*Ponyville*

Dawn Wings earlier good mood was rapidly souring again. After she’d marked the lead tick’s hideout, she’d flown back to the library, hoping to recover her feather. Without knowing what sort of forensic magick the ponies wielded, she needed to keep any direct link to her out of the ponies’, and the ticks’, hands.

As she alighted in Vinemana’s tree, her face twisted into an annoyed scowl. The area was cordoned off by several dull-coated ponies in uniform; four were standing at attention, facing away from the corpse, while two others, a light grey pegasus mare and a dark blue unicorn stallion, were going over the scene. They were currently focused on the changling’s corpse, the mare photographing it while the stallion dictated what his partner was saying.

Looking past them, Dawn Wings heart sank. The feather was already gone, an evidence marker already placed where the feather had embedded itself in the ground.

‘Shit’ Dawn Wings thought as she desperately looked over the crime scene. Spotting an evidence bag, her heart sank. Her feather was probably already in there. Retrieving the damn thing would be even harder now.

Harder. But not impossible.

She just needed to be patient.

Concealing herself in the bows of the tree, Dawn Wings watched and waited. The two lead investigators said very little, but from the subtle nods and gestures, Dawn Wings could see they had worked together for a long time. And, from the meticulous nature of their documentation, they were obviously experienced detectives. They might be useful once she got a handle on the pony's language, if they proved to be trustworthy.

Soon, the ponies had finished their documentation, packed the changeling’s corpse into a body bag, and loaded it onto a cart, along with the evidence bags. The detectives then strapped themselves into a harness and began to pull towards the center of town, flanked by the other officers, with two in front, and two a short distance behind. Taking to the air, Dawn Wings began to follow.

Gliding as quietly as she could, the corax waited until the cart passed between lampposts, throwing the back into shadow. The instant the cart was hidden from view, she gave a single hard flap of her wings to launch herself forward before pulling them in. Like a descending arrow, she dove into the back, before flaring out her wings to stall her forward momentum and landing roughly on the bodybag. She was grateful that the cart was making so much noise as it rolled along, because she was sure she’d hit the bed harder than she thought.

Shaking the stars out of her eyes, she began working her way up to the evidence bags. When she reached them, she began to gently prod each one. On the second try, she felt the telltale shape of her feather. Gently pulling the bag out from under the others, she carefully put her foot on the edge, and delicately worked her beak between the tape and seam, slowly pulling the edge up. It was measured work, thankfully muffled by the sound of the axil creaking and wheels bumping along the road. It took several tense minutes of pulling before she managed to get the bag open. Pinning the flap and peering inside, she spotted the long, black shaft of her feather, still slightly damp with tick blood.

Looking around quickly to make sure she still hadn’t been noticed, she carefully pulled the feather out, set it on the floor of the cart, then pressed the bag closed. Then, taking the feather in in her beak, she waited for the cart to pass between the lamps again. The moment she was masked by shadow, she stepped sideways into the umbra.

‘That was way too close.’ She thought as she took to the penumbral sky. Now she just needed someplace to destroy the evidence. Friendly or not, she wasn’t going to leave a piece of herself for some spirit to get their hands on. Spotting a street lamp, she descending from the air and landed on one of the cross bars. Transferring the feather to her foot, she worked the case open, and shoved the feather into the spiritual flame. Instantly, it began to smoke and burn before being reduced to unrecognizable ash. Satisfied, she pushed the casing closed and took to the air.

A few minutes later, she’d arrived at the farm. She prepared to sneak into her room and get some rest, but as she looked over the trees and open sky of the orchard, she decided that she really didn’t want to be inside. Not after having to spend so much time indoors the previous day. Stepping sideways and landing in the bows of one of the apple trees, she settled down and fell asleep under the stars.

*Sweet Apple Acres, an hour before sunrise*

A cool morning breeze whispered through the vast orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, gently tussling the leaves and ripe fruits. As it passed through one tree, it also rustled the feathers of one large raven, unceremoniously pulling her from her pleasant dreams of snow caped mountain peaks and clear skies. Inhaling deeply, Dawn Wings cracked her eyes open and fluffed out her feathers.

Turning her head left and right a few times, she let out a disappointed sigh before looking back towards the farmhouse.

‘Great, I’m still stuck in wackyland.’ She thought before rolling her head back and groaning. ‘Yay, yippie, woo-hoo, yea and all that crap. Ugh!’

Eyeing the farmhouse, she happily saw that the lights were still off. ‘Good’ She thought, ‘They aren’t up yet.’

Stepping sideways once more, Dawn Wings made her way back through the penumbra and into her room. Re-emerging from the spirit world, she landed on her bed, silently worked her way under the covers, and shifted her body into her equus form.

Looking towards the window, she mulled over what she’d learned. At her best estimate, there were maybe eight threats in town as of last night. For how many ponies there were, that wasn’t that many.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure how they would respond to the death of one of their own. Would they call in more of their kind? Would they retaliate? If they were leeches, she’d know what to expect.

It was another very unpleasant reminder of just how far she was from home.

The tick’s reaction alone would be an issue, but there were other pieces on the board that she should’ve expected: regular ponies in league with the ticks. That her gifts could help her make the ticks was a Gaiasend, but the presence of the pony collaborators completely changed the game. Were these ponies under the sway of the ticks like the leech’s ghouls? Were the collaborators working willingly for the changelings, or were they innocents being deceived or blackmailed into serving?

Blackmail.

The thought made the corax chuckle. She’d learned some very juicy blackmail material about the lead tick. Too bad she didn’t really have a way to use it. That was a bridge she’d have to cross when it came time. She might try to pass it on to the princesses.

Groaning into her pillow, she suspected that things were going to speed up soon. The ticks had been made, and with that exposure, they were likely to either accelerate whatever their plans were, or circle the wagons and wait out the storm. Still, not knowing how the ponies would react to the situation made her uneasy. Or how the ticks would react to their reaction. So many unknowns made her head hurt.

Maybe she could find a way to coordinate with any investigators that they would deploy.

Investigators.

She had a feeling that her feather vanishing from the police’s evidence bag would cause some problems for those two detectives, but it couldn’t be helped. She wouldn’t risk leaving it in their hands. Not with so many mages around. It was too bad, honestly. Her human guise ‘Nicole’ had a good working relationship with some of the LAPD’s less corrupt members, and a few of the more crooked ones, and had helped them on occasion. And as far as humans went, the former were… tolerable, and the latter were useful.

If she’d been back home, she wouldn’t have had to worry about leaving her feather in their hands. A few thousand dollars under the table, a couple of threats, and the evidence would have disappeared. And with so few humans willing to accept the supernatural even if they took the feather, they wouldn’t be able to make any sort of connection to her.

But this place? With so much magick, and no real connections to call on, she was on her own.

It really hammered home that she needed to be more careful in the future.

Sighing through her nose, Dawn Wings rested her chin on the pillow and closed her eyes.

‘This would be so much simpler if there were other corax here.’ She thought bitterly, her heart starting to ache like she’d been stabbed with a gold dagger. Clenching her jaw and hissing through her teeth, the corax wrestled with her mounting frustration. Looking back to the window, she saw through a crack in the curtains the eastern sky starting to brighten. The sun would be up soon. Rising, she made for the exit. At least she could still say good morning to Bridgid before getting to work for the day.

*****

Apple Bloom’s yawn broke the silence in her room before she stretched her forelegs and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Throwing off the covers, she rolled out of bed, and trotted over to her dresser before pulling out a clean ribbon. After brushing her mane and tying the ribbon into a bow, she cheerfully trotted over to her door. It was the weekend, and that meant she got to help Granny make her special spiced apple fritters for breakfast. And that meant getting up a little early and getting a basket of gravensteins from the barn.

Trotting up to her door, the filly pushed it open before making her way to the front of the house. Exiting the house and trotting to the barn, she hummed tunelessly as she went. The filly had a spring in her steps as she found herself enjoying the crispness of the pre-dawn air and enticing smell of the ripening apples on the trees.

The anticipation of Granny’s fritters only made it better.

Entering the barn and retrieving one of the baskets, she made her way back outside before nosing the barn doors shut. As she turned to head back to the house, she spotted their guest… Dawn Wings, if she remembered correctly… purposefully trotting towards one of the nearby hills.

‘Where’s she goin’?’ Apple Bloom thought. Setting her basket down, she began to follow the pegasus. Soon, Dawn Wings had reached the summit of the hill, and turned to face the eastern horizon, before sitting in the grass, like she was waiting for something. As she neared the hill, Apple Bloom hid herself behind a tree to watch. After a few minutes, she saw the pegasus spread her wings as the sun began to crest over the horizon, turning them up to present as much of their underside to the morning’s light as possible.

The gesture was followed by the pegasus speaking to the rising sun. As she listened, Apple Bloom was struck by something. Whatever language she was speaking in, it wasn’t the same one she used at the party. The sounds were still harsh and sharp compared to Equish, but they were distinctly different. And, unlike when she spoke casually, her voice, while still grating, was almost melodious and gentle. Apple Bloom’s wonder deepened as Dawn Wings tilted her head back and said another stanza in the same language, now directed at the sky instead of the rising sun, before finally lowering her head and spoke again to the ground. Rising to her hooves and saying one last stanza, the pegasus folder her wings and sighed.

Apple Bloom had no idea what she just witnessed. She’d never seen, let alone heard of, anypony doing anything like that, even in her history or geography classes. It was more than a little unsettling, made even stranger because she couldn’t understand what Dawn Wings had been saying. Yet, something about the whole thing seemed… reverent, as though she were thanking the sun, sky and earth.

Her pondering suddenly came to a stop when the pegasus turned her head slightly and looked where the filly was hiding from the corner of her eye. There was a trace of annoyance in her expression, but it was outweighed by another emotion: wariness.

“App-lécrÿ-stál.” Dawn Wings said, evidently struggling over the word. It was mangled, and she’d pronounced the first part wrong, turning “bloom” to “crystal”, but the filly was certain that the pegasus had tried to say her name.

Sheepishly, she stepped out from behind the tree and walked towards the other pony.

“Ah’m sorry. Ah’ didn’t mean to spy.” Apple Bloom said before looking up at the older mare, “What were ya’ doin?”

The filly found herself under the weight of Dawn Wings intense eyes for a few moments, causing her to back up a little before the older mare simply turned away to face the eastern horizon. As she did, Apple Bloom saw a flicker of something new on the mare’s face: a sort of distant sadness.

There were a few seconds of uncomfortable silence between them as Apple Bloom tried to figure out what to do next. Yet, before she could come up with anything, the pegasus began to speak, this time in her normal, almost painfully grating language. The older mare wasn’t addressing her, but instead simply spoke, like she wanted to say something, even if she knew she wouldn’t be understood. The filly found herself torn between how unpleasant the sound was, and the sadness behind the words. All to soon, she stopped speaking, and returned to simply watching the sunrise.

Apple Bloom was still at a loss. Something was obviously bothering Dawn Wings, but the filly wasn’t really sure how to help. Sucking in a deep breath, Apple Bloom slowly trotted up to the pegasus. As she reached the older mare, she put on the warmest smile she could before extending her hoof and putting it on the pegasus’s foreleg. As Dawn Wings turned her head to look at the filly, Apple Bloom saw her face softened as a slight smile played along her features, though her eyes was still were unyielding as stone.

Lifting her other hoof, the pegasus reached over and gently mussed the filly’s mane, prompting Apple Bloom to squeak indignantly. Apple Bloom heard Dawn Wings chuckle as the filly glared at her. After a moment, the mare’s eyes softened and a slightly warmer smile played across the pegasus’s features. As it did, she rose to her hooves and took a few steps away. Crouching down slightly and spreading her wings, the pegasus suddenly sprang up, launching herself into the sky with a great flap, kicking up a cloud of dust and leaves.

Apple Bloom waved a hoof in front of her face, fanning the grit away as she watched the mare fly north towards Ponyville. The filly’s thoughts churned back and forth: why was Dawn Wings talking to the sunrise? But more importantly, why did she look so sad? When she’d seen her at first, she thought it was like when AJ and Mac talked about their late parents. But now? Now she thought that it might be even deeper than that.

Miss Twilight had said that she was a foreigner, like Zecora, but didn’t really say much past that. Could she be lonely? But if she was lonely, why did she leave just now? Whenever Apple Bloom felt lonely, she always could go see her friends, or her family. Was that it? Was she homesick?

No, this was worse than homesickness somehow.

Slowly rising and using a hoof to fix her mane, the filly began to make her way back to the house. She’d be sure to save Dawn Wings a few extra fritters. Maybe that would make her feel better.

*Ponyville, a few minutes later*

There was something different in the air now. As she had flew over Ponyville, she’d felt a distinct, subtle tension about town. Most of the ponies weren’t acting too different near the outskirts, but as she’d approached the library, that began to change. Many of them were furtively whispering to one another, their body language showing a subtle degree of stress and fear that hadn’t been present the previous day.

‘Seems like word about the tick is spreading.’ She thought as she maintained a relaxed, unconcerned pace, being ever mindful of her need to look like she was unaware of what had happened the previous night. It was a simple enough act to pull off, but she wanted to make sure it was convincing. Despite her apparent nonchalantness, she still took in everything around her, including the few furtive glances in her direction, which were followed up with poorly concealed whispering. Though the looks were far from suspicious or hostile, they were cautious.

‘You know, I really shouldn’t be surprised.’ Dawn Wings thought. A “wolf in sheep’s clothing” had been exposed in their midst, and now, they were wary. And that meant she’d have to be extra careful. Scared animals were dangerous animals, especially the kind with a herd mentality. If she gave them a reason to think she was a tick, or if the ticks decided to gaslight the ponies, they’d probably come after her. While she fairly confident that she could get away if she needed to, running from an angry mob, especially one with other flyers and magick users wasn’t on her list of ‘super-fun happy good time’ activities.

She just needed to play it cool, and make sure that she didn’t give anyone the impression she knew what was going on.

As the unicorn’s tree came into view, Dawn Wings began to descend before alighting near the tree. As she trotted up to the front door and knocked, a familiar chill worked its way up her back as she could feel eyes on her from behind.

Knocking a second time, Dawn Wings trotted away from the front door and casually looked at one of the windows above, as if checking if Vinemana were home. In truth, she was using the glass to get a look behind her. Sure enough, she spotted a pony surreptitiously watching her. Spiritual energy flooded into her eyes as she sought to see if there was Wyrm-taint on the pony.

There wasn’t.

That at least ruled out ticks.

But there was more. Like in the market the previous day, there were several ponies surreptitiously lingering around Vinemana’s tree. But, unlike the one’s that were hanging around the market stalking her teacher, these ponies were not only keeping an eye on the tree, they were scanning the area around it, watching anyone that walked past.

These ponies were not stalking the unicorn.

They were guarding her.

‘Seems like either captain slipknot or the princesses aren’t too keen on the purple one being unprotected. Still, how’d they… oh, right, the lizard’s magick.’ Dawn Wings thought bitterly before turning her attention back to the door. ‘Hmmm, star-butt’s not answering. Well, no point hanging around.”

Just as she was turning to leave, her ears picked up the sound of the front door opening. Glancing back, she spotted Tlectalae peak out.

“Tala co meleca.” He whispered.

‘Well, lizard’s up. It’s a start.’ She thought as she reversed course back towards the tree.

*****

Red.

Everything was red.

Not a warm, pleasant red like a rose or a fuchsia.

It was an angry red; one that was primal, visceral, and coarse.

All around her, she could see nothing but this slick, grotesque crimson hue. It coated everything, dripping from the ceiling, flowing down the walls, and pooling on the floor.

Before her, floating in the crimson effluence, were the bodies of ponies she recognized.

Rainbow Dash, skull pierced.

Rarity, her throat torn out.

Applejack, her legs crushed and broken.

Pinkie Pie, chest split open.

Flutter Shy, her wings ripped off.

Spike, his head and body floating next to one another in the slowly growing sea of red.

Slowly, she waded through the red as she tried to reach her friends. But, as she moved forward, the red began to rise, slowly. She quickened her pace. The red began to fill the room. The red has risen half way up her legs, but she was almost to them.

Just a little further.

The red was up to her barrel now. She wasn’t walking anymore. She was swimming in the red.

She reached Spike first, stretching out a hoof to grasp him.

His eyes snapped open and locked onto her. She recoiled from the sudden movement. It was then she realized that all of the others had also opened their eyes and were glaring into her soul.

Then… they started to laugh.

It wasn’t a jovial laugh. It was a cold, hollow laugh, one devoid of humor, but instead filled with cruel arrogance. As one, her friends lifted themselves out of the red like marionettes being pulled up by their strings. Before she could back away, all six erupted into green flame, which quickly subsided to reveal the sleek black forms of half a dozen changelings.

They began to slowly advance on her, their movements stilted and unnatural.

Just as she was about to scream, she suddenly felt a familiar presence. One that was cool and soothing, like gentle moonlight.

“Be gone!” A majestic voice bellowed from behind her as a wave of silvery light washed across the world, pushing away the flood of red and the changelings, before causing them to vanish into stardust. In an instant, she found herself resting on an endless deep blue cloud, while the sky overhead transformed into a beautiful starscape.

“Princess?” Twilight said as she turned to face the alicorn.

“Be at ease Twilight Sparkle.” Princess Luna gently assured her as she alighted on the cloud next to the unicorn.

Yet, even with the moon princes’s calming presence, Twilight still found herself shaking like a leaf as she fought back the nightmare’s horror, tears slowly rolling down her face.

“Shh, shh, shh.” Luna said as she sat next to the trembling unicorn. “It is okay. You are safe now.”

It took a few moments, but eventually Twilight’s tremors slowed. Slowly, she raised her head and met the princess’s eyes.

“Thank you.” Twilight finally choked out.

“Young Spike informed us of what happened, so our sister asked us to keep an eye on your dreams. It seems that it was a wise choice.” Luna said. “Do you wish to speak of it? We suspect that there is more to it than the young drake conveyed.”

“I’m sorry Princess Luna, but… no. Not yet.” Twilight said, her voice still shaking.

Luna regarded the unicorn for a moment, before nodding her head.

“Very well. Know that we are here if thee need us. We should also inform you that your brother has dispatched a contingent of royal guards to protect you and your home. They should already in place by the time you wake.” Luna said before rising. Twilight rose to her hoves as the lunar princess prepared to leave. “You need not worry Twilight Sparkle. The nightmares will not return once we depart. You will not be troubled again this night. Sweet dreams.”

“Thank you Princess.” Twilight said.

*****

Spike gently stroked Twilight’s mane as she whimpered again in her sleep, causing the little dragon’s brow to knit itself even deeper with worry. It wasn’t until a couple hours before sunrise that she’d finally managed to fall asleep, and Spike had been unwilling to leave her side. As he ran his claws through her mane, her face slowly relaxed, and her slumber became less fitful. As she did, he relaxed and pulled the blankets a little further up on her body before curling up next to her, sending silent thanks to Luna. Stretching his jaws in a large yawn, he drifted off to sleep.

Only to be jarred back awake by a series of loud raps on the front door. Spike turned his head swiftly to make sure Twilight was still asleep. He sighed with relief when he saw she was still slumbering peacefully, then checked the wall clock. Two hours. He’d been asleep for two hours.

Not nearly enough.

A second series of knocks, this one slightly louder than before, thundered through the library, causing Twilight to shift in her sleep and mumble before curling deeper into her blankets.

Groggily hopping off the bed and making his way downstairs, Spike pushed the door open. From the opening, he spotted Dawn Wings turning away as though she were about to leave.

“What is it?” He said tersely. What was she even doing here? It wasn’t even an hour past sunup.

As she spotted him, she stopped and met his eyes with a much friendlier look than the one she’d given the previous day.

“Twelegh Spearkle?” She asked.

Spike stared at her a moment, before pointing upstairs, then tilting his head and placing his cheek on his hands and closing his eyes, imitating the gesture he’d seen Twilight use with the pegasus to indicate sleep.

Dawn Wings’ mouth tightened before she irritably blew a sigh out through her nostrils and crossed her forelegs across her chest. Spike watched her lower her head and close her eyes, as though deep in thought. She sat there for a moment, not moving, before she stood and pushed past the young drake into the library.

“Hey!” Spike barked as the mare made her way to the central table.

Slowly, Dawn Wings turned back to the young drake, her eyes softening and her posture becoming far less rigid. Glancing back to the table for a second, she lifted a hoof and gestured for Spike to come over.

Cocking an eye, Spike waddled over to the mare.

As soon as he reached her, Dawn Wings tapped her hoof against the floorboards in a pattern of short, rapid bursts: three-four, six-two, four-four.

“What?” Spike said as he raised an eyebrow.

Dawn Wings narrowed her eyes at him and tightened her mouth before repeating the tapping: three-four, six-two, four-four.

‘What’s she doing?’ He thought.

Spike’s eyes widened and he darted towards the study. He knew what she was doing. It was the code. In the letter that had come from Princess Celestia regarding the arrangement between Twilight and Dawn Wings, there was a separate one for Spike. One that he’d been instructed not to share with Twilight. At first, he’d been excited, but it quickly turned to trepidation when he’d read the contents. It was a set of instructions that detailed a set of tap code patterns between Dawn Wings and himself.

Celesita had known that the language barrier between their foreign visitor and the rest of Equestria would have made it nearly impossible for Dawn Wings to communicate her need to pass on information, so she had set up a cipher with the Corax ahead of time, and shared it only with Dawn Wings and Spike. The code was set up to contain three pieces of information: the first pair of numbers was the urgency, the second was the type of information, and the third was the subject.

Pulling open a hidden drawer in one of the filing cabinets and rummaging through the papers, Spike found the cipher. Wracking his brain, he recalled the pattern Dawn Wings had used, and, eyes flickering over the paper, ran the translation.

Three-four: important

Six-two: threat assessment

Four-four: changelings

Spike’s eyes widened. As he re-read the cypher, to be sure he’d interpreted it right, felt a sudden presence behind him. Turning lowly, he saw Dawn Wing’s silhouette in the door. The pegasus regarded him curiously, before loudly clearing her throat.

“Oh, yea, right!” He yelped as he turned and led her towards one of the desks. Dawn Wings regarded it, and the stack of blank pages and writing quills on its surface. Looking down at the little dragon, she lifted her hoof and made a shooing gesture.

“Um…” Spike stuttered, unsure how to respond.

Rolling her eyes, Dawn Wing’s pointed her hoof towards the door and raised her eyebrows before subtly nodding her head in its direction.

“Oh.” Spike softly muttered, finally catching her meaning. Turning, he made his way out of the room. Before he exited, he turned back to Dawn Wings, who simply looked at him over her shoulder and nodded. Giving her one final look, Spike closed the door and walked to the living room, his head spinning as he tried to figure out exactly what their unusual guest was up to.

Author's Note

Well, looks like Dawn is starting to warm up to a few of the Equestrians. I can see her and Apple Bloom getting along pretty well, to be honest, mostly because Dawn's raised several chicks over the years, so she's got a bit of that maternal instinct going.