Silverponies

Chapters

Him
Exile
Water
Home
Monsters

Him

The world was silent. It always had been. It always would be. This was the second lesson Applejack learned.

The path was hard under her hooves, but she didn't mind. It was familiar to her, well-worn with hoofprints traveling to and from the falls. She took a deep breath as she crested a hill and surveyed the pool from a distance. Water cascaded down the side of the mountain, stirring up foam at the bottom. As she drew near, she felt the almost invisible mist stroking her face and forelegs. She waded into the pool and stood beneath the falls. The water didn't try to push her down, contrary to her expectation when she'd first made this trek. After a minute, she stepped out of the falls and began walking back the way she had come. The buckets strapped to either side of her body, now filled with water, felt no different than before.

The world was weightless. It always had been. It always would be. This was the third lesson Applejack learned.

Applejack reached the top of the hill and looked down. Before her lay a long, straight path across the flat, dry land. In the distance, she could see a bulge sticking out of the earth. That was her destination.

A Guardian drifted near as she stood there, and her body was filled with a sense of unease. The Guardian was displeased, but it merely floated on, its long limbs dangling behind it like tentacles. Applejack picked up her pace a little to make up for lost time.

One does not displease the Guardians. This was the fourth lesson Applejack learned.

She passed a Guardian every five minutes or so as she walked toward the mound. Most only acknowledged her presence, but a few followed her for a moment. They never stayed for long. They liked to float alone. Sometimes, Applejack wished she could be a Guardian.

Time passed. She was halfway there. There were fewer Guardians here. They stayed closer to the waterfall, but they rarely crossed the hill. Applejack didn't know why. It was none of her business. She only brought him water. When he ran out, she brought him more.

It was an honor to bring him water. This was the fifth lesson Applejack learned.

She passed a Guardian. Strange this far from the falls. It didn't float. It lay on the ground. Its mouth was open. Perhaps it was sleeping. Applejack liked sleeping. Sometimes, he let her sleep. Sometimes, she had dreams.

She never shared her dreams, though. She must never share her dreams. This was the sixth lesson Applejack learned.

At the mound. Wait by gate until he calls. Enter gate. Grass soft under hooves. Walk in door. Buckets removed. Buckets replaced. Get more water. Exit door. Exit gate. Walk toward mountain.

Do not look back. This was the seventh and last lesson Applejack learned. It was the only she had taught herself. She looked back once. She saw him drink the water. For a moment, he changed. She could not explain how until she stood once again under the falls, until her mind felt less clouded, and she could remember the word.

Green. For a moment, his fur had turned green.

This was impossible. Green did not exist. Green only existed in her dreams, the ones he told her never to speak of. The world was without color. It always had been. It always would be.

This was the first and most important lesson Applejack learned.

She tried to hide at the waterfall once.

Her legs were harder to move that day. She couldn't explain why. Walking up the hill was especially difficult, but it made walking down to the pool feel a little better. To be honest, the mist from the waterfall was the only thing that kept her going some days.

As she stood in the waterfall, waiting for the buckets to fill, the thought occurred to her. Why did he make her fetch the water? He had strong legs and hooves. Why was it her task to walk across the land, while he stayed in the mound all day?

At first, she hadn't known what to do with these thoughts. She didn't have very many, and it was the first time to her recollection she'd ever thought something rebellious. It made her feel excited and scared at once. As she stood there, breathing in the mist from the falls, the thoughts began to take root in her mind and blossom into ideas. Why shouldn't she just stay here? Surely, eventually, he would come to see what had happened, proving that he could make the journey, and then she could tell him to stop being so lazy and fetch his own water.

The buckets began to overflow, drenching her fur in cool water, but she refused to move her hooves. She liked it here. She liked the feel of cool, misty air in her lungs and on her skin, a sense of peace settling in. The longer she stood there, the more the idea felt right to her, and the more she began to dread the though of leaving, and not just because he would be cross. There was something else, stuck just out of reach on the tip of her consciousness, and with every breath she took, she felt a little closer to reaching it.

That was when the Guardians found her. It was the only time she saw them cross the hill, and she hoped it would be the last.

They came floating as always, their limbs trailing behind them, but they didn't feel as ambivalent about her existence as usual. There were five of them, and they hovered around her, never touching the water. Leave this place, they told her. You have been here too long. You are not welcome. You must leave.

She tried to tell them no, despite a sudden, fearful pressure on her chest. She tried to tell them she was waiting for him to come to her, so he could fetch his own water.

You must bring him water, they said. You cannot stay here. You must leave.

The more she resisted, the more hostile they became, and the harder it was for her to breathe. Their limbs began to compress into legs, and gaping mouths began to open. They began to hiss at her, which was impossible. The world is silent, they told her. It always has been. It always will be.

But it isn't, she tried to explain. They were hissing at her.

The world is silent. The world is without color. One does not displease the Guardians.

Slowly, begrudgingly, she stepped out of the waterfall, then out of the pool. The Guardians followed her, always circling. She walked over the hill and began the long trek back to the mound. The Guardians stayed with her, their hissing growing quieter the farther she walked. After a quarter journey, their mouths were shut. Their limbs trailed behind them. After a half journey, there were three. Then two. Then one. She stood outside the gate. The Guardian entered the door. Then he called for her.

She entered the gate. The grass was soft under hooves. She entered the door. The buckets were removed, as always. She waited for the buckets to return. They didn't.

That was odd.

No more water today, he said. Stay in this room, he said. Do not leave, he said.

She didn't know what to do. This had never happened. She lay on the floor slowly. Maybe this was a trick. She closed her eyes. She waited. He said nothing else.

That was the first time she dreamed of colors.

The Guardians were watching her. This unnerving thought occurred to Applejack as she stood beneath the falls.

Of course, they weren't really watching her, not in the usual sense. But now that she had a moment to think, she realized she had seen more of them on this trip than usual, at least as far as she could recall. Their presence roused a nagging dread in her heart and mind. She shouldn't have hesitated at the top of the hill before. Now they thought she was going to try and stay at the falls again. She didn't blame them. That was only five rests ago. She got to rest every five trips. This was the fourth trip since her last rest, making twenty-nine in total.

She couldn't have said how many trips she made before her first rest. Counting was a relatively new concept for her. She didn't care much for it, but it was all she had.

As she crested the hill, she saw several Guardians hovering nearby, watching, no doubt, to see if she would leave. She tried to pay them no mind as she walked past, but their presence still made her feel tense.

Wait. They were tense as well. That was strange.

She felt the Guardians stir as the thought crossed her mind. We are not tense. Do not worry. You must deliver the water. Yes, she must, she told them, and continued walking. Only when she could no longer feel their presence did she begin to think again.

The Guardians were not tense, she decided. Scared? Nervous? That wasn't right. It was deeper. Applejack wracked her brain for half a journey before she gave up. She couldn't think of the word.

Three-quarters of the journey were done. The Guardian still lay there. Was this what worried the others? Applejack stopped. She looked at the sleeping Guardian. She had never seen one lie still before. Curious.

Farther, she saw another one. Its mouth was open, but it was different. It was hurt. Black surrounded the gray. She touched it. It did not move. Her hoof was black as well.

Strange.

She raised her hoof to her nose and sniffed. It was not a pleasant smell. She shook her head and tried to forget. The smell stayed in her nose. Her eyes began to water. This was not good. Would he be angry?

She set the buckets down. She had to wash her hoof. There would be less water. He would be angry. But he would not know she touched the hurt Guardian. She put her hoof in the bucket. The water turned black. Her hoof was clean. She dumped the water. She put the buckets on. She continued to walk.

At the mound. Wait by gate until he calls. Enter gate. Grass soft under hooves. Walk in door. Buckets removed.

Nothing.

He was angry.

Why is the bucket empty? Fell off. How did it fall off? Don't know. Why is your hoof still wet? Don't know. Did you drink my water? No.

Do not leave. I will be back.

Never in mound alone before. Strange. Look around. Nice smells. Many soft things.

Large hole. Made from stones. Full of water. Look around. No one here. Drink?

The world exploded the moment the water passed her lips.

For the first time, she remembered waking up.

Not from one of her dreams. That happened whenever he decided it should. This was a time before him. Before the buckets. But not before the falls. That was where she woke up to this world of gray. That was the only time the falls had ever weighed on her.

That was the only time she had looked on the Guardians as nothing more than monsters.

They were there when she awoke, half-drowned beneath the weight of water crashing down around her. Only it wasn't crashing down. It was silent, and so were the monsters, hovering around her like vultures circling a dying animal.

Maybe she was dying. Or maybe she was already dead. Either way, she felt justified in being scared.

Stay back, she told them, only the words didn't come out. The monsters must have understood her, because they recoiled a bit before lashing back. You are in our land, they said. You are not us. You must become us.

Applejack had no intention of becoming a monster, but there were five of them and only one of her. She knew they were fast. She wasn't sure how she knew that, only that the fear she now felt was familiar. She could see nothing but sky beyond the small hill that surrounded this pool. Behind her, a mountain rose, steep and foreboding. There was no way she could climb that without getting caught.

The only choice was to fight back. She hoped she would be strong enough, though somehow, she doubted it. She had seen these monsters before, though where she could not say.

The monsters loomed closer, their mouths hanging open, black ooze spilling out. For an instant, she saw not a gray expanse of nothing, but a beautiful crystal room lined with thrones. In that instant, before they dove, before she kicked, and before she fell unconscious, she remembered what they were, and the name she knew them by.

Silverponies.

Applejack stumbled back from the cistern, shaking her head vigorously. Her breathing was rapid, and she had to remind herself several times she was alone before her panic subsided. Water dripped from her face and mane, but she barely noticed as she sucked in deep breaths. The Silverponies attacked her at the falls, she knew that much. Then she woke up here, with him looking over her. What was his name? It occurred to her he'd never told her. All he said was to journey to the mountain and fill the buckets with water. That was all she had been doing for...

The panic began to rise again. Celestia, how long had it been?

The sound of her own breathing filled her ears as she stumbled around the mound. Her senses were working overtime, as though to make up for their long absence. The pleasant smells she'd detected before were gone, replaced with the dull scent of earth and water and...

Food.

Applejack's stomach growled. She followed her nose to a cupboard, where a large supply of oats was stuffed. Had she eaten at all since arriving in this strange place? She opened the bag and dug in, not caring that the oats tasted old. She was starving, and she had no idea where else she would find food, especially with the Silverponies wandering around outside.

The Silverponies. She was surrounded. The thought was enough to bring her bout of gluttony to an abrupt halt. They had ignored her all this time. Why? Why was this place different from home? Where was home? For that matter, where was here? Her breathing quickened as question after question piled up and threatened to crush her under their weight.

She walked slowly, quietly, toward the door and peeked out the small hole in its center. All she could see outside was the vast, flat expanse of land she had been traversing for, until moments ago, as long as she could remember. The mountain in the distance looked strangely small, standing alone in a sea of nothing.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Applejack stumbled back. He walked in and looked at her. For a moment, they stood still, regarding each other as though for the first time. Then, he said, "You're awake."

Applejack blinked. "Pardon?"

"You're awake," he repeated. One corner of his mouth tugged into a small smile.

"'Course Ah'm awake," Applejack replied. "You've only been gone a few minutes."

His smile widened into a grin. "My dear, it has been a very long while since you were truly awake."

Applejack couldn't help but take a few steps back. "What do you mean?"

"Look at your cutie mark," he answered. "It was as gray as the rest of this world when I first found you."

Applejack looked. Though her coat and mane were colorless, three spots of red stood out on her flank. "T-That's not possible," she said. "There ain't no color here."

"Exactly," he answered, shutting the door behind him. "There never has been. There never will be. Not as long as I'm here."

Exile

Applejack had a hard time deciding what was worst, which was good. Thinking about it kept her anxiety at bay.

First, the landscape, or lack thereof. Flat as the eye could see, except the mound and the mountain. Now that her thoughts were clear, she estimated the journey from the mound to the falls took two hours. Math had never been her forte, but based on the number of trips she remembered, and estimating the time she'd slept, she figured she'd been here at least six days.

That didn't help her figure out a way home, but given how little she knew about this place, even that unhelpful tidbit was comforting.

"Focus," she muttered, resuming her mental review of the situation. The flat expanse of earth offered no shelter from the cold night or hiding places from the Silverponies and him. Nothing grew out here, nor had she located any water. Overall, it was the most dismal place imaginable to be stranded.

Second, the Silverponies, or Guardians, or whatever they were called. They would have been an easy pick for worst part about this place, except they weren't chasing her at the moment. She didn't want to believe she'd outrun them, but she could think of no reason they'd let her escape. She could still feel their alien minds in her own, giving her orders and watching her every move. How they watched her, or why they were interested in her, she couldn't say. She didn't much care to find the answers, except to figure out how to avoid their attention in the future. Doing that would go a long way toward maintaining emotional stability.

Third, him. He was nameless, and he was not her friend. He was somehow allied with the Silverponies. Though she knew almost nothing about him, the little she did know filled her with the overwhelming desire to distance herself from him as much as possible. Hence, her nighttime stroll in what she decided to call a desert.

The world was growing blacker by the minute, and Applejack began again to consider her options for shelter. The memory of her countless trips to and from the falls was hazy, but she was fairly certain nights here got pretty cold. "Why can't temperatures be one o' those things ya ban here?" she muttered. "At least that would be useful."

She stopped and removed two sealed barrels from her back. The ground here was just as hard as the path; in fact, the two were distinguishable only by the path's lighter shade of gray. She pounded the ground with her hooves, with no effect. She sighed. Just as always.

She took a few steps away and tried again. No luck. A few more steps, no change in the result. As futile as this seemed, it was her only idea for shelter. The mound appeared to be made of the same material as the ground, so she knew there had to be some way of moving it. But how?

On her seventh attempt, the ground collapsed around her, and she fell.

Applejack yelped. It was the only sound that came from the cave-in. She coughed and sputtered as dust settled around her. To her surprise, she found herself not in a dark, dank pit but what appeared to be a comfortable, thoughtfully carved cave. Crude dirt structures, including a bed, a cistern, a chair, and a table took up most of the space. On the table sat a simple meal of oats and water, and in the chair sat a bewildered-looking pegasus, her mouth open, a spoonful of oats halfway to her mouth.

"Heh," Applejack said with a sheepish smile. "Howdy."

The pegasus' head tilted sideways, and her expression turned from one of confusion to one of curiosity. "Hi," she said, putting her spoon down and crossing the room. "You okay?"

"Ah'm all right," Applejack said, brushing the dust off coat. "Sorry about the ceiling. Ah, uh, didn't know you were down here."

A chuckle strained its way out the pegasus' throat. "Well, that is the point of a hideout."

"Uh, yeah." Applejack looked around, mostly to avoid making eye contact with the pegasus. "So, ah, what's your name?"

"Firefly."

Applejack nodded. "Ah'm—"

Applejack stopped talking when a hoof covered her mouth. "Don't tell me," Firefly said, peering intently into Applejack's eyes. Applejack stood still, her skin crawling a little as the pegasus circled her. "I know you," Firefly said at last. She shook her head. "I can't say how, but I know you. I've seen your cutie mark before." She pointed to the three red apples on Applejack's flank. "Or at least one very much like it."

Applejack looked at Firefly's flank. Her cutie mark was two blue lightning bolts. She wracked her brain, searching for a connection, but none came. "Sorry. Ah don't know you."

"Who are you?"

He smiled. It was a crooked smile, and it set her fur on end. "It's all right, my dear," he said, stepping toward her. She stepped back. "Don't be afraid."

"Ah ain't afraid," Applejack lied.

He chuckled. "My dear, it's all right. I'll make your fear go away."

"You stay away from me." Applejack crouched and stamped the ground with a hoof. "Ah'm warning you."

He stopped his advance and looked at her. "All right," he said, his voice soft. The sound — which also shouldn't have existed, she remembered — sunk into her racing heart, forcing it to slow. "What's your name?"

"Applejack," she answered, holding her crouched position. "You?"

"There will be time to talk about me later," he said with a wave of his hoof. Her heart slowed a bit more. "Where is your home?"

"It's..." Applejack shook her head, trying to shake away the haze that still clung to her mind. "Ah don't remember. But it's not here."

"Where else would it be?" he asked. "There is nothing else but this house."

"And the waterfall," Applejack added. Her voice sounded shrill even to her.

"Right, right." He waved his hoof again. Her heart slowed a touch. "Let's move on. How many ponies are there?"

Applejack frowned. It wasn't a question she'd pondered before — not that she'd done a lot of pondering in recent memory. "Ah — Ah don't know," she had to reply. "Ah've only ever seen you and me."

He nodded. Her shoulders relaxed. Her heart slowed. "That's right," he said. "Do you know why that is, Applejack?" She shook her head. The haze was growing thicker again, forcing her fear away. "It's because we are the only two. That's it. There is nothing in this world but you and me and the waterfall."

"A-And the Silverponies."

He frowned. Her heart sped up. "Pardon?"

"The Silverponies," she repeated. "You know. Those gangly things that follow me around."

He cocked his head to the side before bursting into laughter. "You mean the Guardians," he said. "Yes, of course. There are Guardians as well. They're what keep this land safe."

Applejack frowned. Two thoughts brushed against each other in her fog-filled mind with a sensation much like lightning. "From what?"

He frowned again, deeper this time. Her heart sped up a bit more. "What do you mean?"

"Keep us safe from what?" Applejack asked, seizing on the connection. The fog around her mind grew thin. A shard of confidence formed in her chest. "You said there ain't nothing out there but you and me and them and the waterfall. What's there to keep us safe from?"

His lips twitched ever so slightly. He sighed and smiled. "Applejack, there is nothing out there. You belong here with me. Now, why don't you put those barrels on and fetch me some water?"

Applejack couldn't be sure what exactly made her snap. It could have been his condescending attitude or smug expectation that she would just do as he said. In the scheme of things, it didn't really matter why she sent the barrels flying at his face with a quick kick and a scream of, "Like Tartarus I will!"

The empty barrel bounced off his flank and struck the wall with a hollow thunk before clattering to the ground in pieces. The other, the one still full of water, struck him square in the face. The blow sent him back a few inches and left him sprawled on the floor, a little blood trickling from his nose.

Applejack stared at his motionless form for a moment before tentatively drawing closer. The flash of anger had left a void that was rapidly being filled with trepidation. "Uh, hello?"

He didn't answer. She prodded him with a hoof but got no response. What he sleeping? Unconscious? Or worse? Her heart rate skyrocketed. The world darkened a bit. Outside, she saw a Silverpony drawing closer.

"Oh, Celestia, Ah've done it now."

"Applejack."

She blinked. "Huh?"

Firefly was looking at her sideways again. "That's your name. Applejack."

Applejack nodded slowly, still feeling on edge. On the one hoof, Firefly had retrieved her barrels from above and given Applejack some simple food and drink, both of which revived her senses and drove back the cloud around her brain. On the other hoof, she somehow knew her name, yet Applejack was certain she'd never met this pegasus before. Firefly's inexplicable knowledge scared her, just like him.

But on the third hoof, how much could she trust her own memory? She didn't remember seeing a pegasus before, yet somehow she knew that's what Firefly was, and that there were more ponies like her. She knew she didn't belong here, yet she had no memory of anywhere but here. She knew what colors were, yet color did not exist in this world — except, apparently, on her and Firefly's flanks, and on his coat when she saw him drink the water, and in her dreams.

And on the fourth hoof, she needed a place to rest and hide from the Silverponies. With three hooves against one, it was hardly a difficult choice, but that didn't mean she had to feel good about it.

Firefly sat down and continued to eat her oats. "I know it's crazy," she said. "Sorry if it creeps you out."

Applejack shook her head. "You can't be any worse than them Silverponies."

"Silverponies?" Firefly looked at her for a moment. "Oh, you mean the Creepers." She shuddered. "They do look a little like ponies when they get mad, I guess."

"Do you think they'll find us here?"

Firefly shrugged. "They haven't so far."

For a while, they sat in silence. Applejack finished eating her oats and watched Firefly, who appeared to be more interested in thinking than eating. Her gaze was unfocused, as if she were staring at some faraway place visible only to her. For a moment, her expression triggered something in her mind, something she needed to remember but couldn't.

"What are you thinking about?" she said at last, unable to reach whatever memory was struggling free of her mind fog.

"Hmm?" Firefly looked at her, her spoon stuck in her mouth. "I was just — I mean — it's nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing."

Firefly scowled at her, but it wasn't an unfriendly scowl. It was more like Firefly was accepting some unspoken challenge. "I know I've seen somepony like you before," she said. "It's like — you know how you dream sometimes, and it's like you're in a completely different world? Where everything has color and sound and there's other ponies like us?"

Applejack nodded. "Ah told him about it once. He wasn't interested."

Firefly snorted. "That's putting it lightly, isn't it?"

Applejack couldn't help but chuckle. "'The world is without color. The world is without sound,'" she intoned, doing her best to mimic his voice.

"The world is without fun," Firefly added with a groan. "Seriously. He had me fetching water for who knows how long. First thing I did when I got free was fly as fast as I could — those Creepers never stood a chance." A cocky smile came to her face. It tugged at that memory, still half-buried in fog. "Sometimes you want to just tell the old goat to get the water himself, right?"

"Ah think he's a pony, actually," Applejack corrected her, surprised at how much more comfortable she felt now.

"It's a figure of speech," Firefly replied with a wave of her hoof. "Anyways, a while back I started noticing my dreams always had the same ponies in them. They looked the same, they acted the same, they even had the same names — Ember, Bow Tie, Twilight." That last name made a particularly strong tug in Applejack's mind. "There was one named Applejack. She had an orange coat and a cutie mark similar to yours."

Applejack considered her words. Now that she thought about it, she did recall seeing a few of the same ponies in her own dreams. "Ah think Ah know what you mean."

Another silence stretched between the two, though this time it was Applejack who got lost in her thoughts. She'd never met Firefly before — she was sure of it. Yet something about her was so familiar. And that name, Twilight — it got stuck in her head, like a bridge leading her into the foggy parts of her memory. "Hey, Firefly?"

She looked up at her, mouth full of oats. "Yeah?"

"How long have you been here?"

Firefly swallowed and twirled her spoon in her hoof. "Honestly, Applejack? I've stopped counting. I used to know how long it was since I 'woke up,' but I've lost track — and without asking him, there's no way I'll ever know how long I was hauling water from that waterfall."

Applejack nodded. "That's not the kind of question he'd answer, anyway."

She had to get out of here before the Silverponies showed up. When she got down to it, that was the one thing she knew for sure.

The barrels she'd kicked were worthless now — broken in pieces and lying closer to him than she dared to venture again. Fortunately for her, he kept a stash in a back room, so replacing them wasn't the problem, nor was filling one with oats.

The problem was getting to the water.

She balanced the barrel on her back and took a deep breath. Somehow, whether by fate or bad luck, his body was slumped right against the cistern. He hadn't moved yet, but she was certain 'yet' was the key word there. She stifled her apprehension and stepped as silently as possible, not bothering to ponder why her hooves were now an exception to the no-noise rule. Slowly, carefully, she eased her way toward the cistern until she was close enough to reach it with the barrel. She submerged the container as much as she dared and pulled it back out, frustrated by the barrel's sudden disregard for the no-weight rule.

Why was it that when something broke the rules, it made things harder for her?

It was a question for another time, she decided, as she jammed lids on both barrels and saddled up. The weight made it hard for her to step quietly, and despite her best efforts, her hooves made more noise than she liked. "Consarnit," she whispered, reaching a hoof for the door. She fought to keep her breathing slow and steady. Just a few more seconds, and she could bolt out of this miserable mound. Where she went from there was a question she hadn't gotten around to answering yet.

His eyes opened the moment her hoof touched the handle.

Applejack froze. He stared up at her, unblinking, expression blank. She felt her chest begin to heave and rattle, and she forced herself to take slower, deeper breaths. "Who are you?" she said at last.

He stared at her. She stared at him. Then, he laughed. She bolted. His laughter echoed after her as the Silverponies began to swarm.

"Applejack!"

She bolted awake, flailing her limbs like she was fighting off the Silverponies. One of her legs connected with something soft and squishy that yelped in pain. "Hey!"

"Wha?" Applejack looked up to see Firefly rubbing her jaw. "Oh. Sorry."

Firefly scowled. "It's okay," she said, "but you owe me one."

Applejack took deep breaths and willed her racing heart to slow. Firefly stepped a little closer, eyes wide. "What were you dreaming about?"

She tried to remember before the dream faded into the fog. "It was one of those dreams — the ones with color and sound and other ponies," she said. "There were these little ponies — fillies, Ah think Ah called them."

Firefly nodded. "Right. That's the name for young ponies."

"One o' them was my — sister, Ah think," Applejack continued. She wasn't completely sure what the word meant, but it was very important. "We were running from the Silverponies."

Firefly frowned. "The Creepers were in your dream?"

"Yeah."

Firefly snorted. "No wonder you were flailing around like that."

"That's not the worst part," Applejack said, holding the dream in her memory despite how much she wanted to forget it. "The worst part was, she wasn't my sister. She was a Silverpony in disguise. My real sister was... was..."

"Was what?"

Applejack growled and pressed her front hooves against her temples. "Ah'm trying to remember! We we're running, and they turned into Silverponies, and then..."

"And then nothing."

Applejack's brow furrowed as she sat up and looked up at Firefly. "You know what Ah'm talking about?"

Firefly nodded slowly. "I've had a dream like that. I'm trying to distract some Creepers so my dream friends can hide. One of them pops out of this cloud and comes right at me, and then...."

There was a pause. "Nothing," Applejack finished.

"Yeah."

The room was silent, but Applejack's head was not. Fragments of memory swirled in her mind, and she tried to put them together. Why were their dreams so similar? Why couldn't she remember anything before the waterfall? Was there really anything else out there, or was she just crazy, becoming more delusional with an equally crazy pegasus?

"Where did you wake up?"

Applejack started from her internal monologue. "Huh?

"Where did you wake up?" Firefly repeated.

Applejack looked around. "Here, on the floor."

Firefly shook her head. "I mean, what's the first thing you remember about this world? Not when you 'woke up' woke up, but the first thing you saw in this place."

Applejack thought for a moment. "The waterfall," she finally said. "Ah remember the waterfall, and the Silverponies coming for me, except they looked more like ponies than normal."

Firefly's eyes glazed over. "That's the first thing I remember, too. There were five of them. It was before him, before the buckets and the water. I remember thinking of how I could get away, and then, when they attacked, for a split second I was in a castle."

The memory of the crystal room surfaced in her mind. "Ah know what you mean." They were silent for a moment. "Weird, huh?"

"You still think it's a coincidence?"

They stared at each other for a moment, eyes locked, communicating what neither dared to speak. "Ah don't think Ah have to ask how you first 'woke up,'" Applejack said at last.

"Nor I you," Firefly agreed. "I always did like standing under the falls. Made it easier to think, don't you agree?"

Applejack nodded and got to her hooves. "Ah think it's time we visited it again," she said. "Find something to clear our heads."

Water

They decided against making a mad dash for the falls.

It certainly wasn't for lack of confidence on Firefly's part. The pegasus was sure she could outfly anything in the sky. Applejack, however, was just as certain she couldn't outrun them, and so the two resorted to a more subtle approach, one both agreed would probably be better in the long run.

Mostly because, as far as their collective memory recalled, no one had been crazy enough to try.

"You know, I could probably fly to the top of this thing in ten seconds," Firefly grunted as she grasped Applejack's hoof with her own. Applejack pulled the pegasus onto the ledge beside her, checking to make sure the barrels were still strapped securely to her sides.

"It's not about speed," Applejack reminded her, though she didn't resent Firefly's impatience. She looked back the way they'd come and as far as she could see. There were no Silverponies in sight, at least not yet. She could only hope that remained the case.

The dull grays of the world were beginning to lighten again. Since there was no light source, why this was remained a mystery, just another one of many in this world. Applejack hoped she wouldn't have to ponder them for much longer.

The two took a moment to catch their breaths and drink a little water from their supplies. Each carried two barrels, which were full of water when they left the hideout. Now they were each about a quarter full. Applejack's stomach was beginning to growl at her, but she and Firefly agreed water was far more important in their circumstances. If they rationed it, they could keep the brain fog at bay long enough to reach the falls. Besides, if they couldn't reach the falls in the time it took them to drink through four barrels, odds were they would be captured anyway.

"You ready to go?" Applejack asked.

Firefly nodded and turned her head upward. "I think I can see the next ledge," she said, placing her hooves against the steep slope. "I'll take the lead this time. Don't fall, okay?"

Applejack looked down they way they'd come and felt dizzy. "Ah wouldn't dream of it."

Firefly's hideout had no stairs leading above-ground. Given she could fly, there was no reason to add such a feature until Applejack came along, and Applejack didn't plan on staying long enough to make such an addition necessary. Unfortunately, this meant Firefly had to do all the heavy lifting to get Applejack and four water barrels out of her lair, a task that left her somewhat out of breath.

"You all right?" Applejack asked.

"I'm fine," Firefly said, a bit more snippy than necessary. The two secured the water barrels to their sides and set out toward the mountain. Applejack could see his mound in the distance. Her innards started to squirm at the thought that he might be watching them. Still, she didn't see any other option, and so held her peace. If Firefly had any misgivings, she similarly kept them to herself.

It was a long while before they spotted the first Silverpony, drifting rather far from the path. This the two had anticipated, and they altered course to keep themselves as far away from the creature as possible. "He's looking for you," Firefly whispered.

"He might be looking for you, too," Applejack replied.

Firefly shook her head. "I think he gave up on me a long time ago." Her words were confident, but her voice bore the slightest tremble.

The two fell into a rhythm that became more frustrating as time went on. Every time they tried to get closer to the waterfall, they spotted a Silverpony and had to retreat. At one point Applejack suggested they try digging underground, but this Firefly dismissed in an instant, saying their supplies would never last that long, and the longer they stayed, the more likely he would wise up to their activities and send his minions after them. Firefly suggested she take to the skies, and it was only with much persistence that Applejack persuaded her to stay on the ground. Despite Firefly's insistence to the contrary, Applejack was certain the Silverponies were faster than regular ponies on land and in the air.

"We need to come up with something," Firefly said at last, heaving a sigh that expressed the frustration they both felt. "This is getting us nowhere, and our water's already half-gone."

"Ah know, consarnit." Applejack struggled to push the fog from her brain and concentrate. Despite her best efforts, much of her memory still eluded her, which only added to her annoyance. "Maybe we should go back to your hideout until we think of something."

Firefly shook her head. "It's too exposed now. He'll find us. Besides, we're on the right track. Why else would the Creepers be all over, blocking us?"

Applejack tried to set her mind once again to the task at hand when she spotted something a short distance away, a dark gash in the endless plain. She nudged Firefly and pointed, and the two crept closer until they came to the edge of a large, square pit. It was as though a perfect cube of ground had been removed. A dark, semi-transparent surface of some sort covered the top of the pit, exactly where the ground should have been. Cages lined the sides of the pit, suspended on hooks that extended partway across the void.

What made Applejack's stomach turn was what lay in those cages and on the floor. She knew none of the faces, but there was no mistaking their pony forms, or what they were turning into.

"Sweet Celestia," she gasped. "Someone's making more."

Firefly tilted the barrel back and drank the last few drops before wiping her lips with a foreleg. "That's two down," she said.

They were nearing the peak now, and Applejack was able to get a glance at what was going on in the direction of his mound. She could see a lot of Silverpony activity near the pit, but it appeared many of them were beginning to fan out again. Worry started playing with her intestines again. "We're running out of time," she whispered to Firefly.

The pegasus poked her head over Applejack's shoulder. "They'll surround the mountain in a few minutes," she said. "There's no way we'll make it down to the falls."

The two ducked behind the little cover they had and once again began wracking their brains. Nothing immediately came to mind, and Applejack knew they didn't have long to come up with something. "It's no use," Firefly groaned, a hoof pressed against her forehead. "I can't think in this place."

Applejack's eyes fell on the two remaining barrels, still a quarter full of water, and an idea came to her. It wasn't a solution, but perhaps it would help them find one. "Here," she said, pushing one barrel toward Firefly while popping the lid off the other. "Drink up."

"What?" Firefly's widened in panic. "Once that's gone, that's it. It'll only get harder to think as we go."

"We need to do our best thinking now," Applejack replied. "If those Silverponies find us, it won't matter how much water we have left."

Firefly's eyes were still wide. "This is crazy," she muttered as she removed the lid from her own barrel.

"Consider it that mad dash you wanted earlier," Applejack said. Firefly shot her a look that was somewhere between a scowl and a smile, and the two drained the barrels as fast as their bodies would allow.

Applejack's mind was buzzing with new activity before she could wipe her lips clean. Memories of an orchard and rural town came flooding back, filling her with a confidence she didn't remember having before. As much as she wanted to examine the memories, she shoved them aside and focused on the present. "They're not in a hurry," she said as she peeked once again at the advancing Silverponies. "They don't know where we are, yet. Another distraction might buy us more time."

Firefly nodded. "Maybe I can draw them away, and—"

"No." Applejack didn't mean to be rude, but she wasn't going to waste time on this plan again. "Nopony's making any noble sacrifices. We're getting to them falls together."

The look on Firefly's face was definitely a scowl now, but she didn't argue. "All we have to work with are these barrels and the ropes we carried them with," she said. Her face suddenly lit up. "What if — and just hear me out on this — what if we brought them here on purpose?"

Applejack blinked a couple times before her mind found the appropriate word. "Pardon?"

"Look, the fall's on the other side of the mountain," Firefly explained. "If we try to go down while they're over there, they'll find us. We need them on the back side of the mountain so we can go down the front undetected."

Applejack had to agree the thought had merit, but it still didn't solve their predicament. "Great, but how do we get them back here?"

Firefly smiled as she tapped an empty barrel with a hoof. "What if something fell out of the sky?"

Applejack's confusion evaporated in what felt like a shaft of clear light in her brain. "Ah think Ah can arrange that."

For a moment they just stood there, looking down into what Applejack could only describe as the birthplace of nightmares. Pony bodies lay in cages and on the ground, unconscious and in various stages of mutation. Some appeared almost normal, save a few bare patches in their coats, while others' limbs were stretched and bent in grotesque angles, trickles of ooze beginning to leak out the corners of their slack jaws.

Beside her, Applejack could hear Firefly trying to speak. "Wh... why?"

Applejack stifled a shudder. "Your guess is as good as mine," she said at last.

Firefly flapped her wings and hovered over the pit, careful to avoid contact with that see-through surface. Applejack didn't blame her. "Where do they all come from?" Firefly asked.

"They're the ones who don't wake up."

Both mares squealed as they turned to face the new source of sound. There he stood, a grim smirk on his face. "You stay away from us," Applejack said.

If he'd heard her, he certainly didn't acknowledge it. "I try to recruit only the best, I really do," he said, looking down at the pit with a mix of longing and sadness. "Sometimes I go months, even years without a new Guardian." He shook his head. "These are the ones who couldn't withstand the power of the water — water, I might point out, you've both stolen from me."

"Like you're one to talk," Firefly shot back.

He looked at her with a sad smile and shook his head. "Oh, Firefly. You were the best recruit yet — it's my fault you're so upset," he said.

"Darn right it is!"

"I can help you," he continued. "You drank the water too soon, but that can be fixed. I've learned a lot since you ran away. Applejack here taught me so much, and I've really refined the process. It'll work. You'll see. You'll never have to worry about color or sound or anything again."

"What're you rambling about?" Applejack demanded. "You're saying your the one who's turning all these ponies into... into..."

He shook his head again. "The guardians bring in anypony they find, and too often the water proves too strong. They mean well — they only want to help, but they don't know how. I merely guide them to the strongest — the ones who can truly thrive."

"Oh, shut your mouth," Firefly snapped. "I bet you're just building up an army to—"

"To what?" he interrupted. "Take over the world? Please. This vast expanse of nothing is all the world is."

"That's not true!" Firefly shouted. By now she had fluttered back to Applejack's side. "I've seen it in my dreams! There's way more than this, and it's way better, too!"

"Firefly, Firefly, when will you learn not to chase your dreams?" he asked. "All that will lead you to is trouble, and we don't want that, do we?"

"Are you threatening me?"

He stepped closer to them, and despite herself, Applejack took a step back. "You forget where you are, and to whom you are speaking," he said, a menacing edge creeping into his voice. "Here, the world is silent. It's time you remembered that."

He lunged at Firefly with speed Applejack hadn't anticipated. Firefly's mouth opened in a cry, but Applejack heard no sound. A translucent bubble surrounded Firefly's head, and she began to flail her limbs in an attempt to throw him off. He laughed at her, and in an instant her entire body was surrounded in that see-through field. For the first time, she noticed something sticking out of his forehead, a spike of some kind enveloped in that same field. The sight strained at the hidden parts of her memory, and with a flash, something broke through. Another pony with a similar protrusion surrounded in a similar aura, performing incredible feats she could not begin to understand now. She understood one thing, though, and it was this: If she didn't put a stop to this strange power, Firefly would be destroyed.

Firefly's body hung in the air, and no matter how she struggled, she could not break free of his power. His laughter grew louder as Firefly drifted over the pit. Frantically she flapped her wings, but he was dragging her slowly toward the see-through something that lined the top of the pit. Applejack had no intention of seeing what it would do to her friend, so she did the only thing she could.

She kicked.

His laughter was immediately cut short, replaced with a yelp and a scream. The aura around his horn vanished, and Firefly broke free of his power. His limbs flailed as he fell through the air, through the top of the pit and onto the ground below. Firefly steadied herself in the air and returned to Applejack's side. "Thanks," she gasped.

"Don't mention it." Applejack dared to peer into the pit below. She could see him lying there, then pushing himself to his hooves. "Come on. We have to get out of here."

The two turned their gaze toward the mountain. Already Applejack could see several Silverponies coming their way. Below them, she could hear more shapes moving, and strange cries coming from him — cries that were somehow even more unpleasant than before. "We should just make a straight shot for the falls," Firefly said. "I'm sure we can outpace them." Her tone suggested otherwise.

Applejack looked around. The Silverponies were closing in on them, but only from the direction of the path. "Too risky," she said. "Ah've tried to outrun them before. It didn't end so well."

"Well, what's your plan then?"

Applejack's gaze turned once again to the mountain. "If we can't go through them, we'll have to go around them," she said. "We can climb up the back of the mountain and down toward the falls."

"That's crazy! Nopony's ever climbed that mountain."

Applejack nodded. "Exactly."

For once, things were looking up for Applejack and Firefly.

The barrel distraction worked well — almost too well, as the sound that should not have existed caught the Silverponies' attention and drew them in. The two mares scrambled quickly around to the front of the mountain and began picking their way toward the falls. Applejack had to fight hard to keep excitement from overwhelming her good judgment. This last stretch could become a sprint at any moment if they weren't careful.

Despite her misgivings, none of the monsters came for them as they half-walked, half-slid, and in Firefly's case half-flew down the mountain. Hope rose in Applejack's chest, and it was all she could do to keep it in check and focus. They weren't out of this yet.

At last, the falls came into view. Applejack and Firefly scrambled down the last stretch of mountain, and Applejack couldn't help but sigh when her hooves met the cool water. The falls had a roar now, one that became louder as Applejack sucked in the misty air. She glanced at Firefly to find her taking deep breaths, eyes closed, lips turned in a half-smile.

For a moment they stood there, quietly enjoying the soothing sound of crashing water and, now, a curious scent Applejack hadn't noticed before. Like most things, the smell tugged at her memory insistently. She stepped toward the falls, her mouth almost watering in excitement. At last she could drink her fill and rid herself of her amnesia once and for all.

"Wait." A hoof on her shoulder stopped Applejack in her tracks. Firefly was looking at her with a wide-eyed expression.

"What?" Applejack asked.

Firefly looked uncertain. "It's just, remember what he said about the water? How it's too strong for some ponies?"

Applejack remembered. "Ah think he was just trying to spook us," she said. "We both know drinking it helps us remember..." Her voice trailed off. She wasn't entirely sure what she was remembering.

Firefly frowned. "I don't know," she said.

"Neither do I," Applejack admitted. "But if it was something bad, why would he have us take it to him?"

Before Firefly could answer, a shape neither had noticed bolted across the pool and onto her back. Firefly cried out in pain as the twisted, semi-pony shape pinned her to the ground. He still resembled himself, but now his limbs were too stretchy, his mouth too wide. With a growl, he sank his jagged teeth into Firefly's shoulder, side, any exposed flesh he could find. Firefly screamed and twisted out from under him, causing him to tumble into the shallow pool. With a hiss, he lept to dry land.

Applejack helped Firefly to her hooves. She was hurt, but she could still limp her way away from him. The two backed toward the falls, watching him as he paced predator-like at the edge of the pool. Then, he spoke.

"Look what you've done," he said, a little ooze falling from his malformed lips. Applejack forced down the too-familiar panic as she looked for some kind of escape. Silverponies were drawing closer, surrounding them, backing them against the cliff face. They floated along the edges of the pool, their in-her-head voices demanding she come with them. "There'll be no stopping them now," he growled. "Without a master, they will run rampant and consume everypony in every world. Thanks to you, the universe is doomed!"

Applejack ignored this and focused on the Silverponies, which were beginning to look more like ponies by the second. Soon they were pacing the shore with their self-proclaimed master. "So you're saying there are other worlds?" she asked, mostly to keep him talking until she could think of a plan.

"Silence!" A black spray spewed from his maw and fell into the water, where it began to dissipate with a hiss and little puffs of smoke. An acrid scent reached Applejack's nose, which wrinkled in revulsion. "There are no other worlds! There is only silence!"

A retort brushed at the edge of Applejack's mind, but she ignored it. With the fall's mist filling her body, she began to realize a fatal flaw in their plan. They'd made it to the waterfall, but now what? Where would they go from here? In front of them, Silverponies stalked, mouths dripping. Behind them rose the mountain. Meanwhile, his body was losing its shape, becoming more gooey by the moment. Soon he would be one of them, and she had a feeling Silverpony-him would be much less restrained than normal-him.

"So make us," Firefly said. Blood was flowing from her shoulder and side, and dark slime clung to her fur, but she limped defiantly forward anyway. "Come here and make us silent!"

He growled again, a more feral growl this time, and lunged. Firefly was too slow to dodge, and his fluid body struck hers like lightning. The two struggled for a moment before he began to howl. He scrambled back to the shore and paced with his fellow Silverponies. Firefly righted herself and fixed him with a glare, a new set of bite marks on a foreleg.

"That's it?" she asked. "Is that all you got?"

"I will make you pay!" he screeched. The sound reverberated in Applejack's skull more than she liked. Much of his skin had been blackened during the tussle, and that acrid smell filled Applejack's nostrils again.

"Well, come on then." Firefly took up a defensive stance. "I'm waiting."

He was limping now, keeping weight off one of his darker limbs. He lept forward again, more cautiously this time. Applejack charged forward and hit him a second before his teeth found Firefly's flesh. He tumbled sideways and hit the water with a splash, and he scrambled back, howling louder than before.

Beside her, Firefly smirked. "That's what I thought."

"What?" Applejack tried not to gag as foul-smelling smoke surrounded her. It had come from him, but why?

"They can't touch the water," Firefly said. "It hurts them. That's why they don't come here."

Liar, he screamed, though his voice made no sound beyond their skulls. You lie!

"Do I?" Firefly splashed some water at the Silverponies with a hoof. The monsters hissed and backed away.

Applejack couldn't help but smile as relief flooded her body. "Sure looks like it to me," she said.

He hissed. He was almost entirely Silverpony now. You cannot leave, he said. No one leaves.

"Oh yeah? Now's your chance to stop us."

His body shuddered, and a high-pitched scream tore through Applejack's mind. She clutched her head until it subsided, and she could look what was left of him clearly. The other Silverponies stopped their pacing and began to move away, back from the falls, their pony forms fading as they did. He stood there with what Applejack could only assume was a glare for the longest time. Then, he too began to drift back into the vast emptiness of this place, impossible to distinguish from his fellow monsters.

"That was close," Applejack said. "Nice thinking."

"It's not over," Firefly replied. As she spoke, Applejack felt the ground begin to tremor. In the distance, she saw the mound collapse and melt into the ground. "We need to get out of here. Find a way into our dreams."

Applejack nodded and stepped into the waterfall, hoping it would help her think more clearly as it always did. To her surprise, she found not a solid wall behind the falls, but an opening that went deeper into the earth. "Hey, Ah found something," she said.

Firefly limped through the falls to stand in the empty space. "I guess the water does have to drain somewhere," she said. She flapped her wings and rose into the air. "Come on. It's as good a direction as any."

As the two traveled, the water's effect grew stronger. In a series of images, her memories began to return. She was a farm pony from Ponyville. Her family grew apples. She had many friends, and they had many adventures together. She even remembered finding the Silverponies for the first time, first in Twilight's castle and then in the Everfree Forest. The forest, combined with the smell that came from the water, reminded her of somepony else, somepony with a deep voice and striped coat. "Ah think we're on the right track," she said.

Firefly nodded, though she seemed a little tense. "You doing all right?" Applejack asked.

"I'm fine," she answered. "Just hurt is all."

"Maybe walking would be easier for you."

Firefly shook her head. "I'd rather be in the air, thanks."

Applejack didn't have a chance to argue, as the tunnel suddenly opened into a large cavern. The water was moving faster, and she moved to a spot of dry ground to avoid being swept away. Other streams poured into the room, creating a large whirlpool that swirled into some deeper level of this world. Applejack looked around at the other tunnels. "Now what?"

"I'm not sure." Firefly landed beside her, still keeping weight off her injured foreleg. "But we need to think of something quick."

Applejack frowned. "Ah don't think any Silverponies will be coming after us now," she said.

Firefly didn't answer but continued to look around. "It looks like the only way out is through the whirlpool," she said at last.

Applejack didn't like her conclusion, but she couldn't argue with it either. All the tunnels flowed here, and she wasn't about to return to the surface. "All right," she said. "We'll jump together."

Firefly shook her head. "I don't think that's possible."

"Why not?"

Firefly didn't answer, but as Applejack looked at her, she suddenly understood. Already Firefly's fur was beginning to fall out, and her legs were beginning to bend at wrong angles. Her hooves were blackened — burned was a more appropriate word, she realized — where they'd touched the water.

"Firefly..."

She nodded. "He must have infected me when he bit me," she said. "I didn't want to believe it, but..."

Applejack took a few breaths to steady herself. "Look, we'll get through this," she said. "Ah have a friend who knows about these things. Ah'm sure she can help turn you back to normal." As she said it, she remembered why the water smelled so familiar; it smelled exactly like the striped pony's potions, the ones that cleaned away the Silverponies' ooze.

"I won't make it through the water," she said. "Just being close to it hurts."

"We can do it," Applejack insisted. "Ah already told you, nopony's making a heroic sacrifice."

Firefly chuckled. "I know. But it's not really up to us anymore, is it?" She looked Applejack straight in the eye, fiery determination glowing behind her pupils. "Go on. You don't need to feel bad about leaving me behind."

"We can both go," Applejack insisted. "Ah can't leave you here."

Firefly's body tensed, and her wide eyes jerked back toward the tunnel. "They're coming," she said. "I can feel —" Her sentence was cut off with a gasp. Her eyes squeezed shut. "We don't have time to argue. I can distract them while you get home." Firefly tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. Her face was beginning to change. "I can handle them."

Applejack looked up the tunnel as far as she could. She could see nothing, but that didn't mean nothing was there. Firefly's body was convulsing now, her legs becoming more shapeless, her fur dropping out in clumps. Soon there'd be at least one Silverpony here, and that was one more than Applejack wanted to deal with.

"Listen," she said softly, not sure if Firefly could still hear hear. "Ah can leave you here, and you'll live the rest of your life a monster. Or we can try to get home together."

"I'll die if I try that." Her voice quavered, and small drops of water leaked from the corners of her eyes.

"As far as Ah'm concerned, you're about to die anyway. If you come with me, at least you have a chance." Applejack put a foreleg around her shoulders. "Don't worry," she said "Ah'll be right with you."

The two locked eyes, and that was enough. Firefly nodded. They approached the rapid, swirling water and jumped.

The water's chill shocked Applejack as it enveloped her, but she managed to keep a hold on Firefly. The pegasus was flailing, and Applejack could almost feel the water burning her half-transformed body. She held onto Firefly with all four legs as the two were swept faster and faster. Her lungs screamed for air, but she held her breath as her body was thrown about, until at last the current subsided and she felt a gentle breeze against her soaked fur.

She opened her eyes, and immediately squinted as a whirl of colors assaulted her. Blinking a few times, she saw she was in some kind of shallow pool in the middle of a forest. She could smell the flowers that lined the pool, hear birds and other animals skittering about their business, feel the warmth of the sun on her skin. A laugh escaped her, and then another until the area was filled with her joy. "Firefly!" she called. "We made it!"

It was only then she realized she was alone. The black ooze was already washed from her body.

Home

Applejack was surprised at how many ponies she found gathered at the town hall. The ponies she now recognized as Apple Bloom, Big Mac and Granny Smith were standing in the front, dressed entirely in black and quietly mourning. Twilight Sparkle was giving a speech extolling Applejack's virtues and deeds, and Applejack was touched by her friend's sincerity. She recognized most of the ponies there, though she couldn't yet put names to all the faces, and it didn't take her long to spot her closest friends in the crowd.

"Applejack was a friend and a helper to all," Twilight was saying. "Her last hours were spend protecting those she loved, and we must never forget her sacrifice or her courage. I, for one, will always remember her as one of my dearest friends, and I'm sure many here will do the same."

Applejack felt bad about interrupting, but she figured the situation would only become more awkward the longer she waited. She cleared her throat, and a hundred heads whirled in her direction.

The air grew chill as Applejack stepped from the pool. She sat at its edge, watching until the ripples settled and the water became still. The sun crawled across the sky. Its rays dried her fur but did little to warm her. Firefly was gone. This was a fact, and Applejack knew no amount of waiting would change it. They'd both known this was a possibility, yet some part of her hadn't fully accepted that, and it was all Applejack could do to sit and cling to the memories of her friend.

It was strange, she thought, that of all the memories she could now access, she focused on the ones she made in that wasteland.

Applejack's own sneeze broke her silent vigil, and she began the process of orienting herself. Based on the sun's movement, she was able to discern her directions. She guessed she was still somewhere in the Everfree Forest, and with that knowledge, she made a rough estimation of where Ponyville might lay.

As the afternoon wore on, Applejack's mind wandered through areas that had been clouded for so long. She thought of her family, her friends and their adventures, her farm and work, taking solace in the things she now remembered having. Her Stetson was missing, undoubtedly lost somewhere. Perhaps Apple Bloom or one of her friends had found it. It was insignificant in the scheme of things, but she still felt strange without its weight on her head.

A hissing sound jolted Applejack from her thoughts with a startled yelp. It took her a moment to find an offended snake making the noise, and a moment longer to see one of her hooves had trapped it. "Heh, sorry," she said as she lifted the hoof. The snake hissed again and slithered into the forest.

It was then Applejack noticed something familiar, though it was not the sign she'd hoped to find. Some of the trees were smeared with what could only be Silverpony sludge, the markings becoming more pronounced deeper into the forest. She stood there for a moment, unsure what to do. On the one hoof, she had no desire to see those monsters again, but on the other, somepony had to find out if they were still lurking here, and on the third, she definitely knew more about them than any other pony she knew.

Her fourth hoof was too tired to weigh in, so she decided to follow the trail, her fully functioning senses alert.

It was rare for a pony to crash her own funeral, so of course, only Pinkie Pie knew what to do: Throw a party.

It was easier done than said, as some light refreshments had been prepared for those who came to mourn her passing. The crowd was already there, of course, and though Pinkie had no plans for a we-all-thought-Applejack-died-but-then-she-didn't party, she improvised well enough. Applejack made a point of greeting her family first, followed by her friends, and then she spent a while letting everypony tell her how happy they were to see her again. The attention and excitement made her a little uncomfortable, but she endured it as best she could. After all, it wasn't every day a pony came back from the grave.

After the party, Twilight approached, looking a little sheepish. "Listen," she started, "I'm sorry I left you in the forest. I should have stayed and helped."

Applejack gave her friend a hug. "Don't worry about it. All's well that ends well, right?"

Twilight nodded, brushing the traces of a tear from her eye. "I'm glad you're safe. If it's not too much trouble, do you think you could come to the castle tomorrow? I'd like to hear more about what happened."

Applejack nodded. "'Course. Ah'll be there first thing in the morning."

Twilight smiled. "Great. See you then!"

The ooze grew thicker on the trees the farther she went, but she didn't let fear get the best of her. As the sun began to set, she found herself facing a rocky outcropping she'd seen before. She'd never thought much about it, but now, with the whole thing covered in slime, she figured it was time to give it a little more attention. A massive boulder inscribed with some kind of foreign language now blocked the tunnel that led underground. Though the tunnel's outline was coated in ooze, the boulder itself appeared untouched.

She hadn't the slightest idea what it meant, but she had a feeling the zebra standing nearby might.

"Hello there, dear Applejack," Zecora said after the two exchanged hugs. "It's so nice to see you back."

"It's nice to be back," Applejack agreed. Turning her attention to the boulder, she asked, "What happened here."

"This is where the monsters lurked," Zecora said. "This was the source of their foul murk."

Applejack put a hoof against the boulder. "You think this'll hold them?"

Zecora nodded. "Princess Twilight lent a hoof to make this Silverpony-proof. Her power and my zebra lore have sealed their portal with this door."

Applejack let her hoof slide down the boulder until it rested on the ground. "Well, that's good, Ah guess."

Zecora watched her for a moment. "Something troubles your mind still," she said at last. "What is it that makes you chill?"

Applejack sighed. "It's just... Ah met another pony," she said. "We tried to escape, but..."

Applejack couldn't finish her sentence. Zecora placed a hoof on her shoulder. The sensation helped Applejack withstand the weight of her regret. "If it weren't for her, Ah wouldn't have made it back," Applejack said at last. "There was nothing either of us could've done, but Ah wish there was."

Zecora gave her a smile but said nothing while Applejack mourned anew. At last, Zecora led her back to her hut. When Applejack dreamed, it was of a world of gray, and a pegasus with two blue lightning bolts on her flank.

"So, that's my story."

Twilight finished scribbling the last few sentences on her scroll and set her quill aside. Applejack looked at herself in the gleaming crystal walls while her friend reread her report. On the surface, nothing looked different, yet Applejack still felt different seeing her own reflection. There was something new in her eyes, a kind of tired sadness she hadn't noticed before.

"Thanks." Twilight's voice interrupted Applejack's melancholy thoughts. "I appreciate you telling me that. It sounded difficult for you."

Applejack nodded. "Thanks for listening. Anything else Ah can do for you?"

"No," Twilight said, though her expression suggested there was a 'but' to follow. "I might have something for you, though."

"Yeah?" Applejack wasn't sure what her friend meant. She already had her Stetson, so it had to be something unrelated to all this Silverpony business.

"When I told the princesses what was going on, they came here right away to help," Twilight began. "Thanks to the Silverpony you stuffed in the chest, they figured out pretty quickly what they were, and we were able to find a lot of information about them."

Applejack nodded, not sure what this had to do with her. "Ah'm glad Ah could help," was all she said.

"There was another time when the Silverponies ran rampant in Equestria. There was a lot to sort through, so I don't remember every account of what happened," Twilight continued. "It was a long time ago, right after Tirek was banished for the first time. A bunch of ponies then were able to trap the Silverponies in their own world, which I'm guessing is that weird place you talked about."

Applejack said nothing. Twilight cleared her through. "The point," she said hastily, "is the pony who figured out how to stop them. Apparently she was captured by the Silverponies and taken to their world, but she escaped with another pony's help. That other pony disappeared when she returned home."

Applejack's heart began to beat quickly, but she dared not hope. "What kinda pony was this?"

"A pegasus," Twilight said. "I never found her name — I was more concerned with other things at the time — but she did say she would never forget about the pony who helped her find her way home, and she only wished she could have thanked her for never giving up on her."

Applejack let her mind digest this story before she allowed herself to smile. It was nothing certain, her doubting half said. Perhaps she would never know for sure. But as she walked home, she decided not to worry too much about it. Sometimes, it was best just to hope.

Monsters

In hindsight, she should have seen them coming.

"A-Applejack?" She couldn't be sure which of the fillies had spoken, as she was more focused on the pony-ish forms circling just outside the clearing. Their rubbery limbs stretched impossibly far with each step, and even in the dim light, she could tell their mouths were hanging open, black ooze running over their lips, waiting to attack.

"Just stay close, girls," she said, bracing her back hooves against the ground and stomping. She narrowed her eyes, bared her teeth, lowered her head, and tuned out the pounding of her heart. "Ah hope you're ready to run."

"You wanted to see me, Twilight?"

The mid-morning light shone through the castle windows, casting a long shadow in Applejack's direction. Several unopened books lay on the table that stood in the center of the room. Twilight was alone, seated in front of the table. Applejack presumed she'd been picking which book to begin reading. A few chests rested against the walls. Most contained maps and other documents relating to Twilight's new duties as a princess.

"Yes," Twilight said, standing from her throne. "There's something I need you to do for me."

"Sure," Applejack said. "What is it?"

Twilight began to pace, as usual. "I've just received a letter from Princess Celestia," she began. "Apparently, some ponies have reported strange creatures in the Everfree Forest."

"Strange creatures, huh?" Applejack repeated. "Doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary for that place."

"They describe these creatures as"—she paused to pick up a scroll—"'stretchy,' 'gray,' 'faceless,' 'poisonous,' 'amorphous,' 'weightless,' and 'creepy.'"

Applejack considered the description. "Doesn't sound like anything Ah've ever encountered," she said. The thought of a mystery creature lurking near her farm was a little worrisome, but surely Twilight already had a plan to deal with it.

"Nor I, nor anypony else, except for these witnesses," Twilight said, rolling the scroll up and placing it on a table. "I'm asking you to go into the forest and investigate."

Applejack tilted her head. "Pardon?"

"It's clear this matter must be looked into," Twilight said, turning her back to Applejack as she continued pacing. "Though we have received only a few reports, something very real is frightening these ponies. As Equestria's leaders, the princesses have decided to send you to resolve the matter."

"Sure, but shouldn't we be discussing this a bit more?" Applejack asked. The thought of hunting these things alone without knowing what they could do made her uncomfortable. "Maybe we could get a team together?"

"Applejack, we must all make sacrifices for the good of Equestria," Twilight said, coming to a halt at the far end of the throne room.

"Ah guess," Applejack agreed, though the admission did little to loosen the knot in her stomach. A chill passed through her body.

"Good. You will leave immediately. Report to me your findings when you return."

Applejack frowned. She wasn't sure if Twilight's aloof attitude or curt demeanor grated her nerves more. "That's it?"

Twilight's head twitched a little. Sunlight was beginning to fill the room. "What do you mean?"

"It ain't like you to charge into something dangerous like this," Applejack said. She was beginning to feel sick, and not just from apprehension. "And it's definitely not like you to sit back and let others do the dirty work."

A tremor rippled down Twilight's body as light touched her rear hooves. "I apologize for my behavior. I simply have a lot on my mind."

Her cold tone suggested otherwise. "What's gotten into you?" Applejack asked, stepping toward her friend. "Ah don't appreciate being sent alone on dangerous missions like this."

"Do not come any closer," the princess said. "I can hear you perfectly well from a distance."

Applejack glared. Her intestinal ball of worry was turning angry. "Ain't you supposed to be the princess of friendship?"

Light drained from the room. Twilight turned around. Her face had half-melted into a grayish blob. Applejack stumbled back with a cry. "You should have left when you had the chance," Twilight said, though her voice grew more gravelly with each word and echoed more in Applejack's head than in her ears.

Applejack crouched. Fear and confusion writhed in her gut. "What in the name of Celestia are you, and where's my friend?"

Not-Twilight's mouth broke into a grin that stretched halfway around its head. Its eyes had melted shut, yet somehow it was still walking toward her. "You could have joined her in the forest," it said. Its legs and body lost their purple color and turned the same dull gray as its face. Its limbs stretched like rubber with each step it took.

"Y-You stay away," Applejack said, taking a couple steps back herself. The castle wall prevented her from taking any more.

The thing's grin widened. Its sorry excuse for a face was inches away. "Aren't you supposed to be my friend?"

"Nope!" Applejack spun on her front hooves and kicked the creature like it was a particularly stubborn apple tree. Not-Twilight flew across the throne room and slammed into the far wall. Its body squished against the pristine crystal wall and left a kind of black ooze as it sank to the floor.

Applejack waited a moment for it to retaliate. Her breathing was heavy, despite how little work she'd done. The creature just lay there, gently leaking a small puddle of ooze. A similar sticky substance coated Applejack's rear hooves. She approached slowly, muscles tight in case she needed to kick it a second time. The creature didn't look too interested in going another round, though, and after a minute Applejack was close enough to wrinkle her nose at the toxic stench creeping off its body.

"Stretchy, gray, faceless, and creepy," she muttered, poking the creature with a hoof. It didn't respond. She let out a long, slow lungful of air. "Mystery solved."

The Silverpony lunged. Applejack dodged. The fillies screamed as they dove behind her. The Silverpony recovered its balance and turned to snarl at her, only to find Applejack's rear hooves punting it across the clearing. "Run!" Applejack yelled, charging for the hole left by the recently pummeled Silverpony. Three little sets of hooves followed close behind.

The trees pressed in around her as she led her companions through the forest. Panic pressed in as well, but she forced that out of her mind. She needed to find a path. "Y'all still there?" she asked, risking a glance behind her. Three small voices squeaked in reply.

The sound of rustling leaves to her right almost made her jump. She glanced sideways and spied a gray blur hurtling through the trees beside her. "So they're fast," she muttered. It took half a moment to drive the terror from her head. Then, she yelled, "Follow me, girls! It's about to get rough!"

It was a strange sensation, knowing everypony around her could be a monster in disguise. She tried to act like nothing was wrong, but she'd never been a good liar at the best of times, and she couldn't help but feel like everypony was staring at her. She greeted them with a smile even she knew looked forced, but it was the best she could manage with her knotted-up stomach. Whether her fellow ponies were just concerned about the gunk on her hooves or waiting to bite her face off was anypony's guess.

Questions competed for her attention as she made her way through town. Twilight had been replaced by that... thing, whatever it was. It wanted her to go to the forest. But why? It said she could have joined Twilight there. Was that where Twilight was hiding? Was she trapped? Or was it some kind of trick? All these unanswered questions only filled her with worry. Spike hadn't had any answers; he'd only been able to gibber a few words before he passed out in shock. She couldn't blame him. She probably would have done the same if she'd walked in on somepony stuffing a gray blob monster into a trunk.

Applejack still didn't have any answers when she got out of town, but her stomach knot did begin to unwind itself without any potential not-ponies around her. It was midday before she got back to Sweet Apple Acres. She saw Big Mac bucking some apples and made her way to the house. Granny Smith was dozing in her rocker, as usual. "Apple Bloom!" she called as she began her search of the house.

"Wha?" Granny Smith awoke with a start. "Wha's tha' yammerin'?"

"Granny, where's Apple Bloom?" Applejack asked. She hoped her inner turmoil wasn't seeping too much into her tone.

Granny Smith scratched her chin. "I, ah, think she went into that there forest to visit Zecora," she answered.

The knot tightened itself, worse than before. "Consarnit," Applejack muttered.

"Watch yer language, young filly," Granny snapped.

Applejack sighed. It was an angrier sigh than she intended. "Sorry, Granny. Ah gotta go find Apple Bloom. Just — stay here, okay?"

"What?"

Applejack didn't repeat herself. She couldn't spare the seconds.

Applejack veered left, and the fillies followed. The brambles and bushes were thick here, and it was difficult to make headway, but she hoped the Silverponies would loose her in the tangle. She needed a chance to breathe, truly reign in her emotions and navigate a course to safety. Just a little farther, she told herself, and then —

"Applejack!"

A creature slithered its way through the branches and wrapped itself around Applejack's body. Panic compressed her chest. Do not run, it hissed in that strange, only-in-your-mind voice. Stay with us.

Applejack screamed and slammed her body into the thicket around her. The creature's grip began to go slack. Through the fear and adrenaline, a slim ray of hope shone. At least they couldn't take much of a beating.

The Everfree Forest was ominous almost by definition, but it felt especially intimidating today. In addition to all its usual dangers, Applejack kept constant vigilance on her surroundings, wary of any gray monsters jumping out of the trees. She stuck to the path, her ears flicking back and forth, sweeping the for any unusual sound. Her eyes strained against the shadows, searching for anything that didn't seem right. Once or twice she had to force her limbs to stop trembling and drive the memory of Not-Twilight's twisted form from her mind. As long as she kept a level head, she'd find Apple Bloom soon enough and be home in time to barricade the doors. Hopefully.

The trees leaned closer as the sun fell toward the horizon. Applejack breathed a sigh of relief when Zecora's hut came into view, and despite how alert she'd been all day, she was genuinely caught off-guard when her back hooves stumbled on something.

"What in the..." Applejack turned to look, but there was nothing for her hooves to be caught on. Nevertheless, when she tried to move forward, some unseen force kept them from complying. "Hey! Apple Bloom! Zecora!"

At the sound of her voice, three tiny heads popped out of the hut. "Applejack!" Apple Bloom called. "What're you doing here?"

"Ah'm looking for you!" Applejack called back. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exited the hut and galloped toward her. "Just what do you think you're doing out here?"

"Hiding from the Silverponies," Sweetie Belle answered.

Applejack stopped trying to pull her hooves forward. "What'd you say?"

"The Silverponies, Applejack," said a deep, melodic voice. Applejack looked past the three fillies to see Zecora walking toward her. "We do not wish to be attacked."

"These Silverponies," Applejack said. "They wouldn't happen to be stretchy, gray, faceless, and creepy, by any chance?"

"And weightless, poisonous, and amorphous," Sweetie Belle added. "How'd you know?"

Applejack's heart beat faster while her stomach tightened its self-imposed knot, and the image of a gray-skinned nightmare flashed in her head. "Let's just say Ah had a run-in with one and leave it at that."

"That I can see from the state of your hooves," Zecora observed. She turned to Apple Bloom and said, "Fetch me that potion we brewed in the woods."

While Apple Bloom ran to Zecora's hut for the potion, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo did their best to explain what was happening. "Basically, they kidnap ponies and then disguise themselves as the ponies they kidnap," Scootaloo said.

"Zecora said they all disappeared a long time ago, and nopony knows where they went," Sweetie Belle added.

"So they do have Twilight," Applejack muttered. It looked like her quest was far from over. "Care to explain whatever's keeping me out?"

"A warding circle of ancient make," Zecora explained. "Our foes cannot its borders break."

"So the Silverponies can't get in," Applejack summarized. Apple Bloom returned and passed a potion to Zecora. "What's that got to do with my back hooves?"

"They're covered in Silverpony slime," Apple Bloom said as Zecora dumped the potion's contents on Applejack's hooves. In a moment, the black goo had been washed off, and her legs moved forward freely.

"Ah see." She walked forward until she felt confident she was within Zecora's magic circle. Tempting as it was to stay, she knew that wasn't an option. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and clear her mind. "Listen, you girls stay here. Ah've gotta go find Twilight."

The Silverpony loosened its grip around her body and slithered in front of her, letting out a mind-splitting scream. Applejack pressed her hooves against her head as drops of ooze pelted her face. "That's it!" she yelled, and charged with a surge of adrenaline and anger. "Ah've had enough of you creatures!"

Applejack's head hit the Silverpony square in the jaw, and the two tumbled out of the thicket. She pummeled the creature with her front hooves a few times to make sure it stayed down. "Y'all all right?" she called, turning her head back the way she came. She was panting, but her violent outburst left her feeling strangely relaxed. Three frightened fillies nodded, their bodies still somehow untouched by the Silverpony ooze.

Applejack looked around, scanning the trees for any sign of their attackers. Seeing none, she motioned for the fillies to follow, and for a moment, she dared to hope the Silverpony nightmare was behind them. Then she shook her head and focused. Literally or figuratively, they weren't out of the woods yet.

Applejack knew Twilight Sparkle to be a pony of utmost caution, especially when traveling dangerous paths. Sure, there was the time the cockatrice caught her by surprise, or those strange poison gas creatures when those black vines tried to take over Equestria, but besides that, one would be hard-pressed to catch her off-guard, much less overpower her, in almost any situation.

So, really, there was only one place she could have been captured: a library. And as far as Applejack knew, there was only one of those in the Everfree Forest.

"Twilight?" Applejack's voice was caught between calling and whispering, leaning toward the latter. She stepped carefully through the castle's halls, hoping she remembered the way to the library. Jittery as she was, she was able to move with near silence. Her ears lay flat against her head, as though making herself smaller would make her task easier. "Twilight, where are you?"

A few grunts and groans echoed their way through the hall, and Applejack followed. Sure enough, she found a purple alicorn fighting to free herself from sticky black ooze. Her face was lined with fatigue, but she looked unharmed. "Twilight!"

"Applejack?" Twilight turned her head in Applejack's direction. "What are you doing here? It's not safe to —" Twilight's reprimand was cut short as Applejack threw a potion in her face. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Making sure you're not a Silverpony," Applejack answered. Her heart soared with the knowledge this wasn't another Silverpony trap. She removed several more flasks from her bags and relished in the thought that this nightmare adventure would be over soon. "Hold on. Ah'll have you outa this mess in a second."

Applejack heard more than saw Twilight's head jerking left and right while she poured Zecora's potion on Twilight's hooves. "They'll be coming out soon," she said. "It's getting late, and they can't stay disguised for long in sunlight."

"Well, then, we'd better hurry." Applejack poured her last vial over Twilight's last hoof. The two wasted no time bolting for the nearest exit. "We can spend the night at Zecora's place. Ah'm sure you can figure out some kind of spell to keep them away."

"I used a lot of energy trying to get myself out. My magic doesn't affect them," Twilight replied between breaths. "Besides, I need to get back to Ponyville. Princess Celestia must be informed of this immediately."

The two dashed across the drawbridge and came to a stop. On the one hoof, having a princess by her side made Applejack feel a hundred times more confident she'd make it home in once piece, but on the other, Twilight's obvious fatigue was a liability, and the princesses did need to know what was going on. She made a snap decision before doubt could creep in. "Then go," Applejack said. "Ah can find my way back to Zecora's, and it'll be easier to avoid the Silverponies if there's only one of us."

Twilight's eyes darted from the sky to Applejack's face to the forest. "We can both go," she said. Her face strained, and she gasped as her horn began to glow. "I think I have the strength to teleport us back."

"You look like you're about to faint," Applejack said.

"I can't leave you here," Twilight insisted.

"We ain't got time to argue," Applejack insisted right back. The sun was dipping below the treeline. "Ah can distract them while you get home. Ah can handle them." She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt.

Twilight hesitated a moment, then gave her a quick hug. "Be careful. I'll send help as soon as I can."

"Ah'll see you in the morning," Applejack promised. Twilight spread her wings and flapped, rising unsteadily into the sky and out of sight. Applejack trotted toward the forest and suddenly tripped over three small shapes hiding in the shrubbery.

"Ahh!" Applejack leaped to her hooves and rounded on — three fillies. "What in tarnation?"

"Sorry!" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

"We sort of followed you here," Scootaloo added.

"You're not mad, are you?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Are y'all out of yer minds?" Applejack shouted. "Ah told you to stay with Zecora!"

The three fillies sighed. "We know."

Applejack covered her face with a hoof and took several deep breaths. This was a liability she didn't need, but it would do no good to get worked up over it now. "Let's just get back to Zecora's hut, and we'll discuss this then."

It was only when she heard the rustling around them and noticed the sun missing from the sky that her heart began to pound.

"A-Applejack?" She couldn't be sure which of the fillies had spoken, as she was more focused on the Silverponies circling them, rubbery limbs stretching as they snarled and growled.

"Just stay close, girls," she said, preparing to charge. "Ah hope you're ready to run."

Every rustling leaf and cracking twig sent Applejack's heart rate skyrocketing as she led the fillies toward what she hoped was Zecora's hut. She felt herself begin to relax as she caught glimpses of torchlight through the trees, and she forced herself to stay on edge. For all she knew, the Silverponies were closing in right now, and even a split-second would make all the difference in Equestria.

"There it is," she told the fillies as the four of them stepped onto the path that led to the hut. "Run along and tell Zecora I'm waiting."

"You're not coming with us?" Scootaloo asked.

"Ah'm covered in Silverpony slime," Applejack answered. "Y'all need to clean me off with some of Zecora's potion before Ah can get past the magic circle."

"So, you can't get in?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"No, Ah can't," Applejack snapped. "Now hurry up and get some of Zecora's potion."

The fillies exchanged glances before fixing her with eerie grins. "No."

Applejack glared at them, her mind refusing to process that word. "'Scuse me?"

"Sounds like you're exactly where we want you to be," Apple Bloom said as the fillies began to creep closer. Their grins grew wider, impossibly wide, and their faces began to melt. Behind her, Applejack heard the real Apple Bloom screaming. Applejack didn't realize she was backing up until she collided with an invisible wall.

Don't worry, Applejack, the not-fillies 'said' in unison, black ooze dripping from their mouths. Applejack's vision blurred, and it was all she could do to slow her breathing enough to stay awake. You'll be safe with us.