Chapters Prologue One: Just Past Midnight
Midnight was a rather miserable time to be a train conductor. The train had to make it around the normal route, but there were rarely any ponies to pick up. Even so, it was important to have the train run late enough for everypony, as dull as it was. There could be a last-minute crisis, or completely unexpected emergency.
The night was gray, with clouds that needed to be busted in the morning lingering in the sky and blocking out the stars. The train rolled quietly into Canterlot station, the doors opening to allow the lights within to flood out into the darkness. A unicorn laid on a bench, half-asleep with several bags beside her, along with a distinctly separated upside-down hat. She blinked rapidly to try and wake up, and then sluggishly boarded the train with her bags held loosely in her light blue magic.
She haphazardly placed her bags on a seat, very carefully placed the hat down on the other side of her, and curled up to go to sleep. Her eyes were bloodshot with large bags under them. Her purple mane was frizzy and her pink coat was scratchy, as if she hadn't taken care of them in days.
"A bit young to be traveling alone," said a gentle voice.
The unicorn sat up and rubbed her eyes. A rather tall unicorn stallion sat down in the seat across from her, carefully adjusting the jacket he was wearing. His short blue mane was neatly coiffed, complementing his sleek white coat. He wore a monocle over his left eye, which appeared to have just been put on.
"I'm eighteen," she responded in deflection.
"As I said." He gave a warm smile. "Not just turned, I hope. Running away from home is not as great of an idea as you'd think."
"I'm from Manehattan, not Canterlot." Her eyes became glazed for a moment. "I'm sure you've heard about... what happened."
His smile fell away. "Yes, of course. A terrible tragedy. I can see why you would want to leave." She looked out of the window. "If I may, what is your name?"
"Starshine Swirl, but I go by Star." She paused, her eyes showing pain. "But... I don't think I want to. Anymore, I mean."
"Is it your mark name?"
"No." She gaze remained firmly towards the window. "You haven't told me your name, yet."
"Apologies, I'm Fancy Pants." There was a moment of silence. "If I may ask, Miss Swirl, where are you going?"
"Ponyville," she replied confidently. "It's a little Earth pony town."
"Trying for some place calm, are you?"
Star shrugged. "Something like that." She looked away from the window. "A place away from pain."
He didn't press on the matter any further. "I... see. Do you have a place to stay?"
"No." She went back to looking out the window.
"Do you know if there's a place for you to stay at?"
"No." Her tone was colder.
"Then what exactly are you planning to do?"
"Find a job."
Fancy couldn't help but arch an eyebrow. "And are you sure there's any job openings?"
Star responded with a glare. "No."
"That seems rather... bold of you, then."
"I suppose I am." There was a rising anger in her voice.
"I apologize if I'm upsetting you, Miss Star. I'm just concerned on whether you'll be able to provide for yourself."
Her anger fell away. "It's not me I'm worried about." Her horn lit up in a soft glow, and she carefully levitated over the hat. "It's her."
Curled up in the hat was a tiny pony-like creature. She had a yellow coat and poofy two-toned aqua mane. She had long attenae and oddly large butterfly-like wings, making her seem almost part insect.
Fancy was quite surprised. "Is that a breezie?
"Yeah," said Star softly. "She got seperated from the others."
"I thought that the Royal Guard was trying to prevent any of the breezies from getting lost."
"They missed her," she stated in a matter-of-fact way. "She was in the castle gardens."
"And you happened across her," he finished in assumption.
"She happened across me." A sliver of joy finally emanated from her. "It's funny to think that she was the one doing the helping. I suppose I'm just... returning the favor, now."
Fancy didn't respond. Star woozily placed down the hat holding the breezie, shaking slightly. "Miss Swirl?" She arched an eyebrow. "When was the last time you slept?"
She shrugged. "Yesterday, maybe. Why does it matter?"
"Just wondering," he casually lied. "Pardon me a moment, I need to speak with the conductor."
Star collapsed from exhaustion before he even made it to the next train car.
She woke in a panic, fearing she had missed her stop. Star quickly looked out the window, just as the train came to a halt. She exhaled in relief as the conductor announced that it was Ponyville Station, and went to gather her bags.
They were stacked neatly beside her, with a long gold ribbon tying them together. Fancy's kindness was lost on her due to exhaustion, but she did notice his generosity when she went to grab the hat with the breezie in it.
Next to the breezie was a large blue sapphire in presitine condition. She stared at it for a moment, before quickly scooping up the hat, breezie, and gemstone in her magic. She quickly exited onto the station platform, and continued into Ponyville.
The small, personalized cottages were completely different for any other place she had been. She was used to apartment complexes and large stone houses. Even the roads were different, being made entirely of grass and dirt as opposed to being paved. It was a nice change of pace, especially for her hooves.
It was hard to make out everything due to the clouds and lack of streetlights, but her shimmering aura provided enough light. The brief "nap" she had gave her back some of her energy, but constant use of her magic was really wearing her down. To try and stay awake, she began to think of names.
Star had the half-nickname-half-mark-name of Sparkler, but she didn't want to be Star and Sparkler anymore. She wanted to be Sparkler and something else. The thought of being Clear Cut passed through her mind, and she quickly pushed the idea away. Instead, she settled on Amethyst, as it was the color of her eyes.
So she was Amethyst Sparkler. That was a nice name. It had a part that was old and a part that was new, and she was determined to be that new part. She could leave the pain of the past behind, and look forward to a new life. Amethyst Sparkler and her breezie friend, who's name she still had to find out.
She nodded in satisfaction, and then collapsed from exhaustion once again. This time she wouldn't wake until morning.
Chapter One: Just Past Sunrise
A farmer rises with the sun, so, naturally, Applejack always awoke before most of Ponyville. She rolled out of bed and then yanked a brush through her mane and tail a few times. Once she had gotten it flat enough to tie down, she grabbed a hairband to keep it out of her face and hooves, and finished off by placing a stetson on her head.
She trotted downstairs, hearing Big Macintosh's door open upstairs. She grabbed an apple as she headed outside to begin her morning routine, with her actual breakfast to be eaten when Apple Bloom woke up to go to school. In just a few years the filly would have to wake up to do chores in the morning, too, but she still needed plenty of sleep at her current age.
As she stepped outside, Applejack took in a deep breath of fresh air. Not only was the smell of bark and dirt delicious, but it also gave her a sense of how the trees were doing. Each season had a different smell to understand. Summer meant juicy apples and relaxed trees, autumn meant savory apples and excited trees, winter meant no apples and sleeping trees, and spring meant sweet apples and waking trees.
The smells in the air said that the apples were juicy and the trees were relaxed. She frowned in concern. It was spring, not summer. The apples should have been sweet and the trees waking. She took in another breath, and the apples were savory and the trees excited. Something was very wrong.
"Big Mac!" she called out to her brother. "Can ya come over here? Ah think we've gotta problem." He quickly came out of the house and over to her. "The apples ain't right. It's like somethin's messin' with 'em."
Big Mac took in a deep breath, with his frown mirroring Applejack's. "Eeyup," he said in affirmation. "Can't even smell 'em."
Her eyes widened in alarm. "That ain't what Ah got. They were summer and fall apples!"
He took in another breath. "Spring."
"You they're..." She struggled to think of the correct phrasing. "Cyclin' through the seasons?"
"Eeyup."
"And none of us were out late or anythin'?"
"Nnope."
Applejack bit her lip in concern. "Alrighty... You go wake up Granny Smith." Big Mac arched an eyebrow to ask what she was going to do. "Ah'm going to find Limestone. If there's anypony who would know what's goin' on here, it would be her."
Rainbow Dash hated being awake when the sun rose. The morning air was terrible for flying, and her wings were slightly numb. But she had no choice but to wake as a beam of sunlight landed squarely over her eyes, forcing them open.
She let out a groan and reluctantly sat up. Her haunches rested comfortably on a fluffy cloud as she fixed her mane with her hooves. She had a pretty miserable headache, and was tempted to bury her head in the cloud to try and make it go away.
"No more night sessions..." she muttered. "Ugh, Twilight was right about that headache..."
Forcing herself to function, Rainbow spread out her wings and took flight. She dove straight down towards the city below, followed by a casual spin to the side before she clipped the top of any buildings. She wasn't in Ponyville, but instead Canterlot.
The city sights didn't interest Rainbow. Everything was made of stone, as opposed to the wooden cottages of Ponyville and puffy cloud buildings in Cloudsdale. The shops had nothing of interest for her to buy, with the only one she even considered visiting being one devoted to Wonderbolts merchandise.
She skipped past everything and went straight to Canterlot Castle. She saw Princess Celestia out on her balcony, raising the sun higher and higher into the sky. She saw guards exiting the castle to go train, each holding a spear. And she saw the Night Guards waiting to be taken of their shifts.
Rainbow landed on a balcony and seamlessly switched to walking down the hall. She gave a friendly wave to the Guards she saw, receiving one back from a thestral guard, Pumpkin Moon.
"Good morning, Miss Dash!" said Pumpkin politely. "How were your sessions with Lieutenant Sparkle?"
"No sweat!" replied Rainbow instantly, quickly leaning in to whisper. "My head is killing me."
Pumpkin gave no response, as if she hadn't heard the whisper. Naturally, all of the other thestral guards in the area could hear Rainbow, but the pegasus didn't know that. Rainbow and Pumpkin were friends, and Rainbow trusted her enough to prevent her ego from getting in the way. Most of the guards who knew Rainbow even had a wager going on of how long it would take her to succeed.
It was a very steady pattern. Once a week, Rainbow came into Canterlot to train with Twilight Sparkle. Nobody actually knew specifically what the two of them were training, but from the hints that Rainbow unintentionally dropped, it had something to do with when Nightmare Moon returned.
Rainbow was training to fight against mind control. Twilight had nearly broken free of the control that Nightmare had put on her, while Rainbow had been at the mercy of her every whim. It had been the unicorn's idea, with her having left Rainbow a note about it a while ago. It was taking a while to teach the brash pegasus, but slow progress was better than no progress.
As she turned a corner, Rainbow nearly ran into somepony. She flew to the side just in time, and turned to see that it was Shining Armor, Captain of the Day Guard. "Hey, Shining!" she said casually, before noticing his expression of concern. "Something up?"
Shining looked very tired. "I've been searching all night for Twilight and I can't find her."
"Are you sure she isn't wrapped up in a book somewhere?"
"I already checked the Canterlot Library and Castle Archives. Nopony had even seen her in either place."
"Are you sure she didn't just go out to train and, like, fall asleep or something?" Saying that about Twilight sounded absurd, even to her.
Shining shook his head. "I checked everywhere she would possibly go in Canterlot."
Rainbow's eyes lit up with an idea. "What if she went to Ponyville?"
"Well, she would have left a note. But maybe-"
"Say no more!" She spread her wings wide. "I'll be there in a flash!"
Rainbow zipped down the hall and back outside, leaving a rainbow contrail behind her. Shining sighed, not sure if it was in concern for Twilight, or for impatience with Rainbow. Either way, that at least covered Ponyville. There was still half of Canterlot to go.
Prologue Two: Apple Introduction
Bleary-eyed, Star awoke slowly. She absentmindedly rubbed her cheek across the soft cushion beneath her head. The comforter she laid on was was thick and irresistibly soft, yet slightly itchy. A thin blanket laid across her back, keeping any bugs from getting on her fur.
As her vision slowly focused, she began to take in her surroundings. Within her line of sight she could see a tan side table, yellow lamp, plain pink plastic cup filled with water, and a window with blue floral curtains. A loud crash caused her to bolt upright in surprise, and she looked out the window. There were miniature red buildings with bales of hay next to them, a long white fence, and dozens upon dozens of apple trees.
"Apple Bloom!" cried out a heavily accented voice in worry and irritation.
"Sorry, Applejack!" called back a filly's voice with the same accent. "Ah was just tryin' ta fix the crank on the well!"
Star had never been on a farm before, and she wasn't even sure how she had ended up at one. Last thing she remembered was walking through Ponyville, and after that was nothing. She quietly slid out of bed, noticing that her bags were neatly piled on the other side of the room. She didn't see the hat the breezie had been sleeping in, and her stomach dropped.
She quickly exited the room and headed downstairs, trying not to panic. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she crashed into a large pony with a bright red coat. Before she fell back on her haunches, a single hoof with unshorn fetlocks caught her and helped her to stabilize.
"Mornin'," greeted a deep, yet very quiet, voice. "You okay?"
"Where's the breezie?" she asked nervously.
The Earth pony stallion that stood in front of her arched an eyebrow in confusion. "The little insect-pony?"
"Yes!" Star was exasperated. "I need to know where she is! I need to know if she's hurt or scared or-"
He gently placed a hoof over her mouth. "We brought her over ta Fluttershy's. She can understand all creatures." He lowered his hoof. "You should eat somethin'."
She reluctantly followed him into the kitchen, where a stack of three pancakes were waiting on the table. With a slight nudge, Star sat down on the floor next to the table, with the Earth pony pushing the plate over in front of her. He gave her a gentle look that she interpreted as a request to stay put, and then walked outside. She gave a sigh, and pulled off a piece of the top pancake with her magic.
She took a bite, immediately tasting a surplus of apple. For a moment, the taste was delicious. Then the pancake tasted like the most bitter and salty food she had ever eaten. Star choked, tears welling up and threatening to spill down her cheeks. She heard hoofsteps approaching, and forced herself to swallow the disgusting food. Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she quickly wiped away as much as possible with her magic.
An orange Earth pony mare walked in, pushing a sweaty blonde mane out of her eyes. "Well, howdy!" she said in a chipper tone. "Ah was wonderin' when you were gonna wake up!" Star shyly stuck out her hoof in greeting, which the Earth pony grabbed and shook vigorously. "Ah'm Applejack, and the stallion outside is mah brother Big Macintosh! Plus there's my sister Apple Bloom and Granny Smith!"
"I'm Star," she responded automatically, before realizing her terrible mistake. "Amethyst Star, I mean." So much for a new name. What else was she going to screw up?
"Well it's a pleasure ta meet ya, Star!" The unicorn tried not to wince. "You sure did us all a fright when Big Mac found ya in the market. Fortunately, that lil' bug-pony managed to explain some of what happened, even though she was talkin' in some other language. Speakin' of, what happened to ya?"
Star bit her lip. "I, uh, think I passed out."
"That much Ah could figure out mahself." Applejack frowned in concern. "But why were you all alone with a bunch of bags?"
"I wasn't alone," she replied, trying to deflect the question. "I was with my breezie friend."
She sighed. "You know what Ah'm askin'." Star looked away nervously. "Just..." Now Applejack bit her lip. "How old are ya, Star?"
She reluctantly answered the new question. "Eighteen."
As Star had seen far took often before, Applejack's eyes widened in surprise. "...You're eighteen ?" she asked incredulously. "And how far from home are you?"
"I didn't run away, if that's what you're asking," she sniped tersely. "And before you ask, I'm from Manehattan, thank you very much. I'm sure you heard about what happened."
Applejack said nothing. She stared wordlessly at a single tear on Star's chin until it dripped to the ground. Star, in turn, kept a cold glare aimed towards Applejack until a high-pitched voice interrupted.
"Applejack! Big Mac says he needs help with somethin'!" chirped a yellow Earth pony filly from the door.
Applejack said nothing to Star, and turned towards the filly. "Did he now? Ah wonder what the problem is. Why don't you show Star around Ponyville while Ah go help him out."
"Sure thing, sis!" She practically bounced over to Star as Applejack walked outside. "Ah'm Apple Bloom! Welcome to Ponyville, Miss Star!"
Star gave a faint smile. "Please, call me Amethyst."
"Sure thing, Miss Amethyst!" Apple Bloom eagerly grabbed her forehoof and led her outside. "Ah'll show you some of Sweet Apple Acres and then we'll head into town!"
"-and this here's the spa, and this is Quills and Sofas, and this-"
Star couldn't stop thinking about the breezie. She had no idea who Fluttershy was, nor did she know what Big Mac meant by her being able to understand all creatures. What if Fluttershy was crazy collector who just wanted to keep the breezie as a pet? What if she decided that the breezie would be better off with her? There were far too many terrible possibilities.
"Incoming!" cried out a raspy voice, snapping Star out of her thoughts.
Apple Bloom knew what was coming after the cry, so she instinctively scurried over to the side of the road. Star, of course, had no idea who was even yelling, let alone any clue of how she was supposed to react. A rainbow blur slammed into her at an absurdly unsafe speed, sending her tumbling across the ground. The two ponies skidded across town, before splashing down in a body of water. Star accidentally sucked in a breath of water, and began to choke once again.
Chapter Two: Odd Introduction
Applejack passed through Ponyville at a fast trot, not quite reaching a gallop. She wasn't normally one to get nervous about things, but it was a whole different matter when it concerned Sweet Apple Acres. If there was something wrong with the trees, they'd normally have at least some clue what happened. But she had never seen magic act up like this before.
There was one major thought that kept cycling through head. What if Limestone didn't know what was happening either? Who else could she go to? There always had to be a solution to a problem, but she needed to know the actual problem first.
No, Limestone would be able to help. She was sure of it. She had never met an Earth pony with such powerful magic as Limestone, especially without ever having seen her magic in action. With every step she took she let out a small burst of passive magic, noticeable only to other Earth ponies.
A chilling howl snapped Applejack out of her thoughts, and she automatically looked towards the Everfree Forest. It was unusual for the timber wolves to be awake at this hour, but you never knew when it came to Everfree. Despite her worry over the farm, she walked towards the forest to see if anything was coming out.
Mere seconds later, a loud crash came echoing out of the forest, which she easily identified as a tree falling down. A unicorn with a purple coat came sprinting out of the forest at a remarkably fast speed for her size, a timber wolf snapping at her tail. Applejack wasted no time, and sprinted towards the wolf. She whipped around and slammed her back hooves into it as hard as she could, sending sticks flying everywhere.
She threw the nearby sticks into Everfree before the wolf could reform, and tuned towards the unicorn who had been outrunning it. "You alright, sugarcube?" she asked worryingly.
"Y-yeah!" replied the unicorn, her voice quivering slightly. "I mean-" She coughed sharply. "Yes." She was much more firm and calm this time. "The creature caught me off guard and I was unequipped to handle it."
"There ain't too great of a way ta handle them timber wolves." Applejack looked towards the forest as the wolf reform, satisfied to see it sprinting away. "Pesky things put themselves back together real fast, so ya gotta be fast on yer hooves."
"I remember from training. The best way to stop a timber wolf is fire, but I couldn't risk setting the entire forest ablaze."
She raised an eyebrow. "Ya know a fire spell?"
"Well, yes, of course." She paused for a moment. "Oh, right, I went without my armor today." She somewhat shyly stuck out her hoof. "Twilight Sparkle, Royal Guard."
"Applejack." She gave Twilight's hoof a quick shake. "Wait, are you that guard from the Summer Sun Celebration?"
"Indeed." Her face fell. "Did... did I hurt anypony? I was trying my hardest to fight Nightmare's control, but I just couldn't..."
"Ah don't recall anypony gettin' hurt. 'Sides, like ya said, it was Nightmare controllin' what you were doin'."
Twilight smiled a little. "Thank you. That's a relief to hear." Her smile widened a bit. "Um, would you happen to know where Amethyst Star is right now?"
Applejack was caught off guard by the sudden subject change. "She's probably sleepin'. She lives in the library."
Her smile widened even more, making her look somewhat creepy. "The library? What's it called?"
"Golden Oaks."
"Golden Oaks Library." Twilights nodded, her smile not wavering. "Won't be hard to find! Thanks for your help, Applejack!"
She shrugged. "Ain't a problem ta help out others."
Applejack continue towards Limestone's, and Twioight started towards the library. "Wait!" Applejack turned around to see Twilight looking at her in a panic. "Why do you hate Amethyst?"
Applejack took a step back in surprise. "How- Why-" She scowled. "What's it to you?"
She giggled. "Oh, never mind." She turned and walked off without looking back.
She rolled her eyes. "Rude."
Applejack continued on towards Limestone's without interruption, her thoughts already drifting back towards the farm.
Rainbow grinned as Ponyville came into sight, and quickly increased her height. At her chosen peak, she tucked her wings to her sides, and began diving down. Not only was it a delightful adrenaline rush, but it gave her wings a break after the somewhat long flight.
As she seamlessly tore through a cloud, she couldn't help but wonder about Twilight. If she wasn't in Canterlot, she had to be in Ponyville. But what if she wasn't in Ponyvile? Or, on the reverse side, if she was in Ponyville, what was she doing there? And why wouldn't she have told Rainbow yesterday? It was all very un-Twilight-ish, especially after they had made great strides the day before in their training.
Rainbow noticed two things before she flew down too low to see the entire town. Applejack was walking away from Limestone's home, and Twilight was walking away from the Golden Oaks Library. So she must have gone to visit Amethyst! But it was very odd to go so early in the morning, especially without telling anypony.
Rainbow flapped her wings in reverse to slow down as she neared the ground, oddly not getting Twilight's attention. She did an aileron roll and a loop-de-loop, and ended by hovering in front of the unicorn. "Twilight!"
"Heya, Rainbow," replied Twilight casually, continuing to walk as Rainbow flew backwards. "What's up?"
Rainbow stared for a moment after hearing Twilight talk like that. "Uh... What are you doing in Ponyville?"
"Visiting Amethyst."
"Why did you tell anypony? Shining Armor was looking for you all morning! He's still looking for you right now!"
"Oh..." Her ears flattened down. "I'm sorry, I must have forgot."
She stared wordlessly at Twilight. "You forgot."
"Y-yes?"
"Twilight, please tell me you're not serious." Twilight shook her head nervously. "You forgot ?! The same pony who left me an essay-length letter that described how we would train; the same pony who already knew that the proper term is an aileron roll and not a barrel roll; the same pony who was the youngest to ever join the guard; forgot to write a little note saying you were going to Ponyville?!"
Twilight winced. "I mean, when you put it like that..."
Rainbow took in a breath to calm herself down. "Just... are you feeling okay?"
"Just peachy."
"Are you sure? If it's that you're tired from training, we didn't have to keep going."
"No, really, I'm fine." She smiled. "Now I need to get going. I'm on a mission right now! See you later, Dash!"
Twilight trotted off as Rainbow landed silently on the ground, her mouth agape. Twilight had never called her Dash before. Something was very, very wrong.
Prologue Three: Apologies and Concerns
A pair of hooves wrapped firmly around Star's barrel, and she was yanked out of the water. As soon as she was able to breathe in air instead of water, she coughed out the bit she had inhaled with her lungs burning. Her hooves met the ground, and she sat down on her haunches to continue coughing.
"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry," said the pony who had crashed into her. "I was trying out this one trick, but it turns out that the winds today are all completely out of whack..."
As Star caught her breath, she opened her eyes. The pony beside her was a pegasus with a light blue coat and rainbow mane, and her wings were twitching slightly. "I thought that only happened in cities," she said somewhat huskily.
"Well, it's more common in cities..." The pegasus shook her head, sending drops of water streaming off her mane. "That's besides the point. Are you okay? I mean, it's fine if I get hurt going tricks, but if I hurt anypony else I just feel really bad about it."
"Just... a little sore." She leaned forward slightly, letting her soaking wet mane cover her eyes. "And cold," she said softly.
"Oh, that's good! I mean, as in, like, compared to being, y'know, seriously injuried." She paused awkwardly. "Well, uh, anyways..." She stuck out her hoof with a grin. "I'm Rainbow Dash."
"Sparkler," replied Star, screaming mentally at herself as she lightly shook Rainbow's hoof. "But, uh, I also go by-"
"Miss Amethyst!" cried out Apple Bloom nervously, running up to her. "Are you okay?"
"Don't tell Applejack!" said Rainbow before Star could respond. "I don't want her to give me another lecture!"
Star raised an eyebrow in concern, but decide to let it go for the moment. "I'm fine, Apple Bloom. Just a bit wet." A droplet of water dripped off her snout.
"Ah can go get ya a towel!" said Apple Bloom innocently. "Ah'll be real quick about it and-"
"No," she interjected suddenly. "I just... need to be alone for a bit."
"Oh..." Her face fell.
Star sighed lightly. "It's nothing you did. I just need to be with myself for a while."
"Okay..." The filly started walking away quietly, before her ears perked up as she got an idea. "Ah know! Ah'll go get ya a treat from Sugarcube Corner! That should cheer you up!" She excitedly sprinted away. "Ah'll be right back!"
She gave a second sigh, and glanced over at Rainbow. "You should probably get back to work."
"Oh, yeah!" Rainbow laughed awkwardly. "Right." She jumped into the air and hovered in front of Star for a moment. "See you around, Sparky!"
"That's not-" Rainbow sped off. "-my... name..." Star sighed for a third time, and laid down with her hooves folded over each other. She flicked her tail away so that it could dry in the sun, and closed her eyes.
She opened her eyes. She was lying down on a puffy white cloud, the sun shining down on her back. Star smiled, and spread her wings wide. She could feel the wind on her feathers, and small droplets of water on her cheeks.
A cascade of water came crashing down on her, but Star did not sputter and cough. She laughed and looked up at the rain cloud above her, a pegasus mare beside it giggling. While she giggled, Star smirked and flew up to the other side of the cloud.
She spun around in the air and kicked the cloud firmly enough to move it, but not break it. The other pegasus reacted by trying to bust the cloud, resulting in all the remaining water spilling out all over her. Star giggled this time, with the other pegasus soon joining in.
After they finished laughing, the pegasus beach to fly off, motioning for Star to follow her. Star eagerly took off after her, but her wings became heavier with each flap. The pegasus in front of her soon disappeared from view, while Star struggled to stay in the air.
Her wings became too heavy to lift, and Star began to fall. She fruitlessly failed her limbs to try and stay up, but there was no hope. She fell through a cloud, her wings vanishing as she did. Her horn glowed brightly as she cried out for help, but no one came. She took in a strangled breath, and yelled as loudly as possible.
"HELP! PLEASE, SOMEPONY HE-"
Her eyes whirled open in alarm. Star exhaled sharply, pressing a hoof up against her forehead. The top of her hoof brushed up against the bottom curve of her horn, to which she gave no visible reaction.
"My goodness!" Star jumped to her hooves in surprise. "Darling, you look just terrible!"
She aimed an icy glare towards the unicorn with a white coat and fancy indigo mane that had walked up to her. "Gee, thanks," she said dryly.
"Why, of course it mustn't be your fault!" Her horn lit up in a royal blue glow and she tossled Star's mane. "I'm assuming you had a run in with Rainbow Dash?"
She gave a slight nod. "It doesn't really matter."
The unicorn gasped dramatically. "Proper hair care always matters, dear!" She grabbed Star's forehoof in her magic. "Come! I will fix you right up!"
She resisted groaning and followed after the overly-eager unicorn. Her tail, heavy with water, dragged along the ground, but she didn't care enough to lift it up. A few ponies glanced over at her, but she ignored their stares.
"I haven't seen you around before," said the unicorn casually. "Did you just move here?"
"Technically." Moving implied that she had an official place to stay.
"Well, I'm sure you'll love our dear little town!" She probably smiled, but her face wasn't towards Star. "I'm Rarity."
This time she would get it right. "Amethyst."
"What a lovely name! The same color as your eyes." Somepony was perceptive. "Where are you from, Amethyst?"
Why did everypony need to know where she was from? "Way off."
"Oh, there's nothing to be ashamed of dear! But if you don't wish to tell, I won't press the matter." Rarity came to a stop, and Star nearly bumped into her. "Here we are! My beloved Carousel Boutique!" She opened the door to the large building with her magic, and walked inside. "Come right in, darling. I just need to grab a few things from upstairs."
Star walked into the boutique, and relaxed at the familiar setting of a clothing store. Rarity had several fancy and simple dresses on display, each completely different from the other. Gemstones adorned nearly every outfit, all of them sparkling clean. She noticed that a ruby brooch on one of the dresses was a bit lopsided, and naturally went over to fix it.
Her horn lit up with a soft aura, a matching glow washing over her eyes. She carefully poked at the ruby with her magic, as it had already been set in place, until it was perfectly aligned. There were some carnelians down the side of the dress, and she began making them all symmetrical to each other.
The rhythm was familiar, so much so that she even sat down. It made her think of home, back in Manehattan, and that comforted her. But, of course, she couldn't have a break. Thinking of Manehattan made her think of what happened. She couldn't stand to think of what happened. A tear slid down her cheek as she continued working out of habit.
"I'm back!" declared Rarity proudly, walking down the stairs with a large assortment of items held in her magic. "You'll be looking fabulous in no- Amethyst, what are you doing?"
The aura on her horn and eyes winked out. "Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just making them symmetrical. That sort of thing is- used to be my job."
"I do appreciate the sentiment, darling, but I would prefer if you ask first. These dresses do take quite a while to make just right!" She placed down the items she was holding. "Now, let me see what I can do with your mane..."
Chapter Three: Questions and Concerns
Applejack walked back through Ponyville in frustration. Limestone wasn't at home, having left a short note mentioning that she had gone to visit her family. Now she had nopony to go to ask for help. Limestone was her best shot, and now she had none.
Well, techincally there was another option. There was a single pony in town who had any sort of knowledge on the inner workings of magic, and that was Amethyst Star. Plus, she had even worked on the farm before.
Applejack came to a dead stop. No, she thought firmly. Star doesn't know a thing 'bout Earth pony magic. And she ain't all that magically gifted. All she has is that little magnifying-glass spell. That stupid spell that lets her see little details and little things that are off and... She sighed. Oh, who am Ah kiddin'? This is about the farm. Doesn't matter how much we hate each other. She'll have an idea of what ta do.
Applejack began walking towards the Golden Oaks Library, just as the door to the library opened. She paused, confused as to why Amethyst would be awake at this hour, as Rainbow flew outside. The door closed behind Rainbow, who landed on the ground and began pacing back and forth.
"You alright there, Rainbow?" called out Applejack as she walked over.
Rainbow bolted upright and flew over to her in a second. "Applejack! Something weird is going on!"
She raised an eyebrow. "Weird how?" Was there something going on with pegasus magic, too?
"It's Twilight and Sparkler! Something's wrong with them!"
Her concern faded. "Ain't there always something wrong with Star?"
Rainbow scowled. "I'm being serious, AJ! Twilight was acting all kooky and even forgot to leave a note saying she was coming here! Twilight never forgets stuff like that!" She continued before Applejack could interrupt. "And Sparkler's even worse! I tried to tell her about Twilight, and you know what she said?"
Applejack rolled her eyes. "What?"
"'Go ask AJ, maybe she talked to her.' Since when does Sparkler call you AJ? And since when do you two not hate each other?!"
"Ah don't hate her!" she objected quickly. "Star's just a self-absorbed, lazy, and-"
Rainbow placed her hoof on Applejack's mouth to stop her. "This is an actually problem here. I shouldn't have to be the mature one in this situation! Can't you tell something is going on?"
"All you've said is that two ponies are actin' weird in the mornin'! They're probably just tired!"
"And they're the only two who would know what's happening! Flitter and Cloudchaser are in Cloudsdale visiting her parents! Lotus and Aloe are in Baltimare visiting their parents! Saffron and her dad are in Tall Tale visiting her mom! Limestone is visiting her family at their rock farm! Fleetfoot is at the Neighagra Falls Flight School visiting her parents! Even Twirly isn't here! She and Fluttershy went who-knows-where to look for some sort of plant!"
"Rainbow, Ah really think that yer-"
"If something goes wrong and we need the Elements of Harmony, who does that leave? Sparkler. And with everypony else gone, who's the only one left who would know what to do? Twilight. And maybe that's why she called me Dash! Twilight never calls me Dash, but she might have been trying to say that something was wrong! Maybe that's why Sparkler told me to talk to you!"
Applejack blew a sharp breath of air into Rainbow's face. "Get ahold of yerself, Rainbow!" She pushed the pegasus down so her haunches were on the ground. "Stop ta think for a bit more instead of just panickin'. You barely even know Twilight-"
"Who do you think I visit every week?" Rainbow was much softer than she had been just seconds ago.
That caught her off guard. "You- You go to Canterlot ta visit Twilight? Why?"
"We train together. Mind-control resistance." Her ears fell flat. "After Nightmare was able to just make me do whatever she wanted... I never wanted to feel that again. It was her idea to train together."
Applejack was surprised. "Wow... Ah'm sorry, Rainbow. Ah didn't know."
"Of course you didn't. You're the first pony I've told." She sighed. "I didn't want anypony to think I was some sort of weak loser."
"Rainbow, there ain't a pony in this town who'd make fun of you fer that." She smiled at the pegasus, but she quickly switched to being more serious. "So, you're sure that there's something goin' on with Twilight? 'Cause I was talkin' with her earlier, and-"
"You were?" Rainbow bolted upright. "What was she doing? What did she say?"
"Cool yer jets, sugarcube. She was running out of Everfree with a timber wolves hot on her hooves, but Ah knocked it back into the forest. She was a bit shy when we first spoke, but got way more eager when she asked where Star lived, and-" she decided to omit the question of why she hated Amethyst. "-then she headed off to the library."
By the end, Rainbow's mouth was agape once again. "Sweet Celestia... That's the most un-Twilight-ish thing I've ever heard!"
Applejack spoke before Rainbow could go off in a tizzy. "Mind explainin' to me?"
She nodded vigorously. "Well, first of all, Twilight's the First Lieutenant of the Royal Guard and she was running from a timber wolf? That's just absurd! She has a whole arsenal of spells she could have used to either take it out of slow it down. Secondly, I have never seen Twilight being shy. And she already knows that Sparkler lives in the library! Why would she need to ask?"
"Ah'm tryin' ta process was yer sayin', Rainbow. Could you just wait fer a-"
"I need to get back to Canterlot!" Rainbow jumped into the air and hovered. "Shining needs to know about this, and we can even talk to the Princesses! I'll go as fast as I can, while you stay here and talk to Sparkler!"
"You want me to talk with Star?" asked Applejack incredulously. "Have you lost yer mind?"
"Somepony needs to try and figure out what's going on, and you already know that something's up." Rainbow frowned. "Besides, I need to go now . I can't wait any longer!"
"Ah know that bein' fast is yer thing, but don't just go at tornado speed!"
"Everypony else is gone. The Element Bearers, Fluttershy, and Twirly. I need to hurry because if I can't get back before something else happens..." Rainbow took in a breath to calm down. "Then there won't be a single friend one of Sparkler's friends left in Ponyville. I'm the only one still here."
Interlude π: In the Gardens
As fun as referring to himself as a creature of Chaos and Disharmony, Discord did have to admit that one of the two wasn't exactly a proper description. Chaos was the opposite of Order, and Disharmony was supposively the opposite of Harmony. But Harmony was the balance of Chaos and Order, so there wasn't exactly an opposite.
It hardly matters, really, thought the cracked statue in the Canterlot Gardens. But it's not like I can go around proving it yet. Just a little more and I'll finally be free!
Discord wasn't stupid. He wanted to spread his Chaos far and wide, but it would remain as Chaos. He wasn't a creature of Insanity, just like that aggravating Tree wasn't a creature of Control. Those were the extremes of Chaos and Order, which they both understood were terrible things that should never happen. Not joking.
The key difference between him and the Tree - other than it being a tree, of course - was that Discord was active while the Tree was passive. He actively tried to introduce chaos into the world, while the Tree was more passive. He snapped his fingers and instantly turned the world tipsy-turvy, while the Tree had amply provided the Elements to allow others to thwart him.
Celestia and Luna, ever the naive fools they were, thought the Tree came from Harmony. That was utterly absurd, even by his standards. The Tree was planted in a seed of Order, and the Elements it bore followed suit. The Elements wanted Order, no matter what, which is why he became a statue in the first place.
Celestia placed too much personal faith in the Elements. When Luna went insane - ironically wanting Control - Celestia had thought that the Elements would purify her dear sister. Obviously, she had been wrong. She must have realized that the Elements were of Order, which was why she had sealed them away in stone. That satisfied Order.
But the unicorn had changed them. Not just in names, but in purpose. She made them into the true Elements of Harmony. They were no longer of Order. Even the Tree had sensed the change; it's surprise echoing all the way to where he was in Canterlot.
Unity was strong. Discord knew that he could have started manipulating an eager multitude of things by that point, but he was going to play smarter this time. He used his power to "disharmonize" Unity, as well as that irritating guard who had kept examining him with growing suspicion. Sure, it had forcefully pushed his ultimate escape back a few days, but just this once he had decided to play it safe.
The ragged stone around his eyes began to crumble to the ground. Oh, it was going to be wonderful to see the world in something other than grayscale once more! Maybe he would turn Celestia's mane gray just to spite her. That would be hilarious.
Wait, no, he had stupidly forgotten about the Elements! Celestia had them locked away in a vault for proper security, which would be easy for him to break into. Getting rid of them was another disagreeable matter. The Tree was strong enough to hold the Elements in a certain radius if the Bearers weren't wearing them. Plus, it would take a large surplus of energy to move the confounded things without accidentally activating them.
What if he merely sent them right back to where it all began? Where Unity and the other Bearers unanimously chose to go into Everfree? They would never think to look in the silly library! He could forcibly send them on a wild goose chase and then "disharmonize" them at the same time. It was ingenious.
Speaking of that library, he was undoubtedly going to turn it gold. After all, it was the Golden Oaks Library, yet it was green as can be! Or maybe silver, just to be that much more annoying. Even better, every color except for gold or yellow. That was peak hilarity. Maybe add some plaid here and there.
Wait. Who were those two ponies at the library? An orange earth pony and a silly-looking pegasus with a rainbow mane. Must have been some of Unity's friends. They were certainly going to be in for a bewildering surprise when they spoke with her.
Ooh, orange and rainbow? His eyes were freed from the stone! All the colors were so welcoming, as Orderly as they looked. Before long they would be much more Chaotic. He most certainly had to change the pegasus's mane. He could swap it with her coat color, or even better, inverse all of her colors. Yes, of course! Instead of a red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple mane, blue coat, and pink eyes, he would give her a green-blue-purple-red-orange-yellow mane, orange coat, and green eyes. That would even make her look like the Earth pony, and that would be even funnier.
As for the Earth pony, she had an apple cutie mark. Maybe make it into a pear mark or an orange mark. An orange wouldn't be seen, though - wait, she had Pear ancestry in her. That could be hilari-
The little mare's mother was the Pear.
As tactless as he usually acted, Discord wasn't cruel. To force her to think of something such her parents, even he couldn't do. A strawberry would have to suffice instead. Or maybe he could just do something different entirely. She seemed to like how loose her hair was, so maybe do it up in a much more fancy way? That would be much better. Make it toned-down enough for her to try and undo it, only for it to instantly pop back to the way it way. How infuriated she would be!
The stone around his wings crumbled to the ground. Just a little bit more, and he would be able to do anything once again! As soon as either of his hands were free, he would have all of his power back. The world would be his once more. And this time, the Elements would not be his downfall. He was going to win.
Chapter Four: Who Are You?
Applejack rarely visited the Golden Oaks Library. Other than very rarely ever needing books - with the most common occurrence being that Apple Bloom had a school project to work on or something of the like - she hated having to speak with Amethyst. The feeling was mutual between the two ponies, with their level dislike of each other being on par with her friendly rivalry with Rainbow.
Amethyst had been living in Ponyville for two years as of past autumn. Two years they had argued and fought with the original reason fading more and more into obscurity. They had been on good terms with each other for barely week, the week she had arrived in Ponyville, and then everything finally fell to pieces. Applejack was grateful that Amethyst had moved into the Golden Oaks Library, because as much as she hated the unicorn, she wasn't going to forcibly kick her out of the house with no place to even sleep.
It was a small reoccurring joke that Amethyst had gone from a massive orchard to one of the largest inhabitable trees in history. The Golden Oaks Library had already been growing when her Granny had first come to the plot of land that would one day be Ponyville. It was a perfectly average-sized tree, but there had been something special about it.
Supposedly, the first time Princess Celestia came to visit the settlers to see how they were progressing, a ripening golden acorn was seen on the tree. But the very next day, it had disappeared without a trace. The tree had begun to grow more rapidly, by which at that point it had been dubbed the Golden Oak. Up to when the inside had been carefully hollowed, another golden acorn had never been seen. Even so, it was still called the Golden Oaks Library, allowing the legend to live on among Earth ponies.
Applejack stepped up to the door, pausing to pick up the open-closed sign that Rainbow had knocked off when she had exited the library. The rainbow-streak that was the pegasus had faded away quite some time ago, when she had sped off to Canterlot. She quietly hung up the closed sign as to not be heard by Amethyst, and just stared for a bit. Something about the oak felt off, but that was likely due to all of the bizarre spells that Amethyst practiced in there.
She sighed; couldn't put his off forever. She firmly knocked on the door three times. "Star? Ah know it's early an' all, but Ah need ta find a book for an issue on the farm."
The door lazily swung open, Amethyst's aura visible on the handle. Applejack stepped inside to see a large pile of books in the middle of the room, with Amethyst holding five in the air around her. "Hey, AJ," she said without looking up from the books. "What'cha need?"
Applejack just stared. There were just so many things wrong with the two phrases she had uttered that it was almost terrifying. Amethyst never called her AJ, she never had spoke to Applejack that nonchalantly before and without even a trace of bitterness, and she certainly never said "what'cha".
"You feelin' okay, Star?"
"Peachy," she flipped over a page in every book simultaneously. "What did you need? Something for your farm or whatever?"
Star can't come before the farm. Ah can focus on her actin' weird later. Applejack nodded, even though Amethyst's back was to her. "There's somethin' up with the trees. They're all wonky and keep switchin' between seasons. Ah was gonna ask Limestone fer help, but she ain't around. Think you've got somethin' in here that could tell me why? Ain't seen anythin' like it before."
"Probably not." Amethyst shoved one of the books onto a shelf. "Even there were any books here on Earth pony magic, they'd been written in Earthein ."
Applejack resisted sighing. "Can ya just look? Even if they're in Earthein, Ah could always get 'em translated."
"Did you ask Limestone for help?" Why didn't she just look for a book? And was she even listening? "She would be of more help than me. After all, she is a geomancer. Can manipulate rocks and all that."
The books she was holding dropped to the ground, and Amethyst clapped her hooves over her mouth. Applejack's jaw dropped as the unicorn carelessly mentioned the secret magic, which she fortunately already knew about. "Are you insane?!" she yelled. "You can't just tell that to anypony, Star! Ah don't even know how ya learned 'bout that, but it's meant to be a secret !" She walked right up to Amethyst and grabbed her hoof, and started pulling the unicorn towards the door. "Rainbow was right. There's somethin' wrong with you today."
"Don't know what you're talking about, AJ," said Amethyst, suddenly very calm. "You just hate me."
Okay, they hated each other, but they never bluntly stated it out loud. This was just the last straw; something had happened to Amethyst, and none of her friends were here to help. Well, whoever had caused this seemed to have forgotten one thing: Applejack wasn't a moron. She was going to help get Amethyst back to normal.
"Star, we're goin' to the farm." Amethyst gave her a deadpan stare. "Rainbow seemed ta think she was yer last friend here, but Ah know you've got one more."
"Rainbow Dash isn't my friend." Just lay on the wrong-ness even thicker; it was even more obvious by this point. "She's an annoying brat and she makes fun of Twirly."
"Yeah, an' we're on good terms with each other," she replied sarcastically. "Somepony did somethin' to ya and Ah'm gonna help you out. Ya haven't once even told me ta call you Amethyst."
Amethyst froze. "You never mention that."
"Ah mean, it's one of those things ya don't really talk about-"
"We don't hate each other." Applejack stopped pulling her towards the door and stared. "You're just annoyed with the decisions I've made and I don't want to admit you're right-" She cut off abruptly. "Whatever. Let's just go deal with whatever your problem is."
Applejack nodded slowly. "Yeah... That would be great..." That was the real Amethyst there, for just a second. But why would she mention that of all things? "But we're gonna talk with somepony real quick."
"And who exactly is that?" She rolled her eyes. "Everypony's asleep, AJ."
"Ah really don't care right now. 'Sides, Apple Bloom's gotta get up fer school soon."
