The Twilight Province

Gradient stared down at the cracks in the road, trying to make out shapes from the various imperfections in the dirt. It was a practice to keep her mind occupied on anything other than the world around her. Although it could be granted that there were most likely better ways to distract oneself. However, try as she might to distract herself any other way, Gradient Swirl found that this method usually worked best. Usually.

Unfortunately, it appeared that her usual distraction was not going to keep out the thoughts that swam in her head, much to her disliking. Not only were hay rations divided again, but Fizzy Cherry was in the hospital on account of accidentally bumping into a twilight guard, despite them not having shown their stupid faces in Craterhold for nearly three months. In Gradient's opinion, it couldn't even be considered a hospital. It was more akin to a tarp held up by two flimsy wooden rods. There were no beds of course. Any and all luxury was either torn apart or stolen and melted down into weapons years ago. This meant that Fizzy Cherry would probably be given some bandages, a day's time to relax in the 'hospital', and then sent on her way. Unbelievable, treating a broken leg and jaw like it was some boo-boo, as if Fizzy's attack by the twilight guard was just some roughhousing! Unbelievable.

This distraction wasn't really working for her.

Today wasn't really working for her.

Fortunately, Gradient's frustration snapped her back into reality, which gave her just enough time to stop her idle trotting.

From in between two ramshackle huts, a rather large, quite thorny tentacle wormed it's way out onto the street. Another everfree branch. She wasn't startled by the appearance of the branch as it continued its journey to who knows where. everfree branches were fairly common, especially on the southern side of Craterhold. What startled her was its size. An everfree branch of this size usually meant an incursion was imminent. And as much as Gradient would have loved to sit and watch the Twilight Guard get ripped to bits for hours on end, this particular incursion just happened to be a couple blocks down from her own neighborhood. Great, yet another problem to add on to today.

Not bothering to waste any time getting home, Gradient quickly opened her wings to their full span. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, rocketing herself upward and raising up a cloud of dust below her. As Gradient reached the peak of her ascent, she looked down at the branch. As she expected, the branch began to respond to her rapid movement, thrashing itself like a whip in an attempt to reach her. Reflexively, she tucked her legs into her chest. There was one thing she learned from watching previous incursions, and it was one of the few things that every single denizen of Craterhold knew. Never, under any circumstances, touch an everfree branch. Ever.

The branch's thrashing increased in ferocity until it curled high above Gradient, the tip of the branch making a resounding snap somewhere above her. This was her chance. Taking the opportunity, She swiftly zipped past the thick lower section of the branch. It undoubtedly took notice of this, as it's wide, thorny base began to slowly turn towards Gradient. The massive tentacle began to lean on one of the houses. She could hear the creaking of wood as it swiftly plummeted down in an attempt to catch her. As the tentacle closed in, Gradient darted swiftly to the right. She could feel the faint sensation of a thorn running itself through the end of her tail as the branch crashed onto the ground with a deafening thud!

Gradient slowed herself, coming to a safe stop on the side of the wide dirt road that was now torn apart by the piercing thorns of the everfree branch. slowly, the tentacle slithered back in between the two houses, one of them now nothing more than ruins. Gradient sat still for a moment, allowing the adrenaline rushing through her veins to dissipate. She took slow, even breaths which hitched at a sound behind her. Turning around, she saw an earth pony slumped over on the side of a hut. His hair and tail were both a disheveled mess. The stallion slowly clapped his hooves, The slowness of his clapping more a result of whatever was in the bottle that sat next to him rather than malice or sarcasm.

"Nice flyin'... lady," he said sluggishly

"Oh. Thanks, uh, I guess,"

"Do... a flip!" The stallion slurred.

"I dunno. I've kinda got somewhere to be," she muttered abashedly. She began to turn away from the dull green and brown blob.

"Aww, c'mon," the earth pony slowly slid down the side of the hut in an attempt to lean closer to Gradient. "Pre-Urp-etty please?" The stallion, now nearly lying on the ground, looked up at her with the biggest pleading smile his drunken face could manage.

Gradient chuckled lightly. "Alright, fine. But you owe me a drink if I get grabbed by a branch."

She could faintly hear the pony snickering behind her as she walked onto the open dirt path. Carefully, she skipped over the depression that the everfree branch had made, allowing herself to stand in the center of the road. She opened her wings and slowly flapped them. She steadily ascended from the dirt road, kicking up puffs of dust as she gained height. Her wings flapped faster and faster, allowing her to fly higher at an increased pace. Continuing her ascent, she looked down at the earth pony on the side of the road who, despite his current condition, was staring at her with complete, undivided attention.

Looking back up, she could see the entire town from her position. She could see the distant shadow of Canterlot far off in the mountains. The metropolis, like everywhere else under Queen Twilight's rule, was held in a constant sunset. Everything was covered in a blanket of smooth reds and oranges that smothered the dull browns and greens of the buildings. Nowadays, almost nowhere was safe from the gaze of the unmoving sun. Anywhere that had managed to break free from the red haze of her majesty's never ending dusk seemed to have ulterior motives of their own, the Everfree Forest especially.

Aside from the colors, Gradient could see buildings in varying stages of disrepair. Nopony ever bothered to fix their homes now. All too often, an incursion, a civil disagreement, or worst of all, the Twilight Guard would make it their responsibility to ensure that no one in Craterhold lived with anything more than scraps. It was startling to see just how much they had succeeded in doing so.

Gradient sighed. Taking in the whole town, it was so easy to see everything wrong with Craterhold. All the problems it had, every battle it weathered, every villain it encountered, all of it was plain to see. However, as bad as this town might be, as bad as the situation might seem, she prided herself on knowing that there were always little bits of good in the world. Although at times, it felt like she was the only one who believed so.

Gradient began descending back towards the road. She tucked her wings into her sides and held out her front hooves, trying to gain as much acceleration as possible. Approaching the ground quite rapidly, she let her front hooves go slack as she opened her wings wide. She could faintly feel the ground scrape the tips of her hooves as she twisted back up into the sky. Taking with her a small trail of dust, she spun circles in the sky. Try as she might to make the trail of dust follow her into the sky, she could only manage to conjure up a cloud that was unlikely to be any taller than an average pony. Still, she continued spinning in the sky to get rid of her built up momentum. Fizzy Cherry might've been able to help her with that trick if she wasn't...

After another moment of drawing wide circles in the sky, Gradient skidded across the sidewalk. She stopped a few feet away from the drunken stallion with an overly ostentatious bow. The bister pony was lying on the floor, his ecstatic face partially sunk into the curly, honeydew pillow that was his hair. He raised his hooves in the air in applause for Gradient's minor feat of acrobatics.

"Woo! that... was great! I owe you a... hundred drinks after... after that one," he cheered.

Gradient couldn't help but giggle to herself at the stallion's ebullience. "Thank you, thank you. You've been a great audience!"

"Hey... If you ever need... Like... Someone to drink with, I'll keep my... Promise, yeah?"

"Oh, you don't need to do that. I'd be happy to join you sometime, but I really do have somewhere to be," She explained. It had only just occurred to her that yes, she really did have to get home soon. She did not want to be caught out in the open if an incursion really was as imminent as she feared. "You should also probably get somewhere safe. I don't think you want those branches going for you drinks, do ya?"

The stallion responded by sitting up and scrambling to grab his drink, nestling it safely in his embrace. "They ain't gettin'... gettin' nothing o' mine!"

Gradient let out a small sigh. "At least find somewhere more comfortable to sit, alright sir? I'll see you around."

She waved goodbye to the stallion and continued her walk home. After a moment of walking, she heard the brown pony shout out behind her.

"Name's... Maple Nut!"

She chuckled to herself. Nut was an apt word for him.

It took Gradient half an hour until she finally made it home. At least she assumed it was half an hour. The sky wouldn't tell her, It was always that same painfully vibrant red no matter what time it was. She'd have to look at her clock, which was almost guaranteed to be broken. again. Either way, she had to clean the place up before Fizzy Cherry got home from the 'hospital'. Frankly, Gradient didn't find the local hospitals very safe at all. Who knew what those surgical tools were covered in? it wasn't just blood, that was for sure. And it's not like they even had any beds to clean, but somehow, you were more likely to gain a new disease than be treated of one.

Gradient opened the door and was immediately graced with the faint scent of berries. Fizzy was good at making the house seem more pleasant than it appeared. Much better than Gradient. Of course Gradient was kind of outclassed by her in every imaginable way other than flying. That didn't stop Fizzy from outclassing her in floating and transportation, although she very rarely did either. Gradient worked as hard as she was able, running through the to-do list in her head. She tidied the dishes, dusted the floor and furniture and outfitted the crude, wooden bed with the nicest sheets they had. Having finished her chores for the day, Gradient curled up on the small pile of leaves and torn clothes that she called her own bed. It had taken a rather large amount of effort to convince Fizzy to keep the bed. It took maybe an hour of laying uncomfortably on the veritable block of wood before Fizzy wanted to change her mind. No dice.

She continued to lay on the pile, allowing her eyes to slowly fall as she took the free time to take a small nap. It couldn't have been more than five minutes before the gentle talons of sleep began to drag her into blissful blurriness. The one place in all Equestria that wasn't painful. It wasn't harsh, it wasn't too much or too little. It was what it was, and what it needed to be. The velvety sheet of sleep worked wonders when it came to occupying her mind. What did it matter how today went when tonight was going so much better. There was no need to worry or fret or stress or despair. The only need present was to sleep, to dream.

It was inevitable, however, that sleep would leave Gradient, and she would return to the waking world. She lifted her head sleepily from her bed pile, hearing... something. It took her a moment before she woke up enough that she could discern what that noise was. It was the sound of knocking. Knocking meant one of two things: It was the Twilight Guard, or it was Fizzy. Gradient stretched, pushing herself off the pile and standing herself upright to answer the door. The knocking was slow, but held a rather large amount of force behind it. It almost sounded like someone was slamming themselves against the door. Gradient hoped with all her might that it wasn't Maple Nut and that she hadn't accidentally befriended a stalker. She huffed, hoping for the love of everything good in this world that the only color she would see when she opened the door was the pink of Fizzy's cheery face.

However, as Gradient opened the door, the only thing she could see was a hoof. It was pink, at least she believed it was before it collided directly with her nose. After that, all she could see was white. Gradient groaned in pain. She raised one of her hooves to her face, checking to make sure it wasn't broken. It didn't seem to be, but small droplets of red had now invaded the dull gray of her hoof. She looked back up at the open door, still rubbing her snout, when she saw Fizzy Cherry.

She was facing away from the door, but upon hearing Gradient's groan of pain, she quickly turned around with a worried look on her face. Well, the top half of her face. from her ears to her chin, wide fabric 'bandages', most likely made up of old clothes, covered her head. Gradient could see the impression of two splints on each side of her face. More likely to be some sticks from the ground than actual medical equipment. Still, she had to trust that the doctors knew what they were doing. It wasn't their fault that they didn't have the proper resources. But... try as she might to put her faith in the local physicians, she felt her heart sink as she fully took in the scope of Fizzy's injuries. In addition to the jaw and front hoof, which was held in a crude cloth cast, she also sported a rather nasty shiner and a number of bruises that speckled her neck, chest and legs. Frankly, Gradient was impressed she could even walk, although it seemed it was taking a lot of Fizzy's effort to stand upright, both physically and magically.

Fizzy made a motion that looked like she wanted to say something, but Gradient quickly quieted her, rushing to close the front door.

"You shouldn't be talking with your jaw like that. If you're going to rhapsodize, at least sit down on the block while I get you something to drink."

Fizzy didn't say anything, but nodded in agreement. Gradient helped guide her to the wooden bed and supported her leg and head with a couple pieces of cloth she had taken from her own bed pile. Fizzy lay flat on the bed while Gradient began looking through their fridge. What was originally a tall wooden box found in one of the Twilight Guard's bonfires-to-be had been enchanted with a minor frost spell, which was more than enough to keep any of their perishables fresh for much longer than most of Craterhold's citizens. As much as Fizzy's genetics scared Gradient, she couldn't help but appreciate her friend's talents.

Gradient grabbed a small cluster of tangerines from one of the shelves and placed them carefully in a bowl. she washed her hooves as well as her busted snout in the sink. Yet another one of Fizzy's fantastic and terrifying luxuries: running water. As much as she appreciated Fizzy's gifts of luxury, Gradient couldn't help but feel increasingly anxious over her sister's frankly brazen spellcasting. It was an anxiety that would not sway or dissipate, no matter how many times Fizzy assured her that she had put up a ward or 'hid it really well'. But... Fizzy could do a lot of things that she couldn't. And no matter how much she told herself it was a bad idea, she always came to Fizzy first when she needed help. Speaking of...

"Hey... Fizzy? I need your-" Gradient was interrupted as Fizzy lifted her working hoof to quiet her.

Fizzy closed her eyes and Gradient watched as a small light emanated from her sister's forehead. Her hair began to sway and twist, as if caught in a gale. Slowly, as if being pulled out of the very air itself, Fizzy's horn began to appear in a beacon of yellow light. Once the light began to fade, and her horn appeared in it's entirety, Fizzy began to rhapsodize, her voice finding a secure place in Gradient's head.

"Alright. I believe we're secure in our seclusion now, sister. What is it you wanted to say?"

Yech. Gradient was never gonna get used to that. Always made her uncomfortable.

"I uh... I need help. Peeling... the uh... the oranges... if you don't mind," she said quietly.

She could hear the echo of laughter all around her. "I would not need to read your mind to see your anxiety. I am perfectly capable of making my own drinks, dear sister."

"C-can you read my mind?" Gradient asked apprehensively. Her only answer was more echoey laughter. At the very least, she was good at making Fizzy laugh.

"I would not invade your privacy to such a violent degree. I much prefer to listen to what you have to say. "

Fizzy's statement quelled Gradient's anxiety slightly, for now. But she was sure it would return. There was always a reason to be anxious of Fizzy's magic, especially in Craterhold.

Gradient reached out to grab the bowl of oranges, but the fruits were already held in the Jonquil glow of Fizzy's magical grasp. Fizzy raised the oranges above her head, slowly orbiting them around her horn. She increased the ferocity of their orbit until they appeared to mesh into one big orange-yellow blur. after a moment, the now liquified oranges found their place in a humble glass provided by Gradient. Surprisingly, Fizzed looked up at her with what seemed to be a slightly annoyed expression. The rhapsody that entered Gradient's head soon after only made her frown.

"Where's my straw? I can't drink this without a straw," The Mauvelous unicorn demanded, a dramatic pout painting her face.

Gradient scoffed, trying to hold in her laughter. "Oh of course your majesty. I didn't realize you were in such cahoots with her royal highness. Would you like me to take all the pulp out for you as well, my lady?"

She could once again hear the reverberation of Fizzy's giggles. Evidently, it was much harder to hide your laughter when it was in your head.

Gradient grabbed a straw from one of the shelves above their sink. Unlike Fizzy, she couldn't just think about the straws and command them to come to her. It didn't help that the small cabinets that hung above their sink were the only cabinets in the single room that was their house, meaning that everything that was small enough to fit ended up in the cabinets. As much as she loved living with Fizzy, huts like theirs were not really fit for two ponies. Of course Queen Twilight didn't care about the comfort of her helpless citizens. To think she managed to get put in power. Who let that happen? Guess it didn't matter now. All that mattered now was laying low and keeping hidden.

After a very long moment, Gradient had managed to salvage one straw out of the dense conglomerate of various non-food items that they had shoved into the cupboards. She nonchalantly tossed the straw to Fizzy, who had added it, as well as a small book, to the small array of items that magically surrounded her.

"Thank you, sister. Tell me, has anything of interest happened while I was assuaged?" Despite having not looked up from her book, Gradient could sense the curiosity in her sister's mental voice.

" Not really. Well, there might be an incursion soon. I saw a pretty big branch just on the corner near Foamdribble's," she stopped for a second before continuing. "... Should I be worried?" She asked, worry crawling across her face.

Fizzy clicked her tongue mentally, which was a feat that Gradient didn't entirely understand how she accomplished. "Dearest sister, you know it saddens me to see you worried. You should trust in my abilities. I may be impaired, but I am more than capable of safeguarding us from the dangers outside."

Gradient walked over to her bed pile, the anxiety on her face refusing to leave.

Carefully, Fizzy extended her hoof to touch her sister's shoulder. "I do mean what I say. No matter what it takes, I will always protect us. I will always protect you."

Gradient let a meek smile pass through to her muzzle. Though she still did not feel any less concerned, she felt safe. She felt home.

"Thanks, Fizz."

"Of course, dear. Now tell me about anything else that happened. I would be truly heartbroken if I were to miss some of the newest Craterhold dramas," she rhapsodized, a strained smile stuck to her snout.

"Well... I met this stallion on my way home," Gradient tried to ignore the sly grin that appeared on Fizzy's face. "Dude was a total drunk, but, like, the tolerable kind? He wasn't a psycho at least. I can give him that much."

"What wonderful news! I always hoped you'd find some friends outside of just me. And what a miracle you have been given! a potential friend who isn't a 'psycho'," Fizzy clacked her hoof on the woodblock bed in an attempt to clap without her other hoof.

"Well we can't guarantee anything. I talked to him for maybe twenty seconds. I'm gonna need some more time before I make a decision about how good friends we are," Gradient stated.

"Of course, dear. I have no doubts about your choice of friends," Fizzy assured her sister, nonchalantly waving her hoof at her.

"Sure, sis." Gradient muttered, sinking herself into her bed pile.

"So... what's his name then?" Fizzy asked.

"Maple Nut. Brown fur, green mane. You seen him before?"

Fizzy was quiet for a second. Gradient turned to give her a quizzical look.

"I cannot with certainty say that I know that specific stallion. You, sister, I must admit, are much more knowledgeable in terms of Craterhold's local populace." Fizzy's expression flickered oddly for the briefest moment. Gradient couldn't quite pinpoint the origin, nor the emotion behind it, but it was there. "I stand by my previous statement, however. I believe it would be good for you to make a new friend to talk to other than me. Even if that means you'll have to enter 'The Dreaded Outdooooors', oooooh!" Fizzy waved her hooves in front of her face in a lackluster imitation of a ghost.

"Ha ha. You know me, little miss recluse." Gradient buried her face into her bed pile, laying a small bundle of cloth on her head. Fortunately for her, she didn't need to worry about the smell thanks to the magical air freshener that was sat right next to her. "How long do you think we have until the incursion happens?"

"I would have to cast my Surveillance spell to determine the forest's approximate arrival. Would you be so kind as to accompany me outside?"

"Oh, yeah of course." Gradient jumped up from her pile, tossing the bits of cloth still strewn on her face to the ground.

She carefully helped Fizzy off of the bed. The two walked slowly to the door, and she couldn't help but notice that her sister was still using her cast.

"Are you... not gonna heal yourself, sis?" Gradient asked, anxiety slowly spreading across her face. Hopefully, her sister's continued impairment was founded out of choice, and not out of disability.

"As much as I would love to repair my jaw, It's important that I keep appearances. To go about my usual business mere days after consulting the hospital about several broken bones would be odd to say the least." Fizzy explained in her 'mature older sister' voice that Gradient loathed.

As much as Gradient disliked the idea of Fizzy keeping her broken bones broken for the sake of 'appearances', she couldn't disagree with her. After all, the last thing both of them needed was some craven hayseed reporting an anomalous, instantly healing pony to the nearest twilight guard outpost.

Gradient cracked open the door slightly, making sure that there were no prying eyes that might notice Fizzy. Once the coast seemed clear, the two walked outside towards the back of their house. For the most part, the southern edge of town was the least desirable area to live in by far. Not only were the houses only one board away from being considered rubble, but this particular part of Craterhold was closest to the Everfree Forest. As such, the constant incursions made it impossible to repair, rebuild, or even resist. If Gradient had to guess, she'd have suspected that Queen Twilight only held back the Everfree Forest because she was terrified of the idea of something taking her land away from her. Celestia forbid Twilight let her subjects use that land to live on.

On the other hoof, the largely uncontested no man's land between the forest and Craterhold that stretched for several miles was utterly devoid of Twilight's guards as well as any townsfolk. The most dangerous things out there were the fledgling branches, meager shadows of the forest's true power serving more as the forest's foothold on the edge of Craterhold than anything dangerous enough to worry about.

Gradient's head continued to swivel in every direction as they continued farther into the no man's land. Much to Gradient's worry, Fizzy walked as if the sun were bright and shining. Her horn stuck out from her forehead like a bright pink beacon. It pierced through her raspberry hair like a blade, wrapped by the stripe of cyan that ran down the length of her mane like a boulder in a stagnant river. Fizzy glanced at her sister and let out a long sigh when she saw Gradient's expression.

"You know, I thought that having you chaperone me while I Survey the forest would make you less anxious, but clearly I was mistaken," she spoke with an irked tone.

"Oh, so now you're fine with healing yourself?" Gradient replied sardonically.

"There is nopony else nearby, so there is no need to uphold appearances. What are you so worried about now?"

"You! How can you not be concerned about being discovered? At the rate we're going, we might as well walk up to Canterlot's gate and throw ourselves right in front of her crepuscular majesty herself," Gradient fumed.

Fizzy sighed again. Gradient hated it when she did that, because it almost always meant that she was about to get lectured in that stupid big sister voice.

"Gradient Swirl. You know that when we were quartered, I promised Smooth Trail and Snow Blitz something. What did I promise?"

Oh no. Parents. Fizzy never brought up parents. Gradient thought for a long while, making absolutely sure to be as careful with her words as possible.

"You said that... you were going to keep us safe. To keep me safe, no matter what," Gradient droned, having heard this too many times to count. "But look at us, Fizz. We're not safe, we've never been safe. Every day we scrape by on the bare minimum. Look at yourself, having to keep yourself beaten and broken just so those guards don't do it again. That's not safe, Fizzy."

Fizzy stopped walking. The town sat a little ways away now. A brown grey smear that intruded upon the peaceful serenity of the distant scarlet mountains. Gradient could see Canterlot sat comfortably on the side of the tallest and reddest of these mountains. It appeared for all the world like a leech, a parasite that fed off of the joy and hope of every creature in Equestria. She looked up at the sky. The brilliant red rays of the sun were obscured by clouds of dull burgundy, only allowing the odd sliver of violent crimson to peek through. If only this world were as safe as they wished it was. But it wasn't. it was painful, rancid, and above all else, agonizingly red.

Fizzy took a breath, and Gradient snapped to attention.

"I... I know. I've tried to keep you safe, but I would be a fool to not see the difficulty in doing so. I wish I could make everything ok, but I... I can't. I'm just a pony, living in a derelict town, ravaged by evil plants and even more villainous ponies. Every day things get worse, and I can't even keep my own sister safe." Fizzy's voice cracked slightly as she spoke.

Gradient put her hoof on her sister's shoulder, craning her neck to look Fizzy in the eyes. "I'm not worried about myself, Fizz. If there's anyone you should worry about, it's yourself. Every day I worry about whether or not the guards have found out about your horn. It makes me want to hide you away until Twilight keels over."

Fizzy was quiet for a moment, mindlessly pawing at an exposed branch. "I wish I never had this horn. I wish I was a pegasus like you. Then, we could fly away together to wherever we wanted."

Gradient was caught off guard by Fizzy's statement. Even though she feared her sister's horn might end up getting her killed, it saved them time and time again. She didn't trust the safety of Fizzy's magical gifts, but they made life just a little bit nicer, and a little bit more strawberry scented.

Gradient thought for a moment about what she should say. If she wasn't careful, she might hurt Fizzy's feelings, or make her even sadder. After a bit of unproductive deliberation, a thought suddenly sparked in her mind.

"I guess that would be cool, but I think everything you've done as a unicorn is way cooler than just flying somewhere. Who else in this town could claim to know when the forest might attack, or knows how to instantly heal themselves, or how to make everything reek of strawberries?"

She could see a smile flicker on Fizzy's face for just a moment before it fell again. Gradient held Fizzy's face in her hooves, forcing her sister to look at her. she tried to give Fizzy as warm a smile as possible.

"Besides, you don't need wings to go anywhere you want. I can always carry you."

Gradient's remark, which was only partially a joke, caused Fizzy to fall into a fit of snickers.

"I should have thought of that earlier. That would make things so much easier," Fizzy chuckled. She returned Gradient's smile with a grin of her own. "Thank you, sister."

Gradient nodded in response, understanding what her sister meant. "I'm always glad to give you some helpful ideas, no matter how outlandish they might be."

Fizzy chuckled again. After a moment, she regained her composure and stood up tall.

"Alright, let's investigate the state of the Everfree Forest, and then we can meet up with your new friend."

Gradient wanted to point out that she didn't even know where Maple Nut was right now, but she decided against it. Distracting Fizzy in the middle of one of her spells was a good way to have a wayward spell bounce into the sky and alert every guard within five miles of here.

Fizzy's horn glowed a bright dandelion yellow. Pulses of magic radiated from her head as she concentrated her spell. Her once neat and tidy locks of straight hair whipped wildly as they rode upon the magical force Fizzy emanated. She lowered her head, which caused pufts of dirt to fly away in small clouds. Carefully, she tapped an exposed branch with her horn. As she did, the magic from her horn burrowed its way into the rough skin of the branch, causing it to shimmer with a bright yellow sheen. The magic began to course its way through the branch, the yellow glow unobscured as the magic began to make its way underground. Gradient watched with awe as the magic continued to chart the length of the branch, seeing the glow continue on for hundreds of feet as the spell began to find branching paths and other nearby vines. In a matter of moments, the entire ground shone brightly as hundreds of branches of varying size, once hidden under layers of dirt and stone, were laid bare for the two ponies to see.

Fizzy looked at the map of vines with utmost focus. Gradient was also staring at the hundreds of intersected tentacles, although, unlike her sister, she didn't entirely know what she was looking at. she squinted, trying to see anything that would hint at an incursion, but nothing showed itself. After a moment of quiet, Fizzy let out a victorious 'ah ha', which startled Gradient enough to make her jump.

"What'd you find?"

Fizzy pointed. Gradient couldn't see anything at first, but as she shuffled closer to Fizzy's side, she saw what she had failed to notice moments prior.

Down under the earth, possibly hundreds of feet down, a wide line of large tentacles squirmed through the dirt. Being so far down, they were more of a dark shade of honey, as opposed to the bright yellow vines that were barely buried at all. However, despite them being so far down, they matched the width of the small vines that littered the ground where they stood.

It was now definite, an incursion was coming.

And it was big.

"Woah," Gradient muttered to herself, unable to think of anything more coherent as she watched the army of vines march slowly forward.

"Indeed. If my intuition serves me correct, we have approximately two days until they reach the city, and another for them to breach the surface," Fizzy spoke matter-of-factly. "Come on, we're going to have to prepare if we don't want to end up as collateral."

Gradient turned to walk back with her sister, glancing back as the everfree branches began to fade back to their natural colors.

"I trust your abilities. You're probably gonna wanna keep quiet, though. We don't want to hurt that poor guard's pride. Imagine how sad he'd be, thinking he couldn't even break some poor mare's face."

Fizzy gave her sister an sarcastic look. "I do not envy them. Celestia forbid any of those guards have feelings."

"Whaddya mean? I saw a guard crying once," Gradient joked.

"Did you really?" Fizzy asked, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

"Actually yeah. I think he was crying cuz his uniform was torn. Real crybaby that guy."

Fizzy held her, at this point most likely unbroken, hoof to her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud. "Goodness, that poor pony needs a seamstress. What an upsetting event indeed."

"You'd think that they would have a spell to mend clothes, but I guess not," Gradient pointed out. The coarse, overturned dirt had begun to smooth as they approached the edge of town.

"Oh please, dear. You think the Twilight Guard would be fraudulent with their magic use? That's my job."

To prove her point, Fizzy loosed a spark of magic straight up into the air. It glowed and flickered for a second before it faded away into the clouds.

Gradient felt her anxiety spike. "Sweet Celestia, Fizzy! Don't go setting off flares while we're in town. You're gonna get us both killed!"

"Relax sister, It was a messenger spell. The only ponies who can see it are ponies I allow to see it. I'm not that reckless." Fizzy chided playfully.

"Oh... ok. What was the message?" Gradient asked impulsively.

"Who cares? nopony's ever going to see it."

That answer didn't sit well with Gradient. Fizzy was never the kind to act first and think second. Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to deliberate on Fizzy's actions before her sister grabbed her attention again.

"So do we want to go say hi to Maple Nut together, or should I let you two have your peace?" she asked with a wide, puckish smile.

"Oh for the love of Celestia. I'm terrified to think of how you'd act around him," Gradient muttered, her faced painted with vexation. "Why don't you go and pretend to be wounded while I walk around town looking for one specific drunken pony in a town of hundreds?"

"Please, If he's half as obsessed with drink as you say he is, he'll be stuck to Foamdribble's like a fly on meat."

With that, Fizzy left to head back to the house, quickly casting a spell to disguise her horn now that they were back in the village. Gradient shot an indignant glare at her sister. Again, she had some things that she would have liked to say to her sister, but she didn't feel compelled to chase her sister down and argue with her further.

The streets that led to Foamdribble's were disordered to say the least. Most if not all of Craterhold was dilapidated to an upsetting degree, but somehow, the road that Foamdribble's called home was unrecognizably disfigured. It didn't help that the street, already covered in garbage and torn apart, now had a massive ditch that ran across it thanks to the everfree branch from yesterdusk.

Despite the recognizable street that the bar was located on, finding Foamdribble's itself was difficult. This was mostly due to the fact that all the buildings looked the same in this part of town. That is to say they all looked equally destroyed. Gradient's only saving grace was a small sign that couldn't have been much bigger than her hoof. The image of a pony head and a full glass was burned onto the small wooden slab that hung limply from the eave of the building. There was no door, and by the time Gradient could make out the picture on the sign, she could faintly hear noise from the inside of the small tavern.

Gradient walked into the dingy bar, feeling the squish of wet dirt as she noticed the building's distinct lack of floorboards. Surprisingly, despite its ramshackle appearance, the building was completely insulated from the outside, not mentioning the obvious exception. The ceiling, although crudely patched together, didn't let a single ray of red sunlight through. It was obvious that the building had taken some damage, but the fact that it seemed remarkably well maintained was a pleasant surprise to Gradient. When she looked back down at the rest of the interior however, that pleasantness faded. It was oddly quiet when she entered, but it was only now when she grasped just how barren this place was. The many tables and stools strewn around the bar suggested that thirty ponies could comfortably fit in here, but there couldn't have been more than five, bartender included. Two of the ponies held sizeable bottles of Celestia knew what, solemnly drinking to themselves. The other two were sat at the stools, engaged in conversation with the bartender. The bartender was a weary looking mare. Her short, wavy mane of light cyan was held in place with a simple purple bandana, and her navy fur was speckled with splotches of dried beer. She looked tired, as if she hadn't slept in days, yet she seemed invested in whatever the other two ponies were talking about.

Gradient continued scanning the room, but Maple Nut was nowhere to be found. She looked back at the bartender, who was giving her a confused look. Suddenly, she realized how odd it looked for her to be standing motionless as she meticulously scanned the bar, so she took a seat at one of the stools in front of the counter. She made sure to keep some distance between herself and the other two ponies, the last thing she wanted to do was get into a disagreement with a drunk stallion when her sister was already bedridden.

The bartender took notice of her, pausing her conversation with the two stallions to come up to Gradient. She inspected Gradient with a look that, while fatigued, emanated censoriousness.

"You're new. Ya lookin' for somethin', or are ya jus' here to gawk?" Her voice was gruff and strained, as if she had spent the last couple of days screaming at the top of her lungs.

Gradient didn't want to bring too much attention to herself. No such luck however, as it seemed everyone in the bar had stopped what they were doing to look at her. Such pressure wouldn't make her crack though. She was a Craterkid, and she knew how to deal with other Craterkids.

"I'm looking for something to drink. I don't think you'd care about anything else i'm looking for. Get me whatever's coldest."

The bartender gave her a critical look, then turned around to grab a drink from behind the counter. She glanced in the direction of the duo, and sure enough, both of them stared at her. One held an expression of anxiety, the other a look of suspicion. After a moment, the dark blue pegasus returned with a bottle of hay ale that was almost certainly rolling around on the dirt floor just a moment ago. She poured a small amount of it into a little wooden cup and slid it to Gradient. Now it seemed that all five of the bar's residents were looking at her with trepidation. Gradient quickly downed her cup, feeling the spike of bitterness being followed by notes of sweetness and the familiar dryness of hay. It would have been almost pleasant if she wasn't being eagerly watched by a small crowd. And the ale was flat.

Deciding to forego her hesitation, Gradient placed her cup back down on the counter with a soft clack and stared at the bartender.

"But maybe you know about someone I'm looking for. Goes by the name of Maple Nut. Seen him around anywhere?"

That remark made the entire room tense up. the atmosphere had noticeably changed for the worse, which surprised Gradient. She could feel her anxiety bubbling up as she saw several things happen out of the corner of her vision. She could hear the scraping of wood as a lone earth pony hastily got up from his chair and nearly ran out of the bar, not even bothering to take his drink with him. She could see the muscles in the pegasi's neck strain as she tensed up. The mare's face was stoic, unchanging as she continued to stare down Gradient. Neither of two mares moved, even as the two stallions rose from their seat. However, Gradient noticed a slight twinge in the bartender's left forehoof, almost as if she were reaching for something.

The situation had officially gone from uncomfortable to dire, and Gradient was only a second from bolting out of the bar and never coming back. Fortunately, an earth pony had made his way into the bar. He took one look at the collection of ponies, then turned to the blue pegasus.

"Alright Shiver Sweep, what's going on here?" Maple Nut asked.

"We got some grayscale lookin' featherback askin' for ya, says she knows ya," The bartender responded.

"Well I can imagine why, I kind of said I'd buy her a couple drinks. And please, ixnay on the derogatory expressions, yeah?" He expressed calmly and with surprising articulacy.

The hickory stallion casually walked over to a stool next to Gradient, the once hostile aroma that permeated the interior of the establishment completely melting away at his presence. he waved to the two stallions cordially. The angry one's face noticeably relaxed, and the anxious pony sat back down in his seat, though he still shot a quick glance in Gradient's direction. By the time Maple Nut reached the stool, Shiver Sweep had already begun preparing him a drink. He politely declined with a casual wave of his hoof and shake of his head.

"So, I see you came looking for me. I shouldn't be surprised, I do have that effect on mares," he joked, choosing not to notice Gradient's biting glare. "I didn't really expect you to search me out. Must mean you're here for a reason, so to what do I owe seeing you again?"

"I just wanted to make sure you managed to find somewhere safe to stay, what with the incursion and everything," Gradient replied.

"How sweet," Maple Nut seemed to reply with genuine happiness. Kind gestures were worth quite a pretty penny around here. At least Gradient liked to believe so. "I wouldn't have guessed an incursion already, that'd be the second one in a month. How do you figure?"

Gradient was about to answer, but stopped herself. It went without saying that she couldn't just tell him that her unicorn sister used a magic spell to magically chart out the Everfree Forest's plans, especially not after how these ponies reacted to her simply asking about Maple Nut's whereabouts.

"It's, uh... intuition. I mean, that branch was pretty big, the big ones usually only come out when an incursion's incoming." she tried to explain.

"An astute observation. I can imagine being a pegasus, you must need to be more perceptive with you all living up so high," he averred. "So now that you know that I am safe, and that I have a place to go in the presence of danger, what are you going to do now?"

Something about this conversation felt off. Both the way the ponies reacted earlier and the way he was talking with her now made her feel uneasy, as if she hadn't really avoided the confrontation that loomed over the bar, but was now engaged in it directly.

"I'm not really sure, I guess I could keep talking with you. My sister thinks I need to start making some friends," she told him.

"Oh really? who's your sister?" Maple Nut asked.

"Her name's Fizzy Cherry. Pink, uhm, earth pony, blue and red hair. She works for the local agriculture division."

"Oh I've seen her around. It's a real shame what happened to her the other day-uh, dusk. How's she doing?" Maple Nut asked with what appeared to Gradient as genuine concern.

"She's doing alright considering her condition. I'm going to have to look after her for a little while, but it shouldn't be permanent, and she's doing a decent job of fending for herself."

Maple Nut nodded in understanding. "I can understand why you wouldn't worry. I always got the feeling from her that she would be able to make a very quick recovery."

"Y-yeah..." Gradient agreed. Whatever anxiety that had left her when he entered the bar had now returned in full swing.

The two sat quietly for a moment, taking in the awkward aura that hung around them. Gradient mostly stared at the counter, looking intently at her shrunken reflection in the empty glass. Every once in a while, Maple Nut looked her way with a wide eyed expression on his face, as if he expected Gradient to respond to his statement. She was definitely not going to indulge him. Even if he did know about Fizzy being a unicorn, she wasn't going to tell him that until she knew he wasn't going to cause her any trouble, so for now, she stayed silent.

After a time, Maple Nut's expression grew more annoyed. That annoyance slowly shifted into wrinkles of anger until he pushed himself off of his stool and stood up. Gradient felt her anxiety spike again. Her wings shook ever so slightly, more than ready to propel her out of this bar and as far away from these ponies as she could fly. However, when he spoke, Maple Nut's voice was surprisingly calm and held a note of warmness to it.

"Sorry for bringing up such a... sensitive topic. I can see this isn't exactly to your tastes. Would you be more comfortable if we just took a walk outside?"

Shiver Sweep gave him a questioning look, but Gradient wasn't able to see his response. It didn't matter to her anyway. Getting out of this bar was probably best for her continued well being, mentally and physically. She scooted off of her stool, just barely able to prevent her shaking legs from buckling under her weight. She followed behind Maple Nut as he began to walk out into the street outside, being sure to keep her gaze focused downward and away from Shiver Sweep's cold stare. Gradient thought shiver was just as apt a name for the pegasus as Maple Nut was for the earth pony, and that thought made her chuckle internally.

The air outside held a pleasantly chill breeze, one that often swayed throughout the town thanks to the sun's constant lowness in the sky. She was more than comfortable with it, having experienced much worse cold in the dusty maroon clouds above, but Maple Nut seemed to shiver slightly as a particularly powerful gust passed them both. The mood out here was, while not exuding happiness and comfort, much more palatable than inside the bar, and Gradient restrained herself from hovering in the air. Instead, she trotted to catch up with Maple Nut.

He turned to her with an oddly tired smile. "Sorry about Shiver. I can tell ya myself, living in the heart of Canterlot can really do a number on a pony's personality." He leaned in close to Gradient, his voice no more than a hushed whisper. "Between you and me, before Shiver was a bartender, she was actually a famous flutterdancer from Las Pegasus."

"What? No way," Gradient nearly shouted, more taken aback by the mental image than truly surprised.

"Oh yeah. We were together for a little while when we were young, we both were moved to Canterlot once her career really started taking off," he said as he leaned back.

"Oh. Did something happen?" she asked. she hadn't expected this story to be quite so personal.

"Not really. We went our separate ways a little while after we moved. I put in a request moved to Craterhold, where it was easier to practice my gardening." Maple Nut made a motion toward his flank, where a small design of a trowel holding a small dirt patch, as well as a delicate yellow flower, sat. "We stayed friends, wrote to each other every so often, things were going pretty alright." Maple Nut looked down at the derelict sidewalk, his expression dulling noticeably.

"Are you alright?" Gradient asked.

Maple let out a slight chuckle, his jade green hair bobbing as he did. "I guess back then, everything seemed so... possible. Back then, I believed I could be a gardener if I wanted to. It must've taken a while for me to finally realise that no, I couldn't. It was maybe twenty years ago when Shiver was forced into the Canterlot bustees. Granted, they were probably much more well kept than here, but that didn't mean it was luxury by any stretch of the imagination.

Gradient listened, engrossed by Maple's tale as he continued, the look on his face only darkening. "I remember the last letter she ever sent to me. A small dragon platoon was attacking Canterlot, the whole place was ablaze, ponies and houses alike were scorched. She's hiding under pieces of rubble, when all of a sudden, everything stops. The fire's gone, the houses are left as nothing more than a pile of ashes. She gets out from under her cover and boom! Right there in front of her falls the skull of one of the dragons, still warm, still smoldering. She looks up and, all over the city, the scorched bones of the dragons come crashing down. Now I wasn't there to see it, nor do I know enough about dragons to confirm what she saw, but she claims that one of the dragon's couldn't have been much bigger than a normal pony."

Gradient didn't know what to make of that. She had heard of the dragons' capacity for destruction, but to hear them be exterminated so instantly, so... nonchalantly, it made her sick. To imagine that happening on an Equestria-wide scale, to imagine hundreds of thousands of innocent creatures of all shapes and sizes sharing the same fate as those dragons made Gradient want to curl into a ball and hide. Still, she kept walking. Maple's sullenness made it easy for her to keep pace, until he stopped walking and turned to Gradient with an odd look on his face.

"I didn't hear from her for fifteen years before she was able to be relocated to Craterhold. When I saw her again... she wasn't the same. She says the guards didn't even bother to move the dragons' bodies, they just built around them. I couldn't imagine any worse way to desecrate some creature's death then to just... leave them there. I can only envision all those poor ponies living in fear that the same may happen to them. You know what I mean?"

Gradient had a pretty good idea of what he meant, as well as what he was insinuating, but something about his speech felt off. The way he talked so eloquently was jarring enough considering her first impression of him, but the way he told his story seemed almost forced. It seemed that everything concerning Maple Nut was a lot more ulterior than she would have preferred.

This particular topic of discussion continued to make Gradient rather uncomfortable. She was about to speak up when Maple Nut suddenly stopped in his tracks. she looked at him, only to see that his face had paled considerably. She looked ahead of him, staring down the road at what had Maple frozen in place.

It was a twilight guard.

Their bright yellow coat starkly complimented the deep purple cloak that covered most of their body. Their face was almost entirely obscured, covered by a hood adorned with the symbol of the Element of Magic, and what was exposed showed no emotion whatsoever. The guard's face was an unmoving mask, devoid of anything and everything that might fool some poor soul into believing they were still a pony. However, beyond the well tailored coat and emotionless countenance, What stuck out most about the guard was their horn.

The unicorn's straw colored horn poked through a small hole, both keeping the hood in place and preventing it from revealing too much of the unicorn's face. Unlike Fizzy's horn, this one was missing a sizable chunk, and the once shallow grooves through which it channeled magic were now deep, roughly carved scratches. What was even odder, the missing piece, as well as the deep gashes, were covered by small fillings made of an odd orchid colored material that glowed ever so slightly. This gave the guard's horn the appearance of being speckled in splotches of bright purple magma.

The guard's expression did not change as they approached the two ponies, nor did they lift their head to address the two. They simply continued facing downward as they slowed to a stop in front of Gradient and Maple.

Their voice was, like everything else about them, rather disconcerting. Their mouth opened as if to speak, but their voice seemed to come out of thin air instead of out of the guard's throat. If Gradient didn't know any better, she'd have believed that the guard was rhapsodizing. But that was impossible, no unicorn with a horn that broken could ever cast a spell so complicated... hopefully.

"Name, age and residency block," the guard droned.

Gradient, so surprised by their inquiry, accidentally mumbled.

"Huh?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Gradient could see Maple rapidly reaching for his mane. The low humming that came from the guard's direction made Maple drop his hoof twice as quickly. The humming also did a good job of keeping Gradient from making the same mistake twice, as she made sure to keep herself quiet.

The humming continued to grow in volume, turning the splotches on the guard's horn from a simple orchid to a blindingly bright shade of lilac. The guard grimaced for a moment, then the magic speckles on their head began to calm, and their face returned to its usual emotionless state.

They spoke again, in their distant, echoey voice. "Name, age and residency block. This information is imperative. It is recommended that you comply."

Gradient, having no other option, replied quickly. "Uhm... Gradient Swirl, twenty four, housing district D8, house 7."

The guard, in response, turned their head to face Maple Nut. His poufy green hair was wobbling slightly from the minute shaking in his legs.

"M-Maple Malthoof, twenty seven, housing district A5, room 107," he quavered, seemingly seconds away from passing out.

Beside his trembling voice, Gradient was yet again caught off guard by Maple. Housing district A? That didn't make any sense. Something was definitely off about this guy...

"Information noted. You are free to continue on with your daily activities." The guard asserted in their soulless tone. Without another word, they resumed walking down the street.

Gradient couldn't imagine that this was the best way to gather a census, but she had more important issues to deal with. She turned back to Maple, who was still considerably pale despite his shaking already subsiding. Again he reached for his hair, but he seemed to remember that Gradient existed, because he attempted to disguise his reaching by scratching the top of his head.

"Well, that'll make you perk up real easy, huh?" he chuckled.

Gradient's frown did not diminish at his remark. "Housing district A, huh? You're a bit far from home."

"C'mon, it's only the other side of town. It's not like I live in Saddle Arabia or something," he spoke just as cheerfully as he did back in the bar, but Gradient could tell that her question had hit its mark... somewhere. "Besides, the drinks are pretty good over here."

"better than the drinks from the Commercial District? How long are you gonna keep lying to my face?"

Maple's face twitched slightly, the worry in his eyes visible despite his attempts to hide it. "I... I don't know what you're talking about."

"Maple, something's been off about you from the first word you said to me today. Did you just expect me not to notice the looks you kept giving me out of the corner of your eye? Well I did, and I want to know what's up!"

Maple sighed. His expression changed from worry to sorrow. He looked at Gradient with sad, tired eyes, but she could've sworn she'd seen a flicker of something else before he looked her in the eye. Yet again, something wasn't right, and no way was she going to let him get away with whatever scheme he was pulling. Still she waited to hear what he was going to say.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I haven't been treating you with respect. The truth is, we thought you might've been an envoy from the Twilight Guard, staying undercover to pry into our lives and give Pr-Queen Twilight a reason to blow the rest of this celestia forsaken town off the map."

He tried to smile, but due to his frown, it ended up more like a strained grimace. Of course this was almost guaranteed to be an act as far as Gradient was concerned, but it did make sense when she thought about it. The tense atmosphere in the bar, the occupants' remarks when she asked to know where Maple was, it all seemed to be based in truth.

Maple continued on with his spiel "But you seem to be one of the good ones," he playfully punched Gradient in the arm, to which she restrained herself from glaring at him, lest he pick up that she didn't believe a single word out of his mouth. "At least I think so. If Shiver or any other ponies over at Foamdribble's give you any trouble, just say I'm a friend of yours."

He tried another smile, this time succeeding with a weak grin. Gradient reciprocated with a weary smirk. As much as she appreciated Maple's offer, if it were up to her, she would be more than happy to never see Foamdribble's again. The two stood for a short while, the cool dusk breeze making Maple shiver again. For a moment, neither of them said anything, leaving only the howl of wind in the air.

It was in the awkward silence that followed that Gradient suddenly realized how much time she had wasted hanging around with Maple.

"Oh haystacks, how long have we been walking? I've got to get to my shift before the director cooks me on a spit!"

She launched herself into the air as fast as possible, not particularly caring about the dust cloud she left in her wake. She could faintly hear Maple's voice behind her as she flew. She looked to see Maple waving to her from the now distant street, his honeydew colored hair impossible to miss on the dreary dirt road. She didn't entirely feel like waving back, especially after the frankly infuriating conversation she had had with him.

Everything he said seemed to wrapped in layers of intrigue and scheming, and she would much prefer not to complicate her life with conspiracies about the queen, singed dragons and secret spies. It all sounded so insane to her. And yet, one thing continued to linger in her mind despite it all.

If Maple really did have nothing to hide, what was he so afraid of them finding?