thick sunlight. The teacher was a mare colored a bright shade of purple. The three smiling flowers from her flank lent cause to her name. Cheerilee carefully walked up and down the aisles, patrolling against cheaters among her honest students. The clock ticked slowly, the second counting hand lazily strolling from one dash to another around and around in an endless cycle. She eyed one student across the room.
This one was staring off at the wall next to her, counting the lines she could see in the wooden structure of the schoolhouse through half lidded eyes. Her cowpony hat was hung off the side of her desk, covering up the saddlebags that everypony brought their school books in. The gathered blonde tail swung from side to side in time with the tick, tick of the clock, and she ignored the fly that waddled across her paper under her orange hoof.
As Cheerilee rounded the front of the aisle, she tapped a hoof on the floor, saying “Alright my little ponies, time’s up! Please hand in your paper as you walk out of the door.” The filly started, raising up off of her hoof and staring at the before her as if she was seeing it for the first time. The fly as startled into flight, and she swatted at it in irritation. Fillies and colts began to slide from their desks, pulling their saddlebags off of the hooks and dropping pencils into pencil cases for the trip home.
Cheerilee placed a basket on the floor, and the students shuffled past, dropping their paper into the wicker basket and bidding their teacher goodbye with various levels of enthusiasm. The classroom silence was replaced with student jabbering away about the quiz.
“What did you get for number four?”
“32. But I think I carried it over wrong.”
“I got 75.”
“Oh man, I’m gonna ace this thing!”
Suddenly the sunshine was no longer a distraction. It was welcomed by the released foals as they parted ways to go home or clumped together to visit Sugarcube Corner or to gaze at the pretty new dresses from Brass Button’s boutique.
Applejack stumbled to the basket, placing her sparsely written paper in the basket with the others. Cheerilee eyed the paper disapprovingly and said “Applejack are you alright? You seem distant. Is everything ok at home?”
Cheerilee hated to think that the Apple family was running into trouble. Applejack looked up at her concerned teacher with forced enthusiasm and said “Oh Miss Cheeriliee, I’m fine! I jus’…didn’t get much sleep last night. Yeah, that’s it. Big Mac has a cold an’ he’s been coughin’ up a storm all night.” The filly grinned sheepishly, and the adult mare gave her a disbelieving look. This was obviously a lie. Why, she had seen Big Mac in Mrs. Rose Hip’s class just yesterday and he looked as healthy as….well, a horse!
She let out a sigh, scratching a leg with the opposite hoof. “Well..alright Applejack, I believe you.” Applejack sighed in relief, then pushed the smile back onto her face when Cheerilee’s face drew close.
“Just know, if you need anything you can always talk to me.”
“Thanks Miss Cheerilee! I’ll see you on Monday!” Applejack sprinted for the door, almost losing her hat in her haste to escape the mare’s claustrophobic attention. She watched the filly run away over the hill back to her farm. Cheerilee sighed, shuffling the papers in the basket together to form a more orderly stack. The teaching mare wasn’t the only pony to see the orange apple filly run away. A certain bouncy shadow appeared from underneath the window and, with surprising stealth considering her over abundance of enthusiasm; she tailed the farm pony home.
Applejack wasn’t exactly going home. Sure, she was running down the road that lead straight to her front door, but at the start of the apple orchards she turned into the forest of fruit, galloping in between rows of trees toward the clubhouse. It looked the same as it always had; beaten up. The window panes were in shambles; the paint was discolored and faded. The door was the only new piece on the exterior of the clubhouse. After an incident involving a young friend of Big Mac, he and his younger sister decided that a lock was necessary to hide their secret.
The filly traipsed up the ramp to the clubhouse door, and kicked at it gently. Once, twice, three times. There was a shuffling sound, and metal sliding on wood as the latch was undone. Applejack pushed the door open, and smiled at Fluttershy as she kicked the door shut again.
The inside of the clubhouse was considerably nicer than the outside. Pale blue paint had been hastily tossed on the walls to give it a more home-like feel. Along with the bookshelf, a rough, low table and a slightly discolored rug had been added. The sleeping bag that Fluttershy received on her first night was supplemented with multiple pillows deftly swiped from the guest room and closets as well as an additional blanket incase it started to get cold. They were neatly stacked in the corner by one of the windows. Curtains were hung slightly lopsided on the windows. All in all, it was pleasing to the eye.
Pleasing, considering it was essentially a prison.
Applejack waved to the Pegasus that occupied a portion of the rug. She was reading a book, pink mane cascading over her shoulders and obscuring one eye. Fluttershy had spent the better part of a month living in Applejack’s clubhouse, but it honestly felt like a lot less to the grounded Pegasus. After Applejack and her brother had explained the feelings of earth ponies toward pegasi, all three parties agreed that she would be safest if she stayed in the clubhouse at all times. But after two weeks of being cooped up in one room save for the trips to the outhouse some yards from the front door, Fluttershy felt like she was going to lose her mind. Big Macintosh had found her curled up in the corner of the room sobbing, and he decided that as long as she was careful and wore a pony jacket over her wings, she could wander the area around the clubhouse.
So Fluttershy began to explore the apple orchard, calming herself among the trees and enjoying the feeling of the wind on her face again. The next two weeks were uneventful. Big Mac brought her books to read, and at least one of them visited her every day. When a storm hit, Applejack braved the rain to make sure that the shutters were secure so that Fluttershy wouldn’t get soaked. She was continually amazed at the kindness of the two foals. They didn’t treat her like a fugitive or a monster because of her wings. These two were just like..friends.
Fluttershy looked up from her book and smiled, saying “Oh, hello Applejack. How is your day going?” She flipped the book closed, and rose to her feet, stretching stiff muscles. Applejack sat next to her and said “Ah, it’s goin’ ok. How about you sugarcube? Are you alright?”
Fluttershy’s smiled faltered for just an instant before it returned. “Oh, I’m fine. This place is…nice.”
Applejack stared at her friend. “Are ya sure you’re alright? You don’t…miss home or anythin?”
The yellow pony shuddered, thinking once again of her cloud home. She missed her parents dearly. She imagined her mother would have stopped wondering if she was coming home by now. Her dad would be back at work in the Weather Factory. There was no way they would let him take a month off of work, even if his daughter was missing. Life would return to its routine in her cloud home, her part in it would just…disappear.
Tears threatened at the corners of her eyes, but she quickly lowered her head to hide her eyes with her soft pink mane. Applejack saw this as a sign of distress, and placed a hoof onto the other’s shoulder. “Aw it’s alright Fluttershy. You can be sad if you want to. Why, if I was away from my folks for as long as you have been I’d be fit to be tied.”
Fluttershy didn’t really understand the cowpony’s figure of speech, but she assumed that it had to do with being upset over losing family. She let the barrier fall, and with it came the tears; slowly as first, but gathering speed as they traced wet lines down her lightly furred cheeks. Her hoof ran across her cheek, smudging the lines into an overall damp face. Applejack smiled, drawing Fluttershy close. It was difficult considering the Pegasus filly was slightly larger than she, but her foreleg could still make it around her back in a sideways hug. The butter colored pony sniffed, and gazed at the orange filly next to her with tear stained eyes.
“I’m sorry.” She said softly, shuddering. “I just….I miss my home. I wish I could fly better so I could go back. Not that this place isn’t wonderful though! You and Big Mac have done so much for me.” She backpedaled over her words, feeling as if she had slighted her two earth pony friends. Applejack smiled, and released her side, saying “Naw it’s natural for you to want to go home. And as soon as me an’ Big Mac can figure it out, we will getcha back to yer house as quick as can be.”
A crash interrupted their conversation. Fluttershy jumped nearly a foot into the air while Applejack leapt to her feet. A shadow outline appeared on the curtain of the window next to the ramp. Two filly hearts beat wildly as the shadow disappeared behind the solid mass of the door.
Oh no, I forgot to lock the door!
The same door banged open, revealing the sun and a figure. Fluttershy noticed that the pony was rather small, and practically vibrated in their spot. Applejack saw the wild mane and stamped her hoof, practically shouting “Pinkie Pie! What in the hay are you doin’ here!?”
The figure moved, and Fluttershy saw that this Pinkie Pie was indeed very pink. Her mane and tail were tossed and twisted with wild abandon, but the thing that held her attention the longest was that she had her mouth open. Not just open, but open enough that the Pegasus was sure she could sit comfortably inside without having to duck.
“HHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The gasp was loud, almost annoying so. The open mouth was closed and replaced with an equally impossible grin that made her eyes crinkle up into almost nothing, and she seemed to levitate off the ground to where Fluttershy sat cowering. Pinkie Pie completely ignored Applejack’s question, choosing to flicker from place to place, picking up Fluttershy’s hoof or playing with her long tail. All the while, a stream of chatter clattered from her smile.
“Ohmygosh ohmygosh who are you!? Look at your mane! It’s so soft and pink! And how do you keep your hooves so clean? I guess you wash them but still! They look like they could sparkle in the sun.” the hyper filly considered dragging the yellow filly over to the window to test whether or not her hooves would shine in the sun before her eyes fastened on the pair of wings at her back.
Those blue eyes practically exploded into firecrackers and she roughly pulled one wing up, despite Fluttershy’s stammered protests and squeaks. Pinkie Pie flexed the wing and blew on the feathers, causing Fluttershy to squeal and attempt to pull her wing back under her control. Applejack stamped her hoof again, flustered, and tried to gain control of the newcomer by pulling on her fluffy tail. Pinkie Pie allowed herself to be dragged away, talking all the while until Applejack shouted “PINKIE PIE will you shut yer trap!?”
The filly froze mid sentence, and straightened her body into a military stance. Her left hoof went to her head in a salute, but she didn’t call out. Her mouth remained in a serious straight line. Fluttershy was concerned. Pinkie Pie went from so….happy to serious in a split second. Was this normal? What if she had some kind of personality disorder? She took the moment of silence to mentally check herself over, making sure every part of her was intact even as her entire body shook with nerves.
Applejack sighed, facehoofing. This was just great.
“Pinkie Pie, what are ya doin’ here?”
Pinkie Pie took a minute to answer, preferring to relax her military stance. Instead she sat sloppily, stretching her back legs out in front of her and grinning wildly.
“Well I saw that you were talking to Miss Cheerilee, and you sounded like you were lying to her about everything being ok. I was worried about you, so I went all super secret ninja pony and followed you here!” She lowered herself closer to the ground as she spoke to mimic being a super secret ninja pony. Fluttershy fought the urge to laugh at her ridiculous pose. Applejack wasn’t as amused.
“Pinkie, you can’t tell anypony about Fluttershy. She’s not supposed to be here. It was an accident and we have to find a way to get her home before the grown ups find her.”
Pinkie nodded sagely, eyeing Fluttershy like a new toy that she really wanted to play with. Fluttershy smiled, causing Pinkie to smile even wider. How did her face do that?
“I Pinkie Promise that I won’t tell anypony about Flutteshy.” Pinkie said, shaking Applejack’s hoof so hard that the cowpony’s entire body shook with it. Applejack stammered a weak protest, and lay flat on her stomach when she was finally released. Pinkie Pie scooted over to Fluttershy, who shivered and offered the wild filly a tiny “Hello.”
“You won’t believe this!” Pinkie said, alight with glee. “But I know someone else who is lost too!”
Three Words - Chapter Eight
Ponyville was in a mild state of panic. There were fewer ponies out in the streets. Those that did venture out scurried quickly to their destination, their eyes always focused above them, searching the skies for an invisible threat. No more than a week ago, a squadron of pegasi stormed into Ponyville, demanding that they be allowed to search the entirety of the city. The mayor declined, saying that unless they had express permission from the Chancellor they were not allowed in. That argument that ensued became heated and left both parties storming off in a huff. This fight only intensified the fear that the earth ponies felt. No more than two weeks prior, Canterlot had shut its gates to all trade, leaving the ponies below confused.
Soon cloud had begun to roll into the skies above Ponyville. This wasn't unusual, especially in the autumn time when rain was often. Ponyville citizens quickly pushed the argument into the back of their minds, not wanting to think that the clouds and the argument had anything to do with eachother. Their fillies weren't here; there was no way the Pegasi were going to attack to town.
The squadron was currently reclining among the constant cloud cover above the town, waiting for the arrival of reinforcements. Commander Hurricane was fed up with the actions of the Earth ponies. He was going to search the city, and he was going to do it on his terms. His gaze seemed to bore into the town below. Whirlwind tapped the Commander on the shoulder with a wingtip, tearing his attention away from his victim. Wordlessly Hurricane pointed upward with his other wing, and as Hurricane looked up a smile spreading across his face.
More clouds rolled in. Each one of the clouds was a vessel carrying up to ten pegasi hidden in its fluffy peaks. The occasional thin spot of cloud revealed fur, feathers, and silver glinting back at the leader of the Pegasi. His grin was widening. If Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were in there, Commander Hurricane was going to find them. Today.
====================
“Do you see anything?”
“Nope, just more trees.”
The white unicorn filly on the ground sighed, stamping a hoof. Curse this stupid forest and its stupid trees! The cyan filly lowered from her vantage point to join her friend on the ground, also releasing a sigh as she folded her wings. For the better part of a month, the two fillies had roamed the countryside of Equestria in search of their two missing friends. It hadn’t been easy; anypony that saw them was immediately suspicious. What were two fillies doing out in the country alone? More importantly, what were a unicorn and a Pegasus doing sneaking about? Their presence was met with hostility. After a while, both ponies agreed that they should remain out of sight from the Earth ponies.
This meant sneaking into farms at night and stealing food. Rarity felt awful about taking something that wasn’t theirs to have. But her growling stomach constantly reminded her that if she didn’t take the carrots and lettuce, she wouldn’t have the energy to find Twilight. Rainbow Dash had so such qualms about breaking the rules. She needed food, and those farm ponies had food that they didn’t want to share with Rainbow and Rarity simply because they were different species. Therefore, it was only right for her to take some of it.
The two fillies stared at the ground, wondering what they were to do. They had been away from home for a very long time, and yet neither of their friends had been found. Rarity sighed, scuffing the ground with a dirty hoof. She dearly wanted to go home and take a bath. Her normally shiny indigo hair was a dingy shade of eggplant. The curls had long fallen out of her mane, leaving it matted and tangled.
Rainbow Dash’s mane looked much the same as before, though the bright colors were more of a depressed rainbow. Her mane was short and normally wind-blown, so the tangles and unkempt look were not at all unusual. Both fillies’ bodies were covered in all manners of mud and dirt. Cyan and white became blue-brown and just plain brown. It appalled the unicorn filly to be this way, and she long ago stopped looking into ponds and watering holes at her appearance.
“Well, now what?” Rainbow said, trotting to the west. Standing around wouldn’t help find food. Or Fluttershy. Her heart panged as she thought of her sweet friend. What if Fluttershy had been out here for a month too? Could she survive?
“I think we need to find something to eat.” Rarity responded, matching the other filly’s hoof steps. The sun had already passed its highest point, and was slowly making its decent above the treetops. The leaves were starting to shed their green color, taking on hues of orange, red and brown. Some were already making a bid to escape from the main tree; the undergrowth was covered in a fine smattering of leaves that broke away on the wind. Every so often one would crunch under sompony’s hoof.
“I think I saw some trees that looked like they had fruit.” Rainbow said, pointing her nose forward. “They were this way.”
“So we won’t have to steal anything this time?” Rarity looked hopeful.
“No I don’t think so. Unless the trees belong to someone.”
Rarity sighed with a sign of happiness. No stealing today! The two foals continued on their way until the broad leaves of the forest slowly changed into the smaller leaves of the fruit trees. They were apple trees, and plenty of them. The neat, manicured rows were a welcome sight to Rarity. They were orderly and clean, nothing like the random placement of the forest trees. She increased the pace and gazed upwards at the fruit.
She picked a tree, and jumped, waving her hooves in an attempt to reach the apple above. She missed, and landed on her rump, glaring at the fruit over her head. She tried again, with the same result. Rainbow Dash watched with amusement.
Finally she stamped a hoof, and said “I can’t reach them! You do it Rainbow Dash.” She put on her patented ‘help me’ face, and the tom-boyish Pegasus laughed. “That doesn’t work on me.”
She did however, take to the air and hover over the fruit, cropping a few onto the ground and picking a few more.
The unicorn below looked triumphant as she landed. Taking a bite of apple, Rainbow Dash spoke through the food in her mouth. “I was hungry too. I just felt sorry for you.”
Rarity grimaced as food dribbled out of Rainbow Dash’s mouth, but she remained silent. She was grateful that the other filly had gotten her something to eat, and didn’t think that she would enjoy an etiquette lesson.
The only sound for a minute or two came from the munching of apples. Both ponies were lost in their personal thoughts. Neither pony paid much attention to the rustle a few trees away. Rarity’s ear flicked back to it occasionally, and only when it seemed to draw too near for comfort did she pause in her eating.
“Rainbow.” She warned, dropping the half eaten fruit she had a hold on. Rainbow rose to her feet, all thoughts of food lost. There were hoof steps coming...
Then her mind went blank. The figure was still a few yards away, and apparently didn’t see them. But Rainbow Dash recognized the soft yellow fur and delicate pink mane from afar. The only thing Rarity saw was a rainbow colored streak as the Pegasus flew by. The wind from the sprint hit her a moment later, throwing her mane and tail into a temporary frenzy.
“Rainbow!”
The shout got the other pony’s attention. Rainbow slammed into the figure, rolling both of them over and over with the leftover momentum. There was a shrill scream, and then silence. Rarity composed herself as best she could and then galloped over to where she saw the two disappear.
She found Rainbow embracing the other figure, who turned out to be a filly. They were both grinning broadly. Rarity backed away, letting the two have their moment. This must be the missing Fluttershy. When the two broke apart, both started talking at once, trying to tell their tale. Finally Fluttershy raised a hoof, and said quietly “What are you doing here Rainbow Dash? I thought you would have gone back to Cloudsdale by now.”
“And leave my friend hangin? No way!”
Fluttershy grinned broadly, and as they hugged again, she noticed Rarity standing off to the side, steadfastly looking the other way.
“Who is that Rainbow?”
“Oh!” Rainbow Dash seemed to remember that Rarity was there again. She grabbed the filly’s hoof and dragged her over to Fluttershy. Rarity offered a regal smile and her hoof.
“This is Rarity. She was helping me look for you.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you dear.” She said, shaking Fluttershy’s hoof gently. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Fluttershy blushed, scrunching down to the ground with bright eyes “Oh I hope not too much. There isn’t much to talk about.”
“Where have you been Fluttershy? I’ve been looking ever since you fell from the racetrack!”
“I fell into these trees.” She explained, righting herself into a normal sitting position. She tossed her mane out of her eyes gently, and then continued her story.
“I think I got knocked out. And when I woke up, there was somepony staring at me!” At the time she was scared, but now the memory brought warmth to her voice. “His name is Big Macintosh. He and his sister let me live in their clubhouse until I was ready to go home. I wanted to send you a letter, but Applejack said that I shouldn’t go into town.” Her face grew fearful. “She said that they wouldn’t like me.”
“I can vouch for that.” Rarity interjected, looking hurt. “I was in town for but a moment and they treated me like I was going to blow up their homes or something!”
Fluttershy’s face changed to one of pity, and she put her wing on Rarity’s shoulder, saying “I’m so sorry they did that to you. It must have been awful.”
This gesture earned a smile from Rarity. “Thank you Fluttershy.”
Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof, impatient to bring the conversation back between herself and Fluttershy. She had finally found her!
“So now we can go home! I bet our parents are worried sick!”
Rarity was shocked. She looked at Rainbow Dash with surprise, but the rainbow haired filly only had eyes for Fluttershy. They were going to leave!? Just like that? Now that wasn’t fair. Rarity stayed with Rainbow Dash for a month in the wilderness because they were looking for their friends. Together. Now that they found one, Rarity was just supposed to go it alone?
“Now see here Rainbow Da-“
“I can’t do that yet!” The yellow pegasus’s words were adamant. She winced at her assertive behavior and seemed to shrink in on herself. In a much smaller voice she said “I’m sorry, I can’t just leave. I have to say goodbye to Applejack and...and Big Macintosh.”
Her blue eyes stared balefully at Rainbow’s magenta ones, and there was a moment of silence between all three parties. Finally Rainbow looked away and said “Are they far away?”
Fluttershy broke into a grin, and jumped to her feet saying “Oh no they are just on the other side of this orchard. We can be there very soon.” Without another word, she started to walk back to the clubhouse, Rainbow in tow. She looked back and found Rarity sitting where she stopped, staring at the ground in anger. After a glance at Fluttershy to make sure she knew what direction she was going, Rainbow trotted back to the distraught unicorn.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“Why should I?”
Rainbow looked confused. “What’s wrong?”
“You’re going to leave me here.” She said simply, tossing her mane dramatically. “You’re going to take Fluttershy and go home. And why shouldn’t you? You found who you were looking for. I still have to find Twilight.”
Her anger was jarring. Rainbow leaned forward, trying to meet the upset filly’s gaze.
“Who said I was leaving?”
Rarity’s head shot up from its crestfallen state and now it was her turn to be confused.
“But I thought-“
“Well you thought wrong.” Rainbow stood and started to walk away. “Fluttershy and I can cover more ground from the air. It should cut the time it takes to find Twilight in half.” Rarity rose to her feet, happiness filling the cold spots that anger had taken hold of.
“Do you mean it Rainbow Dash?”
The rainbow mane moved to the side as she looked backwards. Flashing a cocky grin she spread her wings and flapped for emphasis.
“Duh. Who do you think you’re talking to? We’ll find her and then all of us can go home.”
Rarity smiled and picked up her pace, stepping in time with the Pegasus pony. It was a pace that had been a constant for the last month and for now, it was the pace they would continue to use.
