Chapters Prologue
A long time ago, Princess Celestia, ruler of the kingdom of Equestria, discovered that her Equestria was not the only Equestria. When ever an unusually significant even occurred, an event that completely changed the course of pony history, an alternate universe is created where that event never happened or a pony made an alternate choice. One such event, the successful completion of a Sonic Rainboom by a filly named Rainbow Dash during a race, completely altered the fate of six young mares, bringing them together irrevocably. In another Equestria, Rainbow Dash never did this spectacular feat, and the same six ponies are scattered across the country. With the return of Nightmare Moon drawing nigh, these ponies must somehow be brought together even in the absence of the Catalyst.
Chapter 1
Pinkamena Pie pushed away from her desk. Frustrated, she threw the rocks her sisters had harvested away from her and let out a small sob. She hated this job. Always had. The rock farming business was tedious at best and downright dreadful at worst. At twenty-one, she had to be the oldest blank flank in the history of Equestria. No, scratch that, in the history of the world. Rock farming obviously wasn't her super special talent, but with the death of her parents and the mysterious disappearance of her Granny Pie, it was up to Pinkamena to run the farm. Even though she was the youngest, her sisters Margaret Octavia, also known as Inkie and Maggie, and Blinkimina Marie, or Blinkie, had no business sense. Pinkamena hated it, but she was best equipped to handle the farm. Consoled, somewhat, by the idea that she was better than her sisters even if she was the oldest blank flank ever, Pinkamena brushed her stick straight mane out of her eyes and went back to the account books.
***
Twilight "Nopony" Sparkle drudged through the campus of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Having barely passed her entrance exam, she was still, even after years of study, in the "special" class, which was something like Magic for Dummies. Twilight was nopony special. In fact, she didn't even have a cutie mark. No matter how much effort Twilight put into her studies, she remained the "special needs" blank-flank, with no friends and no future. At nineteen, Twilight had given up on even the slightest hope of becoming anything worthwhile. Through her drudgery, Twilight noticed another pony coming toward her. No, Twi, she probably doesn't want to talk to you. Twilight thought. Her thoughts were confirmed when she saw who it was. Trixie. Celestia's private student. She'd never even look at somepony like Twilight. When Trixie opened her mouth Twilight was surprised into shock.If I were Celestia's favorite student, I'd be much more humble about it... Twilight thought. Then she laughed bitterly. She was a dismal failure. She'd never be Princess Celestia's favorite student.
***
"Darling, please pass the peas," Aunt Orange commanded politely. Applejack, now nicknamed "Appletini" for the martini glass on her flank, obeyed. In the years she'd lived with her Aunt and Uncle Orange, her country upbringing was fading more and more. Sometimes Applejack thought even her freckles were fading. She was truly a city pony. A lady. Ignoring her relatives' guests, Applejack gazed demurely at her hooves. Delicate, danity, demure. The three D's of being a lady and a city pony. Applejack had them down pat. But honestly, she was miserable. Even though she had her cutie mark, at times even that seemed fake. Like a temporary placeholder until she got her real cutie mark. But she had to stay here. She hadn't once returned to Ponyville. At twenty-one, she was way too old for her brother and Granny to welcome her back.
***
"Alright you Dogs. We have diamonds and gems to find and you all are lazing about. No more insubordination from you. And if I hear of another dog skipping a tooth brushing, bath or manicure, there will be repercussions," bellowed a white unicorn from what looked like a rock dias in an underground tunnel. Before her stood dog-like creatures who walked on two legs and wore diamonds on their collars. They were incredibly rough and tumble, but clean. Queen Rarity liked them to be clean.art here. Nothing but the hunting of gems for her dogs. She glanced again at her cutie mark and it struck her as almost an image of and egg waiting to be cracked open, as if the real cutie mark lay beneath it.
***
Fluttershy huddled in the corner of her earthbound cottage, struggling not to succumb to the fear of other ponies she had maintained since nearly dying from a fall as a filly. She'd been caught, but barely, the swarm of butterflies she had landed on buckling under her weight. Since then, the only contact with the outside world had been when the doctors had removed her wings, deeming them unusable and broken beyond repair. Not that Fluttershy minded. She always preferred walking to flying. But the doctor who had treated her had also done some pretty terrifying experiments on her, trying to see if he could prompt her body to grow new wings, another experiment to try and artificially produce a cutie mark. He'd been caught by the authorities before he'd moved on to anything worse, but his experiments had taken hold. Fluttershy now had an unidentifiable cutie mark, something that resembled a mangled butterfly and child-size wings on an adult body, which made her something of a freak on the few times she'd ventured into town. So she stayed in the cottage she'd found near the edge of the Everfree Forest, only venturing out to get food and water, even though by avoiding other ponies, she felt as if she were denying some buried part of her nature. But the fear was too strong. In her heart she knew she wanted to be around other ponies, to help others, but the betrayals of her doctor and, to an extent, Rainbow Dash, her only childhood friend who had inadvertently caused her fall, had caused her to fear ponies with such a deep-rooted fear. Her strange appearance only added to that, since other ponies stared when she went near town. So Fluttershy stayed hidden, wishing to Celestia she had normal wings and a normal cutie mark so she could be normal.
***
Rainbow Dash went to work feeling like she always did: miserable. Not that making rainbows was fascinating , but that race always haunted her, even now, years later and at twenty-two years old. She'd not only lost, miserably, she highly suspected she may have inadvertently caused Fluttershy's death.so not her thing, she went back to the drudgery of rainbow making. It was the only thing she was good at anymore besides failing. Once, Dash had wanted to be a Wonderbolt, the best of the best, to fly and race with the best flyers in Equestria. But the death of Fluttershy and her dismal failure as a filly had dashed, no pun intended, those dreams. Rainbow Dash had quit flight school and joined Cloudsdale's weather makers, since she had yet to find her special talent and her flank was bare. But it was only a matter of getting through the days. Who cared if she was talentless? She had nothing worth trying for anymore.
***
Spike the dragon trailed behind Trixie wondering for the millionth time why he couldn't have stayed with the pony who'd actually hatched him. Twilight Sparkle HAD managed to hatch his egg, though he'd had to finish the job himself. They'd then taken her to the lowest level magic kindergarten while Spike was given to Trixie, the protege of Princess Celestia. Also known as the biggest pain in the rump Spike had ever met.
***
Ditsy Doo, known as Derpy Hooves for her strange, walleyed stare, was watching all of this. Though many assumed her eyes were from an accident or injury, she'd actually been born with a rare, unique gift. Ditsy had interdimensional clairvoyance. Now to the laypony, this sounded confusing, even absurd, but this gift meant she could see across both the dimension she currently resided in and into other realities. In this dimension, a single altercation of a single even had completely changed the course of Equestrian History.
Chapter 2
"Your Royal Highness, forgive me, but I must inform you that there's a crazy lookin' mailmare insistin' on a private audience.She said to say her name is Ditsy Doo. Do you want to me to tell her to get lost?" one of Celestia's private guards was bowing before her throne.
"Your highness, I have...odd news. In the dimensional universe most similar to this one, there are six mares of great importance. They bear the Elements of Harmony as you and your sister once did and have already used them and their unusually strong friendship to defeat and bring back your sister, currently known as Nightmare Moon. In this world, your sister has yet to return, though if the prophecies are right, she is overdue for a visit. But these six mares are still important, though far more overlooked and scattered than they are in the other world. It seems a single event that was meant to irrevocably connect them never occurred in this Equestria and thus none of them are in a place where they have any power, as they are in the other Equestria."
Ditsy bowed at the end of her speech. Celestia said nothing, considering the possibilities and what they meant for the kingdom. "Dee, is it possible that one of these mares is a unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle?"
***
Spike could not believe his luck. Trixie was going to graduate early, as the princess had deemed her ready to be unleashed on the world. As a request, the Princess had asked that Trixie allow Spike to be placed in the care of a student who really needed his help. Twilight Sparkle, somepony whom everypony thought was nopony, but to some-dragon she meant freedom from the tyrannical Trixie. And some instinct inside Spike told him that Twilight was essentially his mom, being the first thing he'd seen when he'd hatched. Even if her hatching was botched, Spike couldn't help but feeling that he was going home.
***
Twilight Sparkle could not believe her luck. A dragon companion? That was more than she'd ever hoped for. Baby dragons made it easier for Celestia to communicate with individual students that had them. Receiving the care of one was a great honor, one Twilight had never expected to receive. Better still, it was the dragon she had rather pitifully hatched for her entrance exam which had to mean Celestia might be taking an interest in her. If Celestia becomes my teacher, perhaps I can improve! Excited by her own thoughts, Twilight began to hop around her room like a school-filly shouting "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes YEEEES!!!"
***
"But Pinkamena! I want to go to Canterlot and study music ! Not work on this boring old farm for the rest of my life!" Inkie stomped her hooves angrily. Pinkamena sighed. This was another thing she hated about the rock farm. She was in charge and thus her sisters had to ask her for permission to do things they wanted to do. Blinkie was easy, she actually liked rock farming. Maggie Octavia, however, was not. She wanted to go to Canterlot to study classical music. She was an excellent string musician and had even personally received and invitation to go to Canterlot's famous Muleiard School of Music. But Pinkamena had to say no. It wasn't in her nature to refuse such a heartfelt request, but if the rocks weren't rotated correctly, they'd never make a profit for the farm, as they'd never turn into the monolithic geodes that surrounded the edges of the farm. Those rocks were filled with rare gems, and could only grow if the rocks were rotated daily. Pinkamena needed all the help she could get, and Maggie couldn't go anywhere until Pinkamena found someone else to take over.
***
Rarity was not pleased with her dogs. Those foalish idiots had raided the Pie property like they would anywhere else. Rarity had something of a personal rivalry with Pinkamena, head of the Pie family. Pinkamena was cunning, to say the least, and always stopped the thieves that knew what her farm really grew before they even set foot on the property. The fact that the Dogs had proceeded without the caution Rarity had insisted upon when dealing with the Pie family thoroughly irked her. Rarity expected perfection. She toyed with her geode. She wasn't entirely sure why the dogs collected gems or what they did with them. Rarity hunted them because she liked beautiful things. She suspected the dogs traded them for food, clothing, and other essentials, keeping some for themselves, because, like Rarity, they liked the sparkle. Perhaps they traded them with some race that valued gems over coin. Dragons, perhaps? It was that or they had another sovereign, something Rarity really hoped wasn't true. She liked the dogs' obedience. She definitely preferred the trade idea. She really hoped the dogs wouldn't be punished by anyone but her for this mishap. She continued toying with her geode. It was pretty large, she really ought to share it with her dogs...That mare's got guts, I'll give her that. Rarity thought before saying, "I want to come home with you."want to live on our Celestia-awful, Nightmare Moon-would-totally-love-it-there, Sun forsaken rock farm?" Pinkamena said at last.And maybe I can learn why my horn keeps dragging me to that monolith Rarity mentally added. Pinkamena considered it, then nodded.
***
Applejack started on the dozenth letter home she'd tried to write that afternoon.Dear Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom (whom I have never met) and Ma and Pa if you are there *scratch that*Dear Big Macintosh and Granny Smith *nope*Dear Granny Smith and Big Macintosh and any other apple family pony who might be reading definitely not.
Applejack sighed. Letters were always such a challenge for her. Though she knew her family loved her unconditionally, she also knew that they wanted her home. Though she'd never admit it, Granny Smith was getting too old for applebucking, Big Mac couldn't do it alone, and Apple Bloom, the sister she'd never met, was too young. They needed her.
Dearest Apple Family,
I am quite well thank you. Aunt Orange took me to see Pony and the Beast on Trotway and it was quite delightful. I imagine little Apple Bloom would love it. I certainly miss Granny's pies, but Aunt Orange says I must watch my figure. I hope to visit as soon and my schedule is free of social engagements.
Yours,
Applejack
There. Nothing to suggest she wasn't happy. Nothing to suggest she was afraid to visit. Perfect.
"Aunt Orange?" Applejack called. "
"Yes, 'Tini, darling?"
"Could you please give this to the mailmare? It is a letter to Sweet Apple Acres."
***
Fluttershy trembled. There was somepony near her cottage. What if they came inside, thinking it was abandoned? What if they saw her? Fluttershy's thoughts raced, her panic escalating with each passing moment. She whimpered and the door opened. A huge stallion stood in the doorway. Fluttershy began to cry. Oh no oh no oh no .
"Is anypony in here? Ah thought ah heard cryin'," the pony said with a thick country accent. In the dim light, Fluttershy noticed he was quite handsome, in a rustic kind of way. He was a nice red color, with green eyes and a ginger-colored mane. He had an apple half cutie mark, and his eyes were kind.
"Hello there," he had seen her. Fluttershy shrank back. "It's ok. I'm not gonna hurt ya. Come on out." His voice was very soothing. Fluttershy found herself inexplicably calmed.
"Um....hi.." she squeaked.
"What's your name sugarcube?" he asked. Fluttershy had never been called a pet name before.Here it comes, he's not going to be so nice now she thought.
Chapter 3
Big Macintosh nervously led Fluttershy to Sweet Apple Acres. How would Granny Smith and Apple Bloom react to her? She was extremely fragile. He loved his family, but sometimes they could be honest to the point of obtuse. He'd been walking near the cottage to clear his head after reading Applejack's letter. She wasn't happy, and her fake cheery letters couldn't fool Big Macintosh. But he wanted her to come home on her own terms. He figured her apple-bucking legs were weaker than they once were, but surely she could build up strength again. Shaking his head, he noticed Fluttershy staring nervously at him, probably picking up on his frustration with AJ and thinking it was directed at her. He quickly smiled, trying to reassure her that he wasn't angry with her at all.
"Here we are, sugarcube. Sweet Apple Acres. Home sweet home," he announced as he let her into the house.
"Granny, it's me! I brought a guest. But be nice, she's really shy."
***
Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her eyes. This was the LAMEST thing ever to happen to her, and she'd had a lot of uncool, lame, and loserish things happen to her. The Rainbow Factory was giving her the pink slip and she was being transferred to weather patrol in a dumpy little town called Ponyville. What the hay? She'd been the most devoted worker the Rainbow Factory had. She was never late, she always did her work. What had she done wrong? When she'd gone to talk to her boss about it, he'd told her that she wasn't being fired, they just needed somepony in Ponyville to oversee the pegasi there. Well, she wasn't doing it. She was NOT going to Ponyville. She'd fly away. But that felt like betrayal. Ponyville probably really needed her. But she didn't have any reason to be loyal to Ponyville. She'd never been there, never had any desire to go there. Why? Why her? Why couldn't the company just let her work there without bothering her? She was a loser. A complete and totally loser. And uncool. She wasn't entirely convinced that she was lame, but she was pretty close. Ugg, this was ridiculous. She wasn't going to Ponyville.
***
It was not fair. Twilight Sparkle was a nopony, a nothing, a talentless little snot with no real value. Trixie was powerful. She was the best student in the school, the most accomplished, Celestia's personal student. Spike belonged with her ! he was her assistant, not Twilight Sparkle's. Sure, Trixie was graduating, but she'd need an assistant when she became famous too. Angry by the injustice of it all, Trixie stomped around her room, causing the floor to shake. Some of the other students hollered at her to stop. Sighing, Trixie dramatically collapsed on her bed. Somepony was going to pay for this. Trixie would make sure of that.
***
Rarity followed Pinkamena home to the rock farm and began to wonder what had possessed her to make this deal. Ponies need sunshine? She'd lived underground for almost twelve years. Pinkamena had what seemed like a permanent scowl on her face, a stark contrast with her pink body and mane. After about twenty minutes of this Rarity tried to make conversation.Well, you can't really blame her, now can you? Rarity thought to herself. You've been raiding her property for what, five years now? Well, I suppose my reputation proceeds me So pink pony knows how to haggle
They arrived at the Diamond Dog caves a little over half and hour later. The Dogs were ecstatic about Rarity being back, wriggling with happiness. Holding up her hoof for silence, she gave them Pinkamena's proposition. The Dogs gathered around Ruff, talked it over and agreed.
***
"Now, don't let the Dogs run rampant, I'm trusting you to keep order. Ruff is a good leader, but he doesn't know the farm and has lived most of his life as a thief. It's your job to keep them honest!" Pinkamena instructed Blinkie.I am leaving the rock farm. I am leaving the rock farm. The thought repeated over and over. Her back began to itch. It was her lucky day, if her Pinkamena sense was right. She was worried about leaving her sister in charge with just the Diamond Dogs to help, but something told her that she'd never be coming back to this place. Wiping tears from her eyes, she hugged Blinkie tightly until Blinkie begged to be let go. Sighing, Pinkamena hoisted her knapsack over her shoulder as Rarity and Inkie did the same. Giving one last look at the place that had made her so miserable, Pinkamena trotted off with Rarity and Inkie, toward the carriage station in Ponyville to catch a stage coach to Canterlot.
They were on their way. Away from the rock farm. Never to return. Pinkamena's back itched again. My lucky day... . Rarity was not the first choice of traveling companion, but Pinkamena refused to leave her alone at the farm. Besides, Pinkamena got the feeling Rarity wanted to get out of the Ponyville area.
Chapter 4
Applejack sat on her bed, trying to convince herself that she wasn't hungry. She'd eaten very little that afternoon and her stomach was rumbling. I could sure go for one of Granny's pies right now. I could probably eat the whole thing! She shook off that thought. She didn't need all those calories. She looked at herself. She was pretty thin. One pie wouldn't hurt...
CRASH!!!
Applejack leaped off her bed, scared out of her wits, to see a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane laying on the floor, Aunt Orange's antique lamp broken on top of her. In her shock, years of ladylike behavior were momentarily stripped away.
"GOOD GRAVY GIRL!! WHAT THE HAY ARE Y'ALL...I mean, good heavens what ever are you doing?" Applejack realized she'd reverted back to her country accent, and quickly switched back to her cultured Manehattenite speech.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I was flying and sort of ran out of steam. I'm the worst flier in Equestria...I'm such a loser," the pegasus said.
For some reason Applejack felt incredibly sorry for this pegasus lying on her floor.
The pony looked relieved, and exhausted.
"What's your name, dear?" Applejack asked.
And with that Applejack swept out of the room.
"Of course she can stay, as long as she doesn't break any more of our furniture. If she stays longer than a week she must be taught how to be a lady, of course, but she can stay for now," Aunt Orange said when Applejack questioned her.
"Alright, if you refrain from breaking anymore furniture, you can stay, though they don't want you here longer than a week," Applejack explained to the multicolored pegasus.
Rainbow Dash let out a whoop. "Thanks, you're the best! What did you say your name was again?"liked it?
***
Twilight awoke suddenly when Spike belched loudly. Thinking her new friend was being an obnoxious boy, she got out of bed to scold him, then realized he held a letter. From Princess Celestia. For her. Twilight nearly fainted.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I would like to thank you for taking on the responsibility of caring for the baby dragon Spike. I am beginning to believe that I may have been sorely mistaken in your ability. You have great potential, Ms. Sparkle, and I would like to help you reach your full potential. All though it may seem suspicious if I become your personal mentor immediately, I would like to send you on something of a personal quest. You see, there are magical relics known as the Elements of Harmony that Equestria may need soon. I am giving you a guide, but her appearance is strange. She will be at your door soon. I wish you luck.
Her Royal Highness
Princess Celestia
Twilight read and reread the letter. A quest to find ancient magical relics? If somepony had told her last week, heck, yesterday, that she'd be going on a private quest for Celestia she would have thought they were playing a sick prank on her. Now she had a baby dragon, a quest for lost magic, and Princess Celestia's trust. Her life was getting better and better.
A knock sounded on the door.That must be my guide Twilight thought. She opened the door. In the doorway stood a gray pegasus with a blond mane and bubbles for a cutie mark. Her yellow eyes went in opposite directions, giving her a very strange appearance. Twilight paused. This was supposed to be her guide?
***
Pinkamena stared around Canterlot, having never seen a city this big in all of her life. She couldn't help but be impressed as she noticed the buildings made of pure marble, adorned with amethysts and garnets. Not precious stones, but pretty none the less. Pinkamena noticed Rarity looking around as well, though the unicorn was trying a lot harder NOT to be impressed.never would have guessed," Rarity remarked, rolling her blue eyes.
***
Rainbow Dash woke in a soft bed, in a strange room feeling groggy. She couldn't quit remember what had happened the day before...there was something about flying for a long time, then crashing, then...the orange earth pony, Applejack, the strange country-Manehattenite. Rainbow Dash looked around the room for the pony.job transfer to the very town AJ had been born in. More guilt washed over her as she remembered that Ponyville was located almost directly below Cloudsdale, making her think of Fluttershy. It was then that Dash realized that she wasn't running away from her job, but running away from the awful memories surrounding Cloudsdale. That shamed her. She always thought she was pretty loyal to her few friends and her job. But she'd betrayed that by running away.
*Note: this chapter contains language*
Chapter 5
Rarity was trying her hardest to get Pinkamena to give up her bizarre stalking of Twilight Sparkle. Rarity had never heard of a pony stalking another pony they had just met because they had a "feeling" they were supposed to. It was downright creepy. Rarity had to admit though that in some instances, Pinkamena had a preternatural sense about future events. She'd explained to Rarity the other day that she got "twitches" that told her certain things, and that sometimes she got more than one twitch, that also foretold an event. She called those "combinations". Rarity didn't quite understand, but living with the Dogs had taught her to use any tools available. Pinkamena's "Pinkamena Sense" was a tool that could be useful. Especially while they were following Twilight's party, as that Ditsy Doo seemed incredibly accident prone.
Suddenly, a vaguely familiar voice came around the corner.famous sister, who went by the DJ name DJ Pon-3, alias for her real name, Vinyl Scratch.
"Pinkamena, we have to go somewhere else!" Rarity said.Rarity? " she said, taking off her sunglasses, which she was wearing even though it was nighttime. Her red eyes bored into Rarity's blue one. "Is that really you?"was selfish. No matter what she told herself when she shared gems she found with the dogs, she wasn't really generous. She was only generous when it benefited her. And somehow, that stung. She felt as if she had gotten away from what really mattered most in her life.
***
Fluttershy felt as though she'd known the Apple Family all her life. Big Macintosh was fast becoming a friend, and Fluttershy really enjoyed spending time with Granny Smith and Apple Bloom too. In the three days she'd spent with them, they'd made her happier than she could remember being, not once saying anything cruel about her wings or her bizarre cutie mark. Even Apple Bloom had laid off talking about cutie marks around Fluttershy, knowing that even the most innocent comment could hurt the sensitive pegasus' feelings. Fluttershy had also found that the farm animals adored her, though they weren't overly fond of her pet bunny, Angel. Of course, Angel wasn't very nice, so it was completely understandable. Angel especially didn't like Big Macintosh, apparently thinking the big work pony was out to steal Fluttershy away from him.
***
Trixie paced the halls of Celestia's palace. Celestia had approved her for graduation, and she had perfect grades, studied hard, was the star magic pupil of the palace. But she wasn't happy. Her mother wrote her every month to ask if she was famous yet. To ask if she was going to use her magic to further the career her mom had picked for her. Trixie didn't want to be a performer, though she wouldn't mind being famous. She wanted to be a great scientist, and discover magical advances. But her mom had placed tremendous pressure on her and Trixie was afraid of defying her pushy, angry mother. Today's letter was opened with trepidation.Dear Trixie,
I heard you had your dragon removed from your care (straight to the criticism as usual).I for one am very displeased that you allowed this to happen. Are you no longer Princess Celestia's favorite? I heard the dragon was given to that incompetent you told me about, Twilight Sparkle. You are a disgrace, Patricia Valeria Lulamoon! I am ashamed to call you my daughter. You better do what I want or I'll be more than disappointed. -Mom more .This is all Twilight Sparkle's fault she inwardly grumbled, though she knew the purple unicorn wasn't directly responsible for her downturn. Trixie wanted a scapegoat and she'd be banished if she didn't think Twilight was the best one. Resolved, Trixie stomped off to her room, determined to pack and follow Twilight Sparkle.
***
Big Macintosh watched Fluttershy play with Apple Bloom and wish he could convince the pegasus to at least interact with Cheerilee and the town children. She was so good with animals and with his little sister that he couldn't believe she wouldn't be good with other kids. Of course, children could be nasty, but he couldn't bear to see Fluttershy shrinking from everypony but him and his family. She was the kindest pony he'd ever met, but she couldn't use that kindness with her fear of other ponies hanging over her head. I want to help her, and I've only know her for a few days . That fact alone spoke to Fluttershy's kindness and fragility. Every time he looked at her he felt an overwhelming urge to protect her, a feeling he usually reserved for his sisters. Big Macintosh knew what it was like to be shy and quiet, though he had a feeling Fluttershy's shyness went beyond simply being introverted to being anthrophobic**.
"Um...Big Macintosh?" Fluttershy's voice said behind him.
***
Ditsy Doo knew Pinkamena and Rarity were following their party, but she chose not to tell Twilight. They were supposed to eventually meet up so it was necessary to let the pair follow them, and Ditsy knew that Twilight would flip if she knew the pink earth pony and the white unicorn were stalking them. Pinkamena's extra sense let her know that for some reason she was meant to follow Twilight, and she was savvy enough to do it silently and expertly. Being from a rock farm, Pinkamena had stalking experience, having to stalk the Diamond Dogs to get them off her land. Likewise, Rarity was a master at getting around obstacles, though her constant complaining was likely to give the pair away. Fortunately, Pinkamena had gotten Rarity to shut up.EMERALD! What was I thinking? Let me get you some RUBIES!, Rarity said. Quick! Before she decides to dye my coat a new color, a pankied Twilight Sparkle grabbed Spike and ran out the door.
***
The moon was the coldest place she'd ever been. Not just physically, but emotionally. A pony once known as Luna had been imprisoned there for 1000 years. But her escape was drawing nigh and soon the world would know her vengeance. For a thousand years she had plotted, stewed and raged inwardly, being unable to do anything more. Being imprisoned IN the moon was certainly different from being imprisoned ON the moon. She was nothing but a shadow, but she was conscious. This made her sister's betrayal and punishment all the more torturous. She would blot out Celestia and her sun, and the land of Equestria would bow to her will. Nighttime Eternal. Just a few more weeks and she would be free. She could feel the humming of the stars as they called to her. They were coming for her. The many deities and semi-deities that guided these burning suns were shifting their bodies into position. Soon, her day would come, and all ponies would tremble in fear of the name Nightmare Moon.
*note: please excuse Vinyl Scratch's language in this chapter. I know many of us would like to think that all of the ponies never curse, but I make an exception with Vinyl. Her lifestyle is one that leads to such language. Also, the idea that she is Rarity's sister was slightly debunked in Sisterhooves Social, but my sister and I have developed a story in which Rarity's parents (mostly her mother) disown Vinyl and completely forbid their other two children from having contact with her or referring to her as their sister*
Chapter 6
Rainbow Dash had an idea. AJ's fake cultured accent was getting on her last nerve. So...she was going to scare the orange earth pony into talking in her "country" voice.Perfect! I'll hide in there and scare Applejack when she comes to bed. She'll probably wonder where I am, but not long enough to keep her from getting herself ready for bed. This was going to be so awesome!
Well, maybe scaring Applejack after AJ had been so nice to her wasn't very, well, nice, but Dash had to make sure that Applejack's accent wasn't just a one time slip. She had a feeling that Applejack had been lying to herself for a while. Rainbow Dash had decided that it was her duty, as a good friend, to get Applejack to admit the truth to herself, even if it meant a harmless prank or two.
Stepping into the closet, Dash closed the door behind her, laughing to herself. Living the last couple of days with Applejack had renewed a little of her old spirit, though she still didn't think of herself as a good flier. But a prankster? Though she hadn't pulled one in years, pulling one on Applejack was going to be fun.
Dash had been waiting in the closet about five minutes when she heard Applejack's voice from the hall.
Rainbow Dash waited a little longer, hearing Applejack getting into bed, getting comfortable, reading a little, then turning off her light. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash began to feel a little guilty. Was it really fair to pull a prank to get AJ to use an accent she'd worked so hard to get rid of? Thinking Applejack was asleep, Rainbow Dash started to change her mind, and opened the closet door slowly, so she could get out unnoticed.
Unfortunately, or perhaps it was karma for intending to scare Applejack, the earth pony was not asleep.
When Dash stepped out of the closet. Applejack shrieked, leaped out of bed and said, loudly, "Holy Celestia Almighty! What in Pete's sake is that? Hoo doggie, if that's a ghost like ah think it is, I swear to Celestia I ain't gonna be happy!"
Rainbow Dash couldn't help herself. She giggled. Applejack clapped her hooves over her mouth, realizing what she'd just let slip.
"I don't talk like that!" Applejack protested. "The fact that you've made me slip up twice in just a few days doesn't mean anything!"
"Uh-huh. You probably have to concentrate really hard not to talk like that!"
"Well, yes, but..."have been lying to myself. I don't know if I can stop. I just want to go home!"
***
Twilight couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed. She was jumpy and nervous and it didn't help that Ditsy kept wandering off to "look at things". The pegasus was supposed to be her guide, but no . The brainless filly wandered all over the place. Now that they were actually on the road, going who knows where, Spike wasn't making it any better. Every little broken twig was someone trying to attack them, every frog croaking was a unicorn trying to cast a spell on them. It was beginning to get on Twilight's last nerve.please either explain WHY you're wandering off or stop doing it! It's driving me CRAZY!"I guess if the Princess trusts her I should too , Twilight thought.Ponyville? We're walking to Ponyville? Can't we at least catch a stage coach or something?"any walking! You've been riding on my back this whole time!" Twilight protested.
From a distance Twilight suddenly heard a voice.
Twilight and Spike looked at each other. Wasn't Pinkamena the pink earth pony who had randomly stopped them in the streets in Canterlot the day before they left?left from! I would have thought that you would not want to go back!"
The white unicorn turned almost as pink as her traveling companion.following us?!" Twilight exclaimed.I've been following Pinkamena," Rarity clarified, glaring at Twilight.more ? It seemed absolutely preposterous, especially since Pinkamena had basically been stalking her.with her group instead of behind .quest for the Princess. Not a party!"long journey.
***
Fluttershy swallowed nervously. She couldn't believe she was doing this. It went against everything she'd ever done for her entire life. Not that she didn't like kids. But this might be a bit much, diving into this so soon. She'd met the teacher, Cheerilee, yesterday, and she seemed really nice, and it helped that she was going to be in Apple Bloom's class. But the class had about nine fillies and colts, and Fluttershy wasn't really used to dealing with more than two or three ponies at a time. She stood at the front of the classroom, behind Cheerilee, and tried really hard not to panic. Apple Bloom came in first, having arrived at the school with Fluttershy when Big Macintosh had dropped them both off that morning. Following Apple Bloom and chattering happily was a cutie mark-less pony with a cream colored coat and a poofy red mane. She had a slightly overlarge nose and purple-framed glasses. Behind them came two earth ponies who held themselves with arrogance, a gray pony with blue glasses, her light gray mane done up in a braid and a pink pony with a lavender and white striped slightly curly mane.What can I say? "I am...um...good with animals," she finished lamely.Good with animals, good with kids .stared at her and Diamond Tiara just ran away like a scaredy filly!"
Recess and lunch passed without anymore incident. Cheerilee called the ponies in for one last lesson before their parents picked them up. After the lesson, Fluttershy waited outside for Big Macintosh. He was delivering apples in town today and had promised to walk them home. At last, he showed up.stared down Diamond Tiara! Diamond Tiara was makin' fun of Fluttershy so I told her ta stop because Fluttershy is an adult and should be treated with respect, but then Diamond Tiara decided she was gonna pick on me instead, but then Fluttershy got mad, and started lecturing Diamond Tiara and tellin' her she was gonna talk to her mother, and all that, and then she STARED and it made Diamond back off! It was amazin'!" Apple Bloom cut in.
***
Chapter 7
Pinkamena felt a small sense of victory. Despite the fact that Rarity was the one that had essentially talked Twilight into letting them join her party, the fact that they had ended up with the unicorn's traveling group was Pinkamena's victory. I just hope I know what I'm doing . She thought. She had never doubted her Pinkamena sense, being as she'd had it all of her life. But she didn't know why it worked and sometimes that made it harder for other ponies to accept it. Twilight fell into the most extreme version of that camp. She was ardent that all of the predictions Pinkamena made were coincidences. Logical minds tended to react that way to her sense.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I have been joined on my journey by two travelers, an earth pony by the name of Pinkamena Diane Pie and a white unicorn that calls herself Queen Rarity. I have no idea who these two are supposed to be, but Ditsy Doo seems to think that they have something to do with our journey, though she has not said so outright. Is this just my imagination or are these two more than just an annoyance? I'm not really used to dealing with strangers so any advice you could give me would be welcome. Also, the pink earth pony, Pinkamena, seems to think she has some kind of preternatural sense. This seems ridiculous to me, but should I trust in it for this quest? Sincerly,
Twilight Spakle
So Twilight was unnerved enough by Rarity and Pinkamena that she felt the need to write to the Princess herself about it? How odd. But then, Pinkamena wasn't one to judge odd, she'd lived her life on a rock farm.
"What in Equestria are you DOING?" Twilight asked suddenly realizing that Pinkamena was staring over her shoulder.had been writing about her and Rarity.
***
Applejack was panicking. She was planning to leave with Rainbow Dash that morning but she wasn't packed. And she hadn't said anything to her aunt and uncle. What if they wanted to stop her from leaving? Would her will hold up if her aunt said no? She was already having second thoughts about going back to Sweet Apple Acres. What if Granny Smith and Big Macintosh didn't want her there anymore? What if she wasn't good enough for them? What if she'd changed too much in the past few years and they didn't love her anymore? Ok, all of this was beginning to get ridiculous, but she was in full out panic mode.
***
"Tons of FUN?" Rarity said, as Spike showed her his collection of bugs. "Collecting bugs is fun ?"not her idea of fun. But Spike was a sweet little guy, and really seemed to have taken a liking to her, and she hated to seem cruel. So she endured his boyish ways. She wasn't a complete snob, after all. And spending time with Spike gave her a sense of peace after the things Vinyl had said about her in Canterlot. She knew what it looked like. Their mom had been unfairly cruel to Vinyl, especially compared to how she treated Rarity. And Rarity had been the one to leave. Granted, she was dragged away by her magic and the Diamond Dogs had kidnapped her, but she'd never made a move to contact her sister or come home. She was, selfishly, happier away from the constant fights. So she was trying to make up for it now, with Spike.ever given her anything, not since she'd left home, unless she pushed or asked for it. The Diamond Dogs weren't her friends, they were just her subject. Maybe, in Spike, Twilight, and Pinkamena, she was finally finding some real friends.
***
Spike touched the place where Rarity had kissed his cheek. He usually fell for more conventional beauties, ponies with style and grace. But Rarity was, well, a rarity in that she was both tough and beautiful. He was really glad Twilight had let her join their little adventuring party. Yup...really glad.
***
Trixie growled in frustration. Her tracking of Twilight Sparkle was not going as well as she'd hoped it would. She couldn't properly cast a tracking spell. Nopony would give her straight answers when she'd questioned them about the unicorn. Oh she was with a dragon and a gray pegasus that seemed a little...special if ya get my drift was the only useful thing she'd gotten out of the innkeeper. I think I saw a pony of that description go thatway...or maybe it was that way. It was enough to make anypony scream in frustration. Trixie was not a patient pony. Finally, she'd managed to get a lead that would lead her to her rival, and by then she was a good three days behind the purple unicorn and her party. To make matters worse, her mother had apparently figured out how to track Trixie while she was on the road and had sent her another nasty letter.Patricia,
I hope you're on the road pursuing your career and not just wandering around aimlessly. Your father would be ashamed of the way you've been acting the past couple of months with your schooling and wandering and pandering around. I hope you're happy with yourself, young lady, because I'm certainly not. -Mother
***
Rainbow Dash watched Applejack nervously. The earth pony had become increasingly quieter as they traveled farther and farther away from downtown Manehatten. Rainbow Dash was worried that AJ might either change her mind or start wondering why Rainbow herself was just as silent.
Applejack looked at her. A tender expression crossed the orange earth pony's face, almost sisterly affection. In that moment, Applejack's accent completely took over.
Chapter 8
Fluttershy struggled with herself. She knew she was falling for Big Macintosh but she was really, really afraid of letting anypony get that close. He had been kind to her, what if he didn't feel the same way? He called you beautiful she thought. Nopony had EVER called her beautiful. Ever. So that had to mean something. Didn't it? She didn't know how relationships of any kind worked. How was she to know how to gauge what Big Macintosh felt for her, if anything. Ok, she knew he was her friend. Nopony rescued a stranger from the forest, took them home, and encouraged them the way he did for her unless they felt some kind of friendship toward them. Right? Maybe she should wait for him to make a move. Or maybe it was better to just stay friends. She hadn't known him for that long after all. She should learn how to be friends before she learned how to love.Good with animals, good with kids . It would be fine. The other kids loved her. The new kids would too.Good with animals, good with kids...
***
Twilight was getting incredibly frustrated with her group's slow progress. Ditsy, whom Twilight was getting incredibly close to calling by her somewhat derogatory nickname "Derpy", kept leading them all around, occasionally chasing random "feelings" in one direction, then backtracking, then ending up going a different direction. Twilight didn't consider herself particularly talented, but she knew that this was just ridiculous. To make matters worse, Rarity kept loudly complaining about their slow goings, Pinkamena took everything with the same ultra serious expression, and Spike was starting to noisily voice his suspicions that Ditsy had no idea where she was going in the wally-eyed pegasus's hearing, though the gray mare seemed to ignore him. Twilight was beginning to think that none of them were ever going to get anywhere.think I we need to do anything else before we get to Ponyville, but if I see something that changes that we may be changing course."her first? She wasn't a leader, not really. Rarity and Pinkamena were WAY more important than she was...right?
***
Rainbow Dash walked over the hill with Applejack. Ponyville. They had arrived at last. What Rainbow had assumed would be sort of a backwater was more of just a small town, busy enough that it didn’t seem dumpy, slow enough that it didn’t seem too rushed. In short, Ponyville was perfect. People noticed you, said hi, congratulated one another on a job well done. Was this really what she had been running from? No , she reminded herself, I’ve been running from the awful reality of what I did to Fluttersy. AJ had tried to reassure her several times that Fluttershy’s fate wasn’t her fault, and to some extent Dash bought it. But Rainbow still hadn’t quite moved past that day, maybe she never would.
***
Somewhere in the throng of her family’s hugs, Applejack realized that Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash had disappeared. Now where in the world of Equestria could they have gone? Applejack wondered.
***
Fluttershy nervously followed Big Macintosh to the front of the house. She was ok with the Apple Family she knew and would doubtless be ok with Applejack, if she was anything like Big Macintosh remembered her. But Applejack had brought a friend, a stranger, somepony Fluttershy had never even heard of. That had all of her senses on hyper drive, her shadow kept startling her.
Chapter 9
Rarity was NOT pleased with all the walking the traveling party was doing. Why couldn't they just take a train or a carriage? They would have been in Ponyville days ago. It didn't help that Twilight was always sulky, Pinkamena was always so utlra-serious. Spike, while amusing in his continued devotion to her, was a little jumpy and sometimes had a tendency to do really disgusting things, and Ditsy Doo...Ditsy was the worst. Wandering around aimlessly, like she was leading them to a new place when really they'd walked around in circles until yesterday, when they'd finally started heading towards Ponyville. With each step closer to the little town, Rarity only got more and more irritated, her nerves returning to her. She even snapped at Spike when he'd tried to get her to look at his bugs again. She'd had just about enough of it.
Ditsy ignored her, Spike and Pinkamena shrugged. Twilight, however, seemed incredibly put-off. "Stop whining Rarity, we'll get there when we get there!" the purple unicorn snapped.
"Good because I most certainly do not need somepony telling me that I'm whining when I clearly am not!"
***
A small white unicorn filly waited in front of a broken down old dress shop that used to belong to her grandmother. The shop had fallen into disrepair as neither of her parents cared about making clothing. Apparently she’d once had a sister who’d loved fashion and had wanted to be a fashionista. But Rarity had been dragged away by her own magic as a filly before Sweetie Belle had even been born. Apparently she’d been seen leading a gang of diamond dogs, but Sweetie’s parents insisted she was dead. Sweetie Belle didn’t buy it. She wasn’t completely brainless.
***
Rainbow Dash smiled at Fluttershy, happy to have her old friend back. She still kept biting her tongue, thinking she must be dreaming, but nope. She was awake, her oldest friend was alive, her new friend was also by her side and she’d found something she’d never expected to have again. Friends so close they were like family. Friends she could count on and friends who would count on her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d really missed having friends she could protect. It sounded weird, even in her head, but she felt a fierce loyalty to Fluttershy and Applejack both.
***
Apple Bloom stood listening from the hall. Everypony thought she was out playing with Twist but Twist had gone home hours ago. She’d been eavesdropping on the conversation between Dash and Ditsy Doo since the rainbow-maned pegasus opened the door. Apparently Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and her sister who she barely knew were somehow special. Apple Bloom wasn’t surprised, but she wasn’t about to be left out of this either. If Applejack was going to go on an adventure, she wasn’t going to be left behind. She was a big pony, and she would follow her sister and her new friend Fluttershy and even Dash, whom she’d only known for about a day, wherever they went.
***
Scootaloo stood dumbfounded at the outskirts of Ponyville. Sweetie Belle had found a sister she’d idolized all her life and left Scootaloo alone. While she wasn’t surprised, she was used to ponies ignoring her, she was a bit hurt that her best friend would leave her alone like that in favor of a stranger. Shrugging, she headed toward town, nearly running over a cyan colored pegasus with a rainbow mane.
***
Pinkamena rummaged through the maps and coordinates Princess Celestia had given Twilight, hoping to find what the point of the journey was, though she could find nothing there. She wasn’t surprised. Ditsy Doo was out, and Pinkamena was certain that Ditsy was the key. She knew there was something going on, she could just feel it. But she wasn’t certain what it was, and it frustrated the pink pony. Grumbling about the others, Pinkamena decided she would explore Ponyville. She knew there was a sweet shop around here somewhere and she did love confections.
Chapter 10
Twilight groaned as she had to listen to Rarity talk to her new found little sister, just hanging around this park.She wanted to do something productive, like find Ditsy Doo and wring her neck. They were here. Now they were supposed to be doing some kind of epic quest for Princess Celestia, but noooo . Pinkamena and Ditsy had wandered off. Rarity was talking to this filly and totally actually listening to her. Spike was asleep and she was stuck here doing absolutely nothing . It was driving her CRAZY and she was pretty sure that the rest of this party was crazy too. "Fine, they don't want to get things done, I'll have to do it myself!" she said out loud. Spike woke up at this declaration. "What? Who? Huh?" the dragon stammered.friends? "
***
Princess Celestia paced around her chambers. Her counterpart in the "Sonic Rainboom" timeline had informed her that Princess Luna was already back in that world. The Summer Sun Celebration was right around the corner and Ditsy still had not managed to get the six together and where they needed to be.
"My sister...if only I could save you myself," the princess murmured.
While she was lost in her thoughts, a letter appeared in front of her in a flash of green flames. Spike.
It was about time.
"Dear Princess Celestia," the ruler began out loud.
"I am almost there. The six are all in Ponyville now, and I'm trying to bring them together. Twilight has received your offer to take over the library and hasn't come out of the library since. Rainbow Dash has run into Miss Pinkamena Pie and seems to be bringing out the latent laughter in her, Applejack and Fluttershy are with the Apple Family, and Applejack is remembering why she should have come home, while Fluttershy is attempting to overcome her crippling fear of others and is making friends with Applejack's brother and the neighborhood school teacher. Her kindness toward the Apple Family has made her almost an honorary member. Rarity is my next mission, she's meeting her young sister, Sweetie Belle, and I hope that makes her lose the rock hard exterior somewhat.
Give my regards to my brother,
Ditsy Doo"
Princess Celestia sighed. She hoped Ditsy could do it in the time required.
Or Equestria might not see day for a long time.
***
Rarity sighed a little. Her sister, one she hadn't even known she had, was the most talkative pony she'd ever met, and certainly more talkative than her traveling companions. Of course, they had years of things to talk about, but Rarity was getting impatient.
"Sweetie Belle, dear, I really must..."
"And then mom said that you used to love fashion, so I got her to buy me a sewing machine just for me!" Sweetie Belle squeaked. "And you're just as amazing as I imagined only even better because you're a queen and a cool rogue pony!"
Rarity was momentarily stunned. This pony had known her all of an hour, and she was raving about her. How could anypony give anypony else such an instant chance?
Her heart softened ever so slightly. She supposed she could donate a little more of her time to her sister.
"And one year for Nightmare Night I dressed up as you in your theif costume and all my friends said it was the best costume ever! And..."
Rarity smiled. Sweetie Belle could talk all she wanted. And not because the tiny squeaker was stroking Rarity's ego. But because she honestly seemed to look up to Rarity, and Rarity hadn't had someone look up to her without fear...ever.
The unicorn was listening to every word her sister said. It was a strange relationship they had, since she was someone listening to a stranger, someone she'd never met, and yet had they had a connection. In Equestria, family bonds often extended beyond being related to somepony, not always, but often. Your family served as your first friends, and even if you didn't know them Rarity had to suppose that there was still magic in being blood related.
"And then Scootaloo said that I'd never meet you that you probably were dead or something and she was WRONG!" Sweetie Belle said, then hugged Rarity's leg.
"I'm so glad I was right!"
Rarity smiled. "Me too little sister...me too."
Somewhere in the distance, a wall-eyed pony smiled.
***
Trixie was finished with Twilight Sparkle. All she had been doing for hours was just reading in some boring old library in a pitiful little town called Ponyville. Even Spike was getting bored, she could tell, he walked outside the library three times just to sit on the stoop and sigh.
Which gave Trixie an idea.
Spike had been taken from her by Twilight...it was only fair that she took him back...oh Trixie loved this plan, Trixie loved this plan very much.
***
Spike was bored out of his mind. Twilight had been reading in the Ponyville Library for hours and to the baby dragon it felt like days. He'd napped three times, gone to sit on the stoop four, eaten twelve not very good quality crystals that had been lying around, and caught his scales on fire accidentally. Which had only earned him a small reprimand from Twi. Ugg...reading some more.
And then everything went black. He tried to yell for help, but he only got a familiar and not very welcome laugh in the process.
Trixie.
"Don't worry, Spike, Trixie won't hurt you, Trixie is just getting back at Twilight for stealing her life!" the blue unicorn said.
Trixie's magic had silenced Spike, so responding would do him no good. He just sat in the bag Trixie had put him in and hoped Trixie was telling the truth about not hurting him...and hoped that Twilight finished reading soon and helped him out.
***
Applejack had no idea where Rainbow had gone, but Fluttershy muttered something about a strange pegasus talking to her.
"Consarn in..." the orange earth pony muttered.
"Hello Applejack!" an unfamiliar voice said.
"Gah!" she shouted. "Who are you?"
"My name's Ditsy Doo," a grey pegasus mare with funny looking eyes said, as she walked up next to Applejack. "And before you accuse me of trying to sell you something like your rainbow maned friend did, I have to tell you...go to the library and bring Fluttershy. You'll meet a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. She has something important to tell you."
"Uh....ok?" Applejack said, more than mildly confused.
"I know it sounds weird, but please do as I ask ok?" the mare pleaded, a note of childish innocence that hadn't been there before in her voice. "I'm on a tight schedule...and I really don't want to have to tell the Princess that I just didn't know what went wrong."
Applejack had to believe this pony...she liked to believe that most ponies were honest and something about this mare demanded trust.
"Uh...ok, Ah'll get Fluttershy then...hope Ah don't scare her too much with the prospect of takin' her some place new..."
"Thank you Applejack," Ditsy said.
"Your welcome, Ditsy Doo."
***
Pinkamena hadn't laughed this much in years.
"And then my mom pushed me off a cloud, and told me if I wanted to fly so bad I could just fly!" Rainbow Dash said. "Of course, there was a cloud underneath me, but I panicked and instead of flapping both of my wings, I flapped one, and crashed head first into a cloud. That's how I earned the nickname "Rainbow Crash", though bullies later used that one to pick on me, my parents called me that teasingly."
Pinkamena giggled a little bit.
"Tell me a story about your family, Pinks," Dash said.
Pinkamena paused. She didn't like talking about her parents...but she could talk about Granny Pinkie Pie and her sisters.
"Well, growing up, my parents didn't really understand me, so I always really looked forward to my Granny Pie's visits. She was both my namesake and the only one who really got me. My whole world was gray until she came to visit, and I don't mean that metaphorically. I lived on a rock farm, my family's coats were all varying shades of brown or gray. But when Granny Pie came, everything turned into a rainbow of colors, even though she was all pink like me...one time...I was trying to go to bed, and I kept seeing monsters and ghosts everywhere. Granny came into my room while I was hiding literally completely under my pillow. She then told me the best remedy for ghosts...and I've never really forgotten it....was to laugh at them. I've giggled at the ghostly ever since...even when I almost stopped laughing for good I never stopped laughing at things that scared me. I know it's kinda dumb..."
"No it's not dumb," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "I think it's kinda cool. It's like...a little bit of your Granny Pie follows you everywhere...in a like, not creepy and weird kind of way."
Pinkamena smiled at Rainbow Dash, "Yeah, I guess that kind of is how it is, huh?"
Then something weird happened...her mane lost a tiny bit of its stick straightness. Instead of being a curtain of pink hair, it had the slightest wave to it, as if it were curly, but wet.
"Woah....that was..."
"Super duper weird..." Pinkamena finished Rainbow's thought.
"Yeah...kind of looks cool though," Dash said. Pinkamena smiled slightly at Rainbow Dash.
They sat there quietly for a moment, enjoying a rare moment of silence for both of them and enjoying having a friend that was truly a friend.
That moment was interrupted by a gray mare with doodle eyes.
"Hi, before you freak out, I'm not selling anything, and yes, you're important, Rainbow Dash, you too Miss Pie," she said.
"Not you again!" Dash grumbled. "I was having fun..."
"You can have more fun in the future, but right now I want you to listen to me," the gray mare instructed.
"First, if you don't remember my name is Ditsy Doo and you and four other ponies are extremely important to the fate of Equestria," Ditsy began hurriedly, directing her comments at Pinkamena. "Second, you need to go to the Ponyville Library, where our traveling companion Twilight has something important to tell you. Third, if you see Rarity, bring her with you."
Pinkamena felt a tingle...Ditsy was right, there was something important going on and Pinkamena and Dash had to be there for it.
"Come on Dashie," Pinkamena instructed. "We have somewhere important to be."
"What? You can't believe this weirdo!" Dash protested.
"I traveled with her and yes, she's a little weird about her delivery and her tendency to chase bubbles. But she knows things, and so do I, so you're coming with me if I have to drag you by your tail!" Pinkamena commanded, a pout forming on her face.
Dash did what she said and they headed for the Ponyville Library.
***
"Um, I'm so very sorry Applejack but I just can't go out. Not to meet a bunch of ponies I don't know, even if some of them are you, and Rainbow Dash. I just couldn't," Fluttershy said, hiding behind her mane.
Applejack started to give up. And that's when he came into the room and once again pushed her a little farther.
"Ya can and ya will," Big Macintosh said. Applejack looked stunned. Fluttershy could only squeak.
"Ah know it don't seem like it's that important, Shy, but y'all've gotta come outta yer shell, at least a little. Ah'm a shy pony too. Ya have to've noticed Ah don't talk so much, not even around mah family. It ain't cause I can't or cause I'm stupid, it's cause I'm shy . But Ah don't let that stop me from doin' mah best ta be kind ta folk and help 'em out. Yer the kindest soul anypony could ever hope ta meet, but y'all don't let 'em meet ya. It's time ya do somethin' with that kind heart of yours and go to this library meetin' thing," he said.
"I love you Fluttershy, I've never loved anypony as much as I love you."
Fluttershy gaped. She knew she was gaping. And probably blushing. Her face had to be the same color as her mane...and Applejack was there and...oh my goodness he loves me...
"I...oh Big Mac..." she stammered.
"It's ok, sweetheart, Ah know Applejack is here...now go. Go to tha library and Ah'll be waitin' for ya when ya get back an' then we can talk."
She nodded, and walked over to the still staring Applejack.
"Ok, I'm ready. We'll go to the library."
***
Apple Bloom heard it all. Including the part where Big Mac admitted to loving Fluttershy, which she did a victory dance about, and definitely the part about the secret meeting in the library. Which she was absolutely going to.
"Ah'm a big pony, and Ah ain't gettin' left out of this one..." she said to herself as she left Sweet Apple Acres to cut through the forest to the library. The old cottage where Fluttershy used to live held a shortcut to town almost nopony knew about.
She headed that way as fast as her short legs could carry her, and that's when she saw something she probably shouldn't have.
"Hopefully Twilight has found my note by now and Trixie's revenge shall soon be complete!" said a strange blue unicorn. She was talking to a...baby dragon! That was tied up and gagged!
Now that just wasn't right.
"Hey! What do y'all think yer doin'?"Apple Bloom said, and ran for the unicorn, not really thinking about...
"What is this? A earth pony foal charging a full grown unicorn? Trixie finds this absolutely ridiculous! Well, Trixie guesses she'll have to keep you with the dragon since Trixie can't have anypony finding out about her plans..."
"Ya won't get away with this! Mah big sister and Fluttershy'll mmmmhmmmph!" Apple Bloom said, as she was gagged and bound next to the dragon. Trixie blind folderd her, then loaded her into a cart to be taken to Celestia knows where. Apple Bloom tried really hard not to cry.Ah'm a big pony...and big fillies don't cry
