They Walk Among Us

"It'll take a few weeks, but she'll be fine." said Steven

"You'll be back tomorrow?" asked Nurse Redheart, who was now replacing Twilight's bedsheets.

"Everyday until she is fully healed." said Steven.

"But surely you have to rest!" said the ever-considerate Nurse. "It just won't do to have you as weak as all of the others in here."

"You know as well as I do that she won't ever recover if I was allowed to take breaks." said Steven. "It's fine, really."

To tell the truth, Steven was downright exhausted. Ever since they had won that battle against Black Wesa in their own base ten days ago, he had to come to the Clinic every day and perform his healing magic on Twilight's battered body. As a result, he had already mended all of Twilight's bones and most of her ruptured organs. He was convinced that Twilight would be fine, but he didn't know if she would ever be the same as before.

"You are a very kind pony, Steven Reilly." said Nurse Redheart, who was now attaching a tube to Twilight's hoof. "Coming down here, performing your healing magic for hours a day, just to save one life..."

"A friend's life." said Steven. "And I'm very sure that you would do the same."

Nurse Redheart sighed.

"There are just too many casualties from that last battle." said the Nurse. "If I could give my life to save those whose lives were taken, I'd happily do so."

Steven didn't reply. He had felt the same thing long ago. His life to save another's... It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling.

"I'll be taking my leave now." said Steven. "Thank you again for your cooperation."

"No need to thank me." said the Nurse, who was now busy tending to the other patients, all of whom were unconscious, and all of whom had been helped by Steven to heal in one way or another. "I should thank you for helping me out during these busy times."

Steven gave a hearty chuckle, and then he left the clinic. There were other matters that he had to attend to.

Berry Punch's funeral was today.

"Hey." said Steven as he entered the small room where the rest of his teammates and Alan were in.

"Hi." said Alan and Bush in unison. Everyone else was quiet.

"They've already put her in position for the burial." said Rarity, entering the room right after Steven did. "We should go now."

Everyone in the room immediately stood up and began to walk towards the elevator to the right of the room, where they would go to the deepest parts of the cavern, where all the dead were buried.

"Crystal Caverns." said Big Macintosh as soon as they had all entered the spacy elevator.

"CRYSTAL CAVERNS." said a mechanized female voice. "FLOOR B8."

"The bottom floor of the Base." said Alan.

They all stood in tense silence as they elevator brought them down from B4 all the way to B8. Contrary to Steven's beliefs, however, the temperature didn't start to rise- in fact, it began to drop. The temperature of floor B8 was as cool as a breezy meadow in the start of spring.

"CRYSTAL CAVERNS." repeated the female voice. "FLOOR B8."

The elevator doors began to open, and Steven was brought a most beautiful sight. It was a cave, no doubt, but it was definitely one of the most beautiful caves he had ever seen. All along the lengths and walls of the caves were the most colorful stalactites and stalagmites, all of them reflecting every bit of light in a most colorful way. Stuck on the floor and walls were glowing, purple crystals that seemed to deliberately illuminate the cave for them. It was all very beautiful, and so very... natural.

"This way." said Big Macintosh, leading them through a path to the right.

It was only then did Steven realize how much he didn't want to be trapped in there. They were in a maze of twisty passages, all alike. And if any of them got lost, there was a good chance that they would never see the light of day again. But Big Macintosh seemed to know the way, so all of them just relied on him to navigate through the Caverns.

The group kept on walking, until they entered a large room.

And the interior of that room was magnificent.

Scattered around the room were large statues of both humans and ponies- Commanders of the Resistance for the whole time they were active. The statues were towered over the group, all of them in magnificent poses that seemed to show off their bravery and their strength. But right in the middle of the room was a platform, where a small crowd has already gathered around. All of them watched quietly as the three leaders stood on top of the platform, Bill Gates taking his place in front of a podium.

"Silence, please." said Bill Gates, somewhat unnecessarily. "Good afternoon, respected members of the Council, and dear friends of the late departed. We are gathered here today to mourn the passing of dear friend, lover, and sister, Berry Punch of Ponyville."

Almost immediately, Steven began to remember clearly another funeral he had gone to. A funeral... Jaeda's funeral.

"We now invite Berry Punch's close friend and lover, Big Macintosh, to please say a few words."

Big Macintosh slowly began to walk towards the platform. There were no cards, or no paper for him to refer to as he began to speak. He wished to speak directly from the heart. Just like Steven two years ago...

"For those who do not know me..." he began. "Ah am Big Macintosh. Ah ain't a stallion of many words, and neither will this speech be."

"Berry Punch was a pony that even the greatest orator cannot describe." said Big Macintosh. "There are many things that ah can say to describe her, but all of them are nothing more than understatements. Berry Punch was a pony, a role model, and a hero for all of us."

"Hey." whispered Steven to a morose-looking Rainbow Dash. "How're you doing?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. She didn't seem to want to look at anybody right then.

"I'm fine, Steve." said Rainbow Dash, looking away. "It's just that... Well... I've known Berry ever since I moved to Ponyville. She was the second pony to greet me."

"And who was the first?" asked Steven.

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Pinkie Pie."

"Havin' known Berry Punch was the best thing that has ever happened to me." finished Big Macintosh. "We'll will miss her dearly, but we will cherish her memory forever."

Big Macintosh then slowly walked off the platform and came to join them again. The Big Macintosh's eulogy was then followed by the burial of Berry Punch's body and the revealing of her statue, and then everybody began to leave the room.

"Ya guys go first." said Big Macintosh. "Ah'll catch up with ya later."

"Come on." said Steven. "Let's leave him alone."

They then exited the large room and closed the door behind them, leaving Big Macintosh to say his final goodbyes in peace.

"Poor, poor Big Macintosh..." said Fluttershy, who had been quiet all that time. "I wonder how he must feel..."

Rarity sighed. "I don't know if he can ever recover from the shock of finding Berry like that. It must have scarred dear Big Macintosh horribly."

"What are you talking about?" asked Alan. "He seemed fine in there."

"Darling, if you had known Big Macintosh before all this happened, and if you had at least have the slightest understanding of true love, then you would know that Big Macintosh is indeed, NOT fine." said Rarity.

"C'mon, guys." said Rainbow Dash. "Let's go see how Applejack is doing."

Applejack. The killer of Berry Punch, and the almost-murderer of Twilight Sparkle. Of course, none of it was her fault- she was being controlled by Black Wesa's lead scientists. But thanks to Twilight's last spell, she had managed to beat the control. But although she had been forgiven by Twilight and their small group (even Big Macintosh), she was still thought to be a threat to the Resistance and was placed in the dungeons.

"You haven't met Applejack, have you, Steven?" asked Rarity.

"No." said Steven. "Not yet."

It was true- all the times that his group had went to visit Applejack,he had been very busy in the clinic, healing Twilight and the rest of the patients. Only now did he finally get the chance to meet the now-infamous Applejack.

"Applejack is one of the most likable ponies around." said Rainbow Dash.

"Or, as she puts it, 'The Loyalest of Friends and the Most Dependable of Ponies'." said Rarity.

"I thought you held that title, Dash?" said Steven.

"Loyalest? Sure." said Rainbow Dash. "But Applejack here really is the Most Dependable of Ponies."

They then began to enter the elevator with the rest of the ponies present at the funeral.

"Where are you guys going?" asked Donut Joe.

"We're going to go meet our friend Applejack." said Bush.

"Applejack?" asked Bill Gates. "Alright, but be careful. We still don't know how much control Black Wesa has left over her."

"We'll keep that in mind." said Steven.

"Okay, then." said Bill Gates. "Dungeons, then Food."

"DUNGEONS." said the female voice. "FLOOR B7."

Steven felt the elevator move up a little bit before stopping again. The doors began to open, and the small group began to go out of the elevator.

"You do know where she is being held, don't you?" asked Bill Gates.

"Yes we do." said Rarity. "Thank you very much, Leader."

"No problem." said Bill Gates, who pressed a button, closing the elevator doors behind them.

"So, what do you have to do to get locked up inside here?" asked Steven.

"We've got murderers, thieves, traitors, the like." said Alan.

"Traitors?" repeated Steven, who began to chuckle. "I guess if all of you had believed Twilight when she accused me, I would've ended up in here, huh?"

Nobody laughed. Steven immediately felt his heart fell.

"Come on..." said Steven. "Twas just a joke. Just trying to, you know, lighten up the mood?"

"You almost died, Steve." said Rainbow Dash. "And with everything else that's going on..."

"We're here." said Rarity, saving Rainbow Dash from finishing her sentence.

Steven was met with another astonishing sight. What stood in front of them right now was a large, steel, vault-like door. Guarded by two heavily armed guards (one human and one pony), This had to be one of the most secure places he had ever been to (Fingerprint, voice, and retinal scans? There is such a thing as too much). Steven could imagine what it was like behind that door. After all, he had been in a similar situation before...

"Hey, guys!" said the human guard, in such an excited voice that seemed to betray his looks.

"Hey, Rob." said Bush.

"Here to see Applejack again, huh?" said the other guard, who seemed to be a female.

"Yes, Lyra." said Rarity. "How is the poor darling doing?"

"The commanders keep on taking her in for questioning..." said the one called Lyra. "It's sad, really. Seems like the stress of everything had really gotten to Applejack. She'd been doing nothing but hang around a corner and studying her hooves."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "That's not like Applejack at all." she said to Steven.

"Can you let us in?" asked Bush.

"Wait, you gotta tell us the password first!" said the overexcited one named Rob. "Password!"

"Lemon drop." said Rarity. "Now for the love of all that is holy, PLEASE open the door."

"Yes sir!" said Rob, who immediately shook his head. "Ma'am! Sir!"

Lyra facehoofed (he really should start spreading that word around), and pressed a hoof on the fingerprint scanner, followed by the retina scanning, and finally the voice scanning ("Lemon drops are a certain human sweet I'm rather fond of"). As soon as the whole procedure was complete, the vault wheel began to turn, opening the door.

"Let's go inside." said Rarity. "And try not to let the depression of the place get the best of you. I certainly MUST ask the Leaders to let me redesign this place later on."

Rarity was right- the inside really was depressing. There were cells everywhere, and most of them were empty. In fact, only five of the cells had a living inhabitant.

"What is this place anyway?" asked Steven.

"Maximum Maximum Security." said Fluttershy.

"Two maximums?" asked Steven. "Must be serious."

"Hello there Applejack!" said Rarity, who immediately began to walk to a cell on a far corner of the room.

Steven heard an immediate shuffle of hooves, followed by a loud 'CLANG'.

"Ow!" shouted a female voice. "Oh, howdy do there, guys!"

A southern pony? This world was just... wow. They even got the drawl right.

As they walked all the way to Applejack's cell, Steven had his first look on the pony. And her looks exactly matched her voice- she had an orange coat, a blonde mane and tail tied into ponytails (Paradox!), and freckles on both cheeks. Hell, she was even wearing a stetson! Talk about stereotypes. He wouldn't be surprised if she was good with ropes even without her Roper-Mare persona. The cowgirl pony also looked like she was strong- slim, but strong. And she was not too bad-looking either.

"Hey, Applejack." said Rainbow Dash, in a voice that was more depressed than usual. "How's it hanging?"

Applejack sighed. "Ah'm mighty fine, Rainbow." she said. "Just a bit tired, is all."

"Your nickname is Rainbow?" whispered Steven urgently. "I've been calling you 'Dash' all this time!"

"My friends call me 'Rainbow'." said Rainbow Dash, smiling intimately at him. "Special someponies call me 'Dash'. Or 'Dashie'. But don't call me 'Dashie'."

"Alright." said Steven. "Dashie."

Rainbow Dash playfully punched him, and Steven pretended to be hurt.

"And who're you?" asked Applejack. "The one with the scar."

"Oh, I'm Steven Reilly." said Steven, who pretended to take his hat off for her.

"Nice to meet ya, Steven Reilly!" said Applejack. "Strange name, though. Never heard of a pony called Steven."

"Oh, I used to be human." said Steven. "But recent conditions, well... turned me into a pony! And I don't regret it."

"Well, that' nice." said Applejack. "Ah hope that not all humans are like the one which tried to control me, though."

"Don't worry." said Steven, grinning. "Not all humans are."

"Oh, and did I mention that Steven was now Rainbow Dash's special somepony?" asked Rarity, excitement gleaming in her eyes despite knowing about this for over ten days already.

"Special... Somepony?" asked Applejack, whose smile turned to confusion, and then into anger. "You are... Rainbow Dash's special somepony?"

"Well... Yes." said Steven, who was confused at Applejack's sudden change of tone. "Why?"

Applejack didn't seem to be want to answer that. Instead, she turned to look away.

"Well, it was mighty nice for all of you to visit an' all, but y'all better get going now!" said Applejack, who began to chuckle  and grin uneasily. "Ah've got... erm... things to...um... do? Anyway, see y'all later!"

"But we just got here!" said Rainbow Dash. "C'mon, Applejack!"

Applejack sighed.

"Ah'm sorry, guys." said Applejack. "But ah've got things to think about."

"Come on." said Rarity. "We've got things to do too."

"Applejack..." said Rainbow Dash. "I'm sorry, Applejack."

"It's not yer fault, Rainbow." said Applejack, who was still looking away. Her voice was becoming shaky.

"Guess I'll... see you tomorrow?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Alrighty, then." said Applejack.

"See you, Applejack." said Steven. Applejack didn't reply.

As the group went all the way back to the elevator, they again met with Big Macintosh, who was just starting to go back up as well.

"Upper Level." said Big Macintosh, inside the elevator.

"UPPER FLOOR." said the computer voice. "FLOOR B2."

"Well that was... short." said Steven, breaking the tense silence that followed the computer's voice.

"Sorry about that, Steven." said Fluttershy. "Applejack's usually... very welcoming."

"And what did you mean when you said that you were sorry to Applejack, Rainbow Dash?" asked Rarity.

Rainbow Dash immediately began to blush.

"It was nothing." said Rainbow Dash. "Nothing, really. I was just trying to... um... cheer up Applejack. Yup! I was trying to cheer up Applejack."

"Sure doesn't sound like it, though." said Steven.

"Look, I just said what I said to cheer her up, okay?" said Rainbow Dash. "That's all."

"Dash..." said Steven.

Steven desperately wished to be able to cheer up Rainbow Dash. Ever since the battle, she had been depressed most of the time, and he wanted to find a way to make her smile sincerely again. But how?

"Well, her sister Scootaloo's birthday is tomorrow."

"What?" asked Steven.

"What?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"What?" asked Bush.

"What what?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"You said what first." said Bush.

"No, I said what first." said Steven.

"So what'd you say what for?"

"What for what?" asked Steven.

"No, I meant why'd you ask what." said Bush.

"Because I heard..." said Steven. "Nothing. Nothing, sorry."

Everyone in the elevator looked at Steven strangely.

Am I hearing voices? thought Steven.

"Well of course you aren't!"

"I aren't what?" asked Steven.

"What aren't you what?" asked Fluttershy.

"Is there something wrong, dear?" asked Rarity.

"No..." said Steven, now deep in thought. "Nothing wrong."

Nothing... or everything. thought Steven.

Whose voice was that just now? Certainly a voice he had heard before, but not a voice belonging to anyone in this elevator.

Who are you? thought Steven.

"Who I am? I'm in your saddle pack, you dimwit!"

"Why'd you call me dimwit?" asked Steven.

"Who called you dimwit?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"No one called you dimwit." said Alan.

"Steven... Is there something wrong?" asked Fluttershy, her eyes full of concern.

"Hearing voices... That's certainly something wrong."

Steven began to panic at this moment. Exactly what was talking to him at that moment? It said that it was in his saddle pack, so he had to check it as soon as they reached...

"UPPER LEVEL." said the computer voice. "B2."

"Let's go." said Rarity. "Are you sure you're alright, Steven darling?"

"I'm fine." said Steven, who immediately went outside and looked inside his saddle pack.

"Come on, Steven." said Rainbow Dash. "I'm starved."

Steven continued to look panickedly into his saddle pack, throwing out things like notebooks, pencils in the search of what the hell was talking to him inside his mind. Was he going crazy? No, he would've felt the symptoms of 'crazy' days ago. 'Crazy' just doesn't happen in one second. Does it? Thinking about it was driving him crazy.

But the fact that there was nothing in his saddle pack that could talk drove him even crazier. Was he really just hearing things? No, that was impossible. Was someone hacking into his brain or something? Because everything that was in his saddle pack at the moment were normal, everyday things. Well, most of it were. There was still the strange compass.

"Come on, Steve." said Rainbow Dash.

Steven didn't answer. He opened his compass. As he expected, however, it was still going haywire. What was going on? What does all of this mean? It was so intense.

"Boo."

Steven screamed out at the top of his lungs, threw the compass at the wall, and crawled backwards. The compass... The compass...

"Steve!" said Rainbow Dash, her voice turning urgent. "Are you okay?"

Steven then became conscious of all the other ponies and people who began to stare at him after his little episode. Blushing furiously, he immediately stood up.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." said Steven. "But I got to go back to the room for a while. You just go on ahead first."

"Wha-"

"I'll catch up." finished STeven, who then planted a kiss on Rainbow Dash's cheek. He then quickly gathered up all of his stuff, put it into his saddle pack, and literally galloped all the way to his room.

"O-Okay, then." said Rainbow Dash, still staring at where Steven went.

Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god Oh god... thought Steven as he ran, his muscle memory guiding him, towards his room.

Bedrooms No. 2... Room Number 17...

"Hey, Steven!" shouted a high, female voice.

"AAAH!" shouted Steven, crashing violently onto the wall on his right.

"Woah, there..." said the voice. "Are you alright?"

Steven sighed a sigh of relief. At least it wasn't another bodiless voice. It was Scootaloo.

"Hey there, Scoots." said Steven, picking himself up of the floor.

"You really looked like you were in a hurry." said Scootaloo. "Is there something wrong?"

Steven laughed guiltily. "No, nothing's wrong. And where are Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle?"

"They're off crusading somewhere, I guess." said Scootaloo, pulling back her hair only to have it jump straight back again.. "I'm only the adviser now, so I don't really get to do the crusading. Well, both of them try very hard to make me join them, but there's no point, is there?"

Scootaloo's words surprised Steven. For a kid, she really seemed to have reached a level of maturity much higher than the average one. Could it be that the lack of a parental figure make her understand the hardships of life herself? Or was he just thinking too much.

"Come on, Scootaloo." said Steven. "Even humans have special talents. You should go join them!"

"But what's the use?" asked Scootaloo. "Humans can't get a cutie mark."

"No..." said Steven. "But humans are still very important in their uniqueness, aren't they? The only difference between the talents of ponies and humans is that ponies have an extra mark to show off their talents! Wouldn't it b great, though, to not let a pony know your talents until you show it to them with a BANG?"

"I get it!" said Scootaloo. "Like a surprise!"

"Exactly." said Steven. "And remember this- even though you might not have a mark to show it off, a talent defines a person. Or pony. It's still very important to know your strengths, and your weaknesses."

"I guess I understand." said Scootaloo. "Alright, then! I'll go with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and we'll find our special talents together! Thanks, Steven!"

"No problem, Scootaloo. Oh, and one question! Is tomorrow your birthday?"

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "Yes, it is! How did you know?"

And with that, Steven was immediately brought back to Crazytown.

He immediately magicked the key to fit into the hole, and hastily turned it and slammed the door open. He ran into the room, slammed the door back (hoping that it wasn't broken), threw his saddle pack on his bed, and began to pace around his room.

What does this all mean? A compass that was talking to him? A compass can't talk! It can't even think! It doesn't even live!

"I'm right here, you know." said the compass.

Steven must be going crazy. There was no other explanation. A compass just can't talk! Even if you crush it with a tank, it still won't release even the smallest whisper!

"Again, I'm right here, you know." said the compass.

"What are you?" asked Steven, panicking. "Who are you?"

"You mind taking me out of this stuffy bag first? It's really uncomfortable." said the compass.

Steven immediately picked the compass out of the bag and threw it on the ground with a 'thud'.

"Ow!" said the compass. "Compasses have feelings too, you know!"

Steven continued to pace around the room.

"W-What are you?" asked Steven.

"A compass. Duh."

"Come on, give me more information!" demanded Steven.

"Oh, all right." said the compass. "Just wait a minute."

The compass became silent, like taking a deep breath. And then-

"A compass is a navigational instrument that measures directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions (or points) – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined. Usually, a diagram called a compass rose, which shows the directions (with their names usually abbreviated to initials), is marked on the compass. When the compass is in use, the-"

"No, no, NO!" said Steven. "That's not what I meant!"

"Well, you DID ask me what I was." said the compass. "And then you told me to give you more information. How else was I supposed to understand it?"

"You...You have a personality." said Steven, on the verge of crazy laughter.

"Yes." said the compass. "Gosh, they told me you were smart."

"Compasses don't have personalities." said Steven, who began to giggle crazily. "Compasses don't talk. Compasses don't have minds. All this is impossible. I must be going crazy."

"You know... you might be right." said the compass. "You look plenty crazy to me."

"This can't be right." said Steven. "No. This must be a dream! Yes, a dream."

"No it's not." said the compass.

"Then tell me why you are here." said Steven. "And why you are talking to me!"

"Because I CAN?"

"C'mon!" said STeven. "What's your purpose here? WHY are you here? WHY are you with me, right here, at this VERY MOMENT?"

"Oh!" said the compass, sounding relieved. "So that's what you meant."

"So?"

"Well, I'm here to guide you." said the compass.

"Guide me?" asked Steven, now completely confused. "To where?"

"To you father, of course!"