Saving Equus

~~

THE NEW WORLD

~~

I... I know what I have to do.

The monolith she’d been left in was unfamiliar. She didn’t understand the box-lift, a small room different from the rest, and tried to avoid it.

There was a stallion, his name was Belowitz, who brought her to the monolith in which she now stood. He gave her a choice to stay here and help the ponies of Equestria Central, or to leave. Fluttershy had told him to go, and he went down the box-lift only a while ago.

She looked around for some kind of staircase, but she never found them. The lift was the only way down.

Fluttershy thought of staying on her floor, waiting for Belowitz to come to her, But no, she thought. That wouldn’t do. I’ve waited far too long to fall back into that mindset... Staying idle should be blocked in my mind, and if it isn’t, I’ll make it so.

She had been left atop this massive structure for a time, and while she disliked it, there was no way to discredit the comforts that this room had, nor the view, nor all the things necessary for a privileged life.

It even had a robot-helper, shaped like a butler. Perhaps it could help. She talked out loud to it, feeling awkward doing so. “Uh… Servo?” It turned, jolting her. “Oh, um... right. Could you help me with this lift?”

“Of course, ma’am!” The robot attached to some protruding board inside the box-lift. “Please enter the lift, ma’am.”

She stepped in, and it took seconds before the lift started to descend. As it went down, the lift was a much smoother ride than she had expected. It was as if the laws of nature were being bent for a pleasant journey, and it felt strange to her, thinking that probably wasn’t far from the truth. She looked outside as she stood in the metal box, watching blurs of colours race past the windows. The city outside was larger than she remembered.

She saw the city as she rode in the airship, that got her to the monolith she stood in now. The airship was a pleasant, problem-free journey. Similar to the lift I’m in now. Back in her farm, the wagons were bumpy, and most times you’d have to drive them yourself. This new world is built with steel shields, protecting ponies from any kind of discomfort, she thought.I saw the same with Belowitz… he’s the weakest-looking pony I’ve ever seen, and I'm a head taller than him. Maybe everypony’s like that here. I won’t be.

She recalled the size of the monolith, one of the tallest structures she’d ever seen. The box-lift reached the bottom much faster than expected, without even a jolt as it stopped at the bottom. She turned to the robot. “Are you going to stay?”

The robot had a cheery stallion’s voice. “Whatever you require, ma’am! I was built to serve, and can offer you directions, refreshments, and anything else you require.”

“You will stay on this lift,” she commanded quickly.

The robot lit up, saying, “Excellent choice, ma’am,” and the boxlift doors closed automatically. She was relieved to be rid of the thing so easily.

The boxlift was in the centre of a larger room. As she stepped out, she noticed a host of couches and tables were standing all around her. Many ponies (smaller than her, just as she thought) occupied the couches, doing busywork or drinking with friends. It was a similar room to her own at the top of the monolith, with pale yellow walls and a carpeted purple floor, and the same massive that seemed to be the monolith’s specialty.

Noticing a lot of drinks out, she assumed as much that this was a bar, and a meeting place before using the lift. She arrived on the very top of this building by airship, so the bar was all new to her. The crowd of ponies made her not sure where she was meant to go, and she felt flustered, looking through the crowd for the stallion who had talked to her.

To her relief, she spotted Belowitz alone on a table far to the right. He was reading some kind of newspaper that levitated. Strange, she thought, as Belowitz was an earth pony. Fluttershy made her way towards him, and when he noticed her, the newspaper vanished into thin air. “How did you do that?” she asked.

“It’s a hoofbrace trick,” Belowitz replied. More technology she thought, noticing the block of what looked like metal, attached below his hoof. “Well… you’re back far faster than I thought,” he said, eyebrows raised. “So you've made a decision?”

“I’ve decided,” Fluttershy said, standing opposite him across the table. “I’m going to help you.”

The stunted stallion sprung into life. “That’s great! Miss Fluttershy, you’re not gonna regret it." He raised his hoofbraced hoof up to her. "There’s only one more thing I need you to do around here, and after that, we’ll go straight to the DHQ. D’you want any food? Late lunch, maybe? They serve food here too, and don’t worry; nopony in the monolith’ll give you any trouble. Do you want to sit, too?”

“No, I don’t want to sit,” Fluttershy replied. “Did I hear correctly when we spoke? This city we’re in now, this is what used to be Ponyville?”

Belowitz hesitated. “Uh, yes. Though, it’s been awhile since Equestria Central’s been called that name.”

What other ponies said didn’t matter to her. There was something, though, something she cared about deeply. “Does it still have the Appleshrine?”

It had been two hundred years since Fluttershy left Ponyville to tend to her new farm, in an area far out of Equestria. She used to have meetings with rest of the mane six, but they ended shortly after Applejack passed away. The Appleshrine was made in her honour.

The topic seemed to dampen Belowitz’s mood. He spoke slow, treading carefully. “The Appleshrine? Y-yes. It’s still here, despite the occasional move to say it’s worth-” he noticed her flicker of anger at what he was about to say, and sped up as he changed his wording, “-Not by me, Miss, you can be assured of that! The council’s tried to do it for years, but the shrine’s never been demolished. There’s still enough ponies that’d know a thing or two about their history.”

Thank Celestia for that, wherever she is. “Good. I will go there, alone, if that’s okay. You can explain to me what this Dee Haych Que is when I come back here, and anything else that you know is important.”

 Belowitz gave a relieved smile. “No rush, Miss Fluttershy. But, uh, there is one thing y’need to do before you go out. It’s kind of necessary. Have you... ever worn a coat before?”

She shook her head, and gave a quick glance to the other ponies around the room. There were a good few ponies looking back at her, all in some kind of attire, and she turned back to Belowitz to speak casually. “Oh. I suppose I have noticed a lot of ponies wear clothes around here.”

Belowitz nodded. “Yeah… it’s certainly a thing, alright. And you’ll need to wear them too, if you’re going out into the city.”

She gave him a queer look. An alicorn is found after two hundred years, and the most important thing is her appearance. “Is my fur not good enough for the ponies of this new world?”

Belowitz put out a hoof. “No, no! It’s not that, your fur is lovely, but… it’s for, uh… public decency.” He paused, and she could feel the room staring. Let them, she thought, but Belowitz continued.“Add onto that the size difference, though we may just be able to say you're from east country.” That part of Equestria was renowned for it's farms two hundred years ago, and perhaps it hadn't changed. And to think, I never got close to the height of Celestia or Luna. Belowitz continued. “There’s another more important reason too, specifically for you.”

She looked at him disapprovingly. “This one better be good.”

Belowitz ignored the jape, and continued in a hushed voice. “The ponies here, the higher-ups in Equestria Central, they… a lot of them have never seen an alicorn before. In fact, I don’t think anypony has but the ones in this room.

“I can’t give all the details, half of ‘em I don’t know myself, but… you could be very important to some ponies. So important, they could risk a lot to get their hooves on you. Now for starters, I know pretty much everyone in this bar. This monolith is something of a safehouse, but outside? Who knows what they’ll do? And if they report anything to anyone, you might be, well... you might be as good as dead.”

“Dead?” Fluttershy repeated. “Why would they want that? If they wanted me dead, then why didn’t they find me like you did?” Belowitz had been of the ship that brought her here, and it only made sense that anyone else could have done the same.

“You’re not realising how long we’ve searched,” Belowitz whispered. “I know ponies that have been searching for you for… ten, fifteen years? Some of them were on the airship that brought you in. Some live in the monolith. You were on a farm, true, but we’d never expect you to be that far away from Equestria… We, being the ponies that found you, and we certainly had more clues than anyone else to your whereabouts.”

Fluttershy huffed. “So you want me to wear a coat to hide my identity. I’m kind of surprised that there’s no better way to keep me hidden.”

Belowitz struggled with his words. There is, but… well, no, there really isn’t. Any kind of automatic transport’ll make you easier to find. There’s plenty of laws you can’t follow, and licenses you don’t have. Wearing a hoodie specifically, you’ll be way harder to pick out of a crowd. It’ll hide your wings, and tartarus, who ever dreamed of taking the hoodie off an alicorn? You’d smite ‘em before they laid a hoof on you.”

She found herself weirdly amused at the idea of smiting anyone. Her element was always kindness, and the very thought was un-negotiably foreign.

A mare came up to the table. She stayed a good distance from Fluttershy, but was eyeing her all the same. “M-miss Fluttershy, um… Mr. Witz, did you say you needed one of my hoodies?”

Belowitz smiled. “You’ve been listening to the whole conversation, haven’t you? It’s for our alicorn here, yeah. Miss Fluttershy, this is Granger, our resident clothes merchant. You’ll be able to get our guest a skirt too, Miss Granger? I hope they fit.”

The mare seemed more focused on looking up at her face instead of responding to Belowitz. “P-pleased to meet you,” Granger said, blushing.

This mare’s more shy than I used to be. “Thank you for helping me out, Granger. What colour is it?”

“It’s… well, y’can have whatever colour you want it to be! I’ve got t-tons to choose from in the backroom. We could magic the materials in if it doesn't fit.”

“That’s good to know,” Fluttershy said. “I’ll take a green one, and as Belowitz says… a skirt, a blue one.” The mare twirled around like she’d almost fainted, and galloped away on the request. “Should I expect this sort of treatment?”

Belowitz grinned. “Miss Fluttershy, I think you may have forgotten who you are! An alicorn, and a friend and member of the mane six six, to boot. Celestia and Luna were alicorns, and they were treated as goddesses. Twilight and Cadence too, for a while. Don’t think for a moment that you aren’t special.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I guess I am special, now.” It’ll be hard to be ignored on a farm for two hundred years, that's for sure.

Belowitz was siding a glance at her. “You sound… not at all at ease with that, Miss Fluttershy. Is something wrong?”

“Would you want to be responsible for thousands, millions, however many there are now, just like the Princesses were...?” She stopped, realising she was exaggerating. There was still no one depending on her right now, and maybe it would stay that way, if she kept herself secret. She calmed herself down. “I’ll put on my new clothes, and I’ll spend a day outside in this new world. If it's okay, Belowitz... I'd like to go alone. Give me that, so that when I return, we can talk about my purpose here.”

~~

The hoodie was a lot warmer and cosier than she expected. Rarity had given her dresses many years ago, and they were always made with a much thinner fabric than what Granger had supplied her with. Granger’s clothes were better to combat the cold, and that was what she needed to navigate the long, breezy streets across Equestria Central.

There were many ponies walking around, and soon enough, she was in the middle of the bustle. No one greeted each other, and only rarely did anyone speak, usually to account for the green-hoodied unicorn that's head poked out from all the rest. She lowered her head soon after hearing it, trying to mask herself from the rest.

It’s strange, she thought, the meeting at the monolith still in her mind. She knew this Belowitz character was trying to convince her of this need for her, and of this danger that was looming, even giving her a coat to disguise herself. She hoped that this stallion would soon explain his own position, and not without bias: for all Fluttershy knew, this stallion was part of the evil organisation, trying to hide her away in the massive structure she was brought into. They clearly had a lot of money to spend, or whatever ponies spent these days, and they were certainly keeping her a secret.

Looking around, she noticed that all the buildings were different. Fluttershy had a fond memory of the old bright and colourful buildings, now overshadowed by these new steel skyscrapers. The only colour was directed from huge signs up above the streets, with adverts that ranged from toy trains to political messages. One thing, though, seemed be in common with most of them: a picture of mare in varying heroic poses, sometimes animated for a few frames in some adverts.

"WANT TO BE A REAL MARE? GET RAPTOR'S WEEKEND WORKOUT IN 10 EASY STEPS!"

"AFTER A HARD DAY OF SAVING THE COUNTRY, IT'S CERTIFIED THAT RAPTOR'S FAVOURITE MEAL IS A BOWL OF HAYGATCHI'S LEMON CRUNCH: IT'S THE BREAKFAST WITH POWER!"

"EQUESTRIA'S POLICEFORCE: HELPING FIGHT CRIME LIKE RAPTOR SINCE '84."

Above them, what she heard being called hydrocars were buzzing away with some kind of magic. Her muzzle curled at the smells brought on by the breeze carrying exhaust fumes, smells she had never been in contact with before.

The city went on like that for an hour, before she noticed a building that she recognised. Appleshrine was built in stark contrast to the way the buildings were around it. It was much smaller for a start, and shorter, and it was made of orange-coloured stone that got dark as the chipped layers showed the stone underneath.

Upon passing through one of two wooden doors on the front, Fluttershy felt back at home. A solemn, melancholy home, but one nonetheless. Stone floors, statues, plants that grew far past their pots. It looked precisely as it did the two hundred or so years ago, when it was made, and it felt like it too. She was surprised at how there were so little ponies in it, seeing as it was so much more warmer than the outside.

The reason for the Appleshrines creation was clear once you walked in. The sculpture of an old friend, sitting on her haunches and looking towards the sky with her pet dog, Winona. Both of them had smiling faces, as if it were two hundred years prior, and nothing ever happened.

Fluttershy stood closer to the pool of water surrounding the statue. There were two ponies near the waters already, a young mare and a colt dressed in farm clothes, so she gave them some space and sat by herself, with her hood draped over her face as she stared back at the statue.

“Good day, ma’am. I see that this is your first visit. Would you like to know more about the Appleshrine?”

The voice was male, hushed as if they were in a library. Fluttershy turned to face it. “I know plenty about the Appleshrine, thank y- oh.”

It was another robot. This one looked much more lifelike, and looked furred, and dressed like a stallion. Its eyebrows moved, and it even seemed to breathe. The whole thing reeked of uncanny valley.

The owners had no right to put such a thing in the Appleshrine, of all places. Her eyes pierced through it with fury, and she proceeded by uttering her own question. “Where is your owner?”

“Your request… ah, I see now. Would you like to see customer support?”

“Is that your owner?” she asked.

“Customer support is the only available staff in the building at this time, ma’am.”

Good enough. “Show me to them.”

The robot walked like a pony too. She walked with it to a small door to the side, and once the robot was gone, she opened it. It was more of an equipment room than anything else, with an array of shiny tubs full of blue liquid to one side, a desk on the other, and a miniature pony sat in the middle. Fluttershy caught a glimpse of the back of a book, before it vanished in thin air, similar to Belowitz’s newspaper. It shocked her. “What was that?” she asked.

The earth mare sounded like a filly. “Oh, uh, nothin’. What’s your problem?”

Fluttershy didn’t like the sight of her, and she didn’t try to cover it up. “Please tell me, how did you make that thing vanish without magic?”

“Um, what? Well… its the app, y’know? Don’t y’know Foray? It’s a book app, it’ll let you read a ton from a selection, and when you’re done you can make it vanish an’ all.”

Fluttershy had no idea what she was talking about. A hoofbrace trick, remember? She was getting side-tracked.

“Nevermind. I came in here to ask you about that robot.”

“Oh, that thing.” She looked confused. “I’m guessing by the look in your face that it ain’t working right.”

“Working right?” Fluttershy repeated.

The earth pony was very slowly swivelling in her chair. “Yeah. If that is the case, then I can’t help you. I’m not the coder, y’know, so don’t blame me.” The mare was trying to avoid eye-contact. “I’ll call the repairmare shortly.”

“It’s working fine,” Fluttershy said. “That’s the problem. Why is there a robot working here? Applejack would want somepony to work hard, not make a clone do all the work. This is just insulting.”

The mare swivelled further around to face the desk. “Oh, well… I really can’t help you there. That’s up to management, and I ain’t management. D’you want to call management? I’ve got their number.”

Fluttershy looked on at her in spite. “Why can’t you think for yourself? Applejack was the pillar of honesty. You could at least be honest with me, and tell me you’re lazy.”

At that, the mare shot back, and looked in her eyes for the first time. “Look, Miss. I’m not lazy, I’m getting a damn pay cheque. I’ve gotta live life too, y’know?” She looked away and seemed to stop herself, calming down before going any further. “Tell you what. You go do a job like this yourself, experience ten hours of boredom a day, and then come back to me sayin’ you never read a book.”

Fluttershy wasn’t satisfied. “You’re making it boring for yourself, with no good reason but your own incompetence. If you lived on a farm, like Applejack, you’d never be bored.”

The earth pony turned back to her, deadpan. “Farm? You’re sayin’ I should live on a farm, like Applejack? Right…. because that can happen in Equestria Central.”She’s getting annoyingly cocky. Do I care about what Belowitz said? “Sure, Miss. If you’re so intent on me livin’ on a farm, how about you tell me about one I can go hire up in? One far away from you, preferably, so I can go back to readin’ my book.” She said it, clicking something on the device across her foreleg, and the book reappeared.

She thought back on what Belowitz told her.Do I care? Hm, not really.

Fluttershy took off her hood, and unzipped her jacket. Her wings reached both sides of the room too easily, making them bend on the tips. “Tell you about a farm? I could, but I wouldn’t waste it on you.”

The mare ignored her and feigned interest in her book for a few seconds, before taking a quick glance to see if she was still there led into a double-take, astonished by the sight of her. “The… that’s a trick. You can’t be her. She was kind.”

Fluttershy glared at her. The mare she cared so little for sank further in her chair, until she sank so far she fell off, and was now staring from the floor at Fluttershy’s piercing blue eyes.

~~

“Uh, uh, big sis?” The colt tugged on her sister’s trousers. “It’s Fluttershy!”

She exited the equipment room, the distraught earth mare following suit, and the colt and the young mare she saw at the statue were now looking back at her. She noticed that mare, despite probably being half the age of Belowitz or so, was about the same size, and the colt was tall comparatively, too, wearing a shirt with that same blue mare from the adverts. Whoops, Fluttershy thought. I should really put that hoodie back on.

The mare’s eyes were wide open. “By Tia’s glowin’ mane… I-is that really you, Fluttershy?”

She looked at both of them with interest. They were wearing farmer-like attire, and the voice reminded her of someone she knew. “Um, yes. That’s me,” she said, not used to being called out in public. She hadn’t even been near ponies for years until today.

“See? I told y’, sis! Didn’t I say she looked like Fluttershy when she came on in? I told you!”

The mare’s attention went to her brother. “Now, quieten down, Stew! I don’t want you a’hollerin in a place like this.” She looked back up at Fluttershy, flustered. “I don’t know what to say, Princess… I’m, uh, I’m Bloom, and this here’s Stew.”

Princess… she hadn’t been crowned, but she was the only alicorn around as far as she knew. She had met the ponies for less than a minute, and already she could guess who they were. “...You’re both Apples, yes?”

Bloom gave a prideful pose. “Sure am! We’re not as big as we used t’ be, but we’re still goin’ strong. Ain’t that right, Stew?”

Stew gave her a puzzled look. “Is it, sis?”

“O’course it is! You just ain’t seen the farm yet, Stew.”

Fluttershy took the chance to come back into the conversation. “So you don’t live on the farm?”

Bloom moved her head in an arch. “Well, naw, not really. Some o’ us do, but we’re the young’uns, so we stay in the city, back at the family house with granny an’ pa. D’y’wanna come visit?”

The foal beamed. “Ar, that’d be swell! C’mon, Princess, y’have to come ‘round sometime, y’simply have to!”

Fluttershy smiled back, looking past Stew and Bloom to see the statue of Applejack. “I’d like that.” She looked down to the mare and her brother. “I’m free now, actually.” I told Belowitz I’d be gone for a day.

“Hold up just a sec, I gotta do sumthin,” Bloom said. She turned to the statue, scrounging the purse attached to her side. Finding a bit, she held out a hoof. “Here’s t’ all the times we’ve been here, and all the times we wished. Thanks for answerin’, AJ.” She tossed the bit into the pool and it splashed, sinking into the sparkling water.

~~

 “Granny! Y’all never guess who we brought home today.”

She took off her hoodie as soon as she came in, leaving the skirt on for what Belowitz had told her was ‘public decency’. An insult to the princesses of old, if anything, but it did seem that everypony was wearing something.

When she came in, Bloom and Stew made quick work of giving Fluttershy the house tour. “There’s twelve of us in total,” Bloom told her. Even in a small place like this, the Apple family could fit a dozen ponies living comfortably without trouble.

Bloom, who she guessed was named after Applebloom, showed her the living room, a quaint thing, the kitchen, the bedrooms upstairs (all combined together, aside from one guest room), and the dining room where everypony was seated. She noticed the family was already at dinner as she walked in, and their Granny, who Bloom called Granny Sweet, swallowed and opened her mouth wide in awe at first sight. “My, oh my!... “

A stallion stood up next to her, Bloom’s father, and chuckled. “As much as the fig’s gettin’ rude in her old age, Ar’m… well, ar’m left with few words to follow up with, miss princess.” He raised a hoof out to her, “Y’can call yourself welcome in our home, that’s for damn sure.”

Fluttershy anxiously raised her hoof to bump his. She glanced across the table at the mostly orangey-red coloured ponies looking straight back at her. A thousand eyes, all watching me… no, that’s silly talk. Don’t mumble your words. “Thank you very much. I… can’t express how happy I am to find your family doing so well.”

“ Well, I’ll… I’ssa sign,” said an old stallion Bloom had called Paps Eefer, who sat on the opposite side of the table. He looked grim compared to the rest, and spoke without hesitation from then after. “A sign we been blessed, and times’ll change.” He eyed Bloom’s father. “Well? Whatchu waitin’ fer, Palsley? Git out’n fetch this poor lady a dish outta the seconds, the finest seconds th’ Apple’s got in store. An’ make it quick, ‘nabbit.”

Palsley grinned at his father, made a quick head bow to Fluttershy, and walked through to the kitchen. A few ponies at the table resumed eating, but most of them stayed staring in wonder at herself, looking at the horn under her green hood. It’s like they’ve never seen one before.

“So, where did you learn about me? I… I guess there’s books made about me, or something.”

Paps Eefer checked out Palsley’s empty seat. “Y’can sit there if y’want, princess. He’ll find himself another chair, don’t you worry.”

She nodded, walked over and sat down, skidding Palsley’s meal over to an empty space. “Thank you.”

Another mare on the table, sat next to Eefer, chimed in. “We never worry ourselves on books, princess. We’re quite a traditional household, like… all the word of you came from mouth. The tamin’ of the manticore, the dragon, an’ the draconequus. They say you’re the kindest mare Equestria bred.”

“I could toast to that,” Eefer said.

“Here here,” said Granny Sweet.

“Here here,” said the rest of them, and they raised their glasses to her.

Fluttershy blushed, though not entirely sure could agree. I made that pony fall to the floor... I've changed. “I, uh... thank you,” she said again. I don't think I've ever done that that before. Sure that mare was in the wrong, but honestly, I feel kind of bad for her now... She didn't want to pursue it in her mind any longer, and so she tried to change the topic on the table. “I’ve never lived in a city… What is it like here?”

“Terrible, princess,” replied a mare on the table-end closest to her. “By the by, m’name’s Corella, and a’m pleased t’meet you.” She extended a hoof, and Fluttershy hoof-bumped it over Bloom’s plate. As she did, she took a look down the table.Conversation and sounds of eating started up. Finally, they’ve stopped staring at me. They all look so similar to the ponies I used to know… look, there’s Big Mac. The sight of his lookalike made her feel weird. She had complained that ponies were small, but this stallion was taller than she was, and pretty muscular to boot. Wow. Not even Bloom looks that alike.

“She’s right,” Granny Sweet said, “but terrible’s only one word fer it. We got a whole farm out of the city, but we ain’t got enough bits from it t’live. It’s damn criminal, is what it is! No Apple were ever made t’work in grey blocks, I’ll tell you.”

Sweet Apple Acres was one of the most successful farms in the country, and it made a tidy stock of bits in feeding most of Ponyville. Now that was gone, and Big Mac with it. He looks so similar… I wonder how old he is?

“But a’n sure that’s enough from an’ old mare’s ramblin’s like mine, darling. What brought y’hear, under the veil a’secrecy? Ah never heard a peep about the princess comin’.”

“Fate, I bet,” said Eefer, nodding. “Fate an’ justice.” Fluttershy looked at the Eefer, acting very interested. And to think, this wrinkled pony is younger than me, but I only look as old as, say, Macintosh.

After a pause, Fluttershy suddenly noticed she was part of the conversation again, and came back to reality smiling. “Uh, perhaps. I.. don’t really know why I was, you know, brought here. Um, a stallion named Belowitz, have you heard of him?” She avoided gazing at the muscular stallion on the far end of the table, and directed the question to Eefer instead. The old stallion shook his head, and Fluttershy racked her mind for any information she could remember. “From what I understand… he’s the spokespony for some group. He called it Dee Haych Que, I think.”

“Hmmph. That’s a new one fer the list,” Eefer muttered.

Bloom leaned over. “There’s been a ton of these new groups sproutin’ all over th’ place, plenty of ‘em in Central. Oh, uh… Central’s the city here, if y’didn’t know. Weren’t there a lot, pa?”

“It’s the truth of the matter, really.” Palsley must have come back recently, and started serving her with a dish of a fine-smelling soup like the rest of them, a few apples chucked in on the side. He did so with his mouth, taking the dish in his teeth from a platform on his back. When the dish was out of his mouth, he started talking again. “We here don’t trust a feather o’ those violent types around here, and t’hell with you if y’ support the iron-hoof government.”

Turning her attention to Palsley talking, Fluttershy felt she had to ask. “Do you... think that Belowitz is one of those violent types?”

“Could be he ain't, that's for sure,” Palsley said. “I don't know the feller. But keep an eye on him, I'd say. Anypony who says they're part of this or that group might be onto somethin' to stir up trouble. There's enough of that without you gettin' involved, princess.

“ ‘Round here, we stay true to the family, and anypony who’d swear the old ways were better. Before violence were anyway acceptable, and before them fumes made us cough up the air we breathe.”

Fluttershy nodded, staring aloofly at the apples. She turned, facing Palsley as he stood behind her. “Thank you... You're the first ponies I feel I can, well, trust.” She led her gaze across the table, eventually finding the Big Mac-lookalike. Everyone was looking back at her again, but she didn't mind it. “I've never met any of you before, but I know you're good ponies.” Realising where her gaze had brought her at a standstill, she swiftly turned back to Palsley.  “ So, if it's okay... I’ve not eaten since breakfast, and I’m kinda hungry. I'm sorry, but could I...?”

Palsley chuckled. “Oh! Of course, princess. Dig in whenever you want to.”

“Thank you,” she replied, and looked back at the apples, thinking to herself. I wonder who bucked those?

~~

Once the meal had ended with the rousing talk that succeeded it, the light outside faded away to darkness, and soon enough it was night. The Apples were kind to her, giving Fluttershy the guest room to herself. Having been in their company, she wanted to stay over. She repeated to herself that Belowitz was expecting her the next day, not now.

Sleeping in the new bed was strange. She usually did a great deal of farm work throughout the day, and could sleep easy and relax. This night, she was restless. Thoughts swam through her mind, and they always formed under the same headline. That stallion. He looks like Big Mac, taller than the rest, and with those muscles, too. I never had the chance to be with him, all those years ago…

...No, wait. I did. I was just too scared.

Fluttershy had always been shy, but she changed, and she knew it. Being an alicorn, living forever, it did that. Living as a shy farm mare for a hundred or so years made her slow paced, and repetitive. It made her bored, and it made her regret the days she wasted, back when she was with other ponies. She never lived them out to her dreams, always hiding at the back of the queue.

Now she was an alicorn, and there was no queue to hide in. Whatever in Tartarus was in store for her, she knew she was important. Both Belowitz and the Apple family made that much clear. She would have to lead.Maybe that’s what I’m meant to do.

She thought about it on and off for a few more minutes. And one point, she convinced herself that she was acting silly, that the idea was not of her nature. Then the urge came back, stronger than ever. She dared not look under the sheets. I told myself, months ago, that I would go for opportunities when they came, never leave myself to a farm in the middle of nowhere. That's what got me here. This is my second test.

She heaved her head off the bed, pink hair flying past her eyes, and got out. Placing hoof on the floor, she moved to the door and passed out of her room. The door to the other bedroom, where everyone else was sleeping, was dead opposite in the hallway. There will be a chance I could wake everypony up. The old me would never take a chance.

The door opened without as much as a creak. There were bunkbeds in every corner. She made a light from her horn, and she made it glow faintly as she searched each bunk, making sure to find what she wanted.

“W...who is that?” The stallion’s eyes were still closed as Fluttershy gently nudged him on the shoulder. He reacted quickly, as if he hadn’t quite got to sleep himself. He even sounds like Mac.

She hesitated at first, leaving him without an answer, before finally blurting out, “I need to talk to you,” she whispered. “Meet me in the guest room when you’re ready.”

Fluttershy retreated back to her room. It wasn’t long before the stallion came in wearing a nightgown. “Miss Shy. I, uh, what d’you want to talk about?”

She sat on her bed. Under the better light in her room, she could see he looked worried. “I don’t think we ever met,” she said.

“Th’ name’s Stemworth, your grace.”

“Stemworth?” she repeated, knowing she’d forget it. “What do you do here, Stemworth?”

“I… I work for the crystal light company on the weekdays, and on m’days off I see to th’ farm.” He squirmed out a nervous grin. “In fact, I helped out gettin’ the produce for our food today, your grace. I hope it was good.”

She gleamed back. “I thought so. I remember thinking… what kind of strong, handsome animal could have bucked all those apples? But now I’ve found my answer.”

The stallion’s checks burned burgundy. “That’s kind of you to say, princess. But I s’pose that’s why they call y’ the element of kindness, huh? Heh.”

This stallion isn't too smart. “Maybe,” she muttered, circling her hoof on the bed sheets. “That’s quite an old name now. Being an alicorn's made me immortal, too. Did you know I was made into an alicorn?”

“Nothing concrete. We heard rumours.”

Fluttershy continued. “I’m over two hundred years old. Does it show?”

“O’ course not, princess,” The stallion replied staunchly. “You’re beautiful as ever. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you don’t look a day past twenty.”

“I’d say the same about you.” The words came out of her mouth before she had time to think.

The stallion didn’t seem to know how to respond, and he started blushing again, backing away to the exit. “That’s kind of you, uh, again. Thank y' for the talk, sincerely princess. It’s been a pleasure. If you’d excuse me, ar think I’ll be doin’ some work round the farm tomorrow.”

She frustratedly put her hoof down. “Well, I don’t excuse you.”

The stallion’s eyes went wide, and he halted. “Uh, excu… beg your pardon?”

“I’m the princess, remember? You do what I say.”

It took him a while to calculate what she’d said. The stallion was blushing furiously now. “And what’s that?”

Fluttershy stared back at him. “Do you know where the Apples keep their, uhm... alcohol?”

The stallion seemed to relax after that. Does he think he's excused? “I’d wake them up, princess,” he replied, looking troubled at the very thought. The Apples seemed to have a strong connection to their kin, she noticed.

Regardless, Fluttershy shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh... that's a shame. I’ve heard that it helps to be a bit drunk during roleplay.” The word had been in her mind since she first saw him. Something I heard from Rainbow once. I think that's how it goes.

The stallion was near speechless. “Roleplay?…”

Fluttershy grinned devilishly. “That’s what we’re going to do. It's where we both play roles of characters, fit into their shoes. You’re going to be Mac, and I’m going to be your princess. Sound like fun?”

 “That's a, uh, that's certainly a proposition, princess...”  stumbling over his words, the stallion raised an eyebrow. “Well, who’s this Mac? You don't mean...”

“Mac is what your princess calls you,” Fluttershy told him. “He is a fine example of a stallion. Mac is strong of heart, and soul.”

“Well, heh… as if I’m not already,” the stallion gleamed.  “Sounds like an easy enough task, princess. I don' even have to call you somethin' different. You keep callin' out this word, roleplay, princess... where's the play come into it?”

Fluttershy continued. “He saves his princess from danger many times over, and is well versed in serving her. That’s why the princess, in all her wisdom and grace, orders Mac to turn off the light for her so she can sleep peacefully.”

The stallion took some time to process her words. “You’re the one lightin’ up the room, princess, with your horn.”

Fluttershy smirked. “S’pose you’ll have to come over here and find a way to turn it off, then.”