Heat

NOTE! I started this before the season 2 finale, so I had to modify it a little to make it not look so much like a rip-off. Hope you like!

-

Big Macintosh bucked the tree, making a loud thud followed by the falling of glimmering red apples. They landed in many large wooden baskets that were slightly misshapen, and Big Macintosh dumped the apples into a giant wooden cart with other apples stacking high. He hitched the cart to his yoke, and pulled the load with ease.

"Big mac? How'd ya pull all that?"

Applebloom was bouncing happily beside her masculine brother, trying to keep a quick pace with her day companion. His only reply was a quick smile in her direction, and she groaned.

"I know, daily buckin' makes the legs grow strong."

Applebloom set down the wooden buckets at the base of another tree, whose leaves hid bunches of clustered apples. He unhinged the cart from his yoke and bucked, and another wave of ripe apples fell like rain. Applebloom helped him pour the buckets into the cart. His red coat started to darken from sweat from the heat of the rising sun. Applebloom gave him a concerned look.

"Big mac? I'm gonna go get a bucket of WATER fer you. Stop and sit at this next tree." He did as she asked, and she bounced away, humming her crusader tune. He shifted his eyes, and slowly got up and set up the buckets around the tree.

+-*-+-*-+-*-+-*-++-*-++-*+

A large creature rounded a misshapen dead tree, giggling. The tree's crooked composure cracked into a straight line, and a few fresh leaves sprung out of the branches like fireworks. She smiled her constantly changing grin and twirled around another tree. She stopped running and looked at herself in a large stagnant puddle. She had a single curving horn, and no back legs. What replaced them were liquid color waves that echoed through the colors of her body.

One pony had seen her once, and had described her as resembling a constant color changing tye dye pony. Of course no pony believed him, and she scolded herself for letting a pony see her. She bounced around what seemed to be an apple orchard. She collapsed suddenly. "Ugh. Phantasmagoria, get a hold of yourself." She had not eaten in weeks, and she didn't like to eat. What she fed off of was positive feelings. Unfortunately, she hated blanketing her victims in an illusion that made them see one of their happiest dreams, making their happiness and positive feelings increase. Afterwards, things around the area would grow. The victims would not be hurt. But she felt as if she was violating them.

As the case was, she was a half mutt. Half Windigo, half Changling. She could not become the foal or mare that ponies loved, thus decreeing her not a changling. But, she fed off of love and other positive feelings, becoming a rejection for the Windigo kind. However, she had the power of an entire illusion, unlike the others of either kind. She possessed both the magic of a changling and the power of a windigo. There were others of her, she knew, but she didn’t really care.

She found a handsome red stallion bucking a tree. She had to eat. She had to, or face starvation. She ran at the stallion, threading out the illusion. He turned towards her, surprise written on his face. The illusion had filled his mind and he was already intoxicated with her webs. His illusion was that he was with a purple unicorn Stargazing, dancing, talking, singing, hugging, nuzzling, smiling- oh, she was gonna get a feast off of this stallion. He finally settled on an illusion of them dancing alone, a strange yet impossible to truly behold song playing in the background. There was darkness all around them, except for one beam of light that focused on the two of them.

She let him dance one slow dance with her before swallowing her illusion. He was asleep on the ground. She smiled, and wondered who the unicorn was. She focused her power on the ability of masking herself. Invisibility was nice. Windidgo’s possessed this ability, and she wasn’t exactly very good at it. She heard a filly yelling something.

"Macintosh!"

She retreated to find the purple unicorn as thick grass grew under the stallion.

*-+-**-+-*-+-*-++--+*--+

"Big mac! Get up! MAC!"

He awoke with a start. Applejack was looking down at her brother, sweat dripping down from her face, and her hat tilted almost off her head. Applebloom dumped a barrel of water on his head. He shook out his mane and stared confused at his sister. Applejack sighed with relief, letting the hat fall off her head. Big Mac soon realized it was noon, when he last remembered the sun rising.

"Oh. Heth awakth?" Applebloom spat the handle of the barrel out of her mouth and wiped her head. Applejack gave her brother a concerned look. "Big Mac, you've been unconscious for hours! Applebloom came back to find you like this. We've been tryin' to wake you up!" He shook out his mane again. "Ah gottah make uhp fer lost time." He started to get up when Applejack stepped on his tail, putting his flank firmly onto the ground.

"No. You are gonna stay here. I'm gonna go get Twilight. What happened to you anyway?"

He put a hoof to his chin.

"I saw a creature come at me. It was-"

Applejack pointed a hoof to his face.

"If you're tellin' me that chupacaybra thang is back again, ahm not goin back on a hunt."

He shook his head. "It came, then-" He jolted to a silence. "I woke up with you yellin' at me." Applejack shrugged. "I gotta go visit Twi. Applebloom, if he moves, yell real loud."

Big Mac sweated.

*-+-*-+-*-+-*-+-*+-*-+-*-+-*

Phantasm found the unicorn, nose in book.

She was oblivious to anything around her, except for the small purple slave dragon that assisted her. Phantasm would have found her sooner, if she wasn't tempted by all the positive feelings that roamed through town, especially from that pink earth pony.

"Twilight! I found the book on herbal magic!"

"Great Spike!" A knock on the door interrupted whatever she was about to say. "Can you get that?"

The dragon was already heading toward the door. Phantasm unraveled her blanket of illusion and pounced on the unicorn.

*-+-*-+-*-++**

"Spike, is Twilight in there?  Big mac had a bad patch, and ah was wondrin' if she had a spell to slap on him."

"Sure Applejack. Step inside." He turned around. "Twilight,  Applejacks here to- Twilight!" She was face down on her novel, with one stack tilted over, scattering books everywhere. They both ran inside concerned for their friend. They moved the stack of books aside and turned Twilight's face up.

"Oh nelly, not again!  This just happened with Big Mac!"

"What! Is it the heat?"

Applejack shrugged. "Ah gottah get a bucket."

*-+-*-+-*-+-*-+-*

The unicorn's fantasy was similar to the stallion's, and she even danced alone as well. Phantasm started to feel the strings of her illusion being pulled and twisted. Somepony was trying to wake her up. Phantasm smiled. It would take more than cold water to wake her from an illusion this strong. She sent out thicker strings of longing, stiffer wire of desire.

Meanwhile, outside of her mind, Applejack cursed. "That's it. Twilight, wake UP!"

Applejack swiftly smacked Twilight in the face. Phantasm swallowed her illusion quickly as she was torn from Twilights mind.

"Huh-wha-?" Twilight put a hoof to her swelling face and tears of pain started to line her eyes. "Applejack, what just-?" Spike dunked Twilights head in cold water. "Wha-?" Spike put his hands to his face. "You're awake!" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yes, with a very hurt cheek. Applejack, why did you-"

"You fell unconscious and big Macintosh did earlier too. I think it’s the heat." Spike held his nose with one hand while he held out an old book. "Or this book! It has real life herbal leaves in here! They're like, over a hundred years old!"

Both Applejack and Twilight scrunched their noses in disgust. "Spike, put that on the banister to air out. I think I need to join Fluttershy and Rarity at the spa." An imaginary light bulb blinked on over Applejacks head. "The spa! Of course! I'll be back in a bit. I gotta get Big Mac."

Twilight's hair seemed to frizz up.  "M-m-macintosh? Why?" Applejack smiled as she slipped out the door. "It'll be good fer Big Mac too." Spike started yelling. "Twilight! The plants are GROWING!" Twilight ran upstairs, and sure enough, the book was pouring with plant life as Spike held onto it like it was a slippery fish. "Spike, put it on the banister! Quick!" He tossed it onto the banister and it wriggled as roots shot out of it. Twilight stared in fascination. "We gotta get that book to the princess. For now, lets both go to the spa." Spike squealed in excitement. "Both of us? Yes! Now I can smell herbs instead of brimstone!" Twilight laughed as they stepped outside, and neither of them seemed to notice that it had gotten hotter.

*-+-*-+-*-+-*-+-*-+-*

"Move yer legs!"

Applejack dragged Big Mac out of the farm gates, and he sighed. "Ahm not goin to th' spa." Applejack pulled at her brother, all but determination keeping her going. "Yes, You are. Twilight went. And she didn't really make much of a fuss!" Big Mac's mane frizzed. "Twilight's there-?" He fell unconscious. Applejack cursed. "I need backup." Conveniently, she saw a familiar rainbow streak through the sky. "Rainbow Dash!" The blue pegasus swerved through the sky and landed by the farm pony. "Whazzup?" Applejack waved a hoof towards her brother. "Can y' help me carry him to the spa? Its way too hot out, and I think a dump in a cold bath'll do th' trick." Rainbow grinned, and grabbed the head of the stallion.

"He's your brother- you grab his butt!" Applejack gave out a hearty laugh as she lifted her brother's flank by putting his back legs balanced on her back.

Halfway to the spa, Rainbow dash was complaining.

"Your brother is waaaaaay too heavy."

"Well it's waaaaaay too hot."

Rainbow dash smiled. "I'm not gonna get all primed up like Rarity, but I think I'll go to the spa too. It might be a nice change." Applejack grunted. "Ah think we all should have a spa day together, least fer th' cool water. "

They eventually made it to the spa, and all their friends greeted them. Rarity was in the warm bath to clean herself before she dunked into the cold pool. All of them forced Twilight to get into the pool as the spa sisters' squealed in delight. New customers were always welcome.

Applejack ran into the spa and threw Big Mac into the pool. Literally. He woke up with a start, and was even more surprised to find Twilight at the other end of the pool. "Hi B-big Macintosh." She was blushing furiously, and big Macintosh was too. Spike saved them both by throwing a towel over big Mac's head and his own.

"Hurry Twilight! Get out of the pool while we can't see!"

Twilight laughed and moved with her friends to the specific mare’s only cool pool. Big Macintosh and Spike moved to the stallion's area.

"Some heat huh? I would expect Twilight to fall into a dizzy spell, but I wasn't expecting a stallion like you to go under the heat."

"What?"

"Didn't you hear? Twilight fell unconscious and it took Applejack hoofing her in the face to wake her up. I'm really worried. I think she's studying too hard."

Big Mac looked towards the woman's area, concerned. Just then, Twilight glanced over and both of them looked the opposite direction, both blushing. "Ahm real worried bout big Mac. He usually don't buckle under th' heat. Ah gottah wonder if he's comin down with something."

"What?"

"Oh yeah. You was unconscious. Big Mac fell under th' heat too. Maybe I should bring Applebloom over. I don't want her gettin' overheated."

Twilight was about to state her concerns about big Mac and whether she should find that old "chilled will" spell but was interrupted by "Cutie Mark Crusader swimmers!" A giant splash sloshed the water around as the three fillies laughed. "Heya there pipsqueak. This isn't a swimming pool, it's a bathing pool." Scootaloo giggled nervously. "Oh. I knew that." Sweetie belle piped in. "It's really hot out today, isn't it?" Rarity gagged in disgust. "More like humid. You step out of the pool right into a shower of heat."

Phantasm slipped into the spa without being noticed, and laid down around the area just outside of the pool. She listened to the ponies talk and was surprised when she saw that pink earth pony suddenly appear from under the water. Her friends seemed to be virtually unfazed by her behavior, so Phantasm basked in their humorous conversation like a cat basks in sunlight.

She eventually decided to dip one of her hooves in the pool, and found that she was making ripples of color through the water. She pulled her hoof out hastily, and found that all the ponies had grown silent watching the colors spread through the water before dissipating. She slipped to the stallions' pool, and found that they weren't doing much at all either. She started poking things with the tips of her hooves, only to find that her colors stuck to everything.

"What is with these ponies?" She asked herself in irritation.

She slipped out of the spa, and decided to head back to the acres.

"Applejack, did ya see that?"

Applebloom was staring at the doorway of the spa, trying to figure out what she saw. "What, Applebloom? I didn't see nothin'." Applebloom squinted in suspicion. "Ah guess it was jus' me." She thought she saw something colorful swim through air out of the spa, but maybe it was a dainty fancy pony. Either way, they all enjoyed the cold bath, and decided to later have dinner together. Pinkie pie took the offer as a party suggestion, so they ended up meeting at Sugarcube corner that night.

Twilight, however, had a melody stuck in her head. She tried to sing the tune, but it was different every time. It was the same song from her strange dream. Big Mac had the same problem, so they both settled with humming. Twilight met up with the girls and big Macintosh at the Sugarcube corner and was pleasantly surprised by a variety of sweet and hearty foods. As the girls dispersed into their own groups, and the cutie Mark Crusader's eating contest about to begin, Twilight decided to slip over to the food bar. Big Macintosh was there as well, trying to find something for him to chew on. They both avoided each other awkwardly, and Twilight started humming again.

Big Macintosh did too, and they turned toward each other in surprise as they hummed the same tune.

'Did you have the same dream too?'

Neither of them asked this question, but it hung onto their tongues stubbornly. Phantasm once again slipped into the party unnoticed, but only stayed to snatch a couple foods. The urge for nutrients poked at her. She sat just under the window she escaped out of, and tilted her head down to absorb a cupcake she snatched. She dipped her head and a portion if the cupcake was gone.

She winced. Sugar was a strange flavor, and she did not enjoy it. She would respect sugar, but never again actually eat it. Phantasm decided to go back to the acres, her new temporary home.

At the party, big Macintosh and Twilight were pleasantly making good company.

"I can't believe it! You've also read the 'cloven chronicles'?"

Big Macintosh nodded. "I particularly liked book two of chapter nine-"

"Where Silver Streak saves Moondancer and confesses his love?" Big Mac nodded, and Twilight put a hoof to her face. "Oooh, I cried at that part!" Big Mac smiled. "I cried when Lightning Locks died." Twilight grinned at him. "Yeah, Spike walked in on me reading it and thought I was depressed or something."

"Well, I hate to cut this conversation short, but I believe Applebloom has had her share of fun for the night." They both turned to see Applebloom face down in a cupcake. "Yes, I think Spike has eaten too many sweets tonight." Spike was asleep in a not yet empty punch bowl again. "Spike!" He woke up in a panic and fell down, spilling punch everywhere. Twilight was walking alongside Macintosh and didn't notice the spill. "So, Big Mac, when do you think the brae burns are in? Because I would love to- “She slipped in the punch midsentence, and fell straight on her back, looking up at Big Mac.

"Oh my." Big Mac was looking down at Twilight, eyes widened. "Miss Twilight, are y'all right?" She sighed. "Yes, but I'll have to take a bath." Big Mac helped her up, and Spike apologized for the mess. Pinkie Pie waved goodbye to her friends as they slowly made their way home.

*-+-**-++-*-+-**++

Twilight got out of her bath and mane washings and grabbed a large spongy towel. She was about to rub her mane dry when there was a heafty knock on her door. "Who could it be at this hour?" She considered drying her mane first, but that would make it a mess of fine hairs flexing and twine. As her mane was now, it glistened and curled around her face, and dripped mercilessly. She sighed and flung open the door.

It was Big Mac. He was holding a basket in his mouth. "Big Mac! What are you doing out so late?" He looked at his hooves sheepishly. The light of the candles lit all over Twilight's house made her hair sparkle as it curled around her face and neck beautifully. Her neck looked particularly slim and her face slightly longer, but most of all, her eyes looked like crystals, reflecting light and shining like the stars.

"Uhm. Apples." Twilight looked at Big Macintosh for a moment. "For...me?" He nodded. She floated the basket from his mouth and set it on a stack of books. "Oh! Excuse my manners. Would you like to come in?" He shook his head. "Uh, Appleboom." Twilight nodded. "Well, thank you for the apples." He started walking away. "Eeyup."

She watched as he trotted away, until she could see him no longer.

*-+-*-+-*-+-*-+-*

Phantasmagoria fell asleep in the largest tree in sweet apple acres, a giant tree that was even too tough for Big Mac to buck. Applebloom was wandering about the apple trees, when she came upon the proud tree. "Wow. Ah always forget how big this tree is." She walked around the tree, staring up at its giant leaves and unreachable apples when something colorful caught her eye.

It was that thing she saw at the spa. "Applejack! Applejack! APPLEJACK!" The orange pony galloped as fast as her hooves could carry her to her younger sister. "Applebloom, what's the matter? Why all th' ruckus?" Applebloom pointed at one of the higher branches, where phantasmagoria promptly woke up. "There! Doncha see it?"

Phantasm cloaked herself with invisibility. "What, Applebloom? I don't see a thing!" Applebloom squinted. She could still see her, plain as the freckles on Applejack's face. "Right there!" Phantasm cocked her head. The filly could still see her. "Applebloom, I'm gon' go get you a glass of water. Or a bucket. Go sit at the base of the tree." Applebloom did as her elder sister commanded.

Phantasm hopped down from the tree, making Applebloom squeal in nervousness. She danced around the filly for a moment, and when Applebloom’s eyes followed her movements she danced and pranced downhill, away from the filly. Applebloom’s face turned pale, and she promptly tilted over in a faint.

*-+-*-+-*-+-*-+-*

“So you saw a rainbow thingie in a tree?” skeptically asked Scootaloo. “Yeah! It bounced-” she tilted up with her hoof in the air “-and landed, and ran away! Applejack couldn’t see it at all!” Sweetie Belle tapped a hoof to her face. “Maybe, we can scout through Sweet Apple Acres like and find it! Like spies!” Scootaloo’s ears perked up. “Cutie Mark Crusaders Spies!” They all clapped hooves. “Yeah!”

They started through the park, Sweetie Belle wearing Rarity’s camouflage helmet, Scootaloo coated in a layer of mud, and Applebloom nearly hidden with clumped leaves and sap. “Now nopony will be able to see us!” Phantasmagoria could see them very plainly, and followed behind them in the overhanging trees, curious. “I wonder if it can talk!”

“Or what its special talent is!”

“Or if it has a favorite food!”

She nearly giggled at their enthusiasm to meet her, and the need to eat their positive feelings was building up and she had to repress her urges. She stopped for a moment to regain her sanity when she heard two loud snorts. “What’s with that, trying to hide from all the other ponies?” Scootaloo snarled at them. “Back off, snobs!” They howled in laughter. “Blank flanks!” Applebloom took a nervous glance at her flank, which lay unmarked by her undiscovered talent.

“Blank flanks!” The noise was like bladed words, cutting through their tightly knit security. “Blank flanks!” Sweetie Belle sat her rump on the ground as her eyes started to moisten. “Blank, Blank, Blank, Blank Flanks!”  They laughed, mockingly, and Phantasm glared at them. She dove from the trees and stood in front of the crusaders, defending them. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara gasped in fear. Phantasm reared and whinnied at them, and they shrieked and galloped away.

She turned around and glanced at the CMC, who were awestruck. She ran and ran, until she was at a high enough speed to run up one of the trees before bouncing away. “That was the rainbow thingie, right?”

“Well, she did scare off the snobs.”

“Well, maybe she’s royalty. ‘Cause she saved us.”

Applebloom clambered onto a tree stub. “Then we’ll call her Rainbow Princess!” The other fillies cheered in approval. “I wonder why we can all see her too…” thought Applebloom anxiously. “Maybe it’s like Santa Klops,” Suggested Sweetie Belle. “After all, Rarity never stops and sits on his lap and asks what she wants for Hearth’s Warming.” They considered this. “Then why doesn’t she come out and say anythin’?” Scootaloo’s ears perked up again. “Maybe, she doesn’t want ponies to know! Maybe she’s like Santa and doesn’t want to be seen!”

“Then what do we do to get her in public?”

*-+-*-+-*-+-*-+-*

Phantasmagoria sighed. She would probably have to move to another town, now that nearly five fillies had seen her. And why hadn’t the little yellow one been susceptible to her invisibility? She would rather not know, but just move on to the next town. She ran up the largest tree that was in the orchard, and sat on one of the higher branches. The sun was at its highest, and a gentle wind carrying the smells of fresh grass and rainwater wafted into her face. A few birds chirped and whistled merrily as they flew by her face, their brightly colored feathers whipping past her ears. A few butterflies lazily flapped their wings onto a large apple blossom, and their neon colors dazzled her eyes. This place was so peaceful…No! She thought to herself angrily. You are not staying here! Her thoughts were interrupted by an old shaky voice.

“Huh-? Who’s up mah tree?”

She peered down to see an old granny pony staring up at her. What is it with these ponies? She thought in exasperation. After all, she really couldn’t speak pony. “Ah, Whatever. I’m too tired for this.” Granny Smith mumbled as she creaked away, and Phantasm watched in disbelief. “There she is! Ah see her over there, on the biggest tree!” She whipped her head around in time to see the CMC running up the hill to see her. Sweetie Belle carried a basket on her back.

She considered climbing up higher on the tree, but instead just sat there, watching. “Um, hello?” She turned her head slightly downward to gaze down at them. Sweetie Belle stepped up. “Hello Rainbow Princess!” Phantasm wanted to laugh at that name, but she knew only strange sounds would echo from her throat.

“I am Sweetie Belle! This is Applebloom and Scootaloo! We come in peace!” She dropped the basket. They giggled and ran away. “Do you think she’ll open it?” asked Applebloom excitedly. Sweetie giggled. “Of course! Who could resist an unopened basket?” Scootaloo glanced at her. “Well, not you.” They all giggled, then hopped behind a bush to watch Phantasmagoria. She looked down at the basket. Did she want to open it? Not really. It probably had something in it that would lead her to be put in an awkward situation.

“Why isn’t she opening it?”

Applebloom huffed. “Maybe she knows we’re here.” Scootaloo waved a hoof. “No way!” Phantasmagoria slipped away as they argued. “I mean, this bush is- Hey! Where’d she go?” They ran up to the tree where Phantasmagoria no longer stood, and the basket lay untouched.

*-+-*-+-*-+-*-+-*

“Twilight, are you sure this chilled-will spell will really work?” Spike asked in worry. “I mean, the book says if the spell doesn’t work, the only way to undo it would be to ‘call upon a mighty being’.  Do we know any mighty beings?” Twilight was moving aside the tables and shelves to make more room for the middle of the library. “Princess Celestia, for one, and for two, we won’t need to call her for this! It’s an easy spell, I just need to stay concentrated.”

She sat down in the middle of the room and closed her eyes. Magic started curling around her neck, emanating from her horn. The magic traveled down her neck all the way down to her hooves, and it was a soft blue in color while it caressed Twilight stiff muscles. It would have been easy to just have given in to the cooling magic, but she stayed concentrated. The magic started curling around her mane, making it float as if she was underwater. She opened her eyes, and a paper thin blue circle of light was around her iris, and she looked at herself. She was tinted blue by the magic. She closed her eyes. “Just a little more…” The chime of someone entering the library went off and she opened her eyes in surprise as Big Mac stepped in carrying a basket of large apples. “Big Mac-!”

Her concentration broke.

The blue magic instantly flared up a brilliant red and she shrieked as the gentle cold caress turned into a burning blade. Her eyes were now tinted ruby, and she shook as her veins pulsed with white-hot pain. The wooden boards around her were flexing and the smell of smoke started to fill the room. Twilight fell over as the scorching searing pain started traveling up her face. Her lungs started to blaze and her throat felt as if she was breathing in fire.

Spike nearly screamed. “Twilight! The Princess, parchment, parchment…”

Twilight started breathing very erratically, until she was breathing like hiccups. Big Mac dropped the basket and ran over to help her, but the moment his hoof touched her it burned like he had dipped his hoof into a fire. He pulled back, not sure what to do. She hiccupped and a pot of flowers turned into a candle stick. She gasped, although it hurt, “M-Magic H-Hiccups!”

Spike grinned. “The Parchment!” He reached for it…

“Hiccup!”

…to grab an oven mitt.

“Wh-WHAT?!?” Spike stared at the oven mitt like it was a curse from Celestia herself. “Noooo! No! No, no, no, no! I need to contact the Princess!” She hiccupped again, and a statue of a horse head turned into a lamp shade. Spike ran around frantically to find more parchment as Twilight lay writhing on the floor.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Phantasmagoria jolted to a standstill.

Somepony needed her. She started hopping from rooftop to rooftop, until she reached the Library where she found the violet unicorn. She stepped inside to wince. There was negative feelings swarming the place like flies. She turned to see Twilight on the floor. Brilliant. Spike was ranting. “Powerful being- are there are any powerful beings in town? Like right now?” Phantasmagoria thought about that. Could she be considered a powerful being? In her race, she supposed not, but in pony standards, she might be considered powerful. But what should she do to help the violet unicorn? She glanced at the writhing for of Twilight on the ground. Well, she had never touched a pony before. Would that be enough? She supposed not, but it never hurt to try.

She reached out and poked Twilight.

A burst of color shattered the clutch of burning heat that had possessed Twilight, and rainbow ripples traveled down her foreleg. Twilight gasped as the colors healed her burns, and even Phantasm was surprised by her handiwork. “It’s a miracle!” Spike yelled. Twilight glanced down at her foreleg, where it was still tinted with color. “Huh… I guess somepony big out there likes me.” Phantasm did an inner chuckle. ‘You have a massive stallion in front of you dear, I believe you used the wrong term’. Big is an understatement for his size. Phantasm smiled as Twilight and Big Mac talked to each other, a little awkwardly.

Then, the door to the library was slammed open.

“There she is!” the CMC pointed to the multicolored creature. “Where what is? And why did you break my door down?!?” Twilight huffed at them. It was obvious that she wasn’t in the mood for talking to foals after an almost life threatening experience. “There! Right there! Can’t you see her?” Applebloom pointed to a bookcase behind Twilight. Twilight shook her head. “Are you all having a mass hallucination? It is really hot outside.” They all frantically shook their heads. “No! Look!” Phantasm took a small step back, glancing at a nearby window. Scootaloo saw what she was about to do. “Don’t you dare-!”

Phantasm leapt through the window, leaving a small multicolored trail behind her. “Oh no you don’t!” Scootaloo leapt though the same window and landed on Phantasm, who reared and sent the Filly rolling down a hill. “Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle was halfway through the window, and Applebloom ran galloped through the door. Twilight shook her head. “Well, thanks for helping Big Mac.”

He cocked his head. “Help? I just stood there.” She smiled sheepishly, her ears tilting down. “Well, just you being here was… nice.” Mac smiled a toothy smile and handed her the basket of Apples. “But you gave me some just a couple days ago…?” He smiled and nodded, trotting out. She stared at the stallion leaving, and nearly fainted.

Meanwhile, the cutiemark crusaders were trying to find Scootaloo.

“Scootaloo? Where are you?”  Sweetie Belle chimed through the rolling fields. “Scootaloo? Hello?” Applebloom stuck her head in a rabbit den, only to have her face shoved out. “Sheesh… Wait, there she is!” Scootaloo was upside down against a tree, her eyes rolling out of dizziness. They helped her up tenderly, asking about her current condition. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Geez Rainbow Princess packs a punch!” They nodded, and Applebloom glanced at Scoot’s back. “Scoot, your back is a rainbow!”

She glanced at her back, to see ripples of color.

“What the Buck?” Scootaloo swore. A quick ear pull shut her mouth, and she turned to see Applejack looming above her, a disappointed look on her face. “Applejack!” Scootaloo squeaked nervously. “Good gravy, who done taught you to swear like that?” Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head. “Uhh…” Rainbow Dash landed beside them, and glanced at Scootaloo’s back. “Holy mother of Buck! What did that?” Rd pointed towards her back. AJ glared at her, and peered at her back.

“I honestly got no clue. You know?” AJ asked, looking at Applebloom and Sweetiebelle. “Yeah!” Applebloom piped up. “A big Rainbow Princess!” AJ looked down at her sister, then sighed. “Alright then, that seems plausible. C’mere Rainbow.” The farmpony started dragging RD away, a displeased look on her face. “Hey-hey-hey! What did I do?”  AJ glared at her again. “Fer teachin’ that there filly t’ swear like that!”

Rd was dragged away and the CMC found themselves trying to figure out what the rainbow on Scootaloo’s back was going to do to her. “Is it gon’ make you all rainbow?” Sweetie Belle scrunched up her nose. “I don’t think so…” Just as they were beginning to study on the rainbow, it rippled and disappeared. “Aaw…” Scootaloo whined. “When I was hoping to look like Rainbow Dash!” The CMC giggled, and decided to try to find the pony again.

Their search would be in vain though, as Phantasm was laying quietly on the roof of the library. She hopped down tenderly and sniffed at the book that had grown roots on the banister. She shrugged it off and hopped off of the building and bounded away to the Apple Family Farm.