An oil lamp flickered under the canvas ceiling of a beige tent. Ghostly shadows danced around the walls. A pony sat by her mutilated friend, desperately clinging to some last vestiges of hope.

Applejack ran her hoof through Rainbow Dash's prismatic mane, the smooth, repetitive motion as much a therapeutic gesture for her as it was for her friend. Rainbow lay prone on the dirt floor. Her back rose and fell in tandem to her slow, methodical breathing. The white cloth that wrapped around her body was stained red. Her one remaining wing laid limply by her side.

Applejack looked around the tent. She had been staring at the same crease in the tent wall for a long while now. Several hours had passed since she had left the Twilight outside.

Yes - that Twilight. She had known Twilight Sparkle for years. They had fought many battles and traveled long distances together. They had saved the world together. She knew her friend. This pony couldn't be her, but if this pony wasn't the true Twilight, who could she be? Applejack had plenty of time to think it over while her friend slumbered.

Why was Twilight wearing the same dark robes as the two stallions? She was missing the cowl and the emblem, but other than that, the clothing was exactly the same. She also seemed to know about the two stallions even before they had fillynapped Applebloom. Perhaps she was some sort of a defector? She continued to wear those robes, however - even now - which struck Applejack as suspicious; nonetheless, the doppelganger had saved her and Rainbow’s lives. That did count for something.

Applejack felt a little guilty for how she treated this pony, now that she had regained a measure of rationality. She thought she should go apologize, but she did not want to leave Rainbow alone. Beyond that, she did not fully trust this pony.

Applejack stood up and frowned. She was tired of guessing, and Rainbow hadn't so much as twitched for the entirety of the time Applejack had been sitting beside her. She pulled her eyes off her friend and turned away. Her limbs cracked like glow sticks for being forced to move after having been still for so long. The tent flap slid along her matted coat as she stepped out into the cool, forest air.

A violet haze seeped through the clearing. Lonely patches of grass burdened by morning dew swayed in the breeze. Patterns of bare earth snaked between the sparse foliage. The surrounding trees opened up to a purple sky, signifying the coming of dawn. Twilight sat on a rotting log before the dying embers of her fire.

Applejack was surprised to see Twilight up so late, or early, as it were. She moved tentatively closer, though she made no attempt her hide her advance. Twilight's ears flicked back to the sound of Applejack's hooves crunching on dirt and grass. She stayed deathly still as Applejack sat next to her, as though she were sitting in the front row of a poorly attended funeral.

There was a long silence as Applejack thought of what to say. She found herself staring at a particularly boring crack in the earth. The oppressive silence seemed to discourage either of them from uttering a single sound.

Finally, she said, "Thanks."

Twilight exhaled very audibly. She flicked her eyes at Applejack but said nothing.

Applejack took advantage of her silence. "Look, Ah'm sorry for how I acted last night. It was-"

"Don't worry," said Twilight. "I understand." She turned her head to face Applejack. "I'm sure you have many questions."

"Like why’re you still wearin’ those clothes?" asked Applejack. “Why’re you still dressed as the brutes who took my sister?”

Twilight shuffled uncomfortably. "They're the only clothes I have."

"But why’re you still wearin’ them?"

Twilight gave Applejack a peculiar expression. "What?.."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Those two stallions are probably long gone by now. Ya don't need to keep wearin’ that."

Twilight blushed at Applejack's words. She was utterly confused. "But then I'd be naked. Honestly, I don't understand why you're not wearing anything." She blushed harder and turned away.

Now Applejack was confused. She didn’t understand why this pony would be afraid to go around without any clothes. Even Rarity often went without wearing one of her fancy dresses in public. It was just... natural.

“Fine,” said Applejack. “I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

“No, it doesn’t” stated Twilight. She reached around her other side and turned back with Applejack’s hat between her teeth.

Applejack murmured a half-hearted thank you and pulled the hat down on her head. She had not even realized it was missing, what with all that had happened. She faced Twilight, who was staring between her legs. The prominent scar that ran down her face reminded Applejack of just how different this pony was from the Twilight she knew. “Just who are you?” asked Applejack.

Twilight sighed and looked up at the sky. The purple was dissolving into a grayish-blue. Birds sung a morning prelude. Dark Everfree clouds drifted through the sky.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"If ya don't tell me, Ah definitely won't believe you."

"Ha!" Twilight grinned. "I guess I have nothing to lose, then." Her smile lowered as she took on a more serious tone. "There are, of course, more lands beyond Equestria where ponies roam. They may be separated by the lands of other creatures or by vast bodies of water, but beyond them is a vast sea." She paused for a moment, lost in memory. "Our people call this sea Semperus.

"My home is what lies beyond Semperus. It’s like the perfect antithesis of your world, like the other side of a coin. It's where they're taking your sister." She looked down at Applejack. "How did you know my name?"

Applejack was taken aback by the sudden question. She was still trying to figure out what “antithesis” meant. "Uh, well, Ah know a pony named Twilight."

Twilight leaned back, her shoulders tense. "I guess we look alike?"

"Well, yeah," said Applejack, "’cept she's an alicorn, and she doesn't have that scar." Applejack looked away in embarrassment as she was reminded of her outburst from the night before. She rarely swore like she did that night; Granny would have beaten her silly for it. When she looked back, Twilight was holding a hoof to her scar, her mouth agape.

"She... doesn't..." Twilight stared into the distance. “She’s a…” Her eyes glossed over, threatening tears, but all she did was sit in shocked silence.

Applejack waited politely for Twilight to snap out of her stupor. A few minutes later, however, she ran out of patience and got up. She stepped in front of Twilight and waved a hoof in her face. Twilight jumped in surprise.

"Sorry, sorry! I got a little lost for a moment."

"That's alrigh’, Twilight," said Applejack, "but Ah need to get going; Ah don't want to leave Rainbow alone for too long."

"Oh my gosh!" Twilight jumped up. "The sleeping spell I cast on her should be wearing off soon - we need to-”

Applejack was already moving. She grumbled angrily as she swept across the clearing; Twilight fought to catch up. As they approached, Applejack strained her ears to pick up the familiar, sequenced breathing of her friend. She hoped their hoof-steps were covering the sound.

They reached the tent, and Applejack pulled back the entrance flap. Rainbow Dash was not there.

"Dammit," swore Applejack.

Twilight's eyes were wide with worry. "What do we do? The forest is too dangerous to search through."

Applejack fixed her eyes on Twilight’s. "We search anyways."

***

Rainbow Dash lay on the dirt floor. Her old friend sat beside her, stroking her mane with despondent affection.

Suddenly, the Earth Pony stood up, apparently having had enough. She slipped outside, leaving the pegasus alone in the small shelter.

As the entrance to the tent closed behind Applejack, a cool breeze of morning air wafted over Rainbow Dash. She shuddered on the floor as the biting air shocked her into consciousness. Her eyes creaked open, her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, and her brain whirred itself into gear. Slowly, her senses came back to her.

Her mouth was dry and pasty from having spent half a day in silence. Her body felt cold and stiff from lying in such an uncomfortable position. She could smell the fire burning in a lamp somewhere above her head, and she could hear the rustling of the tent canvas as morning air swept by.

She closed her eyes, rolled onto her right side, and tried to remember how she had found herself on the floor of somepony's tent. Her thoughts were consumed by a blinding pain. It stood like a wall before the memories she sought. She willed her stubborn mind to relinquish the events of the previous day.

She remembered walking with Applejack. They had been talking about the Wonderbolts; she remembered because it was absolutely the last thing she had wanted to talk about. Another pony was with them, but Rainbow couldn’t remember why. They had come to the Everfree Forest and turned around. There were two ponies in their path… They were talking – no – fighting. They wanted…

Applebloom! Rainbow's neck snapped as she bolted up. She toppled down painfully and swore. Her torso was burning with sharp pain. It felt as though a knife had been twisted into her side. This disturbed her. She was very familiar with sports injuries like broken bones and rough scrapes... She had never felt such a pain as this. A sharp, crippling pain - right under her wing.

She craned her neck and swiveled her head around, though she was unsure whether she would see anything. She could feel thick layers of bandages wrapping around her body.

When her eyes came into view of her back, Rainbow Dash's face dissolved into an expression of horror. Layers upon layers of wrappings enclosed her mid-section. She could see her right wing shaking feebly through a hole in the bandages. Her left wing, however, seemed to be hidden under a broad patch of blood-stained cloth.

Her mouth hung open, and her vision blurred for a moment. There was no bulge under the crimson cloth to signify the presence of her wing. An unfamiliar numbness stemmed from the joint where her wing should have connected. Despite this, she tried flapping her wings. Maybe she could see the wing push against the inside of the bandages? Her right wing twitched up and down feebly, but she could neither feel nor see anything from where her left wing was assumingly hidden. She reached a hoof around to feel the spot, hoping to find that her wing was, in fact, still attached to her body. She had barely grazed the area, however, when her entire body seized with unbearable agony. It was exactly what she had felt when she had attempted to stand just a moment ago.

Her mind went blank. Her heart sunk. Her eyes closed, and her cheeks glistened with tears. She turned away from her back, unable to bear the sight.

No…

Her chest heaved, and her body shook. She pounded the ground to alieve the pain surging from both her back and her shattered soul. She refused to believe that her wing was gone. She refused to believe that she would never fly again. She refused to believe the unendurable pain she felt was real! Flying was such a central part of her life; without it, what did that life matter?

She lifted her eyes and ground her teeth in pain. She refused to lie here and wallow in depravity. There had to be something she could do – anything! Her body screamed in protest as she forced herself onto her hooves. She buried the pain under her rising anger and focused on making her way outside.

One hoof lifted off the ground and hovered forward. When it landed on the hard ground, a shockwave flowed through her body, initiating another wave of pain. She hissed as the muscles in her back convulsed involuntarily, but she didn't stop moving. She repeated the process, each wave of pain giving her more anger with which to bury her suffering.

It seemed like hours before Rainbow Dash made it to the entrance of the tent. She stuck her head outside. Two ponies sat on a log in the middle of a clearing in the Everfree Forest. Dawn had nearly arrived. The dark sky was tinged with gray and birds tweeted a cheerful, mocking melody.

She cared not who sat before her, blissfully unaware of her suffering. She left the tent and headed into the forest.

***

Applejack ran through the underbrush. Stray branches scraped against her sides, cutting through her fur. Insects buzzed hungrily around her ears. Small rocks and fallen trees intruded her path. The light of the sun was all but hidden behind a thick canopy of leaves.

It was dangerous to be in the Everfree. Many strange creatures prowled through the maze of trees and other greenery. Most of the more dangerous monsters were nocturnal, but that didn't mean they would be content to release a pony who stumbled into one of their dens.

Applejack had only been searching for a few minutes, but she was already sweating with exertion and worry. She wasn't confident Rainbow Dash would be able to handle herself if the situation arose. She was actually amazed that Rainbow had managed to hide herself so well in her condition, but she knew she had not been searching for all that long.

Applejack paused to breathe. Rainbow couldn't have gone very far. Her injuries would have incapacitated any other pony for several days, at least; only Rainbow’s stubbornness would be driving her now. She may be more likely to hear her than she was to randomly stumble across her.

She walked forward quietly and swung her head around like a lost filly trying to find her mother. The forest buzzed with the sounds of nature, rendering her silence almost useless. Insects continued to crowd around her ears, wind rustled through the tree tops, and small animals called out in strange cries. It seemed she would have to rely on her other senses after all. She followed the sound of a nearby stream. The bank that enclosed the flowing water would be free of foliage, so perhaps Applejack would find her friend in the open area. Maneuvering through the trees before her, Applejack came into view of the water. Long, green grass hugged the edges of the bank. Tree roots extended into the water like thick straws. Rainbow Dash sat on the bank, a stray ray of sunlight casting her in the spotlight.

Applejack stopped in her tracks. She had not really expected to find her friend here, and now that she had, she realized she had no idea what to do. What can you say to somepony whose whole world has been turned upside down? She ran her eyes along the back of her friend and stopped at the patch of blood stained into her bandages. It looked wet; Rainbow must have opened the wound by coming all the way out here.

Applejack walked forward. She may not have known what would assuage Rainbow’s suffering, but dammit if she wouldn’t stay by her side anyways. She came up to Rainbow’s right side and sat on the edge of the bank. The water flowed about a foot below where they sat. Small fish swam with the stream, occasionally pausing to dig through the pebbles that covered the floor of the stream.

Rainbow stared down at the water, her expression blank. Her forelegs were stretched out between her back legs as she hunched over the bank. Applejack mirrored her position, not wanting to look her friend in the eyes.

The two of them sat like this in silence for several minutes. The sounds of the forest and the stream clamored around them. A cloud of leaves descended upon them when a particularly strong gust of wind blew through the tops of the trees.

Rainbow Dash sniffed under the cover of the wind. “What do I do now?” she asked. Her voice was choked, the words forced.

Applejack looked at Rainbow. The tone of her friend’s voice shook her; she wasn’t at all prepared to handle this kind of situation. “Oh Ray.. what do you want to do?”

Rainbow did not answer. She looked away and turned her back on Applejack.

Applejack felt her eyes well up with tears. She could not bear to see her usually brash and bold friend so helpless and lost.

She scooted closer to Rainbow and pulled her into a hug. “I may never understand what you’re going through, but I’ll stay by your side – for as long as you’ll have me.” Rainbow shook as she tried to suppress her sobs. “Never forget that.”

Rainbow Dash melted in Applejack’s arms. “I-I’ll always have you…” And she let her sorrows be absolved by her friend’s embrace.

There is no true love; there are merely different ways of expressing it. A mother may take time off from her job to spend time with her children. A chivalrous knight may ride to the far corners of the Earth to save a princess. A friend may take a lost one into her arms, swearing that she will never let go.

***

The night sky was dark and empty. The stars had already faded into blackness, and the moon had long since disappeared below the horizon.

“If we’re going to do this, we need to do it now. The boss doesn’t forgive stragglers. We’re already several days behind as it is.”

“I know. If she has a problem, pin it on me.”

“Why don’t we just leave? It’s not like we’ll ever be coming back here. Hopefully, anyways. This place disgusts me…”

“My thoughts exactly… We will make these ponies know what it is to suffer. They dare to live such happy lives while our people struggle simply to get by. No more…”

The gruff stallion sighed as his friend finished his little monologue. They stood atop the crest of a hill overlooking Sweet Apple Acres. Applebloom hung limply above and behind them, unconscious.

Big Macintosh lit his horn and began.

Author's Note

Again, I am much happier with how this chapter turned out. I put more focus into keeping the tone of the story more or less the same, which helped with the pacing.

My biggest struggle was with capturing the emotions of the ponies. I've never lost a limb or a close loved one. Part of my love for reading stems from the ability to empathize with emotions or scenarios that I have never faced - but I've found it is very difficult to create such a situation without that experience.

As before, I appreciate comments and critique.