Chapters It seemed like a regular night to everypony. Celestia's sun had long gone down under the horizon and made room for a sky filled with thousands of stars, even from the heavily lighted viewpoint of Ponyville.
As usual, the moon took its place as the biggest and brightest object in the night sky, guiding ponies far off from the light home with a soothing dim light.
A regular night for anypony except those walking by Ponyville's library at the right time. There, from time to time, some giggles or unburdened speech could be heard.
The sources of those, six ponies plus one dragon, sat inside, having a good time at another random Pinkie party. This time, Pinkie wanted to celebrate winter already being two fifths over. She could party with and about anything, and if it was not having a reason to party.
Nopony cared about the reason in that moment. They were all having much too good of a time. Just then, they had started a game of Spin the Bottle.
"Rarity Rarity Rarity Rarity..." Spike whispered to himself. The bottle stopped pointing towards Rainbow Dash. She spun again, and it stopped at Applejack. Everybody at the party gave various noises of cheering.
Hesitantly, Rainbow rose. "Do I really have to?"
"Part of the game. Come on, it's not like you're gonna fall in love or anything, you know that." Pinkie motivated her.
"Afraid, pardner? Here, let me help ya."
Applejack pounced the pegasus, knocking her across the room, through some cluttered books Spike hadn't cleaned up, and onto her back. When everypony's eyes followed, Applejack's lips were already pressed hard onto Rainbow's. She broke the kiss quickly after.
"I..." Rainbow tried to find words. That hadn't been so bad, she had to admit.
"Ya like that, sugarcube? Want some more?"
"Actually... Yes. C'mon AJ!" Rainbow Dash pulled the earth pony back down.
"They are not really..." Twilight was shocked.
"Whoops. They are. Hey, mind if we change the topic of this party?"
"C'è brutto, ma..." Whenever Rarity was in an uncomfortable situation, she spoke french. So far, nopony had felt the need to tell her it was actually italian she was speaking.
"Woohoo!"
"Come on Applejack. What's taking you so long?" Rainbow Dash hovered impatiently near the farm house.
"Ta be honest... Ah jus' don' know, sugar. Ah mean, Ah'm not denyin' any of mah feelins, but what if ponies see us together like that? Ah'm not sure if Ah'm ready fer that yet."
Rainbow Dash facehooved. "Really? In case you didn't notice, we've been friends for years now and competitors for a bit less. Ponies are used to seeing us around together!"
"But..."
"Should've come to expect that. Erm, there's a bit more to me than I've told you so far. I can teach you something to help with that. Just come to Ponyville with me. Nopony will notice us, I promise!"
"If ya say so..."
The couple arrived at Ponyville's inner regions. As usual, there was a lot of business going on.
"Now for the secret. Even though I don't find it necessary, we can easily hide in the crowd. Just follow it's speed and direction. Join the stream. Become one with the crowd."
"Sugar, I don't think..." Applejack was more than sceptical.
"Oh, I once was like that, too. But now watch." Rainbow Dash casually walked to the middle of the street and squeezed in between six ponies passing by.
"Heh. Let 'er have her fun." Applejack followed in the direction Rainbow Dash had gone, towards their goal. She didn't make it far.
"Boo!" Applejack whirled around. All of a sudden, Dash had appeared behind her, even though she'd been watching her crowd the entire time.
"Eek! How didya do that?"
Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Doing what I just said. Walked right by you. Blended in. Most ponies don't see six individual of their friends together, they see six ponies. It's a lot easier if you're not RAINBOW COLORED, too!"
"Alright, got me good. Ah'll give it a go. But, if ya don' mind me askin', where didya learn that?"
"There's more to me than you know, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. Just know, I had an interesting foalhood."
"Hey you two! Didn't see you coming in."
Rainbow nudged Applejack in the side. "See, I told you it works." She whispered. She stepped up to the counter, keeping her voice down. "Hey Pinkie, we got some plans for today. Could you get us raspberry muffins... six should be enough. Some discretion please. AJ's still shyin' around."
Dash's words visibly worked their way through Pinkie Pie's mind. When they were done processing, her usual smile broadened a bit further, if possible. "Some super sneaky muffins for a... special occasion, I see. Coming right up!"
Pinkie lowered herself to the floor and out of sight. After a few seconds, she came through the door of the back room, carrying Rainbow's order on a tray. Nopony even bothered to look at her breaking yet another law of physics. Ponies were surprised when she did not break them, for a change.
"Here you go~o." Pinkie somehow managed to sing whilst staying so quiet that only the two ponies right in front of the counter could hear her.
"Thanks!" Rainbow slid the muffins into her saddlebags, then kept her muzzle in the bags, searching for something. Pinkie understood what she was looking for.
"Oh no no no! Those are on me. Nopony that could demand money from such a fresh love pair, eh?"
Rainbow Dash's ears perked up suddenly. "Why, thanks again Pinkie." She turned towards Applejack. "Apples, you may want to leave now if you don't want us to be seen together already. Blend in, remember?"
"Uh, sure, if you say so. Ah'll see ya at the lake then. Don't delay, Ah'm starvin' fer more than one thing!"
Sure does learn quickly. Kinda sad. I'd like to be able to watch her longer. What a beauty... Rainbow thought to herself as she stepped out of Sugarcube Corner, feeling no need to hide. She pretended to be lost in thought, bumping into a lavender unicorn in the process.
"Sorry Rainbow, didn't see you there."
"Ah, don't sweat it, 't was my fault. Now, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have somewhere and somepony to get to." The pegasus stepped backwards into the crowd, vanishing in seconds.
Twilight chuckled. "Gonna be with AJ, don't you think?" Spike asked.
"Pretty sure she is. Oh, they're so cute when they're fresh... Good thing I need nopony. I can't imagine me acting like that..."
Applejack grew a little impatient. She had been waiting at their secret meeting spot some time already, but no matter how much she scanned both the sky and the ground, she couldn't spot Rainbow Dash. All she could see were gray clouds and plain land with some grass on it. In the distance, Ponyville connected to the dirt road that went past her some paces to her right.
Just where is that mare... She thought. She sat down and leaned her back against the tree that provided her with a cool shadow to stand in. Looking up, she noticed it was an apple tree and bore some fruit ready for harvest.
It was rather peculiar for it to keep its fruit fresh without being harvested that late, but Applejack didn't complain. She got up and got ready to buck herself a snack. The kick didn't deliver her with the desired apples, though.
Instead, she felt the weight of a pony, perhaps a pegasus, suddenly push her down. She was powerless in that position, all of her legs stretched outwards. Something pointy poked in her neck.
What the... Is that how it ends? Oh, please, don't... For Dash. At thinking of Rainbow, a single tear dropped from her eye.
"C'mon now, don't get all sappy."
"Huh? Rainbow?" The pointy object was removed from her skin. She looked up to see multiple colors of mane blocking her view.
"Looking back, I may have overdone it a little bit... You okay?" Rainbow stepped down from the earth pony and helped her up.
"Why are ya even doin' somethin' like that? Why are ya holdin' a knife in mah neck?"
"That was my hoof. Illusions ponies get when they think they're about to die, eh?"
"But why?"
"Oh, I don't really know. Good entrance. Showing off. Second rule. 'Be discreet'."
"What's the first?"
"'Don't tal'... I mean, 'Never hurt innocent ponies'. As if I'd hurt you, anyways."
Applejack wondered where Rainbow had gotten those rules, but figured she'd get an evasive answer again. "Why, that sure was somethin'. Promise me never ta do that again, please?"
"If you wish, it shall never have happened."
"Thanks. Ah'm starvin', ya got them muffins?"
"You bet!" Dash dropped her saddlebags and opened them. Seeing the muffins rolling out triggered a chain reaction in Applejack.
"Er, sweet? If ya don' mind me askin', why did ya send me away at Sugarcube Corner? Ah didn' see no reason."
"I heard Spike talking through the open door and figured you don't want Twilight to know about our secret little date. Or did you?"
"Rainbow? Ah've been meanin' ta ask ya somethin'..."
"Hm?"
"Ah was pretty direct at that party at Twilight's... Do ya really want all this? Ah mean, if yer jus' actin' like it so Ah won't feel bad, tell me. Ah can take it!"
"Would you finally stop the pointless worrying? I really am into you. Been for some time, and I've wanted to confess to you not shortly after, if not at, the party. You just sped it all up a bit."
"Alrighty then. There's jus' so many things goin' through mah mind."
"I should really stop telling you secrets, but if you want, there's a technique to wipe those doubts away. You won't be able to enjoy our relationship if they're still around!"
"How do?"
Shortly after, two ponies stood at the door to Ponyville's library, waiting for a response to Rainbow Dash's knocking. Technically, the door was always open, but since Twilight lived in there, her friends figured she'd deserve some privacy.
"Hello? Ah, it's you two. Come in!" The lovers gladly accepted the unicorn's invitation. "What can I help you with?"
"There's somet..." Rainbow hesitated for a moment. It seemed better to bend the truth for now. "Some stuff in Cloudsdale I really want Applejack here to see, but obviously, she's not a pegasus, so could you, like..."
"Recast the cloudwalking spell? Of course! Just remember that it lasts twenty-four hours. I don't think you'd stay up there for that long, but by this time tomorrow, you have to be on the ground or on the back of a pegasus." Twilight began to cast.
"Thanks, Twi'."
The spell was complete quickly. "My pleasure. If you don't mind me asking, Rainbow, what is it she's gotta see that we didn't see on our visit to Cloudsdale for the Best Young Flier competition?"
Rainbow Dash was not prepared for this situation. Hastily, she made up something, still unwilling to tell the truth. "Er... Some things, like for instance... Cloud Candy! You've probably never heard of that, it's available only in pegasus cities..."
Twilight readjusted her mane for better view. "I did read up something on the topic, I think... Well then, have fun!"
"Eh, you sure about this?" Applejack was more in doubt than before as she stood on the edge of a fittingly positioned cloud. They were so high up that they were almost at level with Canterlot, which sparkled in the distance as the sun shone on it. Worse than being on such an altitude was that Applejack was supposed to get a lot closer to the ground very quickly. She was a coragious pony and afraid of nothing and nopony except for water, but this still looked intimidating to her.
"Completely. Leave all your doubts and fears like you leave the cloud behind."
"Sure will leave everything behind when Ah splat down on the ground."
"Didn't I explain it to you? You don't have wings, but I do. It's completely safe, I promise!"
"Ah don' reckon Ah wanna know where ya got all o' this?"
"No. I'm gonna position myself now to catch you. Don't hesitate. You won't be able to overcome your fears if you can't trust me." With that, Rainbow Dash jumped backwards off the cloud, head first. About halfway to the ground, she flapped her wings and stopped her fall.
"Guess Ah'll have to trust her on that one. Here goes..." She drew a big breath, held it, closed her eyes, and ran off the edge. Various feelings filled her. Surprise of actually doing that. Fear of the impact.
But not a second after, those left. Applejack's mind was empty. She exhaled, but didn't open her eyes.
Shouldn't Rainbow catch me about now? Applejack decided against worrying. Whatever would happen, she'd accept it.
"Aieee!" Applejack's eyes shot open. Finally, Rainbow Dash had caught her. Not a second later, they had impacted with the ground. Their landing had been much rougher than she'd expected.
"Sugarcube? You okay?" Below her, Rainbow Dash cringed in pain, but was not visibly harmed.
"Y- Yeah. Just give me a moment..."
"What went wrong? Ah don't think ya planned it liket that, didya?"
"Aaah... I just don't know. I wanted to give you as much free fall as possible, so I caught you as late as possible. You're much heavier than I expected, though. No offense."
"Ah, why didn't Ah see that comin'? Of course, yer peggy friends are all so light, I mean..." Applejack lifted Rainbow Dash off the ground without any problems to prove her point. "like... yeah."
Lying in Applejack's hooves on her back, Rainbow examined her body. "Aw, not good. Looks like I hurt my ankle in that landing."
"What? We gotta get you to a hospital, now!"
"Don't overreact. It'll be fine, I just mustn't step on it for some time."
"Yeah, we must get you some walking aids. That's what Ah'm saying."
"You know, like, little wings that allow me to stay off the ground when I want?"
"Er... Oh. Ya sure ya don' need nuthin'? Tha's all my fault... Ah'm sorry."
"No no, it's my fault, really. Even if it were, there's nothing I couldn't forgive you. Except maybe cheating me with all of the Wonderbolts... err, no. Because I love you, Applejack. Can you finally believe me?"
"Ah'm sorry Ah couldn't fer a while. It's jus' all o' them things comin' together at once." Rainbow stood on her hindlegs, wings flapping for support, forelegs spread. Applejack slung herself around her. All doubt was wiped from her mind.
He retracted his Hidden Blade after the deed. So that was how it was like. A sudden voice startled him.
"Well done, Mister Miles. We hoped you to bring us closer to a Piece, but the gift you bring back is much bigger. Thank you, Miles, for giving us... The Brotherhood."
"Vidic..."
Rainbow Dash was woken up by a sudden pain. She didn't regret escaping that dream. Why did she have to keep dreaming that one? She didn't even know what species she was supposed to be. It felt similiar to a pony body, but she had no problem staying on two legs.
"Uuuh... Darn ankle!" With the pain forcing her conscious back up, she reconstructed the chain of events. She had to have rolled over and hit her still hurting ankle with speed into something.
She checked her alarm clock. At that time, not even Applejack would be up yet. But, Rainbow figured, now that she was up already, she might as well do something. As soon as she thought that, her body screamed at her to go back to bed. She ignored it.
*But what can I do when I'm up before even the sun?* Balanced on her three good legs, Dash slowly walked outside. It looked incredibly silly. Thankfully, nopony was around. Luna's moon was still out, illuminating the world around her dimly. The rainbow colored waterfalls around her created a very romantic ambiente at night. She'd have to have some snuggle time with Applejack right on that spot some time soon.
Around it, there were the stars. Too many to count. Some closer to each other than others. Forming figures and shapes through the imaginations of ponies. So far off the ground, there was so little light that Dash could even see the milky way.
In moments like those, she didn't understand why Nightmare Moon was ever created. This was just beautiful. Hundreds, thousands, more, of tiny lights. She was mesmerised. Her bad leg obeyed gravity and touched down on the cloud, bringing her back into reality.
Rainbow Dash didn't want to stop already, though. She looked back into the sky and started to identify as many constellations as she could remember. There were not that many she knew, but that didn't discourage her. As her eyes dropped to the mountain Canterlot was built on, she noticed an extremely bright star just behind the castle.
"What's that?" Dash whispered. Somehow, she felt compelled to investigate it. But no matter how she moved in the sky, the star kept it's position just above a balcony. Perhaps if she got past Canterlot, she could pinpoint its location and ask Twilight later.
She stretched out her wings and took off. It was a long flight, but she had nothing else to do, and extra exercise could never hurt. If she was quick, she'd be back before sunrise. Maybe she'd stay a while. They said sunrises were even more beautiful when close to Princess Celestia.
This was most strange. Rainbow Dash had lost sight of the star just as she was over Canterlot. She landed on a nearby balcony and started to inspect the night sky to find it again.
The castle was just as tranquil as the sky over Ponyville had been. Only very few windows still had light in them. The moon looked far bigger than it had before due to a church tower that stretched up to where it seemed to touch the celestial object with just its very tip. The marble she was standing on had a railing with gilded orbs over every supporting bar driven into to keep ponies from accidentally falling off.
"Did the night capture your fascination, young pegasus?"
Rainbow Dash whirled around. Standing behind her was nopony less than one of the two known alicorns, Princess Luna. Before she was even fully balanced again, Rainbow dropped her head to the ground with force, hitting her ankle with it. She attempted to ignore the pain, but Luna saw her clenching her teeth.
"Do not bother. Even before my banishment, I found such protocol to be highly unnecessary. I will not BANISH YOU TO THE MOON if you think alike." There was an incredible strength that Luna, seemingly unintentionally, put into the few words where she raised her voice.
She didn't seem to have fully forgiven Celestia. "Now, I can see your pain. Tell me, please, what is your harm?"
"Oh, it's nothing, really. Sorry for intruding like that. I'll be right on my way." Rainbow Dash raised herself, but didn't dare to look Luna in the eye.
"Stay. Was it not my beacon light that brought you here in the first place?"
"Beacon... Really? Wouldn't that wake up everypony?"
"Perhaps if they were not all sleeping through my night. And that even though I spent so much effort decorating the skies... But no, Rainbow Dash. Only the pony I am intent to attract can see it. But back to matters at hoof. You have not yet answered me."
"Eh, heh, it really is nothing, even if I was not speaking with... You. I just fell down somewhere and hurt my ankle. I'll be fine in a few days. I've done this before, trust me."
"How peculiar for a pegasus to come to harm by falling. Did you not win the Best Young Flier competition by doing your second Sonic Rainboom? I think I could see the first one... FROM THE MOON."
"... yeah. That's what they always say."
Luna's lips curled up into a small smile. It was strange to see her like that. "I see. Allow me..." Her horn briefly lit up. When its light ceased, so did the stinging in Rainbow's ankle. "It shall no longer bother you."
"Oh, thank You! You really didn't have to do that."
"It was my pleasure. What drives a young pony such as you out of it's bed at such a time, if I may ask?"
"The wound You just healed woke me up and I didn't feel like going back to sleep. So I came outside to do some stargazing and saw your light."
"I see. It fills my heart with joy to see ponies see the beauty in my night."
"I've always loved looking at the stars. It's just fascinating what constellations they can form. Like, there's the Wagon, Cassiopeia, Ursa Minor..." Rainbow was lost in joy as she rambled, pointing at her favorite constellations.
A chuckle escaped Luna. "I just misnamed half of them, right? I admit it, I'm nowhere near as good at this as Twilight is." Rainbow apologised. Somehow, it felt like she was insulting Luna herself by not correctly naming her stars.
"I am amused, but not at you, Rainbow Dash. I simply find it interesting to see how ponies have changed and renamed the constructs in my absence. Let me tell you how those are originally called."
The minutes flew by as Luna explained every constellation in it's original meaning to the amazed pegasus. She had briefly gone inside to bring out an old map with lines demonstrating how she had once linked the stars. Now, they laid side by side, disregarding any difference in status.
"This one... Oh dear." Luna couldn't contain a blush.
"What is it, Princess?"
"This is a very old constellation, older than the other ones. You should see it... up there. It represents... an old friend."
"Interesting."
"A very good friend, you may say."
"Oh? ... Oh! No way! Really? You drew your crush onto the sky?"
"The things we do when we're young, I suppose."
"And ponies thought this was supposed to be a dragon..."
"I have improved my drawing since then."
"Oh, no doubt. I mean... Eh. By old, how 'old' do you mean exactly? Five thousand ye... hold your tongue, Rainbow."
"I understand that you did not mean to insult. I am well aware of my age, but know, it is not as big as you may expect."
"Kept yourself in good shape."
"Yes, that is one side effect of being an alicorn. You grow normally at first - could you believe I once was the size of normal foals? - but once you're mature, you just stop. Perhaps there was also some conserving effect with the MOON ROCKS."
A picture of a small alicorn with dark blue coat and lighter mane shot into Rainbow's mind, but she soon dismissed it. "No offense, but you keep having... outbursts. Do you wanna talk about it?"
"No, Rainbow Dash. What was done is done and was deserved and just. I must not forgive Celestia for what she has done. I must forgive myself. This is a challenge you cannot assist me with, young one."
"Would you look at the time. It is time for me to lower the moon and make place for Celestia's sun. Thank you, Rainbow Dash, for the diversion you gave me. At risk of repeating myself, it fills me with joy every time I meet some pony who sees more than darkness and danger in my night."
"My pleasure, Princess. I have to thank you for creating it in the first place. To admire. To study... to hide in."
The last use named by Rainbow confused Luna. She decided to act on suspicion.
"La shay' haqiqah."
"Koulo shay' moumkin."
"Indeed. To be honest with you, I would not have expected the Brotherhoof to survive for this long without it's mentor. Nor would I have thought you, of all ponies, to join it."
"Second Tenet. It can be applied for both ponies and secrets. But how did You..."
"I can spot members of a society I have founded myself."
"You? Wow... Hm. Now that you mention it, I've been inactive for some time now, still following the Tenets, of course. But why does the Brotherhoof still exist? I haven't heard of it doing anything in the last century, at least."
"That is what was confusing me."
"... oh well. I'm afraid I have to leave now. I promised a friend to meet her at sunrise."
Emotion spilled out of the pegasus in more ways than she thought possible. Luna picked up some of the more hidden.
A friend in deed... "If you still perform those, this balcony is designed to give the best possible environment for Leaps."
Rainbow leaned over the railing and looked down. Under this balcony, there was free way almost all the way to ground level. Why not... she thought and leaped down as she usually would.
Nod at the bird...
Applejack stepped out into the fresh morning air. This was late for her. Usually, she'd be ready to work at sunrise, rather than when the sun had already been warming the orchards. Then again, it was her day off, so she could spend all day watching the lined up trees in the orchard if she wanted. The grass beneath them was still a bit moist with morning dew.
Applejack liked that. At least something looked like it was alive during those cold times.
For relaxation, amongst other reasons, she and Rainbow Dash were to have another friendly Iron Pony competition. Some ponies may have called the simple idea of such a competition exhausting, but not the two athletes.
Speaking of which, where was the second in the pair? They were supposed to meet at Sweet Apple Acres at sunrise, so Applejack had expected Dash to be already waiting.
Before she could wonder about her wherabouts too much, though, the pegasus dropped right in front of her, kicking up dust with an extremely forceful impact. Rainbow didn't seem to worry about it, though.
"Uh, don't that hurt, sugar? An'... why are ya all sweaty 'n' stuff? Ya look like ye've been ta Canterlot 'n' back, at least."
"Well, answer to both questions: I did go to Canterlot really early. Twilight told me there are some really good unicorn doctors there, and there are, so I could get a faster recovery on my ankle." She idly ran a hoof through her mane.
Slowly, a thought was processed in Rainbow Dash's still sleepy mind. Applejack cut it off before it could finish. "Is it just me not seein' it, or didya lose yer gem, sweetheart? Ya know it's really important fer when yer runnin' thru the sky an' don' hear nopony."
"Oh no! Must've been the impact. Where is it?" She never told anypony, but the gem reacting to a fitting calling spell served more than one group of ponies that'd call for her.
"Over here!" While it adjusted it's color to fit Rainbow's mane wherever she put it, the gem had turned a bright red, so it was easy to spot. Rainbow picked it up and worked it into her hair again.
"Ya know, Ah've always wondered if there's somethin' ta the shape. Pretty odd, like, some kinda double, angled J, but then those things on the outside."
"Eeh, that's just how it came to be when Twilight created it."
"Didn't ya request that shape? Nah, must be somethin' else Ah'm thinkin' 'bout... lil' Apple Bloom's dolly! Yeah, that's it." Unnoticed to Applejack, Dash's eyes flinched from side to side while she spoke.
"Yeah. As if I cared how it looks, like, really. I mean, everything I wear has to fit my awesomeness, but this kinda already does by itself. It's more about function, anyway."
It had been a month now since that very special party at the library. Winter had fallen, as expected. Applejack wasn't sure how she felt about winter. On one hoof, it meant she had a lot less to do. No plants to tend to. She had much more free time for a certain mare.
On the other, wasn't this what made her entire existance? Planting, treating, harvesting whatever grew on the farm? Now, everything was either black, seemingly dead wood or covered under a suffocating blanket of snow.
Cold. Lifeless. Dead. The white consumed all. It wouldn't be until spring that the world's colors and life returned. She paused on her way into Ponyville, leafless trees lined up left and right. She exhaled and looked at the sky.
As if the gray of the world down on the ground wasn't enough, the sky also was painted in the same, monotonous style. Applejack was about to continue her journey, burdened with depressing thoughts, when a flash of color suddenly broke through the clouds.
It was just like all those days in her foalhood when she would look up, hoping and sometimes managing to catch a glimpse of that little dot that occasionally had a rainbow trail behind it.
Fortunately, that dot now was a grown mare, much closer down in front of a gray, not equally blue background, and also headed towards Applejack. She decided to start walking again. Perhaps it'd create an atmosphere of obliviousity or disinterest, even though she knew Rainbow had seen her looking up.
"Hey. Whatcha doing?" Both mares spoke simultaneously as Dash came into talking distance.
"Nothing of importance. No work today." As synchronised as their greeting was, as was their response.
"Mind if I walk with you for a while?" Rainbow Dash retracted her wings, dropping to the ground.
"Not at all, sweetheart. Ah think Ah'm goin' ta Twilight's. She's got a book Ah think them Crusaders could use."
The bell above the door of Ponyville's library rang. "Hello! Who... Ah, it's you, Applejack. What can I do for you today?" Twilight immediately noticed she was not needed as a friend, but as a librarian.
"Hey there Twilight. Ah was wonderin' if Ah could borrow a book - well, obviously - fer mah sister an' her lot. Ah don' remember the title, but it's somethin' about a few safe things ta do when yer lookin' fer yer cutie mark. Saw it some time ago while Ah was waitin' here. Thought they could use it."
"I know which one you mean, AJ. It should be under F for Foals' Books. Let's see... Ugh, it's always this section that never gets reorganised. Suppose I'll have to." Twilight literally jumped into the pile of books that was the young pony section.
After some seconds, her head popped out, holding one between her teeth. She trotted back over to Applejack and packed the book into the earth pony's saddlebags with her magic.
"Thanks Twi'. Maybe that can distract them fillies fer some time. Celestia knows what they are up to again. Gravity defyin', Manticore wrestlin', ice skatin'... Hey, that last one don't sound so bad. Maybe Ah should ask Pinkie ta give 'em lessons."
"Not Pinkie. She's already a danger for reality on her own. Do you really want to give her three assistants?"
An image shot into Applejack's mind. Ponyville was burning. Pinkie sat on a throne made of skulls, cackling as Applejack had to turn a wheel. 'Keep going, AJ!' Applejack shivered as her mind shot back into reality. It would be either that or the universe would finally implode from Pinkie's impact.
She couldn't decide which was worse. "Eeh, ye'r right. Let's not take any risks. G'bye."
"Bye Applejack!"
Applejack had walked a fair distance away from the library when she remembered that, since it was Saturday, the three fillies would most likely be at their club house, which was almost in the same direction as her home, where she came from. She had been walking away from it since she left the library.
Just as she turned around, a medium crowd of ponies came by. *Heh, why not? Maybe Ah can catch Rainbow off guard with what she's been teachin' me.*
She, if just for fun, decided to apply her love's teachings and move with the crowd. Blending in. Becoming invisible in plain sight.
Things went fairly well for Applejack. Perhaps the group was moving a little slow, but it moved her way and was large enough to hide in. There was nopony in it that would know her and start a conversation, either.
Over time, she adapted. Her hoofsteps synchronised with those of the ponies around her. Her legs moved on their own, so Applejack lost herself in thought. Ever so slowly, she lost her body feelings. Instead, she felt connected. Not an individual or a part, but the whole mass of ponies around, at once.
Applejack snapped out of her trance quickly when she noticed how she had transcended her part to become the whole. She groaned, much louder than she intended. The reason behind that was her stomach, increasing the noise's volume with its complaint about emptiness.
She had skipped breakfast and not eaten since then. She suddenly remembered that. Applejack clenched her chest with a hoof from the pain coming with the hunger.
All of a sudden, something feeling somewhat like paper was shoved on the raised foreleg. The earth pony first inspected the object - it was a bag from Sugarcube Corner - then her eyes followed the light blue leg still supporting the bag up to it's point of origin.
Her survival instincts kicked in at last and made Applejack jump backwards.
Rainbow Dash stopped a golden stopwatch in the style of a traditional pocket watch. "Four seconds. Reflexes aren't yours, are they?" She threw the watch backwards, clearly not caring where it'd land.
"How didya..."
"Sneak up on you? Spot you in the crowd, even though you were perfectly following what I taught you? Operate a stopwatch that's smaller than my hooves without magic?"
"Kinda like that, yes."
"Your efforts are admirable. You looked like you grasped the principle of becoming one with the crowd, even. You're still at the rank of a fresh trainee, though."
"Ah'm in trainin' now?"
"Heh, not really. Only ponies that volunteer for our cause are taken in. At any rate, it is neither time for you to join, even if you wish, nor for us to accept another member."
"Iiiif you say so."
Rainbow exhaled. "Yes. It will all be revealed in time, I promise. As for the second question, pegasus eyes. Like an eagle's eye, you could say."
"Except that eagles are predators and you are a harmless herbivore, Dashie."
"Harmless... Well, herbivore for sure. Gilda made me try some of her rations once. I kept vomiting until two days after. Don't laugh! I bet the filly you would have done the same thing in my position!" Rainbow snapped as Applejack chuckled.
"Yeah... Sure would." The picture of a young Rainbow Dash trying to chew a string of salt meat with her blunt teeth didn't leave her mind. "He he he. Do Ah really wanna know how ya did that fancy thing with tha stopwatch?"
"Why did I even suggest that question? Well, I can't tell you. Pinkie Promise."
Applejack remembered when she had attempted to circumvent a made Pinkie Promise. It had been her last roundup for a long time. She decided to not push the point and instead open the bag. Two muffins with pinks frosting came into her view.
"Raspberry, right? Ah'd like ta know where Pinkie is gettin' those at this time of tha year... Oh well. Thanks, Dash. Good ta have a spot of color in this cold wasteland sometimes." Applejack took one of the pastries, then hoofed the bag back to Rainbow Dash, who took the other.
"You're welcome. I figured you could use a little pick-up since you didn't eat breakfast and all."
"How do ya know that? Yer not following me all day, are ya? Nah, can't, yer sleepin' way too long fer that."
"Yeah. I mean... Yeah. I simply guessed from how hungry you look." Rainbow Dash explained. A very attentive pony might have picked up the slightest tone of nervosity in her voice. Applejack did not.
"Hey girls! Whatcha doin'?" Applejack looked in through the window of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' club house. She felt it was more respecting to their privacy, as they could still deny her entrance through the door.
"Heya Applejack. We're jus' doin' some plannin'. Hey, do ya know how much a chicken weighs?" Her sister Apple Bloom responded.
"'Bout five pounds, those that we got. Why do ya wanna know?"
"We're calculating how big our catapult has to be. We wanna shoot Scootaloo into space, you know." Sweetie Belle answered.
"Isn't that a bit..."
"Totally not. We've tried about anything by now. Maybe the others can get their marks in physics, while I get it for doing tests while flung into space. Aerial faith, you know?" Scootaloo finished.
"Can Ah come in?"
"Of course, sis'. Tha door's open."
"Thanks." Applejack walked inside and up to the table where the Crusaders had a mess of paper spread out. "Is that magic writin'? Much too clean ta be mouth written. Yer makin' progress quick, Sweetie."
"Gee, thanks..."
"Ya do know that G is nine point eight, not seven, right? Sorry, jus'... jus' somethin' tha' caught mah eye."
All three of the fillies turned back towards their calculations and started to hastily recalculate. "Darn, nine point eight..." "Carry over the two..." "Gravitational constant multiplied by mass..."
Apple Bloom was first to let out a disappointed sigh, then the others joined in. "We don' have enough material fer it ta be that big."
"Heh, don' let that draw ya down. Reminds me, Ah got somethin' fer you. It should help ya in jus' that situation." Applejack pulled out the book she had borrowed earlier and laid it onto the table.
The Crusaders started reading the title page aloud. "'Blank Flank and Blank Mind?'" "'One hun'red safe ideas 'n' inspirations fer colts an' fillies still lookin' fer their cutie mark.'" "'Does not contain instructions on how to launch small pegasi into orbit.' Awww."
"Yep! Give it a try, it's been written fer foalies even more... active than you. If that is possible."
Scootaloo shrugged. "I suppose we could. But if it's all boring about doing what you can and love to do and such rubbish, you can return that to... wherever you got it from, Twilight?"
"Ah promise ya'll be a might busy with tha'." Applejack encouraged. "Gotta give Ponyville some time ta rebuild..." She added under her breath.
Sweetie Belle was scanning through the pages, with Scootaloo reading along in interest, even though the book was upside down for her. "'Basic and advanced chemistry. Sorry to disappoint you, but we won't be making explosives.'" She quoted. "Eh. Sounds interesting nonetheless, to be honest."
"Alright, y'all have fun with that, Ah'll be off. Gotta meet somepony... somewhere."
After Applejack was gone, the three Crusaders were still reading in the book she had brought. "Somepony... Who does she think she's fooling, she's with Rainbow Dash." Sweetie Belle started.
Scootaloo snorted in amusement. "Totally."
"Let her. Wha's wrong with her'n'Dash bein' together?" Apple Bloom stopped her friends.
"Gee, Bloom, we're just joking on her futile attempts at lying. No need to react like that."
"Sorry. Ah jus' love mah big sis' an' want her ta be happy, so nopony should stand between them two."
"That's a great attitude. D'ya wanna write a letter to Celestia about it?" Scootaloo joked.
"Hmm... nah. Hey, check out page fourty-two!" Apple Bloom responded, drawing the attention of the group back to their lecture.
"Success!" Scootaloo darted in through the door of the clubhouse to examinate their samples more closely, knocking over an assortment of things they never cleaned up in the process.
"Really? How's it lookin'?" Apple Bloom followed, even more eager to have a look at the plants they were experimenting on.
Sweetie Belle trotted in slowly after her two friends. "Let's see... One is looking normal, maybe a bit smaller... Two is clearly dead. I told you it wouldn't work... Hey! Three has outgrown the control sample!"
"Ain't that the one Winona tink..." Apple Bloom began. Sweetie interrupted her. "Yes, it is. Must be something in it the soil regularly doesn't have. I doubt it got like that just with more water than the others. What does this experiment tell us, girls?"
"That we're destined to be biologist researchers either." Scootaloo said drily, hinting at their still blank flanks.
"Aww. What's next on the list?"
"Get flying lessons from Rainbow Dash, ask her ou... Eeh he he, wrong list." Scootaloo nervously cleared her throat and pulled out the list of activities they had copied from the book.
Even though they had been working on those all the time, even after returning the book two weeks after getting it, the Crusaders were still not done with the activies contained within it.
"Number seventy-three. Mimery. Or mimicry? Sweetie, what did you write here?"
"I think it's mimicry."
"Tha' sounds like fun. Great chicken impersonation, Scoots."
"Hey! Am I really that good?"
Scootaloo was standing on two hindlegs, flapping her wings to avoid falling over as she picked invisible corns from the floor with her mouth.
"Natural. But Ah don't think tha's what we're s'posed ta do. Shame we had ta return the book."
"Why don't we just go and ask Twilight if we can check it again so we know what to do?"
So the three fillies headed off to Ponyville on hoof. Scootaloo would have pulled them, but she had forgotten her scooter at home. Silly chicken.
They were halfway to the library from Ponyville's border when Scootaloo suddenly stopped walking. The crowd of ponies behind the fillies simply walked around them on both sides.
"What's the matter, Scoots?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I thought I had just felt a touch... Ah, never mind. Must've imagined it." Scootaloo tried to explain when the other Crusaders' eyes shot open, then she felt it again. It was not uncomfortable or anything, just strange.
What was worst about it was that there seemed to be no source. "Somepony playing tricks on us with magic? I can't see anything out of order, really." Sweetie Belle described the situation.
"Feels too solid fer that. But just who?" Apple Bloom was visibly confused.
"Rainbow Dash! I know you're there."
A disappointed mare with a sky blue coat stepped out of the cover that was the mass of ponies moving around them. "How did you know?"
"That trick only works when ponies aren't looking for you. Also, I'd recognise your cute giggle everywhere. Oh gosh, did I just call Rainbow Dash cute?" Scootaloo covered her mouth with her hooves.
"I'll just not have heard that. What's the lot of you doing today? Finally finished with AJ's book?"
"Nope! We jus' did number seventy-two. So now we're workin' on seventy-three. Mimicry. But we don' really understand what we're s'posed ta do, so we're goin' ta Twilight's ta check the book."
"Mimicry, eh? You should ask Fluttershy 'bout that. When she's hiding out in the forest - yet again -, all you'll see is trees."
"I dunno, you seem pretty good at it. Where did you learn all of this?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Just stuff you pick up. It's easy, really. Just immerse yourself in the crowd. Synchronise your hoofsteps with them. Give up yourself, and become the whole instead. Can get pretty astounding. Also got the nice side effect that nopony pays close enough attention to see you. Unless they've got the sharp peggy eyes of Scoots here, I'm afraid."
"Ain't pegasuses jus' regular ponies with, well, wings?"
"More than that. Some people say we might actually have some common ancestors with griffons and thus the eyes of a predator to spot prey out of flight. Maybe we're just more awesome."
"Yeah... Not like I could use those predator eyes, if they are. Gosh, I hate those puny, weak..."
"One day, Scootaloo. You'll outfly me when it's time, I'm sure. Didn't I show you some exercises you can do?" Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. Keep doing those and you'll be up in the sky in no time. It's just biology holding you back, and your wings are about to grow strong enough, I know it." Rainbow Dash encouraged the little pegasus.
"Hi girls!" Twilight greeted the Crusaders. Her left ear twitched once. She looked at it sternly to make it stop.
"Hey Twi', we... woo, no offense, Twilight, but you're not lookin' too good. You ain't tardy again, are ya?" The unicorn mare's eyes had big rings under them. Her mane was a bit out of order. As she turned and walked inside the library, it looked like she had a little difficulty keeping her balance.
"It's nothing, really. I just missed a bit of sleep last night. It's that awful letter I got... But nevermind that, it'll all be fine. What brings you to me?"
"We wanted to look up something in that book we got from Applejack earlier. I've copied the activities to a list, but we don't really understand how one of them, Mimicry, is meant to be done."
Twilight had given up the attempt to bring order of any kind to the foals section of her library. Now, those books were simply in a pile as they'd end up like that anyways.
She dove her head into the container. Using her horn both as a source of levitation and as a pole to physically move the books, she searched the pile until finding what she was looking for. She noticed she was not giving any opposition to gravity any more. The pile was simply too comfortable. Maybe she could... A few minutes...
"Need some help?" Scootaloo shook Twilight out of her trance.
"N-no, thanks for asking." She pulled out the desired book with her magic as she withdrew her head. "Here you go." The fillies didn't seem to have any intention to read more than that one article of the book, so she placed it on a nearby reading table.
"Thanks, Twilight. Cutie Mark Crusaders speedreaders, go!" Apple Bloom shouted out as all three of the fillies darted to the table. She opened the book, flipped to the desired page with her hooves and began reading.
"Tha's a bit unclear." Apple Bloom stated the obvious with a disappointed voice.
"That's a bit simplified, Bloom." Scootaloo added.
"Keep your heads to the matter, fillies. Says everything we need, doesn't it? Search out something, try to imitate it, maybe learn something about it in the process." Sweetie Belle stopped the rant of the others.
"Yeah, but what exactly?"
"Does it really matter?" Twilight called over from her work. If reading dozens of books on end, then trying to fit them back into the shelf could be called work.
"Thinking about it, not so much. I think I'm gonna work on my animal impressions. Always handy to know the world 'round you."
"Eh, you go do that, Scoots. Ah think Ah'm gonna try wha' RD told us earlier. Fitting in wit' the world 'round you 'n' stuff."
She didn't finally blurt out too much about the Order, did she? Twilight thought, then dismissed the idea by clearing her throat. Surely, Dash would be more discreet than that. "Great ideas, girls. How about you, Sweetie Belle?"
"I don't really know..." Sweetie scratched the floor with a hoof and looked around, void of ideas.
"How about you try to imitate Spike? Must've snuck off to Rarity or something. We could work on your magic, and of course I'd pay you for your work." Twilight asked with an encouraging smile.
"Hey, why not. I can always use practice and bits alike."
"That's the spirit!" Let's hope she gets the hang of pick shelf, insert book quickly so I can nap in peace... Twilight mentally added.
Apple Bloom stepped out into Ponyville's market square. It was market day, so it was crowded with both vendors and customers. Even now there was still a continous stream of ponies in and out of the square.
Alright, let's try this out. Apple Bloom thought as she ducked into the flow leading towards the market. She took a middle position in it.
Somethin's still odd... What did Dash say? Slow down, synchronise... The filly gave up consciously hiding and instead focused on actually hiding. Now that she moved just like the ponies around her, she felt far less visible.
Ah no, Diamond Tiara's here, too. Wait, she shouldn't be able to see me, right? Apple Bloom did her best to remain at a normal pace, acting as if nothing was out of order. If Diamond Tiara was to look attentively in her direction, she'd spot Apple Bloom, but luckily, there were so many ponies there that she didn't pay attention to individual ones.
Encouraged by her successful avoidance of Diamond Tiara, Apple Bloom kept sneaking around. Or walking normally, to describe it better.
She now was in the heart of the market. The crowd was mostly focusing on the stands littered around it, but it was still dense enough to move around in without stepping into the open or being visible to selling ponies.
Speaking of whom, Apple Bloom noticed that her sister was present too, with the usual crowd surrounding her stand all on its own already. There were ponies left from it, right, in front of, behind, even one or two pegasi above.
A great plan suddenly came into Apple Bloom's mind. If she could pull that one off, there was nothing she couldn't hide in plain sight from.
She made her approach to Applejack's stand. The front would be too obvious, so Apple Bloom walked around to its right side (on her left). Nopony seemed to notice her. They were all too busy trying to get their own apple products before Applejack ran out.
She moved in closer. Just as she did, a customer on Applejack's left caught her attention. It'd take her at least five seconds to serve that one what he wanted. Enough time.
Apple Bloom did the final step towards the rows of apples lined up. They weren't in Applejack's direct line of sight, so she wouldn't be spotted.
She stretched out her neck and grabbed one of the Granny Smiths with her teeth.
Now to vanish into the crowd after done mischief.
"Ah know they're technically already yours, but when didya stop askin'?"
Busted. Apple Bloom had nothing to fear, she knew that. Nevertheless, she let her head hang in disappointment of herself as she trotted over to the back of the stand to face Applejack.
Apple Bloom set down the apple. "Let mah explain, sis'."
"Eh, you done nothin' wrong, Bloom. Ah'd jus' like it if ya asked."
Apple Bloom began an endless swell of words, picking up speed continously. "I know, I know. Ah would've, but we finished the biology experiment t'day an' moved on ta other things ta try fer our marks an' then it said mimicry an' we went an' looked up wha' they mean by that but they didn' say anything an' we met Rainbow Dash on the way an' she told us how we could hide in tha crowd an' Ah wanted ta try it an' tha' kinda was mah final test."
Applejack's brain took a moment to process what she had just heard. "So... Y'all been trying ta be all sneaky like Dash... ah, yes, Ah get it. Should've tried ta steal from somepony other than me - wait, no. Ah've been... closely knowing Dash some time now, ya know that. Hey, stop laughin'! Ah reckon Ah jus' know her tricks by now."
"Closely knowing all right..."
"Shut it, Bloom. Are yer friends still at it? Ah can't see 'em."
"Because they ain't here. Sweetie Belle's imitating Spike 'cause he ain't at Twilight's fer some reason so she can practice magic an' all that an' earn some money for her work an' Scootaloo's at Fluttershy's, learnin' the wild."
A little outside Ponyville, the mentioned filly had just finished explaining her intentions to another fellow pegasus over the doorstep of her cottage.
"Oh, how wonderful. You can help me tend to all of the animals, especially those poor little fluffies that have got themselves a cold or..."
Scootaloo audibly cleared her throat.
"Sorry. I know you'll just love being with the little furries, everypony that's tried so far did!"
"Everypony? Oh, right, I'm hardly the first one, I should have figured..."
"Doesn't mean you can't be the best one. Oh, and you can learn so much from these cute animals. I've tried Mimicry too, you know. Pretty 'awesome', as you'd say, what they can do. Stuff I never thought even possible."
"Such as hiding like a tree in a forest at the first feeling of danger?" Fluttershy blushed slightly from Scootaloo's direct, somewhat sarcastical question. "N-no offense. I just thought - no, I didn't think at all."
"Oh, it's okay. You kinda got a point there. It can be, um, handy not to be seen. I admit I might have taken it a bit too far..."
"Let's just move on. What would you normally do about now?"
"It's about time to feed the little chickens. You look pretty hungry. Um, too, I mean. Come inside, I have ingredients for snacks both for ponies and chickens in my kitchen."
Scootaloo had politely been refusing to accept what Fluttershy wanted to offer her, but the older pegasus simply wouldn't let up. She didn't force her to eat, but she made very clear how important a good diet was and how Scootaloo was by no means allowed to skip multiple meals like that.
After that was out of the way, they walked outside, Fluttershy carrying a bowl of assorted bird treats. It was mostly seeds, but also dried out plant parts or pieces of worms. Most of the animals kept on running around without any apparent goal, except for those whose food she was bringing out, of course. The avian part of Fluttershy's friends slowly approached her, waiting for her to give them their meal.
Scootaloo helped her spread out the food, but seemed rather disinterested afterwards.
"What's the matter, Scootaloo? Don't you want to watch and learn?"
"Nah. I mean, sure, but I already know pretty much about the chicken way of living. I mean, watch this!" She repeated the imitation she'd already shown the other Crusaders. This time, she actually snatched up pieces of food while her head was down on the ground. "Urk! Of course I gotta catch a piece of worm..."
Fluttershy giggled quietly. "That's pretty good. I see, you need something else. How about... Squirrels! How they dart around and store acorns in their mouths for later and..."
"You don't mean to tell me that you can pull that storage thing off?"
"Um, you see, it's actually pretty easy once you get the hang of ignoring the objects. It's really useful if you want to carry around some hay or things and don't have your saddlebags with you..."
"Wow, and I thought Twilight must've been bored when she spent last night researching AGAIN. What was it this time? Something like that Draco Minor star constellation is supposed to be a crude pegasus instead."
Back in the heart of Ponyville, the unicorn mare didn't hear the mention of her name or how seemingly pointless her research was. Neither did she care about research, stars or anything. In that moment, all she cared about was getting into her bed - no, on top of it, getting under the covers would require energy.
Educating Sweetie Belle on the art of librarytionism - she didn't care about whether that was an actual word either - had not been particularly hard, but it took time and effort. At last, she could leave her alone and claim some much needed sleep upstairs.
That peace didn't last long, unfortunately. After about three seconds for Twilight, or thirty minutes for anypony else, her slumber was disturbed by the little unicorn calling up and then entering her bedroom.
"Twilight? Where does this one go? Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."
"It's okay. For some reason, I can't really sleep anyway." She eyed the book that was floating in front of her, surrounded by a faint silver glow. "Disease and Cure for the Smallest Creatures. That goes unter lexica, second shelf left from the door... Wait, are you using magic to hold that?"
Sweetie Belle looked as surprised as Twilight was. "Wow, I am. I didn't even try, I just wanted to move it and it came along..."
"Oh, that's great! Such an object is rather heavy for unicorns your age, but you've not only moved it, but also already started subconscially using your magic. You're almost as strong with it as I was when I was your size."
"That's... a compliment, right?"
"Um, yes. I'm kind of a bad comparison, Element of Magic and such. But you're really making progress!"
That was all the encouragement it took. Sweetie Belle hopped back down the stairs happily. Twilight followed after her.
Not long after she'd risen back to her hooves, a headache came over Twilight. Her body demanded more sleep.
Ugh, where's everypony when you need them. I wonder what Rarity's doing... Right now, I'd even drop Sweetie off with Applejack or Rainbow if I had to. What are those two up to right now, I wonder...
Unknown to anypony but the two mares, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were together in that very moment. Not far from the border of a lake, not far from Ponyville. Yet far enough to ensure privacy.
This, nopony should know about before they were told by one of the two.
This was the moment. Rainbow Dash was kneeling before Applejack, presenting in her hooves a golden ring with an inlaid diamond.
At last. Applejack had finished her chores and could spend the rest of the day as she pleased.
With both of their sisters in between as messengers, Rarity had sent for her. Apparently, she was already done with Applejack's order. That was rather peculiar, as she hadn't even come for any measuring or adjusting yet.
She wasn't going to turn down not having to stand around for hours and wait for Rarity to finish her work, though. That was pure wishing, she reminded herself. No dress could get done without fitting it to the final model.
No matter what she was going to find there, first Applejack'd have to get to Carousel Boutique, so she sped up her walking a bit. There were so many things she'd rather do, including her fiancèe.
"Hello? Ah, it's you. Come in, come in! You'll just love this, I'm sure." Rarity was already galloping away from the door by the time Applejack could set a hoof in her boutique. Its inside looked even tidier than usual.
"Howdy, Ah... Aw, shucks." The unicorn was clearly out of earshot, so Applejack shut the door behind herself and walked over to the one behind which Rarity had vanished. The sight that was behind it more than awed her.
"Ta-da!"
Applejack was amazed. The outfit before her was monochromatic, ranging in color from white to less white, yet it seemed so bright and colorful. It was so mesmerising that she completely forgot everything else in the chamber, including Rarity, who, unnoticed by Applejack, continously listed special design features she had worked into the dress.
If she was in it, Applejack imagined, it would catch the flow of bright color from her mane, direct it along a path of white, then let it flow out into her tail.
"Isn't it FABOLOUS? Let's get you in it, shall we?"
"Uh? Now already?" Applejack's brain was still busy processing all of the different parts of the masterwork standing before her.
"Most certainly. I've had Twilight help me with it, but we need to make sure it fits YOU. And your hair, oh, I've got so many designs for it, we must look for one that fits you perfectly."
It didn't take long before Applejack was standing on Rarity's podium, completely bound by both fabric and etiquette. The adjustments had been quick, however, Rarity seemed to have thousands of different hairstyles for her and the will to try every single one.
Right then, Applejack's mane was simply flowing down (as much as the veil would allow) with a white lily in it to add another reference to the white of her dress.
This could take hours even from that point, she realised. A groan of annoyance escaped Applejack.
"Yes, this totally does not fit. What was I thinking?" Rarity said, throwing the sky blue brooch (symbolising the connection to Rainbow Dash) behind her. That tore Applejack's mind back into the real world.
Now, she didn't only have to endure the endless procedures, but she didn't have the comfort of losing herself in her thoughts and thus making time pass faster any more now.
Rarity spotted her displeased look. "Almost everypony has to suffer through this, darling. Be glad you have to. I sure am for you."
"Why can' all o' this be that much easier? Ah mean, when uncle Red went through his, he borrowed a suit jacket the day before, and it was done. Why can't Ah have it that easy?"
"Rainbow claimed the suit first, remember? Eeh he he... Besides, you look magnificient. They'll throw flowers just for your outfit."
"Didya keep Twilight fer that long, too? Poor thing, an' it didn't even pay off, did it?"
"It took no more than an hour, and she volunteered, for your information. We had plenty of time to talk. Poor thing would fit her, I'm afraid."
"How d'ya mean that?"
"Remember when everything was fine and dandy in her life? Now, you already know the kind of situation she got herself in with school and such. But she's got more problems than that."
"If yer gonna blurt out her secrets like that, spill the beans already. What's she missin'?"
"What, you ask? Who would be more fitting. Looks like she adopted some things from the pair of you."
"Wha'? Twi'? No way, she's way too disciplined and work focused and..."
"And that's why those thoughts didn't occur to her until now. What an epiphany, eh?"
"Disregardin' that fancy speakin', tha' sure is somethin' she got herself into."
"Really, I think she's just in hea..."
"A heapin' lot of trouble, exactly. She's got a great timing for that, don't she. Ah hope she don't go crazy while she's all busy doin' school works an' stuff. Why, maybe she finds somepony there in Canterlot. Ta either lose contact with or be rejected, then become an emotional wreck either way..."
At last. Adjusting her dress and planning a personal style for it had taken Applejack way too long, but now she was free again. Against all odds, there was even still some way between the horizon and Celestia's sun.
"Now jus' where is that pegasus missy..." Applejack whispered to herself. Even after scanning both sky and ground closely, she had no idea where Rainbow Dash might be. Tha's why RD's got that gem, Ah suppose. Maybe Twilight knows where she is, even. She can just activate it if she don't...
She didn't even have to go all the way to the library. Just as Applejack went around the corner and got into line of sight with it, she saw Rainbow Dash come out. Something told her she didn't want to see Twilight any more, so Applejack waited for Rainbow to come towards her.
"Howdy pardner! Whatcha been doin' with Twilight?"
The pegasus literally jumped five meters into the air with some help of her wings. "Wha... Who..." Rainbow hastily looked around to see the source of the noise that had startled her.
As amusing as that sight was, Applejack decided to step out of the group she had subconsciously gone into hiding in and reveal herself. "Ya ain't afraid a' me, are ya?"
Dash folded her wings and dropped to the ground from where she'd been, absorbing the drop force with surprising grace. "No no, of course not. You just... sheesh, where did you learn to blend like that?"
"A little birdie told me." Applejack joked with a wide smile on her face. Everything from the course of the day that had drawn her mood down had been wiped away upon seeing Rainbow again.
"Speaking of whom, Twilight's now in on the plan." It was still a badly kept secret among everypony who asked, so Dash chose more discreet words.
"Arright. Oh, dangit..."
"What?"
"Nothin', Ah jus' remembered Twilight will not be here fer so long."
"A mare's gotta do what a mare's gotta do. She's just going out there to rock some exams in Canterlot and then come back immediately. I bet she'll be back before you miss her."
"But what if Ah do? Can we really manage two months without Twilight? What if there's some kinda emergency like the ones tha' come up weekly, as it seems sometimes?"
"Then you've still got me. Together, we can overcome everything, and if something other than everything troubles us, we've still got the other three, remember? And I think that Twilight would be allowed to leave briefly if it's to save Equestria... Again."
"Ah..."
"Hush. We've been over this before, haven't we? Don't let your fears overcome you. Look into my eyes. Everything's fine, as long as we stick together and trust each other." Dash pulled Applejack's face right in front of hers.
Applejack could not stand those ruby eyes for long. Not when she also had in mind whom they belonged to. The darkness in them swallowed her mind. Their faces were mere inches apart. "Ugh..." She breathed.
"That's more how I like it. I think. You are fine, ri-" Rainbow couldn't finish her sentence. Applejack had thrown their faces together, as if she'd suddenly fallen asleep.
She gave in and enjoyed the kiss until Applejack would break it. That took longer than she expected, though. Ponies around them started to cheer.
Doesn't she need to breathe sometime? Rainbow silently asked herself. It wasn't like she really wanted to end this moment. In fact, she wanted it to last for as long as possible, even if it meant that she and Applejack would suffocate right there and then.
Rainbow Dash zipped across the skies like... nothing, in fact. There was nothing capable of a speed worthy of being compared to her. Perhaps a lightning bolt. Lightning Dash, that's what they should have named her. Or Rainbow Bolt? No, Rainbow Blitz, as they called it somewhere in the eastern parts of Equestria.
No, that sounded stupid too. Like some silly colt chaser stallion. Rainbow Dash suddenly was an awesome name for an awesome pony again.
Said pony was ripped out of her trance as a somewhat deep mare's voice called out to her. "Hey Rainbow Dash! Wait up!"
"Huh?" Mid-flight, she stopped and whirled around to see who was there. "Oh, hiya Derpy!"
"I got a letter for you! At least I think it is for you." The cross eyed mailmare inspected the letter in her hooves again. "Yup. 'To: Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy, Ponyville'"
"All of us? Why, I'm headed for a get together right now. Everypony can look at it there."
Derpy gave Dash the piece of paper and happily flew off to her next location to deliver mail to.
Rainbow checked the object she had just received for anything out of order. It appeared to simply be... a letter. How boring, she thought. The somewhat long and odd receiver adress was the only thing that caught her eye. So maybe that was the key.
Looking closer, she could deduct that whoever wrote that adress had to have access to magic or somepony with it. Or have an assistant with seperable claws. No, it was too clean for that. It must have come from an unicorn.
A bell rung for Rainbow Dash. Literally. She looked around and saw the big clock tower indicating a time when she had already wanted to be where she was going. She was not going to be late, but later than she wanted.
The pegasus stored the letter in her mane, which, with the added stabilisation of her gem pin, was a surprisingly safe place, and flew off to meet her friends.
There she was. It had taken much, much talking from her friends, including a vow not to let anypony touch her wings or have a camera within a hundred meters around her, but Dash still hesitated to step into the spa.
Come on, the others are waiting for you in there. Get in! With much effort, she forced herself to walk forward. Once she got going, it was easier to keep it up than to do anything else. Sooner than she'd have liked, Rainbow stepped through the doors into the lobby, where four ponies were just waiting for her.
"Ah, Rainbow, darling. At last you've come."
"I'm not that late, am I?"
"Naw, yer just on time. We're jus' startin'. Might be 'cause we start with you."
"Alright, I get it, I'm later than I wanted. Can we move on now?"
"Aw. I had such a good one. Next time, Dashie. Lotus? We're ready now." Pinkie Pie called over to the service pony behind the counter, who nodded and began taking preparations for the five mares.
"Isn't it nice to do things together as a group once in a while?"
"Sure is. Me and AJ don't have to always do things together just because we're en... Um, allow me to rephrase."
"Ah think we get the point. So, what kept ya that long, sugar?"
"Ran into Derpy. Gave me an interesting letter." Dash said as she pulled it out of her multicolored mane and threw it onto a table between them in the pool area for everypony to see.
"... 'and Fluttershy, Ponyville.'" Pinkie finished reading the receiver adress aloud. "That's odd."
"Must be from a unicorn. I mean, other ponies couldn't even fit all of that on the front. No return adress, though." Rainbow reported her findings.
"Do you really need a return adress? Think, dear. Is there an unicorn that would mail all five of us and all five of us at once?"
"Took lil' Twilight long enough. D'ya think we shoulda written her?"
"Nah. I mean, what should we say? 'Dear Twilight. Sorry to disturb you while you're busy trying not to fail those final exams, but we have to tell you that nothing at all has happened back in Ponyville. Love, your friends.'" Rainbow Dash dismissed Applejack's concern.
That made Pinkie giggle. "It really has been kinda quiet. So boring!"
Rarity cleared her throat. "Well, enough of this, what does she have to say? Go on, open it!"
Dear whomever this letter may reach first,
Twilight here. I'm writing this for all of you, so try to make the others see it as well. Pass it around if you can't read it simultaneously.
Hey there everypony.
I'm writing to let you know that I'm having a great time here. While I'd prefer it if this mistake had never happened (I miss you so much!), I'm not having any problems with keeping up with the rest of the class, even though I joined them this late.
For instance, did you know there once was a secret order dedicated to maintaining peace and free will by performing something I don't really understand, I think the word's 'Assassination', on certain ponies of importance?
"Anypony know what that is?" Pinkie looked up from the text she was reading aloud for everypony. Four ponies shook their heads, although one seemed a bit off tact with her response.
Fluttershy picked up reading.
So yeah, class is going well. I'll be back with you in just a month and never leave again.
Ponies here are nice. I'm not sure if they'd like me the same without magical hair color change, cover name and whatnot, but I try not to think about that. There's somepony here you really should meet.
"She can't possibly?" Rarity tore the letter from under Fluttershy's eyes and began to intensively read it. "Aw. False alarm."
"Wouldya care ta tell us what ya got all fussed about?"
"Oh, it's nothing, really... I'll just keep reading..."
Rarity, I know you are going to misunderstand this, so I'm going to say it right now, it's not what you think. She's kind of like me, working hard to achieve her goals, always nose deep in a book, you know me. For some reason I can't find on my own and don't want to ask, she's even dyed her hair with the same spell as I did.
Wow, I am rambling. I'm not boring you with how I'm describing that somepony I met here, I hope. Anyways. Her name's Midnight. Fellow unicorn, of course. That's why she's on the School for Gifted Unicorns, I suppose.
I get along with the others, but it's good to have a best friend to keep you company and who always listens. Like Applejack and Rainbow Dash. That is, before the... Party.
Both of the mentioned ponies blushed from the mention of that event.
Applejack planted a quick kiss on Rainbow's redness. That helped her own blush, but the pegasus' only intensified.
Midnight really is a good friend. As I said, you should meet her. Her only flaw is that sometimes she underestimates the noise she makes while I look like I'm working. Yes, Midnight, I CAN hear you. You can stop reading along now. Why am I even writing instead of directly confronting you?
... Whatever. She's gone now. Or really improved her sneaking all of a sudden. I think it's about time to wrap this up. I miss all of you.
As far as I am informed, the weekly crises have taken a break now. At least, there can't have been anything significant enough so I would get news of it.
If I missed anything, don't hesitate to inform me. Mail adressed to 'Twilight Sparkle, Royal guest quarters, Canterlot' should find me.
Stay safe until I come back.
Twilight
Once again airborne.
Even though it was one of the most natural things to do as a pegasus, Derpy loved flying. It took her away from all of the evil ponies who called her offensive and whatnot. She felt almost like a super hero that high above the ground.
Mare Derp Well, maybe. A hero of true heart and nearly nonexistant depth perception. She chuckled at the thought. She didn't understand why ponies could get so heated up over her eyes. She wasn't handicapped or anything...
Well, maybe she was. A bit. But she didn't let that handicap her. It was how she was born and she was good with it. Living with permanently crossed eyes had its benefits, too.
Her focus could shift from one object to another in a timespan most ponies could only dream of, without even making any visible movements.
Like when she passed over a lone tree, looking at the clouds, and saw five differently colored blobs with her second eye. Judging from position and time, those had to be Twilight's friends having their every-so-often pet play date.
Looking more closely confirmed her suspicion. Those five were currently on her service list, so Derpy dived down to them.
"Hi Derpy! Got something for one of us?" Pinkie joyfully greeted her.
"Sure thing! I've got mail for you... and you, and you and you and you..." Derpy pulled it out of her mailbag. "Erm, if you share." Once again, there were five names, each belonging to one of the present ponies, in the receiver adress.
Rarity took the letter the mailmare offered the group into her magical grasp. "Thanks, Derpy. Stop by my house sometime, would you? I'd just love to catch up to what's happened to you since last time."
"Will do, miss Rarity!"
"Save the miss, please." Rarity tried to educate the pegasus, but she had already flown off. "Ugh. Always behaves like she's still a little foal..."
"Ain't that how we love her? Now, what's this about? 'S it from Twilight again?" Two pegasi and two earth ponies rallied around the unicorn.
"Looks like it. Five names, written with magic, no return adress."
"Not Twilight." Everypony turned to look at Rainbow Dash. "What? It's obvious. Twilight uses ultramarine ink. This is cyan. Do the math."
"You actually remember her ink color?" Fluttershy asked as four ponies bent closer to the letter, visibly none able to follow Dash's train of thought.
"Photographic memory. It's not as awesome as it sounds, most of the time. Sometimes, I just want to forget..."
"Like wha'? You don' wanna tell me nothin', right?"
"No no, I want to remember every moment with you as good as I can. It's... other things."
Rarity interrupted the lovers before their conversation could drift off into the awkward zone. "Girls? Mind on the cause, please."
"Erm, of course. Why, we won't find out anythin' from jus' lookin' at tha outside. Let's open it."
Rarity concentrated and the letter folded itself open without ripping anywhere. The sticky material keeping it together seemed to simply vanish. "Ooh! How did you do that? I wanna be able to do that too."
"Believe me, you are doing enough things you shouldn't be capable of already. I don't think Equestria could stand you having a horn. Let's see..."
"Tha' ain't Twilight. Look at the writing."
"Or that she's adressed in third person? Or that it SAYS it's from her parents?" Rainbow couldn't help herself when confronted with AJ's obvious statement.
"Fillies! Can everypony read it?" Rarity looked around. Fluttershy was at a much too big angle, but obviously didn't dare to speak up. "Oh, darling, come over here, you can look over my shoulder."
Giving an embarassed nod as a response, the pegasus walked over behind Rarity.
Greetings, ponies from Ponyville who Twilight insists are her friends and I should notify. By the end of that line, there was a long line of ink going outwards, as if the unicorn writing had temporarily lost focus due to an outer stimulus.
Okay, fine, Twilight's friends then. I am her father and currently a pony tortured heavily by pokes into my side. My dear daughter has now gone through her exams and the results are in.
"Oh yeah, it's The Day. None of us remembered, right? Okay, synchronise stories. We always thought of her and were very confident in her abilities." Dash rambled.
"Shh!" Rarity silenced her.
Don't tell her, but we're taking her out for dinner in a fine restaurant to celebrate and I know it'd mean much to her if you could come. It's short notice, I know, but if you can, come to The Bannered Mare in Canterlot tonight around eight.
Rainbow Dash felt full. There were a thousand reasons and ponies telling her to only eat lightly and, most importantly, never so much at once, but right then, she did not care.
She didn't care about her figure. She didn't care about the old creed she once used to follow. Or maybe still did. She didn't even care if the Wonderbolts would invite her to training to prove her value and eventually join them.
The only thing on her mind was that she was together with the ponies she knew and loved (literally, in one case).
She glanced over the table. There was the relieved Twilight, receiving a compliment for her 105% at the examinations from Applejack. Then there were Fluttershy and Rarity, currently in a conversation about how dying her hair orange would suit the pegasus. Fluttershy didn't seem to be eager to try it.
To her right was the hyperactive-as-usual Pinkie, looking genuinely amazed at the folding technique the mare Dash knew as Twilight's mother (She was bad with names, so Rainbow didn't bother trying to remember it and simply avoided calling her anything but 'you') demonstrated to her with a napkin.
"Hey, Sparkle!" As the eight ponies had just walked out of the restaurant into the cool night, a call from a voice unknown to seven of them disrupted the calm, slow chatter.
"Wuh...Midnight! How did you know how I really look?"
"Spell detection, of course. We had that right before the holidays. Didn't you study it?"
"Who's that, Twilight?" Applejack was the element of Honesty, not good manners. Sometimes, her questions could be a bit blunt.
"Oh, Midnight's a class mate of mine. Or was, rather."
"Well, what are you going to do now?" Midnight asked.
"Go home to Ponyville. Keep doing... Erm... Like, you know, being Celestia's personal student and things. Studying friendship. What are your plans?"
"Now that I have my degree, go to work, I suppose. Some nursing. Like, what's on my flank and such." She pointed at her side, where two round single color pills, blue and orange, were added into her purple fur.
"In case anypony needs a place to sleep for the night, we have a guest bed ready. If it has to be, Twilight's bed should be big enough for two ponies." Her father offered the group.
"No thanks. I'll just fly home..." Fluttershy kindly declined.
"Oh, I couldn't. I have some relatives of my own in the area, I'll pay them a visit." Rarity said and instantly walked away with a yawn.
"Where's Binkie?" Twilight's mother asked.
"At home. I think. Don't worry, Pinkie doesn't need physics. She's fine." Twilight reassured her.
Applejack turned towards Rainbow Dash. "Leaves the two of us, sugar."
"You, to be exact. I'll be over at my house in ten minutes. Why, less even. We've got winds coming from Ponyville, it'll float over. But... Hey, it's such a clear night. How about we both go to my place and do some stuff there, far from the light?"
"Why not? Ah'm gonna need tha' cloud spell thingy then, right?"
Twilight stepped closer, within effective casting range of Applejack. "One cloud walking spell, coming up. Twenty-four hours. Don't forget." She said as she quickly enchanted Applejack again.
"Thanks, Twilight." Rainbow grabbed the earth pony from above and lifted her off the ground. "Ugh, didn't lose your strength, did you."
"You're lucky mah legs are on the wrong side."
"Just the right side for me. Bye!" Dash departed with Applejack tucked in under her.
"Well... Let's head home now, shall we?" Twilight stopped right after turning around and seeing the look her father was looking after the two lovers. "They're stargazing, dad." Clearly, the only thing saving him from getting bucked off the mountain for thinking such things were the ponies around them.
"Rainbow?"
"Hmm?" Rainbow Dash was conscious, but not by much. The dark of the night, the quiet, the softness of the cloud underneath them, Applejack's presence, all of those things were working together to send her into a slight snooze. She should be inside her house and sleeping already instead of staying outside, looking at the stars together with Applejack.
"You don' look like ya wanna talk 'bout it, and Ah'm not sure if tha's the time fer it, but Ah really need ta know... Where did ya get all o' those skills, like blending in, spottin' ponies in the densest of crowds, and so on?"
"I dreaded the day you would ask this. I reckon we can't get happily married if I have to keep secrets from you. I will explain everything to you, right tomorrow morning. And I'm not avoiding like you did with the rodeo."
"But why tomorrow? Why not today?"
"Getting impatient? The writer's tired. Uh, I mean, I am tired. It's late, and we should get to bed. Look." Rainbow pointed a hoof towards the moon. "Half past one already."
"Fer instance, Ah'd like ta know how ya know all o' dis. Once, ya hardly knew the Polar Star, and now ya named more constellations than Twilight herself would recognise."
"In time. Come in. I don't exactly have a guest bed, but if we shape a bit of cloud, it should be pretty nice for you."
"Eh, you don' wanna share yer bed with your future wife?"
Rainbow blushed slightly from embarassment. "Now that I think about it, that's a pretty solid idea. I wonder why I didn't think of that."
"Ah love it when yer like that."
Complete silence. Hardly any light. All around her warmth and softness. No pain, doubt or concern. From what Applejack could tell, this could be the afterlife.
A quiet rustle from her right told her the opposite. Looking over, Applejack remembered that her paradise was not behind the veil of death, but in the world of the living. With Rainbow Dash.
What a beauty, she thought. Apparently, they had had quite a battle over the blanket in their sleep. Which, as nearly every contest between them, had been won by Dash.
Now the rainbow blanket was crumbled up near Dash's head, extending each color of her mane ten times its length.
Through the window (more accurately, opening in the cloud wall), Applejack could see the rising sun. Somehow, she was drawn outwards by it stronger than any force known to her.
Applejack didn't want to risk waking up the sleeping beauty, so she carefully slid out of the bed as quietly as she could.
Stepping out into the fresh morning air, Applejack immediately saw why she'd been so mesmerised by the sunrise. The moist air made the borders of the sun sparkle like a diamond in the, well, sun.
She kicked up a bit of cloud, which quickly dispersed and formed a small stripe of rainbow in the air. In the distance, the snowy caps of Canterlot mountain reflected single light beams over.
"What an awesome sight, right?" Rainbow Dash slowly trotted to her side.
"Not quite as awesome as the sight Ah'm havin' right now."
"Heh, of course, nothing can be THAT awesome. By definition. Mareiam and Webster asked for a picture of me to put under "awesome"."
"So, you ready to learn my secrets?" After breakfast, Rainbow Dash had made Applejack follow her into her entrance room.
"'T's what Ah asked for, right?"
"Right. So..." Dash pushed a secret button in the wall, hidden under a hoof of cloud. The nearby bookshelf (Which was filled only with a few dusty lexica) flung to the side.
Behind it, there was a variety of objects hanging on the wall. Biggest of them all was an outfit, white on the oustide, red on the inside, with various bags and belts on it, finished at the top by a large hood.
A fair number of gadgets and contraptions hung around it. For each, there seemed to be a slot on the outfit in the middle. The same symbol Dash had been wearing in her mane appeared multiple times in the hidden closet and on the outfit.
Applejack let out a small whistle. "Wow. Clichè!"
Whatever answers Rainbow had expected, this was not one of them. She was at a loss of words and didn't manage to put out anything more than a confused cough.
"Ah mean, ya know, the whole 'Hidden button, stuff behind bookshelf' thing."
"Uhm, kinda. Works, though, doesn't it?"
"Ah'm waitin' for yer explanations ta all o' this. What are those things?"
"Well, I'd best start somewhere. I am part of a secret society dedicated towards keeping peace in Equestria by influencing - or eliminating - those of importance. No, I'm not. I was. I am. I suppose you never really quit."
"Eliminate?! What the hay?"
"Calm down. We've been mostly inactive for such a long time now. Mostly. Not even Celestia can keep her whole kingdom under control."
"But... Why? What issues are there you'd have to get violent fer?"
"Luckily, few. As I said, mostly inactive. We've kept in hiding, not doing much more than talking to those who need to be corrected. But you've never looked into the face of a true target. There's no other salvation for those."
Applejack was struggling to comprehend what had been said. "So those things are yer... Equipment, Ah suppose?"
"Yes. The center piece, both in function and literally, is the outfit. It's traditional and does not draw unwanted attention like RAINBOW hair would."
"Really? You do realise yer easier to spot when yer wearin' clothes and not just going without like everypony else?"
"Here, maybe. But the Brotherhoof was and is active mostly in snobby places like Canterlot. Also, if anypony bothers to give you a second look, you've already lost in most cases."
"Makes sense."
"Below it are some smoke bombs. Useful for area denial, breathing room in combat, distraction... Pretty universal. To the right of that are some emergency bits when you can't access the rest of your savings because they're looking for you."
"And, finally, the most known and perhaps most important piece, the Hidden." Rainbow strapped the device on a foreleg. As she did an inconspicuous movement, a blade of five inches length sprung forward, then quickly retracted again.
Applejack jumped backwards a little bit out of surprise.
"Heh, yeah. It utilises the element of surprise, our greatest weapon. Not to be confused with the Elements of Harmony."
"Tha's a whole lotta stuff ya got there. Did you ever... use it?" Applejack was afraid of the answer.
"Once, and there was no other way. He would have threatened everything. After that, I was lucky enough to never again have to."
"So tha's where ya got them tenets or what ya called 'em."
"Stay your blade from the flesh of innocents. One. Be discreet. Two. Never compromise the Brotherhoof. Three. Yes, those are the highest... Only, actually, laws for us. Nothing is real, everything is permitted."
"Ah don' have ta understand that, do Ah?"
"I don't, either. Only the wisest and most experienced truly grasp the meaning of those words. For us other idiots, the shallow insight you get from simply hearing it is enough. Not everypony can live up to the understanding Luna had."
"Princess Luna? How's she in all o' this?"
"Oh, she founded the Brotherhoof back in the day before she was banished. It was a really messy time back then. It would take care of what business Celestia's open approach could not solve on its own. We work in the dark to serve the light."
"Tha's why ya know all o' dem stars?"
"Kinda. No, to be honest, it's an entirely different story. A little while ago, shortly after your... generousness... had got me injured, I woke up in the middle of the night. Something drew me to Canterlot."
"Why does everypony pick on my form? Those are apple bucking hips, nothing else!"
"Yeah, they are. As it turned out, Luna herself had decided to summon me when she saw how fascinated I was with her night sky. We spent quite a while stargazing, just like the two of us did last night. While I was there, she also healed my ankle."
"So ya went an' looked at tha sky with somepony who's not only your Brotherhoof's leader, but also the highest royalty you can get?"
"She invited me!"
"Tha's quite interestin', Ah must say."
"Wanna learn more?"
"How?"
"This might sound overwhelming, but there are also ponies out there against us. They are organised as well. Our cause is not exactly legal sometimes, but they are worse. They want to seize domination over all of Equestria, and stop at nothing for that!"
"And how does that affect me?"
"I am relatively high up in the order. They're hunting for me. It's your decision to take the offer, but I'd like you to receive some training so you can defend yourself in case they find us. In case they want to blackmail me."
"Ya serious?"
"I'm serious. I don't care if they kill me. I want you to be safe."
"Whatever's yer desire, Ah'm doin' it."
"Great. So let's... Huh. We're marrying pretty soon, don't we."
"At least ya remember."
"Well, no matter. There's enough time."
It had been a hard time for Applejack, but she was ready. Physically. Mentally.
Even though she'd been athletic before (except in her flanks), the training had not been a walk in the park. In order to get the required mobility, most of the members were pegasi. She, obviously, was not.
So, she had had to learn how to climb and run to highest efficiency. While most of the time, stealth would provide her cover, she had to know her way around the rooftops in case she'd get into a chase.
There were more rules than Rainbow had mentioned. Technically, they were just derivations from the first three, which Applejack had had to repeat and follow until she could literally recite them in her sleep.
She had to rest well and much longer than she used to. Eat lightly, and little at once. Lie to her friends to throw them off her trail when she was going to training. One, two, three.
Stay attentive at all times. Never risk stomach crumps in unexpected chases. Never compromise the Brotherhoof.
Then, there was the most important part of her initiation, combat training. In case they would find her, despite her keeping a low profile.
Dodging. Counterattacking. Distracting the enemy long enough to allow safe use of the Hidden. Of course, Applejack prayed never to have to use those skills, but she had to learn them. To be ready.
"It's time, Apples." Rainbow Dash awakened Applejack from her trance. She gestured for the earth pony to follow her into the ceremony room.
"Ya gonna be present?" Applejack asked as they walked the small distance side by side.
"Everypony is. I'm even pretty much required for the ceremony. I said I'm high up, didn't I?"
Applejack suddenly stopped when she stepped into the room and saw who was there, waiting behind a lit brazier. Rainbow pushed at her slightly oversized flank to make her keep walking. Either she'd been completely oblivious while in thought, or the room had a second entrance.
"Fluttershy? She, of all ponies and other under the sun, is also a member of the Brotherhoof?"
"Master actually. Not hard to imagine, if you think about it. That mare can vanish out of plain sight if she sees as much as a shadow. She's perfected stealth. She's been Mentor some time now, although now Luna will probably take back over soon."
Applejack couldn't wipe the surprised expression off her face. Fluttershy gave her a shy smile and nodded to confirm what Dash had just said.
"La shay' haqiqah, koulo shay' moumkin. The wisdom of our creed is revealed through these words."
"Er, beg yer pardon, whadya jus' say?" Applejack's outright question made all but two of the present ponies gasp.
"The highest rule, you..." Rainbow grumbled at her. She was interrupted by Fluttershy.
"Oh no, it's alright. I suppose nopony's told you the old version. I prefer the newer one too. A-chem! Where other ponies blindly follow the truth, remember..."
"Nothin' is true."
"Where other ponies are limited by morality or law, remember..."
"Everythin' is permitted."
"We work in the dark to serve the light. We are the Brotherhoof. Nothing is true, everything is permitted." Everypony joined in with Fluttershy in the last sentence.
The building they were on was rather high. Applejack didn't care. She was told to prove her faith, and so she did.
After a second of falling headfirst, she figured she should possibly check her landing zone. Not that she could do anything about it now. Not that she cared about it now. She was at inner peace.
Rainbow would catch her, she was sure. If she didn't, well, she'd grow old and they'd be reunited eventually.
Just as Applejack had clenched her eyes even tighter, she felt the electric fizzle of magic on her fur. She opened her eyes to see she was floating still a bit off the ground.
Slowly, she descended. Some other ponies from the Brotherhoof, including Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, met her on the ground.
"Ah suppose Ah've passed that test, eh? But whaddya catch me so early for? Could've waited some more time, really. Hey... Where's the unicorn, anyway?"
"There is no unicorn. Not now. It was just a stored spell, designed to trigger when there is a specific event in the target's brain."
"Like, prove yer faith? Ah guess Ah did that. Ya would've catched me if Ah hadn't activated it, right?"
"Um, sure. By the way, you triggered it higher up than anypony I remember. Congratulations."
"Sugarcube?" This time, the two lovers, or, to be exact, wives, laid in Applejack's bed. It was a bit small, but it did fit them both.
"Hm?"
"Ah was thinkin'... How many of 'Them' are out there? Will I have to go on a contract? How big is tha danger fer me ta be found really?"
"Well..." Rainbow Dash couldn't suppress a small chuckle. "First, still some. Second, not if you don't want to. If we're lucky, nopony will have to execute a contract of that sort. Third... Kinda small. But I wanted to have no secrets standing between us."
"So it was all jus' so Ah unnerstand what's goin' on with ya?"
"Not just that. The risk is there, it's just small. Maybe I just wanted you to get in because we're awesome. Who knows?"
"So we're not really in danger?"
"I doubt it."
"Then let's have a good life. Off to Fillydelphia and don't you dare not give me the best honeymoon ever!"
